========================================================================= Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 16:08:58 -0500 Reply-To: JJSWBT@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Wendy Tillis Subject: Hidden Potential 20/22 Hidden Potential By: Wendy Tillis March 1996 All standard disclaimers apply. Chapter 20 Duncan ran up the mountain trail , breathing hard. He pushed himself as hard as he could on the sometimes icy path. He always came up here when he needed to clear his head. He knew what the problem was. It was time to move on. He had been in Seattle for over 15 years. He knew it like the back of his hand. Maggie had been right - he hadn't been ready to leave last summer. Almost but not quite. Now, he felt it was time to go. Give the city a hundred years and then come back to explore its new face. But where should he go? Not Paris. Much as he loved that city - he had been there too often in the last century. World War 1, World War 2, off and on all through the 1980's and 90's. It held too many memories - most of them painful. Where then? The Orient , maybe. He hadn't lived there a long time. His Japanese and Chinese were rusty but would come back. Yes, that might do for a start. He reached the top of the trail and turned and started back down without pausing. It was snowy and too cold to enjoy the view from the mountain top. He knew it wasn't just the fact that Seattle had become too familiar. Last year had been a bad one and he needed a change of scenery. The dojo reminded him of Richie - not pleasant memories now. Maybe time would restore the memories of the good times. Duncan had asked Joe about Richie a few weeks ago at Christmas. Joe said he had been spotted in Italy on the ski slopes. Good. Duncan hoped he would be all right. At least he still had his head. He was young - he would get over Margaret's loss and, in time, might even forgive Duncan for the part he had played in that loss. Duncan was almost down the trail when he looked out over the flat meadow that separated the mountain from the parking lot. He saw that another car had pulled in next to his T-bird. A man, in heavy overcoat and hat, was leaning on the hood of the other car. Duncan slowed but continued down. As he reached the meadow, he realized that the other man was an Immortal. An Immortal that now stood between Duncan and his sword. Duncan slowed further. He supposed he could turn and go back up the trail but he didn't feel like running away. If this Immortal wanted trouble, Duncan was prepared to give it to him. Coming closer he saw that the man was wearing a deep green military style greatcoat and a fur hat - a thought formed and was confirmed as the man looked up at Duncan's approach. Methos! "Methos! What are you going here?" "Looking for you." Duncan stopped just out of sword range. "For me? Any particular reason?" Duncan was seemingly nonchalant as he walked in a half circle towards the far side of the T-bird. Methos turned with him but made no threatening move. " I have some unfinished business with you." "You do?" Duncan reached the other side of his car and could see his katana lying on the back seat. From here he knew he could reach it if need arose. He relaxed. " Mysterious old Methos." He smiled slightly. " Joe happened to mention on the phone last week that you looked restless and I wanted to see you before you lit out for parts unknown." "OK, you've got my attention - what's up?" "It's about Maggie." " What?" Where is she"? Is she alright?" " Where is she now? I have no idea. Is she alright? Yes - I have no doubt that she is fine. She's extremely old, extremely clever and can be extremely deadly when needed. She used to say that she was the first and she intended to be the last. I wouldn't bet against her." "Methos! When did you hear from her! Did you see her? What did she say?" " It was late last August, she showed up at my flat in Moscow. She stayed with me a few weeks." Duncan's eyes hardened at that. She had left him and gone back to Methos. He started to speak but Methos cut him off. "Look, MacLeod. Do we have to stand out here to discuss this? Let's at least get in the car and turn on the heat?'' Duncan started to pull open the door of the Thunderbird. Methos grimaced. "Have a heart, MacLeod . That convertible is as draughty as an old tent. Now this" "this is tight as a drum." Duncan looked again at his sword and then closed the door. If he couldn't trust Methos - he couldn't trust anyone. He walked over to the Mercedes and climbed into the passenger side. Methos was already in with the engine running. The car did indeed begin to warm up almost immediately. "OK, tell me." Duncan's voice was hard. Methos looked at him curiously. "Last August, she showed up on my doorstep in Moscow. I'd never seen her so miserable. She may be older than the hills but a part of her is still that same 16 year old girl she was thousands of years ago. I took her in and she stayed a while. Over the next few weeks she told me everything that had happened between her and Richie and you." "Why are you telling me about this now? Did you just want to be sure that I knew she had left me for you?" "Grow up, MacLeod. I wouldn't fly 10,000 miles and risk exposure to the Watchers just to tweak your nose! As I was saying < he raised an eyebrow at MacLeod to ask for quiet> She talked about you -a lot. No, she talked about you all the time. It got to be bloody boring. Whatever she may have told you, Highlander, she's in love with you. She just hasn't admitted it to herself yet. She always did have trouble saying it - I'd known her 500 years before she said it to me the first time. " Duncan