Chapter Seven: Unnatural Presences
Some time later, Methos suddenly awoke with a start. He couldn't remember dying but realised he must have. Why else would he be so drained? Looking around he found himself in a room, possibly a hotel room. Before he had time to investigate further, he felt the tingle of an approaching Immortal. Groaning at the awful timing, he tried to stand, wondering if he still had his sword with him. The person who opened the door was the last person he expected to see again so soon.
"Amanda! What's going on? Where am I?"
"My hotel room. As for what's going on, I hoping you could tell me."
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with MacLeod!"
Away from the strange magnetic pull of the wall, Methos had collapsed into a deep sleep, and having finally woken up was now gradually regaining his strength.
"Methos, calm down. I did see Duncan. You were right, it was awful. At first it was like Duncan wasn't there any more. It was him, but it wasn't him. He was hiding. Then when he finally showed some emotion, well it wasn't nice, Methos. He's obviously still hurting, more than I realised. And, I know you thought you helped yesterday, but I think you made things worse. He doesn't seem to know what to think, or feel, anymore. He's angry at you, at himself, and now at me for taking your side. He didn't listen when I told him he was in danger, and feels betrayed by you. He's even loosing confidence in himself, in who he is. And you know how dangerous that could be. Duncan's the most honourable man I know, he needs to be 'Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.' Without that, without his clan, he's nothing, and he'll hate himself even more if he believes he has to loose it so much that he does loose it. And that's started already."
Methos had gone pale. This was what he had feared. If Duncan MacLeod gave up on Duncan MacLeod, then there would be no hope and he'd be damned for eternity, twice over. He'd probably made the situation a hundred times worse by his actions yesterday.
"What's going on Methos? What happened to you after I left?"
"I...I don't know!" This simple truth shook Methos to the very core of his being. He was used to being in charge, in control of practically every situation, or at the very least of himself, and now he had absolutely no idea what was happening, was loosing the last traces of control he had, even over himself. He could feel it physically slipping away from him, over the last couples of days, like he was being stripped bare. And, it scared him. He had a life here, was almost at peace after thousands of years, now that was about to be ripped away from him and he found that he cared, actually cared about the loss. Thanks to Alexa, to Joe, and to Mac, he cared again. 'You're weak Old Man', he told himself, but it was a weakness he wanted. He had a job, a life, he had Joe, and Alexa, and Mac. Now, Alexa was dead, Adam Pierson had to die, the Watchers knew he was immortal (he'd liked Adam!), Joe was still there - somewhere, and the Highlander, well, the Highlander had been his rock. A rock now shattered perhaps beyond repair.
He knew something was wrong, and that something was going to happen to Duncan, and he felt powerless to stop it. He was powerless because he cared too much, and powerless because he didn't know what they were up against. Was this how Duncan felt, he thought, charging to the rescue despite everything, because of that caring? 'What a time to start acting like the Highlander', he thought to himself. Why couldn't he have copied the Scot's cooking skills or something less dangerous instead? Anything other than wanting to find the nearest white horse and save the day. But he knew he would, he'd get to the bottom of this and make it right. Or get killed trying. With that thought a sudden flash of realisation came to him. He would die for Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, die to save him. There had been no-one in 5000 years that he could say that about with such certainty. Not his brothers, not Joe, not even Alexa. She had come close, but admittedly, as much as he had loved her and as much as loosing her had hurt, she had still been the safe, quiet option, and a temporary one. He knew she was dying, had prepared for it, and had let Adam Pierson love her. Sometimes he hadn't known when Methos had stopped and Adam Pierson had begun. Adam was a person he would want to be, but never could. But, Adam was dead. There was no going back...
With a start he became aware of Amanda staring at him in concern, and realised that he had been silent for too long. Well, he thought, ironicly, if nothing else at least this has allowed the two of them to bond. Who would have thought that Amanda would be his only ally in a crisis?! Wouldn't Mac be pleased? Damn, there he went again, thinking about the highlander. 'Get out of my head, Duncan!'. As if that would ever work!?
"Methos are you alright?"
"Not really, but I'll be OK", he replied with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. 'I hope!' he added to himself.
