Author's Note: This one was a pain to write. I was trying to use a puzzle that my husband threw at us, but it proved too difficult to put into story format, thus I decided to K.I.S.S. (ie, Keep It Simple, Stupid) and jump straight to the fight.

Chapter 9: Zentarou

The room we entered was very large and dimly lit, so that the far wall wasn't clearly visible. The instant the door was closed behind us, I got an intense feeling of unease. Of hostility. My ears went back in reaction.

“Something's here,” Zantar said. His ears were back as well, and his hand was on his sword. On reflex, I took a step closer to him, and half one behind, into our usual battle formation.

“Let's clear this dim light,” Raistlin commented, as he lifted his staff a bit. “Shirak.” The staff lit up with its silvery light, and I just barely caught a flicker of – something – dart about on the far side of the room.

“There!” I pointed, but it was gone.

“I don't see anything,” Proto said.

“I was there and gone,” I replied. “Like a ghost.” I quickly started to cast See Invisibility, but the thing was faster than I was and was suddenly upon us.

I sensed the attack, more than saw anything, as a force landed heavily in front of us and shook the ground. It lunged forward and grabbed Mega, snatching him up into the air roughly and flinging him across the room to hit the opposite wall. Proto gave a cry of anger and unleashed a few shots of his own, but they either missed entirely, or went through it. Then I saw a translucent blur, and half of us were bashed to one side, and another sent the rest to the other side. I grunted as I hit the wall, slumping down next to Sunstreaker. My head had struck the stone wall rather forcefully, and I was unable to focus as the invisible creature stalked towards us.

But Sunstreaker was not stunned, and quickly lunged to his feet and summoned some sort of weapon, which he fired at the monster. His shots hit, and it roared, a terrifying sound that hurt to hear, and swung. The yellow mech grabbed me and jumped to safety, as from the other side Sideswipe pounded in with those arm weapons. I saw my twin across from me as I finally oriented myself, and saw on his face that look that reminds me of our father, the one that makes me truly proud to be his brother: the look of leadership.

“That's the idea!” he shouted. “Keep it turning, work as a team, everyone!” He darted in and stabbed, and as the beast turned to him, Caramon ran in. I looked across at Raistlin to see him casting, and nodded, recognizing the spell and casting it with him, while Proto covered me with fired shots, and a weakened but still in the fight Mega did the same for Raistlin. In unison sparkling powder covered the monster, making him visible, and easier to hit.

But by no means was it down and out. A massive swing bashed Sideswipe against the wall, so hard he cracked it and was motionless for a long minute, during which Sunstreaker seemed to go into an almost berserker rage, attacking wildly, though I couldn't blame him. By the time Sideswipe was back up, Mega was down, and it looked like for the count. A sweeping punch sent both Majeres tumbling, Raistlin crying out as he rolled on his injured arm. I was trying to make my way over to Mega, what good it would do I didn't know what, when I sensed the beast turned its eyes on me.

“Zentarou, run!” I heard Zantar scream at me, but it did no good. I ran, but its hand was faster. It grabbed me, and I felt a sharp stab in my stomach. I screamed, and I actually saw its eyes as it drew me close to its face, malevolent, vile red eyes, glowing with hatred and fury. I heard my brother yelling in our language, demanding it let me go and calling upon Mother Shala for strength for us both, and then the creature roared. I managed to look down to see my brother's sword buried in its leg, and it angrily flung me down. I hit the wall, and all went black.

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(Zantar's POV)

I saw.

I saw my brother, my twin, the person who started his life with me, go flying through the air, limp as if lifeless, blood streaming from the wound in his belly. I saw him hit the wall, and slump face down on the floor, and not get up.

And I felt something in me... snap.

I screamed in rage, and went at this monster. I wasn't the only one, I could see that. Proto was firing away, as was Mega, leaning heavily on a wall. Caramon was weaving and dodging all around its legs, as was Sideswipe, getting in hits here and there, Sunstreaker darting in and out firing his weapon – I'd never seen anything like it before, like a hand crossbow with no 'bow' to it that fired strange bolts – and taking the odd stray punch when he could get it in. The monster got a few more hits on us, but none were serious (the worst was when he grabbed Raistlin by his injured arm and slung him into Sideswipe). Soon – though it seemed like an eternity later – the beast fell, and we finally saw what it was.

Massively tall, well over thirty feet, it was bipedal and covered in a dark purple-black scaly hide. It's head looked vaguely like a creature my brother had once shown me in a book, called a shocker lizard, though it had several protruding teeth from both upper and lower jaws. Both feet and hands sported long claws, longer than my sword... one notably stained red with my brother's blood.

