"Aren't we there yet? How much longer?" Faolan whined.

Zeke winced at the knicker evident in the man's tone. “How old did you say he is, again?” he muttered to Vladimir.

"One hundred and fifty. Individual Qikan mature at different rates. We consider Faolan to be in his teens, while Erza is the equivalent of a woman in her twenties or thirties even though she's around four hundred in actual years," Vladimir grumbled back.

Zeke stumbled over a rock and smacked himself in the face with a pine bough. He swiped an exhausted hand over his face and spat out some pine needles. They'd been clambering up the mountain for three days. Prue led the way, becoming more frenzied the longer they traveled. With every mile, she demanded they move faster, take fewer breaks, and sleep fewer hours at night. Her eyes had become fevered and her skin dull. Concerned, Zeke watched her closely. He'd never seen her this way before.

"Faolan, shut your trap! You're not a foal anymore!" Vladimir snapped. The butler was obviously sick of Faolan's constant whining.

"Shut up, you old geezer. Mind your own business, for once," Faolan barked back.

Zeke sidled up to Prue, a wary eye remaining on the arguing Warriors.

"We should rest, Prue, before we start tearing each other apart," he murmured.

"No, we're nearly there. Almost there. I have to get there. I have to see..." Prue trailed off into low mutters he didn't understand. Her thumb flicked rapidly over the amulet between her breasts. Zeke frowned and fell back to where Jo walked, carrying an end of Lucius's litter.

"I'm worried about her," he said, not looking at her. Eye contact usually invoked her wrath. He saw her nod in his peripheral vision.

"I know," Jo said. "I've only seen her like this once, and it wasn't this bad."

Startled, Zeke looked at her. "When was this?" he asked, certain he wouldn't have forgotten an episode like this.

"When she found that crystal cave in South America. She was obsessed with finding it. She didn't sleep or eat for days. Yet, when she finally found it, she simply asked 'is it here?' I guess the answer was no, because she slumped over and cried for weeks--letting him take credit for her find. I've never seen her like that again--till now," she replied, her tone grim.

"Why don't I remember this?" Zeke asked, wracking his brain.

"You were working on your thesis--somewhere in Crete, I believe," she said pausing to pop her neck with an audible crack. He shuddered as the sound grated on his nerves. He didn't understand how she could do that. It was just wrong.

A surprised yelp reverberated from the front of their party. Zeke dashed forward and saw nothing. Prue was gone.

"Prue! Where are you? Did any of you see what happened?" Zeke asked, searching the area frantically as panic iced his veins.

"No, I stopped to get a rock out of my boot," Erza said, studying the ground, presumably for tracks.

"Roderick and Vladimir were talking as I took over Roderick's spot hauling Lucius's heavy ass," Faolan said already struggling with the warrior's weight.

He needs to work out, Zeke thought absently. Jo isn't even breathing heavily, and she hasn't switched out once all day.

"You worry overmuch, brother. Prudence is fine; she is excited and happy. She wants to celebrate."

Zeke turned to his baby sister. He loved her, but her power was creepy. "Can you find her?" he asked.

"Of course. She's behind that clump of trees," Emmy said, pointing to a stand of pines to their left.

"How do you know that?" Faolan asked.

"Her emotions are drifting to me from that direction," she replied, moving forward...only to drop out of sight with an alarmed cry.

Zeke rushed forward, determined to save his sisters, when something gripped his ankles. He slammed into the ground; rocks digging into his soft flesh without mercy. He twisted and looked at his feet. A pair of vines released his ankles and receded into the dirt.

He glared at Jo. "You did that on purpose!" he cried.

"Of course I did! You all were acting like idiots. You charged ahead, when you should have gone slow and used caution," she replied, arching a calm brow.

"We were trying to rescue our sisters," he growled, noticing most of the others were also picking themselves up off the ground.

"We both know they're fine, Zeke. You just don't trust your instincts. You never have," Jo said placing her end of the litter on the ground. She slowly stepped past him and focused on the ground.

"They fell into a cave. The entrance isn't very far, and it's pretty much a slide," Jo frowned, digging her hands into the earth. "That won't do. We'll need a way back up, not to mention a chaotic slide could damage the Warrior further."

"What is she talking about? Did she finally lose what little sanity she had?" Faolan asked, unceremoniously dropping his end of the litter.

Zeke glared. "Just as Prue has an affinity with crystals, Jo has one with the earth itself. Instead of communicating with it, however, she can sense things about it and control it," he said.

