Disclaimer: I do not own either Highlander or Warrior Nun Areala. This is a work of fanfiction. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's note: I apologise in advance if this story contains any characters behaving OOC.
It had started off as a perfectly normal day for Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander. He had gone on an early morning run in a park as he did most days when he had felt the familiar, unmistakable sensation that meant another Immortal was close.
Knowing what that could easily mean Duncan had immediately headed back to where he had parked his car. Just as he had arrived he had been confronted by David Keogh. His former friend had evidently not forgotten how their last encounter had gone and had immediately attacked him in a murderous fury, ignoring his pleas to stop. Duncan had been able to grab his sword just in time to fend off his attack. Tired as he was from his running he had been forced to go all out against him and finally had taken his head.
Duncan lay on his knees, panting and exhausted from the Quickening. When he had recovered he got to his feet and gazed regretfully at the body. "David why couldn't you have let it go? I didn't want to do that."
Just then he heard the sound of clapping. "Splendid, splendid" said an amused voice.
He spun around to see a blonde woman in a stylish black suit and a pair of expensive-looking sunglasses. What could be seen of her features was sharp and her expression was calculating.
"It, it's not what you think" he said, his mind whirling as he tried to figure out a way to explain what had just happened. Despite this he also registered the fact that the woman didn't seem at all perturbed by what she had just seen.
"Really? Because I think you just won a duel with another Immortal."
She knows about Immortals he thought in disbelief. Who was this woman? She wasn't an Immortal herself and he doubted a Watcher would just come up to him like this either.
"Yes Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, I know all about you" she said with a malevolent smirk. She walked up to him and whipped off her sunglasses to reveal glowing yellow eyes. Before he could react she looked him directly in the eye.
Duncan felt a strange weariness come over him that made his limbs feel heavy and his eyelids droop. He tried to look away from the strange woman but she seized his head and held him in place. Within seconds he had fully succumbed to her mesmerising gaze.
"I am the demoness Mara" she hissed. "Will you obey me?"
"Yes" he replied emotionlessly.
"Very good MacLeod" she said with an evil grin. "You'll be the perfect weapon to destroy that accursed Warrior Nun!"
Jason stared up in awe at the giant tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that towered over him. Its empty sockets stared sightlessly ahead and its mouth was filled with curved teeth longer than his hand.
"That's so cool" he said.
Sister Shannon Masters, otherwise known as Warrior Nun Areala smiled in delight as she observed his reaction. "Yes it is" she agreed.
She had brought Jason to the museum in the hope that it would be an educational and fun experience for him. To his credit he had tried to feign interest in the exhibits they had been to so far but it was clear to her that he wasn't very enthusiastic. That had changed when they had gotten to the dinosaur wing. At that point his eyes had lit up and he'd stared at the exhibits in fascination.
"So did God make the dinosaurs too?" Jason asked curiously.
"He did" Sister Shannon replied. "God made all living creatures, great and small."
Jason nodded. "I wish they were still around today" he said regretfully as he looked again at the T. Rex skeleton.
"Be careful what you wish for Jason" she chided gently. "If that rex was alive it could eat you in one bite."
He grinned brightly. "I bet you could handle a T. Rex Sister Shannon."
She chuckled softly. "I appreciate your confidence in me but…"
"Sister Shannon" an unfamiliar voice interrupted her.
She turned to the speaker. He was a tall, well-muscled man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail and dark eyes. He wore a black sweater, jeans and a long black duster. He looked perfectly normal but something about him felt wrong to her.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a polite but guarded tone.
"I am Duncan MacLeod" he said in a cold, hard voice. Without another word he threw a punch at her face!
Sister Shannon's keen reflexes brought her arm up in time to block the blow. Duncan aimed a strike at her stomach with his other fist that she narrowly managed to block as well.
"Leave her alone!" Jason yelled as he charged forwards recklessly. Duncan turned and shoved him away hard, sending him sprawling to the floor.
"Jason!" Sister Shannon cried. Before she could go over to him Duncan turned back to her. He reached into his coat and drew out an ivory-handled katana, the grip elaborately carved into the shape of an Eastern dragon.
