The characters Xena and Gabrielle, (owned by Renaissance Pictures/MCA) are used herein strictly for non-profit purposes of parody and satire. No infringement is intended.

1. Leader's army camp at dawn.

The camera travels down an avenue of tents in the army camp. The tents are lined up with (almost) military precision, but there are several obvious gaps -- where tents have been pulled up and taken away, leaving only a patch of yellowed grass to mark where they were. It is early, but a few soldiers are beginning to stir and ready themselves for the planned march and assault on the coast city. They cast glances at the missing tents and shake their heads.

A tall black-skinned woman strides into view. Her hair is bound up in a handkerchief, she wears a plain and rather patched peasant's dress tied at the waist with a wide multicolored scarf for a belt. This is Sinope. Balanced on her head is a heavy-looking wicker basket piled high with small loaves of hearth bread, and she carries a full pitcher in each hand (one sloshes with red wine, the other clear water). A soldier drops what he's doing and runs up to her.

Soldier That isn't your job. Here, I'll take that and pass it around. You have more important things to do.

Sinope Well, somebody had to come by and feed you, because (wry smile) all my runners have, ah, run off. And since the maids quit, I had to bring him his breakfast anyway. (indicating the basket) There's a full loaf for each in there. Not as many to feed as I thought this morning.

During this exchange, he takes the pitchers from her and sets them down; she carefully lowers the basket from her head and hands it to him, then rubs at her neck with a relieved sigh.

Sinope (to herself) Getting old for this work.

The camera stays next to her and pans to follow the soldier as he takes a loaf from the basket and, wolfing it down, begins going down the line of tents, waking the occupants -- when there are any. Some tents stand empty. He looks into these and passes on with a shake of his head. The roused troops form a quiet, not entirely awake line and take their share of food and drink. During this, Sinope pulls a bronze shoulderguard from a fold in her belt, holds it at arms length with her head tilted back to get her eyes further from the writing, and squints at the scratches on the inside surface. The soldier looks inside the near-empty basket, picks it up, and reapproaches her. She quickly lets the note dangle in her hand, as if it was a bit of rubbish she has not yet taken to the smithy. He holds out the basket.

Soldier He's going to be in a foul mood. Shall I?

She shakes her head, takes the basket and drops the note into it, then scratches loudly on the flap over the door of the nearest tent before walking inside.

Camera follows as she enters:

2. Leader's tent.

Leader sits at the map table, his splinted wrist resting on the map, a wineglass raised in his other hand. His face is haggard with pain, his voice slurred with drink. First Lieutenant, his ribs still heavily bandaged, stands beside him and fills his superior's cup.

Leader I'll hear the rest later, lieutenant. (to Sinope, sharp) Did you bring it?

First Lieutenant steps back as Sinope sets down her basket and slowly starts to unwrap Leader's broken wrist. He hisses with pain, and his face goes gray. Camera closes in on his face, his eyes, and

Cut to:

3. Leader's POV.

Tunnel vision on the camera (towards the edges of the screen the view fuzzes and fades into black) gives an idea of his pain. The camera fixes on Sinope and closes on her hands as she works on his wrist, but never focuses on her face.

Leader (begging now) Do you have it?

Sinope interrupts her inspection and takes a small bag of white silk and a cup from the depths of the basket. Camera fixes obsessively on the bag as Sinope spoons a liberal measure of brown powder from it into the cup, then fixes on the cup as she adds wine, stirs, and hands him the cup.

Sinope Drink up.

He gulps it. The tunnel vision doesn't recede any.

Leader It's slow.

Sinope Breathing the smoke is faster, but it takes more and doesn't last as long -- and that (points to bag) is all there is until your wrist heals. You're lucky there was any to be had, it's not something I keep in my spice drawer.

The camera stays fixed on the silk bag, the tunnel vision receding slowly, as Sinope finishes examining his wrist and rebandages it. She drops the bag into her basket and, walking around to the other side of the map table, makes a clear spot where she begins setting out a large breakfast.

Cut to:

4. Leader's tent.

Much recovered, Leader resumes his conversation with First Lieutenant as though Sinope had ceased to exist. When Leader speaks, the camera cuts to a view of the room looking past Sinope at him and First Lieutenant. When First Lieutenant speaks, the camera cuts to a closeup of his face.

[Grahms: A shambles, the Imperial march bravely keeps going]

Leader No progress? That's not news I wanted to hear.

Lieutenant #1 (nervous) Sir. One of the women teams--

Leader (interrupting) (angry) You know I don't stand for officers insulting the troops. Don't call them women. They passed the same tests and swore the same oaths as you. They are soldiers like you.

Lieutenant #1 (after a pause, tight lipped) Sir. One of the search teams never reported back.

Leader So they tried to take these spies and even injured, the spies killed them. (tight) More lives to avenge.

Lieutenant #1 (exasperated) I suspect desertion. We've lost nearly all of the... (searches for words) teams I must not insult in the past few days. And you yourself have noted that many of our noncombatants and camp followers have left. It seems they are af- (checks himself) are not eager to become rich.

Leader (quite angry) If you insult people in private, how do you expect to remember to be civil to them in public? As for our support personnel, they can hardly be expected to stay with us when battle is immanent. And we no longer really need them, since we will march for the coast as soon as your search parties have brought back these two female assassins.

Lieutenant #1 (polite rage) Sir. I respectfully submit that we should march now if we expect to stay on schedule.

Leader (the last word) After you have been successful. Dismissed.

First Lieutenant walks past Sinope toward the door (and the camera) so that he fills the screen.

Leader (continuing) And please invite the other lieutenants to report to me here to discuss our city assault plan over breakfast.

First Lieutenant stops as if shot. A long pause, and he comes to a decision. He turns back to face Leader and becomes very formal, all but clicking his heels together.

Lieutenant #1 Sir. As you wish, sir.

He walks past the camera and leaves.

Camera slowly closes in on the meal as Sinope finishes laying out a simple breakfast of hearth bread, cheese, fruit, smoked trout. The shoulderguard sits among the food.

Sinope I'll be seeing the paymaster once I'm done here.

Leader (he's forgotten that she is there) What's that?

Sinope My helpers and the other cooks have all left. (taking the shoulderguard) Baking enough for today took a miracle. No sense in my staying and trying to feed an army alone.

Leader Fine, fine. (dismissing her) Thank you for your service.

Sinope tosses the silk bag in front of him. Now she has his full attention.

Sinope Three times a day, one spoonful in wine. Make it last.

Leader (he actually looks at her) Thanks. (he tries to remember her name, can't) Thank you, cook.

Camera now shows only the breakfast, resting on a cloth, in closeup, centered on the loaves of hearth bread beside the trout. Sinope's dark hands, her nails encrusted with dried bread dough, fuss with the layout a final time.

Match cut to:

5. The cavern. Closeup of bread and fish on a cloth.

Match the arrangement of food in the previous scene and in this one. Four or six loaves of hearth bread (pure wheat, by the way, not a peasant's bread) and some smoked trout lie next to the pool on a cloth of the same weave and pattern as the one Sinope laid on Leader's map table. The naiad's hands smooth the cloth, leaving a trail of glistening dewdrops on the dry material, then withdraw.

Shift focus to the background, where Xena has been watching the naiad alertly from her bedroll. She is wrapped in the patterned blanket, with a plain blanket between it and the injury on her back. Her rag doll rests on the ground near her head, far enough away that you couldn't say she was sleeping with it, but close enough for her to reach out and touch. She hasn't been crying.

