Disclaimer-Neither The Mummy or Highlander belong to me. Never will.
(Boo hoo. I like Ardeth and Methos!) Though Sarah (and all aliases),
Catlanda and Charley (who's only mentioned) belong to me.
Author's Note-Since Methos didn't have a confirmed alias at the time given, I gave him one so please don't hurt me. Some things mentioned in the story relate to either my Highlander fic 'History's Game' or my Mummy fic 'The Jewel of the Mummy'. There are some spoilers for them. Just to let you know, this fic was made up out of my crazy mind. I had an idea and had to get it down.
Summary-After an attack on the Medjai tribe, two mysterious strangers help Ardeth Bay.
******
Mummy Immortality
Ardeth Bay looked over the plains of the desert. He was watching the Rick, Evie, Alex and Jonathan arrive at their camp. A smile crept over his face as they became closer. He hurried down to greet them.
"Welcome back. It's good to see you again," Ardeth told them with a huge smile.
"It's great to be back here. So many interesting things to see here," Evy said.
"Yeah, if you want to call mummies coming back to life interesting. That last excursion was bad enough with Ramses," Rick quietly replied.
The five walked towards the camp.
As they walked by some tents, Evy glanced into them and noticed a young woman in one, talking to the women.
"Ardeth, who's the young woman in the tent? Why is she here?" she asked the Medjai.
"We found her in the desert a few days ago, starving, dehydrated and terribly dry and hot. She recovered almost immedately after we brought her here. It's a miracle because she was at death's door. She's thankful and she even talks to the people here in our own language. She knows it quite well actually," replied Ardeth.
"Now that's not weird. Several people know other languages, whether it be spoken or written," Evy told him.
***
Later that evening, everybody was gathering around the campfire. Evy looked over to see the young woman she had seen earlier sitting by the fire, alone. She walked over to her.
"Hello. How are you? My name is Evelyn," she introduced.
"My name is Sarah and I'm fine," the young woman told her.
"You know English?" Evy asked, surprised.
"I also know French. My mother's from Paris, my father's from Cairo and I grew up in England," explained Sarah, poking the stick she held at the fire.
They heard footsteps behind them and they looked to see Ardeth standing there.
"I see you two have met. Sarah has led an interesting life, I've heard. I wish to know more about you, if that's possible, later after the celebration," he asked.
"Of course," replied Sarah with a smile. "My life's an open book."
He walked away from them as Sarah gave a sigh.
"What's wrong?" asked Evy with a worried look.
"No, nothing's wrong," Sarah said though her eyes told her something else.
Evie was worried as Sarah stood up and walked away.
***
Everything was going peaceful until noises were heard in the distance. Ardeth Bay quickly stood up and looked around, wondering where they were coming from. The others looked at him nervously. His second-in- command asked what was wrong.
"Somebody's coming. Get ready to fight," he ordered, picking up a sword.
The other Medjai followed suit and so did Sarah. Evy gave her a shocked look as she took a fighting stance. Sarah looked back at the surprised Englishwoman.
"Don't worry, I'm a good fighter and I heal real fast," she reassured her, taking her place beside Catlanda.
"Are you ready Stranger?" asked Catlanda.
Sarah nodded as she waited with her.
The invaders ran into the camp on horses and started to attack the Medjai. They fought back but soon were outnumbered. The invaders encircled the warriors fighting them. Catlanda killed one last man with her sword before being shoved into the circle with the others. Ardeth was outside the circle, on his knees and the bandit leader stood before him.
"Ardeth, no!" screamed Rick as he watched on helplessly, held back by two of the bandits.
"See your precious leader die a horrible death and there's nothing you can do about it," the bandit leader snarled.
He took out a gun, aimed it and shot Ardeth in the head, who fell down in the sand, blood all over the place.
"Ardeth, no," Evy gasped.
Sarah looked on without any emotion before breaking loose from the circle, grabbing a gun from one of the captors and started to shoot them. This gave the Medjai time to break free from their captors and they killed the remainder of them.
After it was all through, Evy ran up to the fallen Ardeth Bay. She kneeled beside his lifeless body.
"Oh, Ardeth," she said, her voice laden with sadness as Rick, Alex and Jonathan ran up to them.
Evy started to cry and so did Alex, who hugged his mother.
"Mom, I can't believe it. He's dead. After all the times he's helped us," Alex whimpered.
"I know Alex, I know," his mother sobbed. "He's survived all the times with us only to die a needless death. Not only that, Catlanda's not only lost her real father, but her surrogate one as well. "
"We must put his soul at rest. He was our greatest warrior against the Creature and he will be missed terribly," one Medjai told them.
Some Medjai took his body to a tent and laid it on a table for the morning. Everybody stayed for a long time before someone suggested that they try and get some sleep though they were reluctant. Sarah watched from her tent nearby, waiting for the right time.
***
Later in the evening, after everybody left and managed to get to sleep, Sarah walked into the tent and up to the body. She heard a groan and felt the presence of another...
