Immortal Dilemma (part 3 of 3)

Legalistic Disclaimer
As usual, this is the deal: The concept and characters of Highlander (Duncan MacLeod, Richie Ryan, and Joe Dawson) belong to Davis and Panzer Productions and Rysher. Meanwhile, over in Sunnydale, the concept and characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Buffy, Angel, Xander, Willow, Giles, and Darla) belong to Joss Whedon, Warner Brothers, and Mutant Enemy. They'll be returned to their respective owners with no stapling, spindling, or mutilating (well, not too much anyway). Also, thanks go to my guinea pigs, excuse me, beta readers, Mary Ellen Jedrlinic and Claudia Diamond.

One last thing before we get this show on the road, please do not re-post this story without first gaining the author's permission (a.k.a. me). Violation of this rule (second only to not killing on holy ground) may result in either decapitation or staking-depending on my mood that day.

Author's Note
This story is set during the fifth season of Highlander and during the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In other words, the insanity of Highlander's fifth season finale Archangel, when Richie has an unfortunate "accident," is completely disavowed in my corner of the galaxy (located slightly to the left of Proxima Centauri-hang a turn at Babylon Five and go four light years-you can't miss it). When necessary, I've also taken the liberty of filling in some of those annoying gaps in character backgrounds. Remember, all (positive) comments are welcome; all other (negative) comments will be rationalized, criticized, and ignored. If you have as much free time on your hands as I do, please direct E- mail to to me.
Enjoy.

Immortal Dilemma(part 3 of 3)

Late the following afternoon, Willow's computer search hit paydirt. Following an obscure thread on the Internet, she got a hit during her search for the unknown symbol. The root directory that matched her inquiry, however, was stored in a London museum's database and its associated subdirectories were encrypted. After running some skillful hacking protocols-not to mention three state-of-the-art decryption programs-over the file, she was staring at a partial Watcher chronicle of Immortal activity in Western Europe. Quickly spotting two names, she called to Giles and Xander to come out of the stacks.

Adjusting his glasses, Giles asked Willow, "Did you find something?"

"Oh. I think you can say that."

Jumping up to sit on top of the computer table, Xander cracked, "OK. Out with it woman, the menfolk are waiting."

Entering the library at that moment, Buffy greeted the others. Receiving little response, she added, "Good to see you too."

Turning towards Buffy, Giles remarked, "Willow thinks she's found something on our two mystery men."

Looking down at Willow, the Slayer said, "OK. What gives?"

"Well, according to this file, there's this seemingly secret society called 'The Watchers' that..."

Sitting bolt upright, Giles interrupted, "Wait. Did you just say 'Watchers'?"

"Yes, Giles. This group monitors the activities of a race known simply as 'Immortals.' It seems that they record the lives of these beings without directly interfering in events such as duels, which seem to occur quite frequently."

At this point, Xander remarked, "Hey, Giles. They don't interfere. You could learn a thing or two from them."

Ignoring Xander, Giles asked, "Did you say duels?"

"Yes, they fight to the death to collect Quickenings, whatever they are. Allegedly, the last Immortal will win 'The Prize,' whatever that is?"

"Gee, why don't they just buy a box of Cracker Jack? Every box has a prize inside." Once again, Xander was ignored.

Buffy then asked Willow, "So does it say anything about our boys, Ryan and MacLeod?"

"Actually, quite a lot about MacLeod. It seems that he's about 400 years old and, from what it says here, he's a very good fighter. In comparison, Ryan, his student, has only been in 'The Game' a few years. But, he has already killed several people."

"Including Christina," remarked Buffy.

Xander then said, "Wait, I'm confused. If these guys are Immortal than how can they kill each other? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?"

Willow paused before answering, "According to this, they can only die one way...by decapitation."

Jumping off the table, Xander squeaked, "They cut off each others heads! That's disgusting!"

Buffy then wryly remarked, "Yeah, not as neat and clean as staking someone in the heart."

"You know what I mean. That's different."

Giles then interjected, "Excuse me. Are you trying to tell me that we have a couple of Immortal mass murderers loose in the neighborhood?"

Walking over to Giles' weapons locker, Buffy responded, "Not for long we won't."

Meanwhile, in his loft, MacLeod had just received a call from Dawson. Quickly taking down some notes, he thanked Joe, hung up, and dialed Richie's number.

"Richie? I just spoke to Joe. He has a lead on that license plate. He traced it to some place in Sunnydale. I thought you might want to check it out with me. No, let's wait until tonight. There will be fewer witnesses around. I'll pick you up around 9 o'clock. Fine. See you then."

*********************************************************************

"Now what does baby want? How about a nice bottle of warm milk?"

"Gaaaaaaa!!"

"OK. Forget the milk. Now, where is that pacifier?"

Buffy might fight ghouls and demons without blinking an eyelash, but now she was confronting a new horror: baby-sitting.

