Chapter Twenty-two

Not Just Any Island . . .

"Si, senorita," another voice added from behind and slightly to the right of Piper, who was watching Morph and Tom return to their normal bodies and take long, luxurious stretches. "We don't take too fondly to whistlers, even if they are pretty." The jaguars that flanked Roxanne growled their agreement while Theodora merely looked lost and confused.

"ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY, GATHER UP!" Piper called out. "I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO SHOUT TOO LOUDLY, BUT YOU ALL NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. WE'VE GOT SEVERAL SITUATIONS HERE. FOR ONE, NOT EVERYBODY'S HERE. WHO EXACTLY ARE WE MISSING?"

But as the others started to gather together around the Halliwell sister who had decided to take it upon herself to take charge, one voice called out quietly. "Chong?" Hansel blinked up at him through the tears that filled his eyes. "Chong? Is that really you?"

"Hansel, yes, it's me!" Chong said gently as he reached down to his friend. He wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Are you okay?" He was surprised at the change that had come over Hansel, who was no longer screaming for Derek.

"No. Yes. No." Hansel looked lost, afraid, and quite possibly even sadder than before, but there was a new light in his blue eyes that came from a spark of hope and a trembling smile upon his full lips. "I don't know," he said at last. "I don't know what in the Hell's been wrong with me." He gazed at Chong, feasting his eyes upon the visage before him and thinking over everything that had happened between them and between he and Derek over the last several years. Exactly how many years it had been he didn't know, but he did know that he had been wrong in pushing Chong away; that he had hurt him so gravely, so terribly that he might never forgive him; that he really didn't deserve Chong's forgiveness but wanted it more than anything else except for one thing; and that that one thing he now wanted, and wanted so much before, was probably an impossibility because of his own stupidity. "I've missed you," he said at last. "I've missed you so much!"

Chong's heart leaped with joy. He could not believe the words that were coming out of Hansel's mouth! He wanted to ask, 'What about Derek?', but didn't dare disturb the spell. Some one must have grown tired of hearing Hansel cry and put a spell on him! He mouthed a silent, "Thank you", to his benefactor. He lowered his hand to Hansel and pulled him gently upward. "I've missed you too!"

Several eyes were glancing toward him and then back to Piper. They didn't want to miss the show. Why was the China man still naked? Once that was realized, several pieces of clothing were thrown at him. "Put that on!" several voices piped in with different accents and different wordings as they threw the object. Still holding tightly to Hansel, Chong turned to look at Miss Piper. "Go ahead, Miss Piper. What's going on?" He made no effort to cover himself.

"Chong," Hansel hissed, grabbing a torn and tattered jacket that some one had tossed their way, "you're naked! Cover it up!" He didn't want any one else, let alone the whole world, seeing the stallion that seemed to whicker for his attention. He desperately tore his eyes away. He shouldn't be thinking such thoughts of some one he'd hurt so terribly! He had no right!

"Chong," Piper agreed, "please cover up. Phoebe, Paige, advert your eyes, or do I have to do it for you?"

"But, Piper, it's huge!"

"Phoebe!" Piper and Joxer cried simultaneously.

"But it is!" Paige added. "If I didn't have Carl, I'd want a ride!"

"Paige Halliwell!" Piper's face turned beet red, and Carl's reaction, asking her if she truly didn't since she had him, only made her shade turn even brighter.

Cole shimmered back in front of Piper, his hand firmly grasping Brendan's arm. He wasn't about to let the young man get away from him again. "Now that we're together," he emphasized, "we can all listen to Piper before heading out to . . . home." He let the word sink in before turning his eyes on Piper and wondering why she was so red. Had he missed something? He looked at Chong, who had finally found something to put on but didn't have it on yet.

As Piper hid her face behind her hand so that Cole would not see her embarrassment, the Latina whose rudeness reminded her of Faith called out a warning to Chong, who Piper could not believe seemed to be making absolutely no movement to get dressed. "If you do not cover that disgusting thing, you impudent male, I will cut it off!"

