03x12 - Chapter XXVIII: Cobra Fang, Panther Claw

[bunniefuu]

You know you can't go back now.
Come with me.

- The Wasteland?
- Need to find a witch.

She may know how to stop Pilgrim.

The Black Lotus
are an ancient secret order,

whose sole mission is to eradicate

the dark gift
from the face of the world.

Find Ankara before they do.

I want nothing to do with this family.

The monastery sent us
to bring you and Ankara back.

We both want to stop Pilgrim!

The monastery is here,
hidden in the mountains.

The Master's the most powerful
person I've ever seen.

Until me.

They call you the Master.

You know who I am?

I know who you think you are.
Who you want to be.

But it is a delusion.

Delusion is calling yourself
Master when you are a heretic.

Promising transcendence, while
bestowing punishment and control.

The Gift is not yours to mold, "Master."

It molds us.

Azra tells us so.

No. It is a responsibility.

One that must be tended, lest
the darkness consume us all.

As it has consumed you.

Enough sanctimony.

Where are the dark-eyed ones
you have forced to slumber?

Safe.

Safer with me than with you.

That is a choice you
no longer get to make.

_

Your Master led you astray.

She lied to control your gift.
To control you.

But that is not the way of Azra.

I am here to set you free.

Okay, um, birds of prey
Bajie hasn't eaten, number four.

I've never eaten a hawk.

Which is a shame.
I always wanted to eat a hawk.

What do you think it tastes like?

I bet... I guess on the one
hand it'd be quite...

I mean, I think it'd quite tough

'cause it's uh... it's a very
muscular raptor, isn't it?

But then on the other hand,
look at everything it eats.

You know? Bloody rabbits
and mice all day.

It must have a tremendous
flavor to it, you know.

Like a meal within a meal, isn't it?

Nature's dumpling, if you will.

How much longer to the Monastery?

We're still half a day out.

You gonna keep asking
every five seconds?

As long as we're riding with her,

yeah, I'm going to keep asking.

Listen, we're all now
fighting a common enemy.

Maybe it's time we just let
bygones be bygones.

You gotta trust me on this.

I trust you. It's her
I have the problem with.

Oh, come on, not now!

No, no, no, no, no, no.

She's awake.

Alepemaze migamin jekh

ghaklazha, alerepila mezew...

Alepemaze migamin jekh
ghaklazha, alerepila mezew...

This is her doing. You better
get her under control,

otherwise, she's gonna
tear this truck apart.

Give me another syringe.

The Master only gave us one.

A man and a woman.

Never seen anybody
fight like that before,

and I've seen my share of fights.
They broke my table.

Lucky they didn't break your neck.

What about the old woman? They take her?

Didn't see any old woman.

It's important. Think very hard.

Sir. We found this in the alley.

Abbots.

They've taken Ankara to the Monastery.

What exactly is Iron Fan?

It's a ruin
on the edge of our territory.

Every summer, a tribe of nomads
would make it a base camp.

When I was thirteen,
my father sent me there

to sharpen my fighting skills.

Said he wanted me to practice
on real enemies.

Ones who would show no mercy.

Your family is messed up.

Yeah.

Well, when you buy
and sell people for a living,

cruelty and brutality
become a way of life.

We gonna talk about
what happened with your mother?

You mean why I didn't k*ll her?

It was a moment of weakness.

It won't happen with my sister.

The fact that you hesitated
doesn't make you weak.

It makes you human.

Maybe.

But I'm not there's much
humanity left in any of us.

For what it's worth,

I think you're brave to go
against your family.

You could've done nothing,
led a life of privilege.

Nobody would've blamed you.

Privilege is no excuse for blindness.

Your Master promised

she would help you control your Gift.

Told you that she alone
could protect you from it.

But she was only protecting herself.

From your power.

Terrified that she would lose control.

This is where she buried anyone
brave enough to doubt her.

