“Born To Be”

Prologue

Five cloaked figures stood in the shadows of the funeral procession. It had been greatly respected, many mourners had gathered to watch the burial, the celebration of a precious yet short life that had flicked out like a snuffed flame of the night. The family was well known, the crowd large for such a young one who had gone beyond the sea into the life of the next. This wasn’t supposed to have happened. They began the walk as night fell quickly upon them. The darkness had been consuming the land since the one currently being honored had died. Light of any kind, including the natural one of the twin suns above them, was becoming extinguished more and more quickly with the passing of each day. Soon there would be almost none to keep the lost hope alive. Life itself was soon to be endangered. Life as the beings of this land knew it was far gone however few realized that fact yet. They were rightly focused on the lost one right then.

The quintet met within the hidden covens below the catacombs, abandoned long before their time. However, the time currently being spoken of was before them as well. For something had to be done.

“Howie, you know we can’t do this.” A voice with a soft, melodic accent spoke through the darkness as they reached their temporary haven. His bright azure eyes glanced about them as they activated the revealing incantation that let them go inside. For in the catacombs there was a vortex created by their own magicks, weakening with every second, where they would be safe from harm in any world. Soon their powers would be extinct, as would be the same with all creatures, when darkness gained final control over all.

“Do you have another idea?” Howie asked with evident frustration.

“Perhaps we must accept what fate has dealt us.” Pale hands removed the hood as he spoke, the eldest of the five, and so revealing the owner’s raven locks and dark jade eyes that rested within a caring face.

“Oh and I suppose knowing the world is doomed is an option? Screw that shit, I say fuck the rules and let’s go.” One with markings of spells from throughout time along his arms said.

“It will break the codes of Eos, and Thanatos, for one. Another is the fact this shall be binding us to the spell infinitely in ways we can’t even comprehend! AJ, I know you are the rebel, the one who defies all and delves into everything, including dark magicks, but are you willing to test that?” The fifth person questioned.

“I think the choice is out of our hands now.”

“If we must then Brian, then we shall.”

The five stood huddled together, a bright star-like shape developed within the center as a result from their gift. Chanting, it started softly in hushed tones between the five, grew louder as the power itself began to appear. Wind blew about them more and more fiercely, whipping their cloaks and hair with harsh strengths. The spell glowed with the strength and beauty of the heavens that would now and forever be denied to them as a result of this. But, it must be done. All must be done to save the one from it’s muddled change of fate. The prophecy must be fulfilled. If the darkness could interfere, so could the guardians. For they were the five powerful guardians told in legends past, born of Dabria and Asasiel. All was being risked to accomplish the goal. Still, would it be worth it?

It would be in his hands now.

“Born To Be”

Chapter One: You Think You Know

All you people can’t you see, can’t you see… how your love’s affecting our reality… Every time we’re down, you can make it right, and that makes you larger than life…

The sun beat down him heavily, sweat beads collected like jewels upon his brow. As he drove his rented BMW convertible down the road, Nick’s cell rang, demanding his attention. He reached for it distractedly as one hand steered the car along the road.

“Nick’s house of pleasure, how can I serve you?”

“You fuckin’ nasty ass!”

“Least I have one, what do ya need dawg? Kevin wanting us back already?”

“Nah man…dude are you listening to our song?”

“Maybe, dude what do ya want?”

“Meet up with me and Rok over at Tin Can aight? Peace!”

Every time we’re down…yeaah, you can make it riiiiiiiaaaght. Yeah, that’s what makes you larger than liiiiiiiiife… yeah! All you people can’t you see, can’t you see… how your love’s affecting our reality… Every time we’re down, you can make it right, and that makes you larger…that makes you larger….that makes you larger… than life…

“And that was Larger Than Life from the Backstreet Boys, next we’ll debut their latest single, Shape Of My Heart, from their coming album Black and Blue. Stay tuned as we give away tickets for tonight’s and tomorrow’s concerts! If you can answer the Backstreet trivia, you can win!”

He hung up and shook his head. It never got to be normal, hearing your song blasting on the radio as you drove through your hometown. Nick ran a hand through the golden spiky hair as his flashy BMW sped through the roads of Tampa Bay. The breeze blew softly in his face, a calming feeling tingled its way through him. Nature always soothed him in ways he could never explain. Still, there were a lot of things about Nick Carter that were beyond explanation. Qualities that most would see as odd, unacceptable, and not right, were part of his body as well as personality. So all of that remained hidden, stifled, so that Nick could make his way into the world normally. None of his siblings had that problem, only him. But by hiding it all it almost felt as if he was just a shell of his true being, of what he could be. But he has lived this way forever so that concept didn’t exactly make sense he supposed.

His family had always accepted it, tried their best to hide it. His parents were always aloof for reasons he never understood. Like they knew something, saw something, or perhaps thought it to be too much trouble. Whatever the reason, they kept their distance. It became evident as he rose up the heights of fame, and it became known by all. He knew what fans, the media, and even the fellas said about his parents, his family. His father was supposedly a cheating bastard; his mother was to them a selfish, greedy, stage mom feeding her kids into the nasty death trap that was Hollywood. None of it was true. None. But Nick could see why they said that, with Aaron on the music charts as well, Angel having been trying to model, and Leslie was testing music herself. All the while, the Carter parents were seen remaining aloof. Especially from Nick himself. Didn’t mean it didn’t sting any less. Over the years he had to force himself to shrug it off, let them all think what they wanted and move on. Because of that, his band mates morphed slowly from friends, and into brothers. He couldn’t help but like it that way, they always were there for him, and tried their best to protect them as they all grew in the spotlight together for seven years. Nick’s biggest challenge however was hiding all the secrets. It never got any easier.

No matter. He and the fellas, (and by that of course meant his fellow band mates of the pop sensation, the Backstreet Boys), had a show that night. They were back in the beautiful area Nick loved to call home. Twenty years old, he felt he had everything. Now he had a show to do in his home town, also being the city where he met his band mates, his surrogate family. The night would be a special one, that much he knew to be true. Amazing shows for that night and tomorrow as well. Yet the voice, the voice that has been haunting him since the day he had turned twenty, seemed to convince him of otherwise.

“Nickolas…”

A feathery, soothing voice it was, compassion seeping through with every breath. “Nickolas…”

He shook his head, upped his speed along the highway. He changed the radio station, and left those thoughts behind him as he drove to meet up with Brian and AJ before the show. They had gotten here on the tour bus and Nick immediately rented a car, having missed home. Now they could relax before going back to the arena for the sound check and actual show.

“Nickolas…”

If only the voice would just finally leave him alone.

***********

“Nickolas!” A younger voice yelled from across the field. There he stood, only five years old. The violet colored tall grasses greeted him as he ran through them laughing. The two suns above shone down upon them, giving the appearance of being one dividing, mimicked conjoined twins. The other child yelled for him again, and he ran, never quite getting there. Butterfly styled creatures fluttered about him. No, faeries, that’s what they were. Faeries who enjoyed the springtime suns. They always did that, sang their songs and danced within the suns’ sparkling rays upon the ground.

“Nickolas!”

“Nick…”

There was a mark along his arm that seemed to brighten. One that he couldn’t make out clearly despite its proximity. The faeries danced around him, taunting before his eyes. Confusion plagued him as he heard his voice belt out some song; saw himself upon a stage singing before thousands. Yet he was there, with a friend, dancing in the grasses with the faeries they loved. What was going on?

“Nickolas…”

“Frack!”

“Nickolas…”

“Frack!”

“Nick!”

“Nick!” He heard Kevin yell from the other end of the stage. Brian’s voice could be heard as well. But it was the older cousin who was lecturing now. “Would you quit daydreaming?” The younger one shrugged tiredly. It was happening more and more often. The dreams, awake or asleep, he kept having odd dreams. But they were so real. He rubbed his eyes only to see small sparks of light shooting from his fingertips. The light was like an opal, not one color but many. So different from anything he’d seen unless it was what came from him. Oh no. Not again. He tucked his hands in his pockets quickly in hopes to keep it quiet.

“Nick you ignoring me again?” Oops. But even now, after knowing Kevin for seven years, it was still just so easy to tune him out.

“Sorry.”

“I love ya but sometimes you drive me fucking insane.” Uh oh, yeah Kevin was irritated.

So he made himself focus. Somewhat.

