Brian's head throbbed as he once again wiped perspiration from his face. He checked again to make sure that the amulet was hidden safely inside his jacket, hoping that no one would see any tell tale signs of what he carried.

“Destination.”

“P-prison level.” Brian swallowed as the lift began its descent.

He rubbed his hands together and straightened his jacket as the lift slowed. He had to show confidence. He couldn’t be afraid. He knew that they were all in bad shape; Sera had given him a full report only minutes before. The lift door opened, and he took a deep breath before stepping out. He saw the guards and approached with confidence showing in every step. As the guards saw him, one reached for the door when he spoke.

“It’s all right, I can get that.”

The guard stared at him in confusion. “Sir?”

“You two go take a break for a while,” Brian explained. “I’ll be continuing the Questioning from yesterday, but I’d like to not be disturbed. Take some time, gentlemen.”

The guards seemed grateful for a break and headed down to the lift. When the lift closed behind them, Brian sighed and turned back to the door. He dreaded facing them, but especially Nick. What he'd done... Well, it was too late to back out now. As he raised his hand to the lock, he noticed the slight trembling that had begun. He prayed it hadn’t shown in front of the guards. He pressed the lock and stepped back. The door slid open with a hiss and he stepped inside.

Someone gasped in fear, another in anger. Brian braced himself. Next would come the angry words. But none came. He glanced to his right at Zanell, who glared at him with utter hatred and spite. He glanced into Nick’s cell, but it looked like the younger man was out cold, so he moved on.

Kevin was up against the farthest wall of his cell with his knees drawn up to his chest. He was the only conscious person not making eye contact. Then Brian saw his eyes, saw the distance in the emerald green. For some reason, it hurt him worse than an angered look would have. Kevin had every right to be angry. They all did.

Howie’s once joyful brown eyes were so dark with anger they were almost black. He scowled and uttered something in Spanish; a curse, no doubt. Brian didn’t understand a single word, but whatever he’d said had been more than deserved.

While Howie's look was one of fire, AJ's was one of ice, freezing his very soul. He averted his eyes and turned back to Nick. Of all of them, he needed help the most. The fact that he was still unconscious spoke volumes. Terrible volumes.

“Nick?” he whispered as he stepped closer.

There was no reply. Nick lay on his back, his face pale. His breathing looked labored. Brian shut his eyes for a moment, then turned to Zanell. She rose as Brian reached for the lock that would drop the force field on her cell.

With a banshee shriek, Zanell leaped from the cell as soon as the field dropped and attacked him, scratching and clawing like a cat. Brian met her fury, blocking her blows but not striking back. As she continued her attack, Brian lost his balance and fell on his back. Something clattered to the floor, and Zanell paused in her attack long enough to look. She'd hoped it would have been a weapon, but was shocked to discover an amulet on the floor. It must have fallen from his jacket. As Zanell reached for the amulet, Brian spoke.

“It’s yours. Heal him. Them...”

Zanell glanced down at him. "You didn't say 'please'," she snapped.

He stared at her for a moment, then, "Please, Zanell."

Zanell stared at him in surprise. He’d spoken so softly, like he really did care. This was different than what he’d been showing them the past two days. He picked the amulet up and held it out to her.

“Please, princess?” he begged. “Nick needs it. He needs it and so do the others. Please.”

Zanell gazed at the amulet in his hand. Princess? He called me princess? Could he…?

Brian’s eyes moved past her to Nick’s cell. She turned around to look and cringed at the sight. She turned back and snatched her amulet from Brian’s hand and went to Nick’s cell. She activated the amulet as soon as she put it on and raised a hand to drop the force field. She paused as she realized she didn’t know the code to enter the cell.

“Let me.”

Zanell gasped quietly and looked over her shoulder. Her hand clutched the amulet around her neck. Now that she had it, she’d make sure he wouldn’t get it back. It could be a trick of some kind; he could be fooling her. But it was a chance she was willing to take. Nick needed her and the healing the amulet could provide. He didn't look good at all...

The second the force field dropped, Zanell rushed to Nick’s side. Ignoring Brian, she concentrated on the pale, unmoving form before her. She gathered her thoughts as she knelt down beside him. He had a pulse... weak, but there. She focused on Nick and touched his forehead; a small glow appeared beneath her hand. She worked for several minutes, grimly registering how long it took for the amulet to heal Nick's abused body.

Brian groaned quietly as he, too, realized how long it was taking for Nick to heal. Nicky, I'm so sorry.

Come on, Nick, Zanell pleaded. Pull through, please!

A glow began to surround Nick as the healing began to take full effect. Slowly color came back to his face and his breathing became deep and even. He groaned quietly and coughed, and then twice more before his eyes flickered open. Zanell sighed with relief as she saw his eyes clear of the physical pain.

