Rodimus Prime's ~HIGHLANDER~ [Legacies Edge]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p9.
Joe: "Damn... Juan! Is that blood?"
Ramirez: "Oh, just a scratch. He learns quickly! We've trained on all the levels and grounds here."
Quentin: "Why would he pick this location? Think this is where he practices?"
Ramirez: "Possibly!"
Joe: "That... we don't have a report of. Alright guys, check these out!"
[Joe passes out two weathered files to them.]
"I searched the archives for everything we have on this Kane. He is one obsessive and elusive son of a bitch!"
Quentin: "What's his deal with Watchers and hatred for my dad?"
Joe: "From Khorasan in outer Mongolia, he was born around 1000 A.D. and grew to be a scout, hunter and warrior. When your dad left Scotland in 1590, he traveled east and encountered a Mongolian horde led by three Immortals loyal only to Kane. Connor escaped from them and killed Kali-Sa'tele, Kane's lover and General. Once Kane discovered this, he and the other two Immortals pursued your father across the continent until they caught up with him in Japan. Studying under an Immortal that you supposedly knew, Juan? Nakano of Niri."
Ramirez: "My God, he found him! I had told MacLeod of Nakano and his mystical ways. He was the first to teach me of Japanese metallurgy."
Joe: "Well... it was short lived, pal! Kane was also a student of his once and killed Nakano when Connor escaped. We have no record of Kane or the other two after Niri for at least two hundred years! Not until Connor's Watcher in the 1800's documented a cat and mouse game between them that led to Kane killing one of his own and Connor slaying the other beneath a sanatorium in London. Kane trapped your father on Holy Ground and would have killed him right there if three Watchers hadn't intervened and stopped the beheading and whatever catastrophe would have followed! Your father turned the tables on Kane and finished him off in 1853. Saving the daughter of a Merchant Importer in the process and earning himself a Captain's commission of the HMS Rosemary."
Quentin: "So this isn't just the Game for him... it’s about hatred, revenge and obsession!"
Joe: "That's right kid, and he's gonna unleash it all on you, here, tomorrow night!"
Ramirez: "Nonsense. Those poisons are his weakness! You are ready, young Highlander. All you need focus on is Heart, Faith and Steel."

[dubiousbystander]

HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p8.2-2
[The hooded figure at the end of the bar rises and removes his hood.]
Kane: "Just an old friend of the family. Come to see the kiddo I've heard so much about! This is the hangout... isn't it?"
[Quentin and Joe slowly close the distance. Kane raises a hand towards Quentin, letting him know that he is close enough! Joe stops at the end of the bar and triggers a silent alarm button underneath. This one, however, doesn't call the police. It is a Watcher dispatch signal.]
Kane: "Funny... I thought Immortals couldn't have children. Then again, I was dead and now I'm back! All the while it looks like you Watchers aren't just watching anymore. That is if you ever really did! Your kind cost me my head with Daddy MacLeod. Now I'm back to return the favor!"
[Joe braces himself at the bar and reaches for his hidden Remington 12 gauge. Kane smiles sadistically at the sound of the hammers cocking back!]
Joe: "My job is just to watch, but you come in here, threaten me in my place? I'm an American, pal! I'll blow you in half and let him have your head."
[Kane steps back and points to Quentin.]
Kane: "The PRIZE was never meant to be yours and now it never will be!"
[Kay sees the stand-off and cuts through the bar crowd, breaking a beer bottle and stepping to Quentin’s side with it raised.]
Kay: "Oh... hell no!"
[Kane walks backwards, with both hands held out in an inviting gesture, then disappears out the door with his voice lingering behind.]
Kane: "You've been challenged... Highlander."

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p8.1-2

[Kay is on stage at Joe's Bar drumming away on his house set! Joe pauses in pouring and cracks a satisfied smile]
Joe: "Damn, she is good!"
Quentin: "Hell yeah, she is! I met her in a pub in Scotland when she was touring with a band."
[Joe leans in and acts inquisitive, although he is quite familiar with the details of that evening from the Watcher files.]
Quentin: "She's BEAUTIFUL and BAD ASS!!!"
[Joe smiles at the glow of youthful love radiating from him! Something that's distant, but never forgotten to weathered hands and hearts.]
Quentin: "She's crazy too! Once she came home..."
[Quentin feels the rush of the Quickening and a darkness in the energy?]
"Joe, someone's here!"
[Joe remains calm in movement and sly in observation as he turns and pours a glass. Motioning to Quentin with his eyes and position.]
Joe: "At the end of the bar, kid."
[Quentin gets to his feet and places his hand inside his coat, gripping a Chinese straight blade from his father's collection.]
Joe: "Easy, Quence!"
[He ignores Joe's warning and speaks out. Perhaps in frustration, impatience or sheer protectiveness of Kay! Joe notices his faint Scottish accent has arisen strong with his anger and anxiousness.]
Quentin: "Aye... what's your name!?"
[The hooded figure begins laughing maniacally behind his glass, which seems to amplify it in a strange way!]
...to be continued.

