2 Corinthians 10:4

**2 Corinthians 10:4** is the ninth episode of the first season of *Warrior Nun*. It is the ninth episode of the series overall.

## Synopsis

Infiltrating the Vatican to find a tomb hidden deep underground for a millennium? Hell, Ava may need a miracle to pull off this mission.

## Plot

### Act like a nun

A bell tolls at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. Ava Silva dons the habit of a nun, wondering if she's breaking any rules by wearing it despite not taking the vows. Mary promises she's not and Ava stares at her new look in a mirror. Camila chuckles. Mother Superion walks in a crowd, muttering in Italian. Ava and the others are not far behind her and Beatrice warns Ava not to fidget, that nuns don't fidget. Ava quips that it's a "bad habit" and Mary groans, saying she should shoot her for that. Ava says that she can't, that she's their leader. They warn her that she must not use the Halo once inside the Vatican offices, but rather conserve her power. Father Vincent tells her the most important thing is to just stop drawing attention and do her best to act like a nun. She blesses a child and they drag her away, telling her it's going too far.

They enter and begin the tricky navigation process, trying to stay within the blind spot of the cameras and jamming one of them. Their first major obstacle is Swiss Guards and Mary warns that they're lethal despite the "clown suits". They move on, marching in step. In the conclave chapel, the cardinals gather to choose the next Pope, Cardinal Duretti among them. He shakes hands and gladhandles. Ava's group makes swift work of the two Swiss Guards and continues on their way, disabling the guard monitoring the security cameras. The last security check-in was four minutes previously, which means they have 26 minutes left. They choose an optimal route and Camila promises to stay behind and keep control of cameras, looping them and keeping the group invisible until they reach the Necropolis, where there are no security cameras. They finish discussing the plan and Ava asks Mary if she can borrow her ring. Mary won't allow it, lest she catch heat from Beatrice. Meanwhile at the Arq-Tech headquarters, Jillian Salvius and Kristian Schaefer are watching Lilith on a monitor wandering the halls. Kristian is concerned, but Jillian says she's there as her guest and there's no need to worry. He tells her to give it a second and they watch as Lilith briefly phases away, then reappears on the monitors. Kristian asks if it reminds Jillian of something they've seen before. "The day the lab was destroyed", replies Jillian. Now concerned, Jillian asks Kristian where Lilith is now.

Ava and her team take out two more guards, but Beatrice chastises Ava for going off the plan by using the power of the Halo. Ava replies that she didn't use it, but Beatrice points out that she got injured and the Halo is healing her. Ava says that she just wants to help, asking what kind of leader doesn't pull her own weight. Beatrice tells her she has to put the mission before everything else or it will all be for nothing. She tells her to trust her team. At Arq-Tech, Jillian introduces herself to Lilith. She asks to run a few tests to help her recover, but Lilith tells her she's feeling much better, claiming it's the restorative properties of tea. Jillian says she's still very chilled, and she'd like to get her back on fluids, but she says she's good. Jillian asks that she stay and rest and Kristian calls her out of the room. He asks if there's been any progress and she says that there hasn't. He tells her that her son Michael is asking to see her.

### City of the Dead

The team back at the Vatican progresses and Mary hands off a shotgun to Father Vincent as she prepares to split off from the group. She promises to "bring the noise" when she reaches the top. Mary tells Ava to trust her instincts, so long as they tell her to listen to everything Beatrice says. She leaves them and they continue on. At Arq-Tech, Jillian discovers fragments of a glowing object on the floor. At the Vatican, Mary gets into position, observing the cardinals, including Cardinal Duretti. Watching them, she mutters that there is no room for improvisation. Below, the cardinals cast their votes, Duretti writing his name on a ballot slip for himself. He then surreptitiously takes out a phone and texts the Reject Nuns, telling them that Ava's forces are in the grottoes. He casts his vote. Ava's team moves on, Ava saying she's not fond of cemeteries, as the deaths hit a little too close to home. Beatrice tells her that she's not in luck, that Necropolis literally means "City of the Dead'. Up above, the Reject Nuns ready their weapons. Back at Arq-Tech, Jillian examines the fragments under a microscope, calling them a living conundrum. She subjects them to various tests to see what they can heal from. In the crypt, Ava and her team are attacked by Divinium weapons. The Reject Nuns have arrived. Beatrice warns Ava that they're gunning for her and to stay out of sight.

The two groups engage in a fierce battle and Ava is forced to do nothing but hide and watch, horrified. She pleads with herself to trust her team, but notes that her team is getting its ass kicked. Sister Crimson tries to corner Ava when she is suddenly confronted by Mother Superion. She tells Superion she's on the wrong side of the war, but Superion replies that sounds like the Cardinal talking. The two go at each other, trading blows until finally Beatrice enters the fray. She fends off Crimson and hands Superion a gun, telling her to get Ava out of there. Mary engages a man at another desk. He tries to talk her away, but when it doesn't work, he tries to attack her. She punches him in the throat, knocking him out, lamenting that everyone has to be a hero. Ava and Superion arrive at the Catacombs, where she tries to explain to Superion that though she thinks she's hiding, she's actually fighting for something bigger. Superion replies that she'll take her word for it and she expects they'll be back in action momentarily. She tells her that they're at risk so long as the Cardinal's coven have Divinium. Ava spies a large scar on her back and realizes that she was once a Warrior Nun. "Briefly", replies Superion. Ava asks how she can possibly still be alive, and she explains that the Halo rejected her as a unworthy candidate. She tells Ava that she, however, is a worthy candidate. She continues that a wise man told her she was a miracle of the highest order and that she should have listened. Bells start ringing and Ava says that it's now or never.

