Epilogue 1 Dawson grimaced at the paper, and gave a final sigh of defeat. "Maybe I can get MacLeod to translate it for me later," he muttered while folding up the newspaper. He tossed it aside on the park bench he was sitting on and leaned back. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, giving rise to what appeared to be a bright and clear day. It was a sharp contrast to the darkness that had been at work only hours before. All around him, he could hear the sounds of increasing traffic as the denizens of Tokyo stirred from a good nights rest and prepared to face the coming day. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Dawson. His body was still firmly operating on Paris time and was firmly insisting the it was now late evening instead of the break of day. Since getting any sleep was proving to be a losing battle, he decided instead to take a walk into the park, pausing momentarily to buy a local paper along the way. But he had only traded one lost cause for another as he was unable to read any of the Japanese text at all. "I could translate it for you," a male voice suddenly offered. Startled, Dawson turned sharply and saw a white cat perched on the far side of the bench. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked Artemis. "Watching the Watcher," the feline replied smoothly. Dawson scowled at the cat. "If you only knew how often I've heard that pun." A moment later a wry grin crept onto his face as another thought occurred to him. "Are you sure you're not here to take me up on my job offer?" Artemis blinked, taken aback. "Sorry, but keeping an eye on Mina is a full time job in itself." "Yeah, that I can imagine," Dawson replied. "OK, so you're here watching me. Mind telling me why?" Artemis canted his head. "To be frank, I'm not sure I trust you, Dawson. Neither is Luna." Dawson feigned a pained expression. "After all we've been through the last day or two? Artemis, I'm hurt." Artemis got up and took a couple of steps towards Dawson. "Then you won't mind answering a few questions to put out minds at ease." "Well, I don't mind you *asking* any questions... but I won't guarantee I'll answer them, or that you'll like the answers." "Fair enough, I guess." Artemis took a moment to organize his thoughts. He hadn't been sure Dawson would agree to answer his questions, but now that he had (more or less), he wanted to take full advantage of it. "Question one: you showed up at Raye's, out of the blue. MacLeod didn't know to be there, which was why he had been searching the city for Mina. How'd you know to be there?" "I..." Dawson began. Artemis interrupted, "And don't try to feed me the line you gave MacLeod about hanging around there because it was the nearest patch of holy ground. He didn't buy it and neither do I." "That was a bit weak, wasn't it?" Dawson replied with a grimace. "You're not going to believe it, but it was sheer coincidence that I was at the Temple when MacLeod showed up." "Coincidence?!?" The tone of Artemis' voice made it plain that he in fact didn't believe it. "Yeah, coincidence," Dawson reiterated. "They happen, you know." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I wasn't sure where I'd find MacLeod when I got here, but I wasn't too concerned about it. If all else failed, I could always contact some of the local Watchers to find him. But I figured I'd first get in touch with one of the locals and get the lay of the land, so to speak. So I contacted a retired Watcher who works at the Temple." Artemis felt his jaw drop in shock. There were three people that worked at the Temple -- it obviously wasn't Raye and Chad was far too young to be considered "retired". That left... "Raye's grandfather is a Watcher?!?" "*Retired* Watcher," Dawson said, placing heavy emphasis the word 'retired'. "Watcher's are all mortals, remember? Sooner or later we grow old and eventually have to step down from active field service. But most keep touch with the organization afterwards, keeping an eye out for passing Immortals and the like. It was all I could do to keep my jaw from dropping when MacLeod showed up out of the blue like that." It took Artemis a moment to digest this bit of news. "Does he know...?" "About Raye being a Sailor Scout?" Dawson finished for him. The Watcher shook his head. "Not that I know of. And I'm not about to tell him either. I don't want to jump the gun on something that should be Raye's business." "Hmmmm...." Artemis wasn't quite sure how to respond to this news item. While this was certainly troubling, it could hardly be described as urgent. He made a mental note to talk about it with Luna at some later point. "OK, here's question two: how'd you manage to show up just at the right time when MacLeod and Jupiter were in trouble?" "Nothing mysterious there," Dawson said. "It's exactly what I told Jupiter at the time. I was there checking that the dead Watcher that MacLeod had phoned me about was indeed one of ours. It was sheer coincidence that I got there just before MacLeod took a flying leap out a window. Which, if you recall, was exactly what I said to you and the Scouts earlier." "Another coincidence," Artemis noted dryly. "I'll admit it's odd, but it also happens to be the truth," Dawson replied. "Believe it or not, Artemis, I don't have an army of Watchers keeping a constant eye on you and your friends." He paused, waiting for Artemis to answer but for some reason the cat was strangely