Note*** Assessment was in fact finished and handed in (with about 5 minutes to spare!), thank you to everyone who was worried LoL. I'm trying to pound this sucker out before the next ep, when of course it'll become painfully apparent I have no idea what's meant to happen! There has been a lot of balls going on with FFN with chapters appearing and disappearing, unfortunately that isn't me messing around. Something is glitching somewhere and I have NO idea how to fix it.

I've already told a few people in private messages that I might set up and LJ or something and link it from my profile page. Just as a back-up in case this keeps happening. Hopefully I can get on that in between finishing this and yes, yet another assessment. Anyone know anything about the late second/early third century Jewish revolts against the Romans?

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Jason's secret weapon kept the town centre pretty well lit, even as the sun started to sink and cast long shadows over the landscape. The wolves had stopped attacking all together at about six, deciding instead to destroy anything they could get their hands on outside the perimeter. Through the flames, and from some of the rooftops, the people of Bon Temps could see crazy, naked people tearing their town apart.

"You enjoy it while you can, you crazy fuckin' freaks," Jason grumbled to himself, resisting the urge to get one of the guns out and start picking them off one by one. It'd just set them off, and they'd got what they wanted from the day, which was to survive until the vampires could join them.

"Any minute now..." Sookie breathed, looking up at the sky.

"Why're you lookin' up there? We'll have to put the car's out and let 'em in at the back, wont we?" Andy asked.

"Eric can fly. He'll get here first." She told him, not taking her eyes from the sky.

"... He can fly...? I picked a hell of a time to quit drinkin'."

"You say that every time you quit, why don't you jus' stop quittin' and start bein' responsible like everyone else?" She said, her eyes still distant.

"Ha, tween you an' me, I live through this crap, I'm goin' straigh to Sam's an' drinkin' myself into unconsciousness."

She couldn't begrudge him that, though she didn't get the chance to say so. The sun was well and truly gone, and a blond streak hurtled through the sky, circled the perimeter once and then landed in front of her, scooping her into his arms and kissing her hungrily. Sookie squeaked, but clung to him anyway, even with Andy coughing somewhat less than politely into his hand.

"Eric, Eric!" she shoved at his shoulders at last trying to get some space to breathe. "Good morning."

"Isabel is fetching a fire truck to put the car fire's out and bring everyone in through the back, then we'll light it up again." He was grinning at her, completely unrepentant. "How long until that flattens out enough that they'll start getting through?" He asked, gesturing to the inferno blocking the road.

"It doesn't have much left in it now, we do have more barrels though," Jason told him.

"Don't bother. The King doesn't appear to be that close, we should thin out those wolves now before their reinforcements arrive and the process is still relatively simple."

"No worries."

Isabel doused the car fires with some sort of white chemical foam and the vampires vaulted easily over the burnt out husks. Once they were through, the people who'd bee waiting ignited a second line of cars further back with Molotov cocktails made out of the same oil and powder mix.

"Stuck in here now," Isabel commented under her breath as she watched the hoplites organise themselves into a phalanx with Bo's place empty. The Icenii princess was heading for Eric instead, a huge and incredibly old iron battle axe resting over her shoulders casually.

"You don't actually plan on hitting anyone with that, do you?" Eric asked her with wide eyes.

"It wont survive much longer as it is, two thousand years is old for a crude axe like this... but I think he would have wanted to be here to see this. See what you've done, " She looked around at tray's of true blood being handed around by humans. At vampires assisting their human companions to organise their weapons. "He'd be so proud of you, brother... and so am I."

Eric said nothing, but Sookie looked a little teared up. "Stay close," Bo advised her gently. "We will protect you. Phalanx! Shift it children, time to kill some dogs!"

The wolves, alerted by the movement, tried a run at the fire again and this time the first wave encountered no resistance. Some fifty odd came hurtling through the flames, howling in triumph, only to run at top speed into a forest of pike-points. Sookie covered her mouth with her hand and gasped at all the blood and the spectacle of howling wolves shifting into howling men impaled on fourteen foot lengths of wood as thick as her arm.

"Get it under control Sookie." Eric told her firmly, his hand finding her and squeezing it hard. "This is just the beginning."

"Sookie! Get back here, girl!" Terry yelled from the sidelines, waving his arms at her. "They got this bit, we're back up!"

"He's right. Go. This will be handled quickly, we will need you when the others arrive." Eric pushed her gently in Terry's direction and drew his sword. Bo moved in beside him, hefting the axe to feel its comforting weight. "Just like Malta."

"Just like Malta..." She was grinning and, with a tarzan-style scream she launched herself forward at the next wave of wolves, spinning hard to the right before she hit them so that the axe was at full speed and drove smoothly through the first one and broke most of the bones in the others. "NEXT!" She screamed.

Sookie skidded to a halt beside Terry, taking cover behind a line of trash cans. "Do we have the camera's runnin'? She asked breathlessly.

"Sure do. Two rooftops and every street security camera we could find... Bank, post office and the jewellery store." He ticked off the list.

