"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 ?" "Yes." "Thank you." " 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." "I know you're a good man." "In the teahouse, I felt the compassion in your heart." "Don't fear me." " W-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." " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " " Sous-titre non traduit " "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 Jappa..." "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 Ch'in." "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." "50 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 10, 9, 8..." "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." "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." "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." "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 have 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 have 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 oughta 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 ?" "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." "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" " Show me, Gabrielle." "Climb on !" "All right." "What's next ?" "This way !" "Xena !" "Go for the ladder !" "Kill her !" "Retreat !" "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 have 30 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 sufferied in life." "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." "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 know 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 had killed her father." "The townsfolk felt that I would be defiling her graveyard." "They banded together to stop me." "I tried to ignore them, but they came after me." "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." "The 40,00 lost spirits were at his mercy." "Now he holds them inside him, enslaved." "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." "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 30 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." "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." "To be continued..." "Captioned by Grantman Brown"