"I found the entrance!" Jo called, only a few feet ahead.

Zeke followed her through a thick tangle of grass and brush. He stopped before touching her extended arm; it kept him from falling into a hole the size of a mini cooper. The onyx edges were sheer and smooth as glass. It must have acted as a slide for Prue and Emmy.

"You're right, this isn't safe. There's no way we can walk down it. Leaving Lucius here is out of the question, obviously. Can you do something about this issue?" he asked Jo, watching her face furrow in a concentrated frown. He knew he was asking a lot from her, but it was the only way they were going to see their sisters again.

"I'll do what I can," she replied bending to furrow her hands into the earth once more.

Zeke motioned the others away from the edge. Molding the earth was hard enough for Jo; she didn't need to worry about bystanders.

Jo frowned as sweat beaded her brow. Zeke knelt close behind her, ready to snatch her back if anything went wrong.

The ground trembled, rattling the trees and snapping limbs. Sweat soaked Jo's top, and her lips trembled with effort.

"Is she okay?" Faolan asked, crouching beside her despite Zeke's silent warnings.

"She's being drained. The earth was not meant to be shaped like this. It's taxing on the person doing it," Zeke replied grimly.

"It would... be easier... if Zeke would... help," Jo stilted. Zeke didn't reply.

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"What can I do to help?" Faolan asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't!" Zeke cried, reaching to knock the man's hand away. He never got the chance.

The earth rolled like waves against a shore. Several trees toppled to the ground. Zeke struggled for air as he was thrown to his belly in the dirt. He watched over the edge of the hole as roots twined together, creating a rough staircase into the bowels of the earth.

The earthquake stopped as suddenly as it began. Pine needles rained down on the group as they pulled themselves upright.

"What," Erza demanded, "was that?"

"Dang, Male, you're a better amplifier than Zeke ever was," Jo said, remaining on her back, staring at the sky. "I've never had such a firm, violent connection with the earth before."

"Amplifier? Somebody had better start talking," Erza said, crossing her arms and planting her feet.

Zeke's heart warmed. She looks cute like that, with her lip pouting a little, he thought.

He sighed at her question. He'd hoped to never reveal his secrets, but this one wouldn't do too much damage.

"When I touch my sisters, their powers become stronger. I amplify them. When Faolan touched Jo, he made her powers surge exponentially- stronger than even I can make them," he said.

"Why didn't you help her when she was struggling, then?" Vladimir asked.

"I make it a habit not to touch my sisters unless absolutely necessary. Are we going now?" Zeke asked turning to the root-steps. They didn't need to know the details, and he didn't want to remember them.

Out of the corner of this eye, he saw Roderick help Jo up from her prone position. He felt like a cad, but there was no helping it now.

They slowly felt their way down the stairs; the meager light from the entrance completely disappearing when they rounded a curve. Zeke counted the steps; a habit formed in childhood. Counting kept his mind occupied and unable to think or worry. He could always rely on counting to help him survive.

He lost count twice. After the third four-hundred-eighty-nine, his booted foot found level ground. They'd finally reached the bottom.

"Anyone have a light?" he asked, scooting along the wall. One thing he'd learned as an archeologist: never walk in the middle of a dark room; you never know what you'll find.

"Faolan, here," Erza's voice floated through the darkness

Zeke heard a rattle accompanied by a light 'oof.' Erza must have shoved something into the young man's stomach.

"Get your lighter, matches, whatever, and get us some light in here," Erza said.

"Is this? I thought it went up with the plane!" Faolan said, his voice suspiciously watery.

"I found it in the wreckage. It's a little singed but nothing major. Light please," Erza said. Zeke heard the soft grate of cloth against stone and then felt a warm presence against his side.

"Did you look through it?" Faolan's tone accused.

"Do you really think I'd rummage through your things?" Erza berated. "I don't want to know what you carry around in that thing. Now give us some damn light!"

"Aziz, light!" Zeke intoned, quoting an archeologist from the Bruce Willis movie, The Fifth Element. A male voice snickered in the darkness. Zeke wondered which of the Warriors understood the reference.

With a click, light flared in the room. Zeke closed his eyes and waited for the spots to go away.

"Some warning would be appreciated, Colt," Vladimir grumbled.

"Sorry, wasn't thinking," Faolan replied.

After his eyes adjusted to the bright L.E.D, Zeke scanned the room. The glossy black walls reflected the light, illuminating the entire bare chamber with the Colt's one flashlight. His anxiety mounted when he saw no sign of his beloved younger sisters.

