For the most part, the following excerpts of conversation are actual posts
from the 4everknightfanatics List, with most of the names and incriminating
evidence removed to protect the guilty. Please forgive any liberties taken
with the vampires visiting here but, honestly, they really did seem to be
enjoying themselves!

Don't own 'em---wish we did! Guarantee they'd have been a whole lot happier
with us than they were with Jim Parriott and Sony/TriStar. We'd have seen to
it!! 

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In the Beginning.....

Fanatics Castle
1228 Denial Lane
Forever Knight DenialLand



The debate had been raging for days....possibly even weeks; nobody seemed to 
be keeping track anymore. The sounds of cheerful babble and laughter mingled
with the aromas of coffee, cappuchino, sweet buttery popcorn and fresh Godiva 
chocolate, filling the huge, sprawling ancient castle to overflowing with
good feelings. Multiple conversations ran rampant, fraught with good-natured
ribbing and innuendo as the occupants of the Fanatics HQ indulged in one of
their favorite pastimes, discussing the glorious qualities of everyone's 
favorite vampires.

The light of the full moon washed over the stone parapets and turrets and
spilled down into the open center courtyard making the brightly glowing
torches in the wall sconces seem completely unnecessary and redundant. 
The atmosphere was deceptively bright and light-hearted, belying the gravity 
of the main topic of discussion, the Grande Debate whose outcome would far 
overshadow the importance of such issues as Global Warming and World Hunger.

"I am still older than you.  Does that mean I get first dibs on LaCroix since
I am closer to his age than you guys?" 

" No way!!!! He's mine. Sorry I got to him first. But, I will tell you what, 
if you are a good girl, I may let you borrow him every now and again." 

"No way! At 41, I'm still closer than you are. Neener!"

"Excuse me, ladies. Women peak sexually at 30. Since,
I just happen to be 30.....I think LC deserves the
very best, don't you? He can have me- at the height
of my sexual prowess!"

"Okay, it seems everyone wants LaCroix.  Can I have Nick then?  He's a 
butt-head sometimes, but I can train him.  Where were those handcuffs?"

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you take him... Nick is my favorite vampire. 
Sure, he's a little dense at times, but he's so cute when he broods!"

Teri got to her feet with an amused laugh, heading for the coffee pots off to
the side. While pouring herself a new mugful and doctoring it to its properly
syrupy sweet consistancy, thus guaranteeing that wonderful caffeine and sugar
buzz, she reflected on the conversation. These ladies were so much fun, even 
though they were terribly hung up on those poor unsuspecting vampires. As for
herself, while she could love and respect Nick Knight and the awe-inspiring
LaCroix, there was only one vampire that had truly stolen her heart, and 
unfortunately he _knew_ it! The thought of him pulled her mind elsewhere and 
she smiled dreamily about long dark hair and brown eyes while the conversation
swirled and eddied around her.

"One box of anatomically correct chocolate Nunkies-pops could never be enough
to satisfy one woman!"

"Can I get a crate of anatomically correct chocolate Nickpops?????? 
I live in Florida....hurricane season will be coming in a few months...I 
should stock up...I think 3 or 4 crates should hold me for a while!"

"I live in Florida, too. Believe me, those things come in handy during
hurricane season. You never know when you'll need the emergency supplies, and
when the wind and rain get really bad, it's very comforting to have something
that at least looks like Nunkies close at hand. I hear the Mercs have Nickpops
as well. I'm sure they'd sell you a crate or two, and they might not even 
charge your immortal soul for them."

Squeals of laughter pulled her head back down out of the clouds and she 
turned away from the coffee pots to head back toward the group. A practically
unheard sound and a blast of cold air startled her into almost dropping her 
mug as she jumped nearly out of her skin. She whirled to find a very familiar
supernatural chum just touching down beside her as if her very thoughts had 
summoned him. Aggravation over spilling her coffee and pleasure at seeing him
warred with one another.