"What happened?" he asked, groaning. "I thought I died."
"You did die Ardeth but now you've joined the Game, just like I did many years ago. Welcome to the world of Immortality," Sarah told him.
"Immortality? What's going on here? Is this some sort of cruel joke?" he asked, rubbing his throbbing head.
"'Tis no joke Ardeth. It's real. Very real. You're an Immortal now. Now we must leave before someone comes in here and finds you alive. After all, they do think you're dead," Sarah told him, helping him off the table.
They suddenly felt the presence of another Immortal. Ardeth grabbed his head with both hands as Sarah grabbed a nearby sword and stood ready as Methos walked into the tent. Sarah sighed as she lowered the sword.
"Sometimes I wonder if sensing others is a useful thing or not. Though I probably never would have beaten you even if I got a surprise on you Scott," she sighed.
"You bet I would Kari. Right now, it's a good thing it's me and not someone else though let's get out of here. I'm supposed to be dead as well," Methos told them, grabbing their arms and hurrying out of the tent.
The three snuck their way out of the village. On the way, they heard a woman cry out.
"He's dead? No, it can't be. He can't be dead. It's just not possible!" she cried out.
"But he is and we're all going to have to live with it Catlanda. He's gone," another one reassured as the young woman cried in to her shoulder.
Ardeth silently and reluctantly followed the two strangers into the desert, where they explained everything.
"I simply don't believe it," Ardeth gasped, sitting down on a sand dune.
"I didn't believe it either at first. It's hard to believe but I'm almost one hundred years old and Scott is much older than me. I've been told centuries," Sarah replied.
"Every Immortal is surprised at first unless they know an Immortal before it happens, then it's not so much of a surprise," Methos put in. "Now let's get you somewhere out of the country. You're dead here for at least a generation."
***
Modern day London, Methos and Elkaryene walked down the streets, catching up on old times. "So, what do you want to do?" asked Elkaryene.
"I don't know though I sometimes wonder about that one fellow. What was his name, Ardeth Bay, from Egypt? I wonder if he's still alive?" he mused. "It's something that we got separated from each other all those years ago in that flash flood in...someplace."
Elkaryene laughed.
"Don't have a good memory, do you?" she asked him.
He shook his head.
***
Duncan Macleod sat in a seat in the lobby of their hotel, reading the local newspaper. He was drinking a cup of coffee and Joe sat in a chair across from him, watching him.
"So what are you thinking about Mac?" asked the Watcher.
"Methos and Elkaryene. They're so good friends. I honestly think this is the first time I've seen him happy other than Alexa. And she's one of the yongest ones I've ever met yet she's already been everywhere. In some ways, I don't know what to think," Macleod replied, turning the page.
A man walked into the room. He felt the presence of another Immortal and pulled out a sword. Duncan felt it also and pulled a sword out from underneath the hanging coat.
"There's another Immortal around Mac? Where is he?" asked Joe.
"Maybe you'd better get out of the way Joe. This could get ugly," Macleod told him.
The mysterious Immortal saw Macleod and walked up to meet him.
"Duncan Macleod of the clan Macleod," the Highlander told him.
"Arthur Bayard. Step out of the way. I'm in a hurry and I have no conflict with you," he replied his Arabic accent slighty obvious, his sword by his side.
"Never heard of you. Of course, there's several Immortals I've never heard of," Duncan mused.
The two circled around the room until they felt the presence of another Immortal. More appropriately, two Immortals. Methos and Elkaryene walked into the lobby.
"Hello everybody. Duncan, what's going on here? A grudge match?" Elkaryene asked jokingly.
Duncan stared at her with an open mouth.
"Back already? Since you're old friends, I thought you would've taken the whole afternoon," Duncan told them. "Though I'm kind of busy. I'm in the middle of a challenge here."
"How soon they forget Kari. Though I've known you longer than him," laughed Methos. "And it looks like he doesn't know who he's talking to."
"Yeah, do you think you have to kill everyone that I know? Well, besides Fitzcairn and what's-his-name over there," Elkaryene laughed at a scowling Methos.
Arthur walked up to Elkaryene and they hugged each other. Duncan was surprised.
"Ardeth, it's so good to see you again. And you got your hair cut too. You look great. I didn't think you were still alive," Elkaryene told him.
"I missed you too. Friend of yours?" he asked, refering to Duncan.
"Ever since he killed Charley, yes," she replied.
Joe walked out from behind the pillar and up to them.
"I think you already met Duncan Macleod of the clan Macleod and this is Joe Dawson. He's a friend of ours. Joe, Mac, I think you already met," introduced Methos.
Duncan was surprised and so was Joe. Here was another unknown Immortal and Elkaryene knew him. They headed into the streets of the city and started to look at the sights.
***
A few days later, they walked into a nearby museum. They walked up to an Egyptian exhibit and an older gentleman walked past them, glancing at them as he did. He suddenly stopped and gasped, his eyes widening.
