Fantasy Island and all associated characters (except mine and MagicSwede1965's) are owned by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, Columbia Pictures Television, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. All persons described herein are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental. Copyright infringement is not intended.

Chapter 9: Counterstrike

The instant they arrived, Andrea reached out with her senses, searching for any sign of her beloved Roarke. Ingrid put a hand on her shoulder, linking her mind and lending her own power. After a few seconds they found him, at the edge of their perception, but definitely present.

'Roarke, we're coming for you!' Andrea called telepathically.

His weak response, when it came, was not in words but images, and what they saw chilled Andrea more than the desolation of outer space ever could. As powerful as he was, he'd been only one against several. He'd fended them off until he could no longer, and then they'd tortured him and tried to tear his mind apart. They left him beaten, but fortunately not quite broken.

She clenched her fists and withdrew from the mental link so that Ingrid wouldn't be swamped by the tidal wave of fury rising within her. "Whoever hurt him has just signed their own death warrants."

"You will do no such thing," Blue admonished her, flinching only slightly but standing her ground when the incensed Elemental glared at her. "This is our realm, not yours, and we will dispense justice. You may be certain of that."

"Begging your pardon, Ms. Blue, but your justice is hardly adequate if known criminals can escape so easily," Andrea growled.

To forestall an argument, Jen said in an excited tone, "There's an atmosphere throughout this complex. That shouldn't be possible given the conditions."

"We are dealing with a technologically advanced race," Petra said pointedly.

Leslie cleared her throat. "Can we focus please?"

Rosa stood from where she'd knelt to touch the floor. "Sagacity relayed the location to me, and I have a rough shape of the vicinity. Sorry I couldn't do much better."

A vague, blocky outline appeared in Andrea's mind, which she likened to something that wouldn't have been out of place in the Minecraft game. Roarke's dim presence was at the center, seemingly inside solid rock, and a short distance to one side appeared to be a large chamber that had only one exit. She focused on it carefully… yes, it was clear enough to open a portal into.

"That location is quite distant and would take hours to reach," Blue protested as she too received the image.

"I've a sufficiently detailed view to place a portal," Andrea said, somewhat mollified, "so we've surprise on our side. Need I remind you all of our strategy?" When they all assured her that they knew what to do, she continued, "We must assume that the rogues are nearby, because if they're smart, they wouldn't leave Roarke unguarded. It can also be concluded that one or more have Mind-Bender abilities to inflict such damage to his mind. We have that much forewarning at least. Sagacity, as a precaution, can you shield the minds of those who can't do so?"

"Easily," was the reply.

Blue asked, "What will you do once you have the information we need?"

She smiled grimly. "I'll make an impression." Then she opened a portal for them.

Andrea stepped into the fog-filled chamber and waited until her allies had safely emerged from the portal before closing it. She carefully built up her mental blocks and masked her presence, in preparation for what was to come. Then she walked to what she believed to be the centre of the room and hollered, "Hello, then! You will be seen now!" Four entities abruptly made themselves known. Even though she couldn't see them, their auras were clear to her, and she perceived them as moving to surround her. 'Four,' she sent to Ingrid on a very narrow band so that the Mind-Bender of the group couldn't hear, if they even were capable.

"You do not belong here!" said one of the beings belligerently. Its voice was female. "How did you find this place, human?"

"I am here under Convention 15 of Galactic Law: all hostile actions will be ceased in order to parley," she said loudly, sparing a second to mentally thank her wanderer friend for making her study the statute. Since these beings had been on Earth for millennia it was likely they were unaware of it, but it would serve to confuse them. "If this is not granted, I have the authority to enact Article Eleven, Clause 375 of Galactic Law, which states that the abduction of a planetary leader deemed to be of great importance, legitimizes the use of force to ensure that leader's recovery!" After a brief pause, she said, "In other words, return Roarke or face the consequences!"

"You are in no position to make threats, human!" a second entity exclaimed, this one male.

"Is that so?" she retorted. "You lot have evidently abducted and harmed your own leader, who is loved and respected by many. A human convicted of doing such things would be imprisoned for many years. Give me one good reason why you all shouldn't be trapped in orbit around a black hole forever."

Another male voice blurted, "Impossible!"

She smiled sweetly. "You have no inkling of what's possible. On a distant planet known as Miessa there's an ancient saying: 'Do not anger an Elemental, for they are the embodiment of chaos'. Well, guess what!" She jerked both thumbs at herself. "If any of you think that messing with the people whom I care about is in any way a good idea, I advise you to consider your next actions very carefully."

