04x10 - The Poisoned Ear

[bunniefuu]

[expl*si*n]

[somber music playing]

[Vox Machina coughing]

[pained groan] Gods, no.

Pike... what did she do?

She went through the portal.
And Grog. He was...

-Are they both dead?
-[Vex] No.

Pike was wearing a medallion,
the one that got the cultists through.

She-she might have survived.

But there's no orb, no portal,
no way to follow. They're just...

Gone. It's hopeless.

[Percy] Stop panicking.

Grog may be...

But there is a way to get to Pike.

And it lies beneath Whitestone.

Delilah has clearly been using the orbs
to travel to this other realm,

this Thar Amphala.

Well, we have an orb of our own.

[Vex] Percy, you shut it down.

[Percy] Then we'll just
have to wake it back up.

-[gloom stalker shrieks]
-And hope...

that wherever she is,

Pike stays alive till we find her.

[tense, dramatic music playing]

[Pike] All right, you f*ck.

Let's finish this.

[dramatic music playing]

♪♪

♪♪

[Pike] What are you waiting for? Come on.

The Whispered One awaits you.

[gasps in surprise] What?

[gloomstalkers shrieking]

[Pike] Friends of yours?

Waiting for your false idol
to materialize?

Waiting for you.

Sister Pike.
It's good to see a friendly face.

[gasps in shock]

[groans in pain]

[Taryon] This is a bad dream.

Vox Machina does not lose.

Oh, I assure you, we do.

It just normally doesn't hurt this much.

But not teammates. Friends.

This is not how I imagined
adventuring life.

[sighs dejectedly] Is anyone else
having trouble breathing?

I wish I could say it gets easier.

Talking helps, but right now, yeah,
it's supposed to hurt.

Percy sees it as a problem to solve.

-We all... we all cope differently.
-[Keyleth panting]

New growth.

-It worked.
-[Vax crying out in pain]

Easy now.

Ah, there's no time to worry about me.

There is.

Vax, I... I think I should
show you something.

First we find Pike.

Until then everything else can wait.

[Allura] You may have been closer to them,
but we all share in this horrible loss.

Let there be some comfort knowing Pike and
Grog's sacrifice will never be forgotten.

It was an impossible task.
They carried us all on their shoulders.

As they rest, so too can this horror
finally come to an end.

Sorry, how do you mean?

With the other orb destroyed,
the way is shut. It's over.

-Nothing is over.
-As I've been saying.

Yeah, we lost Grog,
but Pike is still trapped.

We could reach her
through the ziggurat orb.

She could be alive over there.

"Could be"? Yeah, I don't know.

Your optimism is admirable, but the risk
of reactivating the Orb is far too great.

It could allow the Whispered One
to return right beneath the castle.

We don't know that.

Surely you wouldn't endanger our home
again on a gamble, would you?

You've all been through
a tremendous ordeal.

Perhaps consider that we know nothing
about Thar Amphala or its origin.

It may not even sustain life.

-Pike is probably long dead...
-[Percy] Enough.

I've left loved ones behind before.

I swore I would never make
that mistake again.

[dramatic music playing]

[Cassandra] Brother, a word.

[gloom stalker shrieks]

How?

My body has been confined to this plane,

but as belief in me has grown,
so has my strength.

I've been able to apparate
in your realm to a select few.

The Whispered One.
It's been you this whole time.

What can I say?

[angry grunting]

[Gideon groaning in pain]

[snarls]

You lied! To them, to me,
to my grandfather!

You know what? I deserved that.

Now you die.

Wait. That's different.

Before you use that blade,
there are things you need to know.

More lies?

I understand your hesitance,

but my truth is exactly
what your Everlight is afraid you'll hear.

No more secrets. After all,

-you let my friend Zerxus speak.
-[gasps in shock]

Zerxus. H-How?

That's what set all this in motion.

The same choices being offered to you
that led him to his prison.

Poor devil's been ignored
for a thousand years.

