--------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is an entirely fictional story (as if you couldn't guess) and is not intended to imply anything about the sexuality of the members of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys and none of these events actually happened in real life. Some of the phrases, places and text are copyrighted to Tolkien (thank you to Kyriel2@aol.com for pointing out that I forgot to add this...). Also, the characters "Hercules", "Iolaus", "Lilith" and "Jason" are copyrighted to the show "Young Hercules" and all other companies associated with the show. This story has hints of homosexual content but will move slowly in that area because of the storyline. Comments and suggestions are welcomed and should be sent to ensstyenlc@hotmail.com If you are 18 or older, you may proceed to read the story. If you are under 18 years of age, shouldn't you be studying or at least at a Pokemon website rather than here? ;-) ___________________________________________________________________________ |The BSB NSYNC Chronicles - Chapter Nine| Kevin approached the deer slowly, cautiously. His feet made no sound through the grass as he made his way to the grazing doe. He stopped about five feet away and observed the doe's movements. He 'placed' himself in the mind of the deer, imagining that he could see, feel and know everything the doe knew. He approached even closer to the doe now, feeling his mind merge with her own. He reached out his hand as if to touch the doe, who looked at him calmly, without any fear. The doe jolted for a moment, looked at Kevin, then slumped fell forward, a well-placed, white arrow protruding from its head. Kevin seethed in anger and rushed to the arrow and pulled it out, hoping to catch a clue about who the hunter was. He felt the shaft of the arrow, from the tip until the feather. The arrow was light and well-balanced, the feather at the back firm to hold it steady. The arrowhead was strange to Kevin. He decided to keep the arrow and show it to Sebastian. Kevin's anger was even greater when no one came to claim the carcass. He patted the dead doe's head with reverance, and then left the clearing it had been in.
Sebastian glanced at the arrow that Kevin had handed him. He looked at Kevin who was ranting on and on about how the person had just killed the doe for sport since no one had claimed it. Sebastaian waited for him to stop, before he said, "The doe was not real."
Kevin looked at Sebastian strangely. "What do you mean 'not real'?"
"Just what I said, boy," Sebastian grinned. "That was a test. If you look carefully, you'll notice that there is no blood on the arrow."
"What kind of test?" Kevin almost shouted in rage. "A test in cruelty?!"
"It's a test to see if your training is over, and if you have learnt and put to practice what you have been taught," Sebastian said calmly. "It was also given to me by my teachers."
"So you gave me that test?" Kevin asked, still not believing. Sebastian shook his head.
"It was given to you by MY teachers," Sebastian said, smiling. "And you have passed this test with flying colours. Too bright colours, though, I might add."
"So what now?" Kevin asked, finally calming down.
"You are a Ranger now," Sebastian said. "Protectors of the innocent and such like that. If you could feel angry at an injustice done to animals, your sympathy towards humans has also risen considerably."
"That's great!" Kevin hollered. Cerberus began to bark happily at the seemingly crazed Kevin. Kevin picked up the poor dog and swung it in a circle, threw it up slightly into the air, caught it again and put it down, petting its head with enough force to drive a nail in. Cerberus playfully bit Kevin's ankle with the same amount of force that Kevin had used to pat Cerberus' head. Sebastian could not help but laugh at the sight of the man who had previously been howling with celebration but was now howling in pain, grasping his left ankle.
Kevin sat cross-legged, watching the sunset with Sebastian sitting next to him. Cerberus had his head on Kevin's thigh. Kevin was amazed at how Sebastian had just touched his wound and healed him. When he asked how to do that, Sebastian had just said, "You can only heal others, and you will have to learn that on your own. You will learn it when the time is right. I only taught you the basics, and now you must learn the rest yourself."
"Myself?" Kevin was startled and a little worried. "I won't be with you anymore?"
"Oh, you'll see me around now and then," Sebastian grinned, his eyes lighting up. "But I've taught you the basic and now it is time for you to go to another teacher. He is the best at what he does."
Wolverine? Kevin thought, remembering that that was what was said about Wolverine, or in this case, will be said.
