A/N: I previously mentioned that the events in the Highlander: The Source movie don't apply to this story but neither do Highlander: The Endgame or the last season or so of the series. I needed to use some characters that would otherwise be impossible if I were to follow those story lines completely.

Whoever was executing these Immortals was strong, smart, and a strategic warrior, and if Duncan didn't stop them than he knew it would only be a matter of time before this Immortal came looking for him. They had already killed Methos.

Then again, who could blame them, the highlander joked to himself as he remembered his strained relationship with the original immortal. It was hard to believe that he was gone forever, having lived so many lifetimes in only one sitting. Still, if Methos' head could be taken, then so could Duncan's and the scot just couldn't let that be. He liked his head exactly where it was.

Duncan still had some contacts in California, and he had decided to collect some favors while he was here. He wanted to gather as much information as he could, and look in on some old friends who had probably long forgotten about him.

Henry and Paige walked to the car, and Henry helped his very pregnant wife into her seat. They had recently traded her car in for an SUV since they couldn't very well fit two newborn babies in it. The two were coming from her bi-monthly doctor's appointment and Henry would be taking her out for lunch before returning to his office.

Lately, the mortal had been looking into his past; trying to find out where he came from and whether or not he had someone out there to call family. He hadn't realized how badly he had missed having family in his life until he met Paige, and Henry wanted to know where he came from so that one day he could tell his daughters where they came from.

Sitting through lunch, listening to Paige rambling on, Henry was brought back by the sound of his wife saying, "So, I was thinking that maybe you wanted to pick out middle names for Priscilla and Peyton."

"Seriously, you trust me enough to do that," Henry joked. The two had been bickering for weeks about what needed to get done for the twins' arrival, what Henry was capable of doing, and what should be left for Leo to help them with.

"Oh, shush! Leo used to be a handy man and he's had two kids for Christ's sake. The man knows what he's doing. Besides, I thought it would be nice but if you don't want to…"

"I didn't say that," he laughed and reached for her hand.

Paige took a sip of her smoothie and squeezed his hand. There was no need for words between the two. The eyes said it all.

Piper met Leo at the building they had recently purchased. Stepping inside, Piper was in awe of what she saw, not paying attention to the paint cans and trays scattered about the place. She saw light fluttering through open windows and dust rising like ghosts disturbed by new lives taking residence in their homes. New Life; Piper held a hand to her abdomen.

Stepping over tarps and paint brushes, Piper walked up to her husband and hugged him from behind. "Thank you," she whispered.

Leo laughed. "You're welcome," he said and turned to face her. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," Piper told him. "I think the morning sickness has officially passed. Little Prudence is taking it easy on Mommy. A lot easier than Chris or Wyatt ever was. I hope that's a good sign," she said as an afterthought.

"Well, we can hope," the blond joked. "But considering Wyatt is Twice blessed and Chris traveled across time to save the world I think we can expect great things from her. Especially if she take's after her namesake," Leo said.

Piper sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "I would like that but I kind of think Chris is a lot like her too. Wyatt is a bigger mixture out of Paige and Phoebe."

"Powerful but a little ditzy," Leo joked. "Owe," he laughed when Piper smacked him. "I'm kidding!"

"That's our son," Piper defended. "He's got to be a little better than those two," she said.

"Don't worry. They grew out of it," Leo told her.

"Oh, God," Piper groaned. "That took forever!"

Leo kissed his wife. "Don't worry. We have a couple of decades before we have to be concerned, anyway."

Duncan entered an antiques shop and looked around. Stepping up to look at an original fresco, he was held by a quiet contemplation of the piece when he felt a hand slap across his back and turned to see his old friend, Richie.

"Mac! What are you doing here, ol' buddy?"

"Ah, Richie!" They embraced in a man hug, clapping each other on the back before letting go. "It's been too long, old friend. It's been over a decade since you made the move back to the states."

"Yeah," Richie said and grinned from ear to ear. "I'm really glad to see you, Mac. What brings you?"

It had been eleven years since Richie moved here to start his own antique shop. That's what most of the immortals in his life did. First Conner, then Mac. It was how they were able to keep their most beloved mementos out in public without the fear of someone discovering what they really were.

It was easy for Richie. At least so far. He had only been dead for a little more than a decade. He filled his time with taking courses at the local community college, well, auditing them. It was far cheaper and he didn't have to take tests or do assignments. Richie learned for two reasons; desire and power. Besides, he had an active social life and for long periods of a time was able to forget that he was immortal; that eternity looked just like every other day.

Richie had chosen San Francisco for the atmosphere. The women didn't hurt anyway.

"California is a large place," Mac said, glancing around. "Can we talk in private?"

"Uh, sure. Let's go in my office," he said, leading the way. "Andrea, can you handle the floor? If anyone asks I'm in a meeting," Richie told her.

The brunette nodded from her desk and she got back to filing the latest insurance policy claims they had filled out for the new acquisitions.

