Paul Blaisdell had thought the city was on the precipice of disaster. It had been dancing right on that very edge since before Peter had disappeared. It was funny how life had become defined by before and after Peter had disappeared. Now he was certain that Bayview had gone right over the edge. Was this the Zenith that Caine had spoken of? He hoped so, he couldn't imagine that it could get much worse.

There was an estimated 150 people in that building. Nothing compared to the 1000 that worked there around the clock. The call center on the 10th floor had the majority of that number. Paralegals on floor 14, security guards, and people he wasn't sure where to place.

Mayor Conlin, who despite Paul's opinion of him, was generally good in a crisis, was not at this time capable of dealing with much of anything. Paul had never seen him drink anything alcoholic before. The man had a problem in the past but he'd been 10 years sober, a point he often made to the press. Tonight however he was to all appearances blind stinking drunk and the deputy mayor was nowhere to be found.

The first hour since the explosion had been spent with structural engineers trying to sort out the best way to go in without losing the lives of the first responders as well as any survivors there might be. Every precinct in the city had called in their off-duty personnel and sent them to handle crowd control and the inevitable looting that would follow.

Blaisdell didn't know which voice grated on him more. The television reporter that had so often tried to make mincemeat of his son, or the strident tones of Miranda Gray. "How the hell did she get past…"

"I want you to set up over there out of the way." She told her people as they came with tables and folding chairs. Behind that were people pushing carts laden with coffee urns, and food, more still came with crates of bottled water. There were blankets stacked against the wall of an office building. She spotted Blaisdell and approached him. "Where can I find the mayor?" She asked.

"Hopefully sleeping it off somewhere." He grumbled. "And don't ask me where the deputy mayor is either because I don't know."

"Who is in charge then?" She asked, her expression worried.

"Right now we haven't been worried about that, we're too damned busy at the moment."

"Well, there will be food, water, and coffee provided for those who need it, and blankets for the survivors. I'm aware of the state the hospitals are in so I'm having the ground floor of my building cleared and made available for triage. I am going to trust that you can get that information to those who need it since you know who they are and I don't. I'm going to get out of your way and tend to the things that I can. If anything is needed, anything at all, just ask. I may not have it but chances are I know someone who does." She said "Good luck, Captain."

Miranda knew full well that the news crew had their equipment aimed at her and Blaisdell. She'd timed her approach for just that purpose. She had planned this down to the nth degree. From the first strike in gangland warfare to the ruins before them. She had the clean-up planned, and the program to help the families of those who didn't survive would go into effect within days.

The one thing she hadn't planned was Paul Blaisdell knowing what the pendant that hung from a chain around her neck represented.

Peter woke slowly and brought his hands to his face. "It was only one scotch. I shouldn't have a hangover from that. I wish the world would stop moving." He sat up and wished he hadn't as the surface he lay on was moving, swaying.

He was surrounded by bars on all four sides, he looked up and saw that the cage was suspended by a single chain. "I'm going to regret this." He said and looked down. He could see the snake statue, 10 feet below, which put him roughly 30 feet in the air. "Yep, I regret it." He rolled back onto his back and closed his eyes tightly as the cage swayed.

He could feel Nag again, coiled around his brain. "So… you're bound to the statue." He said quietly.

Yes. The word was felt rather than heard.

"Until they put you in me."

Yes.

"I don't suppose that when this is over you'd want to blow this popsicle stand."

Not possible.

"So you're as trapped as I am, is that what you're telling me?"

Yes.

"Great… just great." So much for that idea. "How about you take Kline instead? I don't mind being dumped. I've gotten used to it."

Not possible.

"Why not?"

Bonded to you.

Kwai Chang Caine sat at the edge of the Koi pond, watching the fish swim.

"It is said that these koi are the intermediaries to the mirror world." The Ancient said as the other priests joined them. "A prism through which one might glimpse reality, past, and future through the eyes of another."

"Through the eyes of a loved one," Caine said.

"With the barrier between you gone, you may be able to see what Peter sees."

The priests began their tonal meditations. The sound and vibration filled the garden where they sat, and Caine let his awareness drift with those sounds, never once taking his eyes off of the koi pond, yet not seeing it either.

Through the ripples, he could see the snake idol below, through bars. "He is in a cage, elevated above the artifact. " Caine said. "I can hear the sound of water and ship bells in the distance. Moonlight comes in through tall windows… people in dark robes are entering the building and taking their places seated around the idol. " The images faded from view.

"The harbor… perhaps the warehouse district." Lo Si said.

"Yes." Caine said "I believe you are right. It is not a precise location but it is more than we have had in the past."

"We should leave now." Master Khan said.

