Chapter Twenty-one

An Island

Rubeus had walked the beach over and over again, waiting. They had not given him a time, just told him to be there until the Pirates returned. In his pocket, he carried a necklace and a ring that he had to place on two Vampires when they arrived. He had thought several times about leaving because he was thirsty and had not thought to bring something to drink, and now his gut was rumbling. The afternoon had grown long and even hotter, and lunch was a long time ago. Sweat had poured down his huge body, and he was exhausted.

Were they not coming today? He was sure Dumbledore had told him it was today, but could he have somehow confused the message? Could it be tomorrow? He had been arguing with himself and had told himself he had made a mistake and vowed to leave as soon as the sun had gone down (Vampires should not be in any danger after dark) when numerous, shrill screams suddenly assaulted his ears. He looked up just in time to see the sky become darkened and loaded with falling bodies that immediately began dropping all around him. He side-stepped several of them only to have something heavy fall upon him and knock him to the ground. He pushed it off of him and looked at . . . a donkey! What was a donkey doing here!

The donkey was looking at him. "Thanks, man, for breaking my fall!" Rubeus fainted, and Will screamed as the Giant fell on top of him.

"What's the matter with him?" Eddie asked, looking at the strange Giant dressed in enormous human clothing. "Somebody help me get him off of Will before he squashes him!"

The Court Room

Jack had just turned to look at Will's face to judge his reaction against the way he had been acting when, before his startled eyes, his family disappeared! His hand went immediately to where his sword should have been as he turned to face Drell, angry sparks shooting from his eyes. "WHERE ARE THEY!" he demanded even as he realized his sword was not hanging by his side as it should be and that he was what weaponless. He had had enough! If they thought they could take his family from him that easily, he had another thing to show them! Ol' crazy Jack would now truly become insane Jack and go berserk on Drell! He leaped toward the dai before Drell had a chance to react. His hand caught the bottom of the dai, and he began to pull himself up.

"CALM YOURSELF, SPARROW!" Drell demanded. "THOSE WHO ARE NO LONGER HERE WERE NO LONGER NEEDED AND WERE THEREFORE RETURNED FROM WHENCE YOUR LOT CAME FROM! NOT THAT I NEED EXPLAIN MYSELF TO YOU!" he added haughtily. He had jumped to his feet and snatched his wand from his robes. He had it raised to attack Jack should the Pirate continue his climb when a fireball sailed just past his face.

"I WILL NAE MISS AGAIN, YE BLOODY FAT BASTARD! RETURN ME CAPTAIN TAE ME OR YE'LL NAE BE SIMPLY A POMPOUS ASS ANY LONGER BUT A ROASTED POMPOUS ASS!" Both of Kathleen O'Hara's hands were raised, and fire blazed from her hands and flickered in her emerald eyes.

"Kathleen, calm yourself!" Charles exclaimed. "He speaks the truth!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, XAVIER! I'M DONE LISTENIN' TAE YER LIES!" She tossed a fireball in the Wizard's direction, and he hit the floor. The fireball passed over him so close it singed his robes.

As Charles was now under attack, thunder blasted through the room and lightning shot toward Kat. "Leave him alone, or by the Goddess, I will be your undoing, woman!"

Ace had already hit the floor. It was the only true safe place when Kat went ballistic with her fireballs. He looked around. Where the Hell was Clyde! Now he knew which Captain Kat was bellowing about, because both Captain and Clyde were missing! He knew she was not worried about the people. Not even he meant as much to her as that old, mangy cat! He could not believe that she had lobbed a fireball at Charles and had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing at the Wizard's reaction even as fire and lightning filled the room!

An Island

Clark had still been trying to tell himself that everything was going to be okay despite Lex standing for Joseph and that they would somehow, by some miracle, find a way to work things out when he had found himself falling. He'd somehow managed to catch himself in mid-air and had maneuvered around to land on his feet instead. He'd just started to look around when yelling and braying called his attention to Donkey who was prancing around something big. Clark looked puzzedly at the object, but it was only as he drew close that he was able to make out a . . . A Giant! His eyes widened, and then he heard muffled yelling. "Donkey, what's going on?"

"I scared the Giant, and he fainted right on top of Will! Will's down there!"

Looking down, Clark observed the situation . . . and noted a bit of dress poking out from underneath the Giant. "Something tells me he's not the only one." He knelt beside the mountain of a man and began to try to pick him up. "Fall back," he warned Eddie.