“Nickolas…”

**********

Screams bounced off the walls of the stadium. The area was packed with fans, mostly wearing shirts with their faces on them. The noise was deafening as he viewed them from backstage. His adrenaline soared as he prepared for the show. It was always like that, the effect of doing what he loved in front of thousands. The group was still riding high from their last album, Millennium as they came nearer to the end of the tour. And later this year their next album would finally be released. They strapped him to the cords as he got on the boards so that they could surf the air above the fans.

He chuckled at the gear he wore, that they all wore, as costumes. It reminded him of a space adventure. Those had been his idea of course, very similar to his suggestion for the Larger Than Life music video. Why not have fun? For them, everything musical they touched was turning into gold. Even music critics who hated the “pop bubblegum craze” that swept the music trends had even been quoted to say the Backstreet Boys were “destined for greatness in the music world”.

“Nick! Come on!” He heard Brian call.

There were the others, in a huddle to start the group prayer. He headed over to them quickly, took Brian’s hand in one, and Kevin’s in the other as their heads bowed down, touching each other slightly. They had already done the giant huddle with the dancers and all. But they always did another after that. Just the five of them. It had been Brian’s idea back when they first started. A moment of silent prayer so that the show can go well and for peace of mind. Or that was how he explained it. Still, Nick was never one for religion, but when they had this moment, he felt still, balanced with the world and all it contained. All the “oddities” about him seemed to feel complete and normal. But it was only then. That day was different however, it was the first time he felt antsy, chaotic and not at peace during the group prayer. He didn’t like that feeling. Not one bit. They broke apart and went to their places. All except Brian, who’s furrowed brow almost resembled the look of his cousin’s, Kevin, but without the thick black eyebrows that completed the look Nick knew so well. Nick never did let up on teasing Kevin, the eldest about his caterpillar appearing eyebrows.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, of course I am.” He did a running of the hand through the hair to make sure it was okay. Check. Make sure everything was hooked on right so he didn’t end up with the worst wedgie for the entire concert, check.

“You’re not having the dreams again are you?” He once told Brian about them, being how close they were. His best friend, even if he was five years older. With brick red hair and cerulean eyes that really couldn’t hide much, that was Brian. He was religious and southern born, one of those picture perfect looking lives. Basically the opposite from Nick in upbringing. Yet the two connected from the beginning, goofed off together, had fun, and drove Kevin crazy.

“Just distracted man.”

“Will y’all get to your places?” Kevin hissed as the music leading into the introduction for Larger Than Life began. Within moments they would be on.

Brian rushed to his place while Nick wiggled his feet into the slots upon the board. The screams became loader as they rose, and began to soar above the crowd. He loved this, it felt so natural.

“Nickolas…”

The voice seemed to be louder than the screaming teenaged girls themselves. Why could no one else hear it? Was he just going insane? That’s what everyone would probably say if he ever mentioned the voice. He was losing it. His vision blurred as his feet touched ground once more. Had he spaced during the entire intro? He usually relished it, for it always had given him the feeling of being free during the short time. His hands were set behind his back, Nick was ready to go. Brian began to sing as his vision danced before him mockingly. Hold it together Nick. They danced with synchronization. Until he missed a step. He realized it when he almost rammed right into the dancer. Shit. Keep it together, he told himself. He had to.

“Every time we’re down, you can make it right. And that makes you…larger than life…” They sang. He felt his body sway with haunting irony as he began his own line shakily.

“Looking at the crowd and I see your body sway…” He paused, his head spun, throbbed, pulsated with a sudden pain. Nothing around him was visible; it was all a blur as his balance gave way. His eyes ached as if they were ready to explode.

That was when everything went black.

************

A crimson light stung his eyes as he blinked rapidly. A yawn escaped as he stretched in the grass. He rose quickly, looked around him. What the heck had happened? This was…this was his dream. But it didn’t feel like a dream. His mind spun as he took it all in. The sky was dark, covered in forest green clouds that gave the area a melancholy air. The two suns he sensed to be there shone just faintly behind them emitting a crimson glow for him to see by. He stood upon dry violet grass that crunched deadly beneath his feet. There were flowers around him of bright various neon blues and pinks. Faeries flittered around from flower to flower. That is, until they saw him. They zoomed in upon the popstar immediately, caused him to almost trip with surprise. Last he remembered was… the concert. It had just begun, and then…then he had passed out. So this had to be a dream. But it felt real. His back throbbed. He felt pain, so could it be a dream if he felt pain? Nick didn’t have a clue. The faeries giggled around him, tugged impatiently on his shirt for him to follow them into the field.

And so he did, having no idea of what else to do. He was, confused to say the least. There had been the voice, the headache from hell; he had felt dizzy, and fainted. Now he was here? None of it made sense.

“And now I’m following Tinker bell wannabes.” He muttered to himself.

Then Nick paused when they pointed at what appeared to be a bolder. It rested beneath what resembled a palm tree. It was shorter, with a pale green stump, and long slightly fuzzy sky blue leaves draping over the bolder like a curtain. He stepped toward it slowly. Dread bubbled in his stomach like boiling water. Instinct told him he didn’t want to see it. When he lifted one of the leaves aside, that feeling proved true.

It hadn’t been a bolder; rather, it was a tombstone.

And carved within was the following inscription:

A Child Angel
Nickolas Gene Carter
Born: January 28th, 1980
Died: May 4th, 1985

“Born To Be”

Chapter Two: You Have No Idea

Light emanated from her soul, how he knew he’d never be able to explain to someone who couldn’t see it. Now he was lying upon the ground, the shock of seeing his own grave had made him pass out once more, he realized. And, he was still there. He wasn’t home, or in the stadium, or in the tour bus having dreamed it up. No, he was here. What did that truly mean? Her hand reached out to him as he gazed up into the source of the purest light in this place. He was met with a pair of swirling blue green eyes, and a gentle smile. Auburn curls adorned her head, as the light sparkled and danced around her eyes. Her slender body was evident, though she was dressed almost like a gypsy with a blend of colorful scarves and loose clothing. A ball chain from which an amulet shaped like the moon with a star at the tip swung in front of his eyes from around her neck as he took her hand. He couldn’t help but redden slightly as he realized he was still in his concert gear. She helped Nick up and immediately he took off the gear to be left in a shirt and pants, still from the show but better than the plastic space gear.

“Hello, you look…different.” The tone was soft, soothing, and calm. She looked somewhat confused by his appearance. “Are you alright?”

With a shrug Nick brushed the dry grass off of him. “Where…am I?”

“Where are you? What do you mean? You’re in the great tombs of Fylgiar. This is the place where we bury the great ones, who were meant for more, lost before their time was to come…”

“And…what about this one?” He pointed to the grave bearing his name and birth date. Perhaps it was coincidence. Or better, all a dream still. A very involved dream.

He saw her shoulders sag, the weight of the world had suddenly appeared upon her slender shoulders. “Oh, you mean Nickolas…he, he was supposed to be so much. He was, a companion when we were both very young. He died and no one ever discovered the cause.”

How would he tell her? That that was his name, but that he wasn’t from here? He had to say it sometime, for how else could he get back home? If it was in fact real. He wanted to go back. Back to the fame and music he loved so much. As much as he wished to believe this was all a delusion, a fantasy, even a coma induced dream state, he knew it wasn’t. Deep down something within every fiber of Nick’s being was confirming that somehow this was all as real as the home he knew.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It is fine, I don’t remember him much, and we were very little.”

“Look, so where is…Flybar?”

“Fylgiar” She gave him a knowing look. One he couldn’t read. If the ones who knew her well had been there, they would say it was one of contained emotion, held back to reveal nothing. Her hands idly played with the talisman around her neck. A chill filled the air. Something was wrong. And she knew what had to be done if she was right. For as it seemed, everything was aligning the way it should be. The way it should have when this all had started to go wrong in what seemed like centuries before. It had not been that long ago, but so much had changed, so much had gone to darkness, that it felt to be so.

“Fylgiar then. Sorry I ain’t from here and I ain’t got a clue of where to go or any of that shit.” He replied dryly, his hands hurriedly adjusted his shirt and such like he just realized at that moment he was a disastrous sight to behold.

“Fylgiar” She waved her hands around in an encompassing motion. She mumbled something incoherently as she placed them back together. Her eyes brightened as she separated them to reveal a shimmering orb within her now joined palms, which cradled it. It slowly spun within her hands, growing slightly with size so Nick could see the detail within. There were settlements, creatures his eyes never beheld before, all who lived in Fylgiar, in communities, countries upon it.

