Xena: Warrior Princess - A Friend in Need (The Director's Cut) (2002) - full transcript
A director's cut version of the final two episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess.
In the time of ancient gods,
warlords
and kings,
a land in turmoil
cried out for a hero.
She was Xena,
a mighty princess
forged in the heat of battle.
The power.
The passion.
The danger.
Her courage
will change the world.
XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
Looking out at the cosmos
makes you think...
about where we are...,
where we've been...,
where we're going now.
Yeah.
And like the bigger now.
I mean, Gabrielle,
what are we gonna do?
Wander around Greece our whole lives
looking for trouble?
Why don't we go away?
Far away? Whaddya say?
I can't believe you're awake,
much less listening to me.
Let's go south,
to the land of the pharaohs.
I hear they're in need
of a girl with a chakram.
You know
that there's somebody out there.
Yeah, he's been trying to find us
the past half-hour.
Are you all right?
Oh. Yes. Thank you.
Whoa!
Are you Xena?
Who's askin'?
A messenger, sent by Akemi.
Akemi?
You saw Akemi?
Several weeks ago...,
I was journeying with another monk
through a forest,
near the town of Higuchi.
It started to rain...,
and we sought shelter
at a teahouse.
Kenji...,
not even you
could be frightened of this.
Your shuji has
great dignity and beauty.
I am blessed with a certainty...
about what it means to be a monk.
But my companion...
was not as steadfast in his resolve.
You must leave... now.
Come on!
What?!
I know you're a good man.
In the teahose, I felt
the compassion in your heart.
Don't fear me.
Who-Who...
Who was that demon?!
The Lord of the Dark Land.
He's preparing an army
to wage war in Higuchi...
and slowly, the populace.
Honorable monk...,
I beg you to do
what must be done:
to stop him enslaving the souls
of that city.
But I'm no swordsman!
There's one in the west...
far beyond the setting sun.
A samurai?! A priest?! A god?!
No.
A warrior princess.
Xena, you must save Higuchi
from destruction.
The Land of the Rising Sun.
That's beyond Chin[a].
I didn't know
you were there, Xena.
Yes, I was there.
I was there.
Gabrielle, this is not going to be
the trip that I promised you...,
but if Akemi calls,
I must go.
Wherever you go,
I'm by your side.
I knew you'd say that.
The way of the sword...
is the most ancient
of the warrior's art.
With practice,
the samurai develops
the sacred virtues of bravery...,
self-discipline, and honor.
A samurai would rather die
a warrior
than live as a coward.
This Akemi who sent for Xena...,
what do you know about her?
She was forced by Yodoshi...,
the Lord of the Dark Land...,
to seduce souls...
into his grasp.
She's very beautiful.
- And she's a ghost.
- She's a...?
Gabrielle, before we reach
Japa...,
I should tell you everything
that happened there last time.
Many years ago...,
Borias told me
about a young girl who was kidnapped
by a Chinese warlord.
She'd been taken hostage
from a mighty island...
even further east than Chin[a].
Being the kind of person
I was then...,
the challenge of finding
a new land to plunder
was just too much for me.
I had to meet her.
So, her daddy's rich, you say?
And powerful.
He should pay well
for the return of his sweet daughter.
Come.
- Akemi, meet...
- ...Xena, the Warrior Princess.
You know me?
Oh, yes.
I've heard that
you're afraid of nothing.
Kao, here...,
- he's afraid of many things.
- This girl has spirit.
This girl deserves to die...,
speaking like that
in front of my guests.
You won't kill me.
Xena won't let you.
Because in her heart...
she knows
that she will soon love me.
Xena loves no one.
I'll be your student, Xena.
You'll take me with you.
You'll teach me everything you know.
I have a few lessons for you!
Here.
Fifty pieces of gold.
It's the best offer
you'll get for her.
I do what I want
with my property.
I say this isn't a good day
to trade.
Is it a good day to die?
It's unhealthy to negotiate
with this one.
I'd take the gold.
Guards!
I've shut off the flow of blood
to your brain.
You got ten, nine, eight...
Ah, forget it.
I would have taken the gold.
You know, Borias,
I have a dream...,
a dream of conquering every land
between here and Brittania.
Xena, you're always looking
for green pastures
to rape and pillage.
Yep.
And maybe there's more in this
than just the ransom, huh?
I mean, with her father
as an ally,
I could get a nice toehold
on that island.
What makes you so sure
she'll lead you to daddy?
