Heaven’s Gate
Written by: Caina Q. Fuller ©
Episode #14. The Messenger.
Fade In-Hell
Eve stands before Hephaestus, uncertain
if he is friend or foe until he attempts to snatch the necklace from her neck.
She barely manages to divert his hand before he grabs onto it.
She kicks him in the gut, opens the Key
and then presses it to his chest. The key begins to glow and absorbs
Hephaestus. She sighs and holds the key
up, admiring it.
Eve
One down, six to go.
Eve takes off down the hall at a fast
pace, forgetting she has to move slowly in order to be invisible. As she is
walking, a demon steps out from a niche in the wall and blocks her path. She is ARTEMIS, former goddess of the hunt
and Apollo’s twin sister.
Artemis
I don’t know what you’re doing here, but
I’m
going to make certain you never leave.
Eve
And you are…?
Artemis
Artemis. Goddess of the Hunt.
Eve
What is this? The Olympian has-been
welcoming
committee? Aphrodite didn’t tell me it
would be
this easy.
Eve moves to put the key to Artemis’
chest but she throws a green energy ball at Eve. The Messenger goes flying
through the air and lands painfully on her back.
Artemis comes in for the kill, but Eve
disappears now that she is still. The former goddess stops, looking around in
confusion. Unlike Hephaestus, who’d
designed the necklace, Artemis cannot see Eve while wearing the cloak. Eve remains on the ground, then slowly, very
slowly, she gets up and moves in on Artemis. However before she can press the
key to her, Artemis rushes away, down the hall.
Eve
Damn. I’ll have to remember to move
slowly.
Sweat has begun to glisten on her
forehead, so she takes a water skin from her hip and takes a drink. She then
wipes sweat from her forehead.
Eve
Not too slowly.
Eve continues on down the hall.
Int. Throne room
Lucifer sits on his throne, listening to
the screams of torture happening around him. As he does, Athena appears before
him. She doesn’t look like herself however. Now she’s all scaly from her
transformation into a demon. Lucifer holds out a hand to her.
Lucifer
Come to me, my
pretty.
Athena moves forward and straddles his
lap. Their lips meet in a kiss, and as they kiss, their ugliness fades away.
They look like they did in life, instead of the monsters hell has made them.
Athena breaks the kiss, and Lucifer holds up a mirror.
Athena
You’ve given me my beauty again.
Lucifer
For a little while. You and the other
Olympians
have been a valuable asset to the forces
of hell.
Athena
Tell me what I must do to rid myself of
those
scales forever, and I will do it. No
matter what it
is.
Lucifer grins and pulls her to him in a
passionate kiss. They are soon interrupted however, by Artemis.
Artemis
Oh please. You play the whore so easily
Athena.
Athena turns to Artemis, a smug grin on
her face.
Athena
Whatever. Go away.
Athena and Lucifer begin kissing again,
but Artemis doesn’t go away as ordered.
Artemis
This is much more important than your
libido.
Hell has a new arrival.
Lucifer
So what? We get hundreds of thousands
every day.
Artemis
This one is special. She’s not dead. As
a matter
of fact, she’s Eve. The same Eve
responsible for
Olympus’ fall.
Lucifer stands, plopping Athena off his
lap. The former goddess of Wisdom gets up, insulted, but says nothing to rebuke
him.
Lucifer
Eve… I don’t
care what you have to do, but find
her and bring
her to me.
Close up on Lucifer
Fade Out.
End of Teaser.
Act One
Fade in-Earth
Gabrielle and Hope stand beside a lake, looking out at the rising
sun. Hope begins rubbing her eyes while
Gabrielle takes in a deep breath of the fresh air. Hope looks to be about seven months pregnant.
Hope
It’s really pretty Mother. Now let’s get back to
sleep.
Gabrielle
(laughing)
It looks like you’ve inherited your mom’s love of
sleeping in. Let’s stay up and get the day started.
Hope
Only if you promise to teach me the staff. I seem
to have forgotten what I knew about fighting
before Dahak died.
Gabrielle’s smile fades away and she
turns to the camp.
Gabrielle
I’m not so sure that’s a good idea Hope. You’re
pregnant. You could get hurt.
Hope
We’ll be careful.
Gabrielle
No.