"Mmmm. Well, can you tell me what you remember happening to you. I think we need to figure it out. You looked in a very bad way."
"Amanda, my dear, there is no think about it. We do need to figure it out, and quickly. And Amanda, if I forget to tell you later, thank you."
Amanda smiled softly at this for a minute. Maybe the Old man had learnt something in 5000 years after all. Then, she was back to business.
"So, what do you remember, Methos?"
"I...I watched you leave, and then I decided to go back to my hotel and search the Watcher files for any information about who may be after Mac. I decided to take a short cut back, using the small alleyway just the other side of the café..."
"That's where I found you."
"I got about half way down when I felt a great pressure bearing down on me, both mentally and physically. I tried fighting it but I must have collapsed and died. That's all I know."
"Well, I found you in the alleyway about 45 minutes after I'd left you. You weren't dead, but you were pretty close. You looked exhausted, and very, very weak. I could hardly feel your Presence and you seemed dirlirious. You kept muttering 'no, stop it', 'leave me alone' and 'leave him alone'."
"Duncan," Methos said automatically, "Someone or something wanted to hurt Duncan."
"I had to physically drag you away from that alleyway. It was like something was holding you there. I bought you here, you fell asleep, probably from the sheer exhaustion, and, you know the rest."
"I have no idea what it was, but something was invading my mind. Subconsciously I must have been fighting it. I don't remember anything else until waking up here."
"Whatever it was you were fighting it pretty desperately, and, no offence, you looked to be loosing."
"You could well be right. It...I think it was trying to get me to give up, telling me I wasn't needed any more. I...I nearly believed it. On a conscious level, I must have given up then. That's why I don't really remember it. However, it can't be a coincidence that we heard about a danger to MacLeod, that we were trying to help him and then something tries to stop me. I may not remember saying 'leave him alone' but I'm sure that the him in question is Duncan."
"You think this, this thing, whatever it is, is behind the Watcher's plans to destroy Duncan."
"I can't be sure, but if it isn't linked then it's pretty damned convenient, isn't it? If one won't finish him off the may probably will. I don't believe in chance anymore."
"We need to reach Duncan, and Joe."
Some time later, Methos suddenly awoke with a start. He couldn't remember dying but realised he must have. Why else would he be so drained? Looking around he found himself in a room, possibly a hotel room. Before he had time to investigate further, he felt the tingle of an approaching Immortal. Groaning at the awful timing, he tried to stand, wondering if he still had his sword with him. The person who opened the door was the last person he expected to see again so soon.
"Amanda! What's going on? Where am I?"
"My hotel room. As for what's going on, I hoping you could tell me."
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with MacLeod!"
Away from the strange magnetic pull of the wall, Methos had collapsed into a deep sleep, and having finally woken up was now gradually regaining his strength.
"Methos, calm down. I did see Duncan. You were right, it was awful. At first it was like Duncan wasn't there any more. It was him, but it wasn't him. He was hiding. Then when he finally showed some emotion, well it wasn't nice, Methos. He's obviously still hurting, more than I realised. And, I know you thought you helped yesterday, but I think you made things worse. He doesn't seem to know what to think, or feel, anymore. He's angry at you, at himself, and now at me for taking your side. He didn't listen when I told him he was in danger, and feels betrayed by you. He's even loosing confidence in himself, in who he is. And you know how dangerous that could be. Duncan's the most honourable man I know, he needs to be 'Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.' Without that, without his clan, he's nothing, and he'll hate himself even more if he believes he has to loose it so much that he does loose it. And that's started already."
Methos had gone pale. This was what he had feared. If Duncan MacLeod gave up on Duncan MacLeod, then there would be no hope and he'd be damned for eternity, twice over. He'd probably made the situation a hundred times worse by his actions yesterday.
"What's going on Methos? What happened to you after I left?"
