Virgil looked up from where he held the auto-surgeon instrument poised directly over the shard of plexiglass embedded in Kyrano's chest. One of Brains' most amazing inventions to date, the auto-surgeon combined electromagnetics with positively charged ions and short-wave gamma rays to heal internal injuries from outside the body. "I wish Brains had come back with us."

"Well, he couldn't," Jeff said.

"Couldn't, Father?" Scott inquired as Jeff moved to stand just opposite Virgil.

"I wasn't about to leave John over there alone."

"One of us could've stayed with him," Scott said with a frown.

"I don't think so, Scott," Virgil said and waited until Scott's eyes found his.

The heir to…not much of anything, really, at the moment, given the state All Things Tracy was currently in…stared at Virgil for a few seconds. Slowly his frown became softer as brother met brother in silent conversation. Finally, he just said, "Oh."

"Let's do this, boys. We need Kyrano to keep that date with Malaysia."

Every man was ready. Jeff put his hand over the end of the shard, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And very nearly died of fright when a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. His eyes flew open to find Kyrano looking right at him.

"No," the breathy voice said.

"Kyrano, stop it, we're going to get you fixed up!" Jeff puffed as though he'd just run the 440.

Kyrano's head shook side to side. "You must…not."

"Why?" Virgil asked. "The Hood hasn't got you, has he?"

"No," Kyrano replied. "But…your father…cannot live this way."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jeff boomed.

A smile graced the Malay man's face. "I have caused far too much trouble for you and those you love."

Jeff looked up at Scott next to him, then Virgil across from him. He visibly struggled before finally losing the battle. "Dammit, Kyrano, you are one of the ones I love!"

Breathing hard, Jeff forced himself to meet Kyrano's eyes, conveying the disbelief he felt that Kyrano wouldn't already know that. Virgil eyed his brother, then his father, and then smiled. "Dad's right," he said. "You're part of our family as much as he is."

"You don't…understand. If…if you join with me to keep me alive, Jeff," Kyrano said, "it will become…permanent."

"What does that mean exactly?" Scott asked as his father's face became unreadable.

"I…think you…know…"

Jeff looked at both his sons. Scott saw in them the pleading look he'd seen the night of his mother's death. Begging for help, begging for someone to take the pain away, take the lead, keep him from having to deal with the unfathomable. He brought his hand up to rest on his father's shoulder.

"We're saving your life whether you want us to or not," Virgil said, noting the taut muscles in Scott's neck.

"Permanent?" Jeff finally said as though he'd only just then wrapped his head around the whole thing.

"Permanent," Kyrano repeated, nodding once. "If you live, I live. If…you die…I die."

"You mean your life force will always be in me."

Nodding once again, only this time with his eyes closing, Kyrano whispered, "Yes. If you initiate it…and I am too weak to do so…then it is forever, Jeff Tracy." Reopening his eyes, he focused them on the gray ones he knew so well. "Are you certain you can do that?"

Jeff squared his shoulders and leaned down so his mouth was touching Kyrano's left ear. "Here's your answer, Meor," he whispered, and in one swift motion pulled the plexiglass shard clean out of his chest.

Kyrano gasped, chest arching off the table as Virgil worked frantically to close the hole in his heart using the auto-surgeon. Scott gauged the syntheblood transfer and watched the Auto Nurse closely as Jeff threw the shard to the floor. He grasped Kyrano's hands and moved so his forehead was touching the dying man's.

"You're not leaving me," Jeff said gruffly. "You hear me?"

Virgil's and Scott's eyes met as the heart began slowly to heal.

His voice quieter as his eyes closed, he repeated fiercely, "You're not leaving me!"

"What could be keeping them?" Tin-Tin asked, chewing mercilessly on the only two decent fingernails she had left. "What's happened to Father?"

"I'll try Scott again," Gordon offered and Alan nodded his thanks as he tried calming Tin-Tin by taking her into his arms.

"Lee Seung will be back in fifteen minutes!" Tin-Tin exclaimed, pushing away from Alan and continuing what had become a relentless pace of the Rainbow penthouse suite from front to back. "If my father's not here, what will I do?"

Alan rocked back on his heels, crossing his arms over his chest. He half smiled and said, "You'll do what you were born to do."

She stopped and pivoted to face him. "What?"

"You'll lead your country, and all these other countries, in the fight to return peace to Earth." Alan swung his arms out in a couple revolutions on either side of his body and heard the cartilage pop. He sighed at the feeling and all-out grinned. "I can't think of anyone better suited to the task."

"You're teasing me," she said, a blush creeping up her neck.

"No, Tin-Tin," Alan said, crossing the room and opening his arms to her. "I would never tease about something like this."

"Guys, they've found Kyrano, but he's—" Gordon's eyes darted back and forth between his two companions. "It's touch and go."

"What?" Tin-Tin cried.

"Dad's doing everything he can to save him."

