A/N I should have put my note in the last chapter. I will also amend the story details presently. The character Sun Wukong is not my own. The Monkey King began as a 16th-century novel by Wu Cheng'en and has since inspired many movies and undoubtedly plays. I cannot say that any one movie is the version I have chosen for a crossover. He is my own hodge-podge interpretation.

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Peter and Leanne arrived in Paris the following night. He was convinced that 10 hours in coach was the definition of hell. Especially if you were 6'2" tall with long legs. He had cracked his neck a dozen times by the time they had gone through customs, gotten their luggage, and headed out to the front of the airport expecting to get a taxi to the nearest car rental. Instead, they found Martin Bradshaw jogging up to them.

"Oh good, I was worried I might have missed you. I got caught up in traffic. I'm sorry."

Peter smiled "You're here that's all that matters. Uncle Martin, this is my fiancé Leanne Garret, Leanne this is my Dad's half-brother, Martin. He's the brother we like."

"It's nice to meet you, Leanne," Martin said offering his hand, which she accepted and shook. "I cannot fault your taste, Peter." He took their luggage from them. Neither had packed much, but he could see how exhausted they were.

"So how is your father?" Peter asked as they crossed the parking lot to Martin's rental car.

"He sleeps most of the time now," Martin said sadly. "He doesn't look to be in any pain."

"If he's anything like MY father he wouldn't tell you if he was in pain. Not physical pain anyway."

Martin opened the trunk and put the suitcases inside. "Unfortunately neither Caine nor I know him well enough to know if that is the case or not." He said sadly.

"Yeah, it took a while for me to get to know Pop well enough to tell if he was hiding anything," Peter said. Once the car was unlocked he opened the passenger side door and held it open for Leanne. He closed it once she was settled.

"Neither of us is going to get the chance to figure out our father."

"There were times I was afraid I wouldn't get to know my dad either." One day, when Kwai Chang Caine's time came Peter would grieve his death for a second time. He hoped it was a long way off.

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Sun Wukong walked alongside Lo Si, whom he called Old One rather than The Ancient. Wukong knew many things older than the Shamballa master. He wasn't so ancient by his reckoning. He did however find the man fascinating. There was much wisdom in his words. Wisdom came so much easier to humans than it did to those who were not. Humans had less time to gather it so they gathered it quickly. That was his theory anyway.

"What will you do when you find the evil one?" He asked.

"Attempt to take him back to Shamballa." Lo Si said. "Where he will answer for his crimes."

"What crimes?"

"Excuse me?" Lo Si asked.

"What crimes?" Wukong asked again. "What has he done? Here he experiments on my brothers and the foxes. He doesn't care how many tails they have either. Young ones, ancient ones… He kidnaps them and makes them his slaves. "

"He did much the same in my realm." Lo Si said, "I think he has experimented on his granddaughter."

Both of Wukong's eyebrows went up at that. "Is she one of those people you said you care about?"

Lo Si nodded "She is to marry one of the people I have sworn to protect. I have protected his family for many years. I cannot allow Yulong Yeoh to harm them now."

"Then we will find him so that he does not," Wukong said with a nod that almost looked grave. Almost. "He comes and goes, he tries to hide but he cannot stay hidden for long."

"Are your people safe while you accompany me?" Lo Si asked.

"The evil one is all that dares torment them. The others fear their most handsome king."

Lo Si smiled "I am sure that they do, your majesty."

Sun Wukong beamed, pleased that his new friend recognized him for who he was. His fame had reached even the mortal realms.

"Where does Yulong Yeoh do these experiments?"

"He does so at the base of the mountain of flowers and fruit. Or at least he did. He is no longer there… " A look of great sadness crosses his mostly simian features. " Many of my brothers and sisters are gone now."

Lo Si rested a comforting hand on Wukong's shoulder. "Then we shall help one another. We will find Yulong Yeoh and free your people. But first… take me to his apothecary. I may be able to learn where he has gone from where he has been." And perhaps learn what he has planned for his granddaughter and the line of Kwai Chang. He doubted it would be as simple as a mingling of their lines. There was too much power in the line of Kwai Chang for it to be a simple mingling. The Shamballa masters did not watch over specific bloodlines for no reason. Lo Si was not absolved of his sacred trust just because Kwai Chang Caine was now also a Shamballa master or because Peter had fulfilled the prophecy of the last of the line of Kwai Chang.

Sun Wukong nodded. "Yes… thank you."

