Chapter Thirty

Somewhere

It was coming straight at him, and Wolverine had no intention of getting out of the way. The damned thing had swallowed his son, and it was not going to get away this time! He drove himself as far upward as he could in the water and then leaped toward the damn thing as it came within reach. His claws slashed fiercely, trying to create a hole for Jack to come out. He knew he was in there; it was just a matter of getting him out! The damn thing's arms swirled wildly around, trying to gain purchase on Wolverine.

When Will had recognized the approaching form as being that of the accursed monster they were seeking, he had taken in several large gasps of oxygen and then dove. He had swam swiftly, and when the creature passed overhead, he swam back upwards even more swiftly. He held both swords at the ready, and as soon as he was within reaching distance, began slicing at the monster from underneath.

Elizabeth surfaced behind Wolverine just in time to see an arm about to grasp him. She cut at the tentacle, her blade swiping through the creature's arm. It splashed into the water, and she dove back underneath just as more arms came at her. She kicked backwards in the water, swiping at the arms with her sword, and surfaced again once she was out of its reach. She moved in rapidly for another cut.

Blood and flesh were splashing all around them in the water, but Wolverine's mind was not thinking clearly. He knew that it would draw other predators, but right now, he had to get Jack out of the belly of that thing. He prayed that his son still lived, but if he didn't, he'd hunt down every bloody member of the Council and kill every one of them in a horrible death.

They had no right! No right at all, he reminded himself, to kill Jack this way! They needed to get the thing out of the water and slice off its head; maybe then they could find Jack! He had no clue as to how to get the thing out of the water in the first place, though.

Elizabeth was going at the battle, cutting with her sword and moving quickly out of the monster's reach, with everything she had in her. While the men concentrated on ripping the creature open to free Jack, she focused on trying to slice off every one of its horrid arms. Something slimy touched her back, but before she could react, a wild, loud yipping filled the air. A blade blew past her, and she heard a splash as whatever part of the creature had touched her fell into the water.

Her rescuer continued his leap, jumping up onto the monster's head and beginning to beat at the thing with everything he had in his small body. "NEVER FEAR, FAIR LADY! I'LL CONQUER THIS MOUNTAIN!"

Elizabeth nearly laughed out loud despite the direity of the situation and her fear. Of all the ones she might have expected to come help, never would Jareth's small dog Knight have come to her mind! He was now cutting the remaining arms away from Wolverine, and she dove under the water to check on Will.

Somewhere

Lex felt himself falling, falling, falling . . . He expected to hit the hard ground at any moment, breaking every bone in his body, but was delighted when he landed in something far softer. He put a hand out, touched the area beneath him, and recognized the feel immediately. He was sitting on top of hay in a -- he glanced around -- hayloft that he knew well and brought many memories rushing to his mind. He smiled as he recalled so many of the times that he and Clark had made love here near the beginning of their romance. They had even spent whole nights up here many a time, just talking, long before they had ever ran off and signed up to the Black Pearl together. This simple hayloft was his beloved Clark's sanctuary, and Lex had always felt honored to be here.

Lex shook himself with a stern reminder that he could not afford to reminisce now. He could not even fathom how a test with any real difficulty could possibly happen here on the Kent farm that had felt like his first true home, despite the constant rejection of Clark's father and the hatred that Jonathan Kent had always sent his way for the family heritage that the man always needled him about. What harm could possibly befall him here on the Kent farm where he had first tasted the possibility of a loving family and a happy homelife, where Clark and Martha had both always welcomed him with open arms? He'd see the Kents once again, let them know that their son was doing fine, and do some chores for them. There was bound to be something else planned for him, as well, but whatever it was, it couldn't possibly be that bad. He'd breeze through this test and be back home with Clark in no time.

By the light of the moon, Lex made his way down the ladder and headed toward the house. It was a beautiful night, and a cool breeze was blowing. He could hear the crickets chirping in the nearby fields and recalled the one time that, with his parents gone for the night, Clark had dared to lay out in the open field with him and hold him in his arms. They had listened to the crickets and the other sounds of the night, and Lex had paid rapt attention to Clark as he had explained, in full detail, what each and every sound was. They had also made sweet, beautiful love that night, the only night they had ever dared to do so in the open here on Small Isle . . .

Lex again shook himself from his thoughts as he reached the house. The lights were not on, but he bravely walked up to the door and knocked. His smile only began to fade when no one answered and a light failed to come on. He was starting to worry that something may have happened to the Kents and that that might have something to do with the test, and how it could be hard, and his fist was raised to knock a second time when a light flickered on. Lex could tell from the way the light moved that it came from a lantern and could hear Martha whispering fearfully to Jonathan to be careful. He smiled and sighed with relief that the Kents were indeed all right and then called reassuringly through the door, "It's just me, Mrs. Kent."

