Methos felt like hell before he even opened his eyes. He had a horrible taste in his mouth and it spread all the way to the back of his throat. Slowly looking around, he realized he was in a hospital room somewhere. What the hell had happened? Turning to the side, he saw Crystal looking at him, and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank God," she said, "How're you feeling?"
"How…" Methos couldn't even get the full word out, his voice was so low and so tired. He tried again, "What happened?"
"You're in the hospital, they brought you in yesterday," she told him, "You don't remember?"
"No."
"They moved you out of ICU last night, they said that they pumped your stomach and took out a lot of stuff; pills, absinthe, heroin…"
"I never…" Methos started to say.
"Don't lie to me, I know you've used that stuff before," she said, "But that was a long time ago, before anybody knew better…you're not taking that stuff now."
"No, I'm not," Methos returned, "I don't understand…the last thing I remember was……" Something changed in Methos' eyes, a spark of realization came over him, "I collapsed in the middle of the street. I remember people standing over me…but I don't remember anything after that…that was yesterday?"
"That's right," Crystal said, "I've been here all night, waiting for you to wake up."
Methos started to sit up in the bed and he saw an overnight bag lying on the floor next to her chair, and sticking out of the top of the bag, he saw that same teddy bear she'd hit him with.
"I guess you were here all night," he said, "I sure appreciate it."
"Methos," she said to him, "What the hell is going on? First you complain about being sick for three weeks, now this."
"I wish to God I knew," Methos told her, "I don't know how I wound up here, I don't know what happened…I have no idea about any of it, and it scares the hell out of me."
Crystal hugged him protectively and said, "The good news is we can get you checked out today…we're going to find out what happened."
The two felt another quickening heading their way. They looked to the door, it opened and in stepped Connor and Richie.
"Hey Adam," Richie said, "How're you feeling?"
"Like hell, and the presence of you two doesn't do anything to improve that," Methos weakly answered.
"Well can you get out of here soon?" Richie asked.
"We were just discussing that," Crystal said as she stood up, "They pumped his stomach last night and…hey Richie, did you ever see how that works? They take this liquid charcoal and they run it through a tube and stuff it down your throat and…"
"Crystal," Connor said, "I haven't eaten yet and I'm not in the mood for this."
"Well anyway, he's better now which is generally how that works," she said, "So the doctors aren't going to be scratching their heads over this one."
"But what happened?" Richie asked, "How'd he wind up in here?"
"They took a lot of junk out of him," Crystal told him, "I heard the doctors explain it all night. They found enough pills in his stomach, of all sorts, painkillers, tranquilizers, speed, to kill an elephant…they also found in him enough heroin to start a war, and…"
"And I have no idea how it happened," Methos said, "I don't take that stuff, I've never taken that stuff."
"No, just opiates I'm sure."
"Let's think about this," Crystal said when she and Methos drove away from the hospital, "What did you do yesterday? Where did you go?"
"Let me think," Methos said, "After we left the house, we went and had lunch at that place on Second Avenue, then we split up, first I went to the bar, then I went to put in my routine appearance as Adam Pierson before the other Watchers…"
"Did any of them give you anything?" Crystal asked.
"No," Methos said, "After that…it starts to blur."
"That food at the restaurant was pretty awful," Crystal said, "You think somebody on the staff spiked it?"
"If they did that," Methos said, "It would mean they had to know me from somewhere before, but I can't think of who would want to poison me…well, except Kronos, I always expected he would to get back at me for doing it to him."
"But what if all the aches and pains you've been having this month were all a result of it?" Crystal asked, "It would all go together, but that would mean that somebody's been poisoning you for weeks now, and with something that can't be detected by modern medical science. Who? And how? Are you sure that it couldn't be MacLeod?"
"No, no," Methos shook his head, "MacLeod's not a very good cook…so usually when he was gone for the day I'd call the market and have them deliver the food."
"Anything that could be tampered with and you wouldn't know?" she asked.
"I doubt it, mostly beer," Methos said, "And I know they were all still sealed."
"Meaning if those were the source of all this," Crystal said, "Somebody had to have a tampered batch of it ready to discharge and deliver to you…whoever the hell it is, points for long term planning."
"I just can't think of anyone who could be responsible for this," Methos told her.
