7.07 Dark Reign

ACT ONE

FADE IN

A campsite at night. Xena, Gabrielle and Cassiopeia are eating.

CASSIOPEIA:
     Wow, Gabrielle, that was an amazing story! Amazons... Centaurs... is there anything you guys haven't seen? Tell me, Xena; is it true that you two slept in an ice cave for twenty-five years?

XENA (slightly tense, her face darkening):
     Yes.

CASSIOPEIA:
     Is it true that you once had the power to kill gods?

XENA (mutters through clenched teeth, looking away):
     It's true.

CASSIOPEIA:
     And is it--

All of a sudden, Xena bolts upright. Cassiopeia and Gabrielle look at her, surprised.

XENA (gets up):
     Stay here. I need to go and--check on something.

She walks away.

CASSIOPEIA (puzzled):
     Was it something I said?

GABRIELLE (gently puts a hand on her arm):
     Cassiopeia...there are things about the past that Xena doesn't especially like revisiting. (looks in the direction where Xena went, thoughtfully) Still, I wonder why she went off like that...

CUT TO

In a small grove, Xena stops and looks around in the moonlight.

XENA:
     You've been watching me all day. What do you want?

Ares materializes in front of the Warrior Princess in a blue flash of sparks and moves toward her slowly. He lifts her hand to his lips and gently kisses it.

ARES:
     Nothing really. I just wanted to see how my favorite warrior was holding up...considering that you picked up such an interesting companion today.

XENA (frowns):
     Who, Cassiopeia? Why would you be interested in some peasant girl?

ARES:
     She's not just a peasant girl, Xena. You've got a crazy sorceress on your hands.

XENA (incredulously):
     You're the crazy one if you think I'm going to believe a story like that. (gives him a distrustful look, narrowing her eyes) Wait a minute...those warriors who were trying to kill her, were they yours?

ARES:
     No. But they had the right idea.

XENA:
     This is some game you're playing for your own reasons, Ares, and I'm not going to play along. I can always tell when you're up to no good.

ARES:
     You know damn well that I would never do anything to hurt you.

He draws an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Xena looks uncertain.

ARES:
     So, do tell, why all the hostility? I thought we were getting past that. What happened, did you get up on the wrong side of the bedroll?

XENA:
     Nothing. (disengages herself) I'm telling you, Ares, whatever game you're playing, leave me out of it.

ARES:
     And I'm telling you that if you help Cassiopeia, you are going to be in more danger than you could ever imagine.

XENA:
     And why, pray, is that?

Ares leans close to her so that their lips are only millimeters apart.

ARES:
     Because Cassiopeia is no ordinary sorceress, she is the most powerful witch to ever walk the earth, and the most evil.

XENA:
     You're lying.

ARES:
     I've told you before, Xena, a god need never lie. (lowers his voice) Especially not to the woman he loves.

Xena looking at Ares agitated

XENA:
     Prove it.

Leaning even closer, Ares kisses her on the lips. Xena closes her eyes momentarily and responds to his passionate kiss, then comes to her senses and pushes him away.

XENA:
     What are you doing?

ARES (with a cocky grin):
     Proving that I love you, just like you asked. I think you just proved something too...you want me.

XENA (angrily):
     No, I don't. Anyway, don't try to get me sidetracked. Can you prove any of this stuff about Cassiopeia being a witch?

ARES (impatiently):
     Not if you don't believe a word I say. You know, Xena, I'd think that after everything we've been through, you'd be able to trust me a little more. I gave up my immortality to save you and your annoying daughter and your little sidekick. I brought you back from the dead after that silly stunt you pulled in Jappa...

XENA (softens a little):
     Ares...I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me. But to sacrifice an innocent girl if it furthers some scheme of yours--I hate to say this, Ares, but I wouldn't put it past you to do that. (Ares scowls) Before I believe that insane story of yours, I need to see some evidence.

ARES:
     Fine, Xena. Don't believe me. Just remember, I did warn you. (the blue light starts to flare up around him, then fades. Ares clicks his fingers as if he just remembered something.) Oh. I almost forgot. That other new friend you made today, the Egyptian? The one with a pincushion for a face? (makes a gesture to indicate facial piercings) She's on your trail.

He's gone in a flash of light. Xena stands looking at the spot where he vanished, lost in thought, and then starts walking back toward the campsite.

CUT TO

The campfire, Gabrielle and Cassiopeia look up expectantly at Xena.

GABRIELLE:
     What's going on, Xena?

XENA (sarcastically):
     Oh, just had a visit from an old friend.

GABRIELLE (gasps):
     Ares?

Xena nods.

CASSIOPEIA (awed):
     Ares, the God of War?

XENA:
     Cassiopeia, do you know anything about Ares?

CASSIOPEIA (gives her a puzzled look):
     Just that he's the God of War... What would a village girl like me know about Ares?

XENA:
     Tell me one more thing, Cassiopeia. Have you ever practiced sorcery?

Gabrielle gives her a bewildered look.

