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GUEST STARS
Hudson Leick (Callisto)
Ted Raimi (Joxer)
Kevin Smith (Ares)
Danielle Cormack (Ephiny)
Karl Urban (Julius Caesar)
Marton Csokas (Khrafstar)
Willa O'Neill (Lila)
David Taylor (Solan)
Daniel Sing (Ming T'ien/The Torment)
Julie Moran (Gabrielle's pal)
Written by Steven L. Sears and Chris Manheim
Edited by Robert Field
Directed by Oley Sassone
Lyrics by Joseph LoDuca, Pamela Phillips Oland, Dennis Spiegel
Musical Staging by Jeff Calhoun
Supervising Music Editor: Philip Tallman"What's Still Unwritten".
Lyrics: Pamela Phillips Oland.
Callisto: Michelle Nicastro,
Animals: Keith Black, Robert Bugar, Gia Warner"Joxer the Mighty".
Lyrics: Steven L. Sears and Chris Manheim.
Joxer: Theodore "Ted" Raimi"War & Piece".
Lyrics: Pamela Phillips Oland.
Ares: Kevin Smith;
Lila: Willa O'Neill;Warrior Soloists:
Keith Black, Ron Coden, Judd Mather;Villager Soloists:
Keith Black, Julie Moran, April Arabian Tini, Gia Warner"Hearts Are Hurting".
Lyrics: Dennis Spiegel.
Xena: Lucy Lawless,
Gabrielle: Susan Wood"Hate is the Star".
Lyrics: Pamela Phillips Oland.
Xena: Lucy Lawless"The Love of Your Love".
Lyrics: Joseph LoDuca.
Xena: Lucy Lawless
The conflict between Xena and Gabrielle comes to a head in this lavish musical-fantasy episode set in a tarot-card dreamworld called Illusia. Why a musical? "It allowed us to express emotions that were best said in this way," co-executive producer Rob Tapert says. And those emotions are raw: in last week's episode, Gabrielle's evil daughter Hope killed Xena's son Solan, and Xena blames Gabrielle. "Xena really wants to kill Gabrielle," Tapert notes. Their parallel, phantasmagorical journeys dominate the storyline, which won't die completely as long as Hope is alive. (She'll turn up soon on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.) Inside a hut. Gabrielle is lying face down, naked, undergoing the whips of the Amazon purification ritual. When the shot gets to her face, we see a tear trickle down. Ephiny: Three days, now. She's been undergoing the purification ritual for three days. Joxer: That's crazy! Look, we have to get her out! She could be dying in there. Ephiny: She was dying out here. You didn't see her at the death of her child...the pain she was in...the despair. When she and Xena parted, she came to us. Joxer: If we leave her in there, she's gone. Ephiny: She's already gone. Her only chance is to work through the pain. Ares: Nice vocal! But you sure can't dance to it. Look, I feel your pain OK ...but how much longer before you start doing something about it? Xena: My son is dead, ya soul-less bastard! What can I do about that? Ares: Just goes to prove what I've been telling you all along...no good deed goes unpunished...saving people, defending the weak, trusting someone who betrayed you. Xena: Gabrielle. Ares: This whole atonement kick you've been on lately...it's not you. You're full of fire...bending the world to your will...full of rage. And revenge. Accept it, Xena. Embrace it. You know what to do...who to kill. Gabrielle: You're not real. You're in my mind. Callisto: What difference does it make? You came here for the truth...and the truth is that Xena made us both. She shaped our lives, changed our fates...killed our familes. Gabrielle: No...I killed hers. Solan died because of my daughter. Callisto: Because of Xena, you had a daughter. Her hatred for Caesar took you to Brittania. Gabrielle: Yes...b... Callisto: Straight to Dahak, where she deserted you. Isn't that right? Isn't that right? Gabrielle: Yes. Callisto: And you hate her for it, don't you? For betraying you? For failing you? You hate her, don't you? Don't you? Don't you?! Gabrielle: Yes! Gabrielle: No! Ephiny: Xena? Stop her! Xena: Where's Gabrielle? Joxer: Help! Somebody help her! Ephiny: Joxer! Run! Amazons, attack! Gabrielle: Xena. Joxer: Go on, Gabrielle...run! Gabrielle: Joxer! Joxer: Xena...what are you doing?! Gabrielle: Xena! Xena: Vengeance!! Gabrielle: I hate you! Callisto: [Chanting] Absorb thyself in this great sea of the waters of life. Dive deep in it...until thou hast lost thyself. And having lost thyself, then thou shalt find thyself again. Even as it is written, "She had her dwelling in the great sea...and was a fish therein." Aleph am I. From mine unfathomable will, the universe hath its beginning. In my boundless wisdom are the types and patterns of all things. Callisto:
Glad that you're feelin' strong,
Thought I might lose ya.
