Chapter 5 - There can be only one...
"Are you sure I can't talk you out of this?"
MacLeod sighed. He was beginning to regret coming back
here, but he needed some rest before his appointment with Kane.
Still, it might have been worth the hassle of finding a hotel
room if it meant avoiding Lita's intense stare. "No."
Never one to give up, Lita kept the pressure on. "You
should at least tell us where this showdown's going to take
place. I know you don't want us to interfere, but we can at
least cover your back."
"I told Kane I would come alone," Duncan reiterated. "I
keep my promises, Lita."
"And Kane?"
"He said he'd be alone as well. I trust him at his word."
Lita snorted, not bothering to hide her disbelief.
"Maybe *you* trust him, but what about Mornay? Or Malachite?
They set one trap for us today... this could be another."
MacLeod knew she had a point, but his mind was made up
on this matter. He picked up his jacket and headed for the
door, putting an end to the discussion. "I'll see you in
the morning."
"With or without your head?"
Despite the situation, Duncan couldn't help but smile.
"Don't worry. I can take care of myself." He opened the door
and paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Promise me
you're not going to try and follow me," he asked her.
"Who, me?" she replied innocently. The look MacLeod gave
her made it plain that he wasn't buying it. "OK, I promise.
I won't follow you. And neither will the others."
"Good," he said, evidently satisfied with that. He
stepped out the door and closed it behind him.
Lita waited a minute, then took out her communicator.
"We don't have to follow you, pal. We'll already be there."
She thumbed it on, and to her surprise, Serena's face was the
one that came into view. But what was not a surprise was that
a slurping sound came through the speakers at the same time.
"He's on his way."
"Great," Serena responded. "We're all set here. We found
a good spot where we can keep on eye on things without being
spotted."
"You mean Mina and Dawson found a good spot," Raye said
from somewhere out of range of the viewer. "*You* have just
been sitting here reading my comic books and drinking sodas."
"Hey!" Serena said indignantly. "I've been doing more
than that!"
"You're right," Raye said. Serena's face showed some
satisfaction until Raye added, "You've also been eating like
a pig."
"Hey!"
Lita didn't bother hiding her smile now. It sounded
like things were getting back to normal. Or at least what
passed for normal for them. "I'll be there in a bit. Just
don't leave without me."
MacLeod stopped in front of the clock tower and glance up
at it. It was still a couple of minute until midnight, but he
had been there for almost half an hour... just in case. As yet
there was no sign of Kane, but he had no doubts that he would
show up. His feeling was confirmed when, just as the clock
struck twelve, he felt the familiar sensation ringing through
his head. Kane stepped from behind the clock and faced him.
"Still punctual, I see," he observed.
"Likewise." Kane glanced around the area. "I see you
came alone as we agreed."
"Not quite." MacLeod reached into his jacket for his
katana. "I brought my friend here."
Kane smiled slightly. "Likewise," he replied, drawing
out his own sword, a two handed blade.
Both Immortals doffed their jackets, choosing to endure
the chilly night air rather than hamper their mobility.
Duncan settled himself into a defensive position, watching
Kane carefully as he advanced towards him. "We don't have to
do this, Kane," he said, making one last attempt to bring Kane
to his senses. "We've been friends for a long time. I'd hate
for it to end this way."
Kane hesitated for a moment. Although his body was in an
attack posture, Duncan could see it in his eyes that Kane
didn't want this battle any more than he did. "I'm afraid I
don't have a choice in the matter, Duncan," he finally
replied, his voice heavy with regret.
"There's always a choice," MacLeod insisted.
"Not for me," Kane said. "Not anymore."
By this point, Kane had gotten within a sword's reach of
MacLeod. The two of them started circling, each observing
the other's defenses. "Why?" MacLeod persisted. "Is
Malachite blackmailing you somehow? Maybe there's something I
can do to help."
"I'm afraid the only thing you can do to help me is
die."
"Well, then we have a problem," MacLeod said. "Because
I don't plan on dying tonight."
"Neither do I," Kane replied as he swung his blade.
From their carefully chosen hiding spot, eight observers
kept a close eye on the two Immortals as they confronted each
other. "I wish we could hear what they're saying," Jupiter
said.
"So do I," Sailor Moon said. "Why couldn't we get a
closer hiding spot?"
"You five have to keep far enough back so neither one of
them can sense you, remember?" Dawson reminded her. "This was
the closest spot we could find that gave us a good view and
keep out of range."
"He's right, Sailor Moon," Mars said. "I can't believe
that even you would forget something as basic as that."
Sailor Moon glared at Mars. "And just what is *that*
supposed to mean?" she said, her voice starting to rise.
"If you two don't pipe down, they're not going to need
any sensing ability to know you're here," Dawson chided them.
"Wait a minute." Mars frowned and looked up at the
Watcher. "How'd you know they can sense us?"
"We're supposed to be watching, not talking," he reminded
her.
"And if we're supposed to be out of sight, how come
you're standing while we're crouching in the bushes," Mars
persisted.
"That's why I'm keeping close to this tree," he said.
"Besides, my legs aren't made for crouching."
"'Aren't made for crouching'?" Mars echoed. "What does
that mean?"
Mercury spoke up before Dawson could answer. "His legs
are artificial, Mars." Mars blinked, surprised, and she
wasn't alone. They had all seen Dawson using a cane since he
had arrived, but with the exception of Mercury, none of them
had guessed the reason. "I've been meaning to ask you: why do
you have two artificial legs?" Mercury asked, then hastily
amended, "If you don't mind me asking, that is."
The Watcher shook his head. "Nah, I don't mind. It
happened a long time ago, back when I was a soldier in Vietnam.
I had an argument with a land mine." Dawson shrugged. "I
lost."
The sounds of steel clashing brought any further
conversation to a halt. Dawson watched the opening strikes of
the battle and felt his stomach twist nervously. "Here we go."
MacLeod's world had contracted to a flurry of parries,
strikes and counterstrikes. His mind was focussed on the
task before him; analyzing Kane's attack, defending against it
and looking for an opening to present itself.
But a small segment of his mind was distracted from this.
For too many openings were presenting themselves. Sure, Kane
was covering them up rapidly, but for a swordsman of Kane's
experience to display even half of them should be nearly
impossible.
MacLeod could only see three possibilities. Either
Kane's fighting skills had deteriorated markedly since he had
last seen him fight (unlikely), or Kane was toying with him
(unlikely too, but possible considering Kane's changed
personality), or...
...Or Kane was fighting to lose.
Duncan wasn't the only one to notice this. Dawson shook
his head and muttered, "Something's wrong here."
Jupiter looked up at him. "You mean other than the fact
that Duncan is fighting a friend to the death?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean," Dawson replied,
either missing her sarcasm or ignoring it completely. "Kane's
fighting style is sloppy. A lot sloppier that it has any right
to be."
"Maybe he's out of practice?" Sailor Moon suggested.
"Not by any report I've seen about him," Dawson said.
"He's nearly obsessive about keeping up his fighting form.
And I just went over his file on my flight to Japan." He
hesitated a moment before adding, "It's as if Kane weren't
fighting to win."
Frowning, Sailor Moon started to turn back to the conflict
but one look at Mars caused her to pause. She had a look of
intense concentration on her face, one that Sailor Moon had
gotten to know well since meeting her. It was one that
inevitably heralded trouble. "Mars? What is it?"
Mars' eyes narrowed as she watched the battle continue.
"I sense something..."
"I had a feeling it was something like that," Sailor Moon
said worriedly. "Like what?"
Mars waited a second before answering. "There's a third
presence down there. I think."
"You think?" Venus asked.
"It's hard for me to be certain. One moment all I can
sense is Kane and MacLeod, then in the next this third presence
is there, and Kane's aura is dimmed."
"Wait a minute," Dawson objected. "You were practically
standing next to him earlier. How come you didn't notice it
then?"
"I had other things on my mind at that moment, OK?" she
shot back, her voice rising.
"Shhh!" Mercury cautioned them both. "We're trying to
remain hidden, remember?"
"Sorry," Dawson muttered.
"Now, Mars. You said this intermittent phenomena was
dimming Kane's aura?"
"Yes. It's like a bunch of clouds moving in front of the
Sun. One moment it's hidden by a cloud, the next it's shining
brilliantly. One thing's for certain, though. When Kane's
aura is dimmed, I'm sensing a definite presence of evil."
Mercury said something under her breath and tapped in a
rapid sequence into her computer. Sailor Moon watched her for
a moment, then asked, "Does that mean something to you,
Mercury?"
"It might explain those anomalous readings I've been
getting from Kane. I had thought it might be something to do
with his Immortal nature, but that might have been an
erroneous hypothesis on my part. Based on what Mars just
told us, I'm making some adjustments to my scans to search
for a sporadic phenomenon in Kane's readings. If I can filter
out Kane's natural functions using scans I've made of Duncan
as a baseline, I might be able to get a lock on what this is."
Sailor Moon blinked, not understanding half of what
Mercury just said. "Uh... OK, Mercury. Whatever you say."
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Duncan mounted
an attack on an opening Kane had presented him. Just like
each and every previous occasion, Kane managed to get his
sword back into position to parry, but what followed was
completely different from the previous occasions. Kane winced
for a split second, as if he felt a sting of pain in his neck,
then he literally exploded into a flurry of retaliatory
strikes. The change in his fighting style was dramatic, almost
as if another persona had taken hold of him. Duncan suddenly
found himself forced onto the defensive. Trying to buy a bit
of time to recover, he retreated to the edge of the clearing,
using the nearby trees to hinder Kane's blows.
But almost immediately he felt a familiar sensation
ringing through his head. Kane paused his offensive in the
same instant, telling Duncan that he had felt it as well.
The Scouts were nearby.
Dawson had a good idea what caused the combat to pause.
"Uh oh..." he breathed. "I think the cat's out of the bag."
Luna blinked. With her attention centered on the battle,
she had only partially heard Dawson's comment. "I beg your
pardon?!" she said indignantly.
"I thought you had agreed to come alone," Kane said,
the accusation plain in his tone.
"So did I," MacLeod replied. "I certainly didn't invite
them here." He threw a glare into the surrounding trees.
Kane arched an eyebrow. "You mean you were followed
and didn't know it? You're getting sloppy, MacLeod."
"I wasn't followed anywhere. As for me getting
sloppy... we'll just have to see about that," MacLeod
retorted, and he resumed his attack.
Doing her best to ignore the increased pace of the
combat, Mercury kept her attention firmly upon the scan
readouts appearing on her visor. She had finally isolated
the anomalous readings to the area of Kane's head and neck.
She tapped quickly upon the keypad without looking, further
refining the scan. Finally the results appeared, confirming
the hypothesis she had formed. "I've got it!" She exclaimed.
"There's definitely another lifeform present, and it's
overriding most of Kane's EEG pattern."
