Rodimus Prime's ~HIGHLANDER~ [Legacies Edge]

[dubiousbystander]

•FINALE•
p49.2-2
by Rodimus Prime

[Quentin and Ramirez paddle a village canoe in a trained sequence with their torsos tucked low to its shape. Moving quickly with the river current towards the cemented ruins of what use to be a power station that still stands at the mouth of the canyon.
They quickly alter course to the shoreline so they can approach on foot and on guard. As the canoe makes land and they make ready, Ramirez now feels the rushing presence of this mysterious guest himself. Still marveling at the range in which Quentin can sense another of their kind.
With hands ready at their ornate hilts and a soft tread of the boot, they stealthily maneuver up the shoreline in caution. Knowing the other here is just as aware of their presence and fearing the compromise of this village since all their party are coming in from the southern route.]

Quentin: "Do you see anything?"
[Ramirez peers into the structure and motions Quentin to hold his position. Quentin disregards, circling up and around Ramirez due to the alarming sensation coursing through him. Juan's look of anger quickly turns to surprised alert as a dark cloaked and masked figure crouches down on a cement block behind them both. Quentin spins around with his blade drawn as a muffled female voice calls out from behind the mask...
"Wait, MacLeod!"
Although Quentin's name and legend have already spread among the people, he is still unsettled by this Hassassin knowing it. Just then his senses begin to speak to him through the atmosphere. The air feels heavy with a hint of the word THIEF as the wind whispers RAVEN to him.]

Quentin: "Show yourself!"
[The hood and mask are removed to reveal the snow white hair and timeless beauty of Amanda. A face that Juan hasn't seen in many, many centuries!]
Ramirez: "My GOD! You're the Hassassin!"
Amanda: "Hello Juan! It's been a VERY long time." (Her eyes move to Quentin, intrigued) "So this is the Highlander?"
Quentin: "You know her?"
[Ramirez reveals a startled smile but keeps a steadied hand on his hilt as he steps forward.]
Ramirez: "Amanda and I met many, many centuries ago! She was just as new to the Game as you were when I found you."
Quentin: "Rebecca's Amanda!?"
Amanda: "The one and only!" (she winks at him) "Nice to hear my reputation still proceeds me."
Ramirez: "Does she know?"
Amanda: "Not yet! I would prefer we keep it that way until you all have your walk in the woods."
Ramirez: "So you know of the forest! Have you been there?"
Amanda: "Yes, and I must say that..." (she looks at him with caution and sincerity) "...your mind and spirit better be up to par. This forest looks back at you, looks inside."
Quentin: "Can we trust her?"
Ramirez: "Oh... I wouldn't go that far!"
[She returns his coyish and playful grin as she takes off one glove. Allowing Juan to take up that hand and kiss it properly.]
Amanda: "I see a gentleman hasn't forgotten his manners after all of this time and chaos."
Ramirez: "One still tries, my dear!" (he holds that hand with both of his now) "Exactly how long have you been awakened?"
Amanda: "Long enough to have traveled from the ruins of Paris and see the monstrosity that Kortan has built. To do as the Watchers once did by lying in wait and studying. Then I learned of the KEEP and the Immortals that arose from their sleep to free these people of their Overlord. That's when I started thinning his herd and tipping the scales in your favor. Scout patrols were also sent out to follow your movement here. I diverted them and led them off in misdirection."
[Ramirez looks to Quentin, who still holds his gaze and his blade in a guarded position. Motioning him to lower it in a gesture of ease.]
Ramirez: "Then we are in your debt just as these people here are."
[She nods her head to Ramirez, but her eyes go back to Quentin with an alluring intrigue. She feels a pull towards him that she hasn't experienced since the days of the Gathering. A sensation she does not understand, but an urgency to help him none the less.]
Amanda: "Kortan and I have our own past and I want to see him defeated as badly as you do! I've studied every way in and out of Mugunda City. If you want to defeat him then we need each other, MacLeod."
[She surprises him with Gaelic, a language his father had taught him as part of their Celtic heritage.]
Amanda: "You want Kortan, then I'm your girl for the job!"
[Quentin slowly steps up, shouldering his blade and placing a cautious hand on top of both of theirs.]
Ramirez: "Then a new game is on!"

[dubiousbystander]

•FINALE•
p49.1-2
by Rodimus Prime

[As the golden sunset illuminates a hidden village of the northern canyons, the villagers take their evening rest to enjoy its beauty and the coolness of twilight. Quentin sits side by side and hand in hand with Airea as they take in this view together. She was barely a teenager when she first rescued him from Kortan's soldiers and they have had many adventures together during these past ten years. This is his first trip this far north of the KEEP and she is taking every advantage of it to be with him.
This village is the last outpost before the valley that leads to the dark forest. Ramirez and MacLeod are the first two of the Immortals that have arrived since they are traveling in pairs and a day's journey apart to cover their tracks. Juan motions Quentin to join him for a moment as the evening light begins to fade.]

Ramirez: "Look around you, dear boy! This village and these people are free because of us! Proof of our endeavor and our sacrifices."
Quentin: "Kortan's forces have never been this far north?"
Ramirez: "No, never this far! These people have been well hidden beyond his reach. Not to mention how this mysterious Awakened One has helped THIN OUT his scout patrols." (he looks out to the river and boats below) "It seems we remain in this Hassassin's debt for the moment. Have you any clues of his or her identity through your special gifts?"
Quentin: "No." (he shakes his head with frustration) "I haven't been close enough or for long enough to get anything."
[Ramirez sees his frustration and the young lady that stands at the railing just above him.]
Ramirez: "That's probably a good thing!" (Quentin cracks a half smile) "You think young Airea would agree?"
[Now Quentin is fully smiling as he glances up at her from over his shoulder. She smiles back at him intently.]
Ramirez: "Would it be friends, comrades... or lovers perhaps?" (Quentin looks back out into the canyon with a coyish grin as Ramirez leans in) "Possibly all of the above?"
[MacLeod nods his head with a "tell tell" smile as he raises one eyebrow.]
Quentin: "Something like that!"
Ramirez: "Well then, we will brave this forest and the trails ahead. Fulfill this destiny and get you back here..." (he looks up to Airea) "...as soon as possible!"
[The two of them share laughter together that almost holds a father and son endearment to it. That is till Quentin's senses are triggered with a rush of the Quickening.]
Quentin: "Someone's here!"
[Ramirez looks around with caution and confusion as he motions Airea inside.]
Ramirez: "I don't feel anything!?"
[Quentin leans onto the rail, pointing out to the mouth of the canyon as he takes up a pair of binoculars.]
Quentin: "Out there!"
[Ramirez scurries to the porchway and throws a backpack to Quentin as he steals a quick kiss and his sword from Airea.]
Ramirez: "Let's GO!"

