Well, here goes nothing... The inspiration of this story came from a thought that wandered into my head one day. What would happen if a person was both an Immortal _and_ a vampire? I guess we'll find out. Disclaimers: Nick Knight, Natalie Lambert, and Co. all belong to Sony/Tri-Star. Dana Scully and Fox Mulder belong to Chris Carter and Co., and Selena Kenner and Katrina Dlari belong to me. All characters not mine have been borrowed and used with the greatest respect, and have been reluctantly returned. : ) Baird and Rhiannon are both Celtic names, as well as Tuatha De Danann. The story behind the Tuatha De Danann is true, as far as I know. Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to XJediJadeX@aol.com. Anything else will most likely be ignored. Please take into mind when reading this that it was written and rewritten again and again to please the public as a whole, so if anything offends you (which it shouldn't) I'm sorry. Enjoy! The Cat and the Sword by Beth Gulla XJediJadeX@aol.com A Forever Knight/X-Files/Highlander Crossover-Famous First story Chapter 1 ***FBI Headquarters, Washington, DC.*** Sighing, Special Agent Dana Scully of the FBI, dropped the folder back onto Fox Mulder's desk. She sat in a chair facing her partner, down in the crowded and dim room that was his office. "Mulder, please tell me you're kidding," she said. "What?" He replied innocently. "Oh come on. 'Vampiric Demon Hound Stalks Streets of Toronto'? Even for you this is unbelievable." "Skinner didn't seem to mind us going up there," he said, twisting to prop his feet up on the desk's top. "We leave tomorrow morning, by the way." "Tomorrow morning? That's not enough..." She frowned in mid-sentence. "Skinner actually agreed to this?" She tapped the newspaper headline that poked out of a folder titled 'X-File: #486'. "Well, he thought that I might be of some help with the killings because of my serial killer profiling background," Mulder said a little evasively, confirming Scully's suspicion that he hadn't told their Assistant Director everything. "Why are you so eager about this assignment, anyway?" She asked suddenly. "It's not like you to pick up a case where your help actually does some good." "Scully, just because I prefer to hang out with the living and not the dead doesn't mean you have to pick on me," Mulder returned with a mock-pouting face. "Besides, I like to help. Sometimes." A thought flickered into Scully's mind. "You don't seriously believe this is connected to the Cancerman, do you?" He smiled his 'You know me better than I do' smile in reply and kept quiet. Scully knew when to quit and sighed. "Tomorrow morning, huh? Where are we going again?" "North, of course. Toronto." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ***Toronto, Canada*** "My, Katrina, you are quite merciless when you're angry," LaCroix commented, setting the newspaper back down on the bar top and turning to his companion. The slender vampire flicked her long blonde hair over one shoulder and turned her bored, gray-green eyes on him. "I enjoy it," she replied simply. "Yes, but unfortunately, the Enforcers do not. We all enjoy a good killing every now and then, but not when it puts the community at risk," he said, motioning at their fellow vampires mingling around them. The Raven was just as crowded as usual, with the occasional human falling prey to a vampire's delights. Katrina followed his movement, noting the Enforcers in the crowd watching then returned her expressionless face back to him. "So?" She asked mildly. "Katrina," LaCroix said, taking one of her hands in his. "I'd hate to lose such a promising vampire as yourself because of something as stupid as killing mortals." He spoke softly, his gaze catching hers. After a moment, Kat smiled and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be careful," she whispered, then turned and sauntered toward the door, winking mischievously at the male Enforcer that moved to sit with LaCroix. As the door closed behind her, LaCroix glanced at the vampire beside him. "I doubt she'll stop killing, but I have a feeling she'll not draw attention to the Raven while she's at it. If our existence was made known to the mortals, she would not be able to continue her games, and I know that's a risk she _won't_ take." The Enforcer nodded. "We will hold you responsible if something goes wrong," he said. LaCroix's eyes flashed yellow-gold. "Anything she does is her own problem, do not involve me," he hissed. His eyes returned to normal and after a moment, the Enforcer nodded and walked off. LaCroix was not sure what Katrina was up to, or how she would handle the Enforcers, but he certainly did not want to end up being a part of it. He would help her, but only while it served him some purpose. If her actions ceased to amuse him, then he would just step back and let the Enforcers have her. He smiled to himself. She wasn't the only one who enjoyed playing games. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nicholas Knight, or rather Nick, rolled over in bed and stretched out a hand to take his wife Natalie's. When his hand met air, he cracked an eye open then sat straight up in bed. A quick glance over the opposite edge of the bed showed she had not rolled off accidentally. He frowned at the empty space on the bureau where her newly acquired sword would have been and hurriedly began getting dressed. One thought stopped him and he sighed, sitting back down on the bed and leaving his silk shirt unbuttoned. After beginning her lessons with the sword with Aaron, Natalie had made his promise that if she ever did find herself in a fight with another Immortal--which was bound to happen--he would stay out. "I know you want to help, Nick, but this is something I've got to do by myself," were her exact words. He still didn't totally understand the whole Game idea, and he had stopped trying to understand after the third time Aaron had explained it. To him, going around and fighting to see who gets to lop off whose head seemed silly, but if Natalie was a part of it, then so was he. Even if it meant staying out on the sidelines and just watching. "Besides, you don't even know where she went," he said, trying to ignore the thoughts of what would happen if she didn't come back. He sighed again and began pulling on his jeans. At least he could be there waiting when she _did_ come back. Natalie Lambert, coroner for the Toronto Metro Police, entered the code that unlocked the door and slid it open. Before she had even gotten into the loft that she and Nick shared, he was beside her, a concerned frown creasing his face. "Are you all right? What happened?" He asked quickly, giving her a once over to make sure she was uninjured. She smiled, turning to shut the door behind her and walking over to the couch. Dropping down gratefully, she looked up as he appeared over her, still watching her worriedly. She reached up and took his hand, pulling him down beside her and setting her sword on the endtable in front of her. "First, I want to say thank you for not rushing out to find me," she said, smiling. His smile equaled hers, but she could tell he hadn't liked staying at home while she was out fighting. "Nat, you know I keep my promises," he said. "I know, I know. I was sure that you were going to pop up any minute, though, but I'm glad to see you didn't. Now, as you can see I'm just fine. It turned out that he was a beginner like