Ah, she wouldn't lie to me.
Hmm.
She worships her teacher.
What's so funny?
Xena, you couldn't teach
a dog to bark.
Akemi!
Come here,
I wanna show you something.
You're wrong.
Xena will be a great teacher.
I'm ready.
All right.
If someone's comin' atcha
with a right/left combination...,
this is what I wantcha to do.
You feint back,
twist in the direction of the blow,
and then deliver a vicious jumping,
spinning back-kick.
All right?
Right. So...,
that's right, a left,
a feint, uh,
a jumping, swinging...
Jumping, spinning back-kick.
All right.
Now, I'll be a bad guy.
Hmm.
Lesson One:
trust no one.
Remember, Xena,
I get 10% of the ransom.
Good luck, teacher.
Come on, Akemi, keep up.
My ribs are still a little sore.
Well, next time we'll start
with something a little simpler.
Like listening.
Listen to that.
To what?
To life and death.
Every sound, every movement
is a message.
A wagon just crossed
a creek up ahead.
A deer grazing nearby.
When you listen to the Kami
like that...,
you must be at peace.
The Kami? What's that?
The Kami are the powers
behind all nature.
They make the sun shine,
the grass grow.
They brought you to me.
No, no, no. When I listen
like that, I'm at war.
Every sound is a possible warning
of an enemy approaching.
I believe that one day, Xena...,
the Kami will help you
know peace.
And I would be honored...
if you would accept this.
Oh.
Uh...
It's really pretty.
It's our scripts.
When my people are overcome
with a feeling
that needs to be preserved...,
we write verse.
Oh, yeah?
- Like what feeling?
- Love.
Love?
"Yesterday...,
the moon took lodging
on my sleeve.
Today...,
I've hope for even
the brokenhearted stars."
So beautiful.
To write something like that,
she must have loved you very much.
What's wrong?
The truth is, Gabrielle...,
she broke my heart.
She broke your heart?
I don't understand.
For a while,
I didn't understand myself.
When I travelled with Akemi
to her island for the ransom...,
I was to learn that my heart
was seeking something else.
I thought I was taking you
to your father.
His castle's in the north.
We came here first
to visit my grandfather.
He... died here...
many years ago.
Are you telling me
that we've walked days
in the wrong direction
to see a dead guy?!
We must visit my grandfather
to seek his blessing.
He's dead..., but...
I can still speak to him.
All your talk
about moons up your sleeve...,
you were playing me
for a fool.
I oughtta just...!
You hear the Kami
through the sounds of nature.
In the same way,
I hear sounds
that are silent to you.
My grandfather says
that you are a wise and appropriate
teacher.
And...
he feels your sword...
is not good enough.
There's a string of widows
from here to Greece
that say different.
Compared to a katana...
all other swords
are toys.
Well...,
then get me one of those.
The Great Katana
lies near here.
But... you must know.
In our country...
women are forbidden
to own katana.
Well, they're just gonna have
to get used to it, aren't they?
Sensei!
I come bearing a challenge.
My master wishes to fight you
for possession of the Katana...,
forged from the purest ore
of the Hakiman temple.
Your master must be
a mighty samurai.
Oh, no.
I'm just a girl... in search
of a really good sword.
A woman?
A foreigner?!
Challenging us?
For the sacred katana?!
This is a great insolence!
Well, I guess you're gonna have
to teach me a lesson, hmm?
Ooh, gimme, gimme!
Yeah.
Grandpa was right.
Now, this is a sword.
"In a flurry of snow,
two breaths of wind unite...
and become as one...,
and then disappear
into each other."
Listen, Akemi...,
I don't want you to take this
the wrong way.
I really love this sword...,
and you're a nice kid, but
I just came for the ransom.
I don't believe that.
What do you hear now?
Snow falling on cedars.
No.
Your heart...
beating harder than normal.
You're a master of war...,
yet... you know no words
to speak of love.
And then you go
and save my life.
There's no greater gift of love
a teacher can give a student
than that.
I have another gift
I must ask of you.
I saw what you did
to kill that coward, Kao.
It's a sacred trust.
I would be honored,
beyond words...,
if you'd teach me that.
All right.
You knew her for a few weeks
and you taught her the pinch?
- Xena, in all the time...
- Higuchi is under siege,
and there's no place to dock.
I'm turning back.
What?!
Gabrielle, I've got to go ashore.
I'm with you.
I knew you'd say that.
The katana!