"Fall? Not me!" Eddie stated as he scrabbled backward.

Clark started to explain himself but stopped when he saw that Donkey was backing up nonetheless. Mustering all his strength, Clark finally managed to lift the Giant just enough that Will rolled out from under him, bringing Elizabeth with him. Both landed on the ground inches out from underneath the Giant just as Clark lost his hold and the Giant hit the ground again. He looked at where Will and Elizabeth lay, breathing hard. "Are you two all right?"

Eddie raced back up to Will and began sniffing him all over. His eyes rolled backward every time he saw the Giant. "Come on, Will! Get up, Will! You are all right, aren't you! What we gonna do with the Giant! Elizabeth, get up, Elizabeth!" He nuzzled her now.

Will's body was filled with pain, and he felt as though he'd been crushed. Still, all he could think was that he had to find a way to stop Jack from standing for Minerva, restore his senses to him, and somehow save his beloved. "Jack," he moaned as he struggled to sit up only to fall back down again.

Fresh screams suddenly filled the air, and Clark's head shot up. He looked first at Cordelia, whose screams were the shrillest, and watched her run toward . . . Angel! Dear Gods, Angel was on fire!

The Court Room

Jack continued his climb until the fireballs began to fly. He let go and dropped to the floor that seemed so far below. He knew better than to get between Kat and what she was aiming at. "You say you returned them from whence they came. Does that mean that they returned to the island?" he asked hopefully. He could not bare the thought that they had returned to the Piratess ships they had been on the day before.

Wolf crept over to help Jack get away from Kat's fireballs and Ororo's lightning bolts which now seemed to fill the room. One of the fireballs hit him in the tail, and he howled at the top of his lungs. "Wolf!" Jack asked in concern.

"MY BEAUTIFUL TAIL!" he wailed as he desperately tried to beat the fire out.

Jareth flew over beside Wolf and started helping him to put the fire out while Jack stood and called to his mother. "MOM, PLEASE! A LITTLE RAIN DOWN HERE? WOLF IS BURNING UP!" he pleaded. His voice could barely be heard over the cacophony in the room.

Jack's answer came not in a light rain but in a pouring of rain that pelted throughout the room. As fireballs struck all over the place, setting the court room to fire and barely missing the dodging Council members, Ororo's storm also continued to rage. Her lightning was directed at both the evil members of the Council and Kat, but her rain fell hard throughout the room, already beginning to extinguish the fires that Kat had started. Magnus, meanwhile, ran for Charles while others ran for cover and still others turned slowly where they stood, looking all around at the chaos and trying to figure out what was happening.

Of those who looked around, two saw the man who headed for Kat, and they reacted simultaneously, each running from their different spots in the room. Zora leapt in a streak of black and orange and knocked the cane from the magician's hands. It struck the floor and skidded across the slick surface. She turned back, growling savagely and her tail striking the air, but was a second too slow in her second attack. Another woman jumped him from behind, her hands going for his neck. "Try to stop me, will ya, ya fucking bastard! I'll break your damn neck!"

"OUR BOYS!" Smee wailed. "OUR BOYS ARE GONE! THEY TOOK THEM!"

Vang didn't bother to try to comfort Smee this time; instead, he headed after Zora before she could land in even deeper trouble.

In the midst of chaos, Captain Pryde tried to remain a voice of reason. She had grabbed hold of Sean, Emma, and Kurt and phased them with her so that the lightning and fire did not endanger them. She looked at Sean with rain going right through her face and called out to her people over the roar of activity. "I HATE THIS JUST AS MUCH AS YOU GUYS DO, BUT I DON'T THINK CHARLES WOULD LIE!" Lex stood dumb-founded at the chaos going on around him. Clark would love to see this, he thought, and get his hands into it! He wasn't sure which way to go, and then he saw Faith on Jafar. The cane! he thought. If I can get that cane from him, he will lose his powers! Jack will know what to do with them! He moved closer to Faith and Jafar, hoping that he'd get a chance to snatch the cane, but he didn't see the cane in Jafar's hands. Where was it! His quick eyes searched the floor and came to rest on the cane that had skidded to a stop against one of the walls. He raced for it and picked it up. It seemed to send shocks to his arm. He pointed it towards Jafar just as the cobra's eyes sparked, sending the sparks straight at Jafar.