All this I took in in a second's time, as after that I was at Zentarou's side.

“Brother! Brother! Answer me!” I rolled him over gently onto his back, into my arms. He was so still. Instinctively I tried to sense him, like I'd done so many times before, only to find silence. Those damned crowns!

“Zantar,” Caramon tried, attempting to get me to move and let them help. I shrugged off his hand on my shoulder and yelled at the Voice,

“The Abyss take you if you think I'm going to let my brother die!”

With a growl, I tore the one off my head, and then my brother's, and focused. There! I could just barely feel him. With the crowns off I could feel his pain, though he'd instinctively muted it from me, even in this near death state. I was losing him!

Still ignoring the others, I lifted Zentarou higher in my arms and lowered my head until my forehead touched his, and my breaths met his faint puffs. This was something that we had done only a few times before, something that we agreed we'd only do in the most dire of situations.

I'd say this counted.

“My strength to make you strong, my health to make you well,” I intoned softly, using the rhyme he'd invented to help focus my mind into pushing my wellness, my wholeness of body, into him. “Your wounds I take up as my own, in this our bonded spell.” I felt for his pain, and finding it pulled it back into my own body. This was normally difficult, but doubly so when one of us was unconscious. C'mon, brother, stay with me, say it with me, I pleaded with my thoughts as I repeated myself. Then, I felt a slightly stronger breath graze my muzzle, a gasping, shuddering breath.

“Your... strength....”

“To make you well.” I couldn't bite back a small cry as pain stabbed me in my stomach. It was working! The others, gathered close around, gasped in surprise as I felt hot, wet blood spill down my belly. I managed to hold it for perhaps another minute, then Zentarou jerked his head to the side, away from mine and breaking the connection.

“Enough!” he panted. “Enough, brother.” Exhausted, I laid him down gently, then collapsed myself.

“What tha hell?” Proto said slowly. None of them seemed quite sure what had happened, as Raistlin started to tend to our injuries. I just lay there, too hurt to move, but knowing it was no longer life-threatening.

“I – I don't understand,” the red robe gasped. “Zentarou... his wound seemed to be much worse, but now that I see it....”

“It was,” Zentarou said softly. He could explain more than I, so I remained quiet and just let out connection, the natural bond between us, ease all the tension and frustration I'd been feeling.

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(Zentarou's POV)

“Zantar did something that we learned we could do, if the situation was critical enough,” I explained as Raistlin tended what was now a deep flesh wound. “We have a bond, a connection between us. We can hear each other's thoughts, feel each other's emotions, and with a little concentration feel each other's pain and as you saw, share injuries.” I saw a look pass between each set of brothers, and I knew they at least understood.

“So that's why he wanted you to wear those crowns,” Sideswipe reasoned. “You would've known that wasn't your twin laying there, dead.”

“And that explains the growing frustration between you,” Raistlin added as he began winding a bandage around me. I nodded.

“I couldn't let my brother die,” Zantar said softly,obviously weary. “I just couldn't.” I smiled at him, reaching over to rest my hand over his.

Rest, Zantar, my brother. We won't be wearing those crowns anymore. Just rest. I felt his mind brush mine in a gesture of a mental hug.

Gotta protect my brother, he replied, his mental 'voice' sure and strong. Just let this guy try a stunt like this again. Never parted, never again.

Never again, I agreed, smiling as Raistlin was now tending Zantar.

“Well,” Sunstreaker commented, looking us all over and clearly taking a tally of our injuries. “I hope this was the last room, because we are in no condition to be walking anywhere.”

“Hey!” Caramon shouted upwards. “You said you would help if there was trouble. Well? You going to help or was that all just talk?”

There was a moment of silence, then...

“Hey! What's happening?” As we all watched, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe faded away from view.

“Whoa!” Mega gasped. “That's not what I was expecting.”

“Oh my,” came the Voice. “Oh dear. One moment, and I'll send you back to the – Wait. Where's Sunstreaker and Sideswipe?” I wasn't the only one who blinked in surprise.

“What do you mean, where are they?” I asked slowly.

“I mean, one moment I'm observing your actions, and then I blink and they're gone.”

“That wasn't you?” Proto asked.

“No.” My twin snorted, clearly recovering nicely, and voiced the question on all our minds:

“Then where are they?”

Author's Post-Note: Heh, that's one ability of the til'Cat brothers that I've had in the works for a long time. I've always given them the telepathy/empathy abilities, but the share wounds was a recent addition (as in when I used the pair in a DnD campaign battle).

Next chapter: Sunstreaker AND Sideswipe! That's right, a joint chapter, with switching POV's. Where did they vanish to? And who's responsible? You'll have to read and find out!