Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 00:05:51 EDT
From: Shaman il-de SaintGermain <elderknight@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Price and the Prize Ch 3

     Here is chapter 3 part 1. I guess this is how all the chapters are
going to turn out. With multiple parts that is. Well, as always I must say
that this is fiction. I do not know the men of *Nsync, nor do I think that
the characters I've built around their images and names have anything to do
with them as they truly are. Thanx again Kat for all your aid. Now on with
the story.

     Hi there! It's me again. Everything I've said in any of the Prefaces,
er, prefacii, no, no, it's prefaces. Anyway, what I said before is still
true. I still don't know *Nsync. I still give my thanx to Kat and I still
welcome you all to contact me at; elderknight@hotmail.com   or
ICQ# 15048366.
    Now I think I'm supposed to say something about Roger Rabbit being a
registered trade mark or something like that. Well I said something like
that so I'm done.
    On with the story...

Tobias' Journal entry:

     Well I'm meeting the guys from *Nsync in an hour. Talk about
serendipity.  I guess I'm supposed to be deal with this. I love it when
things just work out like that. I have to say though, I'm apprehensive
about this. What if NightFire is wrong? I hope they're ready to deal with
this. I certainly won't be able to without their cooperation. I've prepared
a few things just in case.  Gods I hope I'm ready to do this. I didn't
sleep well last night. My dreams were crazy. All I can really remember from
them is seeing the Lovers card over and over. What the hell is that
about. I know the Lovers popped up in the reading I did yesterday, but...I
don't know. Anyway, I'll meet with the guys and we'll see what goes
on. Wish me luck Jeremiah, wherever you are. I need it.


The Price and the Prize Chapter 3; part 1:

     Damn! This has been a weird day. I mean *WEIRD*. I knew Lance was
havin' problems, but I had *no* idea. I knew about him havin' these dreams
sometimes.  He told me 'bout 'em when he was havin' so much trouble last
year. Jeez, I was afraid he was goin' through somethin' like that again. If
only. Okay, so, Justin is possessed by a demon. Lance is havin' dreams an'
gettin' sick just bein' around Justin. J.C.'s freakin' over all of it. I
*really* think there's somethin' he's not tellin' us there. I know him 'n
Justin are close, but the way he acted this morninin' when Justin said that
stuff about J.C. not bein' his daddy an' all. I mean J.C. doesn't loose his
temper an' boy did he go off after that. I've only seen him do that twice,
this mornin' an' that time Lanceton made Justin break down cryin'. Both
times it was 'bout Justin. Hmm, somethin' there? I think so! Anyway, then
we got Chris. Who knew he knew what he knows? I mean, he's always done some
strange stuff. Ya know, for good luck 'n stuff, but that thing with the
match...*That* was cool. Scary, but cool. God man, I've always wanted to
believe in magic an' stuff. I mean magic an' psychic stuff an'
superheroes. It's just, well, ya don't get a lotta proof 'bout that
stuff. 'Till somethin' like this happens anyway. Now. I mean, It's cool an'
all, but I wish I didn't have to find out like this.

     Okay, so, we're sittin in Lance's room waitin' for this guy who's
s'possed to come help us out here. I'm thinkin' Giles from "Buffy" ya know?
Cool. He'll probably be like all "Why yes, I am Lancelot. Very pleased to
meet you all. Now I do hope you don't become offended if I refer to the
daemonic creature as a bastard at some point. I do tend to get a bit
excited in the course of these events." Somebody’s knockin' at the
door. That must be him. Lance jumps up to answer the door which makes the
rest of us jump. He takes a look around the room. Man, talk 'bout
tension. We got yer tension right here. So then he opens the door an' just
stands there. After a few seconds this voice says,"Mr. Bass, I'm Lancelot."
Good voice. Nice tone. Bet it carries well.

        "Oh, oh, of course. Please, come in." He zoned. It's a Lance thing.
As he steps away from the door to let the guy in I can see he looks
relieved somehow. Now I get to see this Lancelot character. Wow! Not Giles!
Definitely *not* Giles. This guy looks cool. I mean look at that hair. It's
as red as mine an' it looks natural. Piercings, a leather duster. Is that a
tattoo on his neck? Nice pants too. Suede. How cool is that? Oh man, I love
the combat boots with fire painted on the toes. He can't be any older than
us. An' the way he's walkin' into the room. Oh yah, this guy's cool. An'
not bad lookin' either. He's got those broad shoulders, strong chin, *nice*
lips. Oh god Joey!  Way to be a bud! Justin's possessed, Lance could be
dyin' an' you wanna' jump the guy that can save 'em! Keep it in your pants!

        "Oh." he says as he sees the rest of us.

        "I-It's okay," Lance says,"They know. They're gonna help to. If
that's okay."

        "Well," he says with a grin,"I guess it'll have to be. You won't
exactly take no for an answer will ya'?"

        "Nope." Chris answers for all of us.

        "Oh, um...Should we call you Lancelot or Tobias." Lance asks.

        "Well...Lance, Lancelot. That'll probably cause confusion. You can
call me Toby. Yah, that'll be fine."

        "Okay Toby. These are the guys; Chris, Joey, J.C., and I'm Lance."

        "I'd say nice to meet you, but under the circumstances I guess that
would be in poor taste." Toby replies,"You know this is going to be
dangerous don't you. You, one or more of you, could die, or worse." He
says, lookin' us each in the eye. He stops at J.C.,"You aren't sure you
believe this are you?"

