[Super: Glenfinnan, Scotland / On the shores of Loch Shiel]

Kevin - I don't even know why we're digging here, Brian. This isn't even a real grave.

Brian - It's a battle site, you fool.

Kevin - How does 'e know that?

Brian - That's his business. Now put your back into it. I can smell the silver from here. [A dog barks in the distance. Kevin stops digging.] What the hell's the matter?

Kevin - Dogs. Something's spooking 'em.

Brian - You bloody old woman. The only one spooked around here is you.

[Hooded figure stands nearby, watching them. A raven lands on a nearby boulder, cawing. The figure approaches the two grave-robbers. They react with shock.]

Brian - Mary and Joseph, it's you! Why do you have to sneak up like that?

Kanwulf - What have you found?

Brian - Only this dagger. Not what you're looking for.

Kanwulf - Maybe I should hire someone who'd be more successful.

Brian - And maybe if we find it, we sell it to someone else.

Kanwulf - That would be a grave mistake.

Brian - Don't threaten us... or folks might hear who's behind this grave-robbing.

Kanwulf - Not from you. [pulls sword out from under his cloak, kills Brian] Ah. [knocks Kevin's shovel out of his grasp]

Kevin - Please don't kill me!

Kanwulf - I have something else in mind for you, Kevin. [holds sword point to Kevin's chest. Close on Kanwulf's face, shadowed by cowl. He forces Kevin at swordpoint away from the hole they were digging] <Uh, Kevin, bring him along. [Kevin drags Brian's body offscreen.] ¹> CUT
 

<Angus - CUT Did you hear how Kevin McSwain was murdered?> I heard the police talking! Closed casket. It's all supposed to be kept quiet, so's not to scare the tourists.

Male patron - {Well, ye keep it.}

Rachel - Scare the tourists all you like.

Angus - [loudly, gesturing] They found him hangin' by the neck on the moor, split frae gullet to stern, like a butchered sheep. CUT

Bruce - Jesus. It's a bloody maniac.

Angus - No maniac cuts like that. That's his mark... The blood eagle. Kanwulf is back.

[Patrons laugh at him.]

Joe - [to Rachel] Am I missing something? Who is Kanwulf?

Angus - A Viking raider who cut a trail of death through this land for eight hundred years!

Rachel - One of our more colorful legends. Loch Ness gets the monster. We get Kanwulf.

Angus - Ah, but he's real!

Bruce - Like the ghosts on the moor, Angus?

Patrons - [making spooky ghost noises] Oooh.

Angus - Ah, that's different.

Bruce - [grabs Angus' arm] Hold, McDougal. All we need is for a MacLeod to come back from the dead and finish him off! Ha!

[Joe reacts with a thoughtful frown to this announcement.]

<Angus - CUT Well, Kevin McSwain's not laughing, is he?> [The crowd sobers abruptly.]

Joe - [to Rachel] Quiet little village you have here. [Rachel nods.]

Rachel - Like I said... it's a legend. ⁴

Kanwulf - [voice-over] Ah, Rachel, thank you for coming.

Kanwulf - The parish burial records... could any of them have been missing?

Rachel - None I know of. Father McQuarrie was very careful to keep them up.

Kanwulf - With these grave desecrations, I fear we're losing sight of who lies where.

Rachel - Sorry. I wish I could help.

Kanwulf - Well, we'll just have to rely on faith then, won't we. [Rachel smiles, nods, turns away.] ⁵ I can sense that something is troubling you.

Rachel - I believe that there's someone in the village who is not who he says he is.

Kanwulf - Really?

Rachel - And I think he's the one lootin' the graves.

Kanwulf - And why would you think that?

<Rachel - CUT Because I saw him at the inn... with a Celtic bracelet.>

Kanwulf - Have you told anyone else of this?

Rachel - Not yet.

<Kanwulf - CUT What's his name?>

Rachel - Calls himself Duncan MacLeod.

Kanwulf - Duncan MacLeod? Perhaps he's just another dedicated tourist.

Rachel - Then why is he snooping around the cemeteries and other grave sites? I think I should call the police.

Kanwulf - Why don't we wait, see what happens, before we alert the authorities. We don't want to be premature. After all, he is a MacLeod. [Rachel leaves. Kanwulf turns, looks at statue of Christ on the cross.] What are you looking at?