Searching first under the couch pillows, and then under the couch itself, Buffy found nothing but a couple of petrified potato chips. Suddenly hearing giggling, she looked up just in time to get hit the face with strained peas.

Wiping her face on a towel, Buffy muttered, "Just wait. I'll get mom for this. 'Sure, bring Jeremy over. We can take care of him for a few days. Don't worry, it's no problem at all.' And then she goes out! 'Don't worry dear, how much trouble can Jeremy be? Anyhow, it'll be good experience for when you have children.' Well, Buffy thought wickedly, Mom obviously doesn't want grandchildren of her own."

At that point, the front doorbell rang. Expecting Xander and Willow at any moment, she didn't bother to look out the window before opening the door. Therefore, she was somewhat startled when an older man was standing on her front steps.

"Excuse the intrusion, but my car has a flat tire and I don't have a spare. I was wondering if I could use your phone to call for help?"

Well, he looked harmless enough, Buffy thought.

"Sure, the phone's right over there on the table."

Turning around to indicate the location of the telephone, Buffy only had a moment to wonder what the strange odor she was suddenly smelling was, before a rag was placed over her nose and mouth. Immediately losing consciousness, she went limp and collapsed against the intruder.

"Chloroform is a wonderful thing. Cheap, quick, and effective."

A minute or so later, Xander and Willow were walking up the residential street when they came upon a rather alarming scene. A stranger was struggling to dump Buffy's body into the trunk of his car. Running towards the man, Xander started screaming, "Hey, you! What the hell are you doing? Let her go!"

He only made it to within 10 feet of the car when he was suddenly staring at a very large, very serious- looking sword pointed directly at his chest. Willow came to a halt beside him.

Xander asked incredulously, "Does everybody carry a sword in this town now - what do you want?"

The stranger responded by motioning towards the trunk, "I think want I want is obvious, boy. However, assuming you want to live a little longer, I need you to convey a message."

"What kind of message?"

"I want you to tell her little boyfriend that he should come to Pier 17 at midnight tonight-alone. Tell him that Cameron Kullen has some...business...to settle with him."

Attempting to stall for time, hoping that Buffy might come to, Xander said, "I think you're a little confused, buddy. I'm her boyfriend."

Noticing with some amusement the strange expression which crossed Willow's face upon hearing this, Kullen simply said, "You young people do lead interesting lives these days, don't you." With a dangerous grin, he added, "Then tell her OTHER boyfriend that he either comes to the pier tonight or she dies."

With that, he closed the trunk, got behind the wheel, and sped away.

Staring helplessly at the departing car, Willow asked Xander, "What do we do now?"

Heading towards the open front door of the house, the teenager replied, "We call Giles. That's what."

*********************************************************************

Angel had been awake about two hours. After rising and dressing, he decided to watch a videotape that had been recorded earlier that day as he slept. As the opening credits of Good Morning America scrolled on the screen, it never dawned on the vampire that he was probably the only person that recorded and later replayed the morning talk shows to see mundane things such as the sun rising over New York, or children playing, or birds flying-all sights that would otherwise be denied to him, a creature of the night.

"Let's see, what's in the old fridge?"

Opening the refrigerator door, Angel was confronted by a multitude of glass bottles. Some contained whole blood while others, filled with a clear liquid, contained plasma.

"What am I in the mood for tonight-A? B? I know. I'll just go with the old reliable...AB."

Laughing to himself, he wondered if AB went better with meat or poultry?

Sipping the liquid through a straw, Angel considered how much easier it had become in recent decades to satisfy his needs. As compared to earlier in the century when he had to resort to breaking into hospitals and blood banks to steal supplies, now all that was necessary was a bogus entry in a medical data base listing him as a patient with a blood "disorder." Hemophilia was his personal favorite, since it was one of the more well-known blood afflictions, therefore less likely to raise suspicions.

In a sense, feeding for him was now as simple as going to a drive-thru window is for most people. Simply present the proper (forged) medical documentation and pick-up your order-to go.

Darla, of course, ridiculed this kind of behavior. What she never understood was that Angel ceased being a "normal" vampire the night his soul was restored by a gypsy clan in revenge for killing one of their own. Until the night she died-by Angel's hand-Darla didn't comprehend that her lover had ceased to be a mindless killing machine driven by an eternal need for blood to satisfy the demon within. Instead, he was unique. A man, trapped within the body of a vampire, haunted by the memories of past horrors.

Angel was preparing to continue reading the latest Anne Rice novel when he suddenly experienced a sharp pain in his head. Seconds later, his front door exploded inward, the result of a powerful kick by Duncan MacLeod, who was followed into the room by Richie Ryan. Both had their swords drawn.

"I was just having dinner, MacLeod. I'd ask you to join me, but you look more like the meat and potatoes type...or is it haggis?

Knocking several empty bottles off the table with the blade of his sword, MacLeod stated flatly, "It's time you paid for your crimes, Angelus."

Remaining seated, Angel responded, "So you and your friend are here to execute me?"

"No," MacLeod countered, "we're here for justice."