        "I...No." J.C. says lookin' down. Toby's face goes cold.

        "Well it goes like this; Everything has a price. Everything. All
the things we prize in life do. The price of living is dying. The price of
pleasure is pain. It's the prize that makes it all worth while. Right now,
in this shity situation, the prize is your friend Justin, body and
soul. The price is opening your eyes, giving up all your illusions of a
safe, normal little world. If you want to help, if you think the prize is
worth it, you'll have to face things most people never see, never want to
see, outside of a nightmare. Your faith? Hold on tight. Everything your
parents ever told you about the monster under the bed not being real? Chuck
it. They are real, and they eat people like you for breakfast." He pauses
an' looks at us like he's sizin' us up. I don't think he's impressed. His
eyes, it's like there's a glow. Like, like light through a church
window. An' I *know* he's tellin' the truth. God help us(if there is one),
I can't not believe what he's sayin'.  "Are you willing to give up
everything you think you know and step into my world? If you do there's no
going back. My world will know you've been there and it will never let you
free. Is it worth it? Is the prize worth the price?"

        "Yes." says J.C., no hesitation. The rest of us aren't far b'hind.


        "Alright then," says Toby,"I need you to tell me everything. When
did you first notice the change in Justin? And I want to hear your dreams
Lance, in as much detail as you can handle." We fill him in on the last day
or so. Mostly Lance, but the rest of us help with little details. Mostly
Toby just sits an' plays with his goatee while he listens. Once in a while
he asks a question then just sits back an' lets us talk. After 'bout an
hour he's up to speed. Shit man, I was kinda pissed at Lance 'bout him
lyin’ to me. Now that I've heard those dreams he had. I don't blame him
one bit. Damn! I wouldn't wanna talk 'bout 'em either. Hell, I wouldn't
wanna think 'bout 'em!  "Well," Toby says,"I agree with you about the
girl. The thing was most likely in her at the time."

        "But why Justin?" J.C. asks.

        "I don't know J.C.. Maybe...you say he's a nice guy, maybe that's
what caught the things attention. They do that, look for the best so they
can fuck it up. And Chris, I like the match thing. Pretty cool. You say
your Grandmother taught you that?"

        "Yah," says Chris, lookin all proud,"and other stuff to."

        "How long do we have, before he kills Justin?" Lance asks.

        "I wish I could say for sure," says Toby,"it all depends on what
the thing does. You should take into account that he could already be
dead."

        "No." J.C. says firmly,"He can't be dead."

        "I know..."

        "NO!" J.C. shouts. Toby holds up a hand an' looks a little annoyed,

        "*I know* how we can find out. I'll need something of Justin's."

        "sorry" J.C. says, embarrassed.

        "You mean like hair or something." Chris says.

        "Yah," says Toby,"hair would perfect."

        "We can get some from his room." I say.

        "We don't have a key. I'll have to call the front desk." Lance
says.

        "*You* don't have a key." Chris says as he jumps up from his seat
with a smile an' heads outta the room. Lance follows him to the door
an'stands in the doorway for a minute lookin' down the hall.

        "Where did you get that?" he says to the hall.

        "I figured with all this shit it would be a good idea to have a key
to all the rooms." Comes Chris' muffled voice from somewhere down the hall.
Lance looks back into the room an' shrugs. "HA!," Chris shouts,"Gotcha!" A
few seconds later he strides into the room lookin' all triumphant with a
pass key in one hand an' somethin' between the finger an' thumb of his
other. He walks over to Toby an' holds the, hair?, out to him. "Is that
enough?" he asks.  Toby smiles. *wow*

        "It should be." he answers. Then he takes the hair an' walks over
an' puts it on the coffee table. "Could you hand me my satchel Lance?"
Lance nods an' grabs the satchel Toby brought in bringin' it over to
him. Toby reaches inside an' pulls out a white box with some kinda black
inlay work. He opens it an' tips some big cards into his hand. Tarot cards?

        "Are those Tarot cards?" I ask him.

        "Yep," he says as he puts the box down an' starts to shuffle the
cards. We all get around the table to watch. He stops shufflin' an' looks
at the four of us. "Cut the cards." he’s says as he hold them out to
J.C. who just looks at him for a second. "Go on." J.C. reaches up an' takes
'bout half the deck an' puts it under the other half. Toby starts shufflin'
again. When he stops he takes the hair an' lays it in the center of the
table. He closes his eyes an' takes a card off the top of the deck. He
flips it over layin' it on the hair. He keeps flippin' cards, layin' 'em
around the first one. I have no idea what they all mean, but they're
cool. Beautiful actually. They're black an' white drawin's full of dragons
an' people in all sorts of costumes.  All the tension's back in the room. I
mean, we're waitin' to hear if our friend is dead or alive or what. It's
really gettin' bad an' Toby isn't even makin' a sound, just flippin'
cards. Jeez, talk 'bout suspense.

        "Well, he's alive," Oh Jeez! Talk about relief! We all exhale at
the same time,"and I think, he's gonna stay that way. For awhile at
least. I don't know why, but I don't think the thing wants to kill him. Not
yet"

        "Then we have to find him soon and fix him. We can fix him right?"
J.C. says, desperation creepin' into his voice. There it is again,
Somethin'...

        "If we can get him while he's alive, I think we can." Toby says
noddin'.

