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Chapter 11

Howie shuddered.  "Guys, this is... it's so much bigger than Zator's influence.  More dangerous.  If we don't do something as soon as possible, we could lose him.  Forever."

There was silence for the briefest moment, and then the room exploded.

"Lose him?!  We can't lose him!"

"He's got a family to provide for.  He can't be taken from us!"

"What can we do?  We've got to do something."

"Zanell?"

The men stilled, and then turned to the princess.  She was studying Brian, her lips pressed tight.

"There... may be a way," she said at last. "My amulet can heal.  Howie, do you think you could guide me into his mind?"

Howie started in surprise. "Guide you in?"

"You've done it before," Zanell remarked. 

Kevin's gaze snapped to her in astonishment.

"Like you said," she continued, "Brian's in danger of being lost forever."

That seemed to steel Howie's resolve.  He nodded. "We'll have to be careful going in.  It's a rough, dark ride and I barely got back out.  It'll be a harsh fight."

"I'll risk it."

He watched in surprise, having never witnessed such a thing, as Howie and Zanell clasped hands over Brian's still form.  They settled into comfortable positions, took deep breaths, and then closed their eyes.

Kevin turned to the others.  "When has he done this before?"

AJ answered, "I'm told that he first guided Zanell into my mind when I was in a coma.  They didn't go in for any length of time, since it was Howie's first attempt, but they did just a little bit of work every day until I woke up."

"He wanted to practice until he could do it comfortably," Nick continued, "so we all willingly allowed him to go inside each of us, guiding Zanell." He glanced down at Brian. "I just hope Bri can allow them in now."

Kevin lifted an eyebrow. "Rejection's possible?"

"Rejection is possible in everything."

He nodded after a moment, then watched Howie and Zanell's still forms.  Don't turn them away, Brian.  We're trying to help you.

After a short time of silence Kevin couldn't keep from fidgeting and finally stood.

"Where are you going?" Nick demanded, gripping his arm as he reached the doorway.

Kevin looked back. "I'm sorry, but I can't just sit here and wait, not knowing what's wrong with Brian.  I need... I need to do something."

"But Kev-"

"Please, Nick," Kevin begged, "don't try to stop me.  I need this." He put a hand on the blonde's arm. "You come get me when they've returned and found out more, okay?"

Nick watched him for another moment, and then nodded. "Okay."

With a weak smile, Kevin headed off down the hall, his thoughts broken and worried.  His feet eventually directed him to the training room.  This would do just fine.  He programmed the system for the most difficult setup he could be given and commenced the workout.  By the third round, Power Lord's uniform was completely soaked with sweat, but he just couldn't stop.  There were too many things bothering him to stop: Brian's unnatural hatred, his alliance with Zator, that dark Thing trying to take him over.  Then there was still the question of whether or not Kevin was truly going to stay.  Had Brian really meant it when he wished Kevin hadn't come, or was that the Dark controlling him?  All of it flew through Kevin's mind as he bashed each manifestation that the program sent against him.

He reached down to lift a large metal bar into his hands when, all of a sudden, it vanished and the lights came back on.  The program had been deactivated.  Breathing heavily, he turned to see Nick in the doorway.

"They're back."

"How long has it been?" Kevin panted.

"They were in for an hour, and then took two more to rest up," he replied.

Kevin frowned. "Nick, your tone tells me they weren't successful in helping Brian."

He hesitated, and then said, "It's stronger than Zanell thought.  She wouldn't tell us much until after she and Howie woke up, and even then, she wanted to wait for full details until we got you."

Kevin bolted out the door and headed back to the galley, not waiting for Nick to finish.  AJ was leaning against the table listening to Howie as Kevin entered. Howie's eyes were ringed with shadows, and Zanell had her face resting on one hand, eyes closed. How bad had it been that after only three hours they still looked exhausted, even with rest?

AJ glanced up and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Kev," he greeted. "You look as exhausted as these two. What'd you do?"

