"You better get used to this." "In the Territories everything's barren and windswept." "Barren and windswept beaches, barren and windswept mountains," " barren and windswept..." " You know, if you talked less, maybe you could walk faster." "Where are we anyway?" "Where?" "We're..." "You have no idea, do you?" "What?" "Yeah, I have an idea." "What happened to, "I know where I'm going, Sunny." ""You don't need a map, Sunny." "I am the map, Sunny."" "I know exactly where we are." "Oh, not exactly. "Approximately."" "But I know where we're going." "You said you knew a shortcut through the Wall." "I did, yeah." "Well, what I meant was I know a smuggler who knows a shortcut through the Wall." "A smuggler!" "That's reassuring." "Yeah, he's a friend of mine." "Named Nos." "He's got his own secret tunnels." "Now, the problem is, we're gonna need something to trade, and right now we've got a whole lot of nothin'." "But you know what, hey!" "It'll be fine." "Something will turn up." "It always does." "I'm resourceful that way." "Come on, keep up." "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" "I call this fishing weather." " Catch anything?" " No!" "Not yet." "But, hey, I'm hopeful." "Look, we don't want any trouble." "Then you shouldn't have brought them with you." "There's a hefty bounty on your heads ever since you escaped the mines." "Every Stalker with a rusty blade is after you." "Including these low-life mongrels." "They're not with you?" "Hell, no." "I don't run with a pack." "Oh, sorry." "There'll be more." "Come with me." "Live or die." "It's your choice." "Hey, wait for me!" "Hey!" "_" "Hey." "We gotta ditch this guy." "He just saved our asses." "Yeah, so he can gain our trust." "And why would he do that?" "So he can lop off our heads and collect the bounty." "Ah, shit!" "He's a Clipper." "Maybe even a better Clipper than you judging by all them kill tats." "But then, you knew that already, right?" "That's why you trust him." "What if his Baron has sent him to get you?" "All the way out here?" "The only Baron who'd care is mine and I killed him already, remember?" "Yeah." "Still, I don't like him." "Let's move." "Hello?" "Is anybody here?" "You should be in the mess hall." "I need to know what happened to my mother." "You won't be returning to the Mirror Chamber anytime soon." " But why?" "You just..." " Because last time you lost control." "First you must learn to stop fighting yourself." "The consequences could be deadly." "And not just for you." "It's a long road, M.K., don't look for shortcuts." "Ryder called the conclave, and as the "aggrieved party," he gets to host it." "Aggrieved?" "He should be thankful he's alive." "Maybe." "Still, it's a hell of a smart play." "And we have to walk into this lion's den unarmed." "Rules are each Baron brings one second and no weapons." "Ryder's Clippers are there strictly to patrol the perimeter just in case a Nomad feels ambitious." "So, six Barons." "Means I need at least two to back me." "It means you need to start winning some hearts and minds at the reception." "On your side." "Ryder maybe running this show, but odds are not everybody's happy about him scarfing up Jacobee's territory." "And on his side?" "They all hate you." "Face it." ""The Widow." Not exactly a term of endearment." "Have you made the other preparations that we discussed?" "Everything's in place." "I'm glad I'll be there with you." "Can you leave us, please?" "I'm taking Waldo to the conclave." "I want you to stay and guard the Sanctuary." "As Regent, it's..." "It's my duty to protect you." "I can't stay behind." "Look, you got a few kills under your belt, but so what?" "How many battles have you been in?" "How many Barons have you met?" "No, no, Madame Butterfly here, she needs more than a fighter at her side during the conclave." "She needs a strategist." "Now, I know all the players, and I know how to play." "Also, I know how to follow orders." "If these are Mother's wishes then, of course, I'll obey them." "If anything happens to her," "I'm holding you responsible." "Well, no need for threats, Tinker Bell." "If things go south, hell, I'll be dead, too." "I couldn't have gotten this far without you." "Together we have a lot further to go." "I want you to hold on to these for me." "I can't bring them." "You're in charge until I return." "And if I don't, blow up the oilfields before they fall into enemy hands." "Do all you can to keep our girls safe." ""And the old man said, 'Three more guesses.'" "And the princess replied, 'Is your name Henry?" "'" "'No, ' answered he." "'Is your name Jack?" "'" "'No, ' answered he." "'Then perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin.'"" "Are you ready to do your X-ray?" "It's time." "Okay." "That should do it." "Why do I always feel like asking you to take a little off the top?" "You'd trust me with scissors?" "I already trust you with my life." "But you're right, a good haircut is a riskier proposition." "Lydia always insisted on cutting mine herself." "Regrets?" "For turning her out with nothing but the clothes on her back?" "I was duped into thinking she tried to kill my lovely young bride who has since taken up with my son." "I should've seen Jade for the opportunist she was." "Sorry." "I didn't know." "Trust... is such a delicate thing, Veil, so easily clouded by love, or hate." "I was wondering, um..." "All this training." "What, what is it that your men are preparing for?" "Let's just say, we all pay for our sins, eventually." "Except for those of us who are still pure, ain't that right, Henry?" "Well, this