Jonathan almost ran to the door, and Lex was taken aback as he heard the fury that Jonathan opened the locks with. He snatched the door open, letting it bang against the side of the house, and demanded furiously, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE THIS TIME OF THE NIGHT, LEX LUTHOR?!" If there was one thing Jonathan Kent did not want, Lex knew, it was a Luthor standing in his face, but he could not help his bloodline. He had thought, the last time he had been here, that Jonathan was finally getting used to the idea that he was not like his father, but now he knew better. Jonathan would never look upon him as anything but a Luthor. Jonathan hated Lionel and had absolutely no use for him, probably because of their past together that Lex could only guess at, but the way Jonathan was now acting, Lex feared that Clark's father probably hated him even more than he did his father.

Lex tried not to allow his hurt, or even his surprise, to show. He hid it well, as he had always hid his emotions as a young lad growing up here. He would never have expected Jonathan to welcome him with open arms, but he also never would have thought he would be so furious. "Clark's doing fine," he managed to get out with a half-smile, hoping that that good news would calm Jonathan down.

"Of course Clark's doing fine, and he'd best be still in bed!" Jonathan snapped, his eyes darting behind him toward Clark's room.

Lex almost let his shock show but managed to maintain his game face just in time. He could not believe that Jonathan believed Clark was there! He knew he wasn't anywhere around! He couldn't be; the Wizards had sworn that he was safe and back on the island! "Could I see Clark?" he asked calmly, knowing that he could prove Jonathan wrong if he could only see whatever it was that he thought was his son.

"Not this time of the night! Come back in the morning, if you must!"

Expecting the door to be shut in his face at any second and wondering why Mrs. Kent had not intervened and chastised her husband for his behavior as she had so often done before, Lex looked around. He wondered where he could spend the night. Perhaps in the hayloft? He then glanced back inside the house, surprised that Jonathan had still not slammed the door and that Martha had yet to come forward.

Martha stood, half-hidden behind her husband, and didn't say anything despite the ticked expression on her lovely face. She couldn't see out into the yard but could tell, from the voice she heard answering her husband, that Lex was asking for Clark. She finally managed to get out from behind Jonathan and see out. "Why, Lex!" Lex's heart gave a hopeful little jump at her exclamation but then sputtered back down when she questioned, "Where's your horse?"

"I walked here." Besides being the only answer he could think to give, it was the truth. He had walked here from the hayloft.

Martha looked at the young man in apparent concern. "What could be so important that you would walk here this late at night?"

Jonathan reluctantly moved out of the way. He could tell that he was not getting Lex out of there as soon as he wanted to. Maybe he should call Clark and have him tell Lex to go home?

"It's dangerous to be out this time of the night," Martha continued talking to Lex without even so much as glancing at her husband. "You can spend the night in our barn till morning. I'll tell Clark first thing in the morning that you want to see him."

"I can't see him tonight?" Lex asked half-heartedly, still daring to hope. Clark had to have somehow gotten here. After all, surely Martha could tell her own son?

"Clark is tired," Jonathan informed him coldly. "He plowed all day. He works, something people like you don't know anything about. Go to the barn and leave us alone!" He slammed the door in Lex's face.

Lex pondered Jonathan's words as he slowly made his way back to the barn, his head hanging. He didn't know what was going on, but he could now tell that his coming trial would not be as easy as he had at first thought it would. Why was Clark here? he wondered again. And why had Jonathan claimed that he had plowed all day? Perhaps that was what Clark had told them to explain his exhaustion. Lex knew that, after everything they'd been through recently, his poor baby was exhausted, and it wasn't as though he could tell his father the truth . . . But still he was not on trial, so what was he doing here?

And where was Faith? She and Jack had both been with him when they had been tossed out of the court room and to their trials, so shouldn't they have all landed together? He could certainly use their bravery right now and both their advisement, Faith's on what to do about Clark and Jack's on what to do about this whole strange situation.

Lex climbed slowly back into the loft and lay down. Part of him did not even want to consider sleeping, but he knew he had best get some rest to deal with whatever he would come across in the light of day. It still took him a while to drift off to sleep.

His last thoughts, as his eyes finally shut, were of Clark and their children. He really didn't see how there could be two Clarks, so for some weird reason that only they knew, the Council had sent him here. He knew everything would be all right in the morning, once he saw Clark. It just had to be. What had to be fixed here, what kind of test he must face, Lex had no clue, but he was confident that he could do it. "Our love will see us through," he told an invisible Clark. "I'll see you in the morning, my love, and we'll get it all straightened out." Lex fell asleep, feeling the touch of Clark's lips upon his.

Somewhere

His ribs shook. His stomach queased. Everything in him shook until Salem thought he was surely bound to throw up, but still he ran, determined to put as much distance between himself and those terrible bulls as possible and desperate to get away from them lest they follow him. The world around him spun at a blinding rate. He tripped over his own front paws and tumbled head first onto the ground. He tried to get back up immediately, but a tremble passed through his small body and he collapsed again.