"Your father?" Tin-Tin asked, eyes wide. "But…what about Brains? Shouldn't he be there?" She came to stand toe-to-toe with Gordon. "Has something happened to him?"

"What about John?" Alan asked as he approached them.

"They're all fine. John and Brains stayed on the other Tracy Island to find the IDT Ben said he had over there, to destroy it." Gordon looked directly at Tin-Tin. "Ben's dead. Your uncle's gone. Gone gone."

"Oh, thank God," she breathed. "But…I don't understand…what is your father doing for mine?"

"I don't know," Gordon shrugged. "But whatever it is, Scott said it was the only way for your father to live."

"Oh," Tin-Tin breathed, realization dawning. "Oh, my."

"What?" Alan asked as she moved to sit down on a nearby overstuffed chair. "Tin-Tin? What's going on?"

She looked up at Alan, unshed tears shining brightly in her hazel eyes. "They're joining," she said. "Father must have left his life force in Mr. Tracy."

"Say what?" Gordon said.

"If my father were injured, oh, he knew! He knew!"

"Tin-Tin, honey, you're not making any sense," Alan said, crouching down next to her. "Who knew what?"

"My father must have known all that was to transpire," she said, a tear leaking from the corner of her eye. As Alan reached up to brush it away with his thumb, she continued, "Don't you see? When Father helped him, when he said he had to transfer his life force back into himself…he didn't. He knew Jeff would need to keep it."

"Okaaaaay," Gordon said, not really getting it at all. "But what is Dad doing now?"

"The only way he'd be able to save my father is if he joined with him," Tin-Tin explained. When she received blank looks from the brothers, she placed one hand over each of theirs. "Become his…" She searched the multiple languages she knew for just the right word. "Become his adoré."

Alan rolled his eyes. "I hate it when you speak French, Tin-Tin."

Tin-Tin smiled as her tears spilled over and rolled swiftly down her cheeks. "His…beloved, Alan."

"Be…wait a minute, you have got to be kidding me," Gordon said, backing up and waving his hands in front of him like he was swatting away unwanted insects. "Our father?" he said, indicating himself and Alan with a sideways motion. "Our father is on purpose becoming your father's…what'd you call it? Adoré? On purpose," he repeated. "Seriously?"

"Unless I'm misinterpreting something Scott told you," she said, nodding as she took the tissues Alan had gone to get for her, "then yes, that's exactly what he's doing. How can I explain this…it's not anything physical, it's more an…emotional bond."

"Holy shit," Gordon breathed as his and Alan's eyes met. "But what does that mean for them?"

"It means," Tin-Tin said, her face falling, "that I don't think Lady Penelope will be marrying your father after all."

"You through yet?"

"Yes," came the clipped response. "I used my laser vision to break through the wall thirty seconds ago."

"Oh, come on, Brains, you know I didn't mean to bust your balls."

Brains chuckled. "Either way, John, the fact is that it'll take us eons to get through this rubble to where the lab used to be, and I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I am too. But I'm not leaving here until that IDT is found and destroyed."

Brains sighed and turned back to the chunks of wall, floor, wood and concrete he was slowly moving to the side. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, nearly dropping a two-by-two square of said concrete right onto his toe.

"What say we do things the caveman way?" John said as Brains put the offending concrete down to his right.

"I thought that's what we were doing," the scientist replied.

"No, I mean eat. I bet you I can catch enough fish for our dinner."

Brains' face brightened. "And that underwater garden may still have some vegetables!"

"That's the spirit, Brains. I'll make a caveman out of you yet."

"You make me drop one of those pieces of debris on my foot and you'll see caveman," Brains muttered.

John laughed with delight as he and Brains headed up to the top of the rubble heap.

"What are you going to use to catch the fish?"

John stopped short and gave him a funny look. "I haven't thought that far ahead."

"We could just go back to the other dimension and eat, and return. Or one of us could go get some food and come back."

John's smile was wiped from his face. He shook his head. "I can't go, Brains. I promised Ben these IDTs would be destroyed."

Brains looked down and kicked a small piece of twisted aluminum to the side. "I know." He looked back up at him. "And I won't leave you."

The smile returned to John's face. "Then maybe you can tell me how to catch a fish with no pole."

"Pole?" Brains repeated, blinking rapidly. "Of course! That's it!"

"What? What's it?" John asked as Brains took off toward the west. "Brains, what the—what's it?"

Before John knew it they were standing on the far western edge of the island…right in front of a seemingly unscathed boathouse. "It's intact?"

"Yes, John, I didn't set charges here in our dimension, so it occurred to me the Brains of this dimension probably hadn't, either."

"But why not? I thought it was supposed to be total destruction of Tracy Island!"

"Except for the ability of the island's residents to get away," Brains explained. "Your father felt that if it came to the point where we felt the only option was to blow the island up, there should be one final method for whoever was here to get away before it did."

