This is an absolute delight to post. I absolutely love Season Two and how it's turned out, and I can't wait to show the people that read this how the story unfolds. On top of having longer Chapters than Season One, Season Two is also more intense, and it carries that intensity through the whole Season. As always, any honest feedback is welcome. To the people that have been reading this series as it's progressed, I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate the time you've committed to Jack's and Sarah's journey. And to everyone else who has and will provide their time to check this out, just know I appreciate it.

CHAPTER 19: THE WAR

The still early morning air in New York City left a hazy fog wrapping around the skyward buildings. While the city was perfectly alive with people and activity, the dull silence of an empty atmosphere seemed to set a permanent grimness on the place.

Standing on a roof, overlooking the streets twenty stories below were two people. The man had tan skin and short, dark hair with the top spiked up. He had a black leather jacket over a black shirt with dark jeans. The woman had long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt and pants with what looked like armored padding on her chest, arms, and thighs. They surveyed the droves of cars and people with a serene indifference.

"That was a good job taking out Algaltha," said Daak. "Your little militia of Anomalies is doing better than I would have given them credit for."

Theas smiled dryly. "I told you."

"Well, we'll see if they can do it again," Daak said, looking at him.

Theas returned eye contact, albeit with much more concern. "Have the Hunters deployed another Kill Team to this Universe?"

"They have," Daak confirmed. "And I'm told this one is far more powerful than Algaltha's group."

Theas exhaled, nodding while looking back out over the city. "We'll deal with it."

"You're bound to lose some people along the way," Daak informed him.

Theas shrugged. "Wouldn't be that way if we had the Inverter."

Daak looked at him with a small grin. "I've already had that argument with you. Several times, in fact. You lost the Focal Inverter fair and square, and I have no intentions of giving it back."

Theas didn't pursue the subject further. "When will the Hunters be here?" he asked.

"You know I can't answer that any better than you can," Daak said. "Just get your people ready." She then tilted her head as though listening for a distant sound, and she said, "Sounds like you're about to have a challenge on your hands."

"You hear it too?" Theas replied. He scoffed and said, "I guess I better go run intervention."

He typed on his wrist watch and opened a portal. Daak didn't look around as he stepped through the portal, and it closed behind her. As the rooftop became still again, she continued to observe the massive city in front of her.

In Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a man walked hurriedly through the halls. He dodged around nurses, patients, and visitors, panting heavily as he searched the labyrinthine hospital for where he needed to be.

JACK FOSSE:

I sat in Sarah's hospital room, and we were both about to fall to the floor from laughing so hard. My mom, Luanne Fosse, was giving a stupendous effort to continue telling her story. Along with us were my father, Alister, and Sarah's parents, Leandre and Jalil Alfarsi.

"And so, your dad," mom said, "he gets back from his deployment, and he's scared out of his mind that I'm going to have left him. He's just sure I've shacked up with Monika from three houses down."

"Hey!" dad said, still laughing, "she's an attractive woman, I don't think I'd have even been that upset."

"So, he comes home and finds the house completely empty. The lights are all off, I'm nowhere to be found. So, he steps back outside, looks around, and he sees my car sitting in Monika's driveway."

"Oh, my gosh," Sarah said. Her parents were in equal states of hysterical laughter.

"Right," mom agreed. "So, he saunters on over to Monika's, just knowing what he's going to find when he gets there. He gets there, sees the door hanging open. He doesn't knock, doesn't want anyone to know he's there. So, he sneaks his way in, thinking he's going to surprise us. And as soon as he's in, the lights come on, and we're all there."

I was still laughing so hard I couldn't speak, and Sarah asked, "Did he have any idea?"

"Oh, not a clue," mom answered. "When he finally realized what we were celebrating, he thought somebody else was pregnant."

"And when he found out what was really happening?" Jalil asked.

"Oh, I thought he was going to pass out," mom answered. "I don't think he even remembered he took some personal leave two months prior to come see me for my birthday."

"So then he just got home from an active warzone," Leandre said.

"Uh-huh," mom confirmed. "And I was eight weeks pregnant."

"Oh, God, I think my stitches are going to break open," Sarah wheezed, doubled over in her bed.

