========================================================================= Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 01:47:40 -0400 Reply-To: CatsImmie@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Jen Thrailkill Subject: Repost and Corrections: Cross of Swords Parts 8&9&10/12 Here is Parts 8, 9, & 10. If you need 1-7 let me know ASAP! Cross of Swords Part 8 Ancient Ruins in Merida Mexico: November 1995 Chris knew she had been gone longer than she had told Cat and Joe, but she needed the trip. It had been exactly fifty years since she had lost Will, and she had come to the Mayan Ruins in Mexico to mourn. The ruins were considered Holy Ground, and this is where they had met, got married, and where she came to escape from the Game. ***Merida Mexico: 1746*** Jordan was riding her horse across the Yucatan Peninsula towards the coast, when she got the buzz. She brought her horse to a stop and looked around for the source. Under a tree near a pond stood a man about 10 years her senior and he walked towards her. She drew her sword out of habit and as protection. "This is Holy Ground, there is no need for that here. I am William Jose Vincente." "I see no markings of Holy Ground, prove thyself or die." Will pulled out a map from around 500 AD. "You are standing on the ruins of a temple named The Pyramid of the Magician*." Jordan looked at the map and then at the man before her. She saw the trust in his eyes, and even though she had learned over the years not to trust anyone, she withdrew her sword and stepped down off her horse. "I am Jordan Christine Renwyck." *** Three months later, they married at the place they met and 200 years later, that is where she buried his headless body. Now she came back to mourn him. "I will avenge your death Will, I promise you that. If I ever find that bastard, his head is mine!" ***Arizona 1946*** Chris and Will were working on their farm when they got the buzz. Will drew his sword and searched. "Chrissy, get inside." "Will, I am able to handle myself. In the 200 years we have been married, have I not proven myself to you?" "Help!" came a voice from the back of the barn. "Someone help me!" Chris and Will ran to the back of the barn toward the voice. There under an overturned plow laid a boy about fifteen. Chris and Will pulled the plow off him and took him inside. "I am William and this is my wife Jordan Christine. Are you lost?" "My teacher. He lost his head and now the guy who did it is after me. Can you hide me?" It had been a trick and Will fell for it. He had always loved children and gladly took the boy in. Chris had been skeptical from the start. Her intuition told her this boy was trouble, and a month later, her intuition had proved her right. She had gone into town to get supplies and came home in time to see the end of a Quickening coming from behind the barn. She ran back there and saw Will's headless body lying on the ground. She ran after the kid, but he was quick and got away. She went back to Will's body and held him crying and screaming her revenge. *** "Christine!" Chris came out of her thoughts to find a Watcher looking up at her. "How did you find me?" she asked. Only two people knew where she might have been and they wouldn't have told her secret unless it was an emergency. "Adam." 'Ok, so it is an emergency.' She thought to herself. Methos would have never given her secret away unless he had to. This was a special place and he was the only Watcher who knew why she would be there. She walked down the steps of the pyramid and walked over to the Watcher. "What's going on?" "There's trouble with Cat. You have to get back." "Did he say what was wrong? Is she ok?" "I don't know, he just said to get in touch with you and for you to call him as soon as possible." "Thanks, I will." *NOTE: The Pyramid of the Magician actually exists. Its located at the Mayan Ruins Uxmal on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The pyramid is adjacent to the Nun's Quadrangle. It has rounded corners, went through at least 5 building phases, so that you can see the remains of 5 temples. Steps are located on two sides, east and west, the west side (toward the quadrangle) is much steeper. This side is also more complex, using the Chennes style, with the monster mouth doorway.. It is said that the Mayan's built the ruins around 445 AD and abandoned it 200 years later... It was restored after being discovered in the 1920's, after being buried since the late 1300's. It has a very interesting legend, as you will soon learn about. Cross of Swords Part 9 Secouver: Next Day "Why would he come after me? That doesn't make sense." Cat said to Chris. Chris had gotten on the next plane back to the states, and was no at the loft with Cat, Duncan, and Amanda. "I wouldn't put anything past that kid." Duncan said. "Why would Kenny want to come after any of us? One reason, our heads." He had already explained to Chris the details of the trap Kenny had set for he and Amanda. Chris looked out the window knowing somewhere Kenny was loose and probably looking for her. "He is not after you, he is after me." She said as she turned to look at her friends. "But why?" Cat asked going over to Chris. "What does he have to do with you?" "He knows that I am looking for him and that I want revenge." "Revenge for what?" Duncan saw the look of pain in his former students eyes. "He was the one that killed Will, wasn't he?" Duncan knew Will had been beheaded, but Chris never talked about who had done it. "He is always after those who mean anything to me. He wanted my head that day. My power. My Quickening, not Wills'." "But why me?" Cat asked. "Just because you were suppose to take me in?" "I do not know." Chris lied. She knew it was more than that. "So what now?" Amanda asked. "I feel like this is all my fault." "There was no way for you to know Amanda. We would have all done the same thing if we had been in your shoes." "So what do we do now?" Cat asked. "And don't say wait." "I go and find him and settle the score." Chris answered. "By now, I have a pretty good idea where he may be heading." "Then let's go!" Cat said. "Us? This is my fight, Cat, and I will go alone. This is none of your concern." "Once he took my sword, it became my concern. I want to go, and nothing you can say or do will stop me." "Might as well take her with you." Duncan said smiling. "She's going to go anyway." "Fine." Chris said giving in. "We will leave first thing in the morning. I will warn you now, you may not come back. This may be a trap for the both of us." "That's a risk I'm willing to take." Cross of Swords Part 10 Ancient Ruins in Merida Mexico: The Next Day The next day, Chris and Cat were back in Mexico at the same place Chris had just come from. "So this is where you and Will met?" Cat asked as the two were setting up camp. "Right over on top of that pyramid, although then it was just a hill. It was only discovered only a few decades ago." "And Will was the only one still living that knew about it? It's so beautiful in an ugly sort of way." "It was beautiful until Hurricane Andrew, a few months ago, damaged it. The legend was, that this is Holy Ground until the top of the temple is damaged. Then the demons would take it over.*" "So we can fight here? It's no longer Holy Ground?" "The only way for it to become Holy Ground again, is for a storm so powerful to hit that it would frighten away the demons." "Don't you feel weird here being with all the demons? I have the creeps now." "The only demon I am scared of is Kenny." "And you're sure he's going to be here?" "No, but it makes sense that he would be." "But why here?" "He knows that this was our special place. And this is where I would go for revenge. Tomorrow it will have been 50 years since I swore my revenge. He knows Will is buried here, and he knows this is where I will be waiting for him." "But how does he know?" "Kenny knows a lot more than you think. How he knows I am not sure. He knew I was going to be your teacher. Now let's go to sleep. We may have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." "Chris?" "Yes Cat." "I just wanted to thank you. You've helped me start to change. And if anything happens to you tomorrow, I'll die trying to live out your revenge." "That means a lot to me, thank you." "Goodnight Chris." "Goodnight." *NOTE: This isn't the legend word for word, but you get the general idea. I was slightly doped up on pain killers when I was there due to a broken ankle. Piece of advice... Don't try hiking ruins when your ankle is broken in 3 places and you've torn all the muscles in your foot. It may be fun, but you won't remember much! To be continued... Copyright 1996: Jen Thrailkill {CatsImmie@aol.com}