Jafar had been fighting against Faith, his hands attempting to break her hold on his neck, when the glow of the cobra's eyes caught his gaze. He looked without meaning to and was immediately stilled. "Good shot!" Faith called to Lex even as she continued to squeeze Jafar's neck.

"ENOUGH OF THIS MADNESS!" The bold voice thundered through the room along with a new rush of winds that put out the remainder of the fires throughout the room.

An Island

Angel beat frantically at himself even as his eyes hunted for shelter and could not find any. He was running blind in his search, and as he ran, the flames licked at him even harder, forcing screams from him. The pain, dear Gods, was so excruciating! He feared he would black out before he could find cover. He felt hands beat at him, but he did not stop.

Angel was not the only one on the run. Spike also was running in a mad search for something to hide him from the sun. He longed for his duster and ached for Kyna, but he was on his own. Screams, yells, howls, roars, and coos surrounded the Vampires as did the hands of their allies trying to desperately beat out the flames. Those who knew they were Vampires understood exactly what the problem was, but all tried to help.

"Stop, droll, and roll!" Phoebe called out.

"That's not going to work!" Cordelia cried worriedly. "The sun's doing it to him!"

"How?" another asked.

"They're allergic to the sun!"

"They need shelter!"

"There's some trees up ahead - "

"That's not going to be enough!"

"Why do they need shelter again?" Jasmine's question brought frustrated exclamations but no answers to her.

"Prue, do you see anything anywhere? Maybe with your telekinesis, you could -- " Piper's words broke off into a shocked squeal as something shot out in front of her, blocking her from the Vampires.

Morph and Tom stretched their bodies, circling around the Vampires and coming up above them to put their own flesh and fur between them and the sun. They now had them covered, but what to do about the fire? Others dashed in from the small opening that the two men had left, and their hands beat frantically at the burning men.

The Court Room

"THE HELL IT'S ENOUGH! YE CAN TRY TAE STOP ME ALL YE WANT, YE DECREPT, OL' WIZARD, BUT IT DIN'T MEAN YE'LL GET ANYWHERE!" Kat threw a new pair of fireballs at Merlin but was then knocked to the floor by a lion. She glowered up at the big cat, whose tail struck the air.

"Will you attack me, as well, Kathleen O'Hara?" the lion asked, his voice calm despite the harried circumstances. Kat's eyes burned with fury, but she did not answer and made no further move to attack.

Ace breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that Wolf's tail was now out of fire and that Kat was laying still under Aslan's paws. He knew that there was no way Kat would ever attack Aslan. He had also known that the fight was inevitable. It had just been waiting for the right moment.

Lex immediately threw the cane to Jack, calling his Captain's name. Jack looked up and caught it just in time but held it as though he was holding a life snake. He didn't want the cane. He kept his eyes adverted away from the hated thing even as he held it at arm's length, wondering what he was supposed to do with the thing. Maybe Jareth could handle it? "Jareth?" he called hopefully only to see Jareth shake his head.

"I don't want that thing!" Jareth told him. "It's evil magic! Merlin?" Jareth asked hopefully. "How best to handle this instrument?" Out of all the ones that had been up in the dais, Jareth believed in him the most.

Merlin held out his hand, and the cane flew from Jack's hand into his grip. "Perhaps," Merlin observed dryly with a pointed look at Drell and those cowering around him, "we should have warned your group that the others were about to be returned, but others did not see the need to do so. I apologize for the unnecessary spook, but Charles . . . " His gaze went to where Magnus was carefully helping Charles to his feet, the same spot that Ororo was now flying to. " . . . speaks the truth. They are safe upon the island. We never would have returned them to those other ships, Captain Sparrow, even if they still existed. Aslan," he requested calmly, "will you let Miss O'Hara know we speak the truth?"

"They do indeed, my dear girl," Aslan told Kat, who was slowly relaxing underneath him. His eyes looked intently into hers. "You should know that I would never allow Captain, Clyde, or any other animal to be harmed as long as I have a say in the matter. They are fine upon the island, and you will be allowed to rejoin them as soon as the trials have completed, but not before."

Salem crawled out from behind James Hook and pretended that he hadn't really been hiding. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Faith and walked over to her. "You can let him go now," he told her. "It will be a while before he's able to do anything." He gazed into her eyes. "Faith?" It was as though the girl was a million miles away, and he wasn't really sure how to get her off of Jafar. He heard Lex move closer to Faith, and then he heard Lex talking to Faith.

