"I need to tell you something Regina." Claire whispered to her, pausing to wipe her cheek lightly. " It will be hard for you to understand, but you have to believe what I'm about to tell you. " She proceeded to tell Regina the truth about her father.

"No! It isn't true!" Regina said shaking her. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew that Claire was telling her the truth. She had known for awhile now..she had just been denying the facts. "They're going to kill me aren't they?" She sobbed, starting to cry again.

"Not if we can help it." Claire whispered to her as she fell on the Keepers shoulder. Looking around, Claire thought about Hobbes down stairs, possibly dead. She didn't know how that might affect Darien. It hadn't been that long since he lost his brother to a bullet. Even though he tryed hard to hide it , she knew Darien liked Hobbes as a friend, as well as a partner. Hobbes was like the brother he no longer had.If he lost Hobbes too it just might push him over the edge, causing him to do something stupid, like taking on a whole gang of mobsters. He had just recieved a shot but she knew if he tryed something, he could quickly resatuarate his blood with quicksilver if he used the gland too much..and she had no more counteragent left to give him if he did! She cursed the Official and his damn rules. If they made it out of this alive, she'd make sure the rules were changed!

It had only taken Darien a few minutes to find Claire and Regina in the crowd. Seeing that they where safe for the moment, he decided to retreat back to the cabin and figure out just what the hell he was going to do! Shedding the quicksilver as he headed back below deck, he took a quick glance at his wrist.One notch had turned red during the short time he'd been see-thru. Rubbing the back of his head nervously he mentally reminded himself that he would have to monitor how long he stayed invisible from that point on. It wouldn't do anybody any good if he went wacko on them!

Bobby was pulling himself up on the bed when Darien slipped into the room. He quickly crossed the room to help. "I thought I told you to stay put!" He scolded his mentor lightly, checking the shoulder wound.

"Yeah, well I thought you might need some back up. They're not taking Bobby Hobbes out of the game that easily!" Hobbes replied leaning over to pull a spare gun from under his pillow, grimacing painfully as he moved his arm in the process. The adreneline had kicked in at this point and he was feeling pretty good. "By the way, what's the situation up there?"

Darien told him all the details as he checked the phone. It was dead of course. Moving over to his night stand he pulled his own gun out , checking the clip before sticking it in the back of his pants at the belt. Going back over to the door he pecked out to make sure it was still clear.

"Do you think you can make it to the communications room? We need to get a message to the agency about what's going on. "

"I'll make it!" Hobbes answered swaying slightly as he stood up. "Let's do it!"

Darien took the lead as they headed out of the room and moved down the hall in the direction of the main deck, where the communications room was located. As they neared the radio room, Darien stopped his hand going up to hold back Hobbes. "Stay here. I'll see if anyone's in there."

Hobbes normally would've argued with his younger counterpart, but the walk from their room to here, had drained what little adreniline he'd felt earlier from his body, and he was using all his remaining reserves just to stay on his feet. Nodding, he leaned back against the wall, his gun in his hand, and watched as Darien slipped into the next room.

The two men in the communications room had just delivered the message to Ted Koss about his daughter, and her fate if he went ahead with his testimony. They told him not to contact the police, or the FBI, or he would forfeit his daughters, and the lives of all the passengers on board the ship.

Darien closed his eyes for a split second to send the mental message to the gland in his brain, and was instantly rendered invisible. Moving into the room he knocked both men out, sheding the quicksilver as they hit the ground. Hurrying back to the hallway, he found that Hobbes had slid to the floor and was breathing heavily.

"Hobbes!" He exclaimed droppping to his side. Examining the wound he could see the blood had soaked throught the towel already, and was trickling down the agents arm.

"I'm..sorry Fawkes..I..Seem ..to be..a little..out of..it ..right now!" Hobbes gasped, his eyes clouding over as he passed out,slumping forward into Darien's arms.

Swallowing hard, Darien glanced around, looking for someplace to hide his partner. He was going to have to go back up top and get Claire. Hobbes was losing way too much blood. If it wasn't stopped soon, he would bleed to death. Spotting a storage room off to the left of the radio room, he picked the unconscious Hobbes up, putting him over his shoulder and walked the few feet to the small room. Opening the door with his free hand he went inside. There were shelves of equipment lining the walls, but the center of the floor was clear. Laying Hobbes down as gently as he could he spotted a jacket hanging on the back of the door. Reaching up he grabbed it and rolled it up to make a pillow of sorts to go under Hobbes head. After assuring himself that he'd made Hobbes as comfortable as possible, he touched his arm lightly. "Hang in there buddy, I'm going for help." He whispered.

Getting to his feet he spotted a roll of duct tape on the shelf next to door. Grabbing it he left the room, closing the door behind him and went back to the radio room. The two men were still out cold and he quickly took the duct tape and secured their hands and feet, finishing up with a piece across their mouth.

