"I - I don't like this room," Chiana barely whispered. "Let's get out of here."

"I had locked her in here," Aeryn spoke quietly. "I'm sure of it."

"Something's pulling at me," Chiana said more loudly as she moved, feeling as if she were trying to move through a thick molassis. "I don't like the feel of this."

Chiana backed up closer to the door, grasping it to get ready to swing it shut when the other two followed. She glanced up at something sparking in a far corner like a live wire. It was nearly as big as herself, bright and buzzing louder when its shape spread out like a spider web and then calliopied into a head sized vortex. Something like the sound of a passing jet escaped from its dark center, becomming louder and increasing until it closed in on itself and became the angry buzzing again.

"I bet that's a way to the planet," Aeryn stated as she looked to Chiana.

Chiana shook her head rigorously, clutching tightly to the door as she let a grunt escape through her nostrils.

"I'm scared."

"Close the door or you will let it escape," a voice rose up from behind a table of Zhaans herbals. A figure stood. It was Zhaan, as naked as the day she was born. This Zhaan however had eyes almost glowing in a deep, rich, crimson red.

They stared at her, gaping as she twisted her head in a gaysha fashion and began to aproach, glaring beneath her brows at them with an exotic danger to her small smile.

"Close the door," she repeated plainly as they ushered out to avoid her as she followed them out.

Chiana began to push at the door, trying to will it shut as Aeryn and D'argo leaned into it. It felt as if they were trying to push a sheet of lead before it finaly closed. When they looked up Zhaan was gone.

"Mabye finding another Zhaan isn't such a bad idea," D'argo squinched his eyes at Aeryn.

"There isn't a better one," Aeryn sighed as she turned to the hall. "She'll have gone to the tier, let's get moving."

***********************************
 
Aeryn stepped into the teir with D'argo and sighed to herself before reaching out into the hall and pulling Chiana in. She stumbled in, gaping at Zhaan who sat over looking the constilation in a silken robe, chanting quietly to herself. Chiana shook her head as she turned back around. Aeryn grasped her shoulder and turned her head to her.

"Chiana."

"I think this is a bad idea," Chiana tilted her head to one side as she looked into Aeryns eyes. "Why don't we try yours and starburst away first? We can come back right?"

"Zhaan," D'argo spoak up as he steped towards her as close as he would dare. "Can you link yourself with the real Zhaan somewhere on the planet below us?"

"You want me to link with myself?" Zhaan asked as she tilted her eyes up to him. "Possibly. For what purpose?"

"Chiana believes the link could carry her and Rygel back here to this ship."

Zhaan smiled as she let out a hum of amusement and drew her hands along the smooth floor. She cut her eyes back up at D'argo as she flexed the long fingers.

"I can do better than that Kha'Dargo. Convince her to link with me."

"We - uh," D'argo glanced back at Aeryn and Chiana. "We can't communicate with the true Zhaan."

"Of course," she smiled again with a slow bat of her dark red eyes and sat up straight. "Then I will convince her."

"This is a realy bad idea," Chiana shook her head as she lowered her chin.

***********************************
 
Zhaan meditated on the massive collection, trying to weave through the vast sweeping of essance and sensation. She felt as if she were in an ocean of it just at the breakers of a great storm, rushing in and pulling out through her at the same time like the ebb and flow of a wave crashing tide. She was in silent ponder, feeling as if in link with the tree, but being in link with it, it didn't feel like most trees did, deep and grounding. This felt more like - like the whales on Enara, perhaps even an entire pride of them. It was confusing to her, she thought she could feel Moya and the others within it as music played. It was almost like the sounds of a night forest, all the different things running in rythim with each other, horrible sounds intermixed with good and high pitched tones seeming to coil and sweep into lows and motion. It seemed like an entire eco-system of sound, thought and presence was in, out and through her, some very aware of her and some not. She searched, looking for her own tone that could perhaps guide her through like it had for Chiana.

She felt something deep within her move, like a stalking pantheress. Her head tilted slightly, her chin rising up towards her shoulder as she became aware of the sublte shift and waited. A slow heat rose up within her and she gasped lightly, her feathered eyes lifting up as she straightend more, the almost peakock like weave of her gold and blue flesh glimmering around her sharp eyes as she winced them with fear.

"No!"

"What?" Rygel raise his brows at her in alert, fidgeting nervously. "What is it?"

"Someone's trying to link with me." She searched the cieling, whirling at her shoulder to look behind her as a small streak like lightning fingered down in the corner and then exploded open like an eye. A brilliant light of red shot out of it. Zhaan leaped before it could get to her, falling into the trunk of the tree and vanished. The light shot after her.

