The Adventures of Gambit, Methos and a cursed one-eyed cat named Xander

Genre: crossover, series of related ficlets
Characters: Gambit (X-Men), Methos (Highlander) and Xander (Buffy)
Rating: R (to be safe - each ficlet varies)
Disclaimer: I don't own any character from any of the various fandoms. I'm not making $ from this.
Summary: Gambit's life takes a turn for the surreal. Then stuff happens.


11 – The Date

Gambit unscrewed the grill, lifted it up in one smooth silent motion and then slid it over to rest against the side of the large industrial duct he was crawling through. He peered down into the open space below, his glowing eyes easily seeing the lasers which crisscrossed the room around the various exhibits. He noted camera positions and pressure plates, wiring along glass cabinets and all manner of fun things.

When he spoke, his voice was little more than a subtle whisper but the mic at his throat picked it up easily and transmitted it to his partner's ears. "Gambit gonna have t' lower you down, chere. They got lots of lovely lasers humming down there."

There was a brief startled pause and then Amanda's voice whispered to him from his own ear piece. "Wait…you can see the lasers with those eyes of yours?"

"Oui, chere. Gambit can see them just fine. Might want t' open y' pack and pull out de spray an' harness. I'm gonna slip over t' de other side of de openin' and turn around. It be a better position t' lower y' from."

It didn't take long for Gambit to twist his agile body into the position that he wanted or for Amanda to wiggle into her harness and hook up the long thin line that he would use to lower her down to the floor past the lasers with. Once that was done, she leaned over the opening and reached down with one hand to spray some scentless aerosol into the room below. He heard her slight gasp as the aerosol showed her the laser grid.

His empathy picked up her excitement and the minor undercurrent of fear that wove through it, which only served to elevate his own. He hadn't had this much fun in ages. He was also trying to ignore the waves of bored resentment that were washing over him from Xander.

He sorta felt bad about that. Before he'd been cursed, Xander had on occasion stolen things that the group he worked with had needed. Apparently, mystical black ops didn't pay well and often required specialized and expensive equipment. His friends and teammates had learned not to ask where or how Xander got things when he walked in with the stuff they needed and Xander had learned not to tell.

Xander wasn't anywhere near the skill level of either himself or Amanda, but if he hadn't been cursed into the body of a large cat Gambit would have been willing to apprentice him. As it was, he could only ride along in Gambit's mind via the psi-link and try not to be a distraction at the wrong time.

"Okay," Amanda's whisper soft voice pulled his attention back to the here and now as she grinned at him. "I'm ready to be lowered down."

Gambit grinned back and grabbed hold of the line attached to her harness. He braced himself to catch her weight as she slid smoothly out of the duct. He easily lowered her slowly and steadily down even as she twisted her body slightly to avoid the closest laser. As soon as she had her feet on the ground in front of the case she was interested in, Gambit quickly and calmly attached her line to the duct.

Then, before she could protest, he slid out of the duct and tumbled through the air. Twisting silently to avoid the lasers, he hit the ground in a one-handed handstand, sprung back up into the air to flip backwards twice, landed on one foot with his other leg pulled up tight to his chest, then flipped up into the air on an angle to land in front of a second case on the far side of the room.

Gambit grinned cheekily across the laser grid, random pressure plates and cameras to see Amanda gapping at him open mouthed even as ripples of shock radiated from her.

"Do you realize how close you just came to setting off an alarm!" came across the mic and hissed into Gambit's ear.

"Oui, chere," he smirked back and began pointing. "Gambit was two inches from that laser, five inches from that pressure plate, half inch from that laser, three inches from…"

"Fine!" Amanda's voice cut him off. "I get it; just…warn me next time. I nearly peed my pants."

Gambit chuckled. "Oh, but where de fun in that, mon ami?"

Amanda glared at him before turning to break the security on the case in front of her, but Gambit could feel that her surprise was giving way to amusement and respect, not anger. Grinning like a fool, he turned around and began to bypass the security on the case in front of him, his prize gleaming in the low level lighting.


12 – Ruminations

They were at Amanda's flat, and carefully repacking all of their equipment away even as they laughed and smiled and enjoyed the feeling of a pinch that was pulled off perfectly. It had been a long time since Gambit had had a partner. The last had been a de-aged Storm back when he had thought she really was the child she appeared to be.

