Chapter Ten

Reed waited until the two Mako's had taken their positions on either side of the makeshift prison before opening the door, on the off chance the prisoner was awake and mobile.

Turns out, his caution wasn't necessary.

Zephyer was sitting in a chair with his hands bound behind him. He looked up, glaring at whoever it was who dared to enter. Undaunted, Reed stepped into the room, quickly followed by Ere, before shutting the door behind him.

Zephyer snorted. "So, Yggdrasil sends one of it's own to interrogate me," he said, snorting slightly. "I should warn you, not even your powers can break through my conditioning." He looked at Reed. "Who are you, human?"
"I'm Lieutenant Reed of Enterprise. And I've got a few questions that I need answering." The security chief stepped forward. "For starters, how did our ship get here?"
Zephyer's head tilted to one side, curiosity plain on his features. Out of all the questions he had been expecting, that was one he hadn't been prepared for. "You sound like you have no idea as to what your captain's purpose is, Lieutenant. Or perhaps you have no idea as to how you managed to get through a portal." His eyes narrowed. "But I don't think that is why you're here. If that was all, then you wouldn't be accompanied by a goddess. What you really want to know is why? Why am I here? Why are my people trying to destroy this world? And how is it that you came at just the right time to stop us?"

Reed and Ere exchanged glances for a second. "I'll admit that those are questions as well, though not exactly relevant to this interrogation. Answer the first question."

"Couldn't tell you. It could be a natural phenomenon, or someone else. In fact, it could even be a Stargate."
A what?" Reed asked, confused.

Ere sighed. "I'll explain later, sir," she said. "Alright. Now, why are you so hell bent on destroying Gaia and Zarm? Your fight is with Sakar, as ours is."
"And you help those two!" Zephyer asked in disbelief. "Spirits cannot be trusted for any reason! They lie and deceive all who are around them!"

"But that's not true here!" Ere exclaimed. "Zarm is simply following his training. And Gaia has never lied to the Planeteers."

Zephyer would have retorted, but Reed stepped forward again. "Not to halt what is probably a very stimulating conversation between all of you, but I want some answers." He glared at the prisoner. "You obviously can't answer any of the previous questions, so I'll ask a new one. How many ships are in your fleet?"
"What?" Zephyer was surprised by the sudden shift of questioning. Obviously, humans in other realities knew where their priorities lay. "Which one? The invasion fleet, or the entirety of the Sunak Confederation? Either way, I won't tell you."
The security chief almost took a step back in surprise. If there were an almost unstoppable force of ships… "Let's start with the invasion fleet."
"Didn't you just hear me, udinfe's? I will not tell you. Torture me if you wish, but I will never betray my people."
Reed sighed. He had expected as much, as he wouldn't give any information about Starfleet's strength to an enemy if he had been captured. He moved over to the three goddesses. "This is getting us nowhere," he muttered.
Ere nodded. A simple plan had already begun forming in her head. "Can I try?" she asked. "Strong arming him isn't going to get us anywhere. Maybe compassion will do it."
Reed looked at Zephyer. "Go ahead."

The second class goddess stepped forward, kneeling down so she was at face level with him. "Don't you see what your Confederation has become? That they punish all spirits for the sins of one? Yggdrasil has been trying to capture the Rogue for almost two thousand years, since the destruction of your world. And Gaia has been fighting him for a millennium since he arrived here on Earth. We're all on the same side."

Zephyer looked at her scornfully. "That is easy for you to say," he replied, bitterness lacing his tone. "Your kind has never had to fight a being who destroyed your ancestor's home planet centuries before. You don't understand that kind of commitment."

Ere sighed, thinking about Belldandy. "I know someone who does," she replied quietly.

Zephyer snorted. "Regardless, I will not help anyone who aids a spirit…not even the gods themselves." He lapsed into silence, staring at some point in the wall, ignoring everything around him.

Reed and Ere looked at each other, realizing that he wasn't going to tell them anything. Reed opened the door as Ere straightened up, walking out of the room. Reed stepped out as well, closing the door behind him. "Stay here," he ordered the guards. "Let me know if he changes his mind, and wants to talk."

