THE METHUSELAH STONE
Lord Voldemort is dying and only the fabled Methuselah Stone can save him, but standing in his way are the terrible trio, two immortals, a vampire, a novice Slayer, a neophyte Watcher and a certain red-headed witch.
Mandatory Disclaimers: Characters and situations from Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling. Characters and situations from Highlander belong to Panzer/Davis and Rhyser Entertainment. Characters and situations from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy. Characters and situations from Forever Knight belong to James Parriot and Sony/Tri-Star. The characters of Aaron Grey, Theresa Ryan and Kyle Freeman belong to Kevin Matsumoto. Certain concepts and situations from the World of Darkness are the property of White Wolf Publishing. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended. Characters you've never heard of are my own creation and belong to me. This work is not to be reproduced for monetary gain. This story may be posted elsewhere just let me know where.
"To have all the power you will ever need, is to have the world in the palm of your hand." – Tiberius Caesar
THE METHUSELAH STONE (Version 2.0)
by Xoemac
PART ONE
Northern England, 1200 years ago.
The sky had turned dark, transforming day into night. The six travelers, three men and three women, had ridden most of the previous night and all of that morning hoping to arrive in time to stop him, but when the sky became black just after mid-day they knew they were too late.
Approaching a small clearing in the dense woods, they dismounted their horses and readied themselves for the unknown. Two of the men and one of the women pulled swords from their sheaths and started for the clearing silently. The last man and the other two women held only short pieces of carved wood in their hands as they followed close behind.
As they came near a bright light could be seen ahead. It grew more intense as they approached. As they entered a clearing they spotted a man in long green robes standing in the center of the trees. He held a glowing crystal ball high above his head as blue-green arcs energy crackled around him.
He seemed to be speaking to someone and did not give any sign that he knew he was being observed, but when one the men tried to approach him a wall of green light suddenly appeared in front of him and he fell onto his back.
The woman with red hair rushed toward where the man fell. "Antonius are you alright?" She asked, her hair falling over her face, as she looked him over.
"I'm fine Rebecca." He groaned. "Only thing injured is my pride."
The man with short black hair extended his arm. "That was very foolish. There's no telling what kind of traps he's laid."
Antonius grabbed his arm and steadied himself as he rose. "I'm hardly in a position to argue with you Methos."
The three of them stood near the tree line and stared at the man in the circle of light. "What do we do?" Antonius asked as he brushed the dirt from his tunic. "It's obvious we're not going to get near him."
"That's why we brought them along." Rebecca said looking over her shoulders at their other companions.
While they were talking, one of the others, a short attractive woman with curly honey-blonde hair and freckles held up her wand and muttered an incantation. Yellow energy leapt from her wand and streaked across the clearing. It hit the barrier and instantly rebounded back toward her. The woman was lifted in the air and thrown back to the tree line.
"Helga!" The other woman shouted. She rushed over to her friend and held her gently in her arms concern etched on her face. The smaller woman was very still. "Helga…" She whispered.
Helga stirred in the woman's arms. "Rowena…" She said weakly.
"I'm here Helga." Rowena Ravenclaw helped her dear friend sit up relief washing over her. She removed her dark blue cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders and Helga smiled at her.
"Remind never to do that again."
"Please don't frighten me like that." Rowena said before returning her smile. She brought her hand up to Helga's face. Helga put her own hand on Rowena's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It seems that magic isn't going to get us beyond Salazar's barrier."
"No it isn't. It's up to him now. If he can't get through to him I don't know what we can do."
They both stared at the figure still standing back with the horses. He was tall, with long red hair tied back into braided ponytail. He was dressed in a sort of light chain armor with a tunic emblazoned with a lion, over it all he wore billowing robe of deep red. He strode confidently over to the barrier.
They mean to stop us. A voice in the man's ear whispered. They seek to deny you your righteous revenge.
"Come no further Godric Griffyndor." The man in the circle said as he pulled a long thin wand from his green tunic. Godric was holding his own wand but made no move to defend himself. "I cannot let you stop me."