Chong looked at the garment he held. "It won't fit," he said. "I have clothes in my room." He did hide himself by holding it in front of him, however. He continued to hold tightly to Hansel lest he disappear on him. He could hardly wait to get him back to his room and show him just how much he had missed him!

Looking for a way to change the topic and get every one's minds back on the matter at hand, Gabrielle queried, "Did you say we're home?"

"Yes, we are home," Piper answered, "and the house has been checked out. It's safe."

"Then what are we doing here?" Jasmine asked.

"We still have several situations that must be addressed, and I doubt there's a single room big enough in the house to fit us all into it. Now, from what every one's said, it sounds to me like the ones who are missing are those who are being tried or are standing for those being tried. Unfortunately, if this is the case there's not much that can be done to help them yet, but perhaps those who are adept at such things as telepathy and . . . " She paused, searching for a word she seemed unable to retrieve. " . . . and using objects like crystal balls to watch others in other places can see if you can locate them once we are all in the safety of the house?"

"The house, as I've already said, has been checked out and is safe. We'll head there soon enough, and, forgive me for overstepping any boundaries here, but I do believe the Captains will agree that all those from Destiny's Ghost and the other rescuing ship are more than welcome there as are the others who were held captive aboard the enemy ships. Chong, after you get dressed, I want you in the kitchen. It's been a long time since any of us have eaten, and we need to prepare a meal. Which," she added, looking at the Giant who she had heard had been sent by Dumbledore, "if you're staying, you're welcome to partake in."

"But there are two other things I've noticed that I don't know if the rest of you have taken notice of or not. There's a portal right there," she pointed at the portal beside where Delvira, Elvira, and Gonk were staying.

"The portal's fine. Those who need it know what it's here for. I created it, so I should know," Delvira informed the crowd. "The rest of you, just stay clear of it."

"Okay, but does any one know anything about the mirror hanging in the air near the shoreline?" Piper asked, pointing toward it.

All eyes turned to look at the mirror, and Cole turned a paler shade of pale. "Jack got rid of that a long time ago!"

"No, he didn't," Angel told him, "but he did cover it. It went to the bottom of the ocean with the Pearl!"

"It's evil, pure evil!" Cole exclaimed. "Don't touch it!" Brendan, too, eyed the mirror with extreme apprehension. His eyes narrowed, and he paled. He reached out, without looking anywhere but at the mirror, and put a hand on Prue's shoulder. "Prue, get yourself and your sisters to the house, and don't let them leave there for anything!" His eyes were still glued to the mirror, where a green face was beginning to form.

Men and women screamed alike at the face that appeared in the mirror. "I resent that comment, Cole Turner."

Piper heard a thud beside her. "Joxxy!" Phoebe exclaimed, and Piper knew that Joxer had fainted.

Rubeus looked dubiously at the mirror. "Where'd you come from," he asked, his eyes growing big, "and who do you belong to?"

Cole looked intently at the green face before snatching Piper and shimmering, never realizing that he was still hanging onto Brendan. The minute they appeared in the house, both Piper and Brendan whirled on Cole. "Cole!"

When Cole looked at them as if to ask what he had done wrong, Piper exclaimed, "My sisters!"

Brendan almost shouted, "Prue!" His hand had left her shoulder a mere second before Cole had shimmered them.

"I'm going; I'm going!" Cole told them and shimmered back. Seconds later, Prue, Phoebe, Paige, and Joxer appeared in the room. Joxer was still out cold.

Chong had taken Hansel by the hand and ran, and they didn't stop until they reached Chong's room where Chong promptly divested Hansel and began to show him just how much he had missed him.

Rogue flew, holding Kennedy close, to the house. She didn't know what it looked like, but she knew the direction every one else was fleeing in.

Piper looked up from where she had been watching Phoebe trying to revive Joxer at the sounds of slamming doors and screaming people. "Looks like they found the house." Paige giggled nervously, but the cut of Piper's eyes in her direction quickly silenced the redhead.

Soon, only Rubeus stood, looking at the mirror. "Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?" he asked him. "How'd you get away from there?"

