May 2000

Writer: Ben Church

Sarah pulled on Morgan's hand. "C'mon! If we don't hurry security will find us!"

Morgan just shook his head. "Why the hell do we have to do this in the theater?"

"Because it's more dramatic." she said. "Besides can you think any other place that's this deserted at this time of night?"

"Isn't there a rehearsal going on?"

"No it just let out. Now come ON."

Morgan sighed, and hitched his back pack up higher on his shoulder. "Okay but if we get into trouble I'm telling them that you drugged me."

It didn't take long for Sarah to pick the lock on the door, and led her boyfriend to the prop storage room, high above the stage.

"Man I'm out of shape." Morgan gasped, as he finally topped the stairs. "Can't they have an elevator or something?"

Sarah grinned, and grabbed his backpack. Out of it she pulled three black candles. "Draw the symbol." she told him.

He took the paint that Sarah had made from ink, and blood, he didn't want to know where that had come from, and drew an intricate symbol on the floor.

Just looking at the symbol made his blood run cold, and he had sudden doubts about this. He looked up at her. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Sarah looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. "It's the only way. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

He sighed, and sank to the floor. He only wished that their parents would have understood. But now they were trying to keep them apart."

"When this is done," she said. "There will be no way they can separate us."

She set up the candles in a triangle around the symbol, then she too sat.

"We call upon the forces of darkness," she intoned. "To come to us and do our bidding."

"In the name of Hecuba," Morgan chimed in at his cue.

"In the name of Merial."

"Come to us."

"Join us."

"In life and death."

Behind Sarah, the shadows seemed to take a tangible form. Just as Morgan saw a drop of black wax mar the symbol. "Oh sh-" He saw what was behind Sarah, and he lost his voice, so terrified was he.

She looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?" she asked. Then she turned her head to look. And felt something clamp onto her head. And kept turning it.

Morgan jumped up and stared, as his girlfriend's head did a complete 360, bone snapping and skin stretching beyond it's limit, finally coming to rest facing him once again.

She was grinning. He stood transfixed in horror as her body lurched to it's feet and approached him. He gave a strangled scream and leaped for the door. He'd just made it when a hand grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Don't go now," he heard Sarah whisper. "We're about to be joined in death."

If a boy dies screaming, and there's no one around to hear it, does he actually make a sound?

Not all evil can be seen.
Not all demons can be fought hand to hand.
Some things have to be felt.
Every evil can be defeated.
The S-Men

Episode 1:
"Final Curtain"

William stood a moment with his eyes closed, in the early morning sunshine. He held The Sword of Morrigan in his hands, at a ready position. He'd found that

lately, the only times he was able to think clearly, was when he held the sword.

It had been quite a turbulent year for him. His circle of friends had increased, and yet he'd begun to feel isolated, lonely. He attributed it to three main factors. One, he'd never been away from home for this long before, and he could not afford to keep calling home. He missed the mountains of Ireland and Scotland, missed his friends, and above all he missed his parents.

The second factor was closer to home. His entire circle of friends seemed to be involved in something, except him. One of the most recent additions to his circle of friends was a boy named Chris, who had formed an improv group. All of his friends with only two exceptions had gotten in. Except him. Then Casey had obtained a copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. He'd talked it up to William, getting him excited about performing it. Only to find that Chris was directing it, and had decreed that the improv group people would be the ones to perform it. Then the two exceptions to the improv group, along with a few of the others had gotten into the spring musical. And he found himself left out. Even at the gatherings they had every weekend at Mikiah's and DJ's apartment William felt like he was looking through a window. On the outside looking in. That was how he felt. He couldn't explain that, he'd never felt like that before.

But there was another reason, one final factor in his growing depression. He'd spent the entire year courting Christina. He'd said things to her he'd

never said to any other girl. He'd told her things no one else knew about him. She'd inspired him in a way that he'd never thought possible. He'd fallen in love with her. She'd made him look beyond his fear of being hurt. Just thinking of her had made him happy.