"You don't know what you're doing Salazar."
"I've searched these many years for power such as this. The Stone of the Ancients will grant me the power to finally avenge her."
Godric spoke. "I know what you want to do my old friend and I'm asking, pleading with you, do not do this thing. Come back to us before you are lost for good."
"How can you of all people ask that of me? After what those filthy muggles had done to her."
"Because I loved her too!" He shouted. "Don't you think that tears my heart apart to know that she fought for them, bled for them, saved all of their lives from that evil only to have them turn on her out of fear? But no matter what mine or your feelings are you must ask yourself this… do you truly believe in your soul that Sara would want you to do this?" The light around them dimmed a bit. "Would your wife want you to demean the noble sacrifice she made to save us all?" He held out his hand. "Would my sister want to know that so much blood was spilt avenging her death, that so many innocent lives were lost? That everything she had lived and died for was in vain?"
"They don't matter." He answered. "Nothing matters except making them pay for what they've done to us… to her."
"And that's the true nature of the Stone." Rebecca said. "It's already beginning to corrupt you."
"I can control it." He told her.
"The Ancients couldn't. It was created to save them, but instead it was tainted by the darkness that dwelt within them and it destroyed them and now they are all but forgotten." Rebecca continued. "The Stone was never meant to be found. No matter how noble the intentions the Stone will always feed on our basest desires. Whatever good is done with it will always turn to evil. Look at what's happened to you since you began your quest. My Goddess, you are holding your wand, threatening the life of a man who is your friend."
He looked down at his hand. He was indeed pointing his wand at his wife's brother, but he didn't remember ever pulling it from his robes. He looked back up at Rebecca confusion on his face and the light storm around him seemed to dim a little more.
Don't listen to them. They're trying to trick you. They want the stone for themselves.
Godric held his hand out. "You haven't fallen so far that you can't rise up again. Please my friend, my brother … please come back to us."
The silence that engulfed them after Godric's final plea seemed to last an eternity then suddenly the area around them went dark and the barrier vanished. Godric raised his wand and torch stands appeared. He walked to the man sitting on his knees in the center of the clearing and held out his hand. Salazar looked up and Godric saw him clearly for the first time. His hair and beard had turned almost completely white. "Let's go home old friend."
Salazar Slytherin grabbed Godric's forearm. He glanced into his old friend's eyes and saw that his attention was focused on something behind him. He turned and saw a dark shape standing just inside the trees. It was the shape of a woman but her face was hidden in darkness. He knew instantly who it was and he was hoping never to see her again.
"Begone from this place!" Godric shouted. The woman entered the clearing and the torches illuminated her face. He heard his female companions gasp when they saw her. "You cannot deceive us again. We know what you are. Whatever form you wear you are not my sister."
Sara Griffyndor stood in the clearing her gentle face now twisted and distorted with rage. She glared at Salazar who seemed to shrink from her gaze. It was only Godric's arm around his waist that prevented him from falling to his knees once again.
Rowena and Helga quickly joined Salazar and Godric. "Begone creature! Your influence on our friend has been broken." Rowena told the image of her friend.
"Your attempt to divide us has failed." Helga added.
The image of Sara Gryffindor stood silently. She glanced at Salazar who avoided her gaze. "Has it?" She finally said. Sara turned on her heel and walked back toward the forest. "You may have won this battle…" She said as she walked away. "…but I…" She stopped to face them one last time. "I will be back." She turned and walked back into the forest and disappearing into the darkness from which she came.
While the four wizards stood in the center of clearing their three companions were gathered around the horses.
"What do we do with this?" Antonius asked as he held up the discarded and momentarily forgotten crystal ball.
"I'll take care of it." Rebecca said as she took it from his hand and placed it into the leather bag around her shoulder. "Centuries ago my tribe were once the guardians of the stone I'll put it somewhere where no one will ever find it."
"Make sure you do." Methos told her. "Because Gods help us if it should ever fall into truly evil hands."
more to come...