Can you blame him
for wanting to break the cycle

of pain and indifference?

Isn't that what you want, too?

-[Cassandra] You cunting doughnut.
-[objects smashing against wall]

[Percy] How dare you accuse me
of sentimentality?

[Cassandra] Percy,
you are undermining my position.

[Percy] Oh, and we're conveniently
forgetting your part in this.

I should stop them
before we're down another De Rolo.

Are you sure?
It sounds dangerous in there.

Darling, I know sibling spats
all too well.

Sometimes a sympathetic ear
is all that's needed.

[Percy] ...wouldn't be here
in the first place.

-Hope I'm not interrupt...
-[Percy and Cassandra] What?

I'm sure the last thing
either of you want is an outside opinion,

but in this case, Percy dear,

-Cassandra is absolutely right.
-[gasps in shock]

Accept my apology
on behalf of your pigheaded brother.

In his absence you have single-handedly
led this city back to prosperity,

-a fact he seems to have forgotten.
-[stammering in disbelief]

No one could do what you've done.

The Orb will remain untouched,
you have my word.

As a new noble, this is my home, too.

Well, thank goodness he married up.

-Have you lost your senses?
-[door opens]

Now, now, Percy darling.
Don't say anything you'll regret.

We are absolutely going through
that f*cking orb. Tonight.

[chuckling] You...
you won't be needing that.

Allow me to show you around.

[tense, suspenseful music playing]

[Gideon] To be honest,

this place is rubbish.

I didn't choose to be here, I was forced.

I know. I saw everything.

Ah, your visions.

You didn't see everything, my dear.

Only what the gods wanted you to see.

[Pike] And what do you want?

[Gideon] Answers, same as you.

Like why you'd risk your life coming here,

not knowing what lay on the other side.

Grog would've done the same for me
a hundred times over.

Sounds like a good friend.

We're both trying to fix things, and both
refuse to accept when we're told we can't.

I don't resent this prison,
I wish to change it, make it better.

All I've ever wanted to do
is to remove pain from the world,

to give people power over their own fate,

but that went against someone's plan.

I'll never understand why
the gods would impede that.

Power and knowledge
are meant to be shared.

You got nice words, I'll give you that...
but I don't buy 'em.

Then may I show you something?

♪♪

Grog!

[Gideon] Your friend is quite stout.

I've seen much worse from those
that come through uninvited.

Restoring his body
took a great deal of power.

Raising him to life will take even more,

and I'm limited here for now.

Y-You can bring him back? Well, h-how?

So much has been kept from you.

This is only the beginning.

No, I can't trust you.

I've seen what your followers have done

to Grog and countless others.

[Gideon] You're right. The Children
of Truth have done horrid things,

but my followers understood that,
if we succeed, none of it will matter.

The hell are you talking about?

[Gideon] Every follower I gain,

every act of defiance on your world
fuels this cause.

[cultists] We are his sight.

-[Gideon] Divine energy funneled here.
-We are his voice.

[Gideon] And used to bring them back.

All I've ever dreamed of
is ending the pain

of losing those who mean the most to us,

so we never have to feel the sting
of mortality again.

Pike, I am trying to cure death.

So, will you listen to my story?

[gentle music playing]

[groaning in pain] Matron...

it hurts.

Shh. I'm here, you're safe.

Couldn't ask for a better nurse.

Though I wish I were a better patient.

Well, the moaning is a lot.

Luckily, I happen to be
in love with you, and...

I'm totally amazing.

[sighs] What's this?

An elixir that can reverse divine curses.

It's derived from a rare flower sample
I found in Delilah's lab.

She was trying to grow
a full bloom to cure Sylas, but...

well, she couldn't nature like I can.

[sighs] Love,

we can't trust anything
that comes from her.

[scoffs] But the Matron is okay?

At least Delilah was fighting for someone
other than herself.

-Kiki.
-It's just...

if we're heading into
who knows what in Thar Amphala,

will you at least consider it?

