"I don't care Mike. I am the head of the entire fucking company. He is in a company car…it has GPS tracking in it in case of theft. Now tell me where the fuck he is!"

"…"

"Oh for the love of god…I set up the damn procedures! You know what…put Johnathan Marshal on the Phone…NOW!"

"…"

"John…it's Adam Pierson."

"…"

"You heard? Good! What's its location…I needed it 10 minutes ago."

"…"

"Yes…Yes…Got it. Thanks John. I owe you one."

Making his car pull a u-turn, Adam headed off in the opposite direction breaking every single traffic law.

Xander had parked the Porsche in front of the Waverly Park sign. He was currently strolling through the deserted park while looking up at the moon and stars that were shining brightly in the night sky.

He had been contemplating his feelings since he had walked out of the kitchen. He wasn't sure just how to act. Here was a man that, in his past, had been so horrific a person and had caused such death and destruction that it was considered to be of Biblical proportions. And he had done this for over a thousand years.

When he thought about it, there was no one reason that could justify it. Hell, not even an infinite number of reasons could justify it. But despite it all, he just couldn't see the man that had been sitting across from him being that man. He had no doubt that everything he was told was the truth. He was also sure that anything he should choose to ask would be answered with the same horrible truth. But he couldn't place his teacher of the past three months, the man he had come to know, and respect, the man who had, on more than one occasion, fought to save his life as the man who had done those horrible deeds.

How could he truly hold this against the man? He wasn't there when it had happened. He knew that neither man would condone his past actions. Anya had been a demon, whose main purpose was to do much the same to the men of scorned women. In the end he couldn't hold it against her. And in the end she had sacrificed her own life while defending another. Another man on top of that. One should not be condemned now for the acts of their past. He could forgive Anya. How could he not get past this with Adam…Methos? What he had done happened over Three Thousand years ago. And he was most certainly not the man he been when he rode as Death.

So what was the problem? Was it because, unlike Anya, he had met Adam first, and Death last? If that was all it was then all he needed was some time to get over his shock.

He still held Giles as a father figure of sorts. Rupert was no innocent. Especially in his past. Xander realized that he had been able to get over the fact that Giles had been 'Ripper' in his youth. Granted Adam being Death was a tad bit more than that.

Calming himself down, he realized two things once the initial shock had worn off, and he could think clearly. One…there was a DAMNED good reason that Adam, or Methos, kept his past secret. Two…at the end of the day…the two of them would be fine. This brought a small smile to his face. It was a smile that didn't last as he felt the presence of another Immortal wash over him.

Glancing around the empty park, he searched for the other Immortal. The man stood about 30 feet in front of him. He was directly below a lamppost, the light showing his thin body covered in a trench coat, his sword already drawn from its sheath.

From the distance he was standing he couldn't make out the guys eyes, but he felt as though the unknown man was boring holes into his body. His golden, slick hair was gelled back. His overall figure reminded him greatly of Spike. Before he had much time to contemplate anything else, the man wordlessly charged with his sword raised. Xander barely had enough time to get his own katana unsheathed from his coat to block the man's rapier.

They both circled each other while shrugging off their coats and letting them settle on the grass below.

Adam skidded to a stop next to the black Porsche that he had told Xander to take. Jumping out of his car he ran towards the semi-lit park. His heart almost stopped as he heard the telltale signs of blades meeting. A sword fight was commencing. A challenge offered, and a challenged accepted.

As he rounded the first hill he could see the two opponents in the semi-lit area. The sight he saw made his breathing stop. With wide eyes his blood turned to ice in his veins. He could feel the bile rising in his throat at the scene that was now being played out.

The man he was fighting was damned good. Xander had already been disarmed once, yet his training kept his head attached to his body as he kept himself in motion and was able to avoid the other man's blade. Xander was able to dodge the blade as it was swung at his neck and tackle the other man using reflexes honed in from years of fighting the supernatural.

Rolling from the tackle, he landed near his katana. Grasping the pummel with his hands, he brought the sword into a defensive position. As hard as Xander tried he knew that he was being bested here. Heeding Adam's words he decided that trying to get away from this man was his best option. Adam had told him earlier that night that he wasn't ready, he would never doubt that man again…not that he had in the first place.

His musing cost him dearly as a slash caught him across his chest. It was only the hard and painful workouts that he enthusiastically went through each day that prevented the next slice of the sword from sending him to a permanent death. As short lived as that little victory was, he soon found himself on his knees in incredible pain while putting a death's grip on his sword. That's when he heard those five horrible words that would give haunt him for eternity.

'There Can Be Only One!"

A short distance away he could feel his teacher and friend there. A silent gasp at what the man was being forced to witness. Xander barely had enough time to look back and see the mad gleam in his opponent's eyes as he brought his rapier in a downwards motion.

After that, all he knew was darkness.