“Adventures in the Sin Trade” Episode 401/69
[TEASER]
X: “Yah!”
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Hades: “Tartarus. Elysian Fields. Tartarus. Elysian Fields.”
X [Interrupting]: “Hades! My friend, Gabrielle-- where is she?”
Hades: “Gabrielle, well-- if she’s dead-- she didn’t come to me.”
X: “I _saw_ her die. She _had_ to come to you.”
Hades: “Why would I lie to ya? Look-- if you’d like to see Solon, I could arrange a few moments with-- ”
X [Interrupting]: “No, no, no-- you leave Solon out of this. He doesn’t need to know about my problems. It’s Gabrielle I wanna see. Come on. You owe me.”
Hades: “Xena, not all the world’s dead come to me.”
X: “She was Greek. The Olympian gods control her destiny.”
Hades: “Yeah, I admit, it does seem like she’d be mine-- like these people. Charon and I are gonna be very, very busy.”
X [Interrupting]: “I’m not interested in your workload, Hades! Look-- I just wanna know where my friend went after she died.”
Hades: “Did she, uh-- belong to any spiritual orders, or-- ”
X: “No.”
Hades: “What is it?”
X: “Do Greek Amazons come to you?”
Hades: “No.”
X: “Then that’s it. Gabrielle’s initiation into the Amazons meant she went to a different land of the dead.”
Hades: “Well, I can’t help you then. I don’t know where that is!”
X: “I do.”
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X: “Sorry, girl. I can’t take you where I’m going. Yah!”
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X: “Yah! Yah! Yahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
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[ACT I]
G’s Voice: “Xena. Xena.”
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G’s Voice: “Xena.”
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G’s Voice: “Xena. Xena.”
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X [Thinking]: “Gabrielle-- I’m entering a world of darkness I promised myself I’d never return to. But it’s the only way I can see you again.”
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X [Thinking]: “My mind has lost its center. It’s turning-- turning-- can’t hold.”
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X [Thinking]: “It can’t hold.”
G’s Voice: “Xena-- ”
X [Thinking]: “I hear you-- or is it the wind? As I travel along paths I left long ago-- I’m engulfed by my memories. They consume me.”
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[The Past]
Borias [Bor] and X: “Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh!”
Bor: “Ay!”
X: “What?”
Bor: “What would you do-- if I told you-- I’m in love?”
X: “I’d cut out your sweetheart’s throat.”
Bor: [Laughs]
X: “You think I wouldn’t?”
Bor: “No. I mean, I’m in love with you.”
X: “With me? Have you lost what’s left of your mind? People like you and me don’t fall in love-- not with each other, anyway. [Sighs] Where do we go from here? I say we take on the Amazons.”
Bor: “They’re a tough bunch-- but reasonable, I think. I say we offer to ally with them against their traditional enemies, the Centaurs. With the Centaurs out of the way-- nothing stands between us and Greece.”
X: “You and your alliances-- didn’t do us much good in Ch’in.”
Bor: “We did all right in Ch’in. We would have done better if it wasn’t for your unquenchable lust for power.”
X: “I thought you liked my unquenchable lust.”
Bor: “Well-- it does have its good points.”
Man’s Voice: “Borias!”
Bor: “What?!”
Man: “We caught these two lurking in the camp. The hag says she’s a Shamaness-- claims she can-- help us beat the Amazons.”
X: “How can you do that?”
Alti: “I was once an Amazon, myself. But they expelled me from their number because my power was too great. I am Alti-- and this is my apprentice-- Anokin. Congratulations.”
X: “What?”
Anokin: “Hmm.”
Alti: “You are with child.”
Bor: [Laughs]
X: “Very good. I haven’t told anyone that yet.”
Bor: “What?”
Anokin: “Hmm.”
X: “I would have gotten around to it. Go.”
Bor: “Xena, what are you doing? A Shamaness like her can only be trouble.”
X: “I like trouble, Borias. Please-- make yourself at home.”
