"I have to say I'm more than a little reluctant to head back out to Kansas," John admitted, running a hand through his light blonde hair. He leaned back against the pool table as Gordon lined up for a shot.

"I wouldn't leave if I were you."

"Half our family's off the island. He's obviously infiltrated International Rescue enough to know that Jeremiah and Sir Jeremy were affiliated with us."

"Yeah," Gordon said as he sank the two ball. "And if he can get to them, he can get to us."

"Not to mention that the half of our family not here are in the Hood's old stomping grounds."

John's eyes widened and bored into Virgil's skull. "My God," he whispered.

"What?" Gordon and Virgil asked simultaneously, their eyes coming to rest on John's.

"Think about it," John said, leaning forward earnestly. "If you were the Hood and you wanted to finish what you started in Manhattan, what would you do to lure us off this island?"

"Kyrano," Gordon breathed. "Shit."

"Father and Alan are sitting right where that bastard can strike at them."

"Wait," Virgil said, holding up his hands. "You mean you think the Hood has Kyrano?"

"It makes sense," Gordon nodded. "After all, he's been mentally contacting Kyrano for the entire time he and Tin-Tin have been with us. He must have learned something of his and Dad's friendship."

"And anyone who knows Dad even a little knows he'd go out of his way to help a friend," John added.

"Son of a bitch, guys." Virgil's eyes widened. "We just sent Scott and Penny into the same trap."

Alan stole back into Tin-Tin's bedroom suite. He crossed into her bedroom proper, mildly surprised she was still asleep. He couldn't fathom why his father wouldn't wake up. Nothing he'd tried worked, and the doctor insisted there was nothing physically wrong with him.

Then again, that's what they'd said about Kyrano, and he'd apparently lost his mind. Disappeared. Into thin air, how was that possible? Alan neared Tin-Tin's bed and took his pants off, lifting the blanket and sheet as he prepared to slide in next to her once more. He knew Scott knew about their father, and he therefore knew Scott was on his way to the palace. If he knew nothing else, he knew his big brother.

He'd probably bring Virgil. Maybe even Gordon and John. No, he wouldn't bring them all. Too much to do on the 'birds and the Corp. Alan looked down at Tin-Tin's unmoving form and his train of thought immediately derailed as he caught sight of something that made his brow furrow.

Leaning closer in the dim candlelight, he touched his fingertips to the cotton of her panties, then slowly pulled it down. At first he could see nothing that would have caused it, but he quickly picked up the blue candle and brought it closer to her, intent on proving his thoughts wrong.

He wasn't wrong. The spot was bright red. It was blood. Slowly he moved the panties down a couple of inches more until he saw the source: a tiny pinprick in the flesh of her hip. "What the hell?" He looked up at Tin-Tin's face and his eyes widened as he took in her sallow color and realized her breathing was shallow. "Tin-Tin?"

He shook her lightly. She didn't stir.

"Tin-Tin, wake up!"

He shook her harder.

"Tin-Tin!"

But she wouldn't wake.

"You might be right," Scott said into the headset as he and Penny eyed one another. She, too, was wearing a headset and had heard every word John, Gordon and Virgil had said. "We can't discount the possibility."

"But if that's the case, if he could get to Kyrano, why would he not simply take Tin-Tin as well?"

"Wouldn't have had the same result," Scott replied. "He knows it'd be Tin-Tin who would ask for Dad's help. If he had her, she wouldn't be around to get us involved. You can bet that Badan guy sure wouldn't have come to us. We never would've known."

Penelope nodded in understanding. "Well, what do you propose we do about it? If your father's state of health has anything to do with the Hood, you boys might be right. We might very well be walking into a trap."

"H'I 'ave an idea, milady, h'if you please."

"Yes, Parker?"

"We're all ears," Scott chimed in. "We sure as hell can't just leave them down there alone."

"Right you are, Mister Scott, sir. Might h'I suggest we h'attack the problem from a different h'angle, then?"

"What have you in mind?"

