Jerome Stone wasn't the sort to run from a fight. Criminals, thugs, whatever, it made no difference to him. Fate, he reasoned, was a capricious thing and if his number was up, it was up. Running from fate was futile. And running from every other Immortal that walked the earth would brand him a coward. If he was that fearful, then he could retire himself to a monastery the way some did. So far, in his long life, he'd never felt the need to retreat totally though he had on occasion taken brief respites on holy ground.

Still, when the weird feeling of disassociation that foretold the presence of another Immortal struck him as he sat in the Juice Bar, he felt a rush of fear. He glanced over at the doorway. A large burly man that looked vaguely Asian stood there. The man glanced around until his dark eyes fell upon Stone. He nodded just once and walked away, his unspoken challenge hanging in the air.

Stone sighed heavily. He didn't run from fights, but he also didn't seek them out. He'd never met the Immortal that had just stalked away. He rose from his chair and left the building. As he suspected, a sheet of paper was wedged under the windshield of his police car.

Tonight. Midnight. At the Angel Grove Park.

He crumpled up the note and tossed it in the recycle bin. The challenger had picked a good spot. Filled during the day, the park was an empty void at night. Again, he felt a slight tingle of fear. I'll need to sharpen my sword, he told himself.

The park was dark. The pleasant hills and walkways that listened to the happy cries of children playing during daylight hours were gloomy and dark, as if it knew that the next activity it would witness was not one of fun and joy. Stone stood atop a high knoll, waiting. He held his sword loosely in his hand. It was a good sword, the only one he'd ever owned. Not particularly impressive either, the sword was just a simple two-sided blade that looked vaguely Scottish. Unlike many of his counterparts, he hadn't searched out an antique blade. His sword had been made by a blacksmith that he'd sought out after becoming an immortal back in 1890. It lacked the classy lines of a true masterpiece, but he had no complaints. He was still in his police uniform. He hadn't had time to change, and he knew from experience that being late to a challenge could encourage an Immortal to head to his house. That could be very bad. He despised the killing of innocent bystanders. And, he liked Angel Grove. A few bizarre deaths, and he'd have to move on.

It was just midnight when the burly Asian walked down the path. He raised his sword. " Come on."

"I don't believe we've met." Stone said easily. He swung his sword up into a defensive position.

"Akira Hokato." The man flourished his sword. " And you are Jerome Stone. Still a cop I see. Now, we've dealt with the pleasantries. Let's finish this, shall we?"

The quiet park began to ring with the sound of metal clashing.

Billy looked up from his equipment. The park had been as quiet as tomb. He'd just finished getting his telescope and camera set up for the lunar eclipse when the odd clanging noise reached his ears. At first he ignored the noise, figuring that someone's trashcan had gotten loose. Then, as it persisted, he decided to investigate.

He rounded a bend on the path and was taken back by what he saw. Two men were battling with swords. One man, dressed much like a cop, suddenly gained the upper hand by twisting the other man's sword away. Then, he lifted his own sword high above his head and with one mighty swing, lopped the other man's head off. Then, as Billy watched in shocked horror, lightening flashed around the cop and a swirling wave of colored energy seemed to envelope him. All around the park, the wind whipped through the trees and lightening flashed again and again. Then, as suddenly as the strange phenomena started, it ended. The cop with the sword staggered around, looking exhausted. He looked up, and saw Billy's face.

"Oh damn." the cop said. He staggered towards Billy. "Listen, kid...."

Billy spun on his heels and ran. He's gonna kill me, his mind yammered. Why the two men had been fighting with swords didn't even cross his mind. He couldn't teleport away.... as terrifying as it was, the cop with the sword was *not* one of Lord Zedd's lackeys. He ran down the path, his lungs bursting from the effort. He risked a glance behind, only to see the cop closing the distance. Up ahead, he could see the steep drop off that he'd help rescue baby Jacob from. He looked around wildly to find some escape, but he'd already entrapped himself. He spun around right before he reached the edge. The cop ran up, and he made a move to duck around him.

"Hey... I just want to talk." The cop tried to grab him, and Billy jumped back.

"Don't kill me! I swear I won't tell!" Billy shouted. The cop made a move forward and Billy lashed out with a fist, striking the cop in the eye. The blow undid his precarious balance and he felt himself tottering backward. Then the cop dove on him and they tumbled down the rocky slope. When they hit the bottom, Billy heard a sickening crack. He shoved himself away from the cop, dimly aware that his wrist was already puffing up and he was seriously cut and bruised. The cop's neck hung at a strange angle. Billy looked at the man with dazed eyes. The man's neck was broken. **Oh god... I killed the guy.** He felt sick.

He stood up, and a sudden wave of dizziness washed over him. **I gotta find a policeman,** he thought, **or a phone.** Not far off, he could see Tommy's house. **Tommy will let me use his phone,** he mused. He broke into a run.

Tommy heard the frantic pounding on the front door. He glanced at his alarm clock. It was twelve thirty am. " God... this better be good." He crawled out of bed, and walked down the hallway, hoping his parents didn't hear the knocking and also wake up. The knocking started up again, even more frantic. He swung open the door.
Billy stood there, holding up one hand to pound on the door. His friend's clothes were ripped and covered with dirt and blood. Tommy's eyes were drawn to the large gash on Billy's forehead and the odd way he was holding his left arm.

"Billy? What happened?"

Billy shook visibly and Tommy quickly pulled him into the warm house. Billy hugged his injured arm close. Tommy turned on the hallway lights. In bright light, it was clear that Billy had been hurt and seriously at that. "Billy, listen..what happened?"

"Cop... sword..." Billy stammered. He sucked in a deep breathbut that did nothing to calm him. "Ch-ch-chased me... fell... the c-cliff."

The lights came on in Tommy's parents' bedroom. "Tommy, it's pretty damn late for your friends to be calling." growled Richard Oliver. The older man stalked out of the bedroom, clearly upset at the late night intrusion. Then he spied Billy. "Oh my.. son what happened? Did you get mugged? Tommy, go call an ambulance."

