This story is written in script format.  For the writer, scripts are faster than stories, but for the reader, they demand a bit more effort.   Since we've seen these characters on-screen before, though, I hope it's not too hard to follow along and imagine the characters saying these lines, exchanging those all-important meaningful glances, performing those nekkid-sweaty katas, impressing us with their swordwork, and transporting us into the Highlander Universe.

SCREEN CAPTION: NEW YORK CITY, 1995

(Hudson street.  Sign on door reads "Ellenstein and MacLeod Antiques, Formerly Russell Nash."  Rachel is about to go into store.  Duncan and Connor are on the sidewalk nearby.)

CONNOR
"Rachel!"

RACHEL
(stops, turns) "Connor!"  (goes down steps to hug Connor)  "And Duncan!"  (hugs Duncan.)  "I wasn't expecting to see you two until the estate auction this weekend!"

CONNOR
"I came early to see you."

RACHEL
"Flatterer."

DUNCAN
"As always.  Connor has a way with women."

RACHEL
(laughing) "I've known that since he adopted me when I was six. You have a way with women, too, Duncan, and you know it."

CONNOR
"So do I."  (To Duncan, not seriously)  "Keep away from my daughter."  (He and Rachel exchange special glances)

RACHEL
(To Connor) "How's Alex?  I haven't seen you two since your wedding last fall.  And how's John?"

CONNOR
(smiling, happy, comfortable)  "Good. Alex is good.  John's grown about a foot. You should come visit us in Scotland."

RACHEL
"This store keeps me so busy. But soon, I promise.  Come on in!  I've just redecorated."

CONNOR
"We'll be right back.  Duncan said he wanted some real New York bagels. He's been in Europe too long."

(Rachel waves goodbye, goes into store. Connor and Duncan go down street.  Rachel in store, picking up telephone.)

CUT TO: Duncan and Connor outside, then big explosion knocks them to the ground. The store is a mass of flames.

CONNOR
"Rachel!"  (picks himself up)  "Rachel!"  (Duncan holds Connor back from running into building) "Oh God, Rachel!"

DUNCAN
"Connor, it's over!"  (Grabs Connor and shakes him.)  "Connor!  She's dead."  (Connor slowly stops struggling.  Duncan calms down too.)  "There's nothing you can do, Connor.  We both know that.  That's the first lesson you ever taught you, remember?"

CONNOR
(agreeing, raggedly and near tears)  "Yes ... your first lesson.  And mine."
 

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Battle Field in Scotland, 1625 -- DAY
-------------------------------------------

DUNCAN
(revives slowly, examines his bloody clothing, looking for a wound.  He's fine.)  "Not again. Oh, not again."  (He looks around, crawls over and desperately tries to help one of his friends)  "Donald, O blessed Mother of God, Donald ..."

(Donald is obviously dead, Duncan crawls to another one, then another, starts to weep.  Duncan stops, looks up to see a figure silhouetted against the sky)

DUNCAN
(Stands, draws his sword)  "Who are you?"

CONNOR
"I'm Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod."

DUNCAN
"Connor MacLeod?  I've heard of you. They say you're a demon who came back from the dead, before my grandfather's time."

CONNOR
"I've been called demon.  And worse." (comes closer)  "But like you, my friend, I just have a hard time dying."  (Looks around at the bodies.)  "These others ..." (shakes head.)

DUNCAN
(bitterly)  "They're not so lucky as you and I, is that it?"

CONNOR
(sad smile)  "Sometimes, I wonder." (turns to Duncan.)  "There is nothing we can do for them."

DUNCAN
"But--"

CONNOR
(blunt) "They're dead.  But you and I ... we are Immortal."

DUNCAN
(shaking head, looking confused)

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Campfire, Scotland, 1625 -- LATER THAT DAY
-------------------------------------------

(Connor and Duncan sit around a campfire, not far from the battlefield)

CONNOR
"We are Immortal, Duncan." (He takes out a knife, cuts his palm, it heals with little flickers of blue, gashes Duncan on the hand, and Duncan heals, too.)  "We heal."  (He reaches over and pokes at the blood on Duncan's plaid).  "We even come back from the dead.  Unless ..."

DUNCAN
"Unless ...?"

CONNOR
"When your head comes away from your neck, it's over.  And trust me, Immortals hunt for each other's heads.  We call it the Game."

DUNCAN
"The Game?"  (Gets up to leave)  "This is daft."

CONNOR
(stands and grabs him)  "Listen to me!  The Immortal who takes your head gets all your power, and everything you know.  We call that the Quickening.  And the last Immortal left alive wins the Prize.  He will win all the power of every immortal who ever lived, and he will be able to rule the world."

DUNCAN
(starts to laugh, then stops)  "You're serious."

CONNOR
(nods)

DUNCAN
(thinks it over)  "What's it like? When you take someone's head? The ... the Quickening?"

CONNOR
(joins him looking over the battlefield, where the crows have started to feed.)  "The power of the Quickening ... is lightning."

(FLASH of Connor in a Quickening somewhere, some when, getting zapped, bloody head and body nearby, Connor with bloody sword, bloody hands, bloody shirt.)(back to Connor and Duncan)

CONNOR
"It tears you open and peels away your skin ..."

(Connor getting zapped, the other body levitating)

CONNOR Voiceover
"... it rips your heart out and puts it back together beating ..."

(lightning blowing things up, Connor screaming)

CONNOR Voiceover
"... you cannot breathe, you cannot think, you cannot move ..."

(lightning still going, mist, fog, etc., Connor in the midst of it now)

CONNOR Voiceover
"... and you are *alive* as you have never been before ..."

(lightning dying away, Connor dropping to his knees)

CONNOR Voiceover
"Then you know that you have walked straight into hell..."
 

(Back to Connor and Duncan, standing side by side on the top of the hill, as the sun sets and the crows fly away, and the fires burn on.)

CONNOR (continuing)
"... and you can only pray that you come out the other side."
 

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Antique Store in NYC, 1995 -- AFTERNOON
-------------------------------------------

(Antique store is a disaster.  Crowd watching behind police tape.  Ambulance there, police and fire cars there.  Duncan and Connor watch from the sidewalk as medics put an empty stretcher in the ambulance and slam the doors.)

CONNOR
(whispering)  "Rachel."

DUNCAN
(waits a bit, suggests) "Should we have the burial here in New York?"

CONNOR
"And bury what?"  (looks at ruined building, then at the ambulance driving away)  "There's nothing left."

DUNCAN:
(puts his arm around his shoulders.)  "Come, Connor.  I'll take you home."

(In the background, a man smiles and turns away)
 

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Connor's House in Scotland, 1995 --DAY
-------------------------------------------

(montage of pretty parts of the Highlands, zoom to a farmhouse on a hillside, with horses running in a field. Connor and Duncan drive up and park in front of house.)

ALEXANDRA JOHNSON MACLEOD (slender, blonde, beautiful) and JOHN MACLEOD (dark curly hair, twelve years old) come out of the house.  Alex  goes to Connor, they hug.

CONNOR
"Alex."

ALEX
"I'm so sorry, Connor."

JOHN
"Dad?"

CONNOR
(Connor gathers John into the embrace. After a minute, he ruffles John's hair, puts his arm around the boy's shoulders, the other arm around Alex's waist.)

"It's good to be home."

(They go inside, Duncan follows with two bags from the car).

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Connor's House in Scotland, 1995 --LATE AFTERNOON
-------------------------------------------

(Near the barn, Connor and Duncan leaning on a rock wall or chopping wood or something.  It's late afternoon, the sun is sinking, and they can see a loch in the distance.)
 

DUNCAN "I'm glad to be in the Highlands again." CONNOR (nods as he looks around at the scenery)  "Scotland is like us, Duncan. Immortal."  (looks a bit pensive) DUNCAN (an encouraging grin) "It's hard at times, I know, but we have had some fun along the way."

TRANSITION TO:
-------------------------------------------
EXT.  Ireland, 1712--DAY
-------------------------------------------

(Straight from the movie)

(Connor and Duncan are out in the forest.  A band of brigands stops a coach with two women in it and demands money. They protest, Duncan and Connor come gallantly to the rescue.  Duncan smiles at the pretty woman in the coach, and she drops a handkerchief as the coach drives away.)

TRANSITION TO:
-------------------------------------------
EXT. Connor's House in Scotland, 1995 --LATE AFTERNOON
-------------------------------------------

CONNOR
"Yeah. We've had fun." (smiles and claps Duncan on the back)  "But I'm not going to let you have all of it."

DUNCAN
(laughing) "No."

JOHN
(comes over, dressed in shorts, T-shirt, running shoes)
"Hey, Dad, Uncle Duncan, you want to go running before it gets dark?"

CONNOR
(enthusiastically) "Let's go!"

-------------------------------------------
INT. Connor's House in Scotland, 1995 --NIGHT
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan and Alex are sitting in the living room.  John walks by in the hall.)

JOHN
(calling) "Goodnight!"

ALEX
"Goodnight, John!"

DUNCAN
"Goodnight!"

ALEX
(after he goes upstairs, she says quietly to Duncan)  "Do the police know ...?"