"H'It's quite simple, milady. We 'ave that h'interdimensional travel device, do we no'?"

Scott's eyes widened. "Parker, you're a genius."

"'S about time someone no'iced," Parker grumbled good-naturedly.

"Scott, you have to be careful with that," came Virgil's voice through the headphones. "Trust me, you don't want to mess around with it too much."

"I know, Virg. But I think Parker's right. This way we can assess the situation before alerting anyone at the palace to our presence. That is why you gave it to me, after all."

The silence on the other end was deafening. Scott knew his brother was thinking about their earlier conversation, about not being able to stop the same thing from happening here that had happened in the other dimension...both where he and their father were concerned.

"Virg, what about the other Kyrano...the sultan. You think he'd help us again?"

"I think he would, John," Virgil replied. "After all, he was willing to help me and our Kyrano."

"All right, then it's settled," Scott said. "John, Gordon, Virgil: I want you and Brains to remain on the island for now. Last thing we need is for him to start picking you guys off, too." Scott looked sidelong at Penelope. "You ready for some inter-dimensional hopping?"

"Absolutely," she nodded gravely. "What's the plan, Scott?"

He looked straight ahead out the cockpit window, the wheels of his mind churning. "I think the three of us should stick together. No sense in getting separated. I'll let Alan in on the action, we'll see if we can't target him first to see what's happening. Then we'll check on Dad, and if things are bad enough, we'll go after the sultan for help."

"Scott, there is another possibility."

"Brains?"

"Y-Yes, Scott. I-I'm sorry, I tapped into the line."

"No problem, whaddya have?"

"Well, ah, given what Virgil has told me of the o-other dimension, and my own theories, I-I believe you could safely bring someone back to this dimension to help you, but, ah, I-I don't believe it to be the sultan."

"Why not?"

"Well, the prevailing theorems on both time travel and inter-dimensional travel a-at this time, indicate the person traveling cannot come into contact with their counterpart or i-it would be tantamount to a matter/anti-matter collision."

"I've heard that before," Gordon said. "But the sultan and Kyrano were touching back on that fishing boat. Why didn't things explode then?"

"But they did," Brains replied. "i-If we are to believe that Kyrano's mind has gone."

"Oh, shit," John breathed. "Shit, shit, shit."

"I can't believe we didn't think about that," Virgil said. "Scott, what if we had the sultan bring him back to life only to have him fade away until he's nothing more than a body?"

"Now hold on, everyone. Brains, you mentioned another possibility. I just have a nagging feeling we're going to need some help from the other side. If we can't bring the sultan over here, what do you suggest?"

"Well, ah, what about Ben?"

Kyrano looked across the water as the skiff neared the mainland of Southern Malaysia. He noted the storm clouds gathering in the distance and doubted he would make it to the palace on horseback before the rains came. It was the beginning of Malaysia's rainy season, and in the jungles it would be unbearably hot and uncomfortable. If I can remember what the rainy season is like, why can't I remember my best friend?

His thoughts consumed him. Bowing his head, he knew there were no tears left for him to cry. He was numb. Too much thinking, too much searching. So much lost, nothing to see in the future that was anything other than disastrous. His half-brother's image in the mirror that day haunted him constantly. Why had he seen him? Not once had Radzi Belah attacked him during his stay at the Snake Temple. Not once had the monks sensed an evil presence nearby.

Yet he couldn't shake the niggling in the back of his mind. There was something he should know, dammit! Something important, something that might give him some answers. His thoughts were scattered, nothing coherent would come of them. Just then, he heard a throat clear behind him. He turned and gasped. For before him stood a man he knew. But he wasn't sure how he knew him.

"Kyrano," the deep voice said softly. "I remember."

With that, the man vanished into thin air. Kyrano stood with eyes wide, his jaw hanging open. The only other person on the skiff was the small raft's captain, steering it across the water and paying Kyrano no mind. He looked around, but there was no trace of the man who'd just been there speaking to him.

