A Gift of Heroes – A Christmas Tale, Part 1
Gryphon and Unicorn were not having a good night.
It was Christmas Eve, barely a month since they and the other heroes they knew had finished cleaning up after Teck’s massive destruction in downtown Chicago, and the construction that was under way was proving to be a problem for them – because it and the wreckage around it provided great hiding places for criminals who committed crimes in the area.
They had just finished digging out some six jewel thieves who had “gone to ground” in the wreckage, and talking to the police afterwards, when Gryphon saw something odd, on top of the Hancock Building, the tallest building left in the downtown area.
There was some sort of glow, a beautiful gold-white light, emanating from the roof of the building, spilling over the edges.
“Unicorn?” Gryphon asked, mopping the sweat and dirt from his face, and pointing at the glow. “Do you see that?”
The heroine looked up, and a small frown creased her face. “That glow? It’s pretty – but what is it? Maybe some new Christmas decoration?”
That the city of Chicago had put up it’s Christmas decorations on time, and was trying to go on as normally as possible, even in the wake of 35,000 deaths, was something that made both Gryphon and Unicorn proud of the people of their town.
“I think we should probably go see,” Gryphon said, sounding irritated. “Dammit, I want a shower. And to get to sleep – it’s damn near Christmas, for Heaven’s sake!”
“We’ll go get cleaned up, and take Celeste to bed, as soon as we’ve checked it out, dear,” Unicorn said, chuckling a little, as he picked her up. She activated the ability that let her walk on air, and Gryphon began running upwards, in a broad, steep spiral. “And, if you like, we can even go straight to sleep. After all, your Aunt and Uncle’s kids are likely to get us up early tomorrow.”
“Not likely!” Gryphon said, actually smiling a little. “That I’d want to go straight to sleep, I mean. Thanks, though.”
A few seconds later, they reached the top of the building – and both stared.
There, hovering a couple of inches off of the ground, near the massive TV antenna on top of the building, was a ball of golden-white light. Gryphon set Unicorn down, and the two cautiously approached the ball, both beginning to smile, without realizing it, as their apprehension bled away, for no reason that either could describe.
“It feels . . . warm. Good,” Unicorn said.
“I know what you mean,” Gryphon said. “It . . . this is nuts, Unicorn – but, I think it’s good. I mean . . . I think something good put it there – for a good purpose.”
At that moment, the ball of light expanded, with a speed far past that of even the Gryphon, with the magni-field set to pure speed.
Then it vanished – taking the two heroes with it.
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Dawn and Shirako were taking advantage of Christmas break, sparring in Giles’s back yard on a fairly warm Christmas Eve, going as hard as they always did, being tougher than normal humans. They had been going for almost half an hour, and Shirako was flagging badly, being tougher than humanly possible, but having much less endurance than Dawn.
Suddenly, in mid-kick, Dawn froze. Shirako took advantage of her girlfriend’s momentary distraction, and swept her to the ground. Even after she fell, Dawn didn’t stop staring at something behind Shirako.
Shirako turned around – and saw a ball of golden-white light, perhaps six feet across, floating near the picnic table under the massive old oak tree that dominated the back yard.
“Whoa!” Shirako said, hastily helping Dawn to her feet. “Dawn, what is it?”
“I don’t know,” Dawn said, taking Shirako’s hand in hers, and edging closer to the light. “But it’s beautiful. And it feels . . . like it doesn’t mean us any harm.”
“That’s crazy,” Shirako said. “But, I think you’re right.”
Still holding Shirako’s hand, Dawn put out one hand to touch the ball of light, feeling a gentle tingling sensation as her hand approached it.
Then her hand touched it, and the globe expanded rapidly, before collapsing back to nothing – and leaving the yard empty, behind it.
_________________________________________________
Altairen and Naliara, having just bested a half a dozen soldiers of the Army of Jaranaset, were, at Altairen’s insistence, burying the bodies. Naliara made a disgusted face, but helped with the grizzly task.
This is not how I would choose to spend the Eve of Gods’ Day, Altairen thought, as he worked. Still, the job needs to be done.
