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        Linna screamed with pain as the sword from her opponent
entered the soft flesh of her shoulder and ricocheted lightly off
the bone. Her opponent thrust forward and tried to make the wound
even worst, but somehow Linna managed to push herself back off
the ancient sword and down onto the muddy ground.

        Her opponent hesitated for a second and that moment was
just long enough for Linna to scramble to her feet and reassume a
defensive posture. Her left shoulder hurt like hell but already
the pain was beginning to fade as her immortal flesh began to
heal. Long experience of such duels allowed her to push the pain
from her mind and focus her full attention on the other Immortal.

        "Come on," she hissed as she gestured with her weapon in
invitation. "Let's see what you really have..."

        At her words her opponent's brown eyes narrowed and the
woman rushed forward. Her sword moved with an experienced grace
and Linna was hard pressed to defend herself from the sweeping
strikes. Linna's own slim blade parried a head cut and dancing
back she allowed the motion of her opponent to carry the Immortal
into her own strike range.

        "Ha!" her opponent cried out and rapidly skipped back
avoiding the invitation. "I don't think so Yamazaki! Remember, I
know your moves!"

        Linna pulled back as well and for a moment the two
opponents stared across at each other. It was true - the two
women knew each other's moves very well indeed. In the last 729
years they had fought both back to back together and also against
each other. The lives of the Immortals usually had as many twists
and turns as chaotic fractals.

        "Why are you doing this?" Linna tried once again to
persuade her opponent that things did not need to end like this.
"We have been friends, good friends. Why do you..."

        "Shut up!" her opponent shouted abruptly. "You know why
Yamazaki! Do you seriously think I would let you live after what
you did to me?"

        "That was not me!" Linna pleaded. "Please you must
believe me! I would not do something like..."

        "Die!" the woman shouted cutting Linna off and rushing
forward swung her sword in a scything motion at Linna's head.

        "Don't!" Linna cried out as her own weapon barely parried
the skillful blade. "Please! I'm telling you the t... YAA!" She
suddenly screamed in agony as the woman kicked her in the stomach
and Linna collapsed to the ground desperately trying to recover
her breath.

        "Fool!" the woman cursed and kicked Linna's slim blade
out of the range of her groping hand and into the darkness of the
alley. For good measure she kicked out at the gasping form of
Linna one more time just to make sure that her victory would be
certain.

        Drawing strength from utter desperation Linna jerked back
and grasped the foot of her opponent just before it struck.
Holding onto the foot for dear life Linna twisted it in a
violent motion that almost made her see stars.

        "SHIT!" her opponent cried out as Linna's last desperate
move bought her crashing to the ground. "Bitch!"

        Linna's body was being pushed beyond even its limits but
somehow she managed to find herself standing. Puffing and
wheezing she scrambled madly off in the direction where her sword
had been kicked. Her night vision was not good and she could hear
her opponent beginning to recover herself.

        "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Linna swore in rapid succession as
she blindly hunted around for the blade. "Where the fuck are
you?!"

        "Yamazaki!" her opponent cried out and swinging her blade
ran towards the still weaponless woman. "Sleep in Hell!"

        "NO!" Linna screamed as her hand closed finally around
her familiar weapon. Time slowed to a complete standstill as in a
completely instinctive move she swung her own blade around and
up into the unresisting flesh of her enraged opponent.

        The brown eyes widened in surprised shock as the momentum
from her charge push Linna's small blade deep into her chest. She
staggered, and red blood trickled from her mouth as she felt the
blade fatally enter her heart.

        "Bitch..." she managed to croak before the temporary cold
darkness of death grabbed at her. "Next time..."

        "NO!" Linna wept as the life slow fled from those now
cold brown eyes. She sat for a moment gently rocking the now
lifeless form of her old friend in her arms. The warmth of the
healing process was already beginning to fill her, and Linna knew
it would not be long before the same would happen to the now dead
figure in her arms. Death for her kind did not tend to last for
long.

        "I'm sorry," Linna said sadly as she looked down at the
still dead form on the ground. "I'm so sorry Priss, but you were
wrong. I did not kill your lover. He was already dead when I
found him. Why could you not accept that?"

        Linna slowly got to her feet and looked down one last
time at Priss. She wiped the grime and tears from her eyes and
set her feet. Lifting her blade she took a deep breath. She
really did not want to do this but knew she had no choice.

        "In the end, there can be only one!" she cried out in a
pained voice and bought the blade crashing down.

        *               *               *               *

        Loria looked at the lightning flashing down at the other
end of the alley and shook her head with an annoyed sigh.

        "Damn it Sam," she muttered as she opened a Gate to the
next Universe she had to check. "Where the hell have you got to?"

        She took one last look around and then stepped into the
gaping hole of Darkness. Kelly was not going to be amused...