The first voice ordered, "Destroy this human's mind! End this farce!"

That was all the pretext Andrea needed. She felt the beginnings of a Mind-Bender's power trying to sneak past her blocks, but she was quicker. Taking a deep breath, she reached inside herself and released the hold she kept on her emotions. To an elemental, emotion was power. The love she had for Roarke, the worry at his predicament, the fury that these beings had harmed him – all coalesced into a surge of temporal energy that she flung outwards with a shout.

For a single second, the fog-filled chamber blazed with silver light. When it dimmed, most of the fog was gone, revealing a large dome-shaped area with a smooth grey floor, roughly-hewn walls, and a light source far above. Four small coloured clouds drifted down, all shuddering violently as they tried to keep their cohesion. They might've been only partially manifested, but that hadn't protected them.

"Fates preserve us," whispered Leslie.

Andrea, her silvery aura visible now, slowly walked toward the cloud whom she believed to have spoken first. It was a dull reddish colour. "Where is he?" She already knew that Roarke was in the vicinity, because his presence, as weak as it was, was still clear in her mind. But she wanted to see if these miscreants would reveal his exact location.

The yellow cloud found the wherewithal to gloat, in a gritty voice, "Solids can't reach him, and the space he occupies is shielded. He might as well remain entombed until this moon breaks apart. But he'll be dead long before then; he was weakening when we sealed him away."

Wrath rose within her again, and she barely managed to hold it back. Stabbing one finger at them, she said, "The only reasons why I haven't killed you all is that I've sworn to not kill without a damn good justification, and Roarke would never forgive me for being so ruthless. Don't tempt me any further!" She signaled to her allies, who came further into the chamber and spread out. Jen and Rosa scanned the room while Ingrid and Petra used their powers simultaneously to weave cells around the four disgraced beings. Blue and Leslie were last to come forward, both awestruck at the display of sheer force that they'd just witnessed.

"Over here," Rosa called, and Andrea doused her aura as she crossed to one side of the chamber, where the metal and air elementals were conferring. "There's a small space behind here, about ten to fifteen feet in that direction. Tempest thinks there's atmosphere in there also."

"Bingo," she said tonelessly. The space in question wasn't as far as she'd feared, but there was obviously no physical access and it was too risky to attempt to teleport into it. She could create a passage either by forcing the rock to erode, which would require more energy than she could currently muster, or by using a portal to transport the rock out of the way. The second option would be easier. Facing in the appropriate direction, she created a portal and walked forward, pushing it along. Anyone moving through the antechamber at this moment would see a smooth cylinder of solid rock appear in the middle of the floor as if from nowhere; a subject of interest, at the very least.

When she'd excavated enough to break into the space that held Roarke, she closed the portal and looked forward. The area was an irregular sphere with an approximate six-foot diameter; barely high enough to contain an average human if they were standing. But there was no form within; only a fragile mental presence indicated that anything was there at all. "I'm here, aroha," she said softly. "I'm sorry it took so long. Just hold on a short while longer. Please." As the yellow cloud had said, there was a mystical shield surrounding the area, made up of a substance that seemed invulnerable to her time powers.

The presence intensified, but only slightly. "They wore me down." Roarke's voice, barely audible, sounded from the room. "They tried to force me to surrender my position, believing it would be easy. When I resisted, they tried to make me forget that I was ever on Earth at all." There was a long pause, as if he was gathering his strength again, and then he continued, "I no longer know what, or even how much, I've forgotten. What I would not yield, those cherished memories that I protected above all others, were my family… and you."

"Aroha…" she whispered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, and she swallowed hard against them. How vindictive of those beings to do such a thing! She spun on her heel, set her face into an expressionless mask, and marched along the tunnel back to the outer chamber. "He's extremely weak, and the shield that's in place isn't of the sort that I can break," she informed her allies. "On top of that, he's incorporeal, which makes it inadvisable to use a portal. Whoever set that field needs to dispel it. Sagacity, if you would?"

Ingrid paled. "As you might recall, overriding someone's will revolts me, but if it's the only way, I'll do it." She turned to the now-imprisoned miscreants, folded her hands in front of her, and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, the being designated as Red grunted, and then cried out as she tried to resist, but ultimately collapsed under the mental onslaught. "It's done," said Ingrid flatly.

Immediately Andrea returned to Roarke's erstwhile prison. "You're free now. Can you move?" She held her hands out in front of her as she created a picture of Roarke in her mind, rising slowly and painstakingly, and wished with all her heart that she could hold him.