After waiting respectfully, but without awe, for the naiad to leave, Xena gets up slowly, taking care not to stress her back, and walks toward the food, not limping at all. The camera is on the ground with the food, so all that can be seen of her as she gets close are her boots. She kneels and picks up a loaf, starts to break it in half.

Match dissolve to:

6. Omitted.

7. The cavern. A picnic next to the fire.

Looking past the fire at Gabrielle's hands breaking apart a wedge of cheese. Position of her hands matches Xena's from the previous scene. Pull back as the warm firelight dances across Gabrielle's hands and face. To either side the archer and her friend sit on blankets, facing each other across the food, exchanging glances that leave no room for subtext. Fully dressed but not wearing her armor, Xena walks down from the "chapel" above to join them, pauses. Other than too close to the fire, there is no place for her to sit without crowding someone. After a moment, she spreads her cloak and sits next to Gabrielle, not close enough for intimacy but within her personal space. Gabrielle half rises to move closer to Xena by reflex, then pointedly moves away, out of Xena's personal space. Neither speaks to or makes eye contact with the other. Silence stretches on for an eternity as Gabrielle passes water and food to her left (the side away from Xena).

The camera cuts from face to face as each person talks or acts. But when it is on Gabrielle or Xena, the camera shows them both, and how neither one looks or speaks to the other.

The woman sets aside her untouched bowl.

Woman (to Xena) Is your horse doing all right?

Xena (nods) I need to get her out of here and walking and running again soon, but she should heal as good as new.

The archer glares at her friend and the untouched bowl.

Archer I'm tired of sleeping with a sharp bumpy skeleton.

Woman But I'm not--

Archer (no nonsense) Eat, gypsy.

The woman starts eating, reluctantly.

Gabrielle And here I was thinking you didn't have names. It's Gypsy?

Woman If you like. (touches her necklace) I carry so many, it hardly matters anymore, really. (pause) Besides, I'm not special, just a nobody.

Gabrielle turns to the archer.

Gabrielle (put off, sarcastic) And I suppose you're nobody too?

Pause. The archer looks from Gabrielle to Xena, decides.

Archer (deadpan) Why of course. But don't tell anyone, I'm trying to travel incognito. (pause. she indicates herself) Gudrun.

Heavy accent. Gabrielle doesn't quite hear it the first time. Gudrun (if that's really her name) repeats it.

Gudrun (pronouncing carefully) Gudrun. A northern name.

Gabrielle You're from Macedonia?

Xena (absently, remembering) No, much further north... where the mountains are covered with flowing ice, and the valleys are carpeted with the lushest pastures in the world.

Gabrielle (forgetting that they aren't on speaking terms) Is there _anyplace_ you haven't been?

Xena (also forgetting) A few. (pause) I've heard of a Gudrun.

Gudrun My namesake. Hero of the most beautiful tale the north has.

Gabrielle (anything to avoid talking to Xena) A story? I'd like to hear it.

Gudrun sets down her bread, takes a drink, and settles back. In the following speech, her voice stays conversational, uninflected even in delivering dialogue, unadorned by body language, and her eyes look inward and make little contact with her listeners. But she not a professional scald, and carries the impersonal narrative style a little too far, losing some of its effect. This is clearly a story she knows by heart, although not in Greek, and she has to pause several times to mentally translate from the Norse.

Although the camera comes back to Gudrun occasionally during the story, it mostly shows reactions of her listeners.

Gudrun I can't give it justice in this language. Gudrun was a northern warrior. Her brothers murder her beloved for gold, then they make her wed Atli for land. Years pass, and Atli takes two sons from her body, but she says, "at least my mother and her sister's daughter are safe," and she hums happy tunes while wearing the keys to Atli's hall. Time passes, and she says different things to different people, and it comes about that Atli goes off to war against her brothers. He returns in triumph, all covered with blood, and he puts a silver necklace around her throat, and gives his officer a womanly silver sword. "I recognize these trophies" Gudrun says, and Atli says, "I suppose you do."

Gudrun takes a sip of water and eyes her audience to extend a translation pause into something more dramatic. The nobody woman is quite interested in Xena's response. Xena was bored at first (oh no, not another bard), but has rapidly become interested. Gabrielle, while interested at first, is starting to become put off and uneasy.

Gudrun (continuing) "Where are my sons, to share in the celebration?" he says. "My lord, they are young. Let them rest until the feast is ready" she says. And Gudrun leaves the blood stinking hall, and takes a knife from the kitchen, and cuts the throats of her sons as they sleep. Then she takes their hearts to the kitchen and makes honeyed snacks from them, and she looses the dogs and sends away the servants. Then she takes the little platter of alemeats to the hall and gives it to Atli. She says, "Make merry, my husband, for you have had a glorious victory. Enjoy these fresh young sweet meats." Atli drinks, and eats, and complements his wife on the food, his face glowing with drink. And finally she says, "how could it not be delicious, when it was the hearts of your own children?" And she takes the silver sword from the officer and kills him and Atli. Then she sets fire to the place, and goes to the door, and blocks it, killing anyone who tries to run from the fire with her cousin's sword, until all of Atli's people have perished.

Gudrun leans forward and picks up her bread again. The camera cuts to a view of all four of them. Gabrielle is quite alienated. She shakes herself as if coming out of a horrible nightmare. Xena, however, identifies deeply with this kind of story.

Gabrielle (incredulous) That's it? That's a "beautiful" story?

Gudrun (a little defensive) Beauty isn't always pretty or nice.

Xena (pretending to ignore Gabrielle) It was lovely. But it ends so suddenly. What did she do afterwards? Where did she go?

Gudrun (shrugs) The stories don't say. And if you ask any of the scalds, they'll just pinch your behind and say...

She leans far forward, taking on a patronizing air, and strokes an imaginary beard. Intent, Xena leans forward to catch her words as Gudrun speaks the next lines quietly.

Gudrun (continuing) (affecting a deep manly voice) Why, my girl, she walked back into the fire and died, of course. What else could a woman who had (voice lowers to sinister whisper) killed her own and only sons (horrified pause) have done?

Gudrun sits up normally, her face deadpan.

Cut to:

8. Xena's face in closeup.

Xena swallows her food convulsively. Her mouth twitches. Suddenly she begins laughing. Loud, hard, holding herself, throwing her head back laughter that echoes in the cavern.

[Intercut: Gudrun is still deadpan]

Xena controls herself, but then a glance at Gudrun sets her off again. She can't stop, and she's frightening herself. Pull back as Gabrielle, concerned, reaches out and touches Xena on the shoulder, tentatively at first, as if Xena were a hot pan that might burn her, then gripping firmly.

Gabrielle What is it? Are you all right?

Xena catches herself, pushes Gabrielle's hair out of the way (even though her own is the more disheveled) to look at her.

[Intercut: Xena's POV on Gabrielle's face. Gabrielle understands the joke, but she doesn't _get_ it]

Xena touches Gabrielle's face. A single tear runs down Xena's cheek. Gabrielle reaches out to catch it.

Xena (very low) I'm so glad there are still some things you haven't known and don't have to laugh about.

Long pause as the camera cuts to various angles on Gabrielle and Xena making eye contact, touching each other's faces. Gabrielle starts to speak.

Xena Shh. My fault. I should have told you. I'm sorry.