Who am I not to heed
the Voice of the Tempest?

-[Keyleth gasps]
-[Vax groans softly]

[sighs]

We disabled the Orb's field,
so now we'll disable the disabling.

Pretty sure that's just enabling, darling.

The key will be doing it
without raising an alarm.

My sister has Pale Guard
posted atop the ziggurat.

Luckily, the underground tunnels
should work nicely.

-[amulets clink]
-[Taryon whimpering nervously]

[Percy] T.D., how are the amulets faring?

[Taryon stammers nervously]

Wonderful. [chuckles nervously] In no way
spiraling that, if these aren't perfect,

more of my truest friends
will be turned into tapioca.

Tr-Tremendous. [chuckles nervously]

Tary, look at me, your Little Elf Girl.

Tell me what's on your mind.

[crying] I can't do this.

All I see are Pike and Grog's faces.

They were the first ones who accepted me,
who treated me like a hero,

and now they could be gone.

I'm glad Doty's not here.
This chapter would be such a bummer.

Happy endings are only guaranteed
in storybooks,

but you're more than a story to me.

You've held your own in darkest times
and done it shining like a gem.

You're not some hero from fiction.

You're the real deal.

You are Taryon Darrington of Vox Machina.

Now, don't f*ck it up. I hate tapioca.

[gloomstalkers shrieking]

You can't expect me
to take your words on faith.

Which is why I ask you
to believe your own eyes.

You wield Mythcarver,

a divine weapon from the Knowing Mistress
that reveals the truth

not only of the present but also the past.

Our blood is special.

It tells our story.

What will I see?

My life, the good and the bad.

Before the Calamity,
a great plague decimated Exandria.

Trying to make sense of it all,

my studies of the arcane led me
to a beautiful, talented woman

whose grief over her lost loved ones
matched my own.

Together, we sought a way
to reach the gods,

to implore them to undo
their transgressions against us.

They did not answer.

Their silence only fueled
our passion for knowledge

and our love for each other.

So we vowed to find a way
to create a new world

where no innocent fears death,

to challenge the gods' so-called order.

She was so close.

[woman screams]

[Gideon] But the gods
could not stand to be questioned.

-Their way was the only way.
-[woman screaming]

She was taken from me as punishment.

I was cast out, cursed.

Alone again, I was overcome
with grief and fury

not just for her but for the truth
that was stolen from us.

From all of us.

I swore to even the scales once more,

even if I had to become a god myself.

This woman you loved.
Do you know what happened to her?

The Matron of Ravens
not only destroyed her

but eliminated every trace of her
from existence.

Tell me, Pike,

is a spiteful god worth dying for?

[gasping in shock]

Keyleth?

[tense music playing]

[sighs]

[Matron echoing] Your fate nears,
Champion.

No more riddles. Speak plainly for once.

I can't help anyone
if you don't tell me what's going on.

[Matron] All you need know
is that your future beckons you

toward Thar Amphala.

My gift shall protect you
in the battle ahead.

We're not interested in battles.

We want Pike safely home.

None of us have a death wish.

[Matron] And yet death is your destiny.

You've been preparing for it
since our bargain was struck.

I grant you this power,
more than any mortal could bear.

As the threads of fate reveal themselves,

you will confront the Whispered One.

He will meet his end, as will you.

It is fate, leading to its
inexorable conclusion, my herald.

My right hand. My champion.

[groaning in pain]

[screams]

[gasps in shock]

[Keyleth moans softly]

Vax?

We have to find the others.

[Cassandra] Brother?

I'm sorry about before.

I've poached you a bottle of Courage
to bury the hatchet.

It's a very good year.

Really, Percy, I-I realize you're under
tremendous pressure,

but I just wanted to say thank you.

[gasps] He wouldn't dare.

[tense, suspenseful music playing]

And she actually gave you some clarity?

In a sense.

I think there's a way to tip
this sh*t situation back in our favor.

