DCH 64
Defenders Chronicles: Highlander
By AmandaDoE
Chapter Sixty-Four: Zorelda Strikes
Years Ago
April climbed the bed and sat across from Tori. She had an update on her romantic life, one that would surely leave her cousin amused. "You know Will Stanton?" April inquired.
Tori made a nod.
"You're not going to guess what he did today. He drove to the curb while I was walking with Kim, trying to impress with his fancy car. He said, 'Hey, babe,' with dark shades on." She heaved a little chuckle, rolling her eyes.
Tori glanced aside. "I think he hangs out down at Ashburn Park." Her face lit up. "You know what you should do when he's with his friends? Drop to the grass in the red space cruiser. Then you should say, 'Hi there, Will. I liked your ride. Wanted to know what you'd think of mine."
Both of them laughed.
April stared. The room fell quiet for a moment or two.
"What is it?" Tori asked.
"I'm glad you're here, living with us." She knew that it sounded just a little bit odd. Tori had been with them for thirteen years. April hadn't known a life without her cousin — at least not one she could recall anyway.
Tori made a taunting little weepy face. "Awwww... We're getting all mushy now?"
"No seriously, Tor. I love my brother. I always will. I'm just really happy that you came here." April recalled what had brought it about — the stories of her aunt Janet's recklessness. "I'm not glad your mother did whatever she did, but I think you would've landed here anyway. I heard my parents talking about it last week." She knew she had to try to be sensitive. "They said that your mom...had other issues. They'd thought about taking you before they did."
Tori looked down at the comforter.
"Anyway..." April touched her cousin's hands. "I'm just really glad that you ended up here."
"Me too," Tori said, looking back up. "I would've been bored if I hadn't come. I'd have missed all your wacky dating tales."
April laughed again, then gave her a hug. Afterward, they both walked downstairs.
The Present
The Defenders, Richie, Tori and Lynn were all gathered at the mansion for the party.
"Flash, I hope you didn't mind that I invited Lynn to this party," Richie spoke up, "and she will be leaving for Berkeley tomorrow."
"Of course, not," Mandrake replied, "Any friend of yours is a friend of ours."
"Thanks," Lynn quietly smiled.
"Who is she?" April asked.
"This is Lynn Horton, she's Joe Dawson's niece," Richie introduced her to the group.
"Wait, doesn't that mean she….." April started to ask.
"She's Horton's biological daughter," Tori pointed out, "but Lynn had disowned her father for what he had done with the immortals and killing Robert, her fiance at the time."
Lynn nodded, confirming the statement.
"Sorry," April nodded.
There was a pause of silence before the group continued with the party.
"I'd like to thank everyone for coming for these wonderful occasion," Flash informed everyone.
Mandrake rose up from his seat and flashed a charming smile, "Here's to the return of April Gordon and the happy union of Tori Gordon and Richie Ryan."
Everyone else in the room shared the toast, the same sentiments.
Lynn was the only one who was dense about the whole situation as most of the other Defenders, especially the Phantom, were feeling tense over the possibility of Zorelda showing up.
Rick and Jedda were seated together, mixed with happiness and nervousness. LJ and Kshin were mostly relaxed, but they remained on guard. April, Lynn, Tori and Richie were seated close by together, with April, Tori and Richie feeling content and nervous at the same time.
Mainly, it was the adults who were feeling the most nervousness, but to their credit they were doing their best not to show it.
"April," Richie spoke up, "I know you are going to make a great addition to the Defenders of the Earth."
"Thanks, Richie," April replied.
"You know, Richie," Rick spoke up, "I believe you're going to be a fine addition to the Gordon family."
"What are you saying?" Flash quipped, "Richie Ryan is already family. He has been for some time now."
"Richie is wearing blue like Rick," April glanced at the two young men.
"Blue must be Richie's signature color too," Rick quipped.
Richie was touched by this, even with the color comment. He considered Flash, the Defenders and especially the Gordons a second family besides MacLeod, of course. However, after the events with Shapiro and Galati, he and Tori were hesitant to be around MacLeod, much less Joe. Lynn was aware of the gist of the situation, but luckily for them, she decided not to push the issue further.
