This is a work of fiction. The people depicted in this story (to the best of the author's knowledge) do NOT exist. And these events are, for the most part, all the imagination of the author. More importantly, this is a work of science fiction (and, to a significant degree, fantasy), so while some of the situations may seem probable, and scientifically possible, that hardly means that this is to be taken as real. As for content... suffice it to say, eventually, this story may well turn explicit. I'm a stickler for a good storyline, though, so it might be a while til there's anything "offensive".

If you are under 18 years of age (or whatever the legal age in your area is) you must leave. Of course, I can't very well make you leave... but if you choose to stay, DON'T GET CAUGHT! It is neither my fault, nor the fault of this wonderful site, if you get caught running around here.

Also, if you are repulsed by the concept of homosexual romance and/or sex, please feel free to leave at any time. (In fact, now would be a good time.) But hey, it's your call, of course... I can't make you leave, either... but if you choose to stay, feel free... who knows, you might even change your mind! My only question is: why are you here if that's the case?

This is a new story, mostly independent of my older work; if you are interested in that, it's located here. I say mostly, because the main character (and perhaps an occasional "guest star") are based on the Ukiah Chronicles. The inspiration for this work is Symbiota Sapiens, written by the charismatic (if occasionally over-loquacious ;P) Dean. Feel free to go read. (It's an excellent story, really. Do go read it. ^^)

Please feel free to email me with your comments/suggestions at the Hotmail address below. Or, if you'd prefer, you can IM me on the chance you catch me online. (I've been on IMs less often lately than I'd like, but I'm gonna get in the habit of leaving them up while I'm at work, at least.)

AIM: Mychyl666
MSN: jasani666@hotmail.com
Y!M: jasani669
ICQ: 21009696
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FB (Just search for my name)

And now, without further delay:

~*~ {{Recap}} ~*~

I tried to move to defend my honor against Benito's words, but still lie motionless. Benito regarded me once more, his eyes filled with... disdain, perhaps. Something like I was less than human in his eyes. "And even now, he refuses to defend himself, or even to cover his shame!"

Ryan walked calmly over to me, pulling a blanket over my waste, at least hiding that much of my body. "This was his first time since he was made a Guardian, by my guess," he said softly, but with an edge of steel to his words. "Would you judge him so harshly if you'd realized that he can't move, that his body is paralyzed from that fact alone?"

Benito blushed, and his gaze turned a bit softer. "It has been so long, that I... forgot how that can be. I judged you harshly, Damien, and I apologize." He then turned from me, returning his gaze to Ryan. "In the meantime, I suppose we'll have to suffice with explaining things to him, rather than having him learn to develop his Powers. Hopefully, he'll recover soon enough, because time isn't on our side."

~*~ Chapter 11 ~*~

Time passed, and while I was severely pissed with still not being able to move, even though I (consciously, at least) knew why, at least something was going on around me. Something less boring than silence, at least.

"You realize," Alliesa said, "even with everything we can tell him in a few hours, he'll never stand a chance against Arriata in time?" Yes, while I laid there -- still naked, under the blanket, I might add -- it seemed like the entire Citadel arrived to "help" me. Which, apparently, wasn't going to happen. Great.

"This wouldn't have to happen," Ryan said hotly, "if it wasn't for the damned war between your two sides!" He sounded truly angry, and I felt him place a hand on my hip, either protectively or possessively. "He's an innocent to this war, and now Arriata has him in her sights."

"Which wouldn't have happened if he hadn't run off," Benito said with a scowl. "It's his fault he's in this position. If he'd never entered Oakland, she would never have sensed his presence and inspected."

"And why did he run off?" Shemara countered. "Probably because your Citadel still insists that we cut ourselves off from humanity." I saw Benito look apprehensive, and she nodded firmly. "As I suspected, he was in love, and you chased him away by telling him that his future was to never know love again."

I felt Ryan's hand flinch when Shemara mentioned Tyler... if not directly, that is. "W-What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice lower -- and thick-sounding, for some reason -- all of a sudden.

She waved her hand towards the Guardians. "Oh, they tell their new recruits that they can never interact with mortals anymore, especially no one from their old lives. It's not so uncommon for one of their number to try and run from being told they can never see a loved one again."

"And with good reason," Benito countered. "They aren't ready to deal with what we have, no matter how much both you and the Fallen believe so. Mankind is still in its infancy, for all its technological toys and modern marvels. There is still war, murder, rape, theft... all form of evil still exists in the world today. What if we were responsible to bringing another Hitler, another Stalin, into power, hm? Only this time, instead of chemical and nuclear warfare, a madman with Esseren and all the powers that includes!"

"But at the same time," Aricus countered, "while there are those who are unworthy of such powers, there are also those who would use our knowledge -- a little bit, mind you, not everything at once -- to further advance humanity."

"Humanity?!" Benito scoffed. "What you call humanity is still cave-dwelling aboriginals, compared to our knowledge, our power. They may have made their caves more comfortable now, granted, and filled them with shiny toys, but the nature of their primal existence remains the same." He stopped, as though thinking, then shook his head. "To what purpose do we strive forward? Humanity itself returns to its caves each night; why must we set an example for this generation? Why are we required to give them something greater than they have, something they will merely twist and pervert to serve their own selfish ends?"

"Enough!" Ryan shouted, so forcefully that I actually jumped a bit. Shocked, I tested my arms, finding them a bit slow to respond, but effectively under my control. Ryan felt the jump, and looked down at me, concern in his eyes. "How are you feeling?" he asked me gently, as though they hadn't been arguing moments before.

"Maybe..." I started, unsure what to say. "Maybe you're right, Benito. I don't want to think about what these Esseren could do in the hands of a madman." He smiled -- more like a smirk, really -- but I cut him off as he moved to speak. "However, not all humans are madmen, and not everyone would use these for evil. If all humans did so, what's the point of recruiting individuals to become new Guardians, huh?"

He looked stunned, but I pressed on. "Maybe restoring the Citadel is the right answer -- no, it definitely is," I said quickly, seeing a slow anger beginning to rise in his eyes. "But restoring the Citadel in thousands of years won't help if all of humanity turns on itself now, leaving nothing but the few Guardians and Fallen to bicker in the new Citadel. We want to restore the Citadel too, but we don't want to forsake the humans to do it."

"Well said," Aricus said solemnly, clasping a hand briefly on my bare shoulder. "But this type of intellectual discourse is better suited for times of peace, and that's not what we have now." With a flourish, he stood and moved out the door, followed by all save Ryan and Benito.

"Your training begins in 5 minutes," Ryan said softly, smiling down at me. "Get up and get dressed, and let's get going."

First off... can I just say that there's a quote in this chapter that I've been using as one of my taglines since 2006, a quote that's been 5 years in the making (so to speak)? It's good to finally get those words down and published, really good. (It's actually my favorite line of Benito's -- of pretty much ever. He'll never top that, no matter what.)

Second, it's good to see I can pull off a semi-decent update schedule. If I can keep this up, this story will be finished by the end of the summer. Like I said, I've only got a little ways to go, and thankfully, due to an epiphany I had just before writing this chapter, I now know pretty much everything that'll be happening. (Granted, it wouldn't be the first time one of my stories decided to throw a curveball at me. More like the hundredth time, actually.)

ANYways, enough of that. Feel free to send your comments (and constructive criticism) my way, and let me know if you're interested in being added to the mailing list for the remaining chapters of this story! Email, as always, is jasani666@hotmail.com -- and make sure you include Lost Children of Atlantis, so the email doesn't get misdirected to the recycle bin with all the spam I get!

Until next chapter... ~Mychyl