Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 21:08:01 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com> Subject: Chronicles of a Real Dark Knight 31 Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind. Scary!! People actually get a glimpse into my mind!!! Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox. Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros. X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. Talamasca, Lestat, Louis, and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. In this story, which has been floating around in my head most of my life, you will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. This story doesn't deal so much with sex, sex, sex, but more of my feelings that I struggled with and am starting to come to terms with. Part of his background is mine. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks. jmsotc@yahoo.com Chapter 31 Fruition Macai and his followers headed toward the castle known as the home of the Council of Watchers. His mission was simple. Take out the Council. Without them, the Slayers would be disorganized. None would be capable of opposing him. And he would be free to take over, to rule. He walked up to the door. "Master," Puz said with a grin, "it is polite to knock before entering." "Quite right, Puz. I would not have my minions be disrespectful to me unless they wanted to die." Macai brought back his fist and let it fly. The door flew off its hinges and into the foyer. "Knock, knock," Macai said entering. One of the Watcher's came rushing down the steps. "Is everything all right? What happened?" When her eyes caught site of the demon Macai, her face paled. "My god," she whispered. Two vampires lunged up the stairs after her. She grabbed a wooden stake from her inside sports jacket pocket and rammed it into the chest of the first vampire. She kicked it down the stairs and it knocked the second vampire down before turning to dust. She ran down several steps and hit the alarm. Red lights flashed and sirens wailed. She turned to run up the stairs when another vampire grabbed her from behind and fed. "They cannot defeat us," Shetar said. "They may dwindle our numbers a bit, but we are invincible." Two Watchers came running in hefting swords. The vampires looked at the armed Watchers and back at Macai. "Allow me, sire," Shetar said turning to face the Watchers. She grabbed her whip off her belt and unraveled it. "You pathetic mortals. You dare stand before us? We shall be the last you see." Shetar lashed her whip out and struck the eyes of a Watcher. He screamed in pain, dropping the sword. She swung her whip out and wrapped it around the neck of the second Watcher. With a jerk, the Watcher's head came off. The body slumped to the floor. "Gather some weapons, vampires. You are now armed." Two vampires grabbed the swords and the group headed into the castle. I walked down the road in the rain, heading toward Buckingham Palace. I wanted to make sure Princes William and Harry were safe and sound before I headed to the Council's castle. I had been assigned to protect them and I would guarantee their safety. I went to side where Prince William's window rested. I remembered it from months ago. A light was on. Moving closer but staying in the shadows I looked up and saw it was William's silhouette. His face barely lit by the lamplight. He was safe. All was well here. My next stop was the Council of Watchers. I walked to the curb and held up my hand as a taxi neared. The driver stopped, I climbed in and gave my destination, and off the cabby drove. Macai came down the stairs. "That is everyone upstairs." "I think all the Watchers have been destroyed, sire," Puz said. "Our work here is done?" "Yes. We are finished with this place. If any Slayer dare oppose us, we have but to remind her where her Watchers are. Let us go." The group exited the castle and marched down the road. Headlights appeared from beside the castle and a car drove out. Macai heard the vehicle heading toward him and his group, and he smiled to himself. The car approached and he spun around. Slamming his fist on the hood, the back end tilted up. The car was useless as the motor was smashed under the impact of Macai. He walked to the driver's side and swung his leg. The roof of the car came clean off, along with the heads of several of the occupants. One, however, sat hunched over in the front seat covered in glass. "You," Macai said. "What is your name?" "Jayce Haverhill." "You shall survive, Mr. Haverhill. You will notify the entire world's Watchers and Slayers that Macai has returned to rule. No one can stop me. No one." Macai pushed on the car hard. It rolled back into a tree, causing the tree to come crashing down. He, Shetar, Puz and the beast monster turned with the remaining vampires and marched down the road leaving the castle in ruins. The taxi turned into the long driveway up to the castle, but some of the scenery was unfamiliar to me. "Pull over here!" I ordered. The driver stopped the car and I jumped out. A tree had fallen on top of a car that looked demolished. I ran over to the car. "Is anyone alive?" I called. "Yes," a familiar voice came. "Over here." I ran to the passenger side and pulled the door off. The figure climbed out from under the tree. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yes, I'm fine." He stood up and looked at me. His glance turned into wonder, wonder into surprise. "Oh my god," he whispered. "Is it...is it you, Eric?" "Yes," I said. "It's good to see you, Jayce." Jayce seemed to collapse. I grabbed him and picked him up. Turning to the cab driver to ask for help, he was gone. I carried Jayce back toward the castle only to find it in ruins. I carried Jayce inside and lay him on a couch. Fetching some water, I wiped his forehead. Slowly, he came to. "You're back in the castle, Jayce." He looked around for a moment and then shook his head in despair. "What happened?" I asked. "Macai came to the castle. He left a little while ago. He had an army of vampires." "Where are Jessica and Serena?" "They left for the United States a week ago. The Council decided they could return to their postings since they were not needed here any more." "Not needed, huh? Looks to me like they were needed." "Macai was quiet. The Council believed he was no longer a threat." Jayce sat up. "Anyways, what happened to you? Everyone believed you dead." "No. I wasn't dead. My body was dormant while it repaired itself. I woke up a few days ago with no memory of who I was." "I'm amazed you didn't wander around all of London." "The world is a scary place for someone who doesn't even know their own name. Besides, someone was keeping me safe." "Who?" Jayce asked. "Christian Burns from BBMak. He was working for Macai." "What?" Jayce replied in shock. "Macai has his family. He was to keep me occupied and away from Macai." "Interesting." "Why is that interesting?" "It sounds like Macai believed you a threat." "I know." "But why would he think so? He's never met you before he took Christine's life. How would he know you would be a threat to him?" "Interesting," I said reiterating what Jayce said earlier. Jayce stood up. "What do we do from here?" I asked. "We must check our losses first and foremost. Then, assess the damage. Once the castle is secure again, we can address our current situation." Jayce walked toward the foyer. I followed. He sighed when he saw the bodies. "I knew these people. They were my colleagues. Now, they are gone." Movement came from the staircase leading down to the cellar. Jayce turned readying himself for a fight. I turned as well. The shadow took form and then entered the light. "Quentin," Jayce said. "It's good to see you made it, Mr. Travers." "Yes. Well...it's good to see you alive, too, Mr. Haverhill. What damage has been done?" "I'm assessing that now, sir. Many of the Watchers have been murdered by Macai." Quentin, for a moment, showed some sorrow. As quickly as the emotion manifested, he turned it off and became all business. "Let's get this cleaned up." Without warning, the chandelier snapped. Jayce jumped out of the way. I lifted my hand and stopped its motion. Slowly, I lowered it to the floor. "Are you okay?" Jayce asked. "I'm fine." I brought my hand down and looked at it. "It was actually very easy. Normally I have to concentrate hard to use my powers. It seems the repairs my mutation made improved my abilities." Jayce and Quentin looked at each other. "Indeed," Quentin said. "Let's clean up. We have much work to do." The following day, Quentin, Jayce and several other Watchers sat around a round table. We had worked hard most of the evening cleaning up this room and the adjoining library where much of the research on Macai had been made. "We have some distressing news," Quentin was saying. "According to our sources, Macai has been building an army of vampires. As evidenced by the attack on the Council last night, we can be sure Macai is forwarding his efforts to rule. Having attacked us, it can easily be determined that his next objective will be Buckingham Palace or Parliament." "Or both," Jayce added. "Right," Quentin replied. "Therefore, we must stop him at all costs. Suggestions?' "What about calling back Jessica and Serena?" a male Watcher suggested. "No," Jayce replied. "Macai killed Christine easily. He's immortal. He would kill Serena and Jessica just as easily." "What about recalling all the Slayers?" "Same thing," I said jumping into the conversation. "Whether there were two or two hundred, it would all be the same." "Too bad we don't have a super man on our team, one who is immortal like Macai." I noticed Quentin's eyes glaze over. He was thinking of something. He had an idea. "We have Eric," Jayce replied. "His powers have been strengthened since his accident. He is in even more control of his powers than he was before." Quentin stood up and walked out of the room. "Is everything okay, Quentin?" Jayce asked. "I'll be back in a few moments. Please, carry on without me." And he left for the library. "I am still mortal, Jayce. He will kill me a second time without thinking twice. I may be able to hurt him, but that's it." "We know he was bound to the book a long time ago. We don't know exactly when. But it took an extraordinarily amount of power. Perhaps from an all-powerful being." "God," I whispered knowing it was the Almighty who had contained the demon. I remember a passage of scripture from the King James Version of the Holy Bible concerning very powerful