"I don't believe it. It can't be him," he cried.
The four Immortals and one Watcher stopped and looked at the man.
"I'm sorry, what seems to be the problem?" Duncan asked curiously.
"This man you're with is supposed to be dead. I am not hallucinating. I saw him die almost 70 years ago while I was Egypt with my parents and uncle," the man explained.
"Come with us," Duncan told them as they hurried out of the building.
They went into the hotel room and closed the door. Duncan looked at the elderly gentleman.
"Alright, who are you and how do you know him?" he demanded.
"My name is Alex O'Connell. He is Ardeth Bay, former leader of the Medjai in Egypt, a secret society protecting the world from all evil that lay there. He died in 1937 when my family visited their camp and bandits attacked. Ardeth, Catlanda nearly went crazy after that happened. She almost killed herself three times before she was persuaded not to do so. It's amazing that spire of hers is still in her possession," Alex explained, obviously a bit angry.
Ardeth looked shocked at this information.
"Who's Catlanda...Ardeth?" asked Duncan, becoming suspicious.
"She is...my daughter," he replied.
Duncan was surprised and so was Joe.
"Daughter? You know you can't have children. It's impossible," Duncan whispered to him.
"No, no, not my biological daughter, my adopted daughter. She was orphaned when she was really young. Alex, do you know anything of her current condition?" Ardeth asked him.
"Last thing I knew, she was still alive though still very disraught over your death. Which I can obviously see, DIDN'T happen," Alex told him. "Not only that, chaos had begun to come to Egypt and the Medjai troops. It started to happen soon after you 'died'. I've seen it already, it's terrible. There's starvation and war everywhere. I thought I saw you arrive here a few days ago though I wasn't sure. You were, after all, supposed to be dead and even if you were still alive, you'd look older. Much older," Alex replied. "You need to go back to them Ardeth. You need to save your people from their own destruction and before the mummy is resurrected. That is if he is again."
"Alex, we'll explain everything on the way to Egypt," Methos said.
***
Once there, they got horses and headed out into the desert...
"Where exactly are we going?" asked Duncan.
"To the camp of the Medjai. That's where we are needed. But be warned. Like Alex has said, they believe I am dead for I was shot down like an animal before my entire tribe, Catlanda and my friends," Ardeth explained to him.
They rode up to the mountains, which were slowly coming into view and they saw several figures on horses atop the mountain. They were watching them ride up.
Once the five became closer to the mountain, they were attacked by several figures brandishing swords that were hiding behind some rocks.
"Watch your heads everybody!" Duncan called out.
Soon, the Immortals and Alex were brought into a circle and surrounded, swords at their throats.
"If you don't mind, but if you could take that a little bit away from my neck. It's starting to make me nervous," Methos told them, his voice with the slightest bit of shakiness.
"Actually, it's starting to make all of us nervous. Especially us older ones," Duncan agreed, griting between his teeth.
Ardeth looked over the group. He knew it was going to be a new group of Medjai. He doubted that many of the ones that he knew were going to be still alive. He turned away from them.
"You will come to see the Elder. She will decide what will happen with you," one Medjai suddenly said to them in English.
The group walked into the village. They received many stares along the way to the Elder's tent.
"What's with this whole 'Elder' thing?" asked Duncan.
"Sometimes strangers would come into the Medjai territory. Usually, the oldest of the tribe would decide what the fate of the intruder, or intruders, would be if they appeared to be no threat yet they couldn't be turned away," explained Ardeth as they stopped in front of a tent.
"She will see you now," the one said.
The woman walked out of the tent with a long , snakelike staff. Her hair was long and white, which was tied back into a ponytail. She appeared to be very well for her age as she called her horse. She rubbed his neck and a large cat came out of the tent. The Medjai there kneeled before her as she looked at the strangers. She remained calm as she studied the people before her.
"I don't believe it," she said as she walked up to Ardeth.
She lifted her hand up to his face and cupped his cheek. He held her hand as tears started to form in his eyes. The cat walked up to her.
"You died nearly 70 years ago. You can't be alive still," she said as she took away her hand.
She looked as his face and saw that her hand wiped away some make-up from his face and, the tattoos now exposed to the air.
"Those tattoos. It is you. But how can this be? You still can't be alive after all these years," the woman said, gasping.
She started to cry and hugged Ardeth. He kissed her head.
"I'm so sorry Catlanda that I couldn't come back to see you. I'll explain everything shortly," he whispered into her ear.
She turned towards the crowd and yelled something to him.
"What did she say?" asked Duncan.
"She said that their troubles are over, that he is a saviour of everybody. I don't think she wants to let them know yet, if at all, that he 'died' in 1937 and that somehow he's back from the dead after almost 70 years," Elkaryene explained to him.
Alex looked at her strangely.
"How do you know Arabic?" he asked.
"My father's Egyptian. At least my adoptive father is," she explained.
Catlanda looked at Elkaryene and Methos.
