Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

Lucretia:
Oh, you don't seem overly distraught at his passing.

Gaia:
How would you present? After years enduring withered flesh groping at you.

Lucretia:
But when you left Capua I thought you madly in love.

Gaia:
I was... with his purse! Sadly his fortunes went dry towards the end.

Lucretia:
And did you aid in their evaporation?

Gaia:
What can I say? I am the glorious sun.

Oenomaus:
Lesson one: never drop your fucking guard.

Batiatus:
You and I practically grew up together in this ludus. You have witnessed the rise and fall of a dozen champions. What now does your gut tell you of Gannicus? Is he worthy of the mantle?

Oenomaus:
I believe it so.

Batiatus:
He must truly be, for you to offer support despite your own desires.

Oenomaus:
I would not give false tongue to gain advantage.

Oenomaus:
Do the gods ever answer your prayers?

Melitta:
They often reveal their leanings, though not in words. Much like my husband.

Tullius:
Everything is for sale, Batiatus. The question is but price.

Batiatus:
YOU COUNSEL TO SUCK THE COCK THAT PISSES ON ME!

Doctore:
Ashur and Dagan returned absent Indus. Did he not prove himself?

Batiatus:
He did, and was well rewarded.

Doctore:
And the Syrians, are they to be rewarded as well?

Batiatus:
With the mark of the brotherhood.

Doctore:
The mark? Without proving themselves in the test?

Batiatus:
They proved themselves in my test. See it done.

Doctore:
Your father would never approve -

Batiatus:
I am not my fucking father!

Doctore:
A fact well known.

Batiatus:
See to Gannicus. Brand the fucking Syrians. And inform Oenomaus that he is to assume mantle of Doctore.

Doctore:
Dominus -

Batiatus:
You are a relic, as is my father. Shadows from the past, soon to fade from memory.

Batiatus:
Pleasing this man must now become your sole fucking purpose.

Gannicus:
Please him? In what manner?

Batiatus:
I have had my fill of being questioned by slaves! If Varus wishes you to suck his cock dry, you will savor every drop. Are we of similar mind?

Ashur:
Wait, are we not to recite the oath?

Doctore:
I will not see more shit heaped upon sacred rites! You may bear the mark but don't ever think yourself a gladiator, you little cunt!

Oenomaus:
I have done a terrible thing.

Melitta:
We do what we must in this house.

Melitta:
I know this is not what you wished for.

Oenomaus:
And yet here I stand. Elevated.

Melitta:
As you deserve.

Oenomaus:
For taking a life? For betraying hand that forged the man before you? There was no betrayal in what you did.

Melitta:
Some acts cannot be avoided, when stripped of choice.

Gaia:
I will be a vision of demure obedience and propriety. On the outside, at least.

Batiatus:
I secure the primus, and he acts as if I shit upon the name Batiatus.

Lucretia:
Oh, you raise it, beyond anything he can imagine. He will see this, and bitter tongue will turn to praise.

Batiatus:
He would sooner bite it off, than have it betray him so. I had forgotten the feeling. This sudden abyss, as he sets disapproving eye upon me.

Melitta:
Your return lifts the heart, Dominus.

Titus:
Only for those who yet possess one.

Cossutius:
[to Diona] Do you know why I chose this man? So crudely etched? The smell of shit hot upon his breath? Because this world is filled with the grotesque. And the divine. They exist together, two sides of a coin. You cannot have one absent threat of the other. Yet words do not convey the true nature of this. It must be experienced. It must be felt. And never forgotten.

Crixus:
Doiros was the brother I held closest to me. He was a fierce warrior, as was my father and all before us. I watched as they all fell beneath the spears of the Arverni. My hand yet too small to pick up sword. I was forced to serve. To bow and scrape. First of all to the shits that took my family. And then to the Romans they sold me to. Not a day passes where I do not dream of honoring the dead in blood and victory.

Titus:
Have you lost mind!?! Again attempting to maneuver around Tullius?

Batiatus:
I only sought to elevate our position

Titus:
By plunging the good name of this house into muck and shit!

Batiatus:
What would you have me do? Bow and scrape to that fucking lunatic?

Titus:
He is above our station! I gave warning not to provoke the man. You ignore it and here are the results. A Roman citizen. Dead in my house.

Lucretia:
By the hands of the very man you defend.

Titus:
You help set this in motion, and now claim innocence in the outcome?

Lucretia:
I claim vengeance! His life for hers. Blood and brains on the fucking floor!

Batiatus:
Reward well deserved!

Titus:
So this is why you spirited me to Neapolis. Not to find common ground, but to bury your father!

Batiatus:
That was not my intent!

Titus:
You knew nothing of this? It was all that woman's doing? Huh? The two of you feed off each other, fattening yourselves with lies. Well I would see the feast at an end.

Titus:
[to Batiatus] Every choice you make, shapes your fate, Quintus. I cannot change missteps of the past. But I will see you on proper path. And Lucretia must be swept from it.

Batiatus:
Lucretia is my wife!

Titus:
A word that should lift a man, filling his life with ease and children. She gives you neither.

Batiatus:
You seek to tear heart from chest, and expect gratitude it no longer beats.

Titus:
I seek only to call you son, absent shame in the title.

Batiatus:
And I only ever wished to make you proud, father.

Titus:
[to Batiatus] You have caused much heartache. Never heeding my words. Fighting me at every turn, your ambition the bolt hurled against my wishes. And here is where it has led. Two men at constant odds. Mired in the ruins of what might have been. Ruins I aided in creation. I wanted you to join me here, to see them buried. You are my son, Quintus. And I will always love you. No matter the path you take.

Melitta:
You let Crixus win. Why would you do such a thing?

Gannicus:
Because I cannot stay within these walls. To gaze upon you every day and be denied your touch... I have never turned from challenge. Yet I am without strength to face this one.

Titus:
Tell me I have been mistaken about you. Tell me you are not the serpent I have thought you to be.

Lucretia:
I am not. I'm far worse.

[Titus stares at her]

Lucretia:
I never cared what you thought of me. My lack of breeding. The absence of family or a name of worth. These things I cannot deny. But how low you considered your son? A man I love more than life itself? That could not be tolerated. So I began poisoning your beloved honey wine. My intent not to rob you of life. Only to mimic illness. A cough, increasing in its discomfort, easily blamed on Capua's dust and heat. It brought much joy when you departed for the wet shores of Sicilia. And Quintus, how he flourished when removed from overbearing shadow! And then you returned. To torture him, as you did all those years. So I began bringing you your honeyed wine again. To force you back to Sicilia. Yet it was not enough. You were not moved, despite ailing health. No. A more permanent solution was required between us. One that I added to Tullius' gift. Quintus will not forgive Tullius this. He will strike in your name. And Gaia's death will be avenged.

Titus:
You curse this house!

Lucretia:
No, father. I elevate it.

Solonius:
What if Vettius is the true cause of this? The boy's hatred for you is well known.

Batiatus:
You are right. Vengeance would stand a hollow vessel were it not filled with retribution against all who have injured this house. Including young Vettius.

Solonius:
You twist my intention!

Lucretia:
He but straightens purpose.

Solonius:
Is this not what set tragedy in motion? Arrogance and impatience? You are forever reaching beyond grasp, and dragging those beside you as you fall.

Batiatus:
And you have never had the stomach to do what it takes to make a fucking name in this world! Good Solonius, forever bowing and scraping in the shit of his betters! Is it any wonder no woman would have you?