[Intercut: Gudrun pulls again on an imaginary beard.]

Xena drops her hand and starts to laugh again. Pure joy this time, not out-of-control hilarity.

Dissolve to:

9. Another angle.

They sit around the remains of breakfast, Gabrielle and Xena sitting side-by side, virtually touching. Yet they don't hold hands or embrace, showing a remaining awkwardness -- the breach of trust has created an uneasiness that neither knows how to resolve but that both are hoping will go away if they just pretend it is not there. An awkward silence as Gudrun watches, hawklike, to ensure that her painfully thin and nutritionally challenged friend finishes her food.

Nobody woman (to Gabrielle) It seems to be a day for telling stories.

Fade to black, then cut to:

10. The cherry tree on the clifftop.

The soldiers are the worse for wear -- dehydrated and on the edge. The millipede is exploring the day-old stubble on Soldier #1's chin. Close in for a very tight closeup on his lower face as suddenly he loses it and jerks his head violently with a horrible inarticulate scream, then freezes. The startled millipede drops off his face. A long pause. He slumps. Pull back as he draws a shuddering breath. No crossbow bolt. He starts sobbing.

#1 Fake, joke's on us, all a big fake (etc, maniacally ad lib)

Beside him, #2 stirs, then convulsively jerks and squirms out of his bonds. He tries to stand, falls, and lies where he fell, scratching his scorpion sting and muttering angry inaudible curses to himself.

Dissolve to:

11. Another angle.

#2 and #1 have freed themselves and gotten their legs back. #1 watches nervously as his buddy throws a handful of dirt at the ground beside #4's leg. The snake decides discretion is the better part of valor and glides away. The two soldiers kneel beside #4, who is raggedly breathing and appears awake, yet takes no notice of them.

#1 Poisoned?

#2 Scared, I think. Snake that small can't really fit its mouth around a man to bite him.

#1 (points with chin) What about him?

Untied, #3 seems not to care, but sits placidly watching the garden spider climb into the tree. As answer, #2 points a finger at his head, moving it in circles around his ear.

#2 (to #4) Come on pal, let's go home.

The two half-lead, half drag their scared or poisoned friend away from the tree, ignoring the arachnophile.

Wipe to:

12. The cavern. Gabrielle tells a story.

Again, the camera cuts among the members of the audience. Gudrun and her friend cuddle close as they listen. Gudrun is not really able to like this style of storytelling but is trying to be nicer than Gabrielle was to her, while her friend is professionally interested (stories are the stuff of dreams, after all). Xena sits apart to give Gabrielle room and, under her habitual pretense of not caring for bards or stories, tries to figure out the parallels with herself and Gabrielle that Gabrielle has inserted into the traditional yarn. Like all of Gabrielle's stories, it seems spontaneous, but underneath the surface is carefully planned and rehearsed.

The camera comes back to Gabrielle a good deal throughout as she throws herself into the tale. Nothing could be more unlike Gudrun's manner of narrative. She engages each listener, she pantomimes the action and gives each character a distinct voice, accent, and body language. If anything, Gabrielle's flaw is that she _overtells_ the story, so that she stands in danger of parodying herself.

Gabrielle makes Demeter an earth mother type, and Hestia an unwed daughter who is mature beyond her years after taking over the household in her mother's absence. Philemon is tall, butch, blunt; Baucis is short, femme, amiable.

Gabrielle (midsentence) ... no trust in the gods. (butch, hiding nervousness) "What do you want with us?" (daughter housekeeper) "Philemon, in the town today, I was guested warmly by all until they heard me speak against midwives. Nobody would hear a bad word of you. And during the festival, each prayer said as a hearth was relit asked that you be blessed." (earth mother) "Baucis, your generosity as healer and herbwoman is known all around. During the harvest, every prayer made in the fields asked that you should be happy."
(dramatic pause)
(femme) "But we are happy already." (butch) "Yes, we are already blessed. You don't need to do anything for us." Hestia shook her head so (in frustration). (earth mother) "Unanimous prayers must be granted. But you have no wants. The weaving sisters report your skein is long." (daughter housekeeper) "You are happy with each other. And Hades says Philemon has atoned for her past and will enter Elysium..." (reaches out her hand and trails off into silence) Demeter was less proud. (earth mother) "Advise us."

Xena adopts a neutral expression at mention of Elysium, but otherwise Gabrielle has her audience in her palm. But her face carries an expression of someone who is wondering why she started telling this story, and what she has gotten into. She drops out of storytelling mode for a moment.

Gabrielle (continued) (apologetic) Well, from here on I haven't really been able to make things go the way I want them to yet.

While Gabrielle becomes less animated as she tells an ending she is not yet happy with, Gudrun becomes more engaged as the Gabrielle-isms diminish and cease.

Gabrielle (continued) The fire fell into coals. The rain and wind outside ceased. At last Baucis stood on tiptoes, and whispered in Demeter's ear. (earth mother) "But you will not be..." Redheaded Baucis interrupted with more whispers, and the goddess nodded, so (an 'oh I see' expression), and vanished as gods do. Then tall Philemon spoke low to Hestia. (housekeeper daughter) "But that is not a blessing" (butch and vexed) "You aren't mortal, how could you understand? You asked for advice. Now leave us be." And the goddess vanished.
(pause)
And the two friends put away the food and got ready for bed. (femme) "I couldn't really think of anything, so I asked a favor for someone else. You?" (butch) "Something like that." (femme, exasperated) "The nerve of them." And they spoke no more of the visitors.

A short pause. As Gudrun hears the above exchange between the characters, she takes a breath, lets it out slowly. The nobody woman nods to herself, and glances toward Xena. Gabrielle sees these reactions and is puzzled. This isn't the end of the story yet. Xena maintains a neutral expression as she leans back, putting her hands behind her.

[Intercut: close on Xena's hands as, out of Gabrielle's sight, they grip and knead fistfuls of the cloak Xena sits on, trembling, the knuckles white.]

Gabrielle (continued) Demeter visited the three weavers. (old woman) "Goddess of life and birth, what brings you to this fateful and deadly place?" (earth mother) "Baucis wishes to be alive to bury Philemon at the end of her appointed span." Lachesis left off her rule to nod, and Clotho spun a bit more length for one of two interwoven threads. (old woman) "It shall be so." Demeter left, and Hestia came. (old woman) "Goddess of hearth and home, what brings you to this cold and uncanny place?" (housekeeper daughter) "Philemon's boon is that she be alive to place Charon's fare in Baucis's mouth when the time comes." Silent Lachesis nodded consent, and Atropos snipped one of the threads shorter than the other. (old woman) "So be it." Hestia left. Then Lachesis remeasured the two lifethreads, marking them to the same length. A tear dripped on the threads, and she had to remark them.

Another pause. Gabrielle likes the traditional ending, even if she hasn't made it hers yet, and perks up telling it.

Gabrielle (continuing) Many years later, the two friends, both now old, felt their deaths approaching as they walked in the garden. Each felt a moment of betrayal, fearing the other would live on in grief, to be buried by strangers, but a glance showed that they were dying together. "Perhaps this is best, after all," they both thought. Holding hands, their souls sped to the bank of the Styx, while their bodies became stiff and put forth branches. Where Baucis had stood was a cherry tree; instead of Philemon, there was an oak.

Finished, Gabrielle lets her hands fall to her lap. Gudrun is quietly thoughtful. The nobody woman is nonplussed.