will take a little while to develop." "I'll bring you the results." "I'll wait here this time, if you don't mind." "Your mother saved my life." "Twice." "Once from a sword wound right here, and the other from a malady in my head." "She makes me drink these foul concoctions, but they have banished my headaches." "How are we doing in there?" "Almost done." "There." "No change from last month." "Oh!" "You're a worker of wonders." "I swear, I feel ten years younger." "Let's keep it that way." "Yeah, you see what I mean, Henry?" "Yeah." "You stick to milk." "This is my recommendation." " I'll see you at dinner?" " Yeah." "Your friend doesn't talk much." "No." "He prefers punching people, when he's not slicing and dicing them up." "Ooh!" "Is that true?" "You prefer fighting to talking?" "My mentor once told me of a legendary Clipper, a Regent who left the Badlands, never to be heard of again." "His name was Nathaniel." "Nathaniel Moon." "Seems I heard that name." "Yeah, me too." "They call him "Silver Moon."" "They say he prowls the Territories, hunting for fugitives." "Don't believe the whispers, my friend." "Sure, I bring in the odd runner now and then." "But I'm not out here for your bounties." "See, back in the Badlands, we would kill each other for our Barons." "But out here, out here I like to think of us as, uh, brothers, not enemies." "Why'd you leave?" "What were you looking for?" "Peace, I guess." "Doesn't matter how brutal the world is, if you kill enough, it hollows you out." "I guess, I wanted to see if I could make myself whole again, even find some kind of redemption." "And did you?" "I met her out here." "A warlord's daughter." "I won her in battle and then she won me." "We had a son." "But because of them, I was happy." "I mean, the kind you can feel in your gut." "It's like a warm fire going on in there." "That's how I felt every moment." "Just looking at them." "I should've known it couldn't last." "I used to think it would be my Baron to come after me." "Instead, it was the brother of a Nomad scum that I clipped for him." "Took him years to track me down." "Only, instead of finding me, he found my wife and my son." "I came home, and found their heads on the kitchen table." "Their eyes reproaching me like I was late for dinner." "Yeah, sure, I found it." "After that I, uh, I slipped back into my old ways." "I needed something to focus on, so I started collecting bounties." "Tell you what, Sunny." "You can run." "Far, far away." "But there's no escaping what they turned us into." "You had a family back there?" "There's..." "A woman waiting for me." "She was, uh, pregnant when I left." "She'd have had the baby by now." "Yeah, well, if you care for them, don't go back." "That's the greatest gift you can give them." "Hey, Doc, it's Edgar." "You in there?" "Edgar." "Could you take a look at my hand?" " I guess I'll need some stitches, huh?" " Yeah." "You're gonna need a whole bunch." "You know what, Henry is sleeping." "I'll stitch you up outside." "We were on patrol, and..." "I tripped." "Cut myself on my own sword." "Accidents happen." "Now Declan says I can't go." "Go where?" "Gabriel, what happened?" "Declan!" "He got caught trying to escape through the south tunnel." "What's Quinn gonna do to him?" "Probably clip him as an example to the others." "I wanted to be outside, on my own, just for a little while." "Being down here day after day, it's too much." "Gabriel, how can we hold a conversation if you won't admit the truth?" "You were running away, weren't you?" "Yes, Baron." "I know why you ran." "Fear." "It's the strongest human emotion bred into us for one purpose, to keep us alive." "But it can also kill us, if we let it, hmm?" "This was given to me when I was a Colt on the eve of my first mission." "I had to sneak in, clip a Regent while he slept." "But after I climbed through that man's window," "I was paralyzed with fear." "My fear was so potent, it felt like an invisible hand had thrust a stake down through my body, nailing me to the ground." "That Regent woke up, he saw me, and reached for his sword." "In that split second I realized, I have a choice," "I can die a forgotten coward, or I can live to be celebrated and remembered." "Before that Regent even touched his sword, I slit his throat." "Four of his bodyguards stormed into the room, I clipped them all." "To this day, before every battle, fear visits me," "but now I embrace it as a friend." "It's what makes you faster, stronger, smarter." "As long as you control it instead of letting it control you." "You understand me?" "Yes, Baron." "I have faith in you, Gabriel." "Indeed, I sense a kindred spirit, a young man who has the potential to grow into a great Clipper." "Maybe the greatest Clipper the Badlands ever known." "I'm gonna give you this as a token of my faith." "If you can pass this test." "Prove yourself by cutting me." " Baron, I don't think..." " Stop your thinking, hmm?" "Use that fear pumping through your heart and cut me." "Cut me." "Where?" "Well, that's entirely up to you, Gabriel." "Don't be a disappointment, I've had too many in my life." "Go on." "Cut me!" "Hmm?" "I won't wait here forever." "Are you a Clipper or a coward?" "Show me!" "How dare you?" "Well done." "Well done." "Yeah." "Can't sleep, huh?" "Maybe it's the surroundings." "Or maybe it's the dreams." "When I can't sleep I train." "Nine hundred and ninety-nine kill tats." "In case you were wondering." "What's your tally?" "Four hundred and four." "That's how they manipulate you." "The Barons." "They make it a game out of taking men's