Fear

...Christina is walking around the house with Diane wrapped around her arm, when suddenly a flash of thunder strikes and with the blink of an eye, Diane disappears. The lights start to flicker as she walks down the hallway, �Diane...� she whispers, �Diane?� she calls out louder. �Where are you?� She keeps walking down the hallway and it seems as if she�d been walking for a long time. Finally she starts to run down the hallway and eventually reaches the living room.

She starts to look around and can find no one in the vicinity. �Hello?� she calls out quietly. Still, no one answers. She moves closer to the couch and the fireplace. The fire burning catches her attention and she stands there staring at the flames and the kindling of the firewood. Mesmerized by the flames, she stands frozen. Suddenly the flames start to emerge out of the fireplace, slowly moving towards her across the carpet.

She looks down at the fire slowly approaching her. �Wake up,� she whispers to herself. �Christina, wake up! It�s only a dream.� She closes her eyes for a few seconds, and reopens them, the fire still inching towards her is burning through the carpet and emanating immense heat. �This can�t be real� she thought to herself. As the fire surrounded her, her eyes began to water and transform itself to a cat-like eye. It glowed a bright green and her hearing also became more acute, hearing the screams from others inside the house.

She felt the heat of the fire on her arms and legs, and she felt the flames singe her clothing. Her jeans suddenly caught on fire and she was in shock, she fell to her knees and began screaming. She then notices a figure outside the window, a figure of a tall, pale woman, with long black hair.

The flames begin to climb up her leg, and she cries out in pain...she wakes up in her bedroom sweat rolling down her head and tears from her eyes.

Everyone is sitting in the den, trying to figure out what had happened. But there is total silence. No one utters a word. Jill and Amy are asleep on the couch both sitting with Matt and Mike. �I don�t think they should remember what happened tonight,� Mike suggests.

�I don�t think so either,� Matt agrees, �Vinny, can you make them forget?�

Vinny just nods his head but remains silent. He kneels before them and holds their heads and erases all the illusions they experienced that night. Everyone sits in silence still, no one even moves. They seem like inanimate statues. Then Megan awakens and struggles to get up. �It was all a dream?� she asks. �It seemed so real...�

�Yea, It was only a dream,� Tom said without hesitation. Megan, still exhausted, fell back into her sleep. �I think those illusions used up some of our energy,� Tom suggests, �even I�m still tired, and I think everyone else agrees.�

Everyone nods and the silence once again prevails. The doorbell then disrupted the quietness of the room. Paolo tries to get up to answer the door, but collapses from the lack of energy back into the leather couch. �It�s ok Paolo, I�ll get it,� Mike insists. Paolo just sits back and tilts his head to the side and rubs his temples with his hands.

�Who do you think that could be?� Christina asks.

They all look at each other in confusion and shrug. Diane begins to fall asleep and is surprised by Carlo�s entrance. �Is everyone ok? What�s going on?� Carlo asks in concern. �You all look so exhausted. What did you guys do last night?�

�Well, Mike, Paolo and I fought against three mages, and a spell was cast on the house when we returned. Everyone�s fears somehow manifested into some sort of illusion and that�s what caused our tiredness.� Vinny explains. Carlo just stands there in confusion and shock that all that could have happened.

�Any ideas on how those fears manifested?� Matt asks Carlo.

�Either a very powerful spell,� as he states the obvious, �or the mages have been learning some new magicks and attaining more powers.�

�So you�re telling us that these mages are also getting more powerful by the second?� Kate says fearfully.

Mike reenters the room to find Matt and Jill asleep on one couch, Megan and Amy sleeping on the other end , and Tom and Vinny with their heads down on the table also asleep. Christina and Diane are stretched out on the floor, Paolo is sleeping in his chair and Kate slowly crawls over to him and squeezes next to him. Mike and Carlo just stare at each other and walk into the next room.

Mike pulls out a chair from the dining table and sits down. Carlo paces around the table trying to figure out how last nights events came to be. �I think I remember an ability of a Mage to look into their victims and find their worst fear and some how with their magick, manifest it. But the illusions feed on their energy, that�s why everyone is so weak now,� Carlo explains.

�That explains a lot, but which mage would this be?�

�Most likely the Darkness mage. She could have either learned it, or stolen it from another supernatural. But they can also be recruiting other demons and other beings into their ranks.�

�That�s a little scary. They�re too powerful already, but to fight others...that�s going to be really tough.�

�So, Dan...are you reconsidering our offer and finally staying at our side? Or do you want to experience what your �friends� did last night.� The darkness mage says threatening him.

