01x13 - Transformation

[bunniefuu]

I have nothing to discuss with you.

Not even the Forge?

Well, I assume that's why you came here,
to protect it from people like me.

Good guess.

You can feel it, can't you?

The energy of the eight weapons.

Credit to the original architects,

building a monastery
on top of the Forge. Clever.

The night I raided this place,

I had no idea that I was so close
to the source of biange.

Well, that's as close
as you'll ever get.

- Oh, is that so?
- Yes.

You're outnumbered, Zhilan.

- These women were ready for you.
- Hmm.

Well, I'm not here for them.

I'm here for you, to enter the Forge.

Warrior and guardian must cross.

Together.

Words from the scroll.

It turns out... you're my key inside.

Why would I help you?

Because you're weak.

Your attachments makes you weak.

They make you vulnerable.

Lucky for me.

I warned you.

You're not cut out for this.

Looks like a very special event
at 219 Astor Street.

A wedding.

How did you get these?

My men are parked outside
your family's home.

And rest assured,

they're armed with much worse
than spears and swords.

Hmm. Some salmons
and corals slipped through.

Uh...

Yeah, this one's a no.

This one too.

Uh... This one's borderline.

Mmm...

Better safe than sorry.

Uh... Great. Thank you.

Catering, come on in.

Go straight back.
Come on, come on, come on.

- Yes, sir.
- Catering, in the kitchen, please.

Baba, the silk cushions
for the tea ceremony.

What?

Nicky was storing them
in your bedroom closet.

Look, I raced out of there.
Mama was singing so out of tune.

It's still early
and I haven't warmed up.

Ma, you weren't practicing
for the reception, were you?

- Althea said no karaoke tonight.
- Mmm-mmm.

We'll see what she says...
after the baijiu comes out.

Oh!

Da Hong Pao, Lung Ching.
Where's the Tieguanyin?

What do you mean,
"Where's the Tieguanyin?"

Ah... Oh!

You look great!

Thank you.

But please don't tell me we're missing
Dennis' Nai Nai's favorite tea.

His aunt hand-carried that
all the way from Hong Kong.

Okay. Um...

Po Po's been slamming tea all morning.
I didn't think it was that tea.

Oh, God.

No, no, no. Hey, don't freak out.

I got this. Nicky's playbook.

"In case of emergency,

appendix 6C, extra tea is in the cabinet
above the fridge."

Nicky Shen saves the day.

A puzzle. Charming.

Sixteen panels,
eight guardians, eight warriors.

I don't know what you want me to do.
I have no idea how to open this.

It takes two.

All you have to do is start.

It's not science, Harvard.
It's instinct.

And you know that.

So stop stalling.

Unless you wanna add a fresh
shade of red to your sister's dress.

Now you.

"Only warrior and guardian may cross."

Call off your men.
I did what you asked. I opened the door.

Come.

The Forge,

where the weapons were made,

where the sorcerers enchanted them
1,500 years ago.

What?

I don't feel anything.

Do you?

No.

It's gone.

The energy is gone.

The energy is missing.

Did you have something to do with this?

How could I?
I just found out this place exists.

A bed? Of course.

A sorcerer lived here.

Protecting the Forge.

A sorcerer like the original monk
who enhanced the eight weapons?

I read about that in ancient texts.

He had students, disciples.

They lived monastic lives,

learning how to draw
biange energy from the earth,

how to infuse it into vessels
like the Forge,

and from the Forge, into the weapons.

I assumed that they d*ed out
but apparently the line lived on.

And one of them
was living here underground.

Ziqi.

The last of her kind.

Only she would have the skill to take
the energy from the Forge to hold it.

What do you know?

I saw her one night.

Two years ago in the courtyard,

I thought I was imagining things,
but she...

I saw a green glow.

Biange energy.

Pei-Ling.

My sister paid me a visit two years ago.

She knew I had designs on the sword,
on biange.

When she returned here,
she must have raised the alarm.

That's why Ziqi packed up the Forge.
That's why she fled.

