In Sloanville's Chinatown, a young man leaned over a figure covered in a black sheet. It was the third body they'd found in the span of a month and it disturbed him. He knew that he should be used to this kind of brutality in his line of work, but sometimes it still bothered him when someone was killed seemingly for no reason at all.

"Go on, Nickie," he said to the young man who was standing beside the gurney. The coroner gestured to the young man at the end of the stretcher and he rolled away the gruesome sight. "You have any ideas what might have killed him?"

"Could be almost anything, Peter," Elder said. He wasn't going to commit to anything that might get him in trouble with his boss. He walked over to the station wagon he'd driven to the crime scene and got in. "The gaping hole in his throat didn't do him too much good either, that's for sure. I'll know more when I get back to the shop and do a complete autopsy on him. I'll get hold of you when I know anything."

Peter noticed the arrival of his partner's car with interest and watched as Elder's car left. He wondered what she'd been doing when Strenlich had no doubt called her. He nodded as his partner walked up to where they had stood talking. She noticed that he was uncharacteristically quiet and this made her nervous.

"What's gotten into you, Peter?" Mary Margaret Skalaney asked. She knew that, unless something was really wrong, Peter was usually pacing the floor, chomping at the bit and grating on everyone's nerves by now. That he wasn't his usually boisterous self indicated that all was not as it should be. It seemed that something about this case was bothering him, and she wanted to know about it. "See something with those Shaolin eyes of yours?"

His head snapped around to stare at her. Even though she had said it with a somewhat joking manner, he had sensed the seriousness behind her question. He tried to formulate his thoughts into a coherent answer that he hoped would make sense to her.

"I think I have an idea as to who is behind these murders. They bear some of the markings of a ritual Sing Wah assassination." He ran his fingers through the mound of dark brown hair on his head and drew a deep breath. He slowly exhaled as he fought to regain his composure. "Let's get back to the precinct and get Kermit to run a trace on somebody I need to find fast."

"Who's that?"

"A man named Damon Caine." Peter turned to look at her, an expression on his face that she'd never seen before. It was a look that scared her. "My father and I first encountered him in Paris, along with a man named Martin Bradshaw. I think he may have come to the States to find my father. He could even be after me as well."

"What's that got to do with you and these murders?" she asked incredulously. There was obviously something Peter was trying to withhold from her. "And what does it have to do with your father?"

Peter closed his eyes and took a deep cleansing breath, which he exhaled before answering her questions. He thought back to the first time that they'd met Damon and Martin. In the ensuing battle with Damon and the Sing Wah, Peter had met two uncles he never knew he had and a grandfather that he'd never heard of until that moment except through his journals that his father had entrusted to him. Damon had jumped Peter in the dark temple and even had a chance to kill him, but he didn't do it then. He vowed that he'd be coming for his nephew for some reason known only to him. What no one knew was that Damon had known something about Peter's destiny and powers as a future Shaolin.

Matthew had been shocked to see his illegitimate son Martin as well as finding out that his son Kwai Chang and his grandson Peter had survived the destruction of the Shaolin temple in California. He had known neither of the two men, but it was evident of Peter's blood relationship to his son, Kwai Chang. They had spent several days getting to know each other, but Damon had fled after the defeat of the Sing Wah. No one had been able to find a trace of him.

"Damon Caine and Martin Bradshaw are my uncles," he said quietly. She had to strain to hear him, but she listened as he tried to explain. He cast a sideways glance at her. "I thought my father would have told you all of this by now," he finally said.

She shook her head. Now she understood why Kwai Chang Caine was reticent about discussing it and why Peter was anxious to get Kermit on the trail of Damon Caine. If anyone could find the trail of a man who wished to remain hidden, it was Kermit. How he did it, no one wanted to know or even dared to ask him about.

"I think Damon might be here after me," Peter said as he got into his blue Dodge Stealth. "He said that he'd be coming for me, but he never said why."

Skalaney raised an eyebrow at his statement. She knew someone who might give her some of the answers to this mystery, if properly motivated to do so.

"I'll see you back at the precinct. I've got to see someone about a session of twenty questions."

Peter watched as she got into her car and drove off into the night, then got into his Stealth and drove away from the scene of the murder, unaware that the someone he was looking for was watching him from the shadows.

** ** **

Skalaney pulled into a parking space in front of Caine's apartment building. She had to know about what was going on since she was Peter's partner and his friend. She climbed up the fire escape and made her way along a now-familiar path to Caine's apartment.

"Caine, you in here?" she called into the semi-darkness. She heard movement and knew that someone was there, but she had no idea if it was Caine or not. "Caine?"

"In here," she heard a voice say from off to her left. She turned in the direction of it and saw a light on in one of the nearby rooms. She walked into the room and saw Caine sitting in meditation. He got up as she came over to stand near him. "There is something troubling you."

She sighed. "I need to know what you know about Damon Caine." She saw Caine flinch at her request. "I know from Peter that he's your brother, but I need to know what danger there could be to you and Peter."

"I am not sure," he said hesitantly. "I think the Sing Wah believe that Peter is destined to become some kind of superior Shaolin psychic." Caine knew that his son's Shaolin skills would one day be even greater than his own if, and when, he accepted the brands of priesthood. All he had to do was wait until he decided to do so. "All Shaolin have psionic potential, but Peter's skills are much stronger than we've ever encountered, even though they are not fully developed. He has sealed off that part of himself to protect it as well as himself."

"And here I always thought of him as a snob," she replied, then smiled. "The things you don't know about someone--"

"--could fill the mystery entry of the encyclopedia," Caine finished. There was much he didn't know about his son, since the one man who could tell him what he wanted to know was gone, but he never stopped learning new and different things about his son of which to be proud . "Yes, I am aware of this fact."

"So that could mean that the Sing Wah would target him even more aggressively than they did you?" she asked incredulously. She couldn't think of Peter being in such danger. She saw Caine shake his head yes. "We've got to get to the precinct and warn him."

Skalaney watched quietly as Caine gathered the items he would need and put them into his pouch. He then followed her down to her car. After they got in, she sped off into the night, hoping that they would be in time to warn Peter of the possible danger he was in.

**** **** ****

Lurking in the shadows of the 101st, Damon Caine watched as his nephew entered the building. He knew that he'd encounter Peter in time because of the bodies his men had carelessly left strewn about Chinatown, but that didn't matter to him. Damon vowed that it would be he, and not Peter, who would choose the time and place of their encounter.

"Soon, Nephew," Damon said to himself. "You will be mine, with or without your knowledge or permission."

**** **** ****

Inside the precinct, Peter was conversing with his father, Kermit and Mary Margaret. In the middle of telling the computer mercenary what he wanted, the younger Caine's voice trailed off abruptly. Peter could sense the presence of Damon somewhere nearby. Caine looked at his son, sensing what he felt through their bond. He could feel the pain Damon was inflicting on Peter by his violation of the younger man's mind.