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p7.
Joe: "What do we have?"
Watcher: "What we have is a REAL problem! Tell your Golden Boy to be about his sword. Multiple players are gathering and Whittaker is the least of his concerns with our new arrival! There are no records or reference points in the archives for something like this! You have to realize that he is the draw of the new Gathering."
Joe: "MacLeod will be ready for his first challenge, you can count on that!"
Watcher: "Hope he realizes that he may have to eventually face Ramirez's blade as well."
Joe: "He knows."

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p6.2-2

Joe:
"Oh yeah! Your mom was fascinated with the possibility of this type of Katana existing in 600 B.C. a thousand years before the style would be rediscovered and used in Japan. Hell, she practically stalked your dad over it!"
Quentin: "Jesus! It's that old!?!?"
Joe: "It's that old, yes SIR! Custom made for Ramirez by the father of his bride on a Japanese island in 593 B.C."
Quentin: "WOW! It must be something for him to hold it again! Look at the journey it's taken to get back to him!"
Joe: "No kidding, pal!! Our NYC Watcher Division had to tiptoe around your mom. She damn near spotted Connor's Watcher under Madison Square Gardens the night they met! He hid the sword so the cops wouldn't find it."
[Quentin swigs his drink and wipes his eyes, laughing.]
"She was relentless if she put her mind to something!"
Joe: "Was she ever! We had to pull some of the Gathering Watchers back! The NYPD Crime Scene Photographer was actually one of us at the time. He covered most of the close work since she already knew him. Check these out! [Joe pulls out an old archives envelope and reveals some select photos.]
Quentin: "Gawd, they were so young! Well, Dad looked young anyway!"
[Joe and Quentin laugh aloud and give cheers to each other.]
Joe: "You know... all this digging in the archives led me back to the night of the PRIZE. Your mom wasn't just present... she was encompassed in its energy! There's a new theory brewing about your Immortal gene."
[Quentin slams his glass on the bar for a refill.]
Quentin: "I'm gonna need another drink for this!"

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p6.1-2

[Joe clears the top of the bar and places a sword wrapped in purple Japanese Silk on top. He motions to Quentin to unwrap the handle as he begins to pour some drinks.]
Quentin: "Damn! It's BEAUTIFUL... almost magical!!!"
Joe: "Have you ever seen this before?"
Quentin: "No, never!"
Joe: "It was recently discovered in one of your father's vault rooms in New York. It's the oldest Katana of its kind! I'm showing this to you at the request of its rightful owner. This is the sword of Juan Ramirez."
Quentin: "Whaaat?! This is Ramirez's sword!? My father told me many stories about it. Preserving it, concealing it, repairing and mastering it over the centuries! He always referred to it as Ramirez's, said he was merely the keeper and gave a prayer of thanks for every duel he walked away from with it." [Quentin's face illuminates with a realization.] "He won the PRIZE with this!"
[Quentin tears up and takes the glass from Joe with shy appreciation.]
Joe: "Kid... this is more detail than most Watchers get in a mortal lifetime!" [Raises his glass.] "Keep talking. CHEERS!"
Quentin: "Said he always felt Ramirez was with him when he held it... and now he's actually with me and training me!"
[Joe smiles and starts laughing as he lays another enduring bomb on him.]
Joe: "It's also the reason your parents met!"
[Quentin spits his drink into the air and looks Joe dead in the face.]
Quentin: "Whaaat!?"
~to be continued~

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p5.
Quentin: "This is what you guys use for a Dojo? It's a DUMP!"
Ramirez: "Seclusion and secrecy are KEY to what we do, young Highlander! I'm told this facility was a training ground for select Immortals during the Gathering. Even amidst its dust and cobwebs, you can feel the spirit of the Quickening here! So... have you any skill with a sword?"
Quentin: "My father raised me with swords! Even after the Prize, he couldn't put them down. We belonged to Kendo Clubs in Scotland and here in the States. Dad had a particular blend of European, Japanese, and Persian blade work he really favored and cheated with on occasion."
Ramirez: "Good! Sounds like he remembered everything I taught him. [Quentin's face illuminates with surprise and fascination] Let's get you started!"