"I know how it felt to be orphaned," Kshin spoke up, "and I was brought in by a wonderful family. Mandrake took me in, and he eventually adopted me. I know what you've went through, Richie."
Richie smirked, understanding he meant well with what he said.
He then spoke up, "I've been in the foster system for the longest time, and I never knew who my parents were, and I was taken in by MacLeod and his girlfriend Tessa."
Richie held Tori's hand, "Then, after meeting Tori, she became my best friend and we fell in love, who helped me through thick and thin. Tori is the best person who's ever been in my life. Besides Tessa, Tori has been the only one who's stayed by my side."
He kissed her.
Tori looked around at her friends and loved ones, "Richie is such a gentleman. He always had been since I first met him. We had different backgrounds, but I had been willing to overlook it because I saw something in him, I saw decency, which was something Tessa and Mac saw in him as well. I had some intuition against a couple of women Richie was with before me, which proved to be right, but I was more looking out for him than jealousy. Through it all, I love Richie Ryan."
"I love you too, Victoria Gordon," Richie replied before they shared another kiss. Then they looked over at Kshin.
"A few years ago, you'd think this is mushy," Tori quipped.
"Yeah," Kshin shrugged, "but a lot can happen in those few years."
"Kshin has come a long way since first joining the Defenders," Rick chimed in.
"Rick is correct," Mandrake replied, "He's almost 12, so he's learned a lot since being with the Defenders."
Everyone clamored in agreement.
"Isn't that how that goes with kids?" Lynn asked, "They learn as they get older?"
"You have a good point there, my dear," Mandrake answered, "As the child gets older, they mature and learn from their mistakes, and about life in general."
"That goes for our kids as well," Lothar added.
Suddenly, the alarms went off. Lynn jumped, startled.
"Intruder alert!" Dynak X announced, "Intruder alert!"
The group hurried to Monitor to find out what was going on.
"What's the situation, Dynak?" Flash asked.
Everyone looked to see a red haired woman wearing a long green dress levitating near Monitor.
"It can't be!" Jedda exclaimed, "So, Katarina was right!"
"Is that who we think it is?" Richie asked.
"It's Zorelda!" Jedda answered.
"Zorelda?!" Flash exclaimed.
"Come and face me, Defenders of the Earth," Zorelda called out, "I know Tori Gordon is here with you!"
Tori paled at this and Richie held her hand.
"What does she want with Tori?" Rick asked.
"I don't know, but we'll sure as hell will find out!" Flash exclaimed.
"We'll help too," Tori stated.
"Not a good idea, Tori," April argued.
"Why?!"
"Zorelda is probably after you," Flash answered.
"If that's the case," Richie replied as he got out his sword, "I'll be there to protect her!"
There was a pause of silence as everyone looked around the room.
"We will be needing all the help we can get," the Phantom spoke up.
"Father is right," Jedda nodded, "Zorelda is powerful."
"Jedda, I will need you and Kshin to escort Lynn to the underground of Monitor," the Phantom instructed, "She will be safe there, and then Jedda will join us in battle."
"Of course," Jedda nodded before she and Kshin left Monitor with a confused Lynn.
"Let's move!" LJ exclaimed, "Zorelda is already destroying our place as we speak."
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Richie, Tori and the Defenders hurried outside where they saw Zorelda levitating in the air. She had already destroyed the front of the mansion and was about to use part of the debris to create even more damage. She put down the debris upon seeing her enemies.
"I finally get to see my opponents!" Zorelda exclaimed before she put down the debris.
"You are going to pay for all the damages you have caused," Mandrake stated.
"You can tell we are not exactly happy to see you," Flash told the witch, "You seriously have the audacity to run the engagement and homecoming party I was hosting for my daughter, niece and nephew in law!"
"I thought Suramog killed you," April declared.
"That was what I wanted him to think," Zorelda explained, "Right after I regained my youth, I secretly used astral projection because I knew Suramog would try to dispose of me once he found me of no more use. He disposed of my fake self, and after that, I went into hiding for awhile and to prepare for this final part of my conquest, I took the heads of five different immortals and gained a lot of powers since, and it leads us to now."