The two guards nodded, standing at parade rest, weapons held loosely in their hands. Satisfied, Reed walked over to Ere. "Do you want to give them the bad news, or should I?"

Ere smiled weakly. "Be my guest." She held out her hand. "By the way, my name's Ere."
"Malcolm Reed." The security chief shook her hand firmly. "So, what do you think?"

Ere looked at the door. "He's obviously pretty set in his ways."
"He's a soldier," Reed replied. "He won't tell us anything because that would be aiding and abetting the enemy. And that would be the worse thing for someone like him."

"Good point. Well, shall we go meet with our commanding officers, and give them our sorely lacking reports?"
Reed shrugged. Why not? It wasn't as if they were going to get anything out of the prisoner anyways.

T-Pol gestured to one of the seat she had set up, sitting in the one opposite it. "Have a seat, Mister Sloane." She waited until he had done so, then said, "The Vulcan Mind Meld is an intimate mental contact. Memories of mine will appear to you by accident. However, the majority of memories…actual memories, I should say, will be yours."

"Actual memories," Wheeler echoed, understanding why she said that. "In other words, you think the memories up to my ninth birthday were planted for some reason."
The Sub-Commander nodded, impressed by his intuition. "Precisely. Miss Belldandy has informed me that my form of telepathy may be able to determine whether they are real, or an elaborate deception." She breathed in once, centering herself. "Now, you are going to have to relax. This will feel like an intrusion for a second."

Wheeler nodded, closing his eyes and steadying his breathing. He let the tension drain from him, and waited.

Linka looked at Katie. "What is it that Wheeler is looking for?" she asked quietly, so as not to disturb T-Pol.

Katie smiled. "His real past," she replied.

Slowly, T-Pol stretched her hand forward, resting her fingertips at the katra points of a humanoid. She had performed the mind meld several times on fellow vulcan's, so she knew what to do. This would be the first time that a vulcan attempted it on a human.

T-Pol smirked inwardly. This would prove to be quite an experience for all concerned.

"My mind to your mind…my thought to your thoughts…"

In the space of that time, T-Pol gently pressed in the Fire Planeteer's mind, seeking out the information she wanted…

…and suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar place.

Startled, T-Pol looked around, taking in her surroundings. She made note of a table, several counters, and a refrigerator. 'A kitchen,' she decided. 'A nice one at that.'

Moving closer to the fridge, she looked at the various pieces of paper that adorned it's surface. Most of them were simply memos, reminding them of this or that. However, the last one brought a slight smile to her face.

A picture, obviously drawn by a human child, had a prominent place, right in the center for all to see. It depicted a family of four. It was brightly colored, done in paint. Above each person was a name. T-Pol saw Katie's and Wheeler's names there, and knew she had found what she was looking for.

"You know, if you stare at that any longer, the people in that picture will start to dance."

Startled, T-Pol turned around, arms coming up in a traditional defensive posture.

The woman in question, a woman with white hair and gold eyes, held her own hands up in peace. "Whoa, Sub-Commander," she said. "You have nothing to fear from me. I'm not here to attack you." She looked around. "I'm here to see what you are seeing." She stepped forward. "My name's Alania. I'm a…friend of the Sloane's. You're Sub-Commander T-Pol of Vulcan. Science officer of the starship Enterprise."

T-Pol blinked. "How do you know all that?"

Alania smiled mysteriously. "It's a secret, but one I can tell you." Her smile dropped. "I am part of a civilization that monitors and protects Existence from the powers of darkness. As such, we have a verrrrrrry large library of those who play an important role in that." Her ear perked a bit. "Actually, I'll continue explaining later, and when we're face to face. It sounds like some magic's happening in this memory."
T-Pol also turned around, hearing something as well. It sounded a lot like singing. Listening carefully, she realized that it was.

"Happy birthday to you…happy birthday to you…happy birthday, dear Wheeler…happy birthday to you…"
T-Pol turned around to look at the table, and saw that the family from the picture was now sitting around it. A birthday cake was sitting right in front of the little red head. "That must be Mister Sloane at age nine," she guessed.