Satisfied that they were no longer a threat, he moved to the radio and studied the dials for a moment trying to figure out how use the complicated set-up. "Crap." He thought, his hand running across the board, This was Hobbes department. Taking a guess he flipped a switch. Bending over into the mike he spoke. "Uh, hello, hello. Is anybody there?"

The radio crackled to life . "This is Honnolulu station #342Alpha, Whoever you are, be advised that this is an official navel frenquency and unauthorized use is...."

Darien cut him off. "Listen buddy I Don't have time to listen to all that crap! I'm a government agent on the cruise ship Princess II and I need to make an emergency call to my Boss. His name is Charlie Borden and he's with the Department of Fish and Game in San Diego, California. My name is Darien Fawkes!"

"What is the nature of your emergency, agent Fawkes?"

Darien sighed in frustration. "I can't tell you that! Just patch me through will ya! They'll verify my idenity and clearence to use this frequency!"

He waited for a moment, wondering if they would do what he asked without more information. He didn't want to tell them about the hyjacking yet. He didn't want to jeopardize the lives of the passengers by having the coast guard call in a rescue operation!

Finally the radio crackled again. "Agent Fawkes , stand by, your call is being transfered."

A moment later the Officials familiar voice came over the radio. Darien quickly filled him in on everything, including the fact that Hobbes was shot and needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

"I'll get things rolling here Fawkes, but you're going to have to try and take out those guys yourself. Above all don't let Regina Koss get hurt!It should take our people thirty minutes to get there by helicopter. Call me when and if you have the ship secure before that time so I can tell the rescue team what to expect!"

"Right." Darien answered not to happy with the Official's orders as he signed off. How was he going to take out all those guys without using the gland! Looking at his arm he saw two segmets were red now. Taking a deep breath he turned to look at the two men on the floor who were starting to come around.

One of them kicked at him trying to trip him. Already irritated, he punched the guy in the face knocking him out again, then turned to the other and hit him too. Feeling a little better, he got up and headed for the deck!

Meanwhile up top the woman in charge had tryed to contact her men downstairs. Not getting and answer she sent one man down to check on them. Darien almost ran him down as he turned the corner!

"Hey!" The guy yelled going for his gun. Darien tackled him and they fell to the ground rolling.. The guy pulled out a knife from somewhere and swiped it at Darien, slashing his left forearm. Darien cried out, his hold on the guy loosening for a second. The guy took the advantage and threw him to the side, rolling over and up on top of him, straddling his legs. He raised the knife to plunge it into Darien's chest!Grabbing the man's arms, Darien struggled to keep the knife away from his body. Grunting with effort he jerked the guy sideways rolling. They wrestled for control, the knife between them. Suddenly the guy cried out and collapsed. Darien untangled himself letting his hands drop their grip on the knife that now stuck out of the man's chest. Shaking from the combination of pain, exersertion and shock at having killed the guy, he stumbled back against the wall, gaspnig as he tryed to get his breath. Looking down at the blood running down his arm he shook off the nausea welling up in his throat and unbuttoned his shirt. Pulling it off he wrapped it around the three inch gash, biting back a groan of pain. Looking down at the dead man , he swallowed hard, then reached down and took the gun lying nearby. Throwing it over his shoulder he continued on toward the deck.

Claire watched the Hyjackers every move as she sat beside Regina. The girl had stopped her sobbing and now just sat there in stunned silence, much the same way as the rest of the passengers . She straightened a little when she saw the woman, who seemed to be in charge, call one of the men over to her side. After a moment of discussion the man left, heading downstairs. The woman watched him until he was out of sight and then began pacing back and forth nervously. Something was obviously wrong,, and Claire had and idea the 'trouble's' name, was Darien Fawkes! It was then that she felt the icy touch of a hand grip her arm lightly.

"So how's it going in your corner of the nightmare?" Darien whisphered in her ear, as she gasped softly.

"Fawkes!" She whispered back, hoping no one was paying attention. "How long have you been here?"

"Just got here, listen, I'm going to get you and Regina out of here, but first I've got to create a little diversion..so I'll be right back!"

"Darien, wait!" Claire said reaching out, but he was gone.

Regina had come out of her trance when Claire started talking into the thin air. "Who are you talking to?"

Claire looked at her sighing wearyly. "Regina, there's something else I need to tell you..."

Darien crossed the deck dodging feet as he went. Reaching the area where the aroebics class had exercised earlier, he found the boom box they had used to play the music. Turning the volume up as high as it would go, he flipped the tape deck on.

Claire looked up as loud music suddenly blared through the air. The two men nearest her ran toward the sound as the woman barked out orders not to kill anyone just yet.