"Today?" LJ asked.
"What do you want?" Richie added in as he and Tori drawn out their swords.
"Two of you immortals, of course," Zorelda answered, "One as bait for my plan, and the other for a challenge."
"I'm afraid you will be leaving here empty handed," Flash declared.
He tried firing at her. Followed by LJ, April, Rick and Lothar. Zorelda created the strong energy ball, which created further damage to the mansion, and injuring the opponents who attacked.
"Dynak, fire!" Flash exclaimed.
Dynak X tried to fire at Zorelda, but the witch created a force field against the attacks, "Your human guns are pretty much useless against me."
Zorelda then deflected the attack and then created damages to Monitor.
"This can't be good," Tori stated, preparing herself as Jedda arrived at the scene.
"Too bad Kisa is back in the wild," Jedda said quietly, "but then again, I don't know what good she'd do."
"I assume you are after one of the immortals," Mandrake stated before he proceeded to make copies of both Richie and Tori, "but the question is: which one?"
Zorelda lifted her hands, "I can see through that illusion, magician!"
The illusions of Richie and Tori were gone.
"Join me, Mandrake!" the Phantom called out before the magician joined him and they held his cane, "By jungle law, the ghost who walks calls forth the strength of ten tigers!"
The move weakened Zorelda, but she bounced back and knocked down both of her opponents.
"Father!" Jedda exclaimed. She summoned a rat nearby to try to attack the witch, but that didn't work out well.
"You will have to do better than that, dear," Zorelda eyed Jedda, "Are you sure you don't want to join me?"
"I declined when you asked me last year," Jedda glared at her, "and I decline again."
"Isn't that a shame?" Zorelda crossed her arms as Jedda hurried to her father's side.
"Are you all right?" Jedda asked.
"I will be fine, Jedda," the Phantom answered.
Zorelda then eyed Richie and Tori, "Just the immortals I was looking for."
She then got out her sword.
"So, you're immortal too, huh?" Richie quipped.
"The lone one outside Earth," Zorelda answered, "I know there is other immortals here on Earth, but I am only after you two."
She swung her sword at Richie, who blocked the attack.
"Back off!" Richie demanded.
"Now, now," Zorelda glared at him.
He tried to fight her before Zorelda unleashed a mass surge of energy, which broke the blade of Richie's sword.
"No!" Richie exclaimed in disbelief.
"Oh no!" Tori added.
"You will not be needing your sword where you're going," Zorelda told Richie.
"Richie, run!" Flash exclaimed.
Zorelda emitted dark energy from her hands and hit Richie with it. Richie tried to fight the energy, but he ended up losing consciousness in the process and everything faded to black.
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"Richie, no!" Tori cried out as Zorelda picked up Richie in her arms.
"This is all going according to plan," Zorelda declared as she eyed Tori, "I challenge Tori Gordon to a duel on the planet Mongo for her beloved's freedom."
"I'll duel you now!" Tori exclaimed, holding her sword out, shaking in fear over losing her fiance, "Just please, let him go!"
"Not yet. It will foil my plan," Zorelda replied, "Your fiance is bait for my plan for you, and you should save your energy for our duel on the planet Mongo. If you prevail in this duel, then the prize will be your fiance's freedom. If not, well, not only will your handsome fiance be in my services, but Mongo will be reclaimed by me. I wish you luck with this duel."
"You won't get away!" Flash shouted.
"Stop!" April shouted, firing her guns in a last ditch effort to save Richie. However, the witch was faster and she vanished in dark energy with Richie in her arms.
Tori burst into tears and dropped to her knees, "No, please. No."
Flash managed to get up before he hurried to his distressed niece, "Tori."
She looked over at her uncle, "Zorelda took Richie."
Flash hugged Tori, comforted her, "I know. We'll save him. We'll get him back, and save Mongo in the process."
"You're right," Tori nodded before she wiped tears away, "so, what now?"
"We prepare for Mongo," Flash answered.
"What about the other immortals?" LJ asked.
"I can call Amanda," Tori answered, "She can get MacLeod to help us out as well. I might need her thieving skills to get Richie a new sword since Zorelda destroyed his old one."