He hadn't realized how much he missed sharing it with someone. The X-Men had never approved of his thieving, even when they had benefited from the information he acquired for them. And in a way, this was even better because Amanda was a professional, easily on the level of a Master trained by the Guild. He had really missed working with a professional.

Jake Gavin and Victor Creed didn't count. They were both espionage specialists with Jake being more suited to high society politics and Victor falling into the black ops category with a second specialty in assassination. Amanda was, like himself, a thief at heart. Like Victor, Gambit had a second specialty; battlefield combat. And he could also do a fairly good job at espionage and assassination if forced to. However, when push came to shove and he had to choose one word to describe himself it always had been and always would be: thief.

His time with the Marauders and the X-Men didn't change that. The Marauders had wanted him to be a killer. He could kill. He had done so in the past and would most likely do so in the future, but he wasn't a killer. He took no joy or pride in killing. The X-Men wanted him to be a soldier and a freedom fighter. He had tried to be that and failed. He wasn't sure if he believed the Professor's dream of mutant equality was even possible, but he wished it were. And he had done what he'd been told even when he didn't agree with their methods.

Looking back, he hadn't really fit in with either group well.

The Marauders had used his thieving abilities ruthlessly, but he had never agreed with or believed in Sinister's view of the world nor his goals to shape it. The wholesale slaughter that occasionally cropped up in the life of a Marauder was also a problem. He'd been to several with them and survived unscathed up until the one time his psi-shields had crashed down around him under the assault of overwhelming pain and fear. He still wasn't fully recovered from the events that happened in the Morlock Tunnels, even if it hadn't been one of the bloodier Marauder missions.

With the X-Men he had found a group of people that worked hard to do good and make the world a better place. He had really liked their goals and ideals, even if he didn't really believe that they were possible. From them, he had learned altruism and hope, compassion and self-sacrifice. He honestly believed that he was now a better person for having known them.

It was just sad and unfortunate that they had never really trusted him or let him all the way into their lives. They had hated that he was a thief and had wanted him to lock that part of himself away. He had tried. It hadn't always worked, but he had tried. And he was sure that his thieving past would have been forgiven and his few lapses would have been overlooked if it weren't for one thing. He was a ghost to the telepaths and Charles Xavier would never trust anyone he couldn't read like an open book. Gambit was sure that he could steal the crown-jewels and drop them in the middle of the War Room table without censor if only the 'paths could walk through his mind at their leisure.

Gambit shifted slightly and watched as Amanda carefully wrapped up their prizes so that she could transport them to her fence. Her movements were calm and precise despite her large smile and the waves of cheer and satisfaction rolling from her mind to crash upon his psi-shields.

Yeah, it was good to work with a professional. Even better, with the exception of MacLeod who would hopefully never know, he wouldn't be lectured by anyone trying to make him feel guilty over this little bit of fun. Methos wouldn't care either way as long as Gambit didn't track trouble right to his front door and Xander was simply miffed that he couldn't come and help.

Guilt free theft. God, it'd been far too long.


13 – Nightmares

Gambit was in a cemetery fighting for his life against three large super strong vampires. He kept tripping and falling, his grace deserting him as pain shot up from his knee and into his hip. He tried to charge the piece of wood he held but the kinetic potential refused to answer his call, refused to glow with explosive power.

He was tackled to the ground, held in place by inhumanly strong arms even as cold fetid breath washed over his face. Teeth scraped lightly against his throat and fear slammed into him in icy waves, robbing him of thought.

Then the monster was gone, yanked from his body to reveal a small blonde teen that glared at him in exasperation. "Xander! How can you keep me safe and alive if you can't even defend yourself?"

And then Gambit knew this wasn't his nightmare, it was a nightmare of the large black cat sleeping on Methos' couch. That was why his charge didn't work and why his fighting skills weren't available to him. He was also fairly sure that the events this dream was about didn't happen this way. Xander's subconscious was changing it, making it worse by playing up Xander's fears. Specifically, his fear of not being strong enough, fast enough or tough enough to protect those he loved.

Gambit could understand that. And thinking of Bella, Rouge and Storm, he knew that just because those you love were capable of protecting themselves didn't stop a man from wanting to shelter them from harm.

