Mother Knows Best (Reprise)

Dear, this whole romance that you've invented

Just proves you're too naive to be here.

Tony threw pebbles at the wall of his cell, while his equine roommate paced restlessly. The gray stallion suddenly lost his patience and kicked the bars. Ringing like the bells of the last world's cathedral, the bars vibrated with the blow long enough to make Tony sick of the sound. It was like an annoying hymn that lingered in the back of his brain no matter how hard he tried to think of anything else.

"Why did Ziver give up?" The horse muttered when the noise finally dissipated.

"Something's wrong," Tony said. "Seeing her like this…I think she's in trouble, Boss."

"Yep," Gibbs said. "Not much we can do about it in here either."

"I don't mean just this weird, dream…thing. Whatever this is," Tony said.

"I don't either, DiNozzo. I think Kate is her little guardian angel, and this is her way of helping Ziva. Help us find out where she is," Gibbs said. He stepped closer to the bars, glancing up to examine how they were secured to the joists. Frowning, he shook his head.

"You don't buy the whole 'magic spell to fix the Ari gone wild' thing?" Tony asked.

Gibbs's only response was his signature stare. Coming from a horse, it was less impressive, but still said enough. The whole magic aspect sounded ridiculous, and it was doubtful Kate wouldn't be able to handle anything Ari threw at her. Maybe Kate had simply decided a more intricate plot would motivate them to move faster toward whatever message she was trying to send.

"But what if it's true?" Tony whispered.

"The bell was in Ari's tower," Gibbs said. "And he was the one that convinced you and Ziver to go into the Court of Miracles."

"They couldn't possibly…be in this together?" Tony laughed at the idea, but quieted at how serious Gibbs looked.

"I'm not discounting the possibility, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "This place isn't…as simple as we thought it was. Either Ari has managed to completely upset the nature of Heaven and Hell, or he's working with Kate to save his sister and redeem himself. Whatever the truth of it, things have definitely gotten more complicated."

Then, suddenly, the bars exploded backwards, wreathed in a tangled net of black hair. Ziva appeared through the hole a moment later, freeing her hair with an expert shake and recoiling it around her arm before either male could make sense of what had just happened. Her dress had been torn, ripped up the hem to her mid-thigh and there was another thin tear across her opposite side.

"Ziva," Tony said, breathless.

"Is that Abby or McGee?" Gibbs asked, gesturing with one hoof at the chameleon on her shoulder.

"Kate," Ziva said.

"Kate?" Tony exclaimed.

"No time," Gibbs said, squeezing out into the hall beside Ziva. "Get a move on DiNozzo!"

Ziva vaulted onto the stallion's back, offering her hand to Tony as he scrambled out of the cell. He accepted it without thought, and allowed her to help him onto Gibbs's back.

"Where's Abby and McGee?" Tony asked.

"One step at a time, Tony," Kate muttered.

"Hold on," Gibbs warned a split second before he broke to a gallop.

Tony wrapped his arm around Ziva's waist, briefly wishing he was in front so her blasted hair wouldn't smash into his face. From behind, however, he could block any stray arrows and better protect his partner. Plus, there was the added benefit of being able to hold onto her without penalty.

It was a shame, really, that the situation wouldn't allow him to enjoy it.

All attempts at stealth were gone. The guards had already responded to the sound of the cell door being torn free. Gibbs careened wildly through the prison, following Ziva's shouted directions. A row of pikemen appeared to block the path before them. Without pause, the gray stallion leapt over the line, Ziva throwing her hair like a whip to knock away any spears that might have hurt him.

Another group of guardsmen charged out from a side chamber, swords at the ready. Kate leapt from Ziva's shoulder and loosed some sort of blast toward the group. It wasn't enough to bowl them over, but staggered the leader long enough for her to land on his head. The man directly behind him screamed and brought his sword down on his commander's head in an attempt to kill the lizard.

Kate bounced from helmet to helmet as Gibbs raced away. Ziva cried out in a voice shockingly full of concern. She threw her hair back as far as she could, and it was just long enough for Kate to grab the ends as she subdued the last idiot with his own sword. With her tiny body wrapped around both Ziva's hair and the last foolish guard's sword, Kate came flying back as Ziva reeled her in.

Tony grasped Gibbs's mane with one hand to steady them both as the stallion kept running, heedless of the action behind and around them.

They passed another battle without slowing. Fire had lit up the dungeon as two factions of spirits warred between endless rows of bars burnished gold in the violent blaze. A dog screamed as it fled the fighting alongside a familiar black-haired girl.

"Abby!" Tony yelled.

But either she didn't hear him or didn't care. As soon as the dog was safe, Abby jumped back into the fight, clearing a path toward a buffed-up, heavily armored McGee.

"Gibbs, go back!" Ziva hit him on the side when he failed to respond.

"We have to get out of here, Ziver!" Gibbs roared back, the anguish evident in his voice.

It was a diversion, Tony realized. As Kate crawled back onto Ziva's shoulder, blue and breathing hard, Kate offered a grim nod. There was no turning back.

Daylight blinded him as they charged into the open, through the castle gates, up the drawbridge rapidly rising in front of them. Gibbs raced up the steep angle and leapt free, landing heavily on the cobblestone road opposite the castle. He stumbled; the polished stonework was slippery underhoof, but he did not fall. A heartbeat later he was back up to his top speed and into the forest where they could disappear.