silent. "Well? What do you have to say to that?" he asked impatiently. "Meow." Dawson blinked. Artemis' odd reply gave him a suddenly uneasy feeling that he and the cat weren't alone. He slowly half turned to his left and saw a woman dressed in jogging attire looking oddly at him. "What's the matter? Haven't you seen someone talking to their cat before?" he asked her, gesturing towards Artemis. The woman's eyes widened slightly and she took a half step backwards. "Not as if he were expecting an answer." Dawson knew that any explanation he could give her off the top of his head would sound lame. Since she was already half certain he was nuts, he decided he might as well go with the flow. "Of course he answers! You can't have a conversation otherwise." He turned back to Artemis. "Right?" "Meow," Artemis supplied helpfully. The woman decided that she was best off getting away from this crazy American and resumed her morning run, albeit at a faster pace than before. Dawson waited until she was well out of an earshot (as well as checking for anyone else about) before continuing his talk with Artemis. "We better wrap this up before she has the men in white coats after me." "Well, I've only got one more question anyway," Artemis said, adding a silent 'for now'. "During the fight last night, you implied that you knew that Immortals could sense the Scouts presence. Mars caught your slip, but you never answered her. I doubt MacLeod told you, and neither did any of the Scouts. So how did you know?" Dawson paused and settled back. "Damn. I'm afraid you got me on that one." "I knew you were holding something back," Artemis muttered. Dawson fixed a stern gaze of the white cat. "Maybe I didn't tell MacLeod I knew about that, but I wasn't holding anything vital back. My knowledge of that Immortal ability isn't from any contemporary source." Now Artemis was confused. "Huh?" Dawson smiled slightly. "I think you know, Artemis, even if you don't realize it. Immortals have been around for thousands of years, even as far back as your Silver Millennium. As far as I know, most of those Immortals died long before the Watchers began, or even started keeping records, but a few of them have survived -- Kane for one, although there are a few others. Some of those ancient Immortals gave accounts to early Watchers about those days. Very detailed accounts, I might add. They told all about the Silver Millennium... and about the Sailor Scouts." Artemis was too shocked to respond immediately. "If you Watchers have all that information, then why *aren't* you keeping an eye on the Scouts?" "The records are so old that most Watchers regard the details in those Chronicles as myth and legends," Dawson explained ruefully. "For a long time, so did I. At least until I started hearing about Sailor V. I stated thinking that they were more than legends then, but I never truly believed that any of it was real until that night when Mina transformed into Sailor V in front of MacLeod. After that, I started doing some serious research into those 'legends'. Especially those parts that told all about Beryl and that she might return." "Mind if I ask why?" Dawson leaned a bit towards Artemis. "Hey, I'm not about to sit around and just watch while the queen bitch of the Negaverse tries to take over. Earth's my planet too, you know. I'd like to help." "No offense, Dawson, but..." Artemis began. "I know I'm out of my league in physical combat," Dawson interrupted. "Hell, even if I had flesh and blood legs, I doubt I could do more than give Beryl and her goons another target to shoot at. But there are other ways I and the Watchers can help." "How?" "Isn't it obvious?" Dawson asked with a smile. "What is it Watchers do best, Artemis? Answer: gathering information. A lot of information. We're more than just a bunch of people keeping an eye on Immortals, Artemis. We also have a large research department looking into their histories and trying to uncover any older ones that have dropped out of sight. In doing so, we've got our hands into almost every source of information there is. If there's any information that can be had on Beryl and her cronies, we can find it." Dawson gave Artemis a moment to consider this before adding, "And I can prove it." "OK, I'll bite," Artemis said. "How?" "Remember that apartment that Malachite set a trap for MacLeod and Jupiter?" Dawson waited until Artemis nodded before he continued. "Well, somebody had to be paying the rent on that place. I've already got Watchers following the money trail. Maybe it'll give us some info on other places Beryl is using around town." "Maybe," Artemis conceded. "It's better than nothing," Dawson said. He took a quick glance around. There wasn't any sign of anyone rushing here to cart him off to the funny farm, but he didn't want to take any chances. "Now if that's all, we better be going. The last thing I need is to spend the night in the local equivalent of Bellevue." "OK by me," the feline replied, getting up on all fours. "By the way, how long are you staying around?" he asked as Dawson was standing up. "Until MacLeod leaves town." Dawson raised an eyebrow. "Why, in a hurry to get rid of me?" "Well, I guess I can put up with the two of you for a *little* while longer," Artemis replied half seriously. "Especially since you two helped us out so much. I'm just glad that this is all over. I've seen enough of Immortals to last me quite awhile." Dawson