--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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? ;-) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I would like to thank David from Nifty for letting me put my work on his site. Also to all the authors (both from Nifty and from actual books) who have inspired me. To the people who have sent your feedback and compliments, a big thank you for encouraging the author and making the story what it is now. And to those people from the MUD Realms of Despair, if any of you guys see your characters' names here, don't worry about it...I just picked carefully chosen, random names. To those reading this story, thank you for choosing to read this story. I'll do my best not to let you down. Now let's continue the story, shall we? ___________________________________________________________________________ |The BSB NSYNC Chronicles - Chapter Three|
Justin's eyes filled with tears of despair, anger and fear. He glared at Howie with hatred.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?!" Justin screamed at Howie, tears streaming down his face. "He was our only chance!"
Howie just stared blankly at his feet. He did not expect Estel to carry out his threat. The realisation that he and his friends were doomed finally sunk in. Howie began to cry.
"It's too late for that now, D," AJ said without sympathy. He looked at the group. "I'm leaving."
"Leaving what? The Backstreet Boys?" Nick asked, not understanding.
"No," AJ said. "I'm leaving this mess. I'm going off on my own. I don't know if I'll see any of you guys but I'm sure that I want to leave. I feel that if I leave, I'll be able to die in peace with myself, and not have to watch my friends die around me."
AJ looked at Howie as he continued, "Also, I would not want to stay in the company of someone who doesn't care about his friends' lives. Don't argue with me Kevin, I've made up my mind."
Kevin understood AJ's need to be alone by himself. He nodded his consent. AJ turned his back on the group and disappeared into the forest. Brian stared at AJ's departing back. He turned to Kevin.
"I'm leaving too," he said simply. Kevin looked at Brian, his blue eyes showing only understanding. Kevin turned back to the group and announced,"From now on, all of us are free to go wherever we want to. I hope to see all of you again but I think I want to spend some time with my cousin before I die."
Brian looked at Kevin and smiled a smile that said, "Thank you for coming with me."
Brian and Kevin began to leave into a different section of the forest from AJ's. Howie turned to go after them. As if divining his intent, Brian turned to Howie.
"I can't forgive you right now, D. I will one day but not now, not yet. I hope you'll understand. Please just go your own way and let Kevin and I go ours."
Howie just sunk to his knees and hung his head in shame. Nick looked at Howie in disgust and shook his head. A sudden movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Justin was running to the forest edge far to the west.
"Justin! Wait! Where are you going?" JC yelled, running after his friend.
"I'm going to find him," Justin yelled back without turning his head or even stopping his run.
"How do you know which way to go?" JC asked, catching up with Justin.
"I just know," Justin replied, finally stopping. He turned back to JC.
"JC, just let me go. I want to find him."
"Justin, is something wrong?" JC asked, concerned. Justin's eyes began to tear again. JC put his arm around Justin's shoulders and asked, "What's wrong, Justin?"
Justin began to sob. "I...I...I lo...love him, JC. I...I love Es...Estel."
JC hugged Justin close to him. "I'm so sorry, Justin. I should have recognised the signs."
"Huh?" Justin asked.
"Justin, I also have something to reveal. Lance and I have been together for a few weeks now," JC said. "Neither of us wanted to tell you guys yet."
Justin stopped his crying for a while. He began to giggle and soon was laughing so hard that he started crying again.
"What so funny?" JC said, irritated and confused at Justin's reaction.
"We already knew about you and Lance. We just wanted to see how long you guys would keep it from us," Justin grinned.
"How did you guys find out?" JC asked, astonished.
"You really ought to keep it down when you and Lance get at it in the hotel at night," Justin giggled. JC's eyes opened wide with shock.
"You could hear us?" he asked, turning slightly red.
"Yes we could, 'Joshy, my Joshy'," Justin said, using the nickname Lance had for JC during their hot nights. JC flushed so bright red, Justin was worried that his face would catch fire. "You should go back to Lance. He might be getting worried."
JC nodded, still blushing. He turned around to leave. He turned around to look at Justin after two steps. "By the way, what else did you guys hear?"
Justin giggled and tried to imitate JC's voice, saying, "Spear me, Lance. Harder, babe. Spear me harder!"
JC glared at Justin with mock anger. Justin shot back a look and said, "Well, you wanted to know. You'd better get back to 'Jimmy-bun' before he gets worried, 'Cowboy'."
JC blushed even redder than Justin thought was humanly possible. JC turned and ran back to Lance. Justin sighed as he watched his friend leave, probably never to see him again.
"God bless you, JC," Justin whispered. He turned back towards the west and continued on his way.
When JC reached back to the field, he found only Lance, Chris and Howie left.
"What happened to Nick and Joey?" JC questioned.
"They decided to leave together," Lance replied. "Neither of them wanted to go off by themselves so they decided to go together."
"I'm still here to wish my friends goodbye before I go," Chris said. "I'm going to head for the village south of here that Estel referred to."
"Good luck, Chris," JC and Lance said together.
