40. Death's One True Companion (Methos)
Can now be found as an expanded version here - Death’s One True Companion (Highlander TV-Methos)
Then
You would never believe it with how he acted but Anthony DiNozzo had been around for a long time now. He wasn’t just Italian-American, he had in fact been an original Roman from way back when . His first death had sucked big style - stabbed in the senate as a supporter of the rightful Emperor. Brutus really was a son of a bitch, a traitor and a coward - He was glad history got that right at least.It had been even more of a surprise to wake up, spluttering from something nasty still in his mouth. As he opened his eyes, he noticed a smirking man waiting for him as he rejoined the world. He was not dressed like any self-respecting Roman would - in fact, he dressed more like Pluto and kept leaning attractively against the plinth. Tony may have just come back from the dead but his eyes still worked.
“You’re an immortal Antonius.” The man said with a bright grin like this was just the best news ever.
Antonius stood up throwing down the toga, not caring to stay in in the blood soiled clothes even if he was naked as a result. He didn’t know this guy, he was certainly not part of the senate so he asked. “Who are you, Pluto?”Hell, Tony wasn’t judging, for the God of the Underworld, he sure was handsome.
The man shook his head staring in interest at the lean body shown to him. Antonius had lost any potential modesty back when he’d served in the army. The answer came from the Pluto-wannabe. “No, I am no God. My name is Methos and I am the one who will teach you how to stay alive.”
Methos was as good as his word and taught Antonius the ways of the sword - immortal style. Antonius had always thought he was pretty good with a sword, after all, he’d served in war campaigns and survived. Three training sessions with his new mentor and he’d realised he was very very wrong. He knew very little about how to use his sword when the other person wants to not just kill you but take your head.
Methos trained hard but rewarded him with untold pleasure when he did well. He learned all about the game immortals played and the consequences of not trying to play. It had only been two months since his ‘awakening’ before he was challenged to his first duel. It turned out his will to live was stronger and the second his challenger lost his head - the lightning struck. The lightning was perhaps the oddest part of the game because when an immortal truly dies the victor inherits the memories and strengths of the loser.
Damn, Antonius didn’t know what a buzz it would feel like, the first quickening . He felt like he’d indulged in the best wines and imbibed way too much. Methos had found him bent over in the alley trying to get his bearings. Antonius felt giddy and high and invincible so he grabbed Methos and kissed him with his skin still tingling from the lightning. Kissing wasn’t the last thing they did that night but it did start the legend of Death and his companion.
All immortals had stories about the eldest immortal but the really wild stories revolved around Death’s companions. After all, what type of man/immortal did you have to be to grab and keep his attention? Tonius always listened to the stories with amusement, sharing his favourite ones with Methos.
&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Now
Tony hated fever based deaths where it was a lingering slow demise. He could handle pain and by now there was no real fear of any passing - the bitch was the hallucinations and the flashbacks of your life. For an average human it wouldn’t be too bad but when you have as much history as Tony there were a lot of mistakes and sucky endings to relive.
Oh and for the record, saying an immortal can’t die was a misnomer. They could die - they just got back up unless you took their head. They would blend in with the people living and ‘die’ when it became necessary although the unplanned deaths sucked. Anthony started to keep a gruesome mental log of the ways he had been killed and which were the worst.
The one thing Tony could attest to is that growing older didn’t mean you got wiser. He and Methos were a weird couple in that they let each other go occasionally. They had been together well over a millennia so a break for a century or two just kept things fresh. Plus, when Methos got broody and guilty over his horsemen days - not even Antonius could get through to him. He didn’t try, he wanted and enjoyed a new adventure knowing his lover would find him once he was done sulking.
Tony was good at undercover roles while he was working in law enforcement because he had lived so many lives and had to be so many people. Tim would have a fit if he knew that Tony had spied for the American’s against the English during the revolution. It had sucked been caught because he was betrayed but at least he’d picked the right side, or that Tony DiNozzo was not nearly as flamboyant as when he had become Robin of Locksley. He and Methos had been furious with each other and he’d had no idea that their lover’s tiff would eventually become the legend of Robin Hood against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.
The game didn’t change but damn the times changed and fast. Tony was always impressed with how well men could attempt to kill each other. The weapons got all the more devastating and in the 19th and 20th century they truly managed to up the ante when it came to killing. Now Tony was aware of the hypocrisy in that he would chop off people’s heads when they challenged him. That was the key part - they challenged him and if they did they would lose. Tony, unlike his lover’s heyday, had never initiated the challenge against another immortal.
Tony looked up at the blue lights and knew why he was thinking about his lover and partner now even though they had not seen each other in over half a century.