Nobody woman Why would what Philemon had done matter for her afterlife?

Gabrielle (patiently) Elysium is for the good. Evil people are tormented in Tartarus.

Nobody woman (also patiently) Afterlives are what you expect of them. In Tartarus people bind themselves to their own torture racks.

Xena gives a small start. Nobody seems to notice.

Gabrielle (polite) That's an interesting idea.

Gudrun absently pushes back some stray hair, revealing the (day old) peach blossoms she still has behind her ear.

Gudrun Or their spirits could have moved into the trees. The oak I could do without. (shakes herself) I don't like the idea of being chopped down and made into a table, or burnt for firewood. But to have my spirit move into a cherry tree, so in spring I could infuse the blossoms that friends give each other with joy, and in summer young girls could taste of my sweet fruit and tell their futures by counting off 'tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor' on my stones... (trails off, lost in thought)

Gabrielle is rapt in the image.

Gabrielle How beautiful...

Xena (dropping her pretense of boredom) Why didn't you have them tell each other what they had asked of the goddesses?

Gabrielle (confused, thinking aloud) I don't know... I mean, they ought to, it would be pretty stupid not to. But the whole point of taking all the grief and sparing it of your friend depends on not knowing your friend wants the same thing.

Gudrun Maybe it would help if the story didn't have so many endings. You could end it with the requests. Or with the cruel sister's tear. (pause, shrugs) Leave the rest untold.

Gabrielle gives her a look.

Gabrielle Silence can be eloquent, huh?

Nobody woman A good way to tell a story can be the least satisfying way.

Wipe to:

13. The army camp, between two tents.

[Grahms: something suggesting mutiny.]

First Lieutenant, talking, crouches and draws in the dirt with a stick, while several others look on. Everyone makes a production of acting casual.

[Foley: words are inaudible under the music. The music fades and the voices slowly pick up as the scene continues.]

Lieutenant #1 (midsentence) ... and we can meet up here (points with stick). If you're with me, bring as many as will follow you, with full gear. If not... we are brothers in arms. We can be agree to differ without making a fuss, can't we?

Several of his listeners nod in agreement and leave quietly. He finds himself talking to only two other lieutenants.

Lieutenant #1 (looking around) I think we can muster two or three dozen. That should be enough for a sneak attack like I described. March fast, and we'll be there by evening of the last day of the festival. The next morning, it will be our city. (waving dismissively at an unseen distant tent) and he can rot here seeking his vengeance for all we care.

Wipe to:

14. The cavern. Nobody woman's story.

The picnic has been cleared away, but everyone is still sitting on blankets and cloaks next to the fire. A little uneasily, Gabrielle and Xena sit close and hold hands.

Xena Oh no, I'm not one for telling stories.

Nobody woman Maybe later then.

She moves apart from Gudrun, crosses her legs, and begins. Her hand plays with her necklace as she discourses.

Nobody woman (continued) Gabrielle explained who Demeter and Hestia were before she started. So I should explain some things too. Travel far enough, and the gods have different names.

Xena (tight) Like Vesta and Ceres instead of Hestia and Demeter.

Nobody woman (continued) (nods) Go a little further, and nobody has heard of them. The northern gods aren't here. And the Greek ones are not in the north, or Egypt, or Asia. But there are some things that are universal. Some people don't have hearths. Some don't farm. But they all wonder about their fates. Everyone wants to love someone, and has dreams, and hopes. We all change, search for happiness, and just about everyone was born and will eventually die. People pray for the same things everywhere, but not to the same gods. And gods are selfish, meddlers, hardly the right people to be trusted with important matters. (pause) They're ants, playing sandbox in the crumbling mortar that holds together the domains of these few universal things.

Gabrielle I've heard stories about that. The... eternals, something like that. Seven of them... or is it eight?

Nobody woman (shrugs) Seven or sixteen, who's keeping track? But to the universals, we are nothing. People are born and die as they should, but who is there to catch the baby and wash the dead, to have it all make some sense, to give the bereaved peace, to put meaning to it for them? That's what midwives are for.

Gabrielle My mother used to say that even Aphrodite needs matchmakers.

Nobody woman Something like that. Matchmakers, and advice givers, dream hearers, midwives, comedians, bringers of hope.... Mediators who give meaning and purpose to the universals.

Xena (not liking this) And murderers.

Nobody woman is shocked.

Xena (continued) (blunt) Aphrodite needs matchmakers, and Ares murderers. That's the full saying.

Nobody woman (shakes her head) No, no. Not the matchmakers who pray to Aphrodite. In all the world, there are only a few... bodhisattvas, who forsake some universal thing in order to better help others understand it. Advice givers without free will. Consoling midwives who live long past mortal endurance. Comics who never feel joy. Hopebringers who have none of their own. Matchmakers who are lonely. Dream hearers who cannot dream.

Xena And Ares?

Nobody woman His sandbox is destruction. The world is full of it. But without someone who will not spill lifesblood, who foresakes destruction to better help others create and change for the better amidst the ashes, Ares and all the other war gods are but names whispered in the breeze.

Xena (the idea is appealing yet...) But the world doesn't make sense. It never has.

The woman takes her hand away from her necklace.

Nobody woman (smiling) Now that's the story. There were never enough of these bodhisattvas for all the people in the world, and as they died without finding successors, the world ceased to make sense. Until finally there was only one left...

As she begins her story,

Dissolve to:

15. Leader's tent.

The breakfast stands untouched at one end of the map table. Leader sits alone poring over a map.

[Grahms: Imperial march? what Imperial march?]

Leader (talking to himself) After attacking us they went this way... and when pursued they fled this way... If word of our attack plans had gotten out... (eureka) Amphipolis. Seeking reinforcements to cut us off from the rear. Wounded, they'll be slow... an ambush, here, and I'll have them both. That's it!

Camera stays on the map table as he strides out of the tent.

Leader (off screen) (shouting) Lieutenant! Get your men ready for a march toward Amphipolis. Lieutenant?!

Wipe to:

16. The cavern. Xena's story.

Everyone is looking at Xena. She throws up her free hand (the other is clasped in Gabrielle's) in mock surrender.

Xena All right. But I'm not very good at this.

Gabrielle leans close, catching Xena's eye.

Gabrielle (just audible) You'll do fine.

She lets go of Xena's hand and moves to the side. Xena doodles in the mud with her forefinger, looks at Gabrielle, then down at the mud again. A deep breath as she makes a decision. She speaks to the mud, and only intermittently looks up at her listeners. But she avoids looking at Gabrielle throughout. The camera cuts among reaction shots of each listener, but mostly concentrates on closeups of Gabrielle or Xena.

Xena There was a warrior in... Asia. (picking a name at random) Gilgamesh. He had taken up the sword to defend his valley against warlords. His... sister died at his side in the battle. And his soul died with her. For years afterwards, he defended his valley well, but his means were ruthless, and he was shunned by his kith and kin, who were ashamed of him and shamed by him. A decade passed, and he found a friend, Enkidu, who knew nothing of war or killing and whose spirit was light because of that. In the company of this friend, Gilgamesh began to refind his soul.

A pause. Gabrielle gives a little nod to herself as she picks up the parallels.

Xena (continued) Bandits tried to loot the temple of Fate, but Gilgamesh killed them. The last to die was a child hardly old enough to hold a sword.

A soft sound from Gabrielle. Xena hears, and breaks eye contact with her listeners to look back at the mud.