Who was he? Salt-and-pepper hair. Blue-gray eyes, so piercing. Where had he come from? Where had he gone? I've lost my mind. That is the only explanation. But for some reason, that didn't ring true. What is happening to me?

I remember.

Kyrano's chest heaved as his breaths came faster and faster.

I remember.

The man. His face was so familiar. Kind. Full of caring and concern. Another phrase entered his mind. A phrase he himself had uttered.

Remember me.

"Remember..." Kyrano said, gripping the single rail to his left. "Remember me."

And then the man's visage seemed to appear before him again.

Remember me.

Kyrano gasped. "Jeff!"

Alan raced down the hall, a woman weighing barely over one hundred pounds cradled in his arms. He entered the same elevator he'd taken to the palace infirmary. Down they went and soon the doors had opened. There were two nurses in the hall before him.

"Help me!" he yelled, running toward them. "Help Tin-Tin!"

"What happened?" one of the nurses asked as she rushed forward. The second nurse ran for a gurney.

"I'm not sure, there's a pinpoint of blood on her hip. She wasn't this bad when Badan called me away to see Dad-" Alan's eyes widened as his mind leapt from question to answer. "Shit!"

"Beg your pardon?" the nurse asked as the other woman wheeled a gurney up to them. Alan laid his charge gently upon it.

"Badan," Alan breathed. "He called me away for Father, and when I returned, she was like this."

"You have no idea what's wrong with her?" the same doctor he'd talked to about his father asked as he skidded to a halt by the gurney.

"Yes, I do," Alan said, his face set in stone, eyes narrowed. "She's being poisoned."

"Poisoned?" the doctor repeated, looking at him in disbelief. "Are you mad?"

"Damn straight I am. You take care of her, I want every test you can run on her done now."

"I cannot take orders from you, Mister-"

"Don't you 'mister' me, Doctor," Alan seethed, grabbing the lapels of his lab coat. "She is your queen! You save her life or I will personally come back down here and strangle you with my bare hands. And you had better take care of my father!"

The doctor nodded, shaking in fright. "I-I will. I promise."

Alan watched as they wheeled Tin-Tin away. If Badan were really poisoning her, how far did the treachery go? Could he trust these nurses and this doctor? Could he trust anyone at all? Without his father awake, Alan was on his own. Tin-Tin was near death; that much was apparent. But Alan knew he had to take care of the one traitor he was certain of.

He'd barely turned on heel when a door to his left squeaked open. "Dad!"

"Alan?"

Jeff seemed unsteady on his feet, so Alan rushed to his side, supporting him with both hands on his father's arm.

"Dad, are you okay? What happened?"

"I..." Jeff shook his head and rubbed his temple. "I'm not sure. All I know is that I saw Kyrano."

"What? Here?"

"No," Jeff shook his head again. "I can't...I don't understand it myself, but he's alive. That much I do know."

Alan quickly told his father about Tin-Tin's condition and his own suspicions as they entered the elevator.

"Then we have to stop him," Jeff said, seeming to come back to himself a bit as the elevator rose.

"Exactly what I was thinking."

The doors swished open on the main floor of the palace, but instead of an empty hall they were greeted with ten guards standing at the ready, the object of their suspicions standing smugly in front of them.

"Badan!"

"On behalf of Her Royal Highness the Sultana of Sarawak, I am placing you both under arrest."

"What?" Alan screeched as the guards pulled them both out of the elevator. "What are you talking about?"

"I think it is apparent. Do not try to fight us. The guards are authorized to kill traitors on sight."

"Traitors?" Jeff repeated. "What are we charged with?"

"Attempted murder," Badan said, a suppressed smile making the corners of his mouth twitch. "Poisoning our queen."

"You sonofabitch!" Alan cried, struggling against the guards. "You're the one who's been poisoning her! You can't pin this on us!" He caught his father's eye, however, and stopped moving as Jeff slowly shook his head no.

