ACT II – Scene 11
[On a sun-soaked day, we see the entire Kingdom kneeling in front of a statue of the Emperor. The well-sculpted statue depicting the Emperor in his prime is placed on a fitting stone memorial. At the foot of the statue is the ground door of the Tomb, where the Emperor has been laid to rest. Ashi's statue has been relocated to a spot on the memorial on the right side. The Emperor's Tomb is guarded by four Volunteer soldiers. Jack, The Empress and The Girl are kneeling and bowing in front of the Tomb door.]
[We see a side shot of several Army Volunteers, kneeling and bowing with tears in their eyes.]
[We see a side shot of civilians, young and old, all kneeling and bowing, with tears in their eyes.]
[We see a side view of Jack, The Empress and The Girl, all with tears in their eyes.]
[From behind Jack, The Empress, and The Girl, the camera pans up, getting a good view of The Emperor's statue, the sun gleaming from behind the head.]
[A moment later, we see The Empress speaking to the Kingdom, all still kneeling but looking up to their Queen. Jack, The Girl, and the Guards standing behind the Empress.]
Empress: The Emperor left us one order, which will be obeyed without question: Live our lives well. And so we shall. Our Kingdom is fully restored to its former glory. It reminds us that love makes us invincible. It reminds us that determination knows no boundaries. It is proof that no evil will ever destroy us. So, yes. We will live well. We will treasure our Kingdom. We will love our families. We will stop at nothing to ensure that our Kingdom lives for a thousand generations…and more. And even though we must not forget the lessons of the past, we cannot let them stop us from pursuing our dreams. So please, don't dwell on the pain of the past, or the pain of the present. Let your heart be consumed by the promise of tomorrow. Let your heart thrive in the opportunity ahead. Let your imagination thrive in this, our home. So, go. Live your lives well.
[The Girl and Jack bow to the Empress.]
[The Kingdom bows to the Empress as the sun continues to shine brightly upon all.]
[A few moments later, Jack and The Girl are walking among the garden of Cherry Blossoms. The petals continue to rain down among them.]
[The Girl looks toward Jack with deep concern as he meditates during their walk.]
[After a moment, The Girl and Jack stop as the Cherry Blossom petals continue to rain around them in the standstill air.]
[Jack looks up to The Girl.]
[The Girl looks at Jack with heartfelt concern.]
[Jack grins weakly.]
Jack: I still haven't adjusted completely to the unconditional love I have felt over the course of the last two years.
The Girl: You are a hero. You are more than worthy of it.
Jack: What about you?
The Girl: Me?
Jack: You saved the Kingdom as much as I have.
The Girl: I have? No, I have not.
Jack: Yes. You saved my father. And because of that, he gave you, me and the Kingdom the greatest of blessings.
The Girl: Love?
Jack: Yes. Can you give me the same blessing? I can promise the same for you for as long as we live.
[The Girl cannot believe her ears. She briefly breathes heavy, then calms herself down.]
The Girl: (elated) Yes!
[The Girl and Jack, smiling, simultaneously close their eyes slowly as their faces approach each other's. They embrace in a kiss.]
[Suddenly, in slow motion, Jack pulls The Girl down and away just in time to evade a fast arrow that was targeted for them.]
[THOT! The arrow lands and sticks into a tree trunk. SHING! Jack, with his drawn sword, and The Girl instantly pop up, looking at the arrow. They swiftly look around, and then at each other. Realizing how quiet it is, Jack places his finger over his mouth, telling The Girl to keep quiet. The Girl nods as she looks around.]
[The Girl slowly & quietly places her hand on her sword from within her robes.]
[Jack calms himself and tries to focus on his senses.]
[We see an image of a galloping horse, with faint hoofs landing.]
[TWANG! TING! Jack opens his eyes as he catches another arrow that comes lands on The Girl's blade, centered upright in front of her head.]
[Jack tosses the arrow to a tree and it sticks, and shouts a command.]
Jack: SHOW YOURSELF!
[From within the forest, several archers have revealed themselves from behind the trees.]
[We get a close up of these archers in black robes covering all of their bodies, except their faces. Small red Japanese glyphic are seen on the chests of these robes. Each archer has an arm length blade on their sides. The Arch Leader speaks.]
Arch Leader: KILL THEM!
[The Girl immediately gets a horn and blows into it, making a loud horn sound.]
[In the Kingdom, the Volunteer Army, still grieving with each other, hear the horn, and look towards the forest. Norio instantly realizes.]
Norio: The Prince! The Commander! We must help! GO!
[The Archers pull back their bows with arrows.]
[Jack barks to The Girl.]
Jack: There are too many! Find cover!
[TW-TW-TW-TWANG! Arrows start flying from the Archers.]
[Jack evades the flying arrows as he runs to the tree that had the arrow he threw, grabs it, and hides behind a tree.]