They reached Crystal's home and got out of the car. Crystal hauled her overnight bag into the house with her and said, "Alright, let's think about this logically…who all do you remember from past challenges who got away? Maybe one of them has followed you here and is doing this."
Methos looked at her, "What the hell for?"
"I don't know…psychological warfare maybe…you know? You get sick, you know you can't get sick, you start questioning your sanity, your wellbeing, you wonder if you're going crazy…then it'd be a very easy fight for them to win," she said.
Methos laughed weakly as he commented, "You've been reading too many Alfred Hitchcock books."
"Come on, Methos, think!" she told him as they reached the kitchen and sat down at the table, "Whoever is doing this either knows you or Adam Pierson."
"Or any one of a thousand other identities I've used over the years," he replied.
"Whoever it is wants to make you suffer for something," she said.
"I need to think about this," Methos told her.
While he pondered that possibility, another thought came to Crystal.
"Do you remember," she started to say, "A long time ago, do you remember there being…a plant that was poisonous that had a similar effect on anybody who ate it?"
Methos thought about it for a minute and something seemed to come to him. "I seem to remember something…I had the misfortune of swallowing some of it, and its reaction was like ipecacuahna, at first…and then I couldn't move, I was flat on the ground, paralyzed."
"Alright," she said, "This is just off the top of my head…suppose somebody who was around back then, collected some of the plant…and has been keeping it alive all these years in hopes of finding you today and using it on you now?"
Methos started to laugh, "Wait 4000 years to poison me now? Why?" Methos asked.
"If they're insane, it doesn't matter why they did it," Crystal said, "And let's face it, when you get to be as old as us, insanity is usually a safe bet."
"Do you hear yourself talking?" Methos asked her, "We're both sounding like a couple of idiots right about now."
"So what else is new?" Crystal asked, "Methos, think about it, will you? You are over 5000 years old!"
"I'm well aware of that little fact!"
"It would take something radical to have such a physical effect on you as what's happened recently," Crystal told him.
"I know, I know!" Methos responded as he got up from the table.
"Where're you going?" Crystal asked.
"I need some air," Methos said as he headed out the door.
Methos wasn't even sure where he was or how far he had walked. All he knew was that when he'd finally noticed to look around at his surroundings, he was in an empty part of town, and the sky was full of dark clouds that looked like they might pour down rain at any time. He stopped where he was and about fell down. He was tired, he was confused, he was frustrated as hell. He didn't have any idea what was going on and he didn't know how his life had come to be in the shape it was in. Maybe he had just gotten so old that he had lost his mind. It was certainly fact that such was the fate of many ancients; but somehow he always figured he was beyond that.
He dropped to his knees and fell against the ground. He felt so old, he felt so tired, he felt so confused, he just wanted to throw in the towel and give up on everything. His was a life that he'd made sure few people alive anymore even knew existed, ending it all now wouldn't make much difference with anybody.
"Oh God!" he called up to the heavens, "What's the matter with me?"
Sirens were going off in his head, and as he acknowledged another Immortal nearby, he could feel a stabbing pins and needles sensation in the base of his neck. Turning around he saw a man in a trench coat coming over towards him. There was nothing specific about the man that stood out from a thousand other people; he was average height, he had short dark hair, his skin was of average color, and he looked to be about 30. Methos had no recollection of ever seeing this man before, and it was at that time that he realized he'd left his coat, and his sword, back at Crystal's house.
"Adam Pierson," the man said with a chuckle as he closed the distance between he and Methos, "So that's the name you're going by these days."
Methos looked at the man and all but screamed at him, "I don't know you!"
"Maybe not," the man replied with a knowing smirk, "But I remember you."
The two now stood six inches apart at best. Methos saw the other man reach into his coat and tried to get away, but his opponent was too quick for him and drove the blade of a knife into the flesh just beneath Methos' neck. Methos screamed as he fell against the ground, he could feel his blood pouring out of his body and running down him. His mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out of this but all options he could think of would result in the other man beating him to the punch.
"You never could stick around to finish what you'd started, could you?" the man asked him, "But I can." He drew a large and what appeared to be very sharp, claymore out of his coat and raised it at an angle over Methos' head, the prelude to the killing move. Methos fell flat against the ground when he saw the man start to swing, and that was when his eardrums threatened to burst at the sound of the shots.