John moved to the boathouse door. With the generators out, the electronic lock didn't work. "Hey, Brains, it—ahhh!" John sidestepped just in times as Brains rushed forward with a large piece of jagged rock and smashed it into the lock. He dropped the rock and the door swung slowly open. "You're already more caveman than I gave you credit for," John remarked, eyebrows raised.

"Never underestimate a geek's instinct for survival," Brains said.

John laughed, shaking his head as he followed him through the door.

"Shouldn't we do something, Scott?"

Scott shook his head, shrugged, and tossed his hands in the air all at once. "I have no idea. You know, out there in the field I can figure us a way out of any situation you hit me with. This, though?" he said, gesturing to the hospital ward bed where Jeff's and Kyrano's foreheads were still glued to one another's. "This I can't even begin to figure."

Virgil looked up at the Auto Nurse. "Well, whatever Dad's doing, I think it's working."

Scott's eyes followed his brothers and he smiled. "I'll call Al, Gordo and Tin-Tin and let them know."

Nodding, Virgil leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest. He looked wistfully at the pair on the bed. "I wonder what exactly it is they're doing," he whispered as he heard Scott make the call.

"You are certain."

"Yes."

"Because if you have even one doubt, my life force can be removed from you."

"But then you'll die."

"Yes."

"Why doesn't that bother you? How can you talk about it like it's no big deal?"

"To me, Jeff, death is not something to be feared or dreaded. To me, death is a natural progression to the next level of existence."

"I'm not sure I believe that."

"That is why, when faced with death, you fight it."

"My wife would still be alive. She would've been alive for her sons; for all of us. Of course I fight it. International Rescue fights it every day with every breath we take. If death is such a welcome event, why do you help us save lives?"

"Jeff, there's something you must understand. Death comes to us when it's meant to. If a child is meant to move on, they will, regardless whether your sons stand by his side. If a monorail full of passengers is meant to crash, because each person on board is meant to die, it will, even if Thunderbird 2 is there. By its very nature, International Rescue is saving the people who are not yet meant to die."

"You're telling me that no matter what we do, we'll never be able to save those who aren't meant to live."

"That's correct."

"I can't abide by that, Kyrano. If you use that logic, then what's the point of even trying?"

"Because, Jeff, your existence is what has restored order where before there was chaos. You do what you do because it's what was meant to be. You are an integral part of the world's very balance."

"So why is it you do what you do?"

"Because it is my path to be here."

"Be here? Where, with us on the island?"

"With you."

"I see. So is it your time to die?"

"I don't know. We don't always know."

"Well I say it isn't, and if your universe doesn't like that answer, it can be damned."

"You are stubborn, Jeff Tracy."

"You are too, in your own way."

"I suppose you're right about that."

"It's time, Kyrano."

"Yes, I feel it. I must ask you once more, for the sake of our friendship, if you are certain of this decision."

"And I'll tell you once more or a thousand times more, Kyrano, that I stand by my decision."

"Even if it means—"

"Yes. Even if it means that."

"Then let us return to them."

"And let's finish this mess once and for all."

"You know, you're a pretty good cook, Brains," John said, wiping the last bit of fish oil from his lips.

"Well, it doesn't take a—"

"Genius?" John finished for him, and they laughed. "Well, to be honest, cooking was never my forte."

"You're good at other things."

"Oh, do tell," John said as he rose to his feet and stretched. He watched carefully as Brains mimicked the gesture.

"Well, for one thing, you know more about the cosmos than most men twice your age."

He dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"For another, you can speak almost as many languages as I programmed Braman with." Brains stopped and his eyes grew wide. His mouth opened, then shut, then opened again and hung there.

"Brains?"

"Oh, no."

"Brains, what is it?"

"We're not safe."

"What are you talking about?"

"I programmed Braman to reactivate the stasis chamber if the power ever went out."

"You did what?"

"Your father and I…it was something we were working on, I didn't…I'd completely forgotten, it hasn't even been tested yet."

"Well, the Brains on this side may not have done the same thing," John said, concern in his eyes.

"Everything else has been the same."

"No," John shook his head. "Not everything."

"Such as?"

"Such as the Brains in this dimension couldn't possibly be exactly the same as you."

"Why not?"

"Because you are the soul that Ben was. That would mean the Brains that lived here…"

"Would be Virgil?"

Their eyes met. "You think so?" John asked.

"I know so," Brains nodded.

"So would a Brains with Virgil's soul have done what you did?"

"It's hard to say. He obviously designed the same equipment I did, up to and including the stasis chamber."

"We'd better get back down there and check," John said. "Just to be on the safe side."

"I really wish I had a gun."

"Me too, Brains," John said as they made their way back along the rubble in the waning light. "Me too."

"Your Highness, the time has come. China is preparing to join the secessionists."

"Lee Seung, no! I've barely had an hour's time!"

"My apologies, but even my influence is no use in the face of your father's continued absence. They think they're being lied to because he has not shown himself."