me, except I just had a little better training." She glanced at her sword, biting her lip. He reached out to take one of her hands and squeezed it comfortingly. He knew how she hated to kill someone, but sometimes one just isn't given a choice. "As for what happened... I snuck out of bed and went to the place we'd agreed on before, then I came back." "Wait. The place you agreed on? You had this all worked out and you never told me?" He asked, hurt. "Nick, sweety, if I'd told you, you would've have known where to go, and probably would've followed me there. I'm sorry, but I don't need your handsome face there beside me, ruining my concentration," she replied, raising a hand to touch his face. "But you could've saved me all that worry and stress. Life's bad enough as it is without having to constantly worry about you running off to go hack off someone's head." He shook his head, exasperated. Natalie grinned and stood, pulling him by the hand to the steps that led up to the bedroom. "Well I guess I'll just have to make up for that, now won't I?" *End of Chapter 1* Whew, there it is, the beginning. I hope you liked it, and if not, oh well. If you want a more explicit love use your imagination because you can probably make up one better then I could. Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Well, on with the show. Chapter 2 "Mulder, are you sure you know where we're going?" Scully asked, refolding the map and laying it in her lap. Mulder, one hand holding the wheel and a bag of sunflower seeds and the other popping them into his mouth, smiled at her. "When have I ever gotten us lost?" He said, spitting a seed out the window. Scully shook her head. she thought. She could think of several times he'd gotten them lost, but since she didn't want to start another who-can-throw-the- most-teasing-insults-at-each-other war, she kept quiet. Mulder slowed their rental car to a stop at the light and peered up through the windshield at the street name. "I think we go straight," she suggested. Mulder glanced at her and turned on the right-hand turn signal. With great patience, Scully decided to humor her partner and looked out her window. He made his turn, glancing out his window every now and then and drove down the street. The building popped up out of nowhere. "Mulder, turn!" She cried. With incredible reflexes, he twisted the wheel and brought the car up alongside the curb, electing a few angry shouts and loud horns from passing motorists. Mulder smiled at his partner again and got out of the car, tossing a seed aside as he did. When she came around the car, Scully deftly relieved him of the bag and tossed it in the trash, ignoring his 'sad-puppy' look. As they entered the station, the two agents became aware of two things. One, the officers of the Toronto Metro Police were obviously very busy, and two, they were all but shoved aside by an aurburn-haired woman as she hurried in, calling an "Excuse me" over her shoulder. Scully approached the desk of a young man who appeared the least rushed. "Could you tell us where to find Tracy Vetter or Nicholas Knight?" She queried. The officer frowned in thought. "Nick's got the night shift, like Tracy, but she should be around here somewhere." He stood and glanced around the station, then pointed at a tall, blonde-haired woman talking with the person who'd nearly run them over on her way in. Mulder thanked the man and followed Scully over to where the two were chatting. "Just don't rush things. I'm sure you and Vachon were meant to be," they heard as they walked up. The blond looked over the other's shoulder and saw them coming. Turning, the woman who had been speaking smiled politely. "Can I help you?" She asked. "Yes. I'm Agent Dana Scully and this is Fox Mulder, my partner; we're with the FBI. Are you Tracy Vetter?" Scully pointed at the blonde, who nodded. "We were called up here to help with the recent murders you've been having. Is there any chance I could take a look at the bodies?" "I'm not sure." She glanced to her friend, who extended her hand to the two agents. "Dr. Natalie Lambert, the coroner here," the woman said. "I'm sure it would be fine if you looked over them again. I'm always willing to have a second opinion." It didn't take them long to reach the Coroner's Building, and Scully waited patiently while Natalie signed the papers necessary to bring the bodies out of storage. She also supplied her with a lab coat to cover her skirt-suit and latex gloves for her hands, then grabbed the clipboard containing the information on the first person. "Let's see. The victim, David Rhoan, was found in his car, slumped over the steering wheel, in the northern district. Cause of death was blood loss, which was found around the inside of his car and leaking through the door. Multiple lacerations to the chest and a broken neck were also possible causes," Nat read, looking at Scully, who was feeling the swollen area around his neck where the bones had snapped. "Any idea how the neck was broken?" The FBI doctor said. Tracy shook her head. "The car didn't appear to have crashed or stopped suddenly enough for him to snap his neck against the steering wheel, and there were no signs of struggle, proving he didn't just bang his head real hard," she replied. Scully moved to the next body, and Natalie began reading again. "Kitty Foxryn. Found in the bathroom lobby of a local hotel, lying in a pool of her own blood. A small hole in her neck appears to be made by a needle, possibly the reason some of the victim's blood was found missing. Death was caused by asphyxiation, as shown by the bruises around her neck, and the stab wound in her upper right thigh is the cause of blood loss." "Any signs of struggle or suspects?" Again Tracy shook her head. "We couldn't find a thing. It was almost as if she had just stood there while the murder was killing her. As for suspects, not a clue for any of the murders. Either people aren't owning up, or there were no witnesses." As Dana moved to the third body, Mulder pulled a small bag from his pocket and popped a couple of sunflower seeds into his mouth, crunching loudly on one. His partner rolled her eyes and pulled back the sheet, grimacing at the head that sat apart from the body. Natalie flipped back a couple of pages. "Baird Steffenson, an Irish man. He was found in a club a street down from here. His head was found a foot away from his body, and was taken off by something very sharp. The cut was smooth and even, ruling out a saw or a knife, yet no weapon was found. Mr. Steffenson was the leader of a local Irish band, Morrigu's Blood, and unlike the other victims, did appear to have put up a fight." "Anything odd found at the scene?" "Um, there was an odd power short out that night, but the owners claim it was the result of a practical joke one of the band members played. Some equipment had been knocked around, but still no witnesses." Scully silently endures her partner's seed-crunching and turned to Natalie. "Were there anymore?" "Actually, yes." Moving over to a wall covered with multiple small doors, Nat pulled open one and drew the tray out, pulling back the white sheet. "I've only just had to the chance to do some preliminary testing, but the cause of death appears to be blood loss again, this time from the wooden stake found protruding from the heart." Dana raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to examine the hole in the left