|
ACT TWO
25. INT. HUT - DAY
FADE IN:
Li Ching reaches out a frail and knobby hand and grasps Gabrielle firmly by the wrist. With an assertiveness in his action that is both stern and reassuring, he draws her back into her seat.
LI CHING
(his voice is calm and compassionate - his speech is slow and deliberate)
Do not be afraid for your friend, my child.
(beat)
Sit for we must discuss how to make things right so that your friend may find her way to the world she was prepared to leave for a troubled young friend...
Gabrielle, hesitantly returns to her seat, her eyes searching the old man’s wrinkled face for answers.
GABRIELLE
(hope evident in her voice)
Find her way to the world… You mean… there is a way that we can bring Xena back?
Li Ching nods and raises a finger.
LI CHING
Justice and honor, in your friend's case, go hand in hand. But to bring about that which is fair to all souls involved in this fragile thread, you must return to Japa.
GABRIELLE
(a sickly look on her face)
Japa? You mean, Higuchi?
LI CHING
(nods)
If this is where your friend's troubles began, and ended, then this is where you must go. Seek out the Kannushi. They are honorable men. They see the justice and injustice. They see the honor and dishonor. They can help you and your friend.
GABRIELLE
(sounding confused)
The Kannushi? Who are they? Where can I find them? How will they be able to help us?
Li Ching takes Gabrielle's hand and presses it within his own. Gabrielle looks down at her hand enclosed in the leathery ones of the old man’s.
LI CHING
They are holy men, educated in many ways to understand the many forces existing in the hidden world and the world in which we dwell. They understand the evil within men's hearts and how it can be confronted.
(pause)
You will recognize them. Many holy men walk among the people in the villages... Find any monk, and he will be able to guide you to the sacred temple. You must speak with them of the injustices that have been transgressed and the honorable deed of your friend. There is a ceremony they can perform, that with the aid of the deities, can set all things right.
(while rising)
Now you must go. For time is short.
Gabrielle stands and gathers her things. Li Ching leads her to the door.
GABRIELLE
How much time do I have?
LI CHING
Before the moon is a crescent in the heavens, the deed must be completed.
CUT TO:
26. - EXT. OUTSIDE HUT- DAY
Gabrielle throws the backpack holding Xena's urn over her shoulder. She embraces the old man, then walks with him to the door. She carefully steps down from the rickety porch and heads back to the road that leads back to the seaport.
Gabrielle speaks out loud to herself and hoping that Xena might be able to hear her.
GABRIELLE
I know you're upset with me, Xena, but if you can hear me… I just want you to know I'm doing this for your own good.
FADE OUT:
27. UNKNOWN WORLD - DARKNESS
FADE IN:
Xena calls out in a confused voice to the fading images before her.
XENA
Gabrielle?!?
Both Gabrielle and Li Ching seem to melt away into nothingness. Gabrielle’s voice ricochets off invisible walls until it too fades into silence.
The expression on Gabrielle’s face said it all. Gabrielle was concerned and more than anything, afraid she’d never see Xena again. The sound of panic in her voice as she cried out Xena’s name only reinforced the warrior’s belief that Gabrielle now felt totally alone.
Xena is afraid to blink for fear that if she dares, Gabrielle will be gone and there will be nothing. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Darkness engulfs her and she feels herself being pulled away. She struggles to remain with her beloved friend, but the powers summoning her are far stronger.
The all encompassing blackness seems to last an eternity. She blinks several times in hopes the darkness will turn to light, but to no avail. Then, as if from nowhere and everywhere, the warrior catches quick streams of moving light. They approach her and then quickly speed away before she can touch them or take a closer look at them.
Oddly enough, as the thin streaks of multicolored lights brush past her, just barely touching her, the warrior hears sounds in the stillness. Voices that are indistinguishable ... the sound of metal clashing against metal... sobbing and screams... explosions louder than the loudest thunder in an open field nearly deafen her ...
But before she can cup her hands over her ears... silence and blackness once again are her only companions. It is oppressive and overbearing. Her thoughts tumble and collide against memories and visions that collapse around her, and through it all, she tries desperately to return to Gabrielle, but instead, feels herself drawn deeper and deeper into the dark abyss.