Tommy nodded and ran to the phone. Richard took one look at Billy and quickly led him over to a small bench that was in the hallway. "Billy listen... We called an ambulance. You'll be ok... Can you tell me what happened? How did this happen?" Richard could see all the telltale signs of shock on the young boy's face and the last thing he wanted was for Billy to loose consciousness.

"C-cop... s-some guy...they were f-f-fighting... the cop k-k- killed the guy... with a sw-sword." Billy touched his forehead, and his eyes widened as he saw the blood on his fingertips.

Richard pulled his hand away. "Don't look at that... look at me. Tommy, get a blanket or something. Billy, stay with me, ok? How did you get hurt?"

Billy shook. It was getting harder and harder to follow what Tommy's father was saying. "F-fell... c-cliff..." Suddenly he remembered how he'd left the cop lying at the bottom of the cliff and he started to hyperventilate. "The cop... his n-neck... I d-didn't m-mean..."

"Calm down." Richard said quietly. "You're not making much sense, Billy. What happened to the cop?"

Tommy glanced out the window. He could just hear the sirens of the ambulance. "Billy, what did you say about a sword?"

Richard frowned at his son. Billy's story was already confused enough. "Billy, just tell me what happened to the cop." Richard had a bad feeling about it.

"He... we b-both fell.... the cliff." Billy looked imploringly at Tommy. "You know.... in th-the p-park."

"I know where you mean. That's a really steep incline Dad." Tommy felt suddenly uneasy. In full light, Billy looked seriously hurt.

Billy's eyes started to droop and Richard shook him lightly. "Don't go to sleep son. You fell down this cliff with the cop....did the cop get up? Do you think he might still be there? Why was he chasing you?"

"He was...." Billy said. He visibly struggled to stay awake. "He k-killed this other...other man... I saw...he chased m-me and we f-fell d-down the cliff...he d-dove at me... his n-neck... it...it looked broken. I d-didn't m-mean.... Oh God I think... I k-k-killed him..."

"It's all right." Richard paled a little but remained calm. He gave Tommy a look of warning and Tommy got his point. It certainly sounded as though Billy had been assaulted, and in the commission of that assault, he might have killed the aggressor. A terrible thing but it was self-defense. That Billy's story barely made sense didn't worry Richard much. The kid had definitely taken a few good knocks. Letting Tommy pester him with questions might just muddle him up. "Tommy? A blanket?"

Tommy jumped and nearly ran to the linen closet. He came back with a blanket and gently wrapped it around his friend. Richard stood suddenly. "Tommy, I'm going to meet the ambulance. It sounds pretty close." He pulled his son close. "I'll be right back... don't let Billy fall asleep. He's knocked his head pretty good from the sound of it."
"Ok..." Tommy sat down next to Billy. Billy was holding his left arm tight to his chest, but Tommy could see the odd angle of the bone. The large gash on Billy's head was streaming blood down his face and from what Tommy could see, it looked like Billy had scraped or bruised a large portion of his body. He watched his friend's eyes flutter. "Hey... don't do that."

Billy trembled violently. "S-sorry." He hugged his injured arm close. His ears finally caught the sirens and his shaking increased tenfold. "I d-didn't m-mean to k-kill him..."

"You don't know that he's dead." Tommy reassured. Both boys jumped as two EMTs stormed through the front door. Richard followed but didn't wait. The man went straight to the phone. Tommy could only hear his father's side of the conversation, but it was clear that he'd called Billy's father.

"Yes.. Angel Grove Hospital...no, I'm really not sure what happened... no, he's not too badly injured from what I can see.. No, go straight to the hospital. We're almost ready to leave here. You'd miss us. OK, we'll see you in ten minutes." As he hung up the phone, the EMTs had talked Billy into lying down on their stretcher and were strapping him in.

"We're heading to the hospital, sir. Do you want to ride with us?" the paramedic asked.

"Yes." Richard turned to Tommy. "Your mom is still asleep. If you want to follow along in the car, that's all right but leave a note, ok?"

"Right. I'll be right behind you."

It was always the same. The sudden return to awareness, the desperate need to inhale.... He sucked in a long breath, enjoying the sensation despite the situation. I've got to move, he thought suddenly, no time to dally around this time. He crawled to his feet, brushing the dirt off his uniform and turning his neck to relieve the painful stiffness. While in the grand scheme of immortality a broken neck was no big deal, it still hurt.
I've got a real mess here, he thought. The kid was gone and there was also the dead man back in the park to think about. He checked his watch. It was only fifteen minutes after midnight. He hadn't been dead long then. No sirens... there was still time. Not much but hopefully enough. He could sink the body in Angel Grove Lake easily enough. That had been in his plan from the start. Then, he would take the boy's gear. He had removed his nameplate from his uniform before the fight so he knew the boy couldn't identify him beyond a description. Taking the kid's things made it look like a robbery. He knew the men in the department. A story about two men fighting with swords, a beheading, and a cop that dies and then disappears was not going to be taken too seriously if there was no evidence.

He climbed back up the incline and then jogged back into the park. It was damn lucky that he'd been the only one killed. The kid was probably hurt. No time to think about that though. He could hear the sirens. He ran to his car and unlocked the trunk. He removed the long lengths of heavy chain and ran back to the dead Asian. He wrapped the chains around the body and then another chain around the head. Then he quickly dragged the body to one of the many small rowboats at the lakeshore. Within minutes, the corpse was safely at the bottom of the lake. Ever mindful of the sirens coming closer, he ran back and grabbed the telescope and camera that was lying on the ground. He stuffed it into the car trunk and took off.

The problem now was to make sure he didn't run into that kid again. He'd pull himself off the school patrol and work nights for the next month or so. Hopefully it would work but he would get his back up identity ready just in case.

"I swear... they had swords... The cop killed the other guy..." Billy started to get up off the examining table. The doctor quickly pushed him back down. Richard and Ward, Billy's father glanced nervously at each other. In two hours the story hadn't changed.

"Billy," Ward said slowly, "It's not that I don't believe you. The police didn't find any bodies. There was some blood at the bottom of the cliff. No one was there."

"I know what I saw." Billy insisted. He winced suddenly and held his good hand to his forehead.

"Why don't we call it a night?" the doctor said quickly. "I'm going to have you admitted, Billy, but just for observation." He waved his hand at Billy as the boy started to protest. "You took a serious knock to the head, young man."