Your brothers and sisters.

Her lies led you astray.

Away from your destiny.

Reclaim it.

All right. End of the line.
Everybody out.

What is this place?

This is our first piece of good luck.

- Look familiar?
- No.

Aw, flea. Shame on you.

This is an old Abbot safe house.

Which means, there should
still be needles inside.

With any luck, we can keep this one
from throwing another bloody tantrum.

We're wasting time.

She's playing with us, just like in
Black Wind. We need answers now.

Listen, the Master is the only one
that can get inside her head.

All right?

We got to keep her on ice until
we get back to the Monastery.

So if you want answers, I suggest
you get started on the engine.

Help him bring her in.

Don't think that saving my life
back there makes us even.

Sunny, I know that it doesn't
make a difference, but...

After Veil,
I tried to forgive and forget.

Took Henry and left.

But the K*llers kept coming,
thanks to you.

Once this is over, and Pilgrim's dead,

I'm coming for you.

You're trying to heal yourself,

but I can't let you do that.

Not until we have what we came for.

The Sleepers...

cannot be woken.

t*rture me all you like.

t*rture?

You are the one who uses
fear to control others.

I offer them a choice.

Choice?

What choice?

To be your slaves?

To be gods.

With your Gift,

you could have been one
of Azra's greatest disciples.

But you hid on this mountain, quaking,

while our enemies desecrated the world.

You are a perversion.

The headaches are getting
worse, are they not?

You weren't born with the Gift,

you stole it.

And now it's fighting against you.

Growing stronger
every time you abuse it.

If you continue this twisted crusade,

the darkness will consume you
from within.

Enough.

The answers we seek

are already here, inside this room.

We need only uncover them.

There it is. Iron Fan.

That field doesn't offer much cover.

And knowing my sister,
she'll probably have archers

watching every angle.

Bad news is, they'll see us coming.

Good news is, we'll see them too.

Quiet.

They're heading northwest.

That's not the way to the Monastery.

True. But the signal never lies.

Let's move!

Veil.

Is that Henry's mother?

Was.

Because of The Widow?

More or less.

I'm sorry.

You think it's a bad idea
keeping her around?

Yes, I do.

But given the odds, we need
the best fighters we can get.

And The Widow can fight.

Hello, baby brother.

Come to k*ll me, have you?

The thought crossed my mind.

And you brought along a little friend.

Tell me. Where is your mother, girl?

Funny. I thought you might know.

I see my brother's smart mouth
has rubbed off on you.

We'll see who's laughing soon enough.

We haven't seen The Widow since she
fell into your trap at White Bone.

No one has. You were the last
person to see her alive.

You're forgetting your little
friend in the orange robes.

What the hell is she talking about?

The Abbot who k*lled 30 of my
men with a flick of her wrist.

She was a Dark One, wasn't she?

Did Pilgrim send her?

Is he working with The Widow?

She's telling the truth!

We don't know anything.

Well, you knew where to find me.

Which means Mother must have
told you where I was hiding.

Is she dead?

You were always such a mama's boy.

I didn't think you had it in you.

Of course, I only kept you
alive because she insisted.

And now that she's gone, there's
nobody left to protect you.

Get her cleaned up.

Baby brother and I have some
catching up to do.

You tried to silence my Gift.

Turn me into one of those Sleepers.

Must be hard for you to know now that

I'm gonna be the one to set them free.

I never tried to silence you, M.K.

Then why did you take my Gift?

Because...

I knew if I let you go,

you would k*ll us all.

No.

I'm going to save them all.

All those people you betrayed.

We're gonna rebuild Azra.

You will try.

And you will cause great suffering.

But you will never see Azra.

M.K.

I've found it.

I know how to wake the Sleepers.

Are you ready to welcome
our brothers and sisters

back into the world?

How is she?

Don't do that. You're like a cat.

She's still passed out.