“This is what Fylgiar is. All of this is Fylgiar. We are a proud world, even if now lost in shadow.”

“So…all of this…”

“Yes.”

“But-”

It was then the howls seeped into their senses. Howls that pierced your soul with the haunting savageness and destruction you could feel from just one note. Her eyes skipped over worriedly. There was no time, for surely they had sensed them by now. She grabbed Nick’s hand. “Come on.”

“Wait, what is going on here!?”

“We can save all questions till later. Otherwise you’ll just end up dying again.”

The look of confusion sprung forth upon his youthful pretty face. A face that had garnered him the attention of millions of girls. Here however, it meant nothing. “Die again? What the hell is going on!”

The howls grew closer in range; the pain entered their ears as the pitch grew ever higher, ever more fierce in nature. The suns finally set as the light of the crescent moon rose above them. The amulet began to brighten with the light of the lunar glow. Nick glanced around confused, scared, though he would never admit it. He was lost with the only person to rely on is a girl he never met before in a place he never knew existed. All he wanted was the screams, stalking fans, teenyboppers, and managers who he thought he would do anything if it meant getting away from them. How often had he wished for an escape from all of it even though it was a life he loved? A thought had finally clicked within his rattled mind, did this have anything to do with his “oddities” had he come over the years to hide out of shame and fear? How many times had he wished for answers for why him, what it all meant? Had both come true within one cruel, swift, confusing stroke? To rip him from all he knew? He was panicking, he knew or he would be trying to ponder ways out of the mess, not reasons to explain it all.

Still, the saying “be careful what you wish for” had become the biggest understatement in the world to Nick Carter.

He felt a tug on his arm, it forced him to come hurtling back to the new reality his life had become. The girl’s eyes met his as the cries crept upon them. She grit her teeth at the fact she was unable to shake him from his lost reverie for so long. Time had been wasted and now they would be forced to fight. This was not the scenario she wanted when this had all come down upon her without any true warning. Her hand kept grip on the other’s arm as her other hand grasped her necklace tightly. Prayers were whispered from baited breaths for the strength needed. Strength to come from those not with her now.

The creatures had come from the shadows, slinked along the trees like parasites, fed like vultures. They left behind a trail of death that reminded him of acid. Any living thing it touched would reek of death and decayed within moments before his very eyes. All creatures had fled at a moment of the howl. Yet one poor faye had been caught within its twisted embrace. The faye had grown dark, its sparking pink eyes had gone blood red as it snarled and craved death. Wings that had been like beaded diamond lace within the light shriveled and resembled dead leaves drenched with mud. Its once pretty skin -which this one had been pale green-, grew murky as if born of a swamp rather than the spring like its true nature. Not only would it kill, it would mutate at will. This was how the world was being lost the darkness, death, and shadow. For the powers grew stronger with ever claimed creature.

As the years had gone by from the very first attack, it had never been so bold. Only now as it grew more powerful, more assured from its master, it boldly faced the few strong ones left with its craving to snuff out the light born within life itself. Never before had it approached this grave, it had always been one of the save havens. A holy place blessed by the spirit of the young one, most had thought when escaping the Cyhyraeth.

When it approached the two within the graveyard of lost heroes before them, they stood strong. Nick broke the silence first. “What the fuck?!”

“Stay back!”

“I ain’t crazy; of course my ass is staying back!”

The fiery haired one stared down the beings before her. They were almost mist but hidden within was the face of horror. Wolves snarling and decaying yet never dead. They had been trapped between this world and the sea beyond. Possessed with a spirit far more powerful they knew no gentleness as real wolves would. All they knew was their power and what it was after. She had been forced to face them before, but as they grew, her power began to lessen with each encounter. The thought always troubled her even in times like this. The star upon her talisman shone, casting a pale blue shimmering barrier between them in the creatures. She had no idea how long it would hold.

Her gaze met the dead stare of the Cyhyraeth. “What brings you; you know you cannot claim me.”

The voice that emerged was to Nick like nails on a chalkboard mixed with the growls and moans of a savage dog. It was hard to describe and grated against his inner being. The urge to vomit as an instinctual reaction to the voice alone came immediately. “We do not seek you girl. We want the one between this land and the sea. He is like us.”

“You are mistaken, he is very much alive and not between this and the eternal journey.” Her prayers began to take on a voice, fiercer, prouder than the natural tone of hers. Nick gazed up as he felt an energy build within. “Go before I force you myself.”

“You have grown weaker.”

“And yet still strong enough to keep you from trying anything or I’d be dead by now. He is not yours to claim so leave before I destroy you!”

Swiftly the mists dissolved with another piecing howl to haunt their souls. She shivered as the forever crescent moon shone more brightly above, the clouds finally began to scatter some. Nick stared at her. “What the hell was that about?”

“Since you’re not from here, you wouldn’t have a clue would you? But not now, somewhere safe. We need to go. They’ll be back soon.”

“And who the hell are you?”

She sighed, he had to be impatient. It would be like that for her wouldn’t it? Nothing ever came easy. “I know who you are. My name is Tawny, Tawny Everilda. Right now, you can consider me…” She paused; her tongue ran over her lips thoughtfully. “A friend. If that suits you.”

Nick just gave the smirk that made so many melt. Yet again, here it did nothing. “After that shit, works for me. But I want to know-”

“I know this is confusing-”

“You have no idea.”

“But I cannot answer right now, or I may not even know. We’re not safe.”

“What a shocker.” He was cynical, impatient, frustrating. She had never been one for patience. She wished for her former companions, that would help her now more than anything. For now, they were lost however.

Tawny’s gaze skipped around warily. For now all was calm again. The only sign of the scene before was the dark faerie that had been changed was feasting upon a blue jay near a tombstone, and the dead plants that had been touched by the Cyhyraeth. All was peaceful as it could be in those times. She remembered a time where all was bright, happier than it was now. Before the one had come to change time, before the young one who‘s grave they stood at, was lost. Once, there was true peace. But such thoughts were for a later time.

“We need to go. Follow me.”

“Born To Be”

Chapter Three: Feels Like Home

She had led him through to the village, her home she had said. It was a simple town, if Nick could even call it that. The area was nothing like what he was used to. Nothing was. The closest he could compare it to would be the Victorian homes back in his times he saw other celebrities restore sometimes just because they could. Here, that was the style the homes were built in, the norm of the area. The walk there had been long, arduous. Through a dark woods where the trees had been of forest green and bright blue similar to the little tree by the tombstone. Bright green speckles had glittered in the air, and Tawny had had to explain to him how the flowers’ pollen was visible when it was released in the air throughout the year. It gave a magical aura to an already mystical place. Here the village was in a clearing, away from the dark forests. The houses were smaller than any Victorian homes he’d seen, but there was the style all the same. Further in you could see their market place. Large stands were there as people tried to sell their wares from their handmade carts and little shopping tables. It was similar to a flea market revitalized on a much larger level. The sight of it all was so hard to take and yet felt so right at the same time. It confused him, made him want to resent it all. Instead he just took a breath and follow, for he had no real idea of what else he could do.

Yet what had really gotten Nick were the residents. There were humans of course, dressed similar to the style Tawny had worn. Loose scarves, clothing that moved with the body as it walked almost in a dance type motion. There were the faeries he had spotted earlier, some shopped, some played around within the air, while others sat upon shoulders of other beings, likely friends, as they strolled about. Then there were the others, the ones he guessed were other intelligent beings, but were beyond what he had ever seen. There were fawns, beings with calf legs, human torso and fawn ears. Oh and of course a tail, which Nick saw swing behind in step with their walk. There were girls with sea blue hair, scales along her arms, and played with water they controlled within their own hair as their violet eyes glowed with power similar to the way Tawny’s had earlier. There were centaurs, men who were half horse with a human torso, and ram styled horns that sprouted from their head. All of them walked along, shopped, conversed, and mingled as all was normal. However to Nick, this was very far from normality. Normality had flown out the window the moment he passed out at the concert.

Tawny chuckled at his amazement. It was interesting seeing her only home through another’s eyes, eyes that never witnessed any of what she took be a normal and daily thing. “You okay?”

“Yeah…” The voice was distracted, distant because of all that was around them in the busy town center.

“Welcome to the town of Tylwyth Teg, my home. This area has been blessed so we are relatively safe for now. As safe as these times will let us be.“ A sigh came, tired and worn. “But not for long cause my gifts aren’t as strong as they once were regretfully. However, my place is a safe hold the Cyhyraeth do not know of, and neither does the Night Walker.”

