FADE IN

A handsome young man, only about 20, with fire in his eyes in leather armor swings his sword at a burly warrior in front of him. He's standing on the edge of a forest clearing, the backdrop of several tents in the distance behind him. Warriors can be seen moving amongst them.

ON-SCREEN TITLE: 32 Years Ago

The burly man attacks and the young man ducks under the blade with agility, swiftly moving from one side of the man to the other and turning to kick him in the back. The burly man snarls and lunges forward. Pushing all his weight behind his blade, the young man springs forward, their blades clashing in a dizzying array of sparks. He swings left and right, countering his opponent's attacks swiftly and with ease until he pushes the man down. The young man grins, satisfied with himself and presses the tip of the sword to the man's throat.

MAN (off-camera):
     Well done, Brygus.

Brygus turns, finding an older man with a beard watching him.

OLDER MAN:
     One day, you'll make Ares proud, my son.

BRYGUS (nods, then turns back to the man on the ground):
     He's already proud.

He brings the sword down, piercing the man's chest.

Pan around to show the older man watching him, then further back to show Ares lurking in the distance, his arms crossed, invisible to everyone. He has a small grin on his face.

DISSOLVE TO

Outside a large stone building.

ON-SCREEN TITLE: Months Later

Swords clash. Brygus grins as he pulls back his sword and steps back from the man in black standing in front of him. Pan around to show that it's Ares.

ARES:
     You're a natural.

BRYGUS:
     As good as Xena?

ARES (grins):
     Don't get ahead of yourself. No one's as good as Xena--at least, not yet. Maybe never. (chuckles at Brygus' annoyed look) Ooh, that one stung your pride, didn't it. Good. I can see you've got fire in the belly.

Ares walks around Brygus.

ARES:
     You want to honor your late father by joining me.

BRYGUS:
     The legacy must live on. (proud) Serving the God of War is in my blood.

ARES (smiles, mutters to himself):
     Well, you're sure no Agathon.

CUT TO

Inside a dark temple with skulls and weapons on the walls.

ON-SCREEN TITLE: 2 Years Later

A slightly older Brygus, with longer hair and the start of a beard growing on his face, walks in toward the altar where a statue of Ares stands. He draws his sword and places it point down into the stone floor, kneeling.

BRYGUS:
     Lord Ares, grant me and my men your favor in the upcoming battle. The warlord Neos is ruthless, many say. With you on our side, however, we will be more ruthless and will destroy the camp of his thieving, cutthroat warriors. In a world ruled by your might there is no place for bloodshed without purpose.

Brygus stands and reaches down into his boot, pulling out a dagger. The hilt is gold with a few red jewels on it, the brilliance of the dagger shines in the dim light of the temple. He sets the dagger down on the altar.

BRYGUS:
     To show my devotion, I offer this--the most valuable thing I own. It was my father's, and his father's before him. It has been in my family for almost five generations.

Brygus steps back and waits silently. A bright flash of blue light appears in front of him and Ares stands beside the altar, lifting up the dagger and examining it. Brygus watches slowly as Ares runs his finger along the blade and then looks over at Brygus.

ARES (nods slowly):
     You have my favor.

Brygus bows and Ares acknowledges him with a nod before disappearing out of sight, leaving the dagger on the altar. Close up of the dagger.

DISSOLVE TO

Brygus' army is fighting Neos' men in a large valley. Behind them is Neos' camp, many tents and a larger army of warriors.

The battle is fierce, and Brygus' army is vastly outnumbered. Bryugs is amongst the rest of his warriors, fighting, blood on his leathers and his arms. He kills two men with a single swing of his sword. He stops for a moment, watching his men as they are cut down around him, their screams echoing through the valley. Brygus looks toward the hill--there is no sign of reinforcements from Ares.

BRYGUS (yells):
     Ares! Why have you abandoned me?

There is no response. He charges forward into the fray, screaming with fury and determination once more.

DISSOLVE TO

A dark stone room.

ON-SCREEN TITLE: Present

Close-up on Ares' face. His eyes are closed; then he blinks and opens his eyes, looking slightly dazed as he regains consciousness. There is a small gash with dried blood and a bruise on his forehead from where the hilt of Brygus' sword had hit him.

The camera pulls back to show that he has been stripped to the waist and is tied to a wooden chair, facing the back of the chair. His eyes begin to focus as he looks around the room. Everything is dark but he can make out a few weapons on the far wall.

BRYGUS (off-camera):
     You have any idea why you're here, former God of War?

