Chapter Twenty-eight

Jack & Will's Bedroom

Connor's hand went to the mirror. "Cole! Can you take me there? Phillip won't take us! Perhaps you can shimmer us?"

Piper had moved to the bed, tossed the weapons aside, and laid the Book down on the bed. She had been frantically flipping through its pages, trying to find a teleportation spell, when she overheard Connor's question to Cole. She looked up, tears running down her face. Why hadn't she thought of that? Perhaps because she believed that, if Cole was able to, he already would have?

"I can but try! I don't know where we're going. Usually I have an idea, but I can take you one at a time and try to locate your people."

"Or we can just rip this bloody fucking mirror to shreds!" Spike snarled as he stalked forward toward the mirror again. Rachel looked at him. "Try and stop me this time, Red, and when I'm loose, I'll rip your neck off and spit down it."

Rachel shook her head. "He won't let me get to Kitty! She almost got eaten -- "

It was at that moment that James' hook slipped off and Connor screamed. Footsteps pounded the stairs and floors from outside, and people suddenly started rushing into the room. Elizabeth was one of the first with Toly behind her, still trying to get his clothes straightened. "Will!" she cried, running to him. "What happened?! What's going on?!" Seeing the look on his face, her own face paled. "Is Jack -- "

"I don't know. Gods damn it, I don't know!"

"Connor, I'll take you first," Cole said, holding his hand out. "Keep watching, and when I return, the one who is in the most dire danger, I'll take you next." He lobbed an energy ball straight at Phillip. "And that's for not helping!" he said as he shimmered.

Cole and Connor were gone before the energy ball passed straight through Phillip. "How did that happen?!" Phillip queried innocently as the energy ball hurtled over James' head.

"Piper!"

Piper looked up at her younger sister's voice and saw Phoebe rushing toward her, her face appearing as worried as Elizabeth's had. "Ph-Phoebe, you shouldn't be here."

"The Hell I shouldn't be here!"

For once, Piper did not warn her sister to watch her language. "You shouldn't be here. I have to . . . I have to help Auntie 'Ro . . . " She mused aloud, watching as Cole's energy ball exploded several cannibals.

"What is that?" Phoebe asked. "That awful mirror from the beach? It must be a Demon!" She moved closer to look at it, and before she knew what she was doing, she had put her hand out and it went through. "It's open! It's a portal! I wouldn't go through there!" she said, turning around and looking at the others. "It might go straight to Hell!"

The words had barely escaped Phoebe's mouth when she felt herself shoved aside. Some one caught her, but she didn't know who even as she watched Frederic run straight through the mirror.


The North Pole

As the first sounds of the gunshots reverberated around Angel's ears, he looked at Lorne. They had been passing running animals for quite a while.

"Crys!" Lorne breathed, and Angel nodded.

"It has to be." He knew the animals had been fleeing from the battle that was raging up ahead. Blue had already relayed the messages from the animals: that they had tried to help Crys and she had chased them away for their own safety. Now, as the small group passed overhead, carried by Jack's frosty winds, the animals paused and turned back to face the direction from whence they came, each one bowing their heads and praying to their Gods that not only would the rescuers reach their beloved Crys in time but would also be able to save her.

"Where could she have gotten the firepower?" Angel asked aloud the thought that had been on the rest of their minds.

"A little borrowing here and there," Jack called back. He was in the head of the group, and he was flying them all at the fastest speeds he could muster while keeping an eye on the ground. He knew where she had gone; he just prayed they could reach there in time.


Somewhere

Salem's yowling mewl echoed through the desert landscape as angry snorts filled his flattened ears. His fur stuck out at all ends, and he clawed frantically at his perch, trying in vain to back up past the deadly horns that were on either side of him. The bull tossed his head angrily, and Salem lost a bit of his purchase. He slid down onto the massive animal's nose but quickly scrambled back up. "SOMEBODY, HELP ME!" he cried as he continued trying to claw his way past the horns that gleamed to either side of his head and made his terrified green eyes grow even larger with each glance.

How had he landed in this situation? Why would the Council toss him into the horns of a bull as it fought against another bull?! There could be only one explanation: they wanted him dead! Salem wasn't surprised at that, but he was horrified at his predicament to the point he feared that, if he managed to live, his black fur would no longer be the gorgeous, jet black color it was but white instead!

He screeched again for help as he felt the opposing bull knock into his own. A horn scratched his rear but did not make close enough contact to break the skin. He screamed again. Where were his men?! Where was Faith?! Didn't they care if he lived or died?!

The bull he was on charged forward to battle his opposer. Salem yowled and finally managed to slip past his horns a mere second before he heard the clack of interlocking horns behind him. He tried to dart forward but yowled as he found himself pulled back. His tail!!! His poor tail was hooked in their interlock! Salem snatched forward, straining with all his might and yowling as he strained.