DUNCAN
"A bomb definitely, but nowadays, it could be anyone.  A gang, a terrorist group, someone just out for kicks."

ALEX
(not buying it)  "Or another immortal?"

DUNCAN
"It's possible.  But ... that's not how the Game is played, Alex.  You know that."

ALEX
(not comforted) "Oh yes.  Connor explained the Game to me:  one-on-one, battles to the death, no fighting on Holy Ground, the last one left alive wins the Prize.  All of that." (shakes her head, stands, starts to pace)  "He's taking this so hard."

DUNCAN
"He's known Rachel since she was six."

ALEX
"And raised her as his daughter, I know."  (looks at wall of pictures of Rachel and Connor from long ago.  Looks at another picture, Brenda and Connor this time, with a toddler between them.)  "And he adopted John, too."  (more pictures of John growing up through the years.  Alex shows up in the last two pictures, one a wedding photo.  Alex turns back to Duncan.)  "It's just ... Connor was finally getting over Brenda's death in that car crash eight years ago."

DUNCAN
(going to her)  "With your help, Alex. You and John.  You've given Connor a family, something he's always wanted.  He loves you both. You give him a reason to live."

ALEX
(looking up at Duncan, smiling a little)  "Thanks, Duncan."  (gives him a hug, then looks toward the hallway, where Connor appears) "I have to go."
 

DUNCAN "He needs you." ALEX "He needs you, too, Duncan." DUNCAN (smiling)  "And we'll be there for him." ALEX (understanding the mortal and immortal sides of it) "As long as we can."

DUNCAN
(watches her go to Connor, and then the two of them go up the stairs together, arms around each other.  Duncan looks at pictures of Brenda, and Rachel, and a portrait of Heather on the wall.)

"All the good women, Connor."

TRANSITION to a memory of the pretty woman from the carriage in 1712, smiling and in Duncan's arms.

DUNCAN
(whispering) "Maura."

(Duncan glances upstairs, looks around the happy home, then heads for his bedroom, alone.)

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Connor's Farm in Scotland, 1995 --NIGHT
-------------------------------------------

(Same man from NYC sneaking around outside the barn, setting wires.)

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Connor's Farm in Scotland, 1995 --EARLY MORNING
-------------------------------------------

(Alex, John, Connor, and Duncan all dressed for riding, heading for the barn.)

-------------------------------------------
INT. Barn --EARLY MORNING
-------------------------------------------

Horses whinny in greeting,  People start saddling up.

CUT TO:  The man from NY watching from a field far away, counting down.

CUT TO:  The barn explodes, horses scream, fire everywhere.  After the explosion, Connor revives.

FLASH ON:  Connor reviving in a car wreck on a road in the Highlands.

BACK TO: Connor shoves his way out from under wreckage of the barn, starts crawling about, looking for his wife and son.

FLASH ON:  Connor crawling out of the car, looking for Brenda.

BACK TO:  Connor finds Alex's body.

FLASH ON: Connor finds Brenda's body in the car wreck.

CUT TO:  Duncan coming over to see Connor sitting with Alex's body on his lap, rocking back and forth a little, both of them burned and torn.

FLASH ON: Connor holding what's left of Brenda in just the same way.

BACK TO the barn.  Connor is silent.  He can't even cry.  A boy's hand lies nearby. A leg sticks out somewhere.  Horse pieces are scattered about, too.

Duncan sits down nearby. There's nothing he can do.

-------------------------------------------
EXT.  Church in the Highlands -- a few days later
-------------------------------------------

(Connor and Duncan are standing near two fresh graves.  An older gravestone nearby says "Brenda Wyatt MacLeod  1958-1987"  Other mourners stand in the churchyard in the distance.)

DUNCAN
"I'll help you find the one who did this."

CONNOR
(nodding his thanks, but looking at the graves) "It won't bring them back.  Do you know how many of my family I've buried,  here in the Highlands?  My son, John.  My wives, Alex and Brenda.  My first wife, Heather, over four hundred years ago.  My father, my mother ... " (turns away)

-------------------------------------------
EXT.  Connor and Heather's Forge in Glen Coe, 1555-- DAY
-------------------------------------------

(Connor and Heather outside their cottage; a lone rider in a priest's garb comes over the hill.  It's the guy from the bombings in NY and Scotland, only with a beard and long hair.  Connor puts his hand to his sword, then recognizes the man and relaxes.  The man dismounts, they clasp hands in friendship.)

CONNOR
"Liam Karn. It's good to see you."

KARN
"Connor MacLeod. It's been a long time since you and I went hunting together."

CONNOR
(not smiling now.)  "Yes."

FLASH TO:  Connor getting banished from the village, rocks thrown at him, etc.  The priest of the village chanting prayers.

CONNOR
"Nearly twenty years since the clan banished me from Glenfinnan."

KARN
"And I was away at the seminary.  If only I'd been there, to stop them."

CONNOR
"They wouldn't have listened."

KARN
"No.  And they're not listening now, either. There've been bad harvests, too much rain ... People are muttering of witchcraft."

CONNOR
(shrugs)  "'Tis naught to do with us.  Heather and I are here in Glencoe. They're in Glenfinnan."

KARN
"And your mother?"

(Connor and Heather exchange worried glances)

KARN
"There's talk of burning her at the stake."

HEATHER
"She's done nothing!"

KARN
(to Heather)  "They say she's the mother of Connor MacLeod, spawn of the devil, and that means she's in league with the devil, too. Both when Connor was born, and now."

CONNOR
"But I'm a foundling, just as you are.  She could--"

KARN
"She will not deny you.  She insists you are her son.  That's all they need."

CONNOR
(cold and angry)  "That priest again?"

KARN
"I know you hate Father Ambrose for casting you out, Connor, but he's cared for me since I was five, taught me, raised me as his own.  He's a good man, just frightened."

CONNOR
"I'll not leave my mother to the likes of him.  I'm going to Glenfinnan."

HEATHER
"They'll kill you, Connor."

KARN
"Your wife is right. You mustn't come into the village.  I'll bring your mother to the forest, to the glen with the white rock, where you and I went hunting, long ago."
 
 

CONNOR (nods, turns to Heather to say goodbye. They embrace, kiss.) HEATHER "Connor, be careful."

CONNOR
"I'll be back soon, Heather."

HEATHER
"Connor--"

CONNOR
"Nothing can keep me from you, Blossom. Nothing."

(Connor and Liam ride off across the Highlands, pretty scenery, etc.  Eventually, the Castle with Loch Shiel in the distance.)

KARN
(riding off) "I'll meet you tonight in the glen!"

-------------------------------------------
EXT.  Glen with a white rock near Glenfinnan, 1555 -- NIGHT
-------------------------------------------

(Connor waits near the white rock in the glen, his horse tethered nearby. An owl hoots once, twice, Connor hoots in return.  Liam and Caolin appear.  Caolin and Connor embrace, Liam looks around anxiously.)

CAOLIN
"Oh, Connor."  (she touches his cheek) "It's so good to see you."

CONNOR
(clears his throat) "Aye, Mother, and you, too."

CAOLIN
"I should have come with you ten years ago, when you asked me after your father died."

CONNOR
"Hush.  You didn't want to leave your sisters. I understand.  But we should go now."  (turns to thank Liam, but Liam's looking into the trees.  Connor turns too, searching)

Men come running at them, carrying torches, led by Father Ambrose, the priest.  Big fight, with Connor trying to get his mother away, but they overpower him and grab his mother.

CONNOR
"Liam!"

(Liam opens his mouth to answer, but is interrupted by the priest.)

FATHER AMBROSE
"Well done, lad!"

CONNOR
(realizes he's been betrayed, goes for Liam's throat with his bare hands, somebody knocks Connor out)

-------------------------------------------
 EXT.  Village of Glenfinnan, 1555-- NIGHT
-------------------------------------------
 
 

The witch burning, as done in the movie. Can include a shot of them hacking off her hair.  Connor escapes from the jail cell, but not in time to save his mother. She dies at the stake. Connor stabs Father Ambrose, turns on Liam. KARN "Connor, no, I--" CONNOR (Doesn't listen, guts the man and happily watches him die.)

(End on burning stake, dead bodies, etc.)

-------------------------------------------
EXT. Church in the Highlands, 1995
-------------------------------------------

CONNOR
"They're all dead, Duncan, and they all died because of me."

DUNCAN
"It's not your fault, Connor."

CONNOR
"Bullshit, Duncan.  We both know it's an Immortal, trying to get to me through the people I--" (he chokes up, forces himself to keep going)  "The hell of it is, it works."

DUNCAN
"Connor, you're the one who taught me that when there's life, there's hope."

CONNOR
(not remembering)  "Did I?"  (back to looking at the graves, tries to explain.)  "I'm not giving up, Duncan. I just need some time." (grimly)  "Whoever it is, he'll be waiting."

DUNCAN
(nodding in understanding)  "You're going to Holy Ground."

CONNOR
"For a while."  (hands Duncan an envelope.) "Here's a power of attorney. Sell the house for me."

DUNCAN
"Sure."

CONNOR
(looks over at crowd of people, where JOE DAWSON detaches himself from the group and nods in greeting.)