smiled. "Artemis, something tells me that you and the Scouts are going to be dealing with Immortals for a very long time. Especially Duncan MacLeod... of the clan MacLeod." Epilogue II Crystal Tokyo, five hundred years after the Nemesis War. The nighttime darkness of the Crystal Tokyo skyline was broken only by the random flickering of light in the distance, which was accompanied by a rumble of noise. Most would simply dismiss the pyrotechnic display as a sudden lightning storm, but Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod knew better. Somewhere in the city, an Immortal had just been killed. And now that Immortal's life essence was being transferred to the victor by the process Immortals called the Quickening. Duncan didn't need to see the Quickening to know it was happening -- Immortals could sense the process with senses mortals didn't possess -- but he still watched from his apartment balcony. Being in one of the higher floors of the palace, it gave him an excellent view of the city. And seeing this energy display disturbed him greatly. Not that the Quickening was occurring here -- it had become a somewhat common phenomena once he had relocated to Crystal Tokyo -- but that this was the third Quickening he had seen or sensed in as many nights. This, plus another feeling he had, could only mean one thing. Something he could no longer deny was happening. The time of the Gathering was now, and it was happening here in Crystal Tokyo. There was a grim irony in the situation that appealed to part of him. The most peaceful city in the world was about to become the site of the epic climax of a struggle that had been going on for millennia. He knew without turning around that another had joined him on the balcony. It wasn't surprising, seeing as she had shared the apartment with him for centuries. Ever since... Lita gazed upon the flickering display and frowned. "Again?" Having known Duncan since the Twentieth century, she knew a Quickening when she saw one. Even if from a distance. "That's the third one this week. What's going on?" Duncan took a deep breath, preparing himself for what lay ahead. She had to be told sooner or later, although it was not a task he relished. "It's the Gathering," he said simply. After all these years together, he didn't have to say anything else. Lita looked sharply at Duncan and felt herself go pale. He had told her all too well just what that meant. In the end... She didn't want to finish that particular thought. "Are you sure? Here?!? Now?!?" Duncan nodded. "I'm afraid so, Lita. For the last week I've had the feeling that this was the time and place, but I couldn't admit it to myself until now." "Have you told Serenity yet?" "No," Duncan admitted. "I thought you should be the first one I tell. You can tell Serenity and the others in the morning." Lita's brow wrinkled. "Why can't you tell them?" Duncan hesitated before answering, "Because I'm leaving the palace. Tonight." "WHAT?!" Before Duncan could so much as blink, he found himself nose to nose with Lita. And the expression on her face would have been enough to intimidate any Immortal. "Just what do you mean by *that*, mister?" Duncan put his hands gently upon her shoulders. "Take it easy, Lita. Try to understand..." She didn't give him a chance to finish. "Understand what?" she exclaimed. "Understand that this is the Gathering? Understand that every Immortal out there is going to be gunning for your head? Understand that when this is all over, there's going to be one Immortal left?" Her voice broke a bit at the last and Duncan could see the tears start to form in her eyes. "I understand all that fine. What I don't understand is why you have to leave." "Lita, it's as much for your sake as it is mine," he said gently. "If I stay here, there's a chance another Immortal could use you or one of the others against me." "We're not exactly helpless, Duncan," she said, glaring at him. "I know. But I'd rather not take the chance. I've lost enough people I care about during my life." "You hardly have a monopoly on that, Duncan. I've lost people, too," she reminded him. "Yes, but..." "Besides, the security in here is better than anything Fort Knox ever had," Lita continued, interrupting him. "There's no way anybody could break in." Duncan raised an eyebrow, a skeptical look coming across his face. "Well, I hope nobody told Amanda that." Lita grimaced when she heard the name of that particular Immortal. Over the centuries, Amanda had taken to periodically breaking into the palace. No matter who was in charge of security at the time, nor the upgrades to the various security systems in the palace, she had been able to gain entry every time and evade detection until she was well into the heart of the palace. She never took anything, but she did leave notes as to how she gotten inside. It was almost as if it were a game to her. "She's an exception, not the rule. I doubt anyone else could get inside." Duncan shook his head. "I wouldn't bet on it," he said. "In my experience, it pays to never underestimate any Immortal." Unwilling to argue the point further, he went back into the room and began packing a travel bag. Lita followed him moments later, fuming now more than ever. She spun him around to face her and jabbed a finger angrily in his chest. "You keep trying to protect me like I'm some frail flower. Well, get this through your thick Scottish skull, Duncan MacLeod: I may be your wife, but