The two bulls were pushing and pulling against each other as Salem fought mightily to free his tail. Pain shot through him as he managed to rip his tail free, but he didn't take time to look. Instead, he ran off of the bull, leapt off from his rear, hit the sand, and ran as far and as fast as his four little legs could carry him . . . Never once did he realize that he was leaving a trail of blood behind him . . .


Somewhere

Frederic landed on the cliff with a yell thundering from his lungs. His hand tightly gripped his borrowed sword, and he faced the cannibals with fury radiating off of his young face. They screamed at his sudden appearance out of thin air, and he flayed into them, never giving any attention to the fact that his booted feet hung a little ways over the edge of the cliff or that he could easily join his fathers below at any second. All it would take was one push in the right direction.

The only thought that was in the young Pirate's mind was that his fathers were dangling over a crocodile pit and the people before him were the reason why one of them was there and the reason why they could not simply be pulled up to safety. He set about with his sword and began killing left and right without even the slightest bit of hesitation. James had taught him well, despite the fact that he'd claimed for years before that he was going to kill all Pirates and that that was the only reason why he was learning their evil trade.

He cut smoothly through the heart of the first cannibal, then sliced the head off of the second one's shoulders. The head hit the ground, rolled, and fell off of the cliff. Part of Frederic's mind heard his fathers yell and he hoped the head had not spooked them too badly but did not dare to linger on the thought as the cannibals thrust their spears at him.

As Frederic returned his full attention to the battle, one of the crocodiles on the top of the reptilian heap leaped up and caught the head in his jaws just as it bounced off of Smee's rear. The crunching sounds the beast made as it chewed made the men tremble even more. Frederic, meanwhile, cut swiftly at one hand after another, forcing them all to drop their spears in turn, and swiftly returned to the outright killing.

He drove his sword through the forehead of one, and something pink shone on his blade in the moonlight as he pulled it out and the cannibal fell to the ground. He wasted no time in chopping off another head, then swiped at another cannibal's knees and brought his sword up, cutting a deep gash in his chest. He drove his blade into another heart, then sliced off another head.

The cannibals' yells were beginning to turn from anger to fear as they dropped around this golden-haired, white-skinned Demon like flies on a rotting corpse. Never before had they come against any enemy with such a cutting edge, and they feared for their very lives! At last, they screamed and ran, and Frederic let them go.


Somewhere

The condor was still bucking like mad, but Shadowcat had held on the whole while. Her fingers were deeply embedded in its feathers, and she gripped it so tightly that she could feel its bones. She refused to relinquish her grip or even relax it in the slightest, but she also remained careful not to hurt its bones. After all, if it suddenly couldn't fly, it would fall from the sky, and that would place them both in danger. It had been flying even faster since a Tyrannosaurus had roared nearby, but Kitty still hadn't seen the awful dinosaur. As far as she knew, the bird also hadn't, but still it flew like mad, screeching loudly the whole while.

She couldn't blame the bird for flying so swiftly, being spooked by the roar, or trying to throw her off, but she wished it would shut up. After all, the T. Rex was probably following it by the sound of its mouth, and even if it wasn't, there could still be other predators . . . A massive head suddenly lifted from the trees, snapping at the bird. Its screech filled Kitty's ears to the point that she missed her own panicked scream. She managed to phase just as the T. Rex's mouth closed in upon them. She shuddered as the teeth passed through her body and then the condor's.

She could tell from the giant bird's screech that it thought it was at the end of its life. She felt it pause as the teeth passed through it, and then it took off so fast that it ripped out of Shadowcat's grip, leaving her hovering alone in the air. "HEY!" Kitty yelled after it. "THAT'S A HELL OF A WAY TO SAY THANKS!" She was answered not by the bird but rather by the Tyrannosaurus Rex whose roar sounded just behind her. She turned to look, and its teeth passed through her face. She shuddered and screamed again and set off at a run. The huge dinosaur chased after her, but Kitty ran down the air as though descending a flight of stairs. If she could just reach the ground, the Rex shouldn't be able to reach her . . .


The North Pole

As the smoke that had rose from the barrage of bullets she'd shot at Frostbite began to clear, Crystal prepared for her next attack. All those bullets -- she'd kept right on shooting until the undoubtedly magical gun had finally ran out of ammo -- had to have at least phased him, or so she thought, but as the smoke decreased into only a few, light wisps that remained, Crystal's ice blue eyes caught sign of the rapid movement of something large. She dropped the empty gun and flipped into the air. Several swift flips landed her in safety just as her uncle's enormous ice fist thundered by. "YOU LITTLE, IMPUDENT BITCH!!!" Frostbite snarled at her.

Now she could see the impact the gun had made: Smoke was blowing from several gaping holes throughout her uncle's massive, icy body. She jumped as long, sharp talons of ice swiped at her legs. Again, she barely managed to avoid him.