Alania nodded. "Good guess, Sub-Commander. This is Wheeler at age nine, almost six hours before Sakar trashed his family's lives. Let's keep watching."

As they watched, the elder male Sloane leaned in. He was an impressive specimen, nowhere as muscular as a Klingon, though pretty well built for a human, his hair as red as fire. His eyes spoke of eternal amusement, sparkling in the lights. "Come on, son! Make a wish!" he exclaimed.

Wheeler grinned, closed his eyes, and blew, blowing out all of the candles. Immediately, the two adults started clapping.

The woman, pure blond hair like Linka's framing her shoulders, looked at her son. "So, what did you wish for?"

"I'm not telling you!" Wheeler replied. "Then it won't come true!"

"Can you tell me?" the young girl asked from next to him, staring at him pleadingly. "Pleeeeaaaassee?"

Alania grinned. "That's Katie."

T-Pol's eyebrow arched as she observed the family interaction. "Indeed."

Wheeler thought about it for a second, then sighed. "Oh, okay. But you're not allowed to tell anyone until I say so, okay?" He leaned in, and whispered it into his sister's ear.

Katie's eyes widened in delight. "Ooooooohhhhh!" she exclaimed, then closed her lips in a symbolic motion of silence. "I promised I wouldn't tell, so I won't."

"Keeping secrets, now," the father said gruffly, his eyes speaking of amusement." And here I thought I raised you better, young lady."

"James!" The woman exclaimed in mock surprise. "Next thing you'll do is try and bribe her." She leaned in. "Wheeler, what was that secret?"
"Uh, uh, mom! I'm not telling you! That's why it's called a secret." Wheeler stared at her innocently, grinning.

James grinned. "Yeah, Lily, it's a secret."
Lily glared at him. "Now I see where Wheeler gets his personality," she groused, before looking at the clock. "Well, children, it's time to go to bed. And don't groan, you do need your sleep. Now off with you."

James chuckled. "You heard your mother. You have a big day tomorrow." He put a hand on Wheeler's shoulder. "Actually, you have an even bigger day. So, why don't you sleep in the 'guest' room? It's much more comfortable."

Wheeler nodded. "Okay, dad." He hesitated. "Can you…can you wake me up tomorrow?" he asked.

At that, T-Pol saw James's eyes crimp up a bit. "Sure thing, son," he replied, keeping his voice gentle. I'll do that." He hugged his son impulsively. "I love you, Wheeler."

"I love you too, Dad." Wheeler returned the hug. "Night."

"Night." James watched as the two kids walked down the hallway, a small smile on his face.

T-Pol turned to look at Alania. "How is it that we are capable of seeing this from an omnipotent point of view? A mind meld is supposed to see memories, not this."

Alania raised a hand. "Guilty as charged. I did that. My powers are such that I can alter a person's perception so they can view something from a different point of view."

"Impressive. But, why are we still here? Shouldn't we be following Wheeler?"

"Yeah. Just give it a few seconds. Memories tend to have a lag time to them when seen like this. In fact, it should shift right about…"

Instantly, the images shifted, revealing different settings. T-Pol turned around and around in surprise. "What the?"

"Shift in position. Give yourself a moment to adjust, and get your bearings. That way, you can observe the next set of images with your undivided attention." She looked up. "Which starts about now."

T-Pol looked up to see James and Lily enter the room, talking quietly to each other. Leaning in, the vulcan strained to hear what they were saying.

"But James, why did you tell him about Sakar? Gaia would have informed him of this when he was old enough!"

James sat down. "I know, but I want him to be ready for this. I want him to understand why he has to leave tomorrow for Hope Island. I don't want him to be ignorant. Besides, he's nine, Lily. You know what that means."
Lily sat down next to her. "Still, I wanted to see him and Katie grow up together. I wanted to hold my grandchildren in my arms." A tear fell down her face. "I don't want him and Katie to be separated," she whispered.

The Sloanes embraced, James whispering soothing words to his wife for a moment. "We knew this day would come, Lily. We can be proud of our son. He'll be alright."

