Touched by the Gods - Part 2 Atlantis

I made a promise. I have to kill Pasiphae.

Guards! He fled before I could see his face.

We must assume it was an assassin.

I want him found alive.

There's an intruder in the palace.

No, I was sleeping. I have seen no-one.

If I am found in your chambers, they will execute us both.

Where did you find that?

In Princess Ariadne's chamber. It is the blood of the intruder.

Ariadne has been arrested.

She's accused of harbouring the assassin who tried to kill the Queen.

When the moon is at its height, you will be taken to the Brazen Bull.

Ariadne has been sentenced to death.

The Brazen Bull.

They're going to put Ariadne inside it and light the fire, aren't they?

The metal heats until the person inside is roasted to death.

There are tubes inside the head of the animal.

The victim's screams become like the bellowing of a bull.

It is a truly remarkable piece of craftsmanship.

HERCULES CLEARS THROAT

I'm sorry. I should think before I speak.

This is all my doing.

Where are you going?

To hand myself in.

If I confess that it was me that tried to kill the Queen,

perhaps she will spare Ariadne's life.

Ariadne is all that stands between the Queen and the throne.

Pasiphae will never spare her life.

She will execute you alongside Ariadne.

Well, then, so be it. I won't let her die alone.

Because being slowly cooked to death together is so much more preferable.

I'm not going to let Ariadne think that I abandoned her.

You think you will have a hero's death?

You will achieve nothing, and die a fool.

We have been through too much together,

and I have grown too fond of you to let you throw your life away.

I will not let that happen.

We will stop this, or we will die trying.

But we will go down fighting,

not roasted in the belly of some fat bronze bull.

You're fond of me? You've never even admitted that you like me...

Don't make a big thing of it.

I'm marginally less fond of you than I am of him.

And I'm less fond him than I am of wine, and pies.

That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me.

KEYS RATTLE

I'm so scared.

My child. I wish more than anything this was not your fate.

I have been a fool.

I have given the Queen all that she desired.

The people will suffer under her reign, and it is all my doing.

You cannot blame yourself. We must pray to Poseidon.

There is still hope.

I no longer seek comfort in the gods.

I fear they have abandoned me.

Do not say that. We will pray together.

My fate is sealed.

I ask one thing of you...

Anything.

Will you tend to my father?

Make his final days as comfortable as can be.

I will do all that I can.

Thank you.

SHE PRAYS SOFTLY

You believe the gods will forgive you for what you do?

Ariadne is a Princess of Atlantis, a goddess on Earth.

It is not for you to decide her fate.

Her fate has been decided. Sentence has been passed.

To execute her is a violation of our most sacred laws.

The King would never allow it.

The King is gravely ill.

It has fallen to me to punish those who would betray him.

The swiftness of the King's illness has taken us all by surprise.

You believe that nothing stands between yourself and the throne.

With your powers of foresight,

surely you must know it would be unwise to try and stop me?

It is not I who will stop you.

Even as we speak, your nemesis draws near.

No. Your riddles do not scare me.

They should. For like you, he is touched by the gods.

Touched by the gods or otherwise, if he seeks to interfere,

he shall die at my hand.

Do not make the mistake of thinking it will be

so easy for you to kill him.

PASIPHAE BREATHES HEAVILY

Who is this person you speak of?

You will find out soon enough.

BANGING ON DOOR

You plan to try and rescue Princess Ariadne?

No. Nothing of the sort. We have an infestation of mice.

Big mice, the size of dogs,

with big teeth, the size of cats...

Teeth the size of cats? Really? HE GIGGLES NERVOUSLY

And what if we were to try and rescue Ariadne?

The courtyard will be heavily guarded.

You will never succeed alone.

Are you saying you'll help us?

I serve the King.

You pray for Ariadne?

We must all pray for her...

But I sense that you have other plans.

Ariadne is ready to give up her life to protect me.

I will rescue her, or die trying.

Why do you smile?

There was a time when you would ask me what it was you should do.

Now you choose your own path.

But I don't know if we'll succeed, or where we'll go even if we do...

I just...I wanted to say that I am grateful for everything that

you've done for me.

Oh, it is we that should be grateful that our prayers were answered.

Keep praying, the chances are that we're all going to die.

I have to go.

There is a place...

Go to the old silver mines of Pangeon in the mountains of Galena.

Perhaps they will not think to look for you...among the dead.

What do you mean?

You will come to understand.

May the gods be with you.

DRUMBEATS

SHE WHIMPERS

GATE OPENS

Wine coming through. Excuse me.

I'm very sorry...

HE SLURS DRUNKENLY Thank you very much.

WINE SPILLS

No, no, no.

SHE WHIMPERS

No, no, no. Stop.

SHE SOBS

Stop...

SCREAMING

I will take the prisoner.

Keep your head, and trust your friends.

Come with me.

Halt! Halt!

GUARD GROANS

Are you hurt?

