FADE IN

On the same scene as the end of the teaser. Agrippina is seated on the edge of Xena's cot, frowning at Xena.

XENA:
     What do you want?

AGRIPPINA:
     Maybe to shake some sense into you.

XENA:
     Forget it. I'm done talking to you.

Agrippina rolls her eyes and gets up.

AGRIPPINA (shrugs):
     Talking to me, talking to yourself--what difference does it make? Be honest, Xena. Every fiber of your being wanted to pummel that fool back at the tavern--and he deserved it. What right did that insignificant little worm have to speak to the Warrior Princess that way?

XENA:
     I don't care what he thinks about me.

AGRIPPINA (laughs):
     Right. Keep telling yourself that, Xena. Someday you just might believe it.

XENA (growls):
     I don't care what you think either! Besides, who are you to judge me? You're not even here.

AGRIPPINA:
     Ah! There's that fire and passion I always admired in you! (Agrippina circles casually around the room.) I know you don't care what I think. Maybe I'm just here to ask you the questions you're afraid to ask yourself.

XENA:
     Oh really? Like what? What am I afraid to ask myself?

Agrippina stops and looks at Xena, her expression deadly serious.

AGRIPPINA:
     Is this the kind of life you really want to live from now on, Xena? If you want to call this pathetic existence a life. Up at the crack of dawn to milk the goats and feed the chickens, doing the dishes, cleaning the laundry, weeding the garden and in bed before the sun has even gone down simply because there's nothing else to do? Do you really think you'll be happier this way?

XENA:
     At least this way I won't hurt anyone else.

AGRIPPINA:
     You won't be able to help anyone either. Is that what you really want? No warrior worth their salt would allow themselves to be reduced to this.

XENA:
     I'm not a warrior anymore.

Agrippina studies her a moment.

AGRIPPINA:
     What haunts you the most? That you were duped into trusting the wrong people? That you couldn't save someone you promised to protect? Or maybe you think that because of your meddling in Rome's affairs, Lykia has you to thank for turning her into a killer?

Xena flinches--Agrippina has struck a nerve.

XENA:
     All of that.

AGRIPPINA:
     That's a lot for you to carry on your shoulders. It's a wonder you can still stand up. But then again, you're really not, are you?

Xena thinks a moment then sighs tiredly.

XENA:
     Leave me alone.

Agrippina laughs lightly.

AGRIPPINA:
     Of course! The moment you want me to.

CUT TO

A lavishly decorated room in Nero's palace. Nero sits upon a velvet covered settee, fidgeting nervously. He bites his fingernails and bobs his knee compulsively. Tigellinus stands before him.

NERO:
     So you say I've lost the hearts of my people?

Tigellinus says nothing.

NERO (agitatedly):
     How is this possible, Tigellinus?

TIGELLINUS (shrugging):
     The masses are fickle, Caesar.

Nero leaps to his feet and begins to pace frantically.

NERO:
     Have I not done everything I could for them since the fire?

TIGELLINUS:
     Your mercy is legendary, Caesar.

NERO:
     My enemies have turned my people against me with vicious lies. I must win them back, Tigellinus--no matter what the cost.

Nero begins to pace again. Lost in his own thoughts he doesn't notice the guard enter and go to Tigellinus, whispering in his ear. Tigellinus' eyes widen with curiosity and he nods.

TIGELLINUS:
     I'll see to it.

With a wave of his hand, he dismisses the guard. Nero comes out of his haze to notice the guard leaving and yet continues to pace.

NERO:
     What news, Tigellinus?

TIGELLINUS:
     You have a visitor, my Emperor. Gabrielle of Potidaea.

Nero stops pacing and spins towards Tigellinus.

NERO:
     Gabrielle is here?

TIGELLINUS:
     She is. Shall I have her removed from the palace?

NERO (whispers to himself):
     Gabrielle is here...

Nero launches himself back onto the settee, carefully arranging his robes. He adopts a nonchalant pose and takes a deep breath. With outward calm, he nods.

NERO:
     Send her in and leave us alone, Tigellinus.

Tigellinus coughs uncomfortably.

TIGELLINUS:
     If I may, Caesar. It might not be wise to leave you alone with this woman. I'm not altogether sure that she doesn't consider you an enemy.