Peter was woozy. He didn't know if it was from the drug he'd been given when he was brought there, or if it was from the almost constant sway of his cage… the fact that he was effectively three stories in the air over a concrete floor. Maybe it was the strange chanting that was going on beneath him.

"Are we doing this today?" Peter asked softly.

No.

"Okay… then I'm gonna let myself pass out, not that I think I have any choice."

No.

"What do you mean no," Peter asked.

Do not sleep.

"Why?"

They want you to.

"Why do you want me not to?"

I like you.

"Good thing since we're going to be roommates for the rest of my life." And with that thought, he panicked. There was no way out. Even with being forced to 'behave' there had been little hope left. Hope that one of his fathers would figure it out and come for him, or that Miranda would be hit by a bus… twice. "You sure I can't talk you into a road trip? My father seems to think it's good for the soul to just go walkabout."

Not possible.

"Well, that was my last idea." He said and closed his eyes. Nothing to do now but let go. It went against everything in him but he'd been sliding down that slippery slope from the first day. They had removed every avenue of resistance available to him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just cease to be, to let this journey end and continue to the next. That wouldn't be so bad, would it? Wouldn't be any different than taking a bullet in the head and having his body on life support.

The chanting below lulled him into a twilight sleep. He was aware of what was happening below but separated from it completely.

Caine and Master Khan led the way through the waterfront warehouse district. Caine looked at the windows on the warehouses they passed. They had to be facing a certain way for the moonlight to come in and the reflections of the water. It had to be a minimum of four stories tall. It narrowed the search parameters but not enough to suit him. Not with his son's life and soul in the balance.

There were five of them in total, moving silently through warehouses. Caine paused to listen then moved on to the next, and the next until he heard the sound of chanting. They entered the building making no sound.

Caine looked up and was relieved to see the cage that held his son dangling above. He wanted to go straight to bringing down the cage but Peter was safer where he was. He couldn't be taken out of the building if they couldn't reach him either.

"We knew you would come, Priest." One of the cultists said. "If you leave now we'll let you all go in peace."

"I will only leave with my son."

"Your son is no longer yours. He belongs to Nag and Nagaina now. Don't make us kill you in front of him."

"One of your order already tried that this morning," Caine said as he stepped toward the man. Two others moved in to grasp his arms. They were pulled away by two of the priests. The fight became a blur. The fighting style was nothing they had encountered before, it was brutal and punishing, but the Shaolin prevailed even if they were badly battered.

Caine quickly found the switch to bring down the cage. It seemed to take an eternity to come down those thirty feet. He broke the lock and opened the door. "Peter." He said, turning his son's face toward him "Peter…"

"Pop," He said groggily.

Caine slid his arm under Peter's shoulders and moved him into a seated position. "It's alright. We're going to get you out of here."

"I like this dream." Peter said as his head rolled back "Hey Nag, this is my Pop… sorry… my father."

"Does it answer you?" Caine asked as he helped him to his feet.

Peter leaned against his father, unable to keep his feet under him. "Not this time"

Master Khan moved in quickly to support Peter's other side.

With the hospitals being full, and the bombing, they chose to take Peter back to the boarding house. Caine got his son tucked into bed. Peter was still having a hard time staying awake, but neither did he truly sleep which worried his father. He was covered in bruises that spoke of repeated beatings.

Lo Si entered the room. "I left word with the desk Sergeant at the precinct. Captain Blaisdell is still at the bombed building. They promise to send someone to tell him." He said.

Caine nodded. "Thank you." He said. " I think Peter's qi has been damaged. It is diminished somehow."

"Very likely why he neither wakens nor sleeps." Lo Si said and moved to the other side of the bed to sit beside him "Between us, we can heal this."

They each took one of Peter's hands and mingled their qi with his. He began to breathe easier, and he relaxed into his sleep.

"He was talking to the snake when we found him. He attempted to make introductions."

"It has been in his mind. It could be nothing more than sharing head space."

Caine nodded "He is home. We will face whatever trials come as they come." He knew that there would be no way his son wasn't changed by months of captivity. He could only imagine the horrors he had experienced.

"We will get him through to the other side." Lo Si said as he left the room.

Caine adjusted the covers over his son, gently smoothed his hair, then sat down on the floor beside his bed, He folded himself into the lotus position. He lost track of time, as he watched his son sleep.

He heard heavy footfalls on the stairs and looked up as a shadow was cast from the doorway.

"Thank God," Paul said and leaned against the door frame. "Is he alright?"

"Physically yes. Bruises, nothing more." Caine said "He was groggy when we found him. He hasn't wakened since we brought him here. His qi was weakened but that has been healed." He explained where he had been found and under what circumstances.

