Forget Me Not
This transcript is dedicated to the memories of Kevin Smith and Hilary J. Bader.
Hope? The child is Hope?
GABRIELLE
I'm sorry. I never meant to lie. Xena, I couldn't kill
her. She's my daughter. You're a mother, you
know this! I had to save her.
XENA
Maybe it's not too late. She's young. Poison'll kill
her if her powers aren't mature.
GABRIELLE
Poison? Xena, she is my child!
XENA
She is not a child! She is a body, a vessel, an
instrument for evil. That is all!
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I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!
O-op! O-oh! Oh! Uh-oh. Okay. O-oh! Gabrielle?
Hey, you okay?
GABRIELLE
I can't.
JOXER
What's the matter? Huh?
GABRIELLE
I can't do this.
JOXER
Okay. Uh, then, then we won't. We don't have to.
Uh, never again. What are you talking about?
GABRIELLE
I have to go.
JOXER
Go? Go where? Hey, Xena told us to meet her
near the temple of Mnemosyne. I don't think it's
such a great idea to be walking around these...wait.
Wait! Hey! Hey. Hey, hey, hey, look, okay, I--I don't
know what's up. But I know something's wrong.
Maybe I can help you.
GABRIELLE
No one can help. It's my memories. I can't shake
them. I, I can't sleep. I can't eat. It's like I'm paying
for something, but I don't know what it is. I have
to find the answer.
JOXER
Okay, okay, okay, we'll...we'll meet up with Xena
later, okay?
GABRIELLE
Joxer, I have to do this alone. Wait here.
JOXER
Wait! How long?
GABRIELLE
I don't know.
That's long enough.
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Is this the temple of Mnemosyne? Was I supposed
to bring something? An offering?
Hello. Wait.
YOUNG WOMAN
Sorry, do I know you?
GABRIELLE
No. I'm not from here.
YOUNG WOMAN
Am I?
GABRIELLE
Excuse me? Wait, did you see her? You saw
the Priestess of Mnemosyne, didn't you? And
your memories...
The Priestess will see you now.
GABRIELLE
Will I end up like her?
GUARD
You have questions that need to be answered?
GABRIELLE
Yes. I have pain, incredible pain. I want it to end.
GUARD
Erasing the pain of memory comes with a price. Are
you prepared to lose everything you've ever known?
GABRIELLE
Yes, I'm prepared.
GUARD
Enter.
ACT ONE
Mnemosyne, Goddess of Memory.
You are haunted by memories, images from
your past. You want to understand why they still
haunt you.
GABRIELLE
How did you know that?
When you entered the temple, your memories
became Mnemosyne's - became mine. We know
more about you than you know about yourself.
But then, that is why you're here - to find that part
out about you that you don't know.
GABRIELLE
Can you help me?
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
Perhaps. Your memories are like a body of water.
Some flow deep, out of your reach. Others flow
easily on the surface. Ah, this one's yours.
You could open a pottery shop.
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
Fill the bowl from the jug. There is one bowl
filled for every person who comes to us.
GABRIELLE
Filled with what?
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
Memories, answers. Gabrielle, you're about to
take a journey through your memories.
GABRIELLE
Like a dreamscape?
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
Do not confuse dreams with memories. Your
memory has three rivers. To find the answer to
your pain, you must cross them all. Once you
find the answer, you will have to decide.
GABRIELLE
Decide what?
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
On whether to keep your past or forever lose it.
This bowl will hold everything you know. If it
is ever emptied, so goes your memory. Do you
understand the risk?
GABRIELLE
I've decided. I need to know.
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Ugh! Ugh! Oh! Tough guys, eh? Well, my friend's
in there, and I wanna see her!
GUARD
You can see her when she comes out. She is
with the Priestess of Mnemosyne, now.
JOXER
Oh, yeah? Well, um, I got news for ya. I'll be back.
You're both on my list. And I'm not taking any names!
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Uh! A-ah! Uh!
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Uh! A-ah! Gabrielle? Gabrielle!
O-oh! Ow! Ow! Oh! Oh!
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Ha! Now, I will destroy you with the ultimate power!
