Methos: The Matrix has you.

By Danielle Ducrest

Disclaimers: Highlander is a registered trademark of Rysher Entertainment, Davis/ Panzer Productions, and Gaumont Television. The Matrix is a registered trademark of the Wachowski Brothers and Warner Brothers Studios. No copyright infringement is intended. Please don't sue. I'm making no money off of this.

This story will make MUCH more sense if you're familiar with both universes. Anything not mentioned in the movie "The Matrix" are, obviously, things I made up. Please send your compliments to dducrest@esacadiana.com. All flames will be printed out and given to my father to use as coasters.

Spoilers: Lots of spoilers for both Universes. Some of the events in this story are very similar to what happened in The Matrix. In the Highlander Universe, this story takes place after "Through a Glass Darkly", but contains some spoilers for "The End Of Innocence", "The Messenger", and "The Modern Prometheus". Yes, I know the first is a 4^th season episode and the other three are 5^th season episodes and no, I'm not crazy.

Special thanks to: My dad, because he's the scientist and he helped me with the volcano-exploding part. Thanks to my beta readers. They are my dad and my mom. More will appear here soon (maybe).

Summary: The Resistance needs to get Methos out of the Matrix, and Duncan, Amanda, and Richie arrive aboard the Nebecanezer to help them.

***PROLOGUE***

Methos lit the canon. A moment later, the canon ball sailed through the air toward its target: an American ship not that far away. The English were trying to capture New Orleans, the port at the bottom of the Mississippi River, and Methos had come along. He liked England and hadn't wanted to leave. Not yet, anyway. But the only way he was going to stay in England was if he fought for it, so here he was.

Now he wore a bright red British uniform and so did the man who was loading the next canon ball into the cannon. Methos lit it, and soon another canon ball was flying through the air. Methos couldn't see it fly through the air, because he was below decks and the view through the porthole was obscured by the canon, but he knew it was doing that. He'd seen it several times before. He and the other soldier continued to load cannons and fire them.

Something hit Methos from behind, causing him to lose his balance and fall against the canon. "Watch where you're going," Methos said, turning around.

The man who had tripped him was running away from him. He wasn't dressed in any military uniform, but in plain, dirty clothes. Methos didn't recognize him as one of the sailors on board. The man looked behind him, but not at Methos. The Immortal looked in the other direction and saw two men, both dressed in British uniforms, chasing the man.

Probably an American, Methos thought. How he got on board was a mystery, however.

"Henry!"

Methos looked over at the owner of the voice. His current alias was Paul Henry. His commanding officer had called him. "Yes, sir?"

"Help those boys catch that Creole!"

"Aye Aye, sir," Methos took off after the two chasers and the 'Creole'. He followed them up to the main deck. Once he had room, Methos ran ahead of the other soldiers. He was the fastest runner on board, and that was probably why his commanding officer had told him to join the chase.

A canon ball hit the ship, causing it to rock violently. Methos was almost swept into the waves that suddenly appeared very close to the rail. He grabbed onto the rail and hung on. When the ship was steady again, he kept running after his prey. The other man had disappeared from view, but not for long. He appeared again, no longer running. He had tripped on a rope and now lay on the deck, clutching his ankle.

Methos reached him seconds before the other two pursuers did. It was clear the other man wasn't going anywhere. "Well done," one of the officers said.

Before Methos could do anything about it, the other officer took out his gun and shot him. Methos went down, clutching the wound in his chest, and died.

The man with the sprained ankle looked from Methos' still body to the two officers. His fear was evident. Before he could say a word, the same officer shot him in the chest, and he fell against the rail.

The officer put his gun away. The other one walked over to Methos without giving the other dead man a second glance. "This one is an Immortal."

"He may think what he sees is a dream. So far, that's what all the Immortals in the Matrix think."

"We can only hope it happens again."

Methos opened his eyes. He was lying in this strange red liquid. All he could see were his hands, and these metallic hoses connected to his chest. None of it made sense. One thing was clear, though. He wanted to get out of this place.

He tried to sit up, and succeeded. He had been lying in what appeared to be a bathtub, but he wasn't sure. His eyes hurt so much. He couldn't even squint without feeling pain. That was when he realized he couldn't breathe. He reached for his mouth, but instead, felt another metallic hose there. He yanked it out of his mouth, and breathed deeply. It felt like the most refreshing breath he'd had in years.

Immortal healing was returning his eyesight to normal, so Methos could see a lot better now. More metallic wires were connected to his arms. He yanked them out, gasping at the pain.