"Then you were right. He is being controlled," Dawson
said. "Now for the sixty four thousand dollar question:
Can it be removed?"
"Yes," Mercury replied.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Let's go!"
Duncan finally got his katana in under Kane's guard,
scoring a direct strike to Kane's left shoulder. The older
Immortal gasped at the pain, and his left arm hung limply at
his side. With only one arm available (and his off arm at
that), Kane was at a severe disadvantage with a two handed
weapon. Duncan was easily able to disarm him, then brought
his katana back for the final blow. "For what it's worth,
Kane, I'm sorry."
"Just get it over with," he replied in a strained and
resigned voice.
Not knowing what else to say, Duncan simply nodded and he
started to swing his sword.
Or he would have, had someone not grabbed his wrists in
a viselike grip. Duncan glared at Sailor Jupiter. "What do
you think you're doing?!?"
The tall Scout didn't flinch from the ire in the
Highlander's voice. "Keeping you from making a mistake you'll
regret for the rest of your life," she said, looking him firmly
in the eye.
"And for an Immortal that could be a long time indeed,"
Mercury put in.
Venus came up beside Jupiter. "We told you we could
help, Duncan. You should have listened to us."
"What..." Duncan began to ask but Mars was already in the
act of providing a demonstration. A thin slip of paper
appeared in her hand, which she planted on Kane's forehead with
a loud cry. Kane screamed in agony, and Duncan felt his jaw
drop. Some creature had appeared at the base of Kane's neck,
it's tendrils wrapped tightly around his neck. It mainly
seemed to be a mass of flesh, one large eye being its only
distinctive feature. "What the hell is that?"
"High concentrations of negative energy," Mercury said as
she viewed the creature through her visor. Now that it was
revealed, she was able to get some clear readings of it.
"There's no doubt about it. This is definitely from the
Negaverse and it's how Malachite was controlling him." She
turned to her friend. "Sailor Moon..."
Sailor Moon already had the Crescent Wand out. "I'm way
ahead of you, Mercury. It's time to get rid of that thing.
"MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"
Radiant white light streamed out from the wand, wrapping
itself around Kane. A thin, keening scream emanated from the
creature, which it echoed through it's connection to Kane.
Then it began to shrivel up like a wilting flower, finally
vanishing into itself and leaving only dust behind in it's wake.
Kane blinked as if he were just waking up from a
nightmare, which in a sense he was. Then he collapsed to
the ground.
"He's alright," Mercury assured MacLeod. "He's just
physically exhausted."
"Thanks," Duncan replied before turning to Jupiter. "I
seem to remember that you promised me you weren't going to
follow."
"Hey, I kept my promise," Jupiter objected. "You didn't
make me promise not to be here."
"Then how..." Duncan's brow wrinkled in confusion for
a moment, then a possible answer came to him. "It was
Dawson, right? He followed me somehow and then called you."
Venus shook her head. "Nope. Let's just say a little
cat told us."
"Cat?" Duncan look even more confused for a moment,
then realization of what she meant dawned on him. He turned
an accusing eye to the two cats. "Artemis..."
"Next time, might I suggest you look around for feline
eavesdroppers," the white feline responded smugly.
"Besides, isn't it better this way than what you had
planned?" Mars asked.
Duncan opened his mouth to reply, but the sensation of
an Immortal nearby suddenly rang through his being. In the
same moment, a slow clapping sound came from the darkness
behind them, and they all turned to see Mornay emerging from
the shadows. "Well done, MacLeod," he said amiably. "I knew
that you would prove too much for him."
MacLeod quickly settled himself into a fighting stance.
Somehow he doubted that Mornay was here to just chat. Out of
the corner of his eye he could see the Scouts doing likewise
and he knew they had similar thoughts. "If he had been
fighting for himself, it might have turned out otherwise."
Mornay chuckled. "Your faith in him is commendable,
Highlander, if misplaced. I've known him for far longer than
you, and I knew it was a waste of time sending him against you.
I told Malachite as much. They should have just let me handle
the lot of you myself."
"You didn't exactly fare too well the last time!" Mars
challenged him.
"Yeah, we kicked your butt then!" Jupiter added.
"Only because I wasn't prepared for MacLeod's
involvement," Mornay said icily. "That won't happen a
second time. This time you die."
"If anyone is dying tonight, it'll be you," MacLeod
retorted and he started to advance.
Mornay smiled, but instead of reaching for his sword, he
made a sweeping gesture with his right hand. Six dark
globes leapt from his hand and struck them. As they struck,
the globes transformed into bands of dark energy that wrapped
themselves around MacLeod and the Scouts, binding them and
knocking them to the ground. "Care to make a wager on that,
MacLeod?"
"Not this again!" Venus muttered.
Mornay took a step towards them. "Now, I..." Before he
could say anything more, Luna and Artemis leapt for his face
in a black and white blur, each cat clawing desperately at
his face. Mornay cried out at the pain, but he retained enough
presence of mind to swat at the cats with his right hand,
sending each of them flying into the trees.
"Luna!" "Artemis!"
Mornay gingerly touched the wounds the cats had
inflicted. He wasn't concerned about them, for they would
heal within moments, but the pain from them would prove
distracting in the meantime. "Now that the preliminaries are
over with, we can get down to business," Mornay said. He
reached for his sword and started walking over to Sailor
Moon. "First of which is disposing of you. Nothing personal,
you understand."
"If it's nothing personal, maybe we can just call it even
and go our separate ways?" she suggested hopefully.
"I don't think so." Mornay raised his sword.
MacLeod had managed to maneuver himself into a sitting
position, but he was still having no luck in breaking free.
Houdini hadn't said anything about breaking out of energy
bands. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked, trying to
buy some time.
Mornay paused, and looked his way. "I don't think so."
"Aren't you supposed to get the Silver Crystal for your
boss?" Duncan could tell that got his attention. "If you
kill her, I don't think you'll get it. And you don't want
to displease Malachite, do you?"
Mornay grimaced. "You have a point." Lowering his sword,
he squatted down to be on a more even level with Sailor Moon.
"Where's the Silver Crystal?"
"Would you believe I left it home under my bed?"
"Don't insult my intelligence, girl," Mornay said. "I
saw you use it on Kane a few minutes ago. But I also saw that
you didn't have it a few seconds ago. So where did you put
it?"
Venus spoke up. "Trade secret."
"Give it to me, and I'll grant you a quick and
painless death," Mornay said, ignoring Venus.
Sailor Moon's eyes widened. "*That's* supposed to be
an incentive?!?"
"Oh, yes." Mornay grinned cruelly. "I've learned from
some of the best in methods of dealing pain. The Inquisitors,
the Maquis de Sade, Dr. Josef Mengele... Each of them
instructed me well in their various specialties. Specialties
that I won't hesitate to demonstrate on you... unless you
comply with my demand."
"You *are* a sicko," Mars growled.
Mornay waited for a minute, but Sailor Moon remained
stubbornly silent. Eventually he stood back up and place the
tip of his blade at her throat. "I'm not known for my
patience. Give the Silver Crystal to me or..." He paused,
looking into her eyes, then drew back his sword. "You'd let
me kill you before giving me the Crystal, wouldn't you? But
somehow I think your friends might be another matter entirely."
He turned from Sailor Moon and began looking over the other
Scouts.
"Leave them alone!" Sailor Moon cried out. Duncan cursed
silently and redoubled his efforts to wriggle free, to no avail.
Mornay grinned. "I see I was right. Now, which one
should be first, hmm?" He glanced back to Sailor Moon. "Tell
you what. I'll let you choose which one I kill first."
"Then I choose myself," she replied without hesitation.
"Oh, no, no, no. That won't do at all. Let's see..."
He regarded the Scouts again, pointing his blade at each of
them in turn. "Shall we start with the brainiac? The
other blonde? The amazon?" Jupiter snarled and struggled
furiously herself, but she had no better luck than MacLeod.
"No, I think it should be this one!" Mornay turned towards
Mars, his blade moving in a blur.
"Mars!!" Sailor Moon shouted.
Mars flinched involuntarily. Although she couldn't see
it, she could feel the tip of the blade touching her stomach.
MacLeod noted that his blade had no trouble penetrated the
energy bands. "What shall it be, Sailor Moon?" Mornay asked,
not taking his eyes off of Mars. "Will you give me the
Silver Crystal, or shall we make the rest of her costume as red
as her skirt?"
"Don't give it to him, Sailor Moon!" Mars insisted.
"He's going to kill us anyway!"
"Maybe I won't kill all of you," Mornay lied smoothly.
"Maybe I'll let the rest of them go if you give me what I
want."
"I..." Sailor Moon began, but MacLeod interrupted her.
"Don't believe him."
"She doesn't much choice, MacLeod. Either she complies...
or she watches each of her friends die in a rather grisly
manner."
"Whoa!" Dawson kept a tight hold on Luna. The black cat
had been ready to charge headlong once again at Mornay.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Dawson already had a
firm grip on Artemis with his other hand, although he was
now having a hard time doing that and stay on his feet as
well.
"Let me go!"she half ordered and half pleaded. "I have
to help her!"
"You already tried that once, and it didn't work too
well that time either," Dawson pointed out. "You were both
lucky that Mornay happened to toss you in my direction. If I
hadn't caught you, you both would've splattered against a
tree."
"Please," Luna said again.
"You think I don't want to help them too? Be realistic,
Luna. There's nothing we can do." Dawson looked again at the
scene before him and felt a small smile form. "But someone
else might be able to do something."
"Well?!?" Mornay insisted harshly. "What's your answer,
girl?"
Sailor Moon opened her mouth to reply, but just then
Mornay sensed rather than saw movement near him. Instinctively
he raised his blade, and he managed to parry the blow meant for
his head. Still, the force of the impact staggered him,
forcing him backwards several paces.
Kane cursed silently but he moved quickly, placing
himself between Mornay and the Scouts. "Time for a rematch,
Mornay. And this time I don't think Malachite is going to
intercede on your behalf."
"You have a very selective memory, Kane," Mornay sneered.
"I was winning our last match. I won't need Malachite's
help."
"Watch it, Kane!" MacLeod warned him. "He's got a
rather nasty trick up his sleeve."
"You mean this?" Mornay asked, and he triggered the
change once more.
Kane didn't blink an eye as Mornay completed the change
to his man-lizard form. ""Don't worry, MacLeod. I know all
about that little trick Malachite gave him. It's not going
to help him in the end."
"Go ahead, Kane," Mornay hissed challengingly. "I've
been waiting to kill you for six hundred years. I'm going
to enjoy taking you apart... piece by piece."
"Not if I send you to hell first," Kane said and
charged.