To be continued

[dubiousbystander]

p48.
by Rodimus Prime

[Echoes reverberate through a darkened chamber like thunder in a drum as two vault doors open, revealing Kortan as he walks into his throne room. His Japanese style Kimono is firmly fitted as his large Hakama pants flow out from a custom leather stomach wrap and belted brace. He stands in front of four figures, two standing, two kneeling. Kortan claps once to signal the kneeling soldiers to remove their helmets, rise and report.]
Arak: "My Lord, the field spies indicate that they have doubled the guard on the walls of the KEEP and none of the Immortals have been in sight for days. All passages are guarded by our soldiers and scouts."
Kortan: "They won't take the passages you fool! They've never left the KEEP in full numbers... unless they have locked themselves in again? This is quite curious!" (he looks to General Gorth) "How many forces do we have available? What's our damage report?"
Gorth: "We have sustained two more casualties on the southern patrol and four after the last attack on the western route. This hassassin that stalks us has proven elusive and deadly! How our dear Arak here survived out of all of his unit is truly a miracle!"
[Arak turns red in the face and looks directly at Gorth with a sour expression.]
Arak: "What are you implying, General? I fought and wounded the Hassassin! What have you done to address this matter?" (he wrings his hands as spit builds and spews out with his angry words) "I have killed for Kortan! I have bled for Kortan! You are the weak..."

Kortan: "ENOUGH!!!" (They both nervously look to Kortan) "Have you now Arak... have you indeed? How did you escape such a terror?"
Arak: "I stood my ground and defended your fallen while that coward Malone fled off as the Hassassin made chase."
Kortan: "My Malone fled like a coward while you fought gallantly?"
Arak: "It is true my Lord! Malone was slain as he fled."
Kortan: "Killed as a fleeting coward under my house!?
Hmmm....what do you have to say for such a cowardly act, Malone?"
[Both Generals look to the shadowy and ghostly figure of Malone emerging from beneath the steps of the throne with a unsettling cackle. Smelling of war paint and medication ointment. Arak freezes with shock and terror for the LIE that he has just been caught in.]
Kortan: "An odd thing that Malone returns to me alive and with genuine wounds of combat, while you show none... Arak!"
Arak: "My Lord..." (he steps forward) "I must have been..."
[Kortan snaps his fingers and Malone instantly spins his staff spear, slicing Arak's throat open with deadly precision. His body crumbles to the floor as Malone slams the hilt of his staff into the marble finish, standing at attention in true soldier fashion with a mocking swagger.]
Kortan: "...been mistaken? Indeed you were!"
(he turns to his throne and chalice for a drink before looking back to General Gorth) "You will fortify my numbers and personally bury these fallen. Starting with your brother Arak here!"
[Gorth furiously swallows his pride and anger as he kneels once more in submissive fashion.]
Gorth: "Yes, my Lord!"
Kortan: "Malone... you will take a pack of scouts and investigate this possible movement into the North." (he slams the chalice down) "DO NOT venture into the Dark Forest, do you understand me!?"
Malone: "Yes, my Lord! Long live Kortan!"
[Kortan claps twice, dismissing them as he finally sits on his cold throne. Whispering to the darkness.]
Kortan: "There can be only..... ME!"

[dubiousbystander]

p47.
by Rodimus Prime
[Quentin stands in front of a table on the east terrace that holds an open sword case with a purple shroud covering its treasure. He slowly reaches for it, but is startled by Sofia's voice behind him.]
Sofia: "Not so fast, young man!"
[Darius looms behind Sofia with a fond smile and wink to Quentin. Silently sharing Quentin's embarrassment of being caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.]
Rebecca: "Ramirez and the others are preparing for this excursion that we all must take. So... The honor of this moment belongs to us now!"
Nakano: "And an HONOR it very much is."
"The young Highlander has been working on a special blade for some time, a blade with a destiny that even he has not been aware of... until now."
[Quentin quickly looks to Master Nakano with a surprised expression.]
Sofia: "This KEEP has held many pieces of unique ivory and woods from centuries long before our sleep. I have carved and combined some of these to create a strengthened handle worthy of your blade!" (she puts on a somewhat coy smile) "But first you must beat Darius in chess, huh!?"
[Darius leans over her shoulder with a smile as he takes the corner of the purple shroud himself.]
Darius: "Nonsense! He can't wait forever for it..." (Darius pulls the shroud off as Quentin's eyes illuminate) "...now can he!?"
[Rebecca's eyes tear up as Quentin stands silently before the katana. Its beauty and uniqueness reflect the timeless talents of those that stand around him, as well as his own dedication to the forge!]
Nakano: "The sword wields the spirit of its master! Both will need to be strong for the journey ahead of us. For the separation of Petda'v."
Quentin: "What is it like?"
Rebecca: "It is like being suspended in time, with every emotion you can imagine hitting you all at once! Our swords are the focus point and our physical contact during this. Only a truly forged and strengthened sword can sustain it! All other types would shatter during..." (she looks to Nakano and then back to Quentin) "...as well as your mind."
[Sofia's hands let go of Darius and she gestures Quentin to the case.]
Sofia: "Take it! Feel it!"
[Quentin takes hold of his katana and feels a charge of the Quickening in it! Lifting it up he immediately takes a stance back from the others. He begins to move in unison with it as his gifts of consciousness guide him along with a vision of a Scotsman and a Spaniard moving in harmony with their swords. Moving in their own time as he moves in his now!]

[dubiousbystander]

p46.
by Rodimus Prime

[Hatalyah walks into the main kitchen and cooks hall to join Zhing Li and Kastagir as they await the arrival of Ramirez. She can feel a slight charge and excitement in the air! As if the spirit of the Quickening where truly in their midst.]

Kastagir: "Rebecca and Quentin are gathering with the others."
Ramirez: "Well then... Let's get to it." (he looks to Kastagir) "What is the current number of our forces?"
Kastagir: "Fourty seven outside the walls and twenty nine in the city. Seventy six in total as of last count and check in."
Zhing Li: "We are not strong enough in numbers to advance on Kortan's city!"
Hatalyah: "She's right! What is your intent?"
Ramirez: "Indeed! We do not have enough... Not yet! We have created a passage of knowledge and training not only for Quentin, but for those we have freed and unified. They have lived under the yoke of Kortan for the last time and will soon join us in freeing the city of Mugunda. However, a task of will and spirit lies ahead of us all first!" (they look to each other, intrigued) "It has been twenty-nine years since we woke the Highlander and began his training. It is now time for him to stand as his own, just as we shall stand as ourselves once more!"
Hatalyah: "You mean it is time for us to reclaim our own lifeforce!?"
Zhing Li: "We must ensure our own survival in the event Quentin is killed by Kortan or possibly others now with the presence of a newly awakened."
Kastagir:"If you're proposing a separation of spirit, it will require the elixir... and there's only one place we've discovered that it can be done."
Zhing Li: "The dark forest."
Ramirez: "Exactly! This task will NOT be easy."
Hatalyah: "What's in the forest?"
[The room goes silent at that haunting question.]
Zhing Li: "Only what you take with you."
Ramirez: "We must prepare ourselves!"

[dubiousbystander]

p45.2-2
by Rodimus Prime

[The library room of the KEEP is quiet, just as all libraries should be. That is until the doors fling open to the thunderous sound of Ramirez's boots marching into the room! Rebecca glances over from her restoration project... not surprised by his frantic entrance at all. He looks immediately to Kastagir with fury in his Egyptian eyes.]

