========================================================================= Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 21:24:00 PDT Reply-To: Mike Goldman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Goldman Subject: "A Dangerous Game" (21/22) "It's a dangerous game..." Duncan looked around. "I think this place could handle a Quickening." he mused. "Beg pardon?" Joe stared at his friend. "You have a very odd sense of humor." The dark night sky visible through the windows and the rain matched the dark look he gave the Immortal. Rory stared at him as well. "Macleod, I don't know what you're thinking and I don't *want* to know, but if I end up fighting you or Richie, I want you guys to promise you'll take my head if that's the only option left." "Um..." Duncan said, trying to stall. "*Promise*." "We promise." he sighed, giving Richie a look as the younger Immortal opened his mouth. Taking another look at Rory, Duncan motioned Joe and Richie over to him, then informed them of his plan. "It *might* work and it's certainly more reliable than the rainstorm." Joe said dubiously as they separated. "Duncan?" Anne's voice interrupted. They turned around to see Stefan's brown eyes looking at them calmly. "It appears that Rory has given up." he said, looking straight at Joe. "You wish!" Joe exclaimed, ignoring Macleod's look. Stefan merely crossed his legs and stared at him. "Come on, Mac!" Richie shouted. "We don't have to take crap from this guy!" "Just what would you suggest we do?" Mac yelled back. "You know that if he's killed, Rory's killed too." "She told us that she didn't want to live if *he* took over. Besides," Richie shrugged, "one less Immortal is one less to deal with during the Gathering." "You think so, my little growling puppy?" Stefan said, brushing a speck of lint off his knee. Richie's eyes widened as he shot a quick look at Mac. He was pretty sure Stefan's comment was intended as an insult, but he wasn't quite sure. Duncan made a quick "keep going" gesture. "Yeah, I do!" Richie said. "I don't think you'll be able to keep your head that long. After all, hasn't it been at least a hundred years you've been out of circulation?" Stefan waved a hand negligently. "It will all come back shortly." he said. "It's just a matter of getting used to this body." "Well, why don't we just see about that?" Richie asked, coming over and standing directly in front of Stefan. Stefan stood up, eyes nearly level with Richie's. "Are you Challenging me, little boy?" he asked. Richie kept a lid on his temper--barely. . "Yeah, I am." he responded. Stefan looked him up and down. "I don't think so. I'll be going after bigger game." "Like what?" Richie pressed. "Like beating up women?" He paused, then made as if to turn away from Stefan. "Only a coward acts like that." Stefan reached out and grabbed Richie's arm, turning him back so fast Richie swore he heard one of the vertebrae in his neck pop. "Are you calling me a coward?" Stefan demanded. "I think he just did." Anne put in from her position on the couch. "No one calls me that." Stefan ground out. "I accept your Challenge, boy, and it will be a pleasure taking your head." "Great." Richie stepped back and motioned out to Joe's backyard where the rain was now coming down in sheets. Stefan sidestepped the coffee table, grabbed Rory's sword from where Joe had stashed it by the fireplace and stepped over to the sliding glass door. Richie followed and opened the door, a blast of wind hitting both of them in the face. Stefan walked outside and Richie hung back a minute before following. "Any last minute suggestions, guys?" he asked. "Yeah. Don't lose your head." said Duncan. "Oh, very helpful." "This storm is going to cut your visibility." Joe offered. "Unfortunately, I hadn't quite gotten around to installing any porch lights. Try and stay somewhat near the windows where there'll be at least *some* light." "What about Rory?" "Well, I don't want you to take her head!" Joe snapped. "Sorry." he apologized. Duncan stepped in. "You're not going to be fighting Rory--you'll be fighting Stefan and his moves, his skills. Don't rely on your practices with Rory. "I think what you should try and do is to try and fight Stefan as long as possible. We'll work on trying to set up the rest as quickly as we can if the storm doesn't look like it's going to hold." "Thanks. I'm sure when you figure it out, I'll be the third to know--hopefully, I'll still have my head." Richie turned and followed Stefan out into the backyard, Duncan and Joe close behind him. Richie, already becoming soaked from