Crystal landed on her back. She pulled the chakram Jack had given her and tossed it directly toward Frostbite's angry, glowing red eyes. Even as he was busy shattering it, she snatched the sai and a throwing dagger and threw both at a gaping hole in what passed for his neck. The sai shattered before it could make contact, but Frostbite howled with rage as the dagger struck his jagged ice and stuck there.


Somewhere

Turning his back to the fleeing cannibals, Frederic peered down over the edge of the cliff. He saw that his father had managed to rehook his hook but that his dads were even a longer ways down, so far down now, in fact, that Smee was constantly jerking upwards against James' boots in his frantic attempts to keep the crocodiles from biting into his rear.

"CONNOR!" Frederic yelled, thinking his brother could hear him through the mirror. "WHAT'S KEEPING YA?! BRING ROPE!" Then, to his fathers, he called down, trying to reassure them, "WE'LL GET YOU BOTH UP FROM THERE, DADS!"

It was then that Cole appeared with Connor. He stared at Frederic. "How did you get here?!"

"Through the mirror," Frederic told them.

"DAMN YOU, PHILLIP! THEY COULD'VE FALLEN THE REST OF THE WAY!"

"I'm going down," Cole told the boys. "I'll bring them up one at a time."


Somewhere

The giant snake acted quickly, coiling itself around her ancient body with lightning speed and snapping her back down to the ground before she could even respond. She screamed, but the snake dropped a coil of its long body down against her mouth, effectively silencing her scream. It tightened its coils against every inch of her body and squeezed. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Her mind was frozen with fear, but she had to act! Somehow . . . Some way . . . She had to do something!

The snake's head dropped down in front of her own. Their eyes met. His tongue flickered out, teasing her with a snickering hiss. Anger and fear whirled within her. She still couldn't breathe. Her lungs were on fire! Its head bobbed from side to side, coming ever closer . . .

Something . . . Something . . . She had to do something! It hissed at her again, its slitted eyes dancing, laughing with its amusement. She was helpless in its squeezing coils. Her hand tightened against the length of wood she held, and she remembered. She was not helpless. She may be old, so old that her body protested her every move. She may no longer be able to fight or love. But she was still a Witch, a Wizard.

The snake's tongue flickered out again, but then its mouth opened. Its fangs glistened before her very eyes. It darted in for her throat, and Minerva raised her wand . . .


Will & Jack's Bedroom

"Phoebe," Piper instructed, drying her tears and looking solemnly at the mirror, "keep the Book safe."

It was then that Phoebe felt herself thrust forward by the one who had caught her mere moments before. "Yeah," Rachel added. "Phillip, show me Kitty!"

Rachel's eyes shot wide and Lockheed roared as they saw Kitty falling through the open air. Neither knew what had happened to the huge bird she had been on, but right then, it didn't matter. They leapt.

"Show me -- "

But Piper was interrupted by Will's voice as he got to his feet. "Show me Jack! Or, at least, that damn whatever it was!"

"Whatever it was?" Elizabeth repeated, looking up at Will.

Will didn't bother to explain. He grabbed a sword and a hatchet from the bed and charged forward. Wolverine leaped to his feet and was hot on Will's heels. They landed on the beach where Jack had last been seen. The monster was not to be seen, and they knew they'd have to go in search of it. There was only one way to do so, and they dove into the water.

Elizabeth looked from the mirror to the bed where the weaponry glistened invitingly. "Liz, don't -- " She paid Autolycus no mind as she reached out, daring to grab two swords, and followed behind Will and Wolverine.

Autolycus started to follow behind, but Phillip had already changed the picture. He now returned to where 'Ro was held captive. Her screams filled the room, and lightning bolts could be seen sparking through the huge plant that still held her. Blood also oozed from its mouth. "I'm going in." Piper dove.

"I'm coming with you, Piper!" Xena told her even as she dove through the mirror.

Gabrielle jumped, and Phoebe screamed. "PIPER! NO!"

Prue screamed as she ran forward, trying to jump through the mirror, but the picture had changed. "No one else goes through! Only three can go through for each scene!"

"That's my sister and my aunt in there! Let me through, Phillip! I can throw you and shatter you into a million pieces!"

"If you do, they'll never get back," Phillip warned.

Prue turned to Phoebe, and they held each other. What would happen next? Only time would tell!

"Show me my Kyna or you're getting shattered any damn way!"

"I was working on it!"

"Yeah, sure you were, and that's a maggot crawling along your base!" He leapt without looking as soon as he heard Kyna's voice.

"Euuw! Euuw! Get it off; get it off!"

"What about Elvira?!" Donkey cried. "Isn't any one gonna help us?!"

Phillip turned the picture back to where they were surrounded by snow. "What's going on there?" Prue asked. "Why does Elvira need help?"