"He's trying," Tin-Tin said, grasping Lee Seung's hand. "You must believe me!"

"Oh, I do believe you. It is China who does not. They will take Mongolia easily, Sultana, and Malaysia will fall next. Of that you can be certain."

"What will I tell them?" Tin-Tin said. "What can I possibly say to these men I don't even know?"

"You'll know what to say, Tin-Tin."

She turned to look at the man she loved more than she could even put name to. "Alan, this isn't as simple as reciting the Seven Natural Laws of the Univer—" She stopped cold, her jaw dropping and her eyes becoming round as saucers.

"Tin-Tin?" Alan practically squeaked as he and Gordon rushed to her. "Tin-Tin, what is it?"

"That's it," she breathed, a smile growing on her face until Alan was sure it was going to split her head in two. "Oh, Father, bless you." She turned to Lee Seung. "Hook me into that conference now."

"But…Tin-Tin, what—"

"My father has been trying to make me understand this my whole life," Tin-Tin said softly. "And I never did until this very moment."

"Understand what?" Gordon asked.

"Just listen," she said, smoothing her hair and using one of the tissues she still had balled in her fists to wipe beneath her eyes. "How do I look?" she tossed over her shoulder to Alan as she turned to face the video monitor and camera setup in the wall near the table they'd been seated at earlier.

"Like a queen," Alan beamed, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. "Go get 'em, woman."

She turned and winked at him as Lee Seung connected to the waiting Chinese dignitaries. But they weren't the only ones on the video monitor, not by a longshot. Tin-Tin and everyone else stared in disbelief when people of multiple nationalities appeared before them.

"Sultana Tin-Tin of the Family Kyrano," the Chinese leader Hae-Kwong said, bowing his head. "We were waiting for your father."

"My father is working on something very important at the moment, gentlemen," Tin-Tin said calmly, her chin held high. Gordon looked at Alan and winked.

"Then if he is not there, what is the point of this conversation?"

"To remind you of something, Emperor," Tin-Tin said. "Something you very well know, but have not yet learned."

Lee Seung looked sharply askance at her as there were murmurs around the table from not only the Chinese, but several other heads of countries.

"The first, Emperor, is the Law of Transmutation, or shàn biàn."

"Shàn biàn?" Lee Seung repeated, and then slowly a smile grew on his face. "My sultana, you are a genius," he whispered.

Gordon and Alan exchanged looks. "You see, Emperor, energy changes into solid substances, and the reverse, all the time. And what you think, if you think it enough, will actually materialize before you."

"Yes, yes, of course I know all that, but—"

"And the second law, Emperor, the Law of Relativity, or y?u gu?n lián. There is no good in this world. There is no bad, there is no nothing until we humans relate it to something. For example, the man you did business with, the man who was my half-uncle? He was not evil, not truly. He was only evil in that what he did to others was not in the best interests of their well-being." She looked pointedly at Hae-Kwong. "And what you did in taking the arms and training he was supplying was not bad, it was simply a decision you made which has led us to where we are today."

The emperor huffed and looked at Lee Seung, but Lee Seung's eyes were on Tin-Tin.

"The third law, the one of attraction. I believe you would know it best as y?n lì, Emperor. You attract what you think about, what you project. War has come to us this day because it's what we're all expecting, what we're all projecting. And therefore it is what we are all receiving."

Alan and Gordon looked at each other, but instead of having question marks in their eyes, they actually started to understand what Tin-Tin was saying. Just then, she turned and held her hands out to them. Alan moved confidently to her left side, while Gordon more hesitantly moved to her right. They took her hands, spreading quiet murmurs throughout the table of country leaders once more.

"The law of polarity," Tin-Tin continued, squeezing Gordon's and Alan's hands tightly. "Xi?ng duì teaches us that everything has an opposite. Male as to female. Up as to down." She looked directly into the emperor's eyes again. "War as to peace, Hae-Kwong."

Rather than looking at her like he wouldn't mind throwing a dagger or two her way this time, the emperor of China leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers before him.

"Xuán l? speaks of the fact that day always follows night. That good always follows bad. The Law of Rhythm, gentlemen, and one which we must now pay careful attention to. For as good follows bad, so too does bad follow good. And your decisions here today will make the difference between which it is to be."

"Who are these men who stand as b?o bi?o, Sultana?"

Tin-Tin grinned and ducked her head. She looked first at Gordon and then turned her eyes to Alan. "They are not my bodyguards, Emperor, as you say," she said, noting Alan's raised eyebrow. "This is my betrothed. He is the man I am to marry." She tore her eyes from the ones so blue and looked at Gordon.

"What does that make me, then?" Gordon whispered.

"And this is my brother, in every sense of the word there can be," she said, beaming as Gordon's face morphed from a look of surprise to a look of what she could only describe as love. Tin-Tin turned back to the screen. "And that leads us, then, Emperor, into the next law of the natural universe, and that is the Law of Cause and Effect. Perhaps you have heard it as zhì sh?. Whatever you send out comes back to you."