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Peter opened Leanne's car door for her.

"You know, in all my travels, I have never been to France." She said.

Peter smiled and took the suitcases from Martin. "I have only been once. And it was here in this village. We were here for a relic… or rather to make sure a relic stayed safe."

"I am always amazed by the stories you tell of you and your father. I hope this one likes me." She said.

"He will," Peter said. "He's better at reading someone's soul than Paul is. Having never been a mercenary or a cop helps. You learn to be cynical in those jobs."

Martin led the way inside the cottage.

Peter set the bags down just inside the door and looked at his father. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen such sadness. Although he was sure it had been when his mother had faked her death. Peter strode forward and pulled his father into a tight embrace, saying nothing.

Leanne stood silently to the side, waiting. When Kwai Chang Caine looked at her he would know. He had been given visions of the past. She wasn't as optimistic as Peter. Especially not after Paul Blaisdell's reaction to her.

Peter felt some of the tension leave his father's body and he eased back, placing a comforting hand on his father's cheek for a moment, smiling a little sadly.

"I believe there is someone you wish to introduce to me," Caine said gently.

Peter held out his hand to Leanne and she came forward, taking it in hers and holding it tightly. "Father, This is Li Na Yeoh." He said. "But she is called Leanne now."

Caine took her other hand in his. "You have brought my son peace and contentment. For that I am grateful and I am pleased to welcome you to our family." He said. He sensed something else as well but chose not to speak of it. Not yet. He did not sense danger but there was something just outside his full perception.

"Thank you." She said. "I am pleased to meet you."

Caine sensed her apprehension and reached up to cup her face. "It is alright." He said.

Peter hadn't realized how tense he was until that moment, and the tension was released.

"There is much to discuss… later," Caine said. "But first, we should see your grandfather."

Peter nodded and let his father lead him into his grandfather's room. On the way in, he rolled his sleeves up to reveal the brands, so that his grandfather would see that the family tradition had continued in him. He was sure that his father had told him, but sometimes seeing carried more weight.

They found him still asleep. Peter moved to one side of the bed and his father moved to the other. They each took a hand. They exchanged a look and then closed their eyes, intoning meditation, giving Matthew Caine a little of their qi.

Leanne could hear them, and she smiled. "If you'll show me the kitchen I'll make something for dinner. They'll be famished when they are done."

Martin showed the way. "So what they do makes sense to you?"

She nodded "Oh yes. I grew up in a traditional Taoist household." It was the simple way to put it. "He has been missing his father." She said. She looked in the refrigerator and took out the vegetables, and found some pre-cooked rice.

"Caine has been missing him too," Martin said. "I don't know him too well. We didn't grow up together. I met Peter before I met Caine. A few hours before but still… I met Peter first."

She put the kettle on the stove to heat water and then started cutting up the vegetables. "He told me about that particular adventure." She said. He had also told her how his father had simply left without saying goodbye, knowing that no matter the outcome he would not be coming back. She wanted to like her future father-in-law. She wanted him to like her. But she was also afraid that he would hurt Peter. For all of his strength, there were parts of Peter that were fragile. Very fragile. Unfortunately, there were things she couldn't protect him from.

"Adventure. That's one word for it." Martin said watching as she worked. "Needless to say our brother isn't someone I have any desire to meet again."

"Perhaps in his next life, he will make different choices." She said, putting the wok on to heat. She scanned the jars of herbs and selected three of them as well as Jasmine tea. She measured out the right proportions and put them all in an oversized tea ball, that she placed in the teapot she found in the dish drain rack. By then the wok was hot so she added oil and once it gave a rippling appearance she began to add the vegetables.

"I don't know. I think he's evil enough this time around that he won't be much better next time."

"Who becomes what or carries what with them into the next life is so far above my pay grade that I wouldn't want to speculate. I will say that it is a good thing that we don't carry the memories of our past lives with us."

"I'm not even sure I believe in reincarnation," Martin said laughing a little.

"That's okay. Belief isn't necessary." She said with a smile.

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Peter sighed and stretched. He was more tired than he wanted to admit. He smiled at his grandfather when he opened his eyes.

"Peter?" Matthew asked, "you're here…"

"My father called and we thought it was time. I brought my fiancé with me." He said.

"I'm glad," Matthew said and patted Peter's hand. He looked at the brands and smiled. He of course had known that Peter had become a priest. Kwai Chang had been very proud of him. It was still good to see. "Did someone teach Martin to cook?" He asked sitting up in his bed.