sat staring straight ahead through the frosted windshield. He wanted to believe Methos. He realized Methos was still talking. "As to why I waited to tell you - I knew she wanted time to disappear and cover her tracks. Maggie is famous for her disappearing acts - even before she learned to hide what she was. She doesn't want you to know where she is - not until she works this out in her own mind. She asked me not to tell you that I had seen her." "But you just did tell me. Why?" "Because I still care about her and I want her to be happy. I didn't want you to get all depressed and decide to go off and get yourself killed. If you love her, wait and she'll come back. But - don't try to find her. You won't be able to until she wants to be found. It may take a century or two - but she'll be back." "A century or two? Who's to say any of us will be alive a century from now?" Methos chuckled. Duncan looked angry. "Sorry, MacLeod. It's just that I said the same thing about 4000 years ago. And 2500 years ago and well . . . you get the picture. I see no signs that the end is any nearer now than it was 4000 years ago. New Immortals are still being created. We all have dry spells and then times when it seems like we are under constant attack. You've been having one hell of a streak recently. But it will pass and you'll find yourself wishing for some excitement. Trust me. I know. You watch your head and stay alive and Maggie will show up. I envy you. I used to be the one she came back to." There was an awkward pause in the conversation. " Methos. I. . . . don't know what to say. I never set out to fall in love with her." Methos cut in. "No need to apologize, MacLeod. Or feel sorry for me. I had my time with her. No man is going to hold her forever." There was another pause. "When did you . . . when did you meet her? If you don't mind telling me. I am curious. Is she really the first Immortal?" " Is she the first? I don't know. I know she is older than I am. I know that she can tell stories that go back so far that she must be the oldest . . if she is telling the truth. Maggie can lie like a trooper. When did I meet her? It was about 5000 years ago . . . in England. . . . . . . Circa 3000 BC Salisbury Plain I had been Immortal for about 100 years. Not long after it had happened , I'd been found by an older Immortal who explained the rules of the Game as he knew them. He wasn't more than 100 himself - though, of course, I thought that quite ancient then. I didn't at all like the sound of the beheading part and so endeavored to stay as far away from other people, mortal or Immortal , for as long as possible while I came to grips with my new existence. Now - you have to remember that the world was very sparsely populated back then. One could go for days, weeks, and never meet another soul. I wandered out of Mesopotamia . . Duncan cut in. "Is that where you're from?" "Sort of. As I was saying. I left Mesopotamia and wandered generally north and west. No fixed idea of where I was going or how long it might take. I didn't have a clue what was over the next hill - I just went. When I hit the Channel, I found some fisherman on the coast. They said there was a large island to the west but none would venture to take me. So I built my own boat and went alone. Needless to say I made it. I landed on the southern coast of England near where a river ran into the sea. Since it would provide a constant source of fresh water, I started waking upstream. I eventually came to a camp of people living in the forest on the edge of a open plain. There were about 40 of them altogether - a sizable number for those days. They were engaged in some activity I couldn't understand. They were digging a circular trench out on the plain and digging deeper holes around the trench. They were surprised to see me but, as I was alone and unarmed, they didn't attack me. In fact, they allowed me to sit by their fires and stay. We spoke different languages, of course, but I was a quick study and in a fortnight I could understand much of what they said. I gathered that the trench had some religious significance to them. They also implied that their priestess or goddess was off on an errand and would be returning soon. I couldn't wait - I'd never met a goddess before. It never occurred to me she might be an Immortal. Another fortnight passed and the people were getting worried. Their goddess had been gone for almost a year. It seemed she had seldom been gone so long before. Some worried that she had turned her back on them. Others said that perhaps she had fought another god and lost. Apparently she had fought gods before. This piqued my curiosity and I asked for more tales. One old man, he was perhaps 50, was happy to oblige. According to their oral history , the goddess had been with them for over 1000 years. I questioned that number but the old man was firm. She protected them, helped them, and sometimes battled other gods. She was always victorious and lightning rained from the sky to shower her in light when she won. This sounded a bit too much like the Quickening to me - I decided to leave in the morning. I didn't make it. Just before dawn I felt the presence of another Immortal nearby and woke to find her standing over me. How can I describe her - well, you've seen her. She's tall for a woman even now - but then , she was taller than most men. That red hair - the way it cast back the light of the fires in glints of copper and gold and bronze. I think I fell in love before I stood up. She just stood there. I jumped to my feet, hands out to indicate I was unarmed. Then - to my utter surprise, she asked my name - in Sumerian - which I spoke as well. I told her and she told me hers. Back then it was - um - Magda is as close as I can come to it. We sat apart from the others and she asked where I was from and what I was doing there - had I come for her head? I assure her that I was just passing through. She looked me over in a very frank manner and asked if I wouldn't like to stay? I wasn't a complete fool and said yes. I stayed about 100 years. She had some theory she was trying to prove with the trench and the pits - it was over my head. During the course of those years I discovered that she was older than I could imagine. She *claimed* to have seen the last glacier retreat out of France." "That's impossible! That would make her 10,000 years old. I dunna believe it." Unbeknownst to Duncan his Scottish accent had returned with a vengeance. " Well, I can't say that I do either. But - she can be damned convincing. Remember, I heard the story 5000 years ago - when she would have been about as old as I am now. Did you *really* believe I existed before we met? Do you think I am lying about being 5000? I don't know, Duncan. Is she 10,000 years old? Even if she isn't - she is still a *lot* older than I am and I *know* how old I am. Anyway - it's getting late so I'll finish up . We stayed together for 100 years, then she said she needed some space- or words to that effect. She had done what she could with these people for now - it was time to move on. We left together but split up when we got back on the continent. She promised we would meet again. And we did. Off and on for the next 1000 years or so. I would be in some seaport on business and she would walk in - knowing I was there. We'd have a few decades together and then she would leave - or I would. We had some great times. We wrote poetry together, we joined armies and fought side by side, once we settled down and tried to raise cattle on the Nile. She was always the better fighter. The better survivor. I don't think I would have made it though those years without her guidance. Then about 1600 years after we had first met, I was in China trying to set up a silk trade route to Egypt. One day she came riding into town like the very Devil was after her. She had cut off her hair, dyed it black and was dressed like a man. She dragged me out of my room and to a nearby inn. She had just discovered the Watchers. Mortals that knew about us - it was an abhorrence to her. I think that was the only time I've ever seen her afraid. We left immediately and started to research these Watchers. We found one and followed him . When we knew who he reported to, we followed that person. And so on. Within 25 years we knew as much about them as was possible - and we started a reign of terror that I am still ashamed of today. We systematically destroyed every Watcher that had ever know of us. Destroyed every record that mentioned us. It took over 150 years of travel. Then when it was done, we stayed together. We were exhausted. But that passed. In the end we stayed together for 400 years - 400 years where I woke up next to her every morning. The best 400 years of my life. In the end, we were on Crete. It was summer. The Aegean was as blue as anything I have ever seen. One day she came back from the harbour where she had been talking to a sailor who had just arrived. She did that a lot. As soon as she walked in the door , I knew it was over. But I didn't say anything. I made her say it. It took her two days. She said it was time for her to leave, she had some idea she wanted to follow up. Besides, she said, I was becoming too dependent on her. She was right there - she was the better swordsperson and had done all the fighting for hundreds of years. I knew I couldn't change her mind so I didn't try. She stayed until Fall, then sailed away. I never saw or heard from her again until this summer when I walked into Joe's. I thought she was dead - 3000 years without a word. I should have known better." Duncan was silent, trying to digest everything he had just heard. It was an amazing tale. " Where did she go then ? Where did she learn to disguise what she was? Did she tell you how to do it?" " I think she ought to tell you the rest - if she wants to. Besides, I have to go. I have a plane to catch in a few hours." "So soon?" "I need to get out of town before Joe or any of the other Watchers know I'm here. I'm supposed to be in Moscow and people would talk if they knew I was in town to meet with you. Do me a favor and don't tell Joe I was about?" 'Of course, but why? Joe wouldn't. . ." Methos cut him off. "I think it is about time that Adam Pierson *and* Methos disappeared for a while. I'll go back to Moscow and wait until Spring. Then I'll just fade away. Don't look for me to put in another appearance for quite some time." " I understand, Methos." It was times like this that Duncan wished there was an Immortal clearinghouse where one could register to find old friends. Once Duncan got out of Methos' car - they might never meet again even if they both lived a thousand more years. Methos seemed to sense what Duncan was thinking. "Don't fret MacLeod. I think we'll meet again." Duncan opened the car door and got out. He moved over to the Thunderbird, opened the door and got in. It was freezing - and draughty. Duncan smiled. Just then, Methos rolled down the window and leaned over to speak. "Good-bye Highlander. Watch your head. Expect me when you see me. And relax - living forever is supposed to be fun." Before Duncan could respond, Methos rolled up the window, backed the car out of the parking lot and headed east, gaining speed as he went. Duncan started the T-bird and followed more slowly.