NERO (glares):
     Gabrielle an enemy? Bite your tongue, Tigellinus. Gabrielle is an artist. Artists create--they don't destroy. She would never harm me. (he makes a shooing gesture with his hands.) Now let's not keep Gabrielle waiting any longer!

TIGELLINUS:
     As you wish, Caesar.

Tigellinus bows respectfully as he backs out of the room. Nero compulsively arranges and re-arranges his robes. Finally he looks up. Gabrielle stands resolutely before him, her clothes, hair and face are smudged heavily with soot from the fire.

NERO:
     Gabrielle!

She says nothing, glaring daggers at him. It is obvious her temper is seething just beneath the surface. Nero fidgets uncomfortably and finally can't take her scrutiny anymore. He looks her up and down.

NERO:
     What has happened to you?

GABRIELLE:
     You should know.

Nero shakes his head innocently.

NERO:
     I'm afraid I don't. But allow me to find you some decent clothes--

GABRIELLE:
     It was you that set the fire.

NERO:
     I? Gabrielle, I'm very sorry but I'm afraid I have no idea--

GABRIELLE:
     Spare me the innocent act, Caesar. You were never that good an actor to begin with.

Nero leaps to his feet.

NERO:
     How dare you!

GABRIELLE:
     No. How dare you? Xena and I trusted you, the people of Rome adored you.

Nero slits his eyes suspiciously.

NERO:
     Who has been poisoning you against me? Seneca?

GABRIELLE:
     Agrippina told us everything. The raids on the villages, how you plotted against Claudius and tricked Xena and me into helping you.

NERO (sneering):
     So you believe Agrippina's lies about me?

GABRIELLE:
     Agrippina confessed to everything just before she died by your hand. How she poisoned Claudius and forged the documents to make it look like he was invading Britannia. She implicated herself. Why would she make that up?

NERO:
     That would be just like my wicked mother--to plot and scheme even on her deathbed to take down an innocent man. No doubt with her last dying breath she arranged everything to make it look as if I was responsible for her murder.

GABRIELLE:
     It's not just Agrippina's word. I have proof that you were raiding villages in the Greek countryside. You never counted on us catching up to your cronies. It took me a while, but I finally was able to put all the pieces together. You were their leader. It was all your idea. (she sighs and shakes her head sadly) You could have done so much good for Rome and in the end you betrayed us all.

Nero leaps to his feet angrily.

NERO:
     You dare speak to me about betrayal after your treacherous behavior in that affair involving the slaves of Gracchus? Against my better judgment I accepted your word when you told me you had nothing to do with Sabina's escape. And now you let the ravings of some twisted, fork-tongued woman turn you against me.

He stops and takes several deep breaths, calming himself. After a long pause he speaks.

NERO:
     You mean a great deal to me, Gabrielle. And I'll do whatever I have to in order to gain your trust back. (he gains to his feet, a determined look on his face.) I'll find the culprits responsible for the fire. And then...you'll see...we can be friends again, can't we?

Gabrielle glares.

Nero smiles--it is a chilly smile devoid of any emotion.

CUT TO

Xena's cabin. A grim-faced Xena is wielding a broom, sweeping up some pieces of a broken clay jar lying on the floor.

AGRIPPINA'S VOICE (off-camera, mocking):
     Cleaning up your mess?

Xena looks up to see Agrippina standing before her, hands folded on her chest, looking down sarcastically at the broken shards of the pot. Xena starts sweeping again, saying nothing.

AGRIPPINA:
     That's right. You always clean up your messes. (pauses, then continues sarcastically) Don't you?

XENA (without looking up):
     What's that supposed to mean?

AGRIPPINA (walks around her, looking her over mockingly, then stops):
     I think you know.

XENA (curtly):
     What?

AGRIPPINA:
     That was quite a mess you left behind in Rome.

XENA (stops sweeping and whips around, furious):
     A mess that I--

AGRIPPINA (coolly):
     Sure, Xena. A crazed killer as Emperor of Rome.

XENA (sneers):
     The Romans have done just fine in that department before--without my help.

AGRIPPINA:
     Sure. But this time it happened with your help. You made him.

XENA (bitterly):
     Not just me.

AGRIPPINA:
     Doesn't matter. You're the one who has to stop him.

XENA:
     Stop him? (chuckles bitterly) I couldn't even stop his assassins from killing his mother.