And someone else had won her heart. The same man who'd unintentionally excluded him from Improv and Complete Works. William had never known it was possible to feel happy for someone, and yet have his heart constantly breaking at the same time. He sometimes wondered, if he just vanished, would anyone notice?

The feelings had kept him distracted for almost the entire second semester. His grades had dropped, and he'd barely noticed all the strange things that had happened on campus. Though the recent outbreak of gun violence was fresh in his memory.

But somehow, when he held the sword, his mind cleared, and he felt at peace. He supposed it was the fact that it had belonged to his mother. That he felt as if she was with him whenever he held it.

With those thoughts in mind, he began to swing the sword, fighting an imaginary opponent. The motions coming easily, from years of practice.

Mikiah went through his Kata, slowly and calmly. This was a morning ritual for him, to get up at dawn and go through his exercises. In the year since he'd started his college career, he'd discovered that it was doubly important to keep practiced. Sunnydale was not like other towns.

There were things here, things that required that one be prepared to defend themselves against. He'd proven more than equal to the task, and he intended to stay that way. Too many of his friends had died because they were not.

He had set up a small tin can on the campus sign, ten feet away from him. After going through one or two Katas, he focused on the can, and struck, as if he were hitting the can with his fist. Ten feet away, the can flew from it's perch, struck by his Chi.

Seized by a sudden fit of silliness, he bowed to the can as one would bow to an opponent in Karate.

Nearby, in a tree, Casey perched, in the form of a small bird. He preferred the small inconspicuous animals to larger ones, though he did one day intend to manifest as a six foot tall white rabbit.

He cocked his head quizzically as he watched Mikiah. Next to Casey himself, Mikiah seemed to be the most closed of the group. But then, the group hadn't been much of a group lately. Peter claimed it had started when Christina had started going out with Chris. Casey had to admit, that did seem to have been when it started.

Though he was loath to blame Christina. When one was in a relationship they naturally wanted to be with their significant other more than other people. She was just acting on that instinct. But she did seem to be the glue that had held the group together.

Wendy, Christina's room mate had noticed that the group dynamic in the Improv group was off. Casey fervently hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come. If birds had been capable of it, he would have sighed. He just didn't know what to do.

She didn't want to get up, but she couldn't afford to miss anymore of her morning class. Fortunately the pajamas that she slept in could double as clothes, so she could just get up ten minutes before class. The only grooming she did was run a comb through her hair, and put on a single piece of jewelry.

It was a small, simple necklace, a five pointed star inside a circle. A pentacle. A symbol of her faith in the Goddess, but at the same time, it was much more than that. It was a symbol of friendship.

It had been given to her first semester by William. Just after they'd had a disagreement with Steve, the ghost who'd haunted her room. He'd developed a crush on Christina that she was afraid might turn unhealthy. William had left, and shown up soon after with the Pentacle.

"I bought it this past summer in Ireland." he had told her. "It's not much, but it should be enough to protect ye." As long as you believe in it."

She smiled as she fastened the clasp behind her neck. Every time she put it on she felt safe. She suddenly realized with a heavy heart that she missed her friends. Perhaps she would call William that night after rehearsal.

Peter grunted as his alarm went off. With a well practiced swipe of his arm, he hit the snooze button and promptly went back to sleep.

DJ sat in the control booth with a headset on, listening to the back and forth banter of the cast and crew. The show was the Mikado. Christina was running follow spot with another girl named Kathleen. Tom and Scott were in the chorus. And Peter and Mikiah were in the run crew. DJ was bored.

Casey, member of the props crew sat back stage with his head in his hands. He was bored, and he was still depressed about the vibes he'd been getting from his friends. Particularly William. Peter wasn't the only one who could sense people's emotions. Though his ability was stronger than Casey's, as a Pooka, he had a certain amount of perceptive abilities.

Wendy sat next to him, also on props crew. She too was bored. It was tech week, and rehearsals tended to run long. Fortunately, their boredom didn't last long.

"Props crew you copy?" the stage manager asked over the headset.

