Title: Prophecy Boy
Author: Robert P. Allison
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Willow/Other, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia
Category: Highlander/BTVS crossover
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the property of 20th Century Fox, Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Highlander is the property of Rysher Entertainment.
Distribution: Please, but ask first.
Spoilers: Everything prior to 'Prophecy Girl' for Buffy. Not sure about the timeline of Highlander, but I think it's approximately between the 1st and 2nd seasons. It's an 'alternate universe' so any timeline or canon differences have been adjusted to fit the story.

Thanks to Nick, Suzanne, Daisy and Carla for all their wonderful ideas and motivation. I couldn't have done this without you, guys.

This is my first attempt at a story. Please be kind. Criticism is
appreciated, but flames will shatter my fragile ego.

Legacy

by Robert P. Allison

Prologue…

St. Joseph's Cathedral

Paris, France

The monastery was damp, musty and deathly quiet, and while none of these things were completely out of the ordinary, the hairs on the back of Duncan MacLeod's neck stood on end. Something was very wrong, he just knew it. After a moment's contemplation, he realized what was missing. He could not sense the presence of an Immortal.

Darius.

The highlander scanned the room, but found the main chamber was empty, though he could see the wooden pews near the front were broken and shifted. Slow, tentative steps gave way to desperate strides. "DARIUS!" He roared, seeing his friend's headless body splayed out near the pulpit.

He rushed to the dais, cradling the headless form in his arms, unclotted crimson blood pouring over and staining his brown leather jacket through to his white silk shirt and leaving a damp, sticky sensation on his skin. "OhGodOhGodOhGod… Oh, God no, Darius, what have they done?" His shock turned into a fit of sobbing, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid looking at the head lying on the dusty stone floor only a few feet away. In the distance, he heard sirens getting louder and more persistent.

Making an effort to stifle the remainder of his tears, he stood and prepared himself to receive the police. Turning his head, a flicker of motion caught his eye. In a shadowy corner, a young boy had huddled himself into a ball, his arms wrapped protectively around his knees, rocking back and forth in a hypnotic rhythm. His normally pale skin was pallid and sickly, and the area around his eyes was red with recently shed tears. He appeared not to notice Duncan's arrival, though the stunned and dismayed look on his face spoke volumes to Duncan. It was obvious the boy had witnessed Darius' murder.

"Brian?," he called out to the boy, slowly crossing the distance between them. "Brian, son, come on out of there." Duncan motioned with a wave of his hand, but the boy refused to budge. "Come on." Frowning, Duncan reached down and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, careful to avoid getting blood on him and hoping to bring the teenager out of his shock. Finally the boy broke free of his horror and looked up to his "Uncle" Duncan.

"They killed him, Duncan. I… saw it. I saw it all." He sniffled a moment, reexperiencing the moment in his head in agonizingly slow detail. "He just… sat there while they… they cut his head off! He just… let them do it. He didn't even fight back." Duncan pulled the boy to his feet, and holding him with all his might, no longer caring about the bloodstains he was transferring.

"Who did it? Who killed him?"

Brian shrugged noncommittally. "Bunch of guys in business suits, one of them had a tattoo on his wrist. The leader was about my height, average build, light blonde-brown hair… he had a sword."

Duncan tensed at the description of the renegade Watcher James Horton, and he inwardly screamed. He silently vowed to avenge Darius' murder. "Did they see you?"

"Who? The guy with the tattoo?" Duncan nodded. "Yeah." Brian nodded mechanically.

Duncan winced as the sirens were getting louder. "Okay, here's what I want you to do. Go to Amanda's. And don't stop for anyone, not even cops. Understand? And you wait for me. If Lucy or Amanda aren't there, then I want you to pick the lock. And don't look at me like I don't know all about Amanda teaching you. So go. And don't look back, I'll take care of this." Brian broke away quickly and tore off for the back exit, never looking back.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Duncan sat heavily against a cold stone bench across the street from the Cathedral. The police had questioned him for nearly an hour. Lost in his thoughts, he never noticed the arrival of his one-time friend and Watcher, Joe Dawson. Duncan looked up just as Dawson leaned against his cane and positioned his artificial legs awkwardly to allow himself to sit on the bench, his thick salt-and-pepper hair blowing haphazardly in the strong breeze. "Dawson." MacLeod bit out as an angry warning.

Dawson put up a hand to forestall any argument. "Peace, Mac. I got here as soon as I heard. I'm sorry."

MacLeod bit back the angry retort that perched on his lips. "Thanks, Joe."

Dawson put a hand on Mac's shoulder. "It was Horton, I know. I trusted him. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, you said that already."

"Hmmm, yeah. I actually came to see if there was anything I can do."

"Don't you think you've done enough?" MacLeod snapped, shrugging Dawson's hand off his shoulder.

"Mac! Come on! This is me you're talking to."

"Yeah, and that makes me wonder how long I've been blind to this. Does that make me an abomination to you, too?"

Dawson gaped. "Mac! Mac, come on. We've known each other for years. And you know I'd never violate my oath!"

Duncan's reaction was a slight upturn of his eyebrow. "Which oath would that be? Oh, you mean the non-interference Watcher oath that you've broken on how many occasions? That oath?"

"And with good reason, MacLeod. I've saved your Immortal ass several times doing it." Joe shot back.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Duncan grudgingly admitted.

"So what're you going to do about Brian?" Dawson asked.

Mac looked up sharply at Joe's question. "I don't know yet. But he's not safe here, and I don't think he's safe with me, either."

Dawson nodded slowly, stroking his graying goatee. "Or Amanda, for that matter. In fact, I don't think he's safe near any Immortal, right now." He turned to his Immortal friend. "But I think I might have an idea where no one would look for him."

Duncan scowled for a moment, then looked to the seemingly older man with suspicion. "Where?"

Dramatis Personae

Starring…

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris

Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase

David Boreanaz as Angel

Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

and

Chris Klein as Brian Wilson

Also Starring…

Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod

Elizabeth Gracen as Amanda Montrose

Christopher Lambert as Conner MacLeod

Jim Byrnes as Joe Dawson

Werner Stocker as Darius

Lisa Barbuscia as Kate MacLeod

Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers

Dean Butler as Hank Summers

Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers

Julia Ormond as Catherine Chase

Stephen Collins as Carlton Chase

Lee Garlington as Jessica Harris

Casey Sander as Anthony Harris

Jordan Baker as Sheila Rosenberg

F. Murray Abraham as Ira Rosenberg

Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar

Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder

Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall

Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson

Larry Bagby III as Larry Blaisedale

Mark Metcalf as the Master

Peter Hudson as James Horton

Jessica Biel as Jessica Tydings

Ralph Fiennes as David Scott-Thomas

Andrew J. Ferchland as Colin, the Anointed