TSB 5

The Space Between

By AmandaDoE

Chapter Five: Family Affairs

Night had fallen hours ago. April was the only person awake while the rest of the Defenders were asleep. She was too busy punching on a punching bag to give in to sleep. She could no longer close her eyes without thinking about either her mother, Tori or MacLeod.

One final swift kick knocked the bag off of the chain as it flew to the ground. April was panting as she looked down at the bag.

Suddenly, it turned into Ming. She screamed, throwing herself onto him and beating it roughly.

"Go ahead and kill me, but what good will it do for you?"

Those were the same words Felicia had spat out to Tori before she took her rival's head after she had raped Richie.

She took a step back as she saw Felicia for a moment as she appeared before Tori had taken her head.

April wiped the tears from her face. She was thinking about her mother, Tori and MacLeod again. Six years ago, April had lost her mother after Ming killed her, hence the Defenders of the Earth would be created soon after the tragedy.

Then, she had lost Tori over a year ago. MacLeod had taken her head. Yeah, the demon responsible for everything created the illusions, and Ming was the one who summoned the demon to get to not only Duncan MacLeod, but the Defenders of the Earth as well, but she held Duncan MacLeod responsible for Tori's death.

April was never going to forgive Duncan for killing her cousin, someone she had considered to be a sister to her. She had loved Tori like a sister, and MacLeod had taken her out of this world.

April sighed as she looked up, knowing what she was going to do to get her revenge on MacLeod.

"April, are you okay?"

April turned around and saw her father standing nearby.

"I'm fine, Dad," April answered, "I just had a lot on my mind."

"Thinking about Tori?"

April nodded, "Yeah. I miss her."

Flash gave his daughter a comforting touch on her shoulder, "I know. I miss her too."

"I wonder how Richie is coping."

"He's trying to survive the best he can."

"Is he back in Paris?"

"Yeah."

"Mind if you take me there as well?" April inquired.

"Are you serious?" Flash asked in surprise, "Why?"

"Unfinished business," April answered, "and I also want to check in on Richie."

-The-Space-Between-

April walked at Le Blues Bar where Joe was waiting for them, along with Richie, Duncan and Amanda. She smiled as Flash, Mandrake and Sheila were right behind her.

"What brings the Defenders here to Paris?" Joe asked.

"We just want to visit, of course," April answered. She walked over to Richie, who hugged her nervously, "How have you been holding since Tori died?"

"Been holding," Richie answered, "Been holding the best I could."

"Doing better since Flash last saw you?" Sheila asked.

Richie nodded, "Yeah, you can say that."

"How have you been doing, MacLeod?" April asked.

"Fine," Duncan answered, "Like Richie, I've been better."

The Netherworld

Rick sighed as he sat up from his bed, "Not again."

"Rick, what's the matter?"

He looked over to see Jedda sitting by his side in worry.

"I keep having these crazy dreams," Rick answered, "it's about April."

"What about her?" Jedda asked.

"I see her and she…...she took Amanda's head," Rick explained, "I saw that she did that to hurt MacLeod."

"Why would April want to do that?" Jedda asked.

"Why do you think?" Rick interjected, "MacLeod took Tori's head last year. April and Tori had a close sisterly bond, and from what I was feeling in those dreams, April hates MacLeod for what happened."

Jedda looked on in surprise, not knowing what to say at first. Rick couldn't blame her for that because, how could she have said anything? April was his sister.

"This shouldn't even be my business," Rick stressed, "I have a kingdom here to worry about."

He then looked over at his wife, "I also have to worry about you and our son. We don't need to worry about immortal issues right now."

"Rick," Jedda stated in awe.

"I told my dad yesterday," Rick stated further, "and he said he'll take care of it the best he can."

"That's good," Jedda draped her arms over her husband's shoulders, "I think we should let MacLeod and the Defenders worry about April."

"You're right," Rick replied, "You're right. Hopefully, they'll be able to stop her from hurting MacLeod, Amanda or anyone else. That's what worries me."

-The-Space-Between-

"Why would Rick have visions of April doing that?" Joe asked as they walked to the gym of Mandrake's Paris home.

"Hey," Flash answered, "He had visions where MacLeod took Richie's head, but we all know how that turned out."

"That was because Tori was able to prevent Richie from dying," Joe countered.

"Yeah," Mandrake chimed in, "The Quasanite powers Rick received at the Hall of Wisdom gave him premonitions which developed overtime."

"Which we learned shortly before Tori died," Sheila chimed in.

"So, you're saying Rick has been having visions where April took Amanda's head to punish MacLeod for killing Tori," Joe inquired.

"Yeah," Flash answered, "Before you say anything, we all saw what happened that night. She did as well."