Suddenly, the dream world shifted and Gambit found himself fighting through a mob of crazy humans whose minds had been shattered by an evil so great that it could end the world. He didn't want to hurt the crazy people, they were innocent victims in this mess, but he had to get through. He had to help her, stop her from doing the one thing he feared she would. He had to get past these people.

A scream ripped through the night and Gambit looked up to see her. Oh god no, oh god please no. She was falling, her blonde hair streaming behind her like a banner as she leapt from the swaying tower to plunge through the swirling magics that had been gathered to shred the world apart. She fell and he could do nothing to save her.

Shadows shifted, light glinted off of moving surfaces and he saw her face down in the water. With a cry of horror he ran to her side and turned her over, dragging her out of the pool that killed her. Cold skin, no heartbeat. Dead. His mind swirling with grief and fear and anger, he desperately tried to remember how to do CPR.

He leaned down and breathed into her mouth for her. He pressed his hands on her chest and pushed, forcing her heart to beat. Over and over, he breathed and he pushed, begging with his entire heart and soul for her to just live. Live!

Then she coughed and sputtered water, drawing in breath and life and he couldn't stop the rush of happiness and relief that engulfed him, making him giddy. Then she turned away from him and embraced the demon that had killed her and professed her love of the beast. He shattered inside and turned to watch his entire world slide down a growing crater into the Hellmouth.

She stood there, dusty and exhausted with a gleaming sliver scythe over her shoulder. "Anya and your parents are back there." She gestured over her shoulder to the ever expanding sinkhole into hell and shrugged unconcerned. "I'd do something about it, but I'm too wrapped up in caring about Spike. He's the real hero, you know."

And the shattered pieces inside began to slice him apart. He wanted to die.

With a gasp Gambit was catapulted wide awake. He wasn't sure if it was him who broke them out of the nightmare or if it was Xander, but he could feel his friend was now awake as well. Physic whimpers and howls of pain flooded his mind over the psi-link.

"*Xander…come in here wit' Remy, mon chat noir.*"

=…..=

"*Come on, y' need me right now…and after that I don't want t' be in here alone either."

Gambit heard the springs on the couch complain as the large black cat climbed down. Then the door to the guest room in Methos' condo was pushed open and a large black furry head peeked through. Offering up a shaky smile, Gambit lifted the corner of the blankets up and waited. After a long pause, Xander padded over and climbed onto the bed. Gambit wrapped the blanket around them both and then pulled Xander's heavy body closer so that his fur covered back pressed against his own chest. He held on tightly while the big cat shook and trembled silently, the psi-link between them filled with grief, despair and horror.

Slowly, Xander cried himself out and slid into an exhausted sleep and still Gambit held him, desperately trying to soothe the pain still there under the surface.


14 – Interlude

It had been Xander's idea. Apparently, he was no stranger to researching prophecies, mystical rituals and planning for apocalyptic events. This background wasn't one to encourage a person to sit back with a sigh and just accept whatever hand fate dealt him. To that end, he wanted to research a way to open a portal back to either his or Gambit's home dimension. Or even a way to break the curse on him and return him to his human form. For that, they needed rare and expensive books.

Methos and Xander had been able to track down a few that the one-eyed cat wanted, but they were either too expensive or not available for sale. That's where Gambit and Amanda came in. Gambit wasn't going to let his chance to get home slide by because of some snooty collector or because the book was locked up in a museum or library.

So, he sat on a comfortable couch next to Amanda, building specs and security manuals spread out around them as they planned their next heist. In the back of his mind he could feel short bursts of frustration interspersed with short bursts of triumph along with a steady murmur of whispered words in some ancient and dead language as Xander and Methos worked on translating a few of the books they had already acquired.

Gambit watched the light shimmer over Amanda's dark hair as she bent her head to check something in a manual against the specs. She was a beautiful woman; smart, talented, brave and cunning too. He couldn't help the smile that slid across his lips as he looked at her.

She turned away from her book and gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling with good cheer and a curious look on her face, "What?"

