(Disclaimer: This story is purely fan fiction. I don't know *NSYNC and they have no idea who I am, though I wish they did. References to Highlander: The Series are owned by Rysher Entertainment and Gaumont Television. Original story and characters by Krissi Strahl. Email:

[email protected] Comments are welcome.)

 

*N Mortal Part 1

 

          "It was nice meeting you. I hope you enjoy the concert," said Lance as a fan shuffled pass him after getting his autograph. He shot a glance at their new bodyguard. She looked up at him and smiled.

 

          ^This isn't that bad. I can handle all the teenies and stuff. Duncan just didn't want me to leave my training so soon. Sure, he's got about a hundred years on me, but this is cool. I don't think I'll run into too many Immortals out here on the road,^ thought Amy O'Brian as she watched the chaos around her. Being *NSYNC's newest bodyguard meant watching the routine for the first few weeks, then going into the trenches.

 

Duncan had every right to try and talk Amy out of taking the job. She was a hundred years behind in her training and what fighting skill she did have was just enough to keep alive. But she didn't care. This was what she wanted.

 

"Amy," said JC, putting his hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, she grabbed his hand and twisted it behind his back. "Ahhh!" he yelled. "A little jumpy tonight, aren't we?"

 

Coming to her senses, she let him go. "Aw, man! JC, I'm so sorry. My mind was somewhere else. Did I hurt you?" she said, looking at his wrist.

 

"Oh, I'm OK. Just remember, you supposed to protect me, not beat me up," said JC.

 

"Yeah, that's our job!" said Justin and Chris.

 

Amy just laughed. This is one of the times she was glad she took the job. Just then, her eyes grew intense and she started scanning the area.

 

Joey was the first to notice the change. "What's wrong, Sweets?" he asked. He always called her Sweets as a joke.

 

"It's nothing, Joey," she said. She spotted the Immortal that was in the crowd.  "I'll be back in a few minutes, guys. There's something I need to do."

 

"You sure it's all good?" asked Justin, concerned for their new friend.

 

"Yeah, I'm sure. See you later," said Amy as she walked away.

 

Lance watched as she disappeared behind the buses. ^I have to know what's going on,^ he thought to himself. He slipped away from the other guys and went looking for Amy. When he got to the semis, he heard yelling and metal hitting metal. He went to investigate and saw Amy and a man fighting with swords. "What the heck?" he whispered to himself. He hid behind a trailer and watched as the battle raged on.

 

"I see MacLeod has had a new pupil since our last meeting," said the man when he backed off. He had a thick Russian accent.

 

"Did I really pick up that much of his style?" asked Amy with a light Irish accent, grinning. She waited patiently for him to strike.  Without warning, the man charged Amy, his sword pointing at her throat. She dodged his attack and quickly disarmed him. She put her blade on her enemy's neck.

 

"There can be only one," she said as she beheaded him.  All of a sudden, lightning and energy started coming out of the dead body.  The windows in the trucks exploded with the force of the energy.  As Amy absorbed the lightning into her body, she dropped down to her knees and let the sword slide out of her hand.

 

After the energy was gone, Lance came out of his hiding place and ran over to Amy.  "What just happened?  Why did you kill that guy?"

 

"L-l-lance," said Amy. “W-what all d-did you see?" she asked.  She was a little weak.

 

"The end of the fight and the light show afterwards," said Lance.

 

Getting a little stronger, she got up off the ground.  Then she picked up her sword and checked it for damage. ^I can trust Lance.^ She looked up at him.  "Can you keep a secret?"

 

He nodded.

 

"What you saw is something I've been doing for 215 years.  I'm Immortal."

 

"You mean you can't die?" asked Lance.

 

"Well, there's only one way I can die.  Someone has to cut off my head."

 

"What about the light show?"

 

"That's called a Quickening.  When an Immortal takes the head of another Immortal, they also take his power and knowledge."

 

"Whoa!" said Lance.

 

"We'll talk about this later. You've got a show to do, buddy!"

 

"Oh, yeah," he said, remembering where he was and the real reason he was there.  "Join us in a Hacky game?"

 

"I'd love to," said Amy.  She started to recover from the shock of the Quickening and thought Hackensack would also help her relax more, “Just let me put away my sword, and I promise to tell you everything as soon as we're back on the bus."

 

"OK, meet you near the dressing rooms," said Lance as ran back to the building.

 

She waited until he was out of sight before she moved.  "Oh, great. Now what am I going to do?  I can't keep this from the rest of the guys, it wouldn't be fair to them. But how am I going to tell them?" she said to herself.