demons. "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto chains of judgment" (2 Peter 2:4). Chains have always been used to describe any way of being bound. Could it be Macai, an immortal demon, was an angel at one time? When he fell he was sealed into a book that was stumbled upon? If so, how does anyone know of Macai? Was he loosed at one time? "Was Macai ever released from the book before?" I asked. "Yes he was," Quentin said returning to the room carrying an old, worn book. Quentin walked over to his seat and sat. All eyes were upon him. He was the center of the meeting and he knew it. Slowly, he opened the tattered leather cover and turned the yellowed pages. "I remember reading this one time," he began, "back when I was training to be a Watcher. I was sent to the Talamasca to study their references. I was assigned to read up on the history of Excalibur. Many of you already know the history of Excalibur, so I will not waste time repeating it. However, there is one story not told to anyone for fear the information could be used for great evil if in the wrong hands. "During the time of King Arthur, there was a man of great darkness. He was a demon worshiper. The demons he worshiped were the first ones, the fallen angels from heaven. He collected religious texts from the world over to learn the history of demonic creatures, hoping to learn how to access them through dark magics. "One day he came across a reference to the counts of hell, the first ones. He studied their history absorbing the knowledge of their powers when they were divine. His studies gave him a greater understanding of their powers and abilities after falling. As he studied, he came upon the history of Macai. The young wizard fell in love with Macai's ideals and sought out the book of Macai. It took him most of his life, but when he found it, he opened it, releasing Macai to strike terror into the populace. "Macai, having learned of humanity and the organization of society, decided he should be king, since he was the oldest and wisest creature unleashed. He mistook knowledge for wisdom. He slayed the one who released him sought out many dark witches and wizards and came across Mab. She told him of Excalibur and the swords prophecy that whoever has possession of the sword is ruler of the England. Secretly, her wish was to overthrow Arthur and make Merlin, her nemesis, look like a fool. "Macai sought out others he had known and brought them forth. Together they raised an army of vampires to overthrow Arthur and the knights of the roundtable. The accounts of this all say he was stopped by very brave warriors, but none give account of what exactly transpired. The only book that comes close is this one." Quentin turned through the pages. The room was silent as the story enthralled those listening, including me, as well as the potential solution to stopping Macai. Quentin stopped at a page, pulled out his glasses and cleared his throat. For several moments he sat reading. He stopped at a certain point and looked up at me. Then he went back to reading. Finally, the anticipation was too much for anyone. "What does it say?" Jayce asked. Quentin pulled off his glasses and looked up at me, then around to the Watchers seated at the table. "The text is rather interesting. It seems that there were several key players against Macai in stopping him." "Who are they?" a female Watcher asked. "Merlin was a main figure in the victory of Macai. He, as everyone knows, was a powerful wizard. He had to perform the ritual to put Macai back into the book. "Another figure who played heavily into the defeat of Macai was a very powerful female warrior by the name of Xena. Her strength and skill were necessary in warding the demon off. "Thirdly, a very old and very powerful vampire fought along their side." Several of the Watchers sighed in sadness. "This wasn't a demonic vampire we are charged with training Slayers to battle. As some of you may know, there are other species of vampires throughout the world, many of whom have souls. This was such a one. "Lastly, and this will interest Mr. McCoy, there was a young man who fought with courage. He wore a garb that resembled that of a bat. He was thusly dubbed the Bat Man." Eyes turned upon me. "That must be why Macai had a fixation with you," Jayce replied. "He believes you are the same Batman who imprisoned him those years ago." "What do we do, though?" the female Watcher asked a second question. "Xena, the Warrior Princess, is dead, as is Merlin. Where do we find another warrior with her skill and a wizard with the same powers as Merlin?" "I have several ideas," Quentin said. "We have much to prepare. Jayce, I want you to remain behind once everyone else leaves. I need you to run an errand for me." "Yes, Mr. Travers." "Everyone else, get back to cleaning up the castle. Eric, if you would be so kind as to assist the Watchers." "Certainly," I answered. As I left the room, I wondered what Quentin had in store for me, as well as Macai. To Be Continued... A Batman during King Arthur's time? No wonder Macai had it in for Batman. He believes Eric was the same Batman who stopped him in the past. But Eric wasn't, was he? More to come exciting chapters to come as the story unfolds! Keep reading!