Brygus walks out of the shadows. Ares looks up at him but says nothing.

BRYGUS:
     To pay for what you did to me thirty years ago.

Brygus circles Ares and Ares watches him.

BRYGUS:
     You told me I was one of your best warriors--you promised me I'd have your favor--and then you left my army to be slaughtered. (he comes closer to Ares and stares him right in the eye) You lied to me!

CUT TO

Ares looks at Brygus who is still staring down at him.

ARES (quietly):
     I didn't lie.

BRYGUS (sarcastic):
     Then what? Were you busy?

Ares looks thoughtful; then, turning to Brygus, his face turns hardened and defiant.

ARES:
     You expect me to keep every promise to every king and warlord who ever asked for my help?

BRYGUS (enraged):
     Because of you, I lost everything!

BRYGUS (walking around Ares):
     If it hadn't been for you, my wife wouldn't have been defiled by that monster and I wouldn't have spent thirteen years of my life as a slave.

ARES (scoffs):
     You know, maybe you would have lost with or without me. Maybe you just weren't that good.

BRYGUS:
     No. I lost because you abandoned your followers. After I escaped, I went to one of your temples seeking revenge. The priests told me that no one had seen you in Greece in more than ten years. You never answered prayers, never accepted offerings. They said you had abandoned us all. (Ares looks away) And they were right.

Brygus steps back. A long black bullwhip materializes in his hand. He grips the handle and lets the whip uncoil to the floor.

BRYGUS:
     Now, where were we? (shakes the bullwhip lightly) Oh yes. Payback.

Close up of Ares' nervous expression. Brygus moves around him and raises the bullwhip, his fingers clenching around the handle. The screen blurs as we hear the crack of the whip and Ares' scream.

CUT TO

The fortress. Inside a small building a make-shift hospital has been set up. The wounded men are lying on cots and on the ground while several other soldiers pass by with buckets of water and clean and dirty bandages, tending to their wounds. Some men are only mildly injured, with bandages on their heads and their arms, while others are moaning and groaning from severe gashes in their sides, legs and arms. Pandion sits a distance away from the rest of the injured men tending to a cut on his left forearm. He dabs it with water as Iona walks over, sitting down next to him. There is a bandage on her head but other than that, she looks fine.

IONA:
     We've lost a lot.

PANDION (nods, slowly):
     I know.

He wraps a bandage around the cut on his arm.

IONA (quietly, and with feeling):
     What are we going to do?

Pandion is silent for a long moment.

PANDION (looks at her with determination):
     We'll get him back.

IONA:
     We can't fight a god. These men (gestures around the room) need rest. They're not strong enough to fight Brygus' army, you've seen that. How are we supposed to get Ares back if we can't even defeat that army? (looking off into the distance) He might not even be alive.

PANDION (forcefully):
     He's alive. He won't go out easily even as a mortal.

Pandion stands and walks around her toward one of the soldiers. He hears commotion in the distance, people talking faintly. He turns his head to look and walks toward the noise.

CUT TO

Outside the room in the courtyard. Several of the soldiers are standing around Zarek, looking eager and excited. Pandion walks out.

PANDION:
     Zarek. What is going on?

Zarek turns toward Pandion.

ZAREK:
     The men and I have decided--we're going to get back at Artemis.

PANDION (slowly):
     Get...back at her.

ZAREK:
     She took Ares' temple...we'll take her followers. Eye for an eye.

He holds out a map and points his finger to one of the villages on the map.

ZAREK:
     Tyrone says that this village has come under Artemis' protection. We'll destroy it, and show her we mean business.

PANDION (steps up to him):
     You can't do that.

ZAREK:
     Ares isn't here to tell us otherwise.

PANDION:
     No, but I am. This was my army before he came along, and it'll be my army until he comes back. So you'll do as I say. (eyes Zarek) We need to save up our strength and prepare for Ares' rescue.

ZAREK (scoffs):
     You're crazy if you think you'll have any luck fighting against a god.

PANDION (standing his ground, moving closer to Zarek):
     We're not harming innocent people. That's final.

ZAREK (forcefully):
     There's nothing innocent about worshipers of Artemis.

PANDION:
     It's not our place to judge their innocence. (he goes to put a hand on Zarek's shoulder, trying to reason with him) You're my brother. We should be working together.

Zarek looks at Pandion's hand on his shoulder, then turns and backs up.

ZAREK:
     No. Artemis must pay for what she's done.

PANDION:
     Done to the people...or to you?

