Categories > TV > X-Files > Incarnations of Immortality
Title: Incarnations of Immortality
Author: TheBear!
Crossover: XF/HL/FK
Pairings: M/S N/N T/V
161,428 words
15-Apr-02
Disclaimer—I don’t own any of it.
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Chapter 6
The Raven
12:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 13th.
LaCroix had just completed his monologue for the night and was looking out at the crowd in the Raven when he saw a face in the shadows of a back booth that struck him. He left the broadcast booth and walked out into the cacophony that was Wednesday night at the Raven. He wandered over to the bar where he could get a better look at the man in the back.
As he drank his bloodwine and observed the man he suddenly remembered, “I know where I’ve seen him before!”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Gaul
August 24, 74 AD.
Roman might and discipline had, once again, won the day. General Lucius looked out over the aftermath of the battle with satisfaction. The broken bodies of nearly one hundred score of barbarian vermin who had sought to defy Rome’s conquest lay about the base of the hill on which he stood.
This scum had harried his legion for weeks as they marched. They would attack in small groups and at night, striking and retreating like a cowardly dog nipping at the heels of its master. At last they had captured two of their scouts and tortured the location of their village from them. His legion had swept over them like the tide, burning and killing every living thing until only the leader of this pitiful band remained.
Lucius had had him crucified on the apex of the hill so he could see what his rebellion had wrought. He turned and looked up at this barbarian chieftain, memorizing his face so that he could remember this small, but sweet, victory. He had to admit that there was something to admire in the way this enemy stoically accepted his pain, and stared his hatred towards the Roman General.
“We will meet again,” the crucified man gasped out.
“In hell perhaps,” the General said, spurring his horse down the hill toward his troops.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
12:10 a.m. Wednesday, December 13th.
Methos was hunting. He rarely participated in ‘The Game’ any more, 5000 years of life, most of it spent in violent times, had taught him that the sidelines were a much safer and happier place to be. There were, however, exceptions.
He had come to Toronto to meet an old friend. He hadn’t seen Scott in nearly 175 years, and had looked forward to surprising him when he found out he had relocated here from South Africa.
Unfortunately he arrived here just in time to find out that the reason Scott had relocated, a headhunter with the unlikely name of Phineas Froag, had followed. Methos had used his Watcher connections to find out about him. Froag lived for the Quickening. He was like a junkie and once he latched onto a target, he followed until he got what he wanted.
Methos knew that this was just the type of club Froag was likely to hang out at. He would spend his nights here, and at the two or three other similar clubs until he caught sight of him- or until he got word that he had been spotted by a watcher in another city. He liked Scott, and wanted to make sure that his killer wasn’t allowed to keep his Quickening.
Gazing around the bar was silly, he knew. He would know it the moment another immortal entered the front door, but he did it anyway. “It’s not like I have anything else to look at,” he thought. Suddenly he noticed a man at the bar staring directly at him. At first he didn’t recognize him- tall, imposing even, blond crew cut, black Armani suit. “Where do I know you from, hmm?” he thought.
Then he remembered.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Gaul
August 24, 74 AD.
“Damned Romans,” Methos thought as he looked out over the aftermath of the slaughter. The broken bodies of nearly 800 of his warriors, along with their wives and children, lay about the base of the hill on which he stood.
He had settled in this village 10 years ago as he was wandering the world. He had met a fine woman and had decided to stay a while- he had nothing else to do, no obligations or interests to interfere, so why not.
He and his men had harried the legion for weeks as they marched, hoping to divert them from overrunning the area they called home. They would attack in small groups and at night, striking hard, killing 20 or 30 and then pulling back, while another group would attack from another front. In this manner they killed hundreds at first, but the Roman General swiftly countered. He would cease his march earlier in the day, giving up distance for the time it took to dig in and make a fortified camp.
Suddenly Methos began loosing more men than they were killing. He had pulled back to their village to plan their next course of action. He never knew how they had found him. One day he woke up to the sounds of the Roman charge. The legion had swept over them like the tide, burning and killing every living thing they could get their hands on and their swords into. He had been killed twice before waking up to find himself being nailed to a hastily constructed cross on the watch-post hill overlooking the remains of his village.
He looked down at the face of the General whose troops had done this to his villagers and gasped out through his agony, “We will meet again,”
“In hell perhaps,” the General had said, while riding away.
“Maybe sooner than that” was Methos’ final thought before he died, again.
Some of his villagers had escaped into the woods and returned to burn the dead. They pulled him down from the cross and threw his body into a pile with the others. Fortunately he woke up while they were gathering fuel for the fire and fled into the woods himself.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
12:15 a.m. Wednesday, December 13th.
Methos remembered that he had sworn vengeance on the General who had crucified him, but as the years wore on, he had stopped thinking about the matter. By the time Rome was sacked in 455 by Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, he had forgotten it entirely.
He remembered that in 1453 he had been toasting the death of Emperor Constantine XI and the end of the last vestiges of the Roman Empire when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks nearly a thousand years after the sack of Rome.
But surely that couldn’t be the same man; he hadn’t felt any Quickening…
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
He certainly wasn’t a vampire. LaCroix could see his pulse beating in his neck from here. In fact, his pulse rate seemed to have significantly increased several moments after noticing LaCroix’s attention on him. He might have dismissed it as patently impossible except for two things; first, LaCroix could see recognition on the man’s face, and second, his son had just this evening described a man who survived gunshots and a forty-foot fall, seemingly unscathed. “Perhaps such a man could live for two thousand years,” he mused.
He turned to the bartender, “Miklos.”
“Yes, General.”
“The man by himself in the back booth…”
“Yes, I see him.” Miklos said, barely glancing back for a moment.
“If he leaves, I want him followed,” LaCroix locked gazes with Miklos and continued, “Very discretely, Miklos. He is absolutely not to know that he is being followed. Choose someone reliable. I want to know where he goes.”
“Certainly, General.”
LaCroix pondered for a moment and then decided, “Put his tab on the house as well, Miklos.”
“Anything else, sir?” Miklos asked.
“That will do for now. I expect my son will be here soon. Please have him and whomever he has accompanying him join me directly. And send in 2 bottles of the House Special and two of the plain Bordeaux.” LaCroix said as he walked away from the bar and towards his office. He had a phone call to place.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nicks Loft
12:20 a.m. Wednesday
One thing had led to another; the conversation had transitioned from speculation about the swordsman to a variety of topics. Anecdotes and stories about strange and unusual cases led to personal stories as similar experiences were shared. Each of them was surprised during the evening not only by what they learned about their new friends, but also by what they learned about their respective partners. It was obvious that none of them were normally very talkative about themselves, but somehow this evening, which began with such a startling revelation, turned into something none of them had ever experienced before; a couple’s night out. Dinner was ordered and eaten (and drank), beverages were consumed, and fun was had.
Nick excused himself as the phone rang. Natalie was still laughing at Scully’s story about Mulder singing the theme from shaft to her as he lay on the floor of the hotel after a near miss with a vampire pizza delivery guy. Mulder, of course, vehemently denied that any such incident had occurred, but even he was laughing about it.
Natalie said, “I have to say that I have not had this much fun in years. I am already going to miss you guys when you leave this weekend,” as she wiped away the tears of laughter that were running down her face.
Nick smiled indulgently at his betrothed, overjoyed to see her so happy. He picked up the phone and answered “Knight.”
“Nicolas.”
“LaCroix, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon, is something wrong?”
“Not at all Nicolas. However, there is something I think you need to see. Why don’t you come to the Raven now?”
“Of course. I will be right over.”
“Oh, Nicolas, you are entertaining guests,” LaCroix said, hearing the conversation in the background. “Is that the two FBI agents you mentioned that I hear?”
Nicolas was suddenly worried, “Yes…”
“Bring them with you. And Natalie of course.”
Nick was now very worried, but he knew that he couldn’t really refuse, and he didn’t think that now was the time to jeopardize his fragile reconciliation with his father. “Of course, father,” he whispered.
“Do not fret so, Nicolas,” LaCroix said. “There need not be any permanent, life altering decisions made this night. I merely wish to meet these strangers with whom you have decided to share our secret.” LaCroix said.
“Very well. We shall be there, LaCroix.” Nick said, hanging up the phone.
Natalie had caught the whisper and the look of trepidation on her fiancée’s face and her expression suddenly sobered. Mulder and Scully caught the change and turned to face Nick as he hung up the phone.
“LaCroix has requested that we join him. He has something he wants me to see.” Nick said quietly.
Natalie’s eyes widened slightly and she said, “We as in you and I, Nick?”
Nick turned to Mulder and Scully. “He wants to meet you two as well.”
Natalie’s hands flew to her mouth involuntarily. Despite what Nick had said about the changes in his master, LaCroix was still her own personal boogey-man; he had been ever since the events at the Azure several years ago.
“Mulder looked back and forth between Nick and Natalie, waiting for further explanation. Finally he asked, “Who is LaCroix?”