The two men and the doctor left the small examining room. As soon as the door closed, the doctor turned to Ward. "I wouldn't worry too much. The broken arm is a clean break and his concussion looks minor."

"But what about... the sword thing? " Ward asked. "That's just..."

"Odd." Richard said helpfully.

The doctor shook his head. "Look, obviously there was not a swordfight. I'm guessing that his assailant probably *was* dressed either as a police officer or something similar. He was struck in the head... this is the first time he's ever been assaulted. It's not uncommon for people to become confused in these situations, especially considering his head injury. I'm sure the description of the supposed police officer is accurate. Hopefully the cops will catch this guy."

" So you don't think there's anything seriously wrong?" Ward asked.

"No." The doctor said. "He is probably going to need a little therapy just to be careful. Otherwise he should be fine." With that, the doctor went back into the emergency room.

"I don't know." Ward said softly to Richard. "He seems so sure."

"You have to admit, it doesn't sound plausible." Richard said. He pulled Ward down to the admitting desk.
Tommy rose from the seat he'd taken in the small waiting room and joined them. "I mean, swords Ward... I've never even seen a sword outside of the movies or a museum."

"Is Billy going to be all right?" Tommy asked. He didn't particularly care about the sword story. Billy had hit his head. While he certainly couldn't say anything to his father or Billy's father, he had a feeling that Billy had just transposed a fight as a Power Ranger to his assault.

"He'll be all right." Richard said quickly.

"The doctor is going to admit him. Just for observation." Ward sighed as he started to fill out the paperwork. "I'm going to have to talk to the police too. Whoever it was stole Billy's photography equipment and his telescope. We're not talking small ticket items. I had identification numbers engraved on them so hopefully the police can find them." Suddenly, he swept the paperwork off the shelf. "Dammit, I can't believe this!"

"Ward, take it easy." Richard said quickly. He started to pick up the papers. "He's going to be fine.."

"That's *not* the problem." Ward said harshly. "What in hell happened to this town? My son was assaulted in a public park, for God's sake! And where to hell were the police? Well, apparently they're the ones that did it! Dammit!" Ward stomped off down the hallway. Tommy started to follow, but Richard held him back.

"Leave him alone, son," he cautioned. "He's upset. If I'd gotten a call from someone saying you were hurt, I think I'd rip down a door. Just leave him alone."

Billy walked into the Juice Bar and the room fell nearly silent. He blushed. It was embarrassing. Worse, it was humiliating. No one believed him, not even his own father. He'd put up with snickers and snide remarks all day long. He almost turned around when the chuckling started again. Kimberly beckoned him over and he walked to the table she and the gang were sitting at, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

It was no surprise that everyone was quiet when he sat down. No doubt they had been discussing his mental breakdown, he thought harshly. It certainly was the school's main topic of conversation. If he'd known that it was going to be such a mess, he would have stayed home an extra day the way his father had suggested.

"Hey Billy." Kimberly said brightly." How are you feeling?"

"How's your arm?" Adam asked.

"I'm ok, and my arm is all right." Billy said quickly. He took a seat next to Kimberly. Seeing that no one wanted to speak, he added, "I won't be in a cast for very long. Just two weeks."

"That's good. You're lucky." Rocky said. "I broke my arm once. It took forever to heal."

There was a long, long silence after that. Billy waited, but it seemed as though none of his friends wanted to discuss it. After the hellos, the discussion quickly degenerated into talk of the next martial arts tourney Tommy was entering. Ironically Billy had planned on entering it himself, though that was no longer possible. Finally he decided to go for a walk. He took leave of his friends and walked outside, mindful of the ever present snickering. Feeling a little better at just being outside, he headed off towards the park. He didn't feel any fear...It was broad daylight and as he had replayed the night's events in his mind, he realized that the cop had at least been trying to talk to him. He sat down at one of the picnic tables and tried once again to make sense of the attack.

"Hey." Billy jumped at the sound of Rocky's voice. He turned and found his friend standing in the grass, looking sheepish. "Didn't mean to uh..startle you." Rocky took a seat next to Billy. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just thinking...." Billy sensed sympathy oozing from Rocky and wasn't really in the mood for it.

"Hmm..." Rocky waited a moment. "You know something? I believe you.... About there being two guys with swords here." He waited, obviously hoping Billy would say something.

"Why? I mean, I did have a nervous breakdown. Haven't you heard?" Billy kicked the dirt pensively. It was bothering him more than he really wanted to admit. He was already unpopular; he didn't want to be the school pariah. Even the teachers were talking about his mental status.

Rocky shook his head. "First off, before we get any more into this, let me give you a piece of advice. To hell with them and their opinions about you. At the very worst, Billy, you got attacked in the park by some guy who might not be who you thought. You still got attacked. And you aren't acting weird so people should keep their mouths shut." Rocky spoke with a surprising amount of vehemence. "Second, I believe you, but that doesn't mean proof would be nice. You haven't said, so I want to know... What exactly did you see?"

Billy could sense Rocky was at least being honest and it was nice to know that at least one of his friends wasn't positive he was crazy. "I was setting up my telescope when I heard metal clanging. I walked down by the pond and that's when I saw the two of them. One was the cop...He was white, with dark hair and the other was Asian. The Asian man was really big. I mean, well built up and tall, taller than the cop. He was dressed in a bright colored shirt with a pattern. It looked foreign... the style and cut. They both had swords. The Asian had what looked like a samurai blade." Billy became more insistent. "He was using it like he knew how too. The policeman's sword was different. It looked more like a Scottish claymore. He sliced across the Asian's chest and drove the man to his knees. Then, he chopped the Asian's head off. I saw it fall right by the pond." Billy hesitated. He hadn't mentioned the next part to anyone. "Then....the cop waited a moment and it looked as though he was struck by lightening...a couple of times. He was shaking it off when he spotted me. He knew I'd seen it and he said to wait but that's when I ran. He chased me...He kept saying he just wanted to talk. We ended up fighting right by the edge of the cliff." Again Billy stopped. Finally he said, "Honestly I was the one fighting. He kept saying wait and he was just holding his hands up. I slipped after I hit him and he grabbed me as I went over the edge."