"Of course," LJ quipped, "Catwoman at her finest."
"What about Pierson?" Flash asked.
"I don't know," Tori shook her head, "I'm not sure where he is at this time."
"Maybe I might be able to track Methos down," Mandrake stated.
"Good luck with that," Tori replied, "Methos is really hard to find, and if you do find him, he might be interested in the magics of Mongo."
"It's worth a shot, Mandrake," Rick spoke up.
"We should get some medical attention," LJ stated, "while most of us are injured, it may not be that serious."
"We'll see how serious it is," Lothar added.
"Let's get to work!" Flash exclaimed.
Tori and the Defenders grouped together as Kshin and Lynn met up with them.
"What happened?" Lynn asked.
"It was a big battle," April answered, "and Zorelda has taken Richie."
"Oh no," Lynn gasped in shock.
"After we rescue Richie and secure Mongo's freedom," Flash stated, "we will need to find a new headquarters since Zorelda destroyed this one."
Mandrake sighed, "Yes, we'll have to leave the past behind if we are to have a future."
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Author's Commentary:
"No seriously, Tor. I love my brother. I always will. I'm just really happy that you came here." April recalled what had brought it about — the stories of her aunt Janet's recklessness. "I'm not glad your mother did whatever she did, but I think you would've landed here anyway. I heard my parents talking about it last week." She knew she had to try to be sensitive. "They said that your mom...had other issues. They'd thought about taking you before they did."
Tori looked down at the comforter.
"Anyway..." April touched her cousin's hands. "I'm just really glad that you ended up here."
"Me too," Tori said, looking back up. "I would've been bored if I hadn't come. I'd have missed all your wacky dating tales."
April laughed again, then gave her a hug. Afterward, they both walked downstairs.
This scene was written by James, who wrote this scene on Tumblr awhile back and I ultimately decided to make this as a flashback.
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Chapters
Tori Gordon, a teenage operative for the Intergalactic Union Agency, transfers to a branch in Washington State, where she becomes involved in a battle between supernatural forces.
While reflecting on personal matters, Tori witnesses a stunning occurrence.
Richie introduces Tori to his friends, Duncan and Tessa, who detail the secret affairs of immortals.
As Tori begins learning more about her true nature, a teacher offers assistance.
Tori informs the Defenders that she plans to help Duncan and his companions.
Tori and Richie continue bonding as the IUA works with Duncan.
Tori is given a new task by her mother Janet.
Duncan and the group encounter Tori's teacher, Amanda. Tori learns that Duncan and Amanda have history.
9: Two Families, One Adventure
The Defenders arrive in Paris, where they unite with Tori's team.
Tori tends to an ailing Richie.
The group gains allies while investigating a new matter.
The search for Horton begins.
An old friend of Tori's reveals a darker side. Janet becomes involved in the current operation.
Duncan is told to be wary of a dark prophesy.
The team is menaced by Annie Devlin, an old associate of Duncan's.
Duncan begins refining Tori's skills.
Richie and Tori continue bonding.
A new woman comes into Richie's life.
Janet takes steps to make Richie an IUA operative.
Tori and her allies confront a number of enemies in the city.
The teams head out for a day of fun.
Rick's capture leads to a compromising situation as LJ and the others attempt a rescue.
Lucy, a dangerous immortal, targets Richie. Tori intervenes.
The IUA investigates when one of the Phantom's acquaintances is victimized by an immortal.
Richie and Tori return to Paris to assist with the mission, which is complicated by police involvement.
Duncan meets a woman who bears a strong resemblance to Tessa.
27: Can't Help Falling In Love
Kern, a vindictive old associate, returns to challenge Duncan.
Duncan attempts to work with the unstable David Keogh.
Charlie prepares to depart.
The group meet a girl named Michelle, who has just discovered her immortal nature.
Tori and Richie attempt to care for a younger boy named Kenny.
Everyone prepares for a holiday.
A mysterious statue creates chaos.
Joe and the team find others in need of their help.
Jedda and Tori have an intimate conversation.
Kalas haunts Richie and the others.
Duncan prepares for battle with Kalas and finds a surprise.
