Wow. Ron, if you got busted up by Khavik because you went alone I'm gonna be ticked off.

I can't wait to hear how this plays out. And I can't help but think to myself, "If Cee teamed up with Ron nobody would expect that."

I to am curious as to what happened?

I moved quickly to the rendezvous I had suggested. I only hoped my contact decided to watch their inbox that night. Time was of the essence.

I arrived and waited. It wasn't long before the shadows parted around her. I kept her covered until she diplayed the proper sign then I countersigned.

“Darken,” I spent a few momments trying to force out the next words. “I need you to help me kill a vampire.”

She knew immediatly who. “Khavik is on the move again.”

I nodded. “Just the two of us?” She wondered. “You would trust me enough for that?”

“I don’t trust you,” I clarified. “But you know him better than the rest of us and I don't have time to round up a posse.

"Besides, they will never plan on both of us working together.”

I tried to ignore the fangs as she smiled.

You sly devil! I have a newfound respect for you Ron (which I'll say was very hard to find indeed 'cause I already respected you greatly).

It was a long trip, through sewers and buildings. The information I had on the location of Khavik's lair (or trap) was more like a faded memory of a long ago journey.

We had to stop several times while I filtered through the memories and tried to get my bearings.

I finished collecting myself on the catwalk above a drainage basin.

"Ready?"

"Let's go."

Don’t wantcha ya for the weekend,
Don’t wantcha ya for the night . . .
I’m only interested if I can have ya for life.
Oh yeah . . .

She stopped singing when she realized I was staring at her. I realized I was staring at her when she stopped singing.

It wasn't loud, but still, now wasn't the time for Shania Twain.

We tracked the monster all through the night . . . through a maze of sewer tunnels, subways and catacombs. Finally we found ourselves at the bottom of a ladder.

"It's almost dawn. If he's going to the surface, it must be his lair. And it must be close. And easy for him to get to . . . but not necessarily for us. Khavik thinks like that." She was right . . . but I didn't care for it.

"You go first." I said.

" What, so you can stab me in the back?"

"No, though if it makes you feel better you can think I just want to check out your rear." I hid my smirk when she self-consciously glanced down at her behind.

Joking with her . . . this assignment had gone on too long.

We moved up the ladder, Celeste first. . . feet first. She watched me cautiously while she climbed up, just as agile as if she had gone up headfirst.

I still don't like her, never will, but I got to admit, she can move quick and quiet. She smoothly righted herself, opened the trap door and slid out onto the floor. I followed a moment later.

The space was big and it was dark. I looked around, my goggles letting me see through the near total darkness.

A Cathedral . . . this thing had the gall to set up in a Cathedral.

To be fair, the Cathedral had seen better days. It looked like it had been undergoing a renovation and the project had stopped. Large tarps covered chunks of the walls. Their movement suggested large gaps in the structure. There was a smell of old smoke.

”This place . . . was burned long ago." She sniffed the air.

"Yeah, but still be careful of what you touch . . . we don't want you burning up while we still have your old boyfriend to deal with."

She gave a hiss; I thought it was in response to my comment. When I was launched airborne into the pews I knew otherwise.

I crashed down into blackness . . .

I am guessing this is when you had your leg broken?

Ron, why is this thread called "Memorial"...?

I hadn't thought of that Josh. Ron, start talking.

When I came to the first thing I noticed was my leg. It hurt. . . I could feel warm blood dribbling down into my boot. My goggles had come loose from my crash landing among the pews, but I didn’t' have to see my leg to know it was a compound fracture.

I tried to gather in my surroundings. Hisses and growls punctuated by brick shattering impacts told me Celeste was still in it.

I shook out the cobwebs as best I could and looked around. There was an orange glow coming from under the edges of the tarps . . . the sun was rising.

My eyes had mostly adjusted by this point. Celeste and Special K were fighting the way only vampires could. They climbed walls, flew through the air at each other, and swung blows that made the air hiss with their passing.

Celeste was on the attack. She was amazing to behold as she danced around her assailant's blows and launched her own jabs and kicks.

But he was just as fast, just as strong, and bigger. He was also controlling the fight . . . slowly moving Celeste into a corner. I needed to help. I needed my gun.

It was lying at the end of the row.

I pulled myself down off the broken pew . . . each movement sent a bolt of pain up my leg and through my groin to explode behind my eyes. I almost passed out as I crawled for my gun.