Don't use words, sing a song...
This is Illusia!Callisto;
Xena, be warned,
Xena, beware.
By closing your eyes,
You can see what isn't there.
Xena, be calm.
Open your eyes.
Lies may be truth,
And truth may be lies.Xena: All right, Callisto...cut the song and dance. What's going on? Where are we? Callisto:
Fate is a wheel, it will reveal
All you've become...All that you feel.
Destiny knows what has to be.
You'll pay the price. Nothing is free!
I'll be your guide, take the hand of your muse!
You just might lose your way
In the land of Illusia!!Illusia is music,
A world built on rhyme.
It's carved out of space
In the absence of time.You've tasted how evil
And good coexist.
The bitter and sweet of it...Small White Dog:
All in the lips that you kissed. (ahh)Callisto:
Lion and bull.
Eagle and Snake.
To live or die...
It's a choice you've got to make!
Can you undo what you create?
Step through the wheel...
Follow your fate.Animals:
The Fates have a fix on you.
We can play tricks on you.
We deal in truths you're too troubled to face.
Gamble the worth of you on the rebirth of you.
Don't turn away...Don't start to fade.
What's still unwritten...
You can erase.Callisto:
Your villanous infamy
Tortures your soul.
Descent into evil
Must levy its toll.
The darkness that rots you
Has brought you to this.Snake:
Surrender serenity, Suffer sweet misery
Sin seeks its cursed abysssss.Anubis:
Oh, Xena, with death there is always Rebirth.Sphinx:
Come see with a vision denied you on Earth.Callisto:
Illusia is waiting...we'll show you the way.
But all consequences are your own creation.
And there's a price you must pay!Callisto & Animals:
The Fates have a fix on you.
We can play tricks on you.
We deal in truths you're too troubled to face.
Gamble the worth of you on the rebirth of you.
Now is the time; this is the place.
What's still unwritten...
You can erase!Illusia is music,
A world built on rhyme.
It's carved out of space
In the absence of...Xena: All right, Callisto. You like little ditties? Fine. I got one for ya.
You're acting so strangely,
That I hardly know ya.
But still, I wouldn't trust you
As far as I could throw ya.Callisto: Ow!
You're wrong not to trust one that knows you so well.
I never betrayed you. That was...Gabrielle.Xena: Gabrielle. Is she here? The one who betrayed me...is she in this land? Callisto:
I'm merely your guide, Dear,
Along for a grin.
You'll get no free ride here.
If you want to know more...then spin.Callisto: [Chanting] Changeless, this great deep of elemental water remaineth forever pure. Because of this, it possesseth the quality of stability. From water do all forms have their beginning. Gabrielle: The Elysian fields. Only heroes wind up here. Dead heroes. Dead, naked heroes. Joxer:
Joxer, the Mighty,
Master of geography,
Here to guide you on your way.
Stick to me, you'll never stray.
And if you're in a land that's new,
I'm the man who'll get you through.
Even when you're slightly nude...
I'm...Joxer, I'm Joxer the mi-ghty!Gabrielle: So much for the Elysian Fields theory. Joxer: Yeah. Both: Ahhh! Gabrielle: How did you...? Joxer, go away! Can't you see, I'm naked?! Joxer: Okay, but, maybe I could, like, help you out, with... Gabrielle: Do...! Joxer:
Being naked won't excuse ya.
Sing to talk, we're in Illusia.--------- Warriors:
Xena! Xena! Xena! Xena! Xena!
Praise the winds of chance that blew.
Xena's back, where friends are true.
We would fight to death for you...brave Xena.
When your mighty chakram arcs,
Throwing fierce, magnetic sparks,
No one ever hits her marks...like Xena!
Famed for prowess with a sword,
Who's as feared as is adored.
You've not lived till you've been gored...by Xena!Warrior One:
You're the Warrior Princess
Who's as strong as an oak!Warrior Two:
You've got eyes that can tear out
The heart of a bloke!Warrior Three
With one look you can wilt a flower!Warrior Four
Curdle milk or make men cower!Warriors
Welcome home, Xena, Welcome home!The warriors part to finally reveal Ares on a throne. Area is dressed as The Emperor from The Tarot. Xena: Ares. I thought as much. But why the big production number? What's the point? Ares:
You...are the most divine, delicious warrior.Warriors
Xena!Ares
A man can't help saluting your return.Warriors
Xena!Ares
And if you start my heart,
It's just the way you slash and burn.