"rrrRRRRR!!" she growled at him in mock ferocity. "Why do you DO that?!?" 
Before he'd even opened his mouth to speak, she stopped him. "No, don't say 
it! I've heard it before!" He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and 
gave her an ornery smirk that brought out the dimple and made his eyes 
sparkle. 

"Good to see you, too," said Javier Vachon in way of greeting, seeming 
completely unruffled. He was too used to her. "So....what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just us Fanatics getting crazy and getting high on 
caffeine and chocolate." He nodded silently, but his eyes kept wandering back
to the main bulk of the group as they laughed and chattered, oblivious to his
presence. They had obviously piqued his curiosity.

"They sound like they're having fun."

"Oh, yes. They've been getting exceptionally twisted coming up with all sorts
of evil and horrible things to do to LaCroix and Nick, and plotting who gets 
to do what to whom, and when."

"Evil and horrible things...?" he repeated, wondering if he should be 
concerned.

"Yep. Come to think of it, LaCroix would probably enjoy it!"

Vachon blinked at her without comment for a moment. "Should we be joining 
them?"

Teri took a sip of the hot coffee before answering him. "Naw....it's probably
safer over here."

"Safer?"

"Umm-hmmmm," she murmured around another swig."See that up there?" He turned 
and looked where she indicated, his eyes travelling up and up and UP to the 
20-story high monstrosity hovering there with its anti-grav boosters and 
firehoses and blinking lights and gadgets and gizmos, an obvious marvel of 
nano-technology. "That's Abra."

"Abra? That's an abra?" he said, quite apparently unsure of what he was 
looking at. "What's an abra?"

"No,"Teri corrected him, pointing at the monstrosity,"that's an Ice-water 
Vat. _THAT_ is Abra. The Vat is her creation." His brown eyes swept back up 
to the top of the thing once more and, squinting a little he realized he 
could actually make out the form of a person up there, almost invisible even 
to his vampire eyes.

"There's a person up there," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Umm-hmmm. Abra. She's on guard duty." She left the sentence hanging there as
she sipped her coffee, wondering with a smirk if he would repeat her once 
more. He didn't take the bait this time. He licked his lips once and tipped 
his head down, gazing unblinkingly up at her through his eyebrows. She got 
the distinct impression he was counting to ten. She decided it would probably
not be wise to let him get that far.

"From time to time the Fanatics tend to get a little carried away, you know 
what I mean? The conversations get a little bit too.....um... spicy. It's 
Abra's job to keep an eye on things and douse people with just the right 
amount of ice water to keep them from going into overheated meltdown or 
self-combustion." 

"Does that happen often?"

"What, the dousing or the self-combustion?"

Vachon made a sound in his throat that sounded suspiciously like a repressed 
growl and really looked like he was thinking his hands would fit nicely 
around her neck right now. This time she laughed outright at him, almost 
choking on the coffee she was still trying to drink. 

"Yes, actually with this bunch, Abra could be TWO people and still be hard 
pressed to keep up! Every now and then she feels the need to upend the entire
Vat on the whole group, just for good measure." She grinned at him impishly.
"She's only gotten me once, and that was kinda by accident."

Vachon looked thoughtfully back toward the main group and his acute hearing 
picked out bits and pieces of various discussions that ranged from naked 
armies, togas and underwear, see-through nighties, silk scarves and 
four-poster beds and chocolate syrup. The names of Nick Knight and Lucien 
LaCroix were sprinkled liberally throughout. The dark eyebrows went up a 
notch and his eyes scanned up the side of the Vat again.

"That's a lot of ice water," he said calmly."Aren't we standing a little 
close here?"

"That was my thought,"she agreed and led him further away from the group, 
over toward the edge of the courtyard to some comfy looking patio furniture.
As he sat, Teri looked down at her coffee mug and suddenly felt like she was 
being a horrible hostess. "I would offer you something, but we haven't gotten
all the supplies stocked for the castle yet. I'm afraid I don't have anything
of your particular.... uh...vintage....."

"That's OK, I've eaten," he replied, smiling smugly at her obvious 
discomfiture. The acoustics in the old castle seemed perfect, even out here 
in the courtyard and the rise and fall of the conversations easily reached 
them where they sat.