How? One woman to all that energy...

Well, that's part of the sorcerer's art.

Only they have the focus and training.

She has practiced her whole life,
cultivating this rare ability,

to hold a universe of biange energy
inside of herself,

she would need to find a place to hide,
like this chamber,

a place that was peaceful,
undisturbed, silent.

I need to find Pei-Ling's
little stowaway.

One of your sisters must know more.

Only one way to find out.

Okay, if Ziqi needed a quiet place,

a sanctuary to keep the energy safe,
I might know where she went.

Pei-Ling used to tell me of a place,

the quietest,
most tranquil place she knew.

The ruins of an ancient temple
in Hengduan Mountains.

That sounds like a guess at best.

She mentioned the eastern side
of the range, near a quarry.

Hardly narrows it down.

I can find it.

I just... I need your phone.

Mmm.

- Hello?
- Ryan, it's Nicky.

What's this number? Are you okay?

I'm fine, I just...
I need Althea's help.

It's a computer thing.

Ah, it's Saturday.

Althea's tea ceremony
is happening right now.

Ryan, please.

I need her help, like hella bad.

Just have her sneak away
and call me back on this number, okay?

Althea.

Hey, who was it?

Uh, Nicky.

Right, Althea told me, food poisoning.
Sucks she's missing the wedding.

Yeah, yeah.
She's desperate to talk to Althea but...

I have no idea
how to pull her away from them.

Look, I owe Nicky big time.

If she really needs to talk to Althea,
if it's an emergency...

It is.

Okay. I got this.

Pissing off my mom,
kind of my specialty.

Are you sure?

Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry!

- I'm sorry!
- Oh!

Does anybody have a towel?

It was an accident! I'm so, so sorry!
Oh, my goodness!

- I'm so sorry.
- Don't worry.

Hey. Nicky called.
She needs your help. She's in trouble.

That was on purpose? Are you crazy?

Po Po is gonna think
our marriage is cursed.

Relax.

There's no broken glass,
it's not tea-related, just flowers.

Oh, like that distinction
means anything to Po Po.

You really think this is urgent?

By the way that Nicky was talking, yeah.

Also, I think she sent me
a secret message.

She said, "hella bad."

Um, when we were kids,
when bullies were after me,

and I really needed Nicky
to stand up to them,

I would say things were
"hella serious" or "hella bad."

Okay. But, Ryan, that's a story
about you being in trouble, not Nicky.

Mmm...

Wait, you think she's warning us?

That's her.

If your sister fails, she dies,
along with the rest of your family.

- Althea.
- Nicky.

Hey, I need your help finding someone.

A woman named Ziqi.

She's living
in the eastern Hengduan Mountains,

near a quarry,
at some kind of temple or ruin.

Sounds like you'd have better luck
with a bloodhound.

Bloodhounds can't hack satellites.

Neither can I.

What about a weather satellite?
Anything with an overhead view?

I can't get you aerials, but...

GigaPing.

It's a texting app. It's huge overseas
but has a ton of vulnerabilities.

Okay, I can hack into their server,
comb their geotags.

Geotags?

Location info off photos,

tourist sh*ts, selfies,
anything taken around those mountains.

Yeah, do that.

Okay. There are a ton of user photos.

Nature sh*ts, people hiking,
not sure how to narrow this down.

Uh... Try flowers.

Flowers?

- What?
- Biange blooms.

Until I saw these downstairs,
I thought they were a myth.

Wherever biange energy is concentrated,
these flowers blossom.

They d*ed when Ziqi left
with the energy,

but if she still has it,
they may be growing where she is.

Nicky, can you be
a little more specific?

Long, bright purple needles
with inset fuchsia buds.

- Who was that?
- No one.

Can you look for the flowers?

I'll add flowers to the tag, but...

There's some sort of mystery bloom
in a remote part of the mountain.

Botanical curiosity that emerged
a couple of years ago.

Sending you a photo and coordinates.

Perfect.

Did you get it?

Yeah, got it.

Time to say goodbye.