Methos had split with Tony to go after a show society that tracked immortals. It was so dangerous that Adam, as Methos was now going by, refused to let him help. It had royally pissed him off and every modern life he’d led Tony made sure it was a law enforcement role. Tony didn’t give a shit how pretty he was - he was no one’s damsel and he had the sword collection to make up his argument with prejudice.
The first time Gibbs had seen his wall of swords - he’d got a raised eyebrow. Tony had shrugged it off and smirked saying, Highlander was an awesome movie and he loved swords. He had no idea which immortal blabbed but the watchers must have let it go on the grounds it gave plausible deniability. It had certainly helped Tony display the ‘antique’ swords he’d collected with a quirky explanation. He just hadn’t quite told anyone that he’d bought the swords new and they were actually used to make sure he didn’t lose his head.
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The trouble this time was Tony had been caught by something that he couldn’t kill with swords - bacteria. Nasty little buggers as even with all the amazing medical discoveries they’d made - the pneumonic plague still killed eighty-five percent of the patients it infected. He hated the plague as this wouldn’t be the first time the plague had been responsible for one of his deaths. In his book of least favourite ways to die, plague ranked up there with the witch burning and the human sacrifice by that weird-ass tribe. It was the last time he would let Adam (as Methos had started to use by that point) choose where to settle.
He knew what that buzz meant and thank god he recognised the signature because he was not too sure how good a fight he could put up without killing himself. He didn’t need to as this was his lover - he guessed Methos had found out somehow that he was dying - again. He didn’t care what others called him as they were just names but he loved it when Methos called him Antonius - it made him shiver. In a fun way, not the dying of the plague way.
Sure enough, Adam was sitting by his bed and Kate was getting agitated demanding to know who he was. Tony coughed weakly. “Leave it, Katie. He is mine.”Kate looked confused but then took into account the body language and the look of worry on Adam’s face. “Oh, well I will leave you to it. I want to hunt the bastard down that made you this way in the first place.” She wanted to be angry that Tony had never said anything about his boyfriend but now was not the time, even she couldn't be mad at a dying man.
Adam could get behind that type of thinking. “Please do, they should pay for hurting Antonius.”
Kate smirked. “Oh, Gibbs will make them pay alright. You just watch his six.”
Adam quirked his eyebrow in amusement. “Americans still have such funny turns of phrase.”
Tony started to chuckle because damn, Methos couldn’t sound more like a snob if he tried. He shouldn’t have chuckled as it started another coughing fit. “Git.”
Adam stroked his hand, wishing like crazy he could do more. “It is too bad you have close companions and you’ve ended up confined.”
Tony wished he could speak more because Adam was able to stay ahead of the game and blend so well because he stayed with the times. “No one says confined. I’m ill, probably dying.”Adam sighed. “I know and this is not the reunion I had in mind.”Tony smirked weakly. “Oh baby, when this is over we’re visiting a beach where it is warm. Hawaii.”He should have conserved his voice as he started to cough. He ended up with the mask on his face and it sucked because all these measures were just prolonging his death. It was not like he was suicidal - he could recover fit and whole with no damage from death, the plague not so much.
Methos kissed the side of his face, unwilling to remove the mask in order to reach those wonderful lips. “Rest Tonius, I won’t let anyone challenge you while you are weak.” He smirked. “And besides, you are so ill no one will question you too much about my appearance.”
Gibbs had been surprised by the man standing vigil over Tony. The man didn’t move a muscle but Gibbs could tell he was a soldier - this was someone who didn’t intend to let a threat close to Tony. Good.“I didn’t know Tony had a guest.”The man shrugged. “I am Tony’s old friend, Methos. I came as soon as I heard.”
Methos gave his real name as the man would assume it was a nickname. It was kind of ironic that the truth is what would throw an investigator off his scent. He didn’t want to compromise Adam Pearson as the identity still held and Tony could walk into that of his husband, Tony Pearson. This time, Tony would not be a shortened name and it wouldn’t be the first time Tony was a British person.
Tony held on for two more days to give the NCIS friends a chance to say goodbye to him and for the woman responsible to be caught. In the official medical records, Anthony DiNozzo Jnr dies at 12.21 at Bethesda with only Methos by his side. To begin with, Tony had thought about fighting and holding but Methos’ arrival was the sign that it was time to move on. He loved NCIS but Tony was Methos’ companion first and foremost and they had been apart for too long. It was time now for the next chapter of their life together to begin. Just a few loose ends left to tie up.
Someone was stupid enough to put a contract out on Gibbs and there was no way Tony would let anyone fulfil that contract. The bastards were using his death as a good time to get him as he was distracted by grief. Not on Tony’s Watch.