Gods’ Day, in both this world, and Altairen’s own, and, as she obviously knew what he was talking about when he mentioned it, Naliara’s, was the day that all the Gods were honored, for the world (Perhaps I should say “worlds,” Altairen thought) that they had made, and the wonders that populated it – or them. It always fell on the shortest day of the year, though no one really knew why.
They closed the grave, a little after sunset, and Altairen straightened, and mopped sweat from his face, despite the biting cold, and the beginning of a snowfall. Naliara matched him, and made a face at the grime and blood that was on her sleeve.
“I agree,” Altairen said, to his silent companion. “There’s an inn close by. Bath?”
Naliara blushed prettily, and nodded. Altairen laughed at her blush, and she gave him a deliberately over-done glare, making him laugh harder.
“I’m sorry, Naliara,” Altairen said. “But, it seems funny, to me – you blushing, when it was you who came and joined me in the stream to bathe, the first time!”
Naliara blushed more, and stuck her tongue out at her companion – then her mouth dropped open in surprise, and he spun around, dropping into a crouch, and drawing his sword, as a globe of golden-white light burst into being behind them.
“Goddess burning!” Altairen said, letting his breath out slowly. “That is beautiful! And it feels warm . . . I wonder if it is some sign from Arteneh?”
Naliara moved to stand beside the big man, and shook her head when he glanced at her. He looked puzzled, then nodded.
“You’re right. It would be pure white, were it of Arteneh.”
Naliara nodded, and took his hand. She walked around the globe, pulling Altairen with her. It was featureless, and beautiful. After a full circuit, Altairen closed his eyes, and reached inside himself, feeling for his connection with his Goddess. Dimly, he felt her, and again, felt sad, that she should be so diminished, in this world.
“Goddess,” he whispered, “I know not what this light is – but I feel no evil from it, none at all. And I think . . . I think I am to go into it. Unless you tell me I should not, I am going to go.”
He felt only a dim sense of approval, from Alethanna – but, from his Goddess, that was enough.
“Naliara, I am going to go into the light.” Altairen felt her squeeze his hand, and glanced at her. She smiled, and nodded.
“All right,” he said. “We go together.”
They reached out together, and touched the light. It expanded, then vanished – leaving the empty clearing behind.
_________________________________________________
Gryphon found himself standing in a plain white room, with a couch, a pair of loveseats, and a coffee table, all plain white, being the only furniture. Three of the walls were featureless, and the third was taken up by a huge mirror.
Unicorn was next to him, behind the couch, and that let him relax, for a moment. Then, two girls, both in their teens, by the look of them, appeared some ten feet away, behind one of the loveseats. Before he could even blink, there was a second couple, a man and a woman, this time, standing behind the other loveseat.
The six people stared at each other, for a long moment, and it was obvious that there was at least a little bit of confusion.
Gryphon stared at the girls who had arrived together. One was taller, and probably older, Caucasian, with brown hair, grey eyes, and full lips. Her face was oval, and quite pretty, and she could have been anywhere from fifteen to eighteen, judging by her body. Her breasts and hips were full, her waist small, and she had muscle tone that convinced the hero right away that she was either a martial artist, a gymnast, or both. She wore jeans, and a long sleeved blouse, and had a jacket tied around her hips.
The other of the pair was Oriental, small, barely over five feet, if she was that tall, and tiny in every dimension. Her hair was black, and silky, reaching down to her waist, and her eyes a brilliant green. She, too had excellent muscle tone, and was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt.
Shirako stared at the two people behind the couch, and stared openly. They looked as though they had stepped out of a comic book – or almost so. They weren’t wearing any spandex, after all.
The man was big, about six feet, four inches, and had big, hard shoulders, even under the tunic he wore. It was green, and buttoned down the left side of his chest, on a faint diagonal. There was a golden Gryphon emblazoned on the chest of the tunic, covering most of it. The sleeves were short, and showed that his arms had the hard, sculpted look of an Olympic gymnast. He wore grey cargo pants, and grey boots and gloves. The kicker, though, was the grey mask, which covered most of his forehead, and all of his upper face save his eyes. His mouth and chin were bare – and showed him to be a handsome man. His eyes were green, and his hair blond, wavy, and pulled back in a ponytail.
