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Disclaimer:I do not own any recognisable characters in this story (Quinlan, Vaun, Lar, the Ancients etc.), they belong to Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan and the bigwigs at FX. But I do own Freya, and any non recognisable characters. Not making anything off this, this fic is just for fun.
A/N: So, I came up with this idea when one of my reviewers on The Strigoi's Daughter asked on chapter 2 if Freya was going to meet Fet, and company in a later chapter. The answer is: Yes. She will absolutely be meeting everyone (seeing as The Strigoi's Daughter starts off at season 2 episode 6: Identity, Freya has already met Gus and the Professor {and I'll be writing that meeting in a flashback scene on that fic}). However, she won't be meeting Nora, as she'll be dead two weeks before Freya meets Fet. Quinlan, on the other hand, will only be in this fic on the phone. I may write his part not in Freya's POV...I'm not sure yet.
I decided that I wanted Freya to meet Nora, so I came up with this prequel, which won't be very long; probably three or four chapters altogether. Don't worry, I'm still writing The Strigoi's Daughter, and currently have almost four full pages, and 2398 words of chapter 3 written, and I'm not done yet :D
The main plot for is set at the end of season one episode 4: It's Not For Everyone, after Nora runs away from Eph and the Professor after the Professor releases Emma and Gary Arnot, but before she meets back up with them in 1x6: Occultation with her mother. The prologue is set during 1x1: Night Zero though.
I completely blame equipagan for this :D I hope you enjoy it :D
The Vampire And The Doctor.
Prologue: Regis Air 753.
Saturday February 8th 2014, 9:30PM, South Manhattan - Night Zero.
I'm prowling the streets of South Manhattan, looking for relatively healthy humans for ourselves and the Ancients to feed on, when I pass an open electronic store which is playing a news coverage on television.
"Yo! Check this out! A plane from Berlin is dead!" Someone at the store window shouts, who he's talking to, I have no idea. I freeze when I hear what the man is saying, and turn to the television and listen to what's being said.
"We have more now on the developing story out of JFK Airport tonight. You're looking at live video of the airplane identified as a Regis Air, wide-bodied jet. It originated in Berlin, and it shut down just moments after landing; we are told that there has been no communication from the Pilot, all attempts to contact the - "
My Lords? My eyes go wide at what the news anchor is saying. My Lords?
Yes, Freya? What is it, child? All three of the Old Ones answer.
I am so sorry to disturb you, my Lords. But you need to hear this. The entire nest needs to hear this. I step aside mentally, and invite the Ancients into my mind. They rarely take us over, and never do so without our permission. The Ancients project what's going on to the rest of the nest. All of us watch the news coverage on the plane, and we hear about the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention coming onto the scene, and demanding that they be the first ones on the plane to investigate.
"Terrorists! It's gotta be!" The same guy from before says, not taking his eyes from the television. The Ancients pull me backwards a couple of steps, so I'm more hidden in the shadows, and no one can see me. Thankfully, I never go outside without my hood up, but the lack of light helps. Others have gathered around, but I can still see the large plane on the television set. All the lights on it are off, and the shades pulled shut. When the camera pans to the back of the plane, we all notice that one window shade has been left open.
"No way, man! Terrorists crash planes, not land 'em!" Someone else answers.
Is it the Rogue, my Lords? My father asks.
It is possible, Vaun. One Ancient replies.
It cannot be! He is not brazen enough to come here. Another says.
But our Brothers lost track of Him weeks ago. We have now lost contact with Them. My creator answers. Ice travels down my spine at that.
Freya, please stay here, and listen to this. We need to know if He has broken the Truce, and has crossed the Atlantic into Our territory.
Yes, my Lords. I answer. I shall keep you updated on it. Hopefully it's something trivial, like mechanical failure.
Yes, let us hope that it is. And thank you, Smár Einn.
Of course, my Lords. With that, the Old Ones retreat from my mind, and I hover in the background, listening to the news, and to the humans in front of me bickering over what's happened to the plane.
It's around another thirty minutes before the news anchor comes back on to say that two hundred and six people on that plane are dead, but four have survived. There is no news on how the humans died. I disturb the Old Ones, and update Them on further news, and They ask me to stay longer in case there's anything else. They ask my father to head to Queens and go to JFK airport, and see if he can hear anything else.
Another thirty minutes go past, and the news anchor comes back saying that they have a Doctor Ephraim Goodweather from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention coming from JFK Airport with a report about the dead passengers. I feel the Old Ones tugging on my mind, and I step aside again for Them to see and listen properly. The man comes on, and he looks put out, like he wasn't prepared for something.
