AresJoxerCupidStrife - Delilah Draken

Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3


Title: Forgotten Destiny
Author: Delilah Draken
E-Mail: delilahsdarkness@yahoo.de
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Fandom: Xena/HtLJ, The Phantom of the Opera
Pairning: A/J, C/S and some others
Disclaimer: They are not mine. I am just borrowing them. Dear Erik is a creation of Gaston Leroux, the Gods belong to themselves and the rest belongs to the people at Renaissance Pictures.
Warning: some mentions of rape, but nothing graphic
Summary: What if there were two children of Love and War? What if there was a twin for the winged son of War?


Author's Note:
This is the first story I write in this fandom. I am new to writing slash so please note that there might be nothing graphic. It may also take some time for the main characters to get into the story. Be warned the first two or three chapters are possibly nothing more than a one person narrative.

Prologue

"Dr. Cagny. Dr. Cagny."Her assistant was quite excited. But she didn't need a distraction right now. She was this short of finally translating the scroll before her.

"What?"You can imagine how she felt. Not amused.

"We found something in the outer hall, Ma'am." In the outer hall? There was nothing but stone and dust. She had to know. She examined the place herself. There was nothing of importance to find. There was nothing to find at all.

She wanted to tell this to the poor boy before her as said boy pressed a thick tome in her hands. A book? They found a book in the outer hall? But what a book it was. Clearly over two thousand years old. And just perfect. If she didn't know this book was aged millennia she would think it was fresh from the press. Of course there was no real evidence that the book was as old as she believed. She just knew.

Her curiosity was piqued and she opened the book without the proper care one needed to show to such relics. Nothing happened. Yes, this book was in a real good state after all those time. Perfect.

She looked at the writing, expected to find old Greek, but found... French?

That was impossible. It just can't be, she told herself. Her young assistant forgotten, she went back to her tent. She wanted to know what this thing was about. Surely there was no chance in Hell that some Greek writer created a book in French. The language didn't even exist at that point in time.

But it was there. She couldn't change the fact. The greatest find in her career and it was something the other archaeologists would never accept. Like her theories about the Phantom. Exactly like that. They would never believe her. Never.

What ever. It's a bit fun. she thought. And began reading.


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


A long time ago, in a place no man is allowed to remember, there was a day of joy. The Heir was awaiting his first born. A perfect son was created with his sister. Perfect in all aspects but one.

The Son was not born alone. He had a brother. Where the Son was perfect and beautiful, the brother was not. Where the Son was everything light as his mother, the other was darkness.

The second child was not allowed to live. The King ordered the child to be killed. His Heir must not see this imperfection.

But the Mother was kind and loved her grandchild dearly. She wouldn't allow the boy killed. So she sent him away. Through time and space to a place where he was in no danger. She put a spell on the boy so he could not use his powers. She made a young woman who lost her child believe the boy was her own son. The Mother did everything to ensure her grandchild's safety.

She told her husband the boy was dead. She told her daughter she gave birth to only one child, a perfect son. She told her Son, the King's heir, he was now father to a child of beauty. Nobody knew the truth.

Nobody?

The Dark One knew. He loved the Mother and so helped her play her game of make believe.

He guarded the child. Guided him through the dangers and pain the boy had to endure in his life. Made him follow his dreams when all seemed hopeless. Gave him the chance to escape the darkness he was forced to live in.

But the Dark One was not able to safe the boy's life in the last. He was Death and could not create life. So he send the boy back the moment he was supposed to die. He sent the child back to the time he was safe.

A place where the child was safe.

A place where he could find love.

A place he belonged...


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


"You alone can make my song take flight. It's over now the music of the night."

The famous last words. Oh yeah, he would go with a great bang. After his death all of Paris, all of the world would know of him. But they wouldn't find a corpse. They wouldn't even find enough of his house, his dreams to begin reconstructing. All they would be able to find was a hole in the ground where the opera was supposed to stand. A great, deep hole.

What a perfect joke.

Of course, there would be victim. An explosion of that size didn't go on without killing someone. No, he would take those idiots with into the darkness of death. At least he managed to get his love out of the house. She would be safe. That was all that counted. All he needed to know. His angel was safe in her lover's arms and he could now leave this cruel world.

It would end now...