�Your powers do not scare me,� He replies infuriated. �You know I will not join you so why do you keep insisting on sending your cronies to pick me up? Next time, they won�t return with me. Next time they won�t return at all.� Dan runs out of the cavern and shapeshifts himself into a wolf.

As he runs through the forest, he passes 3 people lying on the ground. One guy is dressed in dark clothing and a shirt with the band �Tool� imprinted on it and a chain hanging from his pants. Around his neck is a silver necklace with the symbol of air as its charm. And the other a very tall man in blue jeans and a white shirt and a black silk necklace with a charm representing the earth. The other is a blonde girl with a small green shirt, and camouflage pants. Around her neck she bears a symbol of a leaf.

Slowly they awaken, �Why are we back in human form? How did we...� puzzled the tall guy asks the others.

�I think it�s because we used up so much of our energy in fighting them, Troha. I think we should rest and let the others take over for now,� he replies.

�Yeah, I think Greg�s right. We need to rest,� the girl says, �we�re going to need all our energy.�

Suddenly they all disappear in their own ways, Greg disappears in a cloud of steam, Troha melts into the earth, and Ivy�s is wrapped with vines and after a second the vines return to the trees and show that Ivy has disappeared.

Back inside the caverns, Mary and Pyro capture another vampire and present him to Silver. �So you are the infamous William Valdone. I�ve heard so much about you and your friends in the �Four Corners.� And if I remember correctly your powers follow the path of Mortis under the Wiccan Discipline in the Sacred Circle.�

�I see you have been doing your homework on us,� William replies. He is a young man around the age of 25 with short brown hair and wears a black suit and a dark gray tie. �My powers are stronger than yours, mage. And either way, the others will come for you.�

�Oh really? Is that so,� she motions for the others to enter and Freeze enters with Arthur Morgannwy in her arms. �You mean your powerful psychic friend here? Or do you mean The almighty Matthias Bordeaux with the pyrotechnics,� she says as Aquamarine enters dragging him alongside her. �Shock is still in search of Angelus Tolentine, he can be a little hard to capture. You �good� vampires disgust me.�

Shaken by the enslavement of his comrades, he drops his head and is in shock. �What do you want from us?�

�We are having some set backs as a result of those annoying Mystics, fledglings new to their powers. They�ve been making it difficult for us to succeed, and you are going to help us exterminate them.�

�Ok. I�ll do what you ask, just do not harm my friends.�

�I swear I won�t. They are too valuable to destroy, and their powers cannot be stolen. So, I would rather keep them here. And alive, well,� she stops for a minute and thinks, �they�re dead already...whatever.�

�Just tell me what to do...�

Back at the house, the dead seem to be awakening as everyone struggles to rise up and walk around. �They look like zombies,� Mike says.

�Yea, draining of energy can do that to a person. Looks like the only ones that are normalizing quickly are Tom and Paolo.� Carlo points out.

Paolo and Tom both approach them at the table, �Can you drive me to get some coffee,� Paolo tiredly asks Mike. �I need to wake up now.�

�Sure. Get your coat and we�ll go. Tom you want anything?�

�I�ll come with you. Carlo can you stay here and watch over everyone? Thanks.� Tom says.

Carlo just nods his head and looks around to see people stumbling and sleeping. �This place is a total mess...�

As they drive down to the nearest Dunkin� Donuts, the sky is tinted with a reddish orange color from the sunset. �This day seems so long, and I have never been so tired in my life. What exactly happened?� Paolo asks.

�Well,� Mike starts, �The darkness mage apparently has a new power, called Fear. This enables her to use our own fears against us manifesting into reality and feeding on our energy. That�s what made us so tired.�

Tom and Paolo sit there and stare into space in amazement. �So that�s what happened�� Tom says still a bit confused.

When they arrive at D&D, they all go inside to order their food and drinks. As Paolo walks up to the counter, and suddenly feels an inhuman presence. He looks around as the cashier asks, �Can I help you?� He ignores the question and searches for the presence. �Excuse me, Can I help you?� He is still unsure of where it is, but he knows it�s near. �Sir?�

�Oh, sorry. Yea, I�ll have a small large coffee coolatta, French Vanilla, and a bacon egg and cheese on a plain bagel please. Thanks.� The clerk goes to make his order and he again starts to search around.

�Paolo are you ok?� Mike asks. �What�s wrong?�

�There�s something here. I think it�s a�� he starts then whispers, �mage, or two.�

Tom looks at him and says, �are you serious? We�re too weak to fight now!�

�I don�t think we�ll have to, it�s definitely a mage, but its powers are suppressed to a low.� Paolo assures him.