"And there's your good friend and Watcher, Joe Dawson. Of course.  You think they'd get bored, following us around."

DUNCAN
"Where's your Watcher?"

CONNOR
(nasty grin) "Trying to get the sugar out of her radiator, no doubt." (Connor gives Duncan a hug) "I'll be seeing you."

DUNCAN
(a nod) "Connor."

CONNOR
"Duncan."

(Connor walks to his car and drives away.)

JOE DAWSON
(stands by Duncan, and they watch the car leave.  Somehow get a shot of Joe's wrist, so we can see his tattoo.)  "Didn't say goodbye, did he?"

DUNCAN
"We never do."
 

-------------------------------------------
INT.  Connor's house, evening
-------------------------------------------
(Joe, Methos, and Duncan drinking beer)

METHOS
"So, your kinsman's bowed out of the Game and gone to Holy Ground. No fighting. No beheadings.  No death."

-------------------------------------------
EXT.  The Sanctuary
-------------------------------------------
(SHOT OF: Connor's car driving up to a large building. People in monk robes walking around)

-------------------------------------------
INT.  Connor's house
-------------------------------------------

DUNCAN
"I've done it. Haven't you?"

METHOS
"A few times."

JOE
(hoping for information) "Really?"
 

-------------------------------------------
EXT.  The Sanctuary
-------------------------------------------
Connor gets out, walks up the steps of the large building slowly, a monk comes out to greet him.  They shake hands civilly.  Connor goes inside.
 

-------------------------------------------
INT.  Connor's house
-------------------------------------------
METHOS
(smiling, giving Joe a snippet of information he wanted)  "Nine hundred years ago."  (leans back and stretches)  "And thirteen hundred years before that."

-------------------------------------------
INT.  The Sanctuary--a corridor
-------------------------------------------
(Connor goes with the monk into a room, monk hands him a robe.)
 

-------------------------------------------
INT.  Connor's house
-------------------------------------------
METHOS
"I got a lot of reading done."  (Drinks his beer, then shakes his head sadly.) "Though the one in Syria did have terrible beer."

JOE
"How long did you stay?"

METHOS
(shrugging)  "Twenty years the first time, about fifty the next.  You get into a routine."

DUNCAN
(to Joe)  "You Watchers have people in monasteries all over the world, don't you, Dawson?"
 

-------------------------------------------
INT.  The Sanctuary
-------------------------------------------
(Connor in a large room, adjusting the belt around his robe.  Two other monks exchange glances as they reach up to get books off a shelf, thus fortuitously revealing their Watcher tattoos.)

JOE (Voice over)
"We have to, to keep track of all of you guys.  Observe and record, that's our motto."

(Two more monk-Watchers come into the room, exchange sneaky glances with the other two.  Connor is looking for a book to read.)

METHOS (voice over)
(dryly) "And never interfere."

(One monk-Watcher asks Connor a question, and while he's answering, another injects him with a drug from behind. Connor tries to fight back, but the drug is kicking in.)

JOE (voice over)
(defensively) "Yeah, well ... sometimes, you gotta do more than just watch."

(The monk-Watchers hurriedly drag Connor down a short hallway, down some stairs, and through a hidden doorway, into a large basement room.  Eight people are sitting strapped to machines with tubes and wires coming out, metal hoods on their heads.)

JOE (Voice over)
"And I recall saving your ass on occasion, Methos. You didn't have any complaints then."

(The Watchers take Connor's sword away. Connor is put in a chair, the wrist clamps are tightened, the metal hood comes down. Connor stops struggling.)

-------------------------------------------
INT.  Connor's house
-------------------------------------------
METHOS
(Raising his glass to Joe)  "No. No complaints."

DUNCAN
(lifting his glass, too.) "None from me, either, Dawson.  Not about you."

METHOS
(checking his watch)  "I supose Connor's singing Vespers right about now."

JOE
"Safe on Holy Ground."

-------------------------------------------
INT.  The Sanctuary--the holding room
-------------------------------------------
Connor and others sit silent and immobile in their chairs.

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  The Sanctuary, 2000.
-------------------------------------------
SCREEN CAPTION: FIVE YEARS LATER

A bunch of people show up and attack Sanctuary.  Things go boom, guys in monk-robes die.  Attackers die. Etc.  When things are quiet...

WATCHER
(to another watcher)  "Take their heads.  Some of them might be Immortal."

KARN
(from behind the corner)  "Some of us are."  (kills both of the Watchers, then goes to kick his partner, William.)  "Don't take too long."

WILLIAM
(gasps, revives, goes with KARN.)

-------------------------------------------
INT:  The Sanctuary, The Holding room
-------------------------------------------

(Karn and William arrive in the holding room.  Karn and William starts unlocking the hoods.  When they're all done, Karn takes out his sword and goes to one of the people.)

WILLIAM
(frantic)  "You can't do that!  We're on Holy Ground!"

KARN
(smiling)  "Haven't you ever wondered what would happen?  I have.  Live on the edge."  (spins and decapitates the guy)  "Die on the edge."

(a quickening occurs)

KARN
(looking at his erstwhile companion and starts to laugh--he's survived.)  "I don't care about the rules. I don't care about the Game.  All I want is Connor MacLeod."  (Lifts his sword and strikes at one of the seated immies, place starts to blow up again.)

-------------------------------------------
INT:  The Sanctuary, The Holding room
-------------------------------------------

(place is a mess, headless bodies everywhere, etc.  Three Watchers are in the room; Pierre in a monk-robe comes in the door.)

PIERRE:
"What the hell happened?"

CLAUDE
(sarcastic)  "I don't know, Pierre.  We've got heads over there, and heads over here, and bodies everywhere.  What do *you* think happened?"

PIERRE
"All of them are dead?"

CLAUDE
(counts the crispy-fried and unrecognizable heads on the floor)  "Yes, nine."

PIERRE
(coming down the stairs, picking his way among the wreckage)  "How did he find us?  We've been safe for centuries, and we've been here for nearly twenty years.  Not even the rest of the Watchers know about us."

CLAUDE
"No witnesses were left alive. Whoever it was stole the records from the files.  The surveillance cameras were destroyed by the Quickenings."

PIERRE
"Quickenings? On Holy ground?"  (He and Claude look at each other grimly)  "Then our work is even more important than we thought. Nowhere is safe."

CLAUDE
"We need at least two 'volunteers.'  That way, no one will ever win the Prize, and no Immortal will ever rule the world."  (sighs)  "We also need a new location. We'd better call a real estate agent."

(one monk-Watcher looks up, worried, but keeps cleaning.)
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  Methos's house, VIENNA
-------------------------------------------

(knock on the door)

METHOS
(opens door to show Joe, looking worried.)  "What's wrong?"

JOE
"There was, ah, a bit of a problem yesterday."

-------------------------------------------
INT. Car, on the road --day
-------------------------------------------

(Methos driving Joe in a car)

METHOS
"How the hell did this happen, Joe?"

JOE
"Renegade Watchers.  Seems they wanted to take out some insurance against the Prize being won.  Life-time policies."

METHOS
(swears under his breath)  "How long has this been going on?"

JOE
"Centuries, I guess.  First they just locked them up; lately they've been using drugs.  Kept 'em quiet."

METHOS
(muttering in disgust) "More humane."

JOE
"One of the Watchers who works there was with me at the Watcher Academy. He called me yesterday, really spooked, and told me what's been going on.  We figure some Immortal found out about their hideout, came in and killed all the Watchers, then whacked all the immortals he could find.  Nine of 'em, lined up in a row. Talk about an all-you-can-eat buffet."

METHOS
"On Holy Ground?"

JOE
"Yeah, well ... whoever he is, he doesn't follow the rules."

METHOS
(swears again, viciously.)

JOE
"I'll say.  And we gotta tell Duncan MacLeod, but the Watchers lost track of him two years ago, after he left Paris."

METHOS
"He's in Romania."

JOE
"Romania?  What the hell is in Romania?" (turns in his seat to look at Methos)  "And how the hell do you know?"

METHOS
"I helped him pick out the paint chips."
 
 

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  DUNCAN'S ESTATE, ROMANIA, 2000
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan MacLeod walking outside near a farm field.  A comfortable house is in the background.  A car pulls up, he gets the buzz, stops, Maura (the pretty woman he remembered at Connor's house) gets out of the car, short hair, cold expression, a white lacy shirt over tight black pants, nifty earrings.)

DUNCAN
"Maura!"

MAURA/FAITH
"Maura was killed, almost three centuries ago. Don't you remember, Duncan?"

DUNCAN
"I remember."

TRANSITION TO
-------------------------------------------
INT: House, Ireland, 1715 -- Morning
-------------------------------------------

(Maura sewing by the fire, a lovely piece of needlework.  Duncan sits by her side.  Their eyes meet, they kiss.)

BUZZ comes, and Duncan pulls away.

MAURA
"What's wrong?"

DUNCAN
"I think I hear someone coming."

MAURA
"I didn't hear anything."

(A knock on the door)

CONNOR (off screen)
"Duncan!"