You have to get up. You have to get up. Get your cat ass up, Saberhagen! he commanded. He lifted his head, turned to the side, and spat up. He wove from side to side and looked at the vomit with crossed eyes. Had he done as much as he saw, or was he seeing two, three, maybe even four piles?

Salem shook himself. Get yourself together, old man! You can't blow this! He flattened his four paws onto the dirt and pushed himself up. He had barely stood when he felt a mighty tremble in the earth. His green eyes shot wide with panic as the tremble rapidly grew into an earthquake! Dear Gods! What now?! He looked ahead, expecting to find the earth opening up, eager to swallow him, but instead he saw a cloud of smoke that was billowing and growing steadily larger and nearer.

Salem cocked his head to one side as he looked at the smoke. It reminded him of some of the smoke clouds that he and the boys had occasionally worked up in their down time. They had had fun trying to exhale their smoke into designs of all sorts, each trying to outdo the other one. There had been everything from hearts to dragons to crossbones to . . .

BUFFALO!?!?!?! Salem let out a yowl that could have deafened a banshee. It was no earthquake headed for him; it was an entire herd of rampaging buffalo! Yowling at the top of his lungs, Salem leapt to his feet and took off running in the direction he had just come from!

The North Pole

Frostbite had not seen Crystal's would-be rescuers arrive until Lorne raced to her side with Cordelia following closely behind him. Now, however, as he took in their forms, he laughed even more. "THEY STILL WANT TO SAVE YOU, MY LITTLE POPSICLE! WHY DON'T YOU TELL THEM WHAT YOU REALLY THINK OF THEM? OR SHALL I DO IT FOR YOU?"

Crystal's ice had almost completely covered her body by the time Lorne reached her. Her brain was now barely functioning. Her blue eyes cracked open slightly, and she gazed up into his handsome face. "Lorne," she gasped, "you shouldn't be here! Please! You must leave! It's too late! There's no other way!"

Cordelia stayed nearby the couple, her hazel eyes searching the area for some kind of weapon that might come in handy but not seeing anything. She heard a yell and looked to where Crystal's cousin and animals were gathering before them.

Crystal's children had placed themselves in a line between Crys and Frostbite. All three were growling savagely, their eyes locked on Frostbite. They all wanted to be with her, but they knew that protecting her was of the most importance right now. Blue was in the air above his sisters, and their fur stood on end in warning. They knew they were no match for Frostbite but would do whatever they could to save their beloved mistress.

"DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING HE SAYS!" Jack hovered higher in the air than Blue and kept himself positioned between Frostbite and the animals. He had ran from this monster for far too long. He was no more a match for him than Crys was, but he'd do whatever he could. If he died in the battle, perhaps Santa would finally have to awaken to the fact that everything was not peaceful in the North Pole.

A whooshing sound was Delvira's first answer to Angel. Her legs were spread apart, her feet braced in the snow. Her long, black hair stood on end, and her entire body was taut with concentration. Words of an ancient language poured from her black lips, and her eyes stayed closed as her fire grew. It shot from her hands, growing larger and larger until it seemed to encompass her whole body. Her black eyes flew open, and the firelight danced in them. With a scream of rage, she threw every bit of fire at the same area Crystal had been trying to reach.

The Beach

"How many are there?"

"You can not ask me that!" Several eyes went to the offended mirror. "That would be akin to asking me how many stars are in the sky!"

"Damn," Trina muttered. How was she going to locate Andrew now? "Are there any by the name of Andrew?"

"Yes."

"Can you show them to me?"

"There is only one by the name of Andrew."

Trina leaned forward; this had to be it! "Show me," she breathed, her voice shaking and her heart pounding.

Jack & Will's Bedroom

The minute they'd heard the mirror speak the name "Andrew", Carlos and Trent had looked up. They had met each other's questioning gaze, nodded wordlessly, and looked back to the mirror's reflection. Trina must somehow be looking at the mirror. "Guys," Trent whispered, "is the mirror somewhere else?"

"You can trust mon sniffer," Sebastian said indignantly. "It's part o' my livelihood, mon. When I'm in the mood for shrimp, I find shrimp by smell. Dis boy got Faith all o'er him. Don' know what Faith is fightin' ta save on de oder side, but it ain't de real t'ing, mon."

"I swear, by my love for Faith, that I am the one, true Dawson!" Dawson said as he got slowly to his feet. All the swords pointing at him made him extremely nervous, but he knew he had to get back to Faith and would need some help to get there alive as none of the swords had wavered until now. When he heard the question about whether there was another mirror, he told the two men, "Yes. There's another mirror on the beach. The one we ran away from today."

