Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 17:35:00 +0000 Reply-To: AHILL@CCVAX.UCD.IE Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Amanda Hill Subject: The Challenge: In the End (2 of 2) [Part 2] ************************ The Challenge. Part 4: In the End. A HL Story By Amanda Hill. ************************ [Flashback: Dublin, 1942] She was fast. I couldn't see her as I followed her over the bridge and through the heart of the city. I knew she was ahead of me, though. It'd be hard not to. The buzzing in my head was almost like a rope tying the two of us together. Just much tidier. I nearly collided into her as she stopped and turned around. "It's down here! Be quiet, the echoes here are incredible." She dropped herself through a trap door. I looked over the edge and followed her down the rope. I jumped the last metre to the ground and saw what she meant by the echoes. Amanda put her finger on her lips and waved me down the nearest tunnel. I had only met up with her the week before but she was truly alive! I trusted her. Well, not entirely. I got the impression that no one in their right minds would trust Amanda. She just had an adventurous spirit and a carefree attitude that was so relieving after years of taking everything so seriously. When she invited me along for this little 'expedition', it sounded like a good idea. "Not far now. Here, hold this a second" She handed me a soft leather pouch and briefly shone the torch down the corridor. "Ah, there it is!" I watched in fascination as she proceeded to pick the lock of the door with the tools in the pouch she took back from me. Within seconds I heard the lock click. She smiled and opened the door. I looked around at the amount of gold and bronze surrounding us. "Wow! These guys certainly aren't short of a bit of wealth!" She whispered back. "Yeah, all depends which side you take in wars like this. I've seen enough of the same in the last few centuries. They hide it somewhere in the hopes that it won't be noticed and when the war ends, they're suddenly that much better off than everyone else." "And we can't have that, can we?" She grinned back and we started filling the bags. Ten minutes later we were creeping back through the tunnel network. I tried to muffle my laughter as I imagined the Earl's face when he next saunters down to his vault. All his precious artefacts, goblets, and old gold and bronze age jewellery... . Still, he'd see them all soon enough in the museum! That was something I would have liked to have seen... We had just come back into the night and were heading towards the Liffey when that familiar sensation ran through my head. I looked at Amanda. She shook her head. She didn't know either. I drew my sword as we slowly approached the Ha'penny bridge. Before we had even crossed the street, the sword was gone from my hand. "You won't be needing that!" A tall blond haired man stepped out from the shadows with sword drawn. I rubbed my wrist as I heard my sword splash as it fell to the river. "So, Amanda, we meet again." "Daniel. What are you doing here? I thought you weren't leaving Switzerland until this war is finished?" "Yeah, well I didn't expect to be deserted and robbed in the middle of the night with the police on my door the next morning! I wasn't exactly welcome to stay!" I looked at them both. "Excuse me, but what the hell is going on here?" Daniel gave a short snigger. "This has nothing to do with you. I suggest you get yourself uninvolved with this as soon as possible." He waved his sword at Amanda. "This is not a woman to be trusted." Amanda just threw back her head. "You take everything so personally, Daniel! Come on, you have to admit, it was fun while it lasted!" "Yeah, right until I got arrested for the financing of your little trip to Ireland! Well it's not going to be so easy to get away this time. You owe me, Amanda. Time to pay up." Just at that moment, sirens wailed as two young boys ran down the street. Before I knew what was happening, Amanda had grabbed me and we were running back through the north city. The van that speeded after the youths had given us a sufficient headstart on Daniel but he was still chasing after us. We ran through the darkened streets through the many alleys and side passages. We had stopped for breath near Bachelor's Walk when I thought of the night patrols. "What time is the next patrol down O'Connell Street?" Amanda furrowed her eyebrows for just a second before she understood. She glanced at her watch. "About two minutes. Do you think it'll work?" I just shrugged my shoulders. Moments later we felt Daniel nearby. It was an open run across the street. Our only hope was that Daniel would be spotted if he gave chase. We ran across the empty street, down the quays towards the docks. In the distance we heard what we thought were the patrol officers turning down towards the river. Luck was with us. We had disappeared from their sight just as Daniel ran out in our direction. One of the officers shouted. "Hey! You there! Now just where d'ya think you'd be going with that sword, now?" We didn't stop long enough to see how Daniel would get out of this one. Instead we quickly crossed to the south city and into safety. The next morning I knocked on the door of Amanda's flat and found her preparing to leave. "Taking a trip somewhere?" She smiled at me. "Dublin is getting a little too... crowded. I was thinking of taking a trip up to Belfast. Tell you what, why don't you join me? We make a great team!" I reeled from what she had just said. "Belfast! Are you crazy! There happens to be a war going on at the moment and you want to