Lily smiled slightly. "I can go into the quiet night, knowing that he'll be a good person when he becomes a Planeteer. It's just-" She would have said more, but she suddenly stopped, sensing something. "Husband!"
James shot upward, his senses going haywire. "Lily, go and get Wheeler and Katie out of here!" he shouted. "I'll hold him off!" He gave his wife a kiss, the last they would ever share, before heading in the direction of the door, a blade of fire forming as he moved.

Lily moved in the direction of the bedroom's, her ring pointing out as well. "Wheeler! Katie!" she shouted. "Wake up, you two! We have to go!"
T-Pol looked at Alania. "What's happening?" she asked.

Alania sighed. "The most recent downfall of Fire and Wind, though the prophecy would survive another decade. And Sakar was always punctual when it came to killing people." She raised a hand. "Come, let's watch this from a different perspective."

Instantly, the two females saw the scenes before them shift back to the living room, where Sloane waited, a small fire starting to form.

Sloane stood in front of the door, ready for anything, most specifically Sakar. He knew that it wouldn't make any difference in the long run. Still, he could still do some damage before he died.

A blast of power broke the door off of its hinges, and Sloane moved out of the way, keeping his gaze on the door. "Sakar!"

Sakar grinned. "James Sloane," he said in greeting, his obsidian blade already out. "I wondered when I would see you again."

Sloane stood tall, a blade of flame forming in his hand. "You're too late, Death Dealer! I've prepared him for you!"
"You waste your time! I will destroy the prophecy, even if it takes an eternity to do so. I started with your ancestor's, and I shall end it with your descendants!" Sakar charged forward, blade whistling.

Reacting instinctively, the Fire Planeteer blocked the attack, then launched one of his own. When Sakar blocked the sword, he lashed out with a lateral kick, catching the Death Dealer in the chest. Sakar whirled around, almost catching Sloane with a sideswipe strike. He retaliated with a slice to the head. However, due to a slight miscalculation, he was a little low. Still, his blade still struck.

Sakar stumbled back, clutching his neck for a moment as ether, the blood of the true spirit, oozed from the wound. It was by far the most damaging one he had received up to date. And it served to make him angry. "You will die for this, Planeteer!"

"My cut has improved your voice!" Sloane retorted. "Though why it would do that is beyond me!"

Sakar came forward again, striking hard and fast at the human. After all, he was the most powerful spirit in the universe. And this family line had caused him enough trouble. One way or another, he would destroy them!

Sloane blocked desperately, trying to buy his wife enough time to get away with the kids. He had almost a thousand years of training to fall back on. And he called upon that experience now.

Sakar suddenly found himself fighting a far more disciplined warrior than before, instantly realizing that Sloane had called upon all of the experience from his ancestors, giving him a more decisive edge in the battle. This process had started to grate on his nerves in Sixteen Seventy One, when the two Planeteer's of that era were able to nick him on the arm. It had gotten progressively worse since that time.

As if to add weight to that, Sloane swung viciously, trying to slice off Sakar's arm. However, when Sakar moved to block it, he shifted his attack pattern, driving his sword forward viciously. It sank deeply into Sakar's abdomen, coming out the other end.

Sakar roared in absolute pain and rage. This was the last time he was going to be taken by surprise by this man!

Sloane kept his grip firm, though inside, he was trembling from exhaustion. There was no way he was going to be able to keep this up for much longer against a being like Sakar.

As if to prove this, the Death Dealer grabbed the part of the blade that hadn't been embedded into his stomach. With a slight grunt, he began to remove it from his person. "You," he hissed, "have been an annoyance for far too long!"

Desperately, Sloane held on, pushing back, but it wasn't working. His strength, despite being better than even a body builder's, was still miniscule in comparison to his family's enemy. And the Death Dealer's strength was fading like Sloane's was.

With one final pull, Sakar removed the fire blade from him, and moved it to the side, forcing it to the side. In doing so, he forced Sloane to overbalance. And then, with a mighty bellow of retaliation, he brought the handle of his own sword down upon him, bringing him to his knees. Another blow, and he was on his back.