side of the man's chest. "Any fingerprints found on the stake?" She asked, stepping back to allow Nat to push the tray back in and close the door. She peeled off her gloves and apron as Tracy sighed. "No and no signs of struggle. Mr. Mulder, I hear you're good at profiling serial killers. Anything you can say would be a big help." "Please, just Mulder," he said, tucking his bag of seeds into his trench coat pocket. "The one thing that seems to stay the same throughout these murders is the lack of witnesses. It could be that the murderer has either bribed, threatened, or killed anyone with information we might want, but that seems unlikely or we would be finding more bodies. Any bodies we find that haven't been killed in some sickening yet fascinating way will most likely not turn out to be the person we're looking for. Also, the ease of which these people were killed, with the exception of Mr. Steffenson, seems to show that the murderer either knows the victims or is a lot stronger." "So we're looking for a male suspect?" Tracy ventured. Mulder shook his head. "Just because males tend to be stronger doesn't mean we should turn away entirely from the thought that our killer may be female." "Oh." "What I would suggest," he continued. "Is that you check all the victims' backgrounds to see if there's anything that ties them together, which will help tie them to the killer." "I'll get right on it," Tracy agreed and left quickly, obviously happy to be doing something other than looking at dead bodies. Natalie chuckled and glanced at the two FBI agents. "Have you two made any arrangements for your stay here?" She saw them look at each other and knew the answer. "Why don't you go do that? Nick should probably be up by then." She waved at the beheaded woman's body. "Oh, and I'd stay away from the Eagle's Nest. It's gained a bad reputation." *End of Chapter 2* For those of you who are dying for Nick to show up, never fear, he's coming. Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Chapter 3 Nick stretched languidly and opened his eyes, smiling up at Natalie, who sat on the bed beside him. Leaning over, she kissed him softly on the lips, then stood. He noticed she still wore her trench coat, even in the house, to keep her sword close at hand. "Come on," she said, tossing a shirt at him, which he caught with a grin. "Those two FBI agents Reese called in are here. They'd like to talk with you about the murders." As Nick slipped the shirt on, he reached out with his vampiric senses and caught the sound of voices coming from downstairs. He pulled on his jeans and ran a comb quickly through his blond hair, smiling boyishly at her when she shook her head. "Let's go, you look fine." She pushed him out the bedroom door and followed him down the stairs from the landing overlooking the loft's large living room. The two strangers, both wearing trench coats, glanced up. The woman was shorter than the man, with red-gold hair that brushed against her shoulders and had a very serious, down-to-business attitude around her. The man, however, with his young-looking brown hair and soft brown eyes, seemed more relaxed and easy going. "Nick, this is Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from the FBI. Like I said, they'll be working with us on the case," Natalie explained. Nick smiled and shook hands with the two agents. "Pleasure to meet you. Uh, sorry for the wait. Long nights tend to keep me asleep longer than I'd like. Have you met Tracy Vetter, my partner?" "Yes, we have, and we've also taken a look at the bodies," Scully replied. Nick nodded and turned to Mulder. "I hear you're good at profiling serial killers. Any clue as to who did this?" "Well, I believe it was the little gray men from Mars, but my partner doesn't agree." He smiled at Scully, who rolled her eyes. Nick thought. He waited for Mulder to continue. "Truthfully, I think it's only one person, and not a group. The lack of struggle and witnesses suggests that each victim knew the murder, with the exception of Mr. Steffenson, who did seem to have put up a fight. As to why this person killed, I would say pleasure, either from their victim's suffering or the sight of them dead." He paused as the door to the loft slid open and Tracy walked in. "Hi Nick. Sorry to interrupt you, Mulder, but I found something I thought you might want to know. Our buddy, Steffenson? It turns out he doesn't exist." ***The Raven*** Katrina smiled coyly at the mortal sitting across from her, and took a sip of the blood wine in her glass. It was not that she enjoyed drinking it, it was just to make the man think she was drinking so he would, too. He grinned, thinking he had everything under control, and took a large gulp of the old vintage wine in his glass. Glancing over at LaCroix, who was watching them, Kat decided to further her little game. She stood smoothly and backed away toward the exit, motioning with a finger for the mortal to follow. Like a puppy on a leash, the man did. Once they were alone in the alley, she pressed him up against a wall and kissed him hungrily, drawing the blood she wanted through his mouth. It was not as delicious as from the neck, but it did not leave the two holes that were a vampires trademark. Katrina had been warned that if she left any sign of what she really was, her games would end and she would be killed. Raking her claw-like fingernails down the man's shoulders and arms, drawing blood, she laughed inside. she thought. The mortal, realizing something more than what he'd thought was in mind, tried to pull away from her greedy grasp. With her superior strength, she kept him pressed against the wall, her eyes glowing as golden as a cat's. The kill was over in minutes and he sagged against her, drained to the last drop. But it was not over yet. Katrina sent a quick chop to the man's throat, crushing his windpipe. As she flew off into the night to arrange the body away from the Raven, Katrina smiled and licked her lips. No matter how good that mortal coroner was, she would not be able to determine if he died before or after his windpipe had been crushed, or how his blood had been removed. Oh, how she loved her games. ***Nick's loft*** "So you're saying there's no files on him at all? How did you know his name?" Mulder asked. Nick smiled grimly. "He had a 'Hi, I'm Baird Steffenson' name tag on. So far no one has come forth with any other means of identification, not even relatives." Mulder nodded and drew Scully aside, whispering quietly. Nick didn't mean to pry, but his acute hearing allowed him to catch some of what they said. "...the Lone Gunman in on this...find something useful...meet you at the hotel." Scully looked over at Nick as Mulder exited the loft. "He's going to check on something," she explained. Tracy glanced at her watch and started backing toward the door as well. "Uh, speaking of which, I've got to go, uh, talk to someone. I'll meet you at the station." She scurried out. Nick and Nat exchanged a secretive smile. Scully opened her mouth to ask if they minded going over the victims' files again, but the phone beat her to it. Nick picked it up before it could ring twice. "Knight here. I see. Where? Thanks." He hung up and turned to the FBI agent. "They've found another body. Would you mind going in to check it out?" "No, that's fine. Where will you two be?" "We're going to talk with someone who might know about the murders," Nick said, his eyes