"Then what happened?" Rocky had already heard a fair approximation from Tommy but he wanted to hear it from Billy.

"We both went over." Billy paused. "I think.... I think I was knocked out for a few seconds. When I looked at him though...His neck was at a right angle to his body."

"But somehow his body managed to disappear." Rocky considered that. "And the other body of course. The Asian man. All in about twenty minutes." He looked at Billy intently. "Have you considered this logically?"

Billy hung his head. Obviously what he had said had convinced Rocky of his insanity. "Yes, I know it doesn't make any sense..."

"Calm down, Billy. I still believe you." Rocky gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. "What I mean is... Someone moved those bodies. Is there any chance the cop wasn't dead?"

"I didn't check him for a pulse. " Billy said.

"Let's assume then that he was alive. Just for argument's sake." Rocky stood up and began to pace around the grass thoughtfully. "He only had fifteen minutes and even running, it's five minutes from the cliff back to the grass by the pond. Another five to pick up the body, and ten minutes to the closest parking lot. He never would have made it out. I mean, yeah, he was dressed as a cop but carrying around a body is a touch noticeable. So where did the body go?"

Billy thought for a moment. "He must've hidden it in the park somewhere." That idea started a fire in his mind. "The park is a pretty big place but there's a lot of places you could hide something...if you weren't too worried about damaging it."

"Where should we start?"

"I had no idea so many people drank here." Rocky said as he crawled out from under the pile of boulders. Billy just shook his head. He had thought that the large crawlspace was something of a long shot for a hiding space. While it was surprising Rocky to find beer cans littered in all of the park's more secluded areas, Billy wasn't surprised at that revelation at all. Rocky never seemed to notice the seamier side of anything, while Billy had overheard more than one locker room discussion that centered on finding a new drinking hole.

"Well, that's pretty much it for hiding spots," he said. "Maybe I am loosing my mind."

Rocky wiped his hands off on his shorts. "You aren't losing your mind. You just might not be right for once. Besides, I just thought of the one place we haven't looked yet."

"Really?"

Rocky waved towards the center of the park. "The best way to hide something is to hide it in plain sight."

"The pond." It was simple in its brilliance, Billy realized. People walked by the pond but never really looked in it. It was rather murky too.

Rocky grinned. "You are lucky I'm a nice guy, and that you're in a cast. I'd make you do this otherwise." He picked up the duffle bag he'd brought with him and withdrew a snorkel and mask. "I was hoping it wasn't going to come to this." He started to take off his clothes. Billy was amused to see that Rocky was wearing his swimming trunks. Rocky had put more than a little thought into his plan to investigate than Billy had expected.

"You don't have to do this." Billy said suddenly. He gestured to the dirty water. "I'm probably wrong."

"S'ok." Rocky said as he waded into the water. "I've always wanted to do this." He dove in.

Billy kept watch as Rocky dove in and out of the water. Technically no one was supposed to be swimming in the pond, but fortunately the park was fairly empty.

Rocky came out of the water, a long thin object clenched in one of his hands. He looked a touch pale as he handed the object to Billy. "I think..." he started, "I think there's a body down there. In chains or something... I couldn't really see. This was the only thing that would come loose."

Billy wiped the muck off the object. The ornate hilt told him that it was an Asian sword of some sort but the pond muck was obscuring it. The Asian man from the night before had been using an Asian sort of sword. "You think there is a body?"

Rocky shuddered. "It felt like a hand there. I couldn't see anything though." He started to towel himself off vigorously. Billy got the distinct impression that whatever interest Rocky had in the topic had pretty much gone. As Rocky put on his shirt, he turned to Billy. "Are we going to call the police?"

Billy looked down at the sword in his hands. "I don't know. Do you honestly think they'll believe us? I mean, I'm already a laughingstock with the police in town. Coming to them with a sword covered with pond scum and a maybe possibility that there's a body in the pond." He hesitated. "And I was right about this, so maybe I was right about it being a cop. I don't know if going to the police is such a great idea."

Rocky dropped the towel back. "I see your point. What do you want to do?" At Billy's blank stare, he added, "Look, you don't want to go to the police. Are you going to do anything? Or are you just going to let this go? That cop killed a man."

"And I can't prove any of it and the people who are here to help investigate may have the killer in their ranks." Billy looked down at the mucked up sword. "I wonder who this originally belonged to... Maybe it can be traced."

He considered that for a long moment. Finally Rocky shook him out of his reverie with his next words. "Billy, look. I believe you on this, and we both know you aren't crazy. When you want to go to the police... just tell me. I'll go with you. And if you don't want to go for a while... That's fine too." Rocky looked at the sword. "Just tell me what you're going to do, ok?"

"I will, " Billy agreed. Truth was, he could feel Rocky's urge to draw away from the situation. He didn't want to stop him either. Rocky was doing his best to be a good friend, a damn good friend, but it was clear that Rocky was really shaken up. Sometimes, Billy thought suddenly, the best way to be a friend is to let your friend off the hook. It was enough that Rocky had believed him. He gestured to the sword. "I think I'll just see if this can be tracked down. Thanks for checking this out."

Stone stepped into the Juice Bar with no small degree of trepidation. He had gotten off school for an entire week but then the chief had put him back on. That it was with the compliment that he was the best on staff with kids didn't really make Stone feel better about it. It had only been a week and a half since the incident and he wasn't feeling entirely comfortable hanging around the kids. He knew who to avoid, of course. He'd carefully kept away from the actual investigation but it was a fairly well known case. Truth was, the poor kid was something of a laughingstock in the department. The assault was being taken seriously but the case detectives had completely disregarded most of the boy's story. Stone wasn't surprised. The other cops were a good bunch, but inclined to be cynical, especially about accusations made against them. No one liked the fact that the community had the impression that there was a rogue police officer out there. Stone didn't like it much himself, even knowing that he was to blame for it. No one thought young Billy Reeves had actually been attacked by a policeman, but at the same time the notion had been widely publicized. The fortunate thing, at least for him, was that the case was definitely stalled. It was likely to blow over in a few weeks.