the downpour, crossed the grass to where Stefan was waiting, taking one last look at Duncan and Joe on the patio, then turned to face Stefan. "What's the matter, little boy?" Stefan spat. "Who's the coward now?" Richie held up his sword and saluted the memory of a woman who had been his friend. "I'm ready whenever you are." Richie soon learned what Joe meant about visibility. The dark night and the rain coming down all combined so that could barely see Stefan in front of him. Shaking water out of his eyes, he tried to use Stefan's voice and the brief flash of Rory's sword to orient himself to the other Immortal's position. Following Joe's advice, he tried to back somewhat towards the house where the very dim light helped a little, but not much. Richie also realized the validity of Duncan's advice when Stefan's sword slipped past his defenses and gashed his upper arm. "Damn!" he cried, spinning away and holding his bicep. He'd seen Rory do a move similar to that hundreds of times and had reacted from memory. However, memory had provided him with the wrong move. "Come on, boy, let me take your head now." Stefan offered. "It'll save you the humiliation when you're begging for me to kill you." "I don't *think* so." Richie said through gritted teeth, hissing as he felt his bicep begin to heal. Swinging blindly, he felt his sword connect with flesh and continued the swing, hearing Stefan yell. Trying to focus in the dark and rain, he saw Stefan now holding a hand to his thigh. ***************************************************************************** On the patio, Duncan and Joe watched silently, the clenching of Joe's hands on his cane the only clue to the emotions at work inside. He looked up at the night sky. "I don't see any lightning, Mac." he said. Duncan looked up. "It'll happen." he tried to say confidently. "I don't think so." Joe replied. "If anything, it almost looks like the rain's starting to lessen in intensity." ****************************************************************************** The two combatants on the lawn continued seeking out weaknesses in the other's defense. "You know," Stefan said almost conversationally as they circled each other. "This is almost like the night where Rory took my head." "Really?" Richie drawled. "Then you won't be surprised when you lose again." He attacked again, trying to keep Stefan on the offensive. ****************************************************************************** Joe looked up again. It was still raining steadily but the promised torrent did not seem to be forthcoming. Mac noticed it too. "Damn weathermen!" he muttered. "Can't they be right for *once*?" "Write 'em a letter of complaint!" Joe snarled. "We gotta figure >out how to get Richie to understand we're on plan B now or one of them's going to be very dead." They watched Richie and Stefan for a few moments more and then Macleod spoke. "I can get the fuse box open, but it's going to be up to Richie to get Stefan over there. You wait here." the Immortal finished and took off. Joe managed to wait almost a whole five seconds. "Like hell." he muttered and took off after Macleod. ****************************************************************************** Out of the corner of his eye, while fending off Stefan's attack, Richie saw Duncan running along the side of the house. "Richie!" Joe yelled. Richie spared a glance to see Joe shaking his head and pointing to the sky with his cane. His eyes followed Joe's cane and the inattention to his opponent cost him a puncture wound to the upper chest. Reeling back, he tried to indicate to Joe that he didn't understand but Joe was now pointing to the wall of the house. Then he heard Mac. "Get him to the fuse box!" he yelled. While Richie's mind tried to process the change in plans, he turned and started backing up towards the house. Duncan and Joe watched from their respective positions. Stefan grinned as he saw where Richie was backing towards. "You made this too easy for me," he boasted. "But I'll enjoy taking your head." "Boy, are *you* gonna be surprised." Richie said, taking a quick glance back to see how close he was to the house. A few small steps and he could feel the rough wood on his back through the wet shirt. Another glance confirmed the fuse box was directly to his left and the cover was open. He dropped his sword, persuading himself that it looked more convincing that way and wasn't *really* a stupid move. He reached up, wiped more rain out of his face and tried to look scared which, he supposed, was actually fairly close to the look that was