“Night Walker?”

“A nickname given to the one who has caused all our suffering, the one who created the Cyhyraeth.”

“What’s he really called?” Was Nick truly willing to accept this so quickly? He wasn’t sure. It was all beyond him truly.

“The name has been long forgotten, by the people.”

A lie. A simple one, but it had to be said. Nick wasn’t ready for the story yet. She was able to sense that, it was written all over his beautiful foreign aura that danced around in the pale sunlight. It was bright, it shone, and it was beautiful with life; a strong life that Nick possessed within. For that was really all an aura was, a mirror reflection of the being who owned it. The true nature shone through an aura with an expression of combined, swirling, rainbow resembling lights. His happened to be a mix of dark greens and turquoise blues. It danced though; the way it did, and the brightness with which is shone, was beyond any she’d seen before. Any except for a few old friends. Friends who were gone however, and now Nick’s uniqueness belonged to him alone.

She could not see her own aura, that was the curse and gift. Able to see others but never one’s own, for sometimes an aura could be almost prophetic and one should never know one’s own future. So she could read bits of Nick’s but never her own. The two made their way to a larger building a ways from the town’s center. It was built and styled to what Nick would say an old Christian church, like those he used to see back in Europe during tutor sessions that bored him. Most were from the crusades, he thought anyway. He never paid enough attention to actually remember. They were of stone with tall Greek archetype columns.

The carvings were what stood out, for those were different from anything he’d ever seen before. They were intricate as typical of any ancient religious house of worship. What he didn’t expect was for her to step towards it, up the stairs and into the larger slightly out of place building. What else could he do except shrug and follow?

“This is my home Nick, feel at peace.” Nick raised a brow, taking that to mean ‘make yourself at home’.

“Um, thanks.”

As it felt however, he did feel peaceful. A feeling he only knew to really be on the tour bus. Due to his life of fame, fortune, of being a rockstar, most of his time was traveling. As a result he felt more at home on a tour bus than at his actual house. There, at Tawny’s own residence, he had realized that it gave him that same contentment. The interior was more like the rest of the town, simplified with furniture designed for comfort while still holding classic beauty of items from the Victorian era of his own world. Symbols of what he assumed to be protection were upon the floor. The light filtered through the windows, speckles danced within the pale red light.

“So tell me your story.”

He stared at her. “My story?”

“All beings have a story, you are obviously not of here, that I knew even before setting my eyes upon you. I am curious to hear your own tale.” A small faerie flittered upon her shoulder and Tawny expressed a genuine smile to Nick for the first time since he saw her, and it was simple yet beautiful. The faye was a pale blue, with golden locks and lavender eyes, the clothing was a simple dress of spring green. She smirked at Nick as Tawny chuckled.

“Alright, alright…I see you.”

“Who’s the Tinkerbelle wannabe?”

An angry expression crossed the faye’s face as she flew around Nick’s head and spread dust all around his face. He coughed with annoyance about to ask what was that when all that escaped his throat was a frog’s croak. Tawny covered her mouth, a laugh tried to escape for the first time…in well far longer than most could imagine. She didn’t want to think of exactly how long it had been. As he tried to ask what was going on, all that would be vocalized were very loud, very angry, croaks and ribbits of what sounded to Nick like a frog on steroids. “She doesn’t like being compared to Tinkerbelle. Now Gwyllion undo that!”

The fae pouted but did as she was told. Nick sneezed at the abundant power before growling angrily. “What the hell was that shit?!”

“Gwyn does have a short temper, most faeries do, their small bodies can’t handle too much emotion at once. Gwyn, this is Nick, now be nice.”

He glanced at the faerie. “Whatever.” That was when Nick realized yet again what he was doing. He was twenty years old, he was trapped in some other world, and he was having a spat with a faerie. Faeries were always make believe, or so he thought. He was either in some really crazy place, or Nick knew he had to be in some delusion which definitely qualified him as certifiably crazy. He didn’t want to admit how afraid he was of the second one.

Tawny turned her gaze upon her as her finger twirled around it an auburn curl. “So, you were about to tell us your story?” The small creature once again got comfy upon the young woman’s shoulder. She went into her kitchen, grabbing a pair of cups that were made of a light blue diamond glass. She used a small pump within the kitchen to give them fresh well water and sat at the table across from them. He took a sip and glanced at it with surprise, never had water felt so refreshing and vitalizing. “I would love to hear it.”

“Shit…where the hell do I start?”

She just gave an impish grin. “How about at the beginning?”

“Aight…well…”

************

The walls were stark white, sterile, and cold. Footsteps could be heard within the hallways. Not much more noise was audible by their ears. The only other noise were the steady beeps of the machines around them. Their eyes were focused upon one destination, one area. No words were said, no one really moved much as four men gazed upon the fifth of their group. His blonde hair was matted to his forehead, the ocean eyes that danced with so much light weren’t visible beyond the eyelids that seemed to be sealed shut. His breathing was steady and shallow. Other than the gentle rise and lowering of his chest he didn’t move. There Nick lay, within Orlando General, as Brian, AJ, Howie, and Kevin sat in the room beside him.

The doctors hadn’t known what to make of the fallen popstar. By all physical evidence there should have been no reason as to why he never awoke after passing out at the concert days before. When they had to end the concert, they did everything to wake him up, and nothing had worked. They took him immediately to the hospital and have been there since. They knew they had to call his parents, his family but all had the instinct not to do so just yet. Because there seemed to be no cause, they were running tests to check for any drugs in his system for lack or another answer. Once the doctors and nurses finished their usual rounds, the four finally began to discuss what happened.

“What now?” Brian asked, with a nervous pace around the room.

“I think it’s time.”

“Time? Shit it can’t be Kev, it’s too damn early.” To the rare random people who happened to walk by, it sounded like they were still debating to call Nick’s parents. Another decision they had been fighting over.

“It had said it would be him that decided when.”

AJ smirked as he rubbed his eyes. “And I always called that a crock of shit D.”

“I’ll check his shoulder.” Unknowingly to Nick, when he had gotten that tattoo of the sun with Chinese marks within, he was actually recreating a modernized version of an ancient mark. It was then all the dreams began for him, even if he didn’t realize it. Now, Kevin, Howie, Brian, and AJ, who had all been guarding him so carefully within this world, living on as regular powerless humans, they had to take on their former roles once more. And as he thought, the tattoo glowed brightly but only to trained eyes not of that realm, confirming the inevitable. This world may have made the known by all but not for the true self, they could not forget the duty they had bound themselves to twenty years before.

“We’ll have to break the barrier and go to him.”

Brian glanced at Kevin, who in actuality was his brother not his cousin back in Fylgiar. It had been weird creating the life of a performer in the Daoine realm, upon Earth, but it had suited them and provided their needs and a way to guard over Nick well. “Can we do so? Our powers aren’t as unlimited as they once were, and it took five of us to do it last time.”

“Nick is our connector, making the break easier. Besides, we have no choice.”

“Born To Be”

Chapter Four: Between Worlds

Nick slept within a cot of her home. Tawny however could not let herself rest. Much had to be done. A smile was earned however at seeing Gwyn sleeping peacefully upon Nick’s cheek. She had liked the newcomer whether the faye would admit it or not. With the exception of the Tinkerbelle comparison. She did not know how Nick knew of the most glamorous, powerful, and famous of faeries, but Gwyn never liked Tink, always loathed her. Seemed like some things crossed from the realm she knew, to his. A suspicion she had now confirmed. Unsurprising. His story was unsurprising to her, of how he got to the tombs. The only surprise she had was having been discovered by the Cyhyraeth, how did they find them so fast? Was there a traitor within her small circle?

It was interesting, having someone else other than her or the tiny creature in her home. It had been a long time since the last time it happened. Obligation, duty, and the darkness had isolated her despite how she always was seeing the villagers as she did her best to protect them. But, she did what she had to earlier. She was the only one who could keep Nick safe and she knew it. Just like she had known who he was the moment her eyes had laid upon him back in the burial grounds. Duty had come full force once more, but at least now, it might have brought along a possible companion. A welcome change for her. For now she let him sleep, because who knew how little they would get when trouble came. With what he has dealt with, the rest was well earned.