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[The Present]
X: “Gabrielle.”
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Amazons’ Voices: “What is she doing?” “I don’t know.”
Man’s Voice: “Huh? Look at this.”
Bald Man: “What do you think you’re doin’?”
X: “You did this, didn’t you?”
Bald Man: “Yeah. So what? Ahhhhhhhhh!”
[Fight]
X: “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
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Amazon: “Look what we got.”
Otere [O]: “Good.”
Amazon: “Pick him up.”
Man: “Uh!”
Amazon: “It’s a warrior-woman. She fought our enemies, so I don’t think we need to fear her.”
X: [Yells]
[[[[[[G’s Voice: “You’ve got to take me with you-- teach me everything you know.” X’s Voice: Even in death, Gabrielle-- ”]]]]]]
X: “Ahhhhh!”
[[[[[[X’s Voice: “I will never leave you.” X’s Voice: “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.” X’s Voice: “You gave my life meaning and joy.” X’s Voice: “You will be a part of me, forever.”]]]]]]
X: “Ahhhhhhhh. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Ahh. Ahhhhhhhhh.”
O: “That wailing? I heard it before, a long time ago, when I was a child.”
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[The Past]
O’s Voice: “An army from the East swept across the steppes. They destroyed everything in sight. It was led by a great warlord named Borias-- and her.”
X: “Alti! Who did this?!”
Bor: “Xena, let’s go!”
X: “I’m not leaving without her.”
Bor: “Then don’t! Throw her on a horse, and let’s move! This is the last of the villages before Amazon territory. I don’t want the Amazons to think we’re moving on them.”
X: “I don’t care about your plan! My friend is dead.”
Bor: “You knew her for less than a moon. What spell have they thrown on you? Quick, girl! Come on! It’s only a child. Yah! Out of the way! Yah!”
X: “It’s too late.”
Alti: “You can see her again, you know.”
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[The Present]
O: “She must wanna cross over to the other side, and she needs the horse’s spirit to do that.”
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[ACT II]
X: “What are you doing?”
Dead Amazon: “You’re the one who gave me a decent funeral. Now you, too, are in the land of the dead. I thank you-- mourn for you.”
X: “Don’t mourn for me. I’m not dead.”
Dead Amazon: “If you’re not dead, then-- why are you here?”
X: “I’m looking for a friend. She should have passed through the gate into eternity by now.”
Dead Amazon: “So, you plan to follow her into eternity?”
X: “That’s right.”
Dead Amazon: “So, will you be able to get back from there?”
X: “That, I don’t know.”
Dead Amazon: “She must be a very good friend.”
X: “She’s the only friend.”
Dead Amazon: “How come you know so much about the land of the dead? Have you been here before?”
X: “Let me tell you a little story.”
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[The Past]
X’s Voice: “Gabrielle’s not the first I followed here. I came once before.”
X: “Anokin! Oh!”
Anokin: “Uh.”
X: “What’s the matter?”
Anokin: “Stay away from me.”
X: “Why?”
Anokin: “You poisoned my soul. I want nothing to do with you.”
X: “I _hate_ the dead. You can’t take vengeance on them.”
Alti: “Ah-- but you can.”
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Bor: “Come back to me, Xena.”
Alti: “Uh! Uh!z’
Bor: “Come.”
X: “What do you want?”
Bor: “I want you. The stuff you’re intop-- it’s madness. You’re carrying our child within you.”
Alti: “Uh-- the baby will be a fine-- healthy boy-- with his father’s mouth and his mother’s eyes.”
X: “What will we call him?”
Alti: “Neither one of you will name him.”
Bor: “We’ll name him! And you can stop your evil predictions, you hag! Ah!”
X: “Borias-- you shouldn’t have done that. She’s powerful.”
Bor: “In the land of the dead, perhaps-- but here, she’s a pathetic bag of bones.”
X: “Never mind. It’s over your head.”