going hard for a moment. Scully decided not to press him and suggested they all meet back at the station when they were done. The loft was soon still as they left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Vachon?" Tracy called quietly as she entered the desolate church. A hand closed on her shoulder as a voice said, "I'm right here, Trace." She barely kept from screaming and jumping through the roof, and turned angrily. The Spanish vampire smiled somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he said. "Well, try making noise next time. Stomp, or whistle, or something. I don't know how Nat ever put up with Nick doing that all the time." Vachon decided to change the subject. "So, any special reason you came?" "I came because I said I would, Vachon," she said, then blushed and looked away at the intensity of her words. "But also because I have some police business I thought you might be able to help with." "And what would that be?" He pulled the chair for the guest sign-in table up beside a pier and straddled it. Tracy sat down on the pier itself. "Is someone in the community killing mortals? I mean, not just...feeding from them, but actual murder?" Vachon closed his eyes and brooded over this. He had heard about the killing and had expected Tracy to come to him, but he had never thought about what he would say. He was pretty sure it was a vampire, but "pretty sure" didn't get either of them very far. On the other hand, he didn't want to involve her in something that the Enforcers wouldn't like. He opened his eyes and looked into her near-pleading ones. She was always so eager to work on a case and he hated to lie, but he was afraid the truth might get them both in trouble. "I can't say," he replied honestly. She sighed deeply, and he moved to sit beside her on the bench, sliding an arm around her shoulders. Holding her close, he enjoyed just the sense of her being near him, and wished he knew how to help. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I don't think he's here," Nick muttered, more to himself then to Nat, who waited beside him. They were standing inside the Raven's doorway, looking around for LaCroix. As far as they both wanted to be from the elder vampire, they both grudgingly agreed that he might be of some help. Taking Natalie's hand, Nick led her deeper into the crowded club, trying to sense his old master through the invisible cord that still bound them together. "Wait, Nick." Nat stopped, pulling him up short, and started glancing around, one hand falling to the sword under her trench coat. "Where?" Nick asked, knowing why she stopped. Nat shook her head. "I don't know," she replied. It was impossible to tell who in the crowd the Immortal was that was setting off the buzz in her head. The feeling faded away and Nat bit her lip, frowning. Nick glanced around once more, then took them both out of the club, never noticing the gray-green eyes watching from the shadows. *End of Chapter 3* I know things might be slow right now, but they should be picking up soon. Besides, I've got to put all the boring stuff somewhere. : ) Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Chapter 4 "So, what did your friends have to say?" "Langly found a mysterious, _large_ bank account set up for a man named Bart Svensin. The bank claims they've never seem him, but I'll bet money he's our guy. Byers thinks there might be some sort of identification file somewhere, but apparently Mr. Steffenson went through a lot of trouble to cover his tracks." He paused before going on. "Oh, and Frohike says his proposal still stands. I believe his words were, 'It would merely be dinner and a drink'." Scully rolled her eyes and he smiled. Mulder's Lone Gunman friend had fallen for her when they first met, and never ceased to amaze Mulder in his persistent quest to get a date with Scully. He looked over her shoulder at the greenish colored screen of her laptop. "So, what happened to Victim #5?" "His windpipe was crushed and his blood was drained out, none of it being at the crime scene. He was found sitting on a park bench. Apparently, some woman bumped into him and he just tumbled off the bench. Long scratches along the arms and shoulders appear to have been made by claws or fingernails, do to the ragged edging the skin around the cuts had. Some blood was found on those scratches, as well as on two deep puncture wounds on his tongue. The cuts on the tongue were most likely made by the victim himself if the murderer forced him to shut his mouth, or hit him along his jaw." Mulder sat back, thinking. Scully stood and stretched, pushing the chair in, and going to the small bathroom in her hotel room to get a glass of water. When she returned, Mulder was pulling his suit coat back on over his shirt and tie. "We'd better get back to the station so you can tell the others what you've found. Hopefully they'll have better news." As it turned out, Tracy was the only one waiting for them as they pulled up in front of the police building, the first rays of morning sunlight breaking the horizon. She looked rather glum. "I didn't get anything useful and neither did Nick and Nat. Their suspect wasn't there," she said. Scully filled her in on what she'd gotten from the body, but Mulder stayed quiet about his find. "Captain Reese wanted me to tell you to go back and get some sleep. He has a feeling there'll be news of another body or something else at sunset," Tracy relayed. "I'll see you later." Scully and Mulder looked at each other and shrugged as the blond walked off, then turned and got back into their rental car. Once they'd gotten back to the hotel, Scully went over her notes again, listening to her tape-recorded voice list the details of the man's death, then decided to turn in after pulling the blinds closed. Mulder decided to sleep, too, but his rest wasn't as peaceful as Scully's. He was back in his old bedroom, with the flashing lights outside the window. The bright lights were too painful to look into, but he could see something standing there, in the doorway, silhouetted against the light. He screamed an endless, silent scream, mouthing his sister's name. Frozen in place as he watched her rise into the air and float, unresisting, toward the window, the window that flashed different colors, the window that stole his sister. Moaning softly, Mulder tossed and turned, unable to escape his nightmare. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A shapely, gray-green eyed vampire was also dreaming that night. Her dreams were of death and torture, though, and she relished in her dream-victims' screams. She opened her glittering eyes slowly, stretching and rising in a smooth, almost cat-like manner. A buzz in her head warned her to snatch her rapier from its sheath as she turned to see the fiery haired woman storm into the room. Her green eyes flashed like emerald fire as she raised her glinting, longsword into an en garde position. "I am Rhiannon of the Tuatha De Danann clan, and I have come to claim vengeance for the death of Baird Steffenson," the stranger said, and Katrina snorted. The woman, obviously many centuries old due to the clan title, frowned. "Beware, Katrina Dlari, for there can be only one," Rhiannon snarled and lunged forward, slashing at Kat's middle. With eyes threatening to glow golden, she blocked the attack with her thinner, yet more agile sword, and twisted the locked blades. The other freed her blade and thrust forward again. The battle continued in this manner for quite some time. Katrina barely kept her temper in check as the Irish woman carelessly slashed and cut with her sword, decimating some precious pieces of her furniture in her haste to kill her foe. Though her enemy was much older than her, Katrina managed to hold off her opponent's well-learned attacks and succeeded in getting a couple of well-placed cuts in. A pause came as the two rushed each other and locked blades again, each pressing against the other. "You fight well...for a cheater," Rhiannon spat, and Kat growled softly. "Baird Steffenson died honorably in a fair sword fight," she returned, shifting her grip slightly. Rhiannon didn't notice; she was too caught up in her hate. "A great swordsman such as he who was thousands of years older than you, could never be beaten by a _youngling_!" Now Katrina was furious. Her fangs dropped down as her eyes took on their own gold fire. Her opponent made a fatal mistake and froze in momentary fear, giving her the chance she needed. Shoving back with her now heightened strength, Katrina knocked Rhiannon to her knees and brought her sword down in a shining arc. As the air around her began to tingle with energy, she opened herself up to the Quickening. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Mulder?" Scully said, rubbing her eyes and peering out her door at him. After awakening to find that dusk had settled hours ago, she'd gotten up and opened the blinds, noticing Mulder was awake and dressed, unlike herself. His suit looked slightly rumpled and his hair was tousled from sleep. He had his back to her and was standing by the walkway's railing, staring at the stars above with such intensity that she didn't need to ask him what was wrong. He didn't seem to hear her walk up and place a hand on his shoulder. His hands were clenched in tight, trembling fists, and she could see his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. She had been his partner for three years and had come to realize that whether his sister had been abducted by extraterrestials or not, it still pained him to this day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Natalie was just cleaning up from another unsuccessful examination of the five victim's bodies when she heard the phone ring. She wondered if it was Nick, since she'd left a not explaining her early disappearance. She snatched the receiver on the second ring. "Coroner's Office, Dr. Natalie Lambert speaking," she said. The man at the other end turned out to be the night guard, telling her that another two bodies had arrived for her. "Thanks, Phil," she said and hung up. Her door was pushed in by two paramedics a couple minutes later, each wheeling a body-laden table into the room. They set the carts where she pointed, then walked out with a sympathetic smile. Natalie slipped her goggles back over her eyes and pulled back the sheet on the first one. "Great. No identification." She marked something on her clipboard. After seeing that this body was also having a few head problems, she knew that Baird Steffenson and this woman were Immortals. "Which just makes my job even harder..." Having written down the cause of death as decapitation, she really didn't need to do any more, and so pushed the cart out of her way and turned to the second one. "Selena Kenner, 17, fell down a flight of stairs," she read off the toe tag and smiled despite herself. At least this one was a somewhat normal death. A buzzing sound went off in her head just as she realized that the body was still breathing. Nat had had only one other Immortal show up in her line of work before. He had sat up, looked around, and walked out with a word said. He was back two days later, though not in one piece. She could tell it was going to be different this time. Taking off her lab coat and handing it to the teenager, she tried to smile encouragingly. "Um, where am I?" the girl asked. She looked around with intense, pale blue eyes and dark brown hair that contrasted sharply with her pale looks, giving her an eerie look about her. "How do you feel?" Natalie replied. "Kinda weird. My head's buzzing." "I'll explain that, along with everything else, in a minute. Now, can you tell me what happened?" "Um, let's see. I was walking down the hall, reading a letter about Baird from Rhiannon, when I tripped over something sharp and fell down the stairs." She glanced down at her foot, mumbling something about being cut. The she looked around again. "Is this heaven?" "Not quite. Listen Selena, this is going to be hard to believe, but you've got to try, okay?" Natalie took a deep breath and let it out slowly before explaining all she knew about Immortals and the Game. When she was done, Selena stared at her as if she had suddenly turned into a giant bug. "You're telling me that there are hundreds of people running around, all over the world, trying to cut other people's heads off, so that they can win some Prize which they know nothing about? And that I died, but came back because I'm an Immortal, too, and my head's buzzing cause you are as well? You're right, that is hard to believe." "You mentioned someone named Baird. He wouldn't have happened to look like this, would he?" Nat asked, pulling out a Polaroid of the man's body in an effort to make her believe. It had some effect. The girl paled drastically. "Someone cut his head off?" She whispered. Nat nodded and on a sudden impulse, pulled back the sheet of the newest body. She paled even further, now looking quite ghost-like. "I take it this is the mysterious Rhiannon?" Nat prompted and Selena nodded. "Great. Uh, you'd better come with me. I'm not quite sure how I'll explain this to Nick, but I'll find a way. Come on, let's go. " *End of Chapter 4* For those of you who think I'm killing to many people, I apologize. It's all for the greater good. That should be the last one. Again, comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Chapter 5 Aaron Gray pushed open the door to Nick's loft and entered, looking around when he felt the presence of not one, but two Immortals. "Natalie?" He called softly, his hand falling to his sword beneath his coat. Nat stepped into view, a sullen-looking teenager dressed in a long lab coat behind her. Aaron immediately smiled and moved forward to hug his friend. "So, what have we here?" He asked, turning to look at the girl, who crossed her arms and refused to return the smile. "Aaron, this is Selena Kenner. Selena, this is my friend, Aaron Gray. As you've probably already noticed, he's an Immortal, like me," Nat explained and Aaron realized who the second presence was. "I never said I believed any of this junk, so I don't know why you're telling me this," Selena muttered. Nat turned helplessly to Aaron and he nodded. It was obvious this girl had died and come back, and was confused as to how that happened. Most people were shocked, or just refused to believe, like Selena, that any of this was happening. When he ran across new Immortals like that, there was one thing that always convinced them. Sliding his sword from his sheath in one quick move, he slashed the girl's arm, not too deeply, but enough to draw blood. He returned the weapon to its sheath just as smoothly as he'd drawn it. "Why you...," Selena trailed off, staring at her arm as the skin folded and healed while she watched. She stared up at Natalie. "You