His hearing was returning as well. Methos leaned over the side of the tub. He was sure that what he saw would have given him a heart attack.

Stretching for miles below him, connected to a large column, were more bathtubs filled with red liquid. Bodies, human bodies, lay in all of them. They seemed to be sleeping, and were connected to the same hoses to which he'd been connected.

What is this? Methos thought. He remembered being shot on the English ship, but that death hadn't been permanent. Did an Immortal take his head while he was down? Was this hell?

A machine flew over to him. It was large, and was floating in the air. As Methos stared at it, it reached out its claws and grabbed him by the neck and arms, plugging him back up to those metallic wires he'd taken out only a few seconds ago. His arms were released and Methos was lowered back into the water. He couldn't stop it from forcing the mouthpiece back into his mouth. Then he was knocked unconscious.

Methos gasped and his body arched. Opening his eyes, he discovered he was lying on the deck of the British ship. Blood stained his red uniform. Only a few feet away lay the unmoving figure of the man Methos had helped chase. He winced, touching his now healed chest. He hated dying. That was the last time he did something stupid like that, like join the army and get shot.

He had the strangest dream while he was dead. He didn't know one could dream when one was dead, but Methos didn't know what else to call it. He hoped it was a dream. He shuddered. He certainly hoped that terrifying place hadn't been real.

Slowly, he got to his feet, using for support the rope the other man had tripped over. A few minutes later, his commanding officer appeared. "Did you get him, Henry?" he asked.

Methos looked over at the still form lying next to him and nodded. "We got him, sir."

"Where's those soldiers who were chasing the Creole with you?"

Methos looked around. The two who had shot him were gone. "I don't know, sir."

***PART ONE***

The door to the hovercraft, the Nebecanezer, opened, revealing a large, muscular man with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. He looked like he was in his early thirties. Behind him was a woman with short dark brown hair and a man with curly blond hair who looked like he was in his late teens to early twenties. They stepped inside, looking around at the ship that was now their home. Pipes lined the small blue room they entered.

Another man's legs appeared through a manhole. He dropped the rest of the way down and turned to look at the three newcomers. He was originally Asian, although it didn't really matter anymore. Smiling, he said, "Mac. Raven. Rift. Welcome to the crew."

"Hey, Tank. Nice to see you again." Mac said. The four shook hands.

"Come on," Tank said, climbing up the ladder. "Neo is waiting. Morpheus and Trinity should be back soon."

Mac, Rift, and Raven, a. k. a. Duncan MacLeod, Richie Ryan and Amanda, followed Tank up the ladder. They used to go by their full names, before the machines took over. Before anyone with those sort of names would be thought of as someone They named and controlled.

The room they came to was a large one. There were at least eight dentist type chairs arranged in a circle in the middle. On the near side of the room were six flat computer screens arranged in two rows with a green code flashing on them. There was also a keyboard below them and a chair. A man with a headset sat in the chair, studying the screens.

"Neo." Tank said. The man in front of the screens turned around. He saw the three Immortals next to Tank, and smiled. "Hi. You must be the new crewmembers."

The Immortals nodded. "Yep. We are." Richie said.

They all shook hands. "I'm Neo." He gestured to two people lying on two of the dentist chairs with their eyes closed. "That's Morpheus. And Trinity. They'll be coming back soon."

"Are they in the Matrix?" Amanda asked.

Neo nodded. "Yeah. They just said they were going to investigate something."

"What?" Duncan asked.

"They aren't sure. They think it sounded like the clash of metal on metal."

Amanda, Richie and Duncan exchanged looks. They had little doubts of what it was Morpheus and Trinity had heard.

Trinity and Morpheus walked down the dark alley cautiously. They could hear the clash of metal on metal around a corner, only a few yards away. Trinity wore black leather clothes that showed off her form, while Morpheus, a dark skinned man, wore a dark purple suit. Both had sunglasses tucked into their pockets. They took out their guns, in case this was some sort of trap an agent had set up.

They rounded the corner and ducked behind a large blue recycle bin. Only a few feet away were three men. Two were fighting with swords. One had a large build, with long hair pulled back in a ponytail, while the other had short blonde hair. The third man, who had short dark brown hair and eyes, stood off to the side. He was leaning against a trashcan, one hand on a sword and another resting against the trashcan. Watching them fight. All three wore dark trench coats, probably meant to hide the swords.