Ramirez: "Where the HELL have you two been!? What happened out there!? Five of Kortan's soldiers are dead and his forces are swarming like hornets. You were NOT to engage anyone!"
Kastagir: "We didn't!!! We were hunting in the north lands and his soldiers picked up on our trail. They forced us west into the Magunda territory."
Rebecca: "Dear Lord! You were never supposed to take him that far out!"
[Quentin looks to Kastagir with an expression of uncertainty. An expression that holds multiple emotions.]
Quentin: "You want to tell them or should I...?"
Rebecca: "Tell us what!?"
Kastagir: "We sensed and saw another Immortal out there! She's the one that was taking down Kortan's soldiers."
Rebecca: "She...? You mean Felicia?"
Kastagir: "A cloaked figure that is built and moves like a female."
Quentin: "I know presence signatures I've felt before and I can say that I've never felt this one! It's not Felicia. When's the last time anyone's even seen her? Ten years ago... maybe more? They say Kortan took her head with her own sword!"
Ramirez: "So if there is a new player on the board..."
Rebecca: "...there has been a new awakening!"
Kastagir: "Which means there could be one... or more?"
Quentin: "More... that will all be heading towards me, the source!"
[Ramirez takes a deep breath and looks to Rebecca.]
Ramirez: "Then we must accelerate this process!" (she doesn't react, just stares at him silently) "Summon the others... bring everyone in. It is time!"

[dubiousbystander]

p45.1-2
by Rodimus Prime

[The amber tone of the overcast sky illuminates the color hue of a stone slab that two strange looking lizards seem to be blending with as they harvest bugs out of the cracks and crevices. They quickly scatter as a pair of boots and a field pack slam down with Quentin's heavy breathing and heavy hair looming over.]
Quentin: "Did we shake them? You see any of them?"
[Kastagir observes from a crouched position as he spots some of Kortan's foot soldiers searching for them, but heading in the wrong direction. He begins quietly chuckling to himself and Quentin.]
Kastagir: "Looks like they took the bait."
[Quentin pulls his hair back into a ponytail and looks at Kastagir with a new sense of understanding.]
Quentin: "That's why you led us in circles for a day down there. We were planting false tracks!"
Kastagir: "Of course we were! Your father and I use to shake the hunters of a tsar's kingdom all the time with that trick. We'd prep our escape route, poach his livestock, shake off his soldiers and convince them the forest was haunted for a hundred years! What difference is there in poaching Kortan?"
(he winks at Quentin)
Quentin: "Is that how you guys did it? (he pauses for a moment) "How you found pleasure or excitement in a world you couldn't change or control?"
Kastagir: "Let me tell you something! I've survived my share of Kortans in my many lifetimes. If you ever let a tyrant take the pleasures or excitement out of your life, you might as well stick your head out and let them take it too. There's a time to bow down and a time to stand tall, but you NEVER bow your soul to them. Time and Kortan's forces haven't caught us yet, but if we don't get back to the KEEP by nightfall..."
Quentin: "...there'll be HELL to pay!"
[Kastagir's smile and laughter illuminates the somber glow from the sky as they prepare to move. Suddenly... Quentin's eyes widen right as both of them feel the presence of another Immortal close by! Kastagir motions him to hold still as a dark cloaked figure can be seen taking down one of Kortan's scouts in the distance.]
Quentin: "Is it Felicia? Have you seen her in that gear before?"
Kastagir: "It's not Felicia! The build is different, movement is different... possibly female." (he quickly looks to Quentin and looks back to see the figure is gone) "This is the one the villagers and refugees have spoken of..."
Quentin: "A new awakened!?"

...to be continued.

[dubiousbystander]

p44.
by Rodimus Prime

[The smell of fire, coal and metal ore fill the air in one of the lower chambers beneath the KEEP. The sounds of different metals being struck gives off a tempo that almost feels musical to Quentin as he enters this hall. There are workers in here that move like pieces of an orchestra or chess board to the guidance of Master Nakano. They were once slaves to Kortan's forces, and now serve the Immortals' cause of their own free will.]

Nakano: "Welcome, young Highlander. This is my small corner of the world, yet... one can see many horizons here. Tell me, what do you see here?"
Quentin: "I see an ancient art that was once a way of life for you and many others." (He pauses as the hot atmosphere in here seems to whisper a word to him) "I see the birth of tamahagane!"
[He smiles boastfully at Nakano with an old familiar pride the master once saw in his father and in Ramirez. Nakano steps to him with a countenance of fury and the direct words of a seasoned teacher.]
Nakano: "You speak confidently of words you do not understand, with a pride you have not earned! Vanity by gifts alone have no place here. If you surrender to its false security... then you have already lost! Here one must be purified by the trials of the forge before they can claim its titles and treasures."
[Quentin silently bows before him in a humbled gesture of apology.]
Nakano: "Much danger surrounds us, Highlander! We must harness your special gift and focus your power through this forge. Perhaps then we will unlock and share all the lost knowledge of it together, but..." (he puts a hand on Quentin's shoulder and gestures him into the center of the Shinto forge) "...this knowledge does not come easy, Highlander."

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p43.
by Rodimus Prime

[A cellar door that leads to an escape passage beneath the KEEP opens to reveal Ramirez and Zhing Li entering in wet suits and taking off tactical gear. They both appear fatigued as if returning home after a long day at work. She is quickly out of her suit, hanging it to dry as Ramirez changes supplies and prepares to go back out. She clings to the draped suit with one leg around it in a seductive way.]
Zhing Li: "Are you off to work again?"
[They've always had a playful and slightly flirtatious relationship since the day they met in front of Joe's bar. Though he is more than a millennium older than her, they seem to share a kinship through their experiences. Innocent flirtation is often shared to boost each other's spirits... almost to the point of suspicion from the others.]
Ramirez: "A gentleman's work is never done, my dear!"
[She rotates her thighs with one heel and calf raised as her bikini bottom accentuates her lower curves. Poses with her arms folded around her bare top.]
Zhing Li: "Never?!"
[Ramirez takes a breath and cracks his sly smile, which is what she was really after. He doubles his expression with charm and flirtation... like a fencing match between them.]
Ramirez: "Never!"
[She walks up the stairs like a model on a catwalk, glancing over her shoulder at him.]
Zhing Li: "Never say never."

[Hatalyah and Quentin enter through a side door, both of their faces express a teenage curiosity and telling look at Ramirez as he simply greets them with a blushing smile.]
Quentin: "You're going back out there? I want to come with you!"
Ramirez: "Oh... I see! So you think you're ready to venture beyond the grounds? Tell me, Hatalyah... has he bested Kastagir in hunting yet?"
Hatalyah: "No."
Ramirez: "Do you feel he is ready for reconnaissance into Kortan's palace?"
Hatalyah: "Absolutely not!"
Ramirez: "There's your answer... she says NO."
(Quentin shakes his head in frustration)
"Has Nakano finished the armor plating?"
Hatalyah: "Yes, he's working on the new hinge bolts now."
Ramirez: "Good!" (he resets his suit hoodie)
Quentin: "This is unbelievable!"
[Ramirez turns back at his protest.]
Ramirez: "No, dear Quentin, what's unbelievable is your ability to take up my katana or Hatalyah's cutlass and perform historical techniques without training! Or your ability to assist us in creating medicines from the local plant life with no previous education in such sciences."
Hatalyah: "Kortan's advances in restarting an industrial age over the last hundred years has given him a sizable advantage that forces us to work in secret and shadow."
Ramirez: "And, if what we now suspect of Methos' death is true, it makes perfect sense. Kortan would be the ultimate architect and strategist with his Quickening, which would make your capture unsustainable!"
Quentin: "Why wouldn't he just kill me?"
Ramirez: "Your death could mean the end of us all. He fears that as much as we do and wouldn't take your head until you two were the last." (He steps forward to Quentin) "This isn't the time for rash moves, it's the time for caution, training and preparation. Time is on our side, young Highlander, let's use it wisely!"