That is, he thought as he took a seat at the long bar, as long as I'm not recognized. He'd cut his hair, but there wasn't much more he could do to change his appearance. He was worried. Not so much about getting caught... he could slip out of town pretty easily. What he was really worried about was the story attracting other Immortals. Generally speaking, most Immortals weren't actively looking for fights but there were enough of them that did, that he had reason to be worried. One strange death might blow over, but more than that and he would have to leave. Not just for his own safety but for the city's sake. There were already enough paranormal problems in Angel Grove. It didn't need to be turned into an Immortal battleground. Avoiding the kid he'd unintentionally beaten was a far second.

That conviction didn't stop him from ducking down as a large group of school kids poured in. Sure enough, there was the kid with one of his friends. As even more kids came in, a niggling sensation seemed to run through his body. Stone frowned into his milkshake, more out of sympathy than real concern. One of the more than thirty kids that walked in was a pre-Immortal. He thought anyway. His own teacher had said it was hard to sense but got easier as one gained experience. It was a sensation he'd only had twice before, and in such a crowd, he'd never be able to pick out who it was. He didn't particularly care either. He had no real interest in taking on a student and all he really could do was feel a twinge of sympathy for a young person that had no idea what the future was holding for them.

"So how is everything?" Rocky asked expectantly. Billy had asked him to meet with him after school. It had been a week since their search of the park and Rocky had gotten over some of his fright though he was still feeling very uneasy about the whole business. He had tried to blot out the whole pond incident but it was still there in his mind.

Billy pulled out his laptop. In seconds a series of pictures were displayed. Rocky recognized some of them as the sword he'd found and given to Billy. The other pictures were of two men, one a large fellow that looked like he might be Asian. The other man in the picture was much smaller but Rocky could tell that he was smaller only by comparison. Most of the pictures were actually drawings. "So what am I looking at?"

Billy pointed at one of the pictures, a grainy black and white that was in fact the best picture of the group. He pointed at the taller man. "That was the guy in the park. The one that was killed. His name was Akira Hokato. The sword is a Mushami masterpiece that was made almost 1,500 years ago. For Akira Hokato."

"That's impossible." Rocky said. He scanned the computer records Billy had found. "Billy, these files talk about this guy like he's some sort of legendary bogey man. How could he even be alive for so long?"

"I don't know. All I know is that this is the guy that was killed." Billy's voice took on an edge of frustration. He knew that what he was suggesting didn't make a lot of sense, but neither did the weird lightning display he'd seen around the cop. Billy was convinced that he'd seen more than just a strange murder. The deeper he dug into the problem, the stranger and stranger it got. Billy had found descriptions of the sword and of Akira Hokato that dated back over a thousand years. Even the smaller man in the pictures, Ishido Taganaka, had historical references that went back over one hundred years.

Rocky looked at the pictures again. "I don't know what to say Billy. I believe you..."

"But this is crazy." Billy said the words with a sigh. "I don't know what to do. Maybe I am having a breakdown. None of this is very rational."

"Have you talked to Zordon about this?" Rocky asked. All things considered, Rocky was starting to really worry about Billy. Yes, it had to upsetting to see someone killed. Rocky himself was still pretty shook up about finding a body in the pond. Still, it was clear that the whole business was eating Billy up inside. His friend looked pale, tired, and worried. Granted, if the team had a resident worrywart, it was Billy, but Rocky had never seen him look so nervous and upset.

Billy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Have you ever tried talking to Zordon? About something other than Ranger stuff? I haven't even tried...I don't need Zordon thinking I'm insane too."

Rocky took a deep breath. He knew Billy needed someone to support him, but he was starting to think Billy needed someone to make him see reason even more. "Billy, I believe someone was killed. I can't believe that the man you saw killed was over 1,500 years old. I know we see some weird stuff, but that's over the top. How could this guy have lived that long?"

"I don't know." Billy admitted.

Rocky rose to his feet. "Billy, you need some help. You saw something bad happen. No one disagrees with that. You're turning it into something irrational. Please...I know your dad suggested that you should see a therapist. Maybe you should." With that, Rocky walked away. Maybe it was the wrong move to make, but Rocky didn't know what else to do. It was possible that Billy would not seek help until he realized that no one was going to believe his irrational prattling. Rocky was willing to go along with it as long as it stayed within reason, but there was a point where he couldn't do it any more. Yes, Billy had seen a man killed. Yes, he'd been attacked by a cop with a sword. That didn't mean that the man that had been killed had been born over 1,500 years ago. If that's what Billy thought, then Billy just might be having the breakdown everyone else thought he was having.

Billy watched Rocky walk away with a deep sadness. It was rare for him to feel completely alone, but over the last week and a half, he'd gotten used to it. Rocky had been the only one who'd believed him, and even he had lost faith.

He glanced at the computer screen again. He knew the blade was the Mushami blade. Every point of identification matched. And even thought he knew it was a 70 year old photo, the large man in the photograph was the man he saw killed. He didn't know how to explain it, but he knew it was true.

Rocky had been his last hope for someone to believe him. Tommy had pretty much dispersed his own theory about Billy's attack and the rest of the rangers had bought into it. Billy had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea either. Tommy was quite convinced that Billy had hallucinated the sword fight, he had transposed a Power Ranger battle in his mind. It would make a lot of sense except that none of their battles had ever come close to matching what he had seen. The Rangers had been supportive of course. Certainly none of had come right out and said he was crazy. Even Rocky hadn't said that, and as much as Rocky's words had hurt, Billy knew they had been spoken out of concern.

His father had suggested a therapist a few times. He'd gone to the obligatory counseling sessions twice and then put his foot down. It wasn't helping, or rather, it was not designed to help him. He wasn't feeling any fear about walking in the park. Yes, he was feeling a lot of anxiety about the cop being out on the loose, but he was even more anxious about the idea that there were people who were somehow living far past the normal life span. The question was how, and that, more than anything was what was keeping him up at night. It was getting to the point where he was too upset to sleep and too nervous to eat. He rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes. He was too tired to think any more, and it was starting to get damn difficult to keep up a front of calm politeness in the face of so many people thinking he was crazy.

When, after a long moment, he looked up, he found himself meeting the eyes of the cop seated at the bar. As recognition slowly entered Billy's mind, his anxiety heightened to the point that he could hardly breathe. As the policeman looked at him and rose to his feet, Billy did the only thing he could think of. He threw his laptop back into his knapsack and bolted for the door.