Trent and Carlos looked at each other again out of the corner of their eyes. Their minds were quickly thinking the same thoughts. Trina had to be on the beach. She was asking to see Andrew, and there was no telling what he might be doing when she saw him or how she might react. Carlos' heart ached as terribly as Trent's to go to Trina, but his calculating mind already realized that, if Trina jumped, the quickest way to reach her would be to go through this side of the mirror. However, if she didn't jump . . . "Go," he mouthed to Trent.

Carlos rolled his eyes as Trent dropped the sword he had held and ran.

The North Pole

"If you die, my love, so do we all for, without you, there is no life!" Lorne got slowly to his feet and turned to face the monster. "None of us will leave you! He'll have to take us all!" He was not surprised that Crystal's animals were now in full attack mode, just waiting for the signal. He was amazed that Delvira seemed to be burning herself completely up. One thought occurred to him: stop Frostbite at any cost!

He knew that what he was about to do would hurt every one's ears there, but he couldn't help it. It was the one weapon he had that was truly his own. He opened his mouth, and the first thing that came out was a scream that turned into a song. His voice continued to grow as he poured every inch of himself into the song. His hands were by his side, his fingers curled into fists, and as he poured everything he had into the song, his pitch grew steadily, becoming the absolute shrillest and highest pitch that any Pylean had ever used. His voice far surpassed the pitches of anything on Earth, and still he continued, giving it all he had. He could not hear Angel's screams or Cordelia's, and he continued even as he himself was driven to his knees.

He saw blood pouring from Angel's ears as Angel clutched his hands to his head, trying to drown out the pain. His voice kept raising until even the very ground they were kneeling on shook. Then he saw Delvira launch a second fireball. Her first fireball had been turned to ice and shattered with a taunt from Frostbite, questioning how they could be foolish enough to think that they could possibly stand a chance of hurting him at all and why they were willing to risk life and limb for a little bitch who had said herself, or so he claimed for Lorne refused to believe him, that she cared nothing for them, but the second soared straight at his chest while he remained too distracted in his efforts to block out the sound of Lorne's voice to do anything about it.

As Delvira's fireball hurtled toward Frostbite, Jack also attacked. Snowballs the size of boulders, hail the size of cannonballs, and ice shards the size of broadswords all sailed at Frostbite's ugly face. At the same time, Blue flew higher, circling around the others' attacks, and opening his mouth in a gigantic roar that let out a rush of fire that Lorne couldn't help thinking was probably every bit of fire the little dragon had in his possession. Blue's fire struck Delvira's fireball, which was actually even bigger than her first, and the two grew together as they continued on their way to Frostbite's chest.

Lorne could barely see for the sweat that poured into his red eyes, but he thought he saw a figure flying in just about that time. He thought he heard the yell of a familiar voice but couldn't be sure for he could hardly hear his own labored breathing. He did, however, know when a third source of fire added to the first two's. All rushed into Frostbite's chest simultaneously just as the figure grabbed Blue and dove out of the way with him.

Somewhere

Xena's eyes had shot wide open when the plant exploded, raining the petals and blood down upon her, but she rushed forward now and began to cut at the mouth of the plant, being careful not to hit 'Ro but whacking steadily away at the plant. Why the explosion had not killed it, she didn't know, and now that Piper had come into her second power, Xena was worried about the girls they had left behind. Were they, too, coming into their second powers? If they were as strong as Piper's, woe be unto any one who messed with them!

Gabrielle rushed toward the plant right after Xena. As her lover whacked into the plant repeatedly, the blonde's green eyes carefully examined what she could see of Ororo. She started pulling herbs out of the pouch she always carried on her belt, glad that she had had the forethought to return to their bedroom long enough to grab her supplies which had, by some miracle, shown up in their room.

Piper knew the plant had exploded, and she feared that she had triggered the explosion. She didn't want to think about that now, though. She didn't want to think about the whys and ifs of the explosion; she only wanted to concentrate on freeing Ororo. She dared not try her hands again, however, and she feared that if she attempted to pull 'Ro free from the mouth, she would only end up getting her beloved godmother hurt even more. She looked on as Xena cut into what remained of the plant's mouth, her heart beating rapidly and fearfully.

Finally, the plant began to let go, but Xena did not stop until every piece was cut up. As she cut the final piece away from over Ororo, she could see the bite marks covering her body. It looked as though some huge animal had intended to eat her. Xena had never seen anything but a Venus flytrap eat at its prey so thoroughly. This plant did not resemble any Venus flytrap she had ever seen, but she knew it had to be one. Once freed, Xena picked Ororo up and carried her to a nearby grassy patch. She moved back and allowed Gabrielle to work on 'Ro.

Somewhere

Wolverine's mouth fell open. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN' HERE?!" he asked. Didymus, he seemed to recall was the dog's name. "Shouldn't you be with your King?" He continued to claw at the hole that he was now making, digging the thing's eyes out. The monster thrashed and roared out its pain but was not able to grab hold of Wolverine.