Bor: “And who is this?”
X: “Alti needed a human body in order to get us to the land of the dead.”
Bor: “You’re killing people, to help that demon cast her spells?”
X: “Come on, Borias. After all the people we’ve killed, what’s one more corpse?”
Bor: “I can’t believe what’s happening to you.”
X: “And I can’t believe what’s happening to you. You’re as soft as a pig’s belly. And what’s all this talk about _our_ baby and us?! I swear, if you use the word, “Family,” I’m gonna puke!”
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X: “These powers you’re after-- ”
Alti: “You wanna know what they are. Your friend you told me about-- Lao Ma-- her powers come from denial-- from self-sacrifice-- from the light. That’s not for people like you and me. I wanna tap into the-- heart of darkness-- the sheer, naked will behind all craving-- hatred-- and violence. I’ll become-- the face of death itself-- capable of-- destroying not only-- a person’s body, but their soul. Help me-- and I’ll make you-- ‘Destroyer of Nations’.”
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[The Present]
Dead Amazon: “What is it? Who’s that?”
X: “Cyane, Queen of the Amazons.”
Dead Amazon: “Cyane?! She’s a legend! You knew her?!”
X: “I killed her.”
[Flashback to Past: Cyane: “Uh!”]
Cyane: “What are you doing here, Xena? You’re not welcome.”
X: “Cyane-- why are you still in the land of the dead? You should have crossed over into eternity.”
Cyane: “Answer me first. What do you want?”
X: “I’m looking for a friend-- a Greek Amazon.”
Cyane: “An Amazon is your friend.”
X: “That’s right. Her name is Gabrielle.”
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[The Past]
Cyane: “At heart, you’re an Amazon, whether you believe it or not.”
X: “It’s not for me to say.”
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[The Present]
Cyane: “Follow me.”
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Amazons: “Think she’s dead?” “Poke her.”
O’s Voice: “She’s not dead. Her spirit’s with the dead.”
Amazon: “I say, we send her body there, too.”
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[ACT III]
O: “Uh, no! We don’t hurt her.”
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Cyane: “You see, Xena-- none of us can pass through the gate to eternity. We’re doomed to wander the land of the dead forever.”
X: “Alti did this to you.”
Cyane: “Yes-- Alti.”
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O’s Voice: “Watch it-- don’t jerk her. Keep everything smooth, or she’ll feel it.”
Amazon’s Voice: “Careful.”
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Cyane [?]: “We’ll look up top. [?]”
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O’s Voice: “Be careful-- don’t wanna wake her up, just yet.”
Amazon’s Voice: “What’s wrong with her?”
O’s Voice: “Nothing.”
[Flash to Land of the Dead]
O’s Voice: “She’s in the land of the dead. We’re gonna let her accomplish what-- ”
O: “-- she must there. She’s probably acquiring great powers.”
Amazon: “I still say we should cut her throat.”
O: “No.”
O’s Voice: “She’s our future-- I’m sure of it.”
Amazon: “Why should we believe you? There’s something you’re not telling us.”
O: “Borias had taken me in out of the cold.”
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[The Past]
Alti’s Voice: “She must die.”
X’s Voice: “Her-- what’re you talking-- ?”
X: “-- about? She’s just a child.”
Alti: “_She_-- will take your power away from you, one day. Have I been wrong with my predictions, so far?”
X: “You think Borias is trouble, now-- you should wait and see if we knocked off his little orphan girl.”
Alti: “Control your destiny. Kill her now-- and avoid the day she takes your power.”
Bor: “No! Get out of here. Xena.”
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[The Present]
Amazon’s Voice: “So, she would have killed you if Borias hadn’t shown up.”
O: “Nope-- I don’t think she would have. She didn’t kill me because she knew what Alti predicted must happen.”
O’s Voice: “I am destined to take her power.”
Amazon’s Voice: “I’m glad you’re so sure about it.”