"What will he be teaching me?" Kevin asked. "And why can't you teach it to me instead."
"He will teach you to fight and to use a bow," Sebastian replied. "I can't teach you because I'm too old and clumsy to teach you the fighting style he wants to teach you. And my failing eyesight prevents me from using a bow well. I would be a terrible teacher."
"Will you be coming with me?" Kevin asked, feeling sad that he would soon be leaving the man who was his friend and teacher. Sebastian nodded his head slowly, "But only for the first week or so. Just until you get comfortable around him."
"Thank you," Kevin said. "What's his name anyway? You never told me."
"His name is Gil Narelen," Sebastian replied. "You met his brother I believe?"
Kevin's eyes narrowed in slight anger. "That bastard left us to die."
Sebastian sighed, remembering the many times he had tried to convince Kevin that everything was for the better because of the splitting up of the group. He began to repeat what he had always said during those times but Kevin cut him off. "I supposed you're right, though. Like you said, if my friends and I weren't seperated, we probably would not have become who we are today, even though I don't know what has become of everyone. I'm gonna trust what you told me that the elves know where everyone else is and are certain that they are fine."
Sebastian smiled at Kevin. "I'm so proud of you."
Kevin and Sebastian talked for a short while more until the sun set before they both went to sleep under the stars.
Kevin stared at the field in front of him. There were many flowers of all different colours, but the colours somehow seemed a bit too cartoonish. He walked forward, the flowers parting for him as he walked. He saw a figure walking towards him from a distance, though he could not figure out what it was. He walked a little quicker, the flowers parting for him every step of the way. The figures seemed to be running towards him as well. He recognised it as Brian. Kevin opened his mouth to shout out Brian's name, but no sound came out. He and Brian walked towards each other until they were standing facing each other. Brian was wearing a black robe, and his lips were black as well, puzzling Kevin even more.
"Brian?" Kevin spoke, his voice seemed quiet and small. Brian smiled at Kevin, but his smile gave Kevin the shivers. Brian did not speak but drew out a long, curved knife. Kevin began to back away from Brian, but every step back he took, Brian took one forward. Suddenly, Brian sliced the knife towards Kevin's heart. Kevin instinctly used his right arm to block the knife and it stabbed deep into his forearm. He gave a loud howl of pain that caused the petals of all the flowers to fall of. Brian's eyes held a wicked gleam and he began to slice the knife at Kevin again. Kevin tried to fight Brian and hold of the knife as well. He punched Brian's temples twice but Brian did not even flinch. Despair began to flood through Kevin's body and he fell to his knees. Brian walked up to him and raised the knife into the air, reading to stab Kevin's head.
"And now, dear cousin, now you die," Brian's voice sounded evil and Kevin's hair stood, his goosepimples rising. The knife lowered itself quickly towards Kevin's brain. A metallic clanging sound caught Kevin's attention and he looked up. He saw a tall, slender young man standing beside him, wielding two scimitars. One of the scimitars was what the knife had clanged into and the man's second scimitar was at Brian's throat.
"Begone, demon," the melodic, beautiful voice of the man resonated throughout the dreamworld. Brian shivered, dropped the knife and shattered, leaving only a creature with yellow eyes. The creature was pure black and had a face so menacing that Kevin began to shake with fear. The man was unconcerned, however. His bright blue eyes stared at the creature who cowered under his gaze.
"Begone, minion of darkness," The man said. "Bring your foul darkness with you and leave this place. This area of the Dreamworld is no longer open to you."
The black creature shrieked and began to wither away. The last thing that Kevin heard was the word "Haykayti"
The world seemed to fade around Kevin. He looked at the man with silent thanks. The man smiled at him and said, "I'll see you in the morning. For now, I will protect your dreams."
Kevin awoke, breathing heavily. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. As his hand moved away from his head, he noticed a large scar running lengthwise just under his wrist on the underside of his forearm. The was another scar on the top of his forearm, parallel to the one underneath. He realised that his arm was hurting. He looked down on the ground to see what he could have cut his arm on. It was the curved knife held by the demon, and there was dried blood on its blade.