"Damon is somewhere nearby," Kwai Chang Caine said in response to Kermit and Mary Margaret's unasked question. He turned to face his son. "Peter?" He reached over and took Peter's face in his hands. "Concentrate on his presence. Tell me where he is."

Peter heard his father's voice penetrate through the haze in his mind and found himself obeying without question. He was drawn to a building he'd passed many times on the way to and from the precinct. Like many people, he'd never given a second thought to the run-down building.

"He's hiding in a building near the precinct," Peter said faintly. "It's old and abandoned. He's hiding from them. Sing Wah assassins. He's tempting me to join him and I'm trying to fight him, but it's not easy to resist him." Caine hated to see his son in so much pain, but he had to get him to use the gifts he had to find his uncle. "Father, I can't do this. It hurts too much. I can't control it!"

"You are doing fine," Caine reassured him. He would do what was needed to get his son through whatever danger he faced from his uncle. Maybe in the process of facing Damon, their strained relationship would be healed as well.

"Father, I can't. . . " Peter could feel himself slipping under Damon's evil influence and tried to fight against it. "Father, help me! I can't. . . fight. . . ."

As Peter's pain became intolerable, Caine forced his son to meet his gaze by tightening his grip on Peter's chin and turning his head to face him.

"I can help you fight him, but you have to let me inside your mind," Caine said calmly. He knew that unless he helped Peter regain control of his soul, Damon and his dark masters would gain a powerful tool in the form of Peter's untapped psionic potential. "Trust in my love for you and concentrate on my voice."

Caine choked back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He took hold of the love he had for his son and focused it on Peter's chi. The strength of both a father's love and a child's untapped mental powers pushed back the darkness attacking the protective barriers of his mind.

As father and son waged a battle on the mental level, Kermit and Mary Margaret watched over the physical bodies of Kwai Chang and Peter. Working at the keyboards of his computer, Kermit entered the data that Peter had given him prior to Damon's attack on his friend's mind. At the sound of someone turning the doorknob, he looked up as Captain Karen Simms decided to come into the computer room looking for some data she needed on a past case.

"Kermit, I need some data on. . . " Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Peter and his father sitting on the floor. Caine's hands were barely touching Peter's cheeks and she could see the pain in Peter's face. She looked at Kermit and Mary Margaret with a stern countenance. "What the hell is going on here?!"

"Peter is under psychic attack," Kermit replied absentmindedly. He was concerned about what was happening to the man he considered to be like a younger brother. "Caine is trying to help him regain control of his powers, but they're having a rough time doing so."

Simms' concern for the younger Caine seemed out of place with the strict image she wished to project to the world, but in the time since she'd taken command of the 101st, she had gotten to know the man behind the flashy heroics. In that short time, she had seen Peter Caine as he worked with people and found that he was a warm and genuinely caring person. He would have need of his friends now more than ever.

"We may have to help them," she said. "I want one of you to go to Chinatown and get-what do they call him-?"

"The Ancient," Kermit supplied for her. She looked closer at him and saw that he was without his traditional green shades. 'He's incredibly handsome without them,' she found herself thinking. She then focused on the matter at hand.

"Yes. Tell him we need him here at the precinct, but don't go into great detail as to why." She saw the detective grab his coat and leave. She then turned to Mary Margaret. "We can offer them the strength of our friendship and love. Maybe it can help them battle whatever they're facing."

Mary Margaret looked at her. Simms was willing to risk her life for a detective under her command without knowing why or without asking any questions. She had really misjudged her commanding officer. She then took Karen Simms' hands in her own, trying to gather all their strength for the journey they were about to undertake. She had to make sure that Karen understood the danger that they would be in.

"I have to warn you that what we are about to do could be very dangerous. If we fail to save them, we could end up losing our own anchor with the real world." She looked her commanding officer in the eyes. "Caine said that if we overtax our chi, we could lose our way back to reality and possibly die."

Simms nodded. All she knew was that someone she considered to be a friend was in danger. She couldn't sit by and do nothing. She had to help him.

Skalaney tried to remember what Caine had told her about focusing her mind on what she wanted to do. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the presence of both her own chi and that of the woman with her.

The two of them felt oddly disjointed, as if they were leaving their bodies behind forever. They walked toward the light, seeking the presences of the two men they wanted to bring back to the real world.

"Caine?" she asked tentatively. She strained to hear him reply in the roaring winds around her. "Are you there?" She couldn't hear anything other than the sounds of her own voice and their breathing. "Caine?"

"I am here, Mary Margaret," Caine replied from off to her left. She turned to face him. "You and Captain Simms are in great danger in this place." He turned at the sound of a distant voice calling to him. "You must leave this place and I must go to Peter's aid."

"We want to help Peter as well, if we can," Simms said. She wasn't about to go off and leave them in this place by themselves without back up. Kermit would never forgive her if something happened to Peter or his father. "Tell us what we have to do to help."

Caine marveled at her conviction and determination to help his son, but he didn't want to expose them to the risks involved with facing Damon. He shook his head and smiled.

"Peter is in need of something or someone with which to anchor himself in the real world, an anchor for him to fight back against his uncle's influence."

"Kermit went to get the Ancient," Mary Margaret said. "Maybe he can help us anchor his soul to his body."

Caine was suprised that she'd intuitively figured out what was going on her own and that she'd managed to bring both herself and Simms to the astral plane. There was more to her than met the eye and it spoke well of her strength of will, courage and character.

**** **** ****

Kermit and the Ancient entered the detective's office and the sight that greeted them shocked them into a stunned silence. They saw the four of them sitting in the floor, their hands barely touching, in a circle in front of his couch. This fragile contact was all that was holding them together.

"We must join the link that these four have forged," Lo Si said. "They will need all of our strength if they are to defeat Damon and recover Peter's soul from the Bardo."

Kermit put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob to keep out any unwanted visitors and then locked the door before he joined the Ancient next to Karen Simms. If the situation hadn't been so serious, he would have leaned over and kissed her. Instead, he did the next best thing.

He sat down on the floor by Peter and took the young detective's hand in his. He noticed that the skin was cold and clammy. That was not a good sign. He then took Karen's hand in his other one. It was cool to the touch, but not like Peter's. He knew he didn't have time to explore the feelings he had for this woman, but later he would ask her out. Peter needed him more and he'd walk through hell to save him.

"I'm ready," he said. The Ancient heard a brief hesitation in Kermit's usually strong and calm voice, but said nothing. He knew that Peter was really lucky to have found friends like these after such a rough childhood. "Let's go bring them back home!"

"You must focus, Detective Griffin," the Ancient finally said. "You must center on the love you have for all of these spirits."