DUNCAN
(smiles innocently and shrugs, opens the door to greet his kinsman.)  "Connor!"  (they embrace)

CONNOR
"You look good, Duncan."  (His eyes go to Maura, and he walks over and bows, very appreciative.)  "But I like the view over here much better."

DUNCAN
(hurrying over to claim Maura's hand in his own.) "Connor, this is Maura Flaherty. Maura, my kinsman, Connor MacLeod."

CONNOR
(takes Maura's hand and bows over it. His smile fades a tiny bit.)

-------------------------------------------
EXT: By a pond in Ireland, 1715 -- SAME DAY
-------------------------------------------

CONNOR
"Pretty girl."

DUNCAN
"Aye." (rubbing hands together in excitement and nervousness.)  "I'm going to ask her to marry me."

CONNOR
(not really surprised at that; Duncan's often about to get married.)  "She knows then?  That you are Immortal?"

DUNCAN
"Well, no ... I ..."

CONNOR
"You know she will be an Immortal, too?"

DUNCAN
"Aye. That is, I thought I sensed something.  I wasn't sure."

CONNOR
"It's not always clear, but with her, I can tell."  (ever the teacher in charge)  "She needs to know, Duncan, before you marry. If you marry."

DUNCAN
"We love each other!"

CONNOR
"Until death do you part?  Marriage isn't the same for Immortals. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years together?  You two should think about that."

DUNCAN
"We'll have time."

CONNOR
"You need to tell her now.  How old do you think she'll be the first time she dies?  Thirty?  Fifty?" (pushing his point) "Seventy? Do you think she will want to spend eternity as an old woman?"

DUNCAN
"Connor--"

CONNOR
"Maura has a choice, Duncan.  Heather didn't.  She grew old before my eyes ..."

CUT TO: Heather against a wall, with a knife in her hand, cutting off her hair.

CONNOR (voiceover)
"I found her one evening, cutting off her hair. When I asked her why she would do such a thing to herself, she handed me the locks of hair, and said that she'd taken out the white ones, and that I should keep the gold.  She wanted me to remember her as she was when first we met."

(FB:  SCOTLAND, 1587, From HL1,  Connor holding a dying Heather in his arms.)
 

CONNOR (Voiceover) "She died in my arms, an old woman." HEATHER "Don't see me, Connor.  Let me die in peace." CONNOR (Voiceover) "But still beautiful--to me." (Connor carries Heather's body up the hill.  Jams his sword into the earth as a grave marker.)

BACK TO: Ireland, 1715

CONNOR
(to Duncan) "You and Maura will never have to face that, but you need to tell her now. She's in the flower of her youth, Duncan. It's her life.  Let her decide."

DUNCAN
"Aye. I will."  (starts to leave)

CONNOR
(calling after him) "She'll need to learn how to fight."

DUNCAN
"I can keep her safe."

CONNOR
"No. You can't.  Not now, not after she becomes Immortal.  You know that."

DUNCAN
(unwillingly admitting it)  "Aye. I do."

-------------------------------------------
EXT: under a willow tree by a stream -- Ireland, 1715 -- DAY
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan and Maura are lying on the ground, clothes all disheveled, in the aftermath of love-making.  Duncan is straddling her, a knife in his hand.)

DUNCAN
"You're certain? You want me to do this?"

MAURA
(looking up at him, smiling)  "I do.  To be young and beautiful, to live with you forever ... What matters a small moment of pain, for an eternity of love?"

DUNCAN
(having a hard time with this)  "I love you."

MAURA
"And I love you.  Forever."

(Duncan stabs her, she gasps, blood all over the place, etc.)

CUT TO:
(Maura, a little cleaner now, Duncan wiped up the blood.  She revives, gasping)

MAURA
"Duncan?"

DUNCAN
"I'm here, my love."

MAURA
(reaching for him and smiling)  "Forever."

(They kiss passionately, and then keep going. Fade before they get too busy.)
 

TRANSITION TO:
-------------------------------------------
EXT:  DUNCAN'S ESTATE, ROMANIA, 2000
-------------------------------------------

DUNCAN
"You're as beautiful as ever, Maura."

MAURA
"But no longer young.  And my name isn't Maura now. I'm Faith."

DUNCAN
(trying out the name) "Faith."

MAURA/FAITH
(nastily) "That sounds odd, coming from you." (She draws her sword.)

DUNCAN
(backing away) "What are you doing?"

FAITH
"What I've learned to do, over the centuries.  What you taught me to do.  I'm not young, and I'm not innocent.  I've become the killer you wanted me to be."

DUNCAN
"I never wanted this."

FAITH
"Neither did I.  But we Immortals don't have a choice, do we?  After all, it's how we live."  (she attacks, Duncan grabs a stick to defend himself.)

DUNCAN
"I won't kill you!"

FAITH
"You haven't changed, have you, Duncan?"  (smiles coldly) "But that just makes this easier for me."

DUNCAN
"Maura!"

FAITH
(whacking at him) "My name is Faith."  (she cuts him a good one) "Remember it."

DUNCAN
(draws his sword, does some fancy move and disarms her)  "No more."

FAITH
"Oh, yes. There's more."  (She walks over to him, kneels, and takes his sword in her hands and puts it against her own neck.)

DUNCAN
(wanting to pull away, afraid he'll slice her fingers off.  Blood drips between her fingers.)  "Stop!"

FAITH
"Not this time." (she pulls the sword closer, leans into it, and cuts into her own neck. Blood drips down onto her white shirt.)

DUNCAN
(about to drop the handle, when BUZZ hits.  She lets go, but stays kneeling.  They both turn to see Shen Ji in the distance, drawing a sword as he approaches.)

DUNCAN
"Who's that?"

FAITH
(smiles, still on her knees, licking the blood off her fingers)  "My teacher.  My friend.  My lover."  (stands as Shen Ji draws near).  "My husband."

SHEN JI
(stopping a little bit away.)  "Your death."

DUNCAN
(unhappily prepares to fight.)  "I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod."

SHEN JI
(sneers)  "You are a killer of women.  I am Shen Ji, a man of honor."

DUNCAN
(taken aback and recognizing the name)  "Shen Ji? You fought for the Emperor Chang?"

SHEN JI
(bows head in acknowledgment, then attacks. Fancy sword stuff.  After a while, Duncan disarms Shen Ji.  Shen Ji prepares to fight with his hands, and issues another challenge.)
"Honor is not in the weapon, but in the man."

DUNCAN
(Nods, sticks the point of his katana in the dirt. Shen Ji is surprised, looks at Faith, her face is cold, and she glares at them both.  Duncan and Shen Ji bow to each other again, start to fight unarmed, more of a contest now, less of a duel.)

(Car approaches, kicking up dust.  All three immies feel the Buzz. Car pulls up, stops. Methos and Joe get out.  Duncan and Shen Ji stop.)

METHOS
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"

FAITH
"A challenge.  You can't interfere."

METHOS
(looking her over)  "But will you?"

FAITH
(Decides to cut her losses and leave.)  "Shen Ji!"

(Duncan and Shen Ji bow to each other once more, in respect.  Faith and Shen Ji walk to their car. Shen Ji looks at Faith, trying to figure her out; then they get in the car and leave.)

METHOS
(looking about)  "I like what you've done with the place."

DUNCAN
(retrieves his sword, looks at Methos, wondering why he brought Joe with him.)  "Why are you in Romania?"

JOE
"Funny, I was going to ask you that very same question. (looks around) *Romania*?"

DUNCAN
(not amused, stares at Methos.)  "Well?"

METHOS
"Connor MacLeod."

DUNCAN
(gets serious, waiting for more)

JOE
(gently)  "Mac ... the monastery Connor was living in was attacked.  He's dead."

DUNCAN
(disbelieving) "No. That's not possible."  (Methos and Joe just stare back at him.) "Someone took his head on Holy Ground?"

METHOS
"An Immortal."

DUNCAN
(shocked)  "But ... we can't fight there."

METHOS
"How many of the other rules have you seen broken?  One-on-one, can't interfere ... why not this rule, too?

DUNCAN
"But--"

METHOS
(exasperated) "What did you think would happen, MacLeod? The earth open and swallow us up? Fire and brimstone raining from the sky?   A lifeguard blowing a whistle and telling everybody, 'Out! Out of the pool!'?  You think someone on high is making sure we play by the rules?"

JOE
"You're kidding.  All these years..."

METHOS
"If we make the rules, it's up to us to enforce them."

DUNCAN
(grimly)  "And to live by them."

METHOS
(ever the optimist)  "Or die by them."

DUNCAN
(glares at him) "Where's Connor's body?  Where is he?"

JOE
"We don't know, Mac."

METHOS
(takes Connor's katana out from under his coat.)  "I liberated Connor's katana from the Watcher archives.  I thought you might want it."

DUNCAN
(looking at the blade closely)  "It's got blood on it."

METHOS
"I didn't say it was easy."
 

-------------------------------------------
Car, driving in the Highlands
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan driving, too fast, to Loch Shiel, remembering their conversation)

JOE (voiceover)
"I'm sorry, Duncan."

DUNCAN (voiceover)
(shaky)  "I'm going home, to Scotland."