"What do you know about justice, MacLeod? You and Ryan are just like me. We're all killers. I know. I read your damn Watcher files."

At this point, Richie exploded, "We're nothing like you, you bastard. We only kill when challenged-to survive-you kill for pleasure."

Turning back to MacLeod, Angel said, "So you're here to avenge the deaths of my family from over two centuries ago? What kind of a hypocrite are you, MacLeod?"

The Immortal replied, "For their deaths, Christina O'Leary's, and countless others."

Standing, Angel responded. "I never met Christina O'Leary. But, maybe you should discuss that with your student here. She was killed with a large blade, not by me."

Lunging toward Angel, Richie screamed, "You're saying I killed Christina? I loved her!"

"Richie, no!"

Before MacLeod could stop the younger man, Richie's momentum had carried him across the room towards the vampire. By simply sidestepping the assault, Angel managed to grasp the young man by the arm and fling him through the black-curtained window beyond. Amidst shattered glass, the Immortal came to rest on the abandoned building's fire escape. Regaining his senses a few moments later, Richie muttered, "God, I hate when that happens."

As Richie was exiting the building, Xander was just arriving. In fact, the newcomer barely avoided getting hit by the shower of glass that crashed down on the sidewalk.

"Uh oh, Angel has company."

Racing up the stairs two at a time, Xander entered the apartment just as Richie started to climb back in through the window. When he saw the teenager, MacLeod stated, "Stay back boy, this doesn't concern you." To which Xander angrily replied, "Who the hell are you calling 'boy'?"

Taking advantage of this distraction, Angel quickly picked up the kitchen chair he was sitting on and slammed it down on MacLeod's right shoulder. The Immortal, caught off guard, saw the blow coming and tried, unsuccessfully, to deflect it away. Although staggered, MacLeod remained on his feet, while his katana landed on the floor in the spot he previously occupied. Retrieving the weapon, Angel quickly placed the blade against Duncan's throat.

Seeing the situation unfolding before him, Richie was frozen in place outside the window, unsure what, if anything, to do. With an obvious look of confusion on his face, all he could utter was, "Mac?"

MacLeod spoke next, "Richie, if he kills me, I want him to follow right behind."

Nervously, all Richie could answer was, "Sure, Mac."

After a few moments of impasse, Angel stated, "I don't want to kill you, MacLeod."

"Why do I have a hard time believing that?"

"Because if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't do this..."

Angel then handed the hilt of the sword to MacLeod, who was visibly surprised. Turning his back to MacLeod, he said, "I have not killed a human being in nearly a century, MacLeod. Can you say that?"

"That may be true, but it doesn't excuse all the lives you destroyed."

After a pause, Angel responded, "Don't you think I know that? I'm trying to repent for my sins...acts so heinous you can't even imagine them-but I can't forget."

Finally taking notice of Xander's obvious agitation, the vampire turned his attention to the teenager, "I don't remember inviting you here. What's wrong?"

Xander, who was in no mood for verbal sparring, blurted out, "Buffy's in trouble."

Snapping fully alert, Angel asked, "What happened?"

Xander then recounted how he and Willow witnessed a man dragging the unconscious young girl into a car. When challenged, he drew a sword, got in the car, and sped away.

Upon mention of a sword, both MacLeod and Richie were immediately puzzled. The older of the two spoke first, asking Xander, "Did he say anything else?"

After thinking for a few moments, he answered, "Yeah. He said that if we want to get Buffy back-alive- Angel should meet him on Pier 17 at midnight."

Coming up beside MacLeod, Richie commented, "Mac, that sounds like a challenge...between Immortals."

"Yes, it does, Richie." Pointing at Angel, MacLeod then added, "The big question is why would an Immortal be challenging him? It just doesn't make sense."

Slowly approaching the two, Angel suggested an answer, "Unless he thinks I'm Immortal...your type of Immortal. He might have been watching our little joust in the alley the other night and got the wrong impression."

MacLeod then asked Xander, "Did he say anything else?"

"Yes, he said Angel should come alone or Buffy would die." Pausing to think, the teenager then added, "He also said his name is Cameron Kullen."

Turning to MacLeod, Richie asked his teacher, "Do you know him, Mac?"

Without hesitating, he answered, "No, but I'm sure Dawson does."

*********************************************************************

About an hour later, possibly the largest group of people ever assembled in Sunnydale High's library were gathered to plan strategy. Present were MacLeod, Richie, Dawson, Giles, Angel, and Xander. Only Willow was absent, because she was at Buffy's house keeping watch over the girl's cousin. Joe was addressing the crowd.

"This guy Kullen is a real piece of work. At about 150 years old, he is the worst type of scumbag imaginable. Not only does he stalk and then challenge much younger Immortals, those he considers to be easy targets, he also works to create distractions in their lives."

Because he already suspected the answer, Richie took a deep breath before asking, "Distractions? What kind of distractions?"

Hesitating, Joe continued, "He usually kidnaps-and kills-people who are close to his chosen opponent."