Eddie sniffed, tears falling from his eyes. He couldn't believe Will had just forgotten him! Sure it was Jack, but still! "She went after her girl who went after her uncle!"

"This one will be a little more difficult," Prue told him, "but we'll get help and we'll go after this group, as well. Who's in this group beside Elvira?"

Eddie sniffed. "Elvira and Blue and Cindy and Angel and Lorne and Delvira and Cordelia . . . "


Somewhere

Kurt reappeared with a cool, albeit hard, surface beneath his two-toed feet. A gentle breeze blew over his gasping body, and his blue fur ruffled as the cooling breeze swept over him. All seemed to be peaceful, but he had no sooner thought that he had landed in a better, more peaceful location than a rumbling met his pointed ears. Looking upward, he saw giant rocks rolling straight his way.

AVALANCHE! Damn! Novhere's safe! he thought. He had no more idea where to bamf to than he had had when he had left the volcano, but he knew he had to try. As the first small rocks pelted his feet, he began to bamf. He bamfed throughout the side of the mountain, but more and more rocks fell. They all seemed to be rolling directly at him, and he narrowly missed being hit time and again. In desperation, he bamfed once more, leaving the side of the mountain behind and once more taking the deadly risk he would rather not have . . .


A Cavern

Spike landed silently on his booted feet inside the darkness of the cavern. As his eyes took the split second they needed to adjust to the absence of light, he listened for his beloved's voice. He would gladly kill this imposter for her, but he had to know how she would react to this "Sheng". He knew that she still loved her dead husband and had long ago come to terms with the fact that a part of her always would, but he wanted to know just how much she still loved Sheng. He wanted to know but was also afraid to know for whatever part of her still loved Sheng was the same part of her that still doubted him, still tried to make her pull away from him . . .

As Spike waited in the darkness and wondered whether he had perhaps jumped too soon, his undead heart hammered in his ears. He had stopped needing his heartbeat centuries ago but had refastened the habit a long, long time ago as one of many ways to help himself appear more human to Kyna. Hush, he now told his heart, before she hears you, and it stopped its yammering immediately.

Kyna was shaken outwardly and even more so inwardly. She stood rooted to the spot, her hands balled into tight fists, one of which clenched her stake, and her eyes threatening to fill with tears as she stared, horror-stricken, at the Demon who wore her husband's face. "Sheng . . . " she whispered hoarsely amongst the hoots and hollers of several Council members, hoots and hollers that could not be heard outside their infamous, dreaded court room . . .


Somewhere

Cole shimmered and grabbed a hold of Smee. It took him a minute to adjust to Smee's weight, but he soon recovered and shimmered back to where the boys waited. It was only when he reappeared that he realized that not only had he brought Smee but had brought James up, as well. He smiled at the both of them. "It won't take us long to get back home. I'll take you one at a time." He reached out and grasped James' arm. He attempted to shimmer James home but could not do it. He grasped Connor and found that he could easily shimmer the both of them home.

Connor was rather shook up at the sudden shimmering, but when Cole returned the pair of them back to the small group, he shook his head sadly. "It appears that I can take Connor, and most likely Frederic, but you, my friends, I can not," he said, looking at James and Smee. "They're not going to let you go yet. Do you boys want to return home or stay with your fathers?" Cole asked.

Connor replied, "I'll stay with my Dads." Frederic nodded. He continued to look carefully around in his valiant attempt to observe everything and make certain that none of the natives were attempting to sneak back. If any of them tried to attack again, he'd make sure they'd lose their head in the process. He gripped his sword more tightly and stood tall.

James smiled sadly back at Cole. "I appreciate what you tried to do, my friend, and I appreciate your help in saving both Smee and myself." He stood as close to Smee as he could but had not attempted to touch him out of his fear that he'd run off again. "Thank you, my sons, for coming, as well. You really should go home with Cole; you'd be safer."

Though Smee agreed with his love's words to their sons, he remained at a distance. James could not even stand close to him for, now that they were well out of the way of both the crocodiles and the cannibals, Smee was again staying as far away from James as possible.

Frederic looked at his father. "I will not leave you, Dad, not even if you trick me. My place is beside you."

Smee thought sadly to himself that Frederic's words could not have been truer. His place was beside James, just as Smee's had been when he had so foolishly thought James loved him and longed for it to be again though he knew such was impossible. James wanted a woman, not him, never him, Smee reminded himself, and the boys would be better off with James as their father and some bit for a real mother. He just needed to take himself out of the picture. He sniffed, a lone tear he hoped they did not notice and knew James would not care even if he did dripping off of his round, red nose.