MacLeod watched the beginning of the battle with a
growing sense of dread. Mornay seemed to be making good on
his threat, as he had already wounded Kane twice -- once on
the arm, and a shallow cut across his forehead. His
Negaverse enhanced form was obviously faster and stronger
than Kane, and from what he could tell, the two of them were
about equal in the skill department. Yet Mornay was refusing
to go for the quick kill, preferring instead to draw the
combat out. Kane was giving a good accounting of himself,
but it only a matter of time.
Soon the flow of battle took them out of sight, although
they could still hear the clashing of their blades. MacLeod
struggled with his bonds once more, but they still clung tight
to him. "Can any of you get loose?"
"What do you think we're trying to do?" Jupiter snapped.
She was having no better luck than MacLeod, and her
frustration was growing.
"Sorry!" MacLeod shot back.
"Mars, you can get rid of these things, just like
before," Sailor Moon said.
"Last time I wasn't tied up," she pointed out. "I need
to get my hands free first, and so far I'm not having much
luck there."
"Maybe I can help." Startled, they looked up. Moving as
fast as he could, Dawson made his way to Mars, pausing along
the way to pick up MacLeod's katana.
"I don't know if that'll do much good, Dawson," MacLeod
said.
"Hey, it's worth a try. Besides, what else can I do? I
don't think shooting Mornay will do anything." Dawson
carefully placed the katana in position to cut Mars' bonds.
"Do me a favor," he asked her, "don't move. He's the expert
with this, not me." Mars nodded, and Dawson made a cautious
cutting motion with the blade. To his dismay, the blade
passed right through with no obvious effect. "Damn!"
"Had a feeling that would happen," Duncan said.
"Mornay's blade passed right through without damaging it."
"Yeah, I saw that earlier," Dawson noted. "I was just
hoping that it was particular to his blade."
"Well it gives me an idea," Mars said, perking up. "Put
the tip of the sword near my hand." Dawson looked at her,
puzzled. "Do it!"
Shrugging, Dawson followed her instructions. To be on
the safe side, he made sure the sharp edge was facing away
from her. Mars waited until she felt the blade touch her
hand, then closed her eyes and spoke softly. Dawson wasn't
sure what she was up to, but he could tell she was up to
something, for he could feel a slight tingling sensation run
up the blade.
"OK," Mars said after a moment. "Try to cut it again."
Dawson started to pull the blade out, but was startled
to feel something resisting him. Setting himself, he yanked
hard on the blade and managed to get it free. Now he saw
just what it was Mars had been up to, as one of her spirit
wards was attached to the flat of the blade. He made
another attempt to cut through the dark mass with the sword,
and this time felt resistance as the blade bit into it.
Energy flickered along the length of the cut, culminating in
a flare of dark light when he completed the cut. The energy
band vanished and Mars was free.
"Yes!" Mars shot back to her feet and stretched. "OK,
I'll have the rest of you loose in a minute."
MacLeod glanced towards the sounds of the battle.
"If Kane has that long."
Kane was in fact beginning to wonder how much longer he
could hold out. He had been at a disadvantage going into
this fight, even without Mornay's newfound abilities. His
previous battle with MacLeod and being healed by the Silver
Crystal had left him drained. The various wounds that Mornay
had been casually inflicting on him only made matters worse.
Now he found himself to be so exhausted that he was starting
to gasp for breath, to say nothing of keeping his sword up.
On the other hand, Mornay still looked fresh. The bastard
was grinning ear to ear, thoroughly enjoying himself. Kane
knew that it was only a matter of time before he decided that
enough was enough.
Kane quickly sorted through his options, searching for
some solution to his dilemma. Unfortunately he saw only two
options left to him and only one of those held any reasonable
chance for his own personal survival. He could admit that
Mornay was too much for him tonight and retreat, choosing to
live to fight another day. But that option carried a heavy
price tag. It meant he would be abandoning MacLeod and the
Scouts to certain death at Mornay's hand.
He tossed out that idea even as it formed within his
mind. MacLeod was a friend, and he couldn't run out on him.
As for the Scouts, he already owed them an ancient debt he
could never fully repay. Retreat was not a viable option.
Therefore he would have to go with his other option, even if
it had very little chance of success.
He would attack.
Obviously a standard attack was out of the question.
Mornay was parrying his strikes with ridiculous ease and those
few that he didn't glanced off that armored skin of his. But
Kane still had one ploy left in his bag of tricks. It was a
move of pure desperation, but if this didn't qualify then
what did?
Kane feigned a stumbling slash, one that Mornay was
easily able to parry, and he fell down to one knee. "Oh, I
hope you aren't done yet, Kane. I was just beginning to
enjoy myself."
"I won't disappoint you." Kane had picked the spot for
his stumble perfectly. He quickly scooped up a small amount
of dirt and tossed it right into Mornay's eyes. Mornay cried
out, one hand clutching at his face while the other lashed
out with his sword in a series of wild slashes.
Knowing that he would only have seconds at best, Kane
moved quickly and ducked to Mornay's right. When Mornay's
blade was in the correct position, Kane lunged forward with
all his remaining strength, stabbing his blade into what he
hoped was the least armored part of Mornay's skin: the
armpit.
He was rewarded by the feeling of his blade biting deep
into Mornay, penetrating several inches into his foe. It
wouldn't be enough to kill Mornay, but it should be enough
to incapacitate him for a time. Or so he thought.
Mornay stared in mild shock at the blade, then jerked
himself backwards off the blade. To Kane's despair, he reacted
as if he had never been wounded, actually smiling. "You know, that might have inconvenienced me a few days ago," he said.
His arm moved in a blur, the back of his hand catching Kane
across the face and sending him flying.
Dazed, Kane shook his head, trying to clear it. But a
sharp pain in his abdomen did that for him. He looked down
and saw his own blade impaled there. He felt the strength
ebb from his legs and he fell to his knees. "I don't know how,
but you managed to find the one weakness in my armor," Mornay
said as he walked idly around Kane. "But unfortunately for
you, this transformation rearranged my internal structure
enough that your blow was no more than irritating."
"I was trying for your heart. That was my mistake," Kane
managed to get out. "I should have remembered, you don't have
one. Something you have in common with Beryl."
Mornay smiled thinly and paused to one side of Kane.
"I'm going to miss our little blood feud, Kane," he said,
raising his sword high for the final blow, "But as they say,
all good things come to an end. After all, there can be
only one."
"Well it's not going to be you, creep!"
"What?!?" Mornay spun towards the voice that came
from behind. His eyes widened when he saw Sailor Moon. "How
did you get free?"
"The same way the rest of us did," Mars commented from
Mornay's left. He glanced over there and saw Mercury standing
by her side. Instinctively he looked back to his right to
find Jupiter and Venus.
MacLeod came out from the shadows to stand by Sailor
Moon. "Time for a rematch," he told Mornay.
Now it was Kane's turn to smile, despite the pain in
his midsection. "What kept you?" he asked MacLeod in a
strained voice.
It was Sailor Moon who answered. "Oh, we just got a
little tied up."
"You know how it is for us Immortals, busy social
schedule and all," MacLeod put in, not taking his eyes off
Mornay for an instant.
"This only delays the inevitable, Kane," Mornay
sneered. "For them and for you."
"We'll see about that!" Mars said. "MARS FIRE...
IGNITE!"
Mornay stood his ground while the fireball raced at him.
Just as it reached his position, he sidestepped it and struck
at it with his sword. A blue glow surrounded the sword when
it came in contact with the fireball, and it flew back at her
position. Mercury and Mars dodged desperately to avoid being
charred.
"Why you..." Jupiter clenched her fists in anger, but
fortunately neither Mars nor Mercury seemed injured. She
turned back to confront Mornay, ready to give him her best
shot, but had to hold back. Duncan had used the momentary
distraction to close with Mornay and engage him sword to
sword.
Mornay, it seemed, had other idea. Parrying MacLeod's
initial strike, he grabbed the Highlander by his jacket.
Using his enhanced strength, he picked him bodily and
hurled him through the air.
Right smack into Sailor Moon.
Jupiter winced as she witnessed the impact. Both Duncan
and Sailor Moon lay stunned upon the ground. Mercury ran over
to check on them, but neither seemed badly hurt. Duncan
would soon recover from any injury in any event. As for
Sailor Moon... "Sailor Moon?"
Sailor Moon looked unsteadily at her. "Do I have to go
to school, Mom? I really don't want to take that math
test today..."
"Let's get him, Jupiter," Venus said, glaring at
Mornay.
Jupiter nodded in agreement. The rod extended upward
from her tiara as she prepared her attack. "JUPITER
THUNDER...."
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM..."
"CRASH!"
"SMASH"
The twin attacks of light and electricity combined into
a more powerful laser-like beam of lightning and raced in
Mornay's direction. He used his sword to block this attack
as well and he managed to reflect it back at them. It struck
the ground between them and it exploded.
Kane could only watch the combat proceed, while he
removed the sword from his stomach inch by painful inch.
The Sailor Scouts seemed to be holding their own so far, but
he knew that the momentum of the battle could shift in an
instant. He gritted his teeth and pulled again at the blade.
'Just about halfway there,' he thought. 'But maybe I
should give serious consideration to using a shorter sword in
the future.'
Duncan groaned, and tried to clear his head. Beside him,
he could hear Mercury attempting to get Sailor Moon back on
her feet. "How is she?"
"She's conscious, but still dazed." Mercury frowned.
"She might have a concussion, but it's too soon to be sure."
"We'll worry about that later." Duncan glanced back at
the battle. "I'll take over here. Right now your friends
could use your help."
"Right," Mercury said with a grateful nod.
Duncan took hold of Sailor Moon's arm and start lifting
her to her feet. The blonde groaned. "Just five more
minutes, 'kay?"
He tapped her lightly on one cheek, trying to rouse her
to full awareness. "Come on, Sailor Moon. We need you for
this battle."
She blinked unsteadily, but Duncan thought her eyes
looked clearer. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him
in a fierce hug. "Darien! You're back!" Duncan's eyes flew
wide in shock.
Despite the fact that a desperate battle was being waged,
it was all Dawson could do to keep from laughing. The one
thing he wished for more than anything else at that moment
was a camera. The look on MacLeod's face was priceless.
"MERCURY BUBBLES... BLAST!"
Mornay swore as the thick fog came over the area. "Not
this thrice damned fog again!"
"You better believe it," he heard Mars reply. He tried
to guess the direction her voice came from, but some trick of
the fog made it seem to come from all directions.
"MARS FIRE... IGNITE!"
This time Mornay didn't see the fireball until it was
almost on top of him, far too late for him to dodge or deflect
it. It slammed into him with a flash of heat and flame.
Mars gasped when the flames had cleared. Other than
some smoldering clothing, Mornay seemed unaffected by her
attack. "That... hurt," he said, anger tingeing his voice.