A breeze sifts through the darkness, moving her dark tresses ever so slightly. Her vision begins to clear. But now, instead of darkness, she is cast into a world of gray mist that swirls and twirls as she continues to move effortlessly through it.
Her surroundings brighten until finally, the mist dissipates.
DISSOLVE TO:
28. INT. BATHHOUSE - DAY
Xena slowly steps out of the mist and finds herself in the familiar surroundings of an oriental bathhouse. Light vapors of steam rise dreamily from the intense warmth of the hot tub with its scented petals of jasmine floating on top.
A dark haired figure, clad in a white silken robe, kneels in meditation with its back to the warrior princess, apparently oblivious to Xena’s arrival.
Xena hesitantly approaches the figure.
XENA
Akemi?
The figure slowly turns and gracefully rises to her feet, all the while keeping her head slightly bowed, preventing the warrior from seeing the face of the woman who stands before her. Yet there is something familiar about the way she carries herself, her demeanor as she stands there. This is not Akemi, but a taller, older woman.
FIGURE
(raises her head slowly and smiles at Xena)
It has been a long time, my warrior Princess. And a pity that we should meet under such dire circumstances.
XENA
(stunned)
Lao Ma!?
Lao Ma approaches the surprised warrior, smiling affectionately, arms outstretched, eager to take Xena into her embrace.
Xena and Lao Ma embrace. They release one another and Lao Ma places her hands on each of the warrior’s shoulders and allows them to rest there for a moment as she eyes the tall woman who stands before her. Slowly she allows her hands to slide down Xena’s arms until she holds both of Xena’s strong hands in her own.
Xena's eyes look into those of Lao Ma.
XENA
Yes… it has been a very long time… and in all honesty... you were the last person I thought I’d see...
The warrior gazes about the room, still holding Lao Ma’s hands.
XENA
(continued)
Where are we? How’d we get here?
(beat)
This place reminds me of your palace in Chin... But it can’t be...
Lao Ma laughs and still holding one of Xena's hands, leads her to the steaming bath.
LAO MA
Many things are possible in the afterlife... we can be as we once were... We can create a time and place where we were once happy... and this is where I was happiest in my life...
(beat)
How you come to be here is simple. I have summoned you. However, our visit shall be brief and there is much for us to discuss before our ways once again must part.
Xena stares down at their clasped hands, then glances back up to Lao Ma, a look of concern on her face.
XENA
So, tell me. What do you need to talk to me about, old friend?
Lao Ma takes a seat on the teak bench alongside the steaming tub and pats a space beside her, beckoning Xena to sit. She smiles as Xena complies, and she puts a hand on Xena’s cheek, where it rests for a few moments.
LAO MA
I remember a warrior princess... wise in the ways of war... stubborn... honorable... loving, when she would allow herself to love... distrustful... and very bitter... angry… sometimes even cruel...
(beat)
She was also one of my best pupils... and a great deal more...
Xena looks up into Lao Ma’s gentle eyes. She doesn’t speak. She only smiles at the long forgotten memories.
LAO MA
(continued)
In the years that have passed, I see that warrior is still as proud, still as stubborn and still as honorable... but in many ways she has softened... but the vices that made her what she was... dark and brooding, are still a part of her.
XENA
(smiles crookedly)
Some habits are just hard to break.
Lao Ma squeezes Xena’s hands in her own and nods knowingly.
LAO MA
I have summoned you here, Xena, because there is still much you must come to understand about yourself in order to fulfill your destiny...
Xena looks up into Lao Ma’s serene face, a questioning look etched upon her own.
XENA
How can I possibly have a destiny Lao Ma, when my life, as I knew it, is gone?
Xena’s eyes turn away from the warmth of Lao Ma’s gaze. Lao Ma smiles and takes Xena's chin in her hand, and turns the warrior's face until they can see eye to eye.
LAO MA
Our lives are made of many threads, Xena. Crafted on a loom of destiny. One thread touches another intertwining until in the end there is a whole and the fabric is complete.
(beat)
You must ask yourself if the whole is complete... not only for yourself, but for those whose lives you have touched.
Xena stands, turns her back to Lao Ma and takes several steps away. Her eyes lower to her clenching hands as she recalls her past.