"That's so awesome," I said. "I've always loved that story."
"Oh, sure, it's funny now," dad said, nearing tears, "at the time I was ready to serve divorce paperwork. And that was after the surprise dropped."

We all spent about five minutes laughing off the story. After we were mostly calmed down, we heard a knock at the door, and it was thrown open. We all looked around in surprise, and Luca Sciuto stood in the doorway, panting and looking quite perturbed.

"What's up?" I asked, somewhat apprehensive.

"Um," Luca said, recovering himself, "I was told to inform you that Ari is here. Ari Haswari."

I sat frozen for a split second before I shot out of my chair, my face ghostly pale and my eyes wide. I looked around at Sarah, who stared at me with equal measures of shock and resentment towards the situation. I could tell she was about to tell me off for wanting to leave, but as she studied my expression and the urgency in my stare, she caved.

"Go," she told me softly. "I'll be here when you get back."

IN THE EYES OF THE MULTIVERSE:

"NO, YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND!" Gibbs screamed. "He's not staying here! I'm not having it!"

Ari stood in the living room of the Fosse house, quite isolated from the people surrounding him, with his arms folded and looking rather bored.

"Jethro! Jethro!" Sloane pleaded, placing pacifying hands on Gibbs's shoulders.

"Jack, you don't understand!" Gibbs roared. "Ari has killed people! Good people!"

"Okay, but shooting him in the head now isn't going to solve anything," Sloane said.

"I agree with Jethro," Fornell said. He was far more calm than Gibbs, but he gave Ari a withering look. "There is nothing to be gained by bringing this man into our midst."

"Well, I don't know if that means we just blow him away," said Jackson Gibbs, looking quite upset. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, son?"

"Not terrorists," said Admiral McGee. "They've made their choices. They deserve the consequences."

"When you're all finished acting like children," said Ari in a long, bored drawl.

Gibbs glared furiously at Ari, and he pulled his pistol while marching towards him. Ari didn't waver, and Gibbs stood with his face inches from Ari, holding incensed eye contact with him. "Keep talking," Gibbs growled. "Go on, open your mouth again."

"And what do you think you're going to do about it?" Ari asked him.

"I'll kill you, Ari," Gibbs assured him. "I'll kill you."

"No one's killing anybody in my house."

JACK FOSSE:

I marched into the living room, surveying the crowd of people. Kyle Davis and Rob Bishop stood off at the edge of the room, seeming determined to stay out of the confrontation. Luca sauntered in behind me and stood next to Kyle and Rob, looking as nervous as them. I stood face-to-face with Ari while he and Gibbs looked at me.

"And who are you?" Ari asked.

"I'm the guy who's been nice enough not to kill you for trespassing on my property," I told him.

Ari shrugged while looking around. "I assure you I did not come here of my own volition."

I glanced around at Sloane, who said quietly, "A portal opened up that brought us all here. Which was probably fortunate, because I don't think Jethro was going to let Ari live."

I nodded and looked back at Ari. He had a small, infuriating grin on his face that was clearly designed to cause as much tension as possible. "We don't kill him," I declared firmly.

"Jack, you don't understand who this man is," Gibbs said in exasperation. "He's a terrorist."

"He's a product of the world he was born in," I countered. "Same as Bradley Simek."

Gibbs exhaled, and I saw the flashes of memory cross him. The vision of a bus explosion that left a seventeen-year-old boy dead. "It's different," he grunted.

"It's not," I told him. "Ari spent his whole life in a system that treated him as a tool for war. The Israeli government has as much accountability as anyone."

"As true as that might be," Fornell intervened, "I hardly think that justifies the risk he poses to each of us."

"Jack, do you know what he's done?" Gibbs asked, facing me head-on. "Do you honestly know who he is?"

"Gibbs, I know all of it," I assured him. "I know who he killed and what it means to you."

"Then can you honestly say you'll sleep at night with him here?" Gibbs asked.

I didn't immediately answer. I glanced between Gibbs and Ari. I then looked at everyone else in the room. Everyone was experiencing various degrees of discomfort. Regardless of their stance on killing Ari on sight, they knew that he was dangerous.

A portal opened, and Ari hardly glanced around as Theas walked through. He looked around at everyone gathered in the room, and as he walked past me he whispered, "Sorry I'm late."