DM - [rides up to Joe] They say solitude's a precious thing, Dawson.

Joe - Hey, I didn't drag my heinie up this goat path for the view.

DM - [dismounts horse] Sheep path, Joe. And I hope those aren't your best shoes.

Joe - [looks down, sighs] Not anymore. [off DM's look] You know, you picked a hell of a time to come home, MacLeod. They found another guy gutted.

DM - I'm sure the police are on it. ⁷

Joe - So how long are we staying?

DM - I'm staying until I find what I came for.

Joe - And that is...? Hey, come on, Mac, help me out here.

DM - A grave.

Debra - You don't mean this... you can't.

DM - We grew up like brothers... learned to fight together. There was no evil in his heart.

Debra - I know, but he brought this on himself. You're not to blame!

DM - 'Twas my blade that killed him.

Debra - Duncan, you had no choice! Do you not see?

DM - I see I took his life.

Debra - Well, then, we'll give it back. We'll name our firstborn after him.

DM - Not with Robert's blood on my hands.

Debra - I thought you loved me!

DM - Debra, you're my life. But I've slain a kinsman, a friend. To wed you now... Can you not understand?

Debra - No, I understand that I love you! And that I cannae live without you! [takes bracelet off, throws it at his feet & runs off]

DM - [picks up bracelet] Debra! [runs after her] Debra, come back! [follows her through the woods] Debra, stop! Debra! Stop!

Debra - [still running] No!

DM - [still following] I love you.

DM - [as Debra runs to edge of cliff] Debra! (&) [catches up to her]

Debra - I came here as a child. It was my secret place.

DM - [nervous about how close to the edge she is] I know. Now come back...

Debra - I used to dream of having you, even then. I never dreamed this.

DM - Please, Debra, you still have a life to live.

Debra - [turns to face him] I have nothing. [turns back]

DM - No! [Debra looks down at river below, then back at DM.] I swear I'll marry you... and love you till the end of my days.

Debra - Do you mean it? With Robert's death on your head?

DM - I can live with his ghost, but I cannae live with yours.

[He holds out his hand. She raises her own, reaching toward him. The cliff edge crumbles beneath her feet & she falls.]

DM - No! Debra! Debra! [He drops the bracelet, lunging for her, but is too late.]

(resume previous scene)

DM - [picks up bracelet] I thought the pain would kill me. CUT

Joe - What did you do with the bracelet?

DM - I laid it in her grave, so part of me would be with her forever. CUT <But> the Church ruled it a suicide, and I had to bury her on unconsecrated ground. CUT

Joe - So you don't know where the grave is.

DM - It's been four hundred years, Joe. Everything's different. Even the landmarks are gone. CUT

<Joe - Hope you find her, Mac.

DM - [mounts horse] Thanks, Joe. [rides off]>

[Montage of DM riding through countryside. He passes a distinctive rock landmark, crosses a stone bridge over a stream.]

[DM finally locates an ancient grave marker bearing the surprisingly legible inscription 'Debra Campbell'. He dismounts and approaches. In the distance, Rachel is on horseback, watching him.]

[Laura Creamer - "Bonny Portmore"

[DM kneels before the grave marker, holding the bracelet.]

<[Flashback: CUT
Debra at stream, looking up at him, then running to greet him.]>

[DM finishes smoothing dirt over the newly re-buried bracelet, then lays a handful of yellow wildflowers on top. He goes back to his horse.]

<Rachel - CUT [still watching, get back on horse, turns horse to leave] And he calls himself a MacLeod.> [as DM rides toward her] Mr. MacLeod. [DM stops next to her.] You do get around.

DM - I like to get off the beaten path.

Rachel - So I see. There seems to be dirt on your hands. Did you fall off?

DM - I guess I'm a little out of practice.

Rachel - Well, maybe you should stick to the main roads. This far from town, I thought you might be lost.

DM - Not anymore. [rides away] ⁸

Joe - [enters] Hey, what gives? You're not packed.

DM - I'm staying on for a while.

Joe - But you did what you came for.

DM - You know, it's funny what you remember. The heather blooming, the smell of burning peat... The feast after the harvest when the whole clan gathered and you thought the whole world was there.