These needles will keep her
immobile, but sadly,

- she'll still be able to talk.
- Sunny's right.

The longer we wait,
the more dangerous she is.

We need to know how to stop Pilgrim.

Have you forgotten the Master's orders?

Well, if you haven't noticed,
the Master's plan went to hell.

Don't touch her, all right.
Let her sleep.

And don't touch those needles.

It's time to improvise.

Minerva, you're better than this.

Doing the Master's bidding
like a pup on a leash.

You had the Gift yourself once,
long ago.

A most powerful Gift.

She promised she'd give
it back, didn't she?

♪ Liar, liar, robe on fire ♪

The Master's using you, girl.

Unlike her, you fight to
protect the ones you love.

But if you stay here, they will all die.

Take the needle out and I'll show you.

Now you see!

What did I see?

- The truth, child.
- Are they still alive?

Could be. But for just
how long, is up to you.

I have to go.

I told you not to pull that needle out.

Don't you walk off.

Why did you do it?

Tilda and Gaius were searching for me.

It's my fault Chau has them.

But you don't know that that's real.

This is what Ankara does, all right?

She gets into your head.

She's trying to tear us apart
so she can run.

He's right.

She tricked me at Black Wind.

It was real.
I've seen that place before.

I know where it is.

So what?

Doesn't mean Gaius and Tilda were there.

Everything Ankara told us has been true.

She was right about it all.

All right, well, thank you
for your support.

Well, I can't let them die.

What if you get there
and it's a big trap?

Well, then, I'm gonna need some backup.

Fine. You go with her.

Make sure she doesn't die.

Will you be okay?

You saved my ass enough. Go.

I'll see you at the Monastery
once they're safe. I promise.

A promise is worth sh*t in the Badlands.

It's nice to have company.

My Clippers aren't much
for dinner conversation.

But you and I have plenty to discuss.

If The Widow really is dead,
then you are without a Baron.

I'm without a Regent.

I've watched you fight, Tilda.

We'd make a formidable team.

I will never work for you.

Minerva said that to me once.

But she broke in the end.

You all do.

Did she ever tell you about that time?

When she first arrived at our Barony?

I was only twelve.

And I'd never seen a Cog
with such fire in their belly.

She was more like a wild
bronco than a little girl.

So we locked her in the coal store.

It was dark inside. Cold.

It took a long time before
she begged for freedom.

When the door opened she
crawled out, unable to stand,

nothing more than a bag of bones.

Shivering, half-blind from the dark.

Her beautiful red hair
almost white with lice.

And that's when I knew she was ready.

You see, no matter how
strong we think we are,

there's always somebody stronger.

And if you want to survive,

you will serve them.

It took Minerva 220 days to break.

Welcome to day one.

Truck's almost fixed. Get ready to go.

Hallelujah.

Hey, we're gonna go for a drive.
Please behave.

It's too late.

The Black Lotus are close.
I can feel them.

You may have scared
The Widow off with all this,

but we, we ain't buying it, lady.

Pilgrim has the Master.

What did she say?

The Monastery has fallen.

That's bollocks. She'd say
anything to save herself.

Bajie, my boy. I'm dying.

You're not. Stop saying that.

I'm dying.

I can't make it any further.

But you can still escape.

Why do you care about me now?

I've always cared about you.

Always.

You were my Bajie.

Since the first day that chubby little
boy popped out of that trunk...

I was chubby.

I knew you were the only one
who could fix my mistake.

What mistake?

It was my fault the Black Lotus
att*cked the golden city of Azra.

It was my fault they
burnt it to the ground.

Ghalag tumen bapemaze jekh ghaklazha,

tugweep jekh dupwel,

e tuglazon jekh ghaveda.

Deghag upwe ke taduumen gonew

bazene e bazuuge...

Welcome back, dear one.

Welcome back.

You okay?

Thanks for saving us.

I'm Eli.

M.K.

Saw a friend get needled once.