I am also Sailor Jupiter, one of the Sailor Scouts! I've been fighting things a lot tougher than a few sword crazed Immortals! I am quite capable of taking care of myself!" "All right," Duncan said, conceding the point. "Just answer this question honestly and I'll stay: could you just stand by and watch while another Immortal takes my head?" Lita felt her anger suddenly evaporate like water on a hot plate and hesitated before replying. "Sure," she said, but her voice held no conviction. Duncan nodded. "I didn't think so. I don't think I could do it either." "I..." "Lita, this isn't like any other fight I've had with another Immortal. This is the Gathering. I'll be facing combat God only knows how many times before it's all over. I don't want to put you through that time and again, especially with the knowledge that you could intervene and easily protect me." "You'd rather leave me in the dark?" she asked sharply. "Wondering each night if you're dead or alive." Duncan smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead. "I'm not going into seclusion, Lita. I'll be in touch." "You better be," she retorted, but her voice no longer held any edge to it. The two of them embraced each other tightly. "You don't have to leave right know, do you? You can stay just a little while longer?" "No," he said, yielding on this one point. "I can stay until morning at least." The sun was just starting to peek over the eastern horizon when Duncan passed through the palace gates. He paused there for a moment, looking back upon the massive crystal structure that had been his home for so long and wondered briefly if he would ever walk in its halls ever again. Grimacing at how morose his thoughts were becoming, he turned and resumed his trek. Even with an efficient public transportation system, it still took a good deal of time to make it to the outskirts of the city. It was almost eight o'clock when he finally reached his goal -- a small nightclub called simply "Joe's". His old Watcher friend had started the place shortly before the city had been transformed into Crystal Tokyo, and Duncan had managed to keep it going all during the intervening centuries as a tribute to him. He also kept a small apartment ready above it, for those times when he and Lita wanted to get away from the palace for a short while. And for emergencies such as these times. He was just about to the back entrance when he felt a very familiar sensation ripple through his being. His hand went automatically under his jacket to his sword while he gazed warily about the alley, looking for the Immortal he sensed. He saw a shape detach itself from the shadows there and he dropped his bag, bringing the katana out and into a ready position. "I am Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod." "I know it's the Gathering, MacLeod, but you don't need the blade," the other Immortal said, stepping out into the light. Marcus Kane grinned slightly. "Not yet, anyway." Duncan relaxed slightly, but he still kept the katana out. "I didn't know you had gotten back into town, Kane." "I think most of us are here by now," Kane observed lightly. "Except for one or two stragglers. I just got in during the night, and was challenged right away." Duncan immediately recalled the Quickening he had observed from the palace. "So that was you," he observed, bending down to pick up the travel bag. "Anyone I know?" he asked as casually as he could. Kane shrugged. "I don't think so. At least, I don't recall meeting her before. But not that I think about it, her fighting style was similar to Amanda's. She might have been one of her students." He took a wistful look at the palace in the distance. "Ironic that the Gathering would take place here, isn't it?" A wry expression came across Duncan's face. "I had the same thought." "Figures," Kane replied. "You're always a bit too much on the introspective side." "I'm not thinking that deeply about it," Duncan said defensively. "The only philosophical thought I've had lately is that I hope I don't face a friend at the end." Kane raised an eyebrow. "Better a friend than an enemy." "How so?" "If you're facing a friend in the last fight, at least you're sure your opponent is worthy of the Prize. On the other hand, if you're facing an enemy and he happens to defeat you..." Kane shook himself. "That's not a thought I'd like to take to the grave." "I guess I can see your point." Kane frowned. "Enough of this. We're both getting too morbid for our own good. How about we go inside this club of yours and I buy you a drink." "It's a bit early, but what the hell. I'd rather think about the good times than what may lie ahead." Duncan started for the door and then paused. "Speaking of reminiscing... You might want to pay Serenity and the others a visit before things get too far along." Kane hesitated before he answered. "I'm not too sure about that, MacLeod. There's an awful lot of water under those particular bridges. Especially since they learned about my past." Duncan leveled a steady gaze at the older Immortal. "Kane, when are you going to get it through your thick head that they've forgiven you for the past? And that's not just because you were a big help during the Nemesis War. Trust me, they'd all like to see you again." He paused slightly and then smiled mischievously. "Except for Raye, that is." Kane started slightly. "Huh?" "You remember... that little 'incident' shortly after the Nemesis