The North Pole

The silence in the woods would have been almost deafening if not for the cacophony of voices in her head. With each step she took, they seemed to grow even louder. There were her parents, arguing over her; telling her what an awful, awful child she was, what a huge disappointment she was, and how much they wished they had never had her. There was Santa, telling her that she was the only child who had never, ever deserved any presents or happiness and banishing her from the North Pole. There were the frightened whispers she'd received from Elves, reindeer, and even the mice. There were the three bumbling Elves, who seemed to be practically falling over their selves in their effort to escape her -- she who had befriended them all those years ago when their tall statures had made them outcasts from the rest of the Elves.

Then there were the Pirates, the friends she'd finally found in the last few days, the family who had taken her in as one of their own even despite knowing the danger she brought into their lives and seeing it upclose. Strongest of these voices were the two most incredible men she had ever met. One was Angel, the Vampire with a heart of gold, strong shoulders soggy from her tears, and the steadfast persistence that she stay and they somehow defeat Frostbite together. He was as much her brother as Jack, whose voice putting the pleading words to the way he'd looked at her the last time they'd been together, also resonated passionately through her head. Though he was her cousin by blood and Angel and she were not even related, both men were her brothers, and she knew both were beside themselves wanting desperately to help her but neither knowing how.

There were only four voices stronger than Angel's and Jack's in her head and, if she dare admit it, heart. Three of those belonged to her babies, the four-legged best friends she had taken care of throughout almost all their lives as their mother and whom she loved just as much as any mother or sister ever could have. She would have given her life long ago to save those animals if only she'd found an answer then and managed to leave them with some one who would care for them as greatly as she did. Unfortunately to Crys' way of thinking, but fortunately to others', it had taken her over two hundred years to find such a loving, courageous person.

And his was the strongest voice of all. Always, always, there was Lorne, begging with her to return to him, telling her how much he loved her, wondering why she'd left him now after all the damage that Frostbite had already done and all the lives he'd taken, if she had perhaps finally "come to her senses" . . . Nothing could have been further from the truth! She knew that, but she also knew that she had to act the part if she was to save him and them. She had her plan, and she had to stick to it. Her departure would cause them all pain, but she had no other choice. She had had no other choice but to leave them and still had no other choice but to act according to her plan if she was to keep her horrible uncle from going after them. She knew Frostbite was not above going after them even if she was no more. He'd find a way to hurt them, to kill them, just to make her miserable in the after life. She had to convince him that they were a waste of his time, and there was only one way to do that.

Shifting the position of the heavy gun she carried so that it weighed more on her left arm whether than her right, which was starting to go to sleep underneath its bulk, Crystal cried out again. "FROSTBITE! DAVID FROST, SHOW YOUR UGLY BUTT ALREADY! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY! WHAT IS IT? YOU STILL CAN'T LEAVE THOSE PATHETIC PIRATES ALONE? DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE STILL MESSING WITH THEM! THEY'RE NOT EVEN WORTH MY TIME, SO WHY WOULD THEY BE WORTH YOURS!"

Her only answer as she plodded along was the wind whistling through the tall, silent trees. She knew that every one of those trees had spirits and had talked to many at one time, but they all chose to ignore her this day or night. It had been too long since she'd been at the North Pole; she could no longer tell the difference in the time when it was always so dark. "I NEVER PEGGED YOU FOR A COWARD!" she tossed out even as she thought that it was good that the others could not hear her now.

Her words would hurt them, she knew, but she had no other choice. What she spoke aloud was as far from the truth as the thoughts that would undoubtedly come to Lorne of her having returned to her senses and ran away from his green skin. She had never known green could be such a beautiful shade, but on him, it was. From the very first moment she'd met him, she'd been drawn to his green skin, and if things had been different, she would have gotten to lick him and taste the texture of his skin. She would have known what it tasted like, could have licked him from one inch to the other . . . could have shown him the love that swelled in her heart, bursting like a toy balloon that an Elf had put too much air in . . . could have proven to him that she loved him, regardless of rather he was green or blue or had pink polka dots or purple stripes or yellow checks . . .