Hope frowns in confusion and follows her
mother back to the camp.
Hope
Why not?
Gabrielle pulls the cloth from a basket filled with fruit and
begins to eat.
Hope
Mother? Why won’t you teach me to fight with
the staff?
Gabrielle
Hope, Eli has given you a second chance that
most people can only dream of. Every day you
forget more and more about the evil in your past.
Like your fighting for instance. Why would you
want that back?
Hope looks away, considering her
mother’s questions.
Hope
A lot of reasons. What if I end up around another
Najara? What if something happens and you’re
not around to protect me?
Gabrielle
I’ll always be here for you Hope.
Hope
No you won’t. Let’s face it. We’re two grown
women. You have your life with Ben, and I’m
going to have my child. One day I’m going to
meet someone and fall in love, and we’ll go our
separate ways again.
These words have a definite effect on
Gabrielle, and she looks away.
Hope
I need to know how to defend myself mother.
Gabrielle
I don’t want you to…
Hope waits for her to continue, but she
doesn’t.
Hope
What?
Gabrielle
I don’t want you to end up like me.
Hope
What? There’s no one I admire more than you.
Gabrielle
I was innocent once Hope. Like you are now. I
thought I wanted to be a warrior, but I’d give
anything to have my blood innocence back. It
starts with the staff Hope. You’ll be fighting, and
then something will happen and you’ll have to kill.
If you walk with warriors Hope, you’ll get blood
on your hands. It can’t be avoided. I don’t want
that to happen to you.
Hope
Oh Mother. I didn’t know you felt that way.
Gabrielle
Well, I do.
Hope takes her mother’s hands in her
own.
Hope
I think I understand how you feel, but I’ve given
this a lot of thought. I’m going to take up the staff.
Maybe one day I will become a warrior. Maybe I
won’t. I’m not looking for a life of adventure Mom.
I just want to learn to defend myself. That’s all.
Gabrielle sighs, knowing she’s lost this
battle with her daughter.
Gabrielle
If you’re determined to do this, I can’t stop you,
but I can’t teach you either.
Hope
Fine. I’ll just have to-
Gabrielle
But I do know a very good teacher for you.
Hope
Thank you.
Hope stands and prepares to leave.
Gabrielle
But Hope, you won’t understand how I feel until
the day comes when you’re having this conversation
with your daughter, or son. Let’s go. I know the
perfect place to find a staff.
I’ll even stay with you
till you get settled.
Hope
Mother? I really did mean it when I said thank
you.
Gabrielle
Don’t thank me for hurting you Hope.
Hope
What do you mean?
Gabrielle
You’ll see. Some day. Now lets go.
Hope turns to pack up her belongings, but Gabrielle looks at her
with deep sadness in her eyes. She can see her daughter about to walk down the
same path she did in life, and it’s breaking her heart.
Int. Heaven
Rachel stands in Purgatory, watching the battle to defeat hell
raging below her. The archangels are doing a fabulous job beating back the
demons, but the constant battling is beginning to have a deleterious effect on
their moral. Lately the angels seem despondent, ready to quit the good fight,
but Michael has been doing a good job rallying them.
One angel, a guardian with blood stains on her white robes, comes
to sit on a pillar to Rachel’s right.
She is weeping, and allows her sword to slip from her hands.
Rachel
Hannah? What’s the matter?
Rachel goes to her, putting an arm
around her.
Hannah
I can’t. I can’t do it anymore. I lived a life of
torture. This was supposed to be my place of
peace. I feel like I’m in hell.
Rachel tries to comfort her by holding
her and stroking stray strands of raven hair from the girls face.
Rachel
Shhh. Perhaps it’s time for you to return to Paradise.
Rest your weary soul. There are others who can
fight this battle for awhile.
Hannah
Like who?
Rachel is just about to answer when her
eyes wander to the fighting below. Four demons have cornered Raphael, and it’s
all he can do to hold his own. One of
the demons puts a nasty cut on his leg, and disarms the archangel.
Raphael
Michael! Help me!
But Michael has his own problems. He too is accosted by a group of five
demons, but he is holding his own better than Raphael. He tries to fight his
way free as the demons try to pull Raphael over the edge. By the time Michael
is free, it will be too late to save his friend.
