Date: Fri, 27 Jan 1995 12:28:55 EST Reply-To: "If 'Love is for poets, ' then let me be poetic..." Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "If 'Love is for poets, ' then let me be poetic..." Subject: The Battle of Evermore, part seven ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ******************* H I G H L A N D E R ************************ ************************************************************************* ************ T H E B A T T L E O F E V E R M O R E ************* ************************************************************************* BY BRIAN PROCOPIO, BASED UPON THE FILM OF THE SAME NAME. COPYRIGHTED 1994, KAOS PICTURES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. _______________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER SEVEN _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ "The apples turn to brown and black, the tyrant's face is red...." _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ MacKenzie hopped across the split rocks forming the jetty, nearly slipping on the mossy boulder. As the blast of salty spray settled down, he caught sight of David once more, a few yards down along the crashing surf, lost in his thoughts. He slowly made his way out to his protegee's position and sat down cross-legged next to him on the wide, relatively flat rock face. "What are you doing here, Mac?" his student asked, his eyes scanning the horizon. "Looking for you," MacKenzie replied as he let his naked feet dangle a bit into the swirling waters of the Atlantic below him. Damn, but they were cold, he decided. "You can't spend forever out here, Dave," Brian stated, his eyes drifting off to the same horizon. "Trust me, I know." Macleod grunted a reply. He picked up a small clam shell from the stone below him and slung it out over the frigid waters. "It's not your fault," said Brian, turning to examine his student and friend. "Like hell it's not," David bit off, the anger coming through in his words. "I should have protected her, but I didn't, and now she's dead because of it. Dammit, Bri...." he trailed off into nothing. "First off," Brian began in retort, "shut up." He wagged a finger in David's face. "Second of all, Jenny chose her own path. If you fought Glantz instead then *you'd* be the dead one most likely. Third, don't pull this wallowing in self-pity crap. I've already been through it enough as of late!" He smirked sarcasticly for a moment, and then his mood turned grim once more. "And lastly, Macleod, I've already called Duncan. Dawson is looking into this 'Elder' for me, and we *all* have to be in best form if we're even going to *think* about facing him." A moment of silence passed between the two as Brian paused and took the opportunity to catch his breath. "Is that it?" David asked in return, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards in the beginning of a smile, or at least a solid smirk. Brian motioned in a positive fashion, and David struck out with a tight punch to MacKenzie's midsection, causing his mentor to double over and slip off the rock into the waters behind him. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!?!?" Brian roared at the younger immortal. "Just testing the reflexes, Bri," Macleod chuckled. "Boy do *we* have our work cut out for us!" he exclaimed as he turned for shore. "Coming?" he asked. After a moment of waiting, he turned to see why his teacher was not responding, and saw nothing, just the ceaseless ebb and flow of the tide. "Bri?" he called out, stepping closer to the edge and peering over. A seaweed-encrusted hand shot forth from the foamy ocean and wrapped itself firmly around David's ankle, and MacKenzie's taunt tug convinced Macleod that a swim was necessary... _______________________________________________________________________________ The blue glow eminating from the terminal was the only unnatural light in the chamber, the rest of its illumination coming from the high slits upon the wall, puoring tight, narrow beams of sunlight into the room, reflecting off of thousands of dust motes that hung suspended in the air. The weathered face of the Elder sat, looking at the screen, assimilating its information. Cameron and Walsh, both upgraded to deceased status, good. The long hunt finally over for his student Glantz. David Macleod still lived, however. A problem there. It was not like one of his students to lose to a rookie player in the game. He would have to keep closer watch on this latest of the Highlanders. He released a long sigh. It was nearly four millenia now that he had known of the prophecy, foretelling that the most powerful of the immortals would originate from the highlands, as well as outlining the rules. Since then, he had made it his life's work to eliminate them, by any means possible, and to attain their Quickening in the process. His most devilish scheme had been working quite well for better than two millenia now. He took the best of his "recruits" and