"You have to listen to me Isabel, there isn't much time." Her mother's tone was gentle, but there was an iron edge to it that she had never heard while Isabel had been alive…not even in her angriest of periods. It was subtle, you'd almost miss it if you didn't know what they were talking about…but Isabel heard it. She heard it and shivered. For the first time since her parents had returned to her, she found herself wishing that she was alone and free of their visits.

It seemed that lately all they did was argue. At first they had been 'discussions'…friendly advice from her mother and father about how to defeat Methos. Both had appeared 'concerned'. They didn't think that she had what it took to beat the world's oldest man and they had been worried. Isabel could understand that. Even she doubted her ability to take him on when she trained.

But she wanted to do it fairly. So she had turned down her parents' offers for more power every time they had offered it. At first they seemed to accept that, but lately the 'discussions' had started to become out right arguments and Isabel was starting to wonder who's quest it actually was. It wasn't as if she didn't want revenge for what Methos had done to her family-far from it. But the passion that her parents seemed to have for their daughter killing this immortal was far greater than she had ever seen either in herself, or her parents when they had been alive. They had never been overly fond of the game, taking heads whenever they were challenged, or felt that a fight was unavoidable. She even knew that occasionally they sought battles for more personal reasons, but overall she knew they did not recklessly search for death.

Now that they were dead, perhaps the difference was no longer clear to them. It was becoming less and less clear to Isabel with every passing day. She hadn't been able to question any immortals for information lately at all. It was partly because there didn't seem to be any immortals left, and the ones she had 'questioned' kept vehemently insisting Methos was a myth. Most immortals that used to live in or visit Rome seemed to have vacated the city. It was as if something had moved in to take its place-something far darker and far more sinister that chased them away.

Isabel could feel it in her bones and see it in her dreams, though she could never quite remember it when she awoke. Her mother and father would dismiss her claims, saying that the search for Methos was getting to her. They wanted her to find him and dispose of him quickly and they wanted her to have the strength and skill to do so without effort.

All Isabel wanted was to be normal again. Well, as close to normal as she ever had been.

The young man she had met a few nights back had seen that she wasn't and she desperately wanted to change that. She had told him she was normal-not a freak and he seemed to believe it. Deep down however, Isabel knew that she couldn't lie to herself forever. She wasn't normal. She was a freak, but she'd be damned if she let it get any more out of control than it already was.

She fixed her mother with a determined stare and shook her head.

"I don't want it. You know that."

"This isn't about what you want." Her mother replied, almost coldly. "It's about your safety. Methos will find out about you soon and when he does, he will be hunting for you, not the other way around…if he isn't already. If he catches you off guard, he WILL defeat you. I cannot protect you from that."

"I've heard this already." Isabel said stubbornly. "You know my answer."

"Damn it, why won't you listen to me?" Her mother reached out to touch her, but it was without result. Isabel could feel her frustration in that respect and she shared it. Perhaps things would not be so strained if she could simply fold into her mother's arms and allow herself to pretend the rest of the world didn't exist. But she couldn't. That ability had been taken away from her by Methos.

"I love you mom." She told her softly. "But I don't want to be any more of a freak than I already am."

"I never thought you could be so selfish." Her mother said with a sad shake of her head. "This is about more than just you. Can't you feel the change here? There's great evil…he has brought it with him and you are the only one who can fight it. I know it doesn't feel like it, but this happened to us for a reason. You are meant for far more than this simplistic life, surely you know that. You're special, you're…"

"Chosen?" The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it and her mother's form suddenly froze in shock.

"Where did you hear that?" She breathed. She looked almost terrified and that sent a small shiver down Isabel's back. Up until now, she had been confident enough in herself to deny her parent's offers of strength, but the way her mother looked at her now almost made her give in right then and there. What could have her so frightened?

"I…someone I met," she finally told her. "A couple of weeks ago. He was…well he fought this thing that came up behind me and when I told him to back off, he said something about a chosen one."

"Then it's already begun." Her mother said, turning from her as if unable to look at her. "What else did he say about the chosen one?"

"Nothing." Isabel said with a shrug. "I told him I didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't tell him about my powers. I didn't want him to know…even though he fought that thing I just…"

"What thing?" Her mother interrupted. Her eyes glittered strangely and Isabel drew back involuntarily.

"He said it was a…a vampire." She admitted sheepishly. She still wasn't entirely sure she believed it, especially having a couple of weeks to think back on it. She hadn't seen or heard from the young man named Xander and she was beginning to wonder if the entire thing had been a dream.

"A vampire." Her mother nodded as if she had been expecting this all along. "You must let me perform the ritual Isabel…before it's too late."

"You mean you knew about this?" She didn't mean for her tone to sound to accusatory, but the fact that her mother had hidden the existence of vampires from her was hard not to be angry about. "Vampires mom! That thing could have taken me completely by surprise!"

"I didn't think he would have been able to bring them here yet." She replied, almost to herself. "I didn't think that he was that powerful yet."

"He?" She echoed. "You mean Methos?" Her mother simply nodded.

"He has the ability to summon…certain creatures that should not be messed with. He is getting impatient. He knows you are a threat…that's why it was following you. You need to let me help you. There is no time to lose."

"I…" She trailed off and looked around, desperately wanting a way out. "I have to think about this. You have no idea why I don't want this. Please…I'll do anything…"

"Next time you might not be so lucky." She pointed out. "Who was this young man anyway?"

"Nobody really." Isabel replied. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to give her mother Xander's name just yet. "Just some guy who happened to be in the right place at the right time and knew what to do. I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him. He disappeared almost right away."

"He's evil Isabel." Her mother said gently. "More evil than you know. I…your father and I need to know you'll be OK."

"Just…" she turned away, unable to look at her mother's worried face too much longer. "Just go mom. I'll think about it…I will. But for now…please, just leave me alone."

"I love you sweetie." She heard her say sadly before disappearing and leaving Isabel to her thoughts. She sat down dejectedly on the couch and tried her level best to think about other things-things that had nothing to do with Methos or her mission. Oddly enough, she found her mind drifting to Xander and wondering what it was he was doing right now.