weren't kidding, were you?" Nat shook her head. There was a knock at the door and, frowning, Nat went to open it. "Oh, hello Mulder, Scully. Come right in." As Nat led them in and introductions were made, Nick poked his head out the bedroom door. Scully seemed a little startled and Nat blushed, excusing herself and hurrying up the stairs to usher him back into the room. Mulder turned to Selena. "Nice outfit," he commented. "It's the latest fashion," the teenager retorted sarcastically. The agent raised his eyebrows, but kept quite, pretending to ignore the sharp elbow in the ribs Scully had given him for his remark. Nat reappeared a minute later, Nick following behind and dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans. "Any luck yesterday?" He asked Mulder and Scully, who handed him a copy of the examination she'd done on the man's body. Nat peeked at it over his shoulder. "Nice work," she commented and Scully nodded, very professional about the whole case. Nat retrieved the information on the latest victim, Rhiannon, and passed it to the two agents. "'Rhiannon of the Tuatha De Danann clan'?" Scully arched an eyebrow. "It's the name of an ancient group of people, supposedly the children of the Goddess Danu, that ensued the invasion of Ireland a very long time ago. They also were said to have come down from the sky," Mulder said. There was a long silence as everyone stared at him. Nick cleared his throat, still a little surprised. "I didn't think you studied ancient cultures, Mulder," he said. The other man smiled, purposely ignoring the stunned faces of his friends at his lengthy description. "Only when it crosses my interests," he replied. "How'd you id. the body?" "Actually," Nat said, "I didn't. Selena did." Everyone turned to look at the girl, who was uncomfortable with the sudden attention she was getting. "So you knew this woman? Did she have any enemies, or anyone who might've been angry enough to kill her?" Scully asked, firing the questions off one after another. Before Selena could answer, though, Tracy hurried into the loft, eyes lighting up when she saw Natalie. "Nat, you'll never believe this. I went to your office looking for you, and Grace said one of the bodies that just came in is missing. I can't believe someone would steal a body. Anyway, I was wondering, do you think it could've been our murderer and, for some reason or another, they staged their own death and then got up and left?" She stopped to breath, then said, "Well?" Now it was Tracy's turn to look uncomfortable under everybody's stares. "What?" Nick sighed. Sometimes his partner got a little too excited about her job. Nat shot Aaron a glance, then looked to Nick, before smiling patiently at the leggy blonde. "Trace, why don't you and I go down there and see what we can come up with? Okay?" She bid everyone else good-bye and led the now-confused Tracy out to her car. Meanwhile, Nick had grabbed his coat and turned to Selena. "If you could give us the address of your house, we'll go down and see if there's any evidence," he said. The girl nodded and gave the directions to Scully, who jotted them down on her notepad. They started to leave, but Mulder paused and looked back at Aaron and Selena. "Shouldn't she come with us?" He asked Nick, who smiled. "She'll be fine here with Aaron. Shall we go?" Frowning to himself, Mulder nodded and followed Nick and his partner out. Aaron turned to Selena. "I'm sure you've got a lot of questions to ask me, so why don't we get comfortable before you start asking them?" She nodded and sat down on the couch, Aaron taking the seat beside her. "Where to begin..." *End of Chapter 5* Selena Kenner and Katrina Dlari, as I've said before, are my own characters. Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Chapter 6 Katrina Dlari shoved the door open forcefully, glancing around the room with narrowed eyes. The Enforcers had made another, unpleasant, visit, explaining that she had to end her games whether she liked it or not. The police were getting suspicious of the Raven, now, because of the six victims. Stalking through the house, she kicked furniture that got in her way, sending it flying into walls or other furniture. As she stormed up the stairs, she growled low in her throat. She knew that the pair of Immortals she'd killed had a little friend with them, and she was in the need to feed, so why not take her? No one would miss her, certainly not her dead friends. At the top of the stairs, she found a sword, though not Baird's since she'd shoved his in some trash-can downtown. After all, what would they, or the Enforcers for that matter, think if they knew the killer used a sword? She stopped suddenly, listening. Voices... There were people downstairs. She went to the top of the stairs, fangs dropping down as her eyes changed color. She flew, effortlessly, down the stairs and headed for the door quietly, trying to get a glimpse of her meal. When she saw them, she paused. The man with the blonde hair seemed familiar. After a moment, she realized that he was LaCroix's son, the vampire that wished to be mortal again. She smiled. This was getting very interesting. As the other man moved toward her, she tensed. "Mulder!" Scully shouted as she saw the woman leap from the shadows for his throat. She didn't even see Nick move before he stood beside the two, wrestling to pry Mulder out of her grip. With a feral snarl, the woman picked up Scully's partner and threw him across the room, spinning to face Nick. As she did, Scull thought she saw a flash of...fangs? Shaking her head, she dashed to Mulder's side to check him for injuries. After a couple minutes of struggling, Nick realized that unless he fully vamped out, he would soon be over-powered by the other vampire. She noticed this and smiled wickedly. "Pray tell, Nicholas, what will you do now?" she whispered insultingly. He didn't have time to wonder how she knew his name, and opened his mouth to snarl something back, when the three Enforcers appeared in the doorway. Scully, still crouched beside the unconscious Mulder, pulled out her gun, but before she could aim, there was a blurred movement and the distinct cracking sound of a jaw being dislocated. She, too, dropped to the ground, out cold. The Enforcer standing over her relieved her of her weapon, tossing it aside in disgust. Nick, seeing this, growled angrily as his fangs dropped and his eyes glowed to match the other vampires'. The three other didn't seem to care. One pointed at the woman he struggled with. "Katrina Dlari, the Enforcers have decided that you are too dangerous to live," he said, and pulled a wooden stake out of his pocket. Surprised, Nick let down his defenses for a moment and wound up flying across the room to land beside Mulder and Scully, only slightly dazed. The three Enforcers began to circle the vampire, who was hissing furiously by now, and he could see they all had stakes. He struggled to his feet but wisely kept away as the men feinted in and out with their weapons, taunting her. The movements were almost hypnotic until, finally, one man ducked under her slashing, claw-like nails and jammed the stake up into her heart. The howl that issued from the dying vampire's throat sent chills down Nick's spine. Even the Enforcers seemed shaken, but they quickly regained their mask-like composure. One turned to see him staring and moved closer. "You will tell your police captain this," he