A/N: Argh! For those of you that don't know me, I hate writing fight scenes… please - feedback! Constructive reviews welcome, since I need feedback to improve my writing…

Chapter Ten : Battles of Mind and Body

In that moment, as her hand grasped Angor-rath's hilt and drew the blade into the sunlight, Da'Nela was stunned that she felt no fear. Before any battle, it was natural to be nervous, and had always been the case. But now, as she swung the blade in swift, curved movements, finally resting the flat of the blade against her nose in a formal salute, there was nothing but a mild sense of anticipation. Her sword arm fell away, curving the blade down to her side again. She knew, simply from the way the dull starlight bounced off the blade, that it was deadly sharp and still sound. From its balance and weight, it felt, for the first time, as if the sword had been made for her and her alone. She waited, muscles tensed and ready, for Varani's first move, marvelling at the lack of weight of the blade.

"The blade is your own, child," Nu'Tenn's voice echoed in the stillness, falling to a whisper. "It was always destined to come to you."

"Be gone, demon." Sharply spoken, the Keeper's words bit into the evening air. "You are not welcome here."

Varani emerged then, dressed unashamedly in her flowing gown. She held no weapons, carrying nothing with which to defend herself. She turned to face Da'Nela, a completely emotionless expression on her face. A sudden lift of the Keeper's hand brought Da'Nela into a fighting stance, sword raised, but the Keeper merely gave a wave of her hand, making her bangles chime together in a hauntingly beautiful sound. The backdrop was twisted into a vast arena, like the Roman Colosseum, during the vast heat of the day. The Keeper smiled as Da'Nela stared round in amazement, but Varani's own gaze settled on Trip.

Who was staring at her in plain adoration.

Da'Nela saw Varani gaze towards Trip, saw the puzzlement that flashed across that beautiful face, and frowned mildly at such a ploy. It was not honourable to attempt to so distract an opponent. And so, the Larneian refused to glance over her shoulder, which would have given her opponent an opportunity to strike. Yes, Varani now saw that her ploy would not work, and the Keeper blinked long eyelashes rapidly before raising her hand again.

Four lions rushed at Da'Nela, great maned beasts with huge teeth and claws, all snarling viciously. Fear shot through the Larneian then, a cold rush of adrenaline that froze every muscle. For several moments, as sheer, blinding terror washed through her, she could not move. Then, as the first lion leapt into the air, a swift blur of golden fur, Da'Nela thrust Angor-rath upward, sword biting into the soft flesh of the belly. Raising the other arm simultaneously, a second lion attempted to clamp his teeth into her arm. Instead, they scraped on the plate armour and he fell to the floor, laying there stunned and confused.

The third lion let out a mighty, spine-chilling roar, before rushing in. As if in slow motion, Da'Nela watched chest muscles tense as the carnivore gathered himself. Simultaneously, the knees bent and lips curled back to reveal massive canines and evil-looking molars designed to pierce and shear flesh respectively. The thought made the warrior pale to a sickly shade of grey as the blood drained from her face. And as the beast leapt into the air, claws extended and reaching for her, Da'Nela ducked with lightening reflexes, and the beast sailed over her head, crashing into his fallen comrade. Da'Nela somehow found a moment to look on in disgust as the beast decided that dead meat was better food than live, armour clad Larneian.

A low, rumbling growl brought her attention back to the final lion, stalking in a small circle around his prey. His teeth were bared and shone white in the sunlight. Her victory over his three fallen comrades was not enough to make Da'Nela bold, indeed she retreated a little as he stopped his pacing to put some distance between them. But in a calculated move, the animal charged in to knock the Larneian off her feet before moving in to sink his teeth into her throat…

It was only as she caught a glimpse of the cat's eyes - saw the empty, lifeless shells that were not the gateways to the soul that they should have been - that Da'Nela realised that these beasts were not even close to being real. Though in this realm they could do her harm, they were little more than another of the Keeper's fictions, and she steeled her mind against such tactics.

"Be gone." She ordered harshly. The lion still towered above her, but stopped his attempt to seize her throat in his teeth. Da'Nela stared up into those dark, soulless eyes. "GO!"