He considered her question briefly and realized that he was more than just content, he was happy. His relationship with Methos was growing into something that resembled the friendly wariness tinged with respect that he had shared with both Grey Crow and Wolverine. MacLeod was the small group of immortals' conscience and lynch-pin, much like a more laid-back and easy going Cyclops. Joe was steady and quiet like his brother Henri had been, with a bit of Xavier's all knowing wisdom without the arrogance. Xander…well, he was like a big furry combination of Jake and Jubilee with just a touch of Sabertooth for good measure. And Amanda, well, she reminded him of two of his favorite women; Stormy and Bella. Beautiful, ruthless, joyful and deadly.

Despite working so hard to leave this world, he liked these people and was happy here. If they never found a way home, he would be sad being the only mutant and Xander would adjust to being trapped as a cat, but they would be able to build a good life here and be surrounded by good friends. And they would be happy.

Amanda's eyebrow arched in silent question as she grinned at him. He didn't even think about it, he simply leaned forward and kissed her. It was a soft brushing of lips against lips, questioning, asking for permission but not pushing. A brief pause and then Amanda was kissing him back.

With a sigh of relief and desire, Gambit reached out and pulled her closer even as he deepened the kiss into something…more.


15 – Cold Reception

Gambit walked through the front door of Methos' condo whistling cheerfully, his long trench coat slung over one shoulder and his sunglasses sliding down low on his nose. He stopped in the kitchen to pour himself a mug of coffee and then wandered into the living room to see Methos reading through an old dusty book and Xander standing up and giving a large lazy stretch.

"Good Morning, mes amis."

Gambit beamed at them, good cheer radiating from every pore. Methos smirked at him, one eyebrow raised in mild confusion and amusement.

"Morning?" the immortal made a show of checking his watch and snorted lightly. "If you say so."

Gambit's smile grew even larger. So he and Amanda had woken up at the crack of noon, what of it. They had had a long and hard night. His smile shifted into a smirk of satisfaction. He hoped they had many more just like that. The femme was very flexible, after all.

Xander just gave him a long flat stare, and then he deliberately turned away to face his back to Gambit, sat down and stared at the wall. Banked anger and resentment shivered along their psi-link. He was the very image of a pissed off and indignant cat.

Gambit's smile melted into a look of hurt confusion. "Xander?"

Irritation down the psi-link was his only answer. He turned his head to Methos and gestured in confusion at the man-turned-cat.

"Pourquoi?"

Methos sighed and shrugged.

"I have no idea what's gotten under his fur. All I know is that last night around ten-ish he suddenly dashed into the guest bedroom and began growling and snarling and pacing in circles." Another eloquent shrug. "He calmed down around one-thirty, but I can't talk to him like you can so I don't know what set him off."

Confusion and hurt swirled through him for a long moment and then it hit him like a brick to the eyes. Xander had flipped out between ten o'clock last night until around one-thirty. He'd been with Amanda. Naked and in her bed, both of them enjoying some truly athletic and sweaty sex.

He hadn't even given a thought to Xander. A man cursed to be transformed into a big cat and then mentally linked to Gambit's brain. The poor guy had been brought along for the ride while trapped in an animal's body in a small apartment with Methos, a man he couldn't even explain his problem to.

"*Xander…mon ami. Je suis desole. Gambit didn't mean t' hurt you. You have t' know that I'd never…*"

Resentment still shivered along the link, but Xander's shoulders dipped and his large furry head swung around to look mournfully at Gambit. With a sigh, Gambit tossed his coat over a chair and set down his coffee. He crossed the room and knelt down in front of the large cat. Reaching out with both hands to cup those furry cheeks he rested his forehead against Xander's.

"*I'm sorry. I…I didn't think.*"

Xander leaned into his touch and sighed. =Not really your fault. It's just hard being a cat. I usually try not to think too much about everything I've lost, but…=

Gambit shifted to sit down on the floor next to Xander and the big cat flopped against him with a sad sigh, his weight pressing up close to Gambit's side. He rubbed one hand against his friend's big furry ear and the other ran down his side in soothing lines.

=It's funny, as much as I hate the idea of giving up sex, I think I hate the idea of loosing the hope of ever having a family even more.=

Gambit's heart broke for his friend. Part of him wanted to tell him not to give up hope, but he knew better than that. If they never found a way to change Xander back into a human it was very likely that he'd never have sex again despite his human brain. He only had to think back to the mutants he knew that were less than human looking; Beast, Nightcrawler, Wolfsbane and Prism to name a few. Beast was the only one to ever have a relationship and Gambit was almost certain that it hadn't been a very physical one. And Trish had left Hank because of his less than human looks, no matter what lies she told.