Seeing a shadow within the fog, Mornay leapt for it. He
guessed right, and he grabbed Mars by the throat. "We'll see
how tough you are once I break your neck!" he snarled, lifting
her up.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" came another voice from the
fog and a golden beam of light lanced outward. Mornay yelped
in pain as it pierced his arm, and he was forced to drop Mars.
Jupiter raced in at the same time, pulling the raven haired
Scout from danger.
Mornay felt something crash into his side, staggering
him. Turning, he found himself face to face with MacLeod
again. "I'm back." Mornay snarled and reached for the
Highlander again, but this time MacLeod managed to dodge out
of reach.
"Now Sailor Moon!" Luna cried out.
Sensing that the danger was behind him, Mornay spun
around and saw Sailor Moon standing not far from him. She held
up the Crescent Wand in front of her. "You wanted the
Silver Crystal? Well, here's a sample of what it can do.
"MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" Again the radiant white
healing energy streamed out from the Silver Crystal and it
flowed over Mornay, who screamed. Within seconds, his
transformation had been reversed and the youma Malachite
had invested in him had been purged from his body.
Mornay looked with horror at his hands. Any hint of
his former state was gone forever. He was once more just a
flesh and blood Immortal. "No," he said. "This can't be!"
"Looks to me like it is," Jupiter replied.
Mornay glared at her momentarily, then returned his gaze
to Sailor Moon. "You'll pay for that! I wanted that power!
It would have been more than enough to insure that *I* would
be the last Immortal! I swear I'll kill you!"
"And how do you think you're going to do that?" Mars
took a threatening step towards Mornay. "Without those
powers, I think the five of us can handle you. And I bet
that Sailor Moon's tiara could be just as deadly to you as
a sword."
"You won't have to, Mars," Duncan put in. "I can take
it from here. It's over, Mornay,"
Mornay fixed a hate-filled glare at MacLeod. "I don't
think so, MacLeod. I haven't lost yet." His voice rose to a
loud yell and he charged forward. Duncan raised his sword,
ready to defend himself, but it quickly became apparent the
he wasn't Mornay's target.
Mornay charged bodily into Sailor Moon, seizing at the
Crescent Wand with his left hand. The suddenness of his
attack gave him the edge he needed to wrest it from her.
Sailor Moon fell backwards, landing on her rear end with a
startle "Oooff!", while the other Scouts could only stare in
horror as Mornay raised the Crescent Wand aloft with a cry
of triumph... One that quickly transformed itself an
incoherent howl of pain. Mornay clutched at the stump of
his wrist, while the Crescent Wand fell to the ground with
Mornay's severed hand still gripping it tightly. Duncan
brought his katana back for the final strike. "You lose."
Mornay knew now that he had lost completely and that the
only thing he could hope for was to save his own skin.
Ignoring the pain from his wrist as best he could, he turned
and ran off into the darkness.
Duncan took a deep breath and lowered his sword to his
side. Jupiter moved up beside him, as did the other
Scouts. "Shouldn't we follow him?"
Duncan knelt down and started to pry the Crescent Wand
loose. "There's no need. He's lost the edge Malachite gave
him, plus he's short a hand. He's no real threat right now."
"I don't know about that, Duncan," Venus said. "He's
still an Immortal. I..."
"Wait a minute!" Mars shouted, interrupting the blonde. "Where'd Kane go?" The other Scouts looked around, but they
saw soon enough that Mars was right. Kane was nowhere to be
found.
Duncan nodded to himself. That was the third reason he
saw no need to follow Mornay. Because he knew that he
wasn't going to get far.
Mornay staggered against a tree a short distance away.
The throbbing from his wrist was still incredible, but the
bleeding had stopped. Now that he was out of immediate danger,
he could start to consider what to do next. Considering the
way things had gone, he could hardly go back to Horton and
Malachite. Neither one seemed the type to tolerate failure.
His only recourse seemed to be to find a nice, deep hole and
hide in it for a while. Then he could...
Mornay stiffened, sensing the approach of another
Immortal. MacLeod must be tracking him. That meant it was
time to leave. Shoving against the tree with his good hand,
he started moving.
He had barely taken two steps when he saw a figure in
his path. "Hello, Mornay," Kane said, stepping towards him.
"Are you ready to die?"
"Any sign of him, Mercury?" Sailor Moon asked.
Artemis had gone over to where Mornay had vanished into
the darkness. "I think he went this way."
"Don't bother," Duncan told them. "I think I know where
he went." He stiffened slightly and knew deep in his being
that he was right. "And you might want to get back from
there, Artemis."
The cat looked back at him. "Huh?"
The first flicker of lightning, barely missing Artemis,
answered his question. The cat dodged that one, but many
more soon followed. Soon a storm of lightning was echoing
all around them. Several of the nearby lampposts were struck
and they exploded into showers of sparks, as did the nearby
clock tower. The Scouts crouched down, instinctively seeking
cover against the energy storm.
Mercury goggled at the view through her visor. "This is
incredible! I can't believe the amount of energy being
released. It's off the scale!"
Then as quickly as it had appeared, the lightning
vanished and the park was eerily quiet. "Now what?" Sailor
Moon asked.
As if in answer, Kane emerged from the darkness, looking
worn and haggard. But his face bore a look of satisfaction.
There was a moment of uneasy silence while the others
regarded him warily. Then Kane walked over to Duncan and
extended a hand, a gesture that Duncan immediately
reciprocated. "Thanks, Duncan. Now I owe you one."
"Owe *him* one?" Mars said incredulously. "What about
us?" The other Scouts nodded in agreement.
"She's right, you know," Duncan said. "As I recall, I
was about to kill you."
"Sorry about that, but it was the only way I saw out of
my dilemma."
"The only way?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I could resist that... thing to a degree," Kane
explained. "Enough so that I could give MacLeod enough
opportunity to kill me. But that was about all I could do.
In every other aspect, it was in control of me. MacLeod's
lucky I was able to resist it that much. If I had been
completely under it's control, I would have killed MacLeod
here."
Duncan grinned. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."
"Come on, I've seen you fight," Kane replied. "That
time in Scotland I had to handle four of them. You were
barely able to take on two."
"I've had some practice since then."
Kane regarded the Highlander with a critical eye.
"Perhaps... But if the Fates are willing, we won't find out
the answer to that question until the Gathering."
"I'd like to keep it that way," Duncan agreed.
"And you're right, Sailor Mars," Kane said, now
addressing the Scouts. "I do owe you. But not just for
this."
There were looks of confusion among them. "Huh?"
"I owe you from long ago. You see, I was there when
the Silver Millennium fell centuries ago. I..." Kane paused
and his eyes widened before his expression shifted to one of
anger.
Mars felt the hair on her neck rise, and she suddenly had
a feeling just what had angered Kane. She spun around and
cried out in warning, "Look out!"
Kane already had his sword out and he charged past
Duncan, who also turned rapidly.
Malachite watched arrogantly as Kane charged, then
casually tossed a white ball of energy at the Immortal. It
struck Kane right in the chest, and the Immortal sank to his
knees. He glanced down at the smoking wound and managed to
say, "I'm getting too old for this," before he collapsed.
"I can easily rectify that," Malachite said, and an
energy sword materialized in one hand.
"I wouldn't try that," MacLeod said.
Malachite looked up and was about to retort, but paused. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon were each flanking MacLeod,
and the others were arrayed around them. He still might
have attacked except for the fact that Sailor Moon had the
Crescent Wand out, the Silver Crystal gleaming with power.
No, now was not the time to challenge the Scouts. There
would be time enough for that later. A whirling black
hole appeared behind him, and he began to fade from sight.
But that didn't stop him from issuing one last threat.
"The next time we meet, Sailor Moon, will the last."
Mars was unimpressed. "Promises, promises."
Horton shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and
walked away. MacLeod and his Sailor Scout allies had managed
to free Kane from his control and to defeat Mornay, but the
renegade Watcher didn't allow anger to overwhelm him at this
setback. Already he was rolling various plots and schemes in
his mind, planning ahead for his next confrontation with the
Highlander.
So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he didn't
notice Malachite's appearance until he was on top of the
Negaverse General. "Ah, Malachite. Is something wrong?"
"Everything is wrong. Your precious plan has failed!"
Malachite was plainly frustrated.
"It almost worked," Horton replied. "If not for
MacLeod's involvement, it might have, but..."
"You wanted MacLeod to be there," Malachite interrupted
him, his voice cold. "You failed in your efforts to kill
him earlier, so you thought you could use my aid to try
again."
"Perhaps."
Malachite glared at the renegade Watcher. "I should
have left you in that river. It would have taken me longer
to find an Immortal on my own, but then I wouldn't have
your vengeance quest getting in the way."
"You knew about my conflicts with MacLeod going into
this," Horton replied. "And I didn't hear you complain about
my suggestion to use Kane. In fact, you admired the symmetry
of the situation." Horton paused, but Malachite didn't
reply except by way of his continued glare at Horton. "In
any event, I'm sure you'll think of some way to explain this
to Queen Beryl," Horton added calmly. "You seem to be very
resourceful that way."
Malachite's eyes narrowed. "You seem to be taking
this rather well."
Horton shrugged. "Success is never guaranteed in any
plan; there are always variables that cannot be accounted
for. Kane's strength of will and the Scouts' resourcefulness,
in this instance. But MacLeod and his friends can have this
victory today. People such as you and I only have to win
once." Horton turned and began walking off. "If you need
my assistance in the future, you know how to get a hold of
me."
Malachite grabbed Horton's jacket and pulled the renegade
Watcher towards him, nearly yanking him off his feet. "I
don't think so. You will come with me... and *you* will
explain to Queen Beryl why the plan failed because of *your*
obsession with MacLeod!"
"Wait a minute!" Horton protested. "You can't..."
But Malachite could and he did. Ignoring Horton's
protests, Malachite willed black light to fill the area
around the two men. It soon faded, taking them both with it.
Kane gasped, his Immortal physiology once more
repairing his wounds. What had transpired just before his
'death' came immediately into his mind and he groped for
his sword, looking around him. However, the clearing seemed
to be deserted.
"Welcome back," said a familiar voice behind him,
proving that the area was not entirely deserted. Kane
glanced backwards at MacLeod, then started getting back to
his feet.
"I take it you were able to handle Malachite?" he asked.
"He didn't stick around long," MacLeod replied. "He
wasn't feeling up to battling all the Scouts today."
Kane looked around again, but still saw no one
else. "Where...?"
"I sent them home," he explained. "I figured I'd help
you out with making arrangements to get back home. All
the excitement is over, after all."
"Only for now."
MacLeod frowned, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm sticking around here." Kane looked intently
at Macleod. "I owe Beryl and Malachite too much to just head
back to England. Not just for tonight, but for what happened
millennia ago. And I intend to pay them back... With
interest."
Next: Epilogue. Dawson has a heart to heart with Artemis and we get a glimpse of the future.