"That's great! No matter what happens now, the King is screwed." She peeked over the top of the bins and gnawed on her bottom lip. "They seem to be doin' OK..."

"Always seems 'at way, right up 'till it don't. Don't think about it too much, jus' try to roll as it comes," he told her sagely.

Sookie nodded. Down among the carnage she could clearly see Eric making huge sweeps with his sword, hardly pausing between one wolf and the next. What turned her stomach most was that the twitching bodies collecting around him weren't wolf bodies... as they hit the ground they changed back into men! Some were obviously dead, the deepest secrets of their bodies slit wide open by his blade, but others lay screaming their fury up at him, demanding his blood even as they bled out themsevles.

"Madness," she heard Terry hiss beside her, and she had to agree. Beyond Eric, dancing in what was left of the flames, Bo spun the battle axe like a demon. She never stopped moving, the axe turning great arcs in the air, even when she was looking for the next wolf to cleave, the axe never paused.

"Is she mad too, Terry?" Sookie asked, horrified even as she was impressed.

"Maybe," he said softly, "she need's to keep movin' see... took her two minutes to get that power in the motion... she stops, she'll have to start all over again."

Sookie didn't really understand that, and maybe it was just as well. She saw across the street and down, closer to the fighting, Jason hauling silver pointed throwing spears out of a barrel and handing them to Isabel, who took careful aim and skewered a wolf with every cast.

"What the FUCK is going on here?" Everything seemed to slow down and then grind to a painful stop, as all combatants looked back to see the King of Mississippi standing on top of his Limo with Lorenna and Bill, who looked horrified and ill.

From where she crouched, Sookie could see one of the wolves, presumably reporting to the king, who apparently had expected to arrive to a subdued town with 'his' telepath nicely restrained. Bill seemed to be doing some arguing of his own and then, with Lorenna in hot pursuit, he leapt down from the car and zapped towards them at vampiric speed. Sookie, who had hurried forward towards Eric gasped, her eyes wide as Lorenna's hands reached for her throat. The vampire's face contorted in confusion and she glanced to the left in irritation... Eric had lunged sideways and slid his sword smoothly through her side, up through her body, it's bloody tip reappearing just under her opposite shoulder.

"Iron is barely an irritation," she hissed at him, only to scream as Eric used his free hand to pull a carved length of wood from his belt and drove it through her chest.

Sookie squealed and ducked behind him, still managing to end up with bits of vampire on her clothes. Bill stood, blinking stupidly for a moment, unsure exactly what to think or feel. Finally he pulled himself together and made to reach for Sookie, breathing her name like a prayer, but Eric kept himself between them.

"Traitor," the Viking hissed.

"Shit... shit shit shit," Sookie gasped, as the King gestured behind him and a small army of vampires in black op's gear came into view. She hit Eric's shoulder a few times to get his attention.

"Phalanx to the front, triple wide! Block this street off!" Eric ordered slipping back and hauling Bo by the back of her leather vest with him. Bill shook his head and hurried forward to, trying to catch Sookie's eye. "Sookie, get the gunmen ready."

"What... what gunmen? You can't win this!" Bill grabbed Sookie's shoulders as the enemy forces crashed headlong into the phalanx. "Listen to that, it's madness! I can protect you, but you must stop this and come with me now!"

"Let me go! I'm not going anywhere with you! You left me!"

"Sookie I had to! Please try to understand! I have negotiated a deal for your life, but the king will not keep his word if I do not keep mine. Louisiana will fall under the control of Russell Edgington." He told her sternly, his heart in his eyes.

"Like hell it will!" Terry was behind her, a shotgun over his shoulder and a number of hand guns strapped to him in various holsters.

"Stay out of this!"
"Don't you talk to him like that!" Sookie snapped, shoving at him angrily. "This is our home and he can't have it! And he can't have me!"

"Sookie... he will let you stay with me, I can protect you, but you must stop this foolishness." Bill make to grab her again only to be thrown backwards as Bo jumped and, using Terry's shoulders for support, kicked him squarely in the chest with both feet. When she landed she had her axe over her head ready to strike.

"Laying hands on the General during an engagement, is treason, friend,"She said in a light, almost friendly tone. Glancing up she saw the King's forces engage with the phalanx and from behind her, the human marksmen were starting to fire. "We do not have time for this." She hissed. "I do not like traitors, I do not like cowards, and I do not like men who do not know their place." Keeping the axe high she hauled back a foot and kicked him so hard in the crotch he was shoved back a good three feet, yowling in pain. "Get him back out of the way," She said to Terry, who was blinking stupidly at her. "Now, soldier!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Sookie!" Bill gasped.

"Just run..." She told him sadly as Eric offered her the handle of a long bladed knife which he'd pulled form his belt. She took it, feeling the weight in her hands, "You were never really here with me anyway, were you...?"

Bill had twin red tracks on his face as Terry hauled him back. Eric looked down at Sookie, "Hold it a little looser... that's right. Slash from the hip, up across the torso to the shoulder. Do not stab..." She nodded, and held the knife low in her sweaty hand. "Stay close to me..."

"I will,"