Really?

Does this mean you're ready
to take the elixir?

Not yet, but keep it close.

You will have to trust me.

[Percy] When we arrive,

I'll disconnect Doty,
which will reactivate the Orb.

We use the amulets to enter
Thar Amphala, rescue Pike,

close the Orb behind us, and pray we don't
get obliterated by a mad sorcerer-god.

I'm more worried about your sister.

[groans]

Look, I get it. I do.

I've lost so much, too.

This isn't about grief, Pike.

Or revenge.

I'm fighting for the right
to control our own fate.

And that scares the gods.

So much so that they sent champions
to seal me away,

-including your ancestor Esreé.
-Yeah.

I saw. You k*lled them.

No, their own gods did.
They were sacrificial lambs.

Pawns. The gods fed off their faith,

then tossed them aside.

Each one, even your Everlight.

It is our worship
that keeps them in power.

Fueling them.

They offer their version of truth
and cast all others aside.

"He shall live. She shall die.
Why? Because we say so."

And woe to anyone who questions them.

But you, you can shine a light
on their hypocrisy.

Me? Wh-What does that...

You are special, Pike.

Your bloodline descends
from celestial origins.

Blessed to transcend the barriers
between the realms of life and death,

mortality and divinity.

The gods used Esreé and discarded her
when she served her purpose.

Her blood flows through your veins

and is the key to sealing me away forever
or helping me ascend.

Celestial? No. Wilhand would have told me.

How could he have known?

The gods hide truths that challenge them.

What's important is what you do next.

The Everlight said
you could choose your own path,

yet they all lead to the same end,
the illusion of free will.

I offer you something the gods
never would, a real choice.

[Taryon] Heads up, if these amulets do not
work, it's not because of the quality.

I chipped two nails carving the filigree.

Well, well, well.
Look who lied to our faces.

You'd risk the lives
of everyone in Whitestone?

For just one person?

Not "one person." For Pike.

We love you all, but I'm afraid
we cannot let that happen.

Step aside.

Friends, I'm sure we can talk this out
like grown-ups.

Just hand over those amulets.

[intense, dramatic music playing]

Then we'll just take them.

-[pained groan]
-Damn it.

Get them back.

[grunting with effort]

[Jarett] Stand down.

-[Taryon] Sunder stone.
-[groans]

I wouldn't try anything if I were you.

[gasping]

[shouts]

[straining]

[Keyleth] Got 'em.

-Uh, we'll apologize later.
-[whistles]

Everyone to the Orb!

I'm disengaging Doty.

Hurry, everyone take one.

Wait, there's only four?

-[pounding on door]
-You honor me with your disbelief,

but I'm not going with you.

You always said I got in the way, right?

Well, let me get in their way.

[Kima straining]

I know real heroes when I see them.
Now bring back our friends.

Hurry.

[Vax] It's open!

-[Kima] Open the f*cking door!
-[Jarett] Let us through!

"The Last Stand of Taryon Darrington."
Ooh, great title.

Doty, take this down!

[exciting music playing]

[Pike] This is a lot. I need more time.

[Gideon] My followers are ready.

Forces gather against me.

I'm afraid time is in short supply.

What if I say no?

Such is your choice.

Your blood is what I need
to return to Exandria,

and it must be freely given.

You must believe.

Choose to strike me down,

and my crusade will be at an end.

Kashaw, Wilhand, Grog.

Your fallen friends will remain so,

or together we will save them

and countless lives
who have suffered under the gods,

ensuring no one endures the loss you have.

[crying]

Well, Pike? Will you help me?

[Keyleth coughs]

[back cracks]

[ethereal trilling]

Brother, your armor.

The blight.

It feels different, better.

The Matron was right. It isn't a curse.

Still, how are we supposed
to find Pike out there?

[Vax] She's always had faith.

Let's hope ours doesn't run out.

[dramatic music playing]

♪♪

Chirp.