He was what he was supposed to be at that age she supposed. At least in the world he traversed over from. Even here, once he knew more, or so she hoped. He couldn’t remember anything, but how would he? Such a thing would be impossible right then. She shouldn’t be affected either way on what was a trivial matter at best. But at the same time, Tawny still felt the tiny sting despite such simple logic. She stood with a stretch before resting her eyes on what she needed for her next task. She carried a small cauldron to the table from the kitchen, and filled it with water. Her eyes gazed within as she gave a silent incantation. Her amulet glowed ever so slightly for despite the immense amount of energy it took, the spell itself was simple. Just draining, but it was necessary. The young woman needed a sign of what was to come.

Four faces reflected within the water as if a mirror. They stood beside the very one who slept within her home now. They were in a sterile area, and their heads were bowed in what seemed like a prayer. She had to explain it to Nick eventually. Before others came and made the situation far more dangerous to them all. Her hands two became clasped within the stance of a prayer.

A small turquoise light shone from within the cauldron as a faint pink glow came from the charm upon her necklace. The two met above the cauldron and forged together to make a glowing sphere before her. Her prayer continued as her energy surged within her body and through her soul. She needed to hear it. Tawny had to have some sort of sign before this continued further. A voice then came from within the light.

“Hello.”

“Well lookie who it is, hey Tawny.”

“Long time, no contact dear one.”

Her eyes opened and she smiled at the light and what it represented. “I know.”

“Why is that?” Another voice said from the object.

She shrugged as her hands idly played with her necklace. That necklace had transcended time itself and it amazed her it never faded from existence. “Been working on keeping things stable here.”

“We still needed contact from you.”

“Why are you unable to reach me as I do you?”

“We’re still not sure why.”

“You wouldn’t have contacted us unless it was important.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t.”

“So what is it Tawny?” The more impatient one asked.

“It’s about the spell we cast…”

“What of it?”

“It’s finally active, he’s here.”

*********

“We should have known.” Brian said, agitated.

“It explains his condition.” Kevin agreed.

“Fuck so we gotta do something now.”

Howie nodded at AJ as he turned on the TV in the corner of Nick’s hospital room. It was more to drown out their conversation from wandering ears. Then something came on that actually caught the young men's attention.

…This is MTV news, here with your latest bits about your celebrities and your music. I’m Kurt Loder and we have the latest for you.

“Great D, perfect…MTV, first thing we want to hear man.” AJ commented with slight disgust. He was about to say more but was cut off by what the VJ said next.

There seems to be no change yet with the condition of Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter. Just two weeks ago during their concert in hometown Orlando, Florida on their Millennium tour, he collapsed during a performance of Larger Than Life. We are told he has been in a coma since with no evident cause and with no sign of waking up. The Backstreet Boys could not be reached for comment and their management team released to us this statement…

“The Boys have put the rest of the tour on hold till Nick is able to perform once more. We don’t know when that will be and we hope the fans understand. Refunds will be given for all the missed concerts and we hope to possibly make them up in the future. His health is important to us, and the Boys are there with his family praying for his recovery. They do not feel right trying to continue without him. We ask the fans for understanding and prayers during this very difficult time.”

Our thoughts are with you Nick, and your family. In lighter music news…

Brian flicked off the TV, all it did was shatter their concentration anyway. Besides it also drowned out the connection with the other side. A shimmering light in the form of a young person was what shone before them. It was the sending of partial consciousness between worlds. It was almost impossible to do upon normal terms. But these weren’t normal. But still, they did it rarely, when communication was vital. Few knew of how to do it. And even less had the power anymore to do so as the light began to fade from their home lands.

Home lands. Sometimes it all seemed like a dream. That other life before they had come to guard the young one. They had all been reborn when they had come to be there. All had grown to live separate lives but were fully aware of what was to come. They had always been aware of what they were before this, and what they had to do next. All the events leading up to that very second. This moment, with Nick comatose within his bed, a man Brian had come closer to than before as a friend this time around. Someone who made their purpose, their next move very evident.

It was far too clear, especially right then.

*********

It was the startled squawk/shriek combination that emerged from the faye that had caught her attention. Suddenly Gwyn had been fluttering about the room, and a booming roars of winds that weren’t there, suddenly was within her home. She raced over to the cot Nick had been sleeping on, only to discover that had been the exact source. He seemed so peaceful earlier. Now he was awake, his eyes were a blazed with panic as he looked around him, looked through him. Light radiated from all around his body, from within his very soul. She knew what was happening. She had seen something hauntingly similar once before.

She knew what it meant, and it was the worst thing that could happen.

“Born To Be”

Chapter Five: To Be Protected, To Be Bound

She could only stare helplessly as it began. Nothing more. Nothing less. Helpless. That’s what she was. Unable to do anything but watch with the agonizing pain of knowing. Knowing as the events unfolded before her eyes in slow motion of what was happening. She knew what it meant. Time moved in an achingly lethargic manner and only for her. And she, she was there, frozen in horror, yet couldn’t avert her eyes in the slightest. History repeated itself just for her. It was the same as the last time, when she had known nothing. This was worse, this time she knew her limits. This time she knew what was happening, wasn’t confused, like before. No, she knew, and she could do nothing. She knew and was powerless. She knew and it killed her.

Her already panicking, already erratic, already unfocused mind sped up as her surroundings seemed to have slowed. Images, feelings, memories, all rushed back to Tawny, reminded Tawny of the not so distant past occurring in her currently chaotic present…


“Here, I want you to have this.” A friend of hers had said softly.

Despite the fact it hadn’t been long ago, it was a different time then. A time before shadows had come to claim most of the lands. Before death, decay, darkness had become a daily occurrence in their beautiful home lands of Fylgiar. A threat definitely loomed beyond an innocent horizon, she sensed it long before, had been preparing with her companions. But for the moment, she enjoyed the peace before the inevitable shattering of it was to come.

She stared up at him; his hands beheld a small box, gesturing for her to take it. A gift for her. Tawny let a small smile emerge upon her too youthful face.

“You’re too sweet.”

“So accept it.”

“But you shouldn’t have.”

“Come on, please, just open it.”

The smile she held only grew as she nodded. Her hands grasped the box gently, and removed the lid as her gaze shifted to what was within. Jewelry. She beamed as she removed the necklace from the box. It was a simple design, a simple gift. Yet, it fit her own taste so perfectly. A simple ball chain of silver, and hanging from it was a lovely and delicately carved amulet. The amulet upon the necklace was shaped like that of the crescent moon with a small star at the very tip of it. She always loved the moons of nightfall, the crescent one the most. She saw them as the only light in an otherwise serene darkness. Tawny stared up at him as he wrapped her within a sweet embrace.

“Thank you…I…I love it.” She whispered softly against him, unable to express much more. She knew he got the gist of her meaning, how much the small gift had meant to her.

“I charmed it, a powerful incantation; most of my energy was put into it, for a spell of protection to always encircle the amulet. It’ll keep you safe Tawny…”

She was stunned, the man before her needed all his spiritual energy that he could gather. Yet he wasted some just for her. Why? “I’m the last one to need of any protection” Was what she said, even though the gesture itself truly touched her, despite how foolish it was. She pulled away from him slowly.

“It’s that thinking of yours that inspired it.”

“It’s the truth.”

“And now you are reminding me just how much you do need it Tawny.”

“You are so stubborn.”

He reached out towards her, and a hand soon met her face with a gentle touch. His thumb ran smoothly along her forehead, tucked away a couple of stray auburn curls. His eyes stared deeply into her own. “No, just correct.”

“I’m the one who is a protector, not to be protected. I-”

That was when it begun. The winds, the noise. It was all the same…


… As it was now. The noise only grew, made her eardrums pop in a painful attempt to adjust. Nick’s screeching voice soon joined in to blend within into as mockingly haunting melody. Her attention was finally refocused upon the current time rather than the past. The past couldn’t be changed, at least not within her realm of power. The present however might. His screams only became louder, and far more shrill. The pain was crystal clear within his fear drenched wails. The light that was consuming him, an impure, dark tinged, shadow-aura filled light, is what she sensed to be the link to it all. It was blinding if she looked upon it directly as it danced upon him, the most concentrated spot being from the mark he bore. Destined for him. Searing hot flashes traveled over Nick’s body. Blazed with pain. He reached for her, grabbed the young woman’s hands instinctually.

Tawny’s grip grew tighter as the events happened so quickly. Such a change from when it felt so slow before. Her other hand gripped her necklace, her mind crying for a prayer as she focused all of her own spiritual energy upon him. She tapped into the wells of her power, trying to keep him safe within her world. Safe with her, where she knew he was meant to be now. She gathered her energy and kept feeding it to him to fight against something she knew deep down she couldn’t possibly stop. Yet, she refused to stop struggling. She had only stared helplessly before. This time, she could know she tried to at least do something. She wished to save him.