"Welcome back Stranger. It's nice to see you again, though I still don't know how you've lived this long. I demand an explanation from you in my tent why Ardeth is still alive, why Stranger here hasn't aged a day and why a man that I killed in the same battle that Ardeth was killed is still alive and well," she replied, turning around and walking into her tent.
The five walked into her tent. Catlanda gave Alex a hug.
"It's nice to see you again O' Connell. It's been a long time since I've seen you. If I'm not mistaken, it was...a few years ago," Catlanda told him.
"Catlanda, why do you keep calling her 'Stranger'?" asked Alex, pointing at Elkaryene.
"I don't even know anymore. When she came to our camp all those years ago and I first started to talk to her, it just came out and I called her that during her entire stay, even though I knew her name," Catlanda explained. "Now I want you to explain to me what's going on here."
"Catlanda, we're Immortals. We cannot die unless we are beheaded. Only a select few have this gift, or curse, depending on the who you speak to. I'm several centuries old, Duncan here is 400 years old, Elkaryene here, or 'Stranger' as you like to call her, is 150 and Ardeth is as old as you would mormally know him. Only 100, approximately," Methos explained. "He did die that night. That's when his Immortality kicked into play."
"I'm really sorry it has to be this way. Instead of you at my funeral, I'm going to be at yours," Ardeth told her, starting to cry.
He cried into her shoulder as she cried into his.
After a minute, they let go of their embrace.
"Ardeth, you won't even know much your death had affected the Medjai. Our tribe had been leaderless for several years before allowing me to lead them for your second-in-command was killed," Catlanda explained. "We have been in turmoil with the other tribes ever since."
"I'm sorry to hear that Catlanda," Methos told her.
Alex appeared to be in thought from his position in the corner of the tent. He walked up to them as they sat down.
"I'd like you to leave my tent. All except Ardeth. Please," Catlanda asked them
A few minutes later, Catlanda and Ardeth walked out of the tent. Alex smiled for the Ardeth now wore his usual Medjai clothing. Catlanda stood before the other Medjai as Ardeth climbed on her horse.
"Listen, these people are not our enemies. From now on, let them pass whenever they come here. I know you take orders from me, you consider me your leader. Well, now consider him your leader for he is our rightful one," Catlanda told them in Arabic.
Ardeth walked up to Alex.
"Alex, thank you for everything," the Medjai told him with a warm smile.
"What for? I didn't even do anything," he sheeplishly replied.
"I know now that Catlanda is still alive and that I can see her before she dies," explained Ardeth, walking away from him.
Suddenly, a group of bandits invaded the camp. Catlanda screamed.
"It's a rival tribe!" she cried, trying to run away.
Ardeth ran to protect her from the invading people. Swords clashed and the Immortals soon joined into the fight. Methos soon came face to face with a sword and was knocked down to the sand. A sword was stabbed through his chest. Ardeth kept the attackers at bay until he was stabbed through the stomach with a sword. His eyes rolled back into his head and fell to the sand.
The one that took down Ardeth looked at Catlanda and laughed.
"I've been after you for quite a while. It seems that you're one of the few that remain who remember the night that my grandfather killed the great Ardeth Bay. I'm going to kill you for I don't want any survivors," he laughed, lifting up his sword.
Elkaryene knocked him out with her sword and knelt by the old Medjai.
"Hey Catty, now you'll see how it works," the young Immortal told her quietly.
Minutes later, the fight was over. A Medjai hovered over Ardeth. He looked at Catlanda and shook his head. She had an anxious look on her face. Ardeth gave that time to cough and slowly rise.
"This is impossible. He was dead!" cried another Medjai.
Methos coughed himself as he stood up and staggered over to the small group.
"Are you alright Methos?" Duncan asked quietly. "That was a close one."
Methos nodded as he breathed deeply. The Medjai were surprised to this spectacle of two men rise from the dead.
"Never before has such a thing occur. What makes you people so special?" asked a Medjai.
"Looks like we have a lot of explaining to do folks," Methos told the others.
The Medjai were soon told of the situation. Some were amazed, others stunned and a few were even curious about it.
"Ardeth, I want you to stay here with us. I missed you so much," Catlanda told him.
"And I missed you too. I want to spend the last of my days here and I want to be here to help you protect the Spire," Ardeth replied.
She nodded and raised the Spire into the air. The Medjai raised their swords and yelled. Ardeth was the last to join. The four watched on.
They started to walk away when they heard a voice.
"Stranger, wait a minute!" came Catlanda's voice.
She turned around to look at Catlanda and Ardeth.
"Please, stay a while. You and your friends. After you leave, all of you will be welcome at any time. I will be here, unless some other Immortal comes along and takes my head of course though I don't think too many come out here," Ardeth told them.
"Alright, I'm staying. Do what you will, but I'm staying. I might even make it for good. I have to brush up on my Arabic anyway. I haven't spoken it for so long," Elkaryene said, walking back to them. "Besides, I'll get to make fun of you again, like what I did all those years ago. It was so much fun."