        "You *Think* we can!" J.C. says raisin' his voice.

        "I *cannot* guarantee anything, but I will try my damnedest. And
you have to do that to, now keep it together J.C.." J.C. visibly calms an'
nods.

        "So how do we find him?" Asks Chris.

        "We can't call the police or anything," says Lance,"not unless it's
absolutely necessary. It'd be all over the papers in hours that Justin was
missing."

        "Well we don't know that he's missing," says J.C.,"He may just come
back."

        "I doubt it," Toby says,"Since you guys know what he is you pose a
threat to the thing. He'll probably move on. Hey, did you guys say the
thing said it had plans today?"

        "Yah," I say,"What, ya think it's got some evil plot goin' or
somethin'" Toby just thinks for a second.

        "The demonists called it up for a reason. Whatever that was we
stopped it from happening."

        "We?" Lance asks. For a second Toby looks at Lance an' his face
just falls. I can tell pain when I see it an' it's definitely there, but
just for a second. Then he clears his voice.

        "A friend of mine," he says,"He died five days ago, when we first
fought the cult trying to raise the daemon."

        "Shit." Chris whispers.

        "I'm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Lance says.

        "It's alright," Toby says,"That's what I was trying to tell you
earlier. This stuff is dangerous.  Jeremiah new what he was doing. He knew
what he was walking into." Toby blinks a couple times an' takes a deep
breath.  "Alright, enough of that. The thing may be trying to finish
whatever it was it was called to do. If that's the case...Let's find
Justin." Toby picks up his cards an' puts 'em back in the box. He pulls a
little white candle out of his satchel an' a box of matches. I'm thinkin'
we got a spell comin' our way here.  Now he's pulled out this book. Looks
like a spell book to me. It's all old an' bound in leather, papers stickin'
outta it an' stuff. I'm surprised it fits in that satchel, what with
everythin' else he's got in there. I wonder what all he does have in
there. It's like Mary Poppins' carpet bag or somethin'. He sets the book
gently on the table an' opens it. There's a smell, kinda like dried
flowers...Hey, there's dried flowers in there. Whadda ya know. We all watch
as he leafs through the pages. They're all covered in pictures an'
diagrams. Everythin' looks hand drawn. Cool! Now this is what I expected.
"Here." says Toby, I guess to himself, as he runs his hand down a page. He
reaches into his satchel an' brings out a pen an' a notebook. He opens the
notebook an' starts writin'. I can't read what the book says at all. I know
it's in English, it just looks funny an' doesn't make any sense. I see
Chris smilin'. Looks like he's readin' it. Lance is lookin' at me. He
point's to the book an' mouths 'What's it say?' I just shrug.

        "Oh Cool!," Chris chuckles,"This really works?" Toby looks at him
real funny for a second then kinda grins.

        "You can read this?" he says, pointin' to the book.

        "Of course I can," Chris says,"It is in English. I may look stupid,
but it's just an act." Toby's just lookin' at him,"Oh! Wait! Am I not
supposed to be able to?" Toby just shakes his head an' looks around at the
rest of us.  We're all clueless. It's obvious.

        "Alright," he says,"let's get this started." Toby pulls a small
plate from his satchel an' a match from the matchbox. He rips the page he's
written on out of his notebook an' folds it a few times. Then he strikes
the match an' lights the paper. As it burns it gets sorta a blue tint to
the flame. Cool.  He sets it on the plate to finish burnin'. It's done. He
crushes it gently an' picks up the plate. He spits in the plate an'
says,"Spit." holdin' the plate out to Lance who's to his left. He does the
same to me, J.C., then Chris. He uses his finger to mix it all up into a
paste. Kinda gross, but I guess that's majik. I always see people in the
movies doin' stuff like that. It's cool.  S'not like he killed a chicken or
somethin'. He puts the plate down picks up the candle an' starts rubbin'
the paste all over it. He's got it pretty well coated. He sets it down an'
stands up lookin' at his hands. "Gods that makes a mess." he says as he
goes into the bathroom. Gods? As in Plural? Hmmm. He steps outta the
bathroom dryin' his hands an' says,"Alright, that should do it. You guys
ready to go?"

        "Go?" Lance, J.C. an' I all say together.

        "To find Justin," says Chris. The candle'll show us where he is."

        "How's it going to do that?" J.C. says, not soundin' convinced.

        "Like this." says Toby, pickin' up the candle. He holds it between
his hands like he's prayin' an' closes his eyes mumblin' somethin'. He
holds the candle in one palm an' looks at Chris. "Care to do the honors?"
he says.

        "Yah!" Chris almost shouts. He grabs the match box an' pulls out a
match. "I just say his name right?"

        "As much of it as you know." Toby says. Okay, more stuff with fire.
This should be interestin'.

        "Justin Randall Timberlake." Chris says as he strikes the match an'
lights the candle. It catches an' he shakes the match out. The flame gets
goin' good an' then it le-ans to the side. The candle flame is burnin'
sideways instead of up! I notice that everybody’s head but Toby's is
cocked to the side like the candle flame an' gotta chuckle.

        "Very cool." I say.

        "Absafuckinlutely." says Chris grinnin' like an idiot. Toby just
has this half grin goin'. Lance just looks amazed, an' J.C. just looks,
what?  ready?