trained them to the utmost extreme, sending them then and only then out to defeat the Highlanders. Upon their return to his fortress-like keep, he would behead his students himself, taking the combined Quickenings. It was always more... fun, that way. Now, however, the plan seemed to be working with less and less efficiency it seemed. Too many of his finest pupils destroyed by those they were sent to kill, oftentimes after centuries of stalking. The losses were one thing, certainly not unexpected, but so many in so short a time. In merely a decade he had lost three to four of his best. First the Kurgan in 1986. That one frightened him greatly. With the accumulated power of both Ramirez *and* Connor Macleod, the Kurgan could have given him a good battle if the surprise tactic didn't work on him. Then there was Grayson. The form of Ramirez coupled with the mind of Darius in his strategic prime. He, lost to the kinsman of Connor, Duncan Macleod. Then Cole to MacKenzie just a short month before, now, apparently, his most recent trainee Antonio to MacKenzie's lackey David Macleod.... If the current trend kept up, it would be a mere year or two before he was required to step in and play a more direct role in the Game. It was almost time, though. Even he, deep away and nearly out of any detection range, had begun to feel the irresistable urge tugging him on to the Gathering near. He powered down the terminal and arose from his chair. His hawklike eyes scanned the weapons rack along the wall, settling upon a Tai Chi broad- sword. He pulled the sleek blade from its sheath, the single red tassle attached to the handle playing about in the sunlight. His chisled biceps tightened as he swung the sword in a wide, but tightly controlled, arc, slicing the air deftly in two. His feet switched positions, C-stepping into an arrow stance. He plunged the sword deep into an imaginary opponent's midsection, twisting and withdrawing the blade to bring it to bear upon an attacking warrior to his right, parrying the blow and counterattacking unmercifully, cleaving the opponent's arm from his body. As he continued on in the impromptu kata, his body remembered the battles of the past, the epic, sweeping, gruesome plains of war. The sun poured forth through the room in a confined, narrow beam of light... _______________________________________________________________________________ ...which was reflected my the steel of three katanas dancing as one, the flashing of the light bouncing across the otherwise empty beach. MacKenzie brought his sword down in an overhead strike, Macleod and Laurana mirroring his motions as he completed the form. He replaced his sword smoothly in its sheath and turned to the gathered immortals to bow. "Very nice," Laurana grinned sarcasticly. "You've been practicing a bit I see." "No, he's been training me and having to bust his balls off to stay two steps ahead of me all the while," David smirked. "wiseass," Brian muttered as he kicked out the back of David's knees. As he recovered and swept Brian's feet out from under him, David stated arrogently, "Oh yeah? I'm gonna pop open a six pack of whup ass on you!" A fine mist of sand obscured most of the details as the pair wrestled along the beach to the bemusement of Laurana, who stood there hemming and hawing, with the occaisional, "Now boys," thrown in for good measure. Brian flipped David up and over his shoulder, planting him roughly a yard in front of Laurana, and engulfing her in a wave of sand. Everything went quiet for a moment as the female immortal stood there, her face changing color rapidly through pink to scarlet to flat-out burgundy. Brian attempted half-heartedly to suppress a chuckle, but the battle was soon lost. His face paled as she charged him, and the pair raced along the surf at full speed. "DAMN!!!!! CRAB!!!!!!!!," Brian screamed as he stumbled, half-limping, half-hopping on one foot, the other clutched firmly in his hand. As he hobbled about, Laurana caught up with him and propelled him firmly..... <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ....into the ice-cold water, soon kicked up to a frothy brew by the irrate Scot's arms and legs. MacKenzie shivered uncontrollably as he exited the wooden tub. "What the hell did ya do that for!," he barked as he smacked Duncan firmly on the back of the head, nearly sending the elder immortal facefirst into the same tub. "You too must be auditioning for the comedy duet," the female immortal seated behind the oak desk smirked as she began taking down information onto the parchment before her. "N-N-No," Brian stammered as the early morning London chill began seeping into his bones. "We're here to audition for t-t-the lead r-roles." "Mmm-hmmm," the woman behind the desk mummered. "Names?" "Duncan Macleod," the elder Scotsman announced with a flourish, taking the female's hand and kissing it gracefully. "At your service." "When you're sober, that is," MacKenzie bit off