Nsync Saga

Here I am once again with another installment. I'm really getting into this story again. The next installment should be longer then normal, but I'm not promising anything. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this installment. And let me know what you think about it, K? Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca

Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me. I love hearing from you guys. Special thanks to Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Di, Keif, Hamando, Matt, Aphrodite, and Tom. There are always more that I forget, but these are a few of them. There are a lot of good stories out there worth reading. Millienium love, Brian and Me, BSB and Nsync chronicles, Search and Rescue, Nsync and the Vamps, and so on. The list could go on forever, but those are just a few of them. Speaking of forever, that's another good one too. Forever, it's finished, but worth the time to look at it.

Legalities. This story is in no way suppose to reflect the sexuality of any members of the band Nsync. If any of them are gay it's none of my business. If you're too young in your area, or it's illegal to be reading this in your area, please leave. If homosexual themes offend you then I'd leave as well. This story doesn't have really strong homosexual themes, but they are there and they are noticeable. Parts of this story are based of the RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.

Anyway, enjoy, Until next time.

Rune

PART NINETEEN

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Joey asked. Maria, Justin and Pyre had woken just before sunrise. They'd all returned to their rooms refusing to talk to anyone. Everyone else had gone to bed shortly after that. They were now in the dining hall again attempting to have breakfast.

"I don't know," Lance said. "I hope so."

"They've had time to sleep on it," Selvar said. "So they should be fine. Or at the very least had time to recover from whatever they saw."

The sound of laughter echoed down the hallway and into the hall. A moment later Pyre and Justin entered the hall followed by Maria. The three of them were laughing about something. They took their seats at the table.

"What?" Justin asked when he caught everyone staring at them.

"I take it everything has been resolved?" Selvar asked.

"Yes," Maria said. "We've come to an understanding of sorts. They won't try to kill me and I won't try to kill them." She grinned. "It seems to be a good arrangement."

"What happened?" Chris asked. "You guys were trying to kill each other yesterday. What gives?"

"We've had a change of heart," Pyre said. "And you're not going to get any more information then that out of us."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Figures."

Justin grinned. "You'll just have to ignore Chris. He hates being kept in the dark." He started eating his meal when his shirt burst into flames. He yelped and quickly put it out.

"What?" Chris asked innocently when Justin shot him a dirty look.

"Behave," Evelyn said. She looked at both Chris and Justin. "Both of you."

"Mistress?" A young voice came from across the hall. By this time everyone in the castle had gotten used to unexpected arrivals. A young man, hardly more then fifteen, stood in the doorway. His dirty blonde hair was unkempt and his clothing clung to an emancipated form.

"Yes," Maria asked. She laid a hand on Pyre's arm to calm him. Both he and Justin were eyeing the boy with distrust. "He's one of mine."

"We have arrived Mistress," the boy told her. He didn't come any closer.

"Good. What is your name?" Maria asked the boy.

"David, Mistress."

"Very well David. How many others are there?"

"Over a thousand Mistress."

"Thank you," Maria said. "Are they in the forest now?" David nodded and she continued. "Gather them all in the clearing a mile to the east. I'll meet them there shortly." David nodded and disappeared into the hallway.

"And just what was that all about?" Justin asked after the boy had left.

"My subjects," Maria said calmly. "So to speak. A master vampire must have underlings. Normally each master collects his or her own subjects, but we have to improvise given the amount of time we're working with."

"Will they be dangerous?" Evelyn asked.

"They need blood," Maria said calmly. "But I can control their bloodlust as long as I have enough blood. I'll keep them busy during the night clearing the forest of bandits and whatnot." She pushed her chair back and stood. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go talk to them. And," she looked at Pyre and Justin. "No attacking my subjects. I'll keep them under control."

"Alright," Justin agreed. "But we don't have to like it."

"Didn't say you had to," Maria said as she left the hall.

Once she was gone silence washed over the room as everyone continued eating their meal. When the meal was finished Selvar had the skeletons clear the table and take the dishes away.

"At least we can understand how some of that prophecy fits into place," Selvar said as they made their way to the sitting room to relax.

"Which part?" Lance asked. "The eternals?"

"Exactly," Selvar said. He took his customary seat in one of the large chairs. "Maria now has control of a legion of vampires. If nothing else that should at least help a little."

"Will it be enough though?" Evelyn asked. "You've mentioned the opponents we will be facing as well as some of the prophecies that speak of this battle. It sounds like it's going to be huge. I don't know if a thousand vampires will be enough."