And his name is Tate.
I'd never forget that.

When you were sleeping,
what'd it feel like?

Like a living nightmare.

As though I was buried alive.

Trapped inside my own body
with no way to escape.

I could feel the needles drilling
into my skin like knives.

No matter how hard I screamed,
no one could ever hear me.

Why'd you run in the first place?

I was trying to get back to my brothers.

Nate's only ten.

They don't have anyone else
to protect them.

I begged the Master,
but she wouldn't listen.

Next thing I know,

I'm strapped to a metal table

and they're sticking needles in my head.

You're free now.

Pilgrim will make sure that she pays
for what she did to all of you.

I have to go find my brothers.

Eli.

Eli, you know they're dead
or long gone by now.

It's the way of the Badlands.

Then what am I supposed to do?

Join our fight.

We're gonna make the world
safe for people like us.

Tell Pilgrim whatever he needs,

I'll do it.

The Monastery used to keep scribes.

Brilliant scholars,
born without the Gift,

who we protected in exchange
for their service.

I became close with one of them.

A man even more obsessed
with Azra than I was. Magnus.

He believed the city was
rebuilt after the world fell,

and that we could find it together.

It took years, but we did.

Where?

A month's journey by sea.

The other Abbots refused to
believe, but it didn't matter.

The scribe had become like a son to me,

and we planned to sail there together.

I thought we'd find answers.

That we'd find peace.

But he betrayed me.

Poisoned my wine and left me for dead.

He was Black Lotus, wasn't he?

Yes.

Sent to steal our secrets
and destroy our order.

While I clung to life in the Monastery,

he and his men breached Azra's
walls and sacked the city.

Only a few survivors made it out.

Like you, and your sister, and Pilgrim.

...ke taduumen...

Gonew bazene e bazene.

Pligrim.

Pligrim. Pilgrim, are you all right?

Yes.

Never better, dear one.

Let's stop there for the day.

An impressive showing.

You took your licks with courage.

I think you deserve a reward.

If I may offer you
a piece of advice though...

Pace yourself.

We've got a long way to go.

You wanna t*rture me, fine.

But let him go. He's your brother.

You overestimate my fondness
for my sibling.

My brother's fate was sealed the
second he m*rder*d our mother.

And lucky you, get to watch.

Gaius didn't k*ll her.

I did.

He couldn't do it,

but I was happy to.

After all the suffering she caused,
she deserved an ugly death.

You're lying.

She didn't go easy.

Begged and whimpered like a coward.

No.

But I jammed my Kn*fe
into the old bitch's blow-hole

and watched the light fade
from her eyes.

Who are you? Did Pilgrim send you?

Hello, Juliet.

Get the others to safety.

Chau and I need some privacy.

Figured you'd emerge from the muck

to save your little pet eventually.

Let's finish this.

Aw.

I thought you'd never ask.

You're gonna die like
you lived, Minerva.

A broken little bitch.

Tell me how to defeat Pilgrim. Tell me.

You can't. Not anymore.

There was once a great power inside you,

but it was locked away, to
hide you from the Black Lotus.

- How do I unlock it?
- It's impossible.

Only your sister could, and she's dead.

They've come for us.

Take the needle out.

You trusted me, and I let you down.

Let me make it up to you.

Let me fight!

We gotta get out of here.

I want Sanzo alive.

Hurry up.

Go!

Been a long time, Ankara.

Magnus.

You've grown old.

And you haven't changed at all.

You're still heartless.

Good to know that
even after all these years,

I can still count on you
to lead me where I need to go.

And who might you be?

I'm nobody.

Everybody's somebody.

Ah. Is that right?

Bajie, no!

No!

No.

As sentimental as ever.

And even more foolish.

I just wanted to see Azra.

To lay my bones to rest in its ruins.

Don't worry.

You'll see it soon enough.

Take him.

We're heading back to Razor Ridge.