Stone choked on his drink as the kid looked him in the face. Ok, he told himself, I just need to talk to the kid. Stone did not like revealing the whole Immortal mythos to anyone but the boy had seen the fight. He had seen the Quickening. More to the point, he obviously recognized Stone. The death had been well sanitized but Stone was no fool. If Billy Reeves pointed a finger at him, he'd be investigated, and he wasn't fool enough to think he could get away with it. On the other hand, from what he'd heard, the kid was very bright and having a lot of difficulty accepting the supposed truth that was being forced down his throat. There were mortals who understood the phenomena, though Stone had never personally met one that could. Of course, he'd always considered himself a little paranoid about telling, but aside from killing the kid, he didn't know what else would work, and he didn't want to kill a sixteen year old. Not over that.

The boy obviously didn't want to talk, not by the way he shot out of the place. Stone followed him, trying hard to be discreet but still following. After fifteen minutes of fast trotting, Stone realized that the teen had managed to corner himself in an abandoned warehouse. Ducking into a warehouse was not the greatest move but it told Stone that he wasn't tailing a hardened criminal. Though a large fairly empty building filled with broken junk wasn't a half bad place to hide. He stopped and looked around. He wasn't by nature a tracker. Truth was, he'd always lived in cities. He hadn't left Europe until the new continent had been settled enough to have a decent population. That worked to his advantage. It wasn't as though it was his first time searching a warehouse.
"Hey!" he shouted. Judging by the dusty footprints, he knew he was close enough that the kid could hear him. "Listen, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk. About what you saw. It's not what you think."

"You killed that man. Akira Hokato. You put the body in the pond." Billy looked down on the cop from a rickety catwalk. He almost grinned as the cop looked around. The catwalk wasn't the greatest place to be but he wasn't at ground level with the guy. He supposed that if he had to, he could run down the catwalk, hide, and teleport away if he had to. His eyes widened in surprise as he finally recognized the man. "Aren't you Lt. Stone? You're in charge of the DARE program. You used to bring the McGruff crime dog to school."

Wonderful, Stone thought. He took a deep breath. "There's an explanation for what you saw the other night."

"Akira Hokato was almost 1,500 years old," Billy said. "And your neck *was* broken. Are you some sort of alien?" After weighing all of the evidence, it was the only explanation that made sense to Billy. And that didn't really make that much sense.

Stone shook his head. He looked up at the teen, realizing that unless the kid jumped 20 feet, he was pretty effectively trapped. "All right, I did kill that man. He was coming after me.."

"That's what we have police for, you know," Billy said.

"You don't understand. There are rules." Stone took a deep breath. "I'm an Immortal. So was Hokato. The only way to kill an Immortal is by beheading." Stone hesitated. Did he want to get into the whole issue about the Quickening and the time of the Gathering? The Gathering was mythology Stone didn't particularly believe in and it certainly was used as an excuse for some Immortals to kill wantonly. "Some Immortals think they get more power by killing other Immortals and absorbing their spirit."

"The lightning display...." Billy eyed the man carefully.

"That was what we call the Quickening...the soul..." Stone said softly. "I didn't want to kill that man. He came for me, challenged me, and I had to fight him."

"How old are you?" Billy asked. "What do you do when you aren't... fighting Immortals?" There was definitely a tone of disbelief in his voice. He suspected the cop was delusional...On the other, he was the one that thought Akira Hokato was 1,500 years old.

"I was born in 1755." Stone felt a slight rush at saying it out loud. It was rare that he ever got to say that to anyone, and never before to someone that wasn't an Immortal. He knew of Immortals who formed close attachments with mortals, close enough to tell the secret to. "In Stratford-upon-Avon, if you know where that is."
"Shakespeare's birth place," Billy said after a moment. Somehow he felt the police officer was telling the truth, though he only had gut instinct to go on. Stone was trying hard to be convincing and Billy didn't get any sense that he was lying.

"He was a few years before my time," Stone said with a smile. He held out his hands in a gesture of peace. "Look, I'm not going to kill you. I don't have any reason to kill you. If you want to turn me in, that's fine. I'll be gone before they can even knock on my door. It's just inconvenient for me." He hesitated. "I just happen to like it here. My kind can't stick around for very long without someone suspecting."

Billy slowly edged down the catwalk. The story fit all of the information he had, he couldn't deny it. The problem was that he wasn't quite he believed the information. The officer, no, the school DARE officer Lt. Stone, could just be playing to his delusions. Of course, he told himself, it wasn't as though he'd seen a birth certificate. And anyone could just say something like what the man had said.

Stone eyed him with concern. He had never told a mortal before and he didn't really have an idea of what a typical reaction was. The kid looked pretty upset but it was hard to tell if it was over what had been said. The kid had been looking pretty upset to start with. Then, Stone felt a sudden distraction. The strange disassociative wave of another Immortal, and close. "Billy, come down here...now!"

If anything, that made Billy's fear of Stone increase. There was no reason for the older man to panic that way. He realized suddenly that he had only two ways off the catwalk. He could jump twenty feet down to the floor, or he could exit the way he came, through an old maintenance office. He didn't even want to get close to the man. Getting down to Stone's level meant that the cop would have him in reach, and while it was clear that Stone did not have a sword, he did have a gun and was a head taller than Billy besides. He started to slowly back up, only to find an arm encircling him from behind.

Stone could only watch in horror as Billy was grabbed from behind by a man that could have been Akira Hokato's twin in dress if not in looks. The man was an Immortal, that much was obvious and though he was a smaller man than the burly Hokato, he had the element of surprise. He also had a knife and was holding it against the struggling teenager's throat. After a moment's thought, the kid had the sense to stop struggling. Stone wanted to kick himself. If this new Immortal didn't outright kill Billy just for being there, then he would kill the boy for knowing the secret.

"Let him go!" Stone shouted. It was the worst possible thing to happen. The man had obviously been tracking him. "It's me you're after."

"Yes, it is," the man snarled. He gripped Billy fiercely. Stone was inwardly pleased that the teen had the sense to stop struggling once he'd realized he was caught, but the other Immortal didn't seem like the type to get complacent. "You killed Akira. He was my teacher, my mentor..."