Ooh!
Gabrielle!
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
She is on her journey, Joxer. That Gabrielle is
just an empty shell, with no realization of her past.
JOXER
Get away from her. How'd you know my name?
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
I have your memories. Ow.
JOXER
Whatever. I'm gettin' her out of here. Don't try and
stop me.
PRIESTESS OF MNEMOSYNE
Your feelings give you away. If you love her, allow
her the chance to lose the pain she carries. It's
in her memory.
JOXER
Yeah? Well, I can make her forget. I'm a very
forgettable person!
Uh-uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you.
GABRIELLE
What are you doing here?
ARES
You don't know? Oh, yeah, the memory thing,
right? Got a problem up here? Bad thoughts
keeping you up nights? Believe it or not, I'm here
to protect you. Remember when you stole my
powers with that whole scroll business? I know,
call me a big softie, but I decided I like you after all.
GABRIELLE
Maybe you're here for your own selfish reasons.
ARES
Aren't you?
It's called the River of Wailing. And just remember,
I did warn you.
This isn't so bad, Ares. "River of Wailing," is it? Huh?!
Ah!
KHRAFSTAR
Look out!
GABRIELLE
Ahh! Ah!
KHRAFSTAR
Gabrielle!
GABRIELLE
Ah-h!
CRASSUS
I thought you were different from her. I thought
you had a regard for life, no matter whose.
GABRIELLE
You're not going to die, Crassus. I said I'd switch
you. Now, if the guards recognize who you are,
I have no control over that.
CRASSUS
Don't rely on that. Most of Rome doesn't know
what I look like, let alone the prison guards.
GABRIELLE
You will with this, your imperial ring. It identifies
you in every province. Show this to the guards
once we're gone.
CRASSUS
I'm, sorry about what I said.
CRASSUS
Wait. What're you...I'm not Vercinix! I'm Crassus!
I'm not Vercinix! I'm Crassus! My ring, I'm telling
you, my ring! My imperial ring! Tell them who I am!
EXTRAS
Yeah!
CRASSUS
Caesar! No! Caesar!
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ACT TWO
The River of Woe. You know, it isn't any better than
the one you just went through. Think about it.
GABRIELLE
I have. The last one took me by surprise, but
I'm ready for this.
ARES
I hope so. This river runs deep.
Oh. Okay. Wait here. These are your scrolls. You
wrote them. This is your bag. Oh. Okay. This
is your staff.
Huh?
Ooh. Sound familiar now?
GABRIELLE
Sorry, Jerkster.
JOXER
Joxer.
GABRIELLE
Joxer? Nothing seems familiar. In fact, I don't
even know what familiar feels like.
JOXER
High priestess was right, gates are open, but
no one's stormin' the castle. Oh! Oh-ho!
Oh. Now, I am going to teach you about yourself.
I'm going to give you your memories back. Okay?
But, just the good ones, none of the painful ones.
That's what you wanted, isn't it?
GABRIELLE
I don't know.
JOXER
Sit down. Sit! Sit!
I'll fix this right now. Okay. Good! The first one, "Sins
of the Past." "It was a warm day in Poteidaia, when
the bard awoke. As she moved softly through the-"
GABRIELLE
Excuse me.
JOXER
Y--yeah?
GABRIELLE
What's a Poteidaia?
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So, found a bit of an ice bridge. Good, very good.
GABRIELLE
If I can, if I can just stay above the water, it can't hurt me.
ARES
Hm-m, interesting. There's an analogy here, of
course, the water representing our torments,
the ice, the thin layer of control we'd like to believe
that we have over it.
GABRIELLE
Shut up!
ARES
But it's a false confidence if the ice should
suddenly develop a-
Help me.
ARES
Not my job, my dear. Well, not yet, anyway.
Ahh!
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I'm sorry, Xena. I couldn't let you do this.
GABRIELLE
Is the Green Dragon a person?
XENA
Yes.
GABRIELLE
Which person?
XENA
The one I'm gonna kill.
MING T'IEN
So, you have nothing to say in your defense, Xena.
GABRIELLE
Xena.