Startled by the sudden command, the lion and his fellows disappeared in a puff of dust and smoke. And as Da'Nela hauled herself to her feet, Varani laughed. "Very good, warrior." She mocked her opponent lightly. The Keeper watched as the Larneian retrieved her sword, used sand from the arena floor to clean a little of the blood and entrails from the blade. Rising again, Da'Nela wondered if the witch could see the exhaustion in her eyes. Though the fight had not been particularly physical, it had taken nerves of steel to remain calm. Da'Nela wasn't sure she could take another fight like that. But even so, she felt a little better for having discovered Varani's trick. If she had done it once, surely she could do it again? And indeed, moments later, Varani raised her hand once more, the bangles clinking merrily together, and conjured another illusion - a huge, hairy tarantula.

The arachnid approached Da'Nela slowly, its eight legs all moving independently and gazing down upon its potential prey with impregnable malice. Da'Nela recoiled in horror initially - what was this disgustingly ugly creature? - but then pulled herself up to her full height and raised her own gauntleted hand. "Stop." She commanded, reaching to push against the thing with both her hand and her will at the same time. She felt the force behind the creature, felt Varani's strangled hold upon it, forcing it ever onwards, but behind her own instruction, Da'Nela put every ounce of strength. And slowly… so very slowly, the spider halted its forward progress. "Turn." One word demands were all she could utter, this battle of wills was taking so much out of her. "Attack." And with that final word, Da'Nela bravely - or stupidly - let go her hold on the tarantula with one final, massive push. For a brief moment that seemed to last an eternity, the beast hovered between the two women, not knowing what to do. And then it charged…

Varani screamed in genuine terror as her own creation stampeded towards her. Her eyes grew wide as she pushed her hand out to arms length, calling the beast to attack Da'Nela, to stop, but the arachnid was free of her influence now and continued to run towards her, mouthparts gnashing together in seeming anticipation. With one desperate effort, Varani shrieked at the creature "Die!", and the spider vanished.

Da'Nela looked on as Varani fought for breath in relief. The Larneian was unashamedly relishing this moment, though from the outside it looked as if the one-time emperor was showing a mild concern for her opponent. But the glory of the moment was too much even for Da'Nela and she glowed inside at her success. All exhaustion was gone, replaced by sheer exhilaration. This woman, this beast, had captured and tortured so many souls, including the soul of the one Da'Nela loved most in the known universe, and now she was paying for those sins ten-fold.

"Now that we have the game of wills out of the way," Da'Nela had waited until the Keeper had retained a little of her composure to speak, "I shall ask again - release Trip now, or must this fight continue?"

Varani raised her head slightly, recognising the offer of surrender. It could not be - she could not be beaten like this, by this insignificant being that had entered her domain without permission. Pride flowed through her, mixing with determination and Varani made her decision. A wave of her hand, and her body became clad in a claret-coloured coat of plates - a jacket of suede containing steel plates that reached down to mid-thigh. Her arms and legs were coated in gold-coloured plate armour, her hands gauntleted in plate gloves and her boots were of the finest of leathers. At her side hung a blade the size of Angor-rath, with a jewel encrusted hilt and scabbard. Varani pulled on a helmet of the same metal as the plate armour and slammed the visor down arrogantly.

"Let us continue, child, and test your swordsmanship." And she drew her sword, catching the light to blind Da'Nela, but the Larneian was in the process of pulling on her own helmet so the attempt was in vain.

"As you wish." The Larneian was angered by the term "child", as Varani had known she would be, and she lifted Angor-rath to defend Varani's first lightening over-head blow.

The two blades crashed together, sending great shudders through their wielders. It was a sensation that Varani had never felt before, and the Keeper relished the power of the simple sword in her grip. Da'Nela, more used to hand-to-hand combat, remembered a hundred battles and skirmishes in that short moment, a life-time at war resurrected. It had been so long, but the Larneian had not allowed her muscles to lessen in those long years since she had last been forced to wield a sword against another person. Even so they quivered beneath the force of Varani's blow and Da'Nela knew then that this would be a close battle.