"I can't assume my physical form," he said wearily. "I'm too drained to do so for quite some time, if at all. The battle cost me a great deal more than just memories."

"Oh no," she breathed, aghast. No matter what Blue had said, she swore that those miscreants would pay dearly at some point. "I procured an elemental spark for you, but it needs a corporeal vessel. In its current state, it might not last long enough for you to sufficiently recover."

Something brushed her cheek, a whisper of a touch. "What matters, mi amada, is that you tried, and I will forever be grateful for that."

Her emotions began to overflow once more. To never again be able to see him, to hold him, or to kiss him, would be worse than any pain she'd ever endured. She closed her eyes, remembering those joyous moments that they had shared… and then a solution presented itself. "You are one of the most powerful Matter-Shifters known; changing material states is second nature to you. If you're too weak or damaged to do that, link with me and borrow the strength of my mind, the power of my love." There was a pause, and she envisioned Roarke staring at her in shock.

His response came slowly. "To offer that is so very brave of you, but I'm sorry, I couldn't take such a considerable risk. While performing the kind of link that would be required, one becomes vulnerable. Due to my exhaustion there's also a high probability that I might not properly withdraw, and we'll remain linked permanently."

"I know that," she said evenly. In the past she'd heard of it done and the consequences thereof. "You and I already have a profound love and trust; there's no other for whom I'd be willing to do it. If it eases your conscience, I promise that I won't read your thoughts. So, do what you must." She smiled, holding her hands out once more. "Besides, would sharing a piece of each other's mind be so bad? We're already linked in our hearts."

Andrea tuned out all else, trusting that her allies would recognize what she was about to do and act accordingly if something were to happen. At the very least they would put up mental blocks so they'd avoid any inadvertent peeking. An Elemental's unfettered presence was brilliant and tended to draw others to them like moths to a flame. Carefully she opened herself to Roarke and allowed him for the first time to clearly see and feel the indomitable spirit that she was.

Roarke's weary psyche was touched deeply by the love and confidence that she projected. She was so much like him: a titan of righteousness in human form, living by the constraints of society and belief. Sharing their burdens would be a blessing. He met her mind willingly, and his own strengthened and blossomed, enabling him to easily reorder his molecules and transform himself back into his corporeal state. He materialized in her arms and stumbled as his knees buckled; although he'd drawn mental strength from her, his body was still weakened.

She braced herself and grasped him firmly, at the same time taking great care to withdraw from their link. "I've got you. We're okay."

It took a few seconds for him to shakily find his footing, and then he hugged her tightly. "They were quite prepared to hold me indefinitely, but I knew you'd come," he murmured. He couldn't tell her how close he'd been to despair, the abject fear of being stripped of all cognizance and emotion.

"Roarke," she responded softly, a world of sympathy in her voice.

Somehow, she knew anyway. He dropped his head to her shoulder, gripping her more tightly, allowing himself to believe at last that he was safe. It hadn't even been a day since his capture, but it had felt much longer than that.

"Father?" came a tremulous but so welcome voice.

Roarke took a deep breath and straightened up, releasing Andrea as he did so. "Leslie, my daughter, what are you doing here?"

"I insisted on coming," she explained. "I knew it might be dangerous but I had to see with my own eyes what happened to you." She gave him her own warm hug. "You wouldn't believe what we've seen and learned today."

Ingrid's voice echoed in the smooth passage. "We're glad that he's free now, but filling him in should wait. Ms. Blue has summoned others to help deal with the rogues, so it's best that we all leave before we overstay our welcome."

Steadied by a woman on either side of him, Roarke walked out into the larger chamber. Much of the fog that had been there earlier was gone, although more was gradually rolling in along the floor. The four entities who had attacked him were now being held in separate cube-shaped cells, and standing guard over them were Blue and several others of his people.

But it was the four women waiting near the chamber's exit who astounded him the most: dressed in colourful costumes, they all were radiating power on a level that was comparable to Andrea's. These had to be the elemental hosts whom she'd spoken about on the day she arrived. She'd gathered them to help bring him home. He felt honoured.

"Don't believe that you've won," Red warned haughtily. "Multiple contingencies were planned, so enjoy being constantly vigilant for the foreseeable future."

Andrea didn't bother to spare a glance. "Then I'll know who to blame if anything happens," she said in a threatening tone. "If there's ever the tiniest sign of trouble, be assured that I will return."

Red called out with false bravado, "You can't kill us!"