Amazon: “I’m gonna have my ax ready when she starts to come around.”
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X: “I’m so sorry for what’s happend to you.”
Cyane: “I don’t think they believe you, Xena.”
[Flashback to fight with the Amazons in the past]
Cyane: “She claims she’s looking for a friend-- a Greek Amazon, no less.”
X’s Voice: “I understand your anger.”
X: “The sight of me must be a torment you. But once I find Gabrielle, you’ll never see me again.”
Cyane’s Voice: “Then, go!”
Cyane: “The gate to eternity lies in the heart of that volcano. That’s where you’ll find your precious Gabrielle.”
X: “But you said that Amazons can’t pass through the gate.”
Cyane’s Voice: “Our tribe can’t.”
Cyane: “The other Amazon tribes from Greece and Mesopotamia-- they can. The path to your friend lies through that gate. Now-- go into eternity-- and out of our lives forever. Go!”
G’s Voice: “Xena. Xena.”
X: “I can’t. Gabrielle, I can’t. You know, nothing would make me happier than seeing you again. You were my light. But I just realized what it was that you gave me-- a light of my own. There’s something I gotta do-- something you’d want me to do. I love you.”
Cyane: “I thought I told you that the gate was over there.”
X: “Some other time. I’m going back to stop Alti.”
Cyane: “Our holy word should have been strong enough to undo whatever it was that kept us from eternity, but still, we can’t pass through the gate.”
X: “Maybe you need a new hold word-- one stronger than the last.”
Cyane: “Our holy word is ‘Courage’, Xena. Nothing’s stronger than courage.”
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[ACT IV]
Amazon [O?]: “Get back! Quick! Move!”
X: “Who are you?”
O: “Otere.”
X: “I remember you. How did I get here?”
O: “We moved you. We thought you’d be safer here. We were careful not to wake you up.”
X: “You did well. Ahh!”
Amazon: “Oh!”
X: “I could teach you a thing or two about holding a sword on somebody. Who’s he?”
Amazon: “Our enemy. You wounded him. We haven’t decided who gets to kill him yet.”
O: “You drew first blood. You should make the kill.”
X: “Can you walk? Good. I want you to deliver a mesage to Alti. Dah! Tell her that Xena’s coming.”
O: “If we move directly on Alti, she’ll send _him_ after us.”
X: “Who’s ‘him’?”
O: “Berserker-- only the greatest fighter in our land. He’s been given special powers by Alti-- killed every warrior he’s ever met in combat.”
X: “Is that so? Well, let’s get started then.”
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Wounded Warrior: “Uh!”
Bald Warrior: “He says that-- ”
Alti [Interrupting]: “Xena’s coming! Do you _idiots_ think I didn’t know that already? I’ve felt her presence for days. It was only a matter of time before she looked for me. And you-- were kind enough to _bleed_ your way back here, and leave _ever_ so nice a trail.”
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X: “This one’s for you, Gabrielle.” [Yells]
[Fight]
O: “The Berserker!”
X: “_That’s_ the Berserker?!”
O: “No! _That’s_ the Berserker!”
X: “Get out of the way!”
[Flashes back and forth between the present and painful memories of the past]
X and Berserker: “Yah! Ahh! Uh! Ahh! Yahh! Ahh! Ahh! Yahh! Ahh! Yahh! Yahh! Ahhh! Ahh! Ahh! Yah! Ahh! Yahh! Yahh! Ahhhhh!”
Amazon: “You all right?”
X: “My legs still feel broken. It doesn’t make sense. The power that was making me relive my past seemed to be coming from the Berserker.”
O: “But you killed him.”
X: “I know. That should have released me from-- ”
O: “Alti’s spirit was in the horse. She seemed afraid of you.”
X: “Now, maybe. But as we get closer to her stronghold, she’ll get stronger and stronger. This new power that she has-- the ones that make you relive your past-- it’s a toughie.”
O: “Can we beat her?”
X: “We’ve got to.”
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