"And I, with you Stranger," Catlanda replied, laughing.
The End.
Author's Note-Since Methos didn't have a confirmed alias at the time given, I gave him one so please don't hurt me. Some things mentioned in the story relate to either my Highlander fic 'History's Game' or my Mummy fic 'The Jewel of the Mummy'. There are some spoilers for them. Just to let you know, this fic was made up out of my crazy mind. I had an idea and had to get it down.
Summary-After an attack on the Medjai tribe, two mysterious strangers help Ardeth Bay.
******
Mummy Immortality
Ardeth Bay looked over the plains of the desert. He was watching the Rick, Evie, Alex and Jonathan arrive at their camp. A smile crept over his face as they became closer. He hurried down to greet them.
"Welcome back. It's good to see you again," Ardeth told them with a huge smile.
"It's great to be back here. So many interesting things to see here," Evy said.
"Yeah, if you want to call mummies coming back to life interesting. That last excursion was bad enough with Ramses," Rick quietly replied.
The five walked towards the camp.
As they walked by some tents, Evy glanced into them and noticed a young woman in one, talking to the women.
"Ardeth, who's the young woman in the tent? Why is she here?" she asked the Medjai.
"We found her in the desert a few days ago, starving, dehydrated and terribly dry and hot. She recovered almost immedately after we brought her here. It's a miracle because she was at death's door. She's thankful and she even talks to the people here in our own language. She knows it quite well actually," replied Ardeth.
"Now that's not weird. Several people know other languages, whether it be spoken or written," Evy told him.
***
Later that evening, everybody was gathering around the campfire. Evy looked over to see the young woman she had seen earlier sitting by the fire, alone. She walked over to her.
"Hello. How are you? My name is Evelyn," she introduced.
"My name is Sarah and I'm fine," the young woman told her.
"You know English?" Evy asked, surprised.
"I also know French. My mother's from Paris, my father's from Cairo and I grew up in England," explained Sarah, poking the stick she held at the fire.
They heard footsteps behind them and they looked to see Ardeth standing there.
"I see you two have met. Sarah has led an interesting life, I've heard. I wish to know more about you, if that's possible, later after the celebration," he asked.
"Of course," replied Sarah with a smile. "My life's an open book."
He walked away from them as Sarah gave a sigh.
"What's wrong?" asked Evy with a worried look.
"No, nothing's wrong," Sarah said though her eyes told her something else.
Evie was worried as Sarah stood up and walked away.
***
Everything was going peaceful until noises were heard in the distance. Ardeth Bay quickly stood up and looked around, wondering where they were coming from. The others looked at him nervously. His second-in- command asked what was wrong.
"Somebody's coming. Get ready to fight," he ordered, picking up a sword.
The other Medjai followed suit and so did Sarah. Evy gave her a shocked look as she took a fighting stance. Sarah looked back at the surprised Englishwoman.
"Don't worry, I'm a good fighter and I heal real fast," she reassured her, taking her place beside Catlanda.
"Are you ready Stranger?" asked Catlanda.
Sarah nodded as she waited with her.
The invaders ran into the camp on horses and started to attack the Medjai. They fought back but soon were outnumbered. The invaders encircled the warriors fighting them. Catlanda killed one last man with her sword before being shoved into the circle with the others. Ardeth was outside the circle, on his knees and the bandit leader stood before him.
"Ardeth, no!" screamed Rick as he watched on helplessly, held back by two of the bandits.
"See your precious leader die a horrible death and there's nothing you can do about it," the bandit leader snarled.
He took out a gun, aimed it and shot Ardeth in the head, who fell down in the sand, blood all over the place.
"Ardeth, no," Evy gasped.
Sarah looked on without any emotion before breaking loose from the circle, grabbing a gun from one of the captors and started to shoot them. This gave the Medjai time to break free from their captors and they killed the remainder of them.
After it was all through, Evy ran up to the fallen Ardeth Bay. She kneeled beside his lifeless body.
"Oh, Ardeth," she said, her voice laden with sadness as Rick, Alex and Jonathan ran up to them.
Evy started to cry and so did Alex, who hugged his mother.
"Mom, I can't believe it. He's dead. After all the times he's helped us," Alex whimpered.
"I know Alex, I know," his mother sobbed. "He's survived all the times with us only to die a needless death. Not only that, Catlanda's not only lost her real father, but her surrogate one as well. "
"We must put his soul at rest. He was our greatest warrior against the Creature and he will be missed terribly," one Medjai told them.
Some Medjai took his body to a tent and laid it on a table for the morning. Everybody stayed for a long time before someone suggested that they try and get some sleep though they were reluctant. Sarah watched from her tent nearby, waiting for the right time.
***
Later in the evening, after everybody left and managed to get to sleep, Sarah walked into the tent and up to the body. She heard a groan and felt the presence of another...
"What happened?" he asked, groaning. "I thought I died."
