Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 01:58:14 GMT
From: Blake Alexander <writemeastory@juno.com>
Subject: Tales of the New Phoenix / My Immortal chapter 8

Authors Note:

I would like to start by appologising for the lateness of this post. I'm in
College, as you may all know, and became swamped with Midterms and other
things. I'm working two jobs, one of which I'm getting ready to move up in
in the form of promotion (My raise went through last pay period, me happy
writer) another that I ma getting ready to move on from. I'm just a busy
little bee.

I would now like to take a moment to recap what series there are to read in
the Tales Universe:

In the Celebrity Section of the Archive:

~ Tales of a Young Mutant
~ Marvel Knights
~ The Shadow

And in the Boy Bands Section:

Tales of of a Real Dark Knight (The series that started it all)
Tales of a Super Hero Band (Not updated in a while)
Tales of a Human Spider (Not updated in a while)

And of course, this one. Here's a new chapter, enjoy.

My Immortal
Chapter 8: Casting Charms

	"Touchdown. Ramp deployed." Sage said.
	We all climbed out and walked towards the control center. "Christ
almighty I'm tired." Jubilee said.
	"Well, we haven't slept in about thirty six hours, of course you're
tired." Alison said with a yawn.
	"Well, it's about what... six in the morning? We'll all go get some
rest. We will start the casting in the afternoon, everyone wake up at one."
He said heading for his room. None of us could argue, so we went to bed.

	I woke up fairly early. I walked out into the living room and
looked at our pictures. Blake had always said he wanted a lot of pictures
up, so I made sure that there were. The majority of them were of my family,
but I devoted space to me and Blake, and also pictures from the condo of
Blake's family.
	December fourth was upon us. Tonight, the biggest bash of the year,
and all I wanted to do was climb back into bed.
	The loft was great. I had leased out the condo to the girls, after
renovating and decorating it for them. Each of them had a new car, and new
computers. So did Bobby, Ororo, and Jean. They were gifts from me, for
helping us in the fight, at the one year anniversary of the end of the
war. They all wanted to argue it, but after I looked Jean deep in the eyes
they accepted.
	I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a toaster strudel and popped
it in the toaster. I then started making a pot of coffee and then peeled an
orange. When the toaster popped up, I took my breakfast out onto the
balcony/patio and sat down to eat.
	The last couple years had been hard. I threw my self into the Birds
and Serenity. I learned as much as I could, trained with Devin and the
girls, and even went out on patrol. Then I realized that that wasn't my
life, it was Blake's. So I redirected my self to my music career and
Serenity. The club took off, quickly becoming to hottest spot in the bay
area.
	My music career was on hold, like the rest of the guys. We were
discussing getting back together, but it was always being postponed. Justin
had his CD, touring with Christina, I had my single on the works, and Joey
had Broadway. Lance was totally in love with his family. Chris
was... well... Chris. He always had something he was doing. I swear, if he
sat still too long he'd explode from the excess energy.
	"It ain't healthy waking this early!" Chris said stepping out of
the Loft.
	"Yeah, well, I can't seem to stay asleep." I said taking a sip of
the coffee and looking out at the city.
	"You, unable to sleep?" He sat down and looked at me grave
like. "Is there another doom afoot?"
	"There is always a doom afoot!" I said laughing. Everyone was
scheduled to get into the city in the next couple hours so we could hit the
club before the event and get everything situated. "I'm nervous... and I
miss him."
	"Yeah... we all do Jayce. I mean, he was a great guy. But he
wouldn't want you to keep beating yourself up like this. He'd want you to
move on." Chris took a deep breath.
	"I know... it's just... it's never felt right. None of this. It's
always felt like I was missing something." I took another sip of coffee,
passing my plate to Chris. He'd been eyeing the strudel like a cat eyes a
canary. "But... that's the past." I smiled at Chris.
	The phone started ringing, and it was Lance. Then Justin called,
then Joey, and Christina last. It was really funny, I'd hang up then
another would call.
	It was happening. Everything was in place. Now to just get the day
rolling.