Scully added, “Is he one of these ‘enforcers’ you mentioned?”
Natalie snapped out of her thoughts and said, “No, it’s not that bad. LaCroix is, well, you remember that Nick is the second oldest in the Toronto community?”
“LaCroix is the eldest, I take it,” Scully answered.
Natalie nodded her head.
“How much older?” Scully asked. “Nine hundred? A thousand?” she asked, still incredulous at Nick’s incredible age
Nick was lost in thought, but responded “LaCroix watched Vesuvius swallow his home in Pompeii,” Nick said softly.
Scully was shocked again, her mouth just hung open.
Mulder had been watching Nick during the entire conversation. “There is more, isn’t there. What is it, Nick?” Mulder asked, concerned.
“LaCroix is my Father.”
Scully looked at Natalie, “That’s bad news?” she asked.
Natalie and Nick said simultaneously, “It’s complicated.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
1:15 a.m. Wednesday
Freddie was kicking back at the bar, checking out the crowd. “This Raven ain’t a bad place,” he thought. “Plenty of likely victims on the dance floor, and enough vamps around if I want my own for company.” Freddie had rolled into Toronto after nearly getting caught in Buffalo. He had grown careless about where he took his meals, and had left a trail even the mortal cops could follow, right to the apartment of his last meal, while her drained corpse had lay cooling on the floor and he was taking a shower to wash off the remains. He had blown out the window, naked, and flew right across the lake and into the outskirts of Toronto.
“Good thing we don’t feel the cold!” he laughed to himself. He had found this place a couple of nights ago and was presently in the process of selecting his next ‘meal’ from the dancers on the floor. Bottled blood had never really satisfied him- he preferred it ‘straight from the tap’ as it were.
None of the writhing dancers had really stood out to him and he was about to resort to enie, meanie, minie, moe; when he saw one vamp and three mortals walk into the club. “Oh man! That little red-head looks delicious!” he whispered to himself. He watched as they walked across the club and straight to a door near the end of the bar. “I may wait a little longer,” he thought. “Better to sharpen the appetite,” he thought, smiling to himself.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick led the others directly to LaCroix’s office, ignoring the surreptitious glances from the vampires all around. He felt slightly uncomfortable. Even though he had long ago ceased caring about The Community’s opinion of him, his recent change of heart about himself and his kind had began to rekindle a desire for ties to The Community. However, he still didn’t think that it was OK to treat mortals as cattle- nothing more than food. He wasn’t sure how he was going to reconcile his desire for atonement with his burgeoning desire to belong once again to The Community he had despised for so long. “Better to concentrate on the present, and worry about that later,” he decided.
Natalie was worried about her new friends. She still didn’t really trust LaCroix- not 100% any way.
Scully’s thoughts were chaotic and whirling with the stunning impact that tonight’s revelations had struck upon her. Not even 12 hours ago, she would have sworn under oath that there were no such things as vampires- they were a myth and whatever Mulder had seen, it wasn’t supernatural. Science would be able to explain it, somehow. Now, she not only accepted their existence, she had made friends with an 800 year old vampire and was about to meet one who had been alive when the New Testament was written. “Oh yeah, and he might just kill us tonight, too.” she added. The impact of that thought suddenly centered her and allowed her to focus on this encounter, which just might be her last.
Mulder was thinking how cool it was that he was walking into a bar full of vampires for a meeting with a guy who was about 2000 years old, to talk about guys who only died when you cut off their heads. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud.
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LaCroix could feel his son’s trepidation as he entered the club. He smiled and thought of how he would have, not long ago, used this to torment Nicolas. He thought of the two mortals his son was bringing in with him and his smile was replaced with a slight frown. If he felt it was necessary, he would erase these agents knowledge, or kill them. He knew that doing so would erase the tentative reconciliation he had found with his son, and he hoped that it would not become necessary. He would have to see if Nicolas had, for once, chosen wisely with his trust.
Nick stopped outside the door to the office and reminded Mulder and Scully one last time, “Remember- don’t lose your temper. Your reactions will decide all of our lives tonight.” He knocked on the door and heard his master bid him enter. He then opened the door and led them into the office.
LaCroix had decided on playing the master vampire. He hoped his son’s estimation of the agent’s concern for each other was accurate. If so, he thought he could use their fear of the other’s safety to guaranty their silence. He allowed his not inconsiderable power and presence to flow outward from him like the tide- washing over these puny mortals like the surf against the rocks.
Scully remembered the power she felt from Nick this afternoon. At the time she thought it was the most impressive thing she could ever have conceived. What she felt now snuffed that thought like a candle. She felt as though this man seated behind the massive antique desk could crush her with a thought. It took every ounce of willpower she had just to stand upright, and she couldn’t have met his gaze if her life depended on it.
Mulder’s cavalier attitude about this meeting was erased in an instant. He was suddenly worried for Scully’s life. His own he would gladly forfeit to spare his beloved from the wrath of this vampire. He would have offered to do just that but he couldn’t breathe, let alone speak.
Natalie was stunned. She was reminded about how much she didn’t know about The Community she was planning on joining. She could tell that this display was not for her benefit, but still found that she was silently chastising herself for defying this creature, and endangering Nick in the process, for the last six years. Her sympathy for the years Nick had had to endure this man’s domination nearly overwhelmed her. If this was the changed LaCroix, she couldn’t imagine what hell Nick had gone through before.
Nick understood what his father was trying to do, but felt that much more and his newfound friends would break. “Father, please. I am certain that they understand your point,” he said, respectfully. He dropped his barriers on the bloodlink to let LaCroix know that he wasn’t challenging him; he was just concerned for his friends.
LaCroix was satisfied that these mortals had been properly cowed. He slowly reeled in his power, not withdrawing entirely, but reducing it to less intimidating proportions. He gestured for Nicolas to make introductions.
“Father, these are Special Agents Dana Scully, and Fox Mulder of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. Agents, this is Lucien LaCroix, my maker.”
“Agents, I understand that my son has shared with you the knowledge of our community.” LaCroix said.
“Yes Sir.” Mulder and Scully said in unison.
“And he has told you the consequences of such knowledge.”
Mulder and Scully glanced at each other briefly, and softly said “Yes Sir.”
“We will discuss that later.” He turned to Nicolas, “I saw someone tonight that might be the person you encountered last night.” LaCroix turned and opened the armoire behind his desk, revealing a CCTV monitor and control system. He pushed the playback on the recorder they saw a man sitting alone at a booth in the club.
Mulder and Nick both leaned forward and simultaneously said, “That’s not him.”
LaCroix looked surprised.
Nick said, “Why did you think that was the man?”
LaCroix leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands thoughtfully. “I met this man a long time ago.”
“He isn’t a vampire?” Mulder asked.
“I could clearly see his pulse and hear his heartbeat.” LaCroix answered.
“How do you know him?” Nick asked.
“I killed him once, a long time ago” LaCroix answered softly.
“Did you… drink from him, I guess? Is he a hybrid of some kind, perhaps?” Mulder asked.
“No, agent Mulder, I didn’t drain him.” LaCroix mused.
“Can you tell us about it?” Scully asked.
“Are you sure you want to hear about it? It was quite barbaric, I assure you.” LaCroix sneered slightly at the diminutive redhead.
“How long ago, LaCroix?” Natalie asked. “Are you sure it is the same man?”
LaCroix didn’t really want to go into details with these strangers. He said, “He was a chieftain of a tribe in Gaul. I led Caesar’s legions into Gaul. I had him crucified, after I wiped out his tribe. It was before I had been brought across.”
Mulder’s photographic memory kicked in and he remembered studying Roman history. Actually he had been more interested in impressing the devastatingly beautiful grad student who helped the professor teach the course. In an attempt to impress her, he had memorized just about every text in the library dealing with Roman Military Conquest- that being the subject of her doctoral thesis. In the end, he found out she was doing the professor, and had no interest in him, but he did learn a lot about Roman History. “Lucian LaCroix. You were General Lucius the Crucifier?” he asked, entirely forgetting the threat this man posed to him and Scully. “Wow!” he said, amazed at the thought of a piece of living history sitting before him.
LaCroix was startled momentarily. “It has been a very long time since I heard that particular description.” A slow smile grew on his face and he continued, “You must have a fascination with arcane historical trivia to know that name.” He changed the subject and said, “In any case, I am quite certain that this is indeed the same man I crucified in 74 AD. He survived crucifixion and lived another 1,926 years, and he is definitely not a vampire. I would say that that puts him squarely in the camp of the man you and my son met on the rooftop last night.”
“Where is he now, Father?” Nick asked.
“He left. However, he is being followed. We shall find out where he is going and perhaps tomorrow night you might visit him in your capacity of a homicide detective investigating a rather unusual death.”
“That is an excellent idea, father.” Nick said with a smile.