Hannah
Oh no. They’re going to take Raphael. He knows
the location of Heaven’s Gate. By the way, where
is the
Gate?
Rachel
(ignores Hannah)
No.
Rachel stands and holds out her right
hand. A sword appears in her grip, and she dives for Raphael. Michael sees this and shakes his head in
alarm.
Michael
Oh no.
Rachel, don’t!
Rachel lands behind the demons and
begins to cut them down. Raphael breaks free but a swarm of ten more demons fly
up over the edge. Michael, Raphael and Rachel are surrounded and heavily
outnumbered.
Michael
We’re outnumbered! Retreat!
The demons descend on Raphael, Rachel
and Michael, but all three take off, flying for the safety of Heaven. Raphael is only a few feet off the ground
however, when the demons grab his ankles and pull him over the edge, screaming.
Rachel
Raphael!
Michael
Retreat Rachel. Retreat!
Though it hurts her to do so, Rachel
turns back toward Heaven. Just as Rachel is passing Hannah, she reaches out her
hand to take the woman with her. Behind
and below Rachel, we see about five demons giving chase.
Rachel
Hannah. Come on! We have to get out of
here!
But Hannah dives off the edge of the
cliff straight at Rachel. As she dives
she morphs into the demon Athena, and Rachel’s eyes widen in shock. Athena
wraps her wings around Rachel, making certain she can’t escape, and they begin
to free fall toward hell.
Rachel
Michael! Help me!
There are now about eight demons flying
toward him, not to mention more emerging from the darkness of hell. If he
returned, he’d only be sacrificing the location of Heaven’s Gate. He flies for
Heaven and disappears into a glorious light.
The demons shrink back from that light, and retreat to hell.
Int. Hell
Eve moves through hell until she comes
to a ridge. Below her she can see Lucifer’s throne room. Raphael is pulled before Lucifer, and a few
seconds later Rachel’s scream begins. Low at first, but growing in volume.
Rachel suddenly falls to the floor, her
scream cut off as she loses consciousness from the force of the fall. Athena floats to the floor before her. As
soon as she puts her wings away, her earthly beauty returns.
Eve
(whispering)
Athena!
Eve makes her way around the ridge,
moving slowly to avoid being spotted by any of the demons lurking around.
She comes to a narrow place in the ledge
where there is a demon blocking her path.
If she tries to move past it she’ll more than likely brush up against
it. She can’t flip over it or she’ll
hit the low ceiling above. She decides
to try and sneak around and steps in front of it.
If she is going to pass the demon
without contact, she has to side step with nothing actually on the ledge but
her toes. She is halfway around when
the demon senses something. Eve stops and the demon begins sniffing in her
direction. Perhaps the cloak doesn’t hide her human scent.
Slowly a clawed hand reaches out to her.
She tries to make it past the thing but it touches her. It shoves a hand out,
trying to knock her off the edge, and she is forced to drop, hanging on now by
only her fingers.
Below them, Athena is looking up at the
hissing demon. She doesn’t see Eve hanging on by her fingertips. Luckily for
Eve, Lucifer (who could see Eve, even with the cloak) is preoccupied with
Raphael.
Athena
You! Quiet up there!
The demon has a male voice when it speaks.
Demon
But, there is something-
Athena
Shut up!
The demon growls at her, but its growl
turns to a scream when Eve reaches up and yanks it over the edge. She gets back
up onto the ledge and continues slowly on. Finally Eve comes to a set of
stairs, populated by more vile demons. As she nears one, the Key of Destiny
begins to glow in her hand.
Eve
(whispers)
Discord?
The demon looks around, a hiss in her
throat. Eve quickly reaches around and clasps a hand over her mouth. Discord
writhes in her grip, and demons around stare at her in confusion.
Eve yells out when Discord scratches
her. It’s a struggle but Eve manages to press the Key of Destiny to her chest.
When she is absorbed, Artemis calls out to Athena from her place inside the
circle of light surrounding Lucifer’s throne.
Artemis
It’s Eve. I know it is.
Raphael and Rachel (who is now awake)
share a look, and Lucifer begins laughing.
Lucifer
That’s right. I know all about her
presence in my
kingdom. I don’t know why she’s here,
and for
now I don’t care. Right now, I want to
know what
you know Raphael.
