========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Apr 1996 09:32:45 -0400 Reply-To: CatsImmie@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Jen Thrailkill Subject: Potest Esse Nur Unus 1/6 HIGHLANDER "Potest Esse Nur Unus!" An original story based on the HIGHLANDER TV Series By: Jen Thrailkill Author's Note: The characters of Duncan MacLeod, Anne Lindsey, Richie Ryan, Joe Dawson, Connor MacLeod, Amanda, Cierdwyne, Methos, and Kalas, are borrowed from The HIGHLANDER TV series. All other character and ideas are sole possession of the author. Any resemblance of characters or events to actual events are purely coincidental. The story takes place in Paris during Season Three, after the episode Mortal Sins and before the episode Finale. (I know Anne left after revealing her pregnancy, but imagine a wide gap between the two episodes. After all we don t know exactly how long the gap is.) This story is dedicated to Richard James Rottschaefer who to his students and those that loved him will live forever. There can be only one Mr. R! This is the first story of my trilogy. Unfortunately, this is the only one fully written, and after the response I get from this one, this May Be the Only One! . WARNING: There is no sex, (My God she is Only 15! Duncan is not that kinky.) The only violence is beheadings, and there is no language. Since I am from North Carolina, Just for the fun of it, I will rate it at NC-17. Prologue "From the dawn of time we came; moving silently through the centuries living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering; when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you for in the Old Times we bore other names: The Old Ones, The Elvan Lords, Druids, Angels, Demons, and Gods. Now we are called Immortals, and in the end, There Can Be Only One! Jayden Adams was only 18 years old when he died in a car accident in 1956. He and a couple of friends were celebrating their last day of summer before going their separate ways. They were drag racing when his car rolled off a cliff. The Harvard pre-med student, bound to go places, was inside the car when it exploded into a fireball. Somehow, Jayden walked away from the crash alive. For he was immortal, and to him there would be only one. ***************************** Almost forty years later, Jayden, now a pediatrician in a hospital, was taking the head of a child who he knew would grow up to be immortal. All Immortals had sort of a sixth sense, and somehow they always knew. But it was rare when they were able to sense it when one was so young. It was not the first child he had killed, and it would not be the last. For he was trained by the best who learned from the best. And knowing that there could be only one, he killed them early. After he broke the news to the mother that the child had died, he left the waiting room, and prepared to go home. He had more important things to do, than take care of kids. There was one child who he missed, one he had let get away, and now, she would die. Jayden walked into his flat in England, and checked the messages on his answering machine. The one message he had waited for, was there. "Jayden, this is Kevin. Cat is in Paris with an old friend of yours- Franz Von Statenhiem. He is her legal guardian and watching her until the end. If you need any more info, you know where to find me." Jayden walked to his bedroom with a smile on his face. Not only would he see the man who trained him, but he would take the girl's head. He packed his bags and left for the airport. As he walked down the street, he had a flashback of the first time he met Franz. ***************************** When Jayden died, he was unsure of what to do. His family and friends all thought he was dead, so he couldn't go home. Days later, he went to his own funeral in disguise and watched all those he had ever cared about mourn over him. He wanted to shout "Here I am! I'm still alive!" but somehow, he knew he couldn't. As he was leaving, he suddenly received this strange feeling as if someone was near him watching him. He looked around and saw a tall man in his mid-thirties wearing a trench coat, standing on the corner. As Jayden watched him walk over, he knew that he too was an immortal. "I am Franz Von Statenhiem," the man said in an English accent "I know what you are, for I am the same. There is much for you to know, and if you would like, I'll train and teach you. But first, we must leave, for no one can know you are still alive." Where are we going?" Jayden asked. He was scared and confused, as all new immortals are. "Why can't I stay here?" "We will go to my home town of Austria. There, you will be safe and well trained. You will meet others such as yourself, and as time goes by, you will receive the knowledge to all of your questions. We must go now. People are starting to come out of the church." ***************************** From then on, Franz watched him and trained him. He had since gained enough power to take the head of the man who took him under his wing. If it had to come to that for Jayden to get to the girl, he would. It was important for Jayden to be the only one, because he would then have all the power of all immortals from the beginning of time, and power was something he had lost the night he died in the car accident. The next day, he walked in front of the building where Franz and Cat lived. He walked into the building and to the front door. When he got there, he didn't receive the buzz, so he left. He knew where he may be, because Franz had always talked about the Eiffel Tower at night. He was right. Franz was showing his goddaughter, and now the child he was to raise, her favorite sights of Paris. Cat had been in Paris over a year and it was her fifteenth birthday. She came from Wales, where she studied fencing with her father who was a Master Swordsman. But one day he was mysteriously killed by his own sword. Her mother had died when she was very young, as well as an older sister. Franz got the buzz, and looked around him and then at Cat. "Caitlynn, go and hide yourself, and don't come out until I say it's safe. If anything happens to me, pull the loose brick in the fireplace and take the letter you find to Duncan MacLeod. Go!" Cat hid just in