Xena (continued) He stared at the blood on his hands, hating himself and all he had become. He walked off, and the god of Fate met him. "Gilgamesh, you have preserved my temple" Fate said, "Choose your boon." And staring at the blood on his hands, he said, "I wish I had never taken up the sword." Fate said, "Spill no blood, and it shall be so. Kill again, and everything will be as it was before." And he looked up, and around, but Enkidu was gone. Instead he saw... he saw his sister walking toward him.

A pause, a breath. She is not going to allow her voice to quaver in telling this story.

Xena (continued) He ran to her, embraced her, and held her to him, so that she would not see his tears. The next days were a haze to him, for it was as Fate had said: in this new life he had never been a warrior. He... he had never shamed his mother. But these gifts came with costs. He and his sister had run instead of fighting, and the warlords had taken the valley and made it pay tithes. All the bandits who he had killed over the years were still alive. He told himself that all these evils were worth it to have his sister back again, and to live without a thousand deaths on his conscience.

Another pause. Gabrielle blinks away tears, a little confused. It couldn't have happened like this, could it?

Xena (continued) Then the warlords sent men to collect the tithe, bringing slaves to carry it away. His heart skipped a beat to see that one of the slaves was Enkidu. (pause) He tried to speak to his friend, but in this life Enkidu did not know him, did not trust him, and when he told him that he would free him, Enkidu quickly hated him for giving him hope, something Enkidu never wanted to know again, for he had learned that it was always false. Gilgamesh's heart cracked to see his friend spurn him.

Another pause. This time Gabrielle is the one who becomes absorbed in the mud and bits of shale on the ground.

Xena (continued) The warlords wearied of taking tithes rather than slaves, and his sister urged him to help her fight them before it was too late. He went with her, taking no sword. He used his fists, and did not kill. They freed Enkidu, and met the warlords. His sister tossed him a sword, but he hesitated to use it. Then Enkidu... took a sword, and... (pause, then coming out in a rush) spitted her former master on it, her face glowing with bloodlust. And Gilgamesh's heart shattered. She looked one last time at her brother, then turned on the last warlord and ran him through.

A pause. Xena realizes that her pronouns shifted, and forces herself to look up and speak at a normal speed.

Xena (continued) And with that, as the fates had promised, everything was as it had been before the wish was made. With bloody hands and stained soul, Gilgamesh stood beside Enkidu above the dead child who had tried to loot the temple of Fate.

Xena drops her head and studies the ground. The pretense that this is just a story is gossamer thin. Gabrielle moves closer, and half-reaches for her friend, lets her hand drop. Her face is filled with compassion, but at the same time, this is another thing Xena had kept hidden from her.

Drag out an agonizingly long pause as the camera closes in on Gabrielle's ring hand resting on Xena's cloak, a few inches from Xena's hand. Then, finally, Xena's hand hesitantly reaches out to clasp Gabrielle's.

Cut to:

17. Further back, another angle.

As Gabrielle and Xena move into an embrace, Gabrielle in the foreground. Gudrun and her friend discreetly withdraw.

Gabrielle (into Xena's ear) You know you can tell me anything safely.

Cut to a reverse angle, Xena in the foreground. A pause as they continue the embrace.

Xena (hesitant, into Gabrielle's ear) I know. (quaver in her voice) But it's so hard. (long pause, then barely audible) And I'm so afraid of losing you... again.

Gabrielle stiffens. After a long moment, she pulls away to look Xena in the eye, to say something. Xena looks away.

In the background, Argo nickers. Xena hears, and stands, still not meeting Gabrielle's eyes.

Xena I think it's time for us to leave.

Fade to black, then fade up on:

18. The clifftop above the rapids. Early afternoon.

[Foley: The sound of the rapids picks up a moment later than the picture, as if the soundtrack were out of synch.]

The camera seems poised in midair just off the edge of the cliff. A set of narrow, nearly invisible steps runs down the cliff face. To one side, Gudrun is lying on her back with her legs dangling over the edge, squinting up at the bright sky. Her bow and bag lie beside her. To the other side, Gabrielle backs away from the edge, propping herself up with her staff. Then her hands slowly slide down the staff as her legs give way and she sits. Like Gudrun, her hair, body, and clothing are entirely covered with a sheen of dewdrops that glisten and sparkle in the sunlight.

[Foley: The sound of the rapids ceases abruptly.] [Grahms: Something really big, like "Giants" (16), reprise]

A rainbow mist carpet silently appears off the cliff edge.

Nobody woman (off screen) Now. This way.

She backs past the camera into view, stepping from watery air onto the clifftop, leading Xena, who, eyes closed, soothes and leads a blindfolded Argo. She is armored, and Leader's stiletto hangs from her waist. All three are similarly covered with dewdrops. The minute her feet touch the ground, Xena opens her eyes and looks down and around, picking Argo's way for her among the rocks. But not until she hears Argo's back hooves clomping on the ground and takes the cloth away from the horse's eyes does she turn around and look back toward the camera. The rainbow bridge quavers, then vanishes.

[Foley: sound of rapids resumes]

Close in on Gabrielle during the following. She's just had the most overwhelming transcendent experience of her life.

Xena (off screen) So. (awkward) Where will you be going now? Over the pass? Will you be in Greece for a while?

Gudrun (off screen) Downhill, I'm afraid. And then, where our feet take us, or where we're needed. (pause) Thank you for the stories.

Nobody woman (off screen) And for the conversations. (pause, awkward) And for taking care of me. You were most kind.

Xena (off screen) (pause) It was nothing. We're both in your debt. Thank you for (pause, quietly) for helping us with our troubles.

Cut to:

18a. Xena and Gudrun, Gabrielle sitting beyond them.

Xena (very low) I didn't realize how much of her had gone until you brought all of it back. I'll never be able to repay you for helping her to laugh again.

Silently, her face solemn, tears begin to track down Gudrun's cheeks.

Gudrun (also very low) Just doing my job.

Camera begins to close on Gabrielle beyond them as she pulls herself back into the real world. She puts her hands to her face, then pulls them back and looks at the jade ring she wears as if she had never seen it before. She pulls it off her finger, and stands. Just as Xena calls her, she flicks the ring off the edge of the cliff.

Xena Gabrielle? What was that?

Cut to:

18b. The ring as it falls.

The camera follows the ring as it falls through the air, to be caught in the branches of the tree. An eye-twisting distortion, and a tall, brown woman in a green serape holds the ring in her hand, another ring, of lapis-lazuli, glinting on her finger. The naiad sprouts from the trickle of water that falls from far above, and the tree woman proffers the jade ring to her.

Gabrielle (off screen) Sorry. It's not every day you come that close to flying. (pause) It wasn't anything I wanted to keep anymore.

Cut to:

19. Gabrielle and Xena at the clifftop.

Gabrielle is smiling, still giddy. She enjoyed the ride up. Xena didn't.

Xena A little too close for my taste. (pause) Are you all right?

Gabrielle (pause, then thoughtfully) Getting there, I think.

Gabrielle goes over to Gudrun and her friend. A moment of awkwardness, and she clasps the nobody woman's hands.

Gabrielle Thanks. (undertone) And I hope you find the (pause to get the pronunciation right) bodhisattvas you're looking for.

Cut to a closeup of the nobody woman as she speaks:

Nobody woman (smiling, quiet) Maybe I've found some already.