Lance's green and black leather armour seeming to absorb the light that filtered into the dome from the sun as he stepped into one of the many crystal domes that dotted the village of Caeranos. Not that Lance would have considered it a village, mind you. Caeranos boasted a community of over two hundred thousand neighbourhoods, each neighbourhood consisting of one hundred or so sub-communities. Each sub-community consisted of about fifty thousand families of Faerie Folk. Caeranos could have easily been called a country in Lance's estimation. He placed his shortsword and ten throwing knives into a niche in the wall. The niche closed and glowed, replicating all his weapons to the exact detail. The solid illusions appeared in front of Lance and he wielded his short sword. He placed the slim throwing knives (which seemed to be more like darts than knives) into a leather strap with pockets for each knife which he wore just over his left bicep. The knives were designed to be highly accurate for throwing, even for a beginner. Even the location of the body where they were to be kept was convienient because the position of the left arm reaching for the knives also put it in the perfect position for throwing. The design was so effective that Lance could throw two knives before the enemy could even think of blinking. He stepped under a crystal doorway that made him think of a metal detector at an airport. As he stepped under it, a bluish-purple light shone over him. A bright yellow bar appeared overhead of the dome where he and anyone else in the dome could see without any distraction. He waited for his dark-haired companion to place his weapons into another niche. The white glow emanating from the niche announced the copying of the two raztars his companion favoured.
"JC, will you please hurry up already?" Lance complained, waiting to start their workout. JC quickly stepped under the doorway and was bathed in the bluish-purple light which his armour seemed to absorb. His armour was identical to Lance's except that it was blue and black. Another bar of light appeared overhead, this one green. JC grinned at Lance and took up a fighting stance on the opposite side of the dome, the solid illusions of his ever-ready raztars in his hands.
"Round one! FIGHT!" he shouted as a bell chimed to signify the start of the combat. The whole setup of the place reminded Lance of a Street Fighter game the arcade, except that this was better as he got to fight and not control a fake cartoon character on a screen. And he did not have to pay either. He raised his shortsword in a salute before he readied himself for JC's attack. He kept his left hand free and ready to throw his knives. He and JC circled each other, feinting attacks to try and intimidate each other. JC made the first attack. He flicked both his wrists and flung the raztars out towards Lance, their polished wooden blades flicking out of the metal cylinders faster than the eye could see. Any normal human would have been impaled and killed instantly by those whirring blades but Lance had been taught by Paxon, one of the finest people to ever use a raztar. JC's quick attacks were nothing compared to Paxon's and Lance easily used his shortsword to block both the raztars. He tried to use the swing of his sword to slice JC but JC's raztars were built for incredible speed. His raztars were back in their cylinders and out again twice, their magical silver strings glittering in the lighted room. The yellow bar of light shortened itself a little as JC had managed to slice Lance's ribs, right thigh, left knee and left cheek. Lance knew that a shortsword was practically useless against the super-fast raztars that JC wielded. He flicked his left wrist twice, impaling two knives into JC's right wrist. Even though the illusions could not actually hurt anyone, pain was still felt by the participants who had been injured to make it more realisitic. The pain in JC's wrist caused him to drop the raztar in his right hand. Lance had gotten an slight advantage because of that. He would get hit twice instead of four times. The green bar shortened itself, becoming slightly shorter than the yellow one. Lance swung his sword at JC who backflipped, grabbing the fallen raztar and the two throwing knives. By the time he had landed back on his feet, he had already placed the leather strap around his middle finger again, his raztar ready for action. He flicked his wrists at the surprised Lance who suddenly found himself stabbed and sliced in eight different places on his chest. Six from JC's quick raztars and two from his own throwing knives. The yellow bar shortened again, becoming a sliver of light. Lance narrowed his eyes and sliced his shortsword at JC again, this time managing to cut him from his right shoulder to his left knee. JC had stepped back, however, and the wound was not deep. The green bar shortened to an equal length as the yellow bar. JC and Lance fell back, panting. Lance wiped the sweat from his eyes while JC pushed his hair back, then the two fell into combat again. They were a blur of light and colour that even the keenest eye would not have been able to see their actions. Suddenly, both of them cried out in pain and the green and yellow bars faded away. Lance stepped back, two of his knives in JC's heart, the shortsword in his stomach and a third knife in his forehead. Lance was sliced by JC's raztars, the wounds, had they not been caused by the fake weapons created by this simulation, would have caused him to be beheaded.