DUNCAN
(gets out of the car at the church where Alex and John and Brenda are buried, goes to the gravestones.  The graves are all grown over with grass now, the headstones all up:  Brenda Wyatt MacLeod 1958-1987, John Duncan MacLeod 1983-1995; Alexandra Johnson MacLeod 1961-1995.)

"To say goodbye."

Duncan takes out the sword and lays it carefully on the ground, kneels, bows his head in prayer.)

DUNCAN
(all lovely angst and sorrow)  "You were ... so much more than a teacher to me, Connor: clansman, drinking buddy, sparring partner, best friend, father, the brother of my heart... You were always there for me; I can't believe you're gone.  I wish I could tell you--" (He gets the Buzz, immediately stands and picks up the sword.)

CONNOR
(comes out from behind the corner of the church.)  "You can." (Duncan stands there, unbelieving.  Connor smiles a little)  "Well, go on. I'm waiting.  Surely, there's more."

DUNCAN
"Connor..." (smiling, stepping forward, putting the sword in a non-threatening position, they embrace)  "You do have a hard time dying."  (they embrace again.)  "God, it's good to see you.  I thought you were dead."

CONNOR
"So I gathered.  You're not usually such a poet."

DUNCAN
(a little embarrassed, a little close to tears)  "I meant it. Every word."

CONNOR
"I know." "I love you, too, Duncan."

DUNCAN
  "I know."

CONNOR
(they stop this before it gets even mushier.  Connor looks at the sword.)  "Is that for me?"

(Duncan smiles and offers him the blade ceremoniously, they bow to each other.  Connor looks it over, touches it reverently. It's been a long five years.)

DUNCAN
"I cleaned it for you."

CONNOR
(a wry grin) "Thanks."

DUNCAN
"Connor ... what happened?"

CONNOR
(starts walking a bit, Duncan goes with him)  "Dreams, Duncan.  Dreams and memories.  That's all I know of the last five years." (looks at the gravestones)  "I wasn't sure what had really happened, and what I only dreamed. I came back here to see ... I hoped ..."  (touches John's headstone, walks on)

DUNCAN
(after a moment)  "Dawson said you were kidnapped by Renegade Watchers, kept prisoner in a basement at the monastery for the last five years."

CONNOR
(shoots him a sharp glance, looks puzzled, shaking his head.  He's feeling trapped and trying to fight his way out)  "I don't know.  I don't remember.  I don't even know how I got to Scotland.  I don't remember *anything*!"  (softly)  "Except fire.  And blood."

BUZZ -- Connor and Duncan turn immediately, Duncan drawing his sword, Connor lifting his, the two of them side by side, ready to fight. 

KARN
(walks up to the edge of the graveyard, with FAITH by his side.) "Do you remember me?  Old *friend*?"

FLASH ON: Bearded priest from the 1555 FB and the sneaky guy from NYC, and then to this fellow.

CONNOR
(surprised, yet not really) "Liam Karn."

KARN
(comes into the graveyard, right up to the headstones.)  "One, two, three MacLeods, all in a row."  (smiles at Connor)  "But where is little Rachel? Helping a garden grow?"

CONNOR
(now he knows)  "You."

KARN
(very satisfied)  "Me."

CONNOR
(steps forward, lifting his sword, ready for revenge.)

KARN
"Holy Ground, Clansman!" (Connor checks himself)

DUNCAN
(guessing) "But that didn't stop you.  Did it?"
 

KARN "It will stop Connor MacLeod." CONNOR "No.  It won't."  (walks right up to Liam and puts his sword at his neck.) "Not with you."

KARN
(leaning into the blade, blood starting to drip)  "Go ahead.  Do it.  You've killed me this way before--a man of God, unarmed, defenseless, a man you called friend.  You killed another priest, too, my foster-father.  But you didn't know I would be Immortal, did you? You didn't know I would come back and make you pay for your crimes."

CONNOR
(letting the sword go deeper, circling the man)  "*My* crimes?  You betrayed us.  You helped burn my mother at the stake."

KARN
"No!  I never betrayed you.  They followed me.  I didn't know."

CONNOR
"Lies."

KARN
(waits until he can see Connor's eyes. There's a line of blood all around his neck)  "Truth."  (Connor pauses, and Liam knows he has him pegged)  "And you never even gave me a chance to explain."

CONNOR
(dismissing that)  "You killed Rachel.  You killed Alex and John. They never had a chance, either."

KARN
(gloating)  "Neither did Brenda."  (Connor cuts deeper, and Liam flinches in pain.)  "Would you kill an unarmed man again, Connor?"

CONNOR
"You have."

KARN
"Do you want to become me?  Take my head, my Quickening, have me inside you forever?"

CONNOR
"I've had worse."

KARN
"Oh, I don't *think* so.  I know you too well." (He drops to his knees, Connor's sword follows him down.)  "Go on.  You'll never get another chance like this."

(Connor pulls back his arm for the blow)

DUNCAN
(in warning)  "Connor, this is Holy Ground!"

(Connor stops, his sword still high, but Faith walks up to Duncan and kneels at his feet.  He immediately puts his sword out of her reach.)

FAITH
"Third time's the charm, Duncan."

(Connor and Duncan look at each other.  They know they can't do this--not here, not now.  The other two know it, too.  Faith and Liam laugh and stand up.)

KARN
(snidely)  "Honor.  It's such on old-fashioned concept."

CONNOR
"Honor never goes out of style."

FAITH
(looking him over critically)  "How would you know?"

KARN
(walking away)  "We'll try this again, Clansman, after you've recovered from five years of sitting on your ass.  We really ought to do this in a fair fight, don't you think?  At least once."  (holds his hand up to his ear and mouth, fingers extended to mimic the shape of a telephone.)  "Call ya!"

(the pair walks off, laughing. Connor and Duncan lower their swords.)
 
 

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  Car, parked in the Highlands, not far from the church
-------------------------------------------

(Karn and Faith are walking down the hill from the cemetery, still laughing)

KARN
"I haven't had this much fun since I worked for Cardinal Richeleau."

FAITH
"Not even two hundred years ago in Paris with me?"

KARN
"Ah, yes." (gives her a little bow) "Sister Mary Faith."

FAITH
(bows her head in return.)  "Father Karn." (smiles at him as they reach the car)  "The MacLeods do make a lovely pair, don't they?  Like little matched bookends.  Take one away, and everything comes tumbling down."

KARN
"Duncan dies first.  I want Connor to suffer."

FAITH
(shaking her head)  "Connor dies first."  (they stare at each other, at an impasse, until Faith suggests:)  "Flip a coin?"  (Liam pulls one out of his pocket, tosses it, Faith calls it on the fly.)  "Heads!"  (Liam's about to uncover the coin, but Faith puts her hand over his.)  "Wait! I have a better idea."
 
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  FAITH'S HOUSE, ROME--NIGHT
-------------------------------------------

(Faith comes home to find Shen Ji sitting on a chair, sharpening his weapon, waiting for her.)

FAITH
(goes over to give him a kiss. He stops her.)

SHEN JI
"Duncan MacLeod is not the man you said he was."

FAITH
"He took everything from me! He killed me! I have a right to vengeance."

SHEN JI
"If you wish, yes, you can challenge him. But you can not outfight him, and I will not fight him for you again."  (trying to figure her out)  "Do you truly wish to die?"

FAITH
(bitter about it all)  "Who wants to live forever?"  (mellows out, tries to be charming.)  "You're right. It's my battle, not yours.  We'll speak no more of it."

(Shen Ji stares into her eyes, finally believes she's sincere.  He nods and sits back down; she sits behind him, starts rubbing his back. He closes his eyes, relaxes into it.  She flips something on a ring she's wearing, stabs him in the back of the neck)

SHEN JI
(drugged and disbelieving, starting to slump) "Faith?"

FAITH
"You gotta have it, baby."  (She picks up his sword and takes his head)  "And you don't."

(The Quickening strikes, and she revels in it.  Afterwards, she leans back, thoroughly satiated, then goes to another room to find a phone.)

"Karn?  We'll have to go to Plan B.  Oh, yes, Duncan will come to me.  Then we'll get Connor.  I'll start tomorrow morning."  (She leans back, flushed and relaxed, yet ready to go at it again.)
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  FAITH'S FASHION DESIGN HOUSE, ROME--DAY
-------------------------------------------

(obligatory shots of half-naked fashion models in the enormous dressing room.  A glassed-in office is high up on one wall. Faith stands there, dressed all in black, waiting. On the wall far across from her, the word "FAITH" in huge letters.)

DUNCAN appears, looking mighty fine. She watches him cross the floor and head up the stairs.  She goes to open the door.

DUNCAN
(at the door, carefully keeping his distance)  "I got your note."

FAITH
(turns to him, her eyes bright with tears, looking helpless and sad) "Oh, Duncan ...  I know I've been ... angry with you, but this morning, I didn't know who else I could turn to..."

DUNCAN
(always the gallant knight, concerned in spite of himself)  "What's wrong?"

FAITH
(the grieving widow)  "Shen Ji.  He's dead."

DUNCAN
(not quite sure what to do with this.)  "I'm sorry."

