This is a work of fiction involving the relationship of two young men (late teens to mid twenties), both physical and emotional. If you are made uncomfortable by such subjects as gay sex, magic and the supernatural, then please stop reading now. Likewise, if you are below the age of 18, please stop here.
This story uses elements from White Wolf's World of Darkness' series of games. Mage: The Ascension, Magadon Pharmaceutical, PsychDiv, Traditions, Cult of Ecstasy, Euthanatos, the Technocracy, New World Order, Freak Legions, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Black Spiral Dancers, Pentex, The Traditions, The Technocracy, Wraith: The Oblivion Vampire: the Masquerade, Kiasyd and similar elements are copyrighted by White Wolf Game Studio 2004. This work of fiction is not meant as a challenge to existing copyrighted materials, and no profit is gained by its publication.
Kate Sanders, Aaron Barry, and Stefan are the intellectual property of Don Bassingwaite and White Wolf Fiction. For a more in depth treatment of these characters, and a great read, pick up a copy of SUCH PAIN from Harper Collins.
All other characters and story elements belong to the author.
Constructive criticism is highly appreciated; flamers and hate mail will be ignored. Write me at PaganGamer@yahoo.com with Awakening in the subject heading.
Also published on Nifty by the author:
Shame of Caine -- Science Fiction/Fantasy
** I have also published this and the previous chapters in an MS Word format on the Gay_Fantasy_Fiction group at Yahoo Groups. I have started placing artwork depicting scenes and characters from the story there as well. Give it a look, or upload your own Sci-Fi / Fantasy stories. It's totally free. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gay_Fantasy_Fiction/ **
The Awakening
By Liam Barnes
11
Arranging the Pieces
May 23rd, 2002 10:12 p.m. Mike's Home for Youths, Castro District, San Francisco
Marcus was sitting on the couch with Andrew curled up next to him. He could feel nothing from their newly established bond; it was as though a void existed inside him where Andrew used to be. He didn't know what to do for him; in one day, the youth's life had been destroyed. He had only just Awakened and the Technocracy was after him, his mother was dead, and there was no telling what danger his father was about to face. Marcus couldn't help but think that it was entirely his fault.
Stefan and Kate were discussing bringing in a mutual friend of theirs named Aaron Barry when Marcus suddenly felt an odd rush of Quintessence cycle through his Avatar. The sensation was very similar to when he had felt Andrew Awaken. Looking around, he noticed that the blonde youth had also started and was looking around the room. A sort of dull curiosity filled the bond between the two as Andrew got up and headed towards the window. Both of the other mages stopped their conversation and glanced at the boy.
Cocking an eyebrow, Marcus hesitantly asked, "What's up?"
Andrew seemed to ignore the question and opened the curtains, looking out across the darkened street. There was a sense of disappointment, then of concentration. Marcus stood up, wanting to see what the other was looking for when the blonde teen suddenly screamed and fell away from the window. An intensely overwhelming sense of fear flooded their spiritual bond.
Marcus rushed to catch him as Andrew tried to scramble away. "What is it?" Behind them, the other two mages took defensive stances; Stefan materializing a short dagger out of thin air and Kate holding aloft her cell phone in front of her.
"It's there," he cried. "Something, I don't know what it is! It's watching through the window!" He lurched in Marcus' grasp, flailing about with arms and legs. "Let go of me! Need to get away from here!"
As this had been going on, Kate and Stefan had made their way cautiously to the window. Taking opposite sides, they both opened the curtains from their sides revealing a darkened street. Stefan tried to see anything in the night, turned to Kate and shrugged his shoulders. Kate glanced outside, bottom lip in her teeth, and then turned back to Marcus and Andrew. She shook her head gently, and said, "There's nothing out there, Andrew."
The youth looked as though he were convulsing as he struggled. "You're. Not. Looking. Right!" He shouted.
"I don't understand," she started. But before she could say more, the cell phone in her hand gave a weak popping sound and shattered. Hissing, she shook her hand out.
Stefan moved to help her, but was quickly halted by a bolt of yellow green electricity which jumped from the ruined phone and struck the ceiling light. The lights exploded in a shower of sparks and the room plunged into darkness. Marcus instinctively held Andrew closer, the youth's fear starting to influence his own feelings.
Andrew ceased in his struggling. If anything he seemed to have grown completely still in the Ecstatic's arms. Marcus turned to see what had calmed the other. Stepping out of the shadows was a tall, dark shape, its powerful body covered in matted black fur and baring the hulking face of a massive wolf's. With an unfocused display of vulgar magick, the mage unleashed a twisting vortex of Life magicks, ripping away at the creature's pattern. The beast howled in pain as multiple lacerations appeared across its body.