[The Girl uses her sword to fight off a couple arrows, but SHLET! An arrow graces her left arm. She screams in pain as she hides behind a tree.]
The Girl: AAAAHHH!
[The Girl, clinging onto her arm, tries to steady her breath through her pain behind a tree, but is still shaking as the arrows whiz by her. She has a tear in her eye. The arrows stop. Realizing, The Girl looks up and jumps up into the tree. An Archer peeks around the tree, armed to give another shot, but notices The Girl isn't there. Suddenly, CRASH! The Girl crashes on The Archer with her blade pointed down, killing the Archer. Suddenly, another Archer appears from around the tree, but The Girl swiftly slices off The Archers arms, and beheads the Archer with two swift slices. The Girl runs for cover.]
[Jack, still high in a tree, spots three Archers cautiously looking around, bows drawn.]
[The camera focuses on the three Archers, still hunting for their prey. Suddenly, SHLET! A stray arrow hits the Archer on the left in the head from behind. The two others see their comrade fall, but then, SLICE! Jack's blade beheads both of them in one slice. Jack runs off.]
[Suddenly, Jack is stopped by a team of four archers, bows drawn on him. TW-TW-TW-TWANG! The arrows start flying towards Jack. Jack jumps to evade.]
[The archers, seeming to not believe what they see, keep firing their arrows towards Jack. However, Jack, climbing, running and hopping between trees, evade each one.]
[With the archers still firing their bows, The Girl's right hand grabs four arrows from one archer's pouch.]
[From in front of the firing archers, we see two arrows go swiftly into the torso of the two archers on the left, sending them down, screaming in pain. This prompts the other archers to stop and look, not seeing anything. Before they can react, SHLET! One arrow goes through the torso of the archer on right. The remaining Archer swiftly draws his sword and instinctively swings for something directly behind him.]
[Behind the Archer, CLANG! The Archer's sword clashes with The Girl's blade. The Girl's left robe sleeve is blood-soaked, but it appears her right arm is still in good shape. The Archer scowls. The Girl scowls.]
[Suddenly, WHOOMP! Jack lands behind the Archer.]
Jack: Surrender, or be destroyed.
Archer: Fool.
[The Archer pulls out another blade from within his robe with his open arm and points it at Jack.]
[Jack, blade in tow, scowls.]
[The Archer scowls looking at Jack, then to The Girl.]
[The Girl, with a slight tremble, scowls.]
[Suddenly, The Girl and Jack engage the Archer in a vicious sword fight. The Archer appears to attack The Girl more while fighting more on defense on Jack, but The Girl is hanging on while Jack delivers fast, brutal attacks.]
[The Girl blocks three, gives two, and blocks three more.]
[The Archer, dividing time equally between The Girl and Jack, attacks towards The Girl twice, blocks Jack twice, and keeps the same pattern.]
[Jack proceeds with merciless attacks, not giving an inch. Then, POOM! Jack lands a kick on The Archer, sending him onto his back about a few yards away.]
[The Archer, still dazed, opens his eyes. In a growling rage, he leaps up with both blades and charges towards The Girl and Jack.]
[CL-CLANG! The Girl and Jack land simultaneous attacks on the Archer's blades. Then swiftly escalates into another clash of quick attacks.]
[The Girl seems to have more fire in her drive as she attacks more and blocks less.]
[The Archer seems to be sweating more as he blocks and barely attacks in his rage.]
[Jack, still seamless in his ongoing attacks, lands another KICK! onto the Archer, sending him back a couple yards. Realizing the situation, The Archer gets to his feet and runs.]
[The Girl and Jack doesn't like it. They run after the Archer.]
[The Archer, still running, pants as he gallops. Suddenly, SH-SHLOT! Two arrows hit The Archer and send him to the ground.]
[We see Norio and Masako with their bows up and in front of them, as they had just shot and killed the Archer. Slowly, Norio and Masako lower their bows with their fellow Volunteers right behind them.]
[Jack approaches the Volunteers, sheaths his sword, and nods.]
Jack: Thank you.
[Norio bows. Masako starts, but realizes something behind Jack and points.]
Masako: My Prince?! The Commander!
[Jack turns and gasps as he sees The Girl, walking weakly, yet determined, towards the crowd. Jack sprints towards her. The Volunteers follow.]
Jack: (gasps) NO! WAIT!
[The Girl, almost succumbing to her weakness, lets loose of her sword and almost falls to the ground, but Jack picks her up and sets her down gently on her back.]
Jack: Breathe slow. Breathe slow, my love.
[Jack, seeing the blood soaked sleeve in The Girl's left arm, tears off a piece of his clean kimono sleeve, and wraps up The Girl's arm.]
[The Girl, her eyes weak, sees what Jack is doing. Jack smiles at her.]
Jack: Can you hear me?
[The Girl smiles weakly. She knows she's well taken care of.]
The Girl: (weakly) I always could.
[From above, The Volunteers gather around Jack and The Girl.]