"They probably won't," Selvar said. "But we have my own army, plus whatever I can make in three weeks. As well as the werebeasts. Or some other forest army."

Evelyn nodded. "I guess that's all we can hope for. To hope that we have enough to at least slow them down."

"Don't forget we also have our own talents to call upon," Selena said. She was curled up next to Joey. "I should be able to slow down any air attacks. If not stop them completely."

"Give me some time and I'll have all sorts of nasty things waiting for anyone who comes into the castle," Lance said.

"So I guess we just start preparing ourselves for what's going to come?" Chris asked. "I'd really like to know what we're going to go up against."

"That is where I can help you." The voice entered the room before the body of its owner did. When the body shimmered into view it was that of a beautiful woman clothed in a gray robe. Blonde hair fell around her shoulders.

"And you are?" Lance asked in a bored tone. He was starting to get tired of all of the sudden entrances people kept making.

"You can call me Arvia," the woman said. "And as I said before, I've come to give you some information on what you're up against."

"Really?" Lance asked. "And why would you do that?"

"I have my reasons to help," Arvia said. "I work for Ishtar, and she wishes to help you."

"She's not lying," Evelyn said in a strained voice. "She's not telling us everything, but she's not lying."

"Some things I keep to myself. No one else needs to know them," Arvia told her. "But we have limited time. The Acolytes are killing some of the gods."

"We already know that they can kill gods," Selvar said.

"I don't doubt that. But did you know they can steal parts of a god's power?" She smiled when confusion crossed the elf's face. "I didn't think so. Right now they've killed six gods and stolen their ability to control certain creatures. Be prepared for any creature of darkness. Banshees, gorgons, imps, fiends, harpies and others. They will throw all of these against you and more."

"How long?" Evelyn asked. "Before they begin moving that is."

"They will be here on the appointed date. I would hurry to prepare yourselves." Arvia curtsied deeply and then vanished.

Sighing, Lance leaned back away from the base of the statue he was working on. He looked up at the statue from the base. The statue was of a man that stood over twenty feet tall. In his right hand he held a large sword and in his right he held a shield. The artist had carved the stone to make the model appear as if he were a nobleman that had just picked up the weapons. It was a truly beautiful statue.

He sighed again and turned back to the rune that he was carving into the base. Once he finished with this statue he would have to start on the other one. The other statue was identical to the first one except that it was a woman holding the sword and shield. She, like her counterpart, appeared to be a noblewoman that had just picked the weapons off the ground.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Pyre asked. The man's voice startled Lance out of his work.

"Oh yeah," Lance said. He stood and brushed the dust off his knees. "I need to know your true name."

Pyre arched an eyebrow. "And why do you need to know that?"

"So I can finish these runes." He gestured at the rune he was carving on the statue's base. "If I have to key it to certain people and creatures."

"That doesn't explain why you need my true name," Pyre said.

"Look Pyre," Lance said shortly. "I know this sounds rude but I'm not going to curse you with your name. Nor am I going to use your name to get some incredible force of power over you. I need your name so that I can put it into the rune so that when the rune is activated it doesn't go off on you."

"I could just avoid the rune you know," Pyre pointed out.

"Won't work that way," Lance said. "Selvar's asked me to prepare castle defenses. Once this rune is activated it will seek out everything thing that is an enemy and destroy it. And an enemy is defined by what doesn't have its name in the rune. If you aren't there it will attack you."

"No way around it?" Pyre asked hopefully.

"None," Lance said. "I explained why I need everyone's name last week at dinner. I've got less then three days to get everything ready before the Acolytes come knocking on our door. Just give me the damn name."

"Alright," Pyre said. "But you won't tell anyone else will you?"

"Promise," Lance said. "I won't let anyone else have power over you because of the name. And besides if anyone else gets the name you'll know where they got it from."

"True," Pyre said. He didn't seem convinced, but he leaned over and whispered something in Lance's ear.

Lance stepped back and gasped. "You're a."

Pyre clamped his hand over his mouth. "Yes. And I'd rather not have anyone else know."

Nodding Lance pushed his hand away. "Alright. I won't tell anyone, but you really should tell Justin."

"I will," Pyre said. "Just not right now. I want the time to be right."

"He'll understand. He's a very strong person. Stronger then he lets on." He took a seat on the edge of the statue. "So how have the lessons with Joey been going? Is he picking up the sword any better then when last I saw him?"