impatiently. "Brian MacKenzie, you must be Laurana." "Most of the time," she grinned impishly. "Fitz has said lots of--um, well... interesting things about the two of you." "All complements, I assume," Duncan declared sarcasticly. "Isn't that what he's known for?" she returned. "So I understand you both have a spot of acting experience, and you want positions with the company?" "No, no, no. *I* have experience. Duncan just wants to learn," Brian answered as Macleod kicked him firmly in the shins, causing him to double over in pain. Laurana peered over the edge of her desk at MacKenzie holding his leg on the ground in pain. "Is he okay?" she asked Duncan worriedly. "Cramps, 'ee gets 'em alot," he grinned, then paled as two hands grabbed him firmly be the back of the shirt and threw him into the tub of water.... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> .....the cold piercing him to the bone. "She always like this?" David asked Brian as the pair sat side by side in the surf, the waves crashing about them. "Only when she's dry," he returned sinisterly..... _______________________________________________________________________________ He drove his broadsword at his mentor yet again, the blow swiftly blocked by the elder's blade. "I know your secret!!" he declared in between strikes. "Oh do you, now, little one?" Cain returned as he clipped Glantz on the back of the hand with the flat of his blade, toying with his prey. He struck forth with blinding speed in a flurry of quick, light fients, then drove the sword at Glantz's throat. "Yes, I do," Justin returned as he brought his weapon up, absorbing the blow. "You train us, we do your work, and then you behead us, quite a nice plan, Cain," he bit out as he parried the elder's attacks. "So then you'll know that you aren't the first, is that what you're informing me?" he smirked evily. "Only that I may be the last," the immortal declared as he sliced into Cain's thigh, drawing the first blood in the battle. _______________________________________________________________________________ "Oh I cannot *believe* you threw me in, Brian," Laurana bit out in mock anger, her matted and disheveled curls giving her face an almost lopsided look. It also, Brian noted, made her seem all the more innocent and disarming. "What goes around comes around," he returned, his blue eyes flashing in the firelight. "Which isn't to say you didn't deserve it, of course," Macleod chimed in on the other side of the fire, his feet lying naked before it, somewhere in between dry and warm and soaked and frostbitten. "I see you taught him your way with manners," she poked MacKenzie in the ribs. "And how to treat a woman," Brian added, drawing a snort from the younger immortal. "I'll show you how to treat a woman," she chided him playfully as she grabbed his face in her hands, pulling it down to meet her lips. "Ahem," David cleared his throat as he rose to his feet, the slightly damp Animaniacs shirt clinging to his well-defined torso, "I think I'm gonna head back now. You know, sleep and all, big day tomorrow." After a moment MacKenzie broke the kiss and turned to his student, tossing him a plastic bag. "Take the marshmellows back, please?" "Marshmellows," Laurana smirked. "I still can't believe you had us roasting marshmellows on the beach. Woulda thought you would have outgrown that phase three hundred years ago." "Well," David commented as he took a step or two backwards towards civ- ilization, "deep down inside, under all the years and experience, I think Mac just wants to be a boy scout leader." MacKenzie popped a well-roasted marshmellow off of the stick he had propped up before the blazing inferno of sticks and twigs and "mmm-hmmmed" as he tossed it into his mouth. After he swallowed it, he continued, "You should have seen the first time I took Dave, "City Boy" Macleod here into the forests, that was a sight." "I bet," Laurana grinned at the thought. "There was this one moment that was absolutely priceless..." "Maaaaac," David warned as he began walking away again. "She doesn't have to hear this..." "And there was this commotion behind me, see?" Brian continued unabated. "And all of a sudden Dave here freaks out and starts yelling, 'BEAR, IT'S A FREAKIN' BEAR!!!!.'," he chuckled before starting up again, "So I turn around, sword in hand, to see this big Golden Retriever running away down the hill towards us! 'Dave, it's a *dog*' I tell him, but it's no use. he's prac- tically up a tree by this point, 'No! No! It's a freaking BEAR!'