You sent it
to the foreign whore!
Thank you.
She's traveling
to the city of Higuchi...,
which my army
right now...
is destroying.
My general awaits her...,
and when he captures Xena
and my katana...,
she'll lose her head...
to the sting of its blade.
So, thank you...,
daughter.
Firebombs!
They're going to burn Higuchi
to the ground.
We've gotta release the water
from the tower.
Gabrielle, what would you do?
I saw these acrobats.
- They used to...
- Show me, Gabrielle.
Climb on!
All right. What's next?
This way!
Gabrielle!
Whoa!
Xena!
Go for the ladder!
Kill her!
Retreat!
A wise general
knows when a fight
is lost...,
but I think
we will meet again...
soon.
Whoohoo!
We've won! We've won!
Move! Move!
We've won! We've won!
Move! Move!
This way! Follow me!
Higuchi is saved.
Not quite the way I would have done it,
Gabrielle, but it sure worked.
You know, Xena,
I still don't understand.
You taught Akemi
the pinch.
Did she ever use it?
Yes, unfortunately she did.
After a many days' walk,
we reached her father's fortress.
Akemi?
Akemi, what are you doing?
You've thirty seconds to live.
My brothers...,
my sisters...,
my mother...,
and my gentle grandparents.
I avenge all your deaths...
at the hands of this monster.
- Father.
- Father?
I pray you suffer
in death...
the way your family
suffered in life.
What the hell
did you do that for?
It was my duty.
He had to die.
I don't care about that!
What about the ransom?!
Where's my money?!
Forgive me, Xena.
I don't suppose
there's any inheritance in this!
I have one last thing
to ask of you.
Restore my honor.
The sacred katana.
You want me to cut off...?
That's why you wanted me
to take the katana.
After that is done...,
take my ashes...
and place them
in the family shrine...,
in the town of Higuchi.
No, no.
No, I'm not going to...!
Akemi.
I pray you will.
"The... snow melts.
Flowers fade.
And I pass...
as all things do."
You...
"But-But time...
and love...,
they go on."
Restore my honor, Xena.
Xena!
How will you feel when you come
face-to-face with Akemi's ghost?
Better question is...,
how will Xena feel...
face-to-face...
with the ghosts of the people
she killed at Higuchi?!
What?!
Who are you?
My family name is... Harukata.
But he's known as
the killer of ghosts.
- Xena saved your city.
- This time.
But that does nothing to atone...
for what happened...
when last she was here!
What's he talking about?
I was fulfilling
Akemi's dying wish:
to place her ashes
at the family shrine here in Higuchi.
Word got out that I was
honoring the ashes
of a girl
who'd killed her father.
The townsfolk felt that I
would be defiling their graveyard.
They banded together
to stop me.
Xena.
Bitch!
Bitch!
Go home, bitch!
Go home, bitch!
Go away!
She killed her father!
Go! Go! Go!
Get out! Get out!
- Get out!
- Get out! Kill her!
I tried to ignore them,
but they came after me.
Xena!
Akemi!
Akemi!
Akemi!
Watch out!
Run! Run; fire! Fire!
The wind took the fire...
from house to house.
40.000 of my townsfolk...
perished... in the flames!
No, it's not possible.
That is... only the beginning!
Akemi told me that
after she killed her father,
Yodoshi's spirit
was so full of evil,
even the underworld
would not allow him to enter.
He became Lord Yodoshi...,
the eater of souls.
Now he holds them...
inside him...,
enslaved.
If that is true...,
then I am guilty
of a greater evil
than I ever thought possible.
Xena, it was a horrible accident.
No.
No, I must put things right.
Can you hear them?
I thought I heard a horse
before.
Listen not just to the sounds...,
but to what's behind the sounds.
How many are there?
At least three armies
are gathering.
The general we met
at the water tower was right.
We will meet again
and soon.
I'll warn the others.
Ghost killer...,
I know that you think of me
as your enemy...,
but you must believe this:
my spirit aches
for the torment I've caused.
We both want... the same thing:
to release those souls.
You've devoted your life
to killing Yodoshi.
Why is it
that you have never succeeded?
I have the power...
to slay him.
But it is impossible for me
to get close enough...
to use my blade.
Why?
Because... I am mortal.
Only... another ghost...
can trap... a spirit
as mighty as Yodoshi.
Akemi...,
I know what I must do.
But I'm afraid that this day...
what's done
may not be undone.
Xena, the militia is prepared.
Why aren't you ready?