"Let him go, little sister. He's not able to do anything more to hurt us." His hand reached out and gently touched Faith's shoulder.

Faith was intent upon her goal, however, and their words washed over her ears as she listened for the tell-tale crack of Jafar's neck. A long shadow fell across Lex, and Salem looked up with a nervous gulp. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that Gandalf was not out for attack. "You will not be able to break his neck, Faith. We will not allow it. No matter how hard you strain, your hands will do no further damage to him."

Faith heard the Wizard's words and finally realized why squeezing Jafar's neck had become akin to squeezing a stone. "Fuck," she muttered and finally let go of him. Landing on her feet, she kicked Jafar in the rear for good measure. The kick sent him sprawling, and she turned to glare at Gandalf.

An Island

Amidst all the uproar, Rubeus sat up. "Damn! Dumbledore's gonna have my hide!" His voice rumbled to them as loud as thunder. "This was just what I was s'posed to prevent!" He gazed worriedly under the canopy.

Xena stepped forward, sword raised and pointed at the Giant. "Who are you, and who sent you?" Her hands were burned where she had beat the flames on her friends. "What do you want?" She did not lower her sword, whose return she was endlessly thankful for.

Rubeus held one big hand out to ward the woman off. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to be here to bring these to the Vampires." His other hand reached into his pocket and brought out the necklace and ring.

Xena looked at what the Giant held. "That's Angel's necklace," she stated. "How did you come to have it?" She did not recognize the ring.

"Like I said," Rubeus told her patiently, "Dumbledore's gonna be mad. I didn't know what time to get here, and I damn sure wasn't expecting a talking donkey! I guess the heat got to me, caused me to faint and think that the donkey was talking."

"No, we have a talking donkey," Xena told him with a wry grin. "His name's Eddie. Can I have those?" she asked, indicating the jewelry.

When Rubeus held his hand to where she could get the jewelry, she lowered her sword but still kept a wary eye on him. She carried the jewelry over to where the smoldering men lay and then slipped the necklace on Angel. "I guess this one was for you," she told Spike, took his burned hand in hers, and slipped the ring gently upon his finger. "Katrina?" she called. "Can you do something to help our friends?"

"With pleasure," she told her. "Celina?" she asked her sister. Katrina moved to Angel and touched him. Kneeling beside Cordelia, who was still weeping, she began to heal him.

Celina moved wordlessly up to Spike, knelt beside him, and touched her hands to him. She bent her head, spoke a silent prayer to Bast, and began the healing spell. Like the others, she had been at a lost as to how to save Angel and Spike, and she had been astonished and amazed that her husband and brother-in-law had come up with a plan all their own and acted so swiftly. She thanked Bast yet again for both of them and their quick, witty minds.

Cordelia watched through her tears as Katrina began to work on Angel, and she found herself praying to the Goddess Aphrodite to heal Angel. She remained beside his head, as close as she could get to him, but dared not touch him for fear that she might somehow interfere with the spell. Like the others, her hands were burned badly, but she did not give them a thought. She felt a hand upon her shoulder and looked up through her tears to see Lorne standing beside her with Blue hovering in the air just behind him and Elvira and Cindy standing near as well. Lorne nodded at her, and she knew then that Katrina's healing would work. She looked back down at Angel and waited and prayed.

In the midst of strangers, Rachel watched the scene unfold. No wonder Kitty had come to like these people so much, she thought, but what kind of allergy could these men have that allowed the sun to set them on fire? She recalled stories that both Cable and Kitty had told her and realized that they must be Vampires. Good Vampires! She marvelled at that thought. She heard Jasmine calling from the back of the crowd and asking what was going on and growled to herself. For a bit with a pretty face, she was definitely lacking a brain!

Cordelia glanced up at the sound of Jasmine's voice, a sound that was steadily becoming more annoying, and found herself not looking at Jasmine but rather at Connor and Frederic, who both looked scared. Connor appeared as scared as she was, and she thought the boy might even be crying. She held her arm out over Angel's body and opened her hand to the lad.

Connor looked across his father's body and smiled gratefully at Cordelia even as he reached out and took her hand. It felt so wonderful to have some one that cared! He knew he was lucky. Now he had three fathers and a mother even though Cordelia did not seem to be much older than he himself. He could scarcely believe that his new mother was a Princess! She certainly didn't act like any he had ever heard of.