Despite the fact that he knew the arms had been flailing and trying to catch them, Wolverine had not been caught by any of them. Had Didymus been cutting the arms off? Wolverine glanced at the pigsticker that Didymus was holding and then at what was left of the arms. Ain't no way, he told himself, that that dog cut the thing's arms off! He looked around but did not see Elizabeth. Will must still be underwater, he thought, and Elizabeth, fer once, showed some sense an' left.

"I know not where my King is," Didymus called, "but thou needest help and I shall help!" He continued to beat at the arms that were trying to reach Wolverine.

Elizabeth swam through the now-murky water that was quickly filling with blood, flesh, and other pieces of the monster. She kept her eyes open both for Will and any signs of an attack coming her way as she swam. It was only after she ducked underneath the monster's thrashing form that she finally caught sight of Will. She paused in surprise as she watched him fighting. She had oft thought many things of Will, but never once before had she thought of him as looking grotesque. Now, however, as he was drenched in blood and other things that Elizabeth dared not look any closer at, she couldn't help thinking that she had never seen a Pirate look worse.

Still, she was proud of him, but fear caught in her heart as she saw him start to drift downwards. She watched as Will shook himself forcibly, kicked back upward, and resumed cutting the screaming beast. She swam over to him, caught his attention, glared demandingly at him, and pointed upwards. Will shook his head. Elizabeth shoved him, took his place, and went to cutting into the belly of the monster herself. Blood and guts immediately rained down upon her, but she continued.

Will watched Elizabeth for a moment and again felt his brain growing dim. He shook himself. He hated it, but he had to surface. He was running out of air, and if he didn't get some soon, he'd drown and then he'd be of no use to his beloved Jack! He turned and began swimming upwards.

Somewhere

"Adrienne! Why have you done this?! What do you want?!"

"Oh, do relax, Emma, dear. This is for your own good," the brunette feigned empathy and concern. "I know what's happened, and I've got to help you return to your senses."

"Return to my senses?! What nonsense are you babbling about this time?!" She renewed her struggles. "Release me from here, Adrienne, or I swear I'll fry your brain!"

Adrienne tisked at her. "You know Mother would not approve."

"Mother's dead!"

"Quite," Adrienne inclined her head in a nod. "Like Sean."

Emma's eyes widened. "So that's what this is about? Sean's alive, Adrienne! I can't help it if you've never been able to keep a man and are jealous of my relationship!"

"I've never been jealous of you, Emma. It's always been the reverse. We can admit it now. We're both grown. You've always been jealous of me."

"Like Hell I have!" Emma snapped.

"I'm not the one who sold my body to man after man."

"I did it to survive!"

"I'm not the one who sided with Evil. Oh, I know," she continued, cutting Emma off. "You did that to survive too."

"I've done what I have to in order to survive, Adrienne. Unlike you, Mother and Father did not leave me anything when they passed. I didn't have the world delivered to me on a silver platter. I had to work for a living, and I did what I had to. I've never been ashamed of that."

"Bold, brave lies," Adrienne spoke, crooning at first and then speaking harshly and boldly, "but we'll see how long they last." She pulled a switch that Emma had not noticed before, and the table Emma was laying upon stood on end. She hovered over a huge hole in the floor. Then Adrienne snapped her fingers, and Emma's bindings released at once. She started to fall again . . .

The North Pole

After Clark had flown ahead to investigate the noises of battle he, Cole, and Eddie had overheard, Cole had continued on walking in the direction that Clark had flown. He led the way, ever alert to any possible dangers. Without a word, he and Prue were trying to keep Phoebe and Eddie in the midst of their group. He glanced back to where Prue brought up the rear of the line and could see that her ever-watchful eyes were constantly roaming around, alert to any possible dangers as well. He did not know what lay ahead but knew that Clark could take care of it a lot better than he could. The boy was constantly coming up with new powers that surprised and spooked Clark as well as every one around. He knew that his energy balls were no match for Clark's firepower and was glad that Clark had taken it upon himself to go ahead.

Once again, Eddie surged ahead of Cole, and Cole looked down at the little fella. "Back up, Eddie. Go a little slower. You need to keep an eye on Phoebe and make sure she stays out of trouble," he whispered conspiratorially to the donkey. "It's best to keep her in the middle of the group for safety. We don't want anything to happen to her. Keep your eyes on the Book, and make sure no one steals it."

Eddie nodded and reluctantly slipped back to Phoebe. He picked up his pace back up beside her. He knew that if he left Phoebe to her own devices, she would land him in even more trouble than they already were. Trouble just seemed to follow Phoebe everywhere. He raged to himself, because he desperately wanted to reach his beloved. He tried to stay in pace with Phoebe, however, and did not speak a word out loud.