go to Belfast! It's not exactly the best time to be crossing the border. Especially with all that!" I indicated towards her bags knowing they contained loot from countless heists and a certain double-edged two foot blade. She crossed to the corner of the room laughing. "You worry too much, Allan. There's always a way around these things. So are you in?" I shook my head. "I just got here. I still have business to attend to. Including getting some of this stuff to a museum where it belongs. Or had you forgotten about that part of the deal?" She shrugged. "Have it your way. And don't worry. My share will see a museum. Eventually. In the meantime, I feel I owe you one. Favours are dangerous things to have hanging over one's shoulder so here." She handed me a long ebony box. I opened it, peered inside, and glanced up at her in disbelief. "I..., This..., Mon Dieu, I can't accept this..." "It's over a century old. Made specially for a Scottish duke or lord or something like that. He wasn't gonna need it much longer and well, there's not many of us who can truly appreciate its design -but I'm sure you can. So accept it. It's yours." I lifted the sword from the box and was surprised at how comfortably it sat in my left hand. The ebony black hilt with gold gilding around it and the handguard had already become part of me. The long silvered blade sounded alive as I cut the air before me. The scabbard was made of pure ivory with ebony panels framed in crimson with strong gilded bands. "It's amazing. Thank... you." Amanda had already left. [Flashback ends] *It was only when I tried to get the sword out of the country that I realised why Amanda had been so generous. Apparently her Scottish duke's son was an Irish landholder who knew the ways to keep the police on side. They had been watching for the sword leaving Britain or Ireland for years. Damned thing nearly got me arrested. If it hadn't have been for other problems on the docks that day brought about in the wake of a World War... but now was not the time. Calem had something to say.* "Nice to see you smiling, Noel. I always like my 'colleagues' to die happy. I see you've still got your excuse for a sword." It was then that I noticed Calem's sword. Not the same sword I had fought against centuries ago. This one was crueller. Jagged and harsh. Its beauty was raw and in the strength of its metal. The toughest in the Federation. And beyond. My confidence was rapidly beginning to seep through my toes. If nothing else, the end would be quick. Still, I wasn't about to let it show. "This baby and I have been through a lot together. We'll see our way through more." He sniggered. "Through hell, maybe!" I just shrugged my shoulders. "Perhaps." With that I lunged in for the attack. Our swords met and sparks flew. Each of Calem's blows were powerful and fierce. He grinned. "Shouldn't be much longer now!" His sword came in fast but I managed to anticipate and block it. "I can wait." I pushed his sword off and stepped around him. He regained balance instantly and we were circling one another, blades at the ready. I attacked with a rapid succession of blows but most were deflected. Those that weren't left little more than a scratch. As Calem returned his attack his methods were crude but dangerously strong. It was only the speed and fluidity of the combined techniques which I had fostered over the centuries that allowed me to survive that rain of blows. The echoes rang out all over the warehouse as we worked our way inside. Just as Calem got through the door before me his foot kicked out a stack of broken machine parts. I tried to regain my footing as Calem ran and disappeared inside. The old place was full of bits of machines left useless by the Cardassians since their withdrawal. Anything that may have been of use had long since been scavenged. The provisional government had their long term plans to make installations such as this operational again but had a lot more tougher problems demanding their attention right now. In the meantime, this place belonged to Calem and he was making sure I knew it. He laughed every so often as I walked around cautiously. "Welcome to my parlour. Somewhat fitting, don't you think? You've lived amongst the Bajora for so long now and fought their cause for them. And now you get to die in a Cardassian installation." I tried to track down the source of his voice but the echoes made it impossible. He was toying with me. A shuffle sounded from directly above and I looked up just in time to see my foe leap down from the metal beams. I dodged out of the way as he landed before me on his feet. His sword approached in a flurry of steel. Our blades became locked above our heads. It was all down to strength. My sword twirled in the air several times as it flew from my hand and landed with a resounding clank several metres away. Calem's face cracked into a huge smile as I backed away. He approached slowly but steadily. I looked around for something, anything I could use until I could reclaim my sword. Nothing. No bars, no rods, just chips and bolts. "So this is the end. I've been looking forward to this..." I was getting desperate. I looked above my head. "It's not over yet..." With that I leapt into the air and grabbed one of the beams. In one swift movement I pulled my feet above the air that Calem's sword had just slashed and kicked his sword arm against a pillar. He yelped in pain as I swung myself to the next beam kicking the back of his skull in the process. I had to get to my sword. He shook his head clear, yelled, and spun around. His sword instantly swung high and met with another pillar at