(1) After leaving Avatar's mansion in the German countryside, Damon Flagg set out for Berlin in pursuit of the Follower of Germanicus known as Harbinger. Tracking him down to a leather bar called The Pit, Damon staked out the area. Meanwhile, having learned about the Der Nacht dimension through a temporary team-up with Fantasia (now working with Force d'Orleans), Menagerie (last seen in with Avatar's ill-fated team), A deformed Hero clone, and Alister Munro (who now works at the Legion of Champions Museum curator), Balatar began investigating the Followers of Germanicus. Having learned about the strange death of James Personairre (see Prophet's Limited Series), he had tracked down the man's son, Jacob, to Germany. He too was checking out The Pit when Damon entered the bar and drew his attention. Lastly, having tracked down the vampires that had killed his mentor, Nikoli approached The Pit, ready to annihilate every bloodsucker in the place.

Upon approaching the bar entrance, Nikoli shifted into his wolf spirit form, allowing him to determine that the bouncer was a vampire before staking him in the chest. Making his way into the bar, he began taking on all challengers while Damon and Balatar conversed and watched the floor show. Balatar was trying to find out what the side the Follower in front of him was on when two vamps jumped Nikoli. Wanting to help the hunter, he dropped his disguise illusion and hit one of the attackers with an Arrow of Apollo spell. Seeing the distraction as an opportunity, Damon used the hanging lights to cut across the bar, knocking loose the entire system in the process. The crowd was fully exposed to the fight when Balatar used a telekinetic spell to launch the lighting system at his pervious target, pinning his remaining form to the wall. Meanwhile, with only one dance partner to contend with, Nikoli continued the fight, working his way across the bar and staking anyone without a pulse within his reach.

Having reached the other side of the room, Damon waited for the office door to open. When Harbinger and The Abomination came out to see what was going on, Damon dropped behind them, knocking the were/vamp away and wrapping her in his red bonds. Turning on Harbinger, he recognized the son of his first victim of vengeance. The two men began their battle dance while Nikoli continued to stake and Balatar used the Light of Ra to continue to wipe out the vampire hoard.

Harbinger was hit with Damon's hellfire before throwing the remains of the lighting system at him to allow time to run, but only made it as far as the door before The Prophet caught him in another bondage wrap. Damon waited for him to break his way out before knocking him into the next block. Meanwhile, Balatar saw The Abomination transform into mist to make her escape, only to be caught in a mystical bubble. Brought back down to the ground, she remained trapped long enough for Balatar to switch over to a fire spell and knock her into unconsciousness.

Dragging the unconscious form of Harbinger back to the bar, Damon is confronted by Nikoli, who passes him a stake and demands the life of Harbinger. Instead, Damon re-enters the bar to find contacts while Nikoli and Balatar tried to destroy the two remaining monsters. While the heroes are surprised that neither of them die by the stake as easily as they should, they don't allow the hindrance to stop them from chopping Harbinger's head off (Balatar) and stomping The Abomination to death (Nikoli). As Damon emerges with the computer hard drive and a bunch of documents written in German, Nikoli flees and the two remaining agree to meet in an hour to discuss remaining issues.

Using shards of a broken stake, Balatar tracked Nikoli down and confronted the young man. Discovering that ties existed between the vampire world and Der Nacht, the two men agree to team up. Shortly thereafter, they also met with Damon, who likewise shared similar goals, allowing the three men to form an alliance to battle the creatures of evil. Agreeing to get a hotel room to rest and examine the information gathered by Damon, the men retired for the evening.

(2) After checking into a local hotel, Balatar and Damon set down to decipher the paperwork taken from The Pit. Included in the pile was a statement for a local bank showing transactions for the bar, including deposits made and withdrawals by an unknown, outside account. They also found a planner, which included such notes as a planned pickup and an appointment with someone labeled "H&tS." Lastly, they found a newsletter from a Lobod Enterprises. Tracking down these leads led them to stake out the bar again (the pickup was never made, but they learned where the missing patrons ended up), making a withdrawal from The Pit's bank account to finance their operation, and learning the Lobod was a dummy corporation.

When the time came for the appointment with H&tS, the trio once again staked out the bar. As they sat waiting, Prophet received a vision of a Follower ritualistic slaying, including the location of said event. Going out to investigate the vision, the men found a deserted storehouse with multiple bogies approaching. While some were identified as vampires, Damon mistook the others as Followers and attempted to intermingle with them. It did not take them long to realize that he was neither vampire nor werewolf, sparking a fight.