"You did die Ardeth but now you've joined the Game, just like I did many years ago. Welcome to the world of Immortality," Sarah told him.
"Immortality? What's going on here? Is this some sort of cruel joke?" he asked, rubbing his throbbing head.
"'Tis no joke Ardeth. It's real. Very real. You're an Immortal now. Now we must leave before someone comes in here and finds you alive. After all, they do think you're dead," Sarah told him, helping him off the table.
They suddenly felt the presence of another Immortal. Ardeth grabbed his head with both hands as Sarah grabbed a nearby sword and stood ready as Methos walked into the tent. Sarah sighed as she lowered the sword.
"Sometimes I wonder if sensing others is a useful thing or not. Though I probably never would have beaten you even if I got a surprise on you Scott," she sighed.
"You bet I would Kari. Right now, it's a good thing it's me and not someone else though let's get out of here. I'm supposed to be dead as well," Methos told them, grabbing their arms and hurrying out of the tent.
The three snuck their way out of the village. On the way, they heard a woman cry out.
"He's dead? No, it can't be. He can't be dead. It's just not possible!" she cried out.
"But he is and we're all going to have to live with it Catlanda. He's gone," another one reassured as the young woman cried in to her shoulder.
Ardeth silently and reluctantly followed the two strangers into the desert, where they explained everything.
"I simply don't believe it," Ardeth gasped, sitting down on a sand dune.
"I didn't believe it either at first. It's hard to believe but I'm almost one hundred years old and Scott is much older than me. I've been told centuries," Sarah replied.
"Every Immortal is surprised at first unless they know an Immortal before it happens, then it's not so much of a surprise," Methos put in. "Now let's get you somewhere out of the country. You're dead here for at least a generation."
***
Modern day London, Methos and Elkaryene walked down the streets, catching up on old times. "So, what do you want to do?" asked Elkaryene.
"I don't know though I sometimes wonder about that one fellow. What was his name, Ardeth Bay, from Egypt? I wonder if he's still alive?" he mused. "It's something that we got separated from each other all those years ago in that flash flood in...someplace."
Elkaryene laughed.
"Don't have a good memory, do you?" she asked him.
He shook his head.
***
Duncan Macleod sat in a seat in the lobby of their hotel, reading the local newspaper. He was drinking a cup of coffee and Joe sat in a chair across from him, watching him.
"So what are you thinking about Mac?" asked the Watcher.
"Methos and Elkaryene. They're so good friends. I honestly think this is the first time I've seen him happy other than Alexa. And she's one of the yongest ones I've ever met yet she's already been everywhere. In some ways, I don't know what to think," Macleod replied, turning the page.
A man walked into the room. He felt the presence of another Immortal and pulled out a sword. Duncan felt it also and pulled a sword out from underneath the hanging coat.
"There's another Immortal around Mac? Where is he?" asked Joe.
"Maybe you'd better get out of the way Joe. This could get ugly," Macleod told him.
The mysterious Immortal saw Macleod and walked up to meet him.
"Duncan Macleod of the clan Macleod," the Highlander told him.
"Arthur Bayard. Step out of the way. I'm in a hurry and I have no conflict with you," he replied his Arabic accent slighty obvious, his sword by his side.
"Never heard of you. Of course, there's several Immortals I've never heard of," Duncan mused.
The two circled around the room until they felt the presence of another Immortal. More appropriately, two Immortals. Methos and Elkaryene walked into the lobby.
"Hello everybody. Duncan, what's going on here? A grudge match?" Elkaryene asked jokingly.
Duncan stared at her with an open mouth.
"Back already? Since you're old friends, I thought you would've taken the whole afternoon," Duncan told them. "Though I'm kind of busy. I'm in the middle of a challenge here."
"How soon they forget Kari. Though I've known you longer than him," laughed Methos. "And it looks like he doesn't know who he's talking to."
"Yeah, do you think you have to kill everyone that I know? Well, besides Fitzcairn and what's-his-name over there," Elkaryene laughed at a scowling Methos.
Arthur walked up to Elkaryene and they hugged each other. Duncan was surprised.
"Ardeth, it's so good to see you again. And you got your hair cut too. You look great. I didn't think you were still alive," Elkaryene told him.
"I missed you too. Friend of yours?" he asked, refering to Duncan.
"Ever since he killed Charley, yes," she replied.
Joe walked out from behind the pillar and up to them.
"I think you already met Duncan Macleod of the clan Macleod and this is Joe Dawson. He's a friend of ours. Joe, Mac, I think you already met," introduced Methos.
Duncan was surprised and so was Joe. Here was another unknown Immortal and Elkaryene knew him. They headed into the streets of the city and started to look at the sights.
***
A few days later, they walked into a nearby museum. They walked up to an Egyptian exhibit and an older gentleman walked past them, glancing at them as he did. He suddenly stopped and gasped, his eyes widening.
"I don't believe it. It can't be him," he cried.
The four Immortals and one Watcher stopped and looked at the man.