"That smells like Leanne's cooking," Peter said.

"She is a beautiful woman," Caine said. "I believe I have seen her before. How did your encounter with the Sing Wah end."

Peter ran a hand down his face and then gave a truncated rundown of the entire situation. He left out that Leanne was an immortal or that he was the reincarnation of his great-grandfather. He wasn't sure how much his grandfather could handle hearing at the moment. "So the book is in a safe deposit box until we come up with a better solution. It didn't seem any safer to travel with it than it did to leave it hidden in her apartment."

Caine could always read his son. That had never changed. He knew that there were things left out of his story. He was certain he knew what they had to be about, but now wasn't the time to question him.

"I think I would like to sit in my chair," Matthew said.

They helped him get dressed and out into the living room.

"Your timing is impeccable," Leanne said. She brought in a tray with the teapot and cups. "I hope you don't mind, I used a few of your herbs."

"I do not mind," Caine said as he took the lid off of the teapot and breathed deeply. He nodded and smiled "It is a good blend. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Dinner is almost ready." She went back to the kitchen.

"Yeah, she and Lo Si keep trying to teach me about all of that. I think it's a lost cause. So I refer my people to one of them depending on who's handy at the time." Peter said. "Her medicine tastes just as bad as Lo Si's."

"This does not taste bad," Caine said as he handed a cup to William. "It's for your qi, father."

"You can tell that just from the scent," Peter said and shook his head.

"One day you will too. I have the feeling you won't be able to avoid it long."

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Sun Wukong led the Ancient to a village several miles from where they had started. "You should rest, old one."

"How far are we from the mountain of fruit and flowers?" Lo Si asked.

"We would not reach it today." He said. "But if you rest tonight then we will be able to reach it tomorrow night."

Lo Si wanted to continue. He was a Shamballa master after all. He should be able to meet any task that a younger man could accomplish. Unfortunately, Wukong was right. He had taken the potion too late in life. He might be unaging, but he had aged a great deal before he had accepted the elixir of Immortality and would forever be in his 80s.

"Very well." He said, his tone revealing his frustration, even if not who he was frustrated with. "We will stay here." He found a place slightly out of the way and set his zafu on the ground and slowly eased down upon it.

Wukong turned his head a little to the side, "Old one, would you not prefer to have a room?"

"I would prefer to continue, but unfortunately …" He sighed "That is not possible today. You were right to suggest we stay here." Lo Si said.

"You had traveled long before we met on the road, Old One," Wukong said. "There is no shame in resting."

"No shame, perhaps, but it is time that I do not have." Lo Si said.

"You cannot protect those you seek to protect if you collapse in your rice."

"I cannot protect them if too much time passes."

Wukong nodded. "Time is our enemy … and our friend." He said "So we will make the most of our time here and find a place you may rest the most in the least time. There is an inn further into the village. May I carry your pack, My Friend?"

Lo Si got to his feet. "If you wish." He said and picked up his zafu.

Wukong hefted the pack onto his back and walked alongside the Ancient.

"There are not many people in this village." He observed, even though he knew it should be otherwise by the number of buildings.

"I am sure we will find more as we go," Wukong said.

"I do not think so." Lo Si scanned the area as they continued walking. They rounded the corner and he frowned.

The communal well was ahead of them in the town square. Many of the villagers were on the ground. From the distance, Lo Si couldn't tell if they were dead or merely unconscious. A woman knelt on the ground, bent over one of the villagers.

A man dressed in white, not entirely unlike what Wukong wore, stood back from the tableau. "Sparrow, what have you done?" the man demanded "Why?!"

"I have done nothing." She said.

"Witch… you lie." He said. He took two steps back as her long dark hair began to flow back like watered silk in the wind. It lost its color fading from iridescent black to the palest wintery white.

"Sun Xia He," Wukong said "What has happened here?"

She turned her head slowly, to fix Wukong and Lo Si with her gaze. "Who is that?" She asked, not answering Wukong.

"The Old One? He is a priest from far away." He said, "Xia, what has happened?"

"I do not know." She said. "They are dying and I do not know why."

Lo Si stepped forward, ignoring the woman as well as the new warrior on the scene. He knelt beside one of the victims. He held his hands slightly above him and moved them up and down his torso. He swore softly. "His qi is dangerously depleted." He said. "Are all the others the same as this man?"

The white-haired girl nodded. "Yes… those that live."