Joe - I thought you were going to let the police handle this.

DM - This land came under the MacLeods once. These are my people, my clan.

Joe - Mac, that was four hundred years ago! THESE people are not under your protection anymore.

DM - Yeah, but I won't let them get slaughtered, Joe.

[Sharp knock on door.]

Joe - You know what I think? I think this place is getting to you.

DM - [doesn't answer Joe, ⁹ opens door] Yeah?

Constable - We've a warrant to search these premises. Over against the wall, sir.

DM - [as second constable searches room] Highland hospitality seems to have gone downhill.

Rachel - [enters behind constables] Maybe it's the guests.

Joe - Look, this is not my room, okay?

Constable - Over against the wall, sir.

Joe - [to DM] Remind me -- next time, separate vacations.

DM - Someone mind explaining what this is about?

Rachel - It's about grave-robbing.

[Constable pulls DM's cloth-wrapped katana out of closet, unwraps it.]

Rachel - I was wrong. It's about murder.

[DM & Joe exchange a look, then DM looks down. ^B]
 

[Close ^C on Debra Campbell's grave. Camera pulls away to reveal policeman, Kanwulf, & Rachel standing beside grave.]

Rachel - [to Kanwulf] Thank you for coming, Father.

Kanwulf - [standing between Rachel & Constable] How could I not? When a Christian soul has been disturbed, one of God's own should be on hand. Desecration of a holy spot is a terrible thing. ¹⁰

[Kanwulf & Rachel look on as villager digging at grave hits something metallic with his shovel.]

Kanwulf - You've found something. [Villager hands him the bracelet.]

Rachel - [takes bracelet from Kanwulf] Duncan MacLeod didn't come to rob the grave. He came to put this back.

Kanwulf - The man has a heart of a poet.

Rachel - And a sense of clan loyalty. [hands bracelet back to villager] Put this back. [to Kanwulf] He went to a lot of trouble finding the grave of Debra Campbell.

Kanwulf - That name isn't mentioned in the burial records.

Rachel - It wouldn't be. Four hundred years ago, Debra Campbell committed suicide for the love of a MacLeod. At least, that's the legend.

Kanwulf - And you take your legends seriously here. How does the rest of it go?

Rachel - That Duncan MacLeod came back from the dead to avenge his father and kill Kanwulf the Viking. Excuse me, Father. I've got to go. CUT

Kanwulf - I think I'd like to meet this Duncan MacLeod.

Rachel - Then come along to the inn.

Kanwulf - I must pray. Ask him to come to the church. ¹¹

[Dart hits dartboard.]

Joe - All right. Beat that. [removes his darts from the board] When do you, uh, get your sword back?

DM - [throws dart at board] A day or two. [throws second dart] They took it to Edinburgh for testing. [throws last dart] You worried? [goes to retrieve his darts]

Joe - Eh, this Norse guy... you know, the legend...

DM - What legend?

Joe - Kanwulf, the Viking. [throws dart]

DM - What about him?

Joe - [throws dart] The bodies. The blood eagle. [throws dart] It's Kanwulf's trademark.

DM - It can't be K--

[DM gallops across the moors on horseback.]

DM - [voice-over] Oh, of course. It was after I died the first time. After they cast me out.

[Super: 1624]

[DM rides into village, dismounts.]

DM - [voice-over] I hadn't met Connor or taken my first head. <I still had no idea what had happened to me, or what I was.> CUT I'd been gone two years. I thought nothing could bring me home. Then I learned our village had been attacked, and my father was gravely wounded.

Villager - {??} It can't be him!

[DM approaches cottage.]

DM - Donal, who did this?

Donal - No! It can't be you.

DM - Damn it, man, who did this?

Donal - You're dead. Dead! I saw it with my own eyes!

DM - Damn you! Who did this?

Donal - Kanwulf the Destroyer!

DM - Kanwulf's a legend. He's not real!

Donal - Neither are you! [pulls away from him, runs off]

DM - [enters cottage] Father? [sees Ian lying on bed, Mary sitting nearby. She looks up as DM enters.] Mother. [kneels beside her]

Mary - Duncan? Is it really you?

DM - I'm here.

Mary - [crying] My beautiful son's come back. They tried to tell me you were evil. I knew it wasn't true.