"They're fine, Zeke. We'd know otherwise," Jo said, her voice hoarse.

Zeke looked at his sister and saw Roderick helping her down the last of the stairs. He winced and mentally slapped himself. Creating the steps had taken a lot out of her, and he'd just walked on by, allowed a total stranger to care for his little sister. He failed as a brother. He always had.

"Here," he said, approaching her with a raised hand.

"Don't!" she snapped, turning away and into Roderick. "It's too late now, so don't even bother."

"Funny, I never thought you the type to lean on a man for anything, and here you'd rather cling to one than stand on your own two feet." Call me a bastard, he thought, but with these words, you'll let me help you.

Jo snarled and shoved Roderick away. Wobbling on her feet, she rumbled, "Well? You want to help. Then do it quick, before I change my mind."

Zeke placed his hand on her shoulder and felt his energy trickle down his arm. His palm warmed as the energy siphoned into his sister. Suddenly, the steady flow became a swirling rush.

Too much, he dazedly thought, she's taking too much. Panic clutched his heart in an icy fist as the rush turned into a tsunami. I can't let it happen again! Not again! Won't... With the last of his strength, he threw himself away from her. Crab-crawling back to a wall, he saw her crumble to the ground. She didn't move.

"No," he groaned. Not again! "Tell me she's okay. Someone check her. Tell me she's all right," he begged, shifting onto his knees.

Erza knelt beside Jo and placed a hand beneath his sister's nose. She then pressed two fingers to Jo's neck.

"She's breathing, and her pulse is strong. She's fine," Erza said.

Zeke exhaled the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and sat back with his head between his knees. The room spun as he took slow, deep breaths through his nose and let them out through his mouth. That was far too close. Any longer and Jo would be...

"Care to tell us what happened just now?" Erza asked, but her tone made it anything but a request.

"Along with my ability to amplify my sisters' powers, I can also...recharge them if they use too much energy," Zeke sighed, heavily. "However, I have no control over how much energy they get, and if I give them too much, they could end up seriously damaged."

"So that's why you try not to touch them," Vladimir said.

Zeke just nodded. His energy was already returning, but he was still tired.

"I wonder if you can do this for others, besides your sisters," Erza said.

Zeke shook his head. "Not that I've actually tried, but it hasn't happened with anyone not family."

"That you know of," Erza mused.

"What do you mean?" he asked baffled by her comment.

"We touched several times when we met, and my curse overtook me later that same night. The only other time I touched you, you were unconscious. You and Lucius touched when he dug the shrapnel from your back, and he’s spoken more in the last week than he has in two decades combined," she said.

"But I've touched the others and nothing's happened," he said, affronted by her deduction. There was no way he was a danger to everyone. Endangering his sisters was bad enough!

"Again, that we know of. Who knows how the Qikan react to your touch?" Erza said shrugging, "There's really only one way to find out."

Zeke understood and absolutely rejected her idea.

"No way in hell am I testing it on you. I could destroy you, or worse, and we don't have the time. We have to find my sisters and the answers to saving your race," he snapped.

A soft moan echoed through the chamber as Jo shifted. She lurched up, screaming so loudly, Zeke covered his ears, cringing. He saw the others in similar poses around the shadowy room.

Finally, Jo sighed and stretched, grinning as if waking from a restful twelve hour nap.

"Oh, yeah. That feels so much better," she purred, bounding to her feet. Her cheeks blossomed with color and her eyes twinkled with health.

"Oh, the girls are through a crack over that way," she said pointing to the left.

"How do you figure that?" Faolan asked arching a brow.

"Wherever Prue goes, the earth becomes rich with minerals. That and the obvious drag marks from Emmy's robes tell me to go that way," she said.

Zeke snickered as Faolan frowned and studied the earth with his lone beam of light.

"I don't see anything," Faolan said.

"That's because you're unobservant, Male, just like the rest of your gender," Jo said, glowering at Zeke over her shoulder.

Zeke refused to meet her gaze, knowing he'd earned her hatred. Nothing would ever put it right.

"Why does your sibling show animosity toward you?" Roderick asked as they followed the arguing Jo and Faolan.

"Many reasons, but mostly for my ignorance and one huge, unforgivable mistake I made as a young man. I don't blame her for it. I regret it, but I don't blame her for feeling as she does," Zeke replied.

"What was the mistake?" the Warrior asked.

"I killed our sister."