“Hi, Nick.”

His bright blue orbs found her eyes and he smiled weakly as he took her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, and then his eyes fell shut as he drifted back to sleep. Zanell brushed his hair back and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

“Get your rest Nick, you’ll be okay.”

Brian closed his eyes with relief as Nick fell back to sleep. He’d been so afraid he would be too late. That would have been too much for him to handle.

“Come on, Zanell,” he said. “Let Nick rest. You still need to help the others.”

Slowly, Zanell rose and exited the cell. She watched as Brian typed in the command to close the cell. When the force field reappeared, they watched Nick sleep for a few moments longer.

Brian cleared his throat and addressed Zanell. "Kevin's next."

Before she could reply, a voice spoke.

"No."

Brian's eyes snapped to Kevin. "No? What do you mean 'no'?"

"I don't want to be healed," Kevin said in a rough voice.

"That's crazy," Brian said, confused.

"No," Kevin cut in. "Betraying your family, your friends... that's crazy. Working for Evil is crazy. Giving up a good, productive, honest life for one of killing and chaos is crazy." His emerald eyes narrowed. "No, I don't want to be healed. You can't erase what you've done that easily. I'll heal on my own with no help from you."

"Kevin," Brian began haltingly, "I'm-"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry," Kevin snapped. "Nothing you can do now matters. You nearly killed Nick," he continued after a moment. "I want nothing to do with you. Not even if it means a release from my pain."

Brian was silent, not knowing what to say to Kevin.

"My wrist needs fixing, Zanell," Howie said, not bothering to look at his betrayer.

Brian clenched his jaw but keyed the lock sequence. A moment later, Zanell was repairing the damage that had been done. The physical damage, anyway. AJ nodded silently when she glanced his way. Without a word, Brian allowed Zanell to heal him as well.

Zanell turned back to Kevin's cell. "Kevin," she said softly, "please let me heal you, too. There's no need to suffer when I can take the pain away."

"No, Zanell," Kevin answered evenly. "I'll be fine." He looked down at the floor and fell silent.

Zanell sighed and looked away. A gentle hand on her arm made her turn in surprise.

"Come on Zanell. You need to get back. If he finds you're out of your cell, he'll figure I let you out and probably kill us all."

After a moment, Zanell nodded and allowed Brian to direct her back to her cell. Zanell hid the amulet under her clothing and sat down, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She'd seen Brian order the torture of his brothers, then listened as he begged her to heal them. What was going on?

"I know you're smart enough to keep that hidden," Brian said, motioning to the amulet Zanell had just hidden. "He won't figure you've got it."

Zanell looked up just as he headed for the door. “Wait.”

Brian paused, and then looked over his shoulder.

“How did you get it?” Zanell asked. “Howie said that my father was demanding that they tell him where the amulets are. Why?”

Brian looked away uncomfortably. He clenched his fists. “He thought… he thought you and the others had hidden them somewhere on Earth.”

Zanell moved to the entrance of the cell and stared at him. “Why is that?” she carefully inquired.

“Because,” Brian licked his lips nervously, “because that’s what I told him.” With that, he turned and strode out the door.

~~

Nick sat quietly as Howie filled in the last of the details. He desperately needed to make sense of the entire thing, but was finding it impossible.

"So... then Kael let Zanell heal me and everyone?"

"Yes," Zanell said. "He actually pleaded with me. And he called me Princess... the last thing I would have thought he'd do. Kael would never give me that respect."

"But Brian would," Nick said slowly. "Maybe... maybe he's been acting all this time."

"Don't kid yourself," Kevin's voice said sharply. "That was no act. There was real hatred in his eyes." He drew a breath but it caught, sending him into a coughing fit.

Nick, although he couldn't see his oldest brother, could tell something was wrong. A small, short sound of pain reached his ears.

"Kev?" he asked carefully. "What... is something wrong?"

"He wouldn't allow himself to be healed," Zanell provided. "Even though Brian wanted me to."

"Brian doesn't exist," Kevin said bitterly, a grimace in his voice. "I wouldn't be surprised if he healed everyone just to torture them again."

"How can you say that?" Nick exclaimed, shocked at the acidity in Kevin's tone.

"Because he hurt us, betrayed not only his brothers but his family, his beliefs, and his entire way of life!" Kevin shot back. "He nearly killed you, Nick. Face it, the Brian you knew is dead. The sooner you accept that fact, the better off you'll be."

Kevin's tirade ended as another pain-filled coughing fit seized him. Nick exchanged a worried glance with AJ and Howie.