Beatrice goes with Ava, while Mother Superion stays with Father Vincent to hold off the Reject Nuns. Mother Superion tells Ava that whatever she's doing there, give them hell. Ava nods. A group watches outside as black smoke appears from the chimney of the Vatican, the signal that there was no consensus in the voting and therefore a new pope has not yet been chosen. Beatrice sets an explosive. She and Ava stand clear, then Beatrice climbs down into the opening she created. Ava asks Beatrice why she brought enough explosives to blow up a skyscraper given that she calculated exactly what it would take to create the hole she just did. Beatrice tells her that it's important to have a contingency plan, just in case they can't get into the tomb the way they planned. Ava objects that they said to have faith in them, yet they've been second-guessing her the whole time. Beatrice tells her that she knows she can do this, she's just not certain that she *will*, that her instincts lie with flight and not fight. Ava admits this is fair, but continues that things change when you realize not everything's about you. They lay out the map and Beatrice agrees that it's time to do this.

### Fight, not flight

At Arq-Tech, Jillian pays a visit to Lilith's room, only to find her gone. Lilith wanders the corridors and then enters Michael's room. She finds him making a drawing in crayon and he calls out "She'll have it open soon, Mommy", thinking that it's Jillian in the room. He turns and sees Lilith. "You're too late", he tells her. She asks how he knows, but Jillian enters the room, pulling him away. She tells Lilith to stay away from him. Lilith just stares and he tells Jillian that Ava is almost to the door. "That can't happen!" shouts Lilith and she vanishes. Jillian looks around in shock and gasps. Ava and Beatrice reach the crypt and observe the warning in Latin, "Let the dead rest". Elsewhere, Father Vincent and Mother Superion are surprised by the sudden arrival of Lilith. She tells them she has to find Ava. Crimson then ambushes Lilith, holding a knife to her throat and demanding they bring Ava to her. She tells Lilith that payback's a bitch, but Lilith spawns claws from her fingernails and then turns and scratches her throat, killing her. She then walks past Vincent and Superion, ignoring Vincent's calls of her name.

At the wall, Ava is ready to go, but Beatrice insists that they measure first to be sure. She doesn't want Ava to miss her entrance. They double-check Ava's equipment and Ava steps forward, but then Lilith appears and grabs her. Beatrice tells her she's jeopardizing the mission and Lilith yells that she's jeopardizing them all. Beatrice tells her they're all on the same side now, but Lilith replies that the Halo cannot enter Adriel's tomb. "Watch me", replies Ava and Mary appears holding her shotgun and telling Ava that she has this. Mary gets Lilith into a hold and tells her that she's seen her throw herself into the path of evil, trying to talk her down. She says she doesn't know what lies her mind is telling her, but she is still Sister Lilith. Lilith sobs that she doesn't know what's happening to her, that she's losing her mind. Mary hugs her and Beatrice tells Ava that she has to go. She says they can still salvage things in the time they have left, even if they have to blow an exit.

Ava goes through the wall and begins her journey. Beatrice tells her to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. While walking through, she makes a surprising discovery - a Tarask skeleton made of Divinium inside the wall. Beatrice asks if she's sure it's really Divinium and Ava replies that she can't phase through it. Beatrice says that she might have it backwards - that the skeleton isn't made out of Divinium, but is in fact the original organic source of Divinium. Ava replies that she'll go around it, but Beatrice isn't so sure, given how much power it would take. Ava replies that she'll just have to push harder. Beatrice theorizes that the power from the bones could allow a Tarask to exist in the world permanently and that it may have died trying to get to Adriel's bones. Beatrice tries to contact Ava, only for the radio signal to break up. Ava starts to panic, but talks to calm herself down, reminding herself "fight, not flight". Panting, she pushes forward and arrives inside the tomb. She switches on a flashlight and begins looking around. She soon realizes something - "There are no bones here". She calls for Beatrice, but still gets no answer, and then the flashlight goes out. In the darkness, she sees a shrouded figure. The figure turns, and speaks. "You might know me by the name... Adriel."

## Cast

* Toya Turner as Shotgun Mary
* Thekla Reuten as Jillian Salvius
* Lorena Andrea as Sister Lilith
* Kristina Tonteri-Young as Sister Beatrice
* Tristán Ulloa as Father Vincent
* Sylvia De Fanti as Mother Superion
* Joaquim de Almeida as Cardinal Duretti
* Peter De Jersey as Kristian Schaefer
* Olivia Delcán as Sister Camila

### Co-Starring

* Sinead MacInnes as Sister Crimson
* Lope Haydn Evans as Michael Salvius
* Miroslava Tomsikova as Rejected Sister
* Bruno Oro as Bell Tower Attendant

## Quotes

*"I'm not breaking any rules by wearing this and not taking the vows, right?"*

*"I can guarantee you're not."*

― Ava and Mary

*"Please, just stop drawing attention. Do your best to act like a nun."*

*"Bless you, my child."*

― Father Vincent and Ava

*"The Halo rejected me. Not all candidates are worthy. But you are. Once, a wise man told me that you are a miracle of the highest order. I should have listened."*

― Mother Superion to Ava

## Trivia

* The Bible text means, in general: We’re not talking actual weapons here, but rather a spiritual battle that’s fought within oneself.