If you recognise it… I don't own it.

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"Magnificent Seven: TV series" & "Highlander" - Start

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It was Vin who noticed it first, but the others didn't take long to spot it either. JD was acting very twitchy, almost as if he expected to be attacked at any moment.

He was trying to pretend that he wasn't, but it was clear to see.

"Any ideas, Buck?" Vin asked, when the two of them went to get some coffee.

"I don't know," Buck sighed, "I've never seen him like this before."

"I have," Vin frowned for a moment, "You and Ez were undercover. He was twitchy for about a day… Then he just relaxed. I never found out why."

"I doubt it's the same thing." Buck replied, "That was months ago. He was probably worried about us. You know how he is."

"Has he done anything strange today?" Josiah asked, joining in the conversation.

"Not really, no." Buck shook his head, "Less'n you call turning his room upside down to find something this morning, unusual."

"Did he find it?" Josiah pressed, "He might be worrying about that."

"Nah," Buck grinned, "He found it. An old wooden box. And after all the searching, he just left it on his bed. Didn't even open it. I ain't even seen it before."

"We may just have to wait until he is willing to talk about it." Josiah suggested.

"Don't ask." Buck insisted, "He damn near bit my head off when I asked. Just said he had a headache."

JD was on his mobile when they came back.

"Yeah… I'll be there… Like I'd miss it." He hung up.

"What was that about?" Buck asked, sitting down at his desk.

"Friend of mine just got into town," JD shrugged, "Won't be here long, so he invited me out for a drink."

"Bring him to the Saloon with the rest of us." Buck suggested, "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

"Nah," JD shook his head, "We're just gonna catch up. We want to just swap stories. Not introduce loads of people. He'd feel crowded anyway."

"So where you meeting him?"

"Don't worry," JD grinned, "I'll be home before midnight."

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As Ezra left at the end of the day, he noticed JD heading off in a direction that definitely would not take him to any of his usual hangouts.

Curious the Southern Undercover man followed, making sure that he wouldn't be spotted.

When he saw JD pull into an abandoned warehouse, his heart got stuck in his throat. JD couldn't be involved in dirty business. But the set up was classic… Almost too classic.

Ezra followed on foot. Once inside the warehouse he saw JD holding a katana as he faced a man, also armed with a sword.

At first, Ezra thought they were simply playing. That it was some kind of game. He couldn't bring himself to believe what HuHwas happening.

It was only when he saw the blood dribbling down JD's arm that he accepted the truth… JD was fighting for his life.

Ezra's assessing mind weighed the advantages JD had: speed and what appeared to be a superior quality weapon.

The disadvantages were just as quick to be noticed: reduced strength, physically weaker, younger and thus less experience.

Next he weighed the pros and cons of interfering. JD would be surprised, but so would his opponent.

While Ezra tried to figure out what was the best thing to do, JD managed to gain the upper-hand. Then disarm his opponent.

Ezra stepped out of the shadows. He was intending to offer JD aid in restraining the individual… But it appeared that JD had other intentions.

Without a single feature on his face or in his body language changing, JD changed his grip and beheaded his opponent.

"JD!" Ezra exclaimed in shock.

"Ezra?" JD turned slightly, dropping his blade as he did so, "Get back! For pities sake, get back!"

That was all the warning Ezra received before lightning leapt from the corpse to strike JD.

Ezra froze in fear; he didn't understand what he was seeing. He couldn't comprehend what was happening. And he couldn't believe what he saw.

As the lightning cleared and died away, Ezra saw JD kneeling. JD was breathing heavily, but seemed to be predominately alright.

"Mister Dunne?" Ezra breathed as he took a step towards the scene.

"I'll be alright in a minute, Ez." JD declared, "That always takes a lot out of me. And I hope I never get used to it."

Ezra stared as JD rose to his feet and picked up both weapons. The young agent pulled his rucksack open and removed a small canister. Twisting it, he rolled it into the centre of the battleground. It hissed and emitted some sort of liquid over the area.

"Mister Dunne?" Ezra repeated, still trying to process what he had seen.

"Damn it, Ezra!" JD sighed, "You had to do it again, didn't ya?"

"What?" Ezra's usual skill with words had left him.

"Ya just hadda find out." JD muttered, "And next Vin is gonna turn up."

"I do believe Mister Tanner is engaging in libations at the Saloon." Ezra managed to retort.

"He'll turn up. Trust me." JD shrugged.

"Mister Dunne," Ezra followed JD out of the warehouse, "I require an explanation as to what I just observed. You killed a man in cold blood."

