Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 01:39:33 EST
From: WhillyKat@aol.com
Subject: Trials of Love/Chapter 1/The Possession

Hey Kids, I am Dusty~one and this is my first story on Nifty! I have been
rolling this idea around inside of my head for a couple of weeks, and just
decided to have a go at it! I hope that you all enjoy it! I guess that I
would describe it by saying it is a story of compassion, deceit, betrayal,
hate, and most of all the love one two men can have for one another. Yes,
it is a Justin and JC story, but there will be a lot of focus on the rest
of the group, but none of them will be gay besides the already stated!
(Unless I get moody and change my mind)! Since this is the first
installment, I will say that I will only continue this tale if you allow me
too. In other words, write and tell me your view of the whole lot. Feedback
is welcome no matter what it includes (hate, fan, etc.) WhillyKat@aol.com

DiScLaImEr
Okay, not real, didn't really happen, don't know um', own um', got it? If
you aren't of legal age, don't get caught! If you are against homosexual
acts, then boy did you pick the wrong site to come to! And if you are a BSB
fan, I am sorry but I will not be writing any guest appearances into the
story! But, I still urge you to read this!

ThAnKs
Aaron and Mel, you have made a big impression on the way that I now live my
life, thanks for the wonderful encouragement, inspiring personalities, and
charisma. Love to you both. And to my wonderful Boyfriend, I will love you
always! <3 More than you know! I'm looking forward to having you in my
life! Xoxo

AbOuT tHe StOrY
This first installment is not really about Josh and Just! It is about Joey,
and how he plans to disrupt the lives of everyone around him! Just stick
with it, I had to write the first one like this so the rest of the story
will make sense!

On with.
The Trials of Love
Chapter 1

January in New Orleans was not the ideal place to be! Water ruled the
roads, just as it ruled the swamps in the summer. The temperature was far
from pleasant, and the rain didn't help matters much. All in all, not
somewhere a pop star would want to be. But, it is here that we find Joey
Fatone, member of one of the most sought after boy bands of the century, *N
Sync. After the release of the multi-platinum album, "No Strings Attached",
the guys were given a month off to recuperate from the strenuous life in
the public eye. Each member had plans of their own, Lance was with family,
Chris was kicking off his newly formed clothing line, JC and Justin
residing with Lynn and Paul, which leaves us with Joey.

A few weeks earlier Joey had met Eruka Bado at the Grammy Pre-Show and had
expressed his interest in the occult and various types of Voodoo. Since
Eruka was the daughter of the a Satanic Priest, she helped fill in the
spaces of Joey's rapid growing knowledge of the supernatural. He had
specifically shown interest when they crossed the subject of curses and
complicated hexes. Baffled at Joey's hunger for information, she referred
him to a certain "Madam Humphrey". Joey quickly wrote down the address, and
immediately ordered a one-way ticket to Louisiana over his cell
phone. Which brings us to the present.

Joey stood on the front porch of what he hoped to be Madam Humphrey's
house. He had gone through two cemeteries and three bogs to get
here. Needless to say he covered in mud, and after rethinking his plot, he
had become apprehensive about the task at hand. The house was simply
falling apart. It had several broken windows, two pillars were knocked out,
and it looked as if she feed the alligators right from her steps. Joey
mustered up the remaining bits of courage left inside, and extended his
hand to knock when suddenly the door flung open and there stood a petite
African American woman who looked to be in her late nineties. She wore
numerous amounts of ragged robes that were the colors of dirt and mud,
several beaded necklaces (one in particular that had what looked to be a
vultures eyes at the center), and a hat that was covered with a variety of
strange ornaments.

"Hello, dear child. You seek knowledge that is beyond our world, eh?" She
said, breaking the silence as you would break a glass. Her voice was like a
one hundred year old door that had never been oiled. The accent in which
she spoke was kind of a mix of English dialect, and Louisiana slang. "The
weather is simply horrid, you must come in and have a cup of tea, and maybe
dry off some. Oh, and dear that thing that you are dreading. it will happen
on the 24th of next month. Close your mouth, there is no telling what might
fly in, in these parts!"

And with that she marched Joey into her house. He hadn't spoken one word,
but somehow she had sensed his state of mind, and tried to ease his
nervousness. She busied herself with making the tea, fetching Joey some
fresh clothes, and drawing him a bath. Since she lived so far out, there
was no underground plumbing. This caused her to use an outhouse, and bathe
in a tin tub in the middle of her kitchen.

