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Old January 19, 2003, 22:20   #1
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Dulce Et Decorum Est
"My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori."

Wilfred Owen

**Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori translates to "It is good and proper to die for your country"**

Well I suppose it was inevitable lol, with the Dangerous Games world that I've created in my mind and become so used to that I would have to base another story in it.

But I've decided to do something that one of my favourite series of books have done - move it into a new age.

Don't worry, some familiar faces will appear, but you won't have to have read the old Dangerous Games stories to be able to read this one.

Enjoy, this is just a teaser!

***************************************

Will Carver glanced out the window in fear.

His old service pistol was tucked into his waistband, none of those damned rioters would get in here.

Athens was a ruin, the riots had seen to that. But no one was quite sure what had started them.

A radical group who claimed that Alexander, the long dead King of Greece, who had been deposed by his brother Spartacus due to his evil ways, still lived, and was coming to rule Greece once more, had begun to protest outside the Palace.

Spartacus, now 75 years old, had advised his son, the now-King of Greece Nicholas, to let the protest continue, since they were not tyrants like Alexander had been.

The protest had continued, but then a much bigger group, supporters of Spartacus who remembered the last great battle that had finally secured the throne, and remembered Alexander's wicked ways, had come to break it up themselves.

They were in their forties now, the breed of new recruits who had been relied upon heavily by both sides in the Civil War, and now retired (those who were still in the army listened to their ruler and kept well away).

The protest became a riot, then a battle as both sides began to gain weapons from the police who tried to break it up.

Nicholas had called in the Hoplites, the elite of the Greek Army, and now heavily-reformed after their supporting of Alexander.

But there was a problem, they were too loyal to Nicholas now, and had crushed the Alexander-supporters without mercy, and only then begun to disarm the pro-Royals, most of whom laid down their weapons without a fight, not willing to try and take on such an elite unit.

The brutality of the Hoplite's actions shocked many Greek people, and Nicholas condemned it. But it was too late, all those who had supported Alexander but kept quiet, or thought that Greece should be a democracy, or anyone who had any argument with the Royal Family, now took to the streets themselves.

And many were armed and dangerous. Greece didn't have many gun laws - the long-lasting Civil War meant that there were too many weapons lying around the country to be controlled.

Now Nicholas and Spartacus were trapped in the Palace, surrounded by the Hoplites, refusing to leave despite having had three anti-tank missiles fired at the building.

The rest of Athens had become a battleground. The only way to put the rebellion down without being accused of favouritism was to call in the Macedonians, long known for their impartiality in such situations.

But they were not known for their humanity, and were ruthless in crushing the rebellions. While fighting running battles with the rebels, they killed many innocent civilians.

And the leader of the Athens Guard. That regiment had come out fighting, ignoring all pleas from Nicholas to remain in their barracks, and were now gunning for the Macedonians.

The TV reports now said that Nicholas and his Hoplites were preparing to fight, and Will believed them. He had been one of Spartacus's "hidden" Hoplites that had been one of the turning points of that final great battle of the Civil War, at Thunder Rift, and knew that the Greek Royals were fighters, not peacemakers.

He glanced back into the room, and saw his twelve year old son, James, and his eight year old daughter, Jessica, sitting on the sofa hugging their mother as they had since the riots began.

They were terrified, and Will knew why. This fighting meant that ordinary people couldn't go onto the street without getting shot at, and danger lurked everywhere. Looters and thieves were having a field day, raiding everywhere, and some soldiers supposed to help put down the riots actually just went from house to house breaking down the doors, murdering the inhabitants in most cases, and taking everything they could carry.

But he had to go out. His son had epilepsy, and needed insulin, and had run out. The chemists had been looted, but he was sure there would still be some there - the looters had gone for the drugs they could sell or would get them high mostly.

That was another problem of the riots - those who had raided chemists and houses of drug dealers to get their drugs had now run out, and were beginning to get desperate.