        "So, Justin is that way." J.C. says pointin' the way the flame is
leanin'

        "Right," says Toby,"Now are we ready?" Everybody says yah an' Toby
shoves his stuff back into his satchel. "I don't suppose one of you has a
vehicle of some kind. My car's gonna be tight if we all have to ride in
it."

        "I could see about getting something from the hotel." Lance says.

        "Please." says Toby.

        "Okay, I'll meet you guys in the lobby." Lance Grabs a coat an'
things an' heads out.

        "Be right back," Chris says,"gonna get a hat."

        "Yah," says J.C.,"good idea. I'll meet you guys at the elevators."
An' they both take off. I watch Toby finish gettin' his coat an' stuff on.
He really is somethin'. God man! If I don't watch it I'm gonna start fallin
for him. I don't realize I'm starin 'til he turns around an' our eyes
meet. He just smiles softly *wow*

        "Are you gay?" he says.

        "W-What?!"

        "I said, Are you okay? You look kinda spaced there."

        "Uh-uh, Y-Yah. I was just, uh, We should prob'ly go" I say already
on my way out the door. Whew!

     We meet up in the lobby. Lance has a mini-van rented. Toby says to
meet him out in the parkin' lot where we put a couple of things from his
car into the van. There's this cool walkin' stick with stones an' carvins
an' stuff.  An' he's got a sword to. He puts that on under his coat an' ya
can't hardly see it.

        "Isn't that illegal?" Lance asks.

        "Yep." Toby says an' locks up his car an' gets in the van without
another word. Lance looks at me a little nervous. I just shrug. What's ta
say?

     It's 3:00 in the afternoon an' we're makin' our way through traffic
with Toby drivin' an' Chris holdin' the candle. We've been doin' this for
about an hour an' the candle's still burnin' strong. Nobody's said
much. We're all just sorta watchin' the candle burn, an tellin' Toby which
way to turn. It's weird seein' it burnin' sideways like that. The longer I
have to watch it the freakier it's gettin'. We're not exactly in a good
section of town here. The buildings are all kinda old an' the few people
that we see outside the car look kinda...Felonious. Big word. The candle
flame is turnin' to the right.

        "Turn right." We all tell Toby in unison. I look right an' see an
alley. An' Justin! He's just standin' there leanin' against a wall. He sees
us an' quick ducks into the alley.

        "THERE HE IS!" Lance an' I shout together,"STOP THE CAR!"

        "WHERE!?!" the others yell.

        "In the alley! Over there!" Again in unison.

        "Hang on!" says Toby. We're thrown forward as the car slams into
reverse. We're thrown backward as it stops. We're parked at the curb. Not
well, but tough shit! Toby's already out of the van an' headin, for the
alley.  The rest of us jump out an' tear after him. It's a tight alley. It
doesn't go all the way through to the next street, an' Justin is nowhere to
be seen.  There's a turn in the alley an' Toby slides to a stop as he takes
it. The rest of us come up behind him bumpin' into each other like the Marx
brothers.  That's when I see the three men, an' Justin standin' behind
'em. The men have guns. ShiT!

        "Well, well," says Justin in a relaxed voice." You found me." He
claps his hands an' says "Hurray for you. You didn't honestly think I
wouldn't expect you? Or that I wouldn't take precautions?" He shakes his
head grinnin'.  "I don't have time for your futile attempts at heroics, and
I won't have you jeopardizing my plans."

        "Justin!" J.C. shouts,"Fight him! You can fight him!" Justin stops
for a second. He shakes his head an' puts his hands to his ears, swayin' a
little. He holds out his hand toward us. Toby draws his sword.

        "J.C." Justin says in a small voice with a look of desperation,
which, changes, slowly, to a feral grin. "Kill them." The bad guys level
their guns.

        "Uh, Toby? Sword, Gun fight!" Lance says.

        "DOWN!" Toby shouts an' whips his hand out throwin' a green powder
into the air. It billows out, coverin' the bad guys as I dive to the
ground.  *ClickClickClick*ClickClickClickClick*ClickClick* The guns aren't
firin'! I look up to see Toby start movin'. The bad guys look pretty
surprised. Toby swings an' the guy on his right drops his gun. An' his hand
with it. Man!  Look at all the Blood! "Ouch!" says Toby as he swings his
sword around an' drives it in at the guy in the center. It's goin' for his
gut. The guy jumps back an' yelps. I don't think it hurt him though...OH MY
GOD!! Don't be sick! Don't be si...To late. bLAauAgH!!!...Pull it together
Joey, Pull it together! I'm on my knees wipin' puke from my mouth.

        "Let go *Fucker*!" It's Toby. I look up an' see the last guy's got
Toby's sword arm with one hand an' Toby's hair with the other. Now that
ain't fair. Toby stomps on the bad guy's foot an' the guy lets go of his
hair, but they're still fightin' for the sword. I see an old liquor bottle
out of the corner of my eye an' grab it. I cock my hand back to throw. I
can't get a clear shot.

        "DUCK TOBY!" Lance yells. Toby doesn't even look. He goes down to
his knees like he knows what's happenin'. I throw. *CrAsH*! Glass sparkles
as it showers off the bad guy's head. Toby stands, jerkin' his sword around
an' slices the guy's neck an' chest. He goes down fast.