She responded by putting her hands together and reciting, "Hail Mary, Mother of God."
In a flash of bright light her ordinary habit transformed into the battle habit of a Warrior Nun, specially designed to allow freedom of movement. Her prosthetic left hand and forearm was now replaced by a cybernetic metal claw with a green gem set into it. She held her Sword of Antioch in front of her in a firm but relaxed two-handed grip.
Meanwhile the crowd of tourists and museum-goers around them were coming out of their initial stunned shock and were now screaming in panic. Fortunately there weren't too many of them but there were still enough to pose a problem.
"Jason, are you all right?" she called, taking care to keep her eyes on her opponent as they faced each other, blades held ready.
"I'm okay" he replied.
"Thank God" she said sincerely.
Duncan lunged forwards and swung his weapon at her neck in a perfect strike that would have beheaded a lesser fighter. Their swords clashed together as she parried the blow. He dropped low and spun into a leg-sweep but Areala leaped over it and back-flipped over a glass display case, gaining some breathing room.
"Jason, get these people to safety" she said.
"I want to help!" he yelled.
"That is helping. I can't fight properly with all these people around" she insisted as Duncan somersaulted over the case and came at her with a series of furious slashes that she deflected but forced her to give ground.
"Okay" said Jason reluctantly. He started waving his arms and yelling to get the crowd's attention. "Everyone get out of here! Head for the exits!" he shouted, putting as much authority as he could into his voice.
Fortunately the people took the hint and began rushing for the exits. Jason followed doing his best to guide them out when he spotted a terrified little girl standing in place with tears streaming down her cheeks. He hurried over, took her hand and began gently but firmly pulling her towards the nearest exit.
"It's okay, don't be scared" he said gently. "It'll all be okay."
Even as he said this he felt a sense of apprehension. He thought to himself, Sister Shannon'll be fine. She beats demons all the time; she can take a regular guy no problem.
But the feeling of apprehension remained.
This is no ordinary man Areala thought as they duelled around the hall, the sound of clashing blades echoing off of the walls. Although he did not display any sign of superhuman strength, speed or other abilities his level of skill and precision were uncanny. His attacks were quick, powerful and accurate, forcing her to dodge almost as often as she parried while her own attacks were blocked easily. Her every attempt to reason with him had gotten only silence.
Not only was he tremendously skilled, he was also a smart fighter that remained aware of his surroundings. Several times he tried to manoeuvre the fight into a corner or another confined space to negate the advantage Areala's superior agility gave her. She wasn't going to fall for such a trick however and each time she was able to avoid being boxed in.
I can't keep this up she thought. There were other weapons available to her but Duncan was pressing her too relentlessly for her to use them.
She aimed a stab at his torso but Duncan easily sidestepped it and aimed a high cut at her head. She raised her sword to block it, realising too late that it was a feint. He landed a front kick to her stomach that sent her staggering back. She lost her balance and toppled to the floor.
He raised his katana for the killing blow but as he swung it down she raised her left arm and activated her Holy Shield. Instantly a dome of green energy was emitted from her cybernetic limb. Caught by surprise Duncan was slammed back by the shield, giving her enough time to get to her feet.
But before she could press her advantage a museum security guard emerged from an adjacent room. "What's going…?" he started to say before he saw what was happening and froze.
She tried to shout a warning but Duncan was too fast as he drove a back kick into the guard's gut that doubled him over. Again Duncan raised his blade and brought it down. Areala was forced to switch her focus from attacking him to protecting the hapless guard. She darted in and blocked the downwards swing with her own sword just in time.
"Get out of here" she exclaimed as Duncan renewed his assault upon her. The guard hurried away.
That was unfortunate she thought grimly as she was again forced back. He will not fall for that one again. Father please reveal to me a way to defeat this foe.
Having gotten the people outside and reunited the little girl with her parents Jason ran back down the museum corridors. Okay I got everyone to safety just like Sister Shannon said he thought. Now I'm gonna get back to where the action is.
He hid behind a triceratops skeleton and watched as Areala and Duncan fought. "Maybe if I rush that guy I can distract him long enough for her to take him down" he said to himself.