"Yes." they said simultaneously, their voices betraying their apathy.

"We need more swords for the chorus."

"Sure." they said again. If they weren't so bored, their simultaneous answers would have amused them. They got up and headed for the props loft.

Suddenly, in the booth, DJ got an idea of how to relieve his boredom. He switched on the headset.

"Okay Sean," he called the lighting crew head, imitating the lighting designer Bill Pierson. "Sean I need you to bring numbers four through six up to nine. Okay? Can you do that for me?"

"Sure thing Bill!" Sean said cheerfully. Sean hadn't been happy to be on crew, but he was grateful for actually having something to do.

"Sean," DJ said, now imitating Mac Bozman, the set designer. "Sean what are you doing?"

"Mac," Sean defended himself. "Bill told me to-"

"Sean I'm only going to say this once." DJ said, restraining his laughter. "Ignore Bill. Ignore. Bill."

Up in the catwalks, Christina and Kathleen, guessing what DJ was up to started laughing.

William walked through the dark campus towards the theater. He'd grown bored in his room, and decided to go to the practice rooms and try to pick out a tune on the piano.

He carried his back pack over one shoulder, and the sword his mother had left him in the other. He knew the sword wouldn't be much protection if he met a Vampire, but it was better than no defense at all. Though he had noticed that the Vampire population seemed to have decreased as the year went on.

Casey stopped short on the stairs, his nose itching.

"What's that smell?" Wendy complained, also noticing the stench.

Casey had spent some time as a fox in the woods nearby, and had seen his share of dead animals. He recognized the scent. Something had died up in the prop room. He suddenly did not want to go in there.

William set the book on the music stand, and sat at the piano. He didn't know what he wanted to try and play just yet, so he just started playing a random tune, knowing that inspiration was sure to come.

Christina suddenly felt cold. As if there was a draft. But there wasn't.

"Oh no." she whispered, knowing what the feeling meant. On instinct, she looked up at the catwalk, and gave a short scream.

Kathleen looked up at her shout, seeing nothing. "What's wrong?"

It was black, like a shadow, but it's eyes glowed like hot coals. It was looking right at her. It knew she could see it. And she could sense it laughing at her fear.

Not all ghosts were those of people who had once walked the earth. Many were just spirits from another plane of existence. And of those, the majority were evil. This was not one of the exceptions she knew.

The creature suddenly lunged at the supports holding Kathleen's lighting platform to the catwalk.

"No!" Christina dove for her fellow follow spot operator, grabbing for her hand. She missed. Kathleen's safety cord caught her, but only for a moment, for she had fastened it to her belt loop. The loop ripped away from her pants, and she fell into the seats below, snapping her back and neck.

Casey opened the door to the props room, already knowing what he would find. He almost gagged on the stench, but the sight before him was a thousand times worse.

Two bodies, one mutilated, and the other with a severely broken neck lay on the floor. Behind him, Wendy screamed.

"Run!" Casey shouted at her, slamming the door, and following her down the stairs. They had to warn the others that something was incredibly wrong.

He stopped in shock and fear, when he heard the prop room door open. He turned and saw that the mutilated body was lurching towards them.

"Run faster!" he shouted.

William looked up in surprise when the lights in his practice room went out. He looked out the small window in the door and saw that the lights in the hallway had gone out as well.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." he muttered.

In the sudden darkness, Casey heard Wendy stumble, and barely avoided tripping over her. He hadn't noticed when, for a brief time, the body following them had collapsed, like a puppet with it's strings cut. But now he could hear it shuffle after them again.

Carefully, Christina pulled herself up from her platform onto the catwalks. She trembled both from what she had seen, and the fear that in the darkness, she would miss her footing, and plummet, much as Kathleen had.

"Christina!" Mikiah's voice from below shouted. "You okay up there?"

"Oh yeah!" she said sarcastically. "I'm just fine!"

"Stay where you are!" he called, ignoring her tone. "We're sending someone with a flashlight!"

She sighed with relief, and lay on the catwalk. Then she remembered what had caused Kathleen to fall in the first place.