But it could not be. And there was no choice. She had to do this. She had to save them, and there was only one way to reach that goal. Only one way. "FROSTBITE!" she roared. "YOU WANT ME! COME AND GET ME ALREADY, YOU OLD GEEZER!" Of all the times she'd fought him before, she had never dared use such language before, but she had to draw him out. She had to draw him to her. She only prayed that he was not already upon the Pirates, her Pirates, her people, her family . . .

The Island . . .

Not too far away, Angel had barely managed to catch Lorne's sleeve and keep the green Demon from running away. Angel looked around and, not seeing Cordelia or the babies, he figured they had fled to the house. He led Lorne over to where he had last seen Delvira and Elvira talking. "Is that it?" he asked her.

"Yeah, this is it. Maybe I should come with you boys?" Delvira had not even thought about running while the others had fled and still could not understand why they had. So there was a green man talking back to them from the surface of a mirror? Big deal!

Angel had not thought about Delvira coming with them. He now thought about it. "Somebody has to stay here who can get us back. That was my next question. How do we get back? If you come with us, that might solve one problem, but it might be easier if just Lorne and I go. Can you get us back if you don't come with us?" His eyes kept going to the shimmering hole.

"I can, but it might not be at the exact time you want to come back."

"Good diversion, by the way," he told her, indicating the mirror.

Delvira shook her head. "It wasn't me. The thing's alive. Big whoop!"

Angel's eyes got a little wider, and so did Lorne's. "Did it come from Hogwarts?" he asked, looking back at Rubeus, who was still engaging the mirror in conversation.

The man in the mirror sighed. "As I was telling Rubeus here, old chap, Dumbledore sent me. He said your people would have use of me and that I might actually be deployed for something," he sniffed disdainfully, "decent. As though I've only ever been used for evil. Just because I hung in the Slytherin hallways at one time . . . And even that was his idea. I could have hung in Gryffndor or Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff, but oh, no, the old man had to put me in Slytherin! But I don't complain. He's the one who does all the complaining and thinks no one knows!"

Wolverine drew ever closer to the mirror. He had not ran when the others had ran. He gazed into its dark, murky depths at the green man. "What are you then? A portal? Can you take me anywhere I want to go?"

Rachel, who had taken the hint Wolverine's lack of fleeing had given her without meaning to, looked sideways at the grey-haired man and wondered if he was thinking what she was thinking. "Dumbledore said that the trials mustn't be intervened with," the mirror responded.

"I didn't ask you that. I asked you if you'll take me anywhere I wanted to go? Are you telling me that you won't take me to Jack or that you can't take me to Jack?"

"There's no one I can't take anywhere," the mirror answered haughtily. "There's simply places that I won't go."

"I didn't ask you to go," Wolverine told the mirror. "I asked you to take me there. Will you or won't you?"

"I won't."

Rachel considered the mirror while keeping a tight lid clamped down upon her frustration. She could tell Wolverine wasn't far from popping a claw but dared to lay a hand on the very hand he started to raise. "Can you at least show us what's going on then?" she queried. "Not take us. Just show us."

Angel considered what Wolverine and Ray were trying to do. He wished them the best of luck, but he had to concentrate on his and Lorne going after Crystal. It would be easy for the two of them to blend in and hide, but it would not be easy for Delvira to hide. Her slinky, black dress would stick out like a sore thumb. "You will need to change clothes, Delvira, if you come. Else, every man sees you will want you for himself, and Lorne needs something warmer. Can you conjure us some supplies?" He did not say weapons, because he knew of no weapon better than his own hands.

"Good thinkin', girl," Wolverine told Ray. "Can you show us?" he added his question to Ray's.

"Let me see," Delvira told Angel. "Give me a moment to think here. I usually stick to my same dress, so it's been a while." She would never have thought about conjuring a change of clothes if not for Angel's suggestion, but now she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. She began to chant, and her black eyes flew open as Lorne's clothes began popping like they were about to explode and instead began changing. His new outfit was made of a thick, heavy flannel and consisted of a yellow sweater, green pants and coat, and matching boots. A green scarf appeared out of thin air and wound itself around his neck. A fedora plopped onto his head out of nowhere.