Suddenly, the man with the ponytail dug his sword into his opponent's side. The blonde-haired man backed away out of range, clutching the side that was now bleeding. Suddenly, he attacked, and was blocked by the longhaired man. The blonde-haired man stayed on the offensive for awhile longer, but soon had to switch to the defensive. Both were breathing heavily by now. Then, unexpectedly, the longhaired man brought his sword up to his opponent's neck and swung. His opponent's body dropped to the ground with its sword, but without its head.

The longhaired man dropped his sword, still breathing heavily, waiting for something. Morpheus and Trinity discovered what it was when mist appeared from his dead opponent's body. It floated through the air toward the man who was standing, disappearing inside the man's chest. Then, things got even stranger. Lightning appeared from a cloudless night sky, striking him. He screamed higher and longer than Morpheus or Trinity ever thought possible.

The lightning bolts ceased and the man fell on his knees on the concrete ground, oblivious to everything around him. After a moment, he looked at the man who had been sitting on the trashcan. He'd put his sword away and was approaching the kneeling man, seemingly calm about the whole thing.

"I doubt you'll be wanting to go to Joe's birthday party anymore. I told you not to accept any challenges tonight. Why won't you ever listen to me?" he said.

"You expected me to let him walk away?"

"Yes, you over-grown Immortal Boy Scout, I did."

The 'boy scout' changed the subject. "Do you still have the gift, old man?"

The 'old man' sighed and took something out of his trenchcoat. "Yes, MacLeod. It's still a night and waterproof camera. He definitely needs it with someone like you to watch."

MacLeod gave him a look and took the wrapped camera from the other man. "Come on, Methos. Let's go."

Both men walked past Morpheus and Trinity as they turned the corner, oblivious to them because of the dark. When they were safely out of earshot and eyesight, the other two stood from their hiding place. Trinity turned to Morpheus. "Isn't that MacLeod guy one of the new crewmembers?"

"Yes, I think so." He and Trinity exchanged looks. "I'll ask Neo." Morpheus flipped open his cell phone, and without dialing any numbers, spoke into the phone. "Neo, are the new crewmembers there?" he paused as he listened to the other end. "Does one of them fit this description-long brown hair, brown eyes, muscular body, tall?" he stopped to listen again. "Thanks. We're heading for the exit," he hung up.

"What did he say?" Trinity asked.

"Yes, MacLeod is one of the new crewmembers," he told Trinity. "We'd better get to the exit."

They headed out of the alley and down the street.

A few minutes later, they opened their eyes to find themselves back on the ship. Tank and Neo helped get them unplugged. Duncan, Amanda, and Richie were standing in plain sight in front of them.

All Morpheus said was, "We have a lot to talk about."

Agents Johnson and Broussard walked into the alley. They wore the uniform of FBI agents in every way except their earpieces, but they weren't FBI agents. They weren't part of any government or organization. They were simply Agent Johnson and Agent Broussard, who were supposed to keep the resistance from growing and find the codes for Zion's mainframe. Agent Broussard had been appointed the commanding agent after the destruction of Agent Smith by Neo's hand. Neo was, as far as they knew, the newest member of the Resistance.

They stepped under the yellow police tape and walked over to the chalk line. It was an outline of the headless murder victim's position on the ground when the police had found him. A few feet to the left was a chalk outline of the head. The stench of blood grew stronger as they approached, but their grim expressions never changed. They didn't blink, or breathe, or move their arms from their positions at their sides. They were as still as statues, staring down at the blood staining the ground.

Agent Broussard spoke. "Trinity and Morpheus were here. They witnessed a beheading."

Johnson looked at Agent Broussard. "They know about immortals now," he said, "and may try to contact Adam Peirson."

Broussard looked at Johnson. "Perhaps we should pay a visit to Mr. Peirson."

***PART TWO***

Morpheus, Trinity, Neo, Tank, Amanda, Duncan, and Richie sat on chairs in the kitchen, if it could be called that. It was a small room with white walls and a metal table.

"Okay," Morpheus began. "We want to know why you were there, Mac."

MacLeod looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"We want to know how you were in the Matrix at the same time you were standing in this ship."

"What exactly did you see?"

Morpheus and Trinity told them what had happened. Amanda, Richie, and Duncan exchanged looks. "Do you think we should tell them?" Richie asked.

"We don't have a choice." Duncan said. "Who wants to do the honors?"

"Why don't you go first, Mac," Amanda told him.