"Are you sure I can't talk you out of this?"
MacLeod sighed. He was beginning to regret coming back
here, but he needed some rest before his appointment with Kane.
Still, it might have been worth the hassle of finding a hotel
room if it meant avoiding Lita's intense stare. "No."
Never one to give up, Lita kept the pressure on. "You
should at least tell us where this showdown's going to take
place. I know you don't want us to interfere, but we can at
least cover your back."
"I told Kane I would come alone," Duncan reiterated. "I
keep my promises, Lita."
"And Kane?"
"He said he'd be alone as well. I trust him at his word."
Lita snorted, not bothering to hide her disbelief.
"Maybe *you* trust him, but what about Mornay? Or Malachite?
They set one trap for us today... this could be another."
MacLeod knew she had a point, but his mind was made up
on this matter. He picked up his jacket and headed for the
door, putting an end to the discussion. "I'll see you in
the morning."
"With or without your head?"
Despite the situation, Duncan couldn't help but smile.
"Don't worry. I can take care of myself." He opened the door
and paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Promise me
you're not going to try and follow me," he asked her.
"Who, me?" she replied innocently. The look MacLeod gave
her made it plain that he wasn't buying it. "OK, I promise.
I won't follow you. And neither will the others."
"Good," he said, evidently satisfied with that. He
stepped out the door and closed it behind him.
Lita waited a minute, then took out her communicator.
"We don't have to follow you, pal. We'll already be there."
She thumbed it on, and to her surprise, Serena's face was the
one that came into view. But what was not a surprise was that
a slurping sound came through the speakers at the same time.
"He's on his way."
"Great," Serena responded. "We're all set here. We found
a good spot where we can keep on eye on things without being
spotted."
"You mean Mina and Dawson found a good spot," Raye said
from somewhere out of range of the viewer. "*You* have just
been sitting here reading my comic books and drinking sodas."
"Hey!" Serena said indignantly. "I've been doing more
than that!"
"You're right," Raye said. Serena's face showed some
satisfaction until Raye added, "You've also been eating like
a pig."
"Hey!"
Lita didn't bother hiding her smile now. It sounded
like things were getting back to normal. Or at least what
passed for normal for them. "I'll be there in a bit. Just
don't leave without me."
MacLeod stopped in front of the clock tower and glance up
at it. It was still a couple of minute until midnight, but he
had been there for almost half an hour... just in case. As yet
there was no sign of Kane, but he had no doubts that he would
show up. His feeling was confirmed when, just as the clock
struck twelve, he felt the familiar sensation ringing through
his head. Kane stepped from behind the clock and faced him.
"Still punctual, I see," he observed.
"Likewise." Kane glanced around the area. "I see you
came alone as we agreed."
"Not quite." MacLeod reached into his jacket for his
katana. "I brought my friend here."
Kane smiled slightly. "Likewise," he replied, drawing
out his own sword, a two handed blade.
Both Immortals doffed their jackets, choosing to endure
the chilly night air rather than hamper their mobility.
Duncan settled himself into a defensive position, watching
Kane carefully as he advanced towards him. "We don't have to
do this, Kane," he said, making one last attempt to bring Kane
to his senses. "We've been friends for a long time. I'd hate
for it to end this way."
Kane hesitated for a moment. Although his body was in an
attack posture, Duncan could see it in his eyes that Kane
didn't want this battle any more than he did. "I'm afraid I
don't have a choice in the matter, Duncan," he finally
replied, his voice heavy with regret.
"There's always a choice," MacLeod insisted.
"Not for me," Kane said. "Not anymore."
By this point, Kane had gotten within a sword's reach of
MacLeod. The two of them started circling, each observing
the other's defenses. "Why?" MacLeod persisted. "Is
Malachite blackmailing you somehow? Maybe there's something I
can do to help."
"I'm afraid the only thing you can do to help me is
die."
"Well, then we have a problem," MacLeod said. "Because
I don't plan on dying tonight."
"Neither do I," Kane replied as he swung his blade.
From their carefully chosen hiding spot, eight observers
kept a close eye on the two Immortals as they confronted each
other. "I wish we could hear what they're saying," Jupiter
said.
"So do I," Sailor Moon said. "Why couldn't we get a
closer hiding spot?"
"You five have to keep far enough back so neither one of
them can sense you, remember?" Dawson reminded her. "This was
the closest spot we could find that gave us a good view and
keep out of range."
"He's right, Sailor Moon," Mars said. "I can't believe
that even you would forget something as basic as that."
Sailor Moon glared at Mars. "And just what is *that*
supposed to mean?" she said, her voice starting to rise.
"If you two don't pipe down, they're not going to need
any sensing ability to know you're here," Dawson chided them.
"Wait a minute." Mars frowned and looked up at the
Watcher. "How'd you know they can sense us?"
"We're supposed to be watching, not talking," he reminded
her.
"And if we're supposed to be out of sight, how come
you're standing while we're crouching in the bushes," Mars
persisted.
"That's why I'm keeping close to this tree," he said.
"Besides, my legs aren't made for crouching."
"'Aren't made for crouching'?" Mars echoed. "What does
that mean?"
Mercury spoke up before Dawson could answer. "His legs
are artificial, Mars." Mars blinked, surprised, and she
wasn't alone. They had all seen Dawson using a cane since he
had arrived, but with the exception of Mercury, none of them
had guessed the reason. "I've been meaning to ask you: why do
you have two artificial legs?" Mercury asked, then hastily
amended, "If you don't mind me asking, that is."
The Watcher shook his head. "Nah, I don't mind. It
happened a long time ago, back when I was a soldier in Vietnam.
I had an argument with a land mine." Dawson shrugged. "I
lost."
The sounds of steel clashing brought any further
conversation to a halt. Dawson watched the opening strikes of
the battle and felt his stomach twist nervously. "Here we go."
MacLeod's world had contracted to a flurry of parries,
strikes and counterstrikes. His mind was focussed on the
task before him; analyzing Kane's attack, defending against it
and looking for an opening to present itself.
But a small segment of his mind was distracted from this.
For too many openings were presenting themselves. Sure, Kane
was covering them up rapidly, but for a swordsman of Kane's
experience to display even half of them should be nearly
impossible.
MacLeod could only see three possibilities. Either
Kane's fighting skills had deteriorated markedly since he had
last seen him fight (unlikely), or Kane was toying with him
(unlikely too, but possible considering Kane's changed
personality), or...
...Or Kane was fighting to lose.
Duncan wasn't the only one to notice this. Dawson shook
his head and muttered, "Something's wrong here."
Jupiter looked up at him. "You mean other than the fact
that Duncan is fighting a friend to the death?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean," Dawson replied,
either missing her sarcasm or ignoring it completely. "Kane's
fighting style is sloppy. A lot sloppier that it has any right
to be."
"Maybe he's out of practice?" Sailor Moon suggested.
"Not by any report I've seen about him," Dawson said.
"He's nearly obsessive about keeping up his fighting form.
And I just went over his file on my flight to Japan." He
hesitated a moment before adding, "It's as if Kane weren't
fighting to win."
Frowning, Sailor Moon started to turn back to the conflict
but one look at Mars caused her to pause. She had a look of
intense concentration on her face, one that Sailor Moon had
gotten to know well since meeting her. It was one that
inevitably heralded trouble. "Mars? What is it?"
Mars' eyes narrowed as she watched the battle continue.
"I sense something..."
"I had a feeling it was something like that," Sailor Moon
said worriedly. "Like what?"
Mars waited a second before answering. "There's a third
presence down there. I think."
"You think?" Venus asked.
"It's hard for me to be certain. One moment all I can
sense is Kane and MacLeod, then in the next this third presence
is there, and Kane's aura is dimmed."
"Wait a minute," Dawson objected. "You were practically
standing next to him earlier. How come you didn't notice it
then?"
"I had other things on my mind at that moment, OK?" she
shot back, her voice rising.
"Shhh!" Mercury cautioned them both. "We're trying to
remain hidden, remember?"
"Sorry," Dawson muttered.
"Now, Mars. You said this intermittent phenomena was
dimming Kane's aura?"
"Yes. It's like a bunch of clouds moving in front of the
Sun. One moment it's hidden by a cloud, the next it's shining
brilliantly. One thing's for certain, though. When Kane's
aura is dimmed, I'm sensing a definite presence of evil."
Mercury said something under her breath and tapped in a
rapid sequence into her computer. Sailor Moon watched her for
a moment, then asked, "Does that mean something to you,
Mercury?"
"It might explain those anomalous readings I've been
getting from Kane. I had thought it might be something to do
with his Immortal nature, but that might have been an
erroneous hypothesis on my part. Based on what Mars just
told us, I'm making some adjustments to my scans to search
for a sporadic phenomenon in Kane's readings. If I can filter
out Kane's natural functions using scans I've made of Duncan
as a baseline, I might be able to get a lock on what this is."
Sailor Moon blinked, not understanding half of what
Mercury just said. "Uh... OK, Mercury. Whatever you say."
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Duncan mounted
an attack on an opening Kane had presented him. Just like
each and every previous occasion, Kane managed to get his
sword back into position to parry, but what followed was
completely different from the previous occasions. Kane winced
for a split second, as if he felt a sting of pain in his neck,
then he literally exploded into a flurry of retaliatory
strikes. The change in his fighting style was dramatic, almost
as if another persona had taken hold of him. Duncan suddenly
found himself forced onto the defensive. Trying to buy a bit
of time to recover, he retreated to the edge of the clearing,
using the nearby trees to hinder Kane's blows.
But almost immediately he felt a familiar sensation
ringing through his head. Kane paused his offensive in the
same instant, telling Duncan that he had felt it as well.
The Scouts were nearby.
Dawson had a good idea what caused the combat to pause.
"Uh oh..." he breathed. "I think the cat's out of the bag."
Luna blinked. With her attention centered on the battle,
she had only partially heard Dawson's comment. "I beg your
pardon?!" she said indignantly.
"I thought you had agreed to come alone," Kane said,
the accusation plain in his tone.
"So did I," MacLeod replied. "I certainly didn't invite
them here." He threw a glare into the surrounding trees.
Kane arched an eyebrow. "You mean you were followed
and didn't know it? You're getting sloppy, MacLeod."
"I wasn't followed anywhere. As for me getting
sloppy... we'll just have to see about that," MacLeod
retorted, and he resumed his attack.
Doing her best to ignore the increased pace of the
combat, Mercury kept her attention firmly upon the scan
readouts appearing on her visor. She had finally isolated
the anomalous readings to the area of Kane's head and neck.
She tapped quickly upon the keypad without looking, further
refining the scan. Finally the results appeared, confirming
the hypothesis she had formed. "I've got it!" She exclaimed.
"There's definitely another lifeform present, and it's
overriding most of Kane's EEG pattern."