"Set the training program for the toughest it could give me. Still didn't seem like enough, though."

"Well," came the princess' muffled voice, "battling that Dark that's controlling Brian will most certainly be the toughest you'll get."

Kevin looked over as she raised her head, a red imprint of her hand on her cheek. "How bad was it?"

She gave a wavering sigh before replying. "I've never fought something like this before. I can't even figure out how it took such strong control over Brian in the first place."

"Do you think it was a sudden thing, or something that built over time?" Nick asked.

Zanell sighed. "I'd have to honestly say it happened over time."

"What happened?" Kevin asked, though a part of him feared the answer.

"Howie and I almost didn't make it back out," Zanell explained. "If I hadn't been able to sense the other two, we might not have made it."

He gasped.  They almost didn't get out and he had been selfish enough to leave the room?

The princess gave him a weary smile. "It's all right, Kevin.  AJ and Nick were here and that was enough.  Still," she rubbed her eyes; "we should rest some more before we try again."

"Zanell and I couldn't do it alone," Howie continued. "The Thing was too dark, almost too strong." He shook his head. "So many dark thoughts and feelings were present.  We need to work together if we want to get Brian back."

"How?" AJ asked.

"I don't know yet.  We've got seven hours until we're back home.  I'll keep checking on Brian from time to time and pray that he'll be all right."

"He's still under?" Kevin turned to check on him.  His body was gone. "What-"

"He started to wake up about an hour ago," Nick explained, "but AJ and I felt it best to put him back under until we could figure out what to do, then we moved him back to his room."

The seven hours that were left on the trip home seemed like a thousand. No one was really in the mood to talk; the few attempts at conversation didn't go far. Kevin was halfway between exhaustion and anxiety... he couldn't sleep, but he couldn't keep his mind on things either.  Zanell announced re-entry at long last, but he felt no sense of relief. The worst was yet to come.

Kevin looked back down at his still-sleeping cousin. He'd kept watch for the final two hours of the trip, not sure what he was looking for. Even in sleep, Brian's face wasn't relaxed. Kevin supposed he was looking for a peace he remembered, an innocence that Brian had always possessed in childhood. But it had been a long time since they were young and carefree. What had happened to allow this Dark to enter him?

AJ joined him a few minutes later, but remained silent.  For all the resentment toward one another these past few days, Kevin was grateful for his presence.  It would take time for that wound to heal, but it would be dealt with after they helped Brian.

In almost no time at all following Zanell's announcement, they arrived at the base.  Kevin's stomach clenched.  He could sense that they were nearing the moment of one of the toughest battles they'd ever have to face; a battle for the soul of one of their own.  And they would not give him up without a fight.  And they would win.  Of that there was no doubt. 

They couldn't afford doubt anymore than they could afford to lose Brian.

It wasn't exactly a sense of relief when the ship landed; no one spoke as Brian, still sedated, was transported to the base's med bay.  Once Zanell had checked on his general status, she requested a group meeting. Tiredly, they gathered at the small conference room nearby.

"He's resting well," she said after a rather long pause. "At least he's far enough under to prevent him from fighting it all. Now, we have to decide what we want to do next."

"What has to be done?" AJ wondered.

Zanell glanced at Howie. "We think that this... Darkness... is functioning on the astral plane. That's where Brian's true self, his soul if you will, exists right now. And that's where we're going to have to fight."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Nick asked, frowning. "How can we fight on a plane that... well, doesn't exist physically? Our powers won't work there, will they?"

"Maybe not as they work on the physical plane," Howie suggested, "but we won't be entirely powerless.  My power was different, but Zanell's ability remained the same.  I don't really know how to explain it that well."

"So what do we have to do?" Kevin pressed. "The longer we wait the stronger hold this Darkness will have over Brian."

"While we were there, I caught tendrils of black memories from Brian's past.  I'd bet that those were used to allow the Dark to enter him."