“Doctor Lambert, you and I need to have a conversation.” LaCroix said. He felt his son’s sudden rush of concern through their bloodlink. He turned to Nicolas and in a very decisive tone of voice suggested, “Why don’t you and your friends go out and have a drink while you wait. This shouldn’t take too long.
Nick wanted to protest, but caught the tone in LaCroix’s voice and knew he would only make things worse for Natalie if he reacted. He leaned in to Natalie and whispered in her ear, “It’ll be alright. I love you. I’ll be right outside.” He then opened the door and indicated to Mulder and Scully that they should precede him.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Freddie was still sitting at the bar when the three exited the office. He watched as the vampire led them to a booth overlooking the bar and the office. He wasn’t going to do anything until he could get the redhead alone. He wasn’t afraid of the other vampire, after all he was 250 years old, and he didn’t think anyone else in here could match that. He just didn’t want to make a scene; that’s all. He ordered another bloodwine and sat back to wait for his opportunity.
Nick was distracted by the thought of Natalie in there alone with LaCroix and didn’t notice the vamp at the bar who watched as they left the office and took a booth to wait.
Mulder and Scully exchanged glances, concerned for their new friends. “Will she be alright, Nick?” Scully asked.
“What is going to happen?” Mulder added.
“He won’t hurt her,” Nick said- almost 90% sure he was speaking the truth. “I think he wants to test her resolve. She has spent the last 6 years trying to ‘cure’ me after all,” Nick said quietly. “He probably wants to make sure she is really willing to give that up.”
“Is she?” Scully asked.
“There was a time when she wanted me to be mortal, almost as much as I wanted it. She thought of marriage, family, that sort of thing.” He sighed. “I really didn’t want her to have to give up the sun, the daylight. However, she wants me more than she wants the sun. And, even though I know I am being thoroughly selfish, I’m glad. I want her to be with me forever- no matter what. I would rather have her as a vampire than to lose her to old age and death.”
Mulder understood exactly how Nick felt. “But you feel guilty about what she is giving up, don’t you,” Mulder said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes.” Nick sighed.
Scully got mad, she knew that Mulder was speaking for himself, thinking that he was bad for her, that she deserved ‘better’ than him. “What is it that makes you guys think that we are unable to decide what is best for us?” She shot them both a withering glare. “You put us on a pedestal and think you’re looking out for our best interests; but don’t you see? It’s lonely up on that pedestal!” She was almost overcome with emotion and actually had to choke back a sob, “I want you, not some idealized man, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence,” she said directly to Mulder and then turned to Nick and continued, “and I imagine that Natalie feels the same way!” She abruptly stood up and said, “Now, where is the restroom?”
Nick silently pointed toward the back of the club, his eyes wide at her outburst.
Scully looked back where he had pointed and said, “When I get back I don’t want to hear any more ‘I’m not worthy’ crap out of either of you, Ok?” She looked back and forth between the two men, both sitting slack-jawed and looking up at her with wide eyes. “Otherwise I am going to find a nice chair leg for you,” she said- pointing at Nick, “And you, I’m going to shoot. Again” she said- pointing at Mulder. She then walked off, head held high.
Mulder and Nick sat silently for a moment before they both began to smile. “Again?” Nick asked with a slight smirk.
“Long Story” Mulder replied with a teeth-baring smile of his own.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Scully dried her hands and checked her makeup. The tears that had threatened to flow she dabbed at lightly with a paper towel. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself as she marveled at the stupidity of men in general and her man specifically. She idolized Mulder. There was no one else on the planet she could possibly want to be with. He had totally ruined her for other men ever- and that was before last night’s mind-blowing sex- yet he felt inadequate. She was the one who was inadequate- Mulder could have any woman he wanted at the drop of a hat. She was sure that that little blond waitress was out there even now chatting him up. She was glad that she knew her man well enough to know he wouldn’t even notice. She might feel inadequate, but also knew her partner. Though she wasn’t sure that she deserved it, she knew he loved her and only her. As long as he knew that she wanted him, he wouldn’t even look at another woman.
She was walking out the door thinking of exactly how she was going to demonstrate just how much she wanted him when she got him back to the hotel this morning. It was at that moment that she felt herself grabbed from behind- one hand around her waist, the other over her mouth as she was swiftly pulled out of the club through the back door and into the alley.
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Natalie stood before LaCroix. She was nervous and cursed her heart for giving it away. She determined that she would not outwardly show her fear, even though she knew he would detect it from her heart rate.
LaCroix observed her for a moment. He heard the fear that her heart betrayed, but admired her poise, as she outwardly gave no indication of her feelings. He briefly considered toying with her for a bit, to see how far he could push before she would give, but decided against it. He would test her resolve, no doubt about it, but he would avoid doing anything to anger his son. So long as Nicolas was content to return to the fold, LaCroix would not be the one to break the peace.
“May I call you Natalie?” he started with. “Doctor Lambert seems so formal.”
“Yes Sir” Natalie said stiffly. She remembered the power emanating from him earlier. She did not want to do anything to provoke him if she could avoid it.
“Sit down, Natalie,” LaCroix chuckled lightly. “Relax. I am no longer a general, and this is no army. You need not stand at attention.”
Natalie took a seat across from him and tried to relax. It didn’t work. She was worried about Dana and Mulder… and Nick… and herself… and Nick and herself… and…
LaCroix broke her reverie. “Do you not feel as though you have been betrayed, Natalie? Nicolas has decided to throw away 6 years of your work as though it was nothing.”
Natalie decided that the only way she would make it through this was by being brutally honest, both with LaCroix and with herself. “Nick wanted to be human. I wanted Nick, any way I could have him. So, no, I don’t feel betrayed. As long as he is satisfied with the way he is, so am I.”
“Truly? You would not prefer him as a human?” LaCroix pressed. “You do not long for children? To see the sun rise, to feel its warmth on your face?”
“To grow old, to break down and die?” she countered. “Each state of being has advantages and limitations, sir. Either one would be satisfactory so long as I could be with Nick. Neither one is acceptable without him.”
“You care for him that much?” LaCroix asked, somewhat surprised, doubtful that this mortal could love Nicolas as much as Nicolas did her.
“He is my life. My heart.” She replied.
“Easy to say, but you have no real concept of forever, child. How do I know that you won’t tire of my son after a few decades or a century and leave him?”
Natalie had an epiphany. Right there and then she finally understood Lucien LaCroix. She had always thought him to be evil and full of hatred toward Nick. Suddenly she realized that it wasn’t hatred, but rather desperation. LaCroix loved Nick, needed him powerfully and when he couldn’t have him he lashed out at whatever he perceived as separating him from his beloved son. “Ohhh,” she said, sympathizing with LaCroix’s need to have Nick in his life. She felt exactly the same way. Wordlessly she stood up and offered this master vampire her wrist.
LaCroix was taken aback by her offer. “Why?” he asked.
“You need to know, I need for you to know,” she said simply.
LaCroix took her wrist and brought it to his mouth, looking into Natalie’s eyes for any indecision. He saw that she was afraid, but resolute. He bit down and tasted the hot, spiced wine that ran through the veins of his son’s lover. He felt her devotion and love. He saw her conviction. He knew her understanding of not only his son, but of his own need for Nicolas.
She spoke to him through the link and with her voice simultaneously, “So long as you don’t hurt him or me, I will make sure he never leaves you again.”
He immediately withdrew from her and broke the link. “Why would you do that?” he asked, confused.
“Because he needs you too. As much as you need him. He just doesn’t know it,” she replied.
“For once in his life, my son has chosen wisely.” LaCroix said. “I will gladly have you for a grand-daughter, Natalie.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Freddie dragged his catch out into the alley, thinking about how much he was going to enjoy this when he felt her stamp on his instep. It surprised him more than it hurt him but he loosened his grip enough for her to spin around in his grasp and ram her knee into his groin with a great deal of force. “What a little firebrand,” he thought just as she snap-kicked him in the nose, breaking it and causing blood to flow momentarily as it healed.
Scully figured out that she was dealing with a vampire and hoped that she could hurt him enough quickly enough to get back inside and…
Interrupting her thought process was the back of his hand across her face, sending her flying down the alley and into a stack of pallets next to the dumpster. She was almost unconscious when she felt the bite on her neck. She reached out beside her trying to find something to hit him with.
Freddie was enjoying the wonderful flavor of this delectable morsel, reveling in the images of her life and the fear he tasted in her blood. Her heart was slowing almost to a stop when he felt an incredible pain in his neck. He reared back was horrified as the slender shard of wood she had stabbed into his neck, tore his throat out as he pulled away. His blood, mingled with hers sprayed out of his near fatal wounds and poured down on her face, and into her mouth. Her last act before she blacked out was to convulsively swallow.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Natalie came out of the office walked over to where Nick and Mulder where sitting in comfortable silence. They both got sheepish looks on their faces when she approached and she wondered what was going on. “Where’s Dana?” she asked. Mulder answered, “She had to go powder her nose.”