        "Ha! Ha! Good Show!" Justin says clappin'. How'd he get up on the
roof? "I guess I'll see you later." He steps back from the edge of the
buildin' disappearin'. The smell of blood an' the shit from the second guys
guts almost make me puke again. I'm a little dizzy. Toby's kneelin' by one
of the bad guys goin' through his pockets. I manage to stand. I still feel
a little queasy, an' see'n the bodies...God, Toby did all that.

        "You killed them." Chris says. Toby looks over from where he's
kneelin'. Still lookin' at us, he wipes his sword on the dead guy. Lance
an' Chris both look pretty green. Their expression is 'bout what I guess
mine is, shock, disgust. J.C. just has a cold look in his eyes. I don't
think that's good.

        "Yes," says Toby,"Would you rather I'd let them kill us and left
Justin to the daemon?"

        "No," says chris,"It's just..." Toby stands an' sheaths his sword.
He's got somethin' in his hand. Looks like a matchbook.

        "C'mon, we better go." he says.

        "The candle again?" Lance asks as Toby walks past us toward the
car.

        "No,"Toby says,"The Pit."

        "The Pit?" I say.

        "It's a bar...Satanists." Somehow that doesn't make me feel any
less shaky. Damn, two days ago I was just an international singin'
star. Now look at me. I catch up with Lance as we walk.

        "Ya okay guy?" I say puttin' my arm over his shoulder.

        "I guess. As okay as I can be. What about you?"

        "I don't know Lanceton. I don't know." We go the rest of the way to
the car in silence. J.C. gives me a weak smile as I get in. I pat his
shoulder an' sit down. Toby gets in the driver's seat again. He buckles his
seat belt an' starts the van. As we pull out into the light traffic, Chris
leans up.

        "I guess we should be glad he's on *our* side." He whispers with a
glance at Toby. An' you know, that kinda makes me feel better. I don't know
why exactly, except maybe because I know he *is* on our side. He saved our
lives back there. I know he only did what he had to do. I hope to God I can
do the same when the time comes.

     We stop on a back street in an even worse part of town then we...the
we were b'fore. Toby shuts off the engine an' turns in the seat to look at
us.

        "Guys, I know what you just saw was bad." he says," I just want you
to know, that if any of you decide you can't go any further I'll
understand. I haven't always done this you know. I had a first time to. I
remember how bad it is, how you get sick, how you feel afterwards." Jeez!
How could anyone forget somethin' like this. I never will, Never. What was
Toby's first time like? I can't ask that though. "I'm saying this because
it's only going to get worse. If you can't do this then it would be best
for all of us, and for Justin, if you go now. We can't afford to have
anyone breaking down in the middle of a confrontation. Now just sit for a
second, close your eyes and try to relax." I do what he says. Well, the
relaxin' part isn't happennin. "Now ask yourself this. 'Can I handle this?
Can I do whatever it takes until this is finished?'"

     Can I handle this? Can I do whatever it takes...The scene from a few
minutes ago flashes through my mind. The alley, the bad guys, the
blood. Can I handle that again? I barely handeled it then. I did though,
but can I do it again. Can I watch more people die...like that? I don't
know. I open my eyes an' look around the van. In the passenger seat Lance
still has his eyes closed. He's thinkin' really hard, I can tell by the way
his mouth is set in that grimace. I look at chris in the seat beside
me. He's just lookin' at his hands. As I look to the back seat where
J.C. is he starts to talk....


The Price and the Prize Chapter 3; part 2:

     ...Can I handle this? Can I do whatever it takes...The scene from a
few minutes ago flashes through my mind. The alley, the bad guys, the
blood. Can I handle that again? I barely handled it then. I did though, but
can I do it again. Can I watch more people die...like that? I don't know. I
open my eyes an' look around the van. In the passenger seat Lance still has
his eyes closed. He's thinkin' really hard, I can tell by the way his mouth
is set in that grimace. I look at Chris in the seat beside me. He's just
lookin' at his hands. As I look to the back seat where J.C. is he starts to
talk.

        "Whatever it takes," J.C. says calmly,"I'll do whatever it takes
until Justin is back." There's no doubt there, just truth.

        "My Grandma used to say," says Chris, still lookin' down at his
hands, "My Grandma used to say,'If a man doesn't fight for what he believes
I'll call him a dog. If a dog fight's for what he believes in, him I'll
call a man."  She also used to say,'It's not enough to see path and accept
it. You have to *choose* your path, and that means walking it.'" I don't
know if I completely understand what he's sayin' there, but I get the
idea. "You know, I always believed in doing what was right. Being good and
all that. At least trying to anyway. Part of that is if I see something
wrong I should try to fix. Well there's something wrong here, Really
wrong. I can't just sit back and do nothing." Damn Chris, that's like
poetic an' shit. I mean I know Chris can do that, be poetic an' give
speeches. He has a way with words when he wants to.  He just doesn't
usually want to. I look up an' Lance is lookin' at me. I know what he's
gonna say b'fore he opens his mouth. He's got that look in his eyes.  Once
that's there there's no changin' his mind, no matter what.

        "Your right Chris." he says,"And, and I know you guys don't all
believe in God the way I do. And maybe this is just some sort of
rationalization, but I can't help thinking that these dreams I have, the
things I see, that they're sent so I can know what's happening and do
something to make a difference. It's like you said Chris, I can't just sit
back and do nothing. Especially with Justin..." Okay, so I didn't know
exactly what he was gonna say. Everybody's lookin' at me now. My turn to
decide. I have to make my choice, choose my path an' walk it. Can I do
this? Lookin' around at the faces of my friends an' seein' Justin's face
missin' there's only one answer. I look at Toby. Our eyes meet. God, his
eyes are so deep.  It's like I can see his soul. There's sadness there,
like he doesn't want us to do this. Like he'd rather die than drag us into
this. He's strong though.  An' so am I. Path chosen. I just nod my
head. It's like I can feel the world changin'. I guess it really is like
Toby said, there's no goin' back.