Looking up, Methos saw the man, now with two bullet holes in his chest, drop his sword and double over. About 20 feet behind the man, Methos saw Crystal, holding a gun; she dropped the gun and walked over towards them, reaching into the waistband of her jeans and pulling out a short sword.
"What are you doing here?" Methos asked her.
"I followed you," she explained, "Now I'm glad that I did."
Reaching down, she grabbed a handful of the man's hair and jerked his head up as she swung with her sword and drove the blade clear into his neck.
Connor had met up with Richie again after lunch and invited his 'nephew' to the other side of town to his motel room where they could kill a few hours while avoiding Duncan. Richie had followed on his motorcycle after Connor, but when he slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road, Richie stopped as well and asked what was the matter.
"I can't remember if this is the right way," Connor said, he muttered something in Gaelic and added, "I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on."
Richie looked around and he saw something. "Hey Connor, what's that?" he pointed off to the east and said, "What's that, a tornado?"
Connor turned to see what Richie was looking at. He saw a bright light off in the distance that was whirling around like a cyclone, but he knew it was no storm.
"Dear God in Heaven," Connor said.
Richie turned to him, "What? What is it?"
"Follow me and we'll find out," Connor replied, "I just hope it's not what I think it is."
By the time the two men arrived at the scene, the commotion had died down. Fortunately it was a deserted part of town otherwise there would be a lot of confused people wondering what the hell had happened. Connor got out of the car and Richie followed after him as they found Methos and Crystal lying on the ground, both looking near death. Methos' skin was just about ghost white and Crystal had blood pouring out of her mouth. A few feet away from both of them was a decapitated body, and its head was a few feet behind it.
Neither of the older Immortals seemed capable of getting up, they squirmed and crawled along the ground but neither seemed to have the capacity to get to their feet. They screamed and howled and cried out in languages and tongues long since dead and forgotten by the world, and each clung to the other with eyes wide and full of terror and shock. It was impossible to tell which one of them had taken the Quickening; both seemed to have been equally effected by it.
"Connor," Richie said, "What the hell happened?"
"I'm not sure," he responded, "Help me get them up."
"Huh?" But Richie followed behind Connor. Connor pulled Crystal away from Methos, picked her up and put her in the back of his car. Richie helped Methos up and walked him over and helped him in as well.
"What're we going to do with them?" Richie asked.
"My motel room's the last place they'd want to be," Connor said, "And I don't think either of them is up to telling us where they live…we'll just have to take them over to Duncan's place and let them recuperate there."
At that same time however, Duncan had his hands full with something else. Amanda was back in town and had dropped in on him unannounced.
"Really, Duncan," she said, pouting, I'd think you'd be glad to see me."
"Ordinarily I would," Duncan replied, "It's just..."
"Just what?" Amanda asked.
"Things are a bit complicated right now," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Amanda asked, "Is there somebody else?"
"At this time?" Duncan asked, "Yes!"
"WHO?" Amanda wanted to know.
Duncan looked at her and answered, "Methos!"
Amanda's bottom jaw fell and her eyes widened…but the look on her face wasn't so much shock, it was somewhere between amusement and contention, "Methos?" she practically howled the name in laughter.
"Yes!" Duncan insisted, "It's a long story, but in short, he got evicted, he has no place to stay, so he's been staying with me."
"Uh huh," Amanda looked around the loft and didn't note any signs that anybody else, least of all another man, was living there, "And, where is he at this time?"
"Well…"
They heard the elevator start up and Duncan accepted that as his answer. What he saw was not what he expected. The door came up and four Immortals came into the loft: Connor stepped in carrying Crystal who was writhing and moaning in his arms, and Richie walked alongside Methos and helped him in.
"Excuse us," Connor said, "Go back to what you were doing."
He made a beeline for the bed and laid Crystal down on it, and Methos followed suit. The two older Immortals writhed and convulsed on the bed like a couple of epileptics, blood stained almost all of their clothes, and they moaned and wailed like they were being tortured.
"My God," Amanda said as she rushed over to the others, "What happened to them?"
"It beats the hell out of me," Connor told them, "By the time Richie and I got there, they were already like this. All I know is that one of them killed somebody else, and I guess the Quickening is what did it."
"One Quickening could only effect one Immortal, Connor," Duncan reminded him.