"And to you guys too," Chris replied. He sniggered as he gave his parting comment, "Hope you guys have a 'spearing' good time while you can."
JC and Lance flushed. Chris began to run towards the road far to the south. Lance held JC's hand and the two of the headed eastward together, leaving Howie to himself.
AJ walked for hours, thinking about Amanda. He pulled out the crystal unicorn that he had bought from the store as a gift for her. He spotted a fallen tree and sat on it, holding the unicorn. He thought of Amanda and soon tears streamed down his face. He let them fall, hoping that his tears would bring him back to the future. Back to Amanda. He felt something warm touch his shoulder. He turned, expecting one of his friends to be standing there. He was shocked by what he saw.
"Are you alright?" A soft, gentle voice asked. The words themselves made AJ feel comfort. He nodded.
"My name is Tilkeleb," the soft voice continued.
"You're a unicorn, aren't you?" AJ asked, immediately feeling foolish that he had asked such an obvious quesstion. He looked at the silvery-white creature in front of him. It looked like a white horse, except smaller and its hooves were split like a deer's, and an ivory spiral horn protruded from its forehead.
"I'm Alexander James McLean, but you can call me AJ," AJ introduced himself.
"I know," was Tilkeleb's unexpected reply.
"You do?" AJ asked, surprised. Tilkeleb nodded its regal head. It pointed to the crystal unicorn AJ was holding with its horn. The figurine began to glow with soft sky-blue light.
"That is a special gateway," Tilkeleb explained. "Only someone worthy of it can use its power."
"What does it do?" AJ asked.
"It summons a unicorn to the person worthy of it. When the unicorn comes, it opens up a gateway that the unicorn enters. Once the unicorn enters the gateway, the unicorn and the chosen one are linked telepathically. The unicorn can be summoned using the statue anytime the wielder needs it. Usually, though, the person just lets the unicorn remain outside the statue unless there is a need to hide it," Tilkeleb explained. As it spoke, a portal appeared. Before AJ could protest, Tilkeleb stepped through the portal and it closed. The statue began to glow brightly and then the light dimmed. The eyes of the figurine turned into sapphires.
"Tilkeleb?" AJ called.
<When you want me, just hold the statue and send me a telepathic message to let me know that you want me,> Tilkeleb's voice filled AJ's head.
<Like this?> AJ asked.
<Yes.>
<Come out now, then. I would like to talk to you face to face,> AJ said. A beam of sky blue light shone from the figurine's eyes and Tilkeleb materialised at the point where the light shone on the ground.
"Just one question," AJ grinned. "What does your name mean? And are you male or female?"
"Ugh...You can't count up to two," Tilkeleb snorted in a horse-like manner, still not losing its regal bearing. "Very well...My name is Silverhorn in the human tongue, and I am male."
"Cool! A new friend to talk to about the ladies," AJ grinned.
"Cool?" Tilkeleb asked, confused.
"It's an expression humans use when they find something very nice or fun or neat," AJ explained.
"Err...Cool!" Tilkeleb said, smiling a horsey smile.
"Good boy! You're learning," AJ said as he patted Tilkeleb's neck. He mounted the unicorn and Tilkeleb trotted deeper into the forest, talking with his new friend.
Justin stumbled through the undergrowth. He was hungry and tired, and almost in tears from despair. He tripped over a fallen branch and fell flat on his face. As he stood and dusted himself off, he thought he could hear faint singing in the distance. He followed the singing, hoping the singers would be able to help him. As he got closer, the song ended. Loneliness, despair and fatigue got the better of him, and he began to cry. As if sensing his distress, a new song began. As Justin heard the words, he began to wonder if he was going crazy.
"O! What are you doing, And where are you going? Your mind is a-sleeping! The river is flowing! O! tra-la-la-lally here down in the valley!
O! what are you seeking, And where are you making? The faggots are reeking, The bannocks are baking! O! tril-lil-lil-lolly the valley is jolly, haha!
O! Where are you going With hair all a curlin' No knowing, no knowing What brings the boy Justin All huffing and puffing down into the valley today haha!
O! Will you be staying, Or will you be flying? Your body's a-swaying! The daylight is dying! To fly would be folly, To stay would be jolly And listen and hark Till the end of the dark to our tune haha!"
Justin wondered who the singers were and how they had known his name. He looked around for the source of the song, but the forest remained as empty as ever. A slender man and woman, both with bright blond hair and pale green eyes leaped and somersaulted from the top of a nearby redwood. Justin watched in horror as the two seemed to have tried to commit suicide. His eyes widened in wonderment as the two both landed on their feet, not even making a sound. They were clad in a strange forest green cloth that seemed to be a mixture of cotton, silk and leather. The man and the woman both clenched their fists, tapped them to their hearts, then tapped Justin's chest above his heart. Justin repeated the greeting ritual for the two of them.
"My name in human is Brilliance and this is my sister, Tears," the man introduced himself. Justin nodded and smiled. He opened his mouth to speak but Brilliance stopped him.
"We know your name is Justin," Brilliance smiled.
"How do you know that?" Justin asked.