"Wait!" Rygel screached as he dared near the edge and let out a small, frightened whine. "What about me?"

***********************************
 
Zhaans red eyes seemed to deepen as she stood, lifting her long fingers to her chest as a small vortex of light apeared before her just like the one that was in her chambers. Without a word she threw herself into it and was gone.

"Well stop her!" Chiana shouted as she ran to D'argo. Her held tilted from one side to the other as she awed at the vortex. It began to close in on itself but remained hanging in the air like a spark of light. "I can't believe she went through that."

"At least we have a better idea of how you have been getting around," Aeryn offered. "I think we should see where the one in Zhaans chamber goes."

"What about this one?" Chiana asked.

"Do you want to follow that Zhaan?" D'argo muttered as he looked to her.

"I don't want to follow anything," Chiana snorted. "But why even go through either one of them?"

"Because I think we should send one of Zhaans plants through and see if it survives," Aeryn stated as she holstered her pulse pistol. "I want to know what's past these portals but I don't relish the idea of loosing my head for it."

D'argo sighed as he looked to Chiana again with an almost accusing look in his eyes.

"Hey," she spoke breathlessly as she tilted her head, giving him a warning glare beneath her ashen white bangs. "I didn't say tell her to - to link with Zhaan and disapear did I?"

"What were you thinking?" He asked with a commanding tone deepening his voice. "You wanted to link with Zhaan and then you didn't. I can partialy understand you doing what you want when you want to but at least you could follow through on your desicions."

"Oh yeah, like you really wanted to get anywhere near - THAT one yourself," Chiana grumbled as she looked back at the shard of light. "I think I had the right - right idea at least... but why did you tell her to link with Zhaan? She's got the Delvian madness, True God, did you go kinkoid? She could be in danger now."

"Let's worry about all of this later," Aeryn spoke gently as she motioned to them. "We'll just have to try something else."

***********************************
 
In a swirling world of light Zhaan cried out as the red light seemed to consume her and then absorb within. She slammed her eyes shut, her face twisting in torment as she struggled within. She felt her will weakening as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Goddess," She whispered. "Not again! I can't bear it, please!"

An intense pain shot up her spine, her eyes opening brightly as they seemed to pool into a deep red color. She began to grow taller her form almost eight feet as she streatched her arms out. She pursed her lips as her eyes narrowed. Her hand reached out in front of her, taking up a small glow that seemed to intensify in her hand. It began to reviel an image of Crichton over the central command helm of Moya.

Something like the scream of a jaguar escaped her as she portaled through. She stood before him, towering as lights swirled around her form like ghosts. She was enwraped in black like a dark cobweb sprinkled in small sparkles of light.

Crichton looked up, his ice blue eyes widening as he backed away with aprehension.

"Zhaan?"

"No," she narrowed her dark red eyes on him as sounds whispered and shrieked around her. "I want you to tell Pilot to starburst now, Crichton. Or I'll do it for you."

"I - we can't starburst without the others-"

"I'm loosing my patience!" She snatched him by the sides of his head and shrank into her normal size as she touched fore-heads with him. Her eyes glared into his. "We starburst, NOW."

"What - what are you doing?"

"Have you know," she grimanced. "I'm going to rip your little mind apart. I - have - to...stop me...Crichton."

Her eyes shifted in fear as her fingers flexed more gently over his tempils. Her voice becoming more gentle. "Crichton, you must stop me!"

"How?" He grasped her shoulders tightly as he swallowed, glaring into her eyes. "Tell me what's going on Zhaan! What the frell is this!"

"I'm going to MAKE Moya starburst!" Zhaan grimanced as her fingers dug into his tempils. Crichton twisted his face at her, beggining to scream as he grasped the sides of her head. "Let me go damn you!"

"Ungh! I - think not." He struggled to speak as his knees gave out from under him and he brought her to her own knees. "You - can't make Moya starburst."

"Watch." Zhaans eyes flared as Crichton screamed, feeling as if she were piercing a bright blade into his mind. He suddenly saw each of his other selves on the different Moyas. They all were raising thier head in unsion, moaning together as they out-streatched their arms. There must have been more than two dozens of them. He sucked in his breath, struggeling to twist Zhaans fore-head off of him as they began to move into him, each one hitting him like a battering ram.

"What the frell is this!" He cried out as he let out a harsh grunt. "What the frell is going on!"