"*Je suis desole, Xander. You be Gambit's family now, heh? Not de same, I know, mais it's true anyway.*"

=Brothers?=

A spike of pain in his heart for his long dead brother Henri, he nodded and hugged Xander tightly to him.

"*Brothers.*"


16 – The Game

"There can be only one!"

Anger and fear rushed through Gambit as he watched the strange man raise his sword and glare at Methos. Indignant and conflicted, he had never stood back and watched one of his friends face danger when he could help. Well, except when Victor and Logan went at it, but it would be insane to try and get between those two when they left their sanity and their humanity at the door.

Gambit clenched the glowing card in his hand and wondered if he could charge it enough to blow the man's head clean off of his shoulders. He watched, silently and helplessly as the man and Methos both shifted slightly, a precursor and preparation to violence.

A howl of rage broke the stillness and than a piece of the black shadows leapt free and came to life in the form of a one-eyed two-hundred and twenty pound panther in full battle mode. Xander slammed into the back of the stranger, knocking him flat on his face against the concrete ground. With a loud echoing growl, he snarled and bit at the man's head even as his claws raked at the man's body.

Smirking, Gambit stepped out of the shadows after him. "Xander…come." With a snort, the big cat stepped down off of the screaming and crying immortal and sauntered over to stand next to the mutant thief.

Bending down, Gambit picked up the man's fallen sword and peered at him over his sunglasses with his burning and glowing eyes. He knew that his eyes seriously freaked people out and made him look demonic, especially when they flared with power.

"De homme be mine!"

The slowly healing immortal groaned in pain and confusion even as he looked up into Gambit's burning red eyes. He stood up and held out the man's sword. A simple flex of his power and the sword was glowing bright pink with a mild charge. The man hissed in fear and surprise. Frowning, Gambit flung the sword away and watched it explode in a shower of heat, light and flame. He turned back to the kneeling immortal and glared at him over his sunglasses.

"Y' don't have de power or de skills t' take what belong t' Le Diable Blanc, pup." Gambit pointed at Methos. "That one belongs t' me. Y' challenge me for him again an' I'll send y' t' de deepest pit of hell wit' a smile on my face."

Gambit pushed his sunglasses back up tighter to his face with one hand even as he reached down and ruffled Xander's fur with the other.

"Good, boy."

Xander purred loudly in the echoing warehouse and followed Gambit as he turned and slinked back into the shadows. Slowly, with a frown marred by amused confusion, Methos followed them both. It didn't take long for all three of them to be far away from the burning warehouse or the other immortal.

"You know," Methos drawled. "It isn't going to do my reputation any good once it gets around that I sold my Quickening to the Devil."

Gambit just laughed.


17 – Research Party

Gambit dutifully wrote down in English everything that Xander told him to as the big cat patiently read through the ancient book laid out on the floor before him. All of them had been highly impressed that the young man-turned-cat could translate Latin into English in his head just by reading it, especially as it was in essence a dead language. Well, to be precise, everyone had been impressed except for Xander who stubbornly insisted that his researching skills weren't very good.

Gambit wasn't sure who Xander was comparing himself with to come to that conclusion but they must have been a genius on the level of the Beast. Even the old man was impressed, and he had been a professional scholar for centuries.

Still, with MacLeod translating the more modern languages, particularly those of Asian and Middle-Eastern leanings, and Xander and Gambit taking Latin and Sumerian while leaving everything else to the old man, they were doing a pretty good job of picking out all of the important and pertinent information.

"As fascinating as all of this…" Methos make a face that was part disgust and part confusion as he gestured at all of the scattered books, notes and diagrams, "esoteric crap is, I don't think we're going to find exactly what we're looking for."

Everyone sorta sighed and looked over at him, various expressions of frustration and agreement stamped over all of them.

"What do you mean? We can't give up now." MacLeod was clinging desperately to his optimism. It was as frustrating as it was comforting.