Raphael
And what’s that?
Lucifer
The location to Heaven’s Gate of course.
Where is
it?
Raphael
I won’t tell you.
Lucifer
Athena. Collect our little friend here.
Lucifer snaps his fingers and a table
appears before them. Above it is a matching lid with sharp spikes coming out of
it. Athena jerks Rachel up and rips off her outer robe, leaving her in a short
slip instead. Eve is filled with a
sense of urgency as she struggles with what she should do. Rachel cannot die,
but she can be tortured.
Raphael
Lucifer! Stop it!
Lucifer
I will if you tell me what I want to
know.
Rachel
Don’t Raphael. Don’t do it. He can’t
kill me.
Athena and Artemis tie Rachel’s feet to
the table and lower the lid. Rachel holds the spiked lid at bay with her hands, but she won’t last long this way.
Lucifer
Eve knows the location of Heaven’s Gate.
If she
were in her spiritual form, she could be
corrupted
or even tortured into telling. Artemis?
Artemis
Yes my lord?
Lucifer
You look tired. Why don’t you have a
seat?
He motions at the lid, and Artemis
begins to laugh. She flips up and lands on the lid, putting even more pressure
on Rachel.
Lucifer
Eve! How much longer do you think Rachel
will
be able to hold the spikes at bay?
The key begins to glow again. Deimos is
nearby. Lucifer looks back at the ledge
and sees Eve crouching on the ledge.
Lucifer
I see you. Deimos! She’s right next to you. Give
her something to drink. I’m sure she’s
thirsty in
this heat.
Deimos sniffs the air. He can smell her
directly to his right. He lunges for her with a cup of wine, which will kill her
and turn her into a demon of hell, but Eve manages to put the Key between them
at the last moment. Once Deimos is absorbed, Lucifer looks to her with
interest.
Lucifer
What is that you have there?
Rachel cries out in pain. She cannot
hold the lid up any longer, and her arms are beginning to bend. Finally she looses her grip and the spikes
come down on her. She screams with the agony of the spikes driving themselves
into her body, and her blood begins to pour over the edges of the table.
Eve
Rachel!
Eve gives her battle cry and flips off
the steps all the way down to the throne area, about fifty feet. She lands on
her feet, directly before Lucifer. She gets up in his face until they’re nose
to nose.
Eve
You wanted me, I’m here. Now I’m going to
make you wish you’d never seen my face.
Wide shot of Lucifer and Eve nose to
nose.
Fade Out.
End of Act one.
Act Two
Fade In-Forest edge.
Hope and Gabrielle arrive at the edge of
a forest.
Gabrielle
We’re surrounded by guards. Can you sense
them?
Hope
No. How do you?
Gabrielle
There’s more to being a warrior than merely
knowing how to fight. That’s something that Xena
taught me. Close your eyes and listen. Don’t just
listen to the sounds, but the sounds behind
them.
Hope closes her eyes and listens intently
to the sounds around her. She can hear the rustling of the leaves above, the
scurry of the small animals of the forest in the leaves of the forest floor.
Gabrielle watches her daughter, a look of something akin to desperation on her
face. She wants her daughter to live the life she feels she should have at
least given herself a chance to lead. She doesn’t want her daughter to be a
warrior, but it’s apparent Hope is determined to that path regardless of her
warnings.
As Hope listens, she hears the sound of
breathing behind the rustle of the leaves. She opens her eyes and finds herself
looking directly into the eyes of a warrior in a tree above her. She is alarmed
and reaches out for her mother.
All around them Amazons descend from the
trees, and Gabrielle clasps her hands above her head in the symbol of
peace. Hope follows suit and a
perimeter guard approaches them. Her name is Talia.
Talia
You know the Amazon symbol of
Peace. What
business do you have in our forests?
Gabrielle
I am Gabrielle. I am one of your
sisters. This is
My daughter Hope. I’m here to see my
friend
Varia.
The guards look at one another, their
faces betraying something is wrong.
Gabrielle
What’s the matter?
Talia
Come. I will show you.
Gabrielle and Hope follow Talia deeper
into the trees, but not before she orders them to take up their posts.
Ext. Main camp
Gabrielle and Hope enter the camp to see
it is in smoldering ruins.
Hope
Gods!
What happened here?