Natalie snorted at the thought and Nick said, “Yeah, she worked up a sweat explaining to Mulder that he was an idiot and that I should pull my head out of my…”
“Nice visual, Nick.” Natalie interrupted. “I’ll go check on her.” Natalie went back to the restroom, but couldn’t find Dana there. She walked out and across to the alley door just in case Dana had stepped out for a breather. She opened the door and looked out just as Freddie was taking a bite on Dana’s neck. She screamed, “NICK!”
Mulder heard the echo of Natalie’s scream and when he looked over, Nick was already there by Natalie’s side. He felt the blood leave his face and got up and ran through the crowd on the dance floor to the alley door. By the time he got there, and into the alley, Nick and Natalie were crouched over the broken body of a petite redheaded woman. There was blood all over the woman’s face. LaCroix was standing over the body of a large man who looked like his throat had been ripped out. “Where the hell did he come from?” Mulder thought. His brain was rejecting the image of the woman on the ground. He couldn’t even notice her. He just stared at the body of the man with the torn throat- watching in horrified fascination as the flesh slowly re-knit it self.
It wasn’t until Natalie sobbed his name that his mind grasped the fact that the bloodied and broken body lying in the alley was his Scully. He went into shock. He fell to his knees, his eyes locked onto the face of his beloved Scully. It felt as if his heart had stopped beating.
LaCroix quickly assessed the situation. “Nicolas, she has ingested his blood, you must take her quickly to my quarters. Natalie, go tell Miklos about this,” he kicked the slowly regenerating body of the vampire that had assaulted Scully. “Tell him to have it chained in the caves, but not killed yet. Then tell him to deliver a case of uncut blood to my quarters at once.”
Natalie reacted instantly to his command, racing into the club to get Miklos.
“Come Nicolas, I will bring Agent Mulder,” he said, picking up the silent man and flying him up to the roof. Nick scooped Dana up and followed.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
“It must be you, Nicolas. I doubt that she would come back for me, and certainly not for that creature that did this to her.” LaCroix explained.
Nick took one look at Natalie, who had raced up the stairs and was panting heavily. She just nodded her head. She was unwilling to give up on her friend so soon. Besides it might be fun having a sister.
Nick bit his wrist open and held it to Dana’s mouth waiting, praying even that she would drink.
LaCroix turned to the other agent, who was still in shock. He captured Mulder’s eyes with his own gaze and explained to him that Dana might yet live, but that Mulder would have to call her back.
Mulder was wrapped in a cocoon of agony. Every breath hurt and all he could think was “She’s gone. She’s gone.” over and over. When LaCroix’s words of hope broke through, it was as though a switch had been thrown, shocking him out of his stupor. “What do I do?! Tell me how to bring her back!”
“Go. Hold her and call her back to you. She stands at the doorway and must choose either to go into the light, or come back across to you.
Mulder stood up and unsteadily crossed the room to Scully’s side where Nick was drizzling blood into her mouth. He swallowed his fear and agony and started to stroke her forehead. He took her hand in his own and began calling her, “Scully. Scully, please come back to me. I love you. I need you.” He repeated that over and over, tears pouring down his face and dripping onto hers.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
She looked around her. She was standing on an arid plain. It was dry, flat and featureless in all directions. “Where am I?” she whispered to herself. “WHERE AM I?” she screamed out.
“Where do you think you are?” a voice said behind her.
Scully whirled around to see a doorway standing in the open plain. The door was open and a bright light silhouetted a figure from behind. She just stared at it for a moment before walking up to the figure. “Am I dead?” she asked, suddenly remembering the attack.
The figure laughed melodiously, “Not quite yet, little sister.”
Then Scully could make out the face. “Missy?” she asked in a whisper. She ran up and hugged her, “Oh Missy. I’m so glad to see you.” Suddenly she broke off the hug and stepped back. “Oh Missy. I’m so sorry.”
“For what, Dana?” Melissa asked.
“You died in my place. It’s my fault.” Scully cried.
“Don’t you mean Fox’s fault?” Melissa asked.
“Oh, no Missy! It isn’t Mulder’s fault, he couldn’t have known…”
“And you could have?” Melissa asked her sister with a frown.
“I should have!” Scully cried.
“Dana, the only one to blame for my death is the man who killed me, and the man who sent him to kill you.” Melissa said firmly. “If you take any blame for it, you have to share it with Fox. I don’t think either of you’re to blame.”
Scully realized how surreal this conversation was. “Missy, where are we? You’re dead, but you said I wasn’t. What did you mean?” Scully was confused.
“You must choose, Dana. You can come in to the light, with me. Or, you can go back.”
“What do you mean, I can go back?” Scully asked. She thought of Mulder, of how much she loved him and it was almost as if she could hear him, calling her. Telling her he loved and needed her.
“You can go back to your beloved Mulder, Dana. However, I must warn you- you won’t be the same.” Melissa said.
“You mean I’ll be a…” Scully began.
“Vampire, Dana. Say it with me- Vam-pi-er,” Melissa teased. “You will give up the sun, you will have to drink blood to live, and you will have to face the hunger. The desire to kill for food is difficult to overcome.” The light in the doorway seemed to dim.
Scully’s choice was already made, however. “I can’t leave him, Missy. I love him.” Her voice was full of longing, and she heard Mulder’s call more strongly. The light on the plain in general seemed to dim, as though night were falling.
“I know, little sister. Take care of him. He needs you.” Melissa said as the light, the doorway and the plain around Scully went dark entirely.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Mulder was sobbing out Scully’s name, and the blood Nick was giving her was about to run out the sides of her mouth when she finally swallowed. She instinctively latched on to Nick’s wrist and began to suck furiously. Nick was so happy that she had come back that he made no move to pull away. Finally it was LaCroix who had to come over and yank him arm away from her.
Nick stood up, dizzy from the blood loss as Scully dropped her head back down to the floor and slept.
LaCroix was angry with his son. He grabbed a bottle of blood and shoved it into his hands. “Were you going to let her drain you?” He demanded.
“Nick, are you alright?” Natalie asked; her concern clear in her voice.
“Yes. I’m all right. No. I wasn’t planning on letting her drain me, I was just happy and relieved that she came back, and wasn’t really paying attention.” Nick said, somewhat chagrined.
LaCroix looked sternly at his son, and then said to Natalie, “My dear, it would be in your best interests if you allowed me to supervise when my ‘inattentive’ son brings you across.”
Suddenly Mulder broke in, “Uh, Nick, is she going to be ok?” he said, gesturing at Scully, lying on the floor, not breathing, no pulse. Mulder was still a little shocky. His joy at her response was tempered by how she responded. On the whole, however, he would take Scully any way he could get her.
Nick was abashed at his insensitivity. “Sorry, Mulder. Yes she is going to be ok.” He was suddenly struck with a thought, “You do realize, Mulder that she is now a vampire, don’t you?”
Mulder chuckled a little at that, “Yeah, Nick. I think I had that figured when she started sucking you dry.” He sobered and looked at her, covered in blood and laying dead- “Ok, Undead,” he thought- on the floor. In a small voice he said, “Scully is my life, Nick. Mortal, vampire, alien hybrid, whatever- I love her with all that I am.” He sighed and looked at Nick, “I could no more do with out her than I could do with out my arms and legs.” Mulder closed his eyes and continued, “When I thought she was dead, I…”
Nick and Natalie actually took a step back as they saw the change come over his face. He opened his eyes and the hatred they saw there made Natalie gasp.
Mulder quickly schooled his features and asked, as calmly as he could, “Where is the thing that did this to her?” He turned to LaCroix. “Is it alive?”
LaCroix smiled at agent Mulder. He couldn’t help but understand the desire for vengeance that he saw in Mulder’s eyes. “For now, Agent Mulder. Why, did you have something in mind?”
“Are you planning on letting it live?” Mulder couldn’t keep the question from coming out in a low growl.
“I was planning on staking him out on the roof and allowing the sun to finish him.” LaCroix said.
“Can I help?” Mulder asked. He looked at Natalie and Nick, silently begging them to understand.
Nat looked a bit green around the gills, but said nothing. Nick just looked away and said, “You need to be out of here when she wakes up anyway.”
Mulder began to reply, but Nick overrode his protest, “Listen to me, Mulder. When a vampire first wakes up after the change… Well, we call it first hunger and every vampire remembers it, because it is the most powerful and overriding feeling we will ever have. A man would drain his own wife, a woman her own children. When we first wake, we are purely the beast.” He reached up and gently laid his hand on Mulder’s shoulder. “It would be better if you missed that. You can see her as soon as she slakes that thirst.”
Mulder was visibly concerned about that.
Nick saw Mulder’s look of worry and said, “This is all donated blood, Mulder. I won’t let your woman turn into a monster, but you must let me train her my way, and you must respect my requests in order for me to be successful. This is going to be a stressful, difficult time for you both, and if you want ‘your Scully’ back, you will have to trust me.”
When he put it that way, Mulder had no choice. “I will do anything to have her back,” he said while looking sadly at his beloved. “Anything!”