"I...I don't know!" This simple truth shook Methos to the very core of his being. He was used to being in charge, in control of practically every situation, or at the very least of himself, and now he had absolutely no idea what was happening, was loosing the last traces of control he had, even over himself. He could feel it physically slipping away from him, over the last couples of days, like he was being stripped bare. And, it scared him. He had a life here, was almost at peace after thousands of years, now that was about to be ripped away from him and he found that he cared, actually cared about the loss. Thanks to Alexa, to Joe, and to Mac, he cared again. 'You're weak Old Man', he told himself, but it was a weakness he wanted. He had a job, a life, he had Joe, and Alexa, and Mac. Now, Alexa was dead, Adam Pierson had to die, the Watchers knew he was immortal (he'd liked Adam!), Joe was still there - somewhere, and the Highlander, well, the Highlander had been his rock. A rock now shattered perhaps beyond repair.
He knew something was wrong, and that something was going to happen to Duncan, and he felt powerless to stop it. He was powerless because he cared too much, and powerless because he didn't know what they were up against. Was this how Duncan felt, he thought, charging to the rescue despite everything, because of that caring? 'What a time to start acting like the Highlander', he thought to himself. Why couldn't he have copied the Scot's cooking skills or something less dangerous instead? Anything other than wanting to find the nearest white horse and save the day. But he knew he would, he'd get to the bottom of this and make it right. Or get killed trying. With that thought a sudden flash of realisation came to him. He would die for Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, die to save him. There had been no-one in 5000 years that he could say that about with such certainty. Not his brothers, not Joe, not even Alexa. She had come close, but admittedly, as much as he had loved her and as much as loosing her had hurt, she had still been the safe, quiet option, and a temporary one. He knew she was dying, had prepared for it, and had let Adam Pierson love her. Sometimes he hadn't known when Methos had stopped and Adam Pierson had begun. Adam was a person he would want to be, but never could. But, Adam was dead. There was no going back...
With a start he became aware of Amanda staring at him in concern, and realised that he had been silent for too long. Well, he thought, ironicly, if nothing else at least this has allowed the two of them to bond. Who would have thought that Amanda would be his only ally in a crisis?! Wouldn't Mac be pleased? Damn, there he went again, thinking about the highlander. 'Get out of my head, Duncan!'. As if that would ever work!?
"Methos are you alright?"
"Not really, but I'll be OK", he replied with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. 'I hope!' he added to himself.
"Mmmm. Well, can you tell me what you remember happening to you. I think we need to figure it out. You looked in a very bad way."
"Amanda, my dear, there is no think about it. We do need to figure it out, and quickly. And Amanda, if I forget to tell you later, thank you."
Amanda smiled softly at this for a minute. Maybe the Old man had learnt something in 5000 years after all. Then, she was back to business.
"So, what do you remember, Methos?"
"I...I watched you leave, and then I decided to go back to my hotel and search the Watcher files for any information about who may be after Mac. I decided to take a short cut back, using the small alleyway just the other side of the café..."
"That's where I found you."
"I got about half way down when I felt a great pressure bearing down on me, both mentally and physically. I tried fighting it but I must have collapsed and died. That's all I know."
"Well, I found you in the alleyway about 45 minutes after I'd left you. You weren't dead, but you were pretty close. You looked exhausted, and very, very weak. I could hardly feel your Presence and you seemed dirlirious. You kept muttering 'no, stop it', 'leave me alone' and 'leave him alone'."
"Duncan," Methos said automatically, "Someone or something wanted to hurt Duncan."
"I had to physically drag you away from that alleyway. It was like something was holding you there. I bought you here, you fell asleep, probably from the sheer exhaustion, and, you know the rest."
"I have no idea what it was, but something was invading my mind. Subconsciously I must have been fighting it. I don't remember anything else until waking up here."
"Whatever it was you were fighting it pretty desperately, and, no offence, you looked to be loosing."
"You could well be right. It...I think it was trying to get me to give up, telling me I wasn't needed any more. I...I nearly believed it. On a conscious level, I must have given up then. That's why I don't really remember it. However, it can't be a coincidence that we heard about a danger to MacLeod, that we were trying to help him and then something tries to stop me. I may not remember saying 'leave him alone' but I'm sure that the him in question is Duncan."
"You think this, this thing, whatever it is, is behind the Watcher's plans to destroy Duncan."
"I can't be sure, but if it isn't linked then it's pretty damned convenient, isn't it? If one won't finish him off the may probably will. I don't believe in chance anymore."
"We need to reach Duncan, and Joe."