AGRIPPINA:
     So you made some mistakes. Now you're going to spend the rest of your life sulking about it? (Xena resumes sweeping and says nothing) What will it take to get you to snap out of it? Warlords wiping out a village full of women and children? (Xena flinches) Roman armies overrunning Greece? Or Gabrielle getting hurt?

XENA:
     Gabrielle isn't a little girl anymore. She can take care of herself. (lowers her voice) Maybe she can help people better than I can.

AGRIPPINA:
     You keep telling yourself that and maybe some day you'll believe it. (mockingly) Gabrielle, Warrior Princess. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?

XENA (snarls and pushes the broomstick away so that it falls to the floor with a clatter):
     Go away!

As she speaks those words, there is a flash of blue light behind her. Ares materializes.

ARES:
     Thanks for the warm welcome. (Off Xena's startled look) Talking to imaginary friends?

XENA (doesn't turn around, but her face and voice soften):
     What do you want?

Ares comes up to her and puts his hands on her shoulders. A sensuous look momentarily crosses her face but she doesn't visibly react, one way or the other.

ARES:
     A better question is, what do you want? To spend the rest of your life moping...doing chores in a run-down shack...digging around in a vegetable patch...not what one would expect of a Warrior Princess.

XENA (brusquely):
     Ex-Warrior Princess. I'm retired.

The camera pulls back to show Agrippina still standing by the wall, smiling sarcastically.

AGRIPPINA:
     Xena: The Golden Years. What a concept.

ARES:
     So this is the way the story ends? Not with a bang, but with a whimper?

AGRIPPINA:
     He's right, you know. It's pathetic.

Xena jerks her shoulders slightly, freeing herself from Ares' hold, and walks over to the table.

XENA:
     I don't care what you think.

Ares glowers at her, exasperated.

AGRIPPINA (standing next to Xena now):
     You know, if you had listened to him before, maybe none of this would have happened. Just like when he told you to destroy that temple in Britannia. You're sleeping with him and you still don't trust him.

ARES:
     Come on, Xena. You ran into a couple of very good liars. That's no reason to throw away perfectly good weapons.

He flicks his hand; a glowing golden circle, spinning rapidly, appears in a corner of the cabin under the ceiling. It stops for a moment and we see that it's Xena's chakram. The chakram spins again and then hurtles toward Xena with a whooshing sound. She turns around abruptly and her hand shoots up in the air. A close-up on her hand snatching the chakram out of the air, then a close-up of her face as she grins a little, some of the old fire back.

ARES (grins):
     Knew you still had it.

XENA (the grin fades from her face; she looks at the chakram and then gives Ares a grim look):
     You got it back.

ARES (shrugs):
     Did you think I was going to leave it to rust at the bottom of the sea?

XENA (through clenched teeth):
     Fine. Maybe I'll use it to slice vegetables.

She puts the chakram down on the table.

ARES (stares at her grimly):
     Catch!

Xena's sword materializes in his hand. He throws it to Xena; she catches it. Drawing his own sword, Ares charges at her and they start to spar in the confined space of the cabin. Xena jumps up on the table, parrying Ares' blows. A jar on the table is knocked over and shatters on the floor; Xena doesn't notice, absorbed in the sparring. After a few moments she leaps down and they continue to spar. Ares seems to have the edge; he advances on Xena, finally backing her up against the wall. Xena focuses and deflects his blow hard enough to make him stagger; then she flips over her head, kicks a chair out of the way and stands up on the other side of the cabin.

Ares charges again but this time Xena is much more confident. She quickly gains the upper hand and starts to advance on Ares; after a few moments she manages to get past his defenses and put the tip of her sword to his chest. The grin on her face is back and Ares grins back at her.

In the next moment Xena's face turns grim and she steps back.

XENA:
     What did you want to prove? That I still love fighting? (bitterly) Give it up, Ares. I'm not coming back.

They stand facing off, with their swords pointed at each other. The tension is broken by a knock on the door. Xena and Ares both turn.

GABRIELLE (off-camera):
     Xena? Are you there?

XENA:
     Gabrielle!

There is a flash of joy on her face but it quickly fades. The door opens and Gabrielle comes in.

GABRIELLE:
     Xena-- (Seeing Xena and Ares with their swords pointed at each other, she stops in her tracks) I guess I should have known it would come to this sooner or later.