Without making a comment, Delvira closed her eyes and, still chanting in the Goblin language she had picked partially because it was one language she knew that neither Angel nor Lorne would ever understand and because it was the language of the spell Jareth had taught her to use for a quick change of fashion, began to concentrate on the one person whose presence the men had not the first clue of. Delvira knew the girl was there, though, and would never have forced her to leave them for she knew how desperately she ached to be with her own man. Cordelia's gasp would have given her away if Blue had not quickly covered her mouth with his wing.

Rachel peered even closer at the mirror. "Well?" she questioned it. "Is it beyond your capabilities or not?" It was then that she felt talons touch her shoulder. Looking up at the purple dragon, Ray told him, "I'm trying to find out, 'Heed, but evidently the mirror just can't do it."

"Of course I can do it! I just had to get a bead on the location, is all! The court room's constantly moving around, and there are so many spells hiding it that very few can find it! But I can find anywhere, anything, and any one!" The image of the head began to flicker and then vanished entirely to be replaced with the scene in the court room.

"As for my clothes," Delvira finally spoke in English again as she reopened her eyes, "they're fine. I don't tend to change my dress for any one other than my husband, and if you really think you're going to blend in, Angel, you're way dumber than I would've thought. Where you're going isn't a place that a Vampire or a green-skinned Demon will be able to blend easily into. Besides, if my guess is right, Father Christmas already knows Crystal's there, and since she went there for You-Know-Who, he probably already knows so too."

Rubeus whirled around, his eyes wild and his face pale. "You-Know-Who!"

"Not that You-Know-Who," Delvira answered him. "Another You-Know-Who."

"There's another You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah, and not the one that starts with a V."

"Nope. This one starts with a F," Angel told him. "I was just a little concerned that you might freeze. The temperatures there are rather freezing. Is Elvira coming, too?"

Delvira looked at Angel. "Angel, I'm a Vamp. I might not burn in the sun like you do, thank Gods, but I also don't feel the temps, just like you. As for Elvira, to put it simply, no. She split with the rest of the idiots when the mirror started talking."

"Well, I guess it's us, then. Does she know we're going, and can she tell the others?"

Delvira shook her head. "She doesn't know. If she did," she rolled her eyes, "she'd probably be trying to come, and I don't think that's a good idea."

Wolverine had not taken his eyes away from the mirror. He could see Jack, and he could see Drell's mouth moving. Jack did not seem to be any worse off than when he had last seen him. He looked for 'Ro and saw her standing. His hand reached out and touched the mirror, without realizing it, where 'Ro was.

"Hey, man! Watch your hand! It's cold!"

Wolverine pulled his hand away as though he had been burned. "Where you goin'?" he called to Angel. "Ya can tell us, an' we'll tell the others when they start askin'."

"We're going after my sister. We're going to bring her back."

"Good luck," Wolverine called to him. "You're gonna need it. That's one feisty little girl."

"I'm not coming back without her," Angel told him.

"Neither am I," Lorne proclaimed.

"Spiffy outfit, Lorne," Wolverine called over. He really didn't like the shades of green and yellow, but he knew Lorne probably loved them. Wolverine also knew that Cordelia was hiding because he'd smelled her, but he wasn't about to give her away. "Most o' our women are feisty," Wolverine told Angel. "I don't need to remind ya o' that. They're strong like we are. They're survivors. Everything'll be all right, but if ya need us, send us some kind o' message."

"Just concentrate on talking to me," Rachel volunteered, looking at Angel. "Any friend of Kitty's Dad is a friend of mine, so I'll be there for you. My name's Rachel Summers, and I'll leave my brain open." She winked at the Vampire.

Rubeus looked through the darkness at Angel. "You're going to see Santa? He really exists? I always thought he did," he said rather defiantly. "Will you bring me back something from the North Pole?"

"Sure, Rubeus. What do you want?"

"A pet."

"Like you don't already have enough?" the mirror commented dryly.

"I don't have one from the North Pole!"

"I'll bring you back something that can survive here," Angel promised him. With a final look around, Angel stepped through the portal. Lorne followed him.