"So... what, do we have to cheer him up?" AJ asked, somewhat doubtfully.

"Many of these memories included us," Howie revealed quietly.

"But... we've got good memories too," Nick protested.

"And that is exactly what we have to remind Brian of," Howie determined. "Right now, Brian's emotions are in turmoil.  Joy was beginning to fade, and peace.  Happiness was all but gone. There was a huge sense of overwhelming frustration and despair, along with fear and confusion... a bit of anger and betrayal too."

Kevin's gaze turned to the floor.  Anger and betrayal.  That had to be directed at him.  He had left years ago without a word of discussion, especially with Brian.  They should have talked about it.  Not even when they were working together in the studio was the subject remotely breached.  Why had that been?

Nick was speaking. "We've got to help him.  Those feelings don't belong there.  We have to help him understand."

"How?" Kevin asked.

"Share the good memories," AJ offered. "Remind him of the things we've enjoyed over the years, feats we persevered to achieve.  Surely the good memories will outnumber the bad."

"It won't be easy."

Zanell nodded. "But we think that's the only way."

After a moment, Kevin sighed.  "When do we get started?"

"We're going to have to start thinking positive, fast," Nick said.

"Well, we've had some pretty awesome times touring," Howie suggested. "Traveling, the fans..."

"We may need specific instances, though," Zanell remarked.

Kevin smirked, remembering. "Hearing ourselves on the radio for the very first time."

Howie, AJ and Nick chuckled as they remembered the instance as well. "Brian was ecstatic," Nick said. "He and I were practically bouncing off the tour bus walls."

For the next hour, they shared memories with one another, bringing more laughter than Kevin had heard in years.  Zanell was absolutely shocked silly at some of the pranks that had been done over the years.  She wiped at tears as she struggled to breathe through her laughter.

"Then, of course... there's family," Kevin began. "Brian's wedding..."

"Oh, that was a great day," AJ jumped in. "Just awesome.  Still wish he would've let us help out with something, but he 'didn't want us to work at the wedding'."

"And at the reception when he handed Leighanne over to me so he could sing 'You Are' to her," Kevin added. "All three of us were crying by the time he finished."

"Er... aren't we supposed to be thinking about good stuff?" Nick asked.

"That was good, you doof," AJ said, elbowing the youngest.

Nick blushed. "Oh yeah."

"And then the kids. When Brian became a dad..."

Kevin picked up when Howie trailed off with a grin. "I remember the pride in Brian's voice when he called me to say that Baylee had been born.  And then when I got to hold that tiny little bundle of life for the first time..." He shook his head. "I felt just like he did when my kids were born."

"I still remember when Libby and Ben were born," AJ remarked. "Like it was yesterday.  He and Leighanne had wanted to be surprised on the twins' genders, and his grin was so huge when he came out of the delivery room to tell us that it was a boy and a girl." He smiled. "Then he let us follow him in to see them, and I got to hold both at once," he held his arms up as though he were holding them again, "that was just awesome.  I looked at those kids and knew that I had to have a family of my own some day soon." He sighed, and looked at Kevin. "You remember Becky Watson?"

"She works with children, doesn't she?" Kevin wondered, hoping I didn't embarrass myself by forgetting his new girlfriend.

"Child trauma psychologist," he clarified, and then he beamed. "We're engaged.  And we want a family as soon as possible."

Kevin's mouth dropped open in surprise as the others cheered for him.  Engaged?  But then he smiled.  Becky was a good woman, better for him than some of his other girlfriends would have been.

Zanell smiled. "That will do. Howie?"

Howie nodded, and then led us to Brian's bedside.  Kevin winced when he saw Brian's face.  He was pale, and he seemed to have aged years in just a few short hours.

"We'll get him back," Howie promised. "And he'll get better."

Kevin nodded and took his place beside Howie.  Linking hands as instructed, the strangest journey he'd ever been on began.