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacies Edge]
p42.2-2
by Rodimus Prime

[Rebecca sits in the old garden that is now Holy Ground and a memorial that holds ashes of the Watchers and Quentin's dear Kay. Those that defended the KEEP during the Dark Days of the first century. Some others who found this place and served in protecting it along with the Immortals have been laid to rest here as well over the centuries. Rebecca finishes sewing clothing for the refugees they have rescued from one of Kortan's encampments and begins packing up to evade the fading daylight. She is startled by the sensation of another Immortal combined with the sounds of frantic shuffling that comes to an abrupt halt as Sofia staggers onto the balcony in what appears to be a mild state of shock and confusion.]

Rebecca: "What is it?"
Sofia: "How did he know?"
Rebecca: "Who...what!?"
Sofia: "I... I burned them..."
Rebecca: "Burned who? Good Lord, woman! What are you ON about?"
[Tears begin to run down Sofia's face as she slowly descends the stairs with a mild trembling.]
Sofia: "I burned your letters after I learned of Methos' death. Burned his entire green house and study! I..." (her voice drops into a harsh whisper) "I hated you so much that I destroyed any trace of you from what was my life with that beautiful man."
[Rebecca slowly rises in a state of caution, not knowing what will come out of her mouth next.]
Sofia: "He memorized your notes and left the damned letters with me for safe keeping."
[She slightly laughs in a disturbing way that reflects off of the peaked caution in Rebecca's face. A laughter that quickly turns into sorrow again.]
Sofia: "So how would Kortan have known the formula to manipulate his own dose, to manipulate Felicia's!? You never made a mistake with it."
Rebecca: "If you are accusing me of THIS..."
[Sofia's face retracts into heartbreak as she shakes her head.]
Sofia: "Not you. I know it wasn't you! You weren't the deceiver."
[She staggers off the last step and now stands level with Rebecca, eye to eye. Looking out into the distant smoke rising from one Kortan's factories.]
Sofia: "There's only one way he could have known the complexity of it!" (her voice drops to an emotionless whisper) "He killed Methos."
[The color in Rebecca's face drops as she begins to tear up. Her voice cracks as her mouth silently repeats.."no, no, no!"]
Sofia: "We never knew who killed him... no records. He had no Watcher!" (Rebecca begins sobbing as she quickly walks to her) "And I hated you for..." (she collapses into Rebecca's arms as they both sink to the stone floor) "Oh NO, oh GOD!!"

[The ambiance of the sunset is shattered by a horrendous scream that Sofia unleashes into Rebecca's trembling embrace. She muffles Sofia's screams, absorbing them because they are not anyone else's to hear. This pain belongs to them alone! Rebecca holds her with strength and a respectful silence, counter to Sofia's wailing cries as the stark truth of it pours over both of them. The complexities of the elixir couldn't have been accessed through the memories of an inherited Quickening... only a direct one! Rebecca knows Sofia is right as much as she herself wants to deny it. She has no words to justify or sooth the pain of this truth they both now share. Only the arms to hold her with as the stone floor beneath them grows cold with the night sky.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacies Edge]
p42.1-2
by Rodimus Prime

[Sofia walks out onto the west terrace to veiw the sunset for a moment of rest. Although she's held Darius more than once since they've reunited here, her memories go back to Methos at this moment. Back to her life with him on the South Western Frontier of the 1800's. Back to when she went by the name Tess. Back to the last sunset she ever shared with him.]

Methos: "I have something for you."
[She ties her horse up to the hitching post while looking Methos over.]
Tess: "Do you now?"
[He innocently smiles with a reserved manner that melts her inside. Then presents a bouquet of exotic flowers that stuns her at the sight and smell of them.]
Tess: "My God, they're beautiful! How did you..?"
Methos: "The elixir! I followed Rebecca's notes and found the last ingredient in this desert plant life!"
[She keeps her head bowed looking at them because the excitement in his voice and the mention of Rebecca's name burns her inside to the core!]
Methos: "To preserve these and have them flourish in this environment... It's amazing! It's the KEY we've been missing to manipulate its longevity!!! I have to go see her soon. Rebecca has to see this work for herself."
[That raises her scowled face to attention! Her eyes burn into him like branding irons.]
Tess: "I see! Ummhmm... So you're just gonna run off with your precious elixir?" (her voice tightens) "To your PRECIOUS Rebecca!?"
Methos: "Tess! Its not like that and you know it. We haven't had a breakthrough with the elixir since the time of Master Nakano. She and I are the last two that hold this knowledge. You would deny me this now?"
[She drops her head again in anger and guilt. Something he's good at checking her with.]
Tess: "Well... Let's just hope you're not gone too long! Huh? That you don't get lost out there with Rebecca and your damn elixir."
[She begins to untie her horse in frustration as he takes one of her hands and just holds it.]
Tess: "I'm going for another ride. You do what you like! Huh?"
[He watches her ride off into the evening sunset as she keeps her gaze on its warmth in a gallop. The same warmth that brings her back to the present with those eyes full of tears now, but they are not alone. Something has come back with them! A terrifying thought that has followed her memory like a ghost through time. Sofia turns in a panic, sprinting back into the KEEP. Frantically searching for Rebecca!]

to be continued...

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacies Edge]
p41.
by Rodimus Prime

[Ramirez walks Quentin over to one of the chamber windows to see something quite beautiful, ancient and unique. Quentin peers over the ledge to see Zhing Li performing what appears to be a dance and a martial art all at once. She performs with such an intensity and focus that it cuts right through the cold rain showering over her.]
Quentin: "What is it?"
Ramirez: "An ancient art lost on this world. An art of focus, strength, healing, meditation, power and subtlety. The Chinese art of Qiao Li... or Bridging Force!"
Quentin: "It's amazing!"
[Juan cracks an amused smile.]
Ramirez: "Good! It's what you're going to start with!"
[Quentin quickly looks at him with shock and frustration.]
Quentin: "What!? Kortan has people enslaved right now! How do we have time for me to learn this!?"
Ramirez: "Kortan has had people enslaved for the last one hundred years! Living and dying under his yoke..." (Ramirez looks back out into the darkened sky with disgust) "...and knowing NO rest or hope in between." (he looks out to the sunrise as a morning star) "You are the key to ending it all, but first we must unlock the lost knowledge in you... through the Quickening."
[Quentin steps back with confusion in his eyes.]
Ramirez: "Don't you see that you have more potential than your father could have ever dreamed of! You are a source of unlimited knowledge that we, combined, could unlock. Not only in you... but potentially in ourselves. Imagine what we could teach this new generation, what future we could build together!"
[Quentin's eyes well up with tears of heartbreak as Ramirez slams down a fist, trembling with passion.]
Ramirez: "MacLeod, your time is NOW!" (looking to him with a smile of confidence) "...and it is now, your new training begins." (Ramirez looks back out the window at Zhing with a new glint of hope in his eye) "She and I have seen empires rise from tyrants, built on the backs of slaves..." (he looks back over his shoulder to Quentin, dismissing the memories of ancient Egypt) "...and we have seen them fall." (he places a hand of strength on Quentin's shoulder with a rallying shake) "We shall see this one fall together!"
[Quentin nods his head with no words to match the passion of Ramirez's in this moment.]
Ramirez: "Come! The others run reconnaissance on Kortan's forces even now. Zhing and I will be your first two teachers... The others will follow. Besides, you're not the first Highlander she's handled."