Zhaan began to eminated a deep vibration as she seemed to grow. Crichton felt as if they both were growing but it didn't seem possible. He felt as if he had become at least twenty feet tall and dared to look down. He was still on his knees to his normal height but he still felt streatched beyond Moyas cieling.

"What's the matter Zhaan, need someone your own size to pick on?"

"You need the strength," Zhaan gasped as her eyes filled with pain. "I - I don't know how much longer I can..."

Crichton screamed.

**************************************
 
Aeryn drew the small plant back out of the vortex. Rays of light glowed over it for long moments as the vortex closed in on itself but otherwise it seemed fine.

D'argo stuck his hand into the vortex when it came open again, wincing his eyes as the roaring sound muffled and he began to glow, surrounded in light until he was swallowed in by the vortex.

"I guess that will work," Aeryn muttered as she followed in after him.

Chiana heaved in her breath and let it out slowly on a wift of her hair at her bangs and leaped at it. She felt herself surrounded by light again, feeling as if she were racing to it and then abruptly halted. She looked up cautiously, finding herself in a dim, dark place. Roots hung everywhere.

"Look at this," Aeryn called.

Chiana came to D'argoes side as they came to her, thier mouths dropping at the same time.

Entwined in nests of the roots was the whole crew, including Pilot. Chiana narrowed her eyes as she tried to look over her surroundings as D'argo came to Aeryn, staring at a thick twisting of roots where Zhaan and Crichton were interfolded, hands touching the sides of thier heads with thier foreheads against each other.

"This is Pilots chamber," Chiana said in curiosity as she moved around Zhaan and Crichton, turning her head sharply to the form of herself. She seemed entangled, her eyes closed and half hanging out as if she were trying to escape the hanging, twisting roots. One arm was free and most of her leg but it looked like the roots were slowly trying to wrap around them and pull her back in again.

D'argo growled deeply as he came up on top of Pilots helm and began to chop him free of the roots with his qualta.

"What are you doing?" Aeryn called to him. "This is just more dren! Another frelling illusion."

"Well I don't think so," D'argo grumbled as he whacked Pilots head free and went to free his arms.

"Then what is it?" Chiana awed at her form as she dared enough to reach up to the hand twisted in roots above her hanging head and pulled at it. The roots seemed to grasp her more tightly and her face winced with pain, a groan escaping her form. Chiana blinked slowly as a flash of white light filled her mind as quick as a photo flash. "Woe."

"What if we're all asleep?" D'argo asked as he glanced at Aeryn. "Then someone should frelling wake up."

"D'argo you are way off based here," Aeryn shook her head as she turned her attention to Chiana. "Do you believe that for one microt?"

"I'm dreaming myself?" Chiana wondered as she gazed into the solemn, gentle Nebari face hanging in the roots. "And this is me?"

"D'oh!" Aeryn jerked her head down as she cut her hands up along side her ears. "I'm talking to myself aren't I? Can't you see something or someone is frelling with us? There is nothing here! If Rygel and Zhaan can't get back on thier own then they're never getting out."

"At this point I will try anything," D'argo stated as he worked the last of Pilots pinchers free and slapped on his face to try to wake him. "Pilot! Pilot answer me!"

He growled as he turned from him and raised his qualta, swinging it with a harsh shout just above Crichton and Zhaans head. Chiana awed at him for a moment, her head comming back in a wondering gape to her self as she began to try to untwine her out of the roots.

"How is that supposed to help you?" Aeryn challenged with irritation as she shot her hand out at D'argo.

"We sent Zhaan to find Zhaan, remember?" D'argo eyed her. "So why is this one mind linking with Crichton? What I see is all of us imprisoned. Do what you want Aeryn, but I refuse to leave this chamber until someone wakes up and answers me!"

Chiana worked her hand free and her body fell forward. She felt a wild confusion as the free Chiana opened her eyes and raised her head back. A terrofied look began to cross her face as she felt herself in the awkward position, a flood gate entering her mind like the crash of a tidal wave. Zhaan suddenly lunged, grasping her and drawing her into her nestle of roots, holding on to her and Crichton by thier shoulders, her head lowering as her eyes closed again and the roots began to snake around them, thicker and stronger.

"Did you see it?" D'argo gaped as his eyes widend.

"I don't know what I saw," Aeryn spoak quietly as she narrowed her eyes and swept the room over with them. "Where did Chiana go?"

"In there," D'argo nudged his head at Zhaan.

"No I mean the Chiana we were with."

"In there," D'argo insisted as his eyes widend wildly and he began to hack at the roots, growling deep within his throaght. "Zhaan! Zhaan! I'll kill you if you harm them! I swear my oath to it! Da'JoKha!"