Sakar, grinning maniacally, picked him up. "This is the fate of your entire family, James Sloane. None of you will survive me. Now, prepare to die." He raised his sword.

And Sloane, calling upon all of his remaining strength, brought his ring up. "Fire!" he shouted.

An enormous gout of fire erupted, striking Sakar dead in the chest. With bellow of pain, Sakar released the Planeteer, flying backwards into the wall. The flames licking off of Sakar hit the curtains, setting them on fire.

Exhausted, having used the last of power, Sloane slid to the ground, with barely enough strength to prop himself onto his elbows.

Sakar beat the last of the flames off of his cape, before he stood up again. "Nice," he said. "I never thought that possible of you." Not really caring about the fire that was starting to spread around them both, he walked up to Sloane, picking him up again. "Not that it matters too much. You are not the one to bring me down." He brought him closer. "Your wife shall die, and so shall your children. But don't worry, you'll all be reunited soon enough."

Sloane grunted, spitting in the spirits face. "You'll never win, and you know it. The spell will reset itself, and you'll have to do this all over again. Whether I die or not is irrelevant."
"Oh, but it is relevant." Sakar brought his blade up. "Tonight, you and your family will sleep in Hell." He let the Fire Planeteer drop. "Death to the prophecy."
And, with one mighty swipe, Sakar struck down the Fire Planeteer.

T-Pol was appalled. "Does this creature have no conscience?" she demanded.

Alania shook her head. "None. He's had several eons to remove it from his twisted soul. However, the next sequence of events showed exactly how sadistic he has become."

Lily stopped in the middle of an alleyway, shock written on her face. "No," she whispered.

Wheeler and Katie turned around. "Mommy?" Katie asked.

Lily took a deep breath. This was going to be the last, and hardest thing she would ever do for her children. Dropping to one knee, she looked into Wheeler's eyes. "Wheeler, I want you to take Katie and run now. Run as far as you can, as quickly as you can. Don't stop until you are certain you're safe."
Wheeler was surprised. "But…what about you, mom?" he asked.

"I'll be fine." She looked up suddenly, her sixth sense prickling. "Now go!" she shouted. "I'll hold him off!"

Wheeler looked torn, then nodded. "Come on, sis! We've got to get out of here!" Katie nodded, eyes full of tears.

They hadn't even made it two feet when the wall in front of them exploded outward. And out of that hole, Sakar emerged, blade already coming down. Katie shrieked in terror.

Lily, driven by her maternal instincts, launched herself forward. "Wind!" she bellowed, unleashing a concentrated wind blast at the Death Dealer. It knocked the sword out of his hand, also serving to knock him off balance. Then, with all of the power in her body, she slammed into him, taking him back through the wall.

"Mommy!" Katie screamed.

"Wheeler, take your sister and go!" Lily shouted over her shoulder.

Wheeler didn't need to be told twice, and he grabbed his sister's hand, and took off running, pulling Katie along with him.

Sakar grinned. "Lilith Sloane," he said, staring into her eyes. "We meet at last."

"Sakar, I presume," Lily replied, glaring. "I can't say it's a pleasure to meet you at long last."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sakar's hands grasped her wrists, and pried them off of him. "Sad, as in the fact that you had to continue the prophecy. And now…I will destroy you."

"You're welcome to try!" Lily suddenly displayed a flexibility that would suggest that she was triple jointed. She was on her feet, Sakar now being thrown into another wall by the additional force. Lily was on him in an instant, delivering punishing blows to him.

Sakar blocked each one with one hand, then lashed out with his other hand, catching her with a solid right hook. She flew off of him, slamming into another wall. Shaking the cobwebs out of her head, she saw Sakar come in with a vicious roundhouse kick, meaning to snap her head off of her shoulder's the old fashioned way.

Lily managed to get out of the way in time, then lashed out with one of her own. Hers was more successful, as it connected fully with his jaw, snapping his head to the side. She pressed her attack, landing blows with more force than even the deadliest martial artist's in the world.