Author: TheBear!
Crossover: XF/HL/FK
Pairings: M/S N/N T/V
161,428 words
15-Apr-02
Disclaimer—I don’t own any of it.
=====
Chapter 6
The Raven
12:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 13th.
LaCroix had just completed his monologue for the night and was looking out at the crowd in the Raven when he saw a face in the shadows of a back booth that struck him. He left the broadcast booth and walked out into the cacophony that was Wednesday night at the Raven. He wandered over to the bar where he could get a better look at the man in the back.
As he drank his bloodwine and observed the man he suddenly remembered, “I know where I’ve seen him before!”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Gaul
August 24, 74 AD.
Roman might and discipline had, once again, won the day. General Lucius looked out over the aftermath of the battle with satisfaction. The broken bodies of nearly one hundred score of barbarian vermin who had sought to defy Rome’s conquest lay about the base of the hill on which he stood.
This scum had harried his legion for weeks as they marched. They would attack in small groups and at night, striking and retreating like a cowardly dog nipping at the heels of its master. At last they had captured two of their scouts and tortured the location of their village from them. His legion had swept over them like the tide, burning and killing every living thing until only the leader of this pitiful band remained.
Lucius had had him crucified on the apex of the hill so he could see what his rebellion had wrought. He turned and looked up at this barbarian chieftain, memorizing his face so that he could remember this small, but sweet, victory. He had to admit that there was something to admire in the way this enemy stoically accepted his pain, and stared his hatred towards the Roman General.
“We will meet again,” the crucified man gasped out.
“In hell perhaps,” the General said, spurring his horse down the hill toward his troops.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
12:10 a.m. Wednesday, December 13th.
Methos was hunting. He rarely participated in ‘The Game’ any more, 5000 years of life, most of it spent in violent times, had taught him that the sidelines were a much safer and happier place to be. There were, however, exceptions.
He had come to Toronto to meet an old friend. He hadn’t seen Scott in nearly 175 years, and had looked forward to surprising him when he found out he had relocated here from South Africa.
Unfortunately he arrived here just in time to find out that the reason Scott had relocated, a headhunter with the unlikely name of Phineas Froag, had followed. Methos had used his Watcher connections to find out about him. Froag lived for the Quickening. He was like a junkie and once he latched onto a target, he followed until he got what he wanted.
Methos knew that this was just the type of club Froag was likely to hang out at. He would spend his nights here, and at the two or three other similar clubs until he caught sight of him- or until he got word that he had been spotted by a watcher in another city. He liked Scott, and wanted to make sure that his killer wasn’t allowed to keep his Quickening.
Gazing around the bar was silly, he knew. He would know it the moment another immortal entered the front door, but he did it anyway. “It’s not like I have anything else to look at,” he thought. Suddenly he noticed a man at the bar staring directly at him. At first he didn’t recognize him- tall, imposing even, blond crew cut, black Armani suit. “Where do I know you from, hmm?” he thought.
Then he remembered.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Gaul
August 24, 74 AD.
“Damned Romans,” Methos thought as he looked out over the aftermath of the slaughter. The broken bodies of nearly 800 of his warriors, along with their wives and children, lay about the base of the hill on which he stood.
He had settled in this village 10 years ago as he was wandering the world. He had met a fine woman and had decided to stay a while- he had nothing else to do, no obligations or interests to interfere, so why not.
He and his men had harried the legion for weeks as they marched, hoping to divert them from overrunning the area they called home. They would attack in small groups and at night, striking hard, killing 20 or 30 and then pulling back, while another group would attack from another front. In this manner they killed hundreds at first, but the Roman General swiftly countered. He would cease his march earlier in the day, giving up distance for the time it took to dig in and make a fortified camp.
Suddenly Methos began loosing more men than they were killing. He had pulled back to their village to plan their next course of action. He never knew how they had found him. One day he woke up to the sounds of the Roman charge. The legion had swept over them like the tide, burning and killing every living thing they could get their hands on and their swords into. He had been killed twice before waking up to find himself being nailed to a hastily constructed cross on the watch-post hill overlooking the remains of his village.
He looked down at the face of the General whose troops had done this to his villagers and gasped out through his agony, “We will meet again,”
“In hell perhaps,” the General had said, while riding away.
“Maybe sooner than that” was Methos’ final thought before he died, again.
Some of his villagers had escaped into the woods and returned to burn the dead. They pulled him down from the cross and threw his body into a pile with the others. Fortunately he woke up while they were gathering fuel for the fire and fled into the woods himself.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
12:15 a.m. Wednesday, December 13th.
Methos remembered that he had sworn vengeance on the General who had crucified him, but as the years wore on, he had stopped thinking about the matter. By the time Rome was sacked in 455 by Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, he had forgotten it entirely.
He remembered that in 1453 he had been toasting the death of Emperor Constantine XI and the end of the last vestiges of the Roman Empire when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks nearly a thousand years after the sack of Rome.
But surely that couldn’t be the same man; he hadn’t felt any Quickening…
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
He certainly wasn’t a vampire. LaCroix could see his pulse beating in his neck from here. In fact, his pulse rate seemed to have significantly increased several moments after noticing LaCroix’s attention on him. He might have dismissed it as patently impossible except for two things; first, LaCroix could see recognition on the man’s face, and second, his son had just this evening described a man who survived gunshots and a forty-foot fall, seemingly unscathed. “Perhaps such a man could live for two thousand years,” he mused.
He turned to the bartender, “Miklos.”
“Yes, General.”
“The man by himself in the back booth…”
“Yes, I see him.” Miklos said, barely glancing back for a moment.
“If he leaves, I want him followed,” LaCroix locked gazes with Miklos and continued, “Very discretely, Miklos. He is absolutely not to know that he is being followed. Choose someone reliable. I want to know where he goes.”
“Certainly, General.”
LaCroix pondered for a moment and then decided, “Put his tab on the house as well, Miklos.”
“Anything else, sir?” Miklos asked.
“That will do for now. I expect my son will be here soon. Please have him and whomever he has accompanying him join me directly. And send in 2 bottles of the House Special and two of the plain Bordeaux.” LaCroix said as he walked away from the bar and towards his office. He had a phone call to place.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nicks Loft
12:20 a.m. Wednesday
One thing had led to another; the conversation had transitioned from speculation about the swordsman to a variety of topics. Anecdotes and stories about strange and unusual cases led to personal stories as similar experiences were shared. Each of them was surprised during the evening not only by what they learned about their new friends, but also by what they learned about their respective partners. It was obvious that none of them were normally very talkative about themselves, but somehow this evening, which began with such a startling revelation, turned into something none of them had ever experienced before; a couple’s night out. Dinner was ordered and eaten (and drank), beverages were consumed, and fun was had.
Nick excused himself as the phone rang. Natalie was still laughing at Scully’s story about Mulder singing the theme from shaft to her as he lay on the floor of the hotel after a near miss with a vampire pizza delivery guy. Mulder, of course, vehemently denied that any such incident had occurred, but even he was laughing about it.
Natalie said, “I have to say that I have not had this much fun in years. I am already going to miss you guys when you leave this weekend,” as she wiped away the tears of laughter that were running down her face.
Nick smiled indulgently at his betrothed, overjoyed to see her so happy. He picked up the phone and answered “Knight.”
“Nicolas.”
“LaCroix, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon, is something wrong?”
“Not at all Nicolas. However, there is something I think you need to see. Why don’t you come to the Raven now?”
“Of course. I will be right over.”
“Oh, Nicolas, you are entertaining guests,” LaCroix said, hearing the conversation in the background. “Is that the two FBI agents you mentioned that I hear?”
Nicolas was suddenly worried, “Yes…”
“Bring them with you. And Natalie of course.”
Nick was now very worried, but he knew that he couldn’t really refuse, and he didn’t think that now was the time to jeopardize his fragile reconciliation with his father. “Of course, father,” he whispered.
“Do not fret so, Nicolas,” LaCroix said. “There need not be any permanent, life altering decisions made this night. I merely wish to meet these strangers with whom you have decided to share our secret.” LaCroix said.
“Very well. We shall be there, LaCroix.” Nick said, hanging up the phone.
Natalie had caught the whisper and the look of trepidation on her fiancée’s face and her expression suddenly sobered. Mulder and Scully caught the change and turned to face Nick as he hung up the phone.
“LaCroix has requested that we join him. He has something he wants me to see.” Nick said quietly.
Natalie’s eyes widened slightly and she said, “We as in you and I, Nick?”
Nick turned to Mulder and Scully. “He wants to meet you two as well.”
Natalie’s hands flew to her mouth involuntarily. Despite what Nick had said about the changes in his master, LaCroix was still her own personal boogey-man; he had been ever since the events at the Azure several years ago.
“Mulder looked back and forth between Nick and Natalie, waiting for further explanation. Finally he asked, “Who is LaCroix?”