"He killed Christina. The son of a bitch killed her to get to me."

Nodding, Dawson continued, "That's just how this psycho does things, Richie. If I knew he was after you, I would've warned you. I'm very sorry."

At that, the young man simply replied, "I'm going to kill him."

Hearing this, Angel moved across the library towards Richie, stating, "Oh no, you're not! Kullen asked me to come alone or Buffy dies. I can't let anything happen to her...I'd rather die."

Although this statement surprised MacLeod, he let it pass without comment. However, Joe did respond, saying "Even if you do fight him-if you lose, she'll die. Kullen never lets witnesses live."

Nervously adjusting his glasses, Giles then added, "Gentlemen, you simply don't understand. Buffy is a very special girl. Nothing can be allowed to happen to her...the consequences would be unthinkable."

"OK," Xander asked, "what can we do? We have less than two hours left."

"Well," MacLeod stated rising to his feet, "I don't know about the rest of you, but since Kullen wants to fight an Immortal, I think we should give him exactly that...and then some."

*********************************************************************

Regaining consciousness, Buffy felt disoriented in the dim lighting. Surveying her surroundings, she quickly perceived the dampness that penetrated the old warehouse. Most importantly, however, she also realized that she was bound to a chair, unable to move.

"Welcome back, Ms. Summers. Glad you could join me before my little game begins."

Trying to blow some stray hair away from her face, Buffy asked into the darkness, "Who are you? Why am I here? What, you couldn't find a date or something?"

Slowly walking around from behind her so that he could be seen, the Immortal answered, "Oh, very funny, Ms. Summers. But, to answer your question, my name is Kullen - Cameron Kullen - and you're here as bait."

"Bait? For what, you sicko? I don't even know you."

With a snide laugh, Kullen replied, "How can you talk to me like that, Buffy-you don't mind if I call you Buffy, do you?"

"Of course not. As long as you don't mind if I rip your heart out and hand it to you."

Laughing once again, Kullen simply responded, "Very good. Such spunk. I like that in a prisoner. The usual crying and groveling does become so tedious sometimes." Continuing, he then added, "Now, as for why I need you-it's very simple. You're going to draw you're boyfriend here so I can kill him."

Up until now, Buffy was much more angry than scared. Now, however, she was beginning to get frightened...for Angel.

"My boyfriend? Why him?"

Running his hand down Buffy's cheek, Kullen brushed aside some stray hair strands. Raising her head to look directly into her eyes, he answered, "Because he has something I want."

Struggling against the ropes holding her to the chair, the girl asked, "What the hell are you talking about? What could Angel have that you want?"

"Does a Quickening mean anything to you, Buffy?"

Her mind was now racing. A Quickening? Where had she heard that expression before? Then she remembered Willow's research on Immortals. This nut case must think Angel is an Immortal...like MacLeod and Ryan.

Seeing Buffy's facial expression visibly change, Kullen asked, "Your boyfriend did tell you about us, didn't he?"

Hoping that Kullen would fill in some of the holes in Willow's research, Buffy tried to act as ignorant as possible.

"I don't know what your babbling about, mister. Angel is just a normal guy."

Laughing, the Immortal said, "Oh, no. Not normal. Not at all. Your 'Angel' is a killer who likes to have duels in dark alleys...my kind of guy, actually."

Only half ironically, Buffy said, "No, Angel's nothing like you. He wouldn't hurt a living thing."

Kullen was rapidly tiring of this argument. Turning to leave, he said simply, "Well Buffy, for your sake, I do hope that he comes here tonight. You could say that your life depends on it."

When he was gone, Buffy resumed struggling against her bonds-with increased urgency.

*********************************************************************

"Tell me again, what are we doing in a sewer?" Richie asked.

To which Angel replied, "Pier 17 is in the old section of town. The whole area is crisscrossed by these tunnels. We should be able to come up under the building without being noticed. Cameron shouldn't expect that."

Xander then asked, "Angel, should I ask how you know about these tunnels?"

"Let's just say that when you have a particularly adverse 'reaction' to the sun like me, it's always handy to know some alternate routes around town."

"Shit! What just rubbed my leg? Was that a rat?"

With some amusement, MacLeod replied, "Calm down, Richie. I thought you grew up on the streets. This should be just like old times. Anyhow, you haven't seen real sewers until you've been under Paris. Now those..."

"Please, don't let me interrupt your fond memories of France, Mac, but let me just say that I grew up ON the streets - not UNDER the streets - and, I never could stand rats."

"Well, why don't you just use that pig-sticker you're carrying on them?"

"I'll use it on you, you blood-sucking freak."

"Who the hell are YOU calling a freak, swordboy?"

Realizing he was the only mortal present, Xander then said, "It's good to see that age and wisdom tends to raise the level of a conversation."

Losing his patience, MacLeod said, "Enough. We're here to get the girl back and nail that bastard Kullen."

The four then proceeded along in silence until they came to a metal door.

