Part 4

Tuesday, 2:16 AM

Kavik checked her watch, it was past two in the morning. she thought. Quietly, she opened the door and crept inside. She instantly felt the Presence of another Immortal. She drew her sword only to find Sam looking at her from the kitchen door.

"Don't do that," she whispered harshly.

"Ah was waitin' for ya," stated Sam. "Ah want to talk."

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" I just want to get a shower and crawl into bed.

"No. Please, Kavik, tell me what's going on."

Sliding her sword back into her coat, Kavik sighed. "Fine, but I really want a shower at this precise moment in time, so you'd better come up."

Kavik and Sam quietly walked up the stairs to Kavik's room. Luckily, because Kavik was in what had been one of the guest room, there was no one in any of the rooms next to her.

"Have a seat." Kavik motioned to the bed as she headed into the bathroom.

"I'll be out in a few minutes."

Sam looked around Kavik's room. Her coat was draped over the chair and he could see the glint of her sword inside it. Sam sat down heavily on the bed.

He still couldn't believe what he had seen tonight. Oh, he believed in immortals, after all, that's what the Externals were, but swords? beheadings? and what was that lightning called, Quickenings? And yet, he'd seen it with his own eyes. Sam was still contemplating what all this meant when Kavik walked out of the bathroom, her hair still wet.

Sam looked up. "Please, tell me what is going on," he pleaded.

Kavik sat cross legged on the bed. "You are, *we* are, Immortals."

"Ah'm an External."

"No, Sam, you're an Immortal, who happens to be a mutant."

"So what's the difference?"

"All Externals are mutants, not so with Immortals. Only some of us are mutants."

"Like you and me?"

"Like you," corrected Kavik.

"What do ya mean?"

"I'm not a mutant, never claimed to be."

"But your powers?"

"Okay, this is going to take some explaining." Kavik thought for a moment. "When you take another Immortal's head, you take his Quickening, his power for lack of a better word. About 40 years ago, I fought this guy and won." Kavik thought to herself. "Anyway, *he* was a mutant.

When I recovered from the Quickening, I discovered that I had these powers.

It's possible for powers to jump from Immortal to Immortal along with the Quickening."

"So, it's possible ta collect powers? That would make ya unstoppable."

"No, there's no guarantee that you'll get any powers an Immortal has. It's chance. You may get, you may not. Or you may get them on a lower scale."

"How do ya mean?"

"Well, for example, a few years ago I fought a telepathic Immortal. Now, I'm not telepathic, but I am immune to telepathy, it only works on me if people have my co-operation. I can't be scanned and I don't register telepathically. I can't use the power aggressively, but it's there. Also, I think it only works if you take the powers from the original source." Kavik elaborated at Sam's confused look. "I mean, for example, if we fought and I won, then I would have a chance at getting your cannonballing power as it's an ability you were born with. However, if you won, then you wouldn't get my powers as they weren't mine originally, I took them off someone else. It's only a theory, but it fits with all the power transfers that I've heard of."

"So what's ta stop ya usin' your powers to beat someone in a fight?" Sam asked.

"The fact that you can't. I don't know how, but the interaction of Quickenings somehow negates mutant abilities."

"So...?"

"So, as long as you can feel the Presence of another Immortal, then you have no access to you mutant abilities."

"That why when ah tried ta blast away from Tharrus ah couldn't."

"Yes, it's the same for all Immortals with powers. Think of it as a way of keeping the Game fair."

"The Game?"

"The reason you're here, Sam. The reason we're here." Kavik took a deep breath and began to explain. She explained about the Gathering and the Rules.

"Do you follow?"

"Ah think so," said Sam. "So, ah still can't die?"

"No, Immortals *can* die, the same as anyone else. We just don't stay dead," explained Kavik.

"An' this sick feeling ah get, that means that anothah Immortal is near?"

Kavik smiled. "Yes. Don't worry, though. The first few times you sense another Immortal, the feeling is...intense. It won't feel like that once you get used to it."

"Ah'll nevah get used ta *that*!"

"Be grateful for it, the buzzing that you feel is the only warning that another Immortal is near."

"An' that their about ta try to chop off ma head!"

Kavik smiled sympathetically. "Not every Immortal will try to kill you. Some never fight unless directly challenged. Some choose to try to stay out of the Game. But, unless you want to live your entire life on Holy Ground, that isn't really an option. And a life spent running and hiding isn't a life. The best thing to do is to accept what you are and learn what you need to know. You're an Immortal. You can't change that, but it doesn't have to stop you from living."

