========================================================================= Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 12:24:45 -0500 Reply-To: LC Krakowka Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: LC Krakowka Subject: Long Lost 1/5 (sorry of this gets out there twice...it bounced back to me so i resent it) Hi all- Here's my first attempt at fan fic. The story deosn't have a lot of slice em up action...but I think it's pretty nice. I'm feeling the creative juices flowing right now...so I think there's another plot in the works. (too bad I can't use this energy on my real writing career) have fun. Lemme know what you think. Lisa Note: What I really think the show needs is a strong female character. From the looks of most of the other fan fics I have read, many agree. Well, here's my shot at creating her. Lemme know what you think. (I can't believe I did this...talk about taking a break from reality!) Yell if you hate it--I can stand the criticism. And yes, I know I'm screwing with season four continuity, so? Disclaimer: With the notable exceptions of Sarah MacGreggor, Albrecht Zauer, and Jean Paul Martin, the characters in the following story are the sole property of Rysher Entertainment, as is the concept of immortality used in the Highlander genre. (this plot, however, is mine--and I hereby copyright it) I've merely borrowed them for a while, and promise to return them unharmed, as soon as I'm done. No copyright interloping was intended...this is all in good fun. Long Lost -LC Krakowka [part 1] Richie was alone in the dojo, trying to perfect a move Mac had taught him when the "buzz" happened. A few moments later, a tallish woman walked through the door, with a sword concealed under her trench coat. He sized her up. She looked to be about his age, though he had learned the hard way that looks could be very deceiving when immortals were involved, and had an air of power about her that went beyond his ability to sense her quickening. "I'm looking for Duncan MacLeod," she said in a muted Scottish accent. "He's out." The woman crossed the floor and approached Richie, obviously assessing him. "You're a student of his?" "I'm a friend of Mac's, yeah." In the light, he could see that she had piercing green eyes and high cheekbones. Her ash blonde hair was cropped short, in what the fashion magazines would call a "Gen-X Shag" and she carried an elegant Swept Hilt Rapier with a lengthened handle and thickened blade; modified to allow for two handed use if necessary. Her clothes were nothing more exciting than jeans and a faded green t-shirt under a black vest, but the coat was London Fog and looked to be cashmere; she had style. "Will he be back soon?" The woman advanced again, but kept an unthreatening distance. She stood a good four inches taller than he did, but Richie knew that he was almost certainly physically stronger. The question was, was she better? "I don't know. What do you want with him?" Richie flexed his grip on his own sword. She laughed. "Kid, if you think you are going to do Duncan a favor and take my head before I can take his, you're crazy." "Why's that?" "I'm not after Duncan's head..." "Why should I believe you?" "Because you'd loose if we fought." "What makes you so sure of that?" He raised his sword in a challenge. "Look, I really don't want to fight you..." She jumped back as he sliced the air in front of her chest and drew her own sword in defense. "Kid, I'm warning you, don't pick a fight with me..." "Don't call me kid," he swung again and engaged her. It was a very brief battle, consisting of three blows. On the fourth, she disarmed him and brought her sword to his throat. "Told you so," she grinned. They both reeled for a moment, as the force of two immortals traveling together came upon them. Seconds later, Duncan and Adam entered the Dojo, laughing. The stopped short at the sight of Richie and his foe. "Sarah?" Both Mac and Adam exclaimed. "You know Sarah?" They asked each other in unison. "Hey Mac, tell your student here not to pick fights with immortals he doesn't know anything about," she grinned, lowering her sword. Richie breathed an audible sign of relief. "I want a list of all your friends Mac..." "Petey? Is that you?" Sarah dropped her sword and ran over to Adam. "My god! It is!" She threw her arms around him and kissed his neck. He returned the affection with a smile. "Look at you! I thought you were...that is...where have you been?" "Everywhere," she smiled back. "Duncan!" Mac hugged her as well. "Richie, this is Sarah MacGreggor, Sarah, Richie Ryan." She stuck out her hand, which Richie took with some chagrin. "You're good with a sword..." "She'd have to be to live be her age," Duncan grinned. "Come on, let's go upstairs." Adam looked at Sarah wistfully. "I wish I could...but I have to go meet Alexa." "Alexa?" She cocked an eyebrow at him. "In love are we, Petey?" "I'll tell you all about it," Duncan draped an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry Sarie, I'll see you soon?" Adam grabbed her hand. She nodded. "Go on...don't keep your girl waiting," she smiled. Adam looked reluctant to leave, but let go anyway. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She nodded. "So, how long have you two known each other?" Richie asked as they retired to Mac's living room a few minutes later. "Oh my...since Duncan was just a pup," Sarah grinned. In the better light, Richie could see that she was lithe and quick to smile. There was an unmistakably Scottish look about her, though her accent had been softened by the years. Still, he could easily imagine her in a tartan, strolling through the highlands. That air of power still lingered around her, but she was no longer a threat. "You're older than Mac?" "Sarah is nearly a thousand," Duncan said, bringing her a beer. She swatted at him playfully. "I'm only nine hundred and fifty three, thank you very much." "But you don't look a day over 920," Duncan grinned. "I was the one who taught Mac here how to handle women, he was a real oaf for a while there..." "I'm more interested in how you know Adam than in telling stories about my wayward youth," Duncan interrupted her. "Petey?" She suddenly grew very serious. "Petey?" Richie asked. "When we met his name was Peter...I'll never be able to call him anything else." "Were you two involved?" Richie asked, getting more comfortable on the couch. "Involved? You mean romantically?" She laughed. "No. We were great friends though, for nearly three centuries." "How did you meet him?" Duncan asked. Sarah furrowed her brow and rubbed her neck, drawing Richie's attention to a thin seam of a scar that ran diagonally from just under her chin down toward her left shoulder blade, disappearing under the collar of her shirt. "When I was twenty six, a Norman raiding party found its way to my home. My husband and I had been off riding, tending the sheep. We came back to see our village on fire. They had gathered everyone in the yard and the captain was beheading the men one by one--my brothers, my father, even the boys. Alan told me to run, but I was transfixed by it all...I couldn't. We were dragged from our horses and they killed him right in front of me. When all the men were dead, the captain told them they could do what they wanted with us women...he wasn't interested in us, he said." She shook her head and clenched her fists repeatedly. "I tried to fight one of the men off, but I didn't know how to really...he got me to the ground," she swallowed hard, and it was obvious what had happened to her next. "He slit my throat. I bled to death..." Sarah took a deep breath and shook herself, trying to get rid of the memory. "The next thing I knew, I was very much alive and looking up at Petey. He cleaned me up, told me what I was...and taught me how to fight." "Why were they beheading all the men?" Richie asked. "That doesn't make sense..." "It was a culling," Duncan answered, putting his hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Huh?" She sighed. "They were looking for me. The captain was an immortal...somehow he knew that there was one of us in my clan...even though it hadn't manifested yet." "He just didn't count on it being a woman," Duncan added. Sarah nodded. "Wow..." Richie trailed off. "I'm sorry..." Sarah shrugged. "It was almost a thousand years ago..." "Did you ever find the guy?" "No...I've been looking for years." "How long were you and Adam friends?" "Richie..." "No Duncan, it's okay. Pete and I traveled together until about the middle of the twelfth century..then we went our separate ways." "It's hard to imagine you and Adam together, doing all this stuff, before Mac was even born." "I took my first head long before Connor was born, let alone Mac here." Richie glanced at his watch. "Holy cow, look at the time! I gotta go. Are you going to stick around for a while Sarah?" She nodded. "Will you spar with me sometime? I'd like to learn some of those moves you did downstairs." He grabbed his coat and headed toward the elevator. Sarah grinned at him. "You bet, Kid." Duncan chuckled as he left. "He's eager to learn." "He's pretty good. You're a good teacher." "And it was Adam that taught you to fight?" Duncan asked. She nodded. "I've done some more training in the martial arts since then, but he taught me most of what I know. Why?" Duncan smiled. "We've sparred...he didn't seem like he was that good." "He was holding back, I'm sure." Duncan smiled again, changing the subject. "You putting down roots here?" "I thought I might. I want to be around