"OK," Angel said, "this leads up to the basement of the pier's warehouse. They used to offload liquor from ships during Prohibition and smuggle it through these tunnels. Now, if we can get it open."

MacLeod then stepped forward and said, "Richie, you go low, I'll go high."

The two Immortals then strained against the door, with no visible effect.

Soon distracted by a low growl coming from behind them, the two looked back to see Angel fully transformed into his vampiric form.

At this point, Xander remarked, "You might want to step aside guys."

Clearing out of the vampire's way, they looked on in awe as Angel proceeded not only to simply open the door, but to tear it from its hinges.

"We must have loosened it up," MacLeod said feebly. Richie simply nodded.

After propping the mass of steel against a wall, Angel immediately returned to his human appearance. "OK, MacLeod, we're in. Now what?"

"Now we split up. Xander and I will try to find Ms. Summers while you and Richie try to locate Kullen. If we're lucky, they won't be in the same location. Just remember, we have to get her to safety before you confront him. He can't be given the chance to hurt her when he realizes what's happening."

Meanwhile, in a car on the dock outside the warehouse, two middle-aged men were doing what they do best-namely watching and waiting.

"So Giles, how did you get into this line of work?"

"Do you mean being a librarian?"

Now slightly annoyed, Dawson clarified his question, "No, I mean being a dentist-what do you think I mean? How did you become a watcher?"

Removing his eyeglasses to wipe them, he responded, "I was born into it actually. My father was a watcher and it just seemed natural that I follow in his footsteps. How about yourself?"

"Well, in my case, I was sort of recruited into our organization. After I had an unfortunate encounter with a landmine in Vietnam, you could say that they made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"What do you think is happening in there?"

"Excuse me?"

"Xander and Angel-I want to know what's happening-I usually go with them when Buffy's in trouble."

Dawson replied, "I'm sure they'll be fine. MacLeod's done this before." Removing a flask from his pocket, Joe then offered the Englishman a hit of Brandy, saying, "Want a sip to warm up?"

"Oh, no thank you..."

As Dawson was thinking something along the lines of "Damn stuffy Brit," Giles removed his own flask and added "...I'm more of a Whiskey man myself."

"A toast then. To success."

"Success."

*********************************************************************

"It's almost time, young lady. Now we'll see what kind of man your boyfriend is."

"He's man enough to kill your cowardly ass, you creep."

With a laugh, Kullen remarked, "What a nasty mouth on such a sweet face. You really should try to mind you manners." He then slapped Buffy across the face.

"Please don't annoy me. I really can get unpleasant if you annoy me."

Licking blood from her lip, she responded, "Yeah, just look at what a great guy you are now."

Raising his hand for another pass, he suddenly let it drop when he felt a pain in his head.

He then heard Angel shout, "Kullen!"

"Well, Buffy, at least he's prompt." Departing, he added, "Until we talk again later."

Under her breath, she muttered, "Don't count on it, scumbag."

In another section of the warehouse, Angel once again called, "Kullen!" This time he got a response.

"Must you be so loud? I heard you the first time."

"Where's Buffy?"

Closing the distance between the two to approximately 30 feet, the Immortal answered, "She's a little tied up at the moment. But, then again, maybe that's the way you like her...tied up."

Angel was in no mood for Kullen or his wise mouth. However, he had to keep this charade going until he had some indication that Buffy was safe. Holding his army saber erect, he asked the Immortal, "Why did you kidnap her? Why not just challenge me directly?"

"Well, I do hate to leave some things to chance...like my life, for example. By doing it this way, I fight on my schedule, on my battlefield. I like the odds much better this way."

"I'm sure you do. Now, release Buffy."

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's quite impossible. If I win, I can't have witnesses. The police might start asking troubling questions."

"You're a real prick, aren't you?"

Laughing, Kullen said, "You haven't seen anything yet." Pulling out a pistol, he quickly fired a round into Angel's shoulder. The vampire, staggered, ducked behind a partition as additional rounds whizzed by. Behind the wall, he stumbled into Richie Ryan, who noted dryly, "Getting shot sure hurts like hell, doesn't it?" Angel simply nodded.

Hearing the shots in the other section of the warehouse, Buffy started screaming Angel's name. Fortunately, her calls also served as a homing beacon for MacLeod and Xander, who quickly untied her from the chair. They also wanted to get her out of the building. However, they soon learned that Buffy had other thoughts.

"What's he doing here?" Buffy asked Xander, indicating MacLeod.

"Don't worry, he's helping us stop this guy, Kullen - he's the one who killed Christina O'Leary."

"Where's Angel?"

Xander replied, "Don't worry, he can take care of himself. Let's get you out of here."

However, when dealing with Angel's safety, Buffy wasn't ready to leave anything to chance. Breaking away from Xander, she started running towards the sound of the gunfire, with the two men following close behind.

As the three Immortals were now all in the same section of the building, it quickly became apparent to Kullen that it wasn't simply Angel he was confronting. Reloading his gun, he yelled into the shadows, "You cheated! I told you to come alone!"