When Angel had taken a final look around, Cordelia had frozen. She could feel the babies all pressing into her back, but she just knew that Angel was going to spot her and it was all going to be over. He'd never see reason and let her accompany him. Yet Angel looked right through her and did not speak a word. Cordelia watched and waited as Angel and Lorne jumped and then breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of her hiding hole. She looked at Delvira. "Thanks." She smiled wistfully at Wolverine. "You too. You guys knew I was here, yet -- "

"No time to talk, girl," Delvira told her. "Your invisibility shield's lifted." She had spoken the backwards chant right after Lorne had leapt. "And the portal's starting to close now that Angel's gone through. If you're coming, you'd best come." She jumped, and Cordelia followed with Blue, Cindy, and Elvira hot on her heels. The portal closed just at the end of Elvira's bushy tail, and a few gray hairs fell to the ground.

Rachel looked back to the mirror. She had held her breath when Wolverine had touched it earlier, but his hand had not passed through like she had hoped. The mirror appeared to be as smart as they were, after all, but at least now they could see Kitty and the others and know that they were all right. Ray sighed as Drell continued to run his mouth. "I wish we could hear what was going on."

"Can ya give us sound?" Wolverine asked the mirror. "And do you have a name? I hate to keep calling you Mirror all the time. That's what you are, but that's not your name."

"I am called Mirror, but when I was a human, my name was Phillip."

"Then we'll call you Phillip," Rachel told him, not wanting to dwell on the fact that the thing before her had once been a human. "Now how about that sound?"

Drell's mouth suddenly sounded. "For your first trial, Faith and two of her choice must fight Salem's previous guardians for the ownership of the cat."

"I am a man, you stupid -- !"

"SILENCE!" Drell barked, and Salem hushed immediately. Faith reached out and stroked him. "So I gotta take the bitches down?" She grinned. "I can't wait to cut their throats!"

"You must not kill them, merely defeat them."

The House

"It's amazing!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "It seems even grander than before!" She stopped at a doorway and stared up at it. "The doors have name plaques on them! This one's got my name! And . . . " She read the name, then stopped and smiled a mixed smile of both shyness and slyness.

"And what?"

Elizabeth looked at Autolycus and grinned. "And Autolycus'."

"Does this mean I get to sleep in your room?" Autolycus had not left Elizabeth's side again and still could not believe that it had been a Giant, instead of Donkey, who had fallen on her. He was thankful his beloved was alive and well again. Everything seems to fall on her! The house is gonna get her yet! He looked cautiously around, expecting danger at every turn.

Elizabeth smiled up at Autolycus and batted her eyes. "Evidently." She lightly bit her bottom lip.

"Why don't we check it out?" he slyly asked her.

"Will, are you going to be all right . . . "

"I'll be fine," Will assured her with a forced smile that the others did not realize was forced. "You two go on and have some fun, but remember, Autolycus," his smile vanished, "if you break her heart, I'm coming after you."

"If I break her heart, I'm coming after me, too," he told Will with a mischievous wink even as he picked Elizabeth up and carried her over the threshold. He pressed his lips gently to hers and used her feet to close the door.

Will continued on down the hallway but suddenly stopped. "Eddie, do you hear something?"

His long ears braced forward. "Somebody's talking," he whispered. "Sounds like that damn Drell! How could he be here!" He bumped up against Will. "I'll protect you, Will."

Will shook his head. "It couldn't be Drell," he argued against both their ears. "He wouldn't be here. He's still giving poor Jack and the others Hell." And just why in the heck did Jack have to stand up for that old crone, any way? he thought for the thousandth time. Aloud, however, he simply said, "I think we should find our room and lay down for a bit, Eddie. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a good idea, but how will we find it? I can't read."

The voice seemed to drone on and on and was getting even louder, but Eddie still couldn't understand what he was saying. Will also heard the voice but tried desperately to ignore it and tell himself that it was merely fatigue playing tricks on his mind. "Neither can I," he commented.

