Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 19:45:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Marvel Knights: Era of Hatred 9

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction.  It has no intentions of
resembling any real persons dead or alive.  This is entirely from my
imagination, with a little help from already established sources.  This
story is based loosely on the comic book character "The Punisher" from
Marvel Comics.  Other characters may appear from Marvel comics as well as
DC Comics.

Punisher and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.

Blade and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel copyright Joss Whedon, United Paramount
Network and Warner Bros. Respectively.

The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice.
Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.

I have written another story on nifty entitled "Tales of a Real Dark
Knight".  It is in the Celebrity/Boy Bands section.  Batman may appear in
this story once or twice, as the Punisher may appear in "Tales of a Real
Dark Knight".  Any comments may be sent to authorjames2002@yahoo.com

Thank you and enjoy.

Chapter 9 Ryfin's Affect

	"What...do you want...with me?" Blade asked the young man as he
was being tied up by two Lanithro demons.
	"Your blood, Mr. Blade," he replied.  "Also your ear, if you don't
mind.  See, I think you and I are on the same side.  You just don't know it
yet."
	"What do you mean?"
	"We both fight for the good side.  We seek to destroy evil.  And we
both have some type of supernatural ability to do it.  You, you're half
vampire.  So you have speed and strength that humans can only dream of.  I
have the magics at my disposal."
	"Your point being?"
	"My point is this.  Together, we can destroy the world of evil and
make it a safer place.  Well, we can destroy the evil in Columbus.  I don't
think we have the ability yet to destroy evil in the world.  But give us
time.  We can do many great things given the chance."
	"I know what you are trying to destroy.  You are killing
homosexuals.  Do you think that is right?"
	"Homosexuality or killing the vermin who practice?"
	"Killing the innocent people you think are vermin."
	"Oh, they are most certainly not innocent, I can assure you.  There
are many things that you don't know about.  For example, most gay men are
sluts.  They turn sex into an act of lust, taking away from it the love
that is supposed to be the central emotion.  Second, they treat everyone
else as being abnormal.  What, so straight people are bad because they
don't love the way we, I mean, they do?"
	Blade smiled.  Ryfin slipped up.
	"Gay people are good for only one thing, sucking cock.  They serve
no purpose in this life other than sex slaves.  And for that, they should
be annihilated."  "And how are you to do that?"
	"The amulet's power can only be accessed using blood.  I was able
to do some with the Lanithro.  I figured it would be enough to just
massacre everyone at the Pride Parade.  However, you and your band of
heroes decided you didn't like how I was doing things.  Well, tough shit!
No one else is doing jack about it, except the Christian protestors.  And
that isn't doing much.
	"So I fall back on plan number two, the more potent, the more
deadly plan.  The ancient texts say that vampire's blood will activate the
Ashtoroth amulet and the Lanithro will become very powerful.  All their
abilities will be at my disposal and I can do whatever needs to be done to
rid this world of homosexuals."
	"What's it like for you?" Blade asked the youth.
	"What do you mean?"
	"I know you are gay.  All of us do.  We talked with Dorian and he
told us everything."
	"That bastard," Ryfin muttered.
	"What you did wasn't disgusting, Ryan.  What you did was natural to
you.  Men sexually arouse you.  There are countless others like you, not to
mention women who are aroused by men.  Its okay."
	"Do you know what he made me feel like?  Do you know how humiliated
I was while I sucked him?  He treated me like a sex object!  I was nothing
more to him than a means to get off!  How wrong is that?!"
	"For some, that's all sex is.  Whether it is right or wrong, I
don't know.  If people are hut by it, I would interpret it as wrong.  If,
however, both are willing participants in sex just for the sake of sex, who
am I to say it is wrong?"
	"You are to say it is wrong because you are a heterosexual man with
power!  Isn't that what the government is all about?  Isn't it heterosexual
men who make up the laws, who dictate what is right and wrong?"
	"No," Blade answered flatly.  "It just so happens that a majority
of our leaders are heterosexual men.  And many of them are supportive of
gay rights.
	"Plus, I'm not heterosexual."
	"You are a queer?" Ryfin replied incredulously.
	"No, I'm bisexual.  Where do I and the many others like me fit into
your scheme?  Are we to be killed like homosexual?  Many of us are with the
same sex.  Or are we to be spared like the heterosexuals?  Many are
involved with the opposite sex."
	Ryfin looked away thinking about it.
	"It isn't so black-and-white, is it?  Your ideas of right and wrong
don't apply to everyone now, do they?  What do you do with those who don't
fit into your assigned boxes?"