"He came for me." Stone said gently. "If you were his student, then you understand the rules. He sought me out. I didn't go after him. If you want revenge, then come after me. Leave the boy out of it."

The Immortal glared at him. "You don't even have your sword."

Stone nodded at that. He eyed the smaller man carefully. Hokato had been a tough fighter, and he didn't expect the man's student and companion to be much less. "It's not a fight if only one of us has a sword." His own teacher had often told him that many Immortals could and would cheat in fights, but most were not so low as to start a fight with an unarmed man.

His words did seem to cut through the Immortal's anger. Finally, he said, "Fine. Let no one say that Ishido Taganaka is without honor. Get your sword. If you do not return within an hour, I will kill your student."

Stone nodded. He'd expected that threat.

Billy watched as the Asian man paced around the warehouse. He was tied up and seated off to the side of the empty floor and he was more than pleasantly surprised that the man didn't manhandle him in any way. That didn't help reduce his basic fear that the man, Taganaka, would kill him if Stone didn't return. Taganaka had said it several times and Billy did not doubt the man at all.

The question, in Billy's mind, was whether Stone would come back. Billy had his doubts. Stone thought that Billy was going to expose him. Wouldn't just be easier, Billy mused, to not come back? He didn't want to leave Angel Grove and if Billy was killed, the man wouldn't have too. With a sigh, Billy turned his attention to his captor. Taganaka had dragged him down to the main floor of the warehouse and the man was diligently practicing with a sword. Like Hokato, he had a Japanese blade and to Billy's admittedly inexpert eye, the sword didn't appear to be as old or as finely made as Hokato's. The man definitely had some skill with it too. Billy had been to a few weapons classes with Jason and Tommy and he could recognize real skill, even if he didn't have it himself.

Finally he decided to try talking to the man. "Are you .... really immortal?"

Taganaka turned and looked at him, a wry smile crossing his face. He stepped over to where Billy was sitting and looked down on him. "You really don't know, do you? You aren't Stone's student after all. How amusing. And irritating of course." He leaned over Billy. "What exactly did Stone tell you?"

"That he was immortal. And that some immortals hunt others because they think it'll give them power." If that was true, Billy realized, then that meant that immortals grew stronger after killing others. What a cheerful way to live, he mused.

"So you really have no real idea, at all." Taganaka laughed, a old, almost insane sound. "Lovely... a useless hostage."

"I saw the fight. Between him and... your teacher." Billy said. "He didn't want me to tell the police. About the fight."

"Even better, a hostage he'd rather have eliminated." Taganaka glanced at his watch. "I'm a man of honor. You have ten minutes to wait. Then Stone's time, and your time is up."

Billy got his point. This was a man that wanted no witnesses.

Stone ran into the warehouse, his sword in hand. He knew the time was running out. He was breathing hard as he skidded to a stop in the center of the warehouse floor. "Taganaka!"

"He's not your student. I'm surprised you came back." Stone turned around, to see Taganaka with his sword in hand. Stone raised his own sword.

"Where's the boy?" Stone asked. He held his breath until Taganaka nodded his head off to the side. He spared a quick glance at where Taganaka had pointed and spotted Billy tied up and sitting with a rather surprised look on his face.

"I have honor." Taganaka said, noticing Stone's surprise. "Even if we are simply fighting for the privilege of killing the witness. Why did you come back? You could have run. This ... child isn't of any concern to you really. Sounds like you'd be better off with him dead."

Stone raised up his sword. "I have a little honor myself. I don't run from fights." He eyed the other man, taking careful note of his fighting stance. Like Hokato, Taganaka had trained in the Japanese fighting arts, but his form wasn't nearly as perfect. It wouldn't be an easy fight, but he sensed he had a few years of experience on the man.

Taganaka swung and in seconds they were fighting. Stone knew, minutes into the battle that he had the upper hand but that hadn't stopped Taganaka from getting a few deep slashes in. Taganaka snarled in rage as he slammed his sword into Stone's side, which brought the man to his knees. Stone gasped in surprise but took the moment to twist Taganaka's sword out of his hand. He knew he was fading, the wound in his side was mortal and if he lost consciousness, it would be all over for him. With the last of his strength, he staggered back to his feet. Taganaka took a step backward, but he couldn't escape Stone's wild, deadly slashing blow.
Stone swayed as the lightning forces of the Quickening played an orchestra of lights and sounds all around him. He could hear the sound of glass shattering but could not quite register what it was. Then, as the power storm faded into nothing, he fell to his knees. **Damn it,** he thought as his vision faded, **I've got to get better at this. It just won't do to die after every fight.**

When he first awoke, Stone had no idea where he was. He blinked and stared at the steel girders almost forty feet above him. It slowly started to come back to him as he felt his stomach for the giant cut that had already healed. Sure enough, all that remained was a long cut in his shirt. He sat up quickly and looked around. It appeared as though they'd managed to break every window. That was a phenomena of the modern world, he knew, but one that never failed to amuse him despite its potential to give away a fight. Then, he looked around for the body. I have to clean up the area, he mused, and start packing. No doubt once he untied the boy, the kid would go straight to the police and while Stone knew he could hide the proof, it wouldn't be possible to hide from the investigation.

He rolled over onto his side and noted with some surprise that the body had been moved. The only way he knew there had ever been a body was the large almost dry smears of dark red blood still on the floor. His sense of disquiet heightened as he crawled to his knees and looked in the corner where Taganaka had stashed Billy. There was nothing there but the remains of some rope. He felt a cold chill. If the kid had already left, then he was really screwed.

"I bought some coffee." Stone spun around, raising his sword. It was Billy, and he deftly stepped out of range. In his hands, he had two paper cups of coffee and a sweatshirt draped over one arm. He looked at Stone nervously. In his mind, Stone had proven that he didn't intend to kill him, but that didn't change the fact that Stone was a rather dangerous man. He held out the sweatshirt. "I thought you might want something to wear. Your shirt is um...."

Stone looked down. There were several immense tears in his shirt. "I see your point." He quickly changed his shirt and took the proffered cup of coffee. "So why haven't you called the police? And where's.... where's the body?"