�Good.�

All of a sudden, Troha walks in with Ivy, unnoticed by Paolo, Mike and Tom. Troha realizes that the three figures that stand before him are Mystics. He turns to Ivy who in turn looks at him. They sense Paolo�s confusion and do not bother to make themselves known for they too are weakened from their previous encounter. �They don�t know it�s us, Ivy. We�re safe for now,� Troha whispers to her as he pulls her closer to him.

Suddenly the door swings open and three other people enter. Two men walk in followed by a woman. Both men stood with solid statures, but one wore fatigue colored pants and a black shirt, and the other wore light blue jeans, and a tight white shirt with a black and white windbreaker. The woman stood tall and thin, with long brown hair that reached down her back. Her eyes showed a bright green and sparkled in the light.

�I think I was wrong�� muttered Paolo, �there�s more of them!� he turned around to Mike and Tom and they just stared at him in awe. �Let�s get what we need and leave, quickly.� He whispered to them. Then he noticed that five sets of eyes, were fixed upon him. They seemed to stare blankly at him. He then picked up his order, waited another second for Tom�s and Mike�s, then casually walked out and into the car.

Then Dan walks in bumping into Mike as he walked by. �Oh, and look who�s here. So, how�s our very own degenerate?� the short figure in the windbreaker taunts.

Dan walks by them ignoring their malignant comments. �You know, either way you�re headed in the same direction we are. It�s in your blood. You were created by evil�The one great evil, You came from Silver.� Troha explained.

�You are a very powerful being, created by one of THE most powerful. You can do anything you want, and there�s no stopping you.� Greg assures him.

Dan still tries to ignore but can�t seem to. He turns around violently swinging his arms and his fingernails grew long and sharp and pointed them at the mages. �Leave me alone. I am not evil nor will I ever be evil.�

The blonde girl looks up acknowledging the camera and motioning to it, informing Dan of its presence. �I cannot be taped�remember?�

He doesn�t bother to order his drinks anymore and just walks out the door in rage. The mages inside the store just laugh and look at him in pity.

�They�ll see what I can do, they know not what they�re getting themselves into. All my powers are unknown to them�They only know a few�� Dan says to himself.

Paolo, Mike, and Tom return to the Manor to find everyone finally awake; however, still weakened. They are all sitting at the table staring tiredly into space. Mike and Tom set themselves down and Paolo gives the others some coffee. �I�ll take Amy home now. She needs a lot of rest, and in this house, that�s impossible,� Mike says. �You guys should take them home too,� he refers to Jill and Diane. He then picks Amy up and puts her coat on and leads her out the door with him.

Matt looks at Jill and motions for them to go as well, �I�ll take you home now, Jill.� She walks up to him and hugs him. She leans over to kiss him on the cheek, then walks over to the closet and gets her coat. They both leave quietly.

�Diane can stay over in my room,� Christina suggests. �Diane, you can go lie down in my room. Rest for a while.�

�Thanks Chris,� Diane says. �I guess I�ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.�

�Goodnight D,� simultaneously uttered by everyone in the room.

Paolo walks over to Kate, and helps her get up and walks her upstairs to his room. Leaving Carlo, Tom, and Christina alone in the dining room. �So, do you think they�ll be back soon?� Christina asks.

�They will definitely come back, but the question is, when?� Carlo quietly replies. �Their powers have gotten stronger, there�s no telling what they have learned.�

�Well, we�ll just have to find out somehow,� Tom insists.

Outside, they hear the trees aggressively thrashing against the wind. And then, a sudden flash of light disturbs the darkness outside. Tom, Carlo, and Christina decide to go outside and check it out. Besides hearing the thunder, rustling of leaves, and seeing the flashes of lightning, Christina�s new senses detected other disturbances. She heard a woman laughing and very heavy breathing, neither of which came from her or her companions. She knew there was someone else out there with them. �Carlo, do you hear that? I think there�s something else here. I can feel it, and I can hear them!� she indicated.

�Yea, I can sense a mage,� he said to her, �Oh! I sense Mary as well!� With that, Mary came floating out of the trees, and Ivy came out of the tree itself! From the darkness emerged two other vampires.

�Leave Mary to me!� Carlo demanded.

�I�ll take on the vamps,� Tom said as two stakes took shape in his hands from a puff of gray smoke. He stood his ground as the two male vampires slowly advanced towards him. Both vampires fought with great force against him, but he managed to dodge most of the attacks and got in some hits of his own.