"Then you were right. He is being controlled," Dawson
said. "Now for the sixty four thousand dollar question:
Can it be removed?"
"Yes," Mercury replied.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Let's go!"
Duncan finally got his katana in under Kane's guard,
scoring a direct strike to Kane's left shoulder. The older
Immortal gasped at the pain, and his left arm hung limply at
his side. With only one arm available (and his off arm at
that), Kane was at a severe disadvantage with a two handed
weapon. Duncan was easily able to disarm him, then brought
his katana back for the final blow. "For what it's worth,
Kane, I'm sorry."
"Just get it over with," he replied in a strained and
resigned voice.
Not knowing what else to say, Duncan simply nodded and he
started to swing his sword.
Or he would have, had someone not grabbed his wrists in
a viselike grip. Duncan glared at Sailor Jupiter. "What do
you think you're doing?!?"
The tall Scout didn't flinch from the ire in the
Highlander's voice. "Keeping you from making a mistake you'll
regret for the rest of your life," she said, looking him firmly
in the eye.
"And for an Immortal that could be a long time indeed,"
Mercury put in.
Venus came up beside Jupiter. "We told you we could
help, Duncan. You should have listened to us."
"What..." Duncan began to ask but Mars was already in the
act of providing a demonstration. A thin slip of paper
appeared in her hand, which she planted on Kane's forehead with
a loud cry. Kane screamed in agony, and Duncan felt his jaw
drop. Some creature had appeared at the base of Kane's neck,
it's tendrils wrapped tightly around his neck. It mainly
seemed to be a mass of flesh, one large eye being its only
distinctive feature. "What the hell is that?"
"High concentrations of negative energy," Mercury said as
she viewed the creature through her visor. Now that it was
revealed, she was able to get some clear readings of it.
"There's no doubt about it. This is definitely from the
Negaverse and it's how Malachite was controlling him." She
turned to her friend. "Sailor Moon..."
Sailor Moon already had the Crescent Wand out. "I'm way
ahead of you, Mercury. It's time to get rid of that thing.
"MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"
Radiant white light streamed out from the wand, wrapping
itself around Kane. A thin, keening scream emanated from the
creature, which it echoed through it's connection to Kane.
Then it began to shrivel up like a wilting flower, finally
vanishing into itself and leaving only dust behind in it's wake.
Kane blinked as if he were just waking up from a
nightmare, which in a sense he was. Then he collapsed to
the ground.
"He's alright," Mercury assured MacLeod. "He's just
physically exhausted."
"Thanks," Duncan replied before turning to Jupiter. "I
seem to remember that you promised me you weren't going to
follow."
"Hey, I kept my promise," Jupiter objected. "You didn't
make me promise not to be here."
"Then how..." Duncan's brow wrinkled in confusion for
a moment, then a possible answer came to him. "It was
Dawson, right? He followed me somehow and then called you."
Venus shook her head. "Nope. Let's just say a little
cat told us."
"Cat?" Duncan look even more confused for a moment,
then realization of what she meant dawned on him. He turned
an accusing eye to the two cats. "Artemis..."
"Next time, might I suggest you look around for feline
eavesdroppers," the white feline responded smugly.
"Besides, isn't it better this way than what you had
planned?" Mars asked.
Duncan opened his mouth to reply, but the sensation of
an Immortal nearby suddenly rang through his being. In the
same moment, a slow clapping sound came from the darkness
behind them, and they all turned to see Mornay emerging from
the shadows. "Well done, MacLeod," he said amiably. "I knew
that you would prove too much for him."
MacLeod quickly settled himself into a fighting stance.
Somehow he doubted that Mornay was here to just chat. Out of
the corner of his eye he could see the Scouts doing likewise
and he knew they had similar thoughts. "If he had been
fighting for himself, it might have turned out otherwise."
Mornay chuckled. "Your faith in him is commendable,
Highlander, if misplaced. I've known him for far longer than
you, and I knew it was a waste of time sending him against you.
I told Malachite as much. They should have just let me handle
the lot of you myself."
"You didn't exactly fare too well the last time!" Mars
challenged him.
"Yeah, we kicked your butt then!" Jupiter added.
"Only because I wasn't prepared for MacLeod's
involvement," Mornay said icily. "That won't happen a
second time. This time you die."
"If anyone is dying tonight, it'll be you," MacLeod
retorted and he started to advance.
Mornay smiled, but instead of reaching for his sword, he
made a sweeping gesture with his right hand. Six dark
globes leapt from his hand and struck them. As they struck,
the globes transformed into bands of dark energy that wrapped
themselves around MacLeod and the Scouts, binding them and
knocking them to the ground. "Care to make a wager on that,
MacLeod?"
"Not this again!" Venus muttered.
Mornay took a step towards them. "Now, I..." Before he
could say anything more, Luna and Artemis leapt for his face
in a black and white blur, each cat clawing desperately at
his face. Mornay cried out at the pain, but he retained enough
presence of mind to swat at the cats with his right hand,
sending each of them flying into the trees.
"Luna!" "Artemis!"
Mornay gingerly touched the wounds the cats had
inflicted. He wasn't concerned about them, for they would
heal within moments, but the pain from them would prove
distracting in the meantime. "Now that the preliminaries are
over with, we can get down to business," Mornay said. He
reached for his sword and started walking over to Sailor
Moon. "First of which is disposing of you. Nothing personal,
you understand."
"If it's nothing personal, maybe we can just call it even
and go our separate ways?" she suggested hopefully.
"I don't think so." Mornay raised his sword.
MacLeod had managed to maneuver himself into a sitting
position, but he was still having no luck in breaking free.
Houdini hadn't said anything about breaking out of energy
bands. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked, trying to
buy some time.
Mornay paused, and looked his way. "I don't think so."
"Aren't you supposed to get the Silver Crystal for your
boss?" Duncan could tell that got his attention. "If you
kill her, I don't think you'll get it. And you don't want
to displease Malachite, do you?"
Mornay grimaced. "You have a point." Lowering his sword,
he squatted down to be on a more even level with Sailor Moon.
"Where's the Silver Crystal?"
"Would you believe I left it home under my bed?"
"Don't insult my intelligence, girl," Mornay said. "I
saw you use it on Kane a few minutes ago. But I also saw that
you didn't have it a few seconds ago. So where did you put
it?"
Venus spoke up. "Trade secret."
"Give it to me, and I'll grant you a quick and
painless death," Mornay said, ignoring Venus.
Sailor Moon's eyes widened. "*That's* supposed to be
an incentive?!?"
"Oh, yes." Mornay grinned cruelly. "I've learned from
some of the best in methods of dealing pain. The Inquisitors,
the Maquis de Sade, Dr. Josef Mengele... Each of them
instructed me well in their various specialties. Specialties
that I won't hesitate to demonstrate on you... unless you
comply with my demand."
"You *are* a sicko," Mars growled.
Mornay waited for a minute, but Sailor Moon remained
stubbornly silent. Eventually he stood back up and place the
tip of his blade at her throat. "I'm not known for my
patience. Give the Silver Crystal to me or..." He paused,
looking into her eyes, then drew back his sword. "You'd let
me kill you before giving me the Crystal, wouldn't you? But
somehow I think your friends might be another matter entirely."
He turned from Sailor Moon and began looking over the other
Scouts.
"Leave them alone!" Sailor Moon cried out. Duncan cursed
silently and redoubled his efforts to wriggle free, to no avail.
Mornay grinned. "I see I was right. Now, which one
should be first, hmm?" He glanced back to Sailor Moon. "Tell
you what. I'll let you choose which one I kill first."
"Then I choose myself," she replied without hesitation.
"Oh, no, no, no. That won't do at all. Let's see..."
He regarded the Scouts again, pointing his blade at each of
them in turn. "Shall we start with the brainiac? The
other blonde? The amazon?" Jupiter snarled and struggled
furiously herself, but she had no better luck than MacLeod.
"No, I think it should be this one!" Mornay turned towards
Mars, his blade moving in a blur.
"Mars!!" Sailor Moon shouted.
Mars flinched involuntarily. Although she couldn't see
it, she could feel the tip of the blade touching her stomach.
MacLeod noted that his blade had no trouble penetrated the
energy bands. "What shall it be, Sailor Moon?" Mornay asked,
not taking his eyes off of Mars. "Will you give me the
Silver Crystal, or shall we make the rest of her costume as red
as her skirt?"
"Don't give it to him, Sailor Moon!" Mars insisted.
"He's going to kill us anyway!"
"Maybe I won't kill all of you," Mornay lied smoothly.
"Maybe I'll let the rest of them go if you give me what I
want."
"I..." Sailor Moon began, but MacLeod interrupted her.
"Don't believe him."
"She doesn't much choice, MacLeod. Either she complies...
or she watches each of her friends die in a rather grisly
manner."
"Whoa!" Dawson kept a tight hold on Luna. The black cat
had been ready to charge headlong once again at Mornay.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Dawson already had a
firm grip on Artemis with his other hand, although he was
now having a hard time doing that and stay on his feet as
well.
"Let me go!"she half ordered and half pleaded. "I have
to help her!"
"You already tried that once, and it didn't work too
well that time either," Dawson pointed out. "You were both
lucky that Mornay happened to toss you in my direction. If I
hadn't caught you, you both would've splattered against a
tree."
"Please," Luna said again.
"You think I don't want to help them too? Be realistic,
Luna. There's nothing we can do." Dawson looked again at the
scene before him and felt a small smile form. "But someone
else might be able to do something."
"Well?!?" Mornay insisted harshly. "What's your answer,
girl?"
Sailor Moon opened her mouth to reply, but just then
Mornay sensed rather than saw movement near him. Instinctively
he raised his blade, and he managed to parry the blow meant for
his head. Still, the force of the impact staggered him,
forcing him backwards several paces.
Kane cursed silently but he moved quickly, placing
himself between Mornay and the Scouts. "Time for a rematch,
Mornay. And this time I don't think Malachite is going to
intercede on your behalf."
"You have a very selective memory, Kane," Mornay sneered.
"I was winning our last match. I won't need Malachite's
help."
"Watch it, Kane!" MacLeod warned him. "He's got a
rather nasty trick up his sleeve."
"You mean this?" Mornay asked, and he triggered the
change once more.
Kane didn't blink an eye as Mornay completed the change
to his man-lizard form. ""Don't worry, MacLeod. I know all
about that little trick Malachite gave him. It's not going
to help him in the end."
"Go ahead, Kane," Mornay hissed challengingly. "I've
been waiting to kill you for six hundred years. I'm going
to enjoy taking you apart... piece by piece."
"Not if I send you to hell first," Kane said and
charged.