He also smiled at Katrina even though he knew she was not aware of him, thankful that she was able to work on his father and heal him. Angel was beginning to look like his true self now instead of a black, smoldering shell of a man. He glanced over at his uncle and was relieved to see that he, too, was returning to his normal self. He didn't speak. He did not want to disturb the concentration, but one day, he vowed, he'd find a way to thank Katrina, who, by the way, was now also part of his family. His mind marvelled at that turn of events. He looked around for Zora and was shocked when he did not see her familiar face nor did he see Vang. His fathers were not there! Where was every one, and where were they! It was not very many of them under the canopy. They must be out there hiding somewhere; he just couldn't see them. He'd look for them later.

Lorne looked anxiously on while Angel was returning to his normal self. He knew Katrina could heal him, and it wasn't that he was worried that Angel might not recover. It was simply that a lot of time seemed to have passed since he had last seen Crystal, and he was worried about getting away from the Princess and the babies. They couldn't come with Angel and him; it would be far too dangerous for them. He knelt quietly beside them and waited, marvelling at how close Cindy had come to him and yet had not taken a bite out of him and was keeping Elvira between him and her. Was she getting over her hatred of men, or was she simply just tolerating him because, like herself, he belonged to Crys? Blue had finally settled on his shoulder and was now keeping a restless vigil.

Blue leaned forward and gently pecked at something around Lorne's neck. Lorne reached for the same spot, wondering what it could be to draw the little dragon's attention, and found a chain. Who had put this on him? he wondered, and his hand continued down the chain until it came to the amulet. He lifted it and gave a surprised gasp. Oh no! Crys, you didn't! he moaned to himself. He knew it was her only protection, and she had given it to him. He needed nothing further to tell him her intentions.

Blue cooed, and Lorne looked into the dragon's eyes. Their eyes wore the same worried expression, and for the first time, the two males needed no words to understand exactly what the other was thinking. They had to get to Crys and fast!

Seeing that Angel and Spike were now well on the way to being well again, Delvira slipped out of the makeshift canopy. She was passed by a blonde female she thought she'd seen aboard Destiny's Ghost and knew her sister was following her. Once outside, Elvira started to walk beside Delvira as they passed Jasmine standing with two cute men, both of whom were ignoring her completely and trying desperately to see inside the canopy. Delvira thought she recognized the guys also as members of the Ghost and figured they were straining to catch sight of the blonde woman and their First Mate to see how things were progressing. "Spike's coming along," she told them without slowing. "He should be well again soon."

"Did you see Trina?" the blonde man asked.

"Trina? Oh. That's right. You're Trent, aren't you? And she's your sister?" At the man's quick nods, Delvira assured him, "I think she was headed to check on Spike as we left. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see if I can figure out where we are. You two might want to look for your Captain. Have you seen Jareth?"

"Or Wolf?" Elvira queried. Gonk whined, and she reached down to pet him without ever thinking the poodle might be trying to tell her something.

The men shook their heads, and the sisters moved on. Piper watched them go before turning to her sisters. "Has any one seen Auntie 'Ro or Cole? I lost track of both with everything that's been going on." She frowned worriedly. She knew Cole was fine. She'd seen him since landing, but she hadn't seen Ororo since they'd been apparently tossed out of the court room. That thought worried her even more. They'd been bent on trying Salem and his people and keeping them there for that, so why had they suddenly been tossed out of the court room and where were they?

Cole suddenly appeared beside Piper and slipped his arms around her. "Only part of us are here, darling. I've been trying to locate the others, and I can't. But guess where we are?" he whispered so that only her ears could hear. He waited for her reply.

Piper leaned into Cole's embrace, enjoying the comforting feeling of his arms around her and his manly scent. She whispered in turn to him. "I don't know where we are, love, but I know there are some missing. Auntie 'Ro's among them. Do you know where we are? And why are we whispering?"

Prue had been sitting on the sand not too far from Piper. She could hear Cole talking but not make out what he was saying. Her eyes never left Brendan, who was pulled away from every one else, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air. She did not try to approach him although she longed to reach out and touch him and would have tried it despite the fact that she knew he would have run if she had dared to approach him. Why were there so many of them missing? she wondered. She couldn't see Jack, Auntie 'Ro, . . . James Hook . . . She started going over in her mind those who she didn't see and realized that they must still be at the trial, so just where the Hell were they at now?