"Our brother told us about you. We were sent to look for you and bring you to him," Tears explained.
"Your brother?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, Hope," Brilliance grinned.
"Oh, okay," Justin shrugged. "What are your names in your own language? Hope's name is Estel and I thought it would be more polite to call you by your real names."
"My name is Larel," Brilliance said, smiling.
"Our mother named my Nirnaeth," Tears giggled. Her giggling was so contagious that Justin and Larel could not help but giggle along. Finally they stopped laughing and Larel grabbed Justin's arm and dragged him towards a huge oak, with Nirnaeth following behind.
"Where are we going?" Justin asked Larel.
"Home," Larel grinned. He stopped in front of the oak and closed his eyes. He began to hum a strange tune as he touched the trunk of the tree. Part of the tree trunk swirled and disappeared, forming an archway. Larel, Justin and Nirnaeth stepped through the arch and it swirled back as the tree closed. Justin saw that the inside of the tree had been carved to form a spiral staircase. Larel let go of Justin's arm and began to climb the stairs, followed by Nirnaeth. Justin followed the two up the spiral staircase.
The climb was long and tiring and yet Nirnaeth and Larel seemed to have boundless energy as they climbed. Justin on the other hand began to lag. Finally, he sat on one of the steps to catch his breath. Larel and Nirnaeth did not seem to notice and left him far behind. While he was sitting there, Justin could hear many voices chattering away in a strange, musical and beautiful language that he did not understand. His eyes slowly began to close. He head nodded and he fell asleep on the spiral staircase.
AJ and Tilkeleb stood outside a strange gate. The gate was shiny green like an emerald. AJ dismounted Tilkeleb and walked over to the gate, hoping to find some way to open it. As he touched it, his hand felt cold. He looked closely at the gate, then backed away in shock. The entire gate was made of emeralds! He wondered why Tilkeleb had brought him to this strange city. Wanderers like him were not usually welcome, especially in a city so rich they made gates from emeralds. He looked at Tilkeleb. Tilkeleb just walked to the gate and placed his horn into something that looked like a keyhole. He turned his head and a soft click came from the gate. Tilkeleb pulled his horn from the hole and stepped back. The emeralds began to shine and the gates opened. Tilkeleb stepped through the gates, followed by AJ.
"What is this place?" AJ asked in wonder.
"This is the ground level of the town Ca%ranos," Tilkeleb said. "We just entered through the Unicorn Gate. It is the way in for my people as we cannot climb the stairs or rope ladders to the upper levels of the city. There are ramps leading upwards to the city from this section of town."
"It's a beautiful place," AJ said, taking in all the sights around him. The trees were like towers, very wide and tall. AJ could see rope bridges, wooden arches and even houses at almost every section of branches. The trees grew strangely, their thick branches spread far and wide. He could see all sorts of creatures walking far above the ground, though he could not make out the shapes as they were too far above him. The forest clearings on the ground saw many strange houses made of gems and precious stones of all kinds. AJ turned to Tilkeleb.
"Where do you stay?" AJ questioned.
"All unicorns and their owners stay on the ground level," Tilkeleb explained. He began to trot towards a large barn-like structure made totally of shiny opals. He entered through the doorway. AJ followed Tilkeleb in and realised that there was no door at all. He glanced around the large, one-roomed house. In a corner was a nest-like bed in a bronze bedframe that looked like a very wide-mouthed chalice. Tilkeleb motioned to the bed with his horn.
"That is where you will sleep," Tilkeleb said. AJ walked over to the bed and sat on it. It was cozy and warm and AJ liked it immediately.
"Where will you sleep?" AJ asked out of genuine concern for his friend. Tilkeleb crouched next to the bed like a foal would lie next to its mother. He yawned and then blinked.
"I will sleep here," Tilkeleb said. AJ smiled, lay back and was dead to the world. Within seconds, Tilkeleb was also sleeping.
Justin yawned and opened his eyes. He had had a strange dream where he met two of Estel's siblings and that they had brought him to a magic oak tree with a staircase inside. He stood and stretched and took a look around him. He was standing on a flight of spiral stairs carved on the inside of a tree.
"So it wasn't a dream," Justin mumbled to himself. "I wonder where Larel and Nirnaeth are."
He continued the long climb up the stairs, his stomach growling with every step. After what seemed like hours, Justin finally reached a doorway at the top of the stairs. He peered out of the tree, stepped outside onto a small platform and looked down. He felt thankful that he had not yet eaten. His stomach lurched even though it was empty. I must be at least three hundred feet off the ground, he thought. He felt his heart beating even faster. The world began to fade to black around him and he felt himself slip off the small platform. He tottered back and forth trying to keep his balance and fight of the encrouching blackness. A small gust of wind blew through the trees, upsetting Justin's balance. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was how fast the ground seemed to rush up towards him.
------------------------------TO BE CONTINUED------------------------------ So how was this one? A little slow moving, I admit. Well, as always, comments, suggestions and questions to be sent to ensstyenlc@hotmail.com Thanks again for reading!