"The Kid wouldn't do something like that." Vin protested from where he leant on his bike, which was parked next to JDs.

"Told you." JD smirked, "And Ezra, I promise I'll explain everything. But not here. Can you contact the others and get them to meet us at Chris' Ranch? I'd like to tell everyone at once… Plus Buck's face was a picture last time. I don't want anyone to miss out on that."

"Last time?" Vin frowned, "What do you mean, Kid?"

"I'll tell you there." JD replied, "I just need to pick something up from the CDC."

JD opened a hidden compartment on his bike and slid his sword into it. The other he placed on Ezra's back seat, wrapped up in a blanket.

"Mister Dunne, would you deign to ride with me?" Ezra asked, fearing that JD would run.

"Jeeze, Ez!" JD sighed, "I ain't gonna run! Chris swore last time that if I ran again, he'd hunt me down and see if he could kick my head off my shoulders!"

"Ran again?" Vin parroted, "JD, you ain't never run."

"Not that any of you would remember." JD replied, "Look, you can follow me if you like. I don't care. I'm not gonna run. But we need to be outta here now. In two minutes some guys are gonna turn up. And I don't want them to see me."

"Why not?" Vin pressed.

"'Cos I've been under their radar for a long, long time. And I don't want them to learn of me." JD retorted, "Look, we gotta go now!"

With that, JD started his bike. Vin and Ezra followed JD.

True to his word, JD drove straight to the condo. Parking his bike there, he retrieved a wooden box from the condo and hopped into the Jag with Ezra. Vin rode off to round up the others.

"This make ya feel better, Ez?" JD asked, pulling one of Ezra's pack of cards out of the glove-box.

"To a partial degree, yes." Ezra replied.

"Hell, Ezra," JD laughed, "I ain't seen you this shook up for a long time."

Ezra spared a glance at JD. What he saw scared him slightly. With obvious skill and practice JD was shuffling the pack of cards and performing small card tricks. The problem was that to Ezra's knowledge JD had trouble even shuffling cards, without needing to perform a fifty-two card pick-up.

It was a silent drive. Something that also rattled Ezra. He was used to constant speech from JD, unless the boy was working. The level of silence and patience JD was showing was completely out of character for JD.

Ezra realized that he didn't know the young man next to him at all.

It took them a while to reach the Ranch. In the time, JD had not spoken another word. But Ezra noticed that as they neared the Ranch, JD seemed to get more and more nervous. The card tricks became more elaborate, until JD just gave up on them altogether and instead stroked the wooden box, as if it were made of the finest silk.

Ezra parked the Jag on the drive and got out.

"I don't know if I can do this, Ez." JD whispered.

"Mister Dunne, you promised." Ezra retorted bluntly, but also noting the naked fear in JD's eyes.

"I know." JD replied, "But it's so hard."

With that remark JD straightened his back and walked in a good imitation of proudly into the house.

The rest of the Seven were seated in the sitting room. JD didn't bother taking a seat, he just walked to the centre and waited for Ezra to sit down.

"Vin filled you in on what he knows?" JD asked.

"He said that Ezra said you killed a man." Chris nodded.

"He's right." JD shrugged.

"Which one, son." Josiah pressed gently.

"Both." JD replied softly, "But there is a reason… Only it's hard to explain. But I can tell you three things right now… He won't be the only man to die tonight due to decapitation… I have and will only kill one tonight… And he would have killed me."

"Kid, why didn't you tell us?" Buck demanded, "If someone was threatening you…"

"No, Buck," JD sighed, "It wasn't like that… Isn't like that. And I couldn't involve you… I just couldn't…"

"JD," Chris glared at the boy, "Start at the beginning and explain properly."

"I can't Chris." JD breathed, "It was hard enough the first time around… And you were more willing to listen then… This wasn't how I wanted to tell you."

"So you were gonna tell us?" Vin frowned.

"Eventually, yeah." JD got a tiny bit louder, "But I never expected It to happen so soon. I thought I had a bit more time."

"Calm down, and explain." Nathan insisted.

"It's Deja-vu all over again." JD muttered.

"Mister Dunne," Ezra spoke up, "I do believe that part of that sentence was unnecessary."

"I know, Ez." JD seemed calm, "Here." JD pushed the box into Chris' hands, "Everything should be explained in there."

"You don't know?" Nathan frowned.

"No," JD shrugged, "I've never looked inside it."

"Then how do you know, kid?" Buck asked.