MING T'IEN
So be it. Tomorrow, at dawn, you'll experience
this life for the last time.
GABRIELLE
You owe someone so much that you would just
throw away these last few years.
XENA
Yes.
GABRIELLE
Say it! Xena, if you promise them, they will
banish you. Please. We can ride away from this.
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Prepared for that, were you?
GABRIELLE
I can't continue. I--it's too much.
That's the spirit. Let it go! I mean, what does it
matter? Pain is just nature's way of saying, "Hey!
You're alive." Accept it. Who needs it?
GABRIELLE
I can go back. I have the answer.
ARES
Do you, now?
GABRIELLE
Yes. I thought that I'd never come to terms with
my mistakes. But I did, when I visited Xena in
Ming T'ien's prison.
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Can we talk? Of course not. I betrayed you. The
pathetic thing is, I thought I was saving you. My
reverence for life kept a brutal tyrant in power,
and led to my best friend's execution. I know you
hate me, Xena. No more than I hate myself.
XENA
Scratch my nose, will you? Come on.
GABRIELLE (voice-over)
You see?
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Now I know.
ARES
Is this something you just realized?
GABRIELLE
Yes. I--I have come to terms with it. I just didn't
realize it. It has to be the answer--swer, right?
ARES
You are such a smart little girl. That's what I
like about you. Now go. Back through the River
of Woe, toward home. Don't worry. If anything
happens, I'll be here to save you. That is, if it
doesn't bother you owing a favour to the God
of War.
I was right. I can't see my memories anymore.
No! What is this?! Ares!
No!
ACT THREE
Whoops, I guess you were wrong. Nice try, though.
GABRIELLE
You said you'd save me.
ARES
No, no. What I said was, "I would be here to
save you," and I am.
GABRIELLE
I can't go back. I can't go forward. I don't know
what to do.
ARES
Well, seems to me the answer's obvious. You
could stay here for all eternity or death. Just tryin'
to help.
It's very strange. With every story you tell me, this
thing I'm wearing gets smaller. Is it enchanted?
JOXER
Uh, yeah. They, uh, they are. It is.
GABRIELLE
Hmm.
JOXER
Gotta be around here, somewhere. I know
sh--you wrote about it.
GABRIELLE
Jerkster, do I live around here?
JOXER
It's Joxer, not Jerkster. It's Joxer. And no, you don't.
You wander around with me and Xena, doing
good stuff like, you know, the stuff I told you about
in the scrolls.
GABRIELLE
I'm looking forward to meeting Xena. You think
she'll like me?
JOXER
Probably. Oh, okay, I got it! I got it. Come here.
Sit down.
GABRIELLE
Are you going to sing that Jerks...that "Joxer the
Mighty" song, again? I like that song.
JOXER
Are you kiddin' me? You hate it.
GABRIELLE
I do?
JOXER
No, uh, you love it. Uh, but this is the story
of Callisto.
GABRIELLE
Callisto?
JOXER
Yeah.
GABRIELLE
Do I like her?
JOXER
No, but, uh, I want you to hear when we first met.
Uh, "This mus..." yeah, "Suddenly, there he was.
He called himself, Joxer, a warrior." Huh, well-termed
phrase, I must say. "But a warrior like no other,
so inept, so clumsy, s..." uh so cleverly disguised
as a bumbler, that uh, no one suspected his true
warrior nature. Hmm.
GABRIELLE
That's nice.
JOXER
Yeah, yeah, it gets better, lots better. Then I realized,
that's you talking, then I realized that I was completely
taken by this handsome, mysterious, dark leader
of men. Hmm.
GABRIELLE
I'm in love with you?
JOXER
Yes. Yes, you are.
GABRIELLE
I think I knew that. Go on.
JOXER
So, a thousand men attacked Joxer. He battled
them bravely, one by one.
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I'm here, Ares.
So, you are. I wondered.
GABRIELLE
I have to go on. The priestess said the answer's
on the other side.
ARES
What she told you means nothing. If you survive,
the answer might be there. Is it all worth it? Is
the quest for knowledge worth all this pain?
GABRIELLE
Yes. It has to be. Otherwise, what's the point of living?
