A/N: Whew, sorry for this chapter being a day late. Had to do some "office work". Long story.

Chapter Six

August 10, 2005 Alternate Timeline

Nicholas was never big on prayer. He didn't believe in God much in his pre-immortal life, in spite of growing up in a largely church controlled time, and he didn't believe in it when a startled ox impaled him that fateful day.

On that matter, Holy Ground was an entirely different concept from God, he figured. Millenniums ago immortals decided to make any place mortals considered sacred a neutral ground. It made sense considering immortality was a big secret, and almost 80 of the mortal world congregated to these places every week or so. But if Nicholas ever believed that God existed he didn't believe the Almighty Creator would find a single church any more significant than another.

Fortunately Nicholas didn't find this particular church significant either. It was empty for the evening, with the Cardinal holed up in his office. After five minutes, which Nicholas spent pretending to be fascinated by a painting of St. Anthony, his radar was triggered. The mahogany doors creaked open and moments later Duncan approached the altar and knelt.

"So where's the sword?" Duncan asked, fixing his attention on Jesus.

"It's safe," Nicholas answered. He stood beside Duncan but didn't kneel. "I'm surprised you didn't just move on to another easy target."

"Persistence is one of my defining traits you'll recall."

"Along with pettiness?"

"Pfft, look whose talking," Duncan looked up. "Who was it who drove a stake into that doctor after your vampire legend went too far? I remember how much you taunted him and how sore you were because your clever scheme had come to an end."

"Well perhaps you're right. Perhaps this is all just mild pettiness on my part and I just want to finish it off. The Prize will be that much easier to obtain when you're out of the way."

Duncan smirked. Nicholas held back his own grin, watching as his old partner took the bait.

"Well, if that's how you want to end this," Duncan said, standing up and reaching into his jacket. He pulled back his coat just enough to reveal the hilt of the katana.

"Not here," Nicholas said, calmly. "We're on Holy Ground."

"Oh, right, the rules." Duncan slapped his forehead mockingly. "Yeah, those accursed rules that tell us we can't fight on Holy Ground."

The doors swung open and Harvey swaggered in with a handgun cocked and ready.

"The rules only say we can't fight," Duncan pointed out. "Nothing in the rules says a mortal can't shoot you on Holy Ground. Put your hands up, now!"

Nicholas did as requested as Duncan searched him for his own sword. While Duncan and Harvey were preoccupied, the two immortals felt a second buzz. Duncan looked at Nicholas, who simply smirked. Before either one could say anything, Harvey let out a low squeal. Richard's sword was pressed against his throat while he used his other hand to liberate Harvey's rifle.

"Now it seems we're on the reverse," Nicholas sneered. "Like you said Duncan, the rules don't prevent Richie from giving your friend an extra hole to breathe from."

Duncan was visibly surprised. But he shook it off and laughed.

"So, that's your student?" He said, sizing Richard up. "I notice he's on the Watcher's payroll too. What, did equal opportunity employment get in the way of that whole 'we don't interfere' policy? Maybe I should apply once I lop your heads off."

"Hey, Nick," Richard spoke up. "Was he always this funny or is he just covering up his insecurities?"

"I think it's the latter," Nicholas said with a light smirk.

Duncan drew his sword and held it inches from Nicholas' neck.

"Your teacher dies if you don't let Harvey go," he warned Richard.

"And if you take Nicholas' head I'll kill you during the quickening," Richard responded. "You're not the only one who can break rules."

Duncan nodded with approval.

"Clever boy. If things had been different you might have been my student."

"And if the Red Socks won the World Series I'd be rolling in cash."

Richard cut Harvey's throat just enough to draw blood.

"What's it gonna be Macleod, your way or mine?" Nicholas asked, slowly stepping off to the side while reaching into his own jacket. "At least my way you can say you won fairly."

"And since when were you happy with fair?"

"Answer me."

Duncan looked from Nicholas to Richard and back. Finally he sheathed his sword and Richard let Harvey go.

"Run off and I'll give your name to the cops," Duncan warned Harvey. To Nicholas he said, "Name your terms. But I'll have your head either way so it won't matter."

"You and me at this location," Nicholas removed a piece of paper from his jacket and handed it to Duncan. "Just you and me and no one else."