War?" "Wait a minute..." Kane sputtered. "You mean that she only holds a grudge over *that*??" After MacLeod shrugged he added, "Over a centuries old practical joke?!? A prank?!?" "Yeah, but you turned her hair a very wicked shade of green," Duncan reminded him, smiling broadly now. With that, he slapped his friend heartily on the shoulder before venturing inside. Kane stood there staring at the doorway for several moments. "Great," he observed sardonically. "I'm going to start off the Gathering as a charcoal briquette." Shaking his head, he started to follow the Highlander inside. "Hey, MacLeod," he called after him, "how's the family?" The sun had just set on Crystal Tokyo when Lita heard a knock on her door. She was still on the balcony, where she had remained all day and would likely remain through the night as well. She wasn't in the mood for company this night, but she also didn't want to be overtly rude either. Besides, there was also the chance that this could be important. "Come in," she called. The door opened and allowed Neo-Queen Serenity to enter. Lita stiffened, alarmed. She belatedly realized that she should have informed her about the Gathering, but her mind had been on other things the entire day. "Serenity, I..." "Lita, relax," the co-ruler of Crystal Tokyo said immediately. Moving quickly, she joined her friend out on the balcony. "I know this is a hard time for you." "You know..?" She shouldn't be surprised, Lita told herself, but she still felt a slight sense of shock. Serenity nodded. "Yes, I know. The Gathering has begun." "How did you know?" Serenity smiled. "Do you really need to ask after all these years?" "I supposed not," Lita responded, smiling slightly herself. "I wasn't the only one to figure it out," Serenity continued. "Amy came to that conclusion one her own, but Artemis was aware of it as well." In response to the look on Lita's face she added, "He still has connections among the Watchers." "I'd forgotten," Lita said. She took a brief glance at the city. All seemed peaceful at the moment, but she knew that this was an illusion. One that could be shattered at any moment. "Raye and Mina knew that something was up, but weren't quite sure just what was going on, Serenity noted. "But once everyone did know, there was a spirited discussion on what to do about it." She paused momentarily before continuing, "In the end, it was decided that there was really nothing we could do. We've got other friends among the Immortals besides Duncan, so how could we in good conscience support Duncan at their expense?" "That's about what Duncan said earlier. Before he left that is," Lita said. Serenity frowned. She had known that Duncan had left the palace, but... "From the sound of your voice, he's not expected back soon." "He's gone for the duration of the Gathering, Serenity," Lita replied. "This way, he feels we won't be as tempted to help him." "That sounds like Duncan," the Neo-Queen observed. "Yeah, like Methos always said, he's too much of a Boy Scout for his own good," Lita said sardonically. "I..." She paused and felt her heart skip a beat as she heard a faint sound in the distance. The distinctive sound of clashing steel blades. Serenity immediately moved closer and embraced her, trying her best to comfort her friend wordlessly. She understood the feelings that were overwhelming Lita at the moment, for she could well imagine her own feelings if Endymion found himself in a similar situation. She wished she could do something more substantial to help, but Duncan had made it abundantly clear during the centuries they had known him -- there could be no outside help in these battles. He must face the coming struggle alone. But there was one small way she could help, even if she didn't know how much of a difference it would make. In her thoughts, a silent prayer went out, one that was echoed by not only the woman standing next to her, but by several others within the palace as well. 'I know there can be only one. But please, for the sake of my friend, let that one be Duncan MacLeod. 'The Highlander.' End. Notes: Comments, critiques and questions are welcome. Just email me at Soton@aol.com. Thanks to Naoko Takeuchi and to the creators of "Highlander", for creating their respective genres. And for being gracious enough not to sue me for playing in their sandbox. (As it were.) Additional thanks go out to my prereader, Captain S Pegasi, for her diligence in keeping me straight with the "Highlander" backstory, and for her patience with my lack of progress in getting each part finished. And a special thanks to you, the reader, for enduring those interminable delays. Well, there you have it, the fanfic I start first (well before I thought of the Sailor Trek saga) is finally complete. My only real regret is that it took so long for me to finish it. With any luck, I'll be able to elude this problem with my upcoming stories. And considering the number of stories I have in development, I'm praying fervently that this is so. Upcoming stories: Highlander Moon 2: Endings and Beginnings. -- It's D-Day against the Negaverse, but not just for the Sailor Scouts. Marcus Kane is determined to face Beryl himself and have his own revenge upon her. Only his grudge goes far deeper than being used as a pawn by Beryl and Malachite... Indeed, it goes as far back as the Silver Millennium itself. The Scout and the Scot - a followup story to the events of "Sailor Trek DS9".