Kermit struggled to calm the inner demons as he sought his own center of balance. Even though he didn't practice kung fu, he understood the principles behind it and the focused powers of one's own mind. He nodded his readiness, pulling his energy inside to free his mind from the confines of the physical body. Lo Si sat between Peter and his father. He joined hands with them and was stunned at the levels of energy being expended by all that were involved in the rescue of Peter Caine. It was as if they were willing to risk their own lives to save him.

**** **** ****

"Give him back to us, Damon. You cannot prevail against all of us!" Caine said. He was unaware of the two new additions to their link with Peter. "If you continue, you will kill him."

"I will not leave his mind until I know the full extent of his untapped psionic powers!" Damon shouted at his brother. "I happen to know that he will evolve to become even more powerful than you or father, and I will see you bow before the two of us!"

Caine knew that would never happen. Peter would fight with everything he could muster to defeat his evil uncle. "If you kill my son, then I will be forced to destroy you in turn," Caine stated calmly. He knew that if Peter faded from the link, he would be forever lost in the Bardo of his own negative emotions. Caine had once entered the Bardo of Peter's soul and barely managed to survive his son's anger, resentment and fear of being abandoned as a child. "He is the last of my line and I will not let him fall into the clutches of your evil masters."

"They are no longer my masters!" Damon shouted. "After I failed to kill both of you, the leaders of the Sing Wah hired assassins to kill me for my failure! Why do you think I need Peter's protection and powers?!" Damon looked over to the still form of is nephew's astral self. He knew that Peter's chi force was becoming weaker, but he had to continue. "I have to get out of their sphere of influence before they find out what I know about their organization and its plans."

"And just what do you know?" Karen Simms interrupted. Damon turned and glared at her, amazed that Caine would allow a woman to be involved in such a dangerous undertaking as astral projection and psionic battles. He then saw Mary Margaret and felt the strength of her love for his brother.

"You've changed, Brother," he said cynically. "Now you've let strangers and women come to a place where only family should meet."

"They have as much right here as you do, perhaps even more," Caine countered gently, "They are his friends and they mean more to him than you do."

As Damon continued to argue with him, Caine became aware of two more souls joining the link. He felt the strength and love of each man as they concentrated on finding Peter. He drew strength theirs and turned back to fight his brother. He addressed his words to the new arrivals.

"Kermit, go and see to Peter. Take the others with you. This battle is between me and my brother," Caine said without taking his eyes off of Damon.

"I meant Peter no serious harm, Brother, but I need his protection from the Sing Wah assassins," Damon stated. "He said that the only way he would help me was for me to give up my evil ways. I haven't and I realized that my only hope of survival lies with my nephew and his untapped powers."

"And yet you seek those powers at the risk of his very life and possibly his soul." Caine prepared his mind for a battle that he'd hoped he'd never have to fight: a battle for the life and soul of his son. "What kind of sense does that make? If you kill him, you will be unable to use his powers to protect yourself."

"I have to risk it in order to find out what he's capable of. He's touched the mind of another who might possess the skills I need to remain hidden from the assassins." Damon chose his next words very carefully. "They met as children and they formed a bond stronger than the one you share with him. I wish to find this person, and he knows who and where she is."

"Why do you not ask him instead of risking his life? He might have given you the information you seek."

"No, he wouldn't. You know that as well as I do." Damon's image began to fade as he pulled away from the contact with Peter and his brother. He cast a casual glance back over his shoulder at his nephew. He felt an odd sense of pride that such an exceptionally powerful young man was part of his family. Now that he had the answers he needed, Damon knew that Peter would be safe from the assassins the Sing Wah would send after him. He said nothing of what he knew to Caine. "The assassins are getting closer to where I am hiding. There will be another time, Brother. I will have the information I seek, one way or another."

"If you leave Peter alone, I will get the information you seek." Caine's voice took on a hard edge that no one could ever recall hearing before. They hoped that they would never hear it again because of the menace that was reflected in it. "Do not contact Peter in this fashion ever again. He is unready to handle the stress of astral projection and the pain that you have forced him to endure by your violation of his mental defenses."

As he left the astral plane, Damon nodded. Even though he kept his secrets to himself, he knew that he would no longer have a reason to violate his nephew like this again. The bond of family had been established and he could contact him whenever he wished. *I wish there had been people like these in my life when I was growing up,* he thought to himself. *Maybe if Father hadn't abandoned me to the Sing Wah, my life might have turned out differently.*

Even though Caine knew what might happen if anyone else tried to contact Peter in this fashion, he had to trust in the fact that his brother wouldn't risk his nephew's life in such a manner. Peter began to stir as Damon vanished. Kermit, holding Peter's form, let go of the young man as he attempted to stand up on his own two feet. Looking around, Peter saw the people who had chosen to risk their lives to bring him back and he felt a wave of positive emotion coming from them. However, the absence of the two who had taken him in and loved him the most upset him, but he struggled to keep those emotions under control.

Kermit and the Ancient put an arm around Peter's shoulders and lifted the young man to his feet. He took several tentative, yet wobbly, steps towards his father. As his knees gave out on him, Peter was suprised to feel the supportive arms of Kermit Griffin catch him. He looked into his friend's eyes.

"I'll be all right," he said in a voice so low and full of pain that only Kermit and the Ancient could hear him clearly. The others had to strain to do so. "I think I've had about enough of Uncle Damon and his mind games. He plays way too rough for my tastes."

Caine smiled and knew that if his son could find something to laugh about in spite of all that he'd just endured, Peter would recover in time. He led the others back to the light corridor that would take them back to the real world. But as each of them rejoined their bodies, he doubled over in pain. He became aware of the fact that both Peter's body and soul were missing, having somehow vanished without a trace from the room and the corridor. No one had any idea as to how to track a man whose disappearance left them with no trail of evidence to indicate who might have taken him or where they were now.

**** **** ****

On the bridge of the Cyber-leader's ship, a Cyber-lieutenant noticed an unusual reading on a seldom-used bridge control panel. It came from one of the two starships docked together in front of their ship. He knew that it should be brought to the attention of the leader at once.

"Cyber-leader," his monotone voice began, "we have an anomalous reading on the temporal energy monitor."

Even though his race had no emotions, the Cyber-leader was concerned about the lieutenant's words. The temporal energy monitors had been installed in all Cyberships when they had first encountered a member of a race of beings known as the Time Lords. He had a sinking feeling as to what it meant.

"Someone has affected a temporal transport to this era recently," the leader responded. "We must determine who has made this transport and why. We must also determine where they have materialized."

The Cyber-leader turned to the lieutenant's superior as the junior officer returned his attention to the monitor. The Cyber-captain knew that something was bothering the leader.