ARES
Point? There is no point to living. Don't you get it,
Gabrielle? Maybe, that's the source of all your pain,
all you've been through with Xena, all she's
put you through. Maybe, you finally realized it all
adds up to a big, fat zero.
GABRIELLE
You're wrong, not with Xena.
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We were lost, once. But Solon, he took us to Illusia
to give us one more chance. We found ourselves.
TORMENT
(singing) It begins very small
seems like nothing much at all.
Just a germ, just a speck, just a grain.
But the seed has been sown
and before you know it's grown,
It has spread through your life like a stain.
And its power will strangle your love and your joy
and its hunger consumes for it lives to destroy!
XENA
Hatred, Gabrielle, that's what we're fighting, hatred.
TORMENT
(singing) Hate is the star; it becomes who you are.
Not the hated but the hater,
has a torment that's greater.
It will eat you alive, consume you and spit you out.
TORMENT'S CHORUS
(singing) Hate's gonna win!
TORMENT
(singing) That there's no doubt about!
TORMENT'S CHORUS
(singing) Hate doesn't care who you are - Hate is the star!
Learning hate is an art, even people who are smart
TORMENT
(singing) Can be caught, can be crushed, can be creamed.
It has swallowed you whole.
Did you think you're in control?
Hate you thought, hate you spoke,
Hate you dreamed.
All your hate gave me substance,
your lives are undone.
TORMENT'S CHORUS
(singing) It's your eve of destruction, your hatred has won!
GABRIELLE
No!
XENA
Gabrielle!
XENA
(singing) I never dreamed that we'd be distanced by a hate
That all the trust we had would go.
GABRIELLE
(singing) How could I hate you?
XENA
(singing) How could it come to pass
This awful twist of fate?
GABRIELLE
(singing) How could I hurt you?
XENA
(singing) This madness can't be so.
GABRIELLE
(singing) I can't believe it.
XENA
(singing) I never dreamed that any barriers could rise.
GABRIELLE
(singing) Or that I'd ever see the stranger in your eyes.
XENA
(singing) Our hearts were hurting both the same.
GABRIELLE
(singing) The hurt was tearing up our souls.
XENA
(singing) The fury in us made us blind.
GABRIELLE
(singing) We could not see beyond the pain.
XENA
(singing) If we can turn again to love.
GABRIELLE
(singing) If we can heal these open wounds.
XENA
(singing) We'll leave this hatred far behind.
GABRIELLE
(singing) So not a trace of hate remains.
XENA and GABRIELLE
(singing) We'll overcome our damaged past!
And we'll grow stronger side by side!
To stand together through the storms!
We're safe 'cause love will be our guide!
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It was worth it.
ARES
Then why are you still here? Answer me.
Uh! Uh!
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Gabrielle, I am catching a ship here that will carry
me close to the kingdom of Chin. If there was ever
a time to turn back, it's now. I understand.
GABRIELLE
You owe someone so much that you would just
throw away these last few years.
XENA
Yes.
You!
ACT FOUR
Yes, now you know. But your strength is gone.
The truth you looked for, it's done you no good.
GABRIELLE
You're wrong!
Wrong!
Wrong!
Wrong!
Wrong!
Wrong!
You aren't Ares. You aren't a god! You're
from within me. You're that part of me who
wants to hide the truth.
ARES
Call me what you will, your guilt, your denial. You
can't defeat me. You'll only die trying.
That's why you're here as Ares.
Yeah, Ares is the key. But he's only half the answer.
GABRIELLE
I know - it's because of what I did. It's because
of why I did it.
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It's the same.
ARES
Well, there she goes without you. Kind of makes
you feel second best, doesn't it?
GABRIELLE
Leave me alone, Ares. Xena has her own decisions
to make.
ARES
Really? Sounds more like an obligation to me.
Yeah, Lao Ma must be important, all right. Xena
would never do anything like this for you. Funny,
isn't it? You give up your family, your home, your
blood innocence, your daughter, all because of
Xena. And yet it's like nothing compared to the debt
she owes this woman. Of course, you could always
stop her.
GABRIELLE
I could never get to Chin fast enough. Xena's
sure to take the fastest route.
