A Call to Arms (02/04)
-Mysterie, Sept 1999 (revised Mar 2000)

***Nick POV***
    Down on the stone floor Nick tightened his grip around Natalie when she moaned in pain. Gazing around the room the silence seemed to grow heavy after Phoenix's talk. Holding Nat all he could think about how they got here in the first place. 

~Flashback~
    A mysterious new group of vampires had appeared in Toronto.  Strange rumours seemed to follow them as time passed.  One day a group of them showed up at the loft and had left Nick and Nat with an ultimatum. Join their group of the "Dark Ones" or die. Natalie immediately took offense to the threat. 

    It was four against two, three unnaturally powerful vampires and one who looked like a vampire but was human. Nick could have sworn two of them were no older than 200 years old but his senses told him they were as strong as La Croix. The human pulled out an old looking dagger and threw it at Nick. Nat saw and jumped in front of it. All Nick could remember after that was her soft voice say, "I love you Nick".

    The "Beast" took over he took down two of them.  His anger and pain obviously reached La Croix. La Croix had broken through the skylight just in time to stop Nick from pulling out the dagger telling him that it would kill him if he touched it.  La Croix then began helping him with the fight.  Unfortunately for Nick, Nat and La Croix the group had not come alone.  Upon seeing La Croix come in through the skylight a distance away the reinforcements promptly came to aid their brethren.  The additional six vampires overcame them and brought them here. 

    They threatened La Croix with the same threat of death or life and surprisingly he refused.  The leader of the group looked like a young woman who about 15.  She wasn't like the others.  Her Asiatic face looked pale as a vampire yet she wasn't one, she seemed mortal at the time.  La Croix believing she would be a good hostage moved to grab her arm.  To his surprise she made a low growling noise and threw La Croix against the wall.  At that Nick saw her eyes... eyes that were chocolate brown that now were flaming red.  Nick saw, no felt the great evil in and around her.  What ever she was she was definitely no mortal. 

    With a deadly smile she told the others to chain La Croix up.  She then moved to the injured Nat. Nick went to intercept her but she pushed him into the wall as easily as she did with La Croix.  She moved down toward Nat as Nick helplessly tried to get up from the floor. The woman touched her finger to Nat's injury lightly. With her finger covered in Nat's blood she licked her finger much like a cat with a bowl of cream.  She leaped up with a howl and glared at Nick.

    "What's this!  Her blood it's polluted," she spat.

    "The Kahre your soldiers put in her did that you bitch!" 

    With a now familiar smile she looked at Nick.  "This Kahre does not pollute like this.  It is filled with a darkness, our darkness.  No this pollution is of the light.  Her blood... it's nasty."  With a petulant pout she twisted around to she murmured to a group of vampires to her right.  "Ares will not like this neither will the Leader.  Blood of vampires polluted with a light.  No he will not like this at all"

    With that she told the vampires to take them to the dungeon that they put La Croix in and Ares would deal with them when he came back.  When Nick and Nat was being pulled away Nick saw a vampire go to her and talk to her.

 "Dark Lady, she is here, Catherine.  For a computer industry conference."

    Smiling evilly, "good grab her as soon as you can. I want her to see what a failure she is. All her words, rejecting my true nature was wrong.  She will see how well I have done for myself."  Proudly she lifted her head and her posture straightened. "I will show her how wrong she is, how wrong she is..."  She then began to laugh hysterically.  Nick felt sorry for the unknown Catherine.
~End Flashback~

    Hearing a noise he glanced at La Croix idly rattling his chains.  Phoenix gave La Croix a long hard glare.  In Nick's experience people had died for less when La Croix was in a "good" mood.  La Croix stopped and she sighed.  Nick was slightly shocked and smiled at the thought of such a small person intimidating La Croix. Looking closer at the woman called Phoenix he remembered her sad looking brown eyes.  Nick understood the pain she would have to face, thinking back to Divia.  A child who she knew and loved was now a great evil she would have to destroy.  Knowing she was someone very powerful and that even La Croix respected her did not calm his fear for all of them.  Feeling a cold chill in his cold heart he tightened his hold on Nat.

    He wondered then what Marguerite was planning to do with them.  Thinking of all the pain Nat was in he remembered when the last time he felt so lost because he almost lost her.

~Flashback~
    Nick looked at Nat's face so peaceful on the floor.  He had taken too much.  She was gone.  *Oh Nat forgive me... I will join you soon*

    Nick had handed La Croix an ornate walking staff a few moments earlier "...my best friend".  He went to his knees in front of Natalie and held her hand.  Blood tears ran down his face as he looked again at Nat and shut his eyes as he waited for his impending end.  La Croix raised the staff high above his head "...Damn you Nicholas".

    "Nick?"  Nat opened her eyes and weakly whispered.  La Croix stopped at mid thrust and fell back in shock.  *Impossible* La Croix thought.  Nick eyes flew open and faced his beautiful Natalie.  Her eyes tinged with gold but were filled with love. 

    Nick's heart lurched, "Nat... but, but."

    Nat moved her hand to his face and put her finger to his lips.  "Because God forgives and wants you to have a second chance.  You're not condemned or he would not let me back in this existence.  He told me to tell you that we need to be together.  We are needed."

    She raised her head to Nick and kissed him.  She then took his hand and sank her fangs into his wrist.  Nick felt something indescribable when her fangs sank in.  A light seemed to blaze through his body and he felt at peace for there was a presence of the deep love they shared.  Nat stopped and smiled at him.  "Together forever?... No regrets?"

    Nick looked at her feeling at peace for the first time in 800 years.  "No regrets."  For the first time he could say that with truly no angst.  Gently she smiled and closed her eyes as she fell into a deep slumber.

    Nick looked at La Croix who had gotten off the floor and was staring at them.  They looked into each other’s eyes and Nick was shocked at his expression.  One of regret, sadness, loneliness and... immense pain.

    "You are free." La Croix spoke without emotion as Nick noticed for the first time that he did not feel La Croix's ever present link with him.  No sarcasm or lecture. Just a statement of fact. "I have lost you." With that he turned around and moved toward the skylight.

    "La Croix!"  He stopped. Nick open the link between them shocking La Croix once again.  "No you have not lost me. We are no longer father and son but we... we are still friends." 

    Shaking his head clear of something, he stated, "no I do not believe in the light.  I walk a dark path, you and her walk in one of light.  We will never meet."  With that he lifted off through the skylight and away through the sky.

    "No..." Nick whispered as he left remembering the look La Croix had earlier.  "No we did meet and you will walk that path of light again"
~End Flashback~

    Nick turned to look at La Croix standing silent in chains gazing worriedly at the outside sky, alone.  *No La Croix* Nick thought again watching a rare look appear in his eyes *you are walking on that path of light again*.