Friends and Heroes - 3 ª Season

Macky and Portia finally arrive in Rome, but under very different conditions: Portia is welcomed as the privileged niece of Rome's new prefect of police, Tiberius, while Macky has arrived in chains... and that's just the beginning of his problems. Roman officials have decided that the trial he was supposed to get isn't really necessary, and Macky has been sold to a school for gladiators. There, he meets Aemelia, the school's owner and a former warrior herself, and Babatunji, the chief trainer. Together they impress on Macky that the only way out is to kill or be killed. Macky soon makes friends with Absolom, a Jewish trainee who seems to accept his unjust lot with little more than a shrug. Macky tells him the story of Amos speaking out about an unjust king, but Absolom remains unconvinced. Soon, hope arrives in the form of Luciana, a mysterious and apparently influential older woman who convinces Aemelia to arrange an obstacle course contest between Macky and another prisoner at the school: Toadie. The prize? Freedom. Macky soon finds that his side of the course is booby-trapped, but despite this, he wins - or so he thinks, until Luciana prevails on her Senator friend, Marcus, to say that the winner is Toadie - who turns out to be Luciana's son! Despite the unfairness of the decision, Macky's faith is unshaken. He tells Absolom the story of John, who spoke out against corruption, but then recalls that John was eventually beheaded...

When Macky attempts to escape from gladiator school, he is sentenced to death, but a friend's determination and help from an unexpected person saves Macky's life at the last moment.

Macky finds that being Antonius's slave isn't terribly burdensome. All he has to do is serve the occasional meal and keep an eye on Antonius's young daughter and son - Sophia and Felix - a task made easy because both kids enjoy Macky's stories, particularly, on one stormy night, the tale of Jesus calming the storm. To Macky, Antonius is a secretive, enigmatic figure, who keeps very odd hours. Curious, Macky soon finds out why: at night, Antonius dons a mask and goes out and rescues Friends of Jesus who are in jeopardy. Macky is shocked at first, but soon decides that he'd like to help Antonius. Antonius, of course, is surprised that Macky has learned his secret, but he's adamant in his refusal to let Macky help him. Trying to soften Antonius's attitude, Macky reminds him of the trust between David and Jonathan, and how Jonathan even went against his own father to save David's life. But Antonius remains unconvinced - until he walks into a trap set by Brutacus - and only Macky can save him. Soon, the mysterious Masked Rebel has a daring young partner.

Toadie has a new job: he's managing a gladiator, but there are already problems. The gladiator's first opponent is Macky's friend Absolom, who has become a formidable fighter. So Toadie decides to skew the odds by adding a potion to Absolom's pre-fight dinner. Macky has already tried to get Babatunji to free his friend, but his pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Even when Macky tells Babatunji the story of David bringing his friend Jonathan's son to him, Babatunji's only response is that his only friend is his sword. But Babatunji soon discovers that Absolom has been drugged and he goes to Antonius to stop the match. But Antonius declines to help. Officially, that is. Unbeknownst to Babatunji, Antonius and Macky immediately go to work formulating a plan to rescue the still-drugged Absolom from the arena. As the giant arena looms before them in the darkness, Macky briefly despairs that their little movement will never catch hold here in Rome; Antonius counters by telling him the story Jesus told about sowing seeds. Sneaking inside the arena to rescue Absolom, Macky and Antonius must get past a hungry lion, and then, after finding Absolom, get around a no-less-dangerous Babatunji. At the last minute, Babatunji recalls the story about David and Jonathan's son... and lets Absolom escape. As the three leave the arena, they pass the huge foundation of the Coliseum - a site for still more mindless Roman violence, Macky believes. But Antonius tells him the story Jesus told about the houses built on different foundations, and Macky realizes that the foundation isn't really as strong as it seems.

Marcus has a mysterious plan in the works, and he's enlisted Toadie to help him. By accident, Portia sees some evidence of the plot, but she still has no idea of the specifics. Meanwhile, Macky is overburdened as he clandestinely plays host to several refugees. With his patience at an end, he complains to Antonius, and Antonius tells him of Abraham's hospitality to the three strangers, and how one of them told him that Sarah would soon be having a baby. Later, when Macky expresses frustration with the Romans, Antonius tells him how Jesus visited Zacchaeus and how Zacchaeus soon changed his ways. Warned by Portia that Toadie is up to something unsavoury, Macky initially hides his interest from Portia, but then, in costume, he sets out to see what Toadie is up to. At a warehouse, Macky runs into Portia, who has been doing detective work on her own, and she now realizes that Macky is in league with the mysterious Masked Rebel. But before she can say much about that, she and Macky overhear Marcus, a rabid opponent of the Friends of Jesus, tell a confederate that his plan involves killing several Senators when they gather in their communal bath. Marcus intends to blame the deaths on the Friends of Jesus. Macky is shocked by the brutality of the plan, but before he can get away, Portia looks inside one of the mysterious barrels in the warehouse. It's filled with the poisonous snakes that Marcus intends for the Senators. And, as one starts to bite her, Macky pushes her away... and is bitten himself!