Scully added, “Is he one of these ‘enforcers’ you mentioned?”
Natalie snapped out of her thoughts and said, “No, it’s not that bad. LaCroix is, well, you remember that Nick is the second oldest in the Toronto community?”
“LaCroix is the eldest, I take it,” Scully answered.
Natalie nodded her head.
“How much older?” Scully asked. “Nine hundred? A thousand?” she asked, still incredulous at Nick’s incredible age
Nick was lost in thought, but responded “LaCroix watched Vesuvius swallow his home in Pompeii,” Nick said softly.
Scully was shocked again, her mouth just hung open.
Mulder had been watching Nick during the entire conversation. “There is more, isn’t there. What is it, Nick?” Mulder asked, concerned.
“LaCroix is my Father.”
Scully looked at Natalie, “That’s bad news?” she asked.
Natalie and Nick said simultaneously, “It’s complicated.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
1:15 a.m. Wednesday
Freddie was kicking back at the bar, checking out the crowd. “This Raven ain’t a bad place,” he thought. “Plenty of likely victims on the dance floor, and enough vamps around if I want my own for company.” Freddie had rolled into Toronto after nearly getting caught in Buffalo. He had grown careless about where he took his meals, and had left a trail even the mortal cops could follow, right to the apartment of his last meal, while her drained corpse had lay cooling on the floor and he was taking a shower to wash off the remains. He had blown out the window, naked, and flew right across the lake and into the outskirts of Toronto.
“Good thing we don’t feel the cold!” he laughed to himself. He had found this place a couple of nights ago and was presently in the process of selecting his next ‘meal’ from the dancers on the floor. Bottled blood had never really satisfied him- he preferred it ‘straight from the tap’ as it were.
None of the writhing dancers had really stood out to him and he was about to resort to enie, meanie, minie, moe; when he saw one vamp and three mortals walk into the club. “Oh man! That little red-head looks delicious!” he whispered to himself. He watched as they walked across the club and straight to a door near the end of the bar. “I may wait a little longer,” he thought. “Better to sharpen the appetite,” he thought, smiling to himself.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick led the others directly to LaCroix’s office, ignoring the surreptitious glances from the vampires all around. He felt slightly uncomfortable. Even though he had long ago ceased caring about The Community’s opinion of him, his recent change of heart about himself and his kind had began to rekindle a desire for ties to The Community. However, he still didn’t think that it was OK to treat mortals as cattle- nothing more than food. He wasn’t sure how he was going to reconcile his desire for atonement with his burgeoning desire to belong once again to The Community he had despised for so long. “Better to concentrate on the present, and worry about that later,” he decided.
Natalie was worried about her new friends. She still didn’t really trust LaCroix- not 100% any way.
Scully’s thoughts were chaotic and whirling with the stunning impact that tonight’s revelations had struck upon her. Not even 12 hours ago, she would have sworn under oath that there were no such things as vampires- they were a myth and whatever Mulder had seen, it wasn’t supernatural. Science would be able to explain it, somehow. Now, she not only accepted their existence, she had made friends with an 800 year old vampire and was about to meet one who had been alive when the New Testament was written. “Oh yeah, and he might just kill us tonight, too.” she added. The impact of that thought suddenly centered her and allowed her to focus on this encounter, which just might be her last.
Mulder was thinking how cool it was that he was walking into a bar full of vampires for a meeting with a guy who was about 2000 years old, to talk about guys who only died when you cut off their heads. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
LaCroix could feel his son’s trepidation as he entered the club. He smiled and thought of how he would have, not long ago, used this to torment Nicolas. He thought of the two mortals his son was bringing in with him and his smile was replaced with a slight frown. If he felt it was necessary, he would erase these agents knowledge, or kill them. He knew that doing so would erase the tentative reconciliation he had found with his son, and he hoped that it would not become necessary. He would have to see if Nicolas had, for once, chosen wisely with his trust.
Nick stopped outside the door to the office and reminded Mulder and Scully one last time, “Remember- don’t lose your temper. Your reactions will decide all of our lives tonight.” He knocked on the door and heard his master bid him enter. He then opened the door and led them into the office.
LaCroix had decided on playing the master vampire. He hoped his son’s estimation of the agent’s concern for each other was accurate. If so, he thought he could use their fear of the other’s safety to guaranty their silence. He allowed his not inconsiderable power and presence to flow outward from him like the tide- washing over these puny mortals like the surf against the rocks.
Scully remembered the power she felt from Nick this afternoon. At the time she thought it was the most impressive thing she could ever have conceived. What she felt now snuffed that thought like a candle. She felt as though this man seated behind the massive antique desk could crush her with a thought. It took every ounce of willpower she had just to stand upright, and she couldn’t have met his gaze if her life depended on it.
Mulder’s cavalier attitude about this meeting was erased in an instant. He was suddenly worried for Scully’s life. His own he would gladly forfeit to spare his beloved from the wrath of this vampire. He would have offered to do just that but he couldn’t breathe, let alone speak.
Natalie was stunned. She was reminded about how much she didn’t know about The Community she was planning on joining. She could tell that this display was not for her benefit, but still found that she was silently chastising herself for defying this creature, and endangering Nick in the process, for the last six years. Her sympathy for the years Nick had had to endure this man’s domination nearly overwhelmed her. If this was the changed LaCroix, she couldn’t imagine what hell Nick had gone through before.
Nick understood what his father was trying to do, but felt that much more and his newfound friends would break. “Father, please. I am certain that they understand your point,” he said, respectfully. He dropped his barriers on the bloodlink to let LaCroix know that he wasn’t challenging him; he was just concerned for his friends.
LaCroix was satisfied that these mortals had been properly cowed. He slowly reeled in his power, not withdrawing entirely, but reducing it to less intimidating proportions. He gestured for Nicolas to make introductions.
“Father, these are Special Agents Dana Scully, and Fox Mulder of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. Agents, this is Lucien LaCroix, my maker.”
“Agents, I understand that my son has shared with you the knowledge of our community.” LaCroix said.
“Yes Sir.” Mulder and Scully said in unison.
“And he has told you the consequences of such knowledge.”
Mulder and Scully glanced at each other briefly, and softly said “Yes Sir.”
“We will discuss that later.” He turned to Nicolas, “I saw someone tonight that might be the person you encountered last night.” LaCroix turned and opened the armoire behind his desk, revealing a CCTV monitor and control system. He pushed the playback on the recorder they saw a man sitting alone at a booth in the club.
Mulder and Nick both leaned forward and simultaneously said, “That’s not him.”
LaCroix looked surprised.
Nick said, “Why did you think that was the man?”
LaCroix leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands thoughtfully. “I met this man a long time ago.”
“He isn’t a vampire?” Mulder asked.
“I could clearly see his pulse and hear his heartbeat.” LaCroix answered.
“How do you know him?” Nick asked.
“I killed him once, a long time ago” LaCroix answered softly.
“Did you… drink from him, I guess? Is he a hybrid of some kind, perhaps?” Mulder asked.
“No, agent Mulder, I didn’t drain him.” LaCroix mused.
“Can you tell us about it?” Scully asked.
“Are you sure you want to hear about it? It was quite barbaric, I assure you.” LaCroix sneered slightly at the diminutive redhead.
“How long ago, LaCroix?” Natalie asked. “Are you sure it is the same man?”
LaCroix didn’t really want to go into details with these strangers. He said, “He was a chieftain of a tribe in Gaul. I led Caesar’s legions into Gaul. I had him crucified, after I wiped out his tribe. It was before I had been brought across.”
Mulder’s photographic memory kicked in and he remembered studying Roman history. Actually he had been more interested in impressing the devastatingly beautiful grad student who helped the professor teach the course. In an attempt to impress her, he had memorized just about every text in the library dealing with Roman Military Conquest- that being the subject of her doctoral thesis. In the end, he found out she was doing the professor, and had no interest in him, but he did learn a lot about Roman History. “Lucian LaCroix. You were General Lucius the Crucifier?” he asked, entirely forgetting the threat this man posed to him and Scully. “Wow!” he said, amazed at the thought of a piece of living history sitting before him.
LaCroix was startled momentarily. “It has been a very long time since I heard that particular description.” A slow smile grew on his face and he continued, “You must have a fascination with arcane historical trivia to know that name.” He changed the subject and said, “In any case, I am quite certain that this is indeed the same man I crucified in 74 AD. He survived crucifixion and lived another 1,926 years, and he is definitely not a vampire. I would say that that puts him squarely in the camp of the man you and my son met on the rooftop last night.”
“Where is he now, Father?” Nick asked.
“He left. However, he is being followed. We shall find out where he is going and perhaps tomorrow night you might visit him in your capacity of a homicide detective investigating a rather unusual death.”
“That is an excellent idea, father.” Nick said with a smile.
“Doctor Lambert, you and I need to have a conversation.” LaCroix said. He felt his son’s sudden rush of concern through their bloodlink. He turned to Nicolas and in a very decisive tone of voice suggested, “Why don’t you and your friends go out and have a drink while you wait. This shouldn’t take too long.