Sakar staggered back, trying to understand this sudden change in the whole plan. He had been so sure that they would not possess the same drive when they were apart. However, it looked like they had even more drive. And they protected their children so strenuously that it wasn't even funny. It aggravated him to no end.

Lily's foot lashed out, aiming for Sakar's face. Reacting furiously, Sakar grabbed the leg, then lifted her off the floor by it. He whirled in a circle for a few seconds, then threw her through the hole in the wall. He watched as she hit the edge of a garbage bin, before falling to the ground. He smiled at the sound that accompanied it, knowing that it was over.

Lily gasped as pain shot her entire spinal column, but she shoved the pain to back of her mind. She saw Sakar approach, and tried to get to her feet. However, she quickly discovered that she couldn't. No matter what command she sent to her legs, there was no response.

She was paralyzed from the waist down. Not a good thing.

Looking up, she quickly brought her ring up. "Wi-"

Sakar grabbed her hand and directed it away from him. He took a look at it for a second, then at her, grinning maliciously. "I wonder…does this hurt for a human?" he asked casually…and twisted hard.

Lily screamed in pain as Sakar broke her arm. A broad band of fire went up and down her arm, mixing with the pain that still throbbed in her shattered spinal cord. And the worse thing was the fact that she couldn't use her other hand to strike back.

Sakar grinned at the supreme amount of pain that he saw reflected in her eyes, and squeezed once on the broken arm. "I guess so." He laughed. "I never knew how much fun it was to hurt humans. I must think about using it on your children."

Lily managed to glare through the pain. "If you're going to kill me, just kill me!" she bellowed. "Don't just talk about your plans for hurting others."

"Oh, but I'm not going to kill you, Lily Sloane," Sakar informed her. "You will survive this day, but you will wish you didn't. You see, I am going to imprison your mind, make you relive this night time and time again. Only at night, when you are asleep. During that time that you are awake, you will be no better than a mental vegetable, unable to do anything. And only a touch telepath will be able to save you." His laugh became more sadistic. "Unfortunately for you, there are no touch telepaths on Earth."
Lily's eyes went as wide as saucers, then narrowed in supreme contempt. "Do your worst, chicken shit," she snarled. "My son is hidden from your sight now. And I have a feeling that he will be your downfall." She grinned at his slightly annoyed expression. "So I lose my identity with a sound heart."

Sakar glowered. "So be it…human." He brought his free hand up, and tapped her once on her forehead.

And Lily screamed as all coherent thought left her.

"And there you have it," Alania informed the vulcan. "Sakar would return to the apartment, only to find the Goddess Relief Offices already rescuing the tenants, all who had been warned about him. He decided to wait for one of them to see him, and then led the way to where Lily was laying."

"Belldandy," T-Pol said quietly.

Alania nodded. "A surprising miscalculation on his part. But then again, it surprised me as well. No goddess or god serving the Almighty should have that much power. However, it served a definite purpose, as it makes Belldandy the only being in the universe who can stand against Sakar. However, it also had the unfortunate side effect of destroying the spell that was in place, effectively…freeing the Death Dealer from the bonds he was trapped in. And thus, he was able to do things he hadn't been able to do."

"Like attack innocent people."

"Yes."

T-Pol looked thoughtful. "How is it that we are capable of seeing this, like Wheeler had actually seen this?" she asked suddenly.

Alania looked at her. "Isn't it obvious? In a sense, he did. These are only a few of the memories that transfer between father and son. It's a cycle that's repeated over the course of a millennium."

"Then why aren't we seeing anymore of this?"

"Because it isn't necessary for us to see it. The next sequence of events is for Wheeler, and Wheeler alone. All we can do now, is wait."

Wheeler and Katie ran down the alleyway, tears streaming down their faces. They had stopped only a few feet from where their mom was fighting Sakar, trying to see the being their dad had warned them about. However, Wheeler remembered what his mom had told them, so after a few moments, he had ushered his little sister away from there.

They had barely gone several feet before they heard their mother scream in absolute agony. Fighting back the urge to yell himself and head back, the older of the two continued forward, urging his sister on.

After almost an hour of running, they finally stopped to catch their breath's. At this, Katie finally broke down. "Mommy," she sobbed, sitting on the ground.