The demon could be anywhere.

William had never realized just how dark it could get inside the theater when all the lights were out. His heart pounded in his chest as he fought the fear that welled up inside him. He'd always been quite afraid of the dark, ever since he was a child. And the fact that he knew for a fact that there WERE things that could hurt you, that lurked in the dark, didn't help matters any.

He hoped he would be able to find his way to the main theater, where there were other people. Strength in numbers after all.

Christina looked around in the dim light provided by several flashlights. It seemed that most of the cast and crew were accounted for, which was good. She felt especially relieved when she saw that Chris, her boyfriend was all right. He'd been up in the booth with DJ. It couldn't have been easy finding their way back to the stage in such low visibility. She didn't know what kind of demon they were facing, but she hoped it wouldn't try anything with so many present.

Suddenly, she realized that someone was missing. "Oh no, where are Casey and Wendy?"

"I sent them to the prop room," the stage manager, a balding senior named Sean Ramey said. "That wasn't long before the power went out." He looked thoughtful. "Hope they don't try to go up or down those stairs in the dark."

He handed a flashlight to Mikiah, directing him to find the missing freshmen and bring them to the stage.

It turned out to be a moot point. Wendy burst into the darkened stage area, frantic with fear, and Casey right behind her.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Herman, the director, asked.

Wendy tried to explain, but unfortunately, she wasout of breath, and not quite sure what was wrong herself.

Mikiah, already on his way to the door, cautiously opened it, and went into the hall.

In the light of his flashlight, he could see what had frightened the two. Coming towards him was a walking corpse. It lunged for him but he dodged easily. He passed his hand near the corpse in a feint that also let his chi and it's interact slightly. Quickly, he realized that it was possessed.

He dodged around the thing for a moment more, getting a feel for it, then struck, thrusting out with his chi as well as his fist.

The demon gave a soundless shriek of anger and surprise, as it was knocked from it's host.

"Hey Christina?" he said, re-entering the stage. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She didn't have to ask what he wanted, no doubt he'd seen what had chased their friends.

"Can you see this thing?" he asked simply.

"I saw it when it took out Kathleen's platform." She said quietly. "I don't see it now, so it could be anywhere."

The lights went on.

"Or maybe it's with the fuse box." she amended.

"Oh thank God." William sighed with relief as the lights came back on. But suddenly he felt incredibly cold. There was no draft, and the feeling came quite quickly.

The hair on the back of his neck rose. He had the distinct feeling that he was not alone in the hallway, and whatever was in there, wasn't nice.

He started to run down the hallway, but the feeling just got stronger. Suddenly, he felt an itching sensation from the arm that held his sword, and the feeling vanished.

"The hell was that?" he wondered. He looked at the sword in wonder. It looked newer than it had earlier in the evening. "Jesus Mary and Joseph." he murmured.

Christina barely had time to register the presence of the demon before it struck. But those who couldn't see it, had no warning at all.

Suddenly a table flew across the stage, striking Fitz in the midsection with such force, that it sent him tumbling into the orchestra pit. The table then hovered for a moment, then crashed down from the ceiling, onto the fallen boy. The corner struck him in the head, smashing his skull.

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then everyone panicked. Cast and crew alike stampeded for the hall, to the exits. Only Casey, Christina, Pete and Mikiah remained calm. Though calm was a relative term.

"What the hell is going on?" Pete demanded. He alone had not had some manner of contact with the demon.

"There's a demon that only Christina can see, and it's trying to kill us." Mikiah said, as if it were nothing new.

"So what do we do?" Casey asked.

"Guys why are you all standing around here, we've got to get out of here!"

They all jumped, startled. No one had noticed Chris doubling back, making sure his girlfriend was all right.

William had just reached the stage door when he heard a lot of screaming, and then the doors burst open, spilling a host panicked actors and techies, streaming for the building’s exit.

"Holy Hell!" he cried, barely managing to dodge away before being trampled. He watched as they pounded on the door, which for some reason refused to open. Then he watched as they ran down the hall to the next exit.