Bewitching woman, straining at the armor plate.Warriors
Xena!Ares
You singe me with the ardor you inflame.Warriors
Xena!Ares
And in my carnal heart,
There's not a sorry shred of shame.Warriors
You and me love war!
Doesn't matter what it's for!
Pandemonium reigns
And we're bludgeoning brains!
Give us war, war, war!
Keep it down to a roar!Warrior Five
Words of wisdom Ares said,Ares
When in battle, Keep your head.Warriors
Warriors love war, war, war! Yeah!
A village. Gabrielle is led in by Joxer, who promptly sits to one side and lets her explore on her own. Everyone is wearing bright colours, giving it a slightly surreal feel. Gabrielle: I know this place...these people...That shop! I'm home. This is Poteidia. First Woman: Hey, look...it's Gabrielle. Second Woman: Gabrielle...you're back. Villagers
Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Gabrielle!
O'er the bridge of tears she's crossed.
And she's paid a fearful cost.
Her blood innocence is lost...Gabrielle.
Now the past has set her free.
And she's traveled home to be
With her old friends, you and me...Gabrielle.Man You've been plucked out from the heart
Of our lives for so long.Second Woman
Now we're grateful you've come back
To the place you belong.First Woman
For what ails, the panacea,Third Woman
Surely waits in Poteidia!Villagers: Welcome home, Gabrielle, Welcome home! Gabrielle is guided further through the villagers until she meets her sister. Gabrielle: Lila! Sister! I...I can't believe it! Lila
Villains, fools, and kings
Have made their mark on you.
Leave their easy evil in the dust.
If your child had lived,
We'd surely make her welcome, too.Villagers
You and me love peace,
With the ducks and goats and geese!
While the hours away,
Baking bread, pitching hay.
We love peace, peace, peace...
Simple joys that never cease.Man
Nothing changes but the time...Small Group of Villagers
We don't even change our mind!Villagers
Villagers love peace, peace, peace!Back in Ares' fort. Ares
Pulverizing foes requires strategy.Warriors
Yeah!Ares
There's no mortal born who meets your skill.Warriors
Yeah!Ares
Xena, join my vision...don't deny your destiny!Warriors
You and me love war!
Doesn't matter what it's for!Warrior Six
Chop the tree down...burn the root!Ares
Vengeance can be such a hoot.Warriors
Warriors love war, war, war!Back In Poteidia. Lila
Xena was no friend, she worked to twist your mind,
Though you tried to change her deadly ways.
Take this scythe...
It's just a case of killing to be kind.Villagers
You and me love peace,
With the ducks and goats and geese!Lila
Sit and watch the world go by.Couple
Vegetate until you die.Villagers
Villagers love peace, peace, peace!Cuts between the Villagers and Warriors, as Xena and Gabrielle approach each other. Warriors
We...love...war!Villagers
War can kill you so can hate
Peace is such a lovely stateWarriors
Fear! Lies!
Smite and smoke and pulverize!Villagers
Here the simple life's a delight!Warriors
Pus...and...Gore.Villagers
Just you put your hand in mine,
Sure your future's on the line!Warriors
You've a son you must avenge.Villagers
Know you must extract revenge!
You must know that whenWarriors
Don't be put aside by beauty,
Xena you must do your duty.Villagers
Hope died she freed you!Xena advances through a double file of Warriors with swords while Gabrielle advances through a double file of Villages with scythes.] Warrior & Villagers
Ah ah ah, Ah ah ah... Ah ah ah, Ah ah ah...
Ah ah ah, Ah ah ah... Ah ah ah, Ah ah ah...Villagers
Peace!Warriors
War!Villagers
Peace!Warriors
War!Villagers
Peace!Warriors
War!Villagers
Peace!Warriors
War!Villagers/Warriors
Peace!/War!
Peace!/War!
Peace!/War!
Peace!/War!
Peace!/War!
Peace!/War!
Peace!/War!
Peace!/War!Xena and Gabrielle pull their doors open and see each other for the first time since entering Illusia. Gabrielle: Xena! Xena and Gabrielle trade blows, but Gabrielle is used to a staff, not a scythe and is quickly knocked down after the blades lock briefly. While she is prone, Xena stabs her. Xena pulls her sword out of a dead Gabrielle. Ares come forward and picks Xena up. Ares
You're lost and confused, but I understand.
This once beloved friend has been slain by your hand.
You feel all alone, betrayed and adrift
But maybe her loss can be viewed as a gift.Now I'll be your rock, your strength and support
Your close confidant with whom you can consort.
I know you completely; come melt into me.
Unleash the power of your destiny.