They continued to walk forward until they saw, up ahead, a group of animals bunched together. They had almost reached the bowed animals when a sudden burst of music higher-pitched than Cole had ever heard before struck his ears. Before he could do anything else, his nose started bleeding. He grabbed his ears and tried to drown out the horrendous noise, but it seemed to press on him like an anvil until he fell to his knees.

Eddie's eyes grew big in his face and then rolled backwards. He fell on his side, his hooves flailing the snow.

Prue looked startled at both Cole and Eddie while Phoebe rushed forward to check on Cole. Prue glanced at the animals that were up ahead and they, too, were having the same reaction. She could hear something making a horrible noise, but it did not have the same effect on her. "Who could be making that Gods-awful noise?!" she thought aloud even as she rushed forward to check on Eddie. "What is it, Eddie?" she tried to talk to the brave, little donkey, but blood was pouring from his eyes. He was still twitching as though he had been poisoned.

Then the noise grew even louder. Eddie closed his eyes in pain but still tried to talk to Prue. "It's Lorne, and he must be attacking Frostbite!"

Prue searched frantically through one of the packs until she found the first aid kid. She pulled out a heavy roll of gauze. "This might hurt some, Eddie," she told him, "but it might also help to cut out some of the sound. I'm going to wrap this around your ears and your head, and it will help to cushion the sound." She looked worriedly over at Phoebe and Cole, wondering if they should do the same thing to his ears.

Phoebe had not tried to talk to Cole, because she had known he wouldn't be able to hear her and, if he lowered his hands enough that he could hear her, he would be caused even more pain. Instead, she had placed her hands over Cole's, helping him as best she could to shield his ears from the awful racket Lorne was putting out, and looked over to Prue for help. Now she met her oldest sister's gaze. "Do you think we could use that stuff to stuff Cole's ears? We can't exactly tie his down."

Prue looked at Phoebe. "I don't know if we can use the gauze or not, but there might be something else in the pack." As soon as she was through wrapping Donkey's ears, he was able to sit up and then get shakily to his hooves. Prue did not think that the gauze would work on Cole's ears and began to rummage through the bag, hoping that she would find something that they could stuff in Cole's ears.

Phoebe watched her sister rummaging. Things were falling out of the pack as Prue rummaged, and Phoebe realized that she must be nearing the end of the pack and still had not found anything. She began to look around and consider what might help. There had been some nights back home when she had been unable to sleep for various noises, like her sisters' snoring or moaning when sick, and she had, at last, began stuffing cotton into her ears. It had taken quite a bit of cotton to block out the sounds, but it had eventually worked. There was no cotton in the pack, though; they would have had no use for it. At least, they wouldn't have as far as she could imagine. She looked down at her own clothes. "Prue," she called, "I've got an idea."

Prue looked questioningly at her sister. "Something in the Book?" she asked.

Phoebe hadn't even considered the Book that she was keeping tightly pinned between her arm and side. "No. At least, not that I know of. There might be a spell in there to block out sounds, but it might make him deaf. We don't want that; we just want to block Lorne's mouth. Bring me the scissors and cover Cole's ears."

Prue grabbed the scissors and handed them to Phoebe. She watched to see if she could be of help and wondered why she had not thought of their clothing as she watched Phoebe cut up a piece of petticoat. Prue's hands had replaced Phoebe's hands on Cole's ears while Phoebe was working.

Cole kept trying to determine what the girls were up to, hoping that it would give him relief. His ears had never caused him such pain before, and he did not even realize that he was bleeding from his ears. Despite his pain, his heart was crying out, wishing that it could help Lorne to destroy their enemy.

Phoebe worked quickly, but her progress was slow for she had trouble holding the scissors as her hands were sticky with Cole's blood. She was worried about him, and her mind kept running in circles. If Cole didn't make it back from this, Piper would kill her, and she couldn't blame her. After all, if their roles were reversed and Piper let Joxxy down when he was in dire need, she'd kick Piper's butt to the moon and back. Finally, she managed to get a large piece of petticoat, slipped the scissors into her pocket, and balled up the piece of cloth. As soon as Prue removed her hand, Phoebe stuck the makeshift ball of cotton into one of Cole's ears and set to work on a second piece.

Somewhere

Great was Jareth's surprise as his fall was finally stopped by something hard instead of a smelly splash. He tentatively cracked first his blue eye and then his green eye open and looked slowly around. He smiled as he realized that Teak and he had not fallen into the Bog, after all, but had somehow managed to land in an oubliette. His own voice as he explained to Hoggle that an oubliette was a place he put people to forget about them echoed through his head, but still he smiled. He'd rather be in an oubliette than the Bog any day or night!

He had no idea which of the million oubliettes they were in, but it really didn't matter. There was only one way out regardless: Hoggle had to come, bring the door, and open it. "Might as well make yourself to home," Jareth commented rather boredly to Teak as he sank down to sit on the floor. He grimaced as the seat of his pants touched the filthy floor and made a note to himself to get Trely to clean the oubliettes on, at least, a rare occasion if things ever got back to what passed for normal in their lives.