Meanwhile, Joey sat quietly on Madam Humphrey's plastic covered furniture
and noted all of the unusual decorations. She had several stuffed animals
in realistic poses. There was on in particular that gave Joey the
chills. It was a vulture perched on a human arm, it was also missing an
eye. She also had a numerous amounts of Voodoo dolls littering her
walls. Many books covered the end tables and shelves. One book caught his
eye. He absent mindedly flipped through the pages. They were spells and
potions. Joey's interest grew, which lead him to give a little more thought
into what he was viewing, until he came to a page that read, "Popular
Curses of the New Millennium," he mentally jotted down what he was reading,
"new age technology gives us reign over a whole new territory of making old
techniques quite simple to the modern man. Ones needs only a few household
items to make those around him suffer unmercifully. This section of the
book contains curses that are usually used for those of us who are
jealous. But warning be unto you, for all who practice should do so with
caution, because the slightest mistake can be the end of you."

"I see you found the book," Madam Humphrey said, "that is the one that I am
going to send with you when you leave. I have talked with Eruka, she said
that you thirst for knowledge. Well, that is why I am here, my dear."

"How do you know my problem? I mean, you obviously know my motive and how
horrid it will be, and yet you sit here and supply me with the power I need
to execute that motive. You seem to have nothing but pure blood running
through your veins, not even a hint of evil, so how can you let me do what
you seem to see me doing?" Joey said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice,
as though he was trying to confuse the old bity. He knew that a motive and
a problem was practically the same thing, but he wanted to make sure that
she knew the same.

She simply stated, "Come with me."

Again, she was leading him through her enormous house with sharp turns and
steep stairs. She finally stopped at a small door that looked as if it
would open up to a broom closet. She fumbled with a few skeleton keys that
hung loosely around her wrist. But, in the end she managed to get the old
door open. Slowly the door was opened, but not by her hand. The distinct
smell of dead bodies erupted from the room, along with an eerie red light
that seemed like it was alive. Not only did it surround them, but it
entered her body. Joey cringed.

"What in the hell is wrong with this place!" Joey yelled. "There is no way
in hell that I am stepping one foot inside that doorway. I know what I want
to happen to Josh, but I am not going to harm myself trying to do it. It
would ruin my chances with Justin!"

"YOU FOLLOW ME OR YOU WON'T MAKE IT OUT ALIVE!" She screamed. Her voice had
changed from that of an old lady, to the voice of Satan, himself. The eyes
on her face glowed as if they were red-hot embers from the bottom of a
burning furnace. And burned they did, right into Joey's soul. And suddenly,
her hatred became his. This was no longer about Justin, or Josh. Just pure
hate and the will to do harm to anyone that crossed his path. He had been
infected. Joey was no longer Joey, and if you were a by-stander to the
whole sight, you would have noticed that the light had also slowly entered
him.

The newly formed demonic creature and his recently found teacher entered
the room. It was filled with skeletons and feathers. A silky black raven
rested quietly in corner. In the center of the room was a circular table
with two high back satin armchairs on either side. In the center of the
table there was a clear crystal ball that was held in the air by what
seemed to be a white flamed fire. The red light filled the air like a thick
smoke. They both sat at the table.

"Hold out your hands." She ordered. Joey quickly complied. She grabbed them
both and instructed Joey to close his eyes.

"Repeat after me. Spirits of the dead, hear my cry. I come to you in hopes
of invoking the power of the spirit. I wish to channel your power through
me, to do with what I want. De kay tellamose, cammin ra feruse. De kay
tellamose, cammin ra feruse."

As Joey opened his eyes, a white light exploded from the ball hovering in
the air. The whole room seemed to melt away. It felt as if he was being
ripped from his current state, through time and space, and God knows what
else. Everything became blurry, and then suddenly black.

*******************************************************************************

Joey awoke with a start, and a horrible headache. Suddenly he realized what
he had just gone through. All of his insides sunk. "What had happened?" He
wondered.

"It was just a dream! But, it was so real, I could feel the hate around
me. How did I get back here anyway? Well, that explains it.........Duh,
Joey! It had to be a dream! I couldn't have just drove home, got into bed
,and fell asleep without remembering it! That is good! I was really scaring
myself there for a minute!" He was talking to himself. That was something
that he did often. "Well, I might as well get up." He lifted the sheets off
the bed and immediately noticed that they were all muddy and rank. The
whole bed was like that! He looked over his shoulder and saw the book from
Madam Humphrey's coffee table lying on the other side of his bed. "Oh
Shit."

TBC
*THIS IS A JOSH-JUST STORY! I PROMISE!*

So, what did you think? I know it wasn't a lot of Justin and Josh, but I
had to set Joey's personality! It will play a big role in the story! No, it
won't be all dark and scary all the time, and there will be cute and cuddly
moments, a lot! I promise! Write me and tell me what you think! I would
love to hear from You (WhillyKat@aol.com)! Love and Stuff, Dusty~one