Will shook his head in despair.

He turned towards the front door, and unlocked it, then slipped out and locked it. He knew his wife, Elizabeth, would have heard him leave, but she knew what he was doing and would comfort the children.

Besides, the chemists was only down the street.

Will drew his pistol, knowing to shoot on sight in this city of evil. He had chosen to go at night, since he didn't want to be seen.

The streetlights had been shot out by all sides, and phone lines had mostly been cut. If it hadn't been for the fact that the electric cables ran underground, and that the power stations were outside of Athens and heavily guarded, he was sure they would have cut the power to every home in Athens.

The darkness was creepy even for a battle-hardened ex-Hoplite like himself, and he shivered. He told himself it was due to the cold, but he knew it wasn't.

He crept slowly down the road, noticing some of the houses in the row were derelict, the stench of blood rising from their smashed windows. He was suddenly glad that his house had double glazing, and strong doors, not to mention of course his pistol and fighting skills.

He saw the chemist ahead, and was amazed that no drug-crazed lowlifes were hanging around.

He went inside, and pulled a torch from his pocket.

Where was it?

He rummaged through the piles of drugs that the raiders had deemed useless, and turned away from the rotting corpse of the owner of the store, murdered trying to defend his livelihood.

Why didn't you run? Will thought unhappily. A store wasn't worth losing your life over. Shops could be rebuilt, but people couldn't be brought back from the dead.

He finally found the insulin, and grabbed a few boxes. You never knew how long this may last.

He had one arm full, carrying the boxes under it, and the other holding his pistol as he emerged from the chemists.

Right into a band of Hoplites, now determined to restore order.

"Halt scum!" The Hoplite officer demanded.

"I'm just getting some insulin for my boy, he needs it for his epilepsy! I used to be a Hoplite myself, I know the law!" Will shouted helplessly.

"Then I expect you know the punishment the King has ordered. Looters are to be shot! And as far as I can see, you are a looter!"

Will watched the team of Hoplites raise their rifles, and prayed silently.

If this were a movie, Nicholas himself would appear to save the day, he thought. But no Royal was coming, and he knew it.

So this is how it ends... he groaned inwardly. But then he saw his family, dead because they were unable to defend themselves, because their father had not returned.

It gave him strength, and he dropped all but one box of the insulin. It would be enough for a week or two for James, and by then the riots should be over.

As the Hoplites fired, he dived towards them, and rolled under their fire.

His first shot killed the officer, and he ran quickly to duck behind a car.

The Hoplites began to round on him, and he yanked the door of the car open, quickly climbing in.

It took him ten seconds to hotwire the car, something he had learnt as a teenager, and that gave the Hoplites time to close.

They were shooting at the car's windows, which were almost completely destroyed now. Luckily the car itself had a bit more protection, and with his head ducked down Will survived.

The car started, and he put his foot on the accelerator, knowing the car was facing in roughly the right direction.

The Hoplites jumped back out of the car's way, and he rose slightly to shoot another two, before steering the car towards his house.

He turned the corner, and dived from the car, leaving it to continue down the street before coming to a halt. He rushed towards his house.

The Hoplites hadn't yet reached the corner, and wouldn't for another few seconds, so they wouldn't know where he had gone, Will's mind raced as he pulled out his keys and began to unlock the door.

He felt guilty for killing those whose job it was to restore order, but he knew it was needed to save his family from the death he had imagined.

But when he opened the door, that thought suddenly became reality.

His family were still sat on the sofa, and TV still on. Their heads were turned towards the kitchen, obviously looking towards the intruders. But their peaceful bodies were covered in blood, and each had been sprayed with bullets, as had the sofa.

Will glanced towards the kitchen, and saw the back door smashed inwards.

He chucked the insulin on the sofa, his mind numb and his body stiff.

He looked at the face of his sweet and innocent daughter, and then into the eyes of his beautiful wife. He glanced at his son, the cheeky grin usually on his face instead showing a look of horror.