Duncan read the location and pocketed it for later. He had a wry grin as he shook his head pityingly.

"I'll really miss you old friend," he said. "Maybe I should leave Richie here alive so he can finish writing your chronicle."

With that Duncan swaggered past Richard with a glance that seemed to say, "I'm ready for you anytime". Harvey grabbed his rifle and was stumbled once as he bolted from the church.

Richard wiped some sweat from his brow and looked at his mentor.

"That was a close one Nick," he said. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Not at all," Nicholas said, with a grim chuckle. "But I never let that stop me before."

Devon looked up at the apartment building. It was the same one Jason had taken him to on many occasions. Adrenaline fed his blood stream leaving a nauseous feeling in his stomach, as if stage fright were ready to overtake him.

Swallowing once he entered the lobby and stepped onto the elevator. A feeling of dejavu over came him, like the first time Jason took him up here.

The elevator was empty this late at night.

Thank God, Jason thought. He gently led a frightened Devon onto the car.

"It'll be all right," he tried to reassure him. "You can stay here for the night while we figure this out."

Devon was just barely nineteen when the car hit him. It was a classic hit and run right outside the parking lot of the grocery store. A trick of luck allowed Jason to get to him just as he drew his first breath.

Jason's apartment wasn't huge. It was just barely large enough for the cramped space between the kitchen, the bedroom and the bathroom to be considered a living room. The couch and the television took up most of the floor.

"I know it's kind of cramped," Jason said apologetically. "But I only live here about six months of the year. Are you hungry?"

Devon just starred. He touched his blood soaked shirt and felt his ribs, which only a half hour earlier had the consistency of dry crackers. Surprised he pulled his shirt up a few inches and found that there wasn't even a bruise.

"They cleared up on the ride over," Jason explained. "Wait here."

Jason went into the kitchen and returned with a stake knife. Devon made a move for the door, but Jason blocked him.

"What do you want with me?" Devon asked slowly backing away from Jason.

"You're a bit rattled to deal with a full demonstration," Jason said. "But this will do for now."

Jason made a cut in his hand and held it out. Blood sprayed and gushed like water from a bursting pipe. Devon watched in terror. But soon terror was replaced by curiosity as bolts of electricity lanced across the wound. In seconds the cut was gone and the bleeding stopped.

"What's your name?" Jason asked.

"Devon…"

"Well Devon, you are one of us now. You will never grow old, never get sick or permanently injured, and you will never die. Even if you are killed you will come back to life."

"What am I?"

"You are an Immortal."

Jason removed a sword from beneath his over coat and brandished it.

"You will need to learn how to fight with this. For as long as you live others like us, who have been around for longer than you can imagine will challenge you for your head."

As the number fifteen clicked on the indicator, Devon felt the same sense of relief coming to him. Jason would make it all better if he was here, just like he made it better back then.

He stepped off the elevator and found Jason's apartment. At first he didn't sense the buzz, but then he remembered that Jason usually went to Vermont in the summer. Still, just to be certain, Devon turned the corner and saw something that shocked him.

The door to his mentor's apartment was blocked off by police tape. Someone stepped out of their own apartment.

"Excuse me," he said to the tenant. "I'm looking for a man who lived in that apartment. Would you happen to know where he is?"

The man frowned.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this," he said. "But the man who lived in that apartment was murdered last week. The police are still investigating it."

Devon felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. The tenant went about his own business while Devon tried to stop himself from collapsing. Maybe it wasn't Jason. Maybe Jason didn't even live in New York in this reality. Something occurred to him and he went back to the elevator. The man was waiting by the elevator.

"Excuse me again," Devon said. "But do you know how the man was murdered?"

The man shook his head.

"There was a story about it in the paper. All I remember is that the electricity in the building was screwing up badly that night. All of the fixtures out here in the hall blew out and the elevator was stopped for hours. There was glass everywhere."

The elevator doors opened again but Devon wasn't ready to leave yet. When he was alone he began to cry. He backed into the wall and slowly slid down, sobbing as quietly as he could unable to suppress it any longer. More than ever now he wanted to get back to his own reality.