James adverted his eyes away from his love's face. His heart broke at the pain etched across his face and the tear that slithered slowly down his beloved face. How he wished Smee would let him touch him! His longing reminded him of when they had first met, when James had wanted Smee to touch him so badly he couldn't stand it. His heart had not felt this broken since their first beginning. He had wondered if Smee would ever have touched him in the first place, and now he wondered if he'd ever feel his beloved's touch again.

"My place, also, is beside you, my Fathers," Connor spoke. They attempted to have a family hug.

Smee had looked at Connor in surprise, but when the boys attempted to bring their fathers close in a hug, Smee stepped out of the way, sliding his bulk out from between James and Connor and leaving Connor's arms to wrap around James and Frederic alone. Smee looked on with sad eyes. He had to leave them. They deserved better. But he couldn't just let himself die. No, not now when his death meant Vang's death, as well. There had to be a way, though; there just had to be for he could not live in a world where James did not love him . . . He sniffled again.

James' eyes remained on Smee even as he hugged his boys. Why would Smee not see the truth, that James loved only him in that special way? Only once had James had an almost indiscretion, and it had been a spell! Why wouldn't Smee believe him? Then a thought crossed James' mind. Maybe Smee really didn't love him? Maybe, and he choked on the thought, Smee was crying because he was stuck with James?! He hugged his boys even tighter. What was he going to do if he lost his beloved Smee?! He had to fight to keep the tears at bay.

Cole shimmered back home, and as the hearts of the four who remained ached ever more for the pain between James and Smee, certain individuals amongst the Council roared with wicked laughter.


The North Pole

While Frostbite was distracted by the dagger that stuck in his ice, Crystal moved quickly. She slammed the bo staff into the ground and used it to spring upwards and flip higher than she normally would have. As she was flipping through the air at a dizzying rate, she pulled out the trident, hit the button she'd already figured out would unfold it, and held it at the ready. Frostbite roared as the trident hit his lower area. Crystal wasn't even sure if she was above or below his knees; she couldn't tell what was what in his current form except for his glowing, red eyes; the black hole where the only light was his glistening fangs that was his mouth; and his icy fists that were each the size of a small cottage.

She flipped around the trident a few times and then, just as a barrage of ice daggers and both Frostbite's massive hands came towards her, she flipped on higher. His hands barely missed her, but the winds raised by their movements threw her off of her intended direction. She managed to continue flipping through the air, but she was far too off course now . . . She pulled the sword out as he shattered the trident and drove it into his body.

She held both hands to the hilt of the sword, looked up again through narrowed eyes, and zeroed her gaze in on the spot where she was hoping his black heart might be. Though she'd always sworn he didn't have one, she knew he must have at least enough of a heart that there was something that pumped blood through his ice-cold veins, something that kept his circulation running and kept him living. She flipped again through the rain of ice daggers and the hands that closed in literally just behind her.

Hail the size of morningstars struck her face. Ice shards flew all around her, slicing into her body at various spots. She bit down on her tongue to keep from screaming and tasted her own blood as she continued determinedly flipping. When she began to approach the area she was hoping might work, she pulled the pistol out of the hem of her pants and started firing.


A Cavern

"It can not be . . . " Kyna shook herself as the creature, clutching one perfectly-manicured hand to his gut, rose. It was, but it was not, of course. The being before her did look exactly like her deceased husband, but he was no more Sheng than her beloved William was evil. Her beloved William, who she missed so strongly that even her hearing and sorcery senses were playing tricks on her, causing her to think she could hear his heartbeat and sense his signature . . .

Some sort of liquid oozed through the splayed, light brown fingers that pressed against the wound she'd given it as the being looked at her. It even somehow managed to have Sheng's eyes, Kyna thought, as the rich, brown eyes opened in an expression of love and hope past the pain. "Oh, but my sweet sunflower -- "

Sunflower!?! Spike fought the urge to laugh and silenced the chuckle that rose in his throat. He could never imagine his strong, fiercely independent Kyna as a mere, fragile sunflower! A tiger lily, maybe, or perhaps a dragon snap. Possibly even a rose as he knew she adored them so much. But never a sunflower!!

Kyna's grip tightened on her stake. How in Hades did it know that?!

"It is! I am he! I am your Sheng, my fair love!"

Kyna took a step back as "Sheng", smiling and reaching his arms out for her, stepped forward. She took two steps back when he tried to advance again.

"Why do you run, my sweet, when we can be together again at long last? Surely you do not fear me when you already sleep with a monster?"

Spike almost let his cover slip with an angry snarl but managed to quiet himself just in time. He looked to Kyna instead to see what her reaction would be. Only his dark eyes revealed the true depths of the emotions that broiled within him. He wished that he could see his love's eyes so that he could clearly read what she was feeling, but instead he'd have to rely on his superb sense of smell.