Will knelt down infront of them all, and hugged them towards him.

He never heard the intruders behind him, and didn't really care. His family were dead, and with them, his entire will and reason to live.

"Drop your gun, raise your hands in the air and stand up," a voice behind him ordered.

******************************************

Comments appreciated, and more will follow soon.

Thanks!

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Old January 19, 2003, 23:16   #2
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Most excellent! Continue ASAP.

Btw, a little nitpick, 'pro patria mori' actually translates 'to be killed for your country.' Basically the same thing, but I couldn't resist.
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Old January 19, 2003, 23:28   #3
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Christ cbraund, your intro is as long as my last completed story!
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Old January 20, 2003, 18:15   #4
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nice job. guitarist man, what are you a teacher?
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Old January 20, 2003, 18:20   #5
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Good stuff, cb.
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Old January 20, 2003, 19:15   #6
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First let me say that once again you have got a really exciting story going here

One slight detail is that Insulin is for treating Diabetes not Epilepsy.

One other question are you going to continue the story you started a while back before you continued with DG5 ? I think it was Red For Danger.
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Old January 20, 2003, 19:52   #7
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Diabetes! That's what I was trying to think of lol, I didn't think epilepsy sounded right lol!

Oh, and Red for Danger and When the World Goes MAD may be completed soon depending on my mood lol.

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Old January 21, 2003, 02:59   #8
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Wow, I'm very impressed! You have a great sense of atmosphere, and the story gets more dramatic when he finds his family dead. Now you've got a plot, and hopefully somewhere to run with it! Good job!

I look forward to hearing more!

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Old January 21, 2003, 20:11   #9
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Will slowly stood, and stooped to put his gun down by his wife's bullet-ridden corpse.

His hand placed the gun down onto the sofa, into a bloodstain.

The squelch, and the feel of blood woke him from his daze, and now he had just one thought on his mind.

Revenge. To kill as many as he could of those who had murdered his family before he died.

The intruders didn't realise he still had his gun until he had already begun to turn.

And by then it was too late. Will's Hoplite training kicked in, and he became a killing machine.

The first double-shot burst rang out, quickly silencing the leader of the group.

Will jumped sideways while firing a second burst, and aimed at two of the intruders, that he now realised were Macedonian renegades.

Only two left.

Bullets sprayed around Will as he now threw himself towards the Macedonians, dodging as he ran trying to avoid the bullets.

It didn't stop one lodging itself in his left arm, and he was wrenched towards that side by the force of it.

But it didn't stop his charge, and he fired one bullet into the forehead of one of the rebels.

He turned towards the other, who was shaking like a leaf, aiming the AK47 at him.

And realised the magazine on his pistol was empty.

The other magazines were in his coat, which was on the stand by the door - behind the rebel. The AKs of the fallen rebels were too near to the rookie, as Will had now branded him, and too far away.

The AK47 came up, even as the hands holding it trembled.

Will pointed the pistol at the forehead of the trembling youngster, who looked to be about nineteen.

"I used to be in the Hoplites. You have no chance kiddo. Just get out of here, I know that you were probably forced into going with this band of idiots, cause I can tell from your shaking that you've never killed anyone."

The teenager nodded slowly, then turned and darted for the door.

But not before Will had thrown himself towards him, and did a forward roll to land near the fallen AK47s.

He picked one up, and before the teenager even had time to look round or get anywhere near the back door, Will had calmly fired a burst of machine gun rounds into his back and neck.

The boy fell forwards, the blood forward from the initial impact of the bullets. He gurgled, before Will put him out of his misery with a bullet straight to the head.

"No mercy you murdering scum." Will growled, and turned towards the other fallen bodies. One of those that he had shot with only one bullet was still moving. It seemed that his bullet had only pierced the lung of that man, and missed his heart.