I tried to ignore the sounds of what was happening over there . . . but my fingers were fumbling for the strap on my shotgun just as I heard the splintering of wood and a bone crushing impact.

"I have you know Miss Darken . . ."

I got a grip on the strap and pulled the gun towards me.

"I'm tired of this Khavik . . . for once, would you just SHUT UP!!!" She was letting him get to her again.

Another crash, this one by the altar. I had the gun in my hand and raised myself to see . . . the back of the pews. I needed to get where I could see what was going on.

Khavik was still jawin.’ "You little whore . . . this is my chance to make you suffer for all that you've done to me. This is my chance to make you suffer for your insolence."

Another loud impact . . . I dragged my leg behind me as best as I could . . . but I wasn't going to have a shot in time. I looked around, desperate for anything I could use. . .

I saw the glow around the edges of the tarp. The sun was fully up now.

I raised the shotgun to the mooring point on the wall.

I hesitated.

Celeste was a vampire . . . I'd almost forgotten.

But Celeste was a vampire.

"Celeste! COVER!!"

The falling tarp filled the Cathedral with light.

Don't leave off there you bastard! What happened next!?!

I just want to know whether or not Cee lives or not.

With the light came shreiks of terror and pain.

Then silence

"Celeste? You okay?"

"Yes . . . and no." The voice was from the far side of the altar.

I don't know why I was relieved . . . I don't know why I was disappointed.

"I'll come and get you," I started dragging myself towards the altar.

When I got there, I figured out what she meant by Yes and No. She'd managed to get herself hidden in the shadow of the altar . . . but it was a small shadow and shrinking rapidly as the sun rose.

I pulled myself up beside her, doing my best to make my shadow increase her safety zone. She started to laugh.

"Did I miss something?"

“This . . . isn't what I expected. Did you get Khavik?"

I looked around, hoping that my warning shout to Celeste had not given him time to escape. ”Well this is the only shadow around here, so if he isn’t in it, I doubt he’s gotten out of here.”

"With that one . . . you never know." She hissed as a bit of sunbeam struck her foot. She backed up against the altar. Steam sizzled from where she contacted the holy artefact and scrunched herself as tight as she could.

The rock and the hard place . . . vampire style.

I looked around. It would take me too long to get the tarp. I pulled off my overcoat to cover her with, to find that Khavik's attack had torn out most of the back. There was nothing I had with me that could cover her totally . . . the blood loss was also starting to get to me . . . my hands were shaking.

"I always knew I might . . . die some . . . day . . . but I never thought . . . I would be scared to go." She was starting to cry. I didn't think a vampire could cry.

I had to do something.

"I'm not going to let the sun hurt you, Celeste."

She looked at me in disbelief.

"There's no way."

I moved closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me . . . I won't let you get hurt. . . . I promise."

She looked me in the eyes . . . and nodded.

I pulled myself to her and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me.

She barely stiffened when I slid the silver stake into her heart from behind.

She never knew.

I held her until the sun reached her. She turned to ash in my arms.

The blackness reclaimed me shortly afterwards.

Oh, Dear God no. Not Cee. Tell me you're joking Ron. Tell me its a mistake. A nightmare.

I, ... I'm going to be sick.

Ron you have got to be kidding me right this is a joke, right?

Ron, you did what you needed to do....

DarKnyht Don't take this personal, same goes for you Ron, But that is and was BULLSHIT! As long as there is life there are options. I feel you made a mistake a big one at that. I am not going to threaten you or anything like that, but rather I shall say I am not happy with you either, by any means. You screwed up big time, that is going to take a long time to forgive.

...She didn't suffer. If she'd faced the sunlight, she would have suffered... I...wish things could have gone differently, but you kept her from suffering, Ron...

I wish I could've been there. I...I could've done something... I could've helped you both. Kept you from hurt, and she would still be here...

Ron, did you keep the ashes...? ...Even if you didn't...I want to hold a vigil for her, next weekend. One week from tonight... I wish I could do it in DC, but I can't take anymore time off from work for it, so...if there're no objections, I'd like to hold it here...

Celeste... You were loved. Many of us had hope for you... Your passing won't be forgotten...

...

I keep hoping that the next post from Ron is going to contain the words "April Fool's", and that Celeste will post Ron's missing bits of time tomorrow...but...