Past the decaying bodies, blood, and stench of the caverns and the things inside it, he could smell the wondrous, delightful aroma of his beloved Kyna. He did not let her magnificent scent do to him what it had in the secret -- supposedly, he amended, recalling Connor's surprising, uninvited, and unwelcome interruption -- confines of their bed chamber. Instead, he concentrated on her scent, and his pupils narrowed as he started deciphering her many levels. Past the facade of calmness she always tried to wear was the sadness he'd known would be there, the determination to win he'd also expected, a flitter of fear he wasn't surprised at, and . . . anger. Boiling, red-hot anger.


The Bog of Eternal Stench

Just as the bridge began to fall, Teak jumped upward. His skinny, green arms stretched upward as far as they could reach and flailed madly in the air, frantically hoping to gain purchase on anything. Far down below, he could hear Wolf howling for he had fallen into the Bog and was splashing. The Werewolf was trying as desperately to find a way out of the Bog as Teak was to keep from falling in. "WEREWOLF STINK FOREVER!" Teak yelled tauntingly after the monster who had been so intent upon eating him. "NASTY BEASTIE NEVER GET STINK OFF!"

Wolf howled wildly and swiped madly at his eyes, which were burning terribly. The fumes from the Bog were horrendous and made his eyes tear, burn, and ache with a pain unlike anything the Werewolf had ever known. He could see nothing, but he could hear his prey from somewhere above! "I'll get you yet, you little bugger!" he howled as the Bog pulled him away.

Teak only held on tighter to what he had managed to grab. Whatever limb he'd managed to grab was kicking at him, but Teak still managed to keep his grip. "STOP KICKING TEAK, TREE!"

The voice that thundered down in response to Teak spooked the Goblin so badly that he squealed again and his bony knees knocked loudly together. "GET OFF OF ME, TEAK!" Jareth yelled downward. "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE UP HERE, HELPING ME TO GET OUT, NOT HELPING ME TO GO DOWN!"

On the word "down", a chorus of haunting voices resonated above the Bog of Eternal Stench. "He said dooown!"

Jareth grimaced as he heard the voices and recognized each and every one. "STOP, YOU IDIOTS! DO NOT SEND ME DOWN!" He felt the limb weakening and muttered, "Oh crap!"

The limb broke, sending both Teak and Jareth falling downward. Jareth closed his eyes tightly and tried desperately to concentrate on changing. Teak's arms again flailed madly, and Jareth kicked out instinctively as Teak managed to grab his leg, wrapped his arms around it, and held on tightly. He pressed his face into Jareth's leg, his squeal becoming slightly muffled by Jareth's pants and his big, pointed ears wriggling like a flying bird's dying wing motions. Jareth dreaded the second that he would feel the Bog touch his skin but refused to scream . . .


Somewhere

Will could not hold his breath for as long as Wolverine could and was the first of the two men to have to surface. He surfaced reluctantly, knowing that he could not help Jack if he could not live long enough to find him, and gasped for air. He was surprised to hear a familiar, feminine voice calling his name as he pulled in deep breaths.

"Will! Will! Did you find him?"

Will's eyes snapped open, and he looked toward the shore only to see that it was indeed Elizabeth calling his name and not a mirage. He shook his head. "There's no sign of him," he cried worriedly, "but he's got to be down there somewhere, and by Gods, I'm going to find him or I'll sink straight to Davy Jones' locker trying!" He dove back underneath the water without giving her a chance to answer.


Somewhere

She came to slowly with a weak groan ushering forth from her thin lips. Her beady eyes cracked open, and they scanned her surroundings. Everything was dark, but she could still see plainly enough and saw nothing of interest. There were trees with green things hanging down from them, things that did not move and that reminded Trely of the Bog of Eternal Stench. There was no sound in this place, no voices of human, animal, or otherwise. She could see no sign of anything living or any other presence of any sort, but she felt weighted down by something.

Whatever it was, it didn't come from above, although the familiar heaviness of all the things she usually carried was there. Her things must have been returned to her; nothing else could explain the familiar weight on her hunched back. The weight came, instead, from something around her. Around every inch of her little body. She tried to move but only sank further in the thick mass that was around her.

Trely tried to get a look at the thing that was attempting to prey on her, but it only seemed to move as she tried to escape. Each time she moved or wriggled, it moved, and she sank further down into its bowels. The thing seemed to have no real shape and resembled water, dirty water like that that was in the Bog. She had to get free, but she could see nothing to grab hold to.

Trely reached up to her pack. She ran a wrinkled hand along the things. There was a bear and a dolly. There was a box, probably some sort of jewelry box. There was another something stuffed. And then . . . Ah, yes! There it was!

Trely wrapped her little fingers around the hard leg. She yanked it, and another of its legs scratched her. She pulled harder and harder still until she was able to get her other hand around another leg. It took every bit of Trely's strength, but she finally managed to lift the heavy object. Stretching as far as she could, Trely placed the chair on the ground just outside the thing that she was steadily sinking deeper in.