I thought I would never see you again.

Come on.

HERCULES: Praise the gods.

We feared you had been caught.

Ramos, you're hurt?

It does not matter. There is no time to waste.

How do we escape? Every gate will be sealed.

There is a way. We must hurry.

I have never smelt such foul smelling muck.

And that from the foulest smelling man in the whole of Atlantis.

We cannot go on. We must see to his wound.

We do not stop until we are far from Atlantis.

The forest lies beyond.

They will not be able to track us through the trees at night.

Are we going to we fit through?

We will.

Out of my way, you skinny sack of bones.

METAL CREAKS

Is that wide enough for you?

It always was wide enough for me.

PEOPLE APPROACH, SHOUTING

Go. I will hold them off as long as I can.

We're not leaving you.

We both know I will not survive my injuries.

If you are caught, then I will have died for nothing.

No... If you wish to honour my memory then you must live to do so.

Thank you.

It seems there is more than one traitor in the palace.

You and the Queen are chief among them.

You serve the King, or have you forgotten that?

Kill him.

Kill him!

GRUNTING

You are an honourable man, Ramos.

It is a lesson to us all.

RAMOS MOANS, GASPS

We brought you a change of clothes.

Just something more suitable for journeying across the mountains.

Perhaps you could do me the courtesy of turning your backs

while I change into them? Of course.

You looked!

I just happened to glance in that direction...

I looked because you looked.

Now I want to look. No-one's looking.

What if we all have a peek each?

No. Just a quick one...

How do I look?

I don't know. I was looking the other way just admiring this...tree.

You may turn around now.

You look, lovely.

I was going to say the same.

Really?

Thank you.

I fear I may never return to Atlantis.

You once told me that you wished for a simple life,

perhaps this is your chance to have it.

What is it?

At least one of us gets to be with the woman he loves.

You're thinking about Medusa?

There is still hope.

We will not rest until we find a way to lift this curse.

Are we headed in any particular direction,

or are we just fleeing in a general direction?

We're heading to the mines of Pangeon.

The Oracle said they wouldn't think to look for us amongst the dead.

The dead? What did she mean?

I don't know. She just said we were to go there.

That's the problem with these Oracles,

they only ever tell you half the story.

I found this among the embers of the fire.

Ariadne looked so beautiful in this dress.

Such a shame.

The scouts found some tracks leading west.

I want them captured before sundown.

HE GROANS

DOOR CLOSES

It is as you feared. The King is being poisoned.

We must do all we can to save him.

You always said that he had no right to be on the throne.

But if Pasiphae were to seize power...

the suffering she would cause - it cannot be allowed to happen.

It is the lesser of two evils.

Something's troubling you?

Are you certain it was wise to send Jason to the silver mines?

He will be safe there.

Who better to protect him than his own father?

Are we sure this is a good idea?

Any other ideas?

Don't even think about saying we could grow beards.

I wasn't going to. Imagine you with a beard. A ridiculous idea.

What is it?

I thought I saw something.

Perhaps it was nothing.

ROCKS FALL

Please. We did not mean to startle you.

We mean you no harm.

What are you doing here?

This is our home.

You live here, in the caves?

We are shunned because of our disease.

The Oracle. She was referring to the living dead.

They are lepers.

What brings you here?

I was told to come here by the Oracle in the Temple of Poseidon.

She told me it would be safe.

Safe from whom?

From Pasiphae. The Queen would see us all executed.

What is your name?

It's Jason.

Will you help us?

Our home is yours.

HERCULES: I imagined us hiding out somewhere sunny, spending the days

drinking wine in the shade of an olive grove.

Instead we are to hide out in a cold,

dark cave with a bunch of lepers.

Thank you.

Ooh...um.

HE LAUGHS HAPPILY

She is the Princess Ariadne?

She was to be put to death in the Brazen Bull.

Well, surely Minos would never allow such a thing?

The King is on his death bed. He is powerless.

And now there is nothing that stands between Pasiphae and the throne.

Such desire for power. It is truly a dangerous thing.

How long have you had your disease?

Many years now.

I have almost forgotten what life was like before it.

I am sorry.

There was a time when I pitied myself...

..but I have found better, more loyal friends among these people...

..than I ever had in the outside world.

She is very beautiful.

You have feelings for her?

More than I can express.

A little bit more. Thank you.

Lovely people these lepers. Good cooks too.

Have you tried the stew? I have never known a man whose heart

and head are so ruled by his stomach.

I'm sorry. I didn't see you there.

I have come to pray with the King. You may leave us.

The Queen instructed me to attend to the King at all times.

No-one but a priest may tend to the King at this time.

The royal death rites are a sacred ritual, as Poseidon demands it.

Would you dare defy the gods?

They have taken shelter in the old silver mines.

The tracks lead right to the entrance.

Flush them out.

I want Ariadne taken alive.

We shall execute her in front of her people.

It will serve as a lesson to those who would defy me.

