The battle had moved over the horizon and Team Gibbs had lost sight of everything. It felt like it had been quiet for an eternity. They just stood inside their barrier, not sure what to do with themselves.

Gibbs was the first one to break the silence. "I think we need to start searching for Tim. We know the general direction he ... was thrown ..."

"No, Gibbs."

"Ziva ..."

"NO!" She stomped her foot in a move that reminded the team leader of Abby. "He said to stay here until he came for us and that is what we are going to do!"

"Ziva, we have already waited a long time. For all we know days could have gone by." Tony added his thoughts to the mix.

"Or it could have been just a few minutes. We wait."

"What if he doesn't come back?"

Ziva looked at her partner in shock. "After everything, how could you think ..."

However, Gibbs knew what Tony meant. "It's not that he wouldn't want to come back, Ziver, its just, what if he couldn't."

Ziva let it sink in what they were implying. She shook her head and turned away from them. "He'll be back, you'll see."

Gibbs sighed. He was getting ready to press the issue when a lone figure appeared on the horizon.

He stumbled and fell several times on his trek towards the team, obviously injured. The team knew it was Ari even before he got close enough for them to see clearly.

Each of them wanted to rush out to him, but held back. Instead they waited until he made his way to them.

Ari collapsed to his knees in front of them. "You listened ... good." It sounded like he was having a hard time breathing, when he looked up to them, pain was etched all over his face.

"Come on, we must get Neri."

Ziva broke the barrier and knelt down to her brother. "You are injured, let me ..."

Ari shook his head. "No. I will be fine. I will recover on the way. We must get to Neri, quickly."

"I thought you said he'd be okay?" Tony asked.

Ziva helped her brother off the ground, he leaned on her heavily. "I said he would be alright for the moment. The moment has passed."

Gibbs marched forward, stood in front of Ari, staring down at him. He then sighed and took Ari off of Ziva. He swung the injured man's arm around his own neck, while he took a firm hold of both Ari's writs and waistband. "You ready to move?"

The Israeli stared at his former enemy in shock. He couldn't believe that Gibbs was actually helping him. Then he realized that the team leader was putting aside all of his hatred to help Tim. Ari smiled. This is the effect Neri has on people. He then nodded to Gibbs, "Yes, I am ready."

"Good." They started walking, slowly, with Tony and Ziva trailing behind.

XXXX

They had not gone very far when Gibbs started asking questions. "I think you owe us some answers. Why do we need to hurry to Tim now? Was that really Archer you fought? How did he know how to find us? And, why was he trying to get his hands on Tim?"

Ari let his head sag against Gibbs' shoulder for a moment. He knew the time had come to revel all to them and he needed to gather his strength.

Gibbs gave a quick glance to the man resting against him, even though they were still walking. His gut was telling him that Ari was working himself up for a big explanation. So, he waited. Not something he was really good at, but could do on occasion.

When Ari was ready, he straightened and pulled away from Gibbs. "When a soul comes here, it goes directly to the land where it belongs. From there it is up to the soul on how to survive. Most fall back into the behaviors they used in life."

The foursome kept moving as Ari talked. "For those of us in the bottoms lands, the lands that hold the worst of the worst, we fight. Each trying to gain supremacy over the other. When we're not fighting each other, we're trying to get into the Golden Hall. Either way, it's constant fighting, constant struggle ... just like in life."

"The forms you saw were our true forms: a grotesque mishmash of ourselves and those we devour."

Tony threw out the first question. "So why are you just a dragon? I didn't see any other ... parts to you?"

Ari smiled, but didn't turn to look at him. "I have always been one to trust only in my own strength. Yes, I would fight to gain control, but I wouldn't devour anyone. If I could defeat them, then they were not worthy to become part of me."

Tony nodded, in some way he completely understood ... and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"So, where does Tim fit into all of that?" Gibbs wanted to know.

"Do you remember what I told you was the true definition of evil?"

Gibbs nodded. "You said it was a soul that devoured anything good."

"Close enough. I also said that evil will be drawn to a source of good."

"You said it was like a drug to them."

"Yes, very much so, Gibbs." Ari paused, when he started again, he sounded sad. "Every once in a while a good soul will come through the badlands. It's either someone who had made the trek from the Land of Lost Souls, like we did or it is a soul that was ... dropped."

"Dropped, brother?"

Ari shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure of how it happens. I just know it does ... and when it does, we all are drawn to it. To us, it is like a lighthouse beam for a ship surrounded by darkness. And we cannot stay away." As he was talking his tone changed from sad to longing. He had to actually stop to get himself back under control.

"Sorry, like I said, it's a drug to us."

"Then why are you so protective of Tim?" Gibbs wanted to know.

Ari started moving again, and talking. "When he was dropped here, his was the brightest light I had ever seen. It was like a blazing flame of pure white."