Upon hearing this, Richie muttered to Angel, "This asshole is using a gun and he says we're cheating!"

Angel replied, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of this guy." With apparent ease, he then started climbing vertically up the wall they were taking cover behind.

Looking up, Richie thought, "How does he do that?"

Meanwhile, across the floor, Kullen was now taking aim at Buffy, Xander and MacLeod, who just came into view. Buffy was able to roll behind a crate, unharmed, but MacLeod was less fortunate. Shouting, "GET DOWN!" MacLeod pushed Xander to the ground and caught a shot in the chest that would have struck the teenager.

Rolling the now immobile Immortal over, Xander spotted the blood and croaked, "Oh man, you've been shot!"

MacLeod whispered, "I'll live...you stay down." The Immortal then lost consciousness.

Ignoring the instruction, Xander waited for Kullen to take aim elsewhere before dragging MacLeod behind the crates where Buffy had previously been.

Kullen, meanwhile, was rapidly running out of bullets, but not targets. Alternately, he was taking shots at Richie - who was circling counterclockwise, Buffy-who was circling clockwise, and Angel-who was stalking him from above. All were closing the distance to their target.

His gun now empty, Kullen threw it away and pulled out a sword from beneath the folds of his black trenchcoat, saying, "I guess we'll do this the old fashioned way."

In the next instant, Kullen heard a whooshing sound a split-second before feeling a sharp pain on the left side of his chest. Staggering backwards, he reached up and felt a wooden stake.

"I'm not really an old-fashioned kind of girl."

Buffy was now standing before the Immortal with a grin spreading from ear to ear. She added, "The next time you kidnap someone, you really should check their boots. No telling what might be in there."

Pulling the stake out, Kullen started to get back to his feet when he was knocked violently down. Regaining his senses moments later, he was now looking up at Angel who was standing over him.

"Where? How?"

"You could say that I'm very fast on my feet." His face then assuming it's sinister appearance, the vampire added, "Inhumanly fast."

Kullen started to croak something about breaking the rules, when Richie came into view. "Rules? You try to hide behind the rules when you've violated them yourself! You disgust me!" Pausing to let his words sink in, he then added, "But, as you can see, my friend here isn't covered by our rules."

Now looking at Richie, Angel asked, "Do you want to do the honors or shall I?"

The young Immortal responded, "I'll do it," and then to Kullen, "get up!"

As Angel and Buffy moved off to one side, Kullen slowly got back on his feet.

"Pick up your sword or I'll kill you where you stand."

His panic rapidly increasing, Kullen-now pleading-said, "If you let me go, I'll give you anything. You're young...you could be rich."

Richie would hear none of it. He responded simply, "You took the one treasure I had; everything else is meaningless. This is your last chance...pick up your sword."

Bending down to retrieve his weapon, Kullen quickly tried to catch his opponent off guard by lunging forward from his bent position. Richie easily blocked the attempt and the battle was joined.

Meanwhile, behind a crate, Xander heard the clash of metal just as MacLeod regained consciousness.

"Are you allright, man? I thought you stopped breathing."

Coughing, MacLeod replied, "I probably did" and then, hearing the battle, asked the teenager, "what's happening?"

"Your friend is fighting the guy who grabbed Buffy."

"Help me up."

Once MacLeod was upright, he and Xander turned to watch the conflict, the young man asking, "What can we do?"

Solemnly, the Immortal replied. "Nothing."

As the fight proceeded, Richie soon discovered that Kullen was not without skill. While pressing an attack to the older Immortal's recently staked left side, he himself was slashed in the left leg.

"It's not too late, boy. My offer still stands."

"Don't call me 'boy,' you son of a bitch!"

Moving in to exploit the young man's leg wound, Kullen made a stabbing motion which was blocked and turned aside. Richie then forced him backwards across the floor with a series of powerful thrusts and uppercuts. All were blocked, except one-the one which impaled Kullen against the warehouse wall.

Richie then quickly followed-up with a punch to his opponent's face, which caused Kullen to drop his blade. Then, ignoring the older Immortal's pain, Richie then proceeded to push his blade in even further. Twisting it, he asked, "How do you like it, you bastard? Now you know how Christina felt!"

Seeing the battle take this turn, Xander started to cringe while Angel remarked to Buffy, "This is starting to get ugly."

MacLeod also did not like what he was seeing. To his student, he shouted as forcefully as he could manage, "Richie! End this! Now!"

Regaining his composure, Richie only paused another moment before withdrawing his sword, allowing Kullen to slump to the ground. He then stepped back and stated, "There can be only one-and it's not going to be you."

Averting his eyes from the killing blow that followed, Xander could only weakly remark to MacLeod, "Oh man. That's nasty."

However MacLeod, knowing what was going to follow, said, "We have to get out of here."

Oblivious, Angel and Buffy approached Richie, who seemed to be walking towards them in a daze. Angel then remarked to the young man, "It's over, Ryan. Let's go."