I nodded, and Theas stood near Gibbs, staring down Ari. Ari had an eyebrow raised as he observed Theas, his interest clearly piqued.

Gibbs turned to Theas and growled, "Send his ass back to Hell where it belongs."

Ari's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.

"You know I can't do that, Gibbs," Theas said. "He'll just pop right back over. As unpleasant as this may be for all involved, he's here for the long haul."

Gibbs looked murderous, but Theas didn't waver.

After a moment of consideration, I turned to Ari. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Ari scoffed. "I must say I lack any desire to prove my worth to the same bureaucracy that saw me as a weapon."

"Well, you've got ten people here that are going to either be your best friends or your worst enemies," I told him. "Take your pick."

Ari exhaled again, and I could tell he was growing impatient. "Fine," he said. "I will play nice."

Gibbs scoffed with as much derision as he could possibly muster. He turned and stormed off, shoving his way right past Sloane when she tried to intercept him. Just before entering the hallway leading to the residential quarters, he slammed his hand into a rack of specimen jars and scattered them across the lab floor.

Most of the Anomalies avoided looking at anyone. Sloane looked miserably after Gibbs. "He'll cool off," she said, likely to herself more than anyone.

"Don't bet on it," Fornell said with a dry smile.

Jackson grunted in agreement.

Theas turned to face Ari and said, "Haswari, make no mistake, I know what you are. I have elected to consider you a member of this organization for the time being. Should you do anything to compromise this task force or the people in it, I will throw you in the deepest hole in the universe to watch you rot."

Ari grinned, but his face paled a bit. "Are you a god?"

Theas scoffed. "Hardly."

"What happens now?" I asked. "A lot of people here aren't going to be okay with him walking around freely, and I can't honestly say I blame them."

"I know," Theas assured me. "Fortunately I have something that might alleviate some of those stressors."

"Yeah, like what?" I asked.

"A Microbreach," Theas answered.

My eyes widened as I stepped towards Theas. "Is it Kauyu?"

"No," Theas answered, somewhat grimly. "Kauyu and his people are as absent as when they left Vanuatu. I've searched all over the planet for them, but I think they've gone offworld. I'm still waiting for approval to search other dimensions in the universe."

Ari raised an eyebrow at Theas's statement, and he looked quite taken aback by everything he just heard.

"Then what's this?" I asked. Despite it having nothing to do with Kauyu, I was eager to get Ari somewhere away from the rest of the Anomalies.

"It's pretty straightforward," Theas assured me. "A creature from another universe found its way here. We just have to track it down and send it home."

"Is it hostile?" I asked.

Theas shrugged. "We'll find out when we get there."

"We?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Theas said, looking a bit furtive. "This will be a good opportunity to integrate Haswari into the ART. You know, away from some unsavory attitudes. At the same time, I don't trust him alone with you, and I doubt anyone is going to be jumping to accompany you."

No one in the room argued with him.

"Hey, hold on," Ari said. "What is this? You think you can just tell me where to go?"

"Uh, yeah," I said while Theas tapped on his watch. "That's the point of being on a team. You do what the team does."

"No," Ari said firmly. "I'm not doing it."

"That's nice," Theas said. A portal opened up, and he swiped his arm so that it passed over the three of us.

The portal spat us out in a bustling town. We navigated off the main road onto the sidewalk. I was as surprised as always that the crowds of people surrounding us didn't notice three people dropping out of a portal into their midst. I studied the town. The architecture of the houses and small shops didn't look very different from America–maybe a large coastal town near the Pacific. There were, however, quite a lot of palm trees interspersed throughout the suburban streets.

Ari looked around as well, although he didn't seem to take much interest in our whereabouts.

"Where are we?" I asked Theas.

"Georgetown," he answered. When he saw the confused expression on my face, he said, "Guyana."

"Oh."

We started walking, and several of the Guyanese people knew we didn't fit in here, but none of them approached us.

"How will we know what we're looking for?" Ari asked in a tone that was somewhere between boredom and exasperation.

"Microbreaches have a habit of finding us quickly enough," I told him.

"Microbreaches," Ari said slowly, wrapping his knowledge of the English language around the word. "You Americans make no sense."

"Please don't insult me by calling me American," Theas said.

"Could have fooled me," Ari grumbled.