"Okay, you guys keep LC.  I'll get out of that line, but I want GER.
Knowing that I'll have to stand in line for him, I think I'll create a harem 
of my own...hmmmmm
Let's see...
Harrison Ford
Sean Connery
Sting
That should hold me for a while....."

Vachon's eyebrows pulled together in puzzlement,"Who's GER?"

Teri almost answered him but paused, and reconsidered."Uh.....never mind. You
don't know him." Vachon looked like he wasn't exactly satisfied with that 
answer, but before he could pursue the matter further they were distracted 
by movement in the center of the courtyard.

"Anybody else want some chocolate covered potato chips?" asked Elise, 
detaching herself from the main party and heading for the snack counter. As 
she turned, her eyes fell on Teri and their visitor for the first time since 
he'd arrived. "Hey!" Elise hollered,"What are y'all doing over there?"

Vachon waved hello with a friendly smile but allowed Teri to answer for them.

"Oh, don't mind us! You guys have fun standing in your lines! I think me and 
Vachon will just sit over here in the corner and enjoy a nice quiet chat by 
ourselves!" 
  
Elise laughed and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "'A nice, quiet chat', she 
says. Yeah, right, and I'm buying the Golden Gate Bridge tomorrow. It's on 
sale, you know... "
 
Teri feigned total cherubic innocence."The Golden Gate Bridge, really? Oh. 
That's nice! Congratulations!! Are you going to move it home or leave it 
where it is? Or were you planning to move it here so we can drive across it 
to get to the Fanatics Castle?"

Whatever Elise might have answered with was forestalled as another vampire 
swept into the room met by various cries of,"Miklos!" "Hey! Miklos, what are 
_you_ doing here?" The Raven's famous bartender was his usual quietly 
charming self, returning their greetings and explaining that he was dropping 
off their order of supplies for the castle, including some mysterious crates 
marked simply "chocolate pops". They had no labels identifying where they 
were from or who was supposed to receive them, but knowing the Fanatics' 
chocolate addictions, he thought they might be appreciated. The Fanatics tore
into the crates with unbridled glee, sampling chocolates and continuing their
discourse as if it had never been broken.

"I can see now we are gonna have to come up with some sort of LC share 
policy. You can have him on alternate Tuesdays, how's that?"
 
"Alternate Tuesdays!!! Are you completely mad!!! No.....it has to be Tuesday
and Thursday at the very least....and every week come to that!! Can I sign
up for the rota and fill in on any of the days if someone is sick??????"
 
"I can assure you, I don't think me,or ANY of us will EVER be THAT sick. 
Don't be selfish." 
 
"Can I get in the Sean Connery line? And start one for Donald Sutherland 
<another sexy voice> and Mel Gibson?" 
  
"Fine. I'll head up the Patrick Stewart line." 
  
Brown eyes met blue eyes as Vachon raised quizzical eyebrows. "Are they 
always like this?" 
  
"Always! But it's ok, I think we're sitting far enough out of the way over 
here not to get any ice-water splashed on us." 
  
Vachon noddded thoughtfully, then shaking his head with a quiet chuckle 
relaxed back in his chair to watch some more. 

"Well this certainly isn't Godiva chocolate!"

"No, but it was free! Thanks to Miklos!"

"Think Godiva would make us some of those anatomically correct Nunkies and 
Nicky Pops? OK, OK! Teri is squealing! Vachon pops too!"

Teri cringed inwardly and tried not to look at the vampire beside her, but 
she felt those brown eyes boring holes into the side of her head and could 
not find the will power not to look back. "Vachon pops?" His voice was rich 
with amusement. She searched frantically for some way to answer him that 
could prove her innocence but never had a chance. From across the courtyard 
a new figure raced merrily over to the biggest of the crates and pried the 
lids off.  

"Vachon pops!!! I agree!! Definately!! Hmm...life size Vachon pops?" 
Kiana peeled the shipping bubble-wrap off the giant chocolate figures and 
freed them completely from the crates. Her mind seemed to wander for a 
minute. "Oooh yeah....." she purred with an evil grin.