"I am afraid you are strangers here, and no one will believe your claims," Badan sneered. He then turned and spoke to a guard in Malay. The guard nodded and soon Jeff and Alan were being pulled back into the elevator.

Alan wanted to go ballistic and beat the shit out of every one of the men holding them. More than anything he wanted to throttle Badan. For Tin-Tin was now completely unprotected. It would take nothing for Badan to finish what he'd started, and it would be chalked up to her health failing as a result of Kyrano's disappearance. No doubt the doctor would be in on it as well as the nurses.

"What have I done, Father?" Alan asked, face betraying the gut-twisting feelings inside him. "I've delivered her to her death."

"Not now, Alan," Jeff said softly, his eyes silently pleading with his son to understand. "Not now."

But as Alan saw it, there was no hope. Tin-Tin would die, and most probably so would he and Jeff. For all they knew, Kyrano was probably already dead. And then Scott would come, and what would happen to him? And whoever was with him? One by one, Alan realized, the Tracys and their friends were being done away with.

And that's when Alan figured out why. He looked up and knew instantly that his father had come to the same conclusion. There could only be one man behind this, and it wasn't Badan. Alan's watch vibrated, but he didn't dare move to answer it. He didn't need to, to know who it was. Scott, help us. Help us!

"Dammit, I can't raise Alan. Brains, give me his GPS and Dad's too, while you're at it."

"O-Of course, Scott. Pulling them up now."

Scott's knuckles turned white from gripping the steering yoke so hard as he began their final descent. "Come on, come on..."

"I-I have them, ah, Scott. Both are i-in Sarawak Palace, a-according to GPS."

"Then why isn't Alan answering?"

"I-I don't know, Scott."

"Scott, be careful. Something's wrong, I can feel it."

"We're going with the IDT," Scott said, his voice in command mode. "As soon as we land, we'll head to a remote area where we can disappear without being noticed. Brains, I got what you told me, but I want you talking me through it anyway."

"O-Okay, Scott."

Penelope tensed in the seat beside him. "Do you think Jeff and Alan are quite all right?"

"No, Penny. I don't. Not at all."

"Neither do I," she replied. He was surprised to feel her hand on his arm. "We'll get them back."

Scott nodded. But in his gut, he wasn't so sure.

"Shit, I have to get to that meeting with the heads of the companies," John said. "I'll do it from my suite. Keep me updated, Virgil."

"Will do, John. Good luck."

"I'll need it," John said, shaking his head. "How I'm supposed to concentrate on business right now is beyond me."

"Don't worry," Gordon said. "Dad'll be back soon and kick your ass if you miss this one."

John and Virgil both noticed their brother's smile didn't reach his eyes. John nodded once and turned to head up the stairs to his room.

"What about the Thunderbirds?" Gordon asked.

"You're kidding. At a time like this?"

"What? Don't you wish we had One right now?"

Virgil nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'd go right in there guns blazing and rescue them all."

"I know. We all would." Gordon flopped back onto one of the plush sofas in the Lounge. "We should go to Malaysia," he finally said.

"Are you crazy?"

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Gordon asked, hopping to his feet. "Just sit here and wait for them all to die?"

"Don't even joke," Virgil said, his eyes turning hard. "Not about that."

"I...look, I'm sorry, Virg, I know you saw some pretty fucked up shit over there, but we're just sitting here with our thumbs up our asses. We have no idea what's happening in that palace, and our oldest brother is on his way to start flipping through dimensions without any idea of what might happen."

"That's funny, Gordo, I don't remember you ever getting this hyped about anything. At least, not since you got accepted into WASP."

"That was a good hyped. This is an I'm-worried-half-my-family's-going-to-die hyped."

Virgil reached out and squeezed his brother's shoulder. "I know, Gordon. I know. But we're not going to do any of them any good if we walk into the same trap."

"Wait!" Gordon whirled around, startling Virgil. "What if this isn't a trap for them?"

"What are you getting at?"

"What if it's a trap for us?"

"Us?"