"What will ah do?"

"I'll teach you what you need to survive. But how to live? That's something you'll have to learn for yourself."

"Why?"

"Because you need to know."

"No, ah mean why are you doin' this. Why don't you jus' take ma head like Tharrus tried ta do?"

Kavik shrugged. "Because someone taught me and I'm passing on the favour; because you're a good kid; because the more good guys there are out there, the less chance there is that someone like Tharrus will win the Prize. Choose one."

"So, what decides who's an Immortal? Ah mean, is it hereditary, will ma kids be like this as well?"

Kavik took a deep breath. "Sam, you can't have children."

"What do you mean?"

"Immortals are sterile. We can't have kids. Not our own anyway. Some choose to adopt, but-"

"But what?"

"Well, parenthood and our lifestyle don't exactly go hand in hand. Any children you raise can be used against you by an enemy. There are other options, though. I know of at least one Immortal couple who adopt pre-Immortal children, but even that has it's drawbacks."

"How so?"

"Because you don't know how things'll turn out. It's hard enough fighting someone you've considered a friend, never mind someone you call family. But some decide that it's worth the risk."

Sam dropped his head and looked at his hands in his lap. "And you don't know why any of this happens?" Sam asked when he finally looked back up.

Kavik snorted a laugh. "Haven't got a clue."

"Well, ah thought that since you're older..." Sam's voice trailed off.

"It doesn't work like that. You don't reach a magical age and then 'poof', you know exactly what this is all about. I know *how* to fight in the Game, I don't know why."

"And the Prize?"

"The power of all the Immortals who have gone before. At least, that's what it's supposed to be."

"What do you mean?"

"No one really knows," shrugged Kavik. "For all I know, we could actually be fighting for a lifetime's supply of Mars bars."

Sam couldn't suppress the smile that came to his lips.

"Sam," said Kavik as she took his hands in hers. "I can teach you how to use a sword, I can teach you the rules and I can teach you how to survive. But if you're looking for someone to give you the answers, then you're going to be disappointed. I don't have the answers. Hell, I don't even have most of the *questions*. I doubt if any of us do."

"What about Methos?"

Kavik hid the shock in her eyes. "What do you know about Methos?"

"Tharrus mentioned him before you...before you killed him."

"Methos is a legend, forget about him."

"Tharrus said he was following a lead on him." Sam was surprised at how many of Tharrus' words he remembered.

"Then Tharrus died on a fool's errand. Methos doesn't exist."

"But who is he?" Sam persisted.

"Supposedly the oldest of our kind."

"How old?"

"A little over five thousand, according to legend." thought Kavik with a grin. Methos *was* the oldest living Immortal, although only half a dozen people knew him as such. To the rest of the world he was Adam Pierson, grad student. He was also a Watcher and Researcher into the Methos Chronicles. Methos had taken on the identity of Adam almost 15 years ago, insinuating his way into the confidence of the Watchers, the secret society dedicated to recording the lives of Immortals and observing the Gathering. He had managed to become appointed as the researcher in charge of searching for leads and clues to finding Methos. It was a perfect way to keep track of the Game, without having to actively participate in it, as well as a way to make sure the Watchers and other Immortals never came too close to actually finding him. It had worked until one day when Duncan MacLeod had walked into his life. He couldn't explain it, but somehow, as soon as Duncan had felt the Presence of another, he had known that Adam Pierson: Watcher, was actually Methos: the oldest living Immortal. Kavik and Duncan were two of a select group who knew Adam's real identity. To the rest of the Immortal community Methos was a myth, but it still didn't stop some from looking for him. "But like I said, Methos is a legend, a myth. And even if he wasn't, I doubt if he would have the answers you're looking for." Kavik hought wryly.

"Anyway," Kavik continued, "whatever the reasons for the Game, it's happening."

"So, what does it mean?" Asked Sam.

"What it means," replied Kavik, "is that you have to learn to fight."

"Ah can already fight."

Kavik shook her head. "No, Sam. You have to learn to fight *our* way."

"With a sword?"

Kavik laughed at the look on Sam's face. It hovered between bemused and horrified. "Yeah, with a sword."

"Oh." Sam looked over to the window. "What will ah tell tha X-Men?"

"It's up to you. But understand this, living our lives depends on secrecy."

"How do ya mean?"

Kavik looked at Sam. "How did people react when you told them you were an External?"

"They looked at me differently."

