Alright, so maybe a second gate wasn't the best idea in the world. Robin apparently lost all interest in keeping Niko under control, let down his sword, and started puking (slipping in caustic Goodfellow-esque obscenities between heaves), while Niko turned literally green and collapsed onto his knees. As for me, I was bleeding all over myself, my head was being ripped apart by mind-wiping pain, and my pulse had escalated to a rate no amount of caffeine could produce. I tried to think through it anyway, fumbled for my gun, hands visibly shaking, and held the quivering barrel against Niko's head. I didn't want to, it made me feel even sicker just to do it, but it was the only way. "Robin. Tie him up," I said, gritting my teeth against this triggered headache from hell. When the first time hurts and the third time kills you, the second time isn't all that fun.

Robin's head swung around. He didn't look all that damn good, and that's being nice. "You did it," he rasped, eyes narrowing venomously. "Again!"

"Well you didn't have to pay for any taxi cab," I said wickedly, unable to resist.

"I hate you," he said with a reverent passion, stumbling to his feet like a drunkard. "Once we get Niko back, I am moving to L.A. so that I can be just as far away from you as possible."

Nik had been silent all this time, kneeling on the floor with eyes glassy but aware of my gun against his skull. But at the words "once we get Niko back", those eyes sparked with confusion and he glanced warily up at us. No words, though.

Damn, this was killing me.

"That's great, Loman," I said, trying to mop my face on my sleeve and cursing when it only smeared. "Get some restraints or duct tape or something, will ya?"

"Where are we anyway?"

"Rafferty's," I answered, glancing around. Apparently we'd landed in his hallway. "It was the first place I could think of."

Goodfellow flashed that perfected puckish superiority that immediately made me feel like some kind of bug. "Oh, I applaud your unparalleled genius. Promise will never think to look for us here."

"Well, if you ever get your ass moving with the tape, maybe we'll be out of here before something like that happens!"

"You think duct tape is going to hold him?" Goodfellow asked, incredulous.

"Will you quit being so damn difficult? It won't be for long!"

He gave me a murderous look, and left, muttering things under his breath that I really had no desire to hear. I stood shaking and waiting for my heart rate to slow, my gun clamped in one hand as I looked down at Niko, who was still on his knees. It was all so confusing … I just didn't know about him. He could still fight, and he could do it well, but he wasn't the same. I'd been taking a wild chance back at Promise's, trying to distract him into being disarmed … and it had worked. But it shouldn't have.

But that didn't matter … because Robin would work with him. Just a few minutes. Just a few minutes and Nik would be back.

I pushed Promise's nagging voice "you can do nothing" to the back of my mind.

"Stand up," I said, backing away from Niko, but keeping the gun trained on him. He rose to his feet, gray eyes simmering with hatred. Wow, this night was turning out to be a blast – I felt so damn loveable. I had three people who I liked and could trust in my pathetic little joke of a social life. In the past few hours two of them had tried to kill me, and the other – well, he'd tried to kill me too, but technically all he wanted to do was move to the other end of the country to get away from me. Happy days.

"It wasn't Promise you wanted. It was me," he said. The intensity of his stare not lessening for a second, and I just stared at my gun and didn't answer, because I couldn't look into those eyes.

Robin reappeared then with half a roll of duct tape and bound Niko's wrists behind his back – using a lot more tape than was necessary. "And now what are we going to do with him, wiseass?"

I looked up and met Niko's eyes, and even if he didn't know me, I knew him, and I knew the look I saw there. He was docile enough at this moment, but there was no way he was going down without a fight. Super-ninja was pissed. "Hold on," I said, handing Robin my gun. "Keep that on him and sit him down in there," I jerked my head toward the living room.

"What are you doing?"

"Just go," I snapped, turning and walking down the hall into Rafferty's bathroom. I knew I was being pretty shitty to Goodfellow, who, in all honesty, did not have to be here helping me. Hell. I'd apologize to him after I put my life back together. Or … to be technical here … after Robin put my life back together. Man, I really was shitty.

First I grabbed a hand towel and mopped the blood from my face, then I threw open the medicine cabinets and started rummaging around through boxes and bottles and bandages and injections and all sorts of medical supplies that belonged to Rafferty before he – er, long story. The drugs were probably mostly expired, but that didn't matter. I just needed something to relax Nik, something to calm him down. I finally found a bottle of Valium, which wasn't as strong as I'd like, but hell, I'd give him three.