Cut back to Gabrielle as she turns toward Gudrun and reaches up to hug the taller woman. Gudrun gently wards Gabrielle off, and Gabrielle laughs as Gudrun moves her feet apart until she stands nearly a head shorter, with her legs splayed wide to either side of her. A friendly embrace.

[Intercut: closeup of Xena's face. A "why didn't I think of that" expression.]

Gudrun (before Gabrielle can speak) You're welcome. (pause) I'll miss your laughter.

Gabrielle's silence is eloquent.

Fade to black, then cut to:

20. A fallen log in the forest, mid-afternoon.

Lieutenant #1 and, to his right, another lieutenant, crouch behind a log and peer out into the distance.

Lieutenant #1 (to his left) Sergeant, take some men and go cut them off from the rear.

No answer. Pull back and to the side to follow his gaze as he looks to see if the sergeant heard him. Nobody is there. Suddenly a sword appears from behind the camera and rests against the back of his neck. He freezes.

[Note: Remember woman soldiers #1, 2, and 3 from act one?]

Woman soldier #3 Hold _very_ still.

Atalanta Are they all secured?

Woman soldier #2 This one isn't going anywhere.

[Foley: Ropes being tied. Someone approaches at a run.]

Woman Soldier #1 (out of breath) A few got away. I put people after them.

Atalanta steps into view and kneels beside Lieutenant #1.

Atalanta Next time, don't alienate your subordinates. (putting out a hand) Atalanta, blacksmith and city garrison volunteer.

Cut to:

21. A gully along a path. Late afternoon.

A closeup of a garden spider working on its web among some bulrushes.

[Foley: Argo walking]

Gabrielle (off screen) I think we've found the road, or what's left of it.

Xena (off screen) Yes. Two days through these highlands, a few more in the lowlands. In a week we'll be at Theodorus's back door, whittling away at his band of thugs.

Movement beyond the web.

[Foley: Argo stops]

Xena (off screen) (sharp) Who goes there?

Pull back as the arachnophile soldier #3 stands from where he was watching the spider. The spider's bulrushes grow in a moist but not wet gully that marks the edge of what might, a long time ago, have been something resembling a road. Xena walks down the road beside Gabrielle, leading Argo.

#3 Hello there! Have you seen any water along this ditch?

Wary, Xena unhooks a small container of water from Argo's saddlebag and tosses it to him. He catches it expertly.

#3 (minding p's and q's) Thank you kindly, but I'm really hoping to find a stream or pool where I can rest and wash.

Gabrielle (helpful) Go away off that way (pointing) and you'll come to a canyon with a stream in it, in a few hours.

#3 (perfectly sane) Are there many nice spiders there?

Gabrielle (at a loss) I don't know, I'm not that much of a fan.

Xena eyes him for a moment.

Xena I see you're a soldier.

#3 Used to be. My former boss came traipsing through a few hours ago, hell-bent on setting up an ambush for some women he's gotten an overdeveloped sense of vengeance over. He needs to relax, watch a few spiders for a while. It did wonders for me.

As he says all this, he slowly realizes that he is probably talking to one of the women in question, and trails off.

#3 (nervous) Hey, I've quit that job, OK? He's probably lurking up ahead where the trail curves, and I noticed he doesn't have a lot of help anymore.

Xena eyes him for a moment, then suddenly smiles, and starts walking again, Gabrielle beside her, as they pass the man.

Xena Have fun looking at your spiders.

#3 Oh, I will. Every one is different, and beautiful. (pointing) Was it this way to the stream?

Gabrielle (over her shoulder) Pretty much due south. So long!

Wipe to:

22. A view of leader's camp at sunset.

Only Leader's sigil on the tent cloths and banners show that this is the same army. Barely more than half a dozen tents, most of them as yet just piles of cloth and rope laid out on the ground, at the base of a low hill among the same highlands as in the previous scene. Smoke wafts up from stoves beside one of the erect tents.

Gabrielle (off screen) (whispering) Eww. Someone's really ruined their dinner.

Xena (off screen) (amused, whispering) They've lost all their cooks. No guards either, except for the ones on the road.

A thoughtful pause, during which cut to a reverse angle, looking at Gabrielle and Xena crouching behind a boulder. Xena looks away from the camp to Gabrielle.

Xena If you're willing?

Gabrielle meets her eyes. A long pause, as she tries (and fails) to find the words to say what needs to be said, at last settling for something inadequate.

Gabrielle Of course. (as if it says it all) Always.

An expression starts to form on Xena's face, but she pushes it aside. There's work to be done.

Xena Then take my sword, and hide near the tent next to where they burnt dinner. If anyone tries to go into the tent I'm in, or if anyone finds you, cut the ropes and set fire to the tent. Then get out.

She hands Gabrielle her sheathed sword, then puts a hand on Gabrielle's shoulder, and hesitantly meets her eyes.

Xena Gabrielle, I... (searches for words) I don't know what I did to deserve you. (pause) But thank you.

Gabrielle is at a loss for words.

Xena (reluctantly) Let's finish this.

Wipe to:

23. Inside leader's tent.

A dim candlit profile view of Leader standing in front of his map table. He swirls a cup of wine, gulps it down. The silk bag lies, much depleted, on the table in front of him.

Leader (subdued anger) What is keeping that dinner?

Xena's voice Remember me, Lefty?

The voice seems to come from nowhere. He backs against the map table in fear. A long moment, and just as he starts to think it was all his imagination, something huge and dark and quiet leaps down at him from off screen, sending him crashing back to lie sprawled across the map table, his good hand pinned above his head at a painful angle.

Cut to a close view of his sweating face. The polished blade of his stiletto gleams against his throat.

Xena Ah-ah-aaah. Be very, very quiet, or I'll slit your throat like a little bunny rabbit's.

He struggles.

Xena Want me to break the other one, Lefty?

He falls quiet. She poises the blade just under his Adams' apple.

Xena Now if you want to stay away from the Styx a while longer, _hold still_.

Close in on his terrified face, his drug-dilated pupils, as she jabs a pressure point, then delicately cuts something. A pause.

Xena (off screen) All done. That wasn't so bad, now was it?

Firelight on the outside of the tent wall. Xena jumps off him, and tosses a near-full white silk bag onto the table to land next to its depleted mate.

[Foley: flames and shouts of "fire!"]

Xena (walking away) We really must stop meeting like this. (afterthought) Oh, and enjoy your fast tomorrow.

Pull back as he gets up. A trickle of blood runs from a small incision in his throat. He tries to shout.

Leader Guards!

But all that comes out is a quiet rasping croak.

Fade to black.

Leader (voiceover) (croaking) Guards?

Silence for a moment, then

Cut to:

24. Campsite. Evening.

Camera centers on Gabrielle feeding the fire. Off to the side, Xena, dressed but not in her armor, checks Argo's hip.

Gabrielle Is there a god of happiness?

Xena (ponders it) No. There's one of drunkenness and mania.

Gabrielle That's not the same thing, though, is it?

Xena No. (pause) Maybe happiness is something we have to do on our own.

Satisfied with the fire, Gabrielle puts one of her soup pots on it. Xena gives Argo a final pat and walks over to sit next to her. Camera closes in the two of them, but stays centered on Gabrielle. She watches the fire as she speaks.

Gabrielle I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever laugh again. (pause) There were dreams where you didn't arrive in time. Or where she got past you somehow, to me.

Xena takes Gabrielle's hand, and puts her other arm across Gabrielle's shoulders.