"I'm sorry, what seems to be the problem?" Duncan asked curiously.
"This man you're with is supposed to be dead. I am not hallucinating. I saw him die almost 70 years ago while I was Egypt with my parents and uncle," the man explained.
"Come with us," Duncan told them as they hurried out of the building.
They went into the hotel room and closed the door. Duncan looked at the elderly gentleman.
"Alright, who are you and how do you know him?" he demanded.
"My name is Alex O'Connell. He is Ardeth Bay, former leader of the Medjai in Egypt, a secret society protecting the world from all evil that lay there. He died in 1937 when my family visited their camp and bandits attacked. Ardeth, Catlanda nearly went crazy after that happened. She almost killed herself three times before she was persuaded not to do so. It's amazing that spire of hers is still in her possession," Alex explained, obviously a bit angry.
Ardeth looked shocked at this information.
"Who's Catlanda...Ardeth?" asked Duncan, becoming suspicious.
"She is...my daughter," he replied.
Duncan was surprised and so was Joe.
"Daughter? You know you can't have children. It's impossible," Duncan whispered to him.
"No, no, not my biological daughter, my adopted daughter. She was orphaned when she was really young. Alex, do you know anything of her current condition?" Ardeth asked him.
"Last thing I knew, she was still alive though still very disraught over your death. Which I can obviously see, DIDN'T happen," Alex told him. "Not only that, chaos had begun to come to Egypt and the Medjai troops. It started to happen soon after you 'died'. I've seen it already, it's terrible. There's starvation and war everywhere. I thought I saw you arrive here a few days ago though I wasn't sure. You were, after all, supposed to be dead and even if you were still alive, you'd look older. Much older," Alex replied. "You need to go back to them Ardeth. You need to save your people from their own destruction and before the mummy is resurrected. That is if he is again."
"Alex, we'll explain everything on the way to Egypt," Methos said.
***
Once there, they got horses and headed out into the desert...
"Where exactly are we going?" asked Duncan.
"To the camp of the Medjai. That's where we are needed. But be warned. Like Alex has said, they believe I am dead for I was shot down like an animal before my entire tribe, Catlanda and my friends," Ardeth explained to him.
They rode up to the mountains, which were slowly coming into view and they saw several figures on horses atop the mountain. They were watching them ride up.
Once the five became closer to the mountain, they were attacked by several figures brandishing swords that were hiding behind some rocks.
"Watch your heads everybody!" Duncan called out.
Soon, the Immortals and Alex were brought into a circle and surrounded, swords at their throats.
"If you don't mind, but if you could take that a little bit away from my neck. It's starting to make me nervous," Methos told them, his voice with the slightest bit of shakiness.
"Actually, it's starting to make all of us nervous. Especially us older ones," Duncan agreed, griting between his teeth.
Ardeth looked over the group. He knew it was going to be a new group of Medjai. He doubted that many of the ones that he knew were going to be still alive. He turned away from them.
"You will come to see the Elder. She will decide what will happen with you," one Medjai suddenly said to them in English.
The group walked into the village. They received many stares along the way to the Elder's tent.
"What's with this whole 'Elder' thing?" asked Duncan.
"Sometimes strangers would come into the Medjai territory. Usually, the oldest of the tribe would decide what the fate of the intruder, or intruders, would be if they appeared to be no threat yet they couldn't be turned away," explained Ardeth as they stopped in front of a tent.
"She will see you now," the one said.
The woman walked out of the tent with a long , snakelike staff. Her hair was long and white, which was tied back into a ponytail. She appeared to be very well for her age as she called her horse. She rubbed his neck and a large cat came out of the tent. The Medjai there kneeled before her as she looked at the strangers. She remained calm as she studied the people before her.
"I don't believe it," she said as she walked up to Ardeth.
She lifted her hand up to his face and cupped his cheek. He held her hand as tears started to form in his eyes. The cat walked up to her.
"You died nearly 70 years ago. You can't be alive still," she said as she took away her hand.
She looked as his face and saw that her hand wiped away some make-up from his face and, the tattoos now exposed to the air.
"Those tattoos. It is you. But how can this be? You still can't be alive after all these years," the woman said, gasping.
She started to cry and hugged Ardeth. He kissed her head.
"I'm so sorry Catlanda that I couldn't come back to see you. I'll explain everything shortly," he whispered into her ear.
She turned towards the crowd and yelled something to him.
"What did she say?" asked Duncan.
"She said that their troubles are over, that he is a saviour of everybody. I don't think she wants to let them know yet, if at all, that he 'died' in 1937 and that somehow he's back from the dead after almost 70 years," Elkaryene explained to him.
Alex looked at her strangely.
"How do you know Arabic?" he asked.
"My father's Egyptian. At least my adoptive father is," she explained.
Catlanda looked at Elkaryene and Methos.
