The Last Legion

Demetrius:
You kept your armor after all these years?

Tertius:
Ten years as a farmer gives you something worth fighting for. Twenty as a legionary teaches you to be ready for the day.

Demetrius:
Good man.

[on the morning of the battle]

Aurelius:
If we don't live to see tomorrow...

Mira:
Nothing will ever part us.

Aurelius:
My friends, we've all seen many mornings like this one. Together we've watched the sun rise, and not known if that day would be our last. Some comrades I've seen, scarcely out of boyhood, trembling before their first battle.

Demetrius:
It was a cold morning, Commander.

Aurelius:
That it was, Demetrius. And you men of the Ninth Legion, all of us, together we have fought all our lives for the Empire our ancestors created, and together we have watched that Empire crumble to dust. And with its fall we have lost two friends. I can tell you that in the darkest moments, I came to believe that there was nothing left to fight for. But I've been shown, through the wisdom of others, that there is one more battle to be waged, against tyranny and the slaughter of innocents. Let us defend to the last breath this island of Brittania, against those who would tear out its heart and soul! And then those who come after us l remember that there was such a thing as a Roman soldier, with a Roman sword, and a Roman heart!

[draws sword]

Aurelius:
Hail, Caesar!

All:
Hail, Caesar!

Orestes:
I've promised you nothing beyond what you were already given.

Odoacer:
You've grown so tall, Orestes. You forget on whose shoulders you stand.

Aurelius:
Who are you?

Ambrosinus:
One who knows humiliation to be a poor teacher, of both men and boys.

Aurelius:
I smell a philosopher.

Romulus Augustus:
Mother, am I now the most powerful man in the world?

Flavia:
Of course you are.

Romulus Augustus:
Then why can't I stay out tonight?

[Romulus is brought in chains before Odoacer]

Odoacer:
Is it for you that so many people have died? Such an innocent face.

Wulfila:
The blood of the Caesars runs in his veins.

Odoacer:
Lord Wulfila here thinks I should fear you. Is this true?

Wulfila:
He is the last of the bloodline! End it now! Old Rome will die, and we will rule!

Odoacer:
"We?" *We* rule? Take care, Wulfila. Sometimes your tongue runs ahead of your brain.

Odoacer:
[draws his sword] What do you say, boy? Should I be afraid of you?

Romulus Augustus:
Why is Caesar treated so?

Odoacer:
"Why is Caesar treated so?"

[Odoacer seizes Romulus by the hair and holds up the sword so that his face is reflected in it]

Odoacer:
Perhaps Wulfila's right. Perhaps I should end this here, right now. Can you see yourself? Can you see your face? What do you see? You see a boy... or do you see a Caesar?

Romulus Augustus:
I see...

Odoacer:
Tell me.

Romulus Augustus:
I see a Caesar. I *am* Caesar.

[pause]

Odoacer:
Wrong answer.

[looking at the summit of Capri]

Aurelius:
How long is it to climb to the top?

Batiatus:
An hour. Faster coming down.

[Aurelius and Mira escape the Goths by leaping off the cliff into the ocean]

Aurelius:
You were right, Batiatus. It is quicker on the way down.

Aurelius:
[sees Mira behind him] I told you to stay on the boat.

Mira:
You will need my help.

[She climbs up closer, and freezes when he puts his sword to her throat]

Aurelius:
You know what happens to a soldier of mine who disobeys an order?

Mira:
[pushes the blade aside] Your men are too slow.

[after Wulfila kills Orestes]

Hrothgar:
Odoacer wants the boy alive!

Wulfila:
I'll do my best.

Young Arthur:
Merlin, it's just a legend, just a story.

Ambrosinus:
Arthur, Arthur, Arthur... have I ever lied to you?

Young Arthur:
Every day.

Young Arthur:
Is that where the last legion made their stand?

Ambrosinus:
Of course. Just like in the story.

Young Arthur:
With you as the hero.

Ambrosinus:
Of course. We need heroes, don't we?

[as the army leaves the village, Ygraine holds out a suit of armor to Romulus]

Ygraine:
It was made for my brother.

Romulus Augustus:
Doesn't he need it?

[a tall, strapping teenager pats Ygraine as he walks past]

Ygraine:
[smiles] He's grown since then.