time. Jayden walked onto the observation deck where Franz was and looked around. "Where is the girl? I know she's here." "What do you want with her, she means nothing." Franz asked. "She means more to me than you think." he said as he took his sword out of his trench coat. "It was you, wasn't it?" Franz asked. "You tried to kill her. You killed her mother and then you killed her father." "Now I will kill her. I will kill you if I have to." The two men who once trained together, now stood before each other ready to fight. The two raised their swords and began the battle. Both were strong, and the fight was long. Finally after an hour, Jayden knocked Franz down on his hands and knees. "Go ahead, finish what you've started. I trained you better than this." "Tell me where the girl is, and I'll let you live." "I'll never tell you." "Then it comes to this." Jayden raised his sword and took his masters head. "There can be only one!" The quickening was strong and powerful. Three hundred and fifty years of power both good and evil escaped Franz's body and struck Jayden with a bolt of lightning. He got a thrill out of his victims Quickenings. He regretted the children whose lives he took were not yet immortal, because there were no big Quickenings. But when he got the chance, he took it when he could. When it was over, Jayden collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. He didn't see Cat run away, just as she didn't see what had happened. All she saw Franz's headless body laying on the ground. She ran across town to where they had been staying since her arrival, found the letter Franz had talked about, and took off to find Duncan MacLeod. Chapter 1 A few days later on the River Seine, Duncan MacLeod was on his barge with his girlfriend Anne Lindsey, having a nice and quiet dinner. There was a storm that night, and the power had gone out. The candles on the table and a fire in the fireplace, was the only light on the boat, and it gave off a romantic glow. Duncan was wearing jeans and a T-shirt over his muscular body, and his long dark hair was brushed neatly down his back. Anne who was pregnant, still looked beautiful. They were celebrating being together after being through a lot, when there was a knock on the door. "Were you expecting someone?" he asked Anne. "No, were you?" "I doubt it's for me, otherwise I would have known about it. He stood up and walked to the door. "Who is it?" he asked before opening the door. Since he was immortal, he could never take to many chances. "I'm looking for Duncan MacLeod, and I was told I could find him here. My name is Caitlynn Renwyck. I was sent my Franz Von Statenhiem." Duncan looked confused for a moment and then opened the door. There before him stood a girl no more than 15 years old. "I'm Duncan MacLeod, and this is my girlfriend Anne. Please come in out of the rain. You're soaking wet." Cat looked around the barge to feel secure enough to walk in. "I'm sorry to disturb you, maybe I should come back later." "No, no," Anne said. "come in and dry off. Sit by the fire and get warm, you're shivering." "Franz Von Statenhiem. Now that's a name I hadn't heard in a while. How is he doing?" Duncan asked. ***************************** In 1635, Duncan was in France, walking down an old run down alley when Duncan received the buzz. He looked around and found a man lying in a pile of garbage scared and confused. One minute he was dead and then he was alive. Even though they didn't know each other, Duncan took him in and trained him the immortal ways. Duncan saved Franz life many times, for which Franz would forever be in his debt. A few years later they lost touch when Duncan was killed and had to relocated to America. ***************************** "He told me to give you this letter if anything happened to him. We were on the Eiffel Tower when..." she handed the letter to Duncan and he just stared at it. "Why don't I take you into the back room, dry you off and find you some dry clothes to wear." Anne suggested as she helped Cat up and led her to the back of the barge. She could tell Duncan wanted to be alone. Duncan read the letter to himself. "Duncan. By the time you get this letter, I will no longer be in the Game. I know I will be forever in your debt for all the times you saved me, but I need you to do me a favor. Cat's foster father who was a Master Swordsman as well as a dear friend was killed last year and I have been taking care of her out of the kindness of my heart. The same kindness you once showed me. I have been continuing her father's training with her and she is good with a sword, but not good enough. She is shy, naive, keeps to herself a lot, and lacks self confidence. I couldn't tell her about us. She's been through a lot in her short lifetime. Almost as much as we have in our years. She is a special. Please if you can, take her in. Protect and watch her. If ,not, please make sure she will be put somewhere safe where she will grow up to be strong and healthy. And always remember, There Can Be Only One." Duncan knew what had happened. "What did she see?" he wondered. "Why me? He knew I never got along with kids. I accepted the fact I would never have them, so why me?" Anne walked into the room and walked over to Duncan. She put her arms around his neck and kissed his ear. "Is everything all right?" "Franz is dead. Cat's father was a friend of his and when he died Franz was the only one to take care of her. Now I've been asked to." Oh my God, Anne said. I wonder what is like to be that young and have everyone you ve ever cared about die. Were you and Franz close? For awhile. I discovered him in Paris. I trained him as I have with many. Is Caitlynn all right? She says to call her Cat, and yes, she s fine. She somehow managed to fall asleep, but I don t know how she d be able to if she saw what happened. Unless she s Immortal. Is she? Well, Franz said he couldn t tell her about us, but I felt something. Like I did before Richie died. So she may be a pre-Immortal. Could that be why Franz sent her to you, knowing that maybe... We ll just have to wait and see. Until then, why don t we finish our dinner. Duncan said as he took Anne s hand and led her back to the table. Copyright 1995: Jen Thrailkill CatsImmie@aol.com