FAITH
(turning away, going into the room, inviting Duncan to follow)  "It was the Game. Always the Game. So many challenges. So many fights. He always won. Until ...

DUNCAN
(comes into the office)  "Do you know who?"

FAITH
(shrugs helplessly, prettily)  "Does it matter?  They were just playing the Game."  (sinks gracefully into a chair, looks up at Duncan)  "He was such an honorable man; he reminded me of you.  And his death makes me realize what I've lost. With him. With you, so many years ago.  And in myself.  And it's my fault.  It's all my fault."  (She starts to weep silently.)

DUNCAN
(still cares about her, at least some, goes to sit by her side.)
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  DUNCAN'S APARTMENT, ROME--EVENING
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan asleep in bed, gets the BUZZ, wakes up.  His hand goes to the handle of his katana, lying on the floor next to his bed.  Faith walks into his bedroom, waits by the door.  Duncan lets go of the katana, turns to her.

FAITH
"Could you ... hold me?  Please?  I don't want to be alone."

(Duncan thinks about it, makes room for her on the bed.  She lies down beside him, not touching him, and he carefully puts his arm around her, and remembers:
 

Haunting music "She Moved Through the Fair" starts to play, over a montage

/ My love said to me
/ "My mother won't mind
/ And me father won't slight you
/ For your lack of kine."

--1715, Ireland--Maura and Duncan, her dying, them kissing under the tree.

--Ireland--Maura and Duncan happy together, riding across the countryside, sparring with swords, eating, etc.

/  Then she stepped away from me
/  And this she did say,
/  "It will not be long, love
/  Till our wedding day."

Lyrics fade, music continues

--1725, Ireland--Maura and Duncan in a cottage.

DUNCAN
"We have to leave."

MAURA
"But this is my home."

DUNCAN
(shaking his head)  "It's been almost ten years.  People are starting to notice.  To talk."

MAURA
"But my family, my friends--"

DUNCAN
"We have to go."

/  She stepped away from me
/  And she moved through the Fair
/  And fondly I watched her
/  Move here and move there

--shots of them in Paris, the pyramids, in Spain, Rome, Constantinople, changing clothes, changing times.  More sword play.  Dancing, playing cards.  Laughing together.

/  She went her way homeward
/  With one star awake
/  As the swans in the evening
/  Move over the lake.

Wistful scenes of her seeing a mother and a baby, a group of children, an older couple.

/  The people were saying
/  No two e'er were wed
/  But one has a sorrow
/  That never was said

She turns to Duncan and takes his hand, smiles brightly.

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  Country Estate, Italy, 1730--summer Day
-------------------------------------------
(Maura and Duncan sitting in a field of flowers.  A large villa is in the background.)

DUNCAN
"Fifteen years we've been together, Maura--the happiest years in my life."

MAURA
"Mine, too."

DUNCAN
"Will you marry me now?  Are you ready?  Are you sure?"

MAURA
"Yes."  (They kiss, ardently, yet sweetly.)

DUNCAN
"I've a gift for you, but I left it in the house."

MAURA
"You can give it to me later--in bed."

DUNCAN
"No. I want to give it you now, with the sunshine on your hair, the flowers around you."  (grins)  "Then we can go to bed.  Wait for me."

MAURA
"Always."  (Duncan gets up and walks off toward the villa.  Maura starts humming to herself and picking flowers)

-------------------------------------------
INT:  Salon in Italian Villa, Italy, 1730--summer Day
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan picks up a small box in a room, slipping it into his coat pocket.)

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  Country Estate, Italy, 1730--summer Day
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan comes back to see an Immortal duel in progress: Maura fighting for her life against some guy.)

MAURA
(not doing so well, hoping for help.)  "Duncan!"

DUNCAN
(he draws his sword, but he's rooted to the spot)

K'IMMIE
(to Duncan)  "You cannot interfere!"

MAURA
(disbelieving)  "Duncan!"  (K'immie slices her, she cries out, Duncan takes two steps forward, has to stop himself again.)

DUNCAN
"You can do this, Maura!  Remember what I've taught you!"  (to the K'immie, coldly)  "If she lets you live, I won't."

MAURA
(realizing she's on her own, she starts to fight back, fear and desperation giving her strength.  She's not that bad.  The guy makes a mistake, she runs him through. He falls to his knees, and she just stands there, her sword in her hand.)

DUNCAN
"Finish it, Maura!"

MAURA
"I can't..."

DUNCAN
"You must!  If it's not him, it will be someone else.  They won't stop coming, Maura.  You know that."

MAURA
(agonizing, trembling)  "No ..."

DUNCAN
(urging her on, knowing she has to pass this test of Immortality)  "It's how Immortals live."

MAURA
(whacks the guy, takes the Q. Her hands are bloody, and so is her dress. Duncan rushes to her when it's over, starts to take her in his arms. She pushes him away.) "Don't.  Don't touch me."

DUNCAN
"Maura ..."

MAURA
(staring at the dead guy, shocked by what she's done.  Her hands go to her temples, she's shaking)  "He's in there, Duncan, inside of me. I can hear him."

DUNCAN
(trying to soothe her)  "Just give it some time, my love.  You'll come out the other side."

MAURA
"No.  No. You lied!"  (softer now) "You lied.  This isn't how we live.  This is how we die."

DUNCAN
"The first time is always hard.  It gets better."

MAURA
(near hysteria)  "Better?  *Better*? What kind of a man are you, to say this gets 'better'?"  (the realization sinking in)  "What kind of woman have you made me become?"

DUNCAN
"You're an Immortal, Maura. Just like me."

MAURA
"You mean I'm a murderer, just like you."

DUNCAN
"You're tired, you're frightened. You will feel better tomorrow, I promise you.  I know.  We'll talk about it then.  Tomorrow."

MAURA
"Will the Game be gone tomorrow?  Will the killing be over?"

DUNCAN
(No answer for that one.)  "Maura ... we can't change the Game.  We can only live in moments of time--we live now!--finding what happiness we can."  (He takes out the box, opens it to reveal a locket engraved with the word "Forever.")  "And you and I can have forever."

MAURA
"How can we have forever, Duncan, when there can be only one?"

Music again, reprise, fading away
Transition to ...
-------------------------------------------
INT:  DUNCAN'S APARTMENT, ROME--EVENING
-------------------------------------------

(Maura and Duncan lying quietly in bed.   Duncan brushes away a tear on her cheek.)

DUNCAN
"What are you thinking?"

FAITH
"That we don't have forever--forever has us."

DUNCAN
(gives her a sad kind of smile and holds her close, they fall asleep in each other's arms)

-------------------------------------------
INT:  THE HALLWAY OUTSIDE DUNCAN'S ROOM--DAY
-------------------------------------------

(Next morning, Faith and Duncan by the elevator. Duncan stops her before she pushes the button.)
 

DUNCAN
"How did you meet Karn?"

FAITH
"He was my Father Confessor when I was a nun."

DUNCAN
"And then ...?"

FAITH
"And then ... I'd never met anybody with such a capacity for hate and hunger--except me.  A match made in Hell, and he and I both demons."

DUNCAN
(doesn't like what he's hearing.)  "And now?"

FAITH
"He's still lost in hell.  And now ... I think I want to find my way out."

BUZZ: the elevator doors open to reveal Connor MacLeod. One look at Faith, and he's ready to kill.

CONNOR
(stalking Faith)  "Where's Karn?"

FAITH
(a helpless woman, her back against the wall)  "I don't know."

CONNOR
(takes her by the throat.)  "Yes, you do."

DUNCAN
(getting mad)  "Connor, stop it!"

CONNOR
(completely ignoring Duncan, starting to squeeze.  Faith pulls at his hands, starting to gasp)  "Where?"

(Duncan yanks Connor off her. Connor shoves him back and pretty much slugs him, and Faith hurries out of Connor's reach.)

DUNCAN
"Damn it, Connor!  Leave her alone!"

CONNOR
(giving them both a knowing look)  "You didn't, did you?"

FAITH
(to Duncan)  "I wouldn't trust me, either, if I were him.  Or you."  (she gets into the elevator, looks at Duncan beseechingly)  "But I need help, to find my way."

DUNCAN
(It's not a request he can refuse outright, not from her.)  "We can try."  (He watches her as the elevator doors close)

CONNOR
(doesn't even wait for the doors to shut) "How can you be so stupid?"

(Duncan glares at him, then stalks back to his room, slamming the door.  Connor follows, open the door, and slams it in just the same way.)

CONNOR
(Demanding an answer)  "Well?"

DUNCAN
"She deserves a chance."

CONNOR
(sarcastic) "Do you really think she's just going to forgive and forget?"

DUNCAN
"Back off, Connor.  You're not my teacher anymore."

CONNOR
"No. If I were, I'd beat some sense into you right now, like I used to do."
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  FENCING SALON, RAVENNA, ITALY -1631 --Day
-------------------------------------------
(Duncan and Connor in period dress, fencing away.)

CONNOR
"You're getting better."

DUNCAN
(pleased and surprised)  "Really?"

CONNOR
(gets him with the sword.)  "No. I was just being polite."