Chapter One

Pain. All he felt was pain. But that was understandable. Didn't he just commit suicide? Yes, he did. That explained the pain. He was dead. Nothing more than a spot of red on the pavement. If there was a pavement left beside the opera.

But if he was dead, why is he feeling that much pain? Didn't someone tell him that in death you feel no pain?

No, that was wrong. They tried to tell him there was no pain after you died. He knew there was a chance of feeling something after you left this sorry world. His uncle told him that. His uncle with the sad eyes told him that neither the good ones nor the evil ones lost their ability to feel in the Underworld. If they couldn't feel, how should they live down there and not become vegetables?

Good question. One the priest who was instructed to teach him the ways of the Lord could never answer.

Okay, I am dead. I feel like a locomotive ran over me, but that doesn't matter. I am dead.

Finally...

"You are not dead. Quite the contrary, child."

What was that?

In an instant he was full awake and had a neck in his hands. Old instincts made him kill first and think later.

"Calm down, child. I mean you no harm." The voice was gentle and made him see who he held. Before him stood a man dressed in black. Only now did he realize that the words were not spoken. They came like his own thoughts into his mind. Strange.

"Not so strange, little one. If I were to speak aloud you would die. That's not a pleasant view I can tell you." He let go the other man's neck.

"You should ask your questions if you want them answered." A smile. A smile which revealed sharp pointed teeth.

"Who are you?"

"Thanatos. And no, you are not dead. You won't die for a long time." Another smile "Next question."

"Where am I?"

"Home. Or at least as near to home as I could bring you. You'll have to go the rest alone." Was there regret in his voice? No, he didn't believe it. No one would...

"And where is Home?" He was curious what this strange man before him would answer. Everything else was strange enough. He ran away from a loony bin. That's it. That man is insane.

"I'm not insane. At least I think I'm not." The strange man in black was now laughing. It was a bit disturbing to see someone laugh without sound. "And your home is in Greece."

That was it. He totally lost his mind. It couldn't be. It was not possible. Not possible...


Whispered voices. The smell of flowers.

"He's cute."

"He would tell you the opposite."

"Really? I can't believe it."

"It's true. His foster mother truly messed him up. There is hardly any self esteem left in him."

"How could she do that?"

"The woman thought he was her punishment for her sins."

"...?"

"Catholics."

"So she believed the poor boy was only born to make her life miserable. Gods, how could anyone be so dense?"

"Don't know. But she was responsible for his shattered dreams. She told him he was a monster."

"What's so amusing?"

"There is a nice place in Tartarus for her. I think she will love it...not."

"And the Christians wonder why their Devil has this terrible sense of humor?"

"He is awake." The last voice was a woman.


He awoke in a bed surrounded by darkness. It seemed as if the world ended at the end of the bed.

"Good morning, Erik. I hope you slept well."


* * * * *


Three days later we find our friend Erik walking on the road to Thrace. It is obvious that he is not in a good mood.

Why the Hell, did I say yes?

Couldn't I tell those lunatics to... to... Argh, I can't even curse anymore.

I hate my life. I fucking hate it.

And why am I walking down this stupid piece of mud anyway? Couldn't I take the horse they offered? Obviously not. Stupid pride.

You want to know what I am supposed to do here? Yes, I am speaking with you. You there before the screen. Do you want to know or not? Not? I'm telling you anyway. I need some good listener at the moment.

The lunatics down below want me to play Cupid for some stupid guy. They say I am the only one who could manage to get this guy together with his one true love. What a crap.

Joxer the Mighty. What a stupid name is that?

Can you imagine that? Me, playing matchmaker? Me, the monster, the one without a face? No? I can't as well. But I have to do it. I won't get back home if I don't do it.

Damn. I have no idea how. How am I to manage this Joker falling madly in love? And with the right person? Do I look like a guy with wings and arrows?

I hate my life.

Oh, did I tell you that one of those lunatics in the caves tried to get into my pants? I can't believe it. This Thanatos person really wanted to...

I can't say it.

More is to tell you that he will sing soprano for a little while. If he could talk that is. Strange man this Thanatos. How can one talk without using his vocal cords? I know how to talk without moving your lips, but totally without sound... Just into your head. I wonder how he does it.