Each movement sent Trely down further. She wasn't the smartest Goblin in the Labyrinth, but even she could tell that, if she sank just a little more, she'd start drowning. She gripped the legs of the chair tightly and started to pull herself toward it. Inch by inch, she worked her way, but it seemed to her that, with every other heartbeat, she slid still further down . . . Trely didn't know if she'd make it out in time or if the chair, which was steadily coming her way as she pulled it, would even stay out of the muck long enough for her to escape. All she knew was that she had to try.


The House

It was then that they could hear Rubeus' voice from downstairs. "I don't know what's going on up there, but your supplies are ready!"

Cole had just shimmered back into the room for the next group and had heard what was going on. "I'm going on this group," he said. "Where's Piper?"

Phoebe pointed a shaking finger at the mirror and sobbed.

"Phillip, why'd you finally decide to let people through?" Cole demanded.

"They finally let me."

"They?" Cole demanded. "Just who's playing with us this time?"

"That is for me to know," Phillip informed him coldly, "and for you not to know."

Cole shook his head angrily. "When I find out, I have plenty of energy balls for all of them!" He looked at the two Halliwells and considered, for a moment, which one he should take since Piper was no longer a choice. "We need a strong fighter besides me, and we need a Sorceress."

"You need more'n that!" Donkey interrupted. "Will said we needed firepower!"

"I have energy ball power, but I can't make fire. Who do we have left that can make fire?" His mind searched frantically for an answer before coming up with Clark.

Before he could speak, a voice spoke up from just inside the doorway. "I may be able to help with that one, but some one might end up having to douse it."

"Where we're going, there's plenty of snow, and it can definitely put a fire out. We still need a Sorceress, and as close to one we have available right now, is you, Prue." Cole's gaze turned from Clark to Prue.

"If I go, how will Donkey go?"

"I'll shimmer Donkey. I promised him I would one day."

Phillip cleared his throat. "If I may, as this is not a trial, any and all may pass."

"Good," Phoebe announced, shutting the Book and standing. She looked at the mirror, ignoring the surprised and concerned looks that were being shot her way. "'Cause I'm going too." She hugged the Book tightly to her bosom. If they wanted the Book, they were going to have to let her come!

Prue smiled at Phoebe. "Bring the Book. Maybe we can find something in there to use against that awful thing." She took her sister's hand and prepared to go through the mirror.

"One minute, and I'll be back," Cole told them. He shimmered down to the kitchen and got the supplies.

As soon as Cole left, Clark moved to the mirror. "Show me Lex," he demanded quietly. His hand went out to touch the image of his beloved as Phillip obeyed his command. By some miracle, Lex seemed to be all right, and his surroundings were very familiar. Clark studied the hay-strewn area for just a brief second before placing it. He smiled slyly and shook his head slowly. He did not know what the Council had been thinking by sending Lex to the farm, but his love would excel at whatever test they had planned. Clark was so positive that Lex would be able to handle anything that happened at his home that he no longer worried in the slightest about leaving him behind and was ready to leave when Cole returned.


Somewhere

The Tyrannosaurus Rex opened his mouth, and Ace could see the culprit that was causing all the problem. "You have a huge bone in there that's lodged between your teeth. We have to get it out, and we may not be able to without pulling out a couple of teeth. Hold still. I'm gonna hook you up. We'll try to get the bone first."

Ace managed to get the end of the rope around the bone and then told the Rex to back up as far as he could. "Snatch your head back as hard as you can." Even as Ace told the T. Rex what to do, he moved to another branch and wrapped his arms around it to secure his position. The T. Rex did what Ace told him to do, but it only moved the bone a little and did not make it come free. It was wedged tightly between the two teeth and refused to come out.

"It's going to hurt, but I'm going to have to try and break it with my knife. I've got to go in your mouth. Don't you dare eat me, or I'll cut you open from the inside!"

The T. Rex was still trying to see what was talking to him, and he had not been able to spot Ace for his eyesight was extremely poor. He held very still with his head close enough that Ace could step onto his mouth.

Ace began to dig at the bone. As he worked amidst the roars of the T. Rex that blew his hair and clothes every which way and, at several points, almost threw him out of his mouth, Ace tried desperately to drown the sound out and keep his balance. He dug frantically at the bone. When he thought he had it free, or almost free, he quickly got out of the mouth and told the T. Rex to repeat the maneuver.

This time, the bone came out, leaving a small, gaping hole that blood seeped from. Ace knew it would bleed for a while and then dry out. He hid himself quickly; he did not want the T. Rex to find him again! The T. Rex would not go away, however; he was waiting. "Go away, T. Rex!" Ace told him. "I do not want you to make a meal of me!"

"Nor do I," T. Rex told him, "but I do owe you. You have saved my life!"