Okay, uh, thank you, Althea. Gotta go.

Out of the car!

Let's see your hands!

On the ground!

All clear, sir.

- You sure?
- Mmm-hmm.

Okey-dokey.

Do you think she understood our code?

"Okey-dokey"?

I don't know. I hope so.

What are you guys doing up here?
Did you see what's happening?

Yeah. Chloe said she's really sorry.

Not that. There are cops outside.

They're making some kind of arrest.

What's going on here?

You're not going anywhere.

I told you, you try to stop me,
your family dies.

Actually, I know
my family is safe. Sorry.

Impossible. I heard every word.

"Okey-dokey."

Shen family code for
"The bullies are gone."

I guess my attachments
are also my strength.

You have no leverage.

It's over.

Have you learned nothing
from our encounters, little monk?

I don't need leverage to kick your ass.

You brought backup.

No. Whoever's out there,
they're not my men.

Seems I've been followed.

By who?

Russell Tan.

Henry, go.
The sisters, help them.

I'm not letting you take the weapons.

Let's make this quick.

What are they waiting for?

Nicky!

I'm okay.

Tan's men got the weapons.

Where do you think he's taking them?

If I had to guess, Ziqi.

Zhilan's gone. I saw her drive off.

Tan, Zhilan, it doesn't matter
who gets to Ziqi first.

We have to stop them.

How? They've got a head start
and we don't even have a car.

We have a truck.

I got service.

Like 50 texts from my family.

- Nicky, what's going on?
- Are you guys safe?

Yeah, Evan had those guys arrested.

Okay, I might lose you guys in a second,
so I need you to promise me something.

- What?
- Promise me not to worry.

Promise me you'll have an amazing day.

A day that is everything
you planned for.

Althea, you and Dennis deserve it.

You all deserve it.

- Nicky?
- Promise.

We promise.

Okay.

Love you, g...

Okay.

- Okay.
- Okay.

You heard your sister.

Po Po's gonna wonder where we are.

Come on, let's go. Come on.

She's spending
a lot of time with Dennis.

Yeah. She's definitely trying to steal
my husband.

It's time.

Let's go.

What is happening?

The sorcerer.

I trust you have been comfortable
in our care.

I have nothing to say to you.
Nothing has changed.

You're mistaken, Ziqi.

Much has changed.

You can feel it, can't you?

I have told you...

the weapons...

the energy within...

they are not meant for you.

You are not worthy of that power.

You will transfer the energy
to the weapons.

You will initiate biange for me.

The energy wants to come out.
It wants to be free.

And these weapons
want to be charged again.

When I found you here
months ago, I told you,

there would be an easy way
and a hard way.

You can make this stop right now.

Release the energy.

- What is it?
- I can feel it.

Biange.

If you give up freely,
you might even survive.

Biange is coming, one way or another.

No.

Very well.

If you won't give it up,
I'll have to take it.

Ziqi!

No!

Ziqi! No!

The warrior.

- We need to get you help.
- You're here.

I can let go now.

No!

Hello?

Hey, Nicky,
I missed you last night.

Evan?

Just reminding you, I promised DA Hughes

she'd finally meet
my rock star girlfriend.

Fair warning,
she's probably gonna grill you

about how you pulled off the win
on that Klymer case...

Good morning.

Hey, there's some eggs in the pan,
still warm.

Baba, your eye.

Oh, this? It's nothing.
Fell off a ladder.

Nicky, I was on the phone
with Mrs. Chang.

Her daughter Eunice
just got promoted at her law firm.

She said she'd have coffee with you,
give you a few pointers.

If you don't take care of your career,
who will?

Mama, what day is it?
When did I get back from the monastery?

Monastery?
What monastery?

Hey. Stay with me.

- Kerwin?
- Yeah.

How are you here? How is this possible?

- What does it matter?
- No.

Just stay with me. Hey.

No. No, I have some place to be.

Look...

whatever you're chasing,
it's not more important than this.

No. I have to go.

- Don't go.
- I have to go.