"Sure! What if he found our base? If he could travel through dimensions, what's to say he didn't find out our location? Maybe even from Kyrano at some point?"

"And...and you think he's gotten them off the island..."

"To attack the island. There are only four of us here, one being the primary driving force behind our machinery. Our leader and our field commander are thousands of miles away, as is Alan."

"We have no defense against him. Four of us can't possibly cover the entire island."

"No. We can't," Gordon said solemnly.

"But which theory is right?" Virgil asked in exasperation. "We could 'what if' all day!"

"I just don't know. Either makes sense. He could get Dad directly, or he could get the island, everything we have, including Brains. Which would he go for?"

"Hard to tell. He hates Dad enough to have killed all those people in Manhattan. Does he covet our technology more than he hates Father?"

"Shit, Virg. I'm at a loss."

"Well, I say we might as well do what we can to defend the island," Virgil decided. "If he is coming here, he's not taking us without a fight."

"Agreed."

"Brains?" Virgil said into the intercom.

"I-I'm here, Virgil."

"Lounge, on the double."

"F.A.B."

"Gordon, go let John know what we're up against. We need him with us right now, not at that meeting."

"F.A.B."

Virgil looked at his father's empty desk, then back up to the row of portraits. Right now, he was in charge. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach grew. If they were right, he could very well lose the entire island, everything his family had worked so hard to create and protect. If he was wrong, he could wind up minus a father and two brothers, not to mention friends that were more like family members.

Either way, someone was going to lose. Either way, it would mean a loss none of them would ever get over.

Virgil made it to the balcony just in time, the contents of his stomach emptying over the railing, splattering into the leafy foliage below.

"Dad," he whispered, trying to compose himself as his chest and stomach continued to heave. "Scott..."

Kyrano's heart pounded as fast and hard as the hooves of his horse beating against the ground beneath its feet. The horse's breath heaved in time with his as the two almost became as one. One objective. One path. One thought.

Jeff.

He knew. He knew he'd seen Jeff. How he knew, Kyrano couldn't be certain, but it was Jeff. It was someone he was to remember. Who remembered him. And he felt the tether pull at him as though someone were trying to rip it away. He may have been weak of body and mind, but Kyrano clung to the image of Jeff Tracy, to the sound of his voice.

Kyrano, I remember.

Clung to it with every breath, every second of thought, every fiber of his being. He somehow knew he had to hold it very close, not let it slip through his fingers this time. Whoever Jeff was to him, whatever they were to each other, he felt the man needed him. And in a way, he felt he needed Jeff as well. For whatever reason the two were bound. He had learned of joining at the Snake Temple, but had not allowed any of the monks to attempt it. It had, however, been thoroughly explained. And he innately knew that what bound he and Jeff was the result of a join.

I'm-coming-I'm-coming-I'm-coming his mind repeated over and over. If Jeff needed him now, what of his daughter? Was Jeff there with her? Why now had he seen him, after six months of fervent meditation had proven fruitless?

I remember.

Kyrano only wished he could. Beyond the almost animalistic urge he had to return to the palace, he had no understanding of what he was feeling. His heart beat even faster as they passed the last village and plunged into the jungle.

The first drops of rain fell.

"Dad, do you really think it's the Hood?"

"It has to be. Listen, they stripped my watch in the infirmary. You've got to contact Scott."

But before Alan could even raise his wrist, a blue-white light appeared before them. Three figures emerged, but they were so blinded neither Jeff nor Alan could see anything at first.

"Dad?"

"Scott?"

"Scott?"

"Al!"

Jeff rose to his feet and rubbed the spots out of his eyes as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his body. They weren't those of a man. "Penny?" he said, arms automatically going around her. "Penny!"

"What are you guys...how did you...wait, the IDT?"

"You got it, Al," Scott said, showing the device snugly wrapped around his forearm. "Listen, we don't have much time. We think the Hood's behind all this."

"We came up with the same idea," Jeff said. "Badan has arrested us for poisoning Tin-Tin."