As he tried to piece together the differences between this and his own world, Duncan considered going back to his own reality and tracking down Joe or Methos. One of them had to have an explanation for what was going on here. The Twin Towers weren't the only things that happened differently in this timeline. For one thing, Puerto Rico was officially the 50th state, and Hawaii was owned by the Japanese. The United Kingdom now consisted entirely of England and Scotland, with the land where Ireland and Wales were supposed to be belonging to one or the other. The news archives in the library revealed that John F. Kennedy's assassination wasn't a success, and that the Vietnam Conflict actually continued for another four years after it was supposed to end.

Duncan's head reeled with the new information. It would have taken a lifetime to discover all that was different in this world.

As he left the library, at a loss of what else he could do, Duncan briefly thought he should return to his own timeline. There was no telling how long that gateway would be open, but what if it didn't close at all? What would prevent people from walking in and out of their own dimensions? Utter chaos would ensue and the natural balance of the world would be terribly upset.

Duncan took a turn towards Central Park when the buzz hit him. Instinctively he stopped and looked. There, standing across the street from him was the blond haired immortal from the park. He was in terrible shape and he seemed frightened as they locked eyes.

The boy ran. Duncan bolted across the street, stopping only to avoid being run over. He chased the boy across several blocks, careful to avoid bumping into someone.

"Wait!" He shouted. "Wait up! I just want to speak to you!"

The boy took a turn down the alley. When Duncan finally caught up he was nowhere in sight. There was a fence, but even if the boy was a skilled athlete he couldn't have climbed it and cleared the rest of the alley that fast. Then he saw a glimpse of the boy's coat from behind a dumpster.

Duncan slowly entered the alley, pretending not to even look at the dumpster. As expected, when he got closer the boy jumped out, swinging his sword. Duncan whipped out his katana and assumed the defensive position. The boy was fast and they exchanged blows as they circled one another. Duncan held the sword blade down as he parried the boy's attack. He then reached out with one arm and grabbed the boy's wrist, twisting it once. The boy dropped the sword.

"I am-"

"I know who you are," The boy said, angrily. "Duncan Macleod of the clan Macleod. You told me once before remember?"

"What?" Duncan asked, confused.

"Don't you remember at the park? You jumped out of nowhere and challenged me and Gavin."

Duncan let the boy go.

"That wasn't me," he said.

"Oh right," the boy replied, sarcastically. "Who was it, your evil twin?"

The boy reached into his coat and pulled out a sword identical to the one on the ground. He raised it in challenge.

"You promised we'd meet again."

Duncan put up his blade in defense. The boy swiped from side to side, and Duncan did a back flip out of the way. The boy swung again and Duncan parried. On the boy's second attack Duncan caught the blade with his own and disarmed him again. This time he brought the blade to the boy's neck, stopping before it was too late.

"It was you who killed him." The boy accused.

"Killed who!" Duncan snapped.

"My mentor, Jason Talbot!"

Duncan lowered his blade, slowly this time.

"Jason Talbot was killed by Xavier St. Cloud." He said, calmer.

The boy's mouth dropped for a second before realization hit him.

"You're the Duncan from my dimension!"

"Yes!" Duncan said with a frustrated sigh. He sheathed his katana and picked up the boy's sword. "And you are?"

"Devon."

"All right Devon, tell me what happened before you ended up here."

Devon explained everything. From finishing the battle with Gavin up until a few moments ago, when he discovered that Jason had been murdered in this dimension as well as his own. While he spoke Duncan retrieved both swords and held them side by side. Other than a few nicks on the blades they were almost completely identical.

"I guess he just doesn't have that much luck," he said, sardonically. "Jason was the closest thing to a father I ever had."

Duncan understood completely. Connor was almost like a father to him, and he was certain he had been like a father to Richard.

"It's the way of our kind," was all he could think of to say. "Jason knew it as well as anyone."

Devon sheathed the swords.

"Did you know him?" He asked as they returned to the street.

"I never met him personally," Duncan explained. "A watcher told me when he was killed. And a few weeks later I killed Xavier personally."

"I owe you one then," Devon said, sincerely.

"You don't owe me anything. What I did was to preserve the rules, not avenge someone."

It was a pleasant sixty-five degrees, but Devon felt a chill anyway.

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"First we need to be sure no one else can go through that gateway," Duncan said. "Then we need to find a way to close it."