"The temporal transport concerns you, does it not?" the captain asked. "Do you know who could possess the ability to travel through time in such a manner?"

"The temporal transport was an unforeseen incident," the leader said," but I should have known that they would send someone to protect their interest in the regards to the planet Earth."

"Who would be so foolish or so bold as to interfere with our plans to take over Earth?"

"The Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey," he said, his monotone voice barely heard above the din of the bridge machinery around them. "They have no doubt sent the Doctor and his companions to act on their behalf. he will tell them what he knows about us and our weakness."

As his leaders conferred in regards to the unforeseen temporal transport, the lieutenant who had earlier discovered the temporal energy trace continued to monitor and track it to its materialization coordinates. He watched as the smaller of the two ships went back into warp speed while the other one continued on its course.

"Sir, I have located the materialization point," the lieutenant said, having sensed a lapse in their conversation.

"Where?"

"The human starship that we have been following at a discreet distance. They stopped to take on a passenger from another ship in a quick transport while barely under warp speed. We have endeavored to remain out of their sensor range."

"Increase speed to overtake them," he ordered. "We will offer them their lives and the life of our prisoner from their Triad Base in trade for the lives of the Doctor and his companions."

**** **** ****

On the Enterprise, Lieutenant Worf watched as the Doctor viewed the data transmission that had been collected by the ship's long range sensors and the data that had been sent to Starfleet Intelligence from Triad base just prior to its destruction.

As he gazed upon the face of the Cyber-leader, the Doctor took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. As much as he loathed to admit it, he had the confirmation he needed in order to inform Picard what he knew about their common enemy.

"I need to speak with the Captain as soon as possible," the Doctor began as he turned away from the viewscreen to face the Klingon.

"I'll see what I can arrange," Worf conceded as he gestured towards the young Vulcan ensign standing behind him. "Ensign T'Vayne will show you back to your quarters."

** ** **

"And you seemed to think that he recognized the face on the screen?" Picard asked his security chief. Worf thought that, based on what he'd observed while the Doctor had viewed the data, perhaps his request had some merit. He had gone to Picard almost as soon as T'Vayne had left the bridge.

"It's a safe bet he did," Worf conceded. He knew Picard counted on him for sound judgment. "He wanted to speak with you as soon as possible."

"I have some time free in two hours. I'll see him then," he said to him. "Set it up with the senior staff."

As Picard returned to the papers he'd been working on, Worf returned to the bridge. He contacted Ensign T'Vayne in regards to what the Captain had told him about the Doctor's request for a meeting with Picard.

** ** **

"Well, Doctor?" Turlough asked. "What's going on?"

"The Time Lords were wise to send us here," the Doctor said succinctly. "The Cybermen are on the loose."

Turlough blinked, a look of stunned horror on his face. It was obvious to Bruce and the others that both of them knew the threat they were about to face. He knew he needed answers and that he needed them now.

"Who are these Cybermen?" Tim asked. He was amazed at the technology behind the creation of this vessel.

"They were once humans who decided to trade defective body parts for cybernetic replacement parts," the Doctor said. "They are hard to stop, but they can be if you know how."

"Where did they come from?"

"Earth originally had a twin world named Mondas. It orbited on the other side of the sun and was identical to Earth in almost every way, except one. Evolution-wise, Mondas developed life forms much sooner. As they grew, they learned how to replace body parts with cybernetic ones and eventually learned how to replace the brain."

"Which in turn made them unbeatable," Bruce said. His logical mind took what the Doctor was telling him and followed it through to its logical conclusion. At an almost imperceptible hiss of an opening door, everyone turned and saw Ensign T'Vayne come into the room.

"The Captain will see you in two hours."

As she turned to leave, a voice from behind her made her stop and turn around.

"How do we get something to eat here?" Turlough asked.

"Speak clearly into the replicator's vocal grid. If it is programmed into our computer, it will create it for you."

"That seems easy enough," he replied. Although he had nothing against the protein pills, they did leave much to desired in the area of taste. He had been exiled on Earth and had developed a taste for chicken dishes. He ordered some.

As she watched him eat, Ensign T'Vayne forced herself to suppress the urge to shudder. As a Vulcan, she found that the mere thought of eating meat was repulsive, since her race was vegetarians.

"Beverages can be created the same way, if you desire them. If the computer has no record of them, you must provide a sample," she said. She then left them to their meals and conversations.

**** **** ****

On the Cybership, Peter Caine awoke in a cold and dark room. He soon became aware of the fact that he was no longer in the precinct office of Kermit Griffin since he could no longer feel the familiar presence of his father or that of his uncle. Then he felt the intolerable throbbing in his head and the one that matched it in his left side and knew he was in serious trouble.

He struggled against his bonds and stopped when the pain became unbearable. He realized that he was under some kind of sedation and tried to use his Shaolin skills to try and fight off the drug's effects, but he had no luck in accomplishing this. It was as if his mind was enflamed on top of being jammed by white noise. He found that he couldn't concentrate on the task at hand.

"Endure in peace, Peter Caine," a familiarly accented voice said from off to his right. Peter turned to see who had spoken to himself and saw a striking figure dressed in a familiar red uniform, the red uniform of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. "Your deliverance will soon be at hand."

"Who are you?" he asked weakly. The figure seemed vaguely familiar to him and for some reason, it reminded him of Benton Fraser. "Where am I?"

"You know my son, Benton," the figure said as he answered the young Shaolin's first question. "He thinks very highly of you. My name is Robert Fraser, and I know your father as well. As to where you are, all I can say is that you are lost somewhere in the corridors of time."

Peter's head dropped in shock. He was unwilling to believe that there might be no way for him to get back to where he belonged. He then listened with interest and hope at Robert Fraser's next words.

"I will inform your father that you are alive," the elder Fraser said calmly. "Is there a personal message you wish to send to him?"

Peter thought for a moment, then met the spirit's gaze. "Tell him that I love him and that if I can't get back, he's to be content with the knowledge that I'm alive somewhere."

"I will get your message to him," Fraser's image said as he began to vanish. Peter slumped back against the wall, his body hit with an intense spasm of pain.

As he fought back the accompanying wave of nausea, Peter heard the door hiss open and watched as an unidentified form came into the room. The figure abruptly released the bonds holding him against the wall. Trying to stand on his own two feet, Peter's knees gave out on him.

"You will come with us," he heard a monotone voice say to him. To Peter's suprise, his fall was halted by metallic hands gripping him by the arms. "The commander requires your presence on the bridge."

Seeing that he couldn't concentrate enough to focus himself on the thought of fighting back, Peter realized that he had no choice but to accompany the Cybermen to the bridge.

**** **** ****

Watching as the ship grows in size on the viewscreen, Picard observed his crew worked on trying to identify them. At the sound of a soft hiss, everyone turned to see the Doctor walk onto the bridge. He stood beside Worf at the tactical station.