Chapter Two

And the boy went away to fulfill his duty. For it was his duty to unite those destined to be together.

But he didn't know that.

The only thing the lost Son of the Heir knew, was that he was taken away from his place. Away from his home and his time, the child went slightly mad. No one dared to ask why...

But his true nature didn't wake till the day he met the warrior. The Warrior was nothing but a fighter in name. This man was a clumsy fellow and possessed nothing of the grace typical for his kind.

And this is the one I am to help? the child asked himself and anyone who might dare to listen.

He is the one the Heir desires. came the answer. Death himself came to stand by the boy's side. Death came to guard the child's future. Death did it for his liege. It was done to please the Dark One.

But the child was not pleased to see Death standing by his side. It was not that the boy feared to die. He merely didn't want the company. He harbored a great dislike for the character of Death, not death as a position in the order of life.


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


Dr. Cagny had to stop reading. For hours she was now sitting in this tent full of shadows. Her eyes were beginning to give her pain. She had to light the lamps.

What a strange story. she thought. And how right she was. Never before did she read something like that. The book itself was a mystery to her. How did it get there? Why was it written in French? And how come she believed every word she read?

That was what disturbed her the most. Why was she, who never believed anything till she had bulletproof evidence, believing it? Why...

"Because you are a dreamer at heart." A voice told her. A voice full of clarity and kindness.A voice she was used to hear in her mind. A voice she heard now in her mind as well.

"Am not" she murmured sleepily. She really needed sleep. It was not healthy to forsake yourself sleep for this amount of time. More than four days without sleep were just too much for her.

"You are, little one. Why else do you insist on following a lost cause?"

"Nothing is lost, Old One. I will make them believe me." As I believe in you...


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


She awoke bathed in sweat. What a dream. What a terribly realistic dream.

She could still feel the touch on her skin, could still smell the foul breath. She could still feel the pain as the men took what was not free to be taken. She felt the emotions of the boy in her dream as her own. She felt everything that poor soul had to endure. Everything.

She saw a face hidden behind dirty rags.

She heard a name.

Erik.

Erik? She remembered something she read the last night. Yes, it was the same man. He was thoroughly described in the book. She saw his face and knew he was the same as in the book. It was just the same with her knowing it was a true story.

Everything in this mysterious book was true. As true as her dream. As true as her talking to a voice in her head.

You are the witness...

Witness of what?

...the second union of Love and War...



Chapter Three

"You are the witness..."

Witness of what?

"... the second union of Love and War..."

That was all he wanted to tell her at this moment. Of course, he knew that the woman would not stop to ask till she got the answers she wanted to hear. It was obvious Dr. Elenor Cagny was the right choice for this task. She was the one born to bring the old believes back into the world. She was the one who would bring the world a new faith, a new religion... or was it an old?

In showing her what happened all those many years ago, he opened the path for the young ones return. When people believe, if they only think it is a nice story, there would be enough energy to open the gates for a last time. For a last time he would break the rules. Rules he himself spent millennia to make sure not even he could break them.

It seemed even a perfectionist makes mistakes. His mistake was in allowing himself to survive. No survivors, no leaks in security.

But he couldn't do that in the past, how was he to do that now. He was the only one remaining awake. It was his duty to open the gates at the right time. The right time...

"Is not here, my love. We will have to wait."

"How long?" he asked. The only question his lover couldn't answer. The only question he didn't want to know the answer. Like every living being he didn't want to know the day he was supposed to die. And the day the gates opened would be his last.

"That I can't tell you." His lover went silent. Something was in the air. His beloved with the shiny black hair and the silken voice was never silent. You could always hear some kind of music, some strange rythm surround the one eternal person he gave his heart to.

There was never silence. Silence meant death. And death was to be avoided at all costs.

Would his lover be claimed be nothingness? Now, after all this time?

"You should make her read the book again. I don't have the power to send her the dreams."

Yes, he would do that. He would make the Witness learn the Old Tales. He would make her know everything. He would do it for his love.

Only for his love...


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


He awoke to laughter. But it was not someone laughing about a good joke, or just being happy. It was the kind of laughter that leads to pain. Terrible pain one wishes to never think about again. A pain you can never forget. It was the laughter of someone intend on killing someone... or worse.

Rough hands pressed him down. Touched him, searching. Finding nothing of interest he hoped.

