Part 3

See part one for disclaimer.

Methos felt the approach of another of his kind, but in the crowded
streets of Paris, he couldn't tell who it was. He saw a cafe up ahead
and decided to wait there for whoever was following him. He didn't have
long to wait, though. A minute after he sat down, Connor MacLeod sat
down across from him.

"How did Duncan take the news of our deception?" Methos asked.

"Not well. He kicked Richie and me out, but Richie's still working on
it. Knowing the old man, he has something that will convince Duncan to
join us," Connor commented. "We need to pick Amanda up at the airport in
half an hour. Also, we need to find Aries before then and head over to
Richie's house."

"House! Try estate. I can call Aries and he'll meet us here. I thought a
mocha would help clear my head," Methos said.

"Nightmares!"

"Yep. You'd think after what I've done and lived through, that
nightmares wouldn't bother me. I keep seeing my death; sometimes at
Richie's hands, and sometimes it's the enemy that kills me. I know
Richie won't harm me unless I give him a reason, but the nightmares are
so vivid that I wake up thinking that everything that happen is
happening right there." Methos looked down at his hands as he admitted
his greatest fears. They were something that Richie had helped him with,
when he had first become his teacher, but they were back. "The thing
that gets me is that I didn't start having them until Kalas came after
my head. He was the reason that I returned to this game."

"Have you told Richie about them? It may be Carlos causing them. If he
is, he's trying to wear you down."

Connor and Methos' discussion was interrupted by the arrival of their
coffee. Methos took that time to call Aries and tell him where to go. It
also gave Methos a chance to organize his thoughts.

"Adam, do you know who this Carlos guy is? I mean, I know that he and
Richie have been fighting from years, but I've never gotten Richie to
disclose what his relationship with Carlos is. I mean has Carlos always
been an enemy, or has he been a student, or even a friend," Connor
asked. He could tell Methos was uncomfortable and decided it was time to
change the subject.

"Carlos became immortal long before I did. I think that both Richie and
Carlos are close to the same age, which frightens me. I can't even beat
Richie in an unfair fight, what chance would any of us have against
Carlos?" Methos said. "If Richie can't beat this guy and loses his head,
we all have lost."


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Joe had troubles keeping still on the plane. He wanted to be in Paris
and doing something, but instead he was stuck on a plane that had been
late getting there and taking off. After years of watching, Joe should
have known patience, but he had friends to protect. He still didn't know
how he was going to keep news of the White Knight's appearance from the
Watcher community.

"May I sit here?" Joe heard a familiar voice from behind him and turned
to see Amanda standing in the aisle.

"Sure. What are you doing... Never mind, I know why you're here," Joe
said. He should have expected Richie would bring Amanda into this. She
was Rebecca's favorite and most trusted student.

"Do you know who the White Knight is? Adam said that I'd find out once I
got to Paris, but the curiosity is killing me. I remember the stories I
was told about him. Oh, god, I can't believe I'm about to find out who
the man is that stole Rebecca's heart. So, please would you tell me?"
Amanda asked with that 'I'm innocent and sweet' look.

"I'm going to regret this, but the Knight is really Richie." Dawson
turned to look at Amanda and saw the surprise in her eyes.

"Little Richie. No. No it can't be. When I first met him, he was still
mortal."

"Don't you think after all the time he has lived, that he would have
learned a few tricks to hide who he really is?" Dawson asked.

"Does MacLeod know about this?"

"By now he does," Joe said. A bit of fear ran threw him as he thought
about Duncan's reaction to the deception.

"I'm surprised there is even a Paris to go to. Duncan doesn't take too
kindly to being lied to. He is going to take our heads for this, but I
must say Rebecca really did love Richard."

"Yes, she did," Joe agreed. He was trying not to worry about Duncan
MacLeod's reaction to the news that his student was a tad bit older than
everyone thought he was.


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The book Richie had handed Duncan was one of Darius's personal journals;
an old one at that. The date at the front of the book read only '1015
AD.' Duncan knew that was after he had beheaded The Good Immortal. He
talked about how five strange immortals came to Paris that year.

Excerpt of Darius's writings:
'I don't remember feeling fear when I first saw these immortals, but
more of a sense of peace. I had been unable to leave holy ground in the
past two years because of another immortal and five new ones should have
made the threat even worse, but it didn't. It was as though God himself
looked upon them with grace and goodness, as though they were angels.
The sky was dark and cloudy and with their presence, it seemed to clear
somewhat, leaving a path of sunlight that lit their path. That is a day
that I'll never forget. One of them came up to me and introduced himself
as Richard. They chased off the immortal who was threatening me. Once
again I was able to leave holy ground. They stayed in Paris for only a
few months, but in that time I learned that Methos, Rebecca Horne,
Aries, and Ramirez were all once students of Richard's. Now they fought
by his side.'

Duncan MacLeod didn't know what to think as he read Darius's accounts of
the White Knight and his followers. According to Darius, they had spent
thousands of years riding together, fighting for good. 'Methos fighting
for good, right. You'd think that the Four Horsemen would have been evil
enough for them to destroy, but no, they let them roam the earth for a
few more centuries,' Duncan thought angrily. He remembered Cassandra's
words as she described the horror she went through, under the Horsemen's
control.

Throwing the book aside, Duncan saw the letter for the first time. He
picked it up, grabbed his coat, and headed out. He could believe that
Methos would lie to him, but Connor and Richie? There was no one he
trusted more in the world than his former teacher and his student.

