:slams on the brakes and screeches to a hault: sorry sorry sorry! I know it has been a long while since I have updated and I am truly sorry for the lack of entertaiment. School has been a down right bitch and i haven't had a true moment of inspiration. However, as you can see I HAVE UPDATED! And I have a question for you all, I have been toying with the idea of changing the name of this fic and I would love to hear your imput on what it could be changed to. but for now,

ON WITH THE LONG AWAITED UPDATE!
Methos-flatly- you forgot something
Chaos: O.o I did?
Methos: yes, yes you did.
Chaos: what? what did I forget?
Methos: the disclaimer you dolt! talk about the blind leading the visually challenged! you can't find your way out of your own house!
Chaos: Hey! I'll have you knowI could walk around my house blindfolded -runs into a wall while trying-
Methos:my point exactly, now onwith the disclaimer
Chaos:oh...that. fine fine I don't own Amanda, Duncan or any of the Highlander canon charactures XP that better!
Methos: much

Chapter 5 Verin

Sometime during the night, Methos barely registered a warm body worm their way next to him, under his arms. They fit together like two puzzle pieces, two parts of a whole. With this comforting presence so near, he subconsciously drew it closer, hugging the warmth it provided as it found a comfortable niche. In the morning, he woke up but still hadn't opened his eyes. He had no idea what time it was and with the hangover he had he frankly didn't care, he just buried his face into a bunch of hair and tried to go back to sleep. He thought for a moment, not really remembering who was next to him, then it dawned on him; everything that happened last night came rushing back.

"I see you made quick work of the sofa bed," Amanda smirked, leaning over the head of the sofa bed, looking mischievously down at the sleepy pair. The light behind Amanda was intense and Methos had to squint to keep from getting a massive headache. Then he did something he rarely does, he blushed. The warm red blood rushed to his cheeks as a feeling of pure embarrassment washed over him. He untangled himself from Arreyetti, or at least he tried. She tightened her grip around his waist and buried her face deeper into his chest.

"Looks like she found her favorite teddy bear," Duncan teased. He thought she looked like a little girl clutching her prized possession. It was a Kodak moment and Duncan had forgotten his camera. However, after what had happened last night, they all needed some answers. He went to the foot of the bed, grabbed the covers and yanked them off; it was about time they got up anyway. Arreyetti squirmed and curled up into a ball at Methos' side, trying to retain the lost warmth. When that failed she slowly stretched back out and sat up, clutching her head. One too many long island iced teas were showing their effects in a very painful way. It was the first hang over she had ever gotten, and she hoped it would be the last.

"Why take covers?" she asked drowsily, looking at Duncan the cover thief. Methos draped his arm around her shoulders and said, "Because my dear, you have a lot of explaining to do." Arreyetti's heart sank to the floor. She did not want to put them in danger with that information. They would only try to help and end up getting hurt or worse, killed. This was not their fight, they have their own life here and it did need to be disturbed. She shook her head in response to Methos deciding not to let them in on the rest of her "little" secret. That would be one can of worms no one would open.

"Ahaha, shipwreck?"

"Oh no sweetheart, that's not going to cut it. What we saw last night was not the result of a shipwreck," Duncan said as he sat down on the end of the bed. Arreyetti could feel everyone's intense gaze on her, and it made her shrink more inside herself. She could give them an extremely edited version of how she got her fins, but there could be a lot of holes in that version if she wasn't careful. Hell she could chalk it up to the language barrier if she let something slip. Of course if she was to start rambling on in her native tongue, Methos would be sure to pick up on any discrepancies in her story. This was going to be a very bad day. And the storm looming just off the coast wasn't going to allow any sunshine on her today.

"Okay, short version, during fall of Atlantis, small group of us stayed in temple, praying for salv…salv...oh what is word?"

"Salvation?"

"Yes, sal-vay-chun, and he came. He save us from drowning because he thought us worthy. Others that died had been greedy, we were chosen. He change us so we could live. That how I got fins. Satis…satis..argh! happy?"

"I guess. But one thing still puzzles me Arreyetti? Why did you wash up in North Carolina of all places? It would have been a bit more believable if you had shown up in-" Arreyetti put a silencing finger on Methos' motor mouth. He took it as a sign that it was all the explanation they would receive for today. It still didn't add up in his mind. He would have to talk to Mac about this later, out of her earshot. It looked to be a very long day.

"Mac all I'm saying is her story does not add up. Could it be one of us, someone who found a way to do these kinds of things? If it is Mac, he's not a god. He thinks he is but he's not. I've read Plato's version of what happened, hell I was there when that so-called priestess told Solon, who told Plato about this "lost ancient utopia". I admit that Atlantis was grand but it was by no means as exaggerated as Plato wrote. That "priestess" wanted to impress Solon; she worked at the local brothel and wanted get out. So she took one of my drunken stories and embellished it. A lot. The island wasn't bigger than Libya and Asia combined, it was the size of Madagascar. I think she was thinking of the yet to be discovered Americas, because, contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was not the first man to discover America. It had been rumored there was a huge land mass to the west, yet no one ever really came back in the same condition they left. She did get one thing right though, it was an earthquake. However, it was in quite the opposite direction of Ancient Greece. Atlantis was just off the coast of what is now Japan. A rather large joining of the tectonic plates where the Pacific plate meets the Indian plate caused the Marina Trench to form, completely ripping apart the island and sending into one of the deepest parts of the ocean. If what she says is true, her "god" is almost as old as I am. Hell, maybe even older. How anyone, even one of us, could survive and transform a group of people into…into mermaids!" This was not good. An immortal left alone for thousands of years, not taking a head in forever, it was just unsettling. But what was even more unsettling was the thought of an immortal with that kind of power. If one had so much power, maybe he didn't need to take heads; maybe he was as powerful as the last immortal would be at the end of the Gathering.