The emperor leaned forward, staring intently at her.

"I say to you now that what you send out today will, and make no mistake about it, have effects upon you and your people the likes of which you cannot possibly fathom."

A strange sound coming from behind the closed door of one of the penthouse suite's bedrooms made all four of the room's occupants turn and give it a strange look.

"What was that?" Alan asked.

Tin-Tin smiled broadly and turned back to face the video monitor. "The final law, Emperor?"

"The Law of Xìng, Sultana, I know it well."

"I thought you might given that you have quite the pool of concubines even in this day and age."

Alan's jaw dropped mirroring Gordon's as Lee Seung flushed crimson and waited for the emperor's reaction. To their surprise and relief, he laughed heartily. One by one everyone else around the table began to laugh until at last they quieted.

"Your points are well-made, young Sultana, and well-taken. But I must ask you this, and you must give me the truth. Where is your father? Where is Meor bin Kyrano?"

Alan squeezed her hand. Gordon looked up at the emperor and then down at Tin-Tin's face. It had lost its mirth and she'd turned at least a shade paler. Everyone waited to hear her answer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Her father is here."

They whipped around to find Jeff, Scott, Virgil and Kyrano filing through the bedroom door. Tin-Tin glowed with happiness, then her brow furrowed as her father came to stand behind her, and Jeff was instantly shoulder-to-shoulder with him. As one they bowed low, before righting themselves and moving to the side. Virgil and Scott walked up to her next, each winking at her, before they, too, bowed to her and then moved to stand opposite of Jeff and Kyrano.

"Meor!" the emperor exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "You live!"

"Of course I live, or had you heard otherwise?" Kyrano inquired as Scott glanced across at his dad.

"No, your death had not been reported, but when you failed to show—"

"I failed to show because I did not feel my presence was required. I am not the sultan, nor have I ever been. The only Kyrano to have ever held the throne of Sarawak is my daughter, the rightful Sultana of Sarawak. If I am not mistaken, she also now holds to the keys to most of the other states of Malaysia."

"You speak truth, Meor."

"I never speak anything but," Kyrano countered.

"Who are these men with you? Where have you been?"

"These are those who love me, and my daughter, as though we were part of them."

"Well, we are now," Virgil whispered into Scott's ear. "At least, Dad is."

Scott elbowed him and did his best to keep a straight face.

"Why do you seek to cause a further rift in these waters?" Kyrano asked, stepping forward to stand next to Alan and spreading his hands to indicate all that surrounded them. "My half-brother poisoned so many countries, Emperor, but he is gone now, and my daughter brings peace and a stop to all that he was."

"We spent millions buying his services, his weaponry," the emperor said, retaking his seat. "That cannot be ignored."

"Nor shall it be," Tin-Tin said, stepping forward and letting go of Alan's and Gordon's hands. "You see, Emperor, in the wake of my uncle's demise, my father has inherited all that ever belonged to him."

"That is correct," Kyrano confirmed, coming to stand by his daughter's side as Alan and Gordon joined their father and brothers. "And what has been done, will now be undone."

"Rhythm," Tin-Tin smiled.

"Cause and effect," Kyrano added.

"Relativity," the emperor finished. "You mean to restore us completely?"

"On one condition," Kyrano said, looking at his daughter for a moment. She smiled lovingly up at him and nodded. He turned back to the video screen.

"What condition?"

"That you will only receive your money back for that which you physically return to me. Ringgit for ringgit I will ensure you receive what you are rightfully owed."

"Sultana?"

"It is so ordered," Tin-Tin said, nodding once.

"And what of our countries?" a thickly accented man spoke from the opposite side of the table. "Russia has spent more than you can fathom these last many years."

"President Domashev, I assure you that all countries who purchased anything from Belah Gaat in any way, whether on the black market or outright, will be fully restored under the terms and conditions outlined by my father."

The sound was muted by the Emperor of China's aide and an obviously animated discussion ensued. Tin-Tin took the opportunity to turn and bury her face in her father's traditional robes. "Oh, Father, you're here."

"I had little choice in the matter, my daughter," Kyrano said, looking up at Jeff, who raised an eyebrow.

"There's something…different…about you," she said, looking up into her father's eyes.

"And there is something very different about you as well, Tin-Tin."

"There is?"

Kyrano nodded. "You are the sultana I never dreamed you would have to be. But you are her and so much more, in every way."

Alan stepped forward. "Before any of this gets out of hand, Kyrano, I—I need to ask you something."

Jeff's, Scott's and Virgil's eyes widened.

"Yes, Alan?"

Reaching down and taking Tin-Tin's hand between his two, Alan looked Kyrano in the eye. "I vowed to your daughter that I'd follow her to the ends of the Earth. I've…I've asked her to marry me, but I won't without your blessing."

Kyrano grinned and Jeff thought he'd never been more proud of his youngest son, all other accomplishments aside, than he was at that very moment.