said. "This was your murderer. When you found her, she attacked you and your friends, and knocked them both out. While she was struggling with you, she got a hold of a stake and tried to kill you. When this failed, she pushed you away, and stabbed herself. Don't try to argue this, Knight, we've made our decision." The Enforcer turned to leave, then froze in fear. Katrina, without a mark on her, giggled and winked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Natalie glanced at her watch, trying to figure out why she was so anxious all of the sudden. Trace sat at the coroner's desk, frowning in thought. On impulse, Nat grabbed her phone and dialed the loft. "Hello?" Aaron said, a little breathlessly, when he picked up. "Aaron? It's Nat. Do you know where Nick went?" "Uh, hold on." There was some muffled talking between Aaron and someone beside him, probably Selena, before he came back on and gave her directions to Selena's house. "Aaron, what are you doing right now?" she asked when she finished copying them. "Teaching Selena some simple sword moves. She's a natural. Why?" "Meet me at her house, would you? I don't know why, but I've got this funny feeling you'll be needed there." "I'll be there," he said and she hung up, grabbing her coat and heading out the door as Trace hurried to catch up. *End of Chapter 6* Sorry if that seemed short, but the next one was too long to begin with so I had to cut it in half. Once more, Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Chapter 7 "Surprised?" Kat asked with another giggle. One of the Enforcers, sneaking up behind her, stabbed her from behind with his stake. This time, though, she only flinched and pulled it out, frowning like a mother might frown at a disobedient child. "That wasn't very nice," she said. Her arm shot and a thunk sounded as the stake found its home in the Enforcer's chest. He groaned and disappeared in a puff of fire and smoke. Nick looked away from the sick grin on the woman's face as she turned to the remaining two Enforcers, dropping her other stake. "Anyone else care to kill me?" The vampires started backing toward the door, obviously unsure of how to deal with this truly _immortal_ vampire. Everyone suddenly glanced at the window when they heard the screeching of tires as a car outside hit the brakes. Katrina moved swiftly and soon one Enforcer was flying out the window, but not of his own accord. She turned to send the other out as well, but he was already through the door, flying down the steps and shoving Aaron, Tracy, Nat, and Selena out of his way. They paused then ran the rest of the way up the stairs. The three Immortals stopped, though, when they felt the presence of another. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" Katrina purred, sliding her rapier free of its hidden sheath and discarding her coat. Nick appeared, dragging the two limp agents with him. He took one look at the identical dark looks on his friend's faces, and decided that Trace, who still didn't know about the Immortals and their Game, should leave. "Tracy, help me out here," he said, dragging the two through the doorway as the Immortals closed on Katrina. "But that's the murderer, isn't it?" Trace exclaimed as they carried Mulder down the steps together "Yes, but someone has to watch these two." Nick flew up the steps, grabbed Scully, and flew back down, depositing her beside her partner and turning to Tracy. "Stay here in case they wake up," he ordered and left before she could argue. Meanwhile, Aaron and Nat had drawn their own swords and Selena, not having one, stood beside them defiantly. "Now, now, let's be fair," Katrina reprimanded. "Only one at a time." "_You_ want to play fair?" Aaron returned, sarcasm coloring his voice. "That way I can watch all of you die very, very slowly," the vampire added. Aaron's face hardened. "I'm going to enjoy taking your head," he growled. Selena startled everyone, including Katrina, with her next words. "_I'm_ taking her head." While Aaron stared at her in disbelief, she laid him low with a punch similar to the one that had knocked Scully out. Prying his sword from his loose grip, Selena glanced at Nat before moving to stand in front of her opponent. "Is this some kind of joke?" Kat asked, not bothering to smother a snort. Selena's eyes narrowed and she lunged. By the barest amount of strength, Katrina held off the girl's attack and still managed to not lose her rapier as she backed up, frowning. Nick appeared at Natalie's side and she smiled up at him reassuringly before looking back to the two Immortals, now dueling with equal furor. Nick whistled low and approvingly. "She just became an Immortal?" He asked and she nodded. "Shouldn't Aaron be fighting since he's more experienced?" Nat pointed at her friend's slumped form. "Oh." They turned back to the fight. Ducking, slashing, lunging, and parrying, the two danced around each other, each weaving their own web of attacks and blocks. It was impossible to tell who was winning because the swords never stopped moving. Somehow, Selena, having no training whatsoever, was able to fend off the thrusts and blows Katrina was giving her. Though she wasn't getting as many attacks in as Kat was, she was at least keeping herself from being beheaded. The other hissed suddenly as she scored a slash to the leg. "What's wrong? Getting tired?" Selena said as she danced out of the way of the vampire's return stroke. Impossibly fast, the blade whipped back around and caught the girl in the hand. Now it was Selena's turn to wince as she tried to ignore the stream of blood flowing onto her hands and making them slippery. "Tired?" Katrina echoed. "Not the slightest. I must say, though, you're putting up quite a fight compared to your friends. That little witch and her musician boyfriend? They didn't last very long at all." If Katrina was trying to push Selena into doing something irrational, it had some effect, to say the least. Her pale eyes hardened into ice flints as she flipped back out of the way of Katrina's swing. She landed unsteadily on the stairs and started scrambling backward as Kat came charging up after her. With her injured hand on the banister, Selena kept herself balanced and continued scrambling backwards. However, when she reached the top, her foot tried to find a step that wasn't there and she ended up falling backwards, onto her back. With a vicious cut, Katrina knocked the sword from her hand and paused before slashing again. Without thinking, Selena grabbed the nearest weapon at hand, and suddenly found what she has tripped over earlier. She had often seen Baird and Rhiannon examining their somewhat large collection of swords, which she now knew they had for a reason, but she had never knew why they always left the one she now held, in its case. The gleaming blade met the vampire's squarely, and she shoved with it, throwing her backwards. Hissing, Kat tumbled down the stairs and immediately jumped up, preparing to charge up the stairs at her foe again. But Selena was ready. The sword she had picked up was about three feet in length all together, and felt like it had been made just for her. It had a simple hand, with a design she couldn't make out, and obviously couldn't try to until she finished the fight. Flipping off the stairs, she landed in front of Katrina and slashed. Amazingly, Selena was totally unconcerned with the fact that her opponent now had flaming