The Daggers of Meggido

Part Four

Damien opened his eyes and smiled. They were headed right to him. If Neff continued his pursuit, they would have the women boxed in. The daggers would be in his possession once again--with barely a day to spare.

He concealed himself in the thick treeline, watching the field for his prey. He was not disappointed. Less than an hour later, he saw them, running directly for him. He was about to confront them, when they stopped. The warrior was looking right at him. She can sense me, Damien thought. She knows I�m here. Impressed, he left his place of concealment and started toward them.

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Xena grabbed Gabrielle�s arm, coming to a stop in the middle of the field. �He�s here.�

�Where?�

She pointed to the trees at the same moment that Damien chose to walk toward them. �Right there.�

Gabrielle looked behind them. �And his friends are gaining on us.�

Xena also glanced back, seeing Neff lead a dozen soldiers onto the field. �We just have to hold them off until sunset.�

�That�s a few hours from now.� Gabrielle nervously flipped her sais in her hands. �What�s the plan?�

�To kill you both and go back home.� Damien was now standing about ten feet away from them.

�Sorry. We�re going to have to change your plans,� Xena said, then released the chakram. The weapon bounced off Damien�s forehead before he could react.

He touched his forehead, his face carefully stoic at the sight of his own blood on his fingers. �How did you do that?�

�I have many skills.� Xena caught the chakram and prepared to throw it again.

�And minding your own business is not one of them.� Damien focused on the warrior woman, using the forces of his mind to push her to the ground.

Xena lay there, pinned by invisible hands. Gabrielle, unsure what was happening, stood protectively over her friend. �Gabrielle, get out of here!� Xena yelled, struggling to get up.

�Not a chance.� Gabrielle split her attention between Damien and the advancing soldiers.

Damien kept his hold on the warrior, surprised by her strength. �Give me the daggers and I�ll consider allowing you both to live.�

�No deal.� Xena�s eyes never left Damien as she slowly struggled to her feet. She grasped the chakram again, this time sending it behind them, where it knocked out seven of the soldiers there. With the chakram in her hand again, she turned her attention back to Damien.

�You certainly are persistent.� Damien managed to dive out of the way of the spinning weapon, almost relieved when it became imbedded in a tree not far behind him. In seconds, he was on his feet again and charging the warrior woman.

Neff ordered his men to attack the blonde woman. He had only six soldiers left, but figured that would be enough to take care of her. Damien, he figured, would be able to get the daggers back from the bitch in black leather, but Neff decided to stay close to his former student just in case.

Gabrielle caught the swords of two soldiers simultaneously, pushing both men back, taking out the one on her left with a sidekick to his chest. The one on her right got a right hook�the hilt of her sai leaving an impression on the side of his head. She leaped over the two men, ducking the sword of another soldier and coming up under his arm, striking him in the chin hard enough to knock him out.

As he fell, two more rushed forward, the first one striking Gabrielle in the face with his sword hilt. She landed on her side, rolled out of the way of his boot as it came at her head, then jumped to her feet, both sais still clasped firmly in her hands.

The sword came so close that she could feel the air displacement as it passed. A straight kick caught him in the shoulder, his momentum taking him to the ground. Gabrielle was about to deliver another kick when she was again knocked to the ground. This time she hit so hard that she dropped her sais. Her chin bounced against a rock, making her vision blur while she fought to stay conscious.

Neff stood up, looking around at the fallen soldiers, shaking his head in disgust. His gaze caught the two that had refused to join in the melee. �What are you two standing there for? Afraid of a woman?� Neff noticed Gabrielle was trying to stand and firmly planted the heel of his boot between her shoulders, pinning her to the ground.

Breathing was becoming harder. Gabrielle could faintly hear the man standing on her and recognized him. Should have hit him harder, she thought ruefully. He pushed down harder when she tried to stand and for a moment, she thought he would break her back.

The sunlight glinted off the metal blade of one of her sai. Gabrielle could see the weapon, just to her left, and about an inch out of her reach. While Neff yelled at his soldiers, she tried to grab the weapon, but her movement only gained his attention.

Neff grabbed hold of the blonde by her hair, pulling her head back while keeping his foot on her back. �Don�t bother, bitch. You�re not going anywhere.�

�That�s what you think.� Gabrielle bit out the words, despite the pain. She managed to lean her head back far enough to look directly into the man�s cold, dark eyes. �Let me go�and I�ll let you live.�

The laughter that came out was deep and filled with sudden appreciation. The woman had balls. �That�s a deal I can�t make. Whether you live or die is up to Damien.�

Gabrielle never lost eye contact with him. �Then I�ll deal with him.� She tossed a handful of dirt into Neff�s eyes. He let go of her, grasping at his eyes, and stumbling backward into his soldiers.

She was back on her feet in seconds, scrambling to recover her lost weapons.

Neff rubbed his eyes, frantic to see, but only able to make out indistinct shapes. He could see the blonde hair, drew his sword and rushed toward her.

Damien and Xena fell in a heap, rolling several times, each one trying to get a hold on the other. Finally, Damien used his larger size to pin Xena to the ground, grasping her wrists and holding them�or trying to hold them�down.

Blue eyes flashed a warning that Damien never understood. When their foreheads impacted he released his hold on the warrior woman and fell to his side as she rolled away from him. He rubbed his new injury, again surprised to see blood.

�I don�t know how you�re doing that, but I supposed it won�t matter after I kill you.�

�No, I don�t suppose it will.� Xena drew her sword, edging her way back toward Damien.