Teak looked at Jareth puzzedly. His master seemed rather calm about the whole situation, so there must not be any real need to worry. Jareth's next words sent him into a dead panic, however.

"We're stuck here until Hogwart comes to get us."

Teak began to howl all over again; each howl was louder and shriller than the last. "WE'LL NEVER GET OUT, MASTER! HOGGLE IS DEAD!"

"What?" Jareth asked in surprise.

"HOGGLE DEAD!" Teak repeated, long tears dripping off of his even longer nose.

"What killed him?" Jareth questioned.

Teak blushed and looked at the floor as he slowly kicked a dustball with one foot. "Hoggle was . . . peeing off ship, and they shot him."

Jareth looked into Teak's eyes. "They shot him for pissing? I warned him about that!" he exclaimed, sounding as though he was greatly annoyed or perhaps even angry with Hoggle for taking his last pee. "He never could do it at the right time or the right place!" Then his eyes grew sad, and his voice broke with compassion. "Poor little Hogwart! I'll miss him!"

"More than that, Master," Teak reminded him with a loud, sucking sniff, "Jareth and Teak stuck! Hoggle can not come get Jareth or Teak! Jareth and Teak stuck! Jareth and Teak die down here!"

As the realization sank in, Jareth added his wails to Teak's. "I'LL NEVER SEE DELVIRA AGAIN! DAMN IT, HOGWART! WHY, JUST ONCE, COULD YOU NOT PISS AT THE RIGHT TIME?!" he roared at the air.

Somewhere

Magnus was running for something even greater than his life when he heard women's voices up ahead. He was about to run straight out into their midst when he caught a glimpse of something white hanging down and scaling the ground behind a burly, barely-clad woman. The shade of white, its long length, and its texture combined to remind him of something he'd often seen in his dreams. Despite the Dementors rushing up at him from behind, he paused to look closer and saw his little brother being carried over the woman's shoulder. He knew that Joseph was not there by choice, and a closer look at the group of women had him thinking that, as there was no other men in their group, they must be Amazons.

His mind raced, and he cursed silently. Joseph was in trouble! He needed him, but there were Dementors hot on his trail! They would be upon him any second!

Turning around, Magnus raised his wand even higher, closed his eyes so that he would not be looking at the Dementors, and began to conjure memories in his mind. He remembered finding Joseph again and seeing that he was alive, well, happy, and in love. He recalled Joseph accepting him, being glad at their reunion, and embracing him joyously once he'd had his memories returned.

He ran back several centuries in his head and called up memories of his young childhood. He saw his parents again. They were smiling and laughing, and he and Joseph sat in their midst, enjoying their hugs, kisses, and love. Before his mind could flash to another memory, Magnus flung his eyes open and yelled out, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

However, before his patronus had even taken form, Magnus was already remembering what had led him here. His parents' deaths at the hands of the very sort of creatures that chased after him . . . All for doing what they believed in, saving the life of a friend . . . Magnus shook himself as the weak, silvery wisp escaped his wand. He turned back around and ran after Joseph, hoping that the patronus would at least provide a short distraction.

A Forest

Damn! They may be scared stupid, but they were still intelligent! She wished she could talk to them, somehow make them understand that she meant them no harm, but her thundering heart warned her that, in this one case, it would do no good. Perhaps the Council had them under some sort of spell? After what she'd learned that day, she would not be surprised at anything bad they might do. She had to back up. She had to think. She had to buy some time!

The fire was sizzling all around now. Kat backed slowly up, the remainder of her fire moving with her. The wolf behind her darted away, came in at a new angle, and resumed spraying. She backed up until she could feel the tree just outside her fire. She glanced up at a dangling branch that hung, she hoped, still within her reach. "I mean ye nae harm," she tried again to tell them.

"Yeah, right, bitch."

"Maybe you don't, maybe you do." One of them laughed. "But we ain't taking that chance."

Kat looked at them. Were they truly afraid, their leader just a little too brash? Dare she remove the fire, surrender herself to them? Could she afford to?

"We gonna get you," another growled determinedly. "We gonna get you and eat you!"

Despite her now-burning hatred of the Council, Kat realized that there was one Council member whose agreement to this trial she could not even begin to understand. "I am a friend o' Aslan's."

"Piss on Aslan!" the leader yipped.

That statement finished Kat's decision for her. She flipped up into the air just as the fire sizzled out. Several of the wolves snapped at her feet. One grabbed the heel of her boot just as her hands caught the branch. She shook her leg but would not kick him. "Let gi!"

He only growled more savagely and shook her, trying to pull her down. She clung to the branch, her hands and fingernails gripping the wood tightly. "Get her, boys!" the leader howled. Several of the pack leapt. Heads butted her legs, paws scratched at her pants, and fangs sank into her flesh. She refused to scream. She clawed at the branch, trying desperately to keep her grip, but they were pulling her down . . .

