Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 00:02:47 EDT
From: Morbddream@aol.com
Subject: Crimson Tears - 17

Disclaimer: This story is a complete work of fiction. It is not meant to
imply anything about the sexuality of any of the members of Nsync. If you
are too young, or if it is illegal to read this in your area, please
leave. One more thing... I was not there, obviously, thousands of years ago
when crucifixions took place. That means I do not really know what happened
back then, so my version is a complete work of fiction. Don't mistake it
for a quote from the bible... LOL...

Note: I'm back! Someone told me the end of 16 was evil... I'm so glad that
person agrees with me.  <EG> I'll make it up to you, somehow, I
promise. OK. I HUGE warning to all Christians, Catholics, etc. Do not read
this chapter if you like jumping peoples butts for making fun of the story
of Jesus Christ! This is a HUGE warning, so DO NOT E-MAIL ME, AND COMPLAIN!
I know what I type is really a terrible thing to say about your virgin
Mary, but I am a Pagan, and she is not real to me. Neither is Jesus, so
please do not complain, flame, or anything else. Just don't read.

****************************************************************************
From 16:
	The scenery flashed, and I was standing in darkness. Xavier stood
before me, smiling slightly. "I had forgotten..." He cut me off. "Of
course. Thanks to us, you forgot the pain you so generously bestowed upon
every person you met. You forgot the tormented souls still imprisoned in
the temple. Do you remember me, now? Do you remember where you are?" I held
my head as the pain surged through it. "Yes. I remember!" I screamed. "Why?
Why does this have to happen? I am not a prophecy! I am evil! I am nothing
but a lowly necromancer, evil since the day I was born!"  His smile
faded. "No, Luke! You can't believe that!" He looked into the nothingness
above. "Why is this happening? You promised!" He screamed. I was still
holding my head, trying to suppress the pain. His watched as I lapsed into
unconsciousness. I saw two additional figures before I had reached the
point where, not even now, I can't remember. One figure had eyes of emerald
green, flashing brightly. The other was but a brilliant glow.
****************************************************************************

Chapter 17:

*Lance*

	I was standing in a golden circle. I looked around, and saw that
most of the other circles had pictures of some kind inside. Mine, along
with the rest of the guy's, was blank.  There was a large archway on the
wall in front of all of our circles. I looked around again, and saw that
everyone from this world had their own archways. Before I think about that,
a hand extended through the wall, followed by an arm. Soon, a figure stood
before all of us. I glanced over my shoulder, and saw everyone from this
world were also being visited, with one exception.

	I examined his form. He looked a lot like Justin, only older. His
hair was blonde, and straight. It extended past his shoulders a little, but
ended there. He stared at me for a few seconds, then moved on to each of
the guys. "I don't believe this. Not one of you is at least one
thousand. How can children save Derux?" Justin took exception to those
words. "Who are you calling children?" The man smirked at him. "You,
child." He shrugged, and turned to the arch behind him. He touched it
lightly with his palm. The entire wall vibrated slightly, and changed to a
bright yellow glow. "I still don't understand why you have to meet him. If
you are the legendary heroes, why do you need to meet a pathetic excuse for
an immortal?" I didn't understand what he meant at that time.

	"Enlightenment is the key. Go, now. I don't have all day." I
thought he was rude, but decided to forget about him until later. I
followed the rest of the guys through the portal. We were standing in
darkness. I saw a figure walking toward us. He looked very old, and could
barely walk. He reached us in a length of time, and examined us. "Hello, my
children. So, you were sent to witness the truth." He sighed, and
continued. "You will not believe me, but soon it will become clear." He
looked at me, his eyes soft. "I appeared in your world thousands of years
ago. I was lost, and did not understand much of anything. I ran into some
humans. They realized I was different, and decided to punish me. They
crucified me, and buried me in a cave. When I regained strength, I noticed
my hands, and feet were healing around the spikes in them. I used all of my
strength to rip them off. I tried to move the boulder, but it was
useless. A group of humans came one day, and moved the boulder for me. One
was Mary, I believe you call her. She was a dirty woman, with a terrible
reputation. She decided to use me to repair her image.