"Alan, of course you have my blessing. In fact, I kept wondering what was taking you so long!"

Alan's jaw dropped as Gordon and Scott guffawed and Virgil shook his head and rolled his eyes. Lee Seung approached and welcomed Kyrano with a brief hug, but before they could speak the sound from the video monitor returned.

"Sultana Tin-Tin bin Kyrano of Sarawak," the emperor side, rising to his feet.

Tin-Tin swallowed hard and stepped forward. "Emperor Hae-Kwong, Dynasty of Liao. Speak."

"Your proposal has been accepted by all who attend with me here."

Alan could literally feel Tin-Tin deflate, and surreptitiously put his arm around her back.

"There is only one country not represented, and that is North Korea. I will see to it President Nah accedes."

"Emperor, your choice has been noted for the record." Tin-Tin looked to Lee Seung, who nodded once. "You will be in contact with Kim Lee Seung one week from today. You will lead the secessionists back to the World Economic Union."

Hae-Kwong's chest puffed with pride. "It would be my honor and my pleasure, Sultana. And now, if you will excuse us, there is much to do. Selamat tinggal, Wise Sultana of Sarawak…no. Of Malaysia."

Tin-Tin smiled, doing everything she could to hold herself together even though her legs felt like gelatin. "Sòng bié, Emperor."

Lee Seung cut the video feed. Tin-Tin practically fell into Alan's arms. He quickly lifted her and placed her on the nearby plush velvet sofa. Kyrano rushed to her side, speaking softly to both her and Alan as the latter brought her a bottle of water.

"Dad?" Scott said. "We ought to check on Brains and John."

"They'll be back as soon as they've found the device and destroyed it," Jeff said.

"Father?"

"Yes, Virgil?"

"What…you know…what happened back on the island?"

"You were there."

"Of course we were," Scott said, "but we weren't exactly privy to what it was you did that saved Kyrano's life."

"We all did that boys, each of us."

"That heart patch job I did can't be nearly as good as Brains would've done."

Jeff shrugged, "Apparently it was good enough, Virgil."

Scott cocked his head. "What is it with you?"

They all turned when the front door of the penthouse suite opened. "Uh-oh," Gordon mumbled, taking a couple steps back and then deciding the opposite side of the table would be the best place under the circumstances.

All eyes looked upon the new arrivals, then as one each and every head turned to look at Jeff. Jeff, who stood like a deer in headlights for a few moments before crossing the room to greet them.

"Penny," he said. "I'm glad you made it." He turned and stuck out his hand to Parker, who shook it heartily until Penelope gave him a sidelong glance.

"Jeff, it is good to see you. I'm glad you're well. Is Tin-Tin here?"

"Penny!" she exclaimed and rushed to hug her friend. "Oh, Penny, I'm so glad you came."

"How is everyone?" Penelope asked as Jeff backed away. She frowned and looked at him. "John?"

"He's still on the other side, Penny."

"He is?" Gordon asked, forgetting to be concerned for his own well-being. "How come?"

"He and Brains stayed behind to find the last IDT. Ben told John he had one of his own that he'd gotten somehow on his side."

"Of course!" Virgil breathed, snapping his fingers. "The sultan could easily have gotten any others Gaat had made before he disappeared over there." He sobered, though, as he remembered how that Sultan Kyrano from the other dimension had been the only reason he'd been able to return to his own family…and how he was now dead.

"And Ben?"

"Ben's gone," Scott said, strolling into the sitting room. "Kyrano and John saw to it that Gaat's soul went with him. It's locked up in a stasis chamber on the other Tracy Island."

"He won't be getting out of that one," Virgil confirmed. "Not with all the power off on that island."

Jeff's eyes widened as he turned to his second son. "What did you say?" he whispered.

"I said, he won't…be getting out of that one with the power off…what?"

"Dad?" Scott said, taking a step forward.

"Oh, my God," Jeff said, a look of horror on his face. "What have I done?"

"What do you mean?" Penny asked, laying a hand on his arm. "Jeff, what is it?"

"When I had the stasis chamber built, it was only to be used in case of extreme emergency," Jeff said, starting to pace. "In case one of us was so badly injured Brains couldn't figure a way to heal us, or he needed to suspend us long enough to heal us before we died. It was something he and I had talked about extensively."

"And?" Scott prompted.

"And one of his greatest concerns in having it was that if it was tied to the same systems as any of the rest of the island, and one or all of those systems went, it would mean the chamber would stop working. If anyone was in it, they'd die."

Alan snapped his fingers as the light bulb went off. "You installed a completely independent electrical generator for the stasis chamber!"

"We did one better," Jeff said grimly. "We programmed Braman to be alerted when the power went off, and if it wasn't back on in two hours, to activate, get to the chamber, and power it up himself."

"When did you do that?" Scott asked, his tone clipped.