Wheeler was barely holding himself together. He knew what had happened. He also knew that they had to keep running, but there was no point to it. Someone was going to have to stand up to that creep sooner or later. "It'll be okay, sis," he said, hugging her.

"How?" Katie looked at him. "How's it going to be okay? Our Mommy and Daddy are gone. We're all alone!"

On that, Wheeler had no idea. But he still whispered, "We'll be alright, and we'll stay together."
"I'm afraid that will be impossible, young Wheeler."

The two Sloane's heads shot up in surprise at the new voice. It wasn't Sakar, as it sounded too gentle. It also sounded old, which added weight to that.

An elderly man with a great white beard stood almost several feet from them. He was clothed in robes of white, with elaborate symbols on the sleeves. He was carrying a simple staff made of wood, wood that looked like it had been preserved from a bygone era. His eyes spoke of wisdom and experience, though a vitality was still visible in them. And he had the look of a person who knew exactly what they were going through.

Wheeler got up, shielding Katie behind him. "Who are you?" he asked, keeping his chin high.

The old man held up one hand. "I…am simply known as the White Wizard," he replied. "I am a friend of your family's. I am here to help you."

"Help us?" Wheeler relaxed somewhat. "How? And why can't we stay together?"
The White Wizard smiled sadly. "Because you, Wheeler, are going to have to go away for now, with no memory of what has happened here. I will take you to a safe house, where your aunt lives."

Katie came out from behind her brother, whimpering. "B-but what about me, s-sir?"

"I will take you to the nearest police station. Someone from the apartment will find you there. You'll retain all of your memories of your life." He put his wrinkled hand on Katie's shoulder. "One day, you will see your brother again. But until that day, you will be protected by the other tenants."

Wheeler looked at him. "And Sakar?" he asked.

The Wizard turned around, surprised. "It seems your father has already told you. That was Gaia's job." His expression was serious. "All I can tell you, is that Sakar will not be a threat to you or your sister for twenty years. And that when you face him, you will be ready." He held a hand up. "Don't worry, Wheeler. I am only going to suppress your memories of the last nine years, and insert new ones. They'll hold for eleven years, and then you will slowly start to remember. If you can find a being who has touch telepathy at their disposal, they can speed the process along." He looked into the young boys eyes. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Wheeler looked at Katie. "I'm ready. Just…make sure Katie's taken care of," he said.

"Of that, I give you my word, the word of Merlin. As well as my word that you will see each other again." He placed his hand on his head. "Now, I am going to ask you to relax," he said.

Wheeler sighed, closing his eyes…and waited.

That was the last thing he remembered.

Alania perked up. "Okay, he's done. Now listen, T-Pol, and listen well. You alone have the power to free his mother from the restraints put on her mind. Also, I've made contact with the heroes of this world. They're alive and well, fighting the enemy on Lunar."

T-Pol nodded. "What else do we need to do?" she asked.

"There is a Guardian on the Earth you're on. She's been in hiding since a dark wizard named Voldemort tried to kill her and her family. She'll be able to help you against Sakar." Alania saluted. "Hopefully, we'll meet in person someday."

"I hope we will as well," T-Pol replied, giving her the Vulcan Salute. "Peace and long life."

Alania grinned. "I will gratefully take the peace one, and give the long life to someone else. Farewell."

And T-Pol closed her eyes…

…and opened them again, coming out of the meld rather quickly. She sat back, waiting.

She didn't have to wait long.

Slowly, Wheeler blinked, his eyes starting to track motion once again. He looked around the room, taking everything in like he had never seen it before, or was seeing it through new eyes.

Linka stepped forward. "Wheeler?" she asked.

Wheeler looked at her for a second. "I'm okay, Babeuoska. I'm just…getting all of these memories straightened out." He took a look at one of the tables. "My dad used to play cards with the Earth Planeteer of the time at that table," he said in amazement. "That guy was a scholarly kind of person, always dispensing out helpful information." He glanced at the bookshelf. "The water Planeteer was always reading a book from that shelf. Mom always had to tell her to relax. She also made the best chili anyone had ever tasted." He looked at his friends. "I have all these memories that I had suppressed accounting for the first nine years of my life, as well as the memories of all of my ancestors. The White Wizard did it to protect me, for all of the good it did me."