	"Her, and one of her many husbands, removed me from the cave. They
had not devised their plan any further, but something happened that got rid
of the need for that. One of the Gods, I don't remember which, came to your
world. He brought me back here. The people of earth witnessed a divine
light from the portal, and mistook it for the gateway to heaven. From that
point on, Mary and Joseph claimed to have never consummated their
marriage. She was known as the virgin Mary, and I was known as the son of
God. That is why I am forever imprisoned here, for deceiving the people of
a less advanced world." I was shocked that anyone would lie like this. "I
can't believe you! How dare you say the virgin Mary was a dirty woman! You
expect us to believe that you are Jesus Christ?" He shook his head, and
looked down. "I already told you that you wouldn't believe my
story. Eventually, though, you will understand."

	With that, he turned and walked off into the darkness. I watched
him disappear as I felt unconsciousness overtake me.

*Jacob*
	I woke on the cold marble floor, everything that had happened
running through my mind.  I groggily stood, and looked around. I saw the
God of Life standing by the wall that used to be a portal. There were other
Gods standing around the room. Everyone besides myself, Vincent, and
Alexander were unconscious. They were in the center of the room, sitting in
a huge circle. I walked over, and looked down. The scenes of the paintings
around the room were merged into one illustrious depiction. The outsiders
were there, too. On each face was a single crimson tear.  Carved into the
marble under the painting was an inscription I had never heard.

"Journey into a universal world of good versus evil. Raise your sword to
conquer an empire torn with vengeance."

	"Whats that supposed to mean?" I asked no one in particular. "Beats
me." Said Vincent.  He sounded bored. "I'm pretty sure it refers to us, and
something thats going to happen sometime soon." Alexander stood, and tapped
me on my shoulder. He motioned for me to follow. I followed him to one side
until he stopped. He pointed to something on the wall, and then at my
chest.  I raised an eyebrow, and walked up to the wall. I looked at the
small notch. I staggered back when I realized it was a keyhole. The shape
of the keyhole matched that of the pendant I wore around my neck.

	I looked at Alexander, silently asking him what to do. He shook his
head, and reached behind my neck. He unclasped the chain holding the
pendant, and handed it to me. He nodded, and walked back to the circle in
the middle of the room. I watched as he walked away, and saw Gail had woken
up. She was playing with a pendant she had been hiding. I looked back to
the wall, and saw a second, identical keyhole. "Gail. Come here." I said,
just loud enough for her to hear me.  She walked over, and hugged me
tightly. "I saw it. I saw it all." I pushed her back, holding her at arms
length. "What did you see?" A tear ran down her cheek. I wiped it away. "I
saw him kill Ryan. I saw what he did to him." I hung my head, and pulled
her to me. She cried on my shoulder for a while, until she pulled
back. "Wh-what did you want?"

	I showed her the keyholes, and my pendant. She had a look of
confusion on her face.  "Put yours there." She unclasped her pendant, and
inserted it into the notch. I did the same with mine in the other. There
was a low rumble from the wall. The marble parted, and revealed a large
plaque. Runic symbols were engraved on the plaque. I scanned over them,
trying to read the message. It was hard to decipher, but I managed to get
part of it.

	"I have hidden this message for the safety of our race. I am one of
the few remaining ancients. I have hidden two children among the
populus. They will be safe, for now." I didn't understand the
rest. "Ancients? Malak said something about ancients." Gail seemed
tired. "What did he say?" She swayed gently. She was exhausted. "Ryan was
looking for one. Malak had heard about a second. Both of them were at the
academy. Do you think they survived?" I shrugged. "All I know is you need
rest." She nodded, and walked toward Vincent, and Alexander. Everyone else
had regained consciousness, and noticed how tired she was. I was starting
to slow down, too.

	Gail almost collapsed onto the marble floor. She sat, hanging her
head. Her eyes were drooping. She slowly fell into a real sleep, different
from when we had all passed out. What we had all witnessed took a lot out
of us. Though Gail was the only one that slept.

	We sat around, waiting for her to wake. I told everyone what the
plaque said. They made as much sense out of it as we had. The Gods stood
around the room, watching silently. There was one, looking around. He was
restless, and he looked bored. He looked at us with a sneer, and turned
away.