"Brains did it…only a month ago. He hadn't tested it yet, and he wanted to bring it up at a briefing, but I told him to wait until it had been fully tested."

"But wouldn't Braman have been destroyed in the explosion?" Virgil asked. "He was kept in the lab."

"No," Jeff shook his head, face going white. "Brains was keeping him there in the stasis room until he could complete the testing."

"We've got to get back over there. Now!" Scott barked.

"You see anything?"

"No. You?"

"No," John shook his head. "Maybe we're worried for no reason."

"Well, you're the only one with a light," Brains said from his right side.

John nodded and turned his watch light toward the chamber. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as Brains grabbed his arm.

The chamber was empty.

John looked quickly around, then turned off his watch light, grabbed Brains and pulled him back behind a mound of rubble. He backed up against him and could feel his chest heaving in time with his own as they listened. But there wasn't a sound.

Brains tugged on John's shirt. John leaned back until he felt Brains' breath on his ear. "We should get back to our side."

John shook his head, turned around, and felt his lips brush against the scientist's before they made it to his ear. "We can't leave Gaat here."

Brains nodded, then reached out to feel the pile of rubble. He hissed as something in it cut into his hand. John flicked the watch light on dim and saw a long gash on Brains' right hand that went from the bottom of his ring finger to his wrist. Quickly he pulled off his tee shirt and wrapped it tightly around the hand, tying a quick knot before turning the watch light back off.

Facing him now, John leaned forward so his mouth was at Brains' ear again. "We'll go back out the way we came in, but I want you in front of me."

Brains nodded and the two crept out from their hiding place, John leading them by memory. They stopped when their feet hit something sticky on the floor, only a few seconds later realizing it must have been Kyrano's blood. Quietly making their way with baby steps, they heard a sound from not too far away that made them stop dead in their tracks.

It was a laugh both men knew only too well.

As one they turned, John keeping Brains behind him. "Ben?" he said, turning his watch light on full power and shining it around in front of them. He clapped a hand to his mouth when it found something so hideous, John could barely comprehend what he was seeing.

It was Ben, all right…or what was left of him.

Rather than the healthy amalgamation of John and Virgil Tracy that this unknown brother had once been, he was now gray-skinned, covered in blood and very clearly dehydrated, as his skin seemed to have shrunk over his bones.

"Ben?" John squeaked, and Brains came out to stand next to him.

When Ben tried to open his mouth to speak, however, only a gurgle emerged.

"His vocal cords aren't working," Brains whispered. "He was dead too long."

"Then Gaat means to take one of us," John said, trying to shove Brains back behind him.

"Stop that!"

"I don't want it to be you!"

"Well, I don't want it to be you!"

A blinding light appeared in the space between them and Ben, and within seconds the room was back to being pitch black.

"I don't want it to be any of us," Jeff growled as each of the newcomers lit hand-held flashlights and shone them in Ben's direction. "Mother of God," Jeff breathed as he took in the creature before them.

"What the hell?" Virgil said as he took in the stumbling, wobbling thing that he'd first discovered was his replacement in this dimension when he himself had been disembodied.

"He's still dangerous," Kyrano said, stepping out to the side, "because my half-brother is the only reason he's standing."

"You shouldn't have come, Kyrano," Jeff said.

"Never mind that now, Father, what are we going to do?"

The creature that had once been Ben snarled and sounded like it was trying to yell. Without warning it leapt forward inhumanly, headed directly for Kyrano. Gordon let out a banshee cry and ran to intercept while John pushed Kyrano out of the way.

"Glad to see you made it," John said, holding out his hand to help Kyrano back to his feet.

"Likewise," he replied, leaping up like a cat.

Jeff had joined Gordon, soon followed by Scott and John. They were trying their best to hold Ben down in spite of the god-awful stench that surrounded him. But as hard as they fought, all the harder did Belah Gaat within the body of Ben fight, until such point as Jeff and Scott were thrown back into the pile of debris Brains and John had hidden behind earlier. John himself was tossed backwards and landed atop Kyrano, while Gordon managed to stay on Ben's back as he rose to his feet. He had him in a chokehold but quickly realized it wouldn't help since dead men don't need to breathe.

Ben whirled and grabbed Gordon's legs, pulling and twisting him until it was simply too much for his back and he cried out.

"No!" Virgil yelled, suddenly remembering what Tin-Tin had given him. He reached down to his belt loop and found the object.

It holds centuries of my family's power.

He unsheathed the keris and held it over his right shoulder, aiming quickly.

If you run out of options, this will see you through.

A flick of Virgil's wrist and the keris left his hand, sailing straight and true across the room. Just as Belah-in-Ben dropped Gordon to the floor, he pivoted. He saw the weapon the second before it hit his right eye and sank home.

"Back!" Kyrano cried, moving to push everyone away from Ben.

"Good shot, Virgil!" Scott crowed.

Jeff ran forward, grabbed Gordon by the hands, and hauled him back out of the way. "Son, are you all right?"