	The Marvel Knights, save one, came out of their locker rooms
wearing their demon-hunting uniforms.  Harris and Whistler manned the
computer terminals.
	"Do we drive there?" Dagger asked Cloak.
	"We don't know what Ryfin is doing with Blade," Whistler answered.
"Is there any way you can get their faster?"
	"I have an idea," Cloak answered.  "I can create the dark portals.
Perhaps it is possible to use it to travel."
	"Are you sure about that?" Whistler replied.
	"Let me try."
	Cloak threw up his cloak and held his hands out.  The darkness
seemed to emanate from him and then envelop him.  He disappeared and, a
moment later, appeared on the other side of the room.
	"I'll take that as a yes," Whistler said.  "How do you feel?"
	"Perfectly fine."
	"Do you think you can make the distance from here to wherever
Ryfin's hideout is?"
	"I think so.  All I did was will wear I wanted to go and that's
where I went.  Since I know where Ryfin is, we should be able to get there
relatively quick."
	"All right."
	Punisher, who was all dressed and ready to go with his weaponry,
Ghost Rider, and Dagger stood next to Cloak.  Marvel Boy walked up to
Harris.
	"I'll do what I can to help Ryan."  He leaned down and kissed his
perfectly normal, perfectly wonderful boyfriend.  Then he joined the others
next to Cloak.  He reached over and took Dagger's hand, who reached over
and grabbed Ghost Rider's hand.  Punisher grabbed onto Ghost Rider's free
hand and grasped Cloak's cloak.  Marvel Boy grasped Cloak's cloak as well
and then the mutant-wizard threw up his hands.  The darkness emanated from
him and enveloped him and his friends.  They could see and feel nothing
except the grasp of their partners' hands.  In a moment, they were
enveloped by the darkness.
	The Marvel Knights suddenly appeared outside an old, beat up house.
A rickety barn sat in the distance.  They released their grips on one
another and touched themselves to make sure they were alive and in one
piece.
	"That was cool!" Marvel Boy replied.
	"That was weird," Dagger said.
	"That was quick," Ghost Rider stated.
	"Let's go," Punisher ended.
	The group nodded and followed Cloak's lead toward the house.
	"I think this is where Ryfin stays.  His Lanithro are in the barn
sleeping."
	"Do you know where Blade is?" Dagger asked.
	"No.  I could only stay in the demon's conscious long enough to see
this place.  If I had gone any closer, Ryfin would have detected my
conscience."
	"Be careful," Punisher stated, taking on the leadership role Blade
normally had.  On the man's back was the sword and sheath Blade normally
carried.  He planned on giving it back to the human/vampire when he saw
him.  And he knew he would see him.
	The group silently made their way toward the house.  Punisher's
military training kicked in and he formulated a strategy.
	"Let's split up and take different sides of the house. Cloak, take
one side. Ghost Rider another, Dagger another and Marvel Boy and I will get
the front."
	Everyone agreed and Cloak, Dagger and Ghost Rider made their way
around the house.
	"Here," Punisher said handing Marvel Boy a gun.
	"No thanks."
	"You are going to need something to attack the Lanithro."
	"I don't like guns, especially after getting shot."
	"I've been shot before.  It gives me a greater respect for guns."
	"My answer is no."
	"Very well."
	The two walked toward the front door, climbing up the steps.
Punisher pointed for Marvel Boy to stand look inside the window.  Marvel
Boy nodded and peeked around the edge of the window.  Looking back to
Punisher, the mutant nodded negatively.  Giving the boy a nod, Punisher
stepped up to the front door and kicked it in, gun ready.

	Ghost Rider walked to the back of the house and looked through the
windows.  The house looked empty.  He tried the doorknob and it turned so
he slowly opened the door.

	Ryfin turned away and looked out the window.  He saw Cloak looking
through the windows.  His brow creased in anger.
	"We have interlopers."
	Ryfin turned to Blade.  His eyes glowed an eerie green.

	Dagger prepared to climb through the window when a screeching sound
caught her attention.  She turned around and saw Lanithro flooding out of
the barn toward the house.
	"Oh, shit," she muttered.  She jumped through the glass and rolled
on the floor.

	Hearing the shattering of glass, Punisher ran to the dining room
where he saw Dagger pulling herself up.
	"What's wrong?" he asked.
	Dagger stood and brushed the shards of glass off her suit.  "That,"
she replied pointing out the window.
	Punisher turned and saw the demons heading for the house.
	"Oh, shit," he muttered.
	"That was my sentiment."
	Marvel Boy came in through the front followed by Cloak.  Ghost
Rider came in from the kitchen.
	"We have company coming," Punisher replied.  "Cloak, is there any
spell that would keep them from getting in?  We need to get to Ryfin and
break his control over them.  We are doomed if we can't stop him.  He
didn't hesitate to kill a bunch of homosexuals who didn't pose a threat to
him.  Can you imagine what he would do to us who do pose a threat?"
	"I'll try," Cloak replied.  He held his hands up and said,
"Contego!"
	A green shield formed around the house that the Lanithro could not
penetrate.  Several flew into the energy field to attempt to break through,
however, they could not.  Once the demons realized this, as well as Ryfin,
they began to pound on the energy.