Katie stepped up, waiting until Wheeler had turned his attention over to her. "Do you…remember me?" she asked.

Wheeler looked at her for a moment, then gave her a bone crushing hug. "That answer your question, sis?" He whirled around. "Good God, it's good to finally remember you!"

Katie squealed in delight. "Wheeler Sloane, put me down this very minute!" She waited until he had done so, then hugged him in return. "Good to have you back, big brother," she whispered tearfully. "I've definitely missed you."
"Good to know." Wheeler looked around again. "I can safely say this now; This place hasn't changed in eleven years."
The statement was too much for those in the room, and they cracked up after a moment, doubling over in laughter. Even Laura was beside herself, leaning on Wendy to maintain an upright position.

Katie wiped the tears from her eyes. "Big brother, you still haven't lost your ability to make people laugh!"

Wheeler started chuckling. "Good to know some things never change," he said, before sobering up. "Get everybody in here, and I mean everyone."

Archer stared at the ocean, letting everything he had heard process through his mind. And it was a lot. Gaia had just told him about Sakar, and his coming to Earth, as well as things that he had never thought possible before. Though now that he thought about it, before he had taken command of Enterprise, he hadn't believed in time travel, either.

Gaia stood next to him, watching the sun as it crept through the sky. "I take it your Earth has no spirits," she said suddenly.

Archer nodded once, a little startled by the abruptness of the question. "We had to survive a nuclear holocaust after our Third World War before we could truly appreciate our environment. It also helped that we had expanded off of Earth by that time, colonizing Mars and the moon." He sighed. "We had developed generators that didn't pollute the environment, and had the ability to reclaim much of the contaminated soil afterwards."

"Not bad." Gaia suddenly looked up, like she had heard something. "They're done," she said.

"Well, let's go."

Wheeler was standing patiently by the door as everyone else congregated. He stared at Gaia for a second, observing her in a new light. "You have a great deal of luck, Gaia," he said, thoroughly surprising her. "Had I remembered, I would have said hello to you properly." He bowed his head. "I think my parents would have been happy you had helped me find my way."

Slowly, as if a great revelation had been made, a smile erupted on the spirit's face. "I don't believe it. You've been here this whole time, and I never knew."

"Blame the White Wizard. I had very little say in it." Wheeler turned to Peorth. "Goddess First Class Peorth," he said. "I think I have a meeting with Athena about the Death Dealer that can't be put off."

Peorth and Belldandy smiled. "I think it can be arranged," Peorth replied. "I'll get on the li-"

"Wait."

Everyone turned to T-Pol, somewhat confused. "Why?" Belldandy asked.

T-Pol turned to Wheeler. "We need to get your mother, before Sakar finds her and finishes her off." She noted his bewildered expression. "She's still alive, and my telepathy can help her."

Belldandy gasped. "The Jane Doe!"

"She's alive!" Katie added excitedly.

"But not for much longer, judging by the look on your face." Wheeler started walking in the direction of the door. "Come on, let's go. No more deaths by Sakar for today."
Trip sighed. "We're goin' back to New York," he said.

Peter sighed. "Guess so."

The Geo Cruiser took off from the airstrip, angling back for New York…which was the last place they wanted to go back to at that precise moment.

Trip checked his phase pistol's energy pack one more time. "I really don't wanna go through this again."
"It appears that we have no choice," T-Pol replied. "And the running has to stop some time."

Wheeler nodded fractionally. "It does indeed." He sat back, keeping his gaze on the window

Sakar watched the screen in front of him, showing him the Metropolitan Hospital. 'So that is where Belldandy sent Mrs. Sloane,' he thought triumphantly. 'So I might as well pay her a little visit.' He turned to Smith. "Assemble a group of Agents. It's time that e paid our respects with the soon to be departed."

Smith bowed once, grinning maliciously. "By your command, Mi'lord."