It had begun as a normal day. At least as normal as a day could be, when you had suddenly been whisked off to Paris with your unofficial foster mother, to stay in a church with an immortal who had renounced violence, while waiting to hear the results of a fight to the death between your unofficial foster father and a evil immortal who was almost 1,000 years older. Yeah, maybe forget the normal part. Richie sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He was worried about Mac. Mac had been nervous and scared when they had been on the island training, and Mac was NEVER scared. Richie sighed again, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Maybe a talk with Darius would take his mind off of things. Darius was bound to have some interesting stories, maybe even a few things that he could use to blackmail Mac when he got here. Now THAT was a thought…. Richie smiled and wondered off to find Darius.

Richie had been right. Darius had LOTS of stories about Mac. Then IT happened. Darius had been in the middle of telling the story how he and Duncan had met, on a battlefield in France. Then suddenly Darius paused, looking unfocused and his eyes unconsciously searched the area around him, looking for something. Or someone. Richie froze as he recognized that look. He had seen it on Mac's face a thousand times. That look he got whenever there was another immortal was around. So this was it. Standing somewhere outside the church was either Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod, or Grayson. Richie's stomach rose up to greet his throat. He exchanged a look Darius. They both knew what could possibly happen here.

"Stay here lad." Darius cautioned him gently. "I don't know…" Darius trailed off, unwilling to even voice the very real possibility that Mac might be dead, and it was Grayson outside those doors. Richie swallowed hard as he watched Darius move towards the door, hesitate for a moment, then take a deep breath and step outside. Richie stayed planted where he was, waiting for Darius to come back in and tell him it was alright, to come in with Mac behind him. And he waited. Darius didn't reappear.

"TESSA! TESSA! Open the door!" Richie pounded on Tessa's door within the church.

"What is it Richie?" Tessa asked, slightly annoyed at Richie for banging so rudely on her door. Then she saw his face. "Is it..?" Tessa trailed off, unable to ask the question.

"I don't know. Darius … sensed someone and went outside. He didn't come back in.

"Well come on! What are we waiting for?" Tessa rushed past Richie, through the church towards the front door of the church. Richie right behind her. They reached the front doors together, and hesitated.

"What if it's…. Grayson?" Richie found himself asking, finally putting his fears into words. Tessa stood and faced him for a moment.

"I have to know." She finally said, and opened the church door.

Tessa stepped outside the church, and Richie followed her. When he did, his heart sunk. Standing there in front of him was a very distraught Darius, and a contemplative Grayson, holding that o so familiar katana.

"He died well, you should know that." Grayson was saying as he turned the sword over in his hands, seeming to study it. "Given a few more centuries, he may have even beaten me." With this Grayson turned the sword one more time then tossed it over the church fence and it buried itself in the grass a few feet from Darius. Darius stared at it, unable to take his eyes off it, unable to believe that Duncan MacLeod was truly dead. Grayson smiled then, as he noticed Tessa and Richie standing horror struck at the entrance way to the church. "Ah, Miss. Noel. It seems I did not have to bargain with MacLeod after all. As for you," he said as his attention focused on Richie, "I suppose that I'll see you again someday." With that he said to Darius "I wish you better luck in stopping me next time Darius" and walked away.