Marcus leapt up with a sudden jolt, pulling Andrew with him. The beast lowered its head, giving the approximation of a sly grin to the mage. The Ecstatic stared in awed fear as he watched the cuts begin to heal. "Shit!"
He started to back up, but was stopped by Andrew. The blond youth was looking intently at a small glowing crystal around the creature's neck. Marcus glanced quickly at the object, feeling a growing sense of familiarity with the soft blue glow. Instinct kicked in, bringing the mage out from the lure of the crystal. Firmly taking a hold of Andrew, Marcus turned to run. He stopped in mid-flight, coming face to face with the barrel of a silencer. There was a muffled thump along with a flash of light. Marcus fell to the floor, pulling the other mage down with him as well. His own screams filled his ears like the roaring of an avalanche, but the sound went on long after he had stopped. Daring to look, he saw Kate pop off two more shots from a pistol, which was quickly followed by more deafening howls. Pulling Andrew behind him, he managed to get behind the technocrat.
Stefan waved a stone stick around as he began chanting. His voice echoed around the room, reverberating until the very air seemed to vibrate. Meanwhile, the beast began to thrash about, its huge jaws snapping at empty air. Finally, it reared up onto its hind legs and gave a defiant howl. Sickly green flames sprung to life in clawed hands of the creature. Swinging its arms around, the balls of fire flew from its hands towards the mages.
The fires dissipated before hitting the two standing mages. Stefan and Kate looked around the room in bewilderment. Andrew suddenly rose up from the floor. Though quick, his movements were smooth and precise, not those of a gangly teenager. He could feel Nox inside him, guiding his every move, opening his mind to the full glory of Creation.
He saw through the bestial guise of the creature, his sight somehow piercing to its fouled soul. Under the countless layers of rot and corruption, of hatreds and violence he saw a small, deformed man. The pitiable figure cowed before the mage's sight, curling into a fetal position as if to hide his face from the youth's intense gaze. Once more, Nox spoke through him.
<KNOW ME FOR WHOM I AM, CHILD OF THE WYRM. YOU CANNOT HIDE YOURSELF FROM ME IN DARKNESS; IT IS MY VERY BODY.>
The shadows around Andrew grew darker, wrapping around his body like clothing. Marcus reached for the other mage as he began to step towards the cowering beast, but it was if the youth had become the very darkness which clung to him. Andrew held a hand out to the collapsed form.
Humming filled the room as the small crystal rose to meet Andrew's shadowy reach. Just as he was about to grab it, the beast let out a cry that laid somewhere between anger and fear. It jumped backwards from Andrew, twisted in mid-air and crashed through the wooden parlor doors. The creature came to rest in the foyer amid shards of glass and wood. There, blocking its path was a young teen; James Cross.
The two stared for a brief moment. In that instant, the creature seemed to forget its fox frenzy. A wreck of a smile twisted its maw as it turned away from Cross and headed for the front doors. Just as it was going to smash through the wooden doors, the beast disappeared across the Gauntlet, and back into the spirit world. There it let out a triumphant howl that shattered the windows throughout the youth home. He had underestimated the boy this time, but now he knew he had the advantage in the long run. Fleeing back to the Magadon building, Jouas schemed on how to best utilize the quickening formori.
Marcus ran out of the parlor as the windows shattered with Stefan and Kate only a step behind. They all were brought up short in front of the dazed looking James. The ecstatic swore when he saw that the creature had vanished.
Stefan walked over to the youth, made a quick check for any harm, and scanned the room. "Are you hurt?"
James shook his head. "What was that?"
The three mages looked curiously over at him. His face was featureless, and his voice displayed more curiosity than fear. Stefan cast a glance over at Kate. The technocrat spoke up before the others could.
"Just a drunk," she said calmly. "He was in a wolf costume. Must have been at a party and just wandered in."
Marcus gave a slightly dubious look her way, but realized that she must have been using some magic to back up her story. "He must have gone out a window," he added. Then, upon looking about the living room and foyer, he said, "Damn, Stefan! Sorry about the windows."
James looked over at the Cultist. "It didn't go out the window. It just disappeared. Over by the front doors."
"What?" Stefan asked in surprise.