Pyre grinned. "You might say that. He won't impale himself when he holds the blade any more. But he is learning. Slowly, but enough that he can parry and attack with a normal sword. He's better with his psychic blade, but that's because he's controlling it mentally."

"True," Lance said. "As long as he doesn't stab himself or someone that's his ally. How's Chris been doing? He was attempting to set the courtyard on fire a few days ago."

"He's stopped trying to do that," Pyre said. "Evelyn almost strung him up when she found out how he was trying to strengthen his control." He looked up at the two statues. "So is this all you've been up to this week?"

"I wish," Lance said. "I've been all over this castle drawing on everything. It's sort of like being five years old and drawing on the walls. Only it's work now."

"No doubt," Pyre said. "How long did it take you to convince Selvar to get these statues? I didn't see them when we arrived."

"That's because they weren't here until this morning," Lance told him. "I thought having these two standing by the gate would be a good idea."

"I would be inclined to agree," a voice said. Lance and Pyre turned to see a woman of African decent. She had a dark skin tone, both from being exposed to the sun and what came to her naturally. Her hair was black, short and curly. She wore a strip of spotted yellow fur across her breasts. Another covered her groin. Other then that she wore nothing, but still managed to look dangerous. On her left was a wolf that was half again as big as a normal animal. On her right was a black bear that was half again as big as well. "The statues look threatening enough."

"May we help you?" Lance asked.

"Tell Selvar that Paloma of the Werecheetahs is here on order of the Guardian of Animals."

The wolf on her left started to stand and change into a man. He was a darkly tanned man with black hair that hung to his shoulders. It was lightly streaked with gray. He was dressed in tanned rawhide. "As is Innis of the Werewolves."

The bear to Paloma's right shifted as well until it had become a burly bearded man seven feet tall. His hair was thick and shaggy, as was his beard. He was clothed as a typical mountaineer. He nodded his head at Lance and Pyre. "Norvin of the Werebears."

"Is Selvar in his study?" Pyre asked.

"He's been holed up in there since last week. I haven't seen much of him," Lance told him. "I'll go get him if you take them to the meeting room."

Pyre nodded. "If you'll follow me."

The moon had just climbed to its peak a day later when everyone sat around the large oak table in the room that had been turned into a makeshift meeting room. It was large enough to seat everyone. Paloma, Innis and Norvin sat next to one another. They'd been joined by a woman calling herself Jezebel of the werebats. At first glance you could mistake her for a vampire, but she was clearly alive when you looked hard enough. Soft brown hair was cut just below her ears. She was dressed in a black leather body suit. Her figure suited it.

Selvar tapped the table lightly to get everyone's attention. "We have very little time to formulate our defensive plan. The full moon is tomorrow night. We need to know where each group will be and what they'll be doing." He turned to Paloma. "How many Werecheetahs do you have with you?"

"I have just under two thousand of my kind following me," she replied.

He nodded. "And the rest of you?"

"Over three thousand Werebats," Jezebel said. "The tribes have recently been reunited."

"The same number of Werewolves," Innis said. "Just over three thousand."

"Five hundred Werebears," Norvin said. "My kind are few these days. But we will fight to the end for this cause."

"Thank you," Selvar said simply. "I'll let Paloma, Innis and Norvin divide up the Werecheetahs, Werewolves and Werebears into smaller groups. You will be patrolling the forest to deal with any land-based threats." He nodded to Maria. "Mingle in a few vampires as well. If we mix what makes up the groups then it will be harder to deal with each individual group. They will have to mix their groups as well. It should make them easier to deal with and at the very least will slow them down."

"I take it that my people will be dealing with air-based attacks?" Jezebel said.

"Correct. Selena will hit whatever they throw at us in the air quickly and then your Werebats will start cleaning up what's left."

"Where will the rest of us be?" Justin asked.

"I want to keep the castle as heavily defended as possible. The longer we hold it the better our chances of winning. I want you and Pyre keeping watch over the castle in the air. Josh I'm going to have you on the center tower. You should be able to have a clear view of the forest for miles. Use whatever song magic you can to help. Justin and Pyre will keep an eye on you to make sure you aren't attacked by anything."

"I'm not what one would call a warrior," Evelyn said. "But my healing abilities should be of some use."

"Your healing abilities as well as your telepathy," Selvar said. "I want you to familiarize yourself with everyone's mind at this table. You'll be our communications person. Joey will work with you as well in that regard. The two of you can deal with minor threats that breach the walls as well. Though once something gets inside it will be Lance's time to shine. The runes are in place right?"