golden eyes and ivory fangs, and ironically wondered why she had left her cross necklace at home. The fight turned from the moment the girl laid hands on that sword. Now she no longer just held off Kat's attacks, she returned them with equal or greater force. Chairs, tables, couches, anything that got in their way was demolished. They traveled past Nick and Natalie in their twisting, weaving dance and gouged the walls a couple of times with cuts that would have taken an arm or leg right off. Pale blue eyes locked with golden cat eyes and never left that gaze, even when the swords cut low or high. The two were oblivious to all around them as each strived to catch the other when they made a fatal error. Katrina did. The vampire slashed then twisted so that the two blades locked together. Seeing what she thought was her chance at survival, she snatched a hand out for Selena's neck, planning on draining her victim before taking her head. Somehow, the girl managed to free her blade, and it flashed with vampiric speed, flying up and taking off Kat's hand at the wrist. Enraged with pain, the Immortal cut wildly, and Selena, learning that at least one good thing about Immortals was their quick healing, grabbed the rapier's blade with one hand. "You shouldn't have ticked me off," she warned too late. Shaking her head, she then brought her own sword arcing down. The Quickening was nothing like Selena had expected. She dropped the sword as the blue lightning-like energy burned in the air around her and flashed through her body. Images--memories of the other Immortal, she realized--flooded her mind, and she opened her mouth in a silent cry as Katrina's power became her own. Finally, after the windows and power had both been blown out, the air stilled and she looked down at the sword in her hand. Glancing up at Nick and Nat, who watched in silence, she smiled slowly. "I think I get it," she said. *End of Chapter 7* Sorry, that ran long and I'm still not done yet... Just a quick little snip of a chapter and it'll all be over. Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Chapter 8 The next night, Scully and Mulder stood on the steps of the Toronto Metro Police station and waited for Nick, his partner, and Natalie to show up. Scully rubbed her still sore jaw and thought about the events of the night before, trying to remember when their suspect had hit her. She distinctly remember seeing three men show up before she was knocked out, and was certain one of those men had been the one that had hit her. But she had been through and seen a lot more stranger things and if Nick said she'd been hit by the murderer, then she must have. Thinking of something, Scully turned to her partner. Mulder's right arm hung in a sling after taking the force of the blow when Katrina threw him. The doctor, _not_ Scully, had proclaimed it dislocated and said a couple weeks in a sling should make it good as new. For Mulder, that meant removing the cumbersome sling whenever it got in his way. "So, Mulder, I guess this wasn't connected to the Cancerman after all," she commented. Mulder nodded vaguely, deep in thought. Scully wondered if he had dreamt again while they slept the day away. The both looked up as a light blue Caddie pulled up and Nick, Natalie, and Tracy got out. "Hey guys. Can you believe it? Just when we find the murderer, some maniac shows up and kills her," Tracy said, shaking her head. Nick and Nat exchanged a mysterious smile and Scully glanced at her watch. "Right," Nat said, looking at her own watch. "You've got a plane to catch. It's been a pleasure having your medical opinion around, Scully, and your profiling did indeed help, Mulder." She shook hands with them, followed by Trace and Nick. "It's been a pleasure working with you, too," Scully replied. "Perhaps we'll try it again sometime. Mulder?" Reluctantly, he handed over the keys to their rental car, which Scully quickly snatched. she thought. Getting into the car, they waved once last time before pulling away. A moment later, they came back, driving the _right_ way. Nat chuckled as he turned back to Nat and Trace, who was already starting for her car, which had waited the day out sitting by the police station. "I'll see you two later, okay? I've got to go...somewhere. Bye!" And then she was gone. The vampire and the coroner looked at each other. "Vachon," they both said, grinning. "Hey, you never said what happened to that other Immortal. Selena Kenner?" He asked. "Well, she still meets with Aaron to practice her sword skills, but she beats him everytime." She shook her head in disbelief. "It's amazing how good she is. Anyway, I doubt we'll see much of her unless she goes on a killing spree like Miss Dlari did. And what's odd, Aaron says he doesn't ever remember there being a Katrina anything in the Immortals' community." Nick nodded. "What should we do now?" he said. Nat smiled devilishly as she led him back to the car. "Oh, I can think of a few things," she murmured. "Does one of them include going back to the loft?" he asked softly and she nodded. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Uh, Ms. Trebond?" A man said hesitantly. The young woman, the only person standing beside the two gravestones, turned and regarded him with oddly pale blue eyes. Glancing down at the two graves one last time, she sighed and moved toward him, tossing her dark hair over one shoulder. "Yes?" She said. The man, dressed in a suit and tie, took one look at her black jeans and t-shirt and realized she was much younger than he thought. He cleared his throat and pulled an envelope out of hit pocket. "Ah, the late Miss Rhiannon and Mr. Steffenson left no written will, save this note, which was addressed simply to 'Selena'. I thought it might be you." She nodded and took the envelope, reading the letter inside. The first part was mainly about pieces of furniture, now worthless scrap, that she could have, as well as a large bank account. She smiled, though, when she came to the last paragraph. 'As you know, Baird and I collected swords from about everywhere. Most, as written above, with be given to museums or auctioneers to be sold. There is one, however, that we would like you to have. It is smaller than the rest, and somewhat plain but we think you might like it. It not, sell it or give it away.' She noticed the man was watching her. "Switch the bank account to my name as it says in the letter, and leave the furniture where it is," she said. "I'll deal with it later." The man nodded. "And the sword?" The girl surprised him by laughing suddenly. "I'll take care of it," she managed to say before turning back to the gravestones, her shoulders betraying her mirth. Shaking his head, the man turned and left the graveyard in a hurry. Selena reached under her trench coat to pat her sword then, still chuckling, walked out of the moonlit cemetery, her thoughts on a certain gray-green eyed cat and a sword. *The End* Well, there it is. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (and rewriting it, and rewriting it, etc...). Thanks again to Kevin Matsumoto for letting me use his character, Aaron. Comments, questions, and creative criticism can be sent to xjedijadex@aol.com (be nice). Please tell me if you liked it or not. Feedback is what writers live off of. (or at least that's what they say...) "She is like a cat in the dark, and then, baby, she's your darkness..." Fleetwood Mac, "Rhiannon"