DM - It dinnae matter now.

Mary - [sniffles] His sword. Claim it.

DM - [looks down at Claymore lying beside Ian's body] I cannot. He banished me. I have no right, I have no clan... I'm not even your son.

Mary - No! It matters not who bore ya. You ARE my son. And it is yours. Take it. Take it, I say! [lifts sword, hands it to him] Let no man tell you different. You are Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.

[DM gallops across the moors on horseback.]

<DM - [voice-over] So I left to avenge my father... CUT

[DM rides past a body strung up in Kanwulf's 'blood eagle'.]

DM - [voice-over] ...in search of Kanwulf. I knew he was inhuman. I just didn't know he was Immortal.

[DM creeps through brush to Kanwulf's camp.]

DM - [voice-over] I found Kanwulf's men. A bunch of thieving butchers... celebrating the death of my village.>

Man - [to man] Hey, give me that!

Man - Look. [Men turn to look at DM.]

Brigand - It's him. The ghost! The ghost of Duncan MacLeod!

DM - Aye, back from the dead to seek my vengeance. [draws Claymore, attacks, cuts down Brigand] Come on! Fight me! [Men all run away.] Come on!

[Raven caws as man runs past Kanwulf, kneeling in prayer.] ¹²

[DM makes his way through forest undergrowth on foot.] ¹³ (This shot is NOT in the DVD version!)

<DM - [voice-over] Then I felt it for the first time. CUT

[DM, standing in empty camp, senses 'buzz'.]

DM - [voice-over] Another Immortal.

[Kanwulf senses 'buzz'. DM tries to figure out what he is sensing.]

DM - [voice-over] It seemed in me and around me at the same time. But I had no idea what it was.>

DM - [finds Kanwulf] You're Kanwulf.

Kanwulf - [re sword] I killed the one who held that. He fought well... for an old man.

DM - [with bravado] I'll do better. I'm his son.

Kanwulf - His son? You don't even know what you are, do you? Or what I am.

DM - [for the first time] I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. And you're dead. That's all I need to know! [attacks]

[Kanwulf blocks with his ax and the fight is on. CUT Kanwulf easily has the upper hand for the majority of the fight, until finally DM lands a lucky blow, slicing him across the abdomen.]

Kanwulf - Strike. Send me to Valhalla!

DM - I'll send you to hell! [stabs Kanwulf in the chest, leaves the Claymore there, & takes Kanwulf's ax] For you, Father.

(resume previous scene)

DM - I left him for dead and buried his ax. If there was a Valhalla, I wanted him weaponless. But I didn't take his head.

Joe - If he was Immortal, you'd have known it.

DM - Would I? Would I have recognized that feeling? Joe, I had no idea why I was still alive. I didn't know about other Immortals, or that the only way you could kill one was by taking his head.

Joe - [looks at Claymore on wall] And you left the sword.

DM - In my mother's heart, I was a MacLeod, but to the clan, I was banished.

Rachel - [enters] Father Laird asked if you wouldn't mind stopping by the church.

DM - Fine. [stands, moves past her to leave]

Rachel - [sincerely] I'm sorry.

DM - That's all right.

Rachel - No, it's not. Traveling all that way to honor one of ours. I had no right to suspect you.

DM - You were protecting your own.

Rachel - I made a fool out of myself doing it.

DM - [smiles] Not to me. [leaves]

DM - [enters, senses 'buzz'] Father Laird?

Kanwulf - [steps into view] For now.

DM - [flash of Kanwulf as a Viking] Kanwulf. The hair's different, the clothes -- but you're still inside there, aren't you?

Kanwulf - I see you're a little better dressed yourself.

DM - Since when does a Viking take the cloth?

Kanwulf - Ah, the good Father. I met him coming into town. No one had seen him yet. I'd hoped the burial records would give me a clue.

DM - For what?

Kanwulf - You ought to know, MacLeod. It was you who took it from me.

DM - All this for an ax?

Kanwulf - An ax? An ax made by the gods, MacLeod. Used by Loki and Thor themselves.

DM - You can't still believe that.