friends for a while....try to be normal." "And you're sure you and Adam weren't involved," he teased. She nodded. "He was like a brother to me." "Was?" "We didn't part on the best of terms. Toward the end, we fought a lot." "You seemed happy to see him today." "I thought he was dead all this time," she took a big gulp of her beer and stretched. "And I didn't know you knew him." "Actually, we just met about a year ago...he's...enigmatic." Sarah chuckled. "When you're that old Mac, you will be too." *** "Mac, if you keep telling immortals about us, we won't be a secret organization any more," Joe scolded, thunking down a glass on the bar. Sarah laughed. "Mac only filled in the details. I knew there was something up, the guy you have assigned to me doesn't do a very good job of concealing himself. I just wasn't sure of the scope of the operation." "I've read your file," Joe looked at her. "You've got quite a history." "How can you not when you've been alive this long?" "We didn't know that Peter Lenahaughn was one of Methos' aliases. You two have a huge file." She smiled and nodded. "Petey and I did a lot of traveling." "Your file is one of the most complete we have...until about 1367. Then you dropped off the face of the earth for a while. It wasn't until about 1946 that we figured out all your aliases and strung them all together." "I was moving around a lot for a while there..." she looked down into her half empty glass, then back up at Joe. "If you knew that both Pete and I were still alive, why didn't you tell one of us?" "We watch. We don't interfere." "What I don't get is how Petey could spend so much time creating that database and not find me in it." Joe shrugged. "Maybe he just missed one of the connections." "Joe, will you help us or not?" Mac interrupted. "I'm not supposed to..." Sarah's eyes hardened. "Look, I'm not asking you to hand me his head, just tell me what continent he's on," she said. "This man killed my entire family...I just learned his name...I deserve the chance to avenge my clan." Joe sighed. "Okay. Who is he?" "If your files are so complete, you should know." "Jean Paul Martin," Joe sighed. "I'll see what I can do...no promises." "Thanks." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. *** They stood in the rain, gathered around the fresh earth covering Alexa's grave. Adam had been gone for six months, traveling the world with her, and had only returned three days ago to bury her. In the mean time, Sarah had settled in to Seacouver and established herself as a teacher at both the university and the dojo. She had remained silent when she learned of Alexa's condition and Adam's involvement with her, knowing that the outcome would break his heart, but reluctant to interfere. Now, Mac and Joe shared an umbrella and Richie had ducked under hers, but Adam stood alone, with only his collar turned up against the deluge. The other funeral go-ers had departed one by one and in small groups, but they had remained, determined to show support for their grieving friend. They had, however, been standing there in an uncomfortable silence for the better part of an hour. Each of the other three had been sending meaningful glance her way with growing frequency, waiting for her to make a move. But, Sarah was watching the expressions shift on Adam's face, knowing exactly what he was feeling. She had buried her fair share of lovers over the centuries; and it never got any easier. She was waiting for some sign that he had come to grips with Alexa's death. He had to be allowed a good-bye before they left the cemetery. Knowing him as well as she did, Sarah recognized that sign to be the raising of his head until he was looking skyward. She handed Richie the umbrella and crossed the soggy ground to stand at Adam's side. "Come on Petey, it's time to go," she said, taking his hand. He looked over at her and gave a grim smile. "No matter how many times I do this, I never gets any easier." Sarah nodded, "I know." Adam took one last look at the flower covered grave and let her lead him back through the rows of head stones toward the car. The other three followed, a few yards behind. Joe chuckled suddenly, soliciting a confused look from Duncan. "What's so funny?" "Nothing's funny," Joe answered, "I was just suddenly struck by the irony of standing in a cemetery with four immortals." "Believe me," Duncan said quietly, watching as Sarah put her arm around Adam's shoulders affectionately," we spend our fair share of time here." [end part one] copyright, 1996-Lisa Krakowka -- LC Krakowka /215 CCC/255-5378/ hck1@cornell.edu CIT Learning Technologies Center/Lab Webmistress http://krakowka.cit.cornell.edu/hpage/lisa.html Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it binds the universe together.