lives." "Nine hundred and ninety-nine seems like an odd number." "One short of a goal that I realized was pure vanity." "Plus, I was running out of skin." "The truth is, we've killed more men in single combat than most Barons have in their wars." "That's not an easy burden to deal with." "How do you deal with it?" "By realizing I'm a poor killer by comparison." "By comparison to what?" "The gods, if they exist." "They're the greatest killers of all." "But by killing they do us a mercy, because it's the end of life, not its beginning, that defines what it means to be alive." "I made my peace by choosing to live in those moments, by making the taking of a life the highest expression of my skill." "There's honor in it that way." "Not for me, not anymore." "Maybe all I've known is killing," "but I know that's not all there is." "That's because you still believe you can have an ordinary life." "Which means, you're headed for an ugly reckoning, too." "So that's it?" "Just keep killing?" "Until I run into someone good enough to kill me." "Or someone good enough to be worth that thousandth tattoo." "Maybe that's your decision." "But I'm not willing to give up my chance of a better life." "Sunny." "Do you think the gods get to retire?" "We kill because in the end that's what we're meant to do." "Impressive." "Get some rest." "That's a melancholy little tune." "My mother used to sing that to me when I was a kid." "Her entire life was a melancholy little tune." "Our escort to the conclave is waiting." "You ready?" "Waldo." "Why are you doing this?" "I already told you." "I know the players, their strengths," " their weak..." " You backed me over Quinn." "But you never asked for anything." "Not even the regency." "Why?" "Being Regent..." "It's not just what I did." "It's who I was." "When Quinn retired me," "I was one sorry bastard." "You bet I'm grateful to be back in the game." "I'll tell you something, life looks different from down here." "From this chair." "Back when I was standing tall" "I never bothered to notice all the people living on their knees, all the people whose lives are melancholy little tunes." "Those are the ones I'm fighting for." "That's why I'm here." "Is it?" "You questioning my sincerity?" "Power is a pricey doll." "You get a taste for it, you keep coming back for more." "Somewhere along that road, good intentions, they get lost." "You would do well to keep that in mind." "Did you speak to Quinn this way?" "No." "No." "It's time." "So..." "You ready to face the music?" "And make them dance to my tune." "Please." "I won't run away again." "I'll be good, I promise." "I know you will." "What are you gonna do to me?" "We're gonna take away the cause of your pain." "Don't make a sound." "Why the hell were they torturing him?" "Because Tate was a problem." "He refused to follow the rules." "He didn't wanna be here." "That's his choice, isn't it?" "We're all a threat outside these walls." "That's why sometimes a novice's gift has to be cleansed." "Cleansed?" "It's the only way to suppress the gift." "I have to figure out what happened to my mom." "And then I'm getting the hell out of here." "You don't wanna go against the Master." "Or what, Ava?" "What, will I be cleansed, too?" "They'll catch you." "Not if you come with me." "The Master is a liar." "She's just afraid of us." "You should come with me." "I can't." "You mean you won't." "What?" " Hey, you shaved your beard off." " Time to get going." " You wanted to leave, didn't you?" " Yeah." "I think your mate might have spiked my booze." "Where is he anyway?" "We've already said our goodbyes." " Let's go." " Uh, okay." "Oh, shit." "If I don't make it back to the Badlands, find Veil," "I can't say for sure where she is now." "But when you track her down," " tell her I love her." " Yeah, sure." "You wanna tell me what's going on?" "Well, in return for giving you two shelter, Bajie." "I must now ask something from your friend." "He wants our heads after all." " Come on, then let's do it." " No." "This is between us." "I'm not after a bounty, but something that means a lot more to me than gold." "A worthy opponent." "I thought you said out here, men like us were brothers." "I did, yes." "See it's been much too long since I met someone whose skill matched my own." "I want that challenge, Sunny, and honestly that thrill," "even if it's just one last time." "I have no quarrel with you, Nathaniel, and no wish to spill your blood." "Who the hell said anything about spilling my blood?" "See, the moment I saw you fight," "I knew you were that one-thousandth tattoo." "It looks like I'm the one that gets to say thanks." "I guess this is what I've been searching for." "An honorable death." "I'm not gonna be your executioner." "I earned this death and you deny me?" "No, no, kill me, now!" "I couldn't let him do it, partner." "You've got a promise to keep." "Sorry it had to be this way, but nothing's gonna stop me from getting to my family." "And that may be sooner than you think." "This blade is our ticket out of here." "I can't wait to see Nos's face." " You'd take my sword?" " Yeah, yeah I would." "You'll leave a trail of bodies before you make it back to your family." "And theirs will be the last ones." "Theirs will be the last ones, Sunny!" "Appears we're the last to arrive." "Good, I wouldn't have it any other way." "Minerva, welcome." "Waldo." "Baron." "We weren't sure you would make it." "The other Barons are already inside." "I hope we didn't keep them waiting." "Not at all." "The party is just getting started." "Then let the fun begin."