"Maybe it's your old room? You know, Jack's room?" Eddie raced toward the door where there was a plaque just like it had been on Elizabeth's door. Only her name was long, and the two names on this plaque were short. "Open it up, Will. Look inside. See if any of your stuff is in there."

Will had followed Donkey at a distance and had been trying to ignore the voice that seemed to be growing persistently louder. As he neared the door, the voice seemed to separate and sounded more like several voices. At least three, he found himself thinking. Drell, Lex, and . . . Jareth? Why was he even thinking about that one? Lex was a good friend, so he could understand that. And Drell was one of the wicked lot threatening to make their lives living Hells, so he could understand hearing his voice, as well. But Jareth's? He'd barely spoken to him since crashing onto the island.

Will grasped the door knob and turned the door. It swung open, and both he and Eddie peered cautiously inside. They looked one way and then the other. Then their eyes fell onto the huge bed that seemed very inviting . . . and brought memories immediately to Will's mind. "That's our bed," he said and moved inside.

Before he could close the door, a streak of lightning passed him on the floor and headed straight for the voices. Willow had arrived! Where's Jack? he thought. He walked up to the strange mirror, recognizing the ones that were on there. Why had Will not looked over there? Couldn't he hear the voices? "Mrrow?" he asked, looking at Will who had fallen across the bed without shutting the door.

Eddie was the only one who was awake to hear him. "You'd best wake your boy up!" Willow told him. "That's the trial! I don't know how we're seeing it and hearing it. Jack's there! See!" Willow jumped high and slapped at the mirror with a paw. Sure enough, there was Jack Sparrow's face!

"Damn!" Eddie said. "Oops! I forgot I wasn't supposed to say that! Will! Wake up, Will!" Eddie called, his head hanging over Will. "You've gotta wake up! Jack's here!"

"Jack?" Will murmured sleepily.

"Yes! Jack! I just saw him!"

"Mrrow!" Willow repeated and then reached out a paw and tenderly touched Will's cheek.

"Tellim . . . Tellimhe'sanidiot . . . "

"You tell him! I don't think he can hear me!"

Then another voice entered the room. Willow had returned to the mirror and was about to pop it again. If he could get his claw around Jack Sparrow, he'd pull him through there! "Ouch!" Phillip announced to the room, specifically to the cat. "Do not hit me again! That hurt!"

"Mrrw?"

Eddie trotted back over across the room to the mirror and looked at it. "Can he hear us?"

"Can who hear you?" Phillip asked.

"Jack Sparrow, of course! Tell him he's an idiot! Will said so!"

"I can't interrupt the trials," Phillip told him, "but I'll get the message to him soon."

Wolverine growled.

"Ooo! Are we getting dangerous?"

"Ya can say that again!" a voice exploded from the mirror. "Ya tell that big-eared blacksmith that my son's not an idiot!"

"Wolverine!" Eddie questioned, his voice going higher. "Are you in the mirror?"

"No, you long-eared ass; I'm watchin' it just like you are! Where the Hell are you, any way!"

"That's not fair t-to ca-call me names! I only repeated what Will said!"

"Phillip, don't ya dare repeat that to Jack! He might be an idiot, but he's a brave man! Don't make him lose face in front o' the others! If Will no longer has faith in him an' he can call him an idiot, that's different! After all, they're lovers, but nobody else must lose faith in the Captain!"

"I didn't say I lost faith in him," Eddie continued to sob rather loudly.

"I apologize, Eddie," Wolverine told him, "an' don't ask fer it again. Where is Will any way?"

Donkey's crying had been bringing Will around when he heard Wolverine demanding where he was. "Will's trying to sleep," he muttered, rolling over and opening his eyes. He looked at Eddie's rear end but didn't see the mirror yet. "Eddie, what does Wolverine want?" Then it dawned on him that Eddie wasn't anywhere near the open door, and Will frowned in confusion. "Where is Wolverine?"

"I'm over here, ya big oaf, in the mirror!"

"The mirror?"

"Stop callin' my son an idiot!"

"I didn't call Jack an idiot!" Will exclaimed. Wolverine's accusation made him sit bolt up right, and it was only then that he saw the mirror. "Holy -- !" he breathed. Sliding off the bed, he began to inch slowly closer. "What kind of magic is this?"