Two weeks flew by as news reports of increasingly bad weather around the world took over the airwaves. Catastrophic storms drenched not only coastal cities, but inland towns as well. Arreyetti leaned on the front porch railing, folding her arms and gazing out at the dark and foreboding clouds that lay just of the shore. He was searching for her, she could feel it. The storms were becoming more destructive and seemed to be closing in on her location. Decisions needed to be made, and many she did not want to make. In order to secure her newfound friends' safety, she would have to leave them behind. But her father had sent her here for a reason. She knew it had something to do with Methos, but she didn't know what it was she was supposed to do. Just as she was about to leave the front porch, a seagull landed on the mock balcony. Around its neck was an ankh on a braided chain of gold. Within the loop of the ankh was a crimson stone that looked blood red in the sunlight. 'Papa's necklace! He must really be desperate to send me his precious ankh. What is going on out there?' She retrieved the golden necklace from around the bird's neck, placing it around her own. The gull gave her a farewell nip and flew off onto the stormy afternoon. The wind began to pick up as her white summer dress whipped around her legs. A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders, which startled her out of her musings.

"Come on inside. It's getting cold and I don't want you to get sick," Methos smiled at her with warmth and compassion. It was one of his rare genuine smiles that a select few were privileged to see. Arreyetti hesitantly followed him back into the flat, going against her instincts to run and never look back. However, there was something that told her to stay, told her to wait for another sign as to what she should do. Subconsciously her hand went to the ankh, fiddling with the chain around her fingers as if asking her father for help. Methos caught the action and saw the ankh that her father had worn religiously. 'Now, she didn't have that before, so where did she get it? And that stone, it used to be on her mothers wedding ring.' There were so many questions that had come up over the past two weeks, but Methos had learned quickly that Arreyetti would answer none of them, and it was driving him mad. He had a sneaking suspicion that Arreyetti's presence and the wacky weather were linked, he just didn't know how. He led her over to the couch where Duncan was sitting, absorbed in the news reports of the hurricane battering the southern tip of Florida.

"What the hell is up with all the storms lately? It's as if Mother Nature has wants to wreak havoc upon us lowly beings." Duncan groaned. The wet weather just depressed him with all its dreariness. He threw his head back in exasperation in time to see Amanda walk down the hall.

"Well here comes my sunshine on a cloudy day, how are you my dear?" a smile gracing Duncan's lips as Amanda rounded the corner of the couch and plopped down in his lap, looking quite disheveled. The humidity that came along with the stormy weather in North Carolina was doing a number on her hair.

"Oh how do you think I am, miserable as always. Oooh I really hate this humid weather!" She furiously mussed up her hair before resigning to lean on Duncan who just hugged her feigning sympathy. A bright flash of lightning just off shore followed quickly by a loud deafening thunder clap, made all four jump with surprise. Arreyetti's head whipped around in time to see the next flash illuminate the sky and silhouette a man walking onto the shore. A chill ran down her spine as recognition flashed in her brain. Unknown fear was written all across her face as she stood up, not taking her eyes away from the figure coming closer. She slowly backed her way toward the rear door, not noticing the weird looks everyone else was giving her. Methos felt it first, then Amanda and then Duncan. Slowly, very slowly they turned around to the front window, beginning to realize that there was another immortal nearby. Arreyetti frantically tried to open the door, not comprehending that it was locked and tried to jerk it open. When she finally got the door open, she nearly stumbled over herself trying to get outside and away from him. She ran, she blindly ran into the rain that began pouring down, soaking her to the bone.

"I'll go after her. Mac, Amanda, you think you can handle the new guy?" Methos said heading for the door. Both of them nodded as he ran after Arreyetti who was already out the gate and two houses down. Because she was running blindly away, she tripped on the slippery sidewalk that was covered in rain. Her summer dress was soaked through and through and was weighing her down, but Methos noticed that the rain wasn't causing her to transform. The crimson stone was glowing fiercely, like a beacon through the fog, guiding lost ships into harbor. He caught up with her trying to calm her down, but she just tried to push him away, blinded by fear she screamed at him.

"NAU! Inbau tarthe dal uns'aa! Usstan xuat ssinssirn ulu alu xuil dos! Dos h'ros fashka uns'aa ulu vellupa dos!" NO! Get away from me! I don't want to go with you! You can't force me to marry you!

Marry? "Vel'bol ph' dos haska bauth? Arreyetti, vel'uss orn'la fashka dos ulu vellupa mina? Ele orn'la nind xun nindel? Vok ulu uns'aa! Ol's uns'aa, Methos!" What are you talking about? Who would force you to marry them? Why would they do that? Listen to me! It's me!

It immediately occurred to Methos why Arreyetti was running, and who she was running from. Verin, she was running from Verin. The most foul immortal that Methos had ever crossed swords with. A master of the dark arts and manipulator of all things pure and good, Verin had a penchant for misleading the good-natured to do evil in his name. It had been a miracle that either of them had walked away with their heads. If they had not been in the midst of mortals, watching their every move, one of them surely would not have survived. Now Methos had wished that he had taken Verin's head, in spite of the mortal's presence. The question was, what did he want with Arreyetti?

(A/N)-add cheesy horror music here- and thats the way the cookie crumbles folks. now i'm off to bed and then school. wtf am i doing up this late you ask (its about 1:15 AM)? i am bending to my readers needs. i am at your command oh faithfull reviewers! now gooo! do your job! review!