We walked down the sidewalk, our eyes open for any signs of something unusual. Ari managed to keep his complaints to himself, but his stony expression made his opinions on what he was doing known. After about a twenty minute stroll down the streets of Georgetown, we heard some commotion down an alleyway to our right.

"Let's go," Theas ordered.

"I don't have a weapon," Ari stated, eyeing my bow as I extended its arms.

"No, you don't," Theas agreed.

Ari took a deep breath, but he followed us as we moved quickly down the alley. Several people ran towards the source of the disturbance, and there was alarmed chatter coming from a nearby courtyard.

"If we're trying to stay out of the open, we might not want to join the crowd," I commented.

Theas considered this, and he nodded. He looked around at the surrounding buildings, and I saw him mentally forming a plan to get to the rooftops surrounding the courtyards.

"Can't we just teleport?" Ari asked.

"We could, but there's no guarantee we won't be spotted," Theas said.

"What are you talking about?" Ari said. "We dropped right into the street, and no one blinked an eye."

"It doesn't always work like that," Theas said. "I have to be really careful about when and how I use it, otherwise the public will notice."

Ari looked at me. "Do all of his tricks only work when he wants them to?"

"You get used to it," I answered.

"Come on," Theas said. "Let's start climbing."

Ten minutes later, we were on a rooftop overlooking the courtyard. There were about thirty people gathered there with more filing in. They surrounded something on the ground that I couldn't make out at first. It was small, dark in color, but something on it was reflecting sunlight so that it seemed to sparkle from where we were standing.

"What the hell is that?" Ari asked, crouching down to one knee to peer down.

"Well, let's take a look," Theas said, examining his watch.

He pressed a button, and a holographic display projected from the watch to form a computer screen in front of him. Ari's mouth fell open as he watched Theas scroll through the contents. After a moment he pulled up an image of a small animal. It was about the size of a cheetah, and it had thick black fur and a long snout. However, the four-legged creature had several chunks of bright crystals growing out of its body in various places. I compared Theas's image to the thing huddled below us, and I asked, "What is it?"

"It's called a Trachamyne," Theas answered. "They're pretty common where they come from, but…well, I wouldn't trust one on this world."

"Why's that?" I asked.

Ari scoffed. "Look at it," he said, stepping forward to examine the image of the Trachamyne. "What is that all over it? Diamond?"

"Uh, no," Theas said, browsing his data. "It's called kiten. It would be considered about three times as valuable as diamond in this realm.

"Oh…goody," I said, glancing down at the surrounded Trachamyne.

"Is it dangerous?" Ari asked.

Theas shrugged. "About as much as your average dog. Getting it away from the crowd would probably be best for all involved."

"How do you want to do that?" I asked.

Theas looked around us. He spotted a small, abandoned church that appeared to be on the verge of collapse. "Let's cause a distraction," he suggested. He pointed at the church, and I looked at it. I looked questioningly at him, and he nodded his head towards my bow. I put the pieces together, and my eyes widened.

"Wait, can we…we can just…can we do that?"

"Do what?" Ari asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Theas said, stepping back to give me the floor.

I took a deep breath, and I pulled an arrow from my quiver and nocked it. I took aim at the church, its outline blinking in my bow's sight.

"What are you doing?" Ari asked, his voice almost sounding alarmed.

"This is an explosive arrow," I told him. "It'll bring that building to the ground, which will send all of those people running and leave us free to get the Trachamyne."

Ari stared at me, his mouth hanging half-open. He then laughed dryly and said, "Is this what people have come to? Destroying their places of worship like it's nothing?"

Theas and I both looked at him, somewhat surprised. "Really?" I said to him. "Everything you've done, all the people you've killed and tried to, you're really going to raise a stink about this?"

"There is a line," Ari said. "Anybody I've killed, it was done for a purpose. There is no purpose for this when there are other ways of getting it done."

Theas and I exchanged surprised looks, and we both stared at Ari with raised eyebrows. After a moment of stunned silence, Theas said, "Yeah, I've got nothing for you."

"I really don't think we're going to take the advice of a terrorist," I told him. I drew my bow back and said, "And besides, it's not like it's a synagogue."

Ari scoffed. "You see, this is exactly why I joined Hamas. You people have no respect. You assume one's own religion should take precedence over another. You would destroy a place of worship because it suits you."