Billy sipped his own coffee. His thoughts were, he admitted, still something of a rolling mess. "I didn't call the cops because I don't think they'd believe that you just killed another sword wielding maniac, died, and then resurrected yourself." He hesitated. "I got the ropes untied while you were fighting." He pointed at a large metal dumpster. "The body's in there. No one comes here, so I doubt anyone will find it."

Stone looked around. The metal dumpster was closed with boxes loaded on top of it. Once the blood on the floor dried, it wouldn't be noticeable unless one was looking for it amongst the other stains. He looked back at Billy. "For a first timer, you've got a real feel for this."

"I watch a lot of TV." Billy ran his hands through his hair. Finally he said, "I'm not ok with this, but I really don't know what else to do. I mean.... I watched that man stab you, and I looked at you after. I could see your liver... and the wound closed up as I watched." He eyed Stone carefully. "Is this all you do? Wait for other immortals to come after you?"

Stone smiled wryly. "No. I live as normal of a life as I can. Most of us do. There are those who think that the time of the Gathering is at hand, when we fight to the last man to gain the ultimate power but I don't believe in that." He shrugged. "I think it's just a way of controlling the population."

Billy nodded but he still felt as though he was shaking inside. He paced around Stone, averting his eyes from the bloodstain on the floor. "Why did he call me your student? He thought that until he found out that I'd just been a witness." That point troubled Billy for some strange reason.

It troubled Stone too. "Sometimes immortals take younger people who are new immortals in and teach them." Stone gestured to his sword. "About fighting mostly, but also about the rules. They usually stay together for a few years and then the student strikes off on their own. Its usually considered a special relationship and a student will do just about anything for their teacher." Stone's voice trailed off. It wasn't a lie, not really. He was just leaving a lot out. The kid didn't need to everything. Not yet.

"Have you ever had a student?" Billy asked. "You're pretty good with that sword considering that you seem to be using a Scottish sword with a Japanese style."

"My teacher learned from a Japanese sword master. Stylistically it is Japanese." Stone looked him over. "I've never had a student. Nowadays one of the best covers for our kind is being a martial arts instructor. You take martial arts, don't you?"

"Off and on." Billy admitted. He was starting to feel a little calmer finally. "They can't teach weapons at the Youth Center though."

They walked out of the warehouse in silence. Stone's thoughts were a jumble of confusion. He turned to Billy and said, "You know, I do appreciate your not calling the police."

Billy shrugged. "We all have our secrets, I suppose. And it's not like anyone would believe me. At least I know the truth."

"Well... If you're interested..."

It was, Rocky thought to himself, good to see Billy looking a little less tense. It'd been almost four days since he'd given his ultimatum to Billy. Billy had been strangely distant for a day or so but then seemed to magically get over it. It was disturbing to Rocky, but in a good way in that it seemed that Billy was not getting any worse. Even when some of the nastier types had been teasing him, Billy had simply blown them off with a scowl. Rocky took a seat next to Billy at a small table in the Juice Bar, hoping to talk and see just how his friend was doing. "Billy, what's up?"

Billy smiled wryly. "It's ok to be honest, Rocky."

"Ok. Are you still thinking that you saw a 1,500-year-old guy get killed?" Rocky tried to keep his tone light, but he was more worried than he let on. The talk was Billy's last chance, in his opinion. If Billy was still irrational on the subject, then Rocky had no real choice. Not only would he have to go to the police about the body, but he would also have to tell Billy's father just how bizarre his son had been acting.

Billy shook his head, his expression rueful. "All the evidence suggests it's true, but it's all circumstantial. And... it's not the most rational theory I've ever come up with, I guess." He sighed. "I suppose it's possible that I might have transposed some battle that we had as Rangers... you know, a hallucination maybe. I talked to one of the police officers. They aren't going to look in the pond, so I guess it's pretty much over with."

"That's too bad I guess." Inwardly Rocky couldn't help but be pleased in that his worst fears were not going to be realized. Billy wasn't being irrational, just a touch depressed from the sound of it.

"It's all right." Billy said with a shrug. "It was kind of a silly theory anyway, I suppose." The two young men sat at the table in companionable silence for a long moment, sipping at their drinks. Then Rocky saw the local school cop wander over. He'd never paid much attention to the man himself. He already knew not to use drugs, and he had no real interest in the junior police program at school, but from what he knew the guy was ok. He just wasn't sure how cool Billy was going to be with a policeman, all things considered. Much to his surprise though, Billy gave the man a tentative smile.

"Lt. Stone, hello." Billy said softly. Rocky sensed a touch of tension between the two but nothing serious.

"I was just wondering if you were coming over tonight." Stone said easily. "I have everything ready."

"Sure." Billy said. Rocky waited until the cop walked away to give Billy his best quizzical look. Billy grinned at him. "Don't look so worried. Lt Stone offered to show me the finer points of Kenpo. You know, stick fighting. He's got a black belt in it."

"Why?" It hardly seemed like something that the school DARE officer would just offer out of hand.

"He um... felt bad about the attack." Billy said after a moment. "He didn't want me to think all cops were bad, you know. My dad's ok with it."

Stone wandered back, his expression suddenly intent. "You know," he said as he looked at Rocky, "it's just as easy to teach two as it is one. I'm not charging for lessons" He seemed almost anxious about it. Rocky ignored that though, and considered the offer. Kenpo was an interesting style.

"Sure, why not," he said after a moment. "When are you teaching Billy?"

Billy smiled. "Pretty much every evening for about an hour and a half."

Rocky was surprised. While Billy had certainly been progressing in karate, he was not a devoted student. If he came to class three times a week, it was a good week. Maybe he just likes the style better, Rocky reasoned. Some people really liked the concept of having a weapon in hand. "I can't do that much, my mom likes to have me look after the younger ones, but maybe a couple nights I could." He smiled at Billy. "You'll be the master I suppose."

"Not for a long while." Billy said modestly.

"I'll see you both tonight then," Stone said. He walked out of the Juice Bar, smiling to himself. It was, he thought, far more fulfilling than he expected to have students. And it was especially good to know that he didn't have to move on. At least for a while.
 

THE END