"What?" Penny gasped, backing away from Jeff.

"Only he's the one who did it!" Alan said vehemently. "I found a needle mark on her hip and she..." His voice trailed off and he turned away, trying to compose himself.

Scott gripped his youngest brother's shoulder firmly. "We'll find her with this. Brains put all our patterns in this device. I can home in on anyone."

"Wait," Jeff said, touching the device lightly with his fingertips. "Did he put Kyrano's pattern in here, too?"

Scott nodded.

"My God, we could find him. We could find him right now!"

"Dad, what about Tin-Tin?" Alan nearly screeched.

Jeff turned stricken eyes upon the baby-faced man. "Of course we'll get her first. What do you say, Scott?"

"I say we go. Now. Will Tin-Tin be okay to travel with us?"

"I don't know. She didn't look very good when I left her in the infirmary," Alan replied.

"Let's find out. We all have to join hands. As long as the chain isn't broken, the device will transport anyone I'm touching and circle back around to my other hand, getting us all."

"Okay," Jeff said. "Let's go."

Scott took Penny's hand. Penny took Jeff's. Jeff took Alan's. Alan took Parker's and Parker took Scott's. Scott keyed in a command, then grabbed Penny's hand again. "Hang on, it's a weird sensation."

A blue-white light opened before them and in a flash, the cell in the prison tower of Sarawak Palace was empty and eerily silent, as though no one had ever been there.

He had the island in his sights. It would be over before too long. With his current face, they would welcome him with open arms. He knew the state of things in Sarawak. And he knew who was at home and who wasn't. His small hovercraft neared its destination. By now, surely their sensors had picked up his approach. By now they were wondering about the level of threat from this small vessel with only one life sign aboard.

But by the time those on Tracy Island realized their assessment was wrong, it would be too late for them. And Belah Gaat would triumph.

"What do you think, John?"

The four men watched the blip in John's portrait move ever nearer the island.

"Dunno, Virg. Scans indicate it's a four-passenger hovercraft, only one life sign. Can't be all that dangerous with a single person."

"But what if it's the Hood?"

"Come on, if he shows himself here, Gordon, he'd have to know we'd kill him on sight."

"Where are you going?" John asked.

"To get the IDT," Virgil said, stopping only long enough to answer the question. "If this is one of the Hood's tricks, I'm going to make sure we have a trick or two of our own."

"He looks mean."

John snorted. "He's pissed."

"Now there's something you don't see every day." Gordon turned to look at his engineer friend. "You okay, Brains? You don't look so good."

"I don't feel so good," Brains replied, large blue eyes blinking slowly. "The last time I-I ran into the Hood, I wound up buried up to my neck in sand."

Gordon smiled a lopsided smile, reaching out to squeeze Brains' arm. "I remember. It'll be okay."

"E-Even if we do need to get away, a-and we contemplate, ah, using the IDT, we can't go."

"I know. Abandoning the base. But you know we have a contingency plan for that, too."

"Oh, no," Brains breathed, paling considerably. "We can't."

"It's either that or hand the Hood our technology on a silver platter. You know that."

Brains nodded slowly, unable to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. "It can't be him," he said softly. "Not all our work."

Gordon felt it to his marrow as much as Brains, as much as any of them would. But he and his brothers knew it was a very real possibility as the dot moved closer to the island. The idea of blowing Tracy Island to smithereens made him sick to his stomach. Their entire lives; their life's work. Everything they had built, dreamed up, created. The places where they had laughed together, lived together, gone through hell and back. To have it gone was unfathomable. But it was better than the Hood getting his hands on it all.

Wasn't it?

"Oh, my God, Tin-Tin!" Alan cried as the group walked into the hospital room she was being kept in.

The door burst open and two guards entered the room, weapons drawn. Scott and Jeff rushed the men as Parker and Penelope whipped out their own sidearms. Alan raced to Tin-Tin and picked her up gently in his arms. She looked even worse than she had earlier, and tears sprang to his eyes as he took in the greenish tint to her skin. Two expert shots from Parker felled the guards.