The vampires were too fast for him and they eventually knocked him down. But without any hesitation, he jumped up onto his feet and fought back. When he finally saw an opening to make an attack, he was able to plunge the stake into one of the vampire�s chest. �That hurt!� the Vampire angrily groaned, �but you kind of missed my heart!� He lunged towards Tom and got his hands around his neck, choking the breath out of him. He gasped for air and he dropped the stakes as he was lifted into the air slowly by the vampire. �I think I�m going to acquire a new power today by killing you!�

Then, a sudden breeze blew by but they saw nothing. Tom noticed streaks of colors moving around, and he also realized that the stakes he dropped were missing. He looked at the Vampire choking him, and he saw a terrifying look in his eyes. A few seconds later he turned into dust and Tom fell to his feet.

�Thanks Matt!� he said, and Matt appeared with a blur.

�Anytime. As of now we have to help the others.�

�Wait, there�s one more Vamp somewhere here, I swear there were two!� Tom said in anger.

Meanwhile, Christina is face to face with Ivy, and she is trying to utilize her newly found powers. Ivy stared at her as if she were greatly inferior to herself. �So it looks like I get stuck with nature girl here. Plant Magick is it? Well, let�s get this over with,� Christina confidently said.

Ivy let out a scream as she ordered the vines around her to restrain Christina. She evaded that attack and started to do amazing somersaults and handsprings towards Ivy. When she got close enough, she gave her a swift kick to the gut and sent her flying backward with an immediate uppercut.

Ivy with all her strength attempted to get up to her feet, and retaliated by creating sharp wooden spears from the ground and launching them in pairs at Christina. She evaded all of them and she watched them as they pierced the side of the stone house. They stuck there protruding from the walls. She stood there staring at the sharpness of the spears. She then bolted towards her and struck Ivy with strong punches. When she finally fell the second time, she was fed up and disappeared into the earth.

Carlo faced Mary in the back and it started off with Mary using her power to send Carlo flying back into a tree. �You know you cannot defeat me. Why do you even try?� she asked him. Carlo then pulled out a stake and ran towards her holding it in the air. When he got close enough, she struck him in the gut with a powerful punch. He fell to the ground and cried out in pain.

Suddenly, Matt began to encircle her creating a whirlwind around her that lifted her into the air. He made a sudden stop and she fell right to the ground. Tom created a long iron chain and tied her up to the tree. She could not move. They also put a blindfold on her to keep her from using her telekinetic powers.

Christina arrived, �what are you going to do with her?� she asked them, �are you going to kill her now?�

�That�s what we do right? Vanquish evil? Yea so that�s what I�m going to do,� Carlo said in a little pain. He turns to face her and says, �So, I�ve finally succeeded in capturing you. I�ve waited so long for this day!�

She stood there laughing. �You know you can�t kill me. I�m far stronger than you will ever be, and�� she paused for a second and a bolt of fire came streaming down from the sky. Matthias revealed himself standing on the rooftop. �I�m always a step ahead of you!� she continued with enthusiasm. �This is Matthias Bordeaux,� she said. Carlo quickly looked up in confusion. �I�m sure you�ve heard of him, Carlo. I believe you�ve met him before as well.�

�How can that be?� he thought to himself. �I Thought he was one of the good guys? There�s something definitely wrong here.�

Mary lifted herself up and said to them, �We will definitely meet again. I promise you! And Next time, you won�t be so lucky to be alive.� She disappeared into the thundering clouds and Matthias disappeared into the shadows.

�That can�t be him,� he said aloud and very confused. �He is supposed to be a good vampire!� he told them.

�There are other vampires?� Matt asked. �He seemed to have powers that normal vampires don�t have!�

�He is part of a very powerful clan of Vampires. The Sacred Circle is team of Good Vampires that includes four of the worlds most powerful clans. The Tremere Vampires are a clan of vampiric mages, the Brujah who are fighters and their skill lie in combat and have great strength and speed, despite their size. Toreador are talented and wealthy vampires. And the Ventrue are well versed in politics and are very wealthy as well.�

�Sounds bad�� Christina said in fear.

�But these vampires are clearly not evil. Those part of that group are devoted to helping people and hunting demons as well. Most of them have very magickal blood now that they have developed new powers known as Disciplines. The Tremere clan taught it to their kindred.� Carlo explained. �I don�t know why he is on their side now��

They all go back into the house tired yet restless. �What are we going to do now?� Tom asks.

�I will try to figure out what happened to Matthias, I�ll meet you back here tomorrow after your classes I guess,� Carlo said and he picked up his belongings and left the house.

�I guess we just sit and wait�� Matt uttered.

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