"I'm Ephraim Goodweather, I'm the Chief Medical Officer for the Centers For Disease Control here in New York. I've been asked to introduce myself, and to give you a preliminary update - " He's interrupted by a female reporter.
"How many survivors -"
" - on the investigation - " The Doctor continues, but there are more people trying to butt in. "Please, if I could...please, please, please." The Doctor raises his hand for silence, and everyone stops talking after a few moments.He pauses for around fifteen seconds, then looks at the cameras, and at the people who, no doubt, are the families of those aboard the plane.
"I think I'm supposed to stand here, and somehow reassure you. I can't do that." He pauses again. "Two hundred and six passengers on Regis Air flight seven fifty-three are dead, and we don't know why. Four passengers survived, and we don't know why. What I can tell you, having been the first to board the plane, is that they all appeared to have died peacefully, and without distress. That's the only comfort I can give you at this time. You want answers, real answers to what happened on that plane, and so do I, and I won't quit until we're all satisfied."
At that moment, a man rushes forwards from the crowd, and slaps Doctor Goodweather on the face.
" - about your promises!" The man snaps at the Doctor. "I want my daughter back! All you do is talk, and talk! That's all you do!" The man has a French accent, and he sounds like he has tears in his eyes, and turns to address the crowd, holding up a white framed photograph of a little girl, and I see the tears. "This is my daughter. My daughter, Emma. And I want to see her again: dead, alive." He turns back to the Doctor. "I'm her father! Don't you have children of your own?! Don't you have a heart?!"
The Doctor looks at Emma's father with a heartbroken expression that clearly states that he does indeed have children. That's obviously the look of a father.
"Forty-eight hours, I'll get your answers. It's the best I can do." The Doctor says before it gets too much for him, and he has to walk away. Poor guy.
"No! Please!" I hear Emma's father saying to the Doctor's retreating back. Other people try protesting as well, but the Doctor keeps walking away.
Alright, Freya. We have what We need. Now We just need to wait for Vaun and the others. We are done here, Smár Einn. The Ancients say, as I feel Them retreating from my mind.
Yes, my Lords.I reply, before turning on my heel, and walking quietly away from the now crowded street. No one noticed the incredibly pale figure in black. Good. I go to continue with my task, but the Ancients call me back to the nest, saying that others found humans to feed on. I agree to come back, but feed on a clean homeless man not far from the compound. I snap his neck, and bring him back to be incinerated. It's while I'm walking up to the high metal wall around the perimeter of the compound that I hear from my father.
My Lords, we are coming back from the airport now. There has been talk about a large wooden box that was on the plane. Apparently this box was nine feet tall, ornately carved, and wasn't on the plane's manifest.
Thank you, Vaun. Come back to the nest now.
At once, my Lords.
I walk through the door in the wall, and head into the abandoned factory on top of the compound then make my way underground to the Chamber of the Ancients. Some of my brothers are the chamber with the Ancients, and some are outside on guard duty, while my father's group, and another are still outside, in either Queens or Manhattan.
I walk towards the small chamber where we house the humans to feed on, go to the room next door, and deposit the homeless man I fed on in the incinerator, switch it on, then head back to the Chamber of the Ancients. It's not long until my father and his team come back, but they have no further information. I notice that my brother, Lar, and his team are not here, nor were they outside on the perimeter. They must be out hunting somewhere.
I spend the rest of the night either with the Ancients, reading, or listening to music. I decided I needed some action, so I asked my father if he minded training with me. And it's while we're in the training area that we all hear from Lar, who had decided to take his team to JFK Airport to see if they can find out any more information. They fill the Ancients in, and they give us the news we were all dreading.
There's something more, my Lords.
Yes, Lar? What is it?
When we were leaving the airport itself, they were on high alert. The box Vaun mentioned has gone missing.
Missing?
Yes, my Lords. And they said that something lifted the box, which weighed five hundred pounds.
It is HIM! He is here! The Old Ones growl in unison, and we all look at each other in shock. The Young One is here.
Oh shit!
A/N: So, what do you think? I hope you like it so far :D All lines from the news anchor, Eph and Gary Arnot are actual lines from season 1 episode 1: Night Zero. I had to watch those scenes from the episode to get them :D
Oh, and in season 3 episode 9: Do Or Die, Eldritch Palmer mentions about an explosion on South Manhattan, where Eichhorst set off the nuke that killed the Ancients. Unfortunately it never says exactly where the Ancients are, but I'm assuming they were in South Manhattan, near a large body of water (I'm not American, so I have no idea what that large body of water is. Possibly the Hudson? Apologies if it's wrong).
Translations:
Smár Einn - Little One (Old Norse)
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