"William?" Christina called, emerging from the stage. "What are you doing here?"

"At the moment trying to figure out what the bloody hell is going on." he answered.

"There's some kind of Demon here."

"That would explain the cold feeling I had earlier." he speculated. "I'm not tuned into the astral plane like you are, but my Faery Sight might make me more able to sense certain things."

Before they could think on it further, they heard screaming from the direction the cast and crew had gone.

(Cut To Commercial)

The following sequence contains violent content that may be inappropriate for younger viewers. Parental discretion is advised.

When the panicking students reached the other exit, they found that it too was blocked by some unseen force.

A girl named Lindsay hurled herself at the window to no avail. Then the table in front of the window flew at her, striking her in the stomach and slamming her against the wall with so much force that it cut her in two.

Then the table stood on it's end, and crushed another girl named Heather against the wall.

Christina and the others arrived just in time to see a boy named Ryan pull the table from the wall. Heather's limp body fell to the floor, leaving a bloody imprint behind. Ryan turned and voided his lunch.

Christina could see the thing, but no one else could. Peter, William, Casey and Mikiah could only vaguely sense that it was in the area.

"I think I can cast a binding spell." Christina muttered to the others. "But we have to get the others out of here."

A piece of the metal framework in the ceiling broke off and quickly disemboweled a boy named Jason. He stared in shock, as his intestines fell to the floor with a wet "splat". His eyes glazed over as his life ended.

"Question is how do we do it?" William asked. "The exits are mystically blocked!"

"Let me try to deal with that." Casey said.

Peter was amazed at his friend's ability to stay calm at a time like this. He looked at Jason, who's body refused to fall.

"Uh oh." he said, as the aura changed to pure black. "Demon's in Jason!" he cried.

Jason's possessed body grabbed the metal shard that had killed him, and Casey. It grabbed him, pulled him away from the doors, where he was attempting to magically open them, and threw him across the room.

Casey rose unsteadily to his feet, as Mikiah and Peter lunged for Jason. But they were too late to save his target, a cast member named Ricky.

Ricky knocked him back and turned to run. But before he got far, Jason came up behind him and shoved the spike through his head. The spike exited through Ricky's forehead and dug into the wall causing Ricky's lifeless body to hang listlessly, still upright.

Mikiah hit the host body, once again knocking the demon out. William suddenly felt his skin grow cold. At that moment he heard Christina cry out.

"William look out it's right behind you!"

He spun, instinctively bringing the sword he still held in his hand up in defense.

And the room was filled with an unearthly, bloodcurdling pain filled scream.

Christina's eyes widened as she saw the sword pierce the Demon, and actually hurt it. It screamed, and disappeared into the ceiling.

"Bloody hell," William gasped. "What just happened?"

Casey remained silent, as did Peter and Mikiah. Christina however stepped next to the amazed boy, and waved her hand over the sword, chanting. The sword glowed, and he was filled with a warm feeling.

Christina looked at him in amazement. "William this sword is magical. And very, very powerful." She looked at him intently.

"How long has this sword been in your family?"

"I don't know." William said, staring at the sword. "But I think my mother must have known what it could do. She taught me how to use it." He stepped back from her and swung the sword expertly. "Let's see what else I can do with it."

With that, he swung at the window, and shattered it, leaving not a single shard left in the frame. "All right everyone!" he said. "Get out of here before the thing gets back!"

No one argued, though Chris looked reluctant to leave his girlfriend. But she soon convinced him.

Once everyone except the five friends had gone, Mikiah looked at Christina.

"All right, now what? How do we stop this thing permanently?"

"I can cast a binding spell." she said again. "But to do it I need to keep it out of other people's bodies."

"I can handle that." Mikiah said.

"And just in case it decides to lie low, I can tell if it's possessing someone." Peter said.

Christina nodded. "Casey, show me where you first ran into this thing. I need to find it's point of entry to seal the portal."

Casey and William led the way, Casey to show them where to go, and William because his sword could hurt the demon.