on his face at the moment. Stefan smiled and raised his sword, then looked at Macleod. "You can't interfere." he reminded. "No chance." Mac answered. Stefan swung. At the last moment, Richie dropped to his knees. The sword passed his head by mere inches and embedded itself in the wiring of the fuse box. Sparks flew and smoke began to pour out of the box as electricity and a Quickening combined. The lightbulbs inside Joe's house began to pop and shatter and they could hear the rain of glass falling on the floor as the house went dark room by room. Anne, who had stayed inside, came hurrying out onto the patio. "What's happening?" she yelled at the men." Richie heard her as he pulled himself up, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him. The sword had begun to conduct the current from the fuse box through the body and into the ground. Rory's body had stiffened as the current had begun to hit her and was now vibrating as the body's natural resistance to electricity began to kick in. Richie gagged as he thought he began to smell burning flesh. "Get her away from there!" Anne yelled. Duncan started forward as if to grab Rory away, but Joe yelled "Mac! Don't touch her!" and threw his cane at him. As Macleod picked up the cane, he remembered that if he had grabbed Rory with his bare hands, he would have been in the same danger as she. He took the cane, rubber tip away from him, and shoved it directly into Rory's stomach. The effect was almost as if a switch had been turned off. As she was disconnected from the power source, she seemingly stood motionless for a moment and then fell heavily to the ground as the backyard plunged into near total blackness, the only light coming from the moon as it traveled through the clear night sky. Anne came running over as Joe joined Duncan and Richie a few feet away from the body. As she drew level with them, she saw they were staring down at the ground. "What are you guys doing?" she said in exasperation. "We need to get her inside!" She started forward but Duncan held her back. "Wait." he said, motioning. Anne looked down at the body and saw a mist forming over Rory's chest. Remembering the time in Paris when she had seen Duncan fight Daimler, she backed up a few paces and watched. "Hadn't you two better get out of here before it 'chooses' one of you?" Joe asked. "I don't think so." Macleod said slowly. "It doesn't feel the same." "What?" Joe looked back to see the mist beginning to spread and dissipate. A few small bursts of what looked like lightning came out of it, but they were weak and faded in seconds. Moments later, the mist was gone. After a moment more, Mac bent down and picked Rory up in his arms and the soggy group made their way back to the house, their feet crunching on broken glass. Following Joe's request, Anne made her way into the kitchen and groped in the cabinets until she found several candles and some matches. Returning, she placed them around the room and lit them, the flames throwing large shadows against the wall as the dim light began to take over the room. After she lit the last candle, she went to look at Rory's body, taking in the red skin and burned, blistered hands. As she took Rory's shoes off to look at her feet, Joe whispered to Mac, "What did you mean about the Quickening being 'different'?" "I don't know if I can explain it." Mac replied as Richie joined them. "I think when Rory fought Stefan the first time, the Quickening had already transferred--the strength, power, abilities, whatever you want to call it. When the lightning hit them, I think the only thing that still had to leave his body was his...soul, for lack of a better word." "So what you're saying is she had Stefan's *soul* hanging around inside her for over a century just waiting to get out?" Richie asked in disbelief. "I don't know, Richie." Duncan replied as Joe went over to stand beside Anne. "No one knows exactly what happens during a Quickening. It's just a theory." Just then, a crack of lightning made them jump and the torrent began again, complete with thunder and brilliant, wild lightning. "*Now* it starts." Richie said in disgust. Another sound made them turn and they saw Anne and Joe trying to help Rory as she came back to life. "Wish that would have happened earlier." Shaking his head, he went to join Joe and Anne. Duncan took one last uncertain look out the window at the light show happening outside and then joined his friends. Lori mgoldman@cts.com Bass Player/Musical Director for the SJD Kick-Ass House Band CFW/WAR Chief for Smokin' Joe Dawson in the first HL WAR