I relaxed my bowstring to face him. "What would you have us do, Ari? This is the job. We're here to keep universal Anomalies from doing damage to the multiverse. Just because it doesn't fit our sensibilities doesn't mean we get to back down."

"Do you always sacrifice your principles for an occupation?" Ari asked me.

"No," I answered firmly. "But sometimes doing the right thing means doing something that I don't like. I've learned to accept that over the years."

Ari stared at me mutinously. He then nodded, and he said, "Fine. Go ahead. I will make no further protest."

I nodded, and I drew my bowstring back once more. "Are you sure about this?" I asked Theas.

"I promise my authority is higher than the Guyanese police," Theas assured me.

I fired my arrow, and the church erupted into flames. Screams rose up from the courtyard below, as well as from the surrounding streets, and we all watched as the courtyard cleared in seconds. The Trachamyne scurried around, seeming unsure what to do with itself. A portal opened in front of the creature, and the three of us walked out to face it. The Trachamyne backed away from us, looking terrified as it searched for a way out.

"Can you communicate with it?" Ari asked. "Tell it we don't intend to harm it?"

"Yeah," Theas answered.

Ari and I watched as he typed on his watch, and he scanned the Trachamyne. "My name is Theas," he introduced to the creature. "This is Jack, and this is Ari. We're not here to hurt you."

"I don't believe you," said the Trachamyne in a high-pitched voice. "Where am I?"

"I know this is a lot to take in," Theas said, crouching down to eye level with the Trachamyne. "But we're here to get you home."

"How did I get here?"

"You'd be better able to explain that than us," Theas said. "But it doesn't matter. I can get you back where you came from right–" Theas cut off. His eyes widened, and he looked around. His watch beeped in alarm, and the Trachamyne grew restless as it crouched lower.

"What is it?" I asked. "What's happening?"

"Get back!" Theas shouted. "Both of you! Get back now!"

Neither of us hesitated in quickly backing away, and the Trachamyne gasped in alarm, looking around in terror. Theas dove towards the creature, but a powerful flash of white light overtook the entire area. I was blinded, unable to tell what was happening. The light faded a few seconds later, and when I was finally able to open my eyes, the Trachamyne was gone. Theas, sprawled on the ground, sat up and looked around. After seeing that the Trachamyne was nowhere to be seen, he consulted his watch.

"What was that?" Ari said, sounding somewhat fearful.

"Theas," I said.

Theas browsed the readings on his watch for a moment before looking up at me, his expression confirming that the Trachamyne was gone.

"Son of a bitch," I breathed, looking out at the city.

It made no sense. Kauyu and his crew were still running around freely, and meanwhile perfectly civil Anomalies like Sabakay and the Trachamyne were wiped out of existence by whatever force this was. And we still didn't have the slightest clue what was causing it. The only lead we had was that it may be related to whatever was causing the Macrobreach.

"Come on," Theas grumbled. "There's no sense straggling here."

He opened a portal, and I let out a sharp breath as I marched through it. Ari looked around at the city surrounding him, and he followed me through as Theas tailed us.

We returned to my living room, and I looked around to see that it was empty. Theas closed the portal, and he consulted his watch. "I've got reports to file," he said.

"Yeah," I answered. He disappeared through another portal, and Ari and I were left in an awkward silence.

"So," he said, looking around the living room. "Where should I go?"

"The guest room is down the hall," I told him. "I don't recommend venturing into the lab right now."

Ari nodded, and he asked, "What are you going to do?"

I grabbed my car keys off an end table and said, "I need to go see my wife." I prepared to walk to the garage, and I stopped and said, "Try not to piss anybody off while I'm gone."

Ari smirked, and I walked out of the room.

IN THE EYES OF THE MULTIVERSE:

Ari watched as Jack disappeared through the garage, and he heard movement from another direction. He looked around, and Gibbs was staring at him from the kitchen. Neither of them spoke. They stared each other down, Gibbs's face contorted with furious determination, and Ari wielding a spiteful grin. Gibbs took a step closer to him, his Colt clutched tightly in his hand. Ari eyed this, but he didn't react. He took a step closer to Gibbs, and the two enemies stood against each other, their war ever continuous.