"Oh you mustn't do that" said a woman's voice. Jason had no chance to react as he was seized in an inhumanly strong grip and a hand covered his mouth. He struggled futilely and bit down on the hand but she didn't react at all.
"No little boy" she hissed. "You are going to watch as my slave kills your precious nun."
As she narrowly sidestepped a thrust an idea occurred to Areala and she silently thanked God for sending her inspiration. Time to do the unexpected she thought.
She started to move back again and then suddenly lunged forwards. Duncan was momentarily surprised as she locked their swords together, a move that seemed counter-productive given his height and weight advantage. As he started to push back she abruptly dropped under his guard and rammed her shoulder into his stomach.
Again he was sent staggering back and again she drove her blade towards his torso. This time however he made no move to block or dodge, instead raising his own sword for a return thrust. After all, a stab to the chest wouldn't kill him and in attacking him she would be left open.
But as the Holy Sword connected it passed through without effect, leaving flesh and blood unharmed. His soul however…
Duncan cried out in pain and fell to the floor, unconscious. At the same time Mara also screamed as she felt the same pain through her mental link to the Highlander. She let go of Jason and gripped her head. Her fancy suit ripped and tore as wings covered in ragged grey plumage burst from her back. Grey feathers spread over her skin in a wave as her teeth and nails grew sharp and pointed. Her feet became yellow talons
Jason immediately pulled away and rushed out of her range. "Sister Shannon, it's a demon!" he yelled.
Mara tried to seize him again but he dodged out of the way. She looked up to see Areala's sword descending an instant before her skull was cleaved in two. Her body fell to the floor and dissolved into black muck.
"Jason, are you all right?" she asked, putting her hands on his shoulders.
"I'm okay." He smiled brightly. "You were awesome."
"Thank you" she replied, also smiling.
Before either of them could say more they heard a low groaning sound. They turned to see Duncan stir and start to stand up.
That's strange. I've never known anyone to recover so quickly before Areala thought as she pushed Jason behind her protectively.
"Sister I'm so sorry" he said as he got up. "I swear I didn't want to attack you." He looked down shamefully at the floor.
"I think he means it" said Jason. "I think that thing was controlling his mind."
"I agree" she replied. She sheathed her sword and walked up Duncan.
"It's all right Mr MacLeod" she said. "What happened here was not your fault. You were not yourself while the demon was controlling you."
"Thank you Sister" he replied.
A short time later Sister Shannon, now back in her regular habit, was talking to the police and explaining what had happened. While she was doing that Jason was busy bombarding Duncan with questions.
"So are you a demon hunter or something? Is that how you can fight like that?"
"No, I'm just an ordinary guy" Duncan answered.
"So how did you get so good with that sword? I didn't think anyone could be as good as a Warrior Nun."
"Uh, I just practised a lot I guess. And I had really good teachers."
Jason frowned slightly, getting the impression that Duncan wasn't telling him something. Fortunately before he could say anything else Sister Shannon came up.
"Now, now Jason, leave him be" she gently rebuked him. "Mr. MacLeod has been through a lot today."
"Thanks" said Duncan with an amused smile. His face turned serious as he added "and thanks again for saving me from that thing."
"You are most welcome Mr. MacLeod, but you don't need to thank me for doing my duty."
"All the same I appreciate it." He paused for a moment and then handed over a business card. "I need to go now but if you ever need me call this number."
"I will."
As Duncan departed she turned to Jason. "Let's go home. I think you've had enough excitement for today."
"Okay" he agreed. "Can we come here again?"
"Of course" said Sister Shannon. She smiled as she added "although I hope that our next trip will be quieter."
"I wonder what's up with Mr MacLeod" Jason mused as they started to walk away. "I bet there's something he didn't tell us."
"I agree" she replied. "Still we should respect his right to privacy."
"Yeah I guess so" Jason said.
"Anyway, why don't we make a quick stop at the ice cream parlour before we go home" she suggested with a glint in her eye.
"Oh yeah" Jason exclaimed eagerly.
Sister Shannon laughed lightly. "Let's go then."