Nick wanted to protest, but caught the tone in LaCroix’s voice and knew he would only make things worse for Natalie if he reacted. He leaned in to Natalie and whispered in her ear, “It’ll be alright. I love you. I’ll be right outside.” He then opened the door and indicated to Mulder and Scully that they should precede him.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Freddie was still sitting at the bar when the three exited the office. He watched as the vampire led them to a booth overlooking the bar and the office. He wasn’t going to do anything until he could get the redhead alone. He wasn’t afraid of the other vampire, after all he was 250 years old, and he didn’t think anyone else in here could match that. He just didn’t want to make a scene; that’s all. He ordered another bloodwine and sat back to wait for his opportunity.
Nick was distracted by the thought of Natalie in there alone with LaCroix and didn’t notice the vamp at the bar who watched as they left the office and took a booth to wait.
Mulder and Scully exchanged glances, concerned for their new friends. “Will she be alright, Nick?” Scully asked.
“What is going to happen?” Mulder added.
“He won’t hurt her,” Nick said- almost 90% sure he was speaking the truth. “I think he wants to test her resolve. She has spent the last 6 years trying to ‘cure’ me after all,” Nick said quietly. “He probably wants to make sure she is really willing to give that up.”
“Is she?” Scully asked.
“There was a time when she wanted me to be mortal, almost as much as I wanted it. She thought of marriage, family, that sort of thing.” He sighed. “I really didn’t want her to have to give up the sun, the daylight. However, she wants me more than she wants the sun. And, even though I know I am being thoroughly selfish, I’m glad. I want her to be with me forever- no matter what. I would rather have her as a vampire than to lose her to old age and death.”
Mulder understood exactly how Nick felt. “But you feel guilty about what she is giving up, don’t you,” Mulder said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes.” Nick sighed.
Scully got mad, she knew that Mulder was speaking for himself, thinking that he was bad for her, that she deserved ‘better’ than him. “What is it that makes you guys think that we are unable to decide what is best for us?” She shot them both a withering glare. “You put us on a pedestal and think you’re looking out for our best interests; but don’t you see? It’s lonely up on that pedestal!” She was almost overcome with emotion and actually had to choke back a sob, “I want you, not some idealized man, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence,” she said directly to Mulder and then turned to Nick and continued, “and I imagine that Natalie feels the same way!” She abruptly stood up and said, “Now, where is the restroom?”
Nick silently pointed toward the back of the club, his eyes wide at her outburst.
Scully looked back where he had pointed and said, “When I get back I don’t want to hear any more ‘I’m not worthy’ crap out of either of you, Ok?” She looked back and forth between the two men, both sitting slack-jawed and looking up at her with wide eyes. “Otherwise I am going to find a nice chair leg for you,” she said- pointing at Nick, “And you, I’m going to shoot. Again” she said- pointing at Mulder. She then walked off, head held high.
Mulder and Nick sat silently for a moment before they both began to smile. “Again?” Nick asked with a slight smirk.
“Long Story” Mulder replied with a teeth-baring smile of his own.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Scully dried her hands and checked her makeup. The tears that had threatened to flow she dabbed at lightly with a paper towel. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself as she marveled at the stupidity of men in general and her man specifically. She idolized Mulder. There was no one else on the planet she could possibly want to be with. He had totally ruined her for other men ever- and that was before last night’s mind-blowing sex- yet he felt inadequate. She was the one who was inadequate- Mulder could have any woman he wanted at the drop of a hat. She was sure that that little blond waitress was out there even now chatting him up. She was glad that she knew her man well enough to know he wouldn’t even notice. She might feel inadequate, but also knew her partner. Though she wasn’t sure that she deserved it, she knew he loved her and only her. As long as he knew that she wanted him, he wouldn’t even look at another woman.
She was walking out the door thinking of exactly how she was going to demonstrate just how much she wanted him when she got him back to the hotel this morning. It was at that moment that she felt herself grabbed from behind- one hand around her waist, the other over her mouth as she was swiftly pulled out of the club through the back door and into the alley.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Natalie stood before LaCroix. She was nervous and cursed her heart for giving it away. She determined that she would not outwardly show her fear, even though she knew he would detect it from her heart rate.
LaCroix observed her for a moment. He heard the fear that her heart betrayed, but admired her poise, as she outwardly gave no indication of her feelings. He briefly considered toying with her for a bit, to see how far he could push before she would give, but decided against it. He would test her resolve, no doubt about it, but he would avoid doing anything to anger his son. So long as Nicolas was content to return to the fold, LaCroix would not be the one to break the peace.
“May I call you Natalie?” he started with. “Doctor Lambert seems so formal.”
“Yes Sir” Natalie said stiffly. She remembered the power emanating from him earlier. She did not want to do anything to provoke him if she could avoid it.
“Sit down, Natalie,” LaCroix chuckled lightly. “Relax. I am no longer a general, and this is no army. You need not stand at attention.”
Natalie took a seat across from him and tried to relax. It didn’t work. She was worried about Dana and Mulder… and Nick… and herself… and Nick and herself… and…
LaCroix broke her reverie. “Do you not feel as though you have been betrayed, Natalie? Nicolas has decided to throw away 6 years of your work as though it was nothing.”
Natalie decided that the only way she would make it through this was by being brutally honest, both with LaCroix and with herself. “Nick wanted to be human. I wanted Nick, any way I could have him. So, no, I don’t feel betrayed. As long as he is satisfied with the way he is, so am I.”
“Truly? You would not prefer him as a human?” LaCroix pressed. “You do not long for children? To see the sun rise, to feel its warmth on your face?”
“To grow old, to break down and die?” she countered. “Each state of being has advantages and limitations, sir. Either one would be satisfactory so long as I could be with Nick. Neither one is acceptable without him.”
“You care for him that much?” LaCroix asked, somewhat surprised, doubtful that this mortal could love Nicolas as much as Nicolas did her.
“He is my life. My heart.” She replied.
“Easy to say, but you have no real concept of forever, child. How do I know that you won’t tire of my son after a few decades or a century and leave him?”
Natalie had an epiphany. Right there and then she finally understood Lucien LaCroix. She had always thought him to be evil and full of hatred toward Nick. Suddenly she realized that it wasn’t hatred, but rather desperation. LaCroix loved Nick, needed him powerfully and when he couldn’t have him he lashed out at whatever he perceived as separating him from his beloved son. “Ohhh,” she said, sympathizing with LaCroix’s need to have Nick in his life. She felt exactly the same way. Wordlessly she stood up and offered this master vampire her wrist.
LaCroix was taken aback by her offer. “Why?” he asked.
“You need to know, I need for you to know,” she said simply.
LaCroix took her wrist and brought it to his mouth, looking into Natalie’s eyes for any indecision. He saw that she was afraid, but resolute. He bit down and tasted the hot, spiced wine that ran through the veins of his son’s lover. He felt her devotion and love. He saw her conviction. He knew her understanding of not only his son, but of his own need for Nicolas.
She spoke to him through the link and with her voice simultaneously, “So long as you don’t hurt him or me, I will make sure he never leaves you again.”
He immediately withdrew from her and broke the link. “Why would you do that?” he asked, confused.
“Because he needs you too. As much as you need him. He just doesn’t know it,” she replied.
“For once in his life, my son has chosen wisely.” LaCroix said. “I will gladly have you for a grand-daughter, Natalie.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Freddie dragged his catch out into the alley, thinking about how much he was going to enjoy this when he felt her stamp on his instep. It surprised him more than it hurt him but he loosened his grip enough for her to spin around in his grasp and ram her knee into his groin with a great deal of force. “What a little firebrand,” he thought just as she snap-kicked him in the nose, breaking it and causing blood to flow momentarily as it healed.
Scully figured out that she was dealing with a vampire and hoped that she could hurt him enough quickly enough to get back inside and…
Interrupting her thought process was the back of his hand across her face, sending her flying down the alley and into a stack of pallets next to the dumpster. She was almost unconscious when she felt the bite on her neck. She reached out beside her trying to find something to hit him with.
Freddie was enjoying the wonderful flavor of this delectable morsel, reveling in the images of her life and the fear he tasted in her blood. Her heart was slowing almost to a stop when he felt an incredible pain in his neck. He reared back was horrified as the slender shard of wood she had stabbed into his neck, tore his throat out as he pulled away. His blood, mingled with hers sprayed out of his near fatal wounds and poured down on her face, and into her mouth. Her last act before she blacked out was to convulsively swallow.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Natalie came out of the office walked over to where Nick and Mulder where sitting in comfortable silence. They both got sheepish looks on their faces when she approached and she wondered what was going on. “Where’s Dana?” she asked. Mulder answered, “She had to go powder her nose.”