Will aimed with his gun, then realised that it would make more noise, and he could already hear the surviving Hoplites coming closer.

He grabbed a kitchen knife, and slit the throat of all of the murderers quickly.

He didn't want any to survive. They had to rot in Hell for what they had done.

He kissed his family one last time, then turned to leave. But seeing his butchered family again just brought back the anger.

When the Hoplites finally kicked the door in, they found a murdered family, and decapitated Macedonian rebels.

*******************************

Will was well away by that time, his final savage act of revenge complete.

The Hoplites would find the heads of those murdering scum on the mantlepiece when their eyes were finally dragged away from the nightmare scene. And with them, a hastily scribbled note.

Beware those who caused this. You will pay the ultimate price.

He now was reasoning with himself who else was to blame for his family's death. He knew the Hoplites had slowed him down, but he had already killed their leader, and for once he judged that was revenge enough - the others were simply taking orders like he once had.

No, those responsible were the idiots who had let this happen.

The idiots who had started it all were those pro-Alexander idiots, but he saw their point now. The current King was an idiot - he had ordered Macedonians here for God's sake! Everyone knew that whenever Macedonians entered Greece all they caused was death!

But then that jumped up Spartacus-wannabe in the Palace was a Macedonian at heart, and was stupid to boot. At least Spartacus had a conscience that helped him control his Macedonian tendencies, but Nicholas had never learned from his mistakes.

Damn Macedonians! All they do is murder and pillage! Will thought. His heart now burned with a hatred of Macedonians, but they were only here because one man had ordered them to come here.

Nicholas.

And for that, he decided, Nicholas had to die.

***********************************

More to come soon!

Comments really appreciated, honest!

Thanks for reading

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Old January 22, 2003, 20:35   #10
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Keep it coming
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Old January 24, 2003, 23:21   #11
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That's some good stuff. When is the next shipment of goods due to arrive?
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Old January 26, 2003, 21:20   #12
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Spartacus, the abdicated King of Greece, slowly drifted off to sleep at midnight. He had gone to bed tired at eleven, but had been kept awake thinking of solutions to the riot.

Nicholas's Hoplites had only added more fuel to the fire, as imposing martial law forced the criminals to find hiding places - and many simply took over the houses of innocent people. And skilled though the Hoplites were, they simply couldn't check every house, as the criminals would slip away while the Hoplites checked one area, then return once they were gone. Also, the two regiments that were fighting had caused their sister regiments to arrive, and now Athens was becoming the focal point of battles caused by friction between the cultural and religious groups that made up the Greek Empire.

As he slept, he dreamed of the old Greece - the Greece ruled by King Phillip, so ruthlessly murdered by his own son, Alexander. It had later turned out that Phillip was also Spartacus's father. Spartacus had only found that out after the Minister of Defence had requested his help in overthrowing the barbaric Alexander, in the middle of an invasion of Russia.

Spartacus had been Phillip and Alexander's best General, winning battles in Russia to save Alexander's skin, only to have that fateful visit by the Minister of Defence, who had a video of Alexander murdering his father. Spartacus had escaped an immediate assassination attempt by Alexander which killed the Minister, and fled to Athens, where he managed to show the video on TV, and escape the TV station's skyscraper before Alexander ordered it bombed to the ground with all the innocent civilians still inside.

Spartacus had led a revolution against Alexander, and had eventually been crowned King after supposedly killing Alexander, and a few scuffles with some would-be rebels.

Thirty years later, Spartacus had to fight a war with Germany, after they took Nicholas hostage. He had won it after some major battles, but had "died" of a heart attack soon after.

What had actually happened is that Spartacus went undercover, having realised that someone was working against him. When Alexander revealed himself as still being alive, and stole the throne from Nicholas, Spartacus had been ready to lead the final battle against Alexander, and Alexander had once and for all been killed.

Spartacus shivered at the memories, the perfect Greece at the start of the dream being ruined in such ways, and now once again being on the verge of another civil war.