        "Alrighty then," Toby sighs," J.C., there's a brown leather bag in
the back there. Could you pass it up here please?"

        "Is this it?" J.C. asks as he passes a bag forward.

        "That's it," Toby says as he sets it on his lap an' opens it
up."Since you bone heads are dead set on joining me in this insanity,
you'll need a little protection." He rummages in the bag an' starts handin'
us little crystal necklaces. Their nice, not exactly my style but
hey."Damn," he says,"One short." He looks at Lance, who didn't get a
necklace, nods to himself an' pulls off one of his rings."Here, you can
wear this." *Not* fair! Lance gets to wear his ring. Jeez Joey c'mon. It's
not like Lance is *wearin’ his ring*. ugh!

        "It won't fit." Lance says."Too big."

        "It won't fit at all." Toby says.

        "Nope." Lance demonstrates by slidin' the ring easily on an' off
his thumb.

        "O-kay then," Toby says, takin' the ring back,"Who wears a size
12?"

        "I Do!" That was *way* to excited Joey. I start blushin' slightly
an' I see Lance an' Chris grinnin', but Toby doesn't seem to notice
anythin'.

        "Necklace." Toby says holdin' out the ring. I take off the necklace
an' hand it to him, takin' the ring an' puttin' it on the middle finger of
my right hand. It's a perfect fit, an' a cool ring to. It's a thick silver
dragon wrapin' around my finger with bright green stones for it's eyes.

        "Alright then," says Toby,"I'm going to go in there and see what I
can find out. You guys wait for me out here and..."

        "Bull Shit!" says J.C.,"I am *not* sitting out here in this van
while you go in there alone and try to save Justin."

        "Yah, what if you get in trouble again?" says Chris.

        "Like in the alley." I throw in.

        "If your alone," says Lance,"Who's gonna throw the bottle?"

        "Fine," Toby says chucklin',"But you do exactly what I say to in
there. There may not be anyone there at four in the afternoon, but there
may just be. And remember, this is a bar for Satanists, and these are the
low end of that particular spectrum. Just try and be ready for anything,
and don't do anything rash. Understand?"

        "Yes." we all say together.

        "Jeez," I say,"Try to be ready for anythin'. You sound like a boy
scout Toby."

        "Six years," he says.

        "You were a boy scout?" says Chris.

        "No way!" says J.C..

        "If you find that hard to believe," Toby says as he slips out of
the van,"I probably shouldn't bother mentioning my time as a choir boy."

        "Choir Boy!" But he's already shut the door.

     The door to The Pit is in a another alley. This one is a through alley
though so I can see the other street. The name is painted above the door in
red paint so that the letters look like they're drawn in blood. How nice.
Toby walks up an' knocks on the door with his walkin' stick. When it opens
this huge guy with a shaved head an' red eyes steps out...Red Eyes?!
Contacts, they gotta be contacts. I hope. "We're closed." he says.

        "Not for us." Toby says meetin' the door guys red glare with a
steady gaze,"Tell Lucio Lancelot's here to speak with."

        "I don't care who you is. You ain't gettin' in." door guy says.
Toby half turns toward us restin' his hands on the top of his walkin'
stick.

        "Well guys," he says,"I guess he's gonna make us do this the hard
way." That quick Toby's hands move. The end of his walkin' stick slams up
into door guys balls. I think he actually left the ground."Ouch." Toby
says.

        "OooHhhh!" we all gasp in sympathy. As the door guy doubles over
Toby swings his stick up an' clocks him on the back of the head. Door guy
goes down fast an' hard.

        "So much for the hard way." Toby says. Sarcastic bastard. I love
it!  he steps through the now open door. Lance moves somethin' red with the
toe of his shoe. One of door guys contacts fell out. That's a relief. We
follow Toby through the door. It's dark, but not too bad. We're in a short
hall with another door at the end. As Toby opens it I can hear voices stop
talkin'.

        "Shit!" one of them says. AS we step into the bar behind Toby I can
see five people. There's a woman an' three men sittin' at the bar an'
another guy b'hind it. They look kinda scary. "You're not welcome here."
says the guy b'hind the bar.

        "I know that Lucio. How's your hand by the way?" Toby says, almost
managin' to sound like he cares. Lucio clenches his right hand, which is
missin' a couple of fingers an' looks damn pissed.

        "Fuck you! Get out of my bar!" The four sittin' at the bar get up
an' spread out in front of us. One of 'ems 'bout bigger than door guy.

        "Doesn't have to be this way Lucio," Toby says quickly, an' I see
his grip on his stick tighten,"I just want some information then we're
gone."