"Gonna…need…fucking…traction," Gordon ground out. Brains rushed to his side and felt along his back, then grabbed his hand while they all watched Ben.

Ben let out what would have been a cry of pure agony had his vocal cords functioning. Suddenly sparks began to fly from where the keris was embedded in his eye.

"What's going on?" Scott barked.

"That is my daughter's weapon?" Kyrano asked.

"Yes," Virgil nodded. "She gave it to me when Scott and I came over to find you."

Kyrano stopped and turned to face Ben full-on. He held his hands together in front of him palm-to-palm and began whispering in Melayu.

"What's he doing?" Brains asked.

"I think he's saying good-bye to his brother," Virgil replied. "That must be some powerful weapon."

"Boys, get Gordon back to Tracy Island on the double," Jeff said.

"Dad, I can't leave. We still don't have the other IDT!" John protested.

"I'll handle it, son," Jeff said. When John opened his mouth to protest, his father laid a hand on his arm. "You have just two now, John. You need to protect that." He looked over to where Kyrano whispered the last of his prayer just as Ben's body fell to the ground. "And I need to protect mine."

John looked at Ben, then at Kyrano, who was now looking at Jeff. His eyes went back to his father's. "Okay, Dad," he said with a small smile.

"I'll use the other IDT to get Kyrano home once we find it."

John nodded. "Be careful."

Jeff grinned. "You too, son."

Scott quickly opened a portal. He and Virgil carefully carried Gordon through it. John took Brains' hand and with one last look back at Jeff and Kyrano, they too, went through. The portal winked out, leaving the room in complete darkness.

Jeff turned on his wrist light and watched as Kyrano came to stand next to him. "What about him?" he asked, nodding to where Ben lay motionless on the floor. "Is there any chance Gaat's soul can get into either of us?"

"No," Kyrano said. "He truly is gone this time."

"As is Ben," Jeff sighed.

He looked up as Kyrano laid a hand on his forearm. "Let's go home, Jeff."

"But the other IDT. I promised John I'd get it for him."

"No need to search," Kyrano said, moving to Ben's body.

"Kyrano, no, don't touch him!"

"Don't worry," Kyrano said. "I told you, he's gone."

Jeff's every muscle tensed as Kyrano reached down, pulled Ben's sleeve back and unfastened what was on his arm. "He had the IDT?"

"Yes," Kyrano stated as he rose with it in his hand. "And if we had not stopped him, he would have returned to our dimension with nothing but revenge in his heart."

"Then thank God he didn't."

Kyrano returned to Jeff and held the IDT out. Taking it, Jeff held it in his hand for a moment. His thoughts darkened as he imagined how it must have been for the son who called him Dad, but wasn't really his son, to die the way Kyrano had explained it happened within the stasis chamber.

Then his mind turned to Manhattan, to how all of this had started with the deaths of so many of Tracy Corp's employees. To Virgil, who'd had to be in this dimension and had only the sultan to turn to for help. To what Gaat had done in raping Adi, the resulting pregnancy and premature birth causing her death. Then his mind turned to what Kyrano had told him during their joining; about how everyone was supposed to die when they were supposed to die, period.

"I still can't accept it, Kyrano," he said softly, eyeing the IDT he held in his hands.

"I know, Jeff. It's a difficult concept. If taken the wrong way, it can make us feel hopeless."

"Yeah," Jeff nodded, then looked up. "Come on, I don't want to be down here anymore."

Nodding once, Kyrano followed him to the hole that would lead them above-ground. "Jeff," he said as he helped pull him up to the surface.

"Yeah?"

"It wasn't my time to die."

"You're only saying that because you lived," Jeff said, waving it off as he started for the beach.

"No," Kyrano insisted, following only two steps behind. "I'm saying that because it's true."

"So how come you know that now but you didn't know it back when you wanted me to let you die?" Jeff asked as he skittered down the pile of rubble and jumped the remaining foot to the sand. He reached up to take Kyrano's hands and help him jump down.

When Kyrano landed, he was standing right in front of Jeff. "I knew it then," he said softly. "But it had to be your choice."

"What did?"

"This," Kyrano said, squeezing his hands and bringing both pairs up between their chests. "So thank you."

Jeff swallowed hard. "You're welcome," he said, his voice low and gruff. "Now come on, we've got to pick Tin-Tin and Alan up and get them back home."

"Home," Kyrano said. "Perhaps for the last time."

Jeff looked sharply at his friend, but didn't feel like getting into whatever it was he'd meant.

Kyrano just smiled as Jeff strapped the IDT on his arm. "Last time," he echoed, only for a whole different reason. He keyed in their destination and reached out. "Meor?"

He took the hand of his best friend…and indeed now something very much more. Their eyes locked and in that moment, Kyrano knew everything really was okay for him and Jeff Tracy. For them, for their families and now that Belah Gaat was truly gone, for the world.

In both dimensions.

Akhir