Cryptically, Richie simply stated, "It's coming. You have to leave."

As Buffy started to ask, "What's coming?" she noticed a white mist rise from the corpse and start to envelop Richie. Almost immediately, lighting started to arc across the warehouse.

Seeing what was happening, Angel shouted, "Everyone, get down!"

As the firestorm continued to lance around the building, shattering light fixtures and setting crates afire, Richie was thrown to his knees-the focal point of the cataclysm.

Angel, by this time, had thrown himself on top of Buffy, shielding her from flying debris. It was then that a lighting bolt struck a crate, exploding it and sending out ballistic wooden fragments in all directions. Buffy immediately realized something was wrong when she felt Angel go limp and, looking up, saw his eyes roll back in their sockets. In a panic, she cried, "Angel...Angel? What's wrong?"

Once the turbulence had passed, Buffy rolled Angel onto his side and discovered a foot-long fragment embedded in his lower back. Quickly coming to after she removed it, he asked, "What happened?"

"You caught a splinter."

With a weak smile, he said, "Obviously, not in the heart."

As MacLeod made his way across the warehouse to help his student up, across the room all Xander could manage to say was, "Wow, what a blast!"

Outside the building, after observing the structure's windows explode while thunder rumbled within, Giles asked in alarm, "What in God's name was that?"

To which Dawson replied, "That, my good man, was a Quickening."

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A week later, all the principals were invited to MacLeod's dojo after hours. Upon seeing the various weapons arrayed along the walls, Buffy reacted like a kid in a candy store. Soon she was sparring with Richie using quarterstaffs.

As Dawson and Giles watched, the older man said idly, "It's probably good for them to practice with someone new for a change."

"I can't agree more. Buffy needs a well-rounded education in the martial arts. I just can't provide her with that."

Dawson responded, "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll go easy on her. There's no sense anyone getting hurt."

With a smile, Giles said, "Oh, not to worry, Joseph. Buffy won't get hurt." Unconsciously rubbing his shoulder from his last practice with the girl, he then added, "However, I can't say the same about Mr. Ryan."

At that moment, Richie discovered what it felt like to get nailed with a quarter-inch diameter piece of wood between the legs.

"Oh, oh, I'm very sorry, Richie."

With color slowly returning to his cheeks, he stammered, "That's...all right, Buffy."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the gym, Xander and Willow were taking full advantage of the smorgasbord that MacLeod had provided for his guests.

"Look Xander, deviled eggs and cocktail wieners and..."

"Evrythngs...tates...verry...goode."

Turning towards the boy, she asked, "What did you say? I couldn't understand you."

Seemingly trying to down half the spread in one gulp, Xander had to wait for his gastrointestinal system to catch up with his mouth before answering. "I said, everything tastes very good. I highly recommend the shrimp puffs."

The two were suddenly distracted by the sharp sound of cracking wood. Turning around, they saw Richie laying on the floor surrounded by splinters where a wooden bench had been sitting moments before.

"Oh, sorry again, Richie."

Meanwhile, behind the closed door of MacLeod's office, Duncan and Angel were discussing the past, present, and future. After all, between the two of them they had witnessed over six centuries of human history.

"Why did you choose this life, Angelus? At least I was born what I am, but you choose this for yourself."

"MacLeod, I was in love with a woman who not only betrayed me, but wasn't even human. Can you possible know how that feels? Then when I finally realized what was happening, she gave my a choice: die or live forever. I had seconds to make my decision. A 20-year-old facing certain death or a faint chance to survive. If I knew then what I know now, I would have chosen death."

"I still can't forgive you for killing your family. How could you do such a thing?"

After a pause, Angel answered, "What you don't understand, MacLeod, is that a vampire-a typical vampire-isn't in control of itself. The creature may appear human when it wishes, but in reality it's simply a demon masquerading as a man. Your soul is gone and killing-even killing your entire family - simply becomes a means to continue living. At that time, I had no more control over my actions than a tiger does in the jungle. Both acting on pure instinct. No remorse, no sorrow. It's an easy way to live."

"I'm not a big believer in demons, Angelus. I believe in what I can see and touch, not in the supernatural. I have trouble accepting a force that can invade and take control of a man, causing him to kill his family and friends."

"Well, most people would have a hard time accepting the concept of immortality, MacLeod, but here we stand. Does their not accepting it make it any less real?"

"No. But, once your soul was restored, how did you go on living? I don't think I'd be able to go on knowing what I'd done."

"Excuse me, MacLeod, but until you're in that position, please don't say what you'd do. I could choose to walk out into the sunlight at any time, but what would that accomplish? All of my victims would still be dead. Instead, I'm trying to help Buffy on her quest. At least, in some small way, I'm trying to make amends for my crimes."

"Well, Angelus, I hope you find peace. It's not...excuse me" MacLeod, interrupted by the loud crash of metal dumbbells scattering outside the office, opened the door and shouted, "Hey, Richie, take it easy on her."