Natalie snorted at the thought and Nick said, “Yeah, she worked up a sweat explaining to Mulder that he was an idiot and that I should pull my head out of my…”
“Nice visual, Nick.” Natalie interrupted. “I’ll go check on her.” Natalie went back to the restroom, but couldn’t find Dana there. She walked out and across to the alley door just in case Dana had stepped out for a breather. She opened the door and looked out just as Freddie was taking a bite on Dana’s neck. She screamed, “NICK!”
Mulder heard the echo of Natalie’s scream and when he looked over, Nick was already there by Natalie’s side. He felt the blood leave his face and got up and ran through the crowd on the dance floor to the alley door. By the time he got there, and into the alley, Nick and Natalie were crouched over the broken body of a petite redheaded woman. There was blood all over the woman’s face. LaCroix was standing over the body of a large man who looked like his throat had been ripped out. “Where the hell did he come from?” Mulder thought. His brain was rejecting the image of the woman on the ground. He couldn’t even notice her. He just stared at the body of the man with the torn throat- watching in horrified fascination as the flesh slowly re-knit it self.
It wasn’t until Natalie sobbed his name that his mind grasped the fact that the bloodied and broken body lying in the alley was his Scully. He went into shock. He fell to his knees, his eyes locked onto the face of his beloved Scully. It felt as if his heart had stopped beating.
LaCroix quickly assessed the situation. “Nicolas, she has ingested his blood, you must take her quickly to my quarters. Natalie, go tell Miklos about this,” he kicked the slowly regenerating body of the vampire that had assaulted Scully. “Tell him to have it chained in the caves, but not killed yet. Then tell him to deliver a case of uncut blood to my quarters at once.”
Natalie reacted instantly to his command, racing into the club to get Miklos.
“Come Nicolas, I will bring Agent Mulder,” he said, picking up the silent man and flying him up to the roof. Nick scooped Dana up and followed.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
“It must be you, Nicolas. I doubt that she would come back for me, and certainly not for that creature that did this to her.” LaCroix explained.
Nick took one look at Natalie, who had raced up the stairs and was panting heavily. She just nodded her head. She was unwilling to give up on her friend so soon. Besides it might be fun having a sister.
Nick bit his wrist open and held it to Dana’s mouth waiting, praying even that she would drink.
LaCroix turned to the other agent, who was still in shock. He captured Mulder’s eyes with his own gaze and explained to him that Dana might yet live, but that Mulder would have to call her back.
Mulder was wrapped in a cocoon of agony. Every breath hurt and all he could think was “She’s gone. She’s gone.” over and over. When LaCroix’s words of hope broke through, it was as though a switch had been thrown, shocking him out of his stupor. “What do I do?! Tell me how to bring her back!”
“Go. Hold her and call her back to you. She stands at the doorway and must choose either to go into the light, or come back across to you.
Mulder stood up and unsteadily crossed the room to Scully’s side where Nick was drizzling blood into her mouth. He swallowed his fear and agony and started to stroke her forehead. He took her hand in his own and began calling her, “Scully. Scully, please come back to me. I love you. I need you.” He repeated that over and over, tears pouring down his face and dripping onto hers.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
She looked around her. She was standing on an arid plain. It was dry, flat and featureless in all directions. “Where am I?” she whispered to herself. “WHERE AM I?” she screamed out.
“Where do you think you are?” a voice said behind her.
Scully whirled around to see a doorway standing in the open plain. The door was open and a bright light silhouetted a figure from behind. She just stared at it for a moment before walking up to the figure. “Am I dead?” she asked, suddenly remembering the attack.
The figure laughed melodiously, “Not quite yet, little sister.”
Then Scully could make out the face. “Missy?” she asked in a whisper. She ran up and hugged her, “Oh Missy. I’m so glad to see you.” Suddenly she broke off the hug and stepped back. “Oh Missy. I’m so sorry.”
“For what, Dana?” Melissa asked.
“You died in my place. It’s my fault.” Scully cried.
“Don’t you mean Fox’s fault?” Melissa asked.
“Oh, no Missy! It isn’t Mulder’s fault, he couldn’t have known…”
“And you could have?” Melissa asked her sister with a frown.
“I should have!” Scully cried.
“Dana, the only one to blame for my death is the man who killed me, and the man who sent him to kill you.” Melissa said firmly. “If you take any blame for it, you have to share it with Fox. I don’t think either of you’re to blame.”
Scully realized how surreal this conversation was. “Missy, where are we? You’re dead, but you said I wasn’t. What did you mean?” Scully was confused.
“You must choose, Dana. You can come in to the light, with me. Or, you can go back.”
“What do you mean, I can go back?” Scully asked. She thought of Mulder, of how much she loved him and it was almost as if she could hear him, calling her. Telling her he loved and needed her.
“You can go back to your beloved Mulder, Dana. However, I must warn you- you won’t be the same.” Melissa said.
“You mean I’ll be a…” Scully began.
“Vampire, Dana. Say it with me- Vam-pi-er,” Melissa teased. “You will give up the sun, you will have to drink blood to live, and you will have to face the hunger. The desire to kill for food is difficult to overcome.” The light in the doorway seemed to dim.
Scully’s choice was already made, however. “I can’t leave him, Missy. I love him.” Her voice was full of longing, and she heard Mulder’s call more strongly. The light on the plain in general seemed to dim, as though night were falling.
“I know, little sister. Take care of him. He needs you.” Melissa said as the light, the doorway and the plain around Scully went dark entirely.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Mulder was sobbing out Scully’s name, and the blood Nick was giving her was about to run out the sides of her mouth when she finally swallowed. She instinctively latched on to Nick’s wrist and began to suck furiously. Nick was so happy that she had come back that he made no move to pull away. Finally it was LaCroix who had to come over and yank him arm away from her.
Nick stood up, dizzy from the blood loss as Scully dropped her head back down to the floor and slept.
LaCroix was angry with his son. He grabbed a bottle of blood and shoved it into his hands. “Were you going to let her drain you?” He demanded.
“Nick, are you alright?” Natalie asked; her concern clear in her voice.
“Yes. I’m all right. No. I wasn’t planning on letting her drain me, I was just happy and relieved that she came back, and wasn’t really paying attention.” Nick said, somewhat chagrined.
LaCroix looked sternly at his son, and then said to Natalie, “My dear, it would be in your best interests if you allowed me to supervise when my ‘inattentive’ son brings you across.”
Suddenly Mulder broke in, “Uh, Nick, is she going to be ok?” he said, gesturing at Scully, lying on the floor, not breathing, no pulse. Mulder was still a little shocky. His joy at her response was tempered by how she responded. On the whole, however, he would take Scully any way he could get her.
Nick was abashed at his insensitivity. “Sorry, Mulder. Yes she is going to be ok.” He was suddenly struck with a thought, “You do realize, Mulder that she is now a vampire, don’t you?”
Mulder chuckled a little at that, “Yeah, Nick. I think I had that figured when she started sucking you dry.” He sobered and looked at her, covered in blood and laying dead- “Ok, Undead,” he thought- on the floor. In a small voice he said, “Scully is my life, Nick. Mortal, vampire, alien hybrid, whatever- I love her with all that I am.” He sighed and looked at Nick, “I could no more do with out her than I could do with out my arms and legs.” Mulder closed his eyes and continued, “When I thought she was dead, I…”
Nick and Natalie actually took a step back as they saw the change come over his face. He opened his eyes and the hatred they saw there made Natalie gasp.
Mulder quickly schooled his features and asked, as calmly as he could, “Where is the thing that did this to her?” He turned to LaCroix. “Is it alive?”
LaCroix smiled at agent Mulder. He couldn’t help but understand the desire for vengeance that he saw in Mulder’s eyes. “For now, Agent Mulder. Why, did you have something in mind?”
“Are you planning on letting it live?” Mulder couldn’t keep the question from coming out in a low growl.
“I was planning on staking him out on the roof and allowing the sun to finish him.” LaCroix said.
“Can I help?” Mulder asked. He looked at Natalie and Nick, silently begging them to understand.
Nat looked a bit green around the gills, but said nothing. Nick just looked away and said, “You need to be out of here when she wakes up anyway.”
Mulder began to reply, but Nick overrode his protest, “Listen to me, Mulder. When a vampire first wakes up after the change… Well, we call it first hunger and every vampire remembers it, because it is the most powerful and overriding feeling we will ever have. A man would drain his own wife, a woman her own children. When we first wake, we are purely the beast.” He reached up and gently laid his hand on Mulder’s shoulder. “It would be better if you missed that. You can see her as soon as she slakes that thirst.”
Mulder was visibly concerned about that.
Nick saw Mulder’s look of worry and said, “This is all donated blood, Mulder. I won’t let your woman turn into a monster, but you must let me train her my way, and you must respect my requests in order for me to be successful. This is going to be a stressful, difficult time for you both, and if you want ‘your Scully’ back, you will have to trust me.”
When he put it that way, Mulder had no choice. “I will do anything to have her back,” he said while looking sadly at his beloved. “Anything!”
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