ACT I - SCENE 3
[BLAM! The Emperor, aged, malnourished, and gray-haired, is seen turning a tall wooden idol of Aku with a couple others.]
[We see a minion crack a whip.]
Minion: Break.
[A woman offers a bowl of water to the emperor.]
Woman: Here's some water, my Emperor.
[The minion whips it out of her hand, spilling the water.]
Minion: None for him!
[The woman retreats.]
Woman: I'm sorry, Emperor.
[The minion goes to whip the Emperor, but it suddenly tightens up, surprising the minion.]
Minion: Huh?
[We see that Samurai Jack, now grown-up into a young man, has grabbed the minion's whip. Then, Jack throws the whip, and the minion far away from his father.]
[The surrounding civilians gasp in awe at the return of their Prince.]
[The Cricket Girl, grown-up into a young woman and still sporting several bruises and whip marks, finds her way through the crowd. Still sporting worn-out rags, her black hair is messy and down past her shoulders. She smiles and gasps at the sight of Samurai Jack.]
[All of the minions gather into a group, ready for battle.]
Minion: Insubordinate fool. No one attacks Aku's minions. Destroy him!
[Jack draws his sword.]
[We see three insert shots of minions jumping to attack.]
[We see Jack jumping towards the minions, sword ready to strike.]
[As we hear several slicing sounds and magical disappearing sounds, the crowd reacts in awe, with an occasional shock.]
[The Cricket Girl, her eyes wide and mouth open, stares in awe, seemingly unaffected by the action.]
[The sounds stop. We see Jack standing over the unattended, sliced-up robes of the minions. Jack returns his sword to his sheath.]
[The Cricket Girl smiles.]
[We see Jack atop a neighing horse, riding off through the mine entrance.]
Jack: I WILL NOT FAIL YOU, FATHER!
[The Emperor and the civilians stare out the entrance.]
[The Emperor is offered another drink of water from the Woman.]
Woman: Emperor.
Emperor: Thank you.
[The Emperor accepts and finally takes his drink, which takes him a moment to gulp down.]
[The Emperor wipes his mouth dry.]
Woman: What now, Emperor?
Emperor: Our village is still occupied by minions of Aku. So, we wait here, and regain our strength. When my son fulfills his destiny, we can reclaim our lands.
[A younger man steps forward to the emperor.]
Man: My Emperor, I know of a vast field. It was lush with many herbs and spices. May I and a few others go harvest these herbs? The Medicine Man says he can use them to treat the women and children.
Emperor: How far?
Man: A half day's ride.
Emperor: The forces of Aku may have already taken that land.
Man: My Emperor, our families….
[The Emperor ponders for a moment. And then we see his scowl.]
Emperor: Go, but be careful. Aku's forces are tricky.
[We see the Man and five other Men run outside the cave.]
[Ancient Japanese music starts as a few women tend to the Emperor, getting him to lie down and relax. The women start applying massage techniques to the Emperor as he is given some scrap food and water.]
[The Girl tends to her wounds, using cloth to bandage up a scar. A middle-aged woman motions to The Girl to help her tend to an older gentleman. The Girl helps the middle-aged woman bandage up the gentleman.]
[We see a few other civilians fill their bowls with water from the barrel.]
[We see many civilians sharing the bowls of water to help one another.]
[A woman delivers a bowl of water to The Girl, who promptly takes it and assists in feeding water to the gentleman she has bandaged up.]
The Girl: Thank you. Here, sir. Drink.
[The gentleman sips from the bowl of water offered by The Girl.]
[The middle-aged woman begins to use ancient massaging techniques on the back of a gentleman that she's tending to.]
[The Girl sees the middle-aged woman massaging, and begins to slowly apply the same technique to her gentleman's back.]
Gentleman: Oooooohh, yes. You must have the hands of angels.
The Girl: Anything to help our people, even from a cricket-catching country girl.
[We see the gentleman's first smile.]
[From above, we see the civilians becoming more mobilized as they reestablish their morale and lift each other up. The scene plays out as the image fades to black.]