You've proved to yourself, now that you've made the kill,
That you're just like me, with as evil a will.
Our forces are meant to be merged into one.
The world will be panicked when our work is done!Let the music of war, with its lustful refrain,
Arouse us to heights with a passionate strain.Imagine how awesome, together we'd be.
So feel what I'm feelingCome melt into me. Callisto
Did that fill you with glee
To kill your little friend?
Did that ease your suffering
Or bring it to an end?
Let go...All of your anger will poison you yet...
Unless you can just...
Let go...Callisto and Joxer fade. Ares
Nothing more need be said.
Ding, dong...the bitch is dead.Xena: I killed Gabrielle. Gabrielle: You killed me. Warriors and Villagers fade. Dead Gabrielle fades. Gabrielle: By the gods, Xena...you killed me. I knew you were trying before, Xena, but I didn't know... Xena: No, no...I didn't, it wa...none of this is real! Ares and Callisto, and...well, Joxer. I didn't kill you. I killed an illusion. Gabrielle: If that's supposed to make me feel better... Xena: I need time to think. Gabrielle: What is that? Xena: Us. Somehow, it's all about us. Lightening fires out from the chandra to strike Xena and Gabrielle, freezing them where they stand. Xena and Gabrielle appear suddenly in a large, dim building with pillars but a ruined roof, showing a night sky. They are otherwise alone. Xena: Everything about this Illusia place has been bright and cheery...the music, the colors. But this place is dark. It's meant to scare us. Gabrielle: What if you're wrong? Xena; You got any better ideas?! Gabrielle: You're asking me? Well, that's a first. You know, ever since we've met, you've always made the decisions. Xena: [Starts echoing] Because you always take so long to reach one! reach... reach... reach... Always weighing the pros and cons! cons... cons... cons... Gabrielle: What's causing that? Xena: We are. Or I should say you are. Gabrielle: There you go again! You're always blaming me for everything! blame... blame... blame... Xena, why is it never your fault?! fault... fault... fault... Xena: It's the past! past... past... past... Each time we accuse each other about the past, accuse... accuse... accuse... the echoes start, echos... echos... echos..., and we can't hear one another! hear one another... hear one another... hear one another... Gabrielle: Well, how do we stop it?! stop it... stop it... stop it... Xena: Tell me how you feel! feel... feel... feel... Right now! Nothing about the past! past... past... past... Right now! Gabrielle: [Echos suddenly cease] I hurt inside! Don't you? Xena
My heart is hurting beyond words.
The pain is tearing up my soul.
These days have seen my spirit die,
My life propelled out of control.
My wounds lie naked to the world...
My depth of suffering exposed.
This damaged past can never heal
Until this nightmare book is closed.Gabrielle
My heart is hurting beyond words.
The pain is tearing up my soul.
Please tell me how I can retrieve
The life that all this sadness stole?Because of you this happened!
Because you had to carry out
Your vengeful, little plans!Xena
[Echos start again.]
It's you who should feel guilty!
Because of you my child is dead.
His blood is on your hands!Gabrielle
If only you had never brought me there.Xena
If only you had done what you were told.Gabrielle
It's you who's to be blamed.Xena
And you should be ashamed!Gabrielle
It's your fault!Xena
No, it's yours!Gabrielle
How could you?!Xena
How could you?!Gabrielle: It's your fault! Xena: It's your fault! The chandra bursts apart in flame. Gabrielle: It's Dahak! No! Flames leap from the chandra to grab Gabrielle's legs and pulls her towards it. Xena: Gabrielle?! Gabrielle: No! Not again! Noooooo! Xena: I'm coming! Gabrielle: Not again! Please! Xena: Hold on, tight. Gabrielle: No! Don't let go! Don't let go! Noooooo! The flames pull Gabrielle and Xena through the shattered chandra. Gabrielle screams. Dahak's temple. Gabrielle appears in a flaming burst, Gabrielle lying on the altar, Xena is standing beside it. Gabrielle: Blood. No! Not here. It's Dahak. This is where it started. I can't! I can't! Xena: No... Gabrielle! Gabrielle: I can't! Xena: Look...Gabrielle, think. Everything about this world has been a torment. We've been guided through it for a reason. Whatever happens, we have to go through it together. With several massive rumbles, one of the stone coffins open and out comes Torment Torment It begins very small,
Seems like nothing much at all.
Just a germ, just a speck, just a grain.
But the seed has been sewn,
And before you know it's grown,
It has spread through your life like a stain.
And its power will strangle your love and your joy.
And its hunger consumes...for it lives to destroy!Xena: Hatred, Gabrielle, that's what we're fighting...hatred. Hate is the star; it becomes who you are.