[Zhing Li pulls her hands and body through the cold rain with an unflinching elegance. She shifts and pushes the heat of her core CHI through the weight of its fall. Each drop camouflages the tears running down her face as an energy she's never felt before courses through her! She can feel his hands move with hers and smell him as if he were all around her. The falling rain seems to say his name in this moment... "Duncan." The warmth and strength of his hands move all over her as she continues with furious precision. A new phenomenon in her has awakened with Quentin MacLeod.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p40.

[Quentin stands on the terrace of the west wall of the KEEP. The last place he stood with Kay over seven centuries ago. Ramirez joins him out there as he looks over a very different landscape under darkened skies. The air is dirty and has a slight charred taste to it. The smell of coal and ash is blowing in from one of Kortan's factories.]

Ramirez: "I awoke before the others during the first century. I saw Kay in her elder years, helped her and the remaining Watchers rebuild and defend the KEEP." (Quentin gives him a surprised and frustrated look.) "I did not wake you at her request and deepest regret. She was sick, but ever the strongest and determined!" (Quentin bows his head in heartbreak.) "I was with her at the end and followed her instructions. Hatalyah, Rebecca and I cremated her and buried a portion of her remains here with the Watchers in our Holy Ground."

[Ramirez sets an old lock box on the wall ledge in front of them]
Ramirez: "When I was first awakened by the Quickening, I was responsible for helping the Watchers with cataloguing your father's estate. We moved the artifacts from his personal safe to the vault here."
[Ramirez opens the lock box and reveals an old and beautiful Jade Urn.]
Quentin: "It's beautiful."
Ramirez: "Hatalyah knew and worked with your father. She said it was of great importance to him! She personally picked it for Kay. It holds her remains now!"
[Quentin looks to him with a bit of surprise and endearment.]
Ramirez: "Kay told me you would know what to do from here."
[Quentin bows and nods his head as he can still hear her voice.]
Kay: "You cast me to a STRONG wind... to our sunset!"
[Tears roll down into his red beard as he looks out into the visible light of the fading sunset. Knowing in his heart that it's time.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p39.2-2

[Quentin sits up as he feels the Quickening moving through his body, his muscles and skin becoming flush and strong again.]
Quentin: "What has happened?"
Rebecca: "WAR!!!"
Quentin: "Where? With whom?"
Rebecca: "Kortan!"
Ramirez: "The oath of the Jettators has been broken and we have been deceived... all of us!"
[Rebecca looks at Ramirez with anger and frustration.]
Ramirez: "A hundred years ago... Kastagir was the first of us conscious for the sixth awakening, and It was he who discovered the KEEP had been breached!"
Rebecca: "These walls were occupied with a mortal war clan. He had to wake the rest of us in secret... vault by vault. That's when we discovered two of them empty and two of us gone! Kortan and Felicia... the Lying Pact! (she spits at the floor after mentioning their names)
"I knew we NEVER should have trusted them!"
[Ramirez nods his head in embarrassment, anger, and shame.]
Quentin: "They're in league?"
Rebecca: "No! Felicia appears to have betrayed him as well. She commands her own clan of Shadow Walkers! They are night stalkers, murderers and thieves. They war against us as well as against Kortan's forces!"
Ramirez: "So you see young Highlander... we face not one, but a legion of adversaries. We are far beyond the GAME now!"

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p39.1-2

[Darkness...absolute darkness with only the sound of a distant voice, a voice getting closer. It's her voice... whispering to him.]
Kay: "You're timeless... you're beautiful."
"Wake up."
[Her face starts to materialize out of the darkness. She feels close, but looks distorted. As if looking at her through a piece of dark glass.]
Kay: "Wake up, Quince!"
"Wake Up!"
[Another voice joins hers in beckoning him. A familiar voice... a distinct voice, his father's voice!]
Connor: "Wake up... WAKE UP! GET UP!!!"
[Quentin's eyes open rapidly as the brightness instantly burns them. He begins gasping for air as his slumbered breathing pattern tries to catch up.]
Ramirez: "EASY! Easy lad!" (he looks to Rebecca to help hold Quentin steady)"Breathe slower... that's it." (Ramirez's face comes into focus) "Greetings Highlander!"
[Quentin starts looking frantically around the room, reaching out into the blinding light.]
Quentin: "Where... where is she!? Kay?"
Rebecca: "Quentin... please!"
Quentin: "Where is she... I saw her! KAAYYY!"
Ramirez: "LISTEN! (the force and tone of Ramirez's voice startles him) She has passed... (Quentin's sunken eyes meet his and start to tear up) ...and is far beyond your reach now!"
Quentin: "I... (he looks at and feels his long hair with confusion) ...I heard my father!"
[Rebecca looks at Ramirez with concern.]
Ramirez: "You've been in slumber for a long time! Your body will adjust with the healing of the Quickening."
Quentin: "Is this first awakening?"
[Rebecca looks to Ramirez with caution as he holds the answer a moment.]
Ramirez: "It's the seventh."
[Quentin's face goes blank at his words.]
Quentin: "What!?"
Ramirez: "It's been seven centuries dear Quentin... (he sinks slowly into the wall) ...and the world has changed much!"
[He then notices that they are both covered in dirt and ashes.]
Quentin: "What's happened?"
Rebecca: "WAR!"

To be continued...