And those who helped her escape?

Kill them where they stand.

Men!

They have found you. What's happening?

Soldiers are advancing on the entrance to the mines.

I said we shouldn't have come here. We are trapped.

Not quite. There is a different way out.

It leads to the other side of the mountains. The others will stay here

and delay the soldiers as long as they can. Come.

What did I tell you? Wonderful people.

Thank you.

THE SOLDIERS COUGH

HEPTARIAN: After them!

You must continue alone. What about you?

I must help my people. Head north through the forest.

You will come to a small stream. I will meet you there.

Thank you.

Jason! No-one knows the caves like they do.

Tychon will join us soon enough.

HORSE WHINNIES

Make for the trees!

Where are the others?

I thought they were behind us. Come on.

Jason? Hercules?

HE GASPS

Sssh! Sssh!

You scared the life out of me.

Thank you, Hercules, for saving my life yet again(!)

I fear you will take my life if you do not get off me.

There. Take them down.

HORSE WHINNIES

I'll hold them off. Head north and I'll catch up with you.

I'm not leaving you. It's our only chance. You have to run.

Run!

SOLDIER GASPS

Help me. I'm hurt.

No! No! Jason!

Ensure Ariadne is left unharmed.

She'll be returning to Atlantis with us.

I'll see to this one myself. Go!

No!

This does not concern you.

It concerns us both.

You do not recognise me, yet it was you who made me like this.

Aeson?

You have Princess Ariadne. You have what you came for.

Now leave the boy and go.

Who is he to you?

He is our son.

He is touched by the gods, as you are.

He is your blood.

But I believed him to be dead.

When you betrayed me and usurped the throne with Minos, I took him

somewhere he would be safe, where you would never find him.

Does he know who he is?

Does he know I am his mother?

No.

Why did you not tell him?

I will not see him corrupted by this endless quest for power.

To live a life where he cannot even trust his own wife.

I do not want to see him die fighting for the throne.

And what if he feels differently?

If he doesn't know who he is, then he will never challenge you.

I do not believe that you can kill your own son.

Give me your word that he will never know the truth.

You have my word.

It seems we can finally agree on something.

Jason, Jason. Come. We must leave here.

Come on.

Jason!

Help me.

Where's Ariadne?

They have taken her. There is nothing you could have done.

We have to go after them. You're too weak. It is madness.

I have to try.

You are of no use to Ariadne if you cannot hold a sword.

We will gather some herbs to pack your wounds.

Rest.

You should not return to Atlantis.

You will be too late to save Ariadne. I have to try.

It doesn't have to be this way.

You can choose a different life for yourself.

I would have no life at all if Ariadne were to die

and I did nothing to try and save her.

There was a time when I was like you.

Jason!

THEY GRUNT

HEPTARIAN GASPS

You...

This is as far as I go. Keep heading east.

You should reach Atlantis by sundown.

Thank you for everything you have done.

Perhaps we will meet again one day.

I hope so.

You should be proud of the man you have become.

Lovely fellows.

Take her to the cells.

Father!

Minos?

You would execute my daughter as I lie on my deathbed?

No, no. Ariadne has been found guilty of treason.

She has been tried in accordance with our laws.

You must know I would never betray you.

She has conspired against me...

Whatever Ariadne has done, I do not believe her capable of treason.

You are mistaken. Your sickness has clouded your judgment. Enough!

You do not question my judgment!

We will discuss this later.

Release my daughter at once.

You dare to defy your King?!

They'll be holding Ariadne in the palace.

You realise attempting to rescue her is suicide? I'm just saying...

I have to try.

Melas?

I bring word from Princess Ariadne.

What is it?

It seems I have much to thank you for.

My daughter tells me that she owes you her life.

She owes me nothing.

You showed great courage. There is a debt to be paid.

I don't seek a reward.

Just knowing that she is safe and unharmed is enough.

Whatever feelings you may have for her, you must forget them.

Ariadne is of royal blood. Nothing can ever happen between you.

You knew all along, didn't you?

You knew he was my son.

You did not think to tell me?

All that I have done, I have done to protect him.

What do you see for him?

What of his future?

What is to become of him? Tell me.

It is your own future that should concern you.

What do you see?

Your paths are as one.

The day will come when Jason will destroy you.

What do you mean he offered you a purse of gold?

For saving Ariadne.

And you turned it down? You know what you are?

You're an idiot. I don't know why I bother with you.

It's because you like me. You admitted it.

A moment of weakness. Just be grateful for it.

Grateful? What makes you think I like you?

Everyone likes me. What's not to like?

Well, the lying, the stealing, the drinking, the gambling...

The farting.

All right. Apart from the lying, the stealing, the drinking,

the gambling, and the farting. What's not to like?

Nothing.

You see. You're finally starting to understand.

This is why I'm a legend among my people.

Did I tell you about when I wrestled the Nemean lion?

Now there's a story...