Not the hated but the hater
Has a torment that's greater.Gabrielle, now dressed in her travel clothes, is grabbed by manacles and chained to Dahak's altar. Xena, now dressed in a rough shift, is similarly bound to a cross behind her. It will eat you alive, consume you and spit you out.
Hate's gonna win, that there's no doubt about!
Hate doesn't care who you are!
Hate is the star!
Learning hate is an art.
Even people who are smart
Can be caught, can be crushed, can be creamed.
Hate has swallowed you whole.
Did you think you're in control?
Hate you thought, hate you spoke, hate you dreamed.The two remaining figures fold back their hoods to reveal an Evil Gabrielle, holding a hammer to break Xena's legs, and an Evil Xena holding Dahak's knife to murder Gabrielle with. All your hate gave me substance...
Your lives are undone.
It's your eve of destruction...Your hatred has won!Gabrielle: No! Xena: Gabrielle! Torment laughs Xena
I never dreamed that we'd be distanced by a hate
That all the trust we had would go.Gabrielle
How could I hate you?Xena
How could it come to pass, this awful twist of fate?Gabrielle
How could I hurt you?Xena
This madness can't be so.Gabrielle
I can't believe it.Xena
I never dreamed that any barriers could rise.Gabrielle
Or that I'd ever see the stranger in your eyes.Xena
Our hearts were hurting both the same.Gabrielle
The hurt was tearing up our souls.Xena
The fury in us made us blind.Gabrielle
We could not see beyond the pain.Xena
If we can turn again to love.Gabrielle
If we can heal these open wounds.Xena
We'll leave this hatred far behind.Gabrielle
So not a trace of hate remains.Both
We'll overcome our damaged past!
And we'll grow stronger side by side!
To stand together through the storms!
We're safe 'cause love will be our guide!Evil Xena and Evil Gabrielle are destroyed, along with Caesar, Khrafstar, Callisto and Ares. Xena's and Gabrielle's bonds are released but Torment flies past again, laughing. The chandra and its card reappear and opens up to reveal a scene through a waterfall of a small landscape drenched in golden light. Solan appers standing on the far side of the waterfall, watching them. Xena: Solan...it was him. Solan. Gabrielle: He's why we're here. It's the way out. It's gotta be. He's here to lead us home. Come on. Jumps through the waterfall to the other side. She is not wet. But Solan is not there. Xena puts her hand in the waterfall, but pulls it back as if burnt. Torment, still around, laughs. Xena looks up at him. Gabrielle: Xena, quick! Xena: [Sadly] I can't. Gabrielle: Of course you can. Xena: It's no use, Gabrielle. It's Ming T'ien. Torment throws his hood back to reveal Ming Ti'en who laughs. Xena: I killed him. I killed you, you bastard! Gabrielle: You lied? You gave me your word. You lied. Xena
Yes, I lied.
Thought I could protect you from the truth.
Deliver you from evil,
Spare your innocence and youth.
That I could simply will it
Was the real untruth.I was wrong.
I wore a mask to cover my deceit.
But underneath it all
I couldn't keep away my doubt.
Now I'm left without a mask
And one question left to ask.I'm sorry, please help me, forgive me.
Don't hate me, don't leave me, forgive me.
Forgive me my debt as only you could.
Forgive me the hate; replace evil with good.
Forgive me and find out that you..
Will be able to forgive yourself, too.My dear Solan...
I never told you that you were my son.
I didn't know the days we had left were so few.
If I only knew, I'd have been with you.I'm so sorry,
I couldn't be the mother you deserved.
And I regret that I missed your first step...
Your first word...
That I never heard. Now it seems absurd.Can you forgive me?
Open up your heart and let me in.
No matter if the Fates against us turn.
There's one thing through all of this I've learned.
That what I need from you
Is to...
Forgive me, I'm sorry, believe me.
Stop hating, stop hurting, Forgive me.
Forgive those who'd harm you,
Do good for those who hate.
Forgive, if not forget,
I know it's not too late.
Forgive me and you'll discover, too,
That the love of your love is...you.Gabrielle and Xena reach out their hands to each other, meeting in the waterfall. Ming Ti'en: No! Gabrielle pulls Xena through the waterfall, emerging in her normal armour. She goes to Solan. Solan: Mother? Xena: Solan! Gabrielle: Go on. Xena and Solan embrace Solan: I love you, Mother. Xena: I love you, Solan. I'll always love you. Xena and Gabrielle are embracing seated on the edges of the surf at the bottom of the cliff they fell off earlier. Gabrielle: We're home. Xena: At last. They laugh and embrace again as the surf comes into meet them.