Lance nodded. "It took me almost two weeks, but every rune I can think of that would be helpful, and a great many more are inscribe everywhere. Everyone's names are in them so they won't go off. I added the Werecreatures' names in yesterday so they won't set them off."

"Good. I'll have the forest crawling with skeletons and zombies. I'll keep most of the mummies inside the walls because they're slower. Chris I want you with Lance. The two of you can secure last minute things that come up. You can hold off whatever arrives long enough for Lance to either warn the guards, or you two can kill it."

"Do we have a daytime plan?" Jezebel asked. "You seem to have this all planed for the night. My people and the vampires will be of limited use during the day light hours."

"I'm hoping that we don't have to let it go on that long," Selvar admitted. "But yes I do. My minions will be tireless. They will continue fighting until they're hacked apart, and even then they'll probably keep going. The problem arises with the rest of us. Vampires don't tire either, but they need to sleep when the sun comes up, and even Werecreatures will tire. Try to pace yourselves during the night. If what Arvia told is correct most of the creatures they're using will be more powerful in the dark. And may even be destroyed in day light. If we throw an attack against them during the day we may be able to split them completely."

"So hold them off as long as possible during the night and wait for dawn. Then attack them that way?" Joey asked.

"Exactly. I'm confident that we can hold out for one night. Though I'm not sure if we can last longer then that." Selvar sighed. "I won't know until I see the army tomorrow. I hate not knowing like this."

"It's the best we can do," Lance said. "We just have to hope what we've done is enough."

Selvar nodded. "I know, but knowing that doesn't help."

A skeleton opened the door. It stepped into the room and behind it came four others carrying a chest. They struggled over to the table with it. Using whatever passes for muscle power with a corpse, the four managed to set it on the table. They moved away once they'd finished.

"I had these skeletons search the entire castle looking for weapons," Selvar said opening the chest. "The previous owners never had a chance to clean house. Most likely due to the horrible deaths they had before the new owner took control." He rummaged around and pulled out a few swords. He set them on the table. "Anyway, these are all of the magical weapons they could find. It's not a lot, but it's the best I can do."

Chris took a pair of daggers from the pile that was growing on the table. Selena took a pair of matching swords for herself and tried to pass another to Joey. He refused saying that he already had a sword. Lance took a long dagger and tucked it into his belt. Maria, Innis, Paloma, Norvin and Jezebel all refused weapons because they had their own arsenal of natural weapons. JC took a long staff the moment it touched the table. He doubted he'd need a weapon, but it was always nice to be sure. Evelyn also refused a weapon.

"I've never carried a weapon," she said. "And I've no intentions of starting. I'll be able to take care of myself. I will, however, take some armour of you have that."

"I don't have anything that would fit you," Selvar admitted. "In fact I don't have any armour except for myself."

"I thought as much," a soft female voice whispered. "I knew that my gift would not go to waste." A slim woman in a green silk gown stood by the door. Her blonde hair was tinged green and her eyes were a pale green.

"The Guardian of Plants?" Selena asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes, child. I have come to bestow my gift as well as the gift of the Guardian of Earth." She waved her hand toward the table and small wooden box appeared. "Inside are six amulets. One for each of you, minus Selvar, Pyre and Justin. They each have their own method of protection. Take care in their use. Each amulet will only activate five times. After that they must be recharged." She turned to leave. "Take care. Tomorrow will not be an easy day. You will sleep well today guarded by the Guardian of Day. She will see that nothing harms you during the daylight hours and you will wake refreshed." She slipped into the hallway without a sound.

A few moments after she left Cro came buzzing into the room. "The Guardian of Plants wants to talk to you guys."

"We know," Lance said. "She was already here. Your timing is wonderful as usual."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cro muttered.

"Let's get some rest," Chris said. "We're going to need it tomorrow."

"Are we ready for this?" Karr asked.

"We don't have any choice," Damek said. "We've come to far to turn back now."

"Damek's right," Nydia said. She adjusted her robe to remove the wrinkles. "We've been waiting centuries for this. Regardless of the out come tomorrow we will have achieved something. Either we will have our power back or the Acolytes will be dead. Or we will be dead. Either way we won't care."

Karr nodded. "We should rest. We'll need our strength for tomorrow."

The three siblings stood and embraced tightly for what could possibly be the last time.

TBC

Okay that was a little longer then I thought it'd be. I'm not upset, but I was pretty sure that this installment would be shorter. But it wasn't. Anyway let me know what you think. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca

Until next time, Rune