Gabrielle, come here.
Come here,
give me your hands.
All right.
Here.
Feel the surge of blood
under the skin.
- Now, just behind...
- Xena.
You don't have to do this.
I understand why you would never wanna
teach me the pinch.
No.
No, today
more than ever...
I want you to know
what I know.
Please.
Why are you doing this?
Gabrielle...,
if I only had thirty seconds
to live...
this is how I'd want to live them...,
looking into your eyes.
Stop this.
Stop it.
Always remember: I love you.
Why would you teach me this
right now?
I don't understand!
There's nothing to understand.
I just wanted you to know
everything I know.
Are you ready?
Let's go,
we got a battle to win.
Wouldn't it be better
if we stayed with Xena?
Xena wants us to lead
a contingent to the east plain.
She said a group of Yodoshi's
archers are gathering there.
It's too quiet out here.
Gabrielle, what would you do?
(what would you do?)
Listen not just to the sounds...,
but to what's behind the sounds.
(what's behind the sounds.)
Always remember: I love you.
(I love you. [...])
Xena! (Xena!)
Xena!
All right.
Now you asked for it.
Gabrielle!
If I only had thirty seconds
to live...
We're going to be together.
You brought out the best in me.
Gabrielle!
...this is how I'd want to live them...,
looking into your eyes.
Xena!
You came to me
in my dreams...
and I thought it was reality.
Now you come to me
in reality...
and it feels like it's a dream.
Either way,
I'm filled with joy.
The ghost killer.
What's he doing?
His job.
Speeding wandering souls
on their way,
before they can be devoured
by Yodoshi.
Perhaps he sees Xena.
Xena is alive!
Do you understand?
She is alive.
I want to write a verse
to express how I feel...,
but there's no poetry
of sufficient beauty.
Akemi...,
I've been in the underworld before,
but it never felt like this.
What's goin' on?
Our bodies...,
they're an illusion...
projected by Yodoshi.
While we are
under his power...
we must obey his will.
Funny, you're just the way
I remember you.
I am at your service,
Lord Yodoshi.
You most certainly are.
An eternity...
of playing the whore
to service my appetite for souls.
Xena...,
I was so worried that you
wouldn't show Yodoshi respect.
He's very dangerous.
It wasn't respect
I was showing him.
I have a job to do.
The job
that you called me for.
I'm going to destroy Yodoshi.
It will be very dangerous.
He seems to grow mightier
with each passing day.
You're going to have
to trust me, Akemi.
There's someone
I have to meet...
that can help us.
You know
you are being watched.
Akemi, I can still hear
your heart beating.
And I can hear every one
of Myuki's clumsy footfalls.
She'll try to follow me.
Let her.
Shh.
I saw something.
The samurai may have
Xena captive.
We'll split up.
- Xena.
- Gabrielle.
What are you doing here?
I was so worried about you.
I found your chakram.
There's so much blood.
I'm all right.
What's with the robes?
Gabrielle, I'm going to kill
the Lord of the Dark Land.
You'll need this.
I can't take that.
It's difficult to explain.
You're dead.
How could you let yourself
be killed?
I'm sorry, Gabrielle,
I couldn't tell you.
You'd have tried to stop me,
and then we'd both be dead.
Is that supposed
to make me feel better?
We've overcome death before.
We will find a way
to bring me back.
But only by becoming a spirit
can I kill Yodoshi
and free those souls
that I condemned to torment.
Don't you see that?
You're my whole life,
Xena.
I won't lose you.
You won't lose me.
Harukata,
don't you come near her.
Put down your weapons, Gabrielle.
He's working with me.
The anklet!
With this, we can bring Yodoshi
to us when we're ready.
This is my soul mate.
She's a poet like you, Akemi.
I have one question.
Would you risk your life...
for the return of hers?
Without hesitation.
There is a way, Gabrielle.
You must take her body,
burn it...,
then sprinkle the ashes
into the Fountain of Strength
on Mount Fuji.
You must find the fountain before
the second sunset after death.
That's tomorrow.
Harukata will say
the incantations necessary...
to give the sacred katana
power against malicious spirits.
Gabrielle.
This is Akemi.
It is an honor to meet you
at last.
And you, Akemi.
Gabrielle can't help
with our work in the tea house.
She knows what she must do,
and she should leave soon.
Thank you.
Wait.
I would like to give you something...
to protect you on your journey.
Good luck, old friend.
I am getting your body back, Xena,
no matter where they have hidden it.