"They are close enough to do a visual scan," Ensign Sara Mitchell said as she checked her status board.

"Make it so, Ensign," Picard ordered. He and everyone else looked on as a vast ship materialized on the main viewscreen. "Magnify image."

When the image came into focus, they looked at each other in confusion. No one on the Enterprise had ever seen a ship like this one before.

"Send a visual of this to Starfleet," he ordered. "See if they can identify it."

"They won't be able to," a voice said softly from behind them. Everyone turned to look at the Doctor. "I can identify them. That's an advanced scoutship for the Cybermen. If that ship is here, you can bet that there's more on the way."

"Captain." Worf interrupted them as he glanced at his monitors, "we have an incoming transmission from the vessel following us."

"On screen." he said simply.

As the image became clearer, everyone on the Enterprise bridge stared in shock as they got their first glimpse of their new enemy. What bothered Elisabeth Shelby was that two of them appeared to be holding a humanoid form between them.

"We are the Cybermen," the leader's voice droned. The Doctor sighed as he'd heard what would come next many times before. "We wish to offer you the lives of your crew and our prisoner in exchange for those of the Doctor and his companions."

Picard gestured for Worf to terminate the transmission. As the Klingon complied, Shelby leaned over to confer with him and Commander Riker.

"We've got to rescue their prisoner without giving them the one person who could help us defeat them."

"Agreed." He looked over at the two of them, willing to entertain any ideas they might have. "Do either of you have any ideas on how to do that without tipping their hand as to what we're doing?"

"He is the only humanoid life form on a ship of mechanical beings," Will said aloud, an idea forming in his head. "We could isolate his readings and then beam him directly onboard the Enterprise."

"Or directly to Sickbay," Shelby responded. At her statement, they turned around and looked at her for an explanation. "He looks to be in pretty bad shape, sir. He needs medical attention."

"Make it so, Number One," Picard said after a few terse moments of silent thought. As Riker and Shelby left the bridge, he gestured for Worf to reestablish communications with the Cybermen. "We will take your request under advisement. Picard Out."

Worf terminated the transmission from the Enterprise.

** ** **

In the main transporter room, Riker and Shelby strode in and walked over to the main console.

"I want you to isolate a single humanoid life form on the ship following us, then I want you to beam him directly to the Enterprise."

The technician fiddled with several of the controls as she nodded to both of the Commanders. A few minutes later, she activated the beam that was centered on the person in question and began transporting him.

"I've got a lock on him, sir, but his life signs are fading rapidly. What should I do?"

"Beam him directly to Sickbay!" he snapped. He didn't want to lose the person now that they were so close to rescuing him. Will reached down and activated his communicator. "Riker to Sickbay! You have an incoming critical patient!"

"Acknowledged, Commander," a thickly accented female voice replied calmly. "Sickbay out."

**** **** ****

As voices conversed nearby, Peter Caine awoke to the smells he usually associated with a visit to the hospital. But as his eyes focused, he didn't see the drab white walls he often saw when he woke up. Instead, he saw a beautiful face leaning over him. He took her to be an angel, albeit one with oddly pointed ears.

"Where am I?" he asked groggily. he tried to sit up, but found himself restrained by gentle hands that forced him to lie back on the bed.

"You need to lie back and let your body rest," the same female voice said. "You were in pretty bad shape when we rescued you."

"What I need is to know where I am," he demanded. His patience was becoming thin. If he was anything, Peter Caine was stubborn and impatient when thrust into something he didn't understand.

"You are onboard the USS Enterprise," a commanding presence said. The man who owned the voice reminded Peter of his father and he found himself relaxing in the young doctor's grip and obeying this stranger. "I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard." He extended his hand to the young detective. Peter took it and shook it. "And you are?"

"Detective Peter Caine." He looked around the room at the others. "I couldn't help noticing the young woman's ears. I take it I'm not in my own time anymore?"

"No," another female voice said from off to his left. He turned his head to look at her and saw that the person standing there was a beautiful, young and somewhat attractive young woman. She was dressed in the same garb as Picard, but they were not of the same rank. "Would you care to try for the 24th Century?"

Peter's eyes grew wide in shock as the truth of their words sank in. Robert Fraser had been correct. He was a man lost in time. His confusion made the young woman move closer to him in concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned that he might have been injured far more seriously than they first thought. "I'd better summon Doctor Selar."

"No!" Peter reached out and grabbed her by the arm, then abruptly let go. "It's just that this is all too much to understand at one time. I mean, one moment I'm in another dimension fighting for my life with my father and some friends, and the next thing I know is that I'm waking up here with all of you staring down at me." He looked up into her eyes. "I don't even know your name."

Picard and the medical staff had left sometime earlier. It would be her task to help bring him up to date on all that he would need to know in order to survive his time displacement. She found that his touch excited her like no other man's had ever done before. There was something about him that she found extremely attractive, but she couldn't tell herself why. Perhaps it was his chocolate coloured hair and his warm hazel eyes that got to her or the calm way he held himself and seemed at ease in the knowledge of his power over women.

"My name is Elisabeth Shelby," she replied, her voice trembling. She wanted to be alone with him anywhere other than Sickbay. "When the doctor releases you, I'll show you to your assigned quarters."

He nodded as Doctor Selar brought him the clothes he'd been wearing on the night he'd gone back to the precinct to talk to Kermit after viewing the body in Chinatown with Skalaney and Nickie. As the Vulcan healer checked him over again with a medical tricorder prior to discharging him, she noticed an odd reading. She picked up another tricorder and ran the same scan, saying nothing to either of them about the anomalous readings on the scans.

"You may leave as soon as you get dressed," she stated. She wanted them to leave before she began to study the bio-readouts that she had just taken on Peter Caine.

** ** **

Peter followed Elisabeth through the corridors of the Enterprise. He was amazed by the diversity of races that were represented onboard the ship. *It's almost like a Chinatown of space,* he thought to himself.

"As you can see, there are representatives of almost every race in the Federation onboard the ship," she said, unaware that Peter could sense the tension of all of the personnel. "We're over four thousand planets strong and more are petitioning to join us."

Liz turned and wondered what Peter was thinking about. She had noticed the brands on his arms in Sickbay and was curious as to what they were and why he'd chosen to endure the pain of taking them. She needed the answers to some questions if she was to help him adjust to life in the 24th century.

"Peter, would you mind if I ask a somewhat personal question?" she asked hesitantly. She continued when he nodded his consent. "Why are those brands on your arms?"

He looked down at the floor and then up at her. No one had ever asked him about them before and he wasn't sure how to explain to her the decision he made in accepting them. He took a deep breath and held it, forming his thoughts into words and reasons she could understand.