"You guys feel the same?" he asked.

"I don't know what to think, Nicky," AJ said quietly. "I want to believe it was all an act, but... I don't know. He looked pretty authentic when he strapped me down to that chair."

Howie drew in a breath. "I can't believe that he's totally gone to the evil side," he said. "He did those terrible things, but... maybe he's realizing what he's doing. Maybe whatever spell Zator put him under is wearing off. He did risk a lot to let us heal."

"Wishful thinking," Kevin said in a much weaker voice. "Believe what you want, but when he comes back to torture us some more, don't be shocked." He bowed his head and fell silent.

“Kev…”

Kevin ignored Howie's soft inquiry. He wrapped his arms around his knees, hoping that no one would notice the way his hands were shaking. He wanted out of this hellish nightmare, and now.

Nick let the silence settle around the room for a moment until a question arose.

"Hey, if Brian had your amulet, Zanell... wouldn't he have everyone's?"

~~~

Brian paced the length of his cabin as Sera watched him from her position on his bed. She had seen his face when he’d stepped off the lift from the prison level. Bit by bit, he had revealed what had happened.

“Brian please stop pacing and sit down,” she requested, “you’ll put a hole in the floor.”

“Sera, I have to get them off the ship. But I... I don't know how. They're not exactly going to trust me now." His voice dropped and almost broke. "Especially Kevin."

"It means that much to you?" she asked softly. "Even knowing they hate you?"

"It does," Brian said. "I made some terrible mistakes. I need to get them away from here before something else happens."

"I'll help you, then," Sera said after a moment.

Surprised blue eyes glanced up. "What?" Brian said. "Why?"

"Because... I love you," she said.

Brian stared at the woman before him. “You love… Sera, I...”

"Look, we need to come up with a plan to get them out of here. We can talk about us later," she said quickly.

Serafina was relieved when Brian nodded in agreement. She had a lot to sort out on her own before they began discussing things.

"You know," Brian began, "they're gonna kill me when they find out I've had the amulets all along. Like they need another reason,” he muttered to himself.

~~~

"Yeah," AJ said after a moment. "He's asleep."

"I know he's upset and all," Howie said, "but I think he's wrong to refuse to get healed. I don't understand that.”

"I think we're all confused about things," AJ replied. "I wonder if Kev's right, and we're in for another round of... of torture."

"Maybe Brian healed us because he has a change of heart," Howie countered.

"Guys," Nick said wearily, "don't. We've had this same debate for the last hour. I don't think anyone can tell what's going to happen."

"Nick's right," Zanell said. "Look, I saw Brian up close, I saw his eyes... something's changed. But how long that will last, and how deep that change is, I have no idea. We'll just have to hope and pray that Howie's right."

"But when are we going to find out?" AJ asked.
"Soon," Zanell said. "I hope."

A slight noise made Zanell glance over to the center cell. She could just make out Kevin's prone form as he moved a bit restlessly. A few seconds later she heard another sound... Kevin was dreaming. Although she couldn't hear the mumbled words that escaped his lips, she knew without a doubt he was caught in a nightmare. She sighed. It looked like they all would be having nightmares for some time to come. If only they could escape from the ship...

~~~

“Now, let’s go through this one more time,” Serafina instructed. “In a few minutes, you, as Kael, will go to my father and say…”

Brian sighed. “That the prisoners died during a second session of torture and I’d like to dispose of the bodies and search for the amulets on Earth.”

“And I’ll be waiting for you just outside the door of the prison with the amulets.”

“If Zator gives me approval to go search, I’ll be joining you. If not, somehow I’ll get in contact with you and you’ll have to get them off by yourself.”

“That’s the part I hate,” Serafina commented.

“Well, then let’s make sure that part doesn’t happen.”

Serafina smiled and Brian got up to leave. As he approached the door, she called to him. “Wait!”

He paused and Sera hurried to his side and gave him a quick kiss. “For luck.”

Brian stared at her in surprise for a second or two. Then he smiled and gently squeezed her hand. “I’ll need it. See you soon.”

He headed down the hall toward the lift that would take him to Zator. As he stepped inside, the computer voice spoke.

“Destination.”

“Leader’s deck,” he said.

~~~

Sera watched as he headed down the hall toward a lift. When the door hissed shut behind Brian, she headed back into the cabin and went straight for his dresser. Brian had told her that was where he kept the amulets. Opening the top drawer, Sera saw the box he had described to her. Opening the lid, she saw the remaining five amulets resting inside. She took the one that was Brian’s and hid it under her shirt while the others remained in the box. She replaced the lid and carried the box out of Brian’s cabin toward another lift. Stepping inside, she gave the destination.

“Prison level.”