Paul took a seat on the chair next to Peter's bed. "Is he going to be safe? This cult… it's everywhere."

"He will be as safe as we can make him," Caine said.

Peter stirred on the bed. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. The room was unfamiliar, but the furniture was his bedroom furniture from the apartment he shared with Kelly. He looked between the two men, the only two people in the world he wanted to see more than his girlfriend. "Is this real?"

Caine rose to his feet and sat on the edge of the bed. "Yes." He said simply, the depth of his emotion plain on his face.

"Welcome back, son," Paul said.

Peter pulled them both in close and held on for dear life. "I love you both so much." He said, then pulled back "I - I can't stay. If I don't go back they'll hurt Mom and the girls."

"Your mother and sisters aren't even in town," Paul said. "I sent them away when things started to get crazy out there. They're safe, and so are you."

"You will not go back," Caine said firmly.

"I don't want to, that's for sure."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Paul asked.

Peter pushed himself up against the headboard and folded his legs under the sheets. He put his hands in his lap. He told them everything that had happened. "Then she said she'd had lunch with you, Paul, and I knew then that she could get to anyone anywhere."

"Peter," He said "she promised that she'd leave your family alone if you didn't give her any grief. Did you?"

Peter shook his head "Not after that."

"She lied, Son. Going back won't protect anyone. This morning your father and I were sitting in a cafe in Chinatown. A member of the cult tried to gun us down. If I hadn't been wearing my vest he would have succeeded."

Peter blanched.

"You cannot blame yourself for what others do," Caine said. "Paul is right. They would seek to harm us regardless of your actions."

"Then they'll keep coming no matter what I do," Peter said.

"Is Nag still in your mind?" Caine asked.

"Not actively. I guess I'm too far away from the statue. I could tell when they moved it from the Gray Industries complex because I couldn't feel him as strongly anymore. But it…bonded with me when I was in … in the dark."

"We will break this bond, my son. You will be free of it."

Peter shook his head "No. As long as it's bound to me, they can't put someone else through that nightmare. Besides, it said it likes me. Which means if given a choice, even if you were to break the bond I'd be the one it's going to want."

"Then we will have to destroy it," Caine said.

"And put Miranda Gray behind bars," Paul said.

"It'll never happen," Peter said. "They're too powerful and don't think for a minute that she's afraid of law enforcement. I don't think she's afraid of anything."

"Well, it's mutual, I'm not afraid of her," Paul said.

"You should be," Peter said. "I don't think she's entirely human. I think Nagaina has been inside her so long she doesn't even think like a human being anymore. She can throw me around like a rag doll. She's physically stronger than she should be."

"Let us try to fix this, Peter," Paul said. "Stay here with your father until we sort this out. I'll have a devil of a time keeping your mother out of town when I tell her that you're back with us. But she'd never forgive me, or herself, if you went and gave yourself back to that cult."

Peter nodded "Okay. I need to see Kelly." He frowned seeing the look that passed between his fathers. "What's happened to her?"

"Nothing has happened to her." Caine said "She … could not face the uncertainty any longer. Her heart could not accept that you were suffering and she chose to believe that you had passed."

"She moved out of the apartment and turned in her resignation. I don't know where she's gone. I'm sorry Peter."

Peter closed his eyes and sighed "Yeah I guess I can't blame her for thinking I was never coming back. I didn't think I was either. So where are we?"

"A boarding house on the edge of Chinatown. I needed someplace larger than The Ancient's apartment to house the priests, Those who survived the destruction of the temple answered our call when they learned you were in danger."

"They did?" He asked, genuinely stunned. "God, Lo Si… I'm so sorry Pop. They told me he'd been killed."

"Killed? No, Peter, He is very much alive. It was touch and go, and if we had not found the antivenin in time he would have died, but he is alive."

"I thought -" Peter rested his head against the headboard.

"I think there have been enough shocks for one day and you need to rest," Paul said. "I am going to go home and shower, and call your mother. I'll be back first thing in the morning before I go back to the trenches. " He pulled Peter into a tight hug. "I am so glad to have you back, Son. I love you."

"I love you too."

Peter watched his foster father leave and sat in silence for several minutes. "Did ahm… did we talk while I was gone?"

"Yes."

"I was never sure if that was a dream or real. I'm sorry for the things I said. I didn't mean them."

"You were frightened and angry. You have nothing to be sorry for. I am sorry that I left the way I did."

" I had accepted what they were going to do to me. This doesn't feel real yet, and I don't know what to do, Dad."

"You heal, and you rest." He said "I will be here in this room while you sleep. You are safe."

"It's not me I'm worried about."