Disclamer: I solomnly swear I do not own The Saga of Darren Shan.
It was a night of inescapable death and destiny. On this night, the fate of
the world and all of mankind was to be decided by the outcome of a fight
between two bloodthirsty creatures of the night-Darren Shan, the Vampire
Prince, and Steve Leopard, the Lord of the Vampaneze. Gannen Harst lay unconscious all the ground; Vancha March
had been mortally wounded and could do no more in the fight. It was down
to the two of them now, among the darkness of an underpass, with a river
gurgling nearby. "This is where we settle matters, once and for all, in the dark,"
Steve said. "As good a place as any," Darren replied. Steve raised his left palm. Darren could vaguely make out the
shape of the pink cross he's carved into his flesh eighteen years before.
"Remember when I did this?" he asked. "That night, I swore I'd kill you and
Creepy Crepsley." "You're halfway there," Darren noted dryly. "You must be
delighted." "Not really," Steve said. "To be honest, I miss old Creepy. The
world's not the same without him. I'll miss you even more. You've been the
driving force behind everything I've done since I was a child. Without you,
I'm not sure I'll have much of an interest in life. If possible, I'd let you go. I
enjoy our games-the hunt, the fights. I'd happily keep doing it, over and
over, a new twist here, a fresh shock there." When Darren thought back to his child hood to when he and
Steve were best friends, he felt a pang of sadness stab at his heart like a
knife, but he quickly dashed the feeling away-this was not the time for
mercy. He drew his blade and prepared to lunge, but something held him
back. He stood, staring dumbly, holding his sword out as if his arm had
been frozen mid-stab. Steve was only a couple of yards away from him, a
smile playing on his lips as if he thought Darren was only playing around. "What are you waiting for?" Steve taunted. "Aren't you going to
make the first move?" Darren tried-he really did-but his subconscious would not let his
arm move. After all the pain Steve had caused, Darren just couldn't bring
himself to hurt him. It was just like in his dream-a towering wave of blood
engulfing the whole vampire clan, Steve riding a dragon-and all the while,
Darren couldn't move at all. "Fine. If you don't have the grit to do it, then I'll finish it for us
both!" Steve started to lunge with his knife. "Wait!" Darren shouted. The cry startled Steve so much that he halted mid-stab. Darren
tossed his sword away, hearing it clatter as it hit the wall of the
underpass, and came closer to Steve. Darren sensed rather than saw Mr.
Tiny and Evanna both give a start at Darren's actions, but he ignored them.
"Why are we doing this?" he cried to Steve. "You and I were best friends,
and now look at us! This should never have happened. If we had just
avoided the Cirque Du Freak, we'd have lived normal lives, but now we're at
each other's throats!" "What's your point?" Steve growled, as perplexed as Darren was
at himself. "My point is," Darren said, "that we should stop this! Right now!"
He looked Steve directly in the eyes, unwavering. "I've suffered from you,
Steve," he went on softly. "I've suffered a lot. And yet, I'm willing to forgive
you for all the pain you've caused me, if it will mean we can be friends
again, just like we used too. We don't have to fight," He laid his hands on
Steve's out-stretched arm, and gently began to push it down. Steve didn't
resist. "If we stop now, no one will have to die, and we can make piece
with our clans. It doesn't have to be this way," Steve couldn't believe what Darren was saying. How could he
stop? After all that he'd done? The evil he'd committed? The lives he'd
taken? He was the Lord of the Vampaneze. It was his destiny to lead the
vampaneze to victory over the vampires. He tried to raise his hand to stab
Darren and make an end of him, but like with the half-vampire, something
held Steve's arm abound, and he couldn't lift it. Darren was glaring straight
into his eyes, unafraid. Steve stared back, puzzled and aghast, and saw
no rage or hate in Darren's eyes, only sadness, hope, forgiveness,
and…love. For him! In that moment, all of Steve's evil and hate came rushing out
him. He clung to it-oh, how he hung on!-but it escaped the fingers of his
mind like smoke and melted away into the air. In a sudden movement that took Darren by surprise, Steve threw
his knife to the ground like Darren had a moment before and threw his
arms around the half-vampire, sobbing on his shoulder. Darren broke down
too, and the two of them wept like babies, like the children they had been
before the whole thing started. Mr. Tiny watched the whole thing with growing horror and
disgust. Evanna had tears trickling down her own cheeks, and she was
smiling. In all the centuries she'd been alive, it was truly the most beautiful
thing she'd ever seen. But then Mr. Tiny strode forward angrily. "Wh-what is this?" He shouted at the two sobbing creatures of
the night. "You're supposed to be fighting, not calling a truce and crying
like children!" Darren and Steve released each other. "We've made up now,"
Darren said coldly. "And we're not going to fight anymore." An desperate but evil gleam came into Mr. Tiny's eyes. "Ah, but
Darren, don't you remember how Steve killed your beloved Mr. Crepsley?
And poor young Shancus, too." "I can forgive him for that," Darren retorted. "If he forgives me." Mr. Tiny's eyes flashed dangerously. "Darren betrayed you,
Steve," he said to the Vampaneze Lord. "He took your rightful place as a
creature of the night. How can you forget that?" For a second, Darren was afraid Steve would turn on him again,
but Steve held true. "I've been wrong the whole time," He moaned bitterly.
"I don't know whether he betrayed me or truly saved my life, but either way
I was wrong to hold a grudge for all these years. No. I can't go on fighting
him any longer." Darren smiled at him, and Steve smiled back, the smile of
true best friends. "But-but-" Mr. Tiny turned red in the face. He was practically
pulling out his hair he was so enraged. Then Evanna stepped forward. "Stop it, father," she ordered gently. "This is the way things are
now. The prophesy of the Lord of the Shadows has been destroyed, and
he shall never come to power." She took her father by the arm. "Darren,
Steve," She nodded at each in turn, then led her stuttering dad away.
"NnnnnnnnnoooooOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooO
OOOOOOO!" Mr. Tiny howled, trying break free of his daughter's iron
grip. "NO! This isn't over yet! Darren-I am your father!" "Come along," Evanna persisted, paying no heed to Mr. Tiny's sudden outburst and locking both of his hands
behind his back like a cop. "Let's get you some bed rest." As Steve and Darren watched the strange father daughter leave
together, ignoring Mr. Tiny's outcry just as Evanna had, they were come over with a new sense of wonder at what had
just happened. "We're friends again," Steve breathed, turning to face Darren.
"Best friends. Just like we were before." Darren nodded. "Yeah. Friends till the end." Steve smiled, but then the smile vanished and his eyes widened
with worry. "The stadium! Everyone's still fighting at the stadium! We have
to call them off!" Darren's eyes widened too when he remembered his friends
back at the football/soccer stadium. "Charna's guts! Let's go!" He hated
the thought of one of his friends dying right when he made piece with
Steve. Then, side-by-side, the Vampire Prince and the Vampaneze
Lord, they began walking…
…into the night.
END