Her eyes went to the giant man, and she wondered what role he was to play. It seemed to be something important, because he was still there after having delivered the necklace and ring to the Vampires. She kept watching, hoping that the others would soon show up. She was tired beyond being tired, too exhausted for her mind to think clearly, and longing for home. Where was home? she wondered, losing track of the conversation floating around her and missing Phoebe's and Paige's demands as to what was so all-fired secretive that Cole and Piper were having to whisper about it.

Something wasn't right but very, very, very wrong. Jack wasn't here nor was Prue's godmother, Ororo. Faith, Salem, and Lex were also missing as was Wolf, Jareth, Hook, Smee, Vang, Zora, Kyna . . . The list went on and on. Where were they, and where was here? The place smelled familiar, but he just hadn't been able to pinpoint it yet. He continued to sniff the air, trying to locate Jack's scent. He walked past where Delvira and Elvira were talking and examining some sort of portal that hung in the otherwise-empty air and past several different groups of people talking about the same things that he was wondering and worrying about. He continued on, sniffing the air for Jack as he walked, and still not finding any leads until he almost fell upon Elizabeth. He stumbled in the sand but caught himself.

Brendan sniffed the air again and finally caught a whiff of Jack's scent. Looking down at where Will and Elizabeth lay, groaning miserably, Brendan began to lower himself toward the sand. He sniffed around Elizabeth first and then moved toward Will. "Brendan . . . " the blonde called, " . . . what . . . What's going on?"

Brendan was about to answer her when a fist came flying and plowed directly into his nose. He fell back onto his rear with a sharp exclamation and held his nose. He looked at Will, who was suddenly sitting up and glaring at him. "If you're going to be snacking, go and find some one else! You're not having Elizabeth or me!"

Brendan stared at Will in shock. Then a deep sadness filled his eyes. Without a word, he stood and began to walk away. His pace quickened to a sprint and then to a run. He knew Will was right. Every second he spent around his family was another second he jeopardized their lives.

"William Turner!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "How could you? He's Jack's brother!"

"I know, Elizabeth, but he's also a Werewolf! You felt him sniffing of you!"

"I know. I was going to ask him what he was smelling for."

"Food, Elizabeth; food! He's a Werewolf!"

Trina had walked past those leaving the canopy to reach Spike. She had knelt beside him without saying a word and remained there now, keeping him company and wondering where Kyna was and why she wasn't with the man she loved. Thoughts of their union made Trina remember Andrew, and her heart again ached. She held her emotions stubbornly in check and ran a hand through her long, blonde hair. She'd let it all out eventually -- eventually when they were safe again, eventually when all this chaos had passed, eventually when she could afford the risk of opening up and . . . and crying.

"Sis?" Trent's voice as he stepped just inside the canopy was gentle and prodding but not pushy.

She looked up at him and could make Carlos' shadow out from where their best friend stood just outside. "I'm all right, Trent. I'm just keeping watch over Spike. Go on out and see if you can find Kyna. She should be here."

Trent nodded though he knew Trina wasn't all right and ducked back outside. She watched his shadow and Carlos' as the two held a whispered exchange before heading off to see if they could find Kyna. She sighed, and her blue eyes dropped back to Spike's face. He was only a shade paler than his usual now. It wouldn't be much longer at all, but she'd hold up here as long as she could. Hopefully, by the time she had to step outside again, she would have succeeded in pushing all thoughts of Andrew to the side once more. "Come on back," she whispered to Spike, her voice trembly from all the emotions that ran through her. "We need our First Mate."

Celina's eyes opened a moment, and as she continued the healing spell, she watched Trina silently. The other woman was in a great deal of pain right now, and Celina quickly came to the conclusion that Trina must have lost her own beloved the night before. The reminder that there had been those who had not been able to be saved pained Celina's heart even more, and she promised to say a prayer for them after she was done healing. First, however, she had to finish healing Spike, and then she had to heal those who had helped to beat out his flames, including Trina.

Rachel had left the canopy in search of Kitty but saw her nowhere. It took her a while before she caught sight of any one she felt even partially comfortable approaching, and when she finally did, he was standing by himself and also appeared to be looking for some one. "Seen Kitty anywhere?" she called to Wolverine.