No, no, NO! CELESTE! Why Ron? You sadistic son of a bitch!

You've wanted to kill her from the start. This is only your say of what happened, for all I know you murdered her you bastard! Why?

No, not her, not Cee, oh god no. ......................

If this is some sick joke Caliburn, I may be able to forgive you, but if you did kill her Ron, there will be no place in Heaven, Hell, or Earth where you can hide from me! If you killed her, no force will keep my hands from reaching your throat! If you killed Celeste, I promise you a death just as merciful, count on it!

Ben I too hope this is only a joke, however cruel. But I am unsure, I feel Ron made an error of judgment. But I was not there and neither were you. This was I feel the first error, for I feel if there had been someone else there perhaps this would not have happened?
If this is not a Joke, as I pray that it is. And while I also hold Ron responsable, I cannot allow you to do him harm, even thou you feel justified, and you may be right in those feelings. This is something Ron will have to deal with a weight on his soul.
Ben Go home I have a feeling if this is real Molly will know it, and she will need you now, she is a sensitive child.

Ben, that's enough. Violence isn't going to make this right. Cee was a gentle woman who was forced to be something that she wasn't. I can't think of anything she would find more abhorrent than violence carried out in her name.

Now, I didn't know Celeste, and judging from the talk around here it's a damn shame that I didn't. I've read about the events that transpired, and thought about it at great lengths. Death is something I'm still pretty new to, you know? But you have to think about it, or you will be consumed with grief. Now, I'm going to present an argument, starting with the reason why I would imagine that Mr. Caliburn is not lying, followed with the legal aspects of my argument, and then move on to the ethical and moral aspects.

I do not imagine that this story would be a lie to the people of this society. The reason is that I have seen no indications whatsoever that any persons related to Ms. Darken whether by friendship or by simple acquaintance, knew that she would be accompanying Mr. Caliburn to the location where she Allegedly died. That being the case, why would Mr. Caliburn not simply let her have disappeared without a trace? As... vampires... turn to dust, when hit with the sun's rays, then if he were to have murdered her, exposed her to light, and no witnesses were aware that she ever had accompnanied him, why would he ever bring this story to light? There is no motive for him to lie about the situation, if indeed no one was aware that she had gone with him.

Mr. Caliburn, I've read that there was quite a bit of disdain that you held for Ms. Darken, which could very well indicate that this may have been premeditated, but I'm going to assume for the purposes of this argument, that you did not lie or fabricate any of the information provided above. Even if what you say is true, Euthanasia is illegal, Mr. Caliburn. Even knowing full well that a vampire would die in the sunlight, your mercy killing still is not legal or acceptable within the bounds of the law. Now, I'm pretty sure you're safe from the law, as I've never heard of anyone being convicted for the murder of a vampire.

Given that the law is not likely to cause you any problems, I move my case into the ethical realms of mercy killing, completely seperate from the law, and what would have happened if you had not interfered. Judging from the reactions of several others in the crowd, I find it difficult to believe that Ms. Darken could have survived sunlight for any extended period of time. Given also from your description of the structure you were in, there was no way that Ms. Darken could have ever found shade to survive the ordeal. It was said that her being in the light would be like a person catching on fire... That is to say a miserable, painful, horrible death. Your actions prevented her from suffering a fate far worse. In this aspect, your actions were justified.

I have presented my argument from as many angles as I can think of, and from what I can determine, Mr. Caliburn has no reason to fabricate such a lengthy story about the death of Ms. Darken. If he had no reason to lie about that, then she was about to die a much worse death than what he provided.

I fear this is not an elaborate joke, thou I still prey that it is. Michael I have already stated my feelings about Ron. I am not happy with him right now, and I think that he made mistakes, but I cannot lay the blame on his head anymore than I could on Celeste's.
There are two thou I can and will Blame. Khavik, and The Living Nightmare that wears Ron's face. If Khavik is lucky he is already finished and I and others can do nothing more to him, If however he still lives I will take great pleasure in finishing him. And For the other His days are now numbered.
Ben do not seek vengence against Ron, as he is the wrong one to blame.

Shadowstalker, he did do what was necessary. Before you pass judgment, let the man finish his story. Perhaps there is a logic behind what he did that is not apparent right now.

But you are right in that I would not mourn the loss of Celeste Darken.