CONNOR
"Properly executed, this move is unstoppable."  (he lets Duncan loose)

DUNCAN
"Properly executed, we'll not be talking about this again."
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  DUNCAN'S APARTMENT, ROME 2000, Morning
-------------------------------------------

DUNCAN
"This is none of your business, Connor."

CONNOR
"The hell it isn't!  She's with Karn."

DUNCAN
"People can change."  (Connor snorts in disbelief, and Duncan goes on the attack)  "Why are you here, anyway?"

CONNOR
(drawing his sword)  "To fight."

(On Duncan's surprise)

CONNOR
"Karn was right; I'm out of practice. And I'd rather start with you, than with him."

-------------------------------------------
INT:  FENCING ROOM, ROME, 2000 --Day
-------------------------------------------

(A montage of sparring scenes between Connor and Duncan; they change clothes every so often to indicate the passage of time. Include a nice nekkid-sweaty kata with both Connor and Duncan.  In the fighting scenes, at first, Connor loses to Duncan, ends up on the floor, and so forth; eventually he starts fighting faster, better.  Add a shot or two of Faith and Duncan looking happy together, Connor watching suspiciously from a distance. End on a shot of Faith looking at Duncan when he's not looking at her, her expression softened, almost tender, a little surprised.  Duncan turns to her and smiles, and she smiles back, truly happy.

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  a piazza in front of a church, ROME, 2000--Day
-------------------------------------------

(Pigeons flutter about, a banner proclaiming the Jubilee Year hangs from the church.)

-------------------------------------------
INT:  the church.
-------------------------------------------
(Faith is waiting, kneeling in a pew, her eyes fixed on the statue of Mary with the Christ Child.  Karn comes into the church, kneels in the same pew.)

KARN
(very quiet) "Well?"

FAITH
(distracted, doesn't even look at him.)  "Not yet."

KARN
"That's what you said last week.  How much longer?"

FAITH
(snippy)  "You've waited four hundred fifty years. Wait a few more days."

KARN
"So you can wallow in his bed?" (sniffs disparagingly)  "You always were a whore."

FAITH
"You're not my confessor anymore, Karn.  And you *don't* have to worry about my immortal soul."

KARN
(Faith starts to rise, Karn grabs her arm)  "I'm much more interested in your immortal head, my dear." (menacing)  "Tomorrow.  Not one more day."

FAITH
(Shakes him loose from her, crosses herself and rises from her devotions, leaves.)

KARN
(stares after her, not very happy.  Takes out his cell phone and starts to dial.)

-------------------------------------------
INT: DUNCAN'S APARTMENT, ROME, 2000 --Night
-------------------------------------------

(Faith and Duncan are talking)

FAITH
(sitting on the couch) "Do you believe all things can be forgiven, Duncan?"

DUNCAN
(sitting down on the couch near her, but not next to her.)  "In time. If there's true repentance."

FAITH
(smiling a little)  "You sound like a priest."

DUNCAN
"I've known a few."

FAITH
(looking away, picking at the arm of the couch.)  "I've done such ... things, Duncan, hurt so many people. But they're dead now. I can't even ask them to forgive me."

DUNCAN
"Can you forgive yourself?"

FAITH
(looks at him, looks away)

DUNCAN
"Have you tried?"

FAITH
(trying for humor) "They say only God can forgive. Humans can merely accept apologies."

DUNCAN
"So ask God."  (Faith opens her mouth to object, but Duncan continues.)  "You can change, if you really want to, Faith.  Anyone can."

FAITH
"I want to try."  (they smile at each other, a little shy, a little hopeful)

DUNCAN
"Faith--"

FAITH
(interrupting) "Call me Maura, Duncan.  Please?  I want to be Maura again."

DUNCAN
(reaching out to touch her hair)  "Maura."  (they kiss)

In the morning, she's getting ready to leave:

FAITH
"Thank you, Duncan, for last night, for these last few weeks. You've helped me find myself again."

DUNCAN
"Have I?"

FAITH
"Didn't you know, Duncan?  Confession is good for the soul."

-------------------------------------------
INT:  FENCING ROOM, ROME, 2000 --Later that day
-------------------------------------------

(More sparring between Duncan and Connor.  This time, Connor scores a point on Duncan, knocking him down.)

DUNCAN
(from the floor) "Looks like you're ready."

CONNOR
"You think so?"

DUNCAN
"No. I was just being--"

CONNOR (joins him on last word.)
"--polite." (they laugh, Connor helps Duncan up from the floor, then gets ready to fight.)  "One last time."

(Duncan bows a little, they go for it. This time, it's serious.  Connor draws blood, doesn't give any quarter, he's out for the kill.  Connor starts maneuvering Duncan into that "unstoppable move.")

DUNCAN
"Connor, what are you doing?"  (Connor just keeps going.)  "Connor, stop!  Stop!"

CONNOR
(finally stops, his blade at Duncan's throat, drawing just the faintest scratch of blood.)  "Scared you, eh?"  (Duncan glares back, and Connor pushes a little harder, drawing more blood.)

DUNCAN
"Damn you, Connor!"
 

CONNOR "If you don't trust me, how can you trust *her*?"  (Connor releases Duncan from the hold, starts to leave, his sword in his hand.  He pauses at the door.)  "That's the final lesson, Duncan, and it's even harder than the first.  Trust no one." DUNCAN "Not even you?" CONNOR "People change."

(They look at each other. Connor leaves.)

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  Street, ROME, 2000 --Day
-------------------------------------------

Music of "She moves through the fair" in the background.

(Faith walking slowly, watching children play in a park, a daily, normal life.  She's obviously thinking about something.)

-------------------------------------------
INT:  The Fencing room, ROME, 2000 --Day
-------------------------------------------
Duncan in the midst of a nekkid-sweaty kata.  Around his neck he wears a locket of some kind on a thin chain.

Music again, moving him into a memory

/  Then she stepped away from me
/  And this she did say,
/  "It will not be long, love
/  Till our wedding day."

Transition to:
-------------------------------------------
INT:  Salon in Italian Villa, Italy, 1730--Summer Day
-------------------------------------------

MAURA
(walks into the room, clean and beautifully dressed, the locket around her neck, her hair piled high on top of her head, a sword in her hand.  She's barely under control.  She walks straight to Duncan and hands the weapon to him, then kneels at his feet, bowing her head.)

DUNCAN
"Maura, what are you doing?"

MAURA
(clear-eyed, determined)  "You gave me this life.  I ask you now to take it."

DUNCAN
(horrified)  "I love you."

MAURA
"Then do this for me."

DUNCAN
"I can't!"

MAURA
"It's how Immortals live."

DUNCAN
(hurling the weapon away)  "No!"

MAURA
(standing up)  "You should kill me now, Duncan."

DUNCAN
"Maura, I know 'tis hard. You killed a man yesterday, it's not an easy thing to live with, and I know you hated the Quickening, but--"

MAURA
"Hated it?"  (starts stalking him, hungrily)  "Oh, no, Duncan.  I didn't hate it.  I *enjoyed* it."  (licks her lips)  "And I want it again."

DUNCAN
(repulsed)  "Maura ..."

MAURA
(puts her hands to her temples, shakes her head, then looks up at him, sweet and loving again.  And afraid.)  "I can still hear him, Duncan."

DUNCAN
(instantly concerned)  "He'll go away. Sometimes it takes a day or two, but you'll be yourself again."

MAURA
"And who will that be?"  (mixes sweetness and ice)  "He's not the only one who hungers, Duncan.  So do I."

DUNCAN
(out of his league here, but wanting to try)  "I can help you..."

MAURA
(seeing into her own personal hell)  "No. It can only get worse.  More death, more quickenings, more hunger, more hate.  That's what I will be, Duncan, unless you kill me now."

DUNCAN
"You can't know that."

MAURA
"Oh, but I can."  (picks up the sword and offers it to him.)  "By the love you bear for me, Duncan MacLeod, kill me now. I beg this of you."

DUNCAN
(backing away) "I cannot."

MAURA
(going from pleading to contempt for his weakness and hate at what he's condemned her to)  (She takes off the locket and drops it on the floor, then sheathes the sword.)  "Someday, Duncan MacLeod, you will wish you had taken my head."  (Goes to the door, stops to look back at him)  "Or maybe, you will wish I had taken yours."  (smiles at him, not at all a nice smile)

MUSIC comes in again:

/  And she smiled as she passed me
/  With her goods and her gear
/  And that was the last
/  That I saw of my dear.
 
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  FENCING ROOM, ROME, 2000--Day
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan finishes the kata, sinks to the floor.  He snaps the chain of the necklace and clutches the locket in his hand, his fingers opening slowly to show us the word "Forever."  FINAL VERSE of the music, with a shot of Faith coming to his bedroom right after Shen Ji died.

 / I dreamed it last night
/  That my true love came in
/  So softly she entered
/  Her feet made no din

Scene of Maura waiting for him in the field of flowers, 1730.

/  She came close beside me
/  And this she did say
/  "It will not be long, love
/  Till our wedding day."

Scene of Faith smiling at him, in his bed from last night.