Xena (gently) Everyone has nightmares about dying.

Gabrielle (shakes her head) That wasn't it. The bad part was that in the dream I would see you live on.

Gabrielle gets a "how could I be so dense" expression.

Gabrielle Well, I guess that's where the Baucis and Philemon story came from.

Xena (hesitantly) I take it I broke my promise to you, in the dreams.

Gabrielle (nervous laugh) Oh, those were the nicer ones.

Xena gently caresses Gabrielle's back. She starts to let go of Gabrielle's hand (so she can wipe away the tears, perhaps?), but Gabrielle seizes it in both of hers and holds it up to her cheek as she starts quietly sobbing.

Hold on that scene for a long moment, then

Dissolve to:

25. The campsite, later on.

Xena finishes making up two bedrolls a few feet apart as Gabrielle walks into the scene carrying an armful of blankets, the patterned one on top.

Gabrielle (angry) Xena.

Xena looks up, her expression carefully neutral. Gabrielle drops the smaller blankets and holds up the patterned one.

Gabrielle We _both_ bought this. It's _ours_. We share it _together_.

Xena starts to pull the two bedrolls together.

Xena (choking back tears) I wasn't sure. I'm sorry, but after all that, I wasn't sure.

Gabrielle kneels across the double bedroll from her and starts spreading out the patterned blanket, with the smaller, coarser blankets on top for extra warmth. Xena starts to help, and their hands meet, and stop, touching.

Gabrielle (soft) I've been stupid. I'm sorry.

Xena I think we both started it, somehow. I can't remember.

A long silence as they make a game of trying to finish making the bed without letting their hands part company. Gabrielle laughs. Xena smiles, then sobers.

Xena I kept dreaming that you became a killer because of me.

Gabrielle takes her hands away and sits back in shock. She starts to speak, stops, then looks off toward the fire.

Gabrielle (slowly, with many hesitations) You shamed your mother once. And you... You're far more than just a mother or a sister to me. (pause) But I'm not going to do work for the Eumenides. If you go to Elysium before me, I don't want you to ever be unhappy and shamed because of me.

Xena stiffens at the mention of Elysium. Gabrielle sees it. An awkward pause. Xena reaches out a hand, and after a moment Gabrielle takes it.

Xena (changing the subject) I swear I'll never break that promise I made you.

Suddenly an imp of mischief gets in Xena's eye and she pulls hard on Gabrielle's hand. But Gabrielle is sitting back and well-balanced, while Xena is not. A short tug of war, marked by lots of giggles from Gabrielle and a few chuckles from Xena, ends with Xena sprawling onto the bed.

Cut to:

a. A closeup of the white bandage across Xena's back as she falls and rolls across the bedroll.

Cut to:

b. A closeup of Gabrielle, contrite, shocked that she forgot that Xena is still convalescent. She crawls toward her.

Gabrielle Oh, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?

Like striking snakes, Xena's hands reach up and pull Gabrielle off balance so she falls to the bedroll and out of the camera frame.

Cut to:

26. Another angle on the bedroll as they lie in a tangle.

Xena (mirthful) Now we're even.

Gabrielle No, seriously. I forgot and shouldn't have roughhoused.

Xena peers at Gabrielle's forehead as she replies.

Xena It actually hasn't bothered me all day. (peering) I could have sworn that scalp wound was going to leave a scar.

Realization strikes them both. Simultaneously:

Gabrielle: It must have been the peaches.
Xena: It must have been the water.

Gabrielle laughs. Xena smiles.

Gabrielle I guess we found four friends instead of two.

A few clumsy moments as they untangle themselves, and then they are both stretched out on top of the blankets, lying on their sides facing the fire. Gabrielle's head fits under Xena's chin, her back against Xena's belly, as Xena wraps the shorter woman in her arms.

Dissolve to:

27. Same scene, later.

They still lie fully clothed on top of the blankets, facing the fire. The camera is closer in on their faces.

Gabrielle (midsentence)... alive. So there I was, about to be a mother, married to a, to the perfect farmer's husband. And I was unhappy. (pause) Then I woke up with bad cramps. I was so... it was such a relief that there aren't words to describe it. Like a reprieve from death.

Xena (guarded) We all make mistakes.

Gabrielle (laughs) Yeah, but I still feel like an idiot. He knew exactly how to make me feel guilty for not doing things his way, just the way my father used to do.

An awkward pause.

Gabrielle So. Elysium.

Xena's arms tighten around Gabrielle.

Xena (with great reluctance) I would be killed. And the ferryman would take me to Tartarus where I will always belong. She would be there, tormented by having to watch her family in Elysium. And I would watch you live on. In the dreams.

At the words "where I will always belong," Gabrielle bites her lip. Her face becomes haggard, drawn. A shuddering breath. In a way, she's known that Xena thinks like this for a long time, but it's still a horrible shock to hear it directly. She grew up and has lived (mostly) happy and has never known anything like Xena's grim and traumatic life. All she can offer is her compassion, which can never seem to her anywhere near adequate.

Gabrielle (choking back tears) Xena? You said yourself that in the destiny where you never became you, I was a slave. I'm stubborn, so I must have had scars on my back. Probably lots of other people were slaves too. You've done a lot of good. The world really is a better place because of you.

Xena (self-hatred) And that's supposed to make up for a thousand innocents killed, nearly a hundred villages burnt to the ground, with those few left alive in them easy pickings for slavers? There's no mystery about... about her. Just about why there haven't been dozens more like her.

Gabrielle No.

She pulls away from Xena, and twisting around, aggressively pushes Xena onto her back, raising herself up so that she is facing Xena from above. Their faces are almost touching.

Gabrielle No! (firm, no-nonsense, butch) Xena. I know you. I know you better than anyone else in this world. You are the most ethical, kindest, and... (whispered) loving... person I have ever met.

Xena opens her mouth. Gabrielle puts a finger to it.

Gabrielle Shh. Xena, you are good.

Xena's turns her head away. Gabrielle smooths her hair and caresses her face. Camera closes in on Xena's face.

Xena (voice steady) I wish I had your faith.

A tear falls on Xena's cheek.

Gabrielle Then I'll believe for both of us, and give you all my faith.

Xena (facing the fire) And if you decide to get married again?

A long, long, long silence. Gabrielle is flummoxed at first. Wasn't this addressed when she said she had been stupid for going off with that fellow? Perhaps not. Finally Xena turns from the fire to face Gabrielle again. Once again, for the third time, Gabrielle searches for the words she knows she needs to say. This time, she succeeds. She punctuates each "no matter" with another caress of Xena's cheek. Then she lays her cheek against Xena's, saying each whispered "I will" directly into Xena's ear.

Gabrielle Xena. No matter where you go. No matter what you do. No matter when you die. No matter what happens afterward. I will go with you. I will live with you. I will follow you to the Styx, or else wait there for you to join me. I will get on the ferry with you, and never leave your side no matter where the ferryman takes you. You... you might leave me. (Xena shakes her head, no, never) I will never leave you again.

Fade to black.

Gabrielle (continued) I love you.

Silence is her only answer. Hold on the black screen for a moment, then

Cut to:

27. Xena beside the Styx.

Charon waits for Xena to step aboard.

[Foley: The usual drill. No sounds not specified.]

Charon Where to?

Xena (getting in) This is a dream.

Charon Dream, death, they both start with D. It can be a pretty technical distinction sometimes.