The surroundings meshed together in a confusing and troubling blur about him. A pulling sensation attacked his body as the burning feelings from before only became enhanced. It was a tug a war upon him. Both ends seemed to be rooted upon opposite ends, fighting for him in ways unseen to his own eyes. He feared eventually his body would no longer would take it and he would be pulled in tow. As this only enlarged, grew, consumed, Nick was possessed by this. He could no longer see, no longer feel, no longer think about anything but the agony that stabbed him with every essence of his being, every part of his soul.

“Tawny…” He managed to whisper into her range of hearing, above all the noise, despite all the chaos. His blue eyes pleaded for her to rescue him from his current hell state. She felt the energy around him, the consumption. His grip only grew tighter. It was within that moment where she stared into his gaze, and their souls connected. It was within that moment that the light exploded before her. Suddenly she no longer felt his hand within her own. Suddenly the cot he had laid upon was now unoccupied. His body dissolved into nothing but speckles of light before her. They surrounded her, as if an embrace before fading as quickly as they came.

Nickolas Gene Carter had left her life once more.

“Nick…” She murmured. A solitary tear was all she allowed to fall upon her cheek. “Nick…why?”

*********

The four had been standing around Nick’s bed at that time. Now was the time for them to return. To exit the vessels they had entered years before. Time for them to become their true selves again. They had to rejoin the young one and finish what had begun. All the struggles, the fights, the losses it was time to go back to that, to save their home. Now was the moment to bring a pure light, a pure life back to the land of Fylgiar. The door to the hospital room was bound shut by a simple spell to avoid interruptions from anyone. This had to be precise, they lacked one and the power as a result was lesser than it had been when they had first done this ritual.

That was when it caught their attention. The mark, the tattoo that truly was much more, the one of the blazing sun as a sun of life, purity, and hope, was suddenly emanating a midnight blue-black glow that soon covered his entire body. Such a thing was of black magic, tainted, and should not be upon him.

AJ, as such was his personality, was the first to react. “Shit!”

The eldest of them moved to enchant a spell, something against the light spreading. Howie immediately shifted to do the same. The two began chanting in low voices. Each doing a spell unique to them, to protect the youngest of them. Brian however was almost panicking. Wrong. This was wrong. Impossible. Nick had crossed over, and once done, this event should’ve been impossible. He heard AJ’s voice join the others. This was happening and it was wrong. The five, they were supposed to know all. They were supposed to be gifted, and to see. Yet one was missing, which had been out of their vision. Nothing was going as it should have. Brian realized the truth of it all then.

They knew nothing.

The machines hooked into Nick began to react madly. One was recording the leaps and bounds in brain activity that only showed to Brian, Nick’s struggle against it all. His prayers soon entered the groups’ yet he felt that they couldn’t change fate if something was truly meant to be. If Nick was meant to die, he would, no matter how they fought it again and again. All were bound to fate.

One could change destiny, who they were meant to be; one could not change fate, what they were meant to do.

Banging upon the still sealed doors followed the machine’s alarms as doctors tried to get in. But they couldn’t. Not yet. No one could be allowed to witness this outside of those already in the room. The shadowy light burst into a firework explosion of lights before them, before fading out of existence. And there was Nick, who looked unharmed. Who was still alive. For that, all four of the guardians gave their prayers of thanks to those beyond.

He sat up in a jolt. A pair of impish sapphire eyes snapped open in shock as he desperate gasped for air. He coughed violently as his lungs took in oxygen eagerly, hungrily. If they hadn’t known better, they would have believed Nick was drowning by the way he kept gasping for the air he so blatantly needed.

Kevin embraced him first. He couldn’t be more thankful to see him survive that ordeal. He wished he knew what truly caused it. He had a hunch however, and feared to tell the others. To anyone else it would look like an embrace of joy for Nick finally being conscious once more. But Brian, he knew it was relief Nick was still alive. No one had seen that coming. That was what frightened him.

Nick’s breathing began to even out finally and Kevin ruffled his air like he would normally. He had no clue what Nick knew. So for the moment he had to act like he always did, an overprotective brother figure that was in a boy band with him.

Brian forced a smile, wanting to calm him. He felt the fear radiating from Nick as Howie finally released the seal on the door. The doctors rushed in as Brian hugged the young one.

“Welcome back Nick.”

*******

The doctors had left. They didn’t have a clue. That didn’t surprise him. No one would. Everything felt different. He could hear energy, crackle, pop, and dance in the air around him. He could feel something different rushing through him, stronger than the “gifts” he had always hidden from the world. The doctors told him he had been in a coma for a bit over two weeks. That made no sense. He had been gone for two days, maybe three. He wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t two weeks.

He knew if he told anyone, he would sound crazy. They would say it was a dream caused by his supposed coma. Nick only wondered what had happened. Why had he come back? It didn’t feel like before, this felt forced, dragged, forcefully bound to the place he always called home. His family had rushed to him once hearing the news of him having been awake for several hours. It felt at odds; he saw into his family, saw the lies within everything. The only comfort, the only peace he was getting was from Kevin, AJ, Howie, and Brian. Everything else had a falseness to it he could no longer stand. His eyes had been opened and he could no longer close them.

Nick knew then he no longer belonged.

"Born To Be"

Chapter 6: Confusion and Seclusion

‘We shouldn’t be doing this. This is pointless bullshit! We shouldn’t be doing this!’ Was what AJ’s mind was screamed as the four faced a crowd of eager journalists and photographers.

They sat at a fold out table, and all he wanted was for this to be over. He knew they wouldn’t be at this for long, soon they would be drawn back home. In fact, it was taking too long as it was. So why bother with the minor things if they weren’t long for this dimension? Pointless. Although if the rebel had his way, they would proceed into doing it now rather than waiting for Nick to go first like before. It would take time anyway, since they had less in the circle, which meant less power than the last and only time they had tried it before. Instead they’re waiting for Nick, without a plan. Or so it looked to AJ.

Nick. That was another problem. After he awoke, something had changed, altered, shifted within the mind of the destined young one. A realization of the truth? The gift of purity as was his birthright? He wasn’t sure, but now Nick knew something. As a result of his last journey into their true home, Nick tapped into something, whether it be power or knowledge. That something was what shattered his psyche enough to go into isolation, they knew that much.

And where were they in this time of need, of obvious weakness? They were playing by this world’s rules and dealing with a petty press conference of all things. They sat there, looked united as a band could be, but the contrary was true. Divided was them at the moment. It unsettled them all. He took a long drag upon his cigarette before snuffing it out upon the table and ignored the dirty look from Kevin. No matter what the situation, he had control, Kevin. He always was the eldest. He was always the leader, and kept it all together. So why did it seem they were falling apart? AJ couldn’t say. He tapped his fingers upon the counter and appeared to be casually glancing upon his black painted nails as a sign of boredom. If they only knew.

“We gathered the press here to officially announce we’re cutting short the Millennium tour. We’re sorry to have to do so, but our band mate, our little bro, Nick Carter, isn’t up to the physical and mental stresses of touring right now because of his accident a month before. He’s still recovering. We apologize to the fans and hope they understand that we‘re like brothers, and so our well being comes first.” Came with a southern drawl as Kevin stood and spoke to the crowd before them.

“We promise to make it up to the cities we had to cancel upon during our next tour for our Black and Blue album.” Brian said. He was the one who had sided with AJ earlier when they had argued endlessly about their next move. Divided in two groups, had to now look solidified as one.

“We’re now ready to take any questions.” Howie followed; with a comforting smile that AJ knew couldn’t be more fake.

A young man in his mid twenties stood with his tape recorder ready to go. “Yes, we’ve heard Nick has put himself into voluntary isolation, is this true?”

Brows shot up with the four men. That was just bold. Brian stood before his protective cousin could answer. Kevin would eat the man alive and he knew it. “No…” he lied, knowing that although Nick wasn’t crazy, he was in isolation. “Nick is recovering in the privacy of his home, the way he SHOULD be.”

“How is he mentally? Has he begun to have outpatient rehabilitation?” AJ blinked. How crazy had the rumors gotten?

“Is this going to cause your disbandment?”

“Do you think NSYNC will take this chance to steal your success?”

“Is this the end of the Backstreet Boys?”

“Is Nick really in rehab? Was the coma a cover-up for other problems?”