This hits a cord with Zarek and he stares at Pandion, his face hard and thoughtful.

ZAREK:
     Stand down, brother. Ares isn't here to tell me what to do--and you can't stop me.

PANDION:
     I can.

Pandion lands a punch to Zarek's face and he staggers back, surprised by the blow. Zarek swings once and punches Pandion in return. They get into a fistfight, both of them fighting well but Zarek's anger propelling him to fight harder than Pandion. The other soldiers watch as he pushes Pandion back, hitting him several times in the face.

CUT TO

Inside the hospital, Nicos runs up to Iona. He looks uncertain. She takes the hint and stands, following him outside.

CUT TO

Iona walks up and sees the crowd of people gathered in a circle. She charges forward and pushes her way through. In the center of the circle, she finds Pandion on the ground, his lip bloody from being punched. Zarek stands above him, also bloody.

IONA:
     You did this?

Zarek steps back.

ZAREK (to the men who he had been talking to before):
     Let's go.

He turns and walks away, the other men following. The crowd disperses. Iona lifts Pandion's head up and he looks at her. The map lies on the ground next to her. Close up of the map and the village that Zarek had pointed to.

DISSOLVE TO

A village.

People scatter in fear as a dozen warriors, led by Zarek, ride through the streets. Zarek and a few of the other warriors have torches in their hands, grinning and holding them out as the people flee. Zarek laughs.

The buzz of Xena's chakram is heard. It appears in the village, split into two, half of it whizzing in one direction and the other half going in another direction. One half ricochets off of a building and slices one of the warrior's swords in two. He looks at the broken blade, stunned.

XENA (off-camera):
     Aiyiyiyiyi!!

The other half of the chakram bounces off a tree, then a rooftop, then connects with the first half, bounces off the metal helmet of a soldier and flies back toward Xena as she flips and lands in the center of the village, her outstretched hand catching the chakram.

Gabrielle runs in behind her, and Darion is seen standing in the background beside Rena and Makis.

Xena holds out her sword and Zarek rides out in front of the rest of his men, stopping the attack momentarily.

ZAREK:
     Stand aside.

XENA (points her sword at him; beside her, Gabrielle draws her sais):
     Not a chance.

ZAREK:
     Then you can die with the rest of them.

XENA (grins):
     You don't know who you're talking to, do you?

Zarek ignores her and signals to a few of the other warriors and they dismount, advancing on Xena and Gabrielle. Xena and Gabrielle fight the warriors while the villagers run and hide.

Several villagers hold their hands out in prayer, looking up at the sky.

VILLAGERS:
     Artemis, protect us.

Gabrielle takes on a group of two warriors beside a building, using her sais to deflect the swords and kicking and spinning her body to deflect their attack.

Xena kills the warriors she is fighting with. She throws her chakram and it lodges in one of the warriors as she flips over another one, knocking him down.

Zarek and his warriors begin to throw their torches toward two of the buildings, catching them on fire. The people scream.

Zarek watches as Xena and Gabrielle defeat the warriors. Xena advances toward him. In the background, several buildings are in flames (some people racing around in a panic with water buckets to stop the spread of the fire). Xena charges forward, letting out her battle cry but in an instant, Zarek turns around and rides out of the village, the rest of the men (the few that are still alive) following him.

Xena turns to Gabrielle.

XENA:
     Stay here.

Xena races toward Argo standing beside a post nearby, jumps onto her back and rides quickly out of the village while Gabrielle stands back, watching for a moment, then turns to the other villagers to help them put out the fire.

DISSOLVE TO

Zarek and his men are riding fast through the forest. Xena is close behind them, riding through a row of trees.

CUT TO

The fortress. Zarek and the others ride into the fortress. Zarek dismounts and turns to one of the guards at the gate.

ZAREK:
     Close the gate. Don't let anyone in.

GUARD:
     But--

ZAREK (grabs the guard by the collar and pulls him close, threatening):
     Do it!

The guard shrinks back in fear and nods. He rushes to the doors with the other guards and they close the heavy wooden doors, latching it with a large beam.

CUT TO

Xena rides toward the fortress, seeing, from a distance, that the gates are shut. As she rides, she sees the red banners flying from inside of the fortress and she begins to slow down, finally stopping just short of the gates. She stares at one of the banners with curiosity, noticing the black twisted dagger design on it.

DISSOLVE TO

Close up of Xena's face as she looks at the fortress, her eyes reflecting shock and hurt.

XENA (disbelief):
     Ares?

FADE OUT

END OF ACT ONE