MacLeod watched the beginning of the battle with a
growing sense of dread. Mornay seemed to be making good on
his threat, as he had already wounded Kane twice -- once on
the arm, and a shallow cut across his forehead. His
Negaverse enhanced form was obviously faster and stronger
than Kane, and from what he could tell, the two of them were
about equal in the skill department. Yet Mornay was refusing
to go for the quick kill, preferring instead to draw the
combat out. Kane was giving a good accounting of himself,
but it only a matter of time.
Soon the flow of battle took them out of sight, although
they could still hear the clashing of their blades. MacLeod
struggled with his bonds once more, but they still clung tight
to him. "Can any of you get loose?"
"What do you think we're trying to do?" Jupiter snapped.
She was having no better luck than MacLeod, and her
frustration was growing.
"Sorry!" MacLeod shot back.
"Mars, you can get rid of these things, just like
before," Sailor Moon said.
"Last time I wasn't tied up," she pointed out. "I need
to get my hands free first, and so far I'm not having much
luck there."
"Maybe I can help." Startled, they looked up. Moving as
fast as he could, Dawson made his way to Mars, pausing along
the way to pick up MacLeod's katana.
"I don't know if that'll do much good, Dawson," MacLeod
said.
"Hey, it's worth a try. Besides, what else can I do? I
don't think shooting Mornay will do anything." Dawson
carefully placed the katana in position to cut Mars' bonds.
"Do me a favor," he asked her, "don't move. He's the expert
with this, not me." Mars nodded, and Dawson made a cautious
cutting motion with the blade. To his dismay, the blade
passed right through with no obvious effect. "Damn!"
"Had a feeling that would happen," Duncan said.
"Mornay's blade passed right through without damaging it."
"Yeah, I saw that earlier," Dawson noted. "I was just
hoping that it was particular to his blade."
"Well it gives me an idea," Mars said, perking up. "Put
the tip of the sword near my hand." Dawson looked at her,
puzzled. "Do it!"
Shrugging, Dawson followed her instructions. To be on
the safe side, he made sure the sharp edge was facing away
from her. Mars waited until she felt the blade touch her
hand, then closed her eyes and spoke softly. Dawson wasn't
sure what she was up to, but he could tell she was up to
something, for he could feel a slight tingling sensation run
up the blade.
"OK," Mars said after a moment. "Try to cut it again."
Dawson started to pull the blade out, but was startled
to feel something resisting him. Setting himself, he yanked
hard on the blade and managed to get it free. Now he saw
just what it was Mars had been up to, as one of her spirit
wards was attached to the flat of the blade. He made
another attempt to cut through the dark mass with the sword,
and this time felt resistance as the blade bit into it.
Energy flickered along the length of the cut, culminating in
a flare of dark light when he completed the cut. The energy
band vanished and Mars was free.
"Yes!" Mars shot back to her feet and stretched. "OK,
I'll have the rest of you loose in a minute."
MacLeod glanced towards the sounds of the battle.
"If Kane has that long."
Kane was in fact beginning to wonder how much longer he
could hold out. He had been at a disadvantage going into
this fight, even without Mornay's newfound abilities. His
previous battle with MacLeod and being healed by the Silver
Crystal had left him drained. The various wounds that Mornay
had been casually inflicting on him only made matters worse.
Now he found himself to be so exhausted that he was starting
to gasp for breath, to say nothing of keeping his sword up.
On the other hand, Mornay still looked fresh. The bastard
was grinning ear to ear, thoroughly enjoying himself. Kane
knew that it was only a matter of time before he decided that
enough was enough.
Kane quickly sorted through his options, searching for
some solution to his dilemma. Unfortunately he saw only two
options left to him and only one of those held any reasonable
chance for his own personal survival. He could admit that
Mornay was too much for him tonight and retreat, choosing to
live to fight another day. But that option carried a heavy
price tag. It meant he would be abandoning MacLeod and the
Scouts to certain death at Mornay's hand.
He tossed out that idea even as it formed within his
mind. MacLeod was a friend, and he couldn't run out on him.
As for the Scouts, he already owed them an ancient debt he
could never fully repay. Retreat was not a viable option.
Therefore he would have to go with his other option, even if
it had very little chance of success.
He would attack.
Obviously a standard attack was out of the question.
Mornay was parrying his strikes with ridiculous ease and those
few that he didn't glanced off that armored skin of his. But
Kane still had one ploy left in his bag of tricks. It was a
move of pure desperation, but if this didn't qualify then
what did?
Kane feigned a stumbling slash, one that Mornay was
easily able to parry, and he fell down to one knee. "Oh, I
hope you aren't done yet, Kane. I was just beginning to
enjoy myself."
"I won't disappoint you." Kane had picked the spot for
his stumble perfectly. He quickly scooped up a small amount
of dirt and tossed it right into Mornay's eyes. Mornay cried
out, one hand clutching at his face while the other lashed
out with his sword in a series of wild slashes.
Knowing that he would only have seconds at best, Kane
moved quickly and ducked to Mornay's right. When Mornay's
blade was in the correct position, Kane lunged forward with
all his remaining strength, stabbing his blade into what he
hoped was the least armored part of Mornay's skin: the
armpit.
He was rewarded by the feeling of his blade biting deep
into Mornay, penetrating several inches into his foe. It
wouldn't be enough to kill Mornay, but it should be enough
to incapacitate him for a time. Or so he thought.
Mornay stared in mild shock at the blade, then jerked
himself backwards off the blade. To Kane's despair, he reacted
as if he had never been wounded, actually smiling. "You know, that might have inconvenienced me a few days ago," he said.
His arm moved in a blur, the back of his hand catching Kane
across the face and sending him flying.
Dazed, Kane shook his head, trying to clear it. But a
sharp pain in his abdomen did that for him. He looked down
and saw his own blade impaled there. He felt the strength
ebb from his legs and he fell to his knees. "I don't know how,
but you managed to find the one weakness in my armor," Mornay
said as he walked idly around Kane. "But unfortunately for
you, this transformation rearranged my internal structure
enough that your blow was no more than irritating."
"I was trying for your heart. That was my mistake," Kane
managed to get out. "I should have remembered, you don't have
one. Something you have in common with Beryl."
Mornay smiled thinly and paused to one side of Kane.
"I'm going to miss our little blood feud, Kane," he said,
raising his sword high for the final blow, "But as they say,
all good things come to an end. After all, there can be
only one."
"Well it's not going to be you, creep!"
"What?!?" Mornay spun towards the voice that came
from behind. His eyes widened when he saw Sailor Moon. "How
did you get free?"
"The same way the rest of us did," Mars commented from
Mornay's left. He glanced over there and saw Mercury standing
by her side. Instinctively he looked back to his right to
find Jupiter and Venus.
MacLeod came out from the shadows to stand by Sailor
Moon. "Time for a rematch," he told Mornay.
Now it was Kane's turn to smile, despite the pain in
his midsection. "What kept you?" he asked MacLeod in a
strained voice.
It was Sailor Moon who answered. "Oh, we just got a
little tied up."
"You know how it is for us Immortals, busy social
schedule and all," MacLeod put in, not taking his eyes off
Mornay for an instant.
"This only delays the inevitable, Kane," Mornay
sneered. "For them and for you."
"We'll see about that!" Mars said. "MARS FIRE...
IGNITE!"
Mornay stood his ground while the fireball raced at him.
Just as it reached his position, he sidestepped it and struck
at it with his sword. A blue glow surrounded the sword when
it came in contact with the fireball, and it flew back at her
position. Mercury and Mars dodged desperately to avoid being
charred.
"Why you..." Jupiter clenched her fists in anger, but
fortunately neither Mars nor Mercury seemed injured. She
turned back to confront Mornay, ready to give him her best
shot, but had to hold back. Duncan had used the momentary
distraction to close with Mornay and engage him sword to
sword.
Mornay, it seemed, had other idea. Parrying MacLeod's
initial strike, he grabbed the Highlander by his jacket.
Using his enhanced strength, he picked him bodily and
hurled him through the air.
Right smack into Sailor Moon.
Jupiter winced as she witnessed the impact. Both Duncan
and Sailor Moon lay stunned upon the ground. Mercury ran over
to check on them, but neither seemed badly hurt. Duncan
would soon recover from any injury in any event. As for
Sailor Moon... "Sailor Moon?"
Sailor Moon looked unsteadily at her. "Do I have to go
to school, Mom? I really don't want to take that math
test today..."
"Let's get him, Jupiter," Venus said, glaring at
Mornay.
Jupiter nodded in agreement. The rod extended upward
from her tiara as she prepared her attack. "JUPITER
THUNDER...."
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM..."
"CRASH!"
"SMASH"
The twin attacks of light and electricity combined into
a more powerful laser-like beam of lightning and raced in
Mornay's direction. He used his sword to block this attack
as well and he managed to reflect it back at them. It struck
the ground between them and it exploded.
Kane could only watch the combat proceed, while he
removed the sword from his stomach inch by painful inch.
The Sailor Scouts seemed to be holding their own so far, but
he knew that the momentum of the battle could shift in an
instant. He gritted his teeth and pulled again at the blade.
'Just about halfway there,' he thought. 'But maybe I
should give serious consideration to using a shorter sword in
the future.'
Duncan groaned, and tried to clear his head. Beside him,
he could hear Mercury attempting to get Sailor Moon back on
her feet. "How is she?"
"She's conscious, but still dazed." Mercury frowned.
"She might have a concussion, but it's too soon to be sure."
"We'll worry about that later." Duncan glanced back at
the battle. "I'll take over here. Right now your friends
could use your help."
"Right," Mercury said with a grateful nod.
Duncan took hold of Sailor Moon's arm and start lifting
her to her feet. The blonde groaned. "Just five more
minutes, 'kay?"
He tapped her lightly on one cheek, trying to rouse her
to full awareness. "Come on, Sailor Moon. We need you for
this battle."
She blinked unsteadily, but Duncan thought her eyes
looked clearer. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him
in a fierce hug. "Darien! You're back!" Duncan's eyes flew
wide in shock.
Despite the fact that a desperate battle was being waged,
it was all Dawson could do to keep from laughing. The one
thing he wished for more than anything else at that moment
was a camera. The look on MacLeod's face was priceless.
"MERCURY BUBBLES... BLAST!"
Mornay swore as the thick fog came over the area. "Not
this thrice damned fog again!"
"You better believe it," he heard Mars reply. He tried
to guess the direction her voice came from, but some trick of
the fog made it seem to come from all directions.
"MARS FIRE... IGNITE!"
This time Mornay didn't see the fireball until it was
almost on top of him, far too late for him to dodge or deflect
it. It slammed into him with a flash of heat and flame.
Mars gasped when the flames had cleared. Other than
some smoldering clothing, Mornay seemed unaffected by her
attack. "That... hurt," he said, anger tingeing his voice.