"That is why you call him Neri!" Ziva exclaimed. When her teammates looked at her in confusion, she explained. "It is a term of endearment meaning 'My candle'."

"Yes, a candle to guide me out of the darkness."

Tony was confused. "But that still doesn't explain ..."

"I once had legions of fell beasts at my beckon call. Anyone I defeated I made them serve me, others came because they found out that I wasn't one to devour other souls. Either way I had a huge army at my disposal. When the light came, I set out immediately to find its source."

"Archer found him first. When I came upon the scene, Neri was running for his life. I set my armies against Archer, so that I could go after the light myself ... and I caught him! I had him in my claws, but ..." He once again fell silent.

"But ..." Gibbs prompted.

Ari sighed. "But I looked into his eyes and saw a mirror of myself."

"How so brother?"

"A child never wanted. One that couldn't please his father, no matter how hard he tried. A child that was never seen for who he truly was. A child alone and afraid." His tone was so sad, that it tore at the hearts of his listeners. "I knew I was looking at someone just like me. So I had to know."

"Know what?"

This time he did stop to turn at look at them. "I had to know why ... why I became monster and he didn't." He turned back around and continued walking.

The team was stunned, even Ziva. They weren't sure how to react to this new information. Gibbs shook his head and then hurried to catch up to Ari. Tony and Ziva stood still for a moment more, then they too, increase their pace to reach Ari and Gibbs.

Ari's recuperation was almost complete. All of the wounds that had been visible before, were gone. Also, his pace had quicken, so much so that the team was now at a slow jog to keep up with him. It was a long time before he began to speak again.

"I flew us all the way to the banks of the River of Blood. We tried to settle in there, but Neri's light kept drawing all souls to him; good, bad and indifferent. I tried to teach him how to suppress his light, but it was difficult with how bombarded he was by all the other souls. That's when I knew I had to get him as far way, as I could, from any other soul. Which meant crossing the river. That caused quite a stir."

"Why was that?" Gibbs asked.

"The ferry only works one way. Souls are not meant to go back and forth. Then there's the fact that someone like me only tries to cross the river to launch an attack on the living world. Ended up having Hades' whole army come to the river. You know, at that point, Neri could have gone with them, back to the Golden Hall, but he chose to stay with me. I don't know why, maybe because he knew we were the same, what ever the reason, it was his plea that allowed us to cross."

The ferryman tossed me two coins, incase we ever changed our minds and wanted to come back. I flew us to the farthest point, where other souls rarely ventured, to the land that touches the living world."

"Then how come we had to take the ferry across? Couldn't you have just flown us? You could you have saved Tim from reliving that horrible memory!" Tony challenged.

Ari shook his head. "There are rules that even I must follow. I was allowed to fly over the river, but if we ever wished to come back, we had to do so like all the other souls before us ... by using the ferry."

"Even still, why make us walk all this way? If you would have flow us once we got across the river, then we would have been at the Golden Hall by now."

Ari stopped again, and spun to meet DiNozzo head on.

"Because Neri needed to acknowledge you before we got there! Because my presence would have attracted unwanted attention sooner! Because ..." for a moment Ari's eyes glowed yellow and he had to stop to reign in his emotions. In a softer tone he finished, "Because you lose yourself to the beast. I might have turned on you ... on Neri. That is something I will never allow."

As he stared into the man's eyes, Tony had one last question. "Did you find your answer?"

"Answer?"

"As to why you became what you did and Tim became what he did?"

Ari shook his head. "It was no longer important."

Tony thought he finally understood Ari and nodded his acceptance.

The Israeli nodded back then turned to lead them again. "We must hurry."

They all quicken their pace, even as Gibbs asked, "Why?"

"I wasn't able to defeat all of them, to defeat Archer. They are still out there looking for Neri. And, ..."

"And?"

Ari let out a heavy sigh. "And, because he has fallen into the Marsh of Regret. That is the one place that I fear Neri could lose himself."

"Why is that, brother?"

None of them stopped this time for the explanation. "Regret is something that can turn a heart from bad to good ... or good to bad. The purer the person, the more regret they have."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought that." Tony threw in.

"Think about it. An evil soul doesn't care who they hurt, as long as their goal is accomplished. A good soul, on the other hand, feels very deeply about anyone they might have wronged - whether they really have or not."

"Yup, that sounds like Tim." Gibbs agreed.

"Your regrets will play out, keeping you mired in the Marsh. As long as you fight against your regret, you can stay afloat, but if you lose heart, you are then sucked to the bottom of the Marsh where regret consumes you. It can take just a couple of years or it could be thousands, but when you once again rise, there is nothing good left in you and new monster is born. I will not let that be Neri's fate."

No one responded, but they were all in agreement and they sped up more.