- Don't go.
- I have to go!

Look who finally decided to show.

Ugh!

Traffic will be bad at the Golden Gate.
I need to get going.

Golden Gate?
The clinic's like five blocks away.

Uh, you know I stopped
working at the clinic.

What? Why?

Uh... 'cause I'm drowning
in medical school debt.

Besides, it's not like
I was making a difference there anyway.

Look, whatever.
I'm making bank at the MedSpa.

Later, sis.

I didn't tell you this, Diana?

The Galapagos.

I set him straight.

The Maldives,
not subject to negotiation.

Nicky, what are you doing here?

Could you just give us a sec?

- Nicky, what are you...
- I need your help.

Something happened in China,
something big.

Biange got loose.
It zapped out, I felt it hit me.

And now I need to find it before Zhilan
or Russell Tan get their hands on it.

But I'm stuck in this bizarre nightmare
where I never ran away to the monastery,

and I don't know what to do
and I could really use your help.

You have no idea
what I'm talking about.

I'm sorry, sis.

I should really get back to Diana.

Call me later though, okay?
I'm worried about you.

Great.

Henry.

Hey.

Sorry, do I know you?

No. I guess you don't.

Okay, I'm really starting to hate
whatever this place is.

Pei-Ling.

You led me to the place
where I k*lled you.

Why?

Or are you stalling?

Slowing me down? Hmm?

Stopping me from claiming what is mine,
the rest of biange!

No.

I am trying to reach you.

I do not blame you for anything.

You were so young.

What you endured, what you saw.

You never knew our mother.

She never had a chance to teach you...

Where is she?

Where is Nicky?

She has the rest of it, the energy,
and I will take it.

I know deep down,
as hard as you fight for it,

this is not about power.

It's about pain.

You think that power
is the only thing that can fill you,

the only way to escape your pain.

But, sister,
no one should have all that power.

There are other ways.

Let me guess.

Prayer.

Meditation.

Good works.

Love.

You felt love.

The Tan boy...

Enough!

It's never too late to change.

Even now, you still have a choice.

I've made my choice.

Pei-Ling.

What are you doing here?

I led you here, Nicky.

I needed you to see this place
as it was.

Ziqi?

Guangli, the first sorcerer.

I need your help.
Biange, it's happening.

I know, my child.

I need to know
how to destroy the energy,

to end biange, once and for all.

Are you certain?

Certain of what?

Certain that is what you truly want.

Biange is inside you,

both of you.

Then what is this dream?

What you saw was a life without biange.

Biange is neither good nor evil.

It can lead to great destruction
but also change.

It is the spark of transformation.

The world needs biange.

You saw pieces of your family,

what their lives would be
without that spark.

Being a warrior
is not about wielding a w*apon.

It is about that desire for change.

It is what inspired you
to jump into my truck years ago.

You knew I was a warrior?

All that time?

Yes.

I knew you were not ready,

that you had to make peace
with your family,

but I regret I waited to tell you more.

I thought...

I thought we would have more time.

Shifu?

Is it really you?

How?

I once told you

there are mysteries in the world.

Magic.

Biange makes many things possible.

The world needs that energy.

I don't understand.

Destroying biange is the only way
to save my family, to end this cycle,

all the struggle, the v*olence.

Look beyond the duality
of good and evil, Nicky.

Do not fear it.

Do not run from it.

But if it's wrong
to wield all of biange,

wrong to destroy it,
if the world needs it then...

Biange is out now.

In me, in Zhilan.

Shifu, what do I do?

What I always taught you.

You make your own path.

Your own choice.

Hello, little monk.

The power has chosen us both,

warrior and guardian.

- You're no guardian.
- Biange disagrees.

Come on, Harvard.

You have an ancient power
flowing through you.

Use it.

You surprise me.

I thought I'd b*at
the fight out of you by now.

But there's one thing standing between
me and what I came for, your life.

The energy has left the weapons.

We're the vessels now.

Shifu, what do I do?
If the world needs it, then...