It was always the enemies within which caused the most devastation in Greece, and now he saw that face once more.

Alexander.

Spartacus was now in his bedroom, looking towards the sliding windows that opened onto the balcony.

And there stood Alexander, looking the same as he had the day he killed his father and began all the troubles.

Alexander stepped out onto the balcony, and walked out of view. Then he re-appeared, but looking like he did the day that he had fought Spartacus had Thunder Rift, the day that finally ended the Greek Civil War.

"It seems you failed to kill me once again, dear brother." Alexander's mocking voice filled the room.

Then the figure walked away as the first image had, and this time an older man walked in.

He looked a lot like Spartacus, but he was nothing like him inside.

It was Alexander again, but now slightly older than Spartacus, about 78. He was still strong and agile, just like Spartacus.

"Sweet dreams, dear brother." Alexander's voice once again shook Spartacus, and he began to mentally fight the images.

He woke drenched in sweat, and sat up.

Then he shivered as he felt the cold air hit his skin.

The door to the balcony was still open.

And Alexander still stood there.

***********************************************

That's all for tonight folks lol! More to come soon, sorry for delay before this update, been very busy lol.

Comments appreciated!

Thanks
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Old January 26, 2003, 21:34   #13
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Old January 27, 2003, 04:36   #14
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Old January 27, 2003, 19:22   #15
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Spartacus rushed to get out of bed, and got his legs caught in the blanket. He fell to the floor, and rolled to a kneeling position.

He couldn't remember his hand grabbing his pistol from under his pillow, but it had, and now he held it towards the balcony door.

And there was no-one there.

Damn, Spartacus cursed, he must have got away while I was rolling around.

But the balcony door was still open...

**********************************

"Dad, you probably imagined it, the riots have been hard on all of us." Nicholas tried to re-assure his father, who was still searching the balcony and gardens with a team of Hoplites.

"Son, I'm not mad, don't you dare try and say I am! I know what I saw, and I saw Alexander!" Spartacus growled, furious at his son for not believing him, and beginning to doubt himself.

"Father, I'm not trying to say you are mad, but that we are all under stress, it could have been an illusion, a figment from your dream carrying over into reality." Nicholas snapped back, in the voice he usually reserved for giving orders to the Hoplites.

Spartacus just shrugged and stormed off.

****************************************

Father and son soon made up, and the incident was put aside as more Greek regiments arrived, and so did some Macedonian ones.

The Athens Avengers, sister regiment to the Athens Guard, but fanatically loyal to Nicholas after he became their honourary leader after Thunder Rift, now stood between those regiments coming towards Athens and the capital, where the Hoplites were beginning to win the battle, with the two regiments becoming loyal again platoon by platoon, as Nicholas isolated pro-anarchists and executed them, leaving only those loyal to Greece or to him.

But the new regiments couldn't be allowed to get in.

Spartacus was going to keep the peace in the city while Nicholas went to confront the new threat.

This would work in Nicholas's favour, as still more people were loyal to Spartacus than to Nicholas, and would not fight a man that many considered the grandfather of modern Greece, and so more Athens Guard and Macedonian mercenaries would halt their feud. Spartacus was still the same general he had been fifty years ago, and would easily be able to cope with any new threats in the city.

In actual fact, Nicholas reflected, Dad's better than me at seeing the threat early and eradicating it, in any way necessary. He felt safe leaving his father in control - he was one of the few people Nicholas could really trust.

As Nicholas sat quietly thinking, Spartacus brought the council of war to a close, and preparations were made.

***************************************

Nicholas climbed into the Black Hawk, to be carried across the city with his command company of Hoplites to meet up with the Avengers.

The rest of the Hoplites would remain with Spartacus, to be his main force to keep the peace in the city.

As the helicopter took off, Nicholas began to think about his father's illusions.