Da'Nela stepped back, sliding her sword out from under Varani's, used the natural flow to deliver a storm of lightening blows, driving the Keeper backwards as she parried each stroke frantically. Da'Nela changed the pattern swiftly, done so smoothly that it almost caught Varani off guard, but the Keeper was able to parry the blows and managed to slice her sword in close to the body. The point of the blade glanced off Da'Nela's plate armour with a scraping sound that made Da'Nela's teeth clench.

Trip watched the battle unfold before him, terrified. She was beautiful beyond words. Through the visor of her helmet, Trip could see her eyes shine with her determination as she fought so bravely. Her armour showed off her figure in a way he had never believed possible. How could he have known her for so long, and yet never known how much he loved her? For to Trip, the Keeper was perfection itself… The human agonized with himself as the battle continued, had to stop himself calling out in triumph as the Larneian - the unwelcome visitor to the Keeper's realm - slipped, arms flailing in a vain attempt to maintain her balance. He smiled as the warrior fell flat on her back and Varani (even her name was beautiful) moved in for the kill.

But he saw then that it had been an elaborate deception. As Varani came forward, the Larneian swung her foot out, sweeping the Keeper's feet out from underneath her. Trip started forward suddenly, his face contorted into an expression of anguish, and was forced to watch as Da'Nela tucked her right leg, bent, underneath her left and rolled to her feet. She placed Angor-rath's tip against Varani's throat, in the gap between helmet and chest plate.

"Do you yield?"

"Never."

A pause. "Then you shall die." The cold words were accompanied by Da'Nela gripping the hilt of her blade in both hands. Trip knew, somehow, that this was out of character for her, and he ran in, shoving her aside.

"No!"

"Do you yield?" Da'Nela asked sternly, watching Varani squirm beneath her weapon.

"Never."

Da'Nela closed her eyes briefly behind her visor. She had done the honourable thing - offered her opponent the chance for surrender. And she would have given quarter, had it been demanded. But without the acceptance of surrender, she had little choice. In killing the Keeper, this realm would be destroyed and all souls lost within it freed. And so she gripped the blade between both hands, raising it slightly. "Then you shall die." The scene somehow reminded her the time she had slaughtered a two-faced traitor to her clan in cold blood. It had brought her no satisfaction then, and there would be none in this killing either…

She never even heard Trip run up, the first thing she knew of it was when she was stumbling sideways, her whole body shocked by his impact. He stood there now, breathing heavily and glaring at her with a hatred she had never known he could possess. Pulling off her helmet, Da'Nela frowned her confusion at him.

"Ya can't kill her." He insisted. "If ya wanna do that, you'll have ta go through me first." Somehow, he knew that she could never hurt him.

"Trip…"

"I mean it." His scowl deepened, then lifted into a smile as he turned and helped Varani to her feet.

Da'Nela stared in disbelief as Varani accepted Trip's hand. For a moment, she felt nothing at all. And then, with a sudden brutality, a searing pain through her chest nearly crippled her. She had felt such a pain only once before - when her telepathic bond with Trip had broken. For what seemed like forever, Da'Nela could do nothing more than gaze sorrowfully at the pair. With shaking hands, the Larneian returned Angor-rath to its scabbard.

Trip heard the noise of the sword sliding home and turned once more. His eyes were now filled with a kind of reverence that Da'Nela had only ever seen in a few religious fanatics on her own world. But that love was not for her, but for her enemy. She sighed heavily and removed her gauntlets. Raising her chin to hold her head with a pride she did not feel, she addressed Trip quietly.

"You wish to stay."

"Yeah."

"And what of your friends? Admiral Archer, Ambassador T'Pol, Captain Reed, Commander Mayweather, Hoshi? Do you care nothing for them?"

"'Course I care." He snapped back at her. "But this is where I belong now. With Varani, if she'll have me?"

Da'Nela raised a hand and her will to prevent the Keeper from answering. "And yet you would not join her when she first asked, all those months ago in our own universe? What spell has she put you under?"

Trip frowned at that question, trying to recall the memory of that away mission. It was vague, misted, but there. He remembered some of the more lucid moments of his 'illness', and he knew that the whole episode had been conjured by that alien woman who stood behind him now. Disappointment bit into his very soul, or all that was left of it. Trip felt wearier in that moment than in all the times when he had lain alone and afraid. He turned to face her in trepidation, as if he feared that she would turn into some sort of serpent before his very eyes like the witches he had heard about in his childhood.