"Fight over, draw," an enchanted voice announced. The illusionary weapons disappeared, the wounds suffered by the two friends as well. The pain also disappeared instantly and the two friends were relieved about that.
"That was a good workout," JC commented as he slumped to the floor. Lance nodded his agreement before joining his friend on the floor. He wiped the sweat off JC's forehead and kissed him on the nose.
"You're so sexy in leather, especially when you're sweating," Lance said seductively. JC grinned in pleasure. He kissed Lance on the lips, his tongue probing into Lance's mouth. Lance began to pull JC's shirt over his head. He broke the kiss for a second to pull JC's leather shirt off. JC began to remove Lance's shirt as well. Their passion was interrupted by a soft cough coming from one side of the dome. The immediately looked behind them and saw their teacher, the half-elf known as Paxon.
"Not in here, you two," Paxon grinned, his pearly white teeth glittering. "You can do that tonight, but right now we're going to train you a bit more in the 'finer arts' of which I am supposed to teach you."
JC and Lance blushed and put their leather armour shirts back on. Paxon clapped his hands and the room immediately shimmered, the scenery changing to what seemed like part of a maze.
"Wow! This is just like the Danger Room in X-Men!" JC exclaimed. The illusionary weapons he and Lance had been using earlier appeared back in their hands. They looked at Paxon, wondering what he had planned.
"This is the setting of a deathtrap dungeon," Paxon explained. "Our objective is to get through the whole maze without 'dying'. This exercise will put to test all that you have learnt. And don't worry, I'll be here with you the whole time. I need the..."
"...exercise anyway," Justin said. Hercules raised his eyebrows.
"Okay then," he said, brandishing a staff. Justin wielded his starswords. He had given his shield to Jason as a present since Estel had decided that he would be able to use the two-weapon fighting style of the Bladesingers. Justin proved to be an outstanding student, but he wanted to test himself against Hercules, especially since Hercules had the advantage of being stronger with a higher endurance. Justin and Estel had been allowed to use only their starswords for training, unlike the other students. The reason for this was that Bladesingers were supposed to be able to use their swords more effeciently than any other person. That and if they were disarmed, the magical starswords would return to their grasp whenever they wanted it to, and thus did not have to learn the bare-handed fighting that the other students had to learn.
Hercules and Justin crouched into a fighting stance and began to circle. Justin slashed one of his starswords towards Hercules who blocked it easily with his staff. Justin's other starsword headed for Hercules' unprotected side but Hercules blocked that one with incredible speed. Justin spun in a deadly circle, his starswords flashing blue fire as the sliced towards Hercules' stomach. Hercules blocked both the swords with his staff, something which Justin had hoped he would do. Using his momentum, Justin roundhouse kicked Hercules in the head, causing the tall blond to stagger backwards.
"Ouch," Hercules grinned, shaking his head. "That's quite a kick!"
"Thanks," Justin said as he tried to kick Hercules again. Hercules caught Justin's foot and twisted it. Justin immediately twisted his body to align with his foot and fell to the floor. Hercules, thinking he had an advantage, swung his staff towards Justin's head. He was surprised to find that he contacted with a starsword instead. The other starsword swung at his head. Justin twisted his arm at the last moment, hitting Hercules on the head with the flat of the blade. A staff swung at his feet and he tripped, falling onto his back, his starswords flying out of his grasp.