Meanwhile, Helsing and Shaft arrived and had prepared for battle inside the storehouse, which half of the brood was happy to partake in. While they battled inside, Damon and Balatar worked their way through those who stayed behind, with Nikoli being sucker-punched by a werewolf and sent flying. As Balatar went to help their fallen comrade, Damon moved inside, where he accidentally knocked Shaft for a loop and into the waiting arms of a vampire. In retaliation, Helsing struck at Damon, opening himself up for a tag-team attack by another vampire and werewolf duo. Deciding to save Shaft first, Damon moved in to kill the vampire while Balatar and Nikoli saved Helsing.

Though the leader of the Slayers was unconscious, Shaft stopped Nikoli from healing him, stating that he was too dangerous to himself for his own good. Removing his Degeneration Torch and crossbow, giving them to Balatar and Nikoli accordingly, she states that they were sent here by their third member of their group, Harvester. The men point out that this was obviously an ambush for the two Slayers, as they had intercepted the other half of the attack squad a few nights before. Shaft asks them if they could return Helsing to his castle and check on the condition of their traitor.

Upon returning to their base of operations, Shaft places Helsing in his room to eventually recover, leaving him a note to allow her to continue his fight; that he needed to retire. The group also leaves behind his enchanted sword for protection, but nothing else. While Damon downloads, then wipes, his hard drives, Shaft learns that Harvester has fled the area. Asking to join their group, Shaft packs her few belongings and extra weapons, helps Damon take a stationary and laptop computer, and leaves with them.

Once back at the hotel, they rent a second room for their new teammate and set to work on installing the Pit hard drive into the Slayer tower. Using the Slayer database, Damon is able to determine that there are three actively known vampire nests (Vietnam, Sydney Australia and Seattle Washington), two werewolf packs (Greenland and in the Yukon Territories), and one individual - Midas of the Evicted Demonz, whereabouts unknown - that Helsing was tracking. While most of his facts told that vampires and werewolves did not travel together, there were rumors to the fact that an alliance had been made between the two creatures in Berlin, Krakow, and Munich. There was also word that the vampire known as Fang had resurfaced briefly in New York, only to disappear again a year and a half ago.

Using the Pit database, he learned that Harbinger had contacts with a man named Mark Lee in Chicago, Illinois (a name that is unfamiliar to Damon), Lisa Hargrove (whom he recognizes as a member of the Coven) who is currently located in Budapest, Brad LeVard (a name that he had heard, but never met) in Alabama, and Katrina Romanoff in Krakow. The Slayer database also registers this final name as a suspected C.O.T.N. with whereabouts unknown.

With obvious decisions to make, thought will have to be given as to what their next step may be.

(3) After comparing databases, Damon formulated a plan of attack and presented it to the group. After much discussion, they all agreed that pursuing Beastia in Krakow was as good a place to start as any and prepared for departure. Packing up their things, Balatar teleported the group to Poland and once again set up camp in a local hotel on the South side of Krakow.

As the afternoon began to turn into evening, the group divided into two teams: Damon and Nikoli heading into the markets to speak with the locals while Balatar and Sara checked out the castles and woods to the South. While Nikoli questioned the locals about the possibility of werewolves, learning that he and his companion should stay away from the woods and castles, the other two were exploring the boundary and discovering that a majority of the castles, which had been turned into museums, had built up their walls to keep creatures out. One, however, had not built up the walls and was boarded up tight. When Damon reported what they had learned via Balatar's magic radio, the mage teleported the two men to their location so they could investigate the castle.

Once back together, the group agreed to enter the castle via one of the second floor windows, with Damon breaking through the wood barrier. Once inside, they were confronted by the head of the house; a vampire named Alexander. He revealed that he and his vampires were in league with the werewolves in the forest, by order of Drakus. He then sent his minions to attack.

After the group had wiped out the vampires, they heard the howls of the werewolves in the forest and decided to adjourn to the roof to gain the advantage. Sara stayed behind to cover their regress, picking one of the werewolves off as they exited the forest before joining her comrades on the roof. The four of them waited there, allowing Balatar to transform one of Sara's swords into a silver battle staff for Nikoli to use, until the werewolves tracked their scent through the castle and began to emerge through the hatch. As they emerged, Sara, Balatar and Nikoli each took out a werewolf as Damon bound Beastia for questioning.