"Quickly, we must leave now before more come!" Penelope said, holding her hand out to Jeff. He took it as Scott keyed commands into the IDT. "Here, Alan, I'll take your hand."

"And I'll take the other," Scott said, reaching beneath Tin-Tin's legs and finding his brother's hand. Parker took Scott's and completed the circle with Jeff. "Here we go."

The white door appeared before them again. They all heard voices shouting behind them, but hurried through the portal as fast as they could in their circle. Six guards and Badan were left perplexed in their wake.

The horse had worked up a lather, but Kyrano could think of nothing but his destination. He knew he was hours away, but he had no choice. You'll run the horse to its death. And then he would have no transportation. I can't stop. Before another thought could register, a blinding white light appeared before him. The horse reared up and in the pouring rain Kyrano lost his grip on the reigns, falling backwards off the horse as it neighed and pawed at the air before it.

He landed in a heap atop a pile of fallen dead leaves. The horse took off to his right as the light grew brighter, blinding him. "What is this?" he cried, shielding his eyes with his left arm.

"Kyrano?"

Scrambling to his feet, the rain-soaked man tried to focus. That voice. He knew that voice. Suddenly arms were around him. A warm body. He knew the smell...knew the man...

"Jeff?"

"Thank God," a voice breathed in his ear. "Thank God."

"Dad, we have to get Tin-Tin to a hospital!"

"Tin-Tin!" Kyrano asked, extricating himself. He barely spared Jeff a glance as he headed for his daughter, still held securely in Alan's arms. "What happened?"

"No time!" Scott said. "Where's the nearest hospital?"

"I do...I do not know," Kyrano said sadly as he grasped Tin-Tin's lifeless hand. "I do not remember."

"Shit!" Scott swore, raising his watch to his face. "Virgil, come in."

There was a moment's silence until his watch face blinked to life. "Scott? Scott, you're not going to believe this!"

"No time, Virgil, we need Brains to get the sick ward set up - we're on our way back and Tin-Tin's not doing good at all. We're using the IDT."

"Tin-Tin? Oh, my God. Kyrano will be so glad to see her."

Scott frowned. "Kyrano? Well...yes, he is glad."

Virgil, in turn, frowned back. "How would you know that?"

"Because he's standing right here." Scott moved his watch so Virgil could see him.

"It can't be. Scott, that's not Kyrano!"

"What are you talking about? Why would you say that?"

"Because Kyrano's here with us!"

"Oh, no," Kyrano breathed. "Oh, no."

They looked at one another in horror. "The Hood," Jeff and Penelope breathed in unison.

"Virgil! Get out of there! Get out of there now! It's the Hood!" The look of fear on Virgil's face tore through Scott's being. Then his watch went dark. "Virgil! God, no! Virgil!" Scott turned panicked eyes on his father. "We have to get back to the island, Dad! Now!"

Jeff's mouth set into a straight line. Kyrano's breathing seemed to become more labored, and they all turned to him, to find he was staring at Jeff. The rest of the world seemed to fall away as the men locked eyes.

"I do not remember all of you," Kyrano said softly. "I only know that you and I have some sort of connection that is stronger and more true than anything I have known since I took ill."

Jeff nodded once. "But we might not be able to help her. She's your only daughter."

"And they are your sons. We will go."

Jeff held his eyes for only a moment longer before he reached out and grabbed Alan's hand where it held Tin-Tin against his chest. Penelope grabbed Alan's other hand. As Kyrano took Jeff's hand, he knew that no matter what happened, he was making the right decision. He could only pray that these strangers he knew so well would be able to save their own and his own. And suddenly, as the light appeared before them, he knew they would, though he could not explain how. Because 'his' and 'theirs' were inextricably intertwined.

"You will find a way," he said, squeezing Jeff's hand. "You always do."

As they moved to walk through the portal, Jeff closed his eyes and prayed.