Seeing a shadow within the fog, Mornay leapt for it. He
guessed right, and he grabbed Mars by the throat. "We'll see
how tough you are once I break your neck!" he snarled, lifting
her up.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" came another voice from the
fog and a golden beam of light lanced outward. Mornay yelped
in pain as it pierced his arm, and he was forced to drop Mars.
Jupiter raced in at the same time, pulling the raven haired
Scout from danger.
Mornay felt something crash into his side, staggering
him. Turning, he found himself face to face with MacLeod
again. "I'm back." Mornay snarled and reached for the
Highlander again, but this time MacLeod managed to dodge out
of reach.
"Now Sailor Moon!" Luna cried out.
Sensing that the danger was behind him, Mornay spun
around and saw Sailor Moon standing not far from him. She held
up the Crescent Wand in front of her. "You wanted the
Silver Crystal? Well, here's a sample of what it can do.
"MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" Again the radiant white
healing energy streamed out from the Silver Crystal and it
flowed over Mornay, who screamed. Within seconds, his
transformation had been reversed and the youma Malachite
had invested in him had been purged from his body.
Mornay looked with horror at his hands. Any hint of
his former state was gone forever. He was once more just a
flesh and blood Immortal. "No," he said. "This can't be!"
"Looks to me like it is," Jupiter replied.
Mornay glared at her momentarily, then returned his gaze
to Sailor Moon. "You'll pay for that! I wanted that power!
It would have been more than enough to insure that *I* would
be the last Immortal! I swear I'll kill you!"
"And how do you think you're going to do that?" Mars
took a threatening step towards Mornay. "Without those
powers, I think the five of us can handle you. And I bet
that Sailor Moon's tiara could be just as deadly to you as
a sword."
"You won't have to, Mars," Duncan put in. "I can take
it from here. It's over, Mornay,"
Mornay fixed a hate-filled glare at MacLeod. "I don't
think so, MacLeod. I haven't lost yet." His voice rose to a
loud yell and he charged forward. Duncan raised his sword,
ready to defend himself, but it quickly became apparent the
he wasn't Mornay's target.
Mornay charged bodily into Sailor Moon, seizing at the
Crescent Wand with his left hand. The suddenness of his
attack gave him the edge he needed to wrest it from her.
Sailor Moon fell backwards, landing on her rear end with a
startle "Oooff!", while the other Scouts could only stare in
horror as Mornay raised the Crescent Wand aloft with a cry
of triumph... One that quickly transformed itself an
incoherent howl of pain. Mornay clutched at the stump of
his wrist, while the Crescent Wand fell to the ground with
Mornay's severed hand still gripping it tightly. Duncan
brought his katana back for the final strike. "You lose."
Mornay knew now that he had lost completely and that the
only thing he could hope for was to save his own skin.
Ignoring the pain from his wrist as best he could, he turned
and ran off into the darkness.
Duncan took a deep breath and lowered his sword to his
side. Jupiter moved up beside him, as did the other
Scouts. "Shouldn't we follow him?"
Duncan knelt down and started to pry the Crescent Wand
loose. "There's no need. He's lost the edge Malachite gave
him, plus he's short a hand. He's no real threat right now."
"I don't know about that, Duncan," Venus said. "He's
still an Immortal. I..."
"Wait a minute!" Mars shouted, interrupting the blonde. "Where'd Kane go?" The other Scouts looked around, but they
saw soon enough that Mars was right. Kane was nowhere to be
found.
Duncan nodded to himself. That was the third reason he
saw no need to follow Mornay. Because he knew that he
wasn't going to get far.
Mornay staggered against a tree a short distance away.
The throbbing from his wrist was still incredible, but the
bleeding had stopped. Now that he was out of immediate danger,
he could start to consider what to do next. Considering the
way things had gone, he could hardly go back to Horton and
Malachite. Neither one seemed the type to tolerate failure.
His only recourse seemed to be to find a nice, deep hole and
hide in it for a while. Then he could...
Mornay stiffened, sensing the approach of another
Immortal. MacLeod must be tracking him. That meant it was
time to leave. Shoving against the tree with his good hand,
he started moving.
He had barely taken two steps when he saw a figure in
his path. "Hello, Mornay," Kane said, stepping towards him.
"Are you ready to die?"
"Any sign of him, Mercury?" Sailor Moon asked.
Artemis had gone over to where Mornay had vanished into
the darkness. "I think he went this way."
"Don't bother," Duncan told them. "I think I know where
he went." He stiffened slightly and knew deep in his being
that he was right. "And you might want to get back from
there, Artemis."
The cat looked back at him. "Huh?"
The first flicker of lightning, barely missing Artemis,
answered his question. The cat dodged that one, but many
more soon followed. Soon a storm of lightning was echoing
all around them. Several of the nearby lampposts were struck
and they exploded into showers of sparks, as did the nearby
clock tower. The Scouts crouched down, instinctively seeking
cover against the energy storm.
Mercury goggled at the view through her visor. "This is
incredible! I can't believe the amount of energy being
released. It's off the scale!"
Then as quickly as it had appeared, the lightning
vanished and the park was eerily quiet. "Now what?" Sailor
Moon asked.
As if in answer, Kane emerged from the darkness, looking
worn and haggard. But his face bore a look of satisfaction.
There was a moment of uneasy silence while the others
regarded him warily. Then Kane walked over to Duncan and
extended a hand, a gesture that Duncan immediately
reciprocated. "Thanks, Duncan. Now I owe you one."
"Owe *him* one?" Mars said incredulously. "What about
us?" The other Scouts nodded in agreement.
"She's right, you know," Duncan said. "As I recall, I
was about to kill you."
"Sorry about that, but it was the only way I saw out of
my dilemma."
"The only way?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I could resist that... thing to a degree," Kane
explained. "Enough so that I could give MacLeod enough
opportunity to kill me. But that was about all I could do.
In every other aspect, it was in control of me. MacLeod's
lucky I was able to resist it that much. If I had been
completely under it's control, I would have killed MacLeod
here."
Duncan grinned. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."
"Come on, I've seen you fight," Kane replied. "That
time in Scotland I had to handle four of them. You were
barely able to take on two."
"I've had some practice since then."
Kane regarded the Highlander with a critical eye.
"Perhaps... But if the Fates are willing, we won't find out
the answer to that question until the Gathering."
"I'd like to keep it that way," Duncan agreed.
"And you're right, Sailor Mars," Kane said, now
addressing the Scouts. "I do owe you. But not just for
this."
There were looks of confusion among them. "Huh?"
"I owe you from long ago. You see, I was there when
the Silver Millennium fell centuries ago. I..." Kane paused
and his eyes widened before his expression shifted to one of
anger.
Mars felt the hair on her neck rise, and she suddenly had
a feeling just what had angered Kane. She spun around and
cried out in warning, "Look out!"
Kane already had his sword out and he charged past
Duncan, who also turned rapidly.
Malachite watched arrogantly as Kane charged, then
casually tossed a white ball of energy at the Immortal. It
struck Kane right in the chest, and the Immortal sank to his
knees. He glanced down at the smoking wound and managed to
say, "I'm getting too old for this," before he collapsed.
"I can easily rectify that," Malachite said, and an
energy sword materialized in one hand.
"I wouldn't try that," MacLeod said.
Malachite looked up and was about to retort, but paused. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon were each flanking MacLeod,
and the others were arrayed around them. He still might
have attacked except for the fact that Sailor Moon had the
Crescent Wand out, the Silver Crystal gleaming with power.
No, now was not the time to challenge the Scouts. There
would be time enough for that later. A whirling black
hole appeared behind him, and he began to fade from sight.
But that didn't stop him from issuing one last threat.
"The next time we meet, Sailor Moon, will the last."
Mars was unimpressed. "Promises, promises."
Horton shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and
walked away. MacLeod and his Sailor Scout allies had managed
to free Kane from his control and to defeat Mornay, but the
renegade Watcher didn't allow anger to overwhelm him at this
setback. Already he was rolling various plots and schemes in
his mind, planning ahead for his next confrontation with the
Highlander.
So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he didn't
notice Malachite's appearance until he was on top of the
Negaverse General. "Ah, Malachite. Is something wrong?"
"Everything is wrong. Your precious plan has failed!"
Malachite was plainly frustrated.
"It almost worked," Horton replied. "If not for
MacLeod's involvement, it might have, but..."
"You wanted MacLeod to be there," Malachite interrupted
him, his voice cold. "You failed in your efforts to kill
him earlier, so you thought you could use my aid to try
again."
"Perhaps."
Malachite glared at the renegade Watcher. "I should
have left you in that river. It would have taken me longer
to find an Immortal on my own, but then I wouldn't have
your vengeance quest getting in the way."
"You knew about my conflicts with MacLeod going into
this," Horton replied. "And I didn't hear you complain about
my suggestion to use Kane. In fact, you admired the symmetry
of the situation." Horton paused, but Malachite didn't
reply except by way of his continued glare at Horton. "In
any event, I'm sure you'll think of some way to explain this
to Queen Beryl," Horton added calmly. "You seem to be very
resourceful that way."
Malachite's eyes narrowed. "You seem to be taking
this rather well."
Horton shrugged. "Success is never guaranteed in any
plan; there are always variables that cannot be accounted
for. Kane's strength of will and the Scouts' resourcefulness,
in this instance. But MacLeod and his friends can have this
victory today. People such as you and I only have to win
once." Horton turned and began walking off. "If you need
my assistance in the future, you know how to get a hold of
me."
Malachite grabbed Horton's jacket and pulled the renegade
Watcher towards him, nearly yanking him off his feet. "I
don't think so. You will come with me... and *you* will
explain to Queen Beryl why the plan failed because of *your*
obsession with MacLeod!"
"Wait a minute!" Horton protested. "You can't..."
But Malachite could and he did. Ignoring Horton's
protests, Malachite willed black light to fill the area
around the two men. It soon faded, taking them both with it.
Kane gasped, his Immortal physiology once more
repairing his wounds. What had transpired just before his
'death' came immediately into his mind and he groped for
his sword, looking around him. However, the clearing seemed
to be deserted.
"Welcome back," said a familiar voice behind him,
proving that the area was not entirely deserted. Kane
glanced backwards at MacLeod, then started getting back to
his feet.
"I take it you were able to handle Malachite?" he asked.
"He didn't stick around long," MacLeod replied. "He
wasn't feeling up to battling all the Scouts today."
Kane looked around again, but still saw no one
else. "Where...?"
"I sent them home," he explained. "I figured I'd help
you out with making arrangements to get back home. All
the excitement is over, after all."
"Only for now."
MacLeod frowned, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm sticking around here." Kane looked intently
at Macleod. "I owe Beryl and Malachite too much to just head
back to England. Not just for tonight, but for what happened
millennia ago. And I intend to pay them back... With
interest."
Next: Epilogue. Dawson has a heart to heart with Artemis and we get a glimpse of the future.