The woman with him was beautiful, too. Her hair was blond, her eyes green, and she was tall, and very nicely built. She wore white pleated slacks, and a blouse that was almost a gold color – what the people who made paint and crayons called "maize." Over this, she wore a short jacket, white, with a broad band of that same maize color, about halfway between shoulders and waist. There was a stripe of maize down the outside of the legs of her slacks, as well. The slacks were bloused into knee-high suede boots of the same color as her blouse, and she wore thin leather gloves of a slightly darker color. The mask she wore left her lower face bare, as the man's did his, and, as she turned to look at the others in the room, Shirako saw a hole at the base of the mask, in the back, that let a blond ponytail out.
Dawn let out a squeal, then, a sound of surprised delight, and Shirako looked around to see what had her girlfriend so happy.
“Altairen and Naliara!” Dawn cried, on looking at the last pair in the room.
Having read the fantasy novel Fires of Justice, at Dawn’s prompting, Shirako could not disagree – the man and woman certainly looked like the two characters that Dawn had named.
The man was big, as big as the guy with the Gryphon on his chest, and even looked similar, in the face – given how much of the other guy’s face, they could see, anyway. The second man’s face was angular, with high-cheekbones, a square jaw, and a generous mouth. He was powerfully built, his muscles obvious even under the fairly loose tunic and trousers he wore. All of his clothes – lace-up tunic, trousers, the knee-high boots they were bloused into, and even his short cloak – were grey, of various shades. He wore two short swords low on his hips, and a saber higher on the left side of his waist.
The woman was small, Shirako’s size, maybe just a bit taller Her breasts and hips were proportionate, though, making her look a bit bigger than Shirako. Her hair was a silky, shiny white, gathered in a ponytail that came to her waist, and her eyes were violet. Her features were fine, delicate, and her mouth average, but with full lips. Her clothes – for all the world, it looked to Shirako as though the girl wore a karate gi – were purple, as were the dance slippers she wore. Two short staves stuck up over her shoulders.
“You know us, young lady,” the man said, in a deep voice. “But I do not recall meeting you.”
“You wouldn’t, because you haven’t.” Dawn smiled, and walked over to them. “I’ve read about you two, though. And I can’t believe I’m meeting you!”
“Read about us . . . ?” Altairen said, sounding puzzled. “Are we in the histories of our worlds, then? And have you been to our worlds?”
“Whoa, hold on a minute,” Gryphon said. “Maybe we’d better start with introductions.
“I’m the Gryphon, and this is Unicorn, my . . . my lady.”
“I am Altairen of Kavendale,” Altairen said. “And my companion is Naliara of Dalenvar, who cannot speak.”
“But she can sing, right?” Dawn said. “If you two have met, she can sing.”
“Yes, she can,” Altairen said, and his face lit up with a grin that almost lit the room. “And her voice is a wonder of the Gods, I would swear on my mother’s name!”
“I have to hear her sing,” Dawn said. “Oh, and I’m Dawn Summers – the Vampire Slayer. And this is my girlfriend, Shirako. She’s part dragon, on her father’s side of the family.”
“Dawn the Vampire Slayer?” Gryphon said. “I thought it was Buffy.”
“She . . . she died. I’m her sister.” Dawn swallowed, and didn’t tell them how Buffy had become a vampire. “I guess the Slayer power recognized the way she was the best, and hoped I could be that good. I’m trying!”
“Sister?” Gryphon looked confused. “Buffy doesn’t have a sister, on the show!”
“Show?” Dawn said.
“Hold it!” Unicorn said. Everyone looked at her, and she said, “Look, it’s pretty obvious to me – we’re all from alternate worlds. Okay? In our world, Buffy is a TV show, and she doesn’t have a sister – just her mom, and her friends, and Giles.
“And in Dawn’s world, you two – Altairen and Naliara, right? – you two are characters in a book. I would bet that Gryphon and I are a comic, in Dawn’s world, too.”
“Um, maybe,” Dawn said. “I don’t read comic books, though.”
“Wait a minute,” Shirako said. “Dawn, in the ‘about the author’ thing in Fires of Justice – it said that while Fires of Justice was the authors first novel, he had written a few short stories, and ‘the upcoming comic book series A Time of Heroes.’ Want to bet that it stars Gryphon and Unicorn?”