Before sunset tomorrow,
we will meet again...
on the side of Mount Fujisan.
See you there.
Give me her head!
I've been expecting you.
Your friend was a fine opponent.
She provided me
with one of the greatest trophies
an honorable samurai
could ever claim.
You call yourself honorable?
You outnumbered her
a thousand to one.
You're not a samurai,
you're a fraud.
You couldn't've killed Xena
unless she wanted you to.
I think it's you
with a death wish!
I accept the challenge.
Listen not just to the sounds...,
but to what's behind the sounds.
(behind the sounds.)
It was the greatest honor of my life...
to send Xena to an early grave.
If I cannot
do the same to you...,
then I ask you...
to grant me a noble defeat.
Please, remove my head
in one stroke.
Good.
Huh?
Where is Miyuki?!
Where is he?
Duck!
We finally meet,
ghost killer.
Akemi.
Akemi.
Akemi. Are you all right?
Harukata, what went wrong?
There is...
only one explanation.
He's drinking...
from the Fountain of Strength
on Mount Fuji.
If you drink...
from the fountain...
and use... the sword
I blessed...,
it will be the final destruction...
for any spirit.
Xena...,
my soul...
will soon join the others...,
trapped in...
Yodoshi's grasp.
You must finish a job...
and release us all.
I will not rest
till it is done.
I can't let you die.
If I only had thirty seconds
to live...
this is how I'd want to live them...,
looking into your eyes.
Even in death, Gabrielle...,
I will never leave you.
You will return to me,
my friend.
Yodoshi a hawk?
Even with his injuries,
in bird form,
he could make Fujisan
in half a day.
Yes, but he's weakened.
We're no longer confined
to these physical illusions.
We could change
into other vessels.
What about them?
Yes.
Good.
Xena.
Gabrielle...
is on her way
to Mount Fujisan.
And...
if she succeeds...
She'll succeed,
don't worry.
She's very good
at what she does.
I'm so sorry.
Akemi...,
what's wrong?
I have to tell you...
what must be done...
to save those souls...,
but I feel my own soul
is doomed...
for what I'm about
to tell you.
I know that you did
what you thought you had to,
Akemi.
And perhaps by releasing
those souls...,
we'll all be redeemed.
Come on.
You'll come to regret
not allowing me
a warrior's death.
It's not too late to put that right!
I will not allow you to find
the fountain... and revive your friend.
No!
No! No!
Come on. Come on!
What?
My own daughter?!
Akemi!
Xena?
Xena?
Xena.
Xena..., what happened?
Told you I'd see you here.
The Fountain of Strength...
Get water...
Fountain... Water...
Gabrielle...
Gabrielle, I need the sacred katana
to finish the job. Thank you.
The sun is setting, Xena.
I have to find your ashes.
- Gabrielle...
- Come on!
Gab...
Enough of this!
You are about to join the 40.000
souls you condemned, Xena.
And the first thing I'll do...
is take the head off
your little friend with the tatoo.
You won't live that long.
I deserve the dignity
of a warrior.
Dignity, huh?
Like you showed my friend?
- Xena.
- Akemi.
You've redeemed me.
You've redeemed them!
- You've redeemed yourself!
- Go in peace, Akemi.
We'll meet again...
one day.
- No, Gabrielle.
- Xena.
- No.
- Xena..., the sun is setting.
- I have to bring you back to life.
- No.
Not if it means condemning the souls
of the 40.000 who burned at Higuchi.
- The souls are free.
- They're free from Yodoshi's grasp.
Akemi didn't wanna tell me this
in case I wouldn't come back to help...,
but for those souls to be released
into a state of grace...,
they must be avenged.
I must stay dead.
- But if I bring you back to life...
- Those souls will be lost forever.
Xena...
That is not right.
I don't care.
- You're all that matters to me.
- Don't you know
how much I wanna let you do this?
But if there is a reason
for our travels together..., it's
because I had to learn from you...
enough to know the final, the good,
the right thing to do.
I can't come back.
I can't.
I love you, Xena. How am I supposed
to go on without you?
I'll always be with you,
Gabrielle.
Always.
Xena.
A life of journeying has brought you
to the farthest lands...,
to the very edges of the Earth.
And to the place where
I'll always remain: your heart.
- So, where to now?
- I think we should go south,
to the land of the pharaohs. I hear
they need a girl with a chakram.
Where you go...,
I'm at your side.
I knew you'd say that.