Quickly closing the door again, all he heard was part of Richie's reply, "But Mac, she's killing..."

Turning back around to face Angel, MacLeod then posed a question, "Where was I...oh yeah, one other thing...what can you tell me about Xander over there?"

"Xander? Like what?"

"What's his family like? What's his relationship with Buffy? What's his relationship to Willow, for that matter?"

"I'll take the hard ones first. Willow has a 'thing' for Xander, who thinks of her as a good friend. Xander, on the other hand, has a 'thing' for Buffy, who thinks of him as a good friend. In case you haven't noticed, by the way, I'm the fourth side of this love quadrangle."

"As for Xander's family life-what I know of it-he has no brothers or sisters and his parents are always at work or out of town. He frequently implies that they treat him more like property than as their son. Why are you so interested in Xander, MacLeod?"

Before he could respond, the office door once again opened and Detective Mendell let himself in.

"Why don't you make yourself at home, detective. We seem to be having an open house tonight."

Mendell did not seem amused. He said coldly, "Don't be a wiseass with me, MacLeod. I've found a dead body and I think you know something about it."

His face impassive, MacLeod answered, "I really think I would remember something like that. Why would I know anything about it?"

Starting around the desk, Mendell commented, "Well, for starters, we don't find many headless bodies in Sunnydale. Last week, we did...on a demolished pier that looked like a bomb hit it."

"Suicide?"

"I'm warning you, MacLeod."

"OK, detective, but I'm still not sure what this has to do with me."

"I'll spell it out for you then, MacLeod. Forensics has traced fibers from the dead man's clothes to the murder of Christina O'Leary and second-and this is the clincher-they also determined, based on metal splinters imbedded in the body, that the murder weapon was A SWORD."

Steepling his fingers in front of his face, MacLeod simply responded, "That still doesn't prove anything. I'm sure that many people own swords around here."

"Sorry to disappoint you, MacLeod, but very few people own swords...and even fewer who do also had their friend's girlfriend killed by the latest murder victim." He paused before adding, "And I think that you or Ryan decided to get revenge on the scumbag who killed Christina O'Leary."

"I will admit, you have a very interesting theory, detective. But that's not proof."

Leaning down so his face was close to MacLeod's, the cop then said, "You're right, MacLeod. But maybe if I confiscate your weapons here and then get search warrants for your apartment and Ryan's, maybe I'll come up with something more solid."

Tapping Mendell on the shoulder, Angel stated, "No, you won't."

Turning around, Mendell started to remark, "And who the hell are...?" when he stopped in mid-sentence. He was now staring silently, mouth agape, into the vampire's red, gold-tinged eyes.

Angel calmly continued, "You just came here to say that the O'Leary murder case was closed. The evidence seems to indicate that the murderer was himself killed in an apparent gangland slaying."

The vampire then withdrew across the room, leaving the cop standing there motionless.

After blinking a couple of times, Mendell looked down at MacLeod and said "I just wanted to let you know that the O'Leary murder case is closed. The evidence indicates that the murderer was himself killed in an apparent gangland slaying."

Trying to hide his amazement, MacLeod said simply, "Thank you, detective. I'm sure Richie will take some comfort in knowing that."

Turning to leave, Mendell hesitated, muttering, "I can swear there was something else I wanted to say." After a moment, he added, "Thanks for your help, Mr. MacLeod. Please send my regards to Mr. Ryan."

"I will, detective. Have a good evening."

After the office door closed, MacLeod smirked and remarked to Angel, "That does come in handy, doesn't it? You don't think you could teach me..."

"I'm afraid not. It's an acquired skill."

Rising and walking towards Angel, MacLeod remarked, "I guess so...now where were we? Oh yes. Do you swear that what I tell you now will not be repeated...until the appropriate time?"

"Yes, I swear, MacLeod. You were saying something about Xander?"

MacLeod then stated bluntly, "Xander was adopted. He was an orphan. In fact, he's like Richie and I...or at least he will be one day."

Blinking several times before responding, Angel finally said, "Xander? Immortal? How do you know?"

"Not only can we sense each other when we are Immortal, but we can also sense those who will eventually become Immortal. Just to be certain, I asked Richie about Xander and he agrees that he feels something."

"Why tell me this, MacLeod? What can I do?"

"First, as I said before, no one can know the truth. It would only disrupt the life he has now. God knows that will happen soon enough. I'm telling you because you know what immortality can do to a person...how it can warp even the most level-headed individual."

"Second, you're in a position to provide guidance to Xander, subtly. You're also in a position to shield him from danger. Consider what would happen if he's ever bitten by a vampire. The results could be catastrophic - the blending of vampire and Immortal attributes might be too much for anyone to stop. For these reasons and others, please watch the boy."

Shaking hands with MacLeod, Angel simply responded, "I will."

"Good."

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That's All Folks (Or Is It?)
end of Immortal Dilemma by Richard Ruth