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p38.2-2
[Kay returns from the cellar and puts down two tin cups for her and Ramirez. He takes the bottle from her and sits her in his chair as he pours. She isn't quite sure how to feel at the moment. The soldier and survivor she's become isn't used to being served in such a formal manner. She wrings her hands under the table so he won't see, but his experience with soldiers and time tells him all he needs to know in this moment. He cuts through the formalities, knowing the edge of a soldier's mentality needs to sharpened. It needs to keep active!]
Ramirez: "How many of you are here now?"
Kay: "We are three strong and holding!"
[He admires the confidence in her strained words.]
Ramirez: "Supplies?"
Kay: "Overstocked... We're sitting good! You all were well prepared for this."
Ramirez: "Structural and damage report."
Kay: "Meteor impact was felt here as small... (she coughs) ...earthquakes. We lost some of the northern wall support. Hall beams are... (she coughs again) ... holding, we've inspected and repaired what we could."
[Ramirez has her take a drink with a subtlety suggested toast.]
Ramirez: "Cheers, my dear!" (tin cup to cup)
"Have any of you checked the other vaults?"
Kay: "Yes! Davis took possession of the master key and lead Watcher position once... (she coughs) ... Adrian passed away. I still hold a dual key for your and Quince's vaults."
Ramirez: "I see!" (He also sees an opportunity and takes it.) "You know... I can wake him!"
[Kay's lips begin to quiver as her eyes tear up. She shakes her head as her voice cracks, but her lips distinctly read "NO!" She takes a breath to recoup.]
Kay: "The elixir preservation is unbelievable! However... (she coughs) ... I have still washed and groomed him over the years. I sleep with him sometimes and hold him whenever I get a chance. He's still beautiful and timeless... (she resists a cough with a slow, heavy breath) ... and that's how I want him to remember me. Young and beautiful... not like this." (she wipes the fallen tears away)
"Not like this!"
[Ramirez leans in as he takes her hands.]
Ramirez: "You're still beautiful!" (he winks at her) "But, I understand your concern and pain! My dear, I've buried three wives and it is never an easy thing. My second took her own life under such pressure." (He hesitates at the memory of it) "The weight of my Immortality and the fears of her own mortality were too much for her to bear in time." (He wrings his own hands for a moment) "Sometimes... words aren't enough!"
[She raises his hand and kisses it before pressing it against her cheek.]
Ramirez: "Well then... the elixir can wait! There are repairs that need doing and we have work ahead of us in these dark days. The Quickening is a source of strength and knowledge. Let's put those to the test!"

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p38.1-2
[Darkness...then light begins to appear with momentary pain from it. Ramirez begins to sit up as pain shoots through his dormant muscles, they feel and drag like heavy bags of lead. His hair is long and dirty, filling his face as he leans over the side of his sleeping platform. He begins to gasp for air as his consciousness fights against the rhythm of his recovering breathing. He overcomes his panic with controlled breathing and meditation as the Quickening begins to regulate and acclimate his body to the environment.]

Ramirez: "Heavenly Father... (he raises his face to the sky beyond the vault and castle walls) ...thank you!"
[The lid to a vault chamber begins to unlock with dust shifting from the mechanics. It lifts with ease from its counterweight design and swivels open as Ramirez climbs out. The sound of the vault unlocking alerts a figure dressed in a patched up bio-hazard tactical suit, walking abruptly to the chamber hall with a tactical rifle sighted in! The gas masked figure turns the corner slowly, but then begins breathing rapidly through the respirators upon discovering Ramirez sitting casually at an old dining table. He takes his eyes off the stress fractures of the roof line and directs all his attention on the possible threat standing before him.]
Ramirez: "Perhaps the hospitality around here has gone the way of the structure?"
[This figure shoulders the weapon and walks to Ramirez with a slight limp that he takes note of. A hood is pulled off that reveals long blonde hair streaked with gray as the gas mask is unbuckled to reveal an older, yet familiar face to him.]
Ramirez: "My God! Hello young lady."
[She hesitates before attempting to speak with a weakened voice that sounds hoarse.]
Kay: "Hello Juan!"
[Tears run down her face as joy, heartbreak and a slight sense of embarrassment flood over her constant pain. He stands and immediately tries to put the gas mask back on her, but she will not let him. He surrenders the struggle and simply holds Kay with a warmth that feels like her memory of the sun. A sun that has not shined here in thirty-two years.]
Ramirez: "Figured I wouldn't win that one!"
[He presses a kiss to the top of her head as she laughs and cries in pain, pulling tightly to him.]

To be continued...

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p37.

[Hatalyah walks into a side chamber where Rebecca and Ramirez wait for her. She hands Kortan's master key over to Rebecca.]
Hatalyah: "It is done!"
[Rebecca silently nods to her.]
Ramirez: "Ok then, we watch those two in the future to come."
Hatalyah: "Is Kay with..."
Rebecca: "She is seeing Quentin to sleep, then she will be joining the Watchers."
Ramirez: "She will hold the key to Quentin's vault till her time comes, then I will take possession of it at first awakening."
Hatalyah: "When is that, exactly?"
Ramirez: "Well it's not exact..."
Rebecca: "I have diluted his dose more than the others. Should wear off in about forty to fifty years."
Ramirez: "So I can check on the conditions as well as on Kay and the Watchers."
[Hatalyah tears up at the thought of their fate together.]
Hatalyah: "Strong, brave girl."
Rebecca: "I could have conquered a hundred KEEPs with the likes of her at my side!"
[Ramirez nods his head at that thought.]
Ramirez: "The Watchers are stocked, equipped and prepared for the beginning of a new Dark Age and the end of theirs... God Speed!
"Are we ready to go under, ladies?"
[They both nod as they head fir their vault chambers.]
Rebecca: "It is time!"

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p36.

[Darius descends the stairwell that leads to the vaults with a cautious step and speed. He can feel the elixir coursing through him and the intoxication of it is quite exquisite. As he approaches a sub chamber floor he can smell a candle burning and hears a whisper... but only one voice. He slowly steps into the doorway to see who is there, then suddenly steps back into the stairwell! His heart is racing as Sofia speaks out to him in an old Latin dialect.]
Sofia: "Will you ignore me forever?"
[They speak the Latin dialect together]
Darius: "That would be impossible!"
[He holds his position against the wall and simply speaks around the corner to her. Just the glimpse of her was enough as his hands and voice continue to tremble.]
Sofia: "You must despise me!"
[He shakes his bowed head as he rings his hands.]
Darius: "It wasn't you that I despised, it was myself! I shouldn't have..."
Sofia: "Did you think of me?" [Her tone is stern as her voice rises] "In your solitude did you THINK OF ME!?"
[Her tone sends a feverish rush through him and he nods his head with tears running down his face.]
Darius: "Every time I held my queen piece!"
[Her mouth trembles as her own tears begin to run. Remembering the days and nights of chess together! A time when the world was slower... a time it shall soon see again.]
Sofia: "You OWE me this..."
[Darius looks over his shoulder into that room with confusion and intrigue as the elixir rushes through both of them.]
Sofia: "You owe me this night!"
[He slowly nods his head with a repressed grin as he realizes she is speaking his own words back to him. It was his command of her... for her body. She stands forcefully from the table as the chair slides across the stone floor.]
Sofia: "I wish to see my conqueror's face!"
[Her bare feet storm across the floor as Darius emerges into the candle light with a countenance that sends shudders through her! He picks Sofia up and spins her to the wall, holding her lips at bay as he whispers into them. His words skim over those lips as she trembles, denying her the kiss.]
Darius: "Well played... WELL played!"
Sofia: "I just, I...."
Darius: "Shhhhhhhh! Did I think of you? OH YES! I thought of you. Haunting me for centuries! You were the last woman I ever held."
[Those words spark her lips into his with a kiss that burns away the centuries between them. It is an old lust, a repressed hunger colliding with a raw passion for each other. Their hot tears are smothered with the violence of this kiss! The hunger is great, but the time is short.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p35.