Palming the pills, I left the bathroom and found the kitchen. Then I opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of soda – which was just about the only thing in there – and dumped the pills in. I didn't know how long that soda had been sitting in there, but soda didn't really get old, right?

I found Niko sitting in the living room with Robin hovering over him, gun in hand. I passed the puck and shoved the soda in my brother's face. "Drink this. All of it."

He stared at it in distaste. "I will not."

Unbelievable. Niko was still a frigging vegan! He forgets his only brother he's looked after since birth, but the Almighty Cabbage, that he remembers. Needless to say, I was pissed, and without further ado I seized his braid and dumped the soda down his throat.

"Good job, Caliban," said Robin acidly, shoving the gun into my hands as he passed me. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He stalked into the bathroom, slammed the door behind him, and started to retch loudly.

Meanwhile I just stood hating my gun and watching Niko, who was sitting rigidly with an unbreakable will and watching me back. After a moment of silence, he stated coldly, "I hope you don't think I'm frightened of that gun in your hand. I don't know who the hell you are, but I'm not a moron. You wouldn't shoot me."

Well, crap. It was time to put on my best poker face and hope like hell that this Nik was enough of a stranger that he wouldn't see right through it. "I'll shoot you," I said. "Just nowhere lethal. Easy enough."

One word like a sliver of ice. My brother was good like that. "Why."

Because I love the hell out of you and if you died I'd most likely either bury myself alive or go on a murder rampage across the 7 continents killing every living thing in my path. Hm. Well, it would shut him up, anyway. "Why don't you think about it for a while, and let me know when you come up with something," I said deadpan over my gun.

"You make a wrong move, I'll kill you."

"Okay, you do that."

After a short while, I saw his muscles begin to visibly relax. Maybe I should've taken some of that Valium for myself. To relax would be nice, but it wasn't a luxury I could afford right now. I had to take care of us if Promise or her Wolves happened to drop in for a visit. I needed to be alert –

And damn it, when was Goodfellow coming out of there? I just wanted this nightmare to be over. I needed Niko back.

I just wanted it over.

When Robin finally emerged from the bathroom he looked pale and irritable and had drops of water in his hair and dotting his shirt. He stepped into the living room and surveyed us as if he still couldn't believe that he was here.

"Robin?" I prompted him.

He sighed, crossed the room, and sat facing Niko on another couch. "Cal," he said, his voice suddenly calm and patient. "Put down your gun."

I hesitated.

"He needs to be relaxed."

Suddenly understanding seemed to dawn in Nik's eyes. "Hypnosis?" his jaw set angrily as he gave Robin one of his killer stares. "What kind of a monster are you?"

Patient, calm, sure, but now he was offended. "I am a puck, which you knew, and which you will know again in several minutes. Just concentrate on my voice and forget everything else."

He laughed incredulously without smiling as rock-hard eyes surveyed me. "You –"

"Niko!" Robin commanded. "Look at me!"

Hypnosis setting in already? Maybe. Goodfellow being an unyielding force of terror and command? Probably not. But for whatever reason, Niko's head turned and he looked Robin in the eyes. And then Goodfellow started talking … and Nik started to fade.

I almost felt like I was fading. That's how messed up I was – falling victim to someone else's hypnosis. Man. That was right out of a cheesy 40's comedy.

When Robin finally stopped speaking, there was a glaze over Niko's eyes. He was completely relaxed, muscles slack, head slightly lolled to one side. And, ungrateful bastard that I am, that was even more terrifying than before. Because even when my brother was meditating his ass off in some quiet, tranquil corner – he was always alert. He never looked like this. I wanted to tell Robin to hurry up, but I was afraid my voice would break the spell.

"Niko," Robin said in a low voice. "Can you hear me?" None of that heavy enunciation like you see in the movies – Goodfellow spoke as if to a normal person, or maybe a normal person hard of hearing.

And Nik answered softly, "Yes." His eyes were expressionless.

And suddenly I was tired. I sank to my knees on the floor in front of Nik and watched him, breath frozen in my chest.

"Tell me your name," Robin said.

"Niko Leandros."

Was that a good sign? I glanced over at Robin but his attention was focused on Nik.

"Tell me a memory."