"Ready!" Darien whispered, causing her to jump.

"This isn't going to work!" She told him even as he took her arm and the quicksilver flowed over her body rendering her invisible. Regina wimpered in fear, but didn't pull away as she too was enveloped in the silvery substance, and faded from sight. They got to their feet and ran to the stairs , Darien practically dragging them down to the next level.

He let go of their hands at the bottom of the stairs, the quicksilver dust falling away as contact was broken. Seconds later he too shed the silvery dust, revealing his barechested figure falling against the wall. Claire was at his side immeadiatly, her hands grabbing his shoulders. "You're hurt!" She exclaimed seeing the bloody shirt wrapped around his arm.

"I'm fine!" Darien snapped at her, jerking his arm away when she tryed to examine it. Looking up at his eyes she saw that the wound on his arm wasn't the biggest problem they had right now. His eyes had started to blossom with the dark streaks of blood that announced impending Quicksilver madness. "Right now I need you to get to Hobbes! He's in a storage room across from the radio room. You know where that is, right?" Darien continued turning his head away from her concerned stare.

"Hobbes is alive?"

"Yeah. But he won't be for long if you don't get to him!" Darien told her pushing past her and heading back to the stairs. "Take her with you and stay put! The Official has help on the way! They'll be here in less than twenty minutes!"

"Darien. You can't go back up there. The quicksilver madness...."

"Will have to wait it's turn!" Darien growled through clinched teeth, turning away. "I've got bigger fish to fry first!"

Claire turned to Regina when he was gone, taking her arm. "Come on, we've got to swing by my room first!"

Darien quicksilvered once more as he made it to the top of the steps. Suddenly his head exploded in pain driving him to his knees as he grabbed the back of his head. "AHHH!NOT--NOW!" He screamed silently, forcing himself to get to his feet. Hearing screams, he hurried on .

The recreation deck was in utter caoes! The woman had moved from her position above, to the place Claire and the girl had previously occupied. She had two of her men with her and they were yelling, and manhandling the people there, questioning them about the two women's whereabouts.

Looking around he noted the positions of the remaining three men. "Time to kick- but!" He thought, heading for the nearest guys position.

Bobby Hobbes opened his eyes to find himself lying on the floor. Looking around he figured he was in some kind of storage room. Trying to raise up, he groaned aloud as pain ripped through his shoulder blade and chest. Falling back he concentrated on trying to remember how he came to be here in the first place. He vaguely remembered Fawkes and himself trying to get somewhere but he couldn't remember where. Then he remembered everything as the past hour's events came crashing into his head. Realizing he still had his gun in its shoulder holster under his left arm, he reached up with his good arm and removed it, unlocking the safety in one quick movement. Cradling the weapon in his hand he stared at the door. They might have caught Bobby Hobbes off guard the first time , but he'd be ready this time! He knew Fawkes had went back up top to try and rescue the girls. He needed to be there with him, backing him up, but right now he felt as helpless as a kitten in a tree!

Suddenly he heard a noise. Voices..coming from outside the door. Pointing the gun at the door he watched as the doorknob turned slowly. Cocking the gun he readied himself to fire. The door swung open and Claire stepped into the dimly lit room. She stared at Hobbes face, which bore a mixture of shock and relief on it

"Keeper.. I..mean, Claire! I thought you might, be one of them!" He told her as she came forward and knelt down in front of him, examining the bullet wound. "What's happenung out there, anyway? Where's Fawkes?"

"You only need to be concerned with conserving your strength. Let us worry about the rest." Claire told him, opening up the medical bag she'd gotten from the room on their way there. Getting out a roll of gauze she unwrapped Darien's handywork and packed the bullet hole with the gauze . Then she took an ace bandage out of the bag and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

"Owww! Not so tight!" Hobbes exclaimed, grabbing at his shoulder with his good arm. "Now I know what Darien has to go through with you!"

"I can't help it if you two are such big babies!" Claire replied her eyes twinkling with amusement at his reaction.

"Bobby Hobbes is no baby!" He told her sitting up with her help. She helped him move back so he could rest against the wall. Looking up, he saw Regina behind Claire, watching everything, her eyes full of fear. "Where did you say Fawkes was?" He asked , hie eyes going back to Claire.

"I didn't." Claire answered, avoiding his gaze. She reached into her bag and came out with a tranquailizer gun. Getting to her feet she addressed Regina. "Stay here with agent Hobbes. Lock the door behind me and don't let anyone in unless they identify themselves as agents, or until I return, understand?"

Hobbes was trying to get to his feet. "Wait a minute! If you're taking that," He pointed at the dart gun. "Then that can only mean one thing. Fawkes has gone wacky, hasn't he? I knew he shouldn't be using the gland without more counteragent handy! I'm going with you!" He'd managed to make it to his feet but as he stepped forward he found his legs wouldn't co-operate and he crumpled to the ground. Claire helped him lay down again.