Make your own path.

I don't want to wield biange.

I don't wanna destroy it either.

It was taken from the earth
and I'm going to send it back.

No one should have all that power.

Biange doesn't belong to us.

It belongs to me.

What are you doing?

I'm doing the one thing you can't.

Letting it go.

It's gone...

all of it.

It's not gone.

It's back out in the world
where it belongs.

Do it.

I have nothing left.

Do it.

I'm not you.

What do you say

Is this the time

For one more try...

- My brave girl.
- Baba.

I'm so glad you're okay.

- Nicky?
- Mama.

- Mama.
- Nicky.

Is it over?

We're safe. Zhilan's not a thr*at.

But biange, our birthright,
I don't think that'll ever be over.

It's who we are.

How are we on time?

Checked the traffic, the roads
are wide open. Galapagos is a go.

- Who's that?
- It's Nicky. She's home...

I mean, she's feeling better.

Okay. I'm nervous
about missing our flight,

but is there a chance we can swing by,
just for a quick hi-bye?

Of course.

Hey, let me grab Nicky a slice of cake.

Now that she's keeping food down again,

she can at least get
a little taste of the wedding.

Aw.

You're already the best husband.

Dennis, wait.

Nicky didn't have food poisoning,
she was in China.

What?

There's something you need to know
about my sister.

- Hey.
- Hey.

I heard the wedding was a smash.

Yeah. See for yourself.

- Yep, she's breathtaking.
- Yeah.

- Binder was clutch, by the way.
- Mmm-hmm. You're welcome.

How was riding solo?

Not bad and not that solo.

Hooked up with one
of Dennis' groomsmen.

Aha. Interesting.

So, you took down Zhilan?

Yep. And you were right.

It wasn't physics.

I flew again,
but like, way higher this time.

Whoa. See, now you're just bragging.

And biange?

Turns out it isn't good or evil.

Biange is transformation,
and the world needs it.

When I was fighting Zhilan,
I realized I didn't have to destroy it.

I could use it without holding onto it.

I could let it go.

So I sent it out into the world.

What does that mean?

It's not in one place anymore,
but it's also not gone.

Well, sis, you see any more flying
in your future?

I don't think so.
I kind of had to give up the juice.

Hmm.

- But...
- What?

Since it happened,
something in me feels...

different.

Oh...

What does that mean?

Super strength?
Telekinesis? X-ray vision?

Stay tuned.

Got your note.
Took some work getting away from Hughes.

Come with me.

- Evan, what is this about?
- Look, I don't want to play games.

The man I've been looking into,
Russell Tan?

The one who's been buying up

half the vacant properties
in San Francisco for some reason.

A few days ago, he nearly k*lled
my best friend in China.

From what I've dug up,

he's not just buying up properties,
he's buying up people.

Politicians, authorities, our boss.

I don't know what he has planned
in this city,

but I can tell it's something big
and I think you know more.

So you're gonna tell me
everything you know about Russell Tan.

Now.

I tried to warn you
about Zhilan.

Neither of you realize that all this is
just one part of a much bigger puzzle.

She may be finished,
but I've just started.

Nicky Shen doesn't know it yet.

There's a girl out there.

A young woman.

Her cousin.

She is the daughter
of a warrior and a guardian.

I've kept tabs on her for years.

Waiting and watching
for the right moment.

Now that the weapons are gone
and biange is free without a home...

it is time.

She is the key to everything.

- How is your family?
- Good.

Don't think they really understand
what happened in China,

but they say they're proud of me.

How's your arm?

Better.

Our scars match now.

So, uh, what now?

Well, my sisters at the monastery
are safe.

Pei-Ling's k*ller is in jail.

The weapons are buried or destroyed,
and biange is back in the world.

I know the fight is not over,
but beyond that?

No idea what's next.

Nicky Shen, without a plan?

Excuse me. Who says I don't have a plan?
I have a plan.

Oh, yeah? What?

- Jasmine milk tea, half sweet.
- Extra boba.

You know me so well.