There was a pause, and then Nik started speaking in a voice so unguarded and tentative I felt immediately like we should not be doing this. Nik never spoke like this to anyone but me. He would whip my traitorous ass if he knew what I was letting Robin do to him. "Hands, slow and white and gentle, and a dark room full of whispers, and … pearls."

I fisted my hands against the floor. Yeah, yeah, alright, got any more memories?

"Tell me what happened earlier tonight. You were at the college."

"I was at the college," Nik picked up from there, his eyes focused on something so distant it couldn't have been in this world. At least he was calm. The last time Robin had tried hypnosis on somebody it had been me and I'd turned into some kind of raving animal. "I felt confused, for a while. I don't know why. And then it ended, and Promise came to pick me up."

Robin flashed me a quick look, and then continued steadily. "Tell me another memory, before Promise."

There was no emotion in his eyes, but when he spoke, I was shocked by the sorrow that filled it. "Flames," he whispered. "And smoke, and broken glass. And I sat there for so long and I waited, and grieved."

"Why were you grieving?" Robin prompted softly.

"I think … someone I loved had just left me."

"Who?"

Silence. My throat was tight. Just say my name, Nik, say my name.

"My mother died that night," he said, but his voice sounded faulty – as if he weren't sure of his answer.

"Who else did you grieve for?"

"No one else."

A shiver crawled up my back. Shit. I turned to Robin and made desperate motions with my hands for him to hurry it up and make this work, but he didn't even grace me with a response – just continued his steady interrogation. "What happened after you waited?"

"I left. I was being chased. I was never in one place for too long, and I was always training. I had to be ready."

"What was chasing you?"

Silence. Empty eyes.

"What was chasing you, Niko?" Robin's voice was getting more persistent. "You were on the run. Who were you with?"

Another cursed pause as he looked for words that weren't there. "I was alone."

Robin was losing it. "No!" he snapped. "Niko, your brother. Tell me about your brother. Tell me about Cal Leandros."

This response was not delayed – it was quick, immediate, and mechanical – "I do not know Cal Leandros."

A punch in the gut, and all my breath went out of me. I let my head drop against his knee and thought no, no, no. "Nik," I ground out. Screw silence. He would know my voice. "Nik, come on." I shut my eyes and I did pray.

Nik's voice was strained, panicked – "I do not know …"

"Robin!"

"Shut up, Cal. Niko. Stop thinking. You will listen to my voice and wake up now. Niko …" he continued to work, slowly and gently waking up my brother as I staggered to my feet and backed away. I didn't want him to wake up – I didn't want Promise's lover on the couch, I wanted my brother, damn it! Why wasn't this working?

Robin woke him up, but only for about half a second. As soon as the haze lifted, Robin punched him hard in the jaw, rocketing his head backwards so that he slumped unconscious on the cushion.

"Skata," Robin whispered, sitting there a moment as heavy silence filled the room. When he rose to his feet and turned to face me, he looked solemn. "Caliban, I don't know what to do. I can't lift this. It's as if someone has simply ripped you out of his memory."

I stared straight ahead, my breath coming out thick and clumsy.

"Cal."

I remembered all those years after I came back from Tumulus. Dark and terrifying and a mess, and yet somehow there was good in them. Because Nik and I were together. I fell asleep every night with Nik's shadow over me, fought in battle with him beside me, walked with him watching my back, hid with his body blocking mine. I could remember having my ass kicked for leaving the door to our motel room unlocked. I remembered sitting in the passenger's seat and attempting to change Nik's radio station only to be flipped over his shoulder and thrown into the back. I remembered, and he didn't.

"I was alone."

"Cal."

There was nothing for me to say. So I left. I ran out of the room and down the hallway toward the front door. A cool wind blasted my face after I pulled it open, and I took a deep, hitching breath of it and stumbled into Rafferty's front yard. I would kill the son of a bitch who did this. I would kill Promise – because by this time I had no forgiveness in me. But I had to hold it together, like Niko. If my brother could suck it up and deal when I came back without any memories, I could do the same. Except now I knew exactly what he'd felt, all that time. I'd have to tell him that …

The dark outside became a blur, and I dropped onto my knees in the wet grass, wishing with all my damn heart that I could just sit out here, forget everything, and wait – and in a little while Niko would find me, and the world would be right again.