"They are the brands of a Shaolin master," he finally said softly. "Most of the males in my family line have taken them, with the exception of two uncles I never knew about until recently. For the longest time, I fought my father about taking them. In the end, he needed my strength and I took them to save his life." She noticed a distant, far-away look in his eyes that she'd seen only once before. "I became what I was destined to be, a Shaolin priest."

"Oh." He felt an abrupt change in her emotions and realised that it was her sadness at his statement. She had taken his words to mean that he had also taken a vow of celibacy as well. "It must be a very serious responsibility."

"It is, but that doesn't mean that we're not allowed to have feelings," he responded as they stopped in front of a door to a suite on Deck Seven. "We're not celibate and we are allowed to get married and have families. If we weren't, you and I wouldn't be standing here having this conversation and the Shaolin would be a vanishing breed."

"Computer, record and recognise the following voice," she said. she knew that she had to change the topic of their conversation before it got completely out of hand. she then turned back to Peter. "Say something so that the computer can record a sample of your voice for the identification system."

"Anything particular, or do I ad lib?" he asked. "I could quote you Shaolin philosophy like my father or something from the mercenary handbook like my friend Kermit."

She looked at him curiously. "Open." She led him into the darkened suite that would serve as his home for the duration of his visit to the 24th century. "The computer will register your presence on the ship and open the doors to areas that you're permitted to be in." Elisabeth could feel him in the room, but couldn't tell exactly where he was until he reached out and took her in his arms.

Peter's head lowered and his lips met hers as his arms slid around her waist. She leaned into his embrace and pulled him closer to her, her hands caressing him in places where she'd never touched any man before.

*He's the most perfect man I've ever seen in a long time,* she thought to herself. She sighed as his hands came to rest on her breast. As they broke the kiss, she had a pang of sudden regret. *I wish I didn't have to go to that staff meeting this evening.*

Peter, for the most part, sensed that something was on her mind and let her go. He wanted her to stay, but he also knew when to pull her closer and when to back off and give her some space.

"Is there somewhere I could go without an armed escort to be alone for a while?" he asked as she pulled her hand away from his and backed away from him. "I need some time to get my thoughts together."

"You could try Ten Forward or one of the holodecks. All you have to do is ask the ship's computer to guide you to the closest one," Elisabeth said. "Perhaps I'll see you later this evening?"

He nodded as she walked out the door. Peter found himself alone in a world he didn't understand and bereft of his father's guidance and comforting presence. For the first time in a long while, he felt afraid of being alone.

**** **** ****

"The brain scan performed on Peter Caine seems to indicate that he shows a potential for highly advanced psionic powers," Doctor Selar said as she concluded her assessment of the physical she'd given Peter when he came aboard. "Then there's the physical brands upon both of his arms. They are of an undetermined origin. They are created from relatively new tissue and it would indicate that they are of quite recent creation."

"Is there any threat of contamination from contact with him?"

"None whatsoever," she replied. "I would recommend letting him intermingle with the personnel as they might be able to give him some stability. They might also be able to help him accept the fact that unless we can find a way of getting him back to where he belongs, he could end up here permanently."

Picard looked up as Commander Shelby entered the room. She blushed as she realised that she was late due to her interlude with Peter Caine.

"I think we might be able to bring him up to date," Picard said. "He seems to be a very intelligent individual and possesses an innate calm from an unrevealed source." He noticed Commander Shelby's smile at his statement. "Is there something you wish to share with us, Commander?"

"Peter Caine is a Shaolin priest," she said, thinking about what he had told her about himself. "The brands symolise is mastery over himself and the elements around him."

Everyone looked at her while an idea began to form in Picard's mind.

"I want you to remain with him when you're not on duty, Commander. Maybe you can help him acclimate to our time zone by giving him access to whatever he might need in order to learn our ways," he ordered her. Unknown to him, Shelby wouldn't mind this assignment since she was becoming very attracted to Peter.

"Aye, sir," she acknowledged. "I might be able to get him to open up about himself and his skills."

"It might help us figure out where to place him in case we can't figure out a way to return him to the 20th century," Picard agreed. As he stood up, so did the others, including Commander Shelby. He had something he wanted to say to her, but he wanted to broach the subject without the others hearing their discussion. "Commander Shelby, remain a moment, please."

She remained seated as the rest of the command crew left the room. Picard turned back to face her.

"I want you to let me know when you think he's ready to intermingle with the rest of the ship's personnel," he said abruptly. He knew what her obvious objection would be and decided to hear her out before making it an order.

"Counselor Troi would be the better one to determine that instead of me, sir."

"He seems to be more comfortable with you, Commander."

She knew that when he addressed you by rank title instead of by name, it had just became an order. She sighed and nodded. "I'll do my best, sir."

Picard sat down at his desk as she left to return to Peter's quarters since the staff meeting had been shorter than she expected. She wanted to get to know him better, not just because the captain had ordered it, but because it was something she wanted to do for herself. She found him to be a most intriguing individual. Elisabeth felt that her life and future would be forever linked with that of Peter Caine's.

**** **** ****

Peter found himself exploring the ship on his own, impressed by what he saw. He wanted to find the thing that Elisabeth had referred to as a 'holodeck' so that he could have a quiet place to concentrate on his newly awakened Shaolin skills. In some way, he hoped to contact his father's spirit while in this time period, but knew he lacked the knowledge and practice to attempt something as dangerous as time travel. He had tried it once before on his own and had almost died.

"Where is the holodeck on this level?" he seemingly asked no one in particular. He was suprised when he got an answer and a clearly visible path to follow projected onto the wall.

"Follow the lighted path and you will arrive at holodeck three," a pleasant, soft female voice replied in response to his question.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mister Caine."

He followed the path and found himself at the door to the holodeck in question. the computer addressed him almost as soon as he came to a complete stop in front of it.

"Do you wish to view a currently stored program or would you like to create one of your own?"

"I would like to create one of my own," Peter said. he knew what he had in mind for his program. "I would like to recreate a Shaolin temple, complete with training levels and meditation room."

The computer took a few minutes to process his data, then it proceeded to ask him a few questions in order to cement its data. Based on what information was provided, it created a perfect replica of the temple he had grown up in.

"You may now enter, Mister Caine." The doors swished open and Peter was suprised to see an image from his past. All that was missing was his father standing in the door.

Peter went into the room, his emotions in turmoil. He wondered about his father, knowing that his disappearance would upset him. He hoped that Robert Fraser had kept his word and delivered his message to him. He wished that there was some way he could have contacted Caine himself to let him know that he's alright.

He walked over to the altar and lit several of the candles on it. Looking down, he realised that there was something missing. He glanced up and spoke his request to the computer.