Kalas searches for Methos.
Tori worries as Richie begins taking chances.
Anne arrives.
41: The Exorcism of Richie Ryan
Richie requires assistance in getting back to normal.
The Defenders step in to assist with Kalas, and to help prevent the truth about Duncan's kind from leaking.
Duncan prepares to confront Kalas.
Duncan embarks on a private journey to Scotland. Jedda and Tori spar before an audience.
45: Walking On Shattered Glass
Duncan tries to intervene as Charlie clashes with Cord.
The current situation reminds Tori of a well-known scenario.
Amanda and Richie follow Duncan on a journey in secret, and end up defending themselves from a horde of ice robots.
The friends see Kenny again. Duncan suspects that a certain immortal is pursuing the child.
Seacouver is targeted by an ambitious supernatural woman named Sierra.
Duncan, Tori, and Richie investigate a matter from Duncan's past alongside the police.
The group is challenged by a charismatic new antagonist, Kamir.
The spellcaster Kristin Gilles arrives and pursues Richie. Mandrake offers assistance in thwarting her.
Duncan and his friends attempt to aid a pianist.
Anne and Jack participate in the latest endeavor.
Duncan falls under a dark influence temporarily.
Methos and the others reflect.
The exploits of Flash and his famed allies from Mongo are chronicled. Meanwhile, Zorelda reemerges.
The team members engage in sparring and storytelling during downtime.
The groups attempt to rescue Joe, who has been lured into a trap.
As tensions rise and truths are revealed, the team bands together in their effort to help Joe.
Richie makes a monumental decision.
As Tori and Richie prepare for the big day, opposing forces on Mongo makes plans of their own.
Katarina and Castra attempt to unite with the Defenders before Zorelda makes her move.
Zorelda arrives on Earth.
65: Setting Up The Rescue Mission
The groups outline their rescue effort.
Zorelda begins enacting her plan for Richie.
67: Mongo Showdown — Part One
Methos and Duncan engage in action on Mongo.
68: Mongo Showdown — Part Two
As the battle continues, Tori confronts Zorelda.
The group deals with the repercussions of their adventure and return to Earth.
Duncan's ally, Cassandra, relays a vision.
Tori and Richie encounter a cult. Duncan pursues Clay.
The Ryans foster a mysterious child who bears a resemblance to Tori.
Amanda and Maurice return as a new enigma arises.
Amanda engages in more questionable activity.
The group tries helping a woman who might be stalked by an old acquaintance of Duncan's.
76: All That Glitters Is Not Golden
Richie seeks to assist a childhood friend who's dealing with legal issues.
The Ryans encounter an apparent impostor, who also approaches Hadea.
An adversary known as Kronos targets Tori, seeking to exploit her intellect.
Richie and Duncan move to counter Kronos.
80: The Ransom of Richard Redstone
The Ryans depart for an undercover mission overseas.
The group make new acquaintances while pursuing a lead tied to a mysterious dancing event.
The enigmatic Keane arrives, wreaking havoc on several people's lives.
Duncan deals with a mischievous adversary named Byron. Jedda and Rick prepare for parenthood. Both Katarina and Jedda sense danger ahead.
Ming and Octon turn to a new ally.
Duncan is haunted.
The shape-shifter initiates a confrontation.
Ming shifts his focus to an isolated girl.
The Defenders unite with Tori's friends in an effort to stop Ahriman.
A climactic battle occurs as the Defenders clash with Ming, while Tori and Richie attempt to aid their friends.
90: Aftermath: The World Changes Forever
Everyone is affected by the recent events, which will have lasting repercussions.
Richie copes. Duncan travels overseas.
Joe, Amanda, and Duncan continue to hunt the enemy.
April locates Richie and provides an update on the current situation.
Richie is confronted by the opponent again.
Joe leads the investigation as everyone bands together.
The final clash begins.
Duncan makes a crucial discovery.
The key element to the plan is obtained.
The team proceeds with their endeavor.
100: The Last Stand — Part One
The group discovers that only one person can assist Duncan.
101: The Last Stand — Part Two
The battle reaches a conclusion.
Series finale.
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