XENA
Yeah. Lives I’ve touched...
(pause)
Lyceus... dead because of me... M’Lila... dead because of me... Nicklio... beaten nearly to death because of me... Borias... dead because of me... My only son, Solan... dead because of me... Ming T’ien turned out the way he did... because of my actions against an innocent child...
(beat)
And forty thousand innocent people died and suffered in the afterlife... because of me...
Lao Ma rises from the bench and approaches the warrior. She places her hands lovingly on the warrior’s shoulders. Her face displays the compassion of a knowing teacher.
LAO MA
See... in many ways you are still the same warrior... carrying the baggage of misplaced guilt... Tell me Xena, have you ever stopped to think of the good you have done in your lifetime and beyond?
Xena turns to Lao Ma looking a little angry.
XENA
The GOOD! What little good I may have accomplished will never make up for all the grief, the deaths and anger I’ve caused! I’ll be paying for my deeds for a thousand lifetimes...
Lao Ma takes Xena by the hand and leads her back to the steaming tub. They sit.
LAO MA
If we are to believe that redemption was based upon the deeds we have performed in our lifetime, then you, my warrior, would have been redeemed a thousand times, through a thousand life-times yet to come.
Lao Ma turns to the steaming hot tub and waves a hand over the water.
FADE TO:
The steam and vapors over the water dissipate and images begin to appear.
LAO MA
(voice over)
Those were deeds you performed for friends and strangers alike... Now see what you have done for your beloved Gabrielle.
Again, the steam and vapors over the water dissipate and images begin to appear.
LAO MA
(voice over)
You allowed Gabrielle to join you at the campfire that first night. You took her under your wing, and taught her the rules of survival. Encouraged her to attend the bardic contest in Athens. You also taught her fighting skills and the use of strategy
You saved her life. More than once. Being selfless enough to let her go, free to marry Perdicus. Trusting her to lead the Greek defense against the Romans. Trusting her actions in putting out the fire in Higuchi.
CUT TO:
Xena watches the unfurling events of the past, her eyes brim with tears as she remembers all the good times they have shared during their travels together. She reaches out to the images in the water.
XENA
(whispers)
Gabrielle…
Lao Ma places a hand tenderly on Xena's cheek and wipes away the tear that falls.
LAO MA
Seeing what has been, can you honestly say that the whole is complete? Remember Xena, the first step to redemption and the fulfillment of our destinies...
(beat)
...is forgiveness. And the biggest challenge we each face in order to move on, is the forgiveness of one’s self.
(beat)
You have yet to forgive yourself for the path you chose... and the deeds that followed.
XENA
(heatedly)
There's no turning back for me at this point, Loa Ma.
Xena stands, turns on her heel and takes several angry steps away.
XENA
(continued)
Even if I could, I wouldn't. What I did was wrong! And because of me thousands of people died and suffered at the will of a madman turned demon.
Lao Ma rises and stands firmly behind Xena.
LAO MA
And you are to blame because?
Xena turns sharply to Lao Ma, guilt and anger evident on her face and in her voice.
XENA
Because I taught Akemi what she had no right to know. Because I betrayed a sacred trust by being foolish enough to trust someone without really knowing her... Because I should have known better and didn’t... and because of my actions a man, regardless of being a monster, was killed.
LAO MA
(questioningly)
So… guilt has made you feel responsible?
XENA
(angrily)
No. Guilt has made me accept the responsibility and the consequences of my actions!
Lao Ma turns away slowly as if contemplating Xena's words.
LAO MA
Guilt. Acceptance. Responsibility. A three pronged trident... very sharp... but like the trident... there are spaces between each... and like the spaces between each prong... the space must be filled. It matters not whether the space is filled with that which cannot be seen, or with that which can be seen. Either way, the space is filled. The question is, Xena.
(turns to Xena)
For you... what fills those spaces?
(she smiles)
I will leave you now to ponder this puzzlement... but I will return so we may continue our talk.
On those words, Lao Ma turns slowly away from Xena, her white robes flowing with a cool breeze that suddenly fills the chamber. And within moments, Lao Ma fades into nothingness, leaving Xena alone with her thoughts.
FADE OUT:
END ACT TWO
ACT THREE
|