"Because a man I trust gave me that box," JD replied, "He told me never to open it. And to give it to all of you when I felt it was right… He said it would explain everything… I've waited years to give it to you."

"Do you trust him?" Chris demanded to know.

"With your lives." JD was blunt. He pulled out his gun and laid it on the table. "Just so you know I'm not going to do anything foolish. I'm going outside. I'll be on the porch swing when you want to talk to me about what's in the box. I won't run. I promised six men, a long time ago, that I would explain."

"Kid, two years ain't a long time." Buck smiled.

"Who said it was you guys?" JD retorted, "Well it was… And it wasn't… It's hard to explain. But I won't run… I just need to be outside right now… Old memories."

JD walked to the door, he paused before he left.

"Thanks for coming back." He whispered so quietly that only the closest member of the Seven heard him, Josiah. The tall man frowned at the words. They didn't make sense.

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Chris opened the box. He stared at what was inside it for a moment, before placing the box on the table and removing a Single Action Army Revolver, sometimes referred to as a Peacemaker. It was clearly old, but also in good condition, wrapped up loosely in an oiled cloth.

"It's an antique." Chris breathed in shock.

Buck pulled the box into his lap and pulled out an envelope, yellow with age. The ink on the front was brown and faded, but still clearly legible.

"Nice one, Old Dog," Buck laughed, "You in on this with JD and Ez, too?"

"Mister Willimington," Ezra countered, "This is not a joke."

"Sure it is," Buck argued, "I'd know Chris' handwriting anywhere."

Chris removed the letter from Buck's hands. Written on the front, in what was certainly his own hand was a simple instruction: 'Read me first'.

Carefully, Chris opened the envelope and removed the enclosed sheets of paper. Like the envelope the paper was old and the ink was faded. But Chris could still read it, and it was still in his own hand.

"To Chris, Vin, Buck, Ezra, Josiah and Nathan," Chris started to read aloud, "My name is Chris Larabee. I am a hired gun, currently hired to protect the town of Four Corners. I was not always a hired gun. But after my family died and the house burnt down, I left. There was not anything left there for me.

"I ended up in a little town, Four Corners. I had only been there a day when some cowhands decided to lynch the local healer. Their boss had died of gangrene. But I think it were more to do with him being black than anything else.

"Only one person told them to stop, Mary. But that shotgun had too much kick for her.

"Across the road from me was a man. He was dressed in an apron and using a broom. But he didn't like what he was seeing any more than I did.

"He put down the broom. Took off the apron and picked up a rifle.

"We looked at each other. I had never seen him before. But when I looked at him, it was like I had known him my whole life. We did not need to talk. We understood each other…

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"A greenhorn kid came out of nowhere and tried to shoot one of the men in the back. I yelled at him. He was some Eastener trying to be a gunslinger. He did not know anything…

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"We went to the Saloon. There was the fanciest dressed man there I ever did see. He was gambling with some other men. Making impossible bets, but winning every time. It was the first time I had ever seen a man bluff his way out of a bar with only one bullet in his gun…

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"They were trying to hire a bunch of gunmen with only a little money. I did not have anything else to do and the sharpshooter did not either. The healer agreed to help, as well. So we went looking for more men…

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"I knew that my oldest friend was in town as well. He was not hard to find. He never is. Easiest way is to locate a woman's bedroom and pretend to be her husband. He will jump out the window. Just like he did that day…

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"The healer had a Preacher friend. He was not like any Preacher I had ever met before. But he knew how to fight and would fight if needed…

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"The Judge hired us. A dollar a day plus room and board…

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"Now for names. The Healer is the former slave Nathan Jackson. The sharpshooter is the former Bounty Hunter Vin Tanner. The Gambler and Conman is Ezra P. Standish. Never did find out what the 'P' was for. My oldest friend and Lady's Man is Buck Willmington. The Preacher is Josiah Sanchez.

"And our little Greenhorn, our heart and our keystone is JD Dunne.

"I know he gave you this letter. I know he gave you the box. The same JD Dunne that I can see play-fighting with Buck in the street gave you this box. I do not know how much time has passed since I wrote this, but it is the same JD. Our kid. And yours.

"I know he will be scared. He never meant to tell us. We made him. If he ran out on you, remind him that I swore that I would kick his head off his shoulders if he did.

"You see, we lost him once.

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The Magnificent Seven mainly portrayed here are from Mog's ATF Universe. However the letter comes from the Old West group. The basic idea is that JD is an Immortal, and the Old West group found out. They promised JD that they would come back for him. However their reincarnations have no memories of their Old West counterparts.

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