"Exactly!" Joe exclaimed, "What MacLeod did was an accident. He had no idea knowing that Tori was going to save her husband from a deadly trap that demon set up."

"Good luck trying to get through to her and telling her that," Flash replied.

They walked into the gym to find April training. To their surprise, they saw the dummies in the room without their heads. Joe could tell that April had beheaded each of the dummies during her training.

"Someone's been busy," Mandrake stated in surprise.

April turned and faced the group, "Hi there. Just been training is all."

"We can see that," Joe replied.

-The-Space-Between-

"What did you expect?" April scoffed as she eyed the Highlander.

"You saw what happened that night along with the rest of the Defenders," Duncan replied, "That demon used me as a weapon to kill Tori."

"And you chose not to hold back," April crossed her arms, "You don't know how I'm feeling when I lost Tori."

"I do know how you feel," Duncan argued, "You think I wanted Tori to die?!"

"I don't know," April retorted, "but maybe you should lose someone you love so you can know how that feels."

"Like I don't already know how that feels."

There was a pause of silence as Methos awkwardly entered the room.

"It seems like there is some tension here," Methos stated, breaking the silence.

"This doesn't really concern you," April retorted.

"It does when you have MacLeod involved in a silly revenge plan," Methos argued.

"Silly revenge plan?" April scoffed, "He killed Tori. He should face repercussions for it."

"Ming and Ahriman caused Tori's death," Methos interjected, "yeah, MacLeod had the sword and taken Tori's head, even then, that's part of the game."

"Methos is right," Duncan added, "Even if that demon wasn't in the picture, that's how the game goes: two immortals in a duel, only one is the victor and the other loses their head and quickening. You've been around immortals for six years now and you should know that."

"What if he had taken Richie's head?" Methos asked.

April paused for a moment before she answered, "I'd be set to help Tori avenge her husband."

"I think Tori would be very disappointed in you right now," Methos chimed in.

"Screw you," April replied before she stormed off.

Duncan and Methos looked at each other before they sensed the buzz. They turned as Richie enter the room, "April not taking things well?"

"You have no idea," Duncan answered.

"You don't think she'll try anything, will she?" Richie asked.

"I hope not," Methos shook his head, "but at this rate, she could try anything."

-The-Space-Between-

Amanda walked down the empty area at the carnival. She knew that something was going to give when it came to April.

She turned and saw April, who greeted her, "Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah," Amanda nodded, "Um, Duncan suggested it for me."

"Oh really?" April crossed her arms.

Amanda looked at her nervously, "Look, I know you are hurt for losing Tori, but I promise you, Duncan never meant to hurt you. He's not like that."

"I figured that much," April replied before she turned around, "That's why I did some thinking."

"About what?" Amanda asked.

"About figuring out what I need to do about all of this," April answered before she pulled a gun out of her jacket and turned around to face Amanda as she pointed the gun at her.

Amanda backed away for a little bit, "You don't want to do this. You really don't."

April fired two gunshots, hitting Amanda point blank in the chest and she fell backwards to the ground, dead.

-The-Space-Between-

Duncan heard two gunshots and then he ran into the empty area to find April holding Amanda's sword as she was about to take Amanda's head. Richie, Methos, Flash and Sheila were right behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Flash demanded.

"You cannot stop this, Dad," April replied.

"What does Amanda have to do with any of this?" Richie asked.

"You should know why," April answered, "She loves MacLeod, just as he loves her. Therefore…"

"You believe killing Amanda will be a way to punish Duncan MacLeod," Methos concluded.

April nodded, "Exactly."

"I never meant to hurt you," Duncan insisted, "I'm nothing like Ming the Merciless!"

"But you killed Tori," April countered, "That is why I plan to do this."

"April, you saw what happened just like the rest of us," Flash took a brave step forward, "You know very well that what happened was a terrible accident. Ming was the one who summoned that demon to cause us trouble."

"And the demon caused the hallucination," Duncan added, "Tori saw through the trap that Ahriman had set up for both me and Richie, and she saved her husband. Amanda had nothing to do with what happened."

April raised Amanda's sword, preparing to make the killing blow.

"April, stop!" Richie took the brave step forward, "Even if you killed Amanda or even Mac, it won't bring Tori back. You know this as well as we do."

"He's right," Methos added, "Think about it. Would Tori want you to do this? Would she want you to lose yourself like this?"

April lowered the sword, her arms shaking as she started to cry. Flash went to his daughter and took her in his arms, "It's okay. It's all right."

April dropped the sword as Duncan held Amanda's body in his arms stated, "Let him carry it. Let Tori's death haunt Duncan MacLeod forever."

"He will," Flash assured his daughter.

"I will," Duncan added in the assurance as he held Amanda in his arms.

