But it wasn't Mark who heard him –it was Princess.

She gasped hearing his familiar voice.

Jason?

She stopped running, listening and peering into the fog all around her before running again in what she hoped was the right direction to lead her to him.

Unfortunately, within moments she had Spectran soldiers flanking her and matching her speed –four on her left and three on her right.

One raised a gun, even as he ran, to fire at her but without a second's hesitation she lashed out with her yoyo, striking him in the face and knocking him down.

Another soldier attempted to shoot at her and she instantly struck him down too.

Without pause, she swung her yoyo out again to wrap around the ankles of two more soldiers.

Tripped up, they both crashed to the ground.

Then she caused another soldier to stumble and fall by catching him briefly around the neck with her yoyo's cord.

Then she disappeared into the fog, hunkering down quietly near a large statue to determine if she'd eluded the rest of her pursuers.

She had not.

For a brief moment, the fog thinned and suddenly Princess looked up to see a Spectran soldier staring at her, his gun trained on her.  If she tried to strike him with her yoyo, he would see what she was going to do and have time to shoot her first…

"I'm taking you to Zoltar!" he snarled, brandishing his gun menacingly.

But then he spasmed and cried out in shock, startling Princess, and he collapsed forward onto the grass, a white feather stunner protruding from the back of his neck.

Several feet beyond the fallen soldier, with his back against a statue for support, stood her savior:  Jason.

Princess could only stare in silence; such was her surprise and relief –and happiness- to have found their missing teammate at last and to know for sure that he was still their teammate.

"Jason," she cried softly, running towards him, and even as she did, Jason's legs gave way and he fell back down onto grass.  "Jason!"

Jason was still, his eyes closed, when she reached his side.

"Jason, are you okay?"

He turned his head then and looked at her.

"They shot me with a paralytic tranq," he said, his words tinged with some embarrassment, "Hasn't worn off yet."

Princess wasted no time letting the others know her good news.  "I've found Jason," she called into her wrist communicator, her face lit with fervor, "And he's no defector!"

 
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As Princess spoke, elsewhere in the foggy and statue-strewn valley, a piece of detecting equipment suddenly picked up a signal.

"Tell Zoltar," said an excited Spectran soldier, crouched on the grass over the equipment and studying the readout, "We'll get him those G-Force hostages he needs –I think I know where they are."

His companion picked up a handheld radio.  "If G-Force is fomenting this rebellion," he agreed, "Capturing them ought to squelch it fast."

As he spoke, the fog continued to swirl though the now-quiet valley, interspersed with the sinister and ancient statues.

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Mark, Tiny and Keyop had used Princess' signal to locate her in the fog, and now they were all crouched around Jason, who was lying on his back on the grass, his legs still too paralyzed from the tranquilizer for him to be able to stand unassisted or to walk.

"Anderson's told us, Jason, that… somehow, you're half Spectran," said Mark softly from his vantage near Jason's head, his eyes sad and troubled, "Why couldn't you…"

"You don't know the whole truth," replied Jason, his face bleak but that of one determined to hide nothing anymore, "My mother is Mala, and my father is Colonel Cronus."

"What?  Colonel Cronus?" gasped Mark, his pain-filled eyes hardening in denial, "You expect me to believe-" He fought back the glistening of tears that loomed within them.  "How can this be?  He'd never…"

A hint of a bitter smile crossed Jason's lips.

"I can't say I took the news well at first either, but it does mean…"

As Jason spoke, Mark gasped and looked away, closing his eyes as the implications now flooded him with conflicting emotions, more than he was able to deal with.  Princess could only stare at Jason, silent and eyes wide with shock.

"That we're brothers," whispered Jason.

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