the level at which my neck was just a split second earlier. I had let go and rolled into a ball as I hit the ground. He pulled his sword free as I tumbled along the ground towards my own. He ran after me and was looming above just as I felt my hand grasp around the handguard of my sword. I grabbed the hilt and tumbled to my feet just as Calem passed at the ground. He had thought it to be the final blow and had risked overextending himself. It was a risk that would finish him. With a quick jerk of my foot I had pulled his from under him. In the shock he lost concentration for the smallest fragment of time -but long enough for my blade to engage his. This time it was his sword that went tumbling through the air. He was mine. It all happened so fast that my sword was curling down for the final pass before I realised what was happening. "This is for Phillippe!" I yelled as my sword connected with and went cleanly through his thick neck. His eyes were open in shock as his head fell from his shoulders. I stood in disbelief for a moment or two. So the end had finally come. The chase was finally over. But not quite. There was one more thing, I realised as my eyes fixed on Phillippe's pendant which seemed to throb in its freedom. It pulsated as Calem's body began to glow and acquire a new life of its own. But not life. The Quickening. All around me started to rumble as if the storehouse stood on a volcano about to erupt. The noise soon became deafening as the scrap metal vibrated and rolled together with echoes even larger than this place was capable of. The power struck me with such force that I was left breathless. So old... So many killed... So many Quickenings... So much anger, hatred, and fear. And still no answers... just more confusion. I yelled out despite the breath being beaten from me from all sides possible, both inside and out. I clenched my sword as I desperately tried to cling on to some concept of myself through this storm of overwhelming emotions. I reached out for the faint trace of a thread that would bring me back to my reality and held onto it until the powers that had me God knows where let go of me. I kept my eyes squeezed tight shut until the sound of shattering glass ceased. Only when the rumbling stopped and the world once again stood still did I open my eyes to find myself on my knees, the palm of my swordless hand bleeding as my nails dug into the flesh. I stared at the blood for a moment -not wanting to look at anything else. I gasped and stumbled to my feet only noticing the glass and metal spread underfoot. I stopped my stumble towards the doorway midstep when I heard his voice. How could I have missed it? It was only when he spoke that I felt his presence, or to be more precise, became aware of feeling his presence. "Aren't you forgetting something?" I turned slowly towards him and would have smiled if I had the energy. "Richie! What are you doing here?" He walked away from Calem's body towards me. In his hand was a gold chain. He gave it to me. "Making sure you reclaim what's yours. Actually, Mac heard through the Watchers that Calem had found you here. I came to warn you. Okay, so my timing was *slightly* off." He grinned. "When I got here and saw the Quickening I was so afraid that... well, I was relieved to see you with your head still attached." I dragged the energy up from somewhere and flashed a brief smile at him. "You and me both, Richie. But right now I'd kinda like to get far away from here." He bowed and offered me his arm. "Anything you say, Al." I accepted his arm and walked out fighting the temptation to look back. I stood at the viewing port as the transport vessel pulled out of orbit of Bajor. It had been a long time since I'd last been home to Earth. I was also looking forward to seeing Duncan again. I took one last look at Bajor. That planet had been home for so long. I held Sam's earring in my hand before putting it back in my pocket. I wished he could be here now to share the relief of no more running. I wished I could tell him that I understood fully now his joy of being free and not having to fear anymore. But all I could do was send the thoughts out amongst the stars and hope that somewhere they meet up with some part of him. I fingered the pendant around my neck. Somewhere Phillippe was smiling. And Darius. I couldn't help but smile too. I had survived as they always said I would. From the stars surrounding me Ger winked. Finally. I was finally free to live without constantly looking over my shoulder. Free to live without fear of Calem pulling it all down around me. I turned from the window and my life of running scared. "Champagne. Two glasses." I walked to the replicator, lifted the glasses and handed one to Richie. "What's this?" He looked puzzled for the smallest moment before grinning from ear to ear. "It's a glass. With champagne in it." As he groaned I smiled at him. "I just feel like celebrating. A toast. To the end." Richie smiled back as our glasses clinked together. "And to the beginning, Aleanna. And the beginning." The End. _____________________________________________________________________ /| || Amanda Hill : ahill@ccvax.ucd.ie || || My sword has a heart of steel.... but to others it's just ==== painted plastic! }{ ** ____________________________________________________________________ This message was brought to you by Baj. Still the only Lefthanded Telepathic Immortal Bajoran member of the Q Continuum with a mild addiction to Chocolate..... ____________________________________________________________________ =========================================================================