He was on his feet in seconds, looking around for a weapon as she rushed him. Neff was standing close by, his sword raised as if to attack someone. Damien noted that Neff was fighting the blonde again and wondered why exactly that little woman was so much trouble for the Sergeant. He shook his head, not wanting to waste thoughts on that right then, grabbed the upraised sword from Neff�s hand, turned and blocked Xena�s frontal attack.

The swords clashed and clang, the sound ringing through the valley as the two continued their battle. Xena felt a rush of adrenaline that increased with each hit. A feral grin crossed her lips as her sword became entangled with Damien�s. Two circular movements and the sword was pulled out of his hand, landing several feet away from them.

�I just might have to let Neff live after all.� Damien commented, again surprised by her resourcefulness and skills. The tip of her sword was now poised to run him through, yet she hesitated. Her eyes flickered to something behind him and Damien glanced back quickly.

The blonde was engaged in battle with Neff, who was using his larger size to try to overpower the woman. Damien shook his head, knowing it would take a lot more than brute strength to defeat either of these women. In almost the same thought, he realized Xena�s weakest link.   With lightning speed, Damien rushed the blonde, grabbing her around the throat with his hand and lifting her off her feet.

Gabrielle clawed desperately at the hand that had cut off her air supply, her feet dangling in the air. She kicked at him, but didn�t seem to have the strength to kick hard enough to do any damage. Her eyes darted toward Xena, who had retrieved the chakram�the weapon flying from her hands as soon as she freed it from the tree.

Damien casually reached out his left hand and caught the flying weapon seconds before it would have amputated his arm. He looked at it for a moment, noticing his own blood still stained the edge. �Interesting trinket. I wonder just how sharp it is.� He pressed it against the blonde�s cheek, watching her blood trickle down her face.

�Let her go!� Xena yelled, her sword drawn as she moved toward him.

�Not another step.� Damien kept the chakram close to Gabrielle�s face. �Give me the daggers and I�ll consider letting her live. That�s the only deal you get.�

Xena did not hesitate, tossing the pouch to Damien�s feet. �Take them.�

�Good girl.� Damien laughed at how easy it was, dropping the blonde to the ground. He retrieved the daggers, tucking them under his arm. �Sgt. Neff! Let�s go!� Damien waited for Neff to catch up to him, then turned toward the woods.

Xena helped Gabrielle to stand up. �You okay?�

�Yeah,� she rubbed her sore throat, watching Damien and Neff start for the woods. �We gonna follow them?�

The distinct sound to the chakram surprised them both--Xena catching it inches from Gabrielle�s face. They heard Damien�s laughter, followed by the sound of the remaining soldiers advancing upon them.

Both women turned to face the onslaught.

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�How much longer?� Neff asked, pacing nervously.

�Ten minutes.� Damien glanced behind them. Still no sign of the two women, but Damien was not going to take any chances. �We need to keep moving. The vortex will find us.�

�Right.� Neff fell into step beside Damien as they headed further into the woods.

He heard the thing this time, ducking just before the chakram took his head off. Damien let out a rather loud curse. �How does she do that?!�

Xena caught the chakram, a feral grin on her face. �I can�t let you leave with those daggers.�

�And I can�t let you stop me. Seems we�re at an impasse.�

A brilliant purple light opened in the sky above Damien and Neff. Swirling bolts of lightning mixed in colors of blue and red, closing in on the two men. Neff pointed up, saying something to Damien that Xena could not hear. Damien shook his head, pointed to the vortex. Neff seemed to disagree, until he got a look from Damien that made him think otherwise.

Neff reached his arms up and allowed the vortex to pull him in.

Damien nodded to Xena, then followed Neff.

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The chakram ricocheted off the wall of the Center, smashed the Evolution Quartz crystal, cut the Time Link Quartz in half, severed Kenny�s head from his body, then disappeared into the waning vortex.

Damien stumbled to his feet, getting out of the way just before the machine sparked and caught fire. He glanced back at the archway as it collapsed in on itself. Pieces of the precious crystals lay scattered throughout the room. He watched with mild interest as Harvey tried in vain to pick them all up.

�What the hell happened?!� Sam demanded.

�That leather bitch with the Frisbee nearly took my arm off!� was Damien�s reply. He looked around for Neff, but the sergeant was nowhere to be found.

�Oh my god, they killed Kenny!� Jonathan screamed, picking up Kenny�s head off the floor.

Damien looked at the head, then once around the chaos of the Center and said, �Those bastards.�

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Xena rushed over to the vortex, fighting the strong wind around it to look up. She could see the two men going through a tunnel, several men in white clothes waiting for them at the end. The chakram left her hand, soaring through the tunnel after them.

The chakram first hit Damien�s arm, nearly cutting it off, making him release his hold on the daggers. The pouch fell from the vortex and was followed a few seconds later by the chakram. Xena caught her trusted weapon, watching as the vortex closed in on itself.

Gabrielle retrieved the daggers and joined her friend. �Are they gone?�

�I think so.�

�Good. Now we can hand over the daggers to Bugenhagen�s son for safe keeping.�

�Yep.� Xena took the pouch from Gabrielle, turning it over in her hands. �Safe, until the next time the Beast appears.�

                                                     The End

The Book of Revelation, Chapter 13 ��and I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.�

Disclaimer: �Wonder Woman and Supergirl were not harmed during the writing of this story; however, we did kill Kenny. We�re bastards.