After several minutes of debating Beastia's fate, in which she was telling her life story, and what she would be willing to do to ensure her survival, Sara stepped forward and told her that she would be released if she told them where to find Drakus. Beastia informed them that he could be found in Munich under the identity of Drakus Caesar, CEO of Armin Iou's Incorporated. He had reunited with Panthenon, bringing the vampires and the werewolves together. When the group was sure that they had all of the information they wanted, Sara plunged her silver sword into Beastia's chest, killing her.

While Balatar, Nikoli and Sara disposed of the bodies; Damon searched the castle, taking their laptop computer and various pieces of jewelry that the vampires and werewolves had taken from their victims. The group then returned to their hotel suite, cleaned up and debated their next plan of attack. After agreeing to sell the jewelry to a local pawn shop, hoping that it can eventually find its way back to families, they once again checked out and teleported across the countryside, setting up shop in Munich.

(4) After arriving in Munich, the group starts investigating Armin Iou's Incorporated and its CEO, learning that the company is an import/export business that was bought and renamed by Drakus Caesar the year previous. Before that point, there was no record of the man having existed. Hitting the streets to find evidence of vampires or Followers, the area was clean except for in the business district, where the smell of creatures of the night created a trail leading directly to Armin Iou's Inc. Realizing that Beastia had been telling the truth, the quartet began planning their strike.

Deciding to strike at high noon, the group was flown to the roof of the building, knowing that the CEO's office and penthouse was on the top floor. After Balatar blew a hole in the roof to allow entrance of both the heroes and sunlight, they descended to see a man with smoke flowing off his body running for the next room, but lost sight of him in pursuit. Balatar proceeded to blow out the ceiling in the next room as well, and then followed up by adding a floating disco ball to flush out the shadows, which succeeds in bringing Drakus back to view. Meanwhile, the vampires charging to the rescue were welcomed by the light of day and the werewolves to the piercing fists of Damon and the flying shafts of Sara.

When Panthenon arrived in the form of a were-bird to assist, Balatar trapped her in a gilded cage, followed by placing bars over the entrance, cutting off the arrival of more vampires and werewolves. As she broke out of that bond, Damon wrapped his own around her, essentially finishing her fight. Meanwhile, Nikoli had moved over to Drakus, ensuring that he was in the sunlight, and began torturing him slowly. Panthenon strikes a deal to protect Drakus from the harmful rays in exchange for information about the origins of Germanicus, having smelled the cult's stench on Damon. Having agreed to the deal, Balatar turned the building to glass, catching all of the vampires inside on fire, and left Sara to finish off the werewolves before teleporting himself, Damon, Nikoli, Panthenon and Drakus back to the castle in Poland.

Once settled again, Damon was enlightened as to the true background of the Followers of Germanicus: While Caesar was the one who requested the eternal torture of Arminious, it was she that had cast the spell that opened the original portal to Der Nacht and began the process, and likewise wrote the tomes that the members of the Coven followed religiously. As opposed to being prophetic writings, they were the fictional creations of a devious witch. She also revealed that, if they killed her and Drakus, they would just be sent back to Der Nacht, eventually to return, and that it would not stop the continued existence of werewolves and vampires around the world. Between calling Damon's goals and existence pointless, she informed him that he too would be condemned to Der Nacht upon his death, thanks to the pact he had made to gain his powers (not knowing that he was not the one who had been the Follower, but was forced upon him by his family).

After learning the true history of the Followers, Balatar believed that their deaths would not be the end of their existence, and decided instead to turn the matter over to a higher authority. Opening a portal to Der Tag, he cast the two monsters into the realm of light to be judged by them. With their business completed, the trio returned to Munich to reunite with Sara. Having determined that they had done all that they could along this vein, the heroes decided to return to their hunt of Followers. Nikoli, appreciative of the opportunity to avenge his mentor, agreed to stay with the team as they continued their mission. Sara likewise agreed, stating that Nikoli's training would continue. This left it to Damon to decide which lead to follow next.

(5) (Guest-GMed by Kenn Hallaron) * The Great Darkness Saga crossover * While Damon attempted to follow up on the leads he had gathered, most of which led to abandoned homes of Followers of Germanicus, the rest of the group hit the hills of Transylvania to dispatch those supernatural creatures dumb enough to use the fictional homeland as their happy hunting grounds. Upon their return, Balatar notices the morning paper reporting black beasts in Germany near the Black Forest. Recognizing the area as the base of Avatar, the group decides to go and check out the situation.