"I would like a silver flute." The computer obeyed the simple request and materialised one in his hands. He smiled to himself as a memory came to him unbidden. His father had once told him that playing the flute was an aide to meditation for him. Peter hoped that the same would be true for him.

He sat down on the floor and began to play a soft, haunting melody that he had once heard his father playing in his meditation room. It was as if something, or someone, guided his hands and heart. It allowed him to concentrate on reaching out and trying to locate his father's presence. *I wonder what father would think if he could see me now?* he asked, smiling at the turn his thoughts were taking.

Continuing with the tune, he was unaware that Elisabeth Shelby had entered the holodeck. She had come searching for him when she returned to his quarters and found that he wasn't there. She silently watched from the door as he sat there playing for his sole audience of one. The music calmed her and made her feel relaxed, as did the thought of just being in his presence without his knowing about it. Or so she had assumed that he didn't know she was there.

"Hello, Elisabeth," he said as he stopped playing and laid the flute across his folded legs. He didn't even look up as she walked over to stand behind him. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders as his back came to rest against her lower legs. Peter was stunned to realise that he'd finally found his other half, but bitter that they would end up separated by time itself. "I was hoping that you'd find me here."

She smiled as he looked up at her, an indescribable look in his eyes. "This place is very beautiful. What is it?"

"It's a recreation of a Shaolin temple,," he said. He sighed at the memories that this place brought back. "I grew up in a place like this for the first twelve years of my life. It brings back memories that I thought I'd dealt with years ago." He shook off the lethargy of the candles and the influence of the temple. "My mother was buried on the grounds of a temple similar to this one."

Peter stood up and moved towards her, their eyes meeting. An unspoken communication passed between them. He reached out and caressed her cheek, his fingertips tracing a line down her jaw. He felt her shudder at his touch.

"Are you doing anything for dinner?" she asked, her voice trembling with obvious emotion. She was more than willing to follow his lead. He said nothing as his hand continued its slow moving trail down her jawline to her shoulder. "I would like for you to consider joining me in my quarters for dinner."

"I think I'd like that very much," he whispered. He was as excited being with her as she was by his touch and he felt himself becoming aroused at their closeness. He didn't want to push her into doing anything she didn't want to, but he found himself hoping that he hadn't misinterpreted her signals.

"Anything particular you'd prefer for dinner?" She had no idea where the night might end up for them, but she planned to take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself to her.

"Anything but rice," he said. "I've had enough of that at the temple to last me the rest of my life."

As Peter and Elisabeth left the holodeck, he was unaware that in the 20th century, his essence had made contact with the one person whose personality and chi presence was so similar to his own that they could have been identical twins.

**** **** ****

Wolf Gannett paced the floor of his hotel room nervously, aware that something was definitely wrong. For the life of him, he couldn't explain the feeling or where it came from.

He had been sitting quietly and concentrating on learning his scenes for the next day's shoot when he felt a presence touch his mind. It had been a very gentle probing and he'd not resisted or felt any fear when it contacted him.

His agent had left his room earlier, which meant that Wolf was on his own in Sloanville. He was supposed to be resting in his hotel room and was doing just that when somehow, Peter Caine's mind reached out and touched his.

*Or maybe it was the other way around,* the actor thought to himself. That had only happened once before and then by accident.

Gannett had no idea as to what he should do until he remembered that Peter's father had a place down in Chinatown. He would go tell him what had happened to him and that it somehow involved Peter. He picked up his jacket and walked out the door.

** ** **

Caine sat down in his meditation room. Concentrating, he tried to reach his son's essence, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make contact. He then reached out to the only other presence he knew would help him.

*Master, I am in need of your help,* he told him telepathically. *I wish to leave my body and look for Peter.*

*I will help you,* Lo Si answered. *I will be there shortly. Wait for me.*

Caine faintly smiled as he broke the contact with his friend. He heard a knock upon the door to his apartment. Getting up from his seated position, he walked over and answered it. He was suprised to see his father and Martin standing in the door. In all the confusion of Peter's disappearance, he had forgotten to contact the two of them.

"We've come to help you find Peter," Martin said as he registered Caine's stunned look. He then stepped inside the door to allow his father to enter. "Father felt your pain and that of Peter's. He had me make the necessary arrangements with the American Embassy so that he could come and be with you."

"We three must combine the strength of our chi if we are to have any chance of rescuing Peter," Matthew said hesitantly. He had only met his grandson once, but was more than willing to help him.

"The Ancient will be here shortly," Caine said. "He will safeguard our departure and watch over our physical forms while we are gone."

"I think we should sit down and talk before he gets here," Matthew said. "There is much we need to discuss and many questions that Martin needs answers to."

Caine gestured to the pallet on the floor and watched as they sat down. He remained where he was, having sensed a faint, but familiar presence in the room with them. He looked over towards the window and saw a figure standing there. He was dressed in the red uniform of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.

"Hello, old friend," he said calmly. "Why have you come here?"

"I have a message for you," the figure answered with a Canadian accent. Both Matthew and Martin could hear him, but other than Caine, only Matthew could see him. "Peter said to tell you that he misses you. He wants you to be content in the knowledge that he's alive and well."

Caine's shoulders fell, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from them. But at his friend's next words, his heart felt like it had been torn in two and that all hope of rescuing his son had been dashed.

"He is lost in time, Kwai Chang Caine. I do not think we can rescue him on our own." Fraser looked beyond the veil of time to see an image of the son Caine loved above all else. "He will be safe where he is as well as loved. If no one can get him home, then he will at least accept the fact. He will have a place to call home and will find his path there."

Robert Fraser's image disappeared in a wisp of smoke as both Martin and Matthew stood up and walked over to him.

"What was that all about?" Martin asked. He hadn't seen the image of Robert Fraser, but had heard the voice of the deceased Mountie. "What did he mean when he said that Peter was still alive?

Before Caine could answer his brother's questions, an impatient knock came on his door. Without opening it, he knew who was there. He had felt this presence once before when Damon had kidnapped both him and Peter. As Caine finally opened it, he saw an uncharacteristically quiet Wolf Gannett.

"I need to talk to you, Caine," he said tersely. It looked as if the actor hadn't had a good night's sleep in a few days and it showed to Caine's trained eyes. Something else was clear to Caine as well, a determination not to fail in delivering a message he felt was of vital importance.

Caine gestured for him to come into the apartment. As he stepped into the room and saw Martin and Matthew, wolf hesitated, stopping inside the door. Caine eased his friend's tension by introducing the two of them to him. Wolf relaxed.

"He looks exactly like Peter," Martin said as Wolf came on into the room and turned around to face them. It suprised him to know that there was a man who could pass as an identical twin to his nephew.