The teen started walking towards the stairs. As he neared the base, he remarked over his shoulders, "I said it just disappeared. Then the windows all broke." He stopped briefly. "I'm tired. If it's okay, I think I'm going to just go to bed." With that, he began to climb the stairs.
The three watched in stunned silence as the youth vanished upstairs. Kate turned to Stefan and whispered harshly, "There is something seriously wrong with him, Stefan. He resisted not only my conditioning, but also recognized that thing for what it was and didn't even blink an eye. That is not normal."
"Maybe seeing the thing just Awakened him," Marcus suggested.
"Even if that was the case, he wouldn't have been so blasé about it," the technocrat responded. "I'm serious, you two. I have seen civilian exposures to lycanthropes. His reaction was not normal." The last came out in a strained whisper. "I know that you have always resisted the idea of letting me take him to a Union facility, Stefan, but we may not have any other options."
"Fuck, Kate!" Stefan threw his hands up in exasperation. "When? After we figure out what that thing was, and why it was here? How about after we deal with what is going on at Magadon? And let's not forget we still need to help out Andrew's father."
The Euthanatos shook his head and looked around the room. Letting out an angry growl, he kicked at some glass on the floor. "Fuck!"
In the parlor, Andrew gazed out the shattered window. Nox stood by the street, her face raised to the near full moon. "What was that?"
"That's not what I meant," he said quietly.
Nox turned her porcelain-like face towards him.
"It felt . . . familiar."
A simple statement, not a question.
"Why?"
Andrew glanced down as he thought back to something that Marcus had told him earlier in the Parlor. He looked up at his Avatar. "One of the fragments."
In response, Nox gave him a slight smile.
"Where did he go? Do you know how to find it?"
Nox glanced down the street and raised her arm slowly until it pointed somewhere towards the business district. <THERE .>
Andrew slowly turned and walked out of the room. He noticed the others look at him as he passed them by, but he paid them no mind. He gently opened the doors and walked out to the street. Though Nox was no longer out there he faced the direction she had pointed to. The red glow of the Magadon sign shone dully at the skyscraper's height. He was suddenly aware of Marcus' concern for him, slowly blossoming in the depths of his mind.
The Cultist placed his arms around Andrew and rested his chin on the youth's shoulders. Calm settled over the blonde teen, as did a spiritual heaviness. "That is where we must go," he stated softly.
"Eventually, but not tonight."
The wind picked up, carrying the salty scent of the ocean through the city street. "No, not tonight, but soon."
James shut the door to his room. The thin curtains gently waved from a breeze coming through the window's shattered pane. It was dark except for the distorted light from the street which served to twist the shadows further. He stripped his clothes off and fell into the twin-sized bed.
The dark figure stroked his head as it crouched on the side of the bed. "They will never underssstand you like I do. They could never love you asss much asss I," it crooned quietly. "Sssleep now, ssssweet boy."
The youth laid there as the figure continued to gently run its warped fingers through his hair. His thoughts drifted to the events of the abandoned building an hour or so earlier. He smiled as the scene played over and over in his mind. He could taste the sweat and blood, and smell the sharp taste of rust and dirt; it was as if he were there again. Then, the thought turned sour. He remembered the kid's face as he was about to hit him with the chair leg.
"I should have just hit him," James said softly.
"Nexxxt time, my sssweet one. Ressst now." The figure continued to speak soothingly to James as he drifted off to sleep.
The youth had a strong mind, and while he occasionally was prodded towards the bane's goals, the corrupt spirit was having difficulty in merging with his soul. When the Black Spiral Dancer suddenly appeared in the foyer, the bane had rejoiced, thinking the creature there to help him take the youth's spirit. Instead, the infernal beast had run off into the Umbra. Yet, the thing had noticed the bane, and a momentary look of acknowledgement reassured that it would see the corrupted werewolf once more.
Meanwhile, the spirit would continue to ply the youth with the words of affection and concern that he was so desperately in need of. If things worked out, it would be one with the youth in a mere few days.
May 24th, 2002 12:30 a.m. Magadon Pharmaceuticals, Financial District, San Francisco
Roland Jouas stood back in his office atop the Magadon Pharmaceutical tower. The wind whipped papers around the room as it howled through where the glass pane once was. He had shifted back to his dwarfish human form with his clothes reforming back in their proper place. Tucking the small crystal back into his shirt, he made his way to the floor's elevator.