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p4.
Kay: "How was it? You okay!?"
Quentin: "It was fine. I'm okay. These guys are the REAL DEAL. They are actually concerned for us!"
[She crawls into the bed and lays her head on his bicep. She calls it her "perch" and then goes to slip her left hand just under the side of his lower back... but he presses down before she can get it!]
Kay: "Don't...!"
[His face remains calm and stoic.]
Quentin: "What? I'm just laying here."
Kay: "You know damn well where this hand needs to be!"
Quentin: "You already have the Perch, you don't REALLY need the Nest too, do you?"
Kay:
"Oh...you’re a bastard!"
[Quentin feels her hand going for his ticklish hips and shifts them REAL quick!]
Kay: "Uh huh. YEAH! You know what's coming if I can't get in there."
[He cracks that million-dollar smile that always melts her.]
Quentin: "Have to make you work for it every now and then!"
[She bites her lip because he knows what the tease and stubbornness does to her. Their bodies settle down into each other and the comfort of the quietness holds a haunting question.]
Kay: "How long can we actually do this? How long will you hold me?"
Quentin: "Whaaat!?"
Kay: "You'll never grow old, right? So, it's just a matter of time till I grow old and I was just thinking...
...will you still love me when I'm old?"
Quentin: "Well... You should be a RICH ROCK STAR by then and I'll definitely need a Sugar Momma! [She instantly slaps him on the chest.] So... I'll OBVIOUSLY still LOVE you!"
[She counters his sarcasm with her own snarkiness.]
Kay: "Good... ‘cause I'll need a Young Buck with good looks and stamina for some Red Carpet Arm Candy! You’re definitely gonna have to work for it!"
[The banter is cut to a draw with a lip lock that holds the night.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p3-2
Quentin: "Who was she?"
Joe: "This is Annie Devlin... born in 1855 from Ireland. She became Immortal in 1881 and was eliminated from the game in 1979. She was reawakened three years after you and slipped away from our agent last night."
Ramirez: "Your people missed the duel, or lack thereof!? No sign of struggle or footwork and her sword was still sheathed in her coat."
Joe: "Yeah. We noticed that too!"
Ramirez: "Her head didn't fall here... it was carefully placed. The wound is clean and precise. No traces of metals or alloys. The victor used a new blade!"
Quentin: "Like a serial killer?"
Joe: "Yeah... and this style is all too familiar! Beautiful young females were a weakness for a Swedish pretty boy named Axel Whittaker, or Stewart, depending on which last name he was using. Born in 1567 he became Immortal in 1601, executed for the seduction of a young girl. He was killed during the 1986 Gathering in New York by an Immortal named Kastagir."
Ramirez: "How long has he been reawakened?"
Joe: "That's the catch! We've had no report or sign of him... till now!"
[Joe turns to Quentin with a gesture of utmost importance.]
Joe: "You watch over Kay, and you watch her close! If this is Axel, he has an appetite for seduction and manipulation. It's how he plays the GAME."

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p3-1.

[Quentin takes a deep breath and dials in his emotions... understanding that exposure to such a scene is training for him.]
Joe: "You doing okay with this?"
Quentin: "Yeah... I can handle it."
Ramirez: "You're Immortal now, young Highlander, better get used to this sight! Imagine having to fight through a field full of these!!!"
Joe: "Jesus... Juan, EASY!"
Quentin: "How long have Immortals worked with Watchers? I thought there wasn't supposed to be interaction or interference?"
Joe: "Well... let's just say special times can call for special circumstances."
Quentin: "Why didn't the Watchers disperse after my father won the Prize?"
Ramirez: "I was born 2,437 years before I was eliminated from the GAME, and the Watchers existed even before my time!"
Joe: "We don't just monitor Immortals. Our organization has monitored and recorded many types of supernatural and paranormal PHENOMENA throughout history. We kept a close eye on your father even after he had won! The Immortal division was thinned down to archives only... until YOU and the Awakenings that have followed."
Quentin: "Who was she...?"
[to be continued]

[dubiousbystander]

November 9, 1:02 PM
~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p2.

Kay: "This is SICK! You've been following us, spying on us!?!?"
Joe: "We're Watchers, honey, it's what we do!"
[Joe looks to Quentin]
"I knew your father. My condolences for the loss of both your parents and I sincerely mean that!"
[Quentin nods his head in silent acknowledgment. He has no words for the moment.]
Joe: "How much of this have you told her?"
Kay: "Wait! We've just met you both and you think you know us!?"
Joe: "Your name is Kay Welsch... you're an only child with both parents deceased. Something you both tragically have in common and it's also what strengthens your bond together! You've been with Quentin for five years and happen to be a damn good musician from what I hear. We should jam sometime."
Kay: "This is ridiculous! Insane!!!"
[She points to Ramirez.] "First, he tells us that he represents Quence's father and that he inherited an Antiquities Business in New York that we've never heard of?? Then you two drop this Immortal nonsense on us!? His father won a game... What game???"
[Quentin's hand goes to her thigh and she freezes in shock and disbelief as he begins to explain it in a tone of voice she has never heard from him.]
Quentin: "An endless Game that knows no limit of time or place! A deadly gambit of swords, skills and knowledge for survival combat... ...as my father once told it!"
Ramirez: "Since the dawn of time, we've played! Living and taking many secret lives."
Joe: "The winner takes the other's head and with it, their power, lifeforce or essence."
Ramirez: "It is called the Quickening! It's what drives other Immortals to kill us. We must fight until only ONE remains!"
Quentin: "In the end... there can be only ONE!"
[Kay covers her mouth and tears up.]

[dubiousbystander]

November 8, 11:18 AM
~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p1.

Ramirez: "You are Quentin MacLeod! Killed with your parents while traveling in Scotland nine years ago and you have never aged since!"
Quentin: "My father said he was the last and the Prize was his... [Quentin tears up and chokes up] ...he said I was his Prize! How is this possible now?!"
Ramirez: "Life has a way of repeating itself, dear boy!"
"The clock has been reset, the stars realigned. The MAGIC has awoken and the GAME is on!"