	"Beep, beep, beep, boom!" That is what an alarm sounds like when
turned off by a power ring.
	I looked at the smoldering ruin of the time device. I did this far
too often. My mind was never completely sound when I first awoke.
	I stood up, dressed, and stepped out into the corridor. Everyone
was already in the main room, including Sir Logan and several fluttering
fairies. There was a red pentagram on the floor. At each point was an extra
circle. Along the line of the circle were candles, all black, burning
away. In the space between each arm of the star was text written in a
ancient tongue. Within the arms of the star were individual runes. The
center was empty.
	"What's all this?" I asked.
	"The circle of power for the ritual." Devin explained. "I will do
the actual text reading. I need each of you to chant the word "bring" in
time with each other throughout the ritual. It will take about a half hour
to complete."
	"Ok..." I said.
	I turned towards Sir Logan and bowed my head in greeting. He walked
towards me, fairies following close. "Hello Green Falcon, may I introduce
the Princes and Princesses of the five high courts of the lesser fey?"
	"I would be honored." I said with a smile.
	He indicated to a small male with sharp features and short black
hair, and what appeared to be a set of dragon fly wings. "This is Prince
Phinel of the Deep Water Court." He bowed to me in the air. I did the
same. Sir Logan motioned to a young woman with glowing red hair and bright
hazel eyes, "This is Chinka of the Wild Fire Court." She curtsied, and I
bowed. "You already know Lahoora of the Green Leaf Court."
	"I never got to fully thank you for your assistance milady." I said
offering her a hand. She griped my finger and I bowed, holding my hand up.
	"You need not thank me. It was the Green Wizard that called on my
aid."
	"But I benefited, therefore I thank you." She nodded at my response
as if it pleased her. I remember hearing that the fey enjoy a good ego
stroke, so I did it. I looked back to Sir Logan.
	"This is Bextrol of the Wind Riders Court." He had wings different
than the rest. They looked like humming bird wings. He removed a delicate
sword from its sheath, pointed it towards the ground, and knelt in the air
with its hilt to his head. I bowed to him and he... stood? "And finally,
Affet of the Grey Light Court."
	I looked at this fairy with a confused look. "Are you troubled
madam?" He asked. He had ivory skin, but grey eyes, grey hair, and grey
clothes.
	"I can see the elements in the other courts, but I don't understand
yours." He laughed, his voice deep but edged with chimes and bells.
	"The Pentagram has five points, all balanced within a circle of
control. Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. The fifth point, though, is spirit. A
spirit and be pure and filled with light, or twisted and filled with
darkness. My court is both." He hung there, Moth like wings fluttering to
keep him aloft. I smiled and turned to Sir Logan.
	Devin finished preparing a few things. Around the circle he placed
various incense burners. Each scent held meaning tied to each element
used. "We're just about ready." Devin said walking towards me.
	We thought everything would be simple. When is everything simple
for us?
	It started with a groan from above our heads. Then the room began
to shake.
	"Devin... what is that?" I asked.
	"The king of ghosts most likely. The lighting of the incense
started the first itching of the ritual. This ritual weakens the barrier
between our world and the Never Never. Being an Elder God he is from the
Never Never. This has allowed him to cross over." Devin was punching
different commands into the computer console he was at.
	"But it's day light! He shouldn't be able to get a hold in this
realm." Jubilee said stepping towards a secondary console. "Shit, the house
corridor has been breached!"
	"I'm flooding it." Devin said. "Running water grounds this type of
mystical energy. It'll keep him from getting in through there."
	The flood gate clamped shut at the entrance to the tunnel
connecting the Hole and Devin's house. Moments later the sound of sea
water, pumped in from the bay, could be heard.
	"Shields are being drained." Came Sage's voice. "The crystals are
beginning to cloud Devin."
	"Shit!" He said running from the console to a metal case built into
the wall. He typed in a code on the lock, then opened it. Large white
crystals stood there, glowing. But they had swirls inside them, like wisps
of smoke. "Sage, when I give the command I want you to shut down
completely."
	"But Devin, I could activate interior defenses and hold off the
intruders." She said from the speakers.
	"You will not be able to. This is no poltergeist attack, this is
the King himself. He's launching an all out assault." Devin began to punch
in commands on the console. "He will swarm in here, and overwhelm your
circuits. If your core is wiped, I will never be able to save you."
	We were all a little worried then. Sage was the most advanced
computer in the world. An Artificial Intelligence that had spells cast up
the yin yang. Her core processor had been bewitched, had spells laid, and
been taken to different magical entities. She was not only a computer, she
was alive. She was one of us.
	"Sage, we'll be fine. Alison said. She and Boomer were locking down
the weapons cabinet, to keep our weapons from being used against us. But
after taking on these ghosts I knew those locks wouldn't hold.
	"Once we get inside the circles and close them we will be safe."