"Exactly. For thousands of years Immortals have fought in the Game, and for thousands of years mortals have remained ignorant of it. Any chance we have of leading a normal life depends on the fact that no one knows about us."

"So what will ah say?"

"They think that you're an External, right?"

"Yeah."

"So let them keep thinking that. It explains why you can't die. And as long as you're careful they shouldn't suspect anything different."

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What will you tell them?"

"Exactly what I've told them so far," replied Kavik. "Absolutely nothing."

"No one here knows that you're an Immortal?"

"Logan knows. He and I have known each other for a long time." Kavik explained. "And Remy knows."

"Gambit? How?"

"He saw me take someone's head a couple of nights ago."

"What about the Professah?"

"No, Charles doesn't know, just Logan and Remy." Kavik paused. "Actually, it might be best to tell them about you too."

"Why?"

"Well, it would be handy to have a couple of people who *do* know what you are, just in case anything does happen. And since they happen to know about me, then Logan and Remy are the best candidates."

Sam looked down at the bed.

"What's wrong, Sam?"

"Ah'd jus' feel funny keepin' this from tha Professah."

Kavik sighed. "Well, that's up to you, Sam. But think about it, if you told Charles, what would he do?"

"Ah don't know?"

"He'd put it in your file. You know, 'Samuel Guthrie: External' would be changed to 'Samuel Guthrie: Immortal. Goes round chopping people's heads off every now and again'."

Sam laughed. "Ah guess you're right. If he did put it in tha files and someone got hold a them..." Sam's voice trailed off as he saw Kavik shudder.

"Are you all righ t?"

"Yeah, course I am." Kavik lied. Sam's words had taken her thoughts back to James Horton and the Hunters. A few years back, a Watcher named James Horton had gathered together like-minded Watchers and formed the Hunters.

The Hunters were renegade Watchers who believed that Immortals were a threat to mankind. They had killed many good people, and some of Kavik's friends. Even those on Holy Ground hadn't been safe. Kavik thought, looking at the young man opposite her. Kavik knew that the Hunters had supposedly been stopped, but there was always the chance that some of Horton's friends were still in the Watchers. Thinking about the Watchers led Kavik to thinking about her Watcher. She glanced at the clock. The time read 4:02 AM. "So, we tell Logan and Remy?" Kavik suggested, hoping that Sam didn't have many more questions. I need sleep, dammit, I'm an Immortal, not an insomniac.

Sam nodded, deep in thought. "Kavik?" he said, unsurely.

"Yeah," replied Kavik.

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Livin' as long as you have?"

"I won't lie to you Sam, it's not easy. The world has changed so much since I was your age, and it will probably change just as much in the *next* 500 years, yet in many ways, it's stayed the same."

"No, that's not what ah mean?"

"Oh?" Kavik's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's it like ta...lose people?"

"It's hard." Kavik admitted. "It's so difficult to watch mortal people that you care about grow old and die when you still look the same as you did on your 22nd birthday."

"How do ya stop yourself from gettin' hurt?"

Kavik snorted a laugh. "You *don't*, Sam. I used to think that you could, that cutting yourself off would work. It doesn't. All you can do is treasure the time that you have with the people you care about." She paused. "And remember, there are others who have gone through it as well."

"Othah Immortals?"

Kavik took a deep breath and stared straight into the trusting blue eyes of the young man before her. "Sam, this is difficult to explain, but the instant you became an Immortal, you became part of us. Drawn into the Game by a bond that will last through the ages." Kavik smiled. "When you live like we do, the friends you make tend to be those who share your secret. I have friendships that go back hundreds of years. We are there for each other, through everything. Loss, despair, joy, victory. There are hundreds of people I have known throughout my life, but there are only a few I have ever *shared* my life with." Kavik's thoughts turned to those people: Methos; Duncan; William; Darius. The thought of Darius brought Kavik back to reality with a startling jolt. She saw con cern and confusion reflected in Sam's face.

"Ah'm not quite sure that ah understand." He finally admitted.

"Don't worry, Sam. You will." Kavik assured him. "You will. Now, I'll be happy to answer any other questions you have, but can we wait until tomorrow, I'm dead on my feet, if you pardon the pun."

"Of course," answered Sam standing up. "Thank you." He said, walking to the door. "Just one more thing. What will ah tell Tabitha?"

"The truth," replied Kavik. "It's the only fair thing to do."

Sam nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sam. Sweet dreams." Kavik kissed Sam on the cheek and walked back over to her bed.

"I am getting too damn old for this," she muttered, collapsing in a boneless heap on top of the covers.