&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
The MCRT were closing in on Ari, Gibbs was proud of what they had achieved considering they were still recovering from the shock of Tony’s death. He should have known one of his enemies would use his grief against him. Still, Ari Haswari was the one to decide now was the perfect time to play with Gibbs and those closest to him.
The rooftop was the first big lead in the cat and mouse game they were playing. As soon as they reached the rooftop in the rain - Gibbs realised his mistake. This was a sniper’s perfect kill zone - the dreaded red light ever so familiar to Gibbs actually flashed on Kate’s chest. He pulled her down to the ground knowing it was a futile gesture ... Only the bullet never came.
Kate was on the floor trying to get her adrenaline surge under control. Gibbs had had a few of those in the past so he gave her a few seconds and used the time to re-evaluate some of his decisions he’d made in the last few days. Christ, DiNozzo would have had his head for some of the stunts he’d used to try and catch Ari.
It stopped now because he would not have Kate die for him no matter what orders the director gave her. He gave her hand up. “You’re not Secret Service anymore and I’m not the President. You don’t get to die for me.”
“Screw you Gibbs. Now as I much as I hate to say this... Why am I not dead?”Gibbs didn’t know but he knew the answer would lie in Ari’s little sniper nest. David is looking pensive as she knows there is something very wrong with her brother. Gibbs didn’t have to tell her there was only one reason a sniper didn’t take out his target and that was because he was taken out of the equation. So who would know the MCRT was in danger and choose to do something about it?
The nest was exactly where Gibbs predicted it would be. He entered with Todd on his six but there was no need to be cautious - Ari was there but he was very dead. There was a slash in his shirt, showing a perfect stab wound to the heart, Gibbs would guess. He’d seen a lot of stab wounds in his time on the MCRT and he would guess a long blade of some description but he would let Abby confirm it.
“So who would stab Ari?” McGee asked.
Gibbs shrugged as he had no idea and didn’t really care. The only good terrorist was a dead one in his book. He could tell though, that his sister, Ziva, the Mossad agent was going to be a complication. He could see the anger in her eyes and knew this would not be settled easily even as she answered. “He was undercover as a terrorist so the list is numerous.”Gibbs didn’t disagree but whoever had killed Ari had done it whilst he was tracking the team. They had killed Haswari to stop him from killing Kate - so who?
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The who was standing in the shadows over another rooftop with his husband watching his old team. He was almost ready to leave the mainland but this revenge story had one last twist - Tony could see it in the woman’s eyes.
Adam sighed knowing just what that look meant in his husband’s eyes. “So we’re not getting out of this godforsaken place yet and going somewhere warm?”Tony snorted. “Sure, why not I mean Ari is dead so the danger is over.”Adam looked at his lover and knew they were not done yet. “No, we’re not, so don’t tease me.”
Tony smirked. “I promise that we can go to Hawaii on another honeymoon and you can do all the dirty things you have been saving up for the last half a century.”
Adam didn’t whine, he was an ex-horseman and Death did not whine regardless of how much he wanted to. “When?”
Tony understood loyalty because it was built into the very fibre of his being. What he also knew was treachery in other people and finally said it. “Well, once I put down David. She’s going to strike at Gibbs and I think that’s rude considering I was the one to kill her brother, not Gibbs.”
“If you say so love,” Methos said in the way only a long-suffering spouse could.
&*&*&*&*&*&*
The death of Ari Haswari was as confusing as many mysteries. He'd been killed two rooftops away, the rain washing away the physical evidence. He’d been killed with what Abby had identified as a Roman Gladius Sword so probably one of the most bizarre and more expensive weapons he’d ever seen as a murder weapon. Kate, Tim and even Ziva, struggled to understand the weapon - Gibbs had known exactly what it looked like and drawn it from memory.
“How do you know this weapon?” Ziva demanded.
Gibbs had a sad smile on his face. “My protege had one on his wall. It was one of his favourite weapons in his collection.”All demands fell from her face as she knew who Gibbs was referring to and knew it would be unwise. After all, even she couldn’t justify a suspect who was dead for the last month. Her profile suggested that Gibbs considered DiNozzo like a son, which is why Ari had chosen the time just after his death to reignite their feud. She hadn’t been surprised after that reminder that he chose to go home earlier than normal. She made her excuses knowing that if she was to restore the honour of her family tonight would be her best opportunity.
Gibbs wanted to sand his boat, drink a few glass of whiskey and forget the memories. His thoughts swirled with many regrets, only one of which was that he wished Anthony had never opened that damn envelope. He was grateful that they had stopped Ari before he could launch a terrorist attack but he just wished he knew how Tony’s favourite sword had ended up as the murder weapon. The collection had been donated to the Pearson Foundation in London so he knew it wasn’t Tony’s exact sword but it was still an odd coincidence and Gibbs had a rule about coincidences. There’s no such thing.