"Think I don't know that?!" Connor replied, "I know that, I know that, but I don't know what's going on now."
"Who is this?" Amanda asked, pointing at Crystal.
"Oh let me introduce you," Richie said, a bit cynically, "Amanda, this is Crystal; she's an old friend of Methos'."
Amanda watched Crystal roll around on her back and moan and asked, "How old is she?"
"Got us," Connor said, "I've been trying to figure that one out for as long as I've known her."
Amanda slapped Duncan on the arm and said, "Well don't everybody stand around looking at them, geez!"
Methos and Crystal stayed as they were for about an hour, then everything seemed to be over…almost. Methos had finally gotten back his ability to talk and was trying to explain what happened; and while he was doing that, Crystal tried to drink a glass of water but what went down as tap water came up a few seconds later with blood. She gave the glass back to Richie and said, "I'm sorry, this happens sometimes."
"When?" Duncan wanted to know.
"After a Quickening…been that way now for…about 10 years."
"So you were the one who took it?" Connor asked.
"Oh who remembers?" she asked as she lay back on the bed, then cringed, "Dammit MacLeod, these sheets are freezing, can't you ever come up with anything sensible?"
It was Amanda who thought to say, "There's some extra bedding in the closet, come on, Richie, let's get it out."
Richie was just as confused about the whole mess as everybody else, but he followed Amanda, not leaving the two older Immortals in much more privacy than they had before.
"Would everybody just shut up please?" Methos said, "I can't take anymore of this constant jabbering."
"Connor," Crystal said, "I don't think we're going to be in any position to go back home today…can you go over to my house and pick up a few things and bring them back here?"
"Of course," he answered, "Where's the place?"
"Oh you can't miss it," Methos told him, "It's the only big house at the top of a hill overlooking this whole damn town."
"Okay, Connor, listen," Crystal said, "I need a change of clothes, oh, I also need you to swing back to wherever it was you found us and pick up my gun and my sword, I left those behind."
"Anything else?" Connor asked.
"Yeah," Crystal pulled on his shirt, he leaned down and she added the other thing, whispered into his ear.
"Alright," he replied, and headed for the elevator.
Duncan asked them, "Do you have any idea who it was you killed?"
"No," Methos answered.
"Why, should we?" Crystal wanted to know.
Duncan was spared from having to answer that question when the phone rang. Richie and Amanda came back and dumped heavy blankets on the two of them and got them covered up. Crystal looked at Amanda and asked, "Is he a friend of yours?"
"Sort of," Amanda replied.
"Yeah…well he's an idiot," Crystal said.
Amanda laughed and said, "I know."
Crystal turned to look at Methos and it looked like he'd passed out. She still shook and her muscles still tightened involuntarily on her and it seemed they'd stay that way for a while.
"I know it feels like hell now," Amanda told her, "But the worst should be over, and the rest should follow in and hour or two."
"Oh yeah? And how would you know?" Crystal wanted to know.
"Because the same thing happens to me when I take a head," Amanda replied, "I'm usually very good on my own, but I let Duncan take the heads because he's not effected by it as much."
"What do you mean?" Richie asked.
The two women looked at him and Amanda explained, "The older an Immortal gets, the harder it is to take Quickenings."
"Sure," Crystal added, "At your age it's still a rush, hell even at 400 years it's not so bad, but once you hit 900, it starts becoming a real pain in the ass, and the more time goes by, the more unbearable Quickenings become to endure. That's why Methos runs from fights as much as he can, it's not that he doesn't like to fight, or can't…it's that at our age, the Quickening about turns you inside out and tears out everything."
"Which is why," Amanda said, "It pays to get the most heads you can while you're still young enough to enjoy it."
Crystal laughed and agreed, "If I knew then what I know now…"
Methos woke up again and tried to sit up on the bed, "I still can't believe you did that."
"Did what?" the two women asked.
Methos looked at them with a warning look in his eyes. He said to Crystal, "Why were you following me?"
"Because I know you and I figured if you ran into anybody out there, that you might need some help," she answered.
"I suppose it doesn't matter," he said, "What counts is we're both still alive. But what were you thinking?"
Duncan hung up the phone and had returned to the bedroom just as Crystal answered, "Well what was I supposed to do? You think I was going to let him get away with killing my brother?"
"Your WHAT?" Duncan couldn't believe what he'd heard.