	The God of Life stepped forward, stopping on the edge of the
circle. "It is time. You must wake her, now." JC, sitting closest to Gail,
moved to wake her. Anthony jumped, and ran to him, grabbing his
shoulder. He shook his head, and silently moved to the furthest point in
the room. "You do it." He said, his voice echoing over the distance. The
God nodded, and stepped up to her. He touched her forehead, and her eyes
shot open. She jumped up, kicking at the God. He went flying into the far
wall. Anthony was heard giggling across the room, as he walked back to the
circle. Life stood, and walked back to us. "Nice kick." He muttered. "Now,
go." I looked around. "Where?" I asked. He sighed, and looked to Luke. He
nodded, and Luke stood. "I know where. Let's go." With that, we all stood
and followed him out of the temple. We walked north for days, it seemed,
finally reaching some barren plains. I saw a flicker of light in the
distance, approaching. I smiled as I saw what was coming.

	"Gail, look." I said, pointing to the two flying figures. Her eyes
lit up at the sight.  "Where have they been?" Asked Anthony. I shrugged,
and waited for Ryu to reach me. He landed with a thud in front of me. I
kneeled, and stroked his neck, from feather to fur. He let out a sound that
was like a mix of a pur, and a groan. He screeched, and flew up, coming
down on my shoulder. He was still weightless, but looked a little bigger. I
looked over, and what I saw amazed me. "She grew fast!" I exclaimed,
watching Gail and Rosey. "Yeah, she did! I guess they found it!" I shot a
look of confusion her way. "The temple for whatever God created them! Ryu
should be getting bigger soon, too." I shook my head, and grinned. "I sure
hope he doesn't want to hop up on my shoulder when he gets that big!" She
smiled, climbing on top of Rosey. Rosey lifted into the air with a
screech. Her milky white scales gleamed in the sunlight. An ocean of light
seemed to surround her. She landed, roaring instead of screeching. Gail
hopped off, and screamed. "That was incredible! It's nothing like just
flying! Oh my Gods!" Luke had walked ahead a little, stopped, and was now
staring at us. I looked at Ryu, who once again seemed bigger, and walked
toward Luke. Everyone followed, Gail riding Rosey again.

	The Dragons huge claws were gliding along the ground. Claws that
big would usually leave prints, but she left none. Ryu had jumped off my
shoulder, and was now walking beside me. I was right, he was growing with
every passing second.

	We walked through the plains until we saw lush grasses, with a
barren circle in the center. "Stay outside of the circle." Warned Luke. We
nodded, and he walked to the center of the circle. Ryu was now as big as a
rather large horse. He watched me with his golden eyes. He motioned with
his head for me to get on, but I didn't understand. He rolled his eyes, and
opened his beak. "Get on, dammit!" He screeched. I was stunned by his
sudden use of words. Rosey looked at him, and shook her head. "You idiot!
You're not supposed to talk, yet!" Ryu bowed his head, and pawed at the
ground. "Sorry, your bitchiness!" Gail had slipped off of Rosey just in
time.  The huge Dragon lunged at Ryu, tackling him easily. Ryu had grown a
little more, but Rosey was still monstrous compared to him.

	"Get off!" Screeched Ryu. Rosey chuckled, and rolled off of
him. "Wuss." She muttered, walking back to Gail. "I told you Rosey was THE
biggest, and baddest creature alive!" Screamed Gail. Ryu fell to the
ground, sighing. I looked him over, then stared at Rosey. "Yeah, she's a
real big shot. Pickin' on this poor little thing. Look at her! She's as big
as a temple! He's a mouse to her!" Gail shrugged. "Cats don't mind." She
smiled sweetly.

	Suddenly, the ground began to shake. A steeple protruded from the
edge of the circle.  Other steeples followed. Fortification flew up from
the ground between the towers. There was a small path traced by wilted
roses disappearing behind a corner inside the temple. "S-should we go in,
or should we wait?" Asked Ryu. "You're not going anywhere." I stated. He
somehow managed to pout. "Sorry, but you're just too big. You, and Rosey
guard the entrance." Rosey looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. "I don't
take orders from the likes of YOU!" She screeched. "Rosey!"  Gail was
staring into her eyes. "Don't you ever say anything like that again! I want
you to remember just how big Ryu will get, and how powerful." Rosey looked
at Ryu, then at the ground.  "Fine. We'll guard the entrance."

*TBC...*
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OK... I had to get this out quick since it's been SOOO long. I'll get it
together, and work harder on 18. I've just been busy as hell. See ya next
time. Oh yeah... Morbddream for IMs, LilAlfie@PlaentOut.com, or
TruAmricanBadAss@AOL.com for e-mails! Bye-bye!