A gun cocked in the basement and Gibbs turned around slowly. He wasn’t scared, just asked a calm question. “So how does this end?”Ziva David was staring at him down the barrel of her gun. “With your death. You are the reason Ari is dead.”Gibbs never considered himself a religious man but Tony stepping out of the shadows made him reconsider. Gibbs smirked at her because for an assassin - she wasn’t very aware. “Do they not teach you situational awareness in Mossad?”Tony smacked her in the temple hard with the side of his sword, a very ornate Roman Gladius Sword . Gibbs watched David fall to the floor in a heap. He took the time to cuff her and remove every lock pick and knife he could find. He didn’t care about her sensibilities, the woman had tried to kill him so she forfeited that right.
“How?” Was the only question Gibbs could ask in the face of such a miracle.
Tony smiled at him softly. “Well, this is quite a long tale and I need to introduce you to someone. Adam, come here.”Adam looked over at the cuffed woman as he stepped forward. He frowned at the woman but Gibbs was not expecting the question of, “Why does she still have her head?”Tony snorted at his lover because he sometimes forgot about modern rules when they didn’t suit his whims. “You shouldn’t say that in front of a federal agent.”
Gibbs sighed. “Why fake your death?”Tony shook his head. “I didn’t fake it. I did die and can I say I hate dying by the plague ... I would’ve thought it would get easier each time round but nooooooo……stabbing and burning, they suck but at least it is not drowning in your own lungs. Do you have any idea what a truly awful death that is?”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, you got stabbed in the Roman Senate protecting the emperor. In Salem, you were considered too beautiful not to be a witch and burnt as a result ... and you hate the plague?”
Tony stared at his lover. “It is not getting easier each time. Seriously, we have got to figure out a better way to do this in the future.”
Gibbs mind was whirring with the context given by the couple. “So you’re what, immortal?”
Tony grinned brightly. “That is exactly what I am, I was born Antonius Dorus Donatos.”
Gibbs could see where Anthony DiNozzo may have come from. You had to give the man credit, he literally just updated his name with the times. “I see. Will I see you again?”Tony smiled and it was his true smile. “Yeah, when the time is right. Now the danger has passed for the team I will lay low and find a new life with Adam.”Gibbs could see they were a couple. They could share whole conversations with just a glance, just like he could with Shannon. “How long have you been together?”Tony smirked. “Since Brutus was a traitorous bastard.”
Gibbs whistled. “Long time.”Methos smirked. “Yeah, and I still love the foolish man.”Gibbs chuckled hearing the affection, he saw Ziva starting to stir. “Get out of here. I need to clear up this mess but Tony I mean it, if you get a chance don’t be a stranger.”Gibbs watched Tony turn, his hand entwined with Methos’ but before he left the basement Tony turned. “You may regret that Boss.”“Never.”Gibbs watched the couple leave the basement snorting at the way their swords seemed to disappear into the shadows. Tony was alive and in love, he could live with that even if he did have to lose a good agent.
“WHAT HAPPENED?”Gibbs was a bastard. “You were attacked by a ghost like you proclaimed to be.” He could hear the laughter by the door. “We’re going to take a trip to NCIS and then you will never come anywhere near the US again because if you do, I won’t talk about it ... I will put a bullet in you. I know you read my file so you know you will never see it coming.”
Gibbs hauled Ziva up to his car on the way out he noticed a black card on his coffee table. Pearson’s Ltd, London.
&*&*&*&*&*&
Tony and Methos were walking along the shoreline of one of the lesser known beaches. It was more private and exclusive thanks to the high price tag of admittance. “So are you ready for London?”Tony was sated and very relaxed from their morning exercise routine. “Wait, since when did you get to pick where we live?”Methos snorted. “I’ve gotten better at choosing.”“Love - that is not saying much. The last time you picked - we literally got sacrificed to gods.”Methos rolled his eyes. “That was four hundred years ago.”Tony narrowed his eyes. “We’re immortal, we remember.”Methos grumbled. “Unfortunately.”
“I challenge you!”The couple turned around rolling their eyes glad it was at least a private beach. “Which one of us?”
The challenger frowned. “There can be only one, you should be fighting.”
Tony snorted. “Let me start the introductions.” Pointing to Methos “That’s Death and I’m his companion and of course, we fight ... It just ends way more satisfying than with one of us losing our heads.”The immortal was a newbie with his weak buzz but even he had heard the legends - this was not a couple to challenge. He would have thought it was trash talk but he could feel their buzzes now and they were so strong he felt like he was drowning. He bowed his head. “I take my leave ... Enjoy your romantic walk.”Tony smile was stunning. “Thanks. We’re on our tenth honeymoon.”It wouldn’t be their last honeymoon either.