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crack_van2004-05-07 08:05 pm
moonbeamsfanfic.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2004-05-07 08:05 pm
Entry tags:
Beyond Loyalty by Gryph and elfin (PG-13)
Fandom: KNIGHT RIDER
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Websites: Gryph's The Fanfic Vault and elfin productions
Why this must be read:
Remember how I said I'd be rec'ing more stories in the "Fire & Ice" AU? Well, this is one of 'em. In fact, this is The Big One. Third in the series, this is over 640Kb of the absolute BEST story in Knight Rider fandom! I'd even go so far as to say, considering the 48 or 49 fandoms in which I read, it is one of the top ten stories ever written, in any fandom.
"Beyond Loyalty" is... well, it's... er, it's pretty much everything. But mainly some pretty damn powerful angst. It touches you in a way you won't ever forget, in a way the characters can't forget. The issues born of this story remain with the series throughout; though not without a sense of resolution, there are no easy cures.
Once upon a time, I wrote a review of this story in which I claimed it was "an absolute MUST READ story!" and that "If you don't read this, you aren't a real Knight Rider fan". Now, years later, I'm sticking to what I said before. It's a collaboration by the two best authors in the fandom, how could it not be great? Easy -- because it's spectacular!
Try this to wet your appetite:
Michael came up through the thick blackness with sickening speed. As he reached consciousness and opened his eyes, he became immediately aware of two things; he was in a vehicle that was in motion, and Nicholas MacKenzie was his driver. Why was he not surprised? He rubbed his face with his hands, looking over at Nick. "What happened? What are you doing here?"
"You collapsed in the bar, while on the phone to Devon. He called me, asked me to come and get you out."
Michael sank back in the passenger seat of the black Stealth. He ignored the instinctive fear that being this close to Karr always instilled in him. He had other worries. As he closed his eyes, he heard Nick speak. "How badly is he projecting?"
Michael did not open his eyes. "At the moment, he isn't projecting at all. They've been painfully intense twice this afternoon. He's been fine this week, while we've been apart; something's wrong, Nick."
Nick nodded silently, but Michael did not see it. He was continuing to search his mind, to probe the link, gently and then not so gently, trying to get a reaction from Kitt. He threw open his mind in desperation, lowering every block he had managed to build, however tiny, wherever they were, whatever they were protecting. He found Kitt. His friend was a presence, curled in upon itself, frightened and shaking. Michael covered that presence with his own, taking Kitt in a mental embrace. He soothed with his thoughts, trying to get Kitt to open up to him. But his partner was not responding. Michael knew, because of the way Kitt's presence *was* within his mind, that his friend was in agony; terrified of something Michael was not aware of. Michael knew the implant should have been blasting him with at least some of that pain. There was none. Kitt was shielding him from the hurt, and that shielding was keeping Kitt from feeling the comfort and help Michael was offering. Projection and reception in both directions was being kept to a minimum by Kitt's block, at a time when Michael wanted it, and Kitt needed it, at full strength.
"They've run some tests." Nick told him quietly. "Jennifer Knight ordered them."
Michael now opened his eyes, nailing Nick with a glassy stare. "What were the tests supposed to do?"
"I don't know, but I have an idea about what they have done."
Link to Story: "Beyond Loyalty", in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Websites: Gryph's The Fanfic Vault and elfin productions
Why this must be read:
Remember how I said I'd be rec'ing more stories in the "Fire & Ice" AU? Well, this is one of 'em. In fact, this is The Big One. Third in the series, this is over 640Kb of the absolute BEST story in Knight Rider fandom! I'd even go so far as to say, considering the 48 or 49 fandoms in which I read, it is one of the top ten stories ever written, in any fandom.
"Beyond Loyalty" is... well, it's... er, it's pretty much everything. But mainly some pretty damn powerful angst. It touches you in a way you won't ever forget, in a way the characters can't forget. The issues born of this story remain with the series throughout; though not without a sense of resolution, there are no easy cures.
Once upon a time, I wrote a review of this story in which I claimed it was "an absolute MUST READ story!" and that "If you don't read this, you aren't a real Knight Rider fan". Now, years later, I'm sticking to what I said before. It's a collaboration by the two best authors in the fandom, how could it not be great? Easy -- because it's spectacular!
Try this to wet your appetite:
Michael came up through the thick blackness with sickening speed. As he reached consciousness and opened his eyes, he became immediately aware of two things; he was in a vehicle that was in motion, and Nicholas MacKenzie was his driver. Why was he not surprised? He rubbed his face with his hands, looking over at Nick. "What happened? What are you doing here?"
"You collapsed in the bar, while on the phone to Devon. He called me, asked me to come and get you out."
Michael sank back in the passenger seat of the black Stealth. He ignored the instinctive fear that being this close to Karr always instilled in him. He had other worries. As he closed his eyes, he heard Nick speak. "How badly is he projecting?"
Michael did not open his eyes. "At the moment, he isn't projecting at all. They've been painfully intense twice this afternoon. He's been fine this week, while we've been apart; something's wrong, Nick."
Nick nodded silently, but Michael did not see it. He was continuing to search his mind, to probe the link, gently and then not so gently, trying to get a reaction from Kitt. He threw open his mind in desperation, lowering every block he had managed to build, however tiny, wherever they were, whatever they were protecting. He found Kitt. His friend was a presence, curled in upon itself, frightened and shaking. Michael covered that presence with his own, taking Kitt in a mental embrace. He soothed with his thoughts, trying to get Kitt to open up to him. But his partner was not responding. Michael knew, because of the way Kitt's presence *was* within his mind, that his friend was in agony; terrified of something Michael was not aware of. Michael knew the implant should have been blasting him with at least some of that pain. There was none. Kitt was shielding him from the hurt, and that shielding was keeping Kitt from feeling the comfort and help Michael was offering. Projection and reception in both directions was being kept to a minimum by Kitt's block, at a time when Michael wanted it, and Kitt needed it, at full strength.
"They've run some tests." Nick told him quietly. "Jennifer Knight ordered them."
Michael now opened his eyes, nailing Nick with a glassy stare. "What were the tests supposed to do?"
"I don't know, but I have an idea about what they have done."
Link to Story: "Beyond Loyalty", in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4