Upon their arrival, Balatar is knocked unconscious by one of the beasts, which is in turn destroyed by Damon and Sara. While she works to bring Balatar back to consciousness, Nikoli and Damon entered the mansion to investigate. Finding the lavishness of his previous visit tarnished, Damon sought out Avatar, just to find him fighting another of the creatures in front of another portal. Meanwhile, with Balatar waking up, Sara headed inside, leaving the wizard to deal with the portal outside.

Once inside, Sara witnessed as Damon and Avatar began a cross between a Mexican standoff and a peeing contest, which ended with multiple attacks emanating from the portal. Avatar retaliated by conjuring wolves to attack Nikoli and Sara while he entered combat with Damon. Sara quickly dispatched her two wolves with a single shaft, but allowed Damon to fight his battle alone, choosing instead to watch for more creatures emerging from the portal and summoning Balatar to the house.

As the two semi-supernatural men began their fight, Turbo of the Champions of Justice arrived on the scene. Separating the two, he informed them about the threat from the portals and how to close them, to which Damon used his hellfire inside and Balatar performed his Arrow of Apollo spell on the one in the forest. Seeing the portal closed and not wanting to spend any more time with the egomaniacs than necessary, Turbo left the house, stopping outside long enough to share information with Balatar in the woods.

As the rest of the group emerged from the mansion and Turbo left, Balatar opened a new portal, returning them once more to Transylvania but transporting himself to the states to follow up on the case with the Champions of Justice and other assembled heroes.

During the hours that Balatar was in America, so was his unifying perspective. No one of the group had really liked any of the others. Arguments over what to do next erupted. The Prophet went his way; Artemis and Wulf went theirs. When Balatar returned, the group was gone. And he had no great desire to reunite them.

(6) (Guest-GMed by Kenn Hallaron) They spent several months apart until Balatar found himself shot in England, mistaken for Kristoffer, Son of Moldred, or one of his kin. It was at that point that he put out a mystical summons, bringing The Prophet, Artemis and Wulf to his aid. Confused by the change of scenery and the strange situation, Damon and Sara instantly started in on one another while questioning MI-9 secret agent Matthew Stockton and U.N.I.T. Brigadier Winifred Bambera about what was going on. After about a dozen insults, a half dozen threats and the realization of an extra dead body, the trio learned that the British hero Crusader had been killed in what appeared to be a Follower of Germanicus ritual sacrifice. While Wulf worked on stabilizing Balatar, Damon worked on tracking the mystical scent of the attacker. When that didn't pan out, they agreed to go with Stockton to Soho, looking for clues to the FoG Underground.

Once there, Damon searched for runes that would signify safe-havens, leading the quintet to a local bar. Anticipating the obligatory bar fight and leaving Balatar in the car to continue nursing his wounds, the crew entered, Sara knocked out the bouncer and Damon began searching for Followers. When he couldn't find any sign of them, they went to question the owner, ending with Artemis holding an arrow to her head to gain the information they wanted.

As they left the office, Balatar had taken the place of Stockton, the latter having to report in due to the one-day romance of Prince William. Learning that the young prince had only met his fiancé that day, Artemis questioned the coincidence and drawing the conclusion that the soon-to-be princess could have conducted the ritual for a type of power beyond the physical. While Wulf and Damon tried to learn more through the newspapers, Sara took Hans to his near-by apartment to clean up and bandage what was left of his wound. The two guys rejoin them and an agreement is finally reached; Millicent Spencer had to be stopped.

A loose plan was quickly formed, with Balatar using what little strength he had left to teleport them. Wulf thought of setting off the fire-suppression system while Artemis and Damon went after the woman. Running distraction, Damon terrorized the guards and royal family while Sara struggled with Spencer. Damon ended up putting the princess-to-be into his special form of bondage, allowing Wulf to come in and carry her away. When done, Balatar teleported them back out again, returning her to the scene of her crime.

Damon had convinced himself and the rest of the team that he could create a ritual that, with the cooperation of the Follower, could negate the pact made with Der Nacht, returning their soul and removing their powers. Given the choice between negation or termination, Spencer chose to surrender her powers, transforming back into her previous frumpy form. Once done, Wulf suggested that she turn to religion, while Artemis told her that she had better stay clean, or next time she wouldn't see it coming. Leaving once again by teleportation as Stockton was brought in to make the arrest, the group returned to Hans's flat to recuperate and decide where to go from there.

© Copyright 2004, 2007 - James Caswell