"Looky, what have we here. A nice little rich boy all alone in the woods." He could smell the alcohol in the man's breath. Thiefs. He fell victim to a band of thiefs. He struggled. He needed to get away. NOW.

"Hold him down, Corvus. Raikon, take his clothes." No. Not again. NOT AGAIN.

"Yeah, this silk is worth hundreds." the one on top of him murmured. "Where is your gold?" the man asked aloud. "Where have you hidden it? Perhaps under that nice mask, eh?" He got an arm free. He would show those scum what it meant to die at the Phantoms hands. He would do it happily.

Erik didn't get the chance to get free and kill the men. All he could do was sit there in the mud and watch stupefied as a woman in black leather armor killed the thiefs quickly. And I wanted to torture them a bit...

"Are you okay?" he heard a friendly voice ask. He didn't react. He just folded his coat around him and shuddered. He shuddered and cried like the that day many years ago. They were going to...

"Gabrielle, make a fire. We have to keep him warm. He is in shock."

In the corner of his eyes he saw a blond girl making fire and spreading blankets on the earth. She makes a camp, he realized.

"Xena, Gabrielle. I finally found you. You ran away so fast that I... Who's that?"

He didn't want to turn around and see who arrived. He didn't want to move at all. He just wanted to sleep. Lie down and sleep, little one. I'll protect you. This voice. He hadn't heard this voice since his childhood. It nothing more than a product of his imagination. Nothing more. He closed his eyes.

"Joxer, go to the river and get us some water." Again the voice. but not the one from his youth. It was the woman in armor, with the black hair and the amazon battle cry. Amazon battle cry? What the Hell is that? You'll know in time, little one. Now sleep. Nothing can harm you.

"He's loosing consciousness."

Slap.

Slap.

His hands around a neck. The sound of one not getting enough air into the lungs.

He opened his eyes... and let the woman in black fall down.

"Don't you ever dare touching me again. Do you hear me? Never again. NEVER." He was screaming the last word. His legs gave out and he was nothing more than a pathetic piece of flesh and bone hidden under a black silk suit. Nothing more. Nothing more.

Tears were streaming down his face. They were stinging under his mask, but he didn't move to wipe them away. All he did was mumble "Never again" over and over. Don't cry, little one. I can't stand it when you cry.

"Don't cry. I can't stand it when you cry." A soothing voice whispered the words into his ear while strong arms held him.

Some time later, when all his tears were gone and the pain was nothing more than a bad memory in his heart, he found the courage to speak.

"Who are you?" he asked the three before him. Better said, the two women sitting before him. The man was sitting beside him, Erik's head in his lap to make it more comfortable for the masked man to sleep.

"Who are you?" he repeated. And where am I?

You are safe, little one. I can't protect you at the moment. These three will help you.

They will help you...


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


They will help you...

"... in more things than you can imagine." she read out aloud. It was the last sentence on the last page in the book. "There has to be more. That cannot be the end."

But it was the end.

The first book was send to her. The one who wanted her to know helped her in sending the book to her. If she wanted to know what happened after she would have to search for herself.

Dr. Cagny was furious. That short before she got everything she ever wanted and she had to begin from the start. Again. She had to did up the whole place again to find the other books. She knew there had to be other books. At least two. That would make three books altogether. A full chronicle.

She had to find them. She had to.

It was her only chance.


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


"She does it the wrong way." his lover said.

"She won't find anything at this place."

"Don't you think I know that? All she has to do is in the book, but she's not ready to understand. Give her time,love."

Yes, time. Time was all they needed. Just a bit of time. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Just a bit of time...

There is not enough time left.


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


And the Witness was not alone in her task. Two old beings watched over her.

Two beings as old as time and death combined.

Through the millennia they have waited for this moment.

When the gates open and sleepers awake. When a lost soul finds her purpose in telling a story. When the time runs out, the Old Ones are allowed to die.

For their duty has ended. They need no longer protect the sleepers. They need no longer wait.

Time will stop and hearts will break.

The Old Ones cry.

[ Update  | Fiction  | Challenge  | Round Robin  | Joint Effort Fiction  | Links  | Gallery  ]

Broken links or other errors can be sent to Carrie. Suggestions are also welcome.