The door closed and Richie went to his bar, pouring drinks for both of them. "This have to do with the murders in L.A?"

"Do you know something about them," MacLeod asked. "Who it is who is hunting all of those immortals?"

Richie sat on the edge of his desk. "It's more like the other way around," he told his mentor. "I've only run into a few immortals over the years. Most of the time we feel each other and stay to ourselves, you know, trying to keep ourselves alive. Lately though, it's like our numbers have sky rocketed."

"You mean, the immortals are coming here? Like they're the ones doing the hunting and…"

"…and the killer is the one being hunted," Richie said. "I've talked to a few 'friends' and we've each talked. Some of them think they've been in close contact with the killer, but they've walked away uninjured. We think, because they didn't pursue him or her, that the killer is only killing other immortals in self-defense."

"But why would masses of immortals come after one in particular, all at the same time?"

Richie shrugged. "I don't know, but as long as they're leaving the rest of us alone we've all decided not to go after them. If they can handle the attacks on their own then it means less immortals that will come after us. More and more of our kind are choosing not to play the game unless it's completely necessary."

"I'm afraid it has become necessary," Duncan said. "Methos was killed," he told his friend.

Phoebe sauntered into the manner. "Piper! Leo!" Wandering through the dining room into the kitchen, she found her sister sitting at a table looking at different samples for tile, rugs, and paint colors.

"Hey," Piper said. "What are you doing here? I thought you were meeting Billy for lunch."

It had only been three years since the Charmed ones had faced the so called 'ultimate power' and put an end to the Triad. Since then, the sisters had slowly invited Billy back into their lives. It had been difficult, after such a large betrayal, but their young novice had begun to make amends and the past was fading as the future took prominence.

"She had to cancel," Phoebe explained. "Something came up and she said something about visiting L.A for a little while."

"Well, she had better get home soon," Piper said. "We still have Paige's baby shower to plan. We can have it at the restaurant, before we open to the public and of course I'll make the food and cake."

"Will it be ready in time?"

"Yeah," Piper told her. "I just have to pick out the finishing touches for my office and all of the furniture and supplies should be delivered within the next two weeks. I am thinking of picking up a partner, though. I still have to think about the club and who is going to manage that."

"Well, honey, haven't you thought that maybe Paige could come on as a partner? In the club, I mean. We never added her on to the house, and you and I co-own the club because of the second mortgage. She would have to buy in but we can take it out of her share of the profits rather than have her pay up front."

"Aly could manage the club until after the twins are born and Paige is great at office work," Piper said. "She can handle ordering supplies and pay roll. Maybe she can even get a website up and running."

"Paige would be great at that. What about Billy? She needs a job while she's finishing school. Has she talked to you about her plans for continuing her education?"

"No, she hasn't," Piper said. "I'll talk to her when she comes back. Did you make the guest list for the baby shower?"

Phoebe grimaced.

"Phoebe!"

Billy appeared in an alleyway from thin air. She had been tracing the steps of the latest supernatural being that had been making waves. Decapitations had been occurring regularly for the past few months and the police had no leads on the assailant.

The only reason Billy could tell that magic was involved was by the only clue in the entire case. A sword had been left at the scene of one of the murders, only to be stolen from evidence days later with no physical evidence to suggest who had come back for the murder weapon. A French, silver sword with Mother of Pearl Courtsword épée marked "Coulaux aîné & Cie" dating it to 1840.

Billy's research had turned up similar murders across the nation spanning the past two centuries. Her biggest find, a case from 1985 in New York, where the main suspect Russell Nash had disappeared into thin air.

He abandoned his antique shop after an explosion had taken it, though he had insurance for it, and her hacking had lead her to a series of birth certificates and property deeds that were attached to deceased infants who would be unable to inherit the building as documented. Still, dozens of similar murders happening in multiple locations at the same time as well as across the centuries lead to only one thing. A demon.

Billy was visiting the most recent scene and was focusing on returning to the night of the murder. The only thing she had discovered the connected the victims was a commonality with Russell Nash. They didn't really exist. All had assumed identities other than their own. All were a mystery waiting to be solved.

The air around her became charged as her breathing stilled. She focused. Time melted away and she was the only thing that stayed the same as the rest of the world changed. It was the early morning and Billy heard the clanging of metal, scraping against the street and she hid behind a car; waiting to see what had brought her here.

Peering out from behind the car, she caught a glimpse of two figures. One pure masculinity, the other surprisingly female. The sword from the crime scene photos swung and Billy saw a head roll down the alley. Gasping, she covered her mouth and looked back to try and see if she could identify the woman. Turn, she thought to herself and suddenly the woman did. She turned to look right at Billy, and before she could get a handle on it Billy found herself being forcibly moved back to her own time.

"Huh," she expelled the breath that was trying to strangle her. Taking a potion out of her jacket, Billy threw it to the ground and vanished in a haze of smoke.