-The-Space-Between-

Amanda coughed, reviving from her latest death. She looked around the room and saw that April was not in sight. She saw Flash, as well as Sheila, Duncan, Richie and Methos all in the room, but April was not in sight.

"All right, where is she?!" Amanda asked.

"She's gone," Duncan answered.

"Gone?"

"We stopped her," Richie told her.

"Yeah, but like before, she had a choice," Duncan explained, "She had the choice to walk away."

"Why the hell did she go after me anyway?" Amanda asked.

"To hurt me," Duncan answered, "I was the one who took Tori's head and she hates me for it. April figured that to hurt me, she would take out the person I loved the most."

"I'm just glad I didn't lose another friend," Richie sighed with relief, hugging Amanda.

"And I created an illusion to make sure the others at the carnival didn't hear the actual commotion," Mandrake replied.

"That's a relief," Amanda replied, "I mean, that no one outside our group knew about what was going on."

"Bruce told us that he came up with a resolution to keep April away from you immortals for the foreseeable future," Flash spoke up.

"And what would that be?" Methos asked.

"April is going to be a part of Red Hood's group for awhile," Flash answered, "She has always been fond of Jason Todd, and they both agreed that would be a great idea for April to be a part of the Outlaws. Jason even said that Artemis was excited to have another female member of the Outlaws."

"I hope that April finds peace with everything," Richie stated.

"So do I," Flash nodded in agreement, "April's dealing with her demons. It turns out that she was having a hard time coping with Tori's death worse than I thought."

"Worse than any of us thought," Sheila added.

They noticed that Richie was staring out the window.

-The-Space-Between-

Jack glanced at one of the computer screens, "Man, these rifts are increasing, by locations that is."

"We all see that," Daphne replied, "Intense. The portals we've been locating all have connected from here at the planet Earth to the planet Mongo."

"Just as we noted before," William chimed in.

"If these portals increase, not only will Earth be at risk, but Mongo as well," Martha added in.

"And it turns out we have our suspect," Taylor spoke up as he typed into his computer, "By suspect, I mean, the person responsible for the portage initiative being reactivated."

"Who would that be?" Jack asked, walking over to Taylor's station.

The men pulled up a picture of a man with dark hair.

"This person reveals to be an immortal," Taylor answered, "An immortal by the name of Liam O' Rourke."

"Why would he want to reactive the portage initiative?" Martha asked.

-The-Space-Between-

O' Rourke walked down the streets. He sensed the buzz, and then he turned around and saw a young woman holding her sais.

"My name is Liam O' Rourke," O' Rourke proceeded to introduce himself.

"Lauren," the woman introduced herself, "Lauren Cain."

The pair started to duel. They parried for awhile before they ended up in a deadlock.

"You actually could be a useful ally," O' Rourke told her.

Lauren eyed him reluctantly, "Is that so?"

"Yes," O' Rourke answered, "Hear me out."

"What brings you to Paris?" Lauren asked, removing her sais from her opponent's neck.

"Getting revenge on Duncan MacLeod," O' Rourke explained, "I found some strange portals which could help me out with my revenge."

"What kind of portals?" Lauren asked, her curiosity piquing.

"The portals connected from here on the planet Earth to a mysterious new planet," O' Rourke answered, "I believe it is called Mongo."

"What would Mongo have to do with your revenge on Duncan MacLeod?" Lauren asked.

"There was once a tyrant named Ming the Merciless," O' Rourke explained, "He once ruled Mongo, and he's currently in the Intergalactic Union Agency prison."

"He can help us with taking down MacLeod?" Lauren asked.

"Exactly," O' Rourke answered, "and we are going to break him out of prison. He helps us take down MacLeod, and in turn, he will take over Mongo once again. So, what do you say? Are you in with my plans?"

"That sounds like a plan," Lauren answered.

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Author's Notes:

This chapter shows you what happened with April in the aftermath of Tori's death. Would April be able to overcome the demons that came with Tori's death? Will April be able to forgive Duncan MacLeod and rejoin the Defenders after finding peace? Only time will tell.

I was originally planning to have Lauren to have the last name Alves like Roland Cain did in his take on the character, as Lauren, the character from "Element of Fire," never had a last name, but Cain, after his last name, sounded like a great last name for Lauren too.

I also tried having a scene in which O' Rourke and Lauren both joining forces and showing how they join forces to take down Duncan MacLeod.

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Article

Author

Chapters

1: Prelude — Part One

Everyone reflects on the recent events while considering the future.

2: Prelude — Part Two

Angie tends to a despondent Richie. Portals to new dimensions are discovered.

3: Sins of the Father

Duncan embarks on a journey abroad. Richie confronts his trauma.

4: Diplomatic Immunity