"No, because I owe it to Ms. Blue. But I can give you a fate worse than death."

That shut her up.

The group emerged from the portal on Coral Beach; it was the easiest location that Andrea could visualize. She was quite tired. Now that they were back on the island, the adrenaline was wearing off and she wouldn't be able to depend on her elemental form's resiliency much longer.

Leslie walked ahead toward the path that led to the resort. "Let's get you someplace where you can rest, Father," she said. "The rest of us can–"

Andrea's senses screamed for a split-second, at the same time as Petra tried to call out a warning. Immediately she focused her power to accelerate her movement, and shot forward in a blur to grab Leslie just as the explosion came. Sand melted, greenery disintegrated, and all of them were violently propelled backward in a storm of fire and debris.

Her body plowed into the sand at least fifteen feet away and she rolled over several times before coming to rest, her ears ringing. Where the natural archway marking the entrance to the path was, what hadn't been torn apart by the blast was now aflame, the smoke rising to the sky. She turned onto her side; her body was covered in agonizing burns and shrapnel wounds. By all rights she should've been killed, but for her powers, because she'd taken the bulk of the force in her effort to protect Leslie. A quick reach with her telepathy told her that her allies were all alive. However–

Roarke. He was lying face down not far from her, his scorched suit in tatters and a jagged fragment of a tree branch impaling one leg. Gritting her teeth, she managed to raise herself up on hands and knees and crawl to him. "Aroha," she whispered, both vocally and telepathically, but got no response. "Aroha, please…"

"Father!" Leslie cried as she stumbled over. The woman was winded and scratched up but had suffered no serious injury thanks to Andrea's quick action. She helped turn Roarke's body over carefully, and tears came to their eyes as they saw the horrible damage that the man whom they both loved had sustained. "We have to get help!"

"No time," Andrea said, her voice hoarse. He was dying; his normally bright and forceful presence was fading. It was hardly possible, but then again, he had already been in a drastically weakened state. She put her hands on his chest and tried to summon her energies once more, but couldn't – she'd reached her limit. Particularly because her battered body was trying to heal itself at the same time. "Come on, please don't leave us!"

Belatedly she remembered what Red had said about contingencies. Having failed in her initial plan to either discredit or blackmail Roarke, she'd resorted to imprisoning him instead. It was likely that she'd intended to disseminate a false narrative if people began to ask questions about his absence. In the event that he was rescued, she had settled for the much less subtle approach of arranging to kill him.

It might yet succeed.

"Andrea…" The whisper was pained. Roarke had regained consciousness.

"Aroha." She caught his hand as Leslie took his other hand. "I don't have the energy to heal you right now. I'm so sorry."

"All life must end," he said, and a ghost of a smile touched his mouth. "You both have been among the best people whom I've been privileged to share mine with. I know you'll continue to make me proud."

"Not without you, Father," Leslie wept. "If I could just call Christian so he can–"

"No, Leslie," he interrupted. "My life is near its end regardless; using his power would only be delaying the inevitable. I accept that."

Andrea presented her palm to Leslie and asked, "Quickly, do you still have his watch?"

Stunned to hear such a question now, Leslie said, "Yes, but why?" as she dug in her pocket and handed it over.

"It's my contingency," Andrea reminded her. "I'd hoped to use it during a more private moment, but now there's no choice. I must ask you to let him go and move away."

"No!" the woman whispered in horror.

"Trust me," she cried desperately. "If you love him, trust me!"

Wide-eyed, Leslie put Roarke's hand down carefully and scooted backward.

Then Andrea leaned down to whisper into Roarke's ear. "Please, accept this." She helped him to clasp the fob watch in his hands. "Restore your power, reclaim your legacy, rejoice in our love."

He gasped faintly as he realized what she was offering: to become like her, to live, to be with her forever. How could he refuse? Throughout his life he'd given his love for others, for his family, for all the people on this island that he'd spent so long nurturing. He'd very rarely accepted love for himself, believing it to be part of the sacrifice that had to be made in return for his power. But now it was past time to defy the universe and be selfish just this once. Of life's myriad fantasies, love was the most wondrous of them all – and he loved Andrea, with all his heart. "I accept."

She flicked the watch open and moved back. From it rose the shining elemental spark, which promptly absorbed itself into Roarke's body. A few tense seconds went by, and then he was enveloped in a deep cobalt blue aura that rippled and swirled before it gradually faded away.

"What now?" asked Leslie, her face creased with apprehension.

Andrea sat back on her heels with a sigh. "We wait… and hope."