The doors to the sterile elevator opened, allowing him in. The trip down to the Research and Development floor was thankfully short, as the banal musak piped into the elevators was quickly fraying his nerves. By the time the doors opened back up, he had shifted into a form halfway between man and the man-wolf, causing him to look much like the classic picture of the Neanderthal man. Calming somewhat as he walked down the empty hall, his body slowly reverted down to his fully human body.
Inside the lab, a lone scientist sat at his computer, working on some project or other. Roland recognized him as being a lowly tech, not yet clued in on Magadon's true purpose. Putting on his most winning smile he approached the man.
The tech looked up at Jouas and blanched, either due to who Roland was or due to the fact that even his best smile was truly hideous. "Good evening," he greeted. "How are things going in R and D?"
Hesitantly, the man found his voice and said, "Good, sir. Is everything alright?"
"Oh, fine. I was just checking up on progress down here. Making sure that all was proceeding well." He stared at the man, smile still in place.
After a brief moment the other man began to fidget, not quite sure what Jouas wanted. "I, um . . . is there perhaps a particular job I can help you with?" Jouas could smell the man's fear as he began to perspire.
"Why, as a matter of fact, I do believe you could. I am looking for the files for project S.C."
Several minutes of nervous riffling of paperwork passed before the man came up with the project's files. He handed them off, and with what Roland was sure was a smile of relief, the tech went back to his work. Jouas went through the project book, ignoring the graphs and various statistics (most of which he was sure were faked) he finally came to the information which he wanted.
Inside a refrigerated storage unit, he located the samples of Tiny, waiting for distribution to the masses. He held some of the small pills up to his nose, taking several deep sniffs of the candy-like drugs. Satisfied, he dropped all but one of the pills back into their bin, and walked back to the small office outside the refrigerator.
The pill clattered to the floor as the werewolf shifted back into his towering crinos form. "Hear me foul spirit. I free you of the prison which you have been encased. Show yourself to me now, or may the Eater of Souls devour you whole!"
A sickly green shadow oozed out of the blue pill. It slowly formed into a spindly humanoid that stood only a few feet high. Cocking its misshapen head at the werewolf, it asked in an oily voice, "What do you want, bastard son of a bitch!"
Jouas bared his teeth at the vile spirit. Using a gift taught to him by his totem, the werewolf spoke to the bane in a voice that commanded obedience. "You will show proper respect to me, wyrmling. And you will obey me for as long as I demand it. Is that clear?"
Properly coerced, the warped bane kneeled down. "What do you wish, master?"
The werewolf pulled the crystal pendant off of the chain with a snap. He thrust it in the face of the bane and said, "Over in the Castro District, you will find a boy with part of this spirit. Go to that house and find the one like you. It is riding another in the house. Bring that one to me!"
The bane sniffed the stone and dematerialized in the spirit world. Satisfied, Jouas thought to step sideways as well, but a loud protest from his stomach gave him a better idea. Perhaps a little hunt would prove more satisfying, his thoughts going back to the nervous tech.
May 24th, 2002 1:10 a.m. Mike's Home for Youths, Castro District, San Francisco
Andrew stared at the shadows playing on the wall of his and Marcus' room. The cultist was lying behind him, arms wrapped around his side. He could tell that the dark haired mage was worrying about him, and from the sounds of his breath, was still awake. Andrew also figured that Marcus also knew that he was awake as well.
As if reading his thoughts, Marcus whispered, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fucking scared," he whispered back.
"It`ll be okay, Andrew. I won't let anything happen to you."
Andrew turned over to face Marcus. The Ecstatic noticed the mixture of worry, and some deeper feeling of guilt coming from the bond. "I don't want you to go with me when I go to Magadon." He placed his finger on the other's lips before he could interrupt. "I don't want you to get hurt, Marcus. I've already lost my mother, and my dad may be in trouble too. I can't lose you as well." Tears welled up in the blonde teen's eyes as the days events finally caught up to him.
Marcus reached over and wiped the tears off his cheek, and gave him a roguish grin. "Nothing will happen to me, babe. I promise you, I will always be with you. Besides, I have to go. There isn't any way in Hell I am just going to let you walk into that place without backup. Please, don't ask me to."
The teen curled up against the Cultist and began to shake. Marcus pulled Andrew close, letting him cry out his hurt on his chest. He spoke comforting words and promises that he prayed he could keep.
<This is the end of Chapter 11. In the next chapter, the wayward mages go on the offensive. Young Mr. Cross receives an offer he can't refuse, and Agent Preston gets company. The next chapter will be quicker in coming than this one was, so don't you fret, I shall keep writing.
Liam>