Gambit frowned and leaned against Xander's furry shoulder for comfort. He wasn't sure if it was to comfort himself or the cat and didn't bother trying to analyze it either way. He actually agreed with Methos, but he didn't know enough about magic to feel right saying so.

Methos sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously gathering his thoughts. Finally he let go, shook his head and gestured at Gambit and Xander.

"I don't think that the magic in our world is anywhere near as advanced as either of your worlds. Xander, yours is obviously the most advanced mystically speaking. And while portals and the theories behind dimensional travel might be well known and researched there, it's little more than a flight of fancy for sci-fi writers here."

Xander looked away for a moment before nodding his head and leaning back against Gambit.

=I agree.=

"Xander agrees wit' y'." Gambit turned from Methos to the big cat. "*So…what does that mean fo' us? What do we do next?*"

=Um…I think that I might have to try and put together a spell. I'm not a witch, so we'd need to find someone else to cast it, but I've been the anchor on a lot of spell work and I've worked closely with the most powerful witch of the last thousand years for over a decade. I understand magic even if I can't cast it.=

"Xander says that he can make a spell t' open de portal, but he can't cast it since he's not a witch."

Everyone blinked and looked at Xander and Gambit. It was MacLeod, his face twisted up in confusion that asked the question.

"How can you make a spell if you're not a witch? That doesn't make any sense."

=I'm an anchor. Mystically speaking that's the opposite of a witch. A witch has magic inside them; it's in their blood, their bones, and their very soul. An anchor is a magic null, but they can pull magic into themselves from outside and channel it through their bodies, purifying it. Turning it from wild raw magic into something that a witch can use if focused properly.=

"Eh…not sure Gambit understands this, but…Xander say he be an anchor, de magical opposite of a witch. A witch has magic inside them, but an anchor can channel natural magic from de world."

Xander nodded his big furry head.

=Right. The thing is; anchors aren't meant to hold magic inside them. We can take magic in, but we have to push it back out again. Sorta like breathing. You breathe in, but you also breathe out again. A witch holds magic inside them. If they cast a spell, it uses their own reserves, like donating blood. Casting drains them and it takes a while to fill back up again. That's probably why my world is so magically advanced. We have witches and anchors and we know how to use them both.=

"So, what does that mean for us?" Xander and Gambit both looked over at Methos, their heads both tipped to the same angle to the right.

=Well, I have worked with enough powerful witches doing lots of major castings to know all the rules and all the frameworks. I can put something together and help boost the power levels so the witch, or witches, don't burn themselves out. But I'd prefer to have competent help from someone on this world to look over everything to make sure I didn't leave anything out or something.=

"Xander says that he's worked with lots of witches an' can put together de portal spell. But he wants a witch from this world; t' not only cast it, but t' review his work t' make sure it's right."

MacLeod was nodding, a thoughtful look on his face, "Well, we could always ask…"

"NO!" Methos' shout cut him off.

"…Cassandra."


18 – Temper-tantrum

Gambit and Xander didn't really pay too much attention when Methos answered the ringing phone.

Instead, Gambit made sure the three steaks were pulled out of the marinade and placed carefully on the broiling pan while Xander continued to babble in his head. The steak covered broiling pan went into the oven even as he listened to a rather humorous story about a long ago Thanksgiving that had involved a turkey-obsessed Slayer, a tied up chipped vampire, hostile Chumash Vengeance Spirits that cursed people with syphilis and a red-haired witch that had suddenly become anti-pilgrim and proceeded to rain on everyone's parade.

It was Gambit who noticed first. Rage, fear and a sense of betrayal began to radiate from the immortal's mind. It was light at first, but then the emotions suddenly blazed forth, filling the small condo. Xander's attention was redirected to Methos when Gambit's head snapped around and he stared in concern at the old man.

"I can't believe you did that Mac. Why? Why her!"

Methos' voice was hissed in irritation, but there was a strong undercurrent of genuine hurt. Gambit and Xander watched as the normally pale immortal's face drained of color even further and his eyes closed in pain. Methos' tipped his head back and just listened to MacLeod's explanation silently.

Finally, with a soft sigh, "You know Mac, this not going to end well and it will be all your fault for involving Cassandra despite my wishes." Methos opened his eyes and growled out, "It's kinda like if I had called up the Kurgan and informed him that Connor needed help for two of his friends and could he possibly provide it."