CASSIOPEIA:
     Uh...I don't think so.

XENA:
     What do you mean you don't think so? It's not the kind of thing you just forget.

CASSIOPEIA (looks down):
     There are a few years of my life that I don't remember too well, Xena. When I was twelve years old, a warlord and his army raided our village and my parents and my sister were killed... (Xena flinches slightly and averts her eyes; Cassiopeia's words have obviously brought back her own painful memories of the loss of her brother.) After that, I wandered around the countryside...I think I traveled to some distant places...but I just don't remember much about it. Then I came back to Mela six years ago, when I was twenty. That's all I know. (she wipes away tears)

XENA (approaches Cassiopeia and puts a hand on her shoulder, sighs):
     It's all right, Cass. Let's turn in.

CUT TO

The next day. Xena, Gabrielle and Cassiopeia (now in the saddle behind Gabrielle) are riding along a road. Suddenly, Xena perks up, hearing a sound. An arrow is flying straight at Cassiopeia, who shrieks. Xena catches the arrow when it's just an inch away from the young woman.

XENA:
     They're persistent, whoever they are.

CASSIOPEIA (starts to sob):
     Why would anyone want to kill me? I've never hurt anyone in my life!

XENA:
     Wait here.

She takes off at a gallop in the direction the arrow came from. There is a rustle of leaves as the assailant flees. It's the Egyptian woman. Xena pursues her through the woods. Just as it seems that the woman is about to get away, Xena throws the chakram so that it slices a branch off a tree and the branch falls right in the path of the Egyptian's horse. The frightened horse rears up and throws the woman to the ground. Xena catches the chakram, then leaps off Argo with a battle cry and lands on top of the Egyptian before she can get up, pinning her down and holding the chakram to her throat.

XENA:
     Who in Tartarus are you?

EGYPTIAN WOMAN (stares at her bitterly and defiantly):
     You don't know what you're doing! That woman you're protecting is the Harbinger of the Apocalyptic Battles!

XENA (sneers):
     Whoa, that's quite a mouthful. Why don't you tell me your name?

Ancktari

EGYPTIAN WOMAN:
     I am Ancktari. And I know who you are--Xena, the Warrior Princess.

XENA:
     That's right. So, mind telling me why you are here--and why you want to kill Cassiopeia?

ANCKTARI:
     Is that the name the vessel is using now?

XENA:
     Answer the question or I'll carve you a hole in the head. (glances at all the piercings on Ancktari) Although in your case, it might not make much of a difference.

ANCKTARI:
     Do you know the danger that this creature holds for the world?

XENA:
     You know, you're the second person now to tell me that Cassiopeia is evil and dangerous. How about something a little more specific?

ANCKTARI:
     Xena, she is not only evil...she is one of the most powerful forces in the world, more powerful than some of the gods!

XENA:
     I wouldn't call that very specific.

ANCKTARI:
     I have a story to tell you, Xena. I'm just not very good at storytelling when I'm being pinned to the ground with a sharp blade pressed against my throat.

XENA:
     All right, I'll let you up, if you promise to behave.

ANCKTARI (scornfully):
     I'll behave, Xena. Trust me, I'm not the one you need to worry about.

Xena rises and so does Ancktari. Xena continues to look at her warily, chakram in hand.

XENA:
     Make it snappy. My friends will be wondering where I am.

ANCKTARI:
     Very well.

[FLASHBACK]

It's night. A temple of Egyptian design. Two priestesses--one of them is Ancktari, looking younger and without the facial piercing--are performing a ritual in front of the altar. They chant and lower sticks of incense into a bowl filled with candles. Smoke wisps around their heads, and then dissipates.

ANCKTARI (voice over):
     My story begins about six years ago, when I was a priestess at the temple of Isis in the great city of Alexandria. One night, my friend Hymnia and I had just finished performing the nightly rites. We were just starting to put away the sacred objects when we heard a knock on the temple doors. And at the temple, we always allowed anyone in for the night if they needed shelter.

Hymnia goes to the solid gold doors of the temple and hauls them open. A woman is standing there. It is Cassiopeia, wearing a dark robe.

ANCKTARI (voice over):
     It was the sorceress Cassiopeia, the girl you saved yesterday.

HYMNIA (in the flashback):
     Do you need help?

CASSIOPEIA (with a nasty smile):
     No, but you do.

She pulls out a dagger, grabs Hymnia's hair, yanks her head back and cuts her throat. Ancktari screams in horror. Hymnia falls to the floor, a pool of blood spreading around her. Cassiopeia runs a finger along the blade of the dagger and tastes the blood. With a yell full of pain and rage, Ancktari rushes at her.

ANCKTARI (voice over):
     I fought her, and our skills were evenly matched--I was Isis' best temple warrior, and I still am. Then the witch said a spell and held up her hands, and a jolt of blue light shot out of them. I was alive, but I lay on the floor unable to move a finger. The other priestesses and the maidservants at the temple came running to see what was happening. With her powers and with her dagger, she slaughtered them all. And then she turned to me.