        "That's it?" Toby nods,"Follow me then." Lucio says, as he walks to
a door in the back wall. They go in an' shut the door. So we're standin'
out here with these horror movie cast offs wonderin' what to do. I know,
I'll give 'em my 'I'm gonna kick your ass' look. It's been awhile since
I've used it on anyone but the guys an' the road crew, an' none of them
take me seriously, but what the hell. Here goes...Somehow I don't think
they're very impressed. Oh sure, I look tough next to Chris Lance an' J.C.,
but compared to these guys I prob'ly look like Roger Rabbit. I guess it
worked a little though 'cause two of the guys are kinda steppin' up. Yes!
Ego boost! The big guys standin' in front of Chris though I can't help but
think David an' Goliath. The girl's stepped She leans in an' runs a hand
down his chest. J.C. doesn't even flinch.  Damn, the boys be hard. She's at
his belt now an' she isn't stoppin'. He takes a step back an' she gets this
wicked smile.

        "Whad ya do wit Russel?" says the big guy to Chris.

        "He's sleeping outside," says Chris right back to him.

        "Shit," says one of the guys in front of me. He brushes past me on
the way to the door. I brace for it, but he still moves me.

     *BoOoMm!* A gunshot from the back room! "TOBY!" J.C. an' I shout
together.

        "It's Ti-ime." The girl sing-songs. An' I'm grabbed from b'hind!
Damn I shoulda seen that comin' a mile away.  *CaUgOof!* Punch to the gut
from the guy still in front of me. Suck it up Joey! Suck it up! I take a
deep breath even though it hurts like hell. The girl's got a knife! She
swings at J.C., an' he jumps back, but I think I see blood. The big guy
grabs Chris an' swings smashes him into the bar hard. I can't see
Lance. Gotta Act! I stomp down hard on the foot of the guy who's holdin'
me. He lets go with one arm. I jab at the guy in front of me. Right To The
Nose! Blood sprays an' he goes down.  One Shot! Way To Go Joe! I reach up
with my right hand an' grab the hair of the guy b'hind me an' pull hard so
that his face is over my shoulder.

     *WaCk!wAcK!WaCk!* Three strikes you're out! Especially when they're
straight to the face. He goes limp an' I let him fall. J.C's backed up
against a wall an' that bitch is still goin' at him.  *CrAsH!* Chris is
still against the bar but the big guy's backed off a step. Chris reaches
back an' grabs another bottle of somethin' an' smashes it over the big guys
head as he lunges again.  *cRaSh!* Glass shatters an' liquor goes
everywhere. Chris spins out away from the guy an' when he stops he's facin'
the guy with a lit match in his hand. Where did Chris get matches? He
doesn't smoke. Oh! The matches from this mornin'! Chris an' the big guy
lock eyes for a second, the big guy's drenched in alcohol an' Chris's got
the match. He wouldn't. The guys lunges at Chris again. HE'S INSANE! Chris
throws the match an' dives to the side. It looks like he's tryin' to avoid
the match but it's too late!

     *FuWoOoMf!* He goes up like a, like a...like a guy who's been doused
with liquor an' had a match dropped on him. He stumbles backward into the
bar an' the liquor that spilled there goes up to.

     *CrAcK!* Aaaaaghh! J.C.! I spin around an' see him still against the
wall, but the girl' on the ground at his feet craddlin' her *badly* broken
arm. The knife's on the floor an' Lance, who's standin' there with a broken
pool-que, kicks it away. "Go Lanceton!" I shout.

     *WaWoOmF!* There's a brilliant flash of light from the door that Lucio
an' Toby went in. The door, slowly, falls, into, the room. *Thump* Smoke
pours outta the room. Okay, so smoke's pretty much everywhere what with
half the bar on fire now. There's a figure in the door. Toby! He steps out
into the room with his walkin' stick in one hand an' a shotgun in the
other. "Yah!" I shout.  He looks around an' shakes his head.

        "I told you not to do anything rash." he says. He walks over to us
ignorin' the flames an' the heat like they aren't even there. God he's
cool!  "We should go." he says. DUH! We're on fire here! An' he walks
out. The rest of us start out an' I almost trip over the two guys I knocked
out. Shit, We can't leave 'em here. I look for the girl, but she's nowhere
to be seen, an' it was too late for the big guy as soon as he hit that
match. So I grab one of the guys in a firemen's carry, I see Lance grab the
other an' we head for the door coughin' from the smoke. We make it outside
with Chris an' J.C.  right in front of us. Toby's leanin' on the wall a
little ways down the alley.  He grins as we drop the guys to the pavement
an' cough out the last of the smoke. Then he looks upset.

        "Fuck J.C., you're bleeding!" Chris says. An' boy is he! He's
holdin' his right arm up to his chest an' it's covered in blood from the
elbow down.

        "Yah," he says, in a shaky voice,"She kinda cut me."

        "C'mon," says Toby, comin' over to help support J.C.,"Let's get you
to the car."

     We get to the van an' Toby pulls the keys an' pops the hatch. We sit
J.C.  on the bumper. Toby grabs one of his bags an' he starts pullin' out
gauze, tape, rags an' some funny lookin' bottles. He pulls a knife from
somewhere an' cuts J.C.'s sleeve away. He grabs some of the rags an starts
cleanin' away the blood which is still comin' out steady. Why do I get the
idea he's done this b'fore "Okay," he says,"It's not as bad as it looks,
but you do need stitches. Now we can take you to a hospital and spend the
rest of the day filling out papers and trying to explain how this happened
or we can go to a friend of mine and not have to say a thing."

        "Hospital." Lance says.

        "Does your friend know what he's doing?" J.C. asks through his
teeth.