"YAAY!! Another soul with good taste!" laughed Teri, applauding Kiana's 
outspokenness. "Hmmmmm......"she peeked back at Vachon who was staring 
open-mouthed and stunned at his likeness carved in fine chocolate. Kiana, so 
tickled with taste-testing her yummy discovery, had yet to notice the real 
thing sitting only yards away. "Be careful,luv," chortled Teri warningly."If 
you get pulled into this you may end up being doused with ice-water by 
association!" Vachon was starting to look more than a little concerned and he
glanced nervously up at the Vat and around the courtyard as if plotting the 
most direct route to the nearest exit, just in case.

Teri's words somehow caught Kiana's attention and she looked up from her 
delightful repast, her face smudged with chocolate. Squealing with pure joy, 
she quickly abandoned the chocolate-pops and all but flew across the 
intervening distance, throwing herself into Vachon's lap and planting a 
chocolaty kiss on his cheek. He didn't seem to mind a bit, in fact he was 
quite obviously enjoying her enthusiasm, though he did wipe off the 
chocolate.

"Hello Kizzi," he said affectionately. "I didn't know you were here, too." 
She nodded wordlessly and snuggled happily into his shoulder, smearing a 
little more chocolate off onto his jacket. He didn't notice, he was too busy 
counting the stars in her eyes as she gazed adoringly up at him. Teri started
to feel just a little uncomfortable watching what she considered to be two of
her best friends getting so cozy.

Suddenly the sound of electronic klaxons rang through the night air as the 
Ice-water Vat's automatic overheat sensors set off the alarms. All eyes 
turned to see the massive invention slowly rotate on its anti-grav boosters, 
seeking the source of the heat overload. It ground to a stop and Abra peered 
down from her lofty perch, directly at the vampire and the two mortals. Teri 
gulped, trying to swallow a sudden case of drunken butterflies that had 
somehow found their way into her throat. She scrambled up out of her seat and
started backing away, as if there was actually a place she could go where the
Ice-water Vat and its attachments couldn't reach her, accidentally or 
otherwise.

"Uhhhhh.....Vachon?" She stammered. "I think it's time to get out of here!" 

Kiana curled herself around Vachon with a smile. "Aww...Vach...you wouldn't 
leave us all just yet would you...?"she cooed, smiling sweetly. 
 
"Yikes!!!"Teri felt the impending doom of the Ice-water vat looming closer 
and now she started edging toward the door. She had tried to warn him! "Sorry
Vachinetti, you're on your own, pal! I'm sure you can handle this!" 
  
Vachon was trying to look at both girls AND the Vat all at the same time, and
was quickly beginning to wonder why he'd ever thought it'd be safe to visit 
1228 Denial Lane..... Then he looked back down into Kiana's dreamy blue eyes
and couldn't help but grin back at her. As Teri continued to back hesitantly 
away, Kiana smiled and wrapped her arms tightly around Vachon's neck as he 
picked her up and flew her to a safe distance...far...FAR away from the 
Ice-water Vat. Teri could hear her friend's giggles as the vampire took her 
easily over the castle wall and out of sight. 

"HEY!!!"Teri was left standing open-mouthed in dismay, hands on her hips. But
then, she thought with disgust, what did you expect? You told him he was on 
his own! Oh,well......she thought with a sigh, he'll be back someday. "Don't 
forget where you got him from, Kiana!!!"She called over the wall after them.

Suddenly the beautiful night seemed cold and boring, and she disconsolately 
went over to refill her nearly empty coffe mug. Caffeine and chocolate now 
seemed a poor substitute for the real thing. Her path to the coffee pots took
her past the wooden crates and strewn packing wrap. She discovered Kiana's 
now forgotten collection of life-sized chocolate Vachon-pops and her eyes 
threatened to bug out of her head at the sight of the masculine figures with 
suspiciously missing munch-marks out of strategic places.
 
"Omigod!!!" she squealed in horror. "Bring him back in ONE piece too!" 

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