"You need not fear me, Trip Tucker." Varani insisted, her voice full of honey and promise. "I wish only to give you what you deserve, whatever you desire. You wish to be the sole leader of Starfleet - I can make it so. I could make you leader of a planet, or of a galaxy. You may be supreme ruler of the universe, with me as your queen, all you have to do is ask."

Trip's eyes shone at her words. Her voice had instilled into him the very thing she had intended - desire. He could have anything his heart dreamed of, anything at all… Hypnotised by her voice and by dreams, he stepped towards her, raising his eyes to meet hers - but Varani was looking towards the Larneian with a glare of triumph and venom. Trip followed the Keeper's gaze and his eyes met Da'Nela's, for she had eyes for him and him alone, and he saw the sadness there borne of losing him.

"All I have ta do is ask." He echoed, his eyes never moving. "And what would you offer me…?"

"How can I compete with an offer of the universe?" Da'Nela responded, hardly knowing what she was saying. "I am neither rich, nor a God, I cannot offer you a planet or the stars. If I could offer you my life and soul, I would, but they are not mine to give. My heart is yours already."

"A life, a soul, a *heart*?" Varani spat, laughing. "Mere baubles. Come my love, the universe awaits."

Trip's eyes finally flicked from Da'Nela to Varani, once more in flowing dress and hair flowing in a gentle breeze, beauty and power incarnate. He glanced back to the warrior, clad in her armour, her black hair pulled back into a pony tail with stray waifs pulled out by the removal of her helmet. The Keeper was still glaring at Da'Nela, looking like a cat stalking its prey, her face angry and impatient. The Larneian's gaze had never faltered. Trip smiled.

"Anything I ask?" He addressed Varani quietly. He eyes flicked to him and she smiled. "You promise?" The question was almost child-like.

"I promise."

"Set us free? Set us *all* free?"

Da'Nela smiled as Varani's face shifted to a horror-filled gaze. With that simple request of a promise, Trip had strategically bound Varani by her own honour bound her in to releasing every one of the souls she had captured. So incensed by that trap was she that the Keeper turned an ugly shade of purple, offering Da'Nela a look that would surely have maimed and dismembered the Larneian if looks could kill, before raising and waving a hand. A smile of pure evil crossed her hate-ridden face, and a moment later she was gone.

Da'Nela opened her eyes slowly, allowing herself time to readjust to the bright lights of the infirmary. Her body, laid on a hard bio-bed, seemed to weigh ten times as much as usual. Every muscle ached and her head was pounding. But as her eyes were finally able to focus, Da'Nela recognised the three faces staring down at her.

"Ah, Representative." Phlox offered quietly. "How do you feel?"

"Apart from every muscle aching and being completely exhausted, fine." Da'Nela smiled. "How's Trip?"

"He's sleeping." Admiral Archer responded quietly, one hand gripping Da'Nela's shoulder. "Thank you for bringing him back to us."

"It was he who set us free…" Da'Nela smiled. "I can take no credit for that."

And then the third person came forward, and Da'Nela sat up to wrap her son in the warmest of embraces. Neither mother nor son said anything as they reaffirmed the fact that she was alive, well and back in the real world. When Da'Nela released him, Ru'Hann smiled his relief. "For a while, I feared I had lost both my parents."

"At one point, I did too." Was the rather shaky response.

"Captain Tucker is awake." Phlox had been drawn aside by a nurse. "Would you care to see him?"

"Yes." Da'Nela and Archer answered in unison. Ru'Hann hesitated, then replied that he would wait until Trip had been told about his son before making his presence known. Though he would not say it aloud, the boy was still very much afraid that his father would want nothing to do with him.

Trip was sat up when Jon and Da'Nela entered the room. He smiled at Archer, accepted a bear hug without protest. There was a moments awkward silence, before Jon told Trip that it was good to have him back. There was then a burst of friendly conversation between the two men during which Da'Nela stood by and smiled. It was good to see Trip in his own surroundings again. Finally, Trip looked up at Da'Nela.

"Hi." He offered tentatively.

"Hello." She responded quietly.

Trip frowned. "I don't mean t'be rude but… do I know ya?"