ARES
Hmm. That is true. You're only mortal, after all.
GABRIELLE
You could do it. You could get me there ahead
of her.
ARES
Is that what you want? 'Cause you have to ask
me, that is, if it doesn't bother you owing a favour
to the God of War.
GABRIELLE
Send me there. I'm asking.
ARES
To prevent a murder, for the sake of friendship.
GABRIELLE
Yeah, for friendship.
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I wanted to get there before Xena, so that I could
betray her. I wanted to betray her. I gave her everything
and it meant nothing to her. I hated her for loving
someone else. I wanted her to hurt! I wanted her
to be punished! And I almost got her killed. Why,
my hatred and jealousy almost destroyed my
best friend.
ARES
So, now you have the answer. The question is,
"Can you live with it?"
Drink. Empty the bowl.
GABRIELLE
If the bowl is ever emptied, so go my memories.
ARES
And the pain. All that pain.
GABRIELLE
And the memories of my youth, my parents, my loves.
ARES
The betrayal, the killing, the death of your child.
GABRIELLE
And Xena.
ARES
Bottom line, Gabrielle, you won't miss what you
never knew.
Mm-hmm. Yep. That's it. That's your whole life,
right there.
GABRIELLE
By the gods, I am so incredibly in love with you.
I wish I could feel that again.
JOXER
Yeah, so do I.
GABRIELLE
Take me, Joxer, now. Like the time, just before
you saved Ulysses.
JOXER
Okay.
Wait.
GABRIELLE
I wanna remember!
Oh.Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, okay, yeah, so do I, so do
I, but not like this!
GABRIELLE
Is this that Centurion/Gladiator game we used
to play?
JOXER
No. N--no. N--n--no, no, Gabrielle. Look, I, I...elaborated
a little bit on some of the things I told you about
you and I, uh, a little, a little bit, lot, lots. Well, a
lottta littles. I lied.
GABRIELLE
You lied. What's a lie?
JOXER
A lie is, me thinking I could give you back all your
happy memories. I'm just not a part of those, and
I really wanted to be. Look, I didn't rescue Ulysses.
That was Xena. And I didn't get Ares back his
godhood. That was Xena, too. And I didn't convert
Hercules back from being evil. That was, well, it
was complicated. And Callisto's not my love kitten,
but look, Gabrielle, I just want the old Gabrielle
back, you know? The one that used to smack
me on the forehead and gouge out my eyes, and,
just forget everything I've told you. It's not who you
are. Except the part about dancing nude in the
rain, that is you.
GABRIELLE
Joxer.
JOXER
Jerkst...hey!
Ahh!
GABRIELLE
I have never, nor will I ever, dance in the
nude in the rain with you anywhere near me.
JOXER
Gabby, you're back!
Ah-h-h! Ow. Oh.
XENA
Yes, she is.
JOXER
Oh. Ah-ah-h. Ow. Oh-oh. Oh!
GABRIELLE
Xena, you knew all along. That's why you wanted
me to wait at the temple of Mnemosyne, right?
XENA
I wondered how you made it to Chin ahead of me.
I figured Ares might have a hand in it, but what
I couldn't understand was why? Nightmares
can tell you a lotta things. Thank the gods you
talk in your sleep. I knew this was one journey
you had to make without me. I'm just glad you
made it back.
GABRIELLE
If I didn't have the painful memories, then I wouldn't
know what the good ones were like, right? I--I just
couldn't let it go, Xena, no matter what the pain.
I'm sorry.
XENA
No. No, it's over. Welcome home.
Hey, aren't you forgettin' about me?
XENA
No, Joxer, not even Mnemosyne could help her
with that.
END OF ACT FOUR
STARRING
Lucy Lawless as Xena
Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle
GUEST CAST
Ted Raimi as Joxer
Kevin Smith as Ares
Jan Hellriegel as Priestess of Mnemosyne
Mark Webley as Guard
Lana Garlandas Young Woman
Written by: Hilary J. Bader
Directed by: Charlie Haskell
Disclaimer: Xena and Joxer were not forgotten during the production of this motion picture.