"What are you looking at?" Duncan almost yelled at one of the people he
passed walking down the street. He felt like everyone was staring at
him, and looking around, he realized that his outburst had caused just
that. "Sorry," he said in a softer tone, but it didn't do anything
towards erasing that scared look in the strangers' eyes.

Duncan didn't even know where he was heading until he stood in front of
Darius's church. He had always gone here for the guidance of Darius. He
stepped inside and took a seat in one of the pews. That was when he got
the courage to open the letter. In Darius's careful handwriting, it
said:

'Dear Duncan,

Years have gone past since I first met you and in that time, I've seen
such a change in your heart. When I first met you, all you wanted to do
was fight the mortals' wars. I tried to teach you that wars are better
left for those who started it, not to those who want the blood and glory
that comes with war. You learned that not every fight needs to be fought
and how to walk away. I could not teach you everything, though.

Richard knew that you would become important to the survival of our
group. So we lied to you. It was a necessary lie. Please listen to what
he has to say. Some of it might just be what you've been looking for.
You might not realize it, but you've been traveling the world searching,
searching for an end, and Richie can show you the way to the end of the
violence.

I spent five hundred years fighting wars that had no purpose. Then I
beheaded The Good Immortal and I saw things in a different light. The
Good Immortal, or Brother Timothy as Richard knew him, was a great
person. I must say, it surprised me that Richard didn't take my head for
taking the head of his friend, but he said that everything that happens
in life, happens for a reason. We became friends when any other immortal
would have just dragged me off holy ground and taken my head.

Highlander, you've always thought with your head, now I'm asking you to
think with your heart and try to understand. I knew that my time was
drawing short when you came to Paris the last time, but I died in peace,
knowing that Richard was there to help you through the next few years.
For once in your life, don't be so closed minded and stubborn that you
won't listen to anyone.


Your Friend,

Darius'

Duncan didn't know what to think about the letter. He had always trusted
Darius and respected him enough to listen to the old priest's stories
and advice. Now he was being asked to forgive people he had trusted with
his love. Caught up in his thoughts, Duncan never noticed that another
immortal had entered the church or that they had taken the seat behind
him, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" Duncan said as he turned to face the person behind him.


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Richie backed away from the barge as he noticed Mac getting ready to
leave. As MacLeod came out of the barge, Richie backed even further
away, but just enough to keep out of sight and to keep his immortal buzz
from alerting Mac that he was there. Once Duncan was out of sight,
Richie sneaked into the barge and grabbed Darius's book. Richard just
didn't feel safe with it sitting out in the open for everyone to see.

Then Richie followed Mac to Darius's church. St. Julien le Pauvre had
always been a warm, inviting place, but since Darius's death, it had
become dark and uninviting, as if the spirit of the church was gone.
Maybe Darius's age and faith had made this church what it had been,
maybe not. A crime had been committed within its walls, though,
destroying everything that Darius had built up. Now the old building was
starting to crumble to dust, erasing all the memories of the old priest
from Paris.

Not one to really dwell on pain, Richie pushed the dark thoughts from
his head and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. He entered the
church several minutes after Duncan, giving him the chance to start
reading the letter. The Knight moved through the church with the quiet
footsteps of a ghost, afraid that even the slightest sound would disturb
the peace of the church.

He sat behind Duncan and waited. He had never read the letter himself,
but Darius had told him what it contained. Once Duncan looked up from
the letter, Richie laid a hand on Duncan's shoulder. The immortal jumped
in surprise and turned around.

"I was hoping that we could talk," Richie said.

"I guess that listening to what you have to say wouldn't hurt. I guess
I'm not that good at listening to what other people have to say," Duncan
said.

"I never wanted this lie to go on for this long, but you can be so
stubborn and not hear a thing that anyone else says, that's why Methos
showed up when he did. I was there to show you the.... No I was there to
help you see the difference between revenge and justice. Methos was
there to show you that you can forgive people no matter what they have
done. These are things that you needed to know before we could ask you
to join us. Yes, it's the twentieth century, but we are still needed. We
don't ride from town to town anymore, but there are other ways."

"Why was Methos able to join you after what he did?" Mac asked.

"Methos was my student, and I can't say that I was a saint. I've ruled
and destroyed kingdoms and villages just because they were there. Some
of the things Methos did were tame compared to the things I've done. I
had little right to judge him, and I do my best not to judge. I try to
show immortals what they are doing wrong. If they don't learn, then it
becomes necessary to eliminate them. Methos feared Kronos to the point
that he wouldn't fight Kronos. Then Cassandra came along. She showed
Methos just what they were doing to the people that they left behind
alive. Methos learned that those were the people that really suffered
from their raids. When Kronos broke it up, Methos couldn't do anything,
but she had left a spark of doubt behind. I gave Methos a chance to
learn about life. He learned what life really was about again. The
Methos who rode with Kronos was not the same person that I taught a few
years before."

"What about Tessa?"

"Tessa. She never wanted to hurt you and that's why she didn't tell you
that she was dying of...."


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"Carlos, the White Knight is in Paris."

"You sure about this?" Carlos asked the person on the other end of the
phone.

"Positive. Find a Duncan MacLeod. Kill MacLeod and the White Knight will
show up," Mike said. Hanging up the phone, Mike had to smile. When
Dawson had gotten the call from the director of the Watchers, Mike
couldn't help but listen in, and it had gotten him the news he wanted.
All he'd have to do was wait for Dawson to leave and then put a call
into his boss. Mike knew he was going to get lots of money if his
information was correct. Then Mike would be set for life. All it took
was paying attention to Dawson and waiting. Everything was falling right
into place.

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