Cassiopia's powers

As Ancktari tells the story, we see the events she describes unfolding in the flashback.

CASSIOPEIA (in the flashback):
     So you thought you could fight me? How very presumptuous. I think that deserves a special payback.

Cassiopeia drags Ancktari over to the flames that now rage all around the altar of Isis and throws her into the flames, laughing as Ancktari shrieks in agony.

ANCKTARI (voice over):
     Enya, the eldest and wisest of our priestesses, was mortally wounded but still alive. In her last moments, she managed to perform a rite to destroy the evil in Cassiopeia. But Enya was dying, and so she didn't complete the rite. (in the flashback, a middle-aged priestess intones a spell, and then dies.) And so now, Cassiopeia's evil side is not gone, it is merely dormant. If she ever takes a human life again, the spell will be undone.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

XENA (who has been listening to Ancktari intently):
     You look pretty good for someone who was barbecued six years ago. (then she starts, remembering what Cassiopeia said) Six years...

ANCKTARI:
     The goddess Isis restored me to life, Xena--to live until the day that Cassiopeia is destroyed. It is my mission to destroy her before she can kill again. If she does, she will lose all resemblance to the sweet young woman you and your friend have taken under your wing.

CUT TO

Gabrielle and Cassiopeia, who are still waiting on the road. Suddenly, there is movement in the trees, and four thuggish-looking men on horseback emerge. They eye the two attractive women with obviously bad intentions.

THUG:
     Well, well, well. Look at the nice catch.

They attack. Gabrielle and Cassiopeia are thrown from their horse. Cassiopeia cowers on the ground while Gabrielle starts to fight.

CUT TO

Xena and Ancktari still talking.

ANCKTARI:
     There is something else you must know. The evil Cassiopeia was the favorite mortal of the god Set.

XENA:
     Set? Don't think I've ever heard of him.

ANCKTARI:
     Set is an evil god who murdered his brother Osiris. After that, he was banished from the mortal realm, and his worship was forbidden. But this girl you call Cassiopeia was able to summon him. Should she ever regain her evil side, she will become his vessel. Then, evils await the world such as you cannot begin to imagine.

XENA (mistrustfully):
     It's one hell of a story. But even if it's true, Cassiopeia is not evil right now. You can't kill her for something that she may do in the future, if she becomes evil again.

ANCKTARI:
     It's not enough for you that she slaughtered the priestesses of Isis, and only the gods know how many others?

XENA:
     But she's not the same person now. She has no memory of her evil deeds. Right now, Cassiopeia is innocent. I can't allow you to kill her.

ANCKTARI:
     Just remember, Xena, she is only innocent until she kills again.

CUT TO

Three of the thugs are lying on the ground and Gabrielle is fighting the fourth. She doesn't hear one of the fallen men get up behind her. Just as she stabs the man she is fighting, the man who has gotten up trips her and she falls.

CASSIOPEIA:
     Gabrielle!

She picks up a dagger that lies next to one of the dead thugs. The man raises his sword over Gabrielle. Just then, Cassiopeia rushes toward him in desperation and plunges the dagger into his left side. The man's eyes bulge and he begins to gasp. His sword falls to the ground. He clutches at his chest, falls down and dies.

GABRIELLE (gets up):
     Cassiopeia...thank you! Are you all right?

CASSIOPEIA (drops the dagger, looking very pale, and whispers):
     I killed someone...

CUT TO

ANCKTARI:
     Once she has killed, then, before the next time the sun rises, she will revert to her evil self and regain her powers. And then, she won't be easy to destroy.

XENA:
     Look, Ancktari. I'm not about to destroy an innocent girl just because I heard an interesting story from someone... (she pauses and smiles, obviously thinking back to what Ares said) ...with a pincushion for a face. That's final. So do me a favor and stop following us, or I'll throw my chakram first and ask questions later.

ANCKTARI:
     You're making a mistake.

XENA:
     Then I'll have to live with it.

ANCKTARI:
     No, you'll have to die with it. (she gets back on her horse as Xena ponders her words) I'll see you again, Xena. (rides away)

Xena starts riding back toward the road. Rejoining Gabrielle and Cassiopeia, she sees the dead bodies and stops in her tracks.

XENA:
     What happened?

GABRIELLE:
     We were attacked while you were gone. Don't worry; we took care of them.

XENA (lifts an eyebrow):
     "We?"

Then she notices the blood on Cassiopeia's hands, and there is shock on her face.

GABRIELLE:
     Would you believe it, I think Cassiopeia saved my life? I was down and one of these thugs might have killed me if she hadn't grabbed a dagger and stabbed him first! (she goes over to the still-distraught Cassiopeia and embraces her) Cassiopeia...I know what a terrible thing it is to lose your blood innocence. (strokes her hair) I know how you feel. But you had no other choice.

XENA (softly, as if speaking to herself):
     She killed him...

FADE OUT

END OF ACT ONE