(Back in the Fencing room:  Duncan's fingers close again, hiding the word.)
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  FAITH'S FASHION STUDIO-- Rome, that evening.
-------------------------------------------

(Faith is at her desk, talking on the telephone. The large dressing room below is empty and dark.)

FAITH
"Duncan?  I thought we might go for a walk, under the moonlight.  One hour, near the Roman ruins at Liaso?"  (pause)  "Yes.  Me, too."  (pause)  "Duncan? ...  I love you."  (she listens, smiles, hangs up the phone)

Camera pulls back to reveal Liam Karn, sitting in the corner of the room.

KARN
"Nicely played."  (stands up.)  "See you there?"

FAITH
"Yes."

(Karn leaves, Faith waits for him to get out of the building, then reaches for the phone again.)

"Plan C."

(into the phone) "Connor?  Faith."  (pause)  "Shut up and listen.  We don't have time to exchange such pleasantries now.  Duncan's gone to challenge Karn.  He said he thought he had a better chance at winning than you did, and he owed you.  The Roman ruins, outside Liaso, one hour.  Oh, and Connor?  Karn doesn't play by the rules."

(she picks up a sword and then a gun.)

"But then, neither do I."

(Heads out the door)

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  The street outside the fashion studio --night
-------------------------------------------

(Faith is walking quickly to her car.  She stops: all four tires have been slashed.  She gets the buzz, looks up to see Karn, smiling at her.)

KARN
"Plan D, my dear."

Another Buzz, and then a SILENCED GUNSHOT
(Faith pitches forward, shot from behind.  An Immortal, Tomas Santiago y Alamonte, emerges from the shadows, a gun in his hand.)

KARN
(Greeting him)  "A good shot, as always, Tomas."
 

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  The Roman Ruins near Liaso--night
-------------------------------------------

(the ruins of a Roman arena, where gladiators used to fight and Christians used to get slaughtered.  Duncan is waiting in the center, standing in the moonlight.  He gets the buzz.)

DUNCAN
"Faith?"

KARN
(appearing on the top of one of the walls)  "Haven't you heard?  Faith is dead."  (makes a grand sweeping gesture at the ruined walls.)  "A sad commentary on the modern world.  People used to go to their deaths for their faith, in arenas just like this one."  (He draws his sword, jumps down.)  "People still do."

DUNCAN
(draws his sword, hesitates as he gets the buzz again.)

(TOMAS appears along the top of the other side wall, his sword in his hand.  He leaps down to the sandy clear place of the arena, and goes into a fighting stance.)

DUNCAN
"Who are you?"

KARN
"An old friend of mine."

TOMAS
"I am Tomas Santiago y Alamonte, Grand Inquisitor of the Sagrada Hermandad."

KARN
"Weren't you expecting the Spanish Inquisition, Duncan?"

DUNCAN
(prepares to fight them both.  He fights well, but it's not easy.  He finds a spot where he's temporarily safe, maybe on top of a broken column.)

Yet another BUZZ, and this time it's Connor on top of the wall, carrying his sword.

CONNOR
(Connor and Duncan exchange nods and grim smiles, but Duncan is cut and bleeding, and obviously tired.)  "I'm glad you called."

DUNCAN
(heartfelt)  "I'm glad you came."

CONNOR
"For you?"  (gives his famous heh-heh-heh)  "Anything."  (He joins the men in the arena, faces off with Karn.)

KARN
"Ave, Connor MacLeod."  (Does a salute with his sword, Roman gladiator style)  "Necaturus te salutat.  But your Latin is no doubt as rusty as your swordwork, so I'll translate for you:  I, who am about to kill, salute you!"

CONNOR
"The original suits you better.  You're about to die."

The two pairs of men go at it, lovely display of swordplay, until ...

Duncan is in the midst of fighting Tomas, when his katana gets trapped somehow, and then broken in two.  Duncan barely manages to get away, but his back is up against a wall, no weapons or sticks to grab, and Tomas is coming after him.

CONNOR
"Duncan!!"  (shouting across the arena as he throws his katana to Duncan)

DUNCAN
(turns, scrambles on top of a wall to get the sword and give himself a bit of a breather.  Then Duncan suddenly realizes that now Connor is defenseless.)

CONNOR
(winks at Duncan)  "Use it."  (Immediately, Karn whacks at Connor, a vicious sword thrust that sends Connor to his knees.
 
 

DUNCAN (helpless and horrified)  "Connor!" CONNOR (looks up at Duncan and manages to get out the words, even adds a small smile)  "Goodbye, Duncan." Karn takes Connor's head.

Duncan immediately leaps down and beheads Tomas, who has been distracted by the beheading.

A double quickening occurs (but no shared spiraling, twisting things), and after it's over, Duncan and Karn drag themselves to their feet.

KARN
(licking lips, just like Campbell's soup ads.)  "Mmm, mmm good."

DUNCAN
(a frozen glare of hate. He attacks, not waiting for Karn to attack him.)

After some impressive swordfighting, Duncan (of course) beheads the bad guy, and yet another quickening happens.  When that's over, Duncan finds himself on his knees, with Connor's sword in his hands.  Not far away lie Duncan's broken sword pieces and Connor's body.
 

MONTAGE of Connor's life, with Loreena McKennitt's "Dante's Prayer."

/  When the dark wood fell before me
/  And all the paths were overgrown

Connor and Duncan burning Little Deer's body in 1872, then on Duncan's holy  island, a flight of geese overhead

/  When the priests of pride say there is no other way
/  I tilled the sorrows of stone

Connor and Duncan by the graves in the Highlands, 1995.

/  I did not believe because I could not see
/  Though you came to me in the night

Connor and Duncan meeting in 1625, sparring in 1631

/  When the dawn seemed forever lost
/  You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Duncan and Connor laughing, riding horses in 1712, sparring scene from "The Gathering", talking with Tessa, drinking a whisky. Try to get shots from 1800s, 1900s, etc.

/  Cast your eyes to the ocean
/  Cast your soul to the sea
/  When the dark night seems endless
/  Please remember me

Connor with his mother in 1555, with Rachel in 1943, with Brenda in 1986, Duncan and Connor watching Richie in 1992, Connor hugging John in Morocco in 1994, Connor laughing with Alex in the bar in 1995.

/  Then the mountain rose before me
/  By the deep well of desire
/  From the fountain of forgiveness
/  Beyond the ice and the fire

Connor with Heather in 1542, dunking his head in the water barrel, flinging back his hair.

/  Cast your eyes on the ocean
/  Cast your soul to the sea

Connor holding Heather close in 1555, burying her on the hillside in 1587.
 
 

/  When the dark night seems endless /  Please remember me Connor walking away, down the hillside, alone.

The music fades. The Buzz comes, Duncan doesn't look up.  Faith appears in a doorway of the ruined wall, she pauses, then walks out to the scene of the carnage and kneels down on the sand.

FAITH
"He loved you."

DUNCAN
"More than life itself."

FAITH
"I'm sorry."

DUNCAN
(he knows better)  "You set me up, and then you called him."  (He stands and goes over to her, puts Connor's sword at her neck.)  "You've been lying to me all along."

FAITH
(making no move to defend herself or get away)  "In the beginning, yes, but not lately, not last night.  And not when I told you I loved you." (looks at Connor's body)  "I didn't want this to happen.  Not anymore."

DUNCAN
"Why should I believe you?"

FAITH
"No reason.  Only faith."

DUNCAN
"Do you still want me to kill you, Faith? Is that why?"

FAITH
(doesn't answer)

DUNCAN
(slowly lowers the sword and turns away from her, but not enough so that she can sneak up on him.  She stands, starts to speak, disappears into the darkness.  Duncan is left surrounded by the dead.)
 

-------------------------------------------
INT:  A church, the next day
-------------------------------------------

(Duncan, kneeling at a pew, staring at the crucifix above the altar.  He turns slightly at the Buzz, Methos comes in, sits down near him.)

METHOS
(putting a hand on his shoulder) "I'm sorry."

DUNCAN
"I wasn't worth it."

METHOS
"He thought you were." (waits until Duncan looks at him)  "Don't betray that trust, Duncan.  Live."

DUNCAN
(angsty moment, nods, gets up from his knees, they walk out together.)

-------------------------------------------
EXT:  A hillside, in SCOTLAND (really in Scotland), a few days later.
-------------------------------------------

Duncan stands looking at a headstone, engraved with the names "Connor MacLeod" and "Heather MacLeod," and then the word "Forever."

REPRISE of music from the Connor montage:

/  Though we share this humble path, alone
/  Oh, how fragile is the heart
/  Give these clay feet wings to fly
/  To touch the face of the stars

The tip of Connor's old claymore handle protrudes from the earth, and Duncan jams the hilt of his own broken blade nearby.

/  Breathe life into this feeble heart
/  Lift this mortal veil of fear
/  Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
/  We'll rise above these earthly cares

DUNCAN
"I hope you find peace, my friend, on the other side." (He salutes the grave with Connor's katana.)  "Goodbye, Connor."
 
 

/  Cast your eyes on the ocean /  Cast your soul to the sea Duncan heads off down the hill, into the fog and yet another adventure. /  When the dark night seems endless Camera goes back to Connor's grave. /  Please remember me /  Please remember me