"There is no disease that would do this with no other symptoms. I fear we are dealing with a creature who devours qi."

"There are no hopping corpses in this village." The young warrior insisted. "It is this witch who has done this."

"She has not," Wukong said firmly.

"I agree, she has not." Lo Si said. "The Jiang shi are not the only demons to one's steal life force, young one. Merely the most obvious."

"Can you help them?" Sun Wukong asked.

Lo Si drew a deep breath. "I do not know. But I will do all that I can." He didn't think he had the time to spare but there was nothing he could do about that. Whatever the creature was, he couldn't leave it to travel from village to village, killing all in its path.

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Peter sat on the floor and listened as his father told stories from his early childhood, and the travels that he and William had shared. Leanne had fallen asleep on the sofa and he hadn't wanted to wake her. His grandfather too had drifted off to sleep and had been so for nearly an hour.

"It is late," Caine said. "I should get him into bed." He rose, gently touching his father's arm. "Father."

Matthew roused slowly and smiled. "I dreamed that my father was here with us."

Peter smiled a little as he got to his feet. "What makes you so sure he isn't?" He said and kissed the aged man's brow. He didn't catch the look his father gave him with that phrase. "Can I help you to bed?"

"Yes, I think so," Matthew said and offered his hands to Peter who simply braced himself and allowed William to pull himself out of the chair using Peter to steady himself.

Caine and Peter walked on either side of Matthew. He spoke of his father as they walked. They eased him into his bed and pulled the covers up over him.

Matthew grasped Peter's hand. "Will you be here when I wake?"

Peter held it gently in his own. "I will be here." He said another voice added to his own, even if faintly so. "Sleep well."

Once in the hallway, Caine rested his hand on his son's shoulder. "Come outside with me." He said and led the way through the kitchen to the backyard. Some things should not be discussed with witnesses no matter who they were.

"You have questions," Peter said, hoping this wasn't the other shoe dropping.

"I do," Caine said as they settled onto the garden bench. "When did you discover you are the reincarnation of my grandfather?"

"Not long." He said "I found out during meditation when Leanne had been kidnapped by the sing wah. So I guess… three days now. I had no idea how to find her … and there he was in my meditation telling me to follow the echo of her qi. Of course, he couldn't say straight out that he was me… it was more along the lines of … he was always there, that I always saw him. Fortunately, I passed my math classes and put two and two together."

Caine smiled a little "I think you are the first in our line to speak bluntly."

"No, you've managed blunt. You just don't answer questions directly." Peter said with a quiet laugh.

"I begin to understand the visions I have had in my meditations." He said, studying his son a moment.

"You would be right… If I am reading you correctly." He and Leanne had discussed it. They weren't going to lie to his father. They planned to ease into it, waiting until after the funerary services, but telling him the truth before going back home.

Caine nodded. "How are you dealing with that reality?" He asked gently.

"We haven't decided yet. She's offered to make me as she is." Saying immortal out loud sounded pretentious to his ears. Seeing her as worthy of immortality was easy because he loved her so much. It was not so easy seeing himself as an immortal. He was just Peter Caine after all. "She offered when I was half dead. I told her to ask me again after we were married."

"It is not a decision to make lightly," Caine said, nodding his approval. "There are benefits to either decision you could make."

"At least I get to make the decision," Peter said. "Her grandfather didn't tell her what it was that he'd given her to take. Told her it was to heal her so that she could go after your grandfather."

"He is Yulong Yeoh?" Caine asked, when Peter nodded, Caine gave a disapproving sigh. "He is notorious among the Shamballa masters."

"It was his books that the Sing wah was after. Trying to force our hand to give them the secret of immortality. They couldn't force her hand by poisoning me or force mine by kidnapping her."

"Are they still in Chinatown?" Caine asked.

"The books? Yes, we put them in a safe deposit box. The Sing Wah… I don't know." Peter said honestly. "I only saw 5 total. They were defeated. Your guess is as good as mine about whether or not they left. Of course with Kermit and Paul involved in her rescue, they might figure they've bitten off more than they can chew." He looked at his father a little nervously. "So … what do you think… about Li Na I mean."

"I think your face lights up when you gaze upon her," Caine said. "She brings you contentment." Something that had always seemed to slip through Peter's fingers. " How could I think poorly of her after that? Besides, one cannot choose one's ancestors."

Peter visibly relaxed. "Thanks, Pop. That means a lot to me."