Devin said.
	"Which ones are we supposed to take?" I asked.
	"First, grab your vials." He said. We each grabbed the jars we had
used to collect the magical elements. "Jubilee, you take the one the right
leg. Tabitha, you're above her. I'll be here at the left, Alison you're
bellow me. Andy, you're at the head. When I say each element you hold, I
want you to throw your vials into the center of the star with all your
might. Do you understand me?" We all nodded and took our places.
	I looked around. We were all in our uniforms, all dressed for
battle. The Birds of Prey. "Sage, shut down!" Devin bellowed.
	"Good luck my friends." She said as she shut down. The lights
dimmed, then blue emergence lights flared to life. The fey took their
places around us as Sir Logan formed a protective circle of power around
himself. Devin nodded to all of us, and began.
	"I call on the powers of those on high. I call on the powers of
those bellow. Hear me, answer my call!" The circle began to glow. The air
began to grow thick. I knew the circle of power had closed. "In times of
old, when the Sidhe ruled all and stood as gods, the elder gods fell to
history. Now the Sidhe have fallen, and in is the age of Humanity.
	"The elder gods must move on to the after realms. This world is not
theirs any longer. Goddess on high, hear me now! I call on summoning!" He
nodded at us and we began to chant.
	"Air of mountains. Air of sky. Air of life. And air of
death. Accept this token, the air of one who needs it not. The breath of
one who has died!" He threw his vial into the center of the star as Bextrol
raised his right hand and sent a whit light shooting after it. The vial
exploded, and a mist began to rise up.
	"Fire of mountain. Fire of creation. Fire of destruction. And fire
of magic. Accept this token, the scale of a fire creature. Scale of a
dragon!" Alison threw her vial into the center of the circle and Chinka did
as Bextrol did, sending a white blast into the center of the circle. The
vial exploded in a smoldering flame. It raised up and began to mix with the
mist, spinning in a ball.
	"Earth of Earth. Earth of birth. Earth of other realm. Earth of the
gods. Accept this token, the Earth of the spirit realm. Earth of the Never
Never!" Jubilee hurled her vial into the circle, Lahoora launching a white
beam of power behind it, and the ground cracked as dirt exploded from the
vial. Soil launched into the spinning ball that was floating six feet above
the ground, and now more defined.
	"Water of ocean. Water of river. Water of sustenance. Water of
sorcery. Accept this token, the water of hiding. Water from Avalon!" Alison
hurled her vial in, light beam from Phinel behind it, and the vial exploded
with a flood that covered the earth that made up the bottom of the enclosed
center of the star. It turned the ground into a marsh. Water launched up
and the circle slowed.
	It was amazing. The Earth formed right before us. It was what I
imagined was seen from space.
	"Blood of life. Blood of power. Blood of strength. Blood of
righteousness. Accept this token, the life's blood of a true heart. Blood
of a righteous one!" I through my vial into the center of the star, Affet
shooting his light right behind it, and the vial exploded with light. The
light created a glow around the floating globe. The marsh began to sink
down into the ground, leaving a dark hole. Then a voice sounded from within
it.
	"What is it you seek?" the voice asked. It sounded, I kid you not,
like the Borg on "Star Trek".
	"We seek the Sword of Horus and the Fang of Set." Devin said.
	"You think that is what you seek, but it is not." The voice
responded.
	Devin looked confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.
	"You seek these weapons, that is true. But to bring them here, now,
would bring more than you know."
	"What will it bring?"
	The voice was quiet a moment. "It has been foreseen. One will bring
together all the blades of power. There are ten in total. Handed down to
this realms from beyond, they are individual and powerful. The one who
bears the Sword of Horus and Fang of Set, as you call them, shall be the
one who brings all together. This shall spell the end of sure knowing.
	"Hear now, a prophecy from one who is ageless and timeless. The
coming together of these blades creates an event that could end all. It
could supersede all prophecy and bring about the end days. It could spell
the end of all things. It could steal the warmth of the stars and bring the
edges of existence tumbling back in on itself. These blades are forged in
the blood of the Goddess on high, out of the metal of the universe, and
cooled in the waters of existence. Passed down throughout all time, from
history and future, they are pieces of the universe torn from the
birth. When together, they shall be cast into one blade, which shall cut
time. A battle shall be waged over this event, and its outcome could spell
the end of all."
	The voice fell silent. "What shall our calling the blades here do?
Devin finally asked.
	"It shall do nothing of this prophesy. All is already in motion. He
who shall bring the blades together is already in possession of the
blades." The voice answered.
	"Then we summon the blade holder here now." Devin said.
	"You have realized what you seek. This request is answered." The
hole closed up and the floor was once again whole. The globe began to glow
brighter. We eventually all had to look away.
	When it stopped I turned back.
	I stopped breathing when I saw what was there.