“Why the secrecy?”

Brian was attacked with more and more outrageous questions. Unbelievable, the nerve of them. How crazy were the rumors going to get? Why bother? This was why he had sided with Alex. The entire deal was getting futile within the grand scheme of things. He was ready to walk out, giving them a very unchristian like hand gesture. Not that he believed in that deity anyway since he knew of his true self, but the vessel’s family had, his persona did. Before he could however, Kevin placed a hand upon his shoulder with a firm grip. A signal to keep control.

“Nick is fine; he is simply recovering from a lapse in his physical health. We are not breaking up, but we don’t wish to risk his well being by having him tour, so the Millennium tour has been cancelled. That is all. This conference is over. Thank you for your time.”

With that they left. They had more important issues to deal with. And as AJ would say, “screw them all”. Brian could care less. Nick needed them right now, and that was what mattered.

*******

Nick wasn't sure how to tell them. And by them, he meant the fellas, his brothers the world called the Backstreet Boys. He knew he should, but had no idea as to how. He felt insane. Knew he'd sound insane. He didn't want to end up in some mental institution. He didn't want psychological evaluations, or checks for possible brain damage. All could happen. Who would believe him? He knew how it sounded; trying to tell them his coma wasn’t really a coma. It somehow sent him to some other world, or dimension, or…something. Yet his body managed to stay here unconscious. And he held no proof it wasn’t a comatose induced dream, but knew it was. Yeah, he knew it’d never go over well with anyone.

It had been a month since he had awoken from the coma that changed his life forever. Because he knew it wasn't a coma. Nick had no idea what to call it, but it wasn't that. Suddenly Nick had been able to see things, feel things, and know things he hadn’t been able to before that concert that had in the end, sent him somehow to Fylgiar.

Fylgiar. That world had felt so natural to him. The twin suns above emitting the crimson light. The Victorian styled homes and the glowing pale green bits of pollen only found within bright leafed forests. Yet it felt different somehow. Darker. The forest green clouds. The once vibrant violent grasslands now deadened, and crunching beneath footsteps. And even despite that, all of it was just so vibrant, so real, and alive. It made the place he always knew as home look shadowed, shallow, and false.

And there had been Tawny. Their time together had been short, but he felt like he knew her somehow, reminded him of the bond he had with the fellas, yet differed. She shone, had a light he had never seen before. And then there was the way she had tried so hard to protect him. Why? What was so important about him? She would have given her life to save his, he knew that somehow. He knew she felt he was important enough to die for, and he couldn’t comprehend why that was. The look on her face as he had returned to this world, this reality, it had almost killed him. He wondered if she thought he was dead. Nick wondered why she felt so real, so connected to him, even now.

The tour had been cancelled indefinitely. Nick had just finished watching the affair on TV. Apologies had been sent out over the air waves. The others were speaking without him there. Refunds would be sent, promises to make it up for the next tour, for their next album came. The decision was made when Nick refused to leave his home. He wished not to see his parents. Nor his siblings. He saw beyond them, saw the deception but couldn’t understand it. The light that used to radiate from his hands, that same light he now saw in people. Well only in four. His band mates.

Everyone else, there was a murky haze surrounding it, a falseness. Everywhere it existed. To the point where Nick couldn’t stand it and isolated himself within his home. Managers decided to claim it as “aftereffects from the unfortunate concert incident, recovering from the trauma, or needing rest after such a thing as a coma to recuperate”. He honestly could care less what they told the public. He wasn’t touring. He didn’t want to go anywhere.

The only people he allowed within his home were the ones without the lies sewn within their souls. And there were only four he had seen as of yet who qualified. Howie, AJ, Kevin and Brian. How, he didn’t understand. They visited often to try and coax him back into the world. Nick had been shrugging it off, uncaring of what anyone would think. He only wanted to understand.

And he didn’t. He couldn’t now. All he wanted was to return. Fylgiar, now that place felt real, felt like it made sense, felt like home.

Thoughts were interrupted when a loud knock came from the door. He chose to ignore it. He did not care. His cell phone buzzed against his thigh. He sighed and checked it to see who was bothering his temporary peace from the chaotic world he could no longer comprehend. He sighed. It was Brian. Slowly he rose from his place upon the couch, walking to the door. His house wasn’t large by celebrity standards, if anything it was small. If one considered small to be a one story home with only 6 bedrooms surrounded with a tall security gate that only the fellas and family knew the code to. He wasn’t a fan of two story homes; too much could happen on the first floor if some rabid fan managed to sneak in or something. He opened the door and there Brian stood, surprisingly alone. He expected AJ, or possibly Kevin.

“Nick, we should talk…”

“Come on in.”

An awkward silence came between them for the first time since they met. They sat upon the same couch Nick was resting on earlier. There were no sounds around them except for the faint chirping of a small robin outside the window.

“Nick, you can’t keep hiding.”

A sigh came, and his eyes shifted away from his longtime friend. “I’m not hiding. You…you wouldn’t understand Bri.”

Brian’s hands gripped Nick’s shoulders gently, shifting him back towards him to get his attention. “Try me.”

“Born To Be”

Chapter 7: With Truth, Comes Difficulty

“You think I’m crazy don’t you?”

“I never said that.”

“But you do, you think I’m completely psycho.”

“Nick, I-”

“I’m NOT crazy. I know I sound it. I know no one else will believe me. But Brian, you have to believe me. YOU need to. You’re supposed to believe me. You have to.” He was babbling, Brian could see that. He knew Nick was telling the truth, even if his voice didn’t hold such passion and conviction with what he was saying. But he had to find out why he was so convinced, why he was so sure Brian would believe him.

“Why do I have to believe you?” Guilt trickled down his consciousness at the fact he was letting Nick think he thought he was crazy, but no one could help him without knowledge of what sparked his seclusion from the world. They knew part of it was the return to Fylgiar, but part of it stemmed from another source. Brian wanted to know what it was.

“Because you’re my best friend. Because we’re like brothers. Because you’re one of the only people who’s real!” He shouted in desperation at Brian, his blue eyes were wild and frantic.

“Real?”

“Yes! Almost no one is real. Everything has gotten fake. People are just lies! But you Brian, you, the fellas, you guys stayed real and I don’t know how but everything…everything…” He paused. “Everything has gotten fake, a lie. But you’re not…”

Because you’re one of the only people who’s real!

That was it. Nick was now able to see the truth they saw daily within this reality. He was able to see what they had done too many years before. Less time in their home, but time moved differently, slower in Fylgiar. He glanced up at Nick, who stared at him pleadingly, silently begged Brian to believe him, to confirm he still had a tight grip upon his sanity.

He embraced the younger one tightly, ruffling the already tousled blond locks. “I believe you; I know you’re telling the truth.”

“You do?”

“Yep.”

“How…” Nick was stunned. He had known he could only tell the guys, but at the same time, he hadn’t actually expected them to believe him. He really had begun to believe he had lost his mind.

“Not important, just trust me okay?”

“But what-”

“Not now. Hey, when was the last time you slept?”

“I…I don’t sleep much anymore.” With sleep, came dreams. Dreams like before, but more intense, seemingly more real than the place he was, dreams that hurt his soul with knowledge he knew he had but couldn’t seem to find. So he stopped letting sleep come to him. But perhaps, if now that he felt he wasn’t crazy, the dreams would stop? Or they wouldn’t hurt?

“You goob, go get some sleep.” He read the fear flittering across Nick’s tired, drained, and pale face that looked like it had seen too much within such a short time. “Hey, I’ll still be here, alright?”

“Dude, you don’t have-”

“Yeah, I do. We’re brothers.” A smile came easy to Brian’s face. “Now go, the guys will be by later and Kevin will give you the dirty brow if he learns you’re not getting any sleep.”

Nick nodded as he stood to head down the hallway. He walked slowly, deliberately. Brian knew he was still, even after a month, trying to make his eyes adjust to the new sense of perception they now held. Nick paused for a moment, turning to gaze back towards the southern man who was always there for him.

“Hey Bri?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

*******

A rose colored, hazy, soft, ghost resembling figure floated before them. They sat there, staring at it, all gathered within Howie’s living room. The reason was the simple chance that his home happened to be the closest to Nick’s. AJ looked anxious, having wished he had left rashly like Brian had earlier. It was a move typically his style. But when Brian had done it, AJ stayed so Kevin wouldn’t explode. Howie was pensive, things weren’t making sense anymore and it felt like it was slowly tearing them apart. Kevin, Kevin’s head was in his hands. His eyes were tired and worn. He was trying to hold everything stable; it was his duty as the first of the guardians. Yet he didn’t have the answers anymore, and that knowledge was slowly killing him. He slowly shifted his line of vision to meet the figure’s.