Xena Wherever you like.

Charon Now that's one I don't hear so often.

He poles away. Just before the boat vanishes into the mist,

Charon As it so happens, you have an appointment with somebody. Want to go?

Xena Why not?

All is white mist.

28. A dock on the Styx.

Like every other place near the Styx, it is covered with white mist. Charon poles the boat to the dock and gets out. He offers a hand to Xena and

Cut to:

Closeup of the hand as Xena reaches for it. A woman's hand. Xena jerks her hand back, for (camera pulls back) it is Celesta offering to help her out.

Celesta Remember, Xena, this is a dream.

Xena clambers out on her own. Camera closes in on her.

Xena They both start with D. A technical distinction. I'd rather not chance it, I have... a lot to live for.

Xena shakes her head, confused. Pull back, and Celesta is no longer there. Instead Teleute ties off the boat to the dock and stands, brushing her hands. She is a young woman, shortish, _very_ pale, with a wild mop of black hair, flat-chested. She wears black combat boots, a black spaghetti strap cocktail dress (and damn the anachronism) and a plain ankh necklace. She's so very "little miss sunshine" perky that she makes Gabrielle look dour by comparison.

Teleute Glad to hear it. (pause, then brisk) Well, I really don't have much time, and it isn't my department anyway, but you're getting a raw deal here. (aside) I swear, sacrifice a few cattle to them, burn a little incense, erect a few temples, and they start getting delusions of grandeur. (to Xena) So he's pulled a few fast tricks and got you here to see him. Big deal. Just remember this is your dream, not his. You're the one in charge.

Understanding some parts not at all and others all too well, Xena nods.

Xena Thanks, I think.

Teleute Least I could do. (looks Xena up and down) You know she's done you a lot of good. And being rather dense, he still hasn't figured that out. (points) He's waiting up that way.

Camera follows Xena as she walks in the indicated direction. The mists part, and Ares is there. A large raven with glowing red eyes watches over him balefully.

Xena (doesn't he ever give up?) Ares. So what is it this time.

Ares Xena. I'm just wondering when you are going to rejoin me.

Xena You know, I think you'd be disappointed if I ever said yes. Without me to tempt, your life would be so dull and boring.

Ares frowns. This isn't the way the conversation is supposed to go. He plays his next card.

Ares You know you killed her in cold blood. No second chances. What if Hercules had treated you the same way?

Ares tries to start circling Xena in his usual predatory fashion, but she beats him to it and starts to circle him.

Xena Oh come now. Don't you ever stop to think how meaningless your life would be if I wasn't around to thwart you? Face it, every time I kill someone, you're disappointed.

He tries again to reassert control of the conversation. None of Xena's reactions are in his script, however, and he is getting frustrated.

Ares And what about those two soldiers who had you all-but beaten? They were disarmed, but you went ahead and killed them anyway. Isn't that a little bloodthirsty? Less than morally righteous?

Xena This dream is getting boring. Good bye.

The landscape of Hades wavers and is replaced by the lush green fields outside of Amphipolis. Ares himself vanishes at the same time. The raven remains, perched in a tree.

Ares (voice over) This isn't over Xena. Not by a long shot.

Cut to:

29. Dream Amphipolis.

[Grahms: Glede ma Glade.]

Xena walks along a road toward the town square, arm in arm with Lyceus. She's overjoyed, but at the same time troubled, because if Lyceus is alive then Gabrielle must be a woman embittered by slavery.

Lyceus I'm so glad you came by today. Mother's been wanting to talk to you.

But if Cyrene is alive, perhaps Gabrielle is whole as well. Xena crushes her hopes before they can be proven false.

They enter the town square. Zoom in for a closeup of Xena's face as sees something that makes her very very happy.

Cut to: The crowd in the square. Zoom in for a closeup of Gabrielle's face (the real Gabrielle, not the former slave) as she leaves off haggling over something and looks toward the camera, toward Xena.

Cut to: A shot of Xena lifting Gabrielle off the ground in a bear hug, tears of joy streaming down her face. She sets her down, and turns to Lyceus.

Xena Gabrielle, this is my brother Lyceus. Lyceus, this is my... (hesitates) this is Gabrielle.

As the last chorus of Glede ma Glade ends,

Fade to black, then fade up on:

30. Two pair of feet.

The blankets have crept up somehow. Gabrielle and Xena's bare feet lie beside each other in repose, Xena's longer legs drawn up slightly. Camera pans up toward their heads as Gabrielle kicks and pulls the blankets back down.

Xena is sleeping contentedly in Gabrielle's arms, a smile on her lips. She wears her shift. Gabrielle appears to enjoy sleeping nude. She contentedly watches Xena sleep.

Xena (asleep) Lyceus...

Gabrielle (whispering) So far beyond what you could ever hope for that when you wake, you have to cry. (laying her back head down) Even if you can never say it aloud, my shoulder will always be here for you when you wake up.

She closes her eyes.

Unfocus completely, then refocus on

31. Callisto's cave.

Gabrielle stands beside her dropped sword. Theodorus finishes tying her arms. Callisto contemplates her from her bondage chair.

Callisto Not even mine? Hardly a polite tone of voice, little girl. Well, maybe I did accomplish something after all.

She sits contemplating Gabrielle for a few moments.

Callisto (to Theodorus) Wake the men. Xena will be along soon. (yawning) In the meantime, my nap was interrupted.

She sits back in her chair and closes her eyes.

Cut to a closeup of Gabrielle's face as she glares at Callisto. She wonders if she really got this far or if she was allowed to. She doubts if she did the right thing dropping the sword. She wishes Xena would hurry up.

Cut to a closeup of Callisto's face from Gabrielle's viewpoint. Asleep, she looks peaceful, much younger and closer to her calendar age. She turns her head sideways, and a tear tracks from her eye across her cheek.

Callisto (asleep) Mama...

Shock cut to:

32. The campsite. Morning twilight.

Gabrielle wakes with a start. Xena is still peacefully asleep. Gabrielle pulls one of the coarse blankets from on top and carefully, so as not to wake Xena, disengages from her, wraps the coarse blanket around herself, and gets up. She retucks the patterned blanket around Xena, sits on the edge of the bedroll, and gazes meditatively at the ashes of the fire. She closes her eyes. Camera goes in for an extreme closeup on her closed eyes.

[Foley: sounds of fire, screaming, battle, and slaughter. Echo effect on the sounds.]

[Match intercut: Extreme closeup of Callisto's closed eyes in the real Tartarus]

Gabrielle opens her eyes. Compassion.

Gabrielle It must have been horrible for you. (long pause) I'm sorry.

[Intercut: Callisto bound to a rack in the real Tartarus, a pitch black place, with just enough light on the forms of the damned to make things worse than if it had been absolutely dark. Eyes closed, she shakes her head. Hearing such words hurts her.]

Gabrielle closes her eyes again. She is thinking of a dead person who she would just as soon forget, and it's hard.

Gabrielle And...

Callisto (voiceover) The _idea_ of your pity is worse than death for me.

Gabrielle opens her eyes. She knows just how double-edged her next words will be. She knows that saying them is in essence an act of revenge that belies them. But she is going to say them anyway.

Cut to:

33. Tartarus.

Callisto is shaking her head. She bites her lip.

Gabrielle (voiceover) ...I forgive you.

Callisto starts sobbing.

Fade to black

The sound of Callisto's sobbing continues for several seconds before the final

Fade out.