 

***

 

Amy was the last one on the bus before it pulled out and headed for Orlando.  As the guys retired to their respective bunks, she motioned for Lance to follow her to the back lounge so they could talk.  She closed the door behind them.

 

"So what's really going on?" he asked point blank.

 

"I told you the gist of it in the lot," said Amy.

 

"Why do you use swords when you fight?" asked Lance, still confused about that detail.

 

"We use swords because to kill each other, we need to behead our opponents," said Amy.  The look in her eyes said she was telling the truth.

 

"And the light show I saw?" he asked.

 

"That's called a Quickening.  When an Immortal kills another Immortal, the winner takes the loser's power and knowledge."  She noticed someone was standing in the doorway. "JC," she said surprised.

 

"What are you two talking about that's so important? Who's killing who?" asked JC.

 

"I found out something about Amy that she's been hiding from us," said Lance.

 

Amy looked JC strait in the eyes.  "I know this is going to be hard for you to accept, but I'm Immortal.  Lance found out because he saw me fighting an old enemy."

 

"Immortal? Like God?" asked JC.

 

"In a way, yes. But unlike God, there is a way I can die," said Amy.

 

"Which is?" asked Justin, who was now standing behind JC.  He crossed his arms as he waited for her to answer.

 

Amy got up and walked to the door.  She let out a ragged sigh.  "Chris, Joey, you guys still up?" she asked into the hall.

 

"What's up, Sweets?" asked Joey when he and Chris got to the lounge.

 

"I know everybody wants to know where I went earlier today after Meet & Greet.  Lance already knows because he followed me," said Amy as she looked at each one.  She let her accent slide through.

 

Chris sat down beside Amy and took her hand.  "What is it, Amy? You can tell us." 

 

She looked down at Chris's hand, still holding hers.  "I might as well come out and say it.  I'm Immortal.  I was born in Ireland 315 years ago. When I was 23, I was helping defend my village from English invaders, and died for the first time.  The first time we die dictates how young we'll look through out the rest of our life.  Right now is a time called The Gathering, were we Immortals fight to the death until only one remains," said Amy.

 

"But if you're Immortal, you can't die," said Joey, confused. Lance was the only one who seemed to understand.

 

"There is a way for me to die. Someone has to take my head. For that reason, our battles are fought with swords," said Amy.

 

"So that explains what I saw you doing last week," said Chris. "I caught you practicing. I just never said anything about it."

 

"Is there anyplace you're safe, where nobody will fight you?" asked Lance.

 

"Yes, Holy ground. Churches, cemeteries, places like that. No matter what faith, if it's Holy ground, nobody will fight there. It's one of the few rules that all Immortals honor."

 

"Whoa, cool," said Justin.

 

"Those guys you were living with in Seacouver, are they Immortals too?" asked Chris.

 

"Duncan and Richie? Yes, they are. Duncan was training Richie and me. In the beginning, I wasn't trained as a warrior. My clan was mostly merchants, traders, and a few con artists. I was a con artist and an apprentice Witch," said Amy.

 

"That explains how you charmed your way on to our staff," said JC.

 

"What's the worst part about being Immortal?" asked Joey.

 

"Outliving my friends. I've buried too many, both mortal and Immortal," said Amy with a tear in her eye.

 

"Well, we don't plan on dying anytime soon," said Chris. "Do what we do, live for the moment."

 

Just then, they felt the bus stop and heard the front door open. Amy's eyes grew intense again and she looked at the door. Lou Pearlman and Johnny Wright walked in. "Great show tonight, boys. Better get some sleep, there's a photo shoot early tomorrow," said Lou. He looked at Amy with the same intense look in his eyes.

 

"OK, Lou. We're almost done talking to Amy," said Justin.

 

As Lou and Johnny walked out, Amy started to relax. JC closed the door and looked at Amy. "What was that all about?" he asked.

 

"Now you really are going to think I'm nuts. Lou's Immortal too," said Amy.

 

"How can you tell?" asked Joey. The more he learned about Amy, the more confused he got.

 

"We can sense each other, kind of like ESP. The only bad part is even though we can tell if another Immortal is nearby, we can't tell if they're friend or foe.  Richie calls it the Buzz," said Amy.

 

"How do you live with all this?" asked Chris.

 

"You try living for 3 centuries and not adapting to it," she said with a smile.

 

"Good point!" said Justin with a laugh.

 

***

End Part 1