“About time you contacted us. You know how time flows in this damn place. Fuck Tawny, how long did you plan on making us wait?”

“Yes AJ, I know. This wasn’t exactly my plan. Something kept me, something was blocking me fiercely as I tried to link to you in that dimension.”

Kevin’s attention was newly gained as his thick brows furrowed at this new information. “Something blocked you?”

“Yes, and it held a dark aura, similar to the one that…that consumed and extinguished Nick…” She stopped there, unable to say more. Thoughts of the horrific event flooding her brain as she created this projected self image over to them.

“Extinguished? No…” Understanding filled Howie when he caught the melancholy tone in her voice. He knew what she believed to have happened now. Poor girl. How could she know anything different when they had assumed she knew? “No, Nick made it here, he’s awake. He returned and awoke from the coma. This isn’t like last time.” Howie reassured, because she had assumed him to be dead, like the last occurrence similar to this.

The relief was evident even in her hazy projection‘s eyes. A tine smile appeared. “Oh.” No words were uttered from her lips other than that as she took it in. This wasn’t last time. Had it been her influence that saved him? Or had it been Nick’s own inner strength, greater than she had known? It didn’t matter, he was alive, and so there was still hope. However, this new knowledge also clued her into new complications they hadn’t planned upon. “Good.”

AJ knew she was happier than she was willing to let show, but let it be. “There’s bad news ain’t there?”

The saw her visibly sigh. “Yes, and you know it’s not exactly easy here anymore. You should cut me some slack. Fylgiar, its life, its light, is fading each day; it’s getting harder and harder to protect the lands alone. And the Cyhyraeth, not to mention the Night Walker, know it. What blocked me from you, it had that same dark light, and the same tainted aura that I now know forced Nick back there. If He only sent him back, it means He couldn’t kill him. That means He is bound to the same rules we are. He couldn’t kill Nick before without special intervention, and it seems He still can’t. And the rules keep him from what he did before.”

“That’s good news though. So what the fuck is the catch to this? Cause right now, it looks like we’re ahead of His game.”

“The catch…Alex, is that I think he might have been able to bind Nick to that false reality when he was forced back to you. It should have been impossible for Nick to return once he crossed over to here, and he did beyond his own will. Nick’s link to that reality may have been cemented.”

“Shit…” was all Kevin was able to utter in what could only be described as the purest form of frustration.

“What!” Cried AJ, just annoyed. “What am I not seeing?!”

“What is it Kev?” asked the far calmer Latin man as Tawny’s form just nodded solemnly.

“What she means is, that the only way Nick…and of course by him the rest of us, can return…is if Nick dies here. And even that may not be guaranteed to work; we only may succeed in sending him beyond the sea into the life of the next. But a real death is the only way to send him back to Fylgiar.”

Everyone remained silent for a few minutes as the words sunk in, the truth. This was becoming more complicated by the second, and Kevin did not like it one bit. AJ just rolled his eyes in attempt to brush it off as he pulled out a cigarette. He snapped his fingers for a spark to jump upon the end and light it. He took a long puff. There were some things he had become fond of in this dimension. “We, are so fucked.”

No one said anything more, not because they agreed, more because they weren’t sure how to respond. A small beeping pierced the room. Kevin checked his phone, sighed, and tucked it away before looking to the others.

“That was a text from Brian; we’re needed at Nick’s. Tawny, can you contact us there.”

A dark look crossed her face as she seemed to glance at something behind here beyond what the others could see. “I would, but it seems I’m about to have my own problems in a moment. And some unwanted visitors.” The image immediately faded away without even a hint of a farewell into a mist of lavender that dissipated quickly as well. Her now chanting voice slowly diminished away soon after.

AJ nodded at the situation. “Yep, we’re definitely fucked. So lets go.”

********

She took in a deep breath as she stepped outside the doors of her home as the familiar sickening howls beckoned to her. Following them was a sound that almost startled her, for she hadn’t heard them in a long time. So long she once thought she dreamed of them before Brian had told her differently. This noise was far more disturbing than the one of the Cyhyraeth that she had become sadly accustomed to. The noise closest resembled that of the womanly screech of what she knew Nick would call a mountain lion, but even that was a weak description. The screech was at a higher pitch that could make someone go deaf if close enough, the noise stabbed at your heart, could slow or hasten the beat with a weaker being.

They were known as soul gatherers, soul stealers, aura carnivores, or their true name, the Chaointe. The creatures had been banished long before from this realm, a barrier had been guarding all who lived in the realm of Fylgiar for generations. Had it finally weakened? Was this a move from Him? Had the Night Walker been able to control them and bring the protection down? These creatures were more dangerous than the Cyhyraeth, and their looks far more disturbing. They were giant wasps about the size of a small dog, their wings were crimson. Yet these beings had no skin. Black blood coursed through pale yellow veins, and powerful red muscles were exposed. They had piercing yellow eyes that captured you within its flame. Rather than stinging the victims in their path, their legs were blood red poisonous fangs that numbed you as they suck away your aura, consumed your soul to leave you a lifeless zombie. There was no reversing such a horror unlike the tainting the Cyhyraeth brought, and they were a deadly breed indeed. Those beings breaking into Fylgiar after so long a banishment was a bad omen.

Tawny hadn’t been lying before. She couldn’t keep up the protection forever. Many of the ancient spells that had been held, helping their side, had to be kept by five, not one. She was spreading herself thin and prayed they could survive the risk. No other choice remained.

She stared out into the night. “No, you cannot touch here.” Her energy swelled within her as she gathered as much as she could, cursing the timing for she had used much on linking to the other realm. She concentrated at the task at hand, seeking all the spiritual energy her soul could find and touch. “You cannot come.” She said again, knowing they could hear her.

The light of the brightest moon, the crescent moon, faded as light vanished from the skies in the form of a murky fog. Tawny was stunned at the confident attack, a boldness not shown before. The shrieks, the howling, both grew closer in range as her amulet grew warm without her tapping into it. The tainted night only got darker as the danger came closer to her. Screams of fear from the residents of Tylwyth Teg sensed the incoming enemy.

Her ancient prayers grew louder within her mind as her soul continued to repeat them as a spell of protection, aloud she said nothing as her hands clasped together to harness all the energy she gathered, though she knew it wasn’t enough. Her amulet warmed even more, and part of her wished to know why, but now wasn‘t the time.

“You…Cannot…COME HERE!”

A burst of the purest light erupted from her, an explosion of energy she hadn’t felt shot from the amulet soon after to chase the light she had shot out. Both danced around the town, to the outskirts, the graveyards, out within the forests nearby. The light was to scare off anything impure, for the Cyhyraeth couldn’t take light. However, the Chaointe could, but that energy was what kept them at bay. That energy, that energy that shouldn’t have been so strong, that energy that stunned her, that stemmed from the amulet she wore was what was consuming anything tainted.

The mist faded, and shrieks of pain could be heard from any creatures that were on the border of her home village. The lunar glow from above became visible once more. She shouldn’t have been able to do that. She couldn’t purify. Never could. Still didn’t, though that burst of energy came close, consuming tainted forms rather than purifying. Only one being could purify, and it wasn’t her, never her. Was that… her gaze focused upon her necklace. She shook her head at herself, she wasn’t about to let her thoughts go there now. Tawny felt drained. That was pure luck and chance. They needed to act if they wanted to survive, to keep the light alive in the center point in Fylgiar, she couldn’t hold out forever, or even much longer.

It wasn’t meant to be done by her. Her gaze skipped to the amulet again. Tonight only proved that she might have perished by now, if one once so dear to her hadn’t foreseen his doom and decided to intervene. The effects of that were showing even now, and confirmed a thought she had believed far fetched and crazy. The revelation of that truth hit smacked her strongly, the evidence having been in front of her face so long, the pain had made her live in denial. His intervention, that had been what gave her such strength…

She stared above at the moon, wondered what could have been. Gwyllion flittered upon her shoulder, for she sensed the peace had been regained once more. She smiled, chirped softly in her ear in the language of the faeries that Tawny had learned to understand some time ago.

“I know you miss him Gwyn, I do too. But he’ll be back.”

She meant every word she just said. That, was what scared her.