Ace did not know whether or not to believe him. He thought for a moment, trying to find some way that he could get the T. Rex's word and he would keep his word. "I need you to swear on something that you hold dear to yourself that you will not eat me."

"I do," T. Rex told him. "I swear to the egg that I was born in. I only want to repay you. I did not ask to be born a meat eater, and I am not near as big as some of the others. But I will be your T. Rex until I pay you back, and I vow I will not eat you."

"That is all I can ask," Ace told him. "Can you take me where your people are?"

"I do not know people. Others plant eaters, meat eaters. What people?"

"You can't see me?" Ace asked him. "I'm standing right here on this trunk."

Fear slid through Ace as the huge Tyrannosaurus Rex eyeballed him; for just a second, he wondered if the beast would keep his word. "You strange," the T. Rex spoke again after what felt like an eternity to Ace. "No others. Dark ones. Meat eaters." He did not even feel it when Ace climbed back on his head and got back into his ear.

"We go look for others," Ace told him. "My people here." He knew they had to be there somewhere and were probably in a world of danger, but Ace was coming to help and now he had a T. Rex! Flying elephants he had not been able to help, but he had managed to help a T. Rex! They started off, T. Rex looking for food and Ace keeping a watchful eye out for his people.


Somewhere

Elizabeth looked at the churning ocean with worried eyes. If Will and Wolverine could not find Jack, she knew she didn't stand a chance. If only there was a way to bring the monster to them . . . The monster had Jack, after all, and so bringing the monster to them would also bring Jack to them . . . How could she draw the monster back to the shore, though? What would make it want them when it was only after Jack?

Blood, the answer came to her in a flash of inspiration. Blood always drew hungry monsters, right, just as it did sharks and crocodiles and all those other horrible creatures of the water? Elizabeth started to lift her skirts on the way into the ocean but stopped, recalling that she had donned an outfit of Autolycus' rather than put on her own heavy clothes again. She grasped one sword tighter but lowered the blade of the other sword she carried to her foot. She looked down as she touched the sharp metal to her tender flesh. Grimacing against the pain, she drew the blade once across her foot, making a small cut. It hurt but didn't bleed. She made the second cut deeper, and a thin line of blood sprang forward.

Standing erect once more and holding both swords at the ready, Elizabeth walked into the ocean. She expected that the blood would bring any nearby monsters toward them, but the presence of the monster who had taken Jack from them should be more than enough to frighten the others off. At least, she hoped it would be. She walked deeper into the ocean, her wary eyes scanning for any sign of movement . . . She prayed her plan would work for, if they didn't find Jack soon, it might well be too late by the time they did.


Somewhere

Piper had hit the ground hard, and she groaned, thinking, for certain, that she had broken something in the fall. Then she heard Ororo's screams again and pushed herself determinedly to her feet. She had to help her godmother; she had to save Ororo! She threw her hands out at the plant, but it didn't freeze.

Of the three women who had jumped to Ororo's rescue, only Xena had landed on her feet. She had turned immediately to help Gabrielle up as the bard had landed on her rear end and was just pulling her lover to her feet when both women heard Piper's desperate cry. "Come on! Come on! Work!" She kept shaking her hands and throwing them out at the plant again, but it just wasn't freezing! Where were her powers when she needed them so?!

"Piper," Gabrielle spoke, "maybe we should just attack . . . "

"No! If we attack the plant, we might hurt Auntie 'Ro!" Piper glanced at the speaker and was surprised to see that Gabrielle and Xena had followed her. "This has to work!" She threw out her hands again, but still the plant did not freeze. "What good is having powers," she demanded, "if you can't use them when you need them?!" This time, when she threw out her hands yet again, the plant still did not freeze. It exploded instead, sending a shattering of petals, vines, leaves, chlorophyll, and Ororo's blood raining all around. Piper rushed forward only to find Ororo still caught in the monster plant's teeth.


Somewhere

Didymus heaved as he hauled his small body, which seemed to him to weigh a thousand pounds, onto the shore. He collapsed there, gasping for air, but lifted his head after only a second and looked around the beach. Though it was dark, his trained, canine eyes could see perfectly well, and he saw no sign of anything else living. Only when he was certain that he was alone did Didymus allow himself to collapse again against the sandy shore.

He breathed deeply and just let his body rest. His silent promise to himself that he'd lay still for just a second turned swiftly into a minute and then even more quickly into several minutes. His alert eyes were drifting shut when his sharp ears caught the sounds of battle. Sir Didymus immediately pushed himself into a leap that landed him standing erect on his fur-covered feet, his hand gripping his sword at the ready, and his ears perked at full attention.

His ears wriggled back and forth as he located where the sounds were coming from. There were voices screaming now, too, and he recognized them. There were three distinct voices, two male and one female, and all were allies. Without a thought to his own exhaustion or safety, Didymus took off running toward the battle.

To Be Continued . . .