Kanwulf - [motions derisively at crucifixion statue] As much as they believe in their pale Christ. [Close on face of Christ statue. Off DM's reaction...] I thought I'd lost it forever... [holds up Norse cloak-pin] ...until this turned up in Norway. I traced it here. ¹⁴ That ax was given to me the day I became a warrior. And, by God, I was ready to dig up the whole country for it.

DM - You're really insane.

Kanwulf - Am I? Why did you bury the bracelet with the girl, MacLeod? We all have our rituals.

DM - Like the blood eagle?

Kanwulf - An offering to the gods of thunder and war. It's no coincidence that the one man who knows where the ax is came to me. And I want it! Or the offerings will continue.

DM - [grabs Kanwulf, pulls him close] I'll kill you first.

Kanwulf - We're on Holy Ground, MacLeod. You can't kill me here. [door opens, two elderly women enter] And my parishioners have arrived... to pray. And I'll be waiting for you.

[DM nods, leaves.]

Women - Good day, Father. Good day.

Kanwulf - [to DM] Bless you, my son. [escorts women to front of church]

[DM watches him. Kanwulf ushers the women into front pew, stands in front of them. ¹⁵ DM turns, leaves church. ^D]
 

Joe - This is crazy. Human sacrifice, Norse gods, Odin's ax... There ain't no such animal, Mac.

DM - He believes it. And there is an ax.

Joe - You know where it is?

DM - I've always known. It's in my father's grave, where I buried it.

Joe - So you think if you give him the ax, he disappears?

DM - It's all he wants.

Joe - So, if you believe that, you don't have to fight him. Hey, how about this time you live, he lives, and we just walk away.

DM - There are some things you can't walk away from. [opens door]

Joe - Oh, come on, Mac.

DM - He killed my father! [leaves]

[DM lifts Claymore down from display.]

Rachel - [enters] He came back from the dead to claim his father's sword. He killed the Viking and stopped the slaughter.

DM - That's a legend, Rachel.

Rachel - The bracelet? Now this? If I asked you to explain, would it make any sense? [DM gives her a long look, then turns to leave.] Duncan MacLeod. [He turns back.] Maybe some legends are true.

DM - Maybe. [leaves]

[Raven in tree caws. Kanwulf enters clearing. DM, waiting for him, holds up ax, throws it to him, picks up Claymore.]

Kanwulf - [to ax] For centuries you were lost. Now an enemy brings you to me. [to DM] You kept your word. Run away while you can.

DM - It's one thing having the ax. It's another to keep it.

<[He throws lit torch on ground, lighting ring of fire surrounding them. They face off & begin to fight -- a MUCH more even fight this time. Kanwulf eventually draws his sword & fights with both sword and ax. DM knocks Kanwulf down.] CUT

DM - [as Kanwulf throws handful of dirt in his eyes] Ah! [Kanwulf charges him. Ax and Claymore both connect with flesh.]

Kanwulf - [injured] I'm ready.

DM - [injured] So am I.

[Both charge, yelling. Ax & Claymore connect. The Claymore chops through the ax's handle, breaking it & beheading Kanwulf. The circle of flames goes out.> DM takes Kanwulf's Quickening beneath a HUGE full moon. Quickening ends. Raven flies off, cawing.]

DM - Now it's finished, Father. [looks up, closes his eyes] Now it's finished. ^E
 

[Camera ^F pans over Rachel asleep on padded booth seat. DM enters. She wakes up as he approaches.]

DM - It's over. [puts Claymore back]

Rachel - I knew you'd be back. The legend. That seems to belong in your hand.

DM - No. It belongs in Glenfinnan. This is its home.

Rachel - [kisses his cheek] Yours, too, Duncan MacLeod. [He smiles, leaves.]

[Rachel watches DM walk down road, his pack over his shoulder, the cloth-wrapped katana in place. He turns, looks back, smiles, continues walking.]

Joe - [as DM joins him] Hey, Mac. [Close on top of monument. ¹⁶ Joe & DM look at monument.] The Highlander.

DM - Hm.

Joe - Think they had you in mind when they put it up?

DM - Probably not.

[Aerial shot of DM performing kata.]

Joe - [voice-over] Look, why don't you stay, MacLeod?

DM - [voice-over] There are too many questions left unanswered. It's better just to disappear.

Joe - [voice-over] Yeah. I guess that's what legends are supposed to do.

[Laura Creamer - "Bonny Portmore"