Somewhere

From the inside of the Krakken, Jack had been fighting for all he was worth, but now he had grown extremely tired. His sword had not even penetrated the soft tissue muscle that seemed to be trying to squeeze the very life out of him. He was fighting a whole lot less now as even his brain seemed to be betraying him and trying to leave while something seemed to be paralyzing him at the same time.

He kept seeing Will's chocolate brown eyes, and they seemed to be fading. Try though he might, Jack could not reach him. He knew his last thoughts would be of Will. Maybe, if he died, he'd go to Will? That can't be right! he told his brain. Will's not dead! I saved him!

Then, another voice taunted him. But you can't save yourself, can you, Jack? It sounded awfully familiar, but he was losing it to the point that he couldn't recognize it. He passed out, still thinking of Will's eyes and never realizing who the voice belonged to.

A Cavern

Spike reached out to Kyna, and though fear showed in her almond eyes, she did not pull away. He gently cupped her face in his cold hand and stroked her satin skin with his thumb. He leaned in to kiss her but had barely began to dive into her rapturous ocean when, sensing a rush of movement, he had to pull away. His hand caught Sheng's fist. He held it and squeezed it forcibly, a low, guttural growl ushering forth from his dark lips. Even as he heard the beginning cracks of the other Vampire's hand, Spike reached towards his heart with the stake he'd taken from within his life mate's jacket.

Kyna had known when William had taken the stake but now, as he fought to break past their enemy's guard and drive the stake home, Kyna cried out. "No!" She ripped Sheng out of Spike's grasp and threw him into the rocky wall of the cavern.

For a moment, Spike couldn't see straight. Had Kyna done what he thought she had?! The blonde Vampire shook his head. She had! How dare she! How could she?! "What the Hell are you playing at?!" Spike hissed, his voice low and furious.

Inwardly, he was hurt, and if he'd be honest with himself, more than a bit scared. Had she turned on him?! Had this unliving, walking, deceiving image of her dead husband, whose death she had blamed him for only about a zillion more times than he cared to recall, made her see him in an old light?! Did she, once again, think him evil and want him destroyed?! Was she about to attack him?! The icy cold of dreaded fear filled William. If she did, he could no more defend himself than he could kill her!

Somewhere

She didn't know she was crying; she wasn't even aware that her face was wet. She didn't know that she was yelling, or perhaps wailing would have been more apt a description for the utter heartbreak that screeched through the sound. Her life was falling apart around her in the form of four beings she loved more than any other. Her world was shattering as she failed her dearest brothers, the first two who had offered her a home, a family, the first two to fight so valiantly to break through all her barriers, the first two to dare to insist on trying to pierce her darkness with their glimmer of hope. She felt like she was dying with them, but yet she persisted in holding tightly to the arm of the man she loved and trying to grab the second most important being to her.

Salem was trying as frantically to grab hold of Faith as she was to him. His claws raked her skin. His teeth nipped at her fingers. Her fingers barely missed his tail, his waist, his head . . . Still, they tried as they fell, and then, finally, with the ground rushing up at them, Faith managed to get her free hand around Salem's middle. She gripped him tightly and snatched him to her.

Faith's mind whirled. There was nothing she could do to help Jack and Lex; her brothers were gone. The two men who were so largely responsible for keeping her going for so many years were practically dead, and there was nothing she could do to help them. She had the two she loved the most within her grasp now, but a look around told her that she had no chance of grabbing hold of anything to stop them. There was nothing there to help. Not a ledge, not a limb, nothing.

Perhaps she could cushion their falls? Save them with her own body? As if from a far distance, she heard Salem's yowling and Dawson's screams of protest as she tried to make her own body heavier. Her eyes met his. She couldn't hear what he was saying for the winds that rushed past them, but she saw the pleading in his eyes. She swallowed hard. She had to do this. There was no other way, no other hope of saving them . . .

Faith didn't know where she got the strength from, but somehow she managed to twist around until she was beneath Dawson and Salem both. She pulled them to her, turning her own back to the ground, and keeping Dawson's gaze. She could feel Salem's rapidly pounding heartbeat in her hand, and she held tightly to him even while hoping she didn't break any bones. If she did break a bone or two, she told herself, it was still far better than allowing him to be killed.

"Faith," Dawson's swiftly moving mouth caught her attention, "please -- You can't! There's gotta be another way!"

She smiled sadly up at him. Her sweet, innocent Dawson. Her endearing Kid. He always thought that life could be better, that there was hope even when there wasn't any. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Faith realized that Dawson's handsome face would be the last thing she ever saw, and she was glad for that though her heart ached with the impending loss of what they could have had, not that she'd ever deserved him or his love. "I LOVE YOU," she screamed but could not finish her words to them as her body slammed into the ground. Everything went immediately black . . .

To Be Continued . . .