"So once you seal the portal, what then?" Peter asked.

"If it's naturally immaterial, then all we have to do is banish it into an object, or destroy it." She thought for a moment. "Destroying it would probably be better. Banishing is only a temporary solution."

"Can your sword kill it?" Casey asked.

"My use of it twice doesn't make me an expert on it's capabilities."

"Sorry."

"What did you mean by `naturally immaterial`?" Mikiah asked.

"Some demons are only immaterial because their foothold on this plane isn't complete." Christina answered. "When they've gained enough strength, or been on this plane long enough they become solid."

"So if you close the portal while it's trying to become solid," Mikiah prompted, picking up on what she was saying.

"Then it's link will be severed and it'll be gone."

"Gone?" Peter asked.

"Either banished back home, or dead. I'm not sure."

"Either way works for me." William said, having reached the door to prop storage. He grabbed the handle and looked to Christina. "Shall w-"

The door slammed open, pulling William violently into the room. He lost his balance, and his hold on the sword, which slid across the floor, coming to a stop far from his reach. He rose to his feet, only to feel something wrap around his throat, pulling him into the air, and cutting off his air pipe.

Even between the three of them, Casey, Mikiah and Peter were unable to get the door opened again.

"The damn thing must have blocked this door too." Peter gasped.

"Fine." Christina said, her eyes narrowing. Unbeknownst to them, she'd been prepared for this eventuality. "Stand back."

They looked at her curiously, but did as she asked.

She brought her hands up above her head and chanted a quick spell. And the door was blasted off it's hinges.

In surprise, the Demon dropped William, who fell to the floor coughing and gasping. Mikiah helped him to his feet, while Casey tried to retrieve the sword. But he jerked his hand back as if the sword had burned it.

"The sword doesn't like me." he muttered. "William come get your sword."

Christina took in the scene. The Demon hovered near the ceiling trying to take stock of the situation. She saw the circle, and the setup, and knew that all she had to do was seal the portal. So she began to chant.

The Demon apparently panicked. First, the door slammed shut, and the lights in the room went out. Anyone standing outside would have heard horrible screams of pain and fear, and much crashing.

William sat on a low wall, his back leaning against the building. He was exhausted. He cracked his eyes and looked at his friends. Casey's eyebrows had been singed off, Pete and Mikiah were bruised, as if they'd been in a huge fight. Which, of course, they had. Christina lay on the wall, her head in his lap, asleep.

It was almost like the moment, early in the semester, before Chris had won her heart, when they had been at a party together. They'd been watching Dark Crystal, and she'd fallen asleep with her head in his lap. He'd stopped paying attention to the movie and instead began to sing to her.

And now here he was, with her head in his lap again. He closed his eyes, content to enjoy the moment. Because he knew it would be all too brief.

"So, we're kind of like superheroes I guess." Casey said, breaking the silence.

"How so?" Mikiah asked.

"We just banded together to use our unique powers to stop some unspeakable evil. Isn't that what superheroes do?"

"Yeah kind of." Pete said. "This did seem like a comic book plot."

"So what should we call ourselves?" Casey asked.

At that moment, the coroner brought out yet another body.

"I don't feel like a superhero." Christina said softly, looking at the covered body."

"But still," Casey said, refusing to let go of the topic. "We should have a name. Like, the Avengers or something. Or the Goth Squad."

"Only me and Christina dress in black." William told him. "And that's not even all the time." He grinned. "How about the S-Men."

"The what?"

"Like the X-Men," he explained quietly, his eyes still closed. "They're called the X-Men because of the x-factor in their blood. All of us are supernatural in some way. So, the S-Men."

"Rrrrrright."

"Better than the Goth Squad." Christina defended him.

"Christina!" a voice called. Immediately she sat up, leaping off the wall. William tried to hide his disappointment.

Reunited, Chris and Christina headed off to his room.

William sighed. "I'm with Christina though." He said. "I don't feel much like a Superhero."

Next: A mischievous matchmaker wreaks havoc with the group dynamic.

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