Ignoring the others, Wolf addressed his next words to Caine. "I know that Peter's missing," he said without preamble. He held up a hand to stave off the elder Shaolin's questions. "I know because I felt him reach out to me and touch my mind." He ran his fingers through his brown hair in a gesture so very similar to Peter's, which made Caine's heart ache. "I don't understand why it happened or how, but I know he's trying to reach out to contact you."

As Wolf sat down in a chair by the window, Caine turned at the sound of footsteps on the fire escape. With Peter missing, it could be only one person. He turned to see the Ancient standing on the ledge of the fire escape. Everyone turned to look at him as he came into the room with them.

"I will help you in your efforts to locate Peter," Lo Si said. He then caught sight of Wolf Gannett sitting in the window. "The spirits of the universe have seen fit to give you a way to contact him."

Wolf was aware of their looks. He sighed, resigning himself to a plan he didn't understand. He knew that for some reason, Peter had reached out to him. He had to do whatever he could to help the young man who was so much like himself.

"What do I have to do?" he asked. Peter had once saved his life, and Wolf felt that he owed Peter a debt that he needed to repay. "How can I help you find him?"

Caine gestured for everyone to sit on the pallet in a circle as he tried to prepare them for the risks in what they were about to attempt.

**** **** ****

On the way back to Sloanville, where his family lived and worked, a sense of dread came over Paul Blaisdell. He couldn't define what felt wrong, only that it somehow involved his foster son, Peter Caine, and that he was in some kind of danger. All he knew was that he had to get back to his son's side and be there for him. He tried to keep his apprehensions from his wife Annie, but she could automatically tell when something was wrong with him. Even though she was blind, she could still see with her other senses.

"Paul?" she asked, knowing that something was bothering him.

"It's nothing, Annie," he answered. "I was just thinking about Peter and how he's going to take our return." He kept his gaze on the road ahead, his concentration focused on his driving and the traffic. "It's been some time since we last saw him and the girls and I was wondering how they were doing."

Annie said nothing as she knew her husband was avoiding the real issue on his mind. She knew that unless he brought it up first, he would let the subject alone and deal with it in his own way.

"I just keep remembering the last time I saw him," he said, his thoughts a jumble. She let him ramble without interrupting him. "He wasn't too thrilled with the decision I made to remain in hiding after the International Police and Private Detectives Convention in Gotham City." Annie gasped in suprise. Paul hadn't told her that he'd seen Peter while at the convention. "I had to come to terms with some of the things I've done in my life as well as accept the consequences for those choices made back then." He sighed, trying to calm the raging demons inside his soul. "That's why I called you. I'm going home to face our son and daughters."

Annie was shocked. She had no idea that they were going home to stay. Her shock was obvious to him, but he made no comment on it. After a while, she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She was happy that they were going back to their family, which included a son that hadn't been born to them. They couldn't have loved Peter anymore than if he had been theirs.

**** **** ****

Wolf sat down in the middle of the assembled group of Shaolin, wondering how any of this was going to help them find Peter. As he watched the others prepare, he said nothing. It was in this quiet moment that someone knocked on the door.

Turning from the counter where he was working, Peter's father went to answer it. Opening the door, he was shocked to see his other brother, Damon. The two of them stood there glaring at each other until Matthew broke the tense silence between his two sons.

"Come in, my son," he said. Caine turned to look at his father, who was unaware of what had happened on the astral field between them. "We can use all the help we can get in trying to locate Peter."

"I know what happened to him," Damon said somewhat shakily. He had been exploring the link with his nephew when he felt something reach out and tear Peter from this time and dump him somewhere else.

As Damon walked into the room with his father, Wolf stood up, his hands balled into fists at his side. Only Martin's hand on his arm kept him from punching Damon's lights out for what he'd once done to him and Peter.

"We need him," Martin whispered. " and his chi strength. He is also Peter's uncle."

"I know," Wolf snapped testily. He hated the idea that Peter was related to such a monster, but remained where he was near the window. "He kidnapped both of us and shot Pete with a drug of some kind that messed his head up. I watched what it did to the kid and I swore if I ever got the chance, I'd hurt Damon just as badly."

Martin watched as Wolf struggled to overcome his hatred of Damon and saw that there was more to him than anyone ever suspected. The tough guy image was a mask that he wore to keep from getting hurt by a cruel and unforgiving world. He was so much like Peter that they could have passed as identical twins if they had been raised together.

"There comes a time when we must put aside such things if we are to save a life. You must do this if you are to help us save Peter's." He led Wolf to the pallet and gestured for him to join him. "Sit with me and tell me what you know about my nephew."

Sitting close enough to the edge to keep an eye on Damon in case of trouble, Wolf began with how he and the Caines had met by accident while he was filming "Flying Fists of Fury II: Masters of Illusion." Caine and Peter had thought that the attacks were real and tried to help him. When the stunt coordinator saw Caine in action, he hired him to teach Wolf some forms and then hired Peter as a stunt double and security. From that hesitant beginning, an odd friendship was born between himself and the younger Caine. He told him about the time when Damon, thinking him to be Peter, had kidnapped him and drugged him. It had been through some unknown link with Peter that anyone had known what had happened.

"He is lucky that he was able to reach out through the link with you," Martin said. "My brother was concerned about him. Your message has eased the load on his mind. Now he does not have to worry about Peter."

"All we have to do is concentrate on trying to get him back," Caine said as he and the others walked over to where the two of them were sitting. Wolf tensed as Damon sat down with them and Martin placed a gentle hand on his arm. Caine and his father noticed his action, but said nothing. Damon didn't know what to say to Wolf that would change his feelings about what he'd done to both him and his nephew, so he chose to remain silent.

Centering on the man in the middle of them, the men concentrated on sending him their chi strength in order for Wolf to reach across the centuries to find Peter. As they made contact with his mind, one of them chose to be his guide. Although Caine, Lo Si and Matthew had the strongest chi forces while Damon had the most recent telepathic contact with Peter, it was his innate gentleness and rapport with Wolf that made Martin the logical choice to help him in his quest to contact Peter .

His father and brother explained to Martin what it was that he would be doing for Wolf as he tried to search for Peter. It would not be easy to look for Peter in this fashion, as both Martin and Wolf would experience great pain because of it, but it had to be done. They chose to accept the risks of what they were about to do. Wolf chose to do it out of his friendship for Peter and a debt that he felt he owed him, while Martin acted out of a desire to get to know his nephew better.

"Let's get on with it," Wolf said. He wanted to find Peter and bring him home. Once he'd done that, he and the younger Caine would go for a beer at Chandler's and catch up on old times. "I got the feeling that this is going to be a one shot deal."

Caine looked at him oddly, then spoke. "If you lose focus, we all will die and Peter will be lost to us in time."

Everyone nodded as they began focusing on the task they wished to accomplish: the rescue of Peter Caine.

To be concluded. . . . . . . .