[Quentin and Kay have just watched their last sunset together at the west wall of the KEEP. The Immortals inside have taken the Jettator's oath and drank their elixirs together, witnessed by the Watchers present. Zhing Li comes out on the terrace with Ramirez, carrying a beautiful antique tea set. This particular set was given to her by her Sifu; Kiem Sun. It was a gift to him from Duncan MacLeod in the 1700s. Zhing Li and Duncan engaged in a secret romance that Kiem Sun was actually aware of, and he had gifted her with the tea set as a sign of his blessing. She and Duncan have enjoyed this set over the centuries together. So she thought it would be fitting for Quentin to use it on this occasion as the new generation of MacLeods.]

Ramirez: "It is time!"
[Kay and Quentin take a deep breath simultaneously as she steps behind him and holds him around his waist. Zhing Li does the honor and pours the elixir in ceremonial fashion. Quentin reaches for the cup as Ramirez quickly speaks up.]
Ramirez: "Understand, this is a powerful elixir! You will feel an intoxicated sensation with various emotions running through you."
Quentin: "How do you know this?"
Ramirez: "Because we're all feeling it right now! Plus, this isn't the first time I've taken it."
[Those words prompt even Zhing Li to look up at Ramirez with curious eyes.]
Ramirez: "Once you take it, black out will occur in about forty-five minutes. So, I would suggest you be safely in your vault in about thirty!"
[Kay turns her head and leans it against Quentin's back, looking out into the darkness as if it was the future. Her eyes wince and tears run as she feels him drink it. Ramirez takes the serving tray with one arm and Zhing Li's arm under his other as a gentleman.]
Zhing Li: "We shall join the others inside and leave you both to the moment."
[Quentin bows his head as a salute to them both, then turns and holds Kay, tighter than he's ever held her.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p34.

[Quentin stands at the north wall overlooking the majesty of the forest before him, waiting for Kay to return. He holds her blanket, trying to memorize the smell of her from it. They usually spend their mornings out here wrapped up together, watching the sunrise over the trees. Kay's dose of the elixir is the final one to be prepared and she's been inside with Rebecca all morning.]

Kay: "Hey down there!"
[Quentin turns to see her standing like a fading dream in the morning mist.]
"The elixirs are done."
Quentin: "I thought she needed two more days?"
[Kay takes a moment just to look at him, and then takes a breath before answering.]
Kay: "I'm not taking one!"
[Quentin freezes at the shock of those words.]
Quentin: "What!?"
Kay: "I'm not taking it, Quince! I know it will preserve my body... but I'm not gonna lie there next to you like a lifeless doll."
[She clears her throat as she starts shaking her head.]
"I can't do it!"
[Quentin just stands there silent in the mist.]
Kay: "Just gonna stand there... not say anything?"
Quentin: "What do you want..."
Kay: "FINE!"
Quentin: "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!? Do you think I'm okay with this... with ANY of it!? To be told that I'm the KEY to a future that you'll never see!"
[A single stern tear rolls down her cheek, but she holds his gaze.]
Kay: "You're a bastard! You're a beautiful bastard and I love every inch of you, but I can't die in that vault with you! I'm staying awake with the Watchers. We have supplies and resources to live here for decades. TO WATCH OVER YOU!"
Quentin: "If the atmosphere holds!"
[Kay slowly nods her head, knowing he's right and hating it!]
Kay: "Then I'll face my fate like the rest... not hide from it!"
[He drops his head in worry and doubt. She walks down the stairs to him and holds his hands under the blanket.]
Kay: "There's one more thing. I don't want to be buried here."
[Now he looks straight into her eyes with absolute confusion.]
Kay: "There are enough Watchers here to establish a garden cemetery and Holy Ground for you all, but I don't want to be in there."
[She puts her arms around his neck and pulls him in.]
Kay: "When you need me, when you look to my memory, you don't look to a hole in the ground or a grave marker, okay!"
[Now they both begin to cry together.]
Kay: "When you wake up... you scatter my ashes to a strong north wind and look for me in the horizon. You look for me in our sunset! Do you hear me?"
[Their tears merge as her lips finds his and hold the moment.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p33.

[As everyone prepares their own vaults for the sleep ahead, Rebecca finds herself alone with Sofia in the east hall. She's heard the whispers and knows there's an unspoken history between Sofia and Darius. Not just the way they look at each other, but the relentless tension in the air between them could spark its own Quickening! Like a waltz between ghosts, unable to touch.

Rebecca: "So Darius has been hiding this whole time? They say he was the second of us to awaken."
[Sofia tenses up at his name, but continues to pack with deceptive calm.]
Sofia: "I suppose he's good at it. He's had centuries of practice!"
Rebecca: "Only a few of us knew of him and his location. He was a comfort for some and a sanctuary for others over the centuries. I've healed many of the broken in my time, but he was one of the few places I could go for my own rest and recovery."
[She pauses and looks over to Sofia.]
Rebecca: "Something's happened to him since. He doesn't answer to the title of Father anymore. He's changed with the awakening!"
[Sofia laughs slightly and scoffs at those words.]
Sofia: "Wouldn't be the first time."
Rebecca: "I see... you did know him before all of it!"
[She senses Sofia opening up and skillfully fuels this with a simple gesture. She positions herself in a submissive pose by sitting next to Sofia who still stands. Putting herself beneath Sofia as an attentive student to a teacher.]
Rebecca: "His early life was really a mystery to us all. May I ask what he was like before the church?"
[Sofia pauses and takes in a long breath, looking out in a gaze as if peering into time.]
Sofia: "He was like a god... or the closest thing I had ever seen to one! A warlord, a commander of legions, a strategist and a conqueror. A warrior that could not be killed in combat. He was a force of nature!"
[Knowing the nature of such men and having slaughtered her own personal share of tyrants, Rebecca doesn't ask the next question on her mind. However, Sofia's intuition and need of release answers it freely as her fixed eyes run with tears.]
Sofia: "I was his spoils and slave at first..."
[Rebecca admires her courage and honesty.]
Rebecca: "Take your time..."
Sofia: "...I actually took my own life as the first of my deaths."
[Rebecca's throat goes dry as tears begin to run down her own face with a cold chill.]
Sofia: "He found me and held me differently that night. Told me I was chosen from the others because I was like him... an Immortal! He taught me of our kind, trained me in secret. I had never held a sword before! Women weren't allowed to train or fight in my homeland. He schooled me in weaponry and art, sharpened me in tactics... he loved me with passion!"
[Rebecca holds one of her hands gently as Sofia's gaze into the past holds through the tears.]
Sofia: "He returned one morning from facing another of our kind and he was... different! He knelt before me, handed me his own sword and said I was free."
[She begins trembling at her own words.]
"Do you know what it is to have such a man kneel before you and offer his life as a penance!?"
[Rebecca begins silently nodding her head as she understands now.]
Sofia: "I was confused and scared! This wasn't my Darius, my Conqueror... my Lover.
"They say Dark and Spiritual Quickenings were a myth of our kind, but a myth definitely took my Darius from me! He left me soon after and disappeared into his own religious quest for penance or... whatever."
Rebecca: "He couldn't face you or his own life anymore, could he?"
Sofia: "I never saw my Darius again..."
[She quickly turns to Rebecca who is now standing next to her.]
"... not until three days ago! His voice, his eyes, the way he looks at me again. I..."
[her expression turns into hesitation and confusion.]
Rebecca: "Don't waste this! Calculate it, weigh it for what it's worth... but DON'T waste it! Some of us will never get a second chance to see or hold our men again... you know this!"
[These two Immortal women embrace for the first time in over a century of personal pain, heartbreak and anger.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p32.1-2

