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Outside Luke's.
Aaron, Brenda and Robin have just left Luke's and are walking
along the docks.
Brenda can't remember when she had this much fun. Suddenly Aaron
stiffened and
began scanning the area. After a minute he said "Robin, Brenda
get of out here
now!"
Robin looked around "Aaron what is it? What's wro......"
"I SAID GO! NOW!" Aaron shouted as he drew his sword.
The girl's eyes widened when they saw the blade. So caught
up were they that
neither one noticed the man coming toward them with a gun.
Aaron turned to face him and instinctivly stepped in front of
Robin as Javier
Dominguez began to fire. Robin screamed in horror as Brenda's
body was
repeatedly hit by bullets from the gun. Aaron was wounded as
well, but not as
severly as Brenda.
When Javier had run out of ammunition Aaron attacked the man
and ran him
through the chest with his sword. Javier's body fell to the ground
and Aaron
turned his attention to Robin and Brenda.
Robin crawled on the ground to Brenda's bullet ridden body.
She tries to find
a pulse. There is none. Just blood, so much blood.
Aaron comes over and
kneels next her. Robin who is now cradling Brenda's dead body
looks up at him
when she hears his voice.
"Robin, I'm so sorry."
Robin simply turns away from him and looks at Brenda and begins
to cry.
Aaron's face fills with rage as he picks up his sword.
Javier is already regaining consciousness. In seconds he's
on his feet. Aaron
doesn't waste time and begins attacking. No finesse or style
this time he just
hacks at the man. The sudden ferocity of Aaron's attack drives
Javier back. In
a desparate move he grabs Aaron's swordarm. Aaron counters by
viciously driving
his knee into Javier's groin. Javier howled in pain and stepped
back. Aaron
immediately struck with two lightning fast cuts that opened up Javier's
abdomen.
He fell to his knees and Aaron brought his sword around in a 360 degree
circle.
Neatly severing Javier's head.
As Javier's body fell, a luminescence flowed out of it.
Suddenly Aaron was
surrounded by flaring light. He twisted and jerked as lightning
struck him.
Finally the light faded and Aaron knelt on the ground catching his
breath.
Robin barely noticed all this as she continued to cradle Brenda's
body. Robin
noticed Brenda's fingers begin to twitch. Suddenly she is amazed
when Brenda
takes a gasping breath.
"robin?" her voice was weak. She tries to sit up.
All the while Robin is
looking at her in shock. Brenda looks down at her chest.
Her shirt is covered
in blood. "What...? I... I... I was shot...
I mean... I... felt it... I
remember... What's happening?!?" Confused, Brenda becomes
hysterical.
Aaron approaches and kneels down before her. "Brenda" he
said in a tired
voice. He takes her hand and helps her up. "I really think
we need to talk."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Brenda's house.
"Do you really expect me to believe this!?!?" Brenda says.
She had allowed
herself to be taken home and she had sat and patiently listened to
Aaron's
fantastic tale about Immortals and swordfights and a game that she
was, somehow,
now involved in.
"Why do they all have to say that?" Aaron says looking up for
guidance.
Looking back at Brenda he says "I know this is hard, but you have to
accept the
fact that you did come back from the dead and that this is really happening."
"All right. So I'm an Immortal and so are you. But
you still haven't
explained exactly what this game is."
"Maybe I'd better explain the rules first. One -- We can
never fight on holy
ground."
Robin interrupted "Why not?"
"I don't know. It's convention. Not even the most
morally corrupt of us would
break that rule."
"Two --" Aaron said before he could interrupted again, "we always
fight one on
one. Once a challenge has been made no one can interfere."
"Three -- we use hand to hand weapons as a matter of honor."
"What happens if someone breaks that rule?" Brenda asked.
"Nothing really" Aaron continued, "The ones that do are ususally
well known.
So you can either avoid them altogether or just stay out of the line
of fire
until they run out of bullets."
"Four and probably the most important rule -- There can be only
one."
"What?!?" Brenda asked shocked.
"In the end the last Immortals will fight until only one of us
is left. The
last one alive wins the prize."
"I'm guessing it's not a trip to Acalpulco." Brenda deadpanned.
Aaron almost laughed. "No... whenever we take another
Immortal's head, his
quickening, his lifeforce if you will enters our body. We gain
some of their
power and knowledge. Supposedly the prize is total access to
all the power and
abilities of every Immortal that ever lived."
Brenda sat back on the couch, trying to take it all in.
Finally she looked
over at Aaron and asked, "What if I don't want to play the game?"
"You don't have that choice" Aaron said flatly. "The Gathering.
The time when
all the Immortals are supposed to begin the final fight for the Prize
has begun.
If you don't fight, one of them will find you and kill you."
"Great... I've become Immortal just in time to get killed"
Brenda said
sarcastically.
"Not exactly Brenda." Aaron looked straight at her, "The
Gathering may have
begun, but it's not like it's in full swing yet. The final battle
will only
begin when are just a few of us left. I don't exactly know what
that means but
there are still a lot of us out there and you're proof that more are
being born
every generation."
He places his hands on her shoulders. "The final Gathering could
be tomorrow or
a thousand years from now. You just have to take it one day at a time."
"So what happens now?"
"Now you learn."
Before Aaron can finish Brenda grabs her head in apparent pain.
Aaron looks at
the door knowing the person he called when they first arrived at the
house is
finally here. Robin goes to the door and lets the visitor in.
"V" Brenda says surprised, "You're one... I mean you're
like me."
"'I'm afraid so." She gives Brenda a warm smile.
"Go ahead and scream if you
want. It actually helps."
(Note: Aaron's explanation about the game and the rules are taken
from Kevin
Matsumoto's Companionship.)
CHAPTER EIGHT
Outside Aaron's suite at the Port Charles Hotel.
"So how do you think Brenda's going to handle this?" Aaron asks
V as they walk
to his room.
"Brenda's a strong woman, it's going to be hard on her for a
while but I think
she's going to do fine." They reach Aaron's door. Aaron
asks V if she would
like to come in. "Not tonight. I should really head back
home. I've got a big
day tomorrow, a lot to do with Mr Jax before I start my new job."
She leans
over and kisses Aaron on the cheek. "Good night, Daddy."
"Good night, Little Flower" Aaron says and walks into his room.
Once inside his room Aaron feels as though someone is watching
him. He turns
around and sees the shiloulette of a woman.
"It's about time you got here. I was about to give and
go to bed... alone."
the woman says walking toward him.
She is a beautiful petite woman with curly red hair down to her
waist and
piercing blue eyes. She is wearing a rose red nightgown and carrying
two
glasses of wine. White in one glass. In the other a darker liquid
resembling
red.
He takes the glass she offers him and drinks while she drinks
from hers. Aaron
takes her glass and sets it down on the table next to his. Aaron
then pulls her
close and kisses her passionately. "I've missed you, love" He
says.
"I've missed you more." she replies and kisses him again.
Aaron picks her up and carries her to the bedroom. Gently
setting her down on
the bed he continues to kiss her. She removes his shirt and runs
her hands
along his chest. She pulls him down onto the bed and rolls on
top of him. He
lowers the straps of her nightgown and lets it fall to her waist.
She lowers
her face to his and kisses him.
Aaron moves to her neck and begins to lightly nip it. "I
love you Terry."
Terry says nothing but lets out a small moan that sounds almost
like a growl.
Aaron looks directly at her and watches her eyes turn from blue to
gold.
END.
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