"You're in no shape to go anywhere! Now stay here and rest! That's an order!" Before he could argue with her, she was out the door, closing it behind her.

"She can't order me!" Bobby muttered to no one in particular. Looking up he smiled reassuredly at Regina as she sat down beside him. "Don't worry, No ones going to bother you as long as I'm still breathing, okay?"

By the look on her face, he knew he hadn't sounded to convincing.

Darien moved with swift determination toward the first armed man. With one punch to the guys face he knocked him out, grabbing the gun from his limp fingers as he fell to the deck. Then he turned and headed toward the next one. Taking the gun barrel he slammed it into the side of the guys face, (thats for Hobbes!)he thought,smashing the gun down on the guys back as he dropped to the deck.

The woman and the two goons with her saw the second man knocked to the deck and turned their guns in his direction.

"Who's up there?" The woman yelled still not understanding what she'd saw. "Show yourself now!" She grabbed up one of the hostages, a woman, by the hair of her head, jabbing the gun in her side. "Or I'll kill this woman!"

Now to a normal indiviual, common sense would have kicked in at that point and told them that it was time to surrender, for the good of the hostage. But then, Darien Fawkes was not your every day run of the mill, normal person ..and right now the only thing driving Darien Fawkes was instinct and survival, pushed along by the blinding rage that controlled him at the moment! He ran headlong right into the crowd of people cowering on the ground and took hold of the woman's arms, jerking the gun from her hands and slinging her aside, the woman letting go of the hostage as she floundered. Then he turned on the other two, attacking them with the gunbutt. Within minutes they both lay motionless on the ground beside the woman. The Captain of the ship and his crew had taken advantage of the fighting to gain control again. They picked up the weapons Darien had slung aside and began gathering up the hyjackers as they slowly regained consciousness.

Meanwhile the eighth man in the group had dropped his weapon when he saw his comrades being attacked by something that couldn't be seen, and took off running across the deck toward the ships stern. Darien ran after him and tackled him shedding his quicksilver in the process. The man looked up in horrer at the red-eyed monster that was attempting to choke the life out of him. Suddenly, Darien jerked stiffening for a second, then he collapsed on top of the half-dead man.

Claire dropped the arm that held the tranqualizer gun in it, to her side, sighing in relief. The sound of chopper blades caught her attention, and looking up she saw two helicopters coming into veiw. "Right on time..as usual." She murmered, shaking her head. Putting the weapon away she headed for Darien's prone form, hoping it wasn't too late for him.

The next day Darien burst into Bobby's room at the hospital, his dark eyes sparkling with delight.

"Hey! Guess what?"

Bobby tore his gaze from the small television hanging on the wall in front of him and stared at Darien, as he continued.

"The Official was so impressed with my performance on this last mission that he gave me the week-end off..and a ticket to Hawwaii to see Regina's show!" The younger agent, said, waving an airplane ticket in front of him.

Bobby took the ticket from his hand and looked at it. "This is flight #113, leaving at 4:00p.m."

He announced, reading the ticket.

"Yeah!"

Bobby handed him the ticket back, settling back in his pillow. "It arrived just ten minutes ago at San Diego National?"

Darien was getting flustered. "I don't know..I guess, what difference does it make?"

Bobby nodded toward the tv, turning up the volume so Darien could hear. Darien stared at the set, his smile slowly fading as he listened and watched.

The announcer seemed to be standing in the airport lobby. Behind him through huge plate glass windows was Flight #113.." Just minutes after arriving here at San Diego National airport, a terrorist group, calling themselves the Freedom fighters, contacted the tower and informed them that Flight#113, and it's passengers had been taken hostage by their group. The attackers are....."

Darien's mouth had slowly dropped in disbelief as he dropped heavily in the chair beside Bobby's bed. He could not believe it! What did a guy have to do to get a break around here!

"Hey, Look on the bright side.." Bobby was saying, as he turned his gaze slowly toward the smaller agent. "You can spend the weekend, keeping me company..... Hey uh,do you play checkers?"

Darien looked down at the plane ticket in his hand , then at Bobby. Slowly getting to his feet he began tearing the ticket up into little pieces, still staring at Bobby. Then, handing the pices to his stunned partner, he turned and walked out the door.

"Hey? Were are you going? Darien!" Hobbes called after him as he turned down the hallway and headed for the elevator.

Looking at the completely green snake on his wrist, he entered the lift and pushed the button that closed the door." Maybe the weekend wouldn't have to be a complete failure after all!" He thought, a smile returning to his face as the doors closed" It was time to go kick some terrorist butt! "

The End.