Prue had been following one step behind Brendan. What was he looking for? she wondered. Then, when he zeroed in on Will, she realized he was hunting Jack. Before she could say anything, Will had struck, and Brendan had ran! She flashed an angry look at Will and told him, "You're wrong, Will! He didn't want to eat you or Elizabeth! He's looking for Jack!"

She didn't say anything else but followed behind Brendan. She wished there was something she could do to help the situation between Will and Brendan. She knew that Will had Brendan all wrong and only hoped that she would be there the next time that Will tried to kill Brendan so that she could stop him. That one brief moment of looking at Will cost Prue. She had no idea as to where Brendan had run to. She made her way slowly back to where Piper now stood still within Cole's embrace. She looked intently at Piper before saying, "Oh, if only we were home!"

Piper took one look at her sister and knew immediately that something had happened to make the situation even worse than what it had already been. "Prue," she asked without hesitation, "what happened?"

"Will hates Brendan. He thinks he wants to eat him, and Brendan would never do that." She sighed wistfully as she sat back down on the sand.

"We are home, Prue," Cole told her. "Just over that rise is the house."

Prue immediately jumped to her feet. "Then let's go home!"

Though Phoebe and Paige had jumped up, as well, and were happily and quickly agreeing with Prue, Piper held out a hand to still her sisters. "Not so fast. We still don't know what's going on here, and we don't know what's happened at the house while we've been gone. Prue, Brendan ran off, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. He whimpered when Will hit him, and I don't know where he's run to."

Cole looked at Piper. "The house is fine. The Wizards did a good job. I'll go find Brendan. Y'all, start home." He leaned down and kissed Piper. "Welcome home, darling."

Piper returned Cole's kiss, and as they slowly parted, gazing into each other's eyes, she whispered to him, "Be safe, love, and don't forget the dinosaurs." He hadn't even left yet, and she was already worried about him. But she had to take care of the situation here with her sisters and Cole was a big, strong, and intelligent man who had taken care of himself long before she had ever come along. She turned to look around at the others. There was so much talking going on that it would take her shouting more loudly than she felt capable of doing right now to get their attention. "Carl, cover your ears." Putting two fingers into her mouth, Piper whistled sharply, using a method that her mother had often used to calm her sisters and make them sit down and behave.

Chong had not been paying much attention to anything around them. He had been too intent on trying to get Hansel's mind off of Derek. It had not worked. Somehow, the word "home" finally struck Chong's ears. "We're home?" he sat up, his nose twitching. Food! Maybe that will reach Hansel! Hansel had always loved his cooking. He then realized that he was still naked and that he would have to get clothes on before cooking. "Come on, Hansel; we'll go to my room!"

Hansel only sobbed even louder when Chong pulled away from him. "DEREK!" he cried. "I WANT DEREK! I ONLY WANT TO GO WHERE HE IS!"

Unseen by the others, a male sighed deeply, and the wings on his back shifted. He had been watching this couple for years, far before Hansel had ever fallen for Derek. He didn't like Chong or his cooking. Chinese always made him have to go to the throne room, and he'd came to detest the entire Chinese race because of what their food did to his system. Not that he should be eating it any way, being a God, but that didn't matter to him. Still, as much as he hated Chinese, he thought he knew what he needed to do now with the Chinese man and the one who had been his before he'd made him fall in love with another man. The male selected an arrow and strung it into his bow. He took careful aim and then let the arrow fly.

"Well, you need to come with me for now," Chong told him. "I need to get dressed so that I can cook dinner." He reached down, taking Hansel's hand and trying to pull him up. When Piper's whistle had gone off, Chong's eyes went to her.

Rubeus looked at Piper strangely. How could such a huge sound come out of such a mighty little woman? Had some one said something about food? His stomach rumbled, and a few sets of eyes looked toward the sky for signs of rain.

The shrill whistle brought immediate attention from Rogue, who had been standing beside Kennedy and supporting her. "Kenn, come with me, an' let's find out what's goin' on," she told her. Holding firmly to the girl, she led her over to Piper.

Autolycus had made his way over to Elizabeth's side. He had not seen the Giant sit on her and thought that Donkey had sat on her again. He had been about to call Eddie when Piper's whistle had erupted. Instead, he leaned down and assisted Elizabeth to get to her feet. When he saw that she could not stand on her own, he scooped her up, carried her into the canopy, and laid her beside Angel so that Katrina could work on her next.