Duncan nodded before turning back to the other three. "I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. I was born in 1592 in the Highlands of Scotland. I am Immortal."

"Immortal?" Neo asked, doubt in his voice.

"Well, not exactly," Amanda said. "We can die, but only temporarily. We always come back to life. Except for decapitation. That's the only way we can die permanently."

"You expect us to believe this?" Morpheus asked.

"No, not really." Richie said. "Anyone got a knife?" Duncan handed one to him. "Thanks."

Richie slit his hand, flinching because of the pain. Blood flowed from the wound. After a second, Richie wiped the blood away. He offered his hand for the others to see. They saw unbroken skin where the wound should have been.

"How can this be?" Tank asked.

"We don't know," Richie said. "We're born this way. But we aren't immortal until we 'die' for the first time. Until that time, we can be injured just like any mortal can and our age shows in our bodies. But after we die and come back to life, our immortality kicks in, and we don't age another day."

"So…how old are you?"

Richie answered, "I'm two hundred. My real name is Richard Ryan. Mac's six hundred, and Raven, or Amanda, is…"

"Fourteen hundred." She got looks from everyone, including Richie and MacLeod. "What?"

"Why didn't you tell us your age before now?" Duncan asked.

Amanda shrugged. "You didn't ask."

"So…you were all alive when the machines took over?" Neo asked.

Duncan nodded. "Yes."

"What happened?" Morpheus asked.

Duncan, Richie, and Amanda looked at each other. "I'll tell them," Duncan said. He took a deep breath and began. "It was 2031 when Earth gave birth to Artificial Intelligence. Connor MacLeod, my kinsman, Richie, and I helped to build some of them. Now we wish we hadn't, but we didn't realise the futility of it at the time. For the first time in recorded history, everyone around the world gathered together at the same time, as a new holiday was made, AI day."

Mac took a deep breath before continuing. "Connor was using the alias Henry McFord as a name, while I was using my birthname, Duncan MacLeod. Our names were on the rockets launched that day, because it was our company that made them. They were supposed to explode in space, turning into a fireworks display everyone on that side of the world would see. However, there was a glitch in the design. The rockets never made it out of the atmosphere. Instead, they impacted with a dormant volcano, knocking away the lithosphere keeping the magma from rising to the surface."

"It was the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded on the face of the Earth. Ash thick enough to be visible kept the sun's rays from shining directly on the Earth's crust. Global Temperatures around the world dropped the few degrees needed to drag the Earth into another ice age."

"Before the sunlight was completely gone, the machines attacked. We tried to run. Only a few of us managed to get to the underground hideaway now known as the city Zion. The rest were stuck on the surface under the machine's control." Mac ducked his head, ashamed. "There was nothing we could do. All of the Immortals or mortals I knew were either safe in Zion or died getting there, except Methos. I didn't know what happened to him. Now I know."

Silence followed this speech while Trinity, Morpheus, Neo, and Tank absorbed that. "But why were you there in the Matrix, if you're out here?" Neo asked finally.

"From what you told us, I think the Immortal you saw get killed is one I fought two hundred years ago. Methos was there, and we were on the way to Joe's birthday party with the camera like you said. The Matrix must be playing back Methos' memories from the two hundred years before he was inserted into the Matrix."

"That camera ended up being very useful, like if I needed to convince Duncan of something." Amanda smiled. "I remember this one time when I caught Duncan and Richie practicing."

It took a moment for MacLeod and Richie to realize what Amanda was planning to tell the others. Duncan turned to Amanda. "Please don't tell me you're going to…"

Richie was begging too. "Please don’t, Amanda. Anything but that."

Amanda's smile made her look like a cat that had trapped a mouse in a corner. "Anyway," she said, addressing all, "I remember this one time, when Richie and Duncan were sparring. Richie miss-stepped when he felt me walk into the dojo, and fell on top of Duncan." Amanda's smile never left her face. "Joe was with me. When we walked in, we saw the two men covered with sweat lying on top of each other on a mat. Both had their heads turned in our direction, and though surprised, they did not seem to be embarrassed to be on top of each other in that way. And, low and behold, Joe had brought his camera with him, so he took it out and snapped the picture before either men could say or do anything to prevent it."

Tank, Trinity, Neo, and Morpheus couldn't help but laugh. Amanda joined them. Richie and MacLeod blushed deeply. After a few minutes, Morpheus got them to stop, and they continued talking. They talked for at least two hours, going over everything again at the end.

Part Two

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