"How do you think you will do weaponless and against five of us?" Lilith said, a childish smile running across her face. Justin looked up and saw Howie, Jason and Iolaus standing behind Lilith and Hercules, all of them wielding swords and holding shields. They threw a sword and a shield to Hercules as well as to Lilith. Hercules grabbed his staff and Lilith's and threw them across the room.
"Against you five?" Justin sneered. "Not a problem. As for weaponless..."
His voice trailed off. He placed his hands in a fighting stance as though he were wielding his starswords. The two starswords slid across the floor and leapt into his grip. He tightened his grip on his weapons and began to fight. His skill amazed the others as the tried unsuccessfully to find a break in his defense. Justin held his own, but he was outnumbered, and his style changed from a defensive posture to a posture more suited to for attempting to flee. As is divining his intent, Howie stepped behind Justin. Justin immediately switched back to his defensive style but knew that he could not last long against five of them. Suddenly, a staff appeared and knocked Iolaus on the head, causing the former thief to slump to the ground with a groan.
"That's gotta hurt," Chris said, standing over the unconcious Iolaus. Jason grinned as he turned to face the new opponent. "Don't worry, Chris. You hit him on the head. It's not like you hit anything important."
Iolaus stirred at the remark and stood up. He re-wielded his sword and the five broke up into two groups. Lilith, Hercules and Howie fought Justin while Iolaus and Jason fought Chris. Chris and Justin were beginning to lose when the cavalry arrived. Jason was knocked to the floor by Stile. Lilith turned to help him when Alegifu kicked a high kick, striking Lilith's shoulder. Estel watched his friends fight among themselves and yawned and rolled his eyes.
"Hey Estel!" Jason called, swinging his sword at Stile who dodged the attack. "Join us."
Estel crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. He looked at Jason and said, "Okay."
Suddenly, Jason, Iolaus, Hercules, Lilith and Howie were thrown across the hall. They landed in a heap at the end of the room. The ground shook with the impact. Lilith, who was on top of the others, stood up and tried to help the others untangle themselves. The ground shuddered and she fell on top of them again. She looked at Estel angrily. "Stop it already! We're all down."
"T'wasn't me," Estel argued. The ground shook again and Estel, Alegifu, Stile, Justin and Chris fell to the ground. The shaking ground came in rythmic pulses and seemed to speed up. The ten friends got up and ran out of the academy, followed by the other cadets.
"EARTHQUAKE!" one of the cadets screamed. The three elves looked at the swaying trees at the nearby forest and noticed something black sticking out of the canopy. There were about five of the black lumps. The ground shook again, this time accompanied by the sound of thunder. The cadets looked at each other in confusion. Hercules' heart sank at the sight of one of the lumps appearing through the trees. It was a sight he had seen a few times, but never five at a time.
"What the hell is that?" Howie whispered fearfully. He looked at Stile who was watching the creatures closely. All five of them emerged from the forest and began to walk towards the academy.
Stile looked at Howie and said, "Those are giants. The fiercest and deadliest of all giants. And they're hunting for food."
"What do they eat?" Howie asked, shivering at the sight of the wild-haired, leather-clad giants.
"Anything that is meat and walks on two legs," Stile replied. The hunting party began to run towards the academy. ------------------------------TO BE CONTINUED------------------------------ I decided to put the thanks at the end of the story instead. Don't ask me why I came up with it. Well basically thanks to God, David from Nifty, my friends on the Realms of Despair whose names I have used, JRR Tolkien for writing such nice books that I have read and enjoyed and took elements of things from, Rune Therin for all those nice long emails that told me specifically where I went wrong and which parts were nice (you've been really helpful Rune!), to my new friend Lancefan2001 (or Lance for short) for your wonderful emails as well. To everyone at Nifty who reads the story and to those who don't but know it exists.
How was this one? It was a bit shorter than I wanted it to be. Well, email me and tell me about it. I like getting response from people. That way I know what most people are expecting and find a way to surprise them... ;) Anywayz, emails of all sorts related to the story should be sent to ensstyenlc@hotmail.com Hope to hear from you guys soon! Ciao for now!
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