[The skies of Germany darken as the sun sets over the western mountains, leaving the KEEP illuminated like a gemstone in the night. Quentin and Kay hold each other out in the gardens while the Immortals assemble in the main gallery for a most unique gathering.]
Rebecca: "So here we are!"
Kortan: "Indeed!"
[He raises his glass as some of the others follow in a toast.]
Kortan: "To our awakening and the mystery of the Quickening."
Zhing Li: "The Game has most certainly changed."
Ramirez: "And now... we must too!"
Kastagir: "What do you propose?"
Hatalyah: "Oh, is this a proposal?"
[Kastagir smiles and blushes at her teasing as Hatalyah winks at him.]
Ramirez: "The Game we knew was for all purposes won in the end. We have been selected for something greater!"
Kortan: "Greater than the Prize?"
[Rebecca's eyes shoot straight to Kortan at the tone of that question. An unsettling silence follows.]
Nakano: "Aye! The hunger for the Prize still resides somewhere in all of us; but what good would it do any of us now? This isn't the time for it."
Felicia:
"I've had my own sins to account for and centuries of guilt to haunt me over them."
[Darius and Sofia silently look to each other with a gaze that holds for only a moment, but it feels like an eternity.]
Felicia: "This second chance seems to be an opportunity for me to prove that I could be worthy of the Prize... one day."
[She takes Kortan by the hand, looking up to him as she sits by his side.]
Felicia: "Isn't that the ultimate goal of the Prize, to eventually help others with it?"
Kortan: "Indeed. Hear, hear!"
[Although Rebecca has respect for Felicia's words, she still can't help her feeling of unease and suspicion as she studies them both.]
Kastagir: "Again I must ask: What is the plan?"
Rebecca: "Have you ever heard of a mystic order of Immortals known as the Jettators?"
[Darius speaks out in an ancient Hyborian language.]
Darius: [Cimmerian translated] "From the dawn of time we came..."
Nakano: [Cimmerian translated] "...before the oceans drank Atlantis..."
Kortan: [Cimmerian translated] "...we were among you!"
Kastagir: "You speak of the ancient ones."

To be continued...

p32.2-2
[All the Immortals look to each other, intrigued.]
Kastagir: "You speak of the ancient ones."
Rebecca: "My teacher was one of them!"
Nakano: "As was mine."
Rebecca: "She spoke of a time before known history. A dark time of sword and sorcery."
[Nakano smiles at that statement.]
Ramirez: "The world was plunged into darkness by another cataclysmic event of their time."
Zhing Li: "Now I remember! I studied the elder scrolls under my teacher Kiem Sun. They spoke of the Awakened, of a Game from a time before ours. What if they were like us!?"
Ramirez: "There has been speculation that an Evil Immortal won the last Game and spun that age into darkness... an age even before Noah's Ark."
[Kortan grazes his fingers over Felicia's hair before they hold hands again.]
Kortan: "So the Quickening repeats itself!"
Hatalyah: "Just as time, nature and history often do."
Felicia: "Just as we are about to do!"
Nakano: "You see Kastagir... destiny can be diverted and death can be cheated, but time is constant. Unless you have our gift of Immortality and a key to utilize it."
Rebecca: "The Petda'v Elixir is our Key!"
Kastagir: "Like a mortal in a coma... You plan to sleep through the generations. How do we know others won't awaken beyond these wall's?"
Ramirez: "We DON'T! All we know is Quentin MacLeod is the Source of our awakenings and he must be protected, trained and prepared for the passage of knowledge."
[Kortan and Felicia's hands tighten together at those words.]
Hatalyah: "And what of the Game?"
Ramirez: "We do as the ancient ones did before us, we take the oath of the Jettators between ourselves. We defend the KEEP and each other, but we stay our own hands and heads of the sword and the Quickening."
Kastagir: "How long do we have till calculated impact?"
[Felicia and Zhing Li look to each other and answer simultaneously.]
"19 days!"
Hatalyah: "How many of our Elixirs are ready?"
Rebecca: "Seven! I need five more days."
Ramirez: "Then we will commune as Jettators in the dining hall seven nights from now. Prepare yourselves for the sleep!"

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p31.

[Felicia and Sofia are packing up antique dishes in the east dining hall with the caution and precision of art dealers and archivists. Sofia hands a rare piece from Hungary to Felicia for a look when they both feel the presence of another Immortal and spot Ramirez walking through the main hall with a Watcher.
Sofia takes the plate back and is instantly frozen still at the sound of a distant, but familiar voice speaking an old latin name that was once hers.]

Darius: "Rosalie!?"

[The disbelief in his voice is followed by the deafening sound of that plate shattering at her feet. Sofia stands as frozen as a pillar of salt, formed from her own shock and disbelief! You could hear a pin drop in the haunting silence that follows.]

[dubiousbystander]

~HIGHLANDER~
[Legacy's Edge]
p30.
[Hatalyah sifts through Watcher files in the main gallery when she hears footsteps approaching from down the hall. What alarms her is that she feels no Immortal presence and is unaware of any Watcher arrivals. Just then Kay steps into the vast and ornate room of the main gallery.]
Hatalyah: "Oh you brave and beautiful girl! You've joined us indeed. Come in!"
[Kay is actually startled by the love in Hatalyah's voice and spirit! Like a distant parent embracing a long-lost child.]
Hatalyah: "Are you hungry?
[Kay shakes her head no with a slight smirk as Hatalyah goes on about it.]
Hatalyah: "You must be, after that flight over here! Oh my God... it's so long. Plane food is terrible!"
Kay: "No, no. I'm cool, thanks! Honestly, this whole thing is overwhelming. I..."
[Hatalyah hugs her unexpectedly as she pauses in the vastness of her thoughts. Just then, Kay whispers the question that has been weighing on her the most.]
Kay: "How will it work on me?"
[Hatalyah pulls back with a look of heartbreak and confusion.]
Kay: "They explained the process, but will I decay in there with him!?
[She chokes up at the thought.] Will he see me...?"
[Hatalyah shakes her head as tears run down both of their faces.]
Hatalyah: "NO! The elixir will preserve your body while he sleeps. We will remove you after the first cycle."
[Kay nods her bowed head in acknowledgment.]
Hatalyah: "You'll be kept below until conditions on the surface are right to move you to the garden grounds. You'll actually help establish our renewed Holy Ground here."
"He'll always be safe when he visits you."
[Kay takes a deep breath as they dry each other's tears.]
Hatalyah: "Now you have to come and see all of my STELLAR make-up collection, because I look like a hog mess!"
[She runs off with Kay into the north lodging.]