!" By this point, even David joined into the laughfest, knowing that MacKenzie will never let him live the event down. "'Now, it's a *big* dog,' I tell him, 'but a dog nonetheless!' Oh you should have seen it, it was classic." Macleod bowed deeply to the applause of the crowd. "Thank you, Mac, now that you've completely embarassed me I'll be leaving. Have a good night, kiddies," he threw them a salute as he marched off towards the house. Laurana sighed deeply as she leaned against Brian's chest, pulling the warm blanket tighter around them. He softly stroked her hair as he sat, gazing out at the quickly-darkening skyline. "He's truely got the classic Macleod form," she murmurred quietly. MacKenzie nodded, smiling, in return. He paused, looking down at her delicate features. "What's wrong?" he asked as he nudged her slightly. She paused, looking out to sea. "Just thinking about what he said. About tomorrow being a long day." "The first of many in the near future," Brian replied. "This is going to be a difficult fight for us all." "That it is, Bri, that it is," she whispered. "You don't have to d---" "Yes I do," Laurana looked back at him. "I owe at least this much to Jenny, and I won't let her death go unavenged." "You could fight Antonio, and David could take Justin..." MacKenzie offered, trying to convince her to accept the easier opponent. "No. We both know I'm better than Dave. Experience," she smirked slightly. "I just want to make sure *you* don't do anything stupid...," she planted her forefinger on his chest. "Me?" Brian questioned, his eyebrows raising in confusion. "I just worry about you worrying too much about me. I can handle my battle, you worry about your own. None of us have ever faced such an ancient immortal, your hands will be fill enough without worrying about us. And I don't want you pulling a two on one or something stupid like that..." she trailed off. "Rules were made to be broken, my love," he commented as he grinned slightly before turning serious once more. "Besides, I would break them all if you asked me too." "That's what I'm afra--" she replied before Brian's finger settled on her lips, replaced moments later by his own. _______________________________________________________________________________ Steeling himself, Antonio eased the latch of the heavy metal gate closed and began the journey up the enormous flight of stairs cut into the earth before him. He paused a handful of steps up, his deep brows furrowing as he listened to the echos resounding down the stairwell. The distinctive sound of blade on blade rung out, too loud, too forceful, and accompianied by too much grunting to be merely a spar. Instantly, Antonio sprung into action, taking the steps two at a time and withdrawing his broadsword at the same time. He increased his pace as the words and voices became slightly more distinct and he recognized that of Justin Glantz, the same Glantz he nearly fought just nights ago. He slowed slightly as he neared the stone archway, the sounds of battle drawing nearer to his location. Suddenly he heard his master cry out in pain, the sound of Justin's sword swinging about in cocky arrogance. He charged through the door, bringing his broadsword about in a wide arc towards Justin's neck, screaming madly at the top of his lungs enroute. The immortal paused, half-pivoting to face this new threat, the form of the elder on one knee before him, momentarily forgotten as the beserking form of Antonio DeViola bore down on him from mere yards away.... _______________________________________________________________________________ "Fool," Cain muttered as his opponent turned away from him. He pulled the Tai Chi sword up steeply on a collision course with Justin's neck. Enroute his mind caught up with the tactical situation and began assimilating information, realizing that Antonio's blade was also launched at the same target from the opposite side. "NOOOOOOOOO!!" he cried out as he tried to halt his blade, failing in the attempt. The blades both struck home simul- taneously, one going high and the other cutting low. The charging form of DeViola plowed into him, tossing both of them and the headless form of Justin Glantz into a jumbled heap, Glant'z scarred and bodiless head rolling to a stop several feet away. Cain felt a stabbing pain in his stomach and looked down, expecting to find that Antonio's weapon had pierced his body in the tummult by accident, but instead finding a churning ball of bluish light spinning like a dynamo in the center of his Chi, the small, Quickening-like bolts playing about his body, racing up and down, reaching out and engulfing Glantz's limp form. He looked over to the Antonio, discovering that the same situation plagued him. Suddenly, the triangle of energy was connected, and beams of electricity played about all three of the gathered forms. Cain roared in pain and agony, or at least assumed that he was, the rushing onslaught of energy drowning out all noise and sensation from him. A blinding flash of light engulfed him moments before he entered unconciousness.... _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ heh. Join us next chapter to find out just what in the hell just happened. }:) Until then, E-mail, comments, flames, and criticisms are always welcome. Brian Macleod MacKenzie Procopio _ _ KAOS PICTURES, INC. 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