He didn't want to alarm his father, who he was sure was in his twilight years, but Nicholas was worried by what his father had seen.

Someone was controlling these riots, he was sure, but he had no idea who. He hoped it was just an Athens crime boss looking for his big break, but he feared it wasn't.

No, he feared that Alexander had returned.

But he's dead, he has to be, Nicholas frowned. Alexander's body had been DNA tested by the Hoplites, under the eyes of Justin and Josh, and with Spartacus and Nicholas looking in every now and then. It had been him, and he had definitely been dead.

Which meant if his father saw what he thought he saw, and Nicholas did believe him, then it was an imposter.

But who would gain from pretending to be Alexander? Admittedly, it would gain them a lot of support from those in Greece who still opposed Spartacus and Nicholas, but they wouldn't gain enough support unless they really were Alexander.

Nicholas was thinking this through as the Black Hawk began to dive, and klaxons began to sound.

"Red alert, missile fired!" the radar operator shouted. "Missile locked on!"

Chaff shot from the back of the Black Hawk, specially adapted to carry royalty in security, and it cut out the engines to execute a sharp dive behind the missile, and the engines kicked back in to swoop the chopper down into the streets of Athens, in sharp turns around skyscrapers.

The missile turned, and dived, and began to follow.

"How long can we keep it off our tail?" Nicholas demanded.

"Until it runs out of fuel, we hope." The pilot shouted back.

Another SAM was launched from the streets that the Black Hawk was swooping over, and hit before the radar operator even had time to shout a warning.

The Black Hawk plunged downwards, heading straight for the poorer area of the city, where the rebels still held sway.

And towards the house of one Will Carver.

******************************************

More to come tomorrow! Comments appreciated!

Thanks for reading,

Chris AKA Nemesis
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Old January 27, 2003, 19:23   #16
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Good stuff. Keep the goods coming please.
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Old January 28, 2003, 19:24   #17
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Will grinned as the chopper began to plunge, and waved his arm at the troops behind him.

The jeep he was standing in roared forwards, and he grabbed hold of the bar near the machine gun. The troops behind roared after him.

He was with rebellios elements of the Athens Guard, and two rebellious Hoplites.

There was a big commander who had rebelled who was organising the area, and Will only knew him by voice.

Now he was on a direct comms link to the commander, and telling him the first part of the operation was a success.

They neared the crashed helicopter, and Will jumped out and rushed towards the copter.

His men were gunning down the few Hoplites that were escaping, and he neared the main door.

He ripped it open, and saw Nicholas with blood gushing from a head wound.

Unconscious.

************************************

Nicholas woke slowly, to see a pistol pointed at his face.

"Goodbye, murderer." he heard the gunman say, and then blacked out again.

*************************

More to come tomorrow, too tired now lol!

Chris AKA Nemesis
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Old January 28, 2003, 19:44   #18
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Nice! Waiting for the next installment.
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Old January 29, 2003, 01:05   #19
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I sure am hoping to see some more tomorrow.

* Looks at the clock: 00:09 *

Oh, wait, it is today, now. Any ways, keep the goods coming.
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Old January 29, 2003, 21:25   #20
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So when does the movie come out ?
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Old January 29, 2003, 21:42   #21
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lol I've just seen Gangs of New York, it is one amazing film.

So I've been inspired to write a bit more lol.

It will be up soon

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Old January 29, 2003, 22:45   #22
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Will spoke, then squeezed the trigger.

Just as someone shoulder-charged him out of the way, and sent him flying onto the tarmac.

The shot hit a bottle of water stored in a pocket on the back of the co-pilot's seat, right infront of Nicholas.

The spray of cold water was enough to bring Nicholas round, and he began to rise.

Will cursed, and as he got up glanced at the one who had pushed him aside.

It was Nicholas's lapdog, his Hoplite leader.

Will spat at him, then lunged for his pistol.

Josh kicked it away, and kicked at Will's face.