On seeing Gryphon jerk, and look very startled, when Shirako mentioned the title of the comic series, Dawn said, “No bet. I think you’ll win.
“That title means something to you, doesn’t it, Mr. Gryphon?”
“Just Gryphon,” he said, looking a bit shocked. “And yes, it does. I was my world’s first super-hero, you see – but I wasn’t the first super-being. The first one was a psycho, and I was . . . trying to help, to get to the people who could fight him, when I got my powers. And I was told by . . . by my sister’s ghost, basically, that . . . .” Gryphon’s voice changed, when he continued, going higher, and picking up different rhythms, in an unconscious mimicry of his sister. "What's coming, Holt . . . it can be a time of hate, and fear, of . . . of pain.
"Or it can be a time of heroes.”
Gryphon stopped for a minute, looking embarrassed, then sighed, and said, “And I just told you my name.” He took his mask off, then, and walked around to drop on the couch, tugging Unicorn behind them. “Oh, well – might as well tell you, I’m Holt McKay. I don’t think it matters, here and now. But I really have to be more careful! If I do this much more, not even President Clinton could get me out of the trouble I’ll be in.”
“President Clinton?” Dawn said. Then her face lit up. “Oh, I know! You don’t know about me because you’re from the past! My past, I mean. What year is it, where you’re from?”
“It’s 1999,” Unicorn said, moving around to sit beside Gryphon, and pulling off her mask, and the wig that covered her dark brown hair. “And I’m Alyssa Pell, while we’re handing out names. I’m pretty sure Holt is right, and it doesn’t matter, now.”
“That explains it,” Dawn said. “It’s 2001, where we’re from. And I think . . . I think you’ll see me next year. On the show, I mean. What’s happening, on the show, right now?”
“Buffy and the Scoobies are hunting for a demonic cyborg named Adam,” Gryphon said.
“That sounds about right.” Dawn looked both thoughtful, and embarrassed. “Buffy and Giles said the monks made me, and inserted me in their lives, about the time that Dracula showed up.”
“Made you?” Holt said, leaning forward in interest. “What do you mean, made you?”
“I’m . . . I was a sort of magical key, used to imprison a psychotic Goddess,” Dawn said. “The monks charged with keeping me from her made me human, sort of magically cloned me from Buffy, and inserted me, and memories of me, in everyone’s lives, so that she would protect me from Glory – the psycho-goddess. Buffy . . . she died, so I wouldn’t have to, and I . . . I got the Slayer power.”
“I’m sorry, Dawn,” Alyssa said, as Shirako led the girl around to sit and cuddle with her on the loveseat they were near.
“It’s okay,” Dawn said. “I think we’re gonna have to trust each other, so you should know.”
“I am very confused,” Altairen said, coming around the loveseat he and Naliara were behind, and pulling her down to sit with him. “I don’t know what a ‘TV show’ is, or a ‘comic.’ But . . . to you young ladies, Naliara and I are characters in a story?”
“Uh-huh,” Dawn said. “And a TV show is a play, basically, with a long, continuing story, that people watch. And a comic is a written story, with lots and lots of pictures – the pictures tell the story as much as written words, maybe more.”
“Then . . . then we are all fictions, to one another,” Altairen said. “Goddess burning! The tale of the Golden Knights! Naliara, look at Gryphon and Unicorn! Were their clothes armor . . . .”
Naliara nodded, smiling in delight, apparently recalling the tale Altairen spoke of.
“Two knights, a man and a woman,” Altairen said, at Holt and Alyssa’s puzzled looks. “They founded the largest kingdom on my world. They bore magical weapons, of great power, and used them in the cause of the just. His standard was a golden gryphon, on a green field, and hers a white unicorn, on a golden field. The house they founded still rules in those lands today, some thousands of years later.”
“Okay,” Holt said, leaning back, and slipping an arm around Alyssa’s shoulders. “That answers some questions – but it leaves one big one.
“What could have brought us all here – and why?”
“I brought you here,” said a woman’s voice, from behind them all. “And I did it to prevent a tragedy, a waste of life, and power – and a pain which all of you should understand.”
All six turned at once, to see a woman, dressed all in white, with white hair, and eyes of silver, standing at a door that had not been there when they appeared.
And she was glowing, with the same golden-white light that had brought them all here.