        "Yes," Toby says, as he pours some sweet smellin' power over the
cut which pretty much stops the bleedin' right away, an' make J.C. suck in
his breath an wobble a little. Lance reaches out to steady him.

        "Then we go there. Fast." J.C. hisses.

        "No way!" Lance says,"You can't just..."

        "SHUT UP LANCE!" J.C. shouts. An' he does. Toby finishes wrappin'
J.C.'s arm an' starts shovin' things back inn the bag. Chris helps
J.C. into the back seat of the van. We all jump in an we're off. It's not a
very long ride, an' nobody says a word. I know Lance isn't happy that we're
not goin' to the hospital, but he keeps it to himself. Chris is just
lookin' out the window. We're all lookin' back checkin' on J.C. who's
holdin' up real well considerin'.

        "We're here." Toby says as we pull up in front of what I think is a
free clinic. We get J.C. inside as quick as we can an' Toby passes two
nurses to get to a third who seems to know him. They whisper to each other
an' she hands him a set of keys an' takes J.C. into the back. Toby motions
for us to follow him an' we do. We end up in what looks like a small
conference room an' Toby shuts the door. "Nobody'll bother us back here."
He takes off his coat an' sword an' I take that as a cue to get
comfortable."Now," he says," what exactly happened in the bar?" Lance,
Chris an' I look at each other like a bunch of who think they're in trouble
an' then we explain.

        "I had to throw the match," Chris says as we finish,"He gave me no
choice."

        "There's always a choice,"Toby says,"But I think you did the right
thing. It's not like those guys were just trying to give you some luvin'"

        "No," says Cris,"That they weren't."

        "That's good,"says Lance,"They weren't my type anyway." Lance made
a Funny! I can't help but chuckle. Toby, Chris, an' Lance chuckle to.

        "Most excellent," says Toby slappin' Lance on the back,"Humer is
just what we need right now." He stands an' stretches his body like a cat.
*mmmm* Oh! Get your mind outta the gutter Joey! "I need some fresh air," he
says,"There's a bakery not far from here. You guys want some doughnuts or
something?"

        "After what I've seen today," Lance says,"I can't believe I'm
saying this, but food sounds really darn good right now!"

        "Really darn good," Toby chuckles.

        "Yah!" Chris says, rubbin' his stomach,"I can't believe it either,
but it does"

        "Joey? You wanna come with?" Toby says. He asked me to come with
him.  Of course I wanna come with him. Ooh, word play!

        "Uh, yah. Sure." We grab our coats an' we start out the door.

        "Toby," Lance says,"Question."

        "Yah?"

        "Those guys back there, that we pulled from the fire."

        "Yah?"

        "You would have left them in there to burn wouldn't you?" I can't
tell if Lance is just curious about this or if he's upset.

        "*I*," Toby says,"Wouldn't have knocked them out." Lance looks at
him for a second an' says.

        "Fair enough." An' we're out the door.

     We stop by the nurses' desk to see if they want any, but the say no so
we head on out. Out on the street the sun is just settin' an' it's makin'
the asphalt shimmer an' the windows shine. Part of me want's to say this
day never happened, wants to shut it down deep in my mind an' forget
'bout. I'd love to just wake up an' have it all be a dr...

        "So..." Toby says. So much for that train of thought. That's okay.
Out of all the things I've seen today, Toby's the only thing I wouldn't
wanna wake up from. They kinda go together though don't they. So is the
prize worth the price? What am I sayin', there is no prize, I mean...

        "How are you holding up?

        "Oh, uh, fine. I guess. I mean..."

        "Yeah, I understand."

        "Listen Toby, Thanx."

        "Thanks? For what?"

        "Well, for everythin' you've done for us, for what you're doin'"

        "Oh. no problem. Besides, we're not done yet."

        "I know, but, well...Thanx" We get to the bakery an' pick up some
stuff, an start back."

        "Toby, can I ask you a question? It's kinda personal."

        "Uh, sure."

        "Do you have any family?"

        "I have a brother."

        "What about your parents?"

        "They're dead."

        "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean bring up bad stuff."

        "You didn't know."

        "Did, did it happen', 'cause of this stuff, the majik an' stuff?"

        "Yes. No more questions please, not, not about that. You can ask
other things, just, no more about that."

        "Sorry." We walk a little in silence.

        "So Joey, is it true what they say about boy bands?" He says with
mischievous grin. *wow*

        "Uh, whadda ya mean?" Am I blushin' yet?

        "You know. The sexual stuff."

        "Uh, well,"

        "I'm just playin' with you." he says chucklin'.

        "Would it matter? If it were true?" We've stopped just outside the
clinic.

        "Nah!" he says openin' the door,"It wouldn't bother me at all, not
being gay myself." BINGO!

        "Waitwaitwaitwait. You're...?"

        "Yah, that's not a problem is it?"

        "No!" I look around to make sure nobody's lookin' an' shut the door
before I say,"I'm bi."

        "Really? I, kind of wondered."

        "Yah, I was actin' kinda goofy huh?"

        "A little, not too bad."

        "Well, uh, I, um, I'm, really attracted to you." Now I'm blushin'.
Hey, Toby is too!

        "Wow, thank you. Actually," he leans in real close an' whispers,"
I'm attracted to you to." *WOW* He swings the door open,"We better get
inside, J.C.'s probably all set."

        "Yah," I say, smilin' like an idiot. Hmmm, the price an' the prize.
They might just be evenin' out.


                         End Chapter 3