MacLeod must have said something then, because the rage pouring from Methos nearly tripled and Gambit swayed on his feet from the physic bombardment against his psi-shields.

Gambit and Xander both peeked around the corner of the kitchen into the living room in time to hear Methos shout, "Just because a woman's willing to spread her legs for you it doesn't make her trustworthy!" Then the old man stabbed a finger at the buttons on the phone to hang it up. He stared at it a moment before growling out a wordless shout, spinning and throwing the phone to shatter against the far wall.

That's when Methos lost control.

Gambit and Xander had, of course, listened attentively when the immortals had all tried to explain just what a Quickening was and how they absorbed it. They had also managed to wrangle some vague timeline of Methos' life out of him and had been told right away that he was the oldest.

Intellectual knowledge is all well and good, but it's no substitute for understanding with your guts. Making a truth a part of your blood and bones, as Xander would say. They knew Methos was an immortal, that he was really old and healed mortal wounds almost instantly. Watching him loose control allowed them to suddenly understand.

The thin veneer of civilization called Adam Pierson cracked down the middle and fell away, leaving the strongest and most deadly portion of Methos' psyche blazing in a halo of shimmering blue energy that sizzled in flowing waves along his skin. Death turned to stare at them, anger and rage glowing in his eyes as even the very air around him crackled with static electricity. Windows rattled in their panes, the stereo warbled in and out as interference played havoc with its reception, a chill wind began to swirl through the room, rustling papers and blowing Gambit's hair about.

=Holy Hellmouth…=

"*Bon Dieu.*"

Neither Gambit nor Xander were frightened of their friend. Wary and cautious, concerned and surprised, yes, but not frightened. They had both seen powerful and deadly warriors' loose control of their temper before.

=Ya know, both him and Mac have talked about the 'power of the Quickening', but I never thought…=

"*Oui. Gambit neither, heh?*"

They watched wide-eyed as slowly and painfully, Methos clamped down on his power, pulling it back in under his skin little by little. The winds died down and the air lost that edge of crackling energy. Eventually, the pain and anger battering Gambit's psi-shields lessened and the corona of blazing power dimmed and then finally disappeared. The persona of Death was sheathed once more.

Methos stalked to the closet and flung it open. With a snarl he yanked out his long battered trench coat and threw it around his shoulders. A quick pat along the back to settle his sword in place and then he turned and stomped off down the hall.

"I'm going out!"

Then the front door slammed shut behind him and Gambit and Xander were left wondering what the hell had just happened to set him off like that. Neither one doubted for a single moment that before the night was done, someone's head was going to roll.

Literally.


19 – Quickening

They didn't even discuss it really. It hadn't taken but a moment for Gambit to be ready to leave and then he and Xander stalked silent and unseen behind the raging immortal. He was easy enough to track between Xander's heightened sense of smell and Gambit's ability to feel his anger like an inferno blast of heat lighting up the night.

=I was thinking…you know how they all said they can feel another immortal if they're close enough?=

Gambit blinked. "*Oui.*"

=Do you think that little display of lights and noise that he put on back at the condo would act like a siren's call to other immortals?=

Gambit thought about it. That was a good question. He didn't know how immortals sensed each other, whether it was the feeling of power or a sound or if it was like a psi-link only with the Quickenings.

"*Don' know.*" He nodded his head silently towards the alley they were tracking Methos down in. "*He's huntin' though. Searchin' for somethin' or someone in these dark alleyways.*"

Xander paused for a second. =Yeah.=

They heard it before they actually got close enough to see. The heavy and distinctive clanging sound of sword against sword echoed through the night. A single shared glance and then they were off, loping faster towards the sound of battle.

It was a warehouse, old and abandoned but still smelling of the coal that used to be housed here. Black dust, rust and cobwebs filled the shadows that they hid in. Out in the center of the empty space two men fought, their heavy steel weapons flashing dully in the dim lighting.

=Damn. He's good.=

"*Oui. Very good.*" A pause, then, "*Dangerous too.*"

Wordless agreement came back over the psi-link as they watched their friend fight. It was a deadly dance back and forth across the warehouse, blades swinging, bodies lunging, the sound of metal ringing against metal. The two men were graceful, beautiful and both were deadly serious about winning.