He spun away in a shower of blood, cursing as he fell once more.

Josh moved in for the kill, and aimed the pistol at the head of the rebel.

But he was concentrating so much on defending his King that he didn't see the rifle butt that slammed into the back of his head.

His pistol flew out of his hand, firing once as it hit the ground. He collapsed forwards, finding himself in the middle of a group of rebels, outnumbered, alone and unarmed.

The beating began, and Nicholas struggled out of the helicopter to hear gunshots too. He reached for his weapons, anger boiling up inside as he saw his best friend dying.

Then they turned to him.

"Ready to die, you murdering scumbag?" Will growled at his King.

"See you in Hell." Nicholas roared as he surged fowards, sword drawn.

He was ready to meet his maker.

He hoped they were too.

********************************

Will saw the man infront of him fall to Nicholas's first swing.

The King was slicing his way through the crowd, towards Will, and Will knew he was coming.

He had a pistol and knife drawn, ready to take on the Royal in his final revenge.

Nicholas parried one stab with a bayonet, and stabbed deep into the soldier's stomach with his sword.

Now was the time.

Will charged forwards, and Nicholas swung the sword up to meet him.

Will knocked it aside with the knife, and brought up the pistol.

He pulled the trigger.

And nothing happened.

The wrong pistol. He had picked up the wrong damned pistol.

He saw the look of victory on Nicholas's face as it dawned on him that Will had picked up Josh's gun, which by the time Josh had reached Will had only had one bullet left in.

And that had been fired hitting the floor.

The sword swung backwards, and Will knelt to go under the swing, and stabbed upwards.

Nicholas lept back, but not quickly enough. The knife stabbed into his shoulder, and he dropped the sword.

************************************

Nicholas was horrified, and saw Will coming in for his final victory, casually throwing the knife from hand to hand.

But APCs came screeching round the corner, and a man in the lead one used it's machine gun to open fire on Will.

The gunfire shredded Will's left hand, the one currently holding the knife, and he screamed in pain.

The knife fell, forgotten, as he stumbled backwards, staring at the bloody pulp that had once been his hand.

The APCs raced closer, and braked quickly, Hoplites already beginning to pour out of them.

Spartacus lept from the first APC, and charged towards the man who was trying to kill his son.

Will turned and ran, stooping only to recover his gun or something from beside Josh. He feared Spartacus more than anyone - he had fought for this man, and knew that even at this age, Spartacus was still probably the most deadly soldier and general in Greece.

Revenge would come another day, he vowed. But first to enact Plan B...

*************************************

Justin knelt over his son, his eyes showing no emotion.

Spartacus knew inside that Justin would be falling apart, but the soldier and Hoplite within him, even at this age still refused to let him break down openly.

"He's dead, there's no pulse." Justin said in a choked voice.

"I'm so sorry." Nicholas and Spartacus said together.

"He died a hero." Spartacus added simply.

"What was that?" Nicholas asked, suddenly looking around, and listening closely.

"What was what? My hearing isn't what it used to be." Spartacus studied his son closely. Was this a ruse to take Justin's mind off his son's death? If it was, it was in bad taste, he decided.

Then he heard it to. The low rumble.

After so many decades on the battlefield, once Spartacus and Justin heard it they knew exactly what it was.

The sound of tanks.

The tanks came round a corner a long way down the road they were on, supporting jeeps that were racing ahead of them now.

The tanks opened fire, the only salvo they would be able to fire before the jeeps got too close.

The remains of the helicopter exploded as one round hit it, and an APC ceased to exist as another slammed into it. Another shell landed in the midst of a group of Hoplites.

"Let's get out of here!" Spartacus yelled.

Justin took one last look at his son, swearing to return after this mess had been sorted out and to recover his son's body, then moved away to protect the King as his son had done.

*************************************

Will, a makeshift bandage around his injured hand, stooped over Josh, injecting the anti-venom.