"Welcome back Stranger. It's nice to see you again, though I still don't know how you've lived this long. I demand an explanation from you in my tent why Ardeth is still alive, why Stranger here hasn't aged a day and why a man that I killed in the same battle that Ardeth was killed is still alive and well," she replied, turning around and walking into her tent.
The five walked into her tent. Catlanda gave Alex a hug.
"It's nice to see you again O' Connell. It's been a long time since I've seen you. If I'm not mistaken, it was...a few years ago," Catlanda told him.
"Catlanda, why do you keep calling her 'Stranger'?" asked Alex, pointing at Elkaryene.
"I don't even know anymore. When she came to our camp all those years ago and I first started to talk to her, it just came out and I called her that during her entire stay, even though I knew her name," Catlanda explained. "Now I want you to explain to me what's going on here."
"Catlanda, we're Immortals. We cannot die unless we are beheaded. Only a select few have this gift, or curse, depending on the who you speak to. I'm several centuries old, Duncan here is 400 years old, Elkaryene here, or 'Stranger' as you like to call her, is 150 and Ardeth is as old as you would mormally know him. Only 100, approximately," Methos explained. "He did die that night. That's when his Immortality kicked into play."
"I'm really sorry it has to be this way. Instead of you at my funeral, I'm going to be at yours," Ardeth told her, starting to cry.
He cried into her shoulder as she cried into his.
After a minute, they let go of their embrace.
"Ardeth, you won't even know much your death had affected the Medjai. Our tribe had been leaderless for several years before allowing me to lead them for your second-in-command was killed," Catlanda explained. "We have been in turmoil with the other tribes ever since."
"I'm sorry to hear that Catlanda," Methos told her.
Alex appeared to be in thought from his position in the corner of the tent. He walked up to them as they sat down.
"I'd like you to leave my tent. All except Ardeth. Please," Catlanda asked them
A few minutes later, Catlanda and Ardeth walked out of the tent. Alex smiled for the Ardeth now wore his usual Medjai clothing. Catlanda stood before the other Medjai as Ardeth climbed on her horse.
"Listen, these people are not our enemies. From now on, let them pass whenever they come here. I know you take orders from me, you consider me your leader. Well, now consider him your leader for he is our rightful one," Catlanda told them in Arabic.
Ardeth walked up to Alex.
"Alex, thank you for everything," the Medjai told him with a warm smile.
"What for? I didn't even do anything," he sheeplishly replied.
"I know now that Catlanda is still alive and that I can see her before she dies," explained Ardeth, walking away from him.
Suddenly, a group of bandits invaded the camp. Catlanda screamed.
"It's a rival tribe!" she cried, trying to run away.
Ardeth ran to protect her from the invading people. Swords clashed and the Immortals soon joined into the fight. Methos soon came face to face with a sword and was knocked down to the sand. A sword was stabbed through his chest. Ardeth kept the attackers at bay until he was stabbed through the stomach with a sword. His eyes rolled back into his head and fell to the sand.
The one that took down Ardeth looked at Catlanda and laughed.
"I've been after you for quite a while. It seems that you're one of the few that remain who remember the night that my grandfather killed the great Ardeth Bay. I'm going to kill you for I don't want any survivors," he laughed, lifting up his sword.
Elkaryene knocked him out with her sword and knelt by the old Medjai.
"Hey Catty, now you'll see how it works," the young Immortal told her quietly.
Minutes later, the fight was over. A Medjai hovered over Ardeth. He looked at Catlanda and shook his head. She had an anxious look on her face. Ardeth gave that time to cough and slowly rise.
"This is impossible. He was dead!" cried another Medjai.
Methos coughed himself as he stood up and staggered over to the small group.
"Are you alright Methos?" Duncan asked quietly. "That was a close one."
Methos nodded as he breathed deeply. The Medjai were surprised to this spectacle of two men rise from the dead.
"Never before has such a thing occur. What makes you people so special?" asked a Medjai.
"Looks like we have a lot of explaining to do folks," Methos told the others.
The Medjai were soon told of the situation. Some were amazed, others stunned and a few were even curious about it.
"Ardeth, I want you to stay here with us. I missed you so much," Catlanda told him.
"And I missed you too. I want to spend the last of my days here and I want to be here to help you protect the Spire," Ardeth replied.
She nodded and raised the Spire into the air. The Medjai raised their swords and yelled. Ardeth was the last to join. The four watched on.
They started to walk away when they heard a voice.
"Stranger, wait a minute!" came Catlanda's voice.
She turned around to look at Catlanda and Ardeth.
"Please, stay a while. You and your friends. After you leave, all of you will be welcome at any time. I will be here, unless some other Immortal comes along and takes my head of course though I don't think too many come out here," Ardeth told them.
"Alright, I'm staying. Do what you will, but I'm staying. I might even make it for good. I have to brush up on my Arabic anyway. I haven't spoken it for so long," Elkaryene said, walking back to them. "Besides, I'll get to make fun of you again, like what I did all those years ago. It was so much fun."
"And I, with you Stranger," Catlanda replied, laughing.
The End.