In the end, it was inevitable that Methos would win. He was too strong, too well trained and he had too many years of experience. On top of that he was in a towering rage. With a single swing of a sword the fight was over. His opponent's head went sailing away into the darkness and his body crumpled to the ground. Methos stood over him, panting for breath.

A single human heartbeat was all the rest he was allowed and then the air lightened visibly from the sudden influx of raw power. It sizzled in waves around him, swirling and lifting him up into the air. Then, with no warning, a huge bolt of lightening crashed down through the roof of the warehouse and slammed into Methos' chest.

On instinct, Gambit turned his face up, searching the sky for his beloved Stormy but she wasn't there. That wasn't her lightening slamming into the immortal. It was something else.

He had barely had time to realize and acknowledge that truth when another bolt slammed into the warehouse and hit Methos. Then another and another and another.

Methos screamed in exquisite agony the entire time.

Finally, the power began to ebb and dissipate, the vast majority of it sinking into Methos himself. Slowly, his body was lowered down to the warehouse floor and left him in a heap, gasping desperately for air next to the corpse of his opponent.

=That has got to hurt.= Xander turned his shaggy head away from the bleak scene before them, his one eye gleaming in the low light. =And that happens every time he takes a Quickening?=

"*Don' know.*" Gambit thought about it for a moment. "*Most likely.*"

=Damn.=

"*Oui.*" He gestured and stood up straighter. "*Come on, let's get de homme back t' de condo. Be dinner soon.*"

Xander blinked at him, his emotions swirling so fast that Gambit couldn't track them. Finally, he sighed and nodded.

=Yeah.=


20 – Travel Arrangements

Gambit leaned back into the corner of the couch, rolled his eyes and shuffled his deck of cards once again. He clamped his lips tightly together in an effort to keep from joining in on the argument or from comparing Methos, MacLeod and Joe to a handful of X-Men. Since the two immortals and their watcher didn't know the X-Men, they wouldn't be able to get the full impact of that particular insult anyway.

They were going to Scotland.

That was the idea anyway. That was where MacLeod's witch friend, the one that Methos didn't like or trust lived. So, they were going there so that she could cast the portal spell and send him and Xander on their way home. Well, to one of their homes.

Not that Methos hadn't sent copies of the spell out to several acquaintances of his own for them to check it out, because he did. Each one had agreed that the spell seemed like it would work fine, but sorry, no; they wouldn't be powerful enough to actually cast it. So, they had no choice but to use Cassandra, despite Methos' disquiet about being near her.

So, Scotland.

And everyone had gathered at MacLeod's barge to work out the travel arrangements. He and Xander had claimed the couch. Amanda had sat down between the two of them and now Xander was stretched out on his back, all four paws in the air and his large furry head cradled in her lap as she cooed over him and scratched under his chin. It was actually hard to hear over some of his louder purrs.

Methos, MacLeod and Joe were arguing over the best way to get the entire group, two-hundred pound panther included, out of Paris and over to Scotland. It would be amusing if it hadn't been so incredibly irritating. Gambit changed his mind; instead of a group of X-Men all trying to take charge when Scotty was away, he began to mentally compare them to Domino and Pete Wisdom being forced to follow the lead of the Iceman.

Gambit was fairly certain that if Dom, Wisdom or Drake ever met these guys and found out about his little mental comparison that Dom and Wisdom would try to kill him and that Drake would ensure he'd never enjoy a hot shower or cup of coffee again. Drake's pranks would be annoying, but livable. He was also sure that he could charm Kitty into pouting at Wisdom and thus distract him from vengeance. Cable, on the other hand, would not only cheer Domino on, he'd help by reloading all of her guns for her.

=Remy?=

"*Quoi?*"

Gambit turned to look over at Xander. The big cat gave him a resigned sort of look from his position sprawled across Amanda's lap.

=When they mess up and I end up locked away in the London Zoo, you'll come break me out, right?=

Gambit blinked, then smirked.

"*Of course, mon ami. Gambit won' let y' stay in kitty prison.*"

Amanda's hand shifted and began to rub at the soft fur along Xander's ear. His one eye closed in pleasure and he began to purr loudly again.

=Thanks.=

Gambit chuckled and went back to watching the two immortals argue about Cassandra again.