"It worked sir, it made him look like he was dead. The first stage of Plan B is complete."

"Good, good." came the reply over the radio. "I'll be right there, I want to meet this one in person."

An APC ground to a halt by them one minute later, and Will saluted the person stepping out of it, and Josh groggily stared at the person.

Both gasped, and Josh thought he was still dreaming.

Or just wished he was.

***************************************

Spartacus was in the last APC, racing back along the road towards the Palace with his son.

"Zoom in on the scene, Justin." Spartacus asked gently.

The screen showed the rear-view camera zooming in on the site of the battle.

There was a man emerging from an APC, who was obviously the leader.

The camera zoomed in on that man more, and Spartacus groaned.

Alexander. And not looking a day older than the day he was supposed to have died.

Will I never get rid of him? Spartacus asked himself.

"I believe you now, dad." Nicholas interrupted his thoughts.

"That's good son.

"Now just tell me how the hell he can be alive!"

*************************************

That's all for tonight, more to come tomorrow!

Thanks for reading, and comments are appreciated.

Thanks

Chris AKA Nemesis
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Old January 30, 2003, 00:19   #23
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Chris:

You inspire the pitiful half lit erate goons like myself to write. This is Awesome man. I love it. When I read prose tha is this well done, it truely inspires me to attempt to surpass it, (another story that profoundly affected me here was Cradle of Thorns which probably is responsible for Crusader's Legacy) i doubt that I can beat this out, it's great, i will try though.
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Old January 30, 2003, 00:23   #24
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Chris, your name already appears in the story contest history more than any other, did you know? And you are still able to come up with great stuff like that? You should consider writing for a living.

Seriously, though, some great stuff this is. And like SKI, I'm firing up Word.
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Old January 30, 2003, 03:33   #25
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What I really like about this and your other stuff is its so easy to read, it litterally just flows. Great work
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Old January 30, 2003, 06:42   #26
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Dangerous Games 6... very cool.
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Old January 30, 2003, 18:03   #27
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Excellent - the Dangerous Games series has no comparison.
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Old January 30, 2003, 22:03   #28
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Hi from your big fan!

This is truly GREAT... Now don't take this bad - I'm not trying to insult your story or anything but...

Come ON... Alex was supposed to be dead 5 (FIVE ) times, and Spartacus 4 (FOUR ) , Justin a couple too.... I don't think you can keep resurrecting them forever.. I mean you could put Alex's son, or cousin or... ? Again I must say the story is great ... and I'll prolly regret trying to correct you (lol my only story was pretty bad ... ) but I write what I think ...

Also ... I'm really lost with all those people ... I constantly keep forgetting who Josh is ... and Nick etc... If you have some spare time MAYBE you could make a family tree or just explain the major characters?

Peace,

TDC
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Old January 30, 2003, 22:14   #29
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lol read my answer on CFC to someone who said the same thing.

There was DNA evidence that proved the man on the plane was Alexander, and that he was definitely dead.

So as Spartacus said, "Now just tell me how the hell he can be alive!".

Basically, don't expect a great resurrection this time round lol.

Chris

PS: Phillip was the first King of a united Greek Empire. He created it. His first son was Alexander - his son by another woman was Spartacus.

Alexander killed his dad, and was a tyrant, so Spartacus overthrew him. Nicholas is Spartacus's son, and now King of Greece, and Justin Daniels was Spartacus's Hoplite leader, and best friend.

Josh Daniels is the son of Justin, and best friend of Nicholas, while Will is an ex-Hoplite, no relation to anyone else.
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Old January 30, 2003, 23:46   #30
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Wanna hear how this story altered my life (at least a little)

I was looking through the fora, and I saw the title. I got the jist of it but went on.

later i was looking at it again (The title, nit the story) when A literal trenslation came to my mind, it occurred to me that I missed Latin, now i'll take Latin 3 next year, which I honestly didn't think I would do :sob: you've changed my life uk....
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