	"It has to come down some time," Ryfin replied turning to his
prisoner.  The young man went to a cabinet standing in the corner.  He
opened it and pulled out a shotgun.  "I'm hip to the bronze age."
	"You can end this now, Ryan.  We can help you."
	"Unless you can cure me of being a fag, I'm afraid there's nothing
you can do."
	"You don't want to kill."
	"I'm tired of people telling me what I do and do not want to do.  I
know exactly what I want.  And nothing, not you or the energy shield,
nothing will stop me."
	"What about your friend Harris?"
	Ryfin stopped for a minute considering the name Blade used.
"Harris?"
	"Your best friend from elementary school."
	"Ah, yes.  I remember him.  How is he doing?"
	"He's doing well.  He works with us."
	"Does he know you are a bunch of faggots?"
	"Not everyone in our group is gay.  Several are heterosexual."
	"Harris, I presume.  He was always a good guy."
	"To be perfectly honest, he's gay.  And he has a boyfriend."
	"What?"  Ryfin looked as if Blade smacked him in the face.  "Harris
is..."
	"Gay.  Are you willing to kill him, too?"
	Ryfin gazed off for a minute.  Then he shook it off and addressed
Blade.  "I can't be swayed by personal feelings."
	"Are you stupid?!  Your motive for even doing this is your
feelings!  You need to get a grip and get some perspective on the
situation!"
	"Shut up!  You are confusing me!"
	"It isn't me who is confusing, Ryan.  Your motives are confusing
you.  The decision you have to make is confusing you.  Did you ever stop to
think that something you have believed is wrong?"
	Ryfin paused again.  Then he answered.  "You're right.  I shouldn't
let anyone get in my way, even if it is my best friend, or a family member.
All gay people need to die."
	"That isn't what I was going with," Blade muttered.
	"Did you say something?"
	"Yes, I did.  You picked the wrong thing to believe.  Being gay
isn't wrong, no matter what others tell you."
	"Others tell me being gay is right.  Should I not believe them,
too?"
	"But you were born this way!  All gay people were born this way!
It isn't a choice and it isn't wrong!  It's what makes you special and
unique!  It makes you who you are!  Are you wrong?"
	"If I'm gay, then, yes, I am wrong."
	"There is no reasoning with you," Blade stated.  "It doesn't matter
if you kill your best friend.  You don't care.  You are a selfish,
self-centered brat."
	Ryfin turned on Blade with his eyes ablaze.  "How dare you speak to
me like that?"
	"I know you've been hurt.  Everyone has been hurt.  But you can't
let that define your entire existence.  You do and you don't care."
	"I've been so humiliated by someone I was in love with!" Ryan
blared out.  "I loved Dorian!  And when I had the chance to have sex with
him, he told me exactly what I am and what I was good for!"
	"He isn't God!  He doesn't decide who is right and who is wrong!
That isn't his job!  It is your job to decide what is wrong and what is
right for you and you alone!  God made us that way, to decide for ourselves
what is right and what is wrong for each of us.  It isn't our job to
ascribe our standards on others.  Our job is treating others with respect,
respect for them as people and respect for their differences.  None of us
is God and God doesn't expect us to be gods."
	Ryfin looked out the window at the energy shield.  He heard the
sound of footsteps up the stairs and he turned.  "Too bad your friends
don't feel that way."
	Ryfin headed over to the door and bolted it shut.  He looked back
at Blade and moved to the chair across from him.  After sitting down, he
pulled his shoes and socks off.  He placed the barrel of the shotgun in his
mouth and placed his big toe on the trigger.
	"Don't," Blade muttered.  "Please, don't.  You don't have to..."

	A shot rang out from the room down the hallway.  The Marvel Knights
ran to the door and Punisher pushed on it.
	"It's bolted tight!"
	Ghost Rider walked up to the door, brought his fist back and let it
fly.  His fist went through the door.  He reached around and found the
locking mechanism.  Unlocking the door they opened it to find Blade sitting
in a chair.  A single tear ran down his cheek.
	"What happened?" Punisher asked.  His eyes followed the gaze of
Blade's and they found only Ryfin's body.  "My god," he whispered.
	The rest started into the room and Punisher waved them off.  "You
don't want to see it.  Cloak, perhaps you can do something about the
Lanithro.  Contact Whistler and find out where to send them."
	"Okay," Cloak turned with Dagger.
	Marvel Boy peeked inside and clutched his mouth with his hand.  He
ran down the corridor and outside where he vomited.
	Punisher walked up to Blade and unchained him.  Then he helped the
Daywalker out of the room and down the stairs.  Cloak stood with his arms
up in the air.  He brought the shield down and opened a portal sending the
Lanithro away.
	"What do we do about the necklace?" Cloak asked.
	"We should take it with us," Punisher replied.  "We can't risk it
falling into the wrong hands."
	"How do we break the news to Harris?" Dagger asked.
	"I'll do it," Marvel Boy replied.  "He's my boyfriend.  I should be
the one to tell him."
	"No," Blade answered.  "I was the last one with him.  Let me tell
Harris."

To Be Continued...