Xena had been watching Autolycus, seen him pick up Elizabeth, and carry her under the canopy. She then went over and looked at Will. "Do you need a doctor?"

Will looked at Xena, and though she meant well, her words about a doctor made his mind immediately jump to the being who served as the Black Pearl's doctor. "I don't need Brendan," he ground out despite the pain and renewed his struggle to get up. "Where did Autolycus take Elizabeth? She needs a healer."

"You need a healer, too, my friend," she said as she assisted him to his feet. "I'll take you where Elizabeth is. Lean on me." She began to lead Will toward the canopy.

Will limped along beside Xena, relying on her strength more than he would have cared to admit, but did not argue with her. He thought back to Prue and shook his head sadly. If he didn't find a way to take care of Brendan, he would be the end of all those Will held dear, and he just couldn't let that happen, no matter how much he had the others fooled or how greatly Jack might hate him for handling the nightmarish situation. At least Jack hadn't seen what had happened, but where was Jack? Will's mind flashed back to the court room, and fear welled in his heart. Had they taken him! "Xena, where's Jack?"

"They're not here," Xena told Will. "They kept them and threw us out. We can't get them back. We don't even know where they're at." She half-smiled at Will. "That won't stop Jack. Once he finds a way out, he'll be back. They'll regret they ever held him! And Faith too. Once they turn her aloose, may the Gods help them!" She eased him down to lay beside Elizabeth. She noticed that Celina and Katrina had moved on to others and were healing their hands and that Angel and Spike were now sitting up. "How are you?" she asked Angel.

"I've been better. Thank Gods for family!" Angel was now looking at a pair of legs that were bigger than anything he'd ever seen before except for the Giants they had fought two days before. "Who's that?" he asked Xena in a raspy voice.

"That is one of Dumbledore's." What had he said his name was? She couldn't remember. "He brought your necklace and Spike's ring. He's a friend."

Spike looked at Xena. "Did some one say we're home? Is this your island, and who is that?" he asked, looking up at the canopy.

"That is Morph and Tom, two of our finest." She smiled at Spike.

"Thanks, guys, for saving our lives! You can come down now!"

"And yes, we're home," Xena said, looking at Angel.

"Thank the Gods!" Angel replied. "Now to get our people back!"

The others drew closer to Piper to find out what was going on. Wolverine even turned startled eyes upon Piper. He looked at Ray and blinked once as though the daylight was so strong. "They're all gone. 'Ro, Kitty, Jack, even that blue Demon Kitty's in love with . . . I don't smell 'em anywhere." He felt his age more than anything. "I'll never see my 'Ro again!" His heart-broken voice wailed out.

Rachel had not expected to find Wolverine on the verge of breaking down, but she could tell that that was exactly what was happening. She quickly closed the distance between them and put her hands firmly yet gently and reassuringly upon his shoulders. "Look at me, Wolverine. Look into my eyes. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I know you love Ororo. You might freak out at me for this, but I love your daughter and, come Hell or high water, wherever they are, whatever's happened to them, I'm not going to stop until I get Kitty back. And when I get Kitty back, we'll get the others back, too. We just have to find out what's going on first. Are you with me?"

Logan took a step backward and looked at Rachel in surprise. "I thought I smelled that on ya. I'm glad that ya love Kitty. I wish I knew what to do to help ya with yer problem. I know ya think ya should take yerself totally out o' the scene, but you're wrong. Kitty loves you, too, just not in the way ya want." Wolverine had never thought much about it one way or the other until he had been confronted with Jack and Will. Now he found that his mind was open to the possibilities. He would never tell Ray that it was wrong for her to love Kitty.

"Thank the Goddess you're not like yer father! An' thank ya fer bein' here fer me. I wish we could be there with 'em to help 'em, but all we can do is wait fer now. An' Hell no, girl, I ain't got no patience fer waitin', but I don't know which direction to go." He turned to look at Piper. "Well, what is it, girl? Spit it out." He did not shrug Ray's hand off of his shoulder but took comfort from it.

Nearby, but unable to get to his feet, Wesley groaned. The pain that racked his body continued to grow and make him throw up! He was so weak that he was not even able to cry out for help! When the retching finally stopped, he curled up and tried to listen to what was being said. Most of it didn't make sense. Piper's ear-piercing whistle drew his attention to her, and he reached out one hand toward her just as he passed out.

To Be Continued . . .