"I am an enchanted mirror," Phillip told Will proudly, "and if you shut up, sit down, and watch, you will see Jack. How can one little man inspire so many people to be interested in him! I just don't understand it!" Phillip muttered to himself. "Too much makeup! Some one must talk to the man about makeup!"

"Jack is the most breath-takingly handsome man in all creation!" Will heatedly defended Jack. "What does a mirror know about good-looking men, any way! And, besides, I thought we left you on the beach!"

"That's where we are," Wolverine told Will. "Ray, Rubeus, an' I are watchin' the trials. We can't go there, but seein's the next best thing."

Willow had grown quite tired of the conversation and had climbed on to Jack's side of the bed, circled three times, and then began to knead. Eddie asked him what right he had on the bed. "This is Jack's side of the bed," Willow told him. "I'm keeping it warm for him."

"This might not even be our room!" Eddie told Willow.

"What makes you say that? I smell Jack all over the bed! I take that back," he said as he sniffed Will. "I smell Jack all over Will." Willow got down from the bed and walked over to the door, which was still open. He looked at the plaque. "It says Jack & Will, but your name ain't on there and neither is mine! But that's okay! I go where my human goes!"

"So?"

"Therefore this is my side of the bed. That's your side of the bed." Again, Willow climbed up onto the bed and settled himself in. Eddie crawled up on Will's side of the bed, his eyes intent upon his boy, who was staring holes in the mirror and looked like he couldn't decide if he was going to attack it or jump out of his skin. The last thing Eddie saw was Will's moment of indecision before he shut his eyes. His snores joined Willow's.

Willow's last coherent thought was that he simply must teach that jackass to read. He knew that Jack and Will could not read but figured they'd never listen to him enough to know what he was saying and that he could never teach them to read. Now, on the other paw, Eddie might just have enough brains to learn.

Chong's Bedroom

Their hands were all over each other before they ever shut the door, and when they did, it was Chong who swiftly kicked the door closed with his bare foot. The door slammed shut, and neither man noticed the slight splintering of wood or heard the sound of a new name plaque falling against the door. Chong's hands quickly stripped off Hansel's shirt, and as he tugged it off over the blonde's head, the other man's hands went to the buttons on his own trousers. He pushed his pants down and quite nearly jumped out of them. The men threw the clothes to the floor and fell against each other, their tongues thrusting against each other as their hot mouths kissed one another with ever-growing passion. Their tongues dueled as their mouths sought to outdo each other and their hands freely roamed one another's bodies, stroking and caressing each inch they came across.

They half-stumbled, half-ran backwards for the bed, but as they backed toward it, something bumped the back of Hansel's leg. Neither saw what it was even as they toppled downwards. As Chong landed across Hansel, their steeds touched and began to rub. Yells of pleasure erupted from their mouths, and Chong's mouth turned to Hansel's chest as the blonde's sought out the China man's neck. Tongues licked, and teeth grazed and gently nipped. Their swords rubbed together with a feverish need to be one.

Neither man dared let thought interrupt, soil, or spoil their union. They had waited too long for this, needed and wanted each other too greatly, and would let nothing risk ruining their reunion. Chong raised above Hansel, slightly surprised that the blonde was letting him be the one on top, and then began to sway and slide against him as he worked on maneuvering his stallion at just the right angle. As Chong found the place he sought and slipped inside the warm hole, Hansel yelled with delight, grabbed his rear with both hands, and yanked him down further.

Their mouths again found each other, and they returned to kissing and caressing wildly. Their bodies bucked against each other, aching and yearning to be as close together as was possible, and as Piper wondered what was keeping Chong and an unseen male laughed and left the two alone at last, they found the union they'd both been aching for for so long. They began to ride the waves together, thrusting and crashing more and more wildly. They slid carelessly across the floor, hooked together and one at last, crashing into objects and hollering their delight in between kisses. Neither had ever wanted anything more than they wanted this, and though their lives had been Hells as of late, they suddenly found Heaven in each other's embrace . . .

To Be Continued . . .