Xena and Ares lower their swords.

ARES:
     I bet you never would have thought I'd actually be glad to see you.

GABRIELLE:
     You're right. I wouldn't.

ARES (nods towards Xena):
     Maybe you can talk some sense into her.

Xena looks up. She and Gabrielle look at one another.

GABRIELLE (nods but never takes her eyes from Xena):
     I'll see what I can do.

ARES:
     Good luck. (he gives Xena a quick glance then shakes his head in frustration) You're gonna need it.

Ares disappears in a flash of blue light. Xena and Gabrielle gaze at one another a moment longer until Xena smiles.

XENA:
     So...how's Darion?

GABRIELLE (nods):
     Good. I sent him and Lykia to stay with Eve for a few weeks.

XENA:
     Lykia? Okay. Just as long as Eve makes sure Darion isn't... (she trails off)

GABRIELLE (nods expectantly):
     Darion isn't...what?

Xena smiles--though it seems a bit forced.

XENA:
     Nothing. Forget it. I'm just being paranoid. (she studies Gabrielle.) You look good. Just a little tired though.

GABRIELLE (chuckles):
     I've been kept on my toes lately. (Gabrielle studies her a moment and smiles warmly) You've put on some weight.

XENA (shrugs a big self-consciously):
     Oh...yeah. I guess I'm not getting enough action these days.

GABRIELLE (shaking her head sadly):
     Xena, what are you doing?

XENA:
     Me? I was just about to walk down to the village for dinner at the local tavern. If we get there early enough it's half off--

GABRIELLE:
     That's not what I mean and you know it. (she points to the sword and chakram.) What are you going to do with those?

XENA:
     I don't know. (she smiles self-deprecatingly.) You want 'em?

Gabrielle frowns and sighs.

CUT TO

A blazing sunset out on the balcony of Nero's living quarters. He is sullenly plucking at his lyre. From over his shoulder, Tigellinus can be seen walking towards him. Nero gives no indication that he is aware that Tigellinus is behind him. Tigellinus waits patiently as Nero continues playing an unsettling, gloomy tune. Gradually Nero plays slower and softer until the music simply fades away.

NERO:
     Tigellinus...

TIGELLINUS (clearing his throat uncomfortably):
     You sent for me Caesar?

NERO (staring out over the city):
     The people hate me, Tigellinus.

TIGELLINUS:
     Caesar... (he shakes his head almost in pity for Nero.) The people love you. But someone has made them doubt you.

NERO:
     They believe those vicious rumors that I set fire to the city.

TIGELLINUS:
     Caesar--if I may... (he takes a small step forward, cautious as if in the presence of a venomous snake.) Now is the time to put those rumors to rest once and for all.

NERO:
     If I were to prosecute the culprits responsible for destroying my city, I would win back the hearts of my people.

TIGELLINUS:
     And their trust, Caesar.

Nero gazes out over the city, awash in an orange glow from the setting sun. There is a wistful look in his eye, as if regretting what he's about to do. After a long pause he nods.

NERO:
     All right, Tigellinus. I must do what I must do. Rome has been threatened far too long by these subversives that challenge law and order. (Nero turns to Tigellinus) It's time they were brought to heel.

CUT TO

Xena and Gabrielle seated across the table from one another in the tavern. The chakram can be seen hanging from Gabrielle's hip.

XENA:
     So you think Nero is responsible for the fire?

GABRIELLE:
     No--I don't think he is. I know he is. (Gabrielle reaches out and squeezes Xena's hand.) Xena, I know how you feel. I feel terrible about what happened with Nero and Agrippina too. But we have to focus. Nero has to be brought to justice.

Gabrielle gives her an expectant look and Xena shakes her head.

XENA:
     No, Gabrielle. I've learned my lesson.

GABRIELLE:
     What about the lesson you taught me all those years ago? What about the greater good?

XENA:
     Trust me. The best way I can serve the greater good is to not interfere in Rome's business any more.

Gabrielle is about to snap back angrily but bites off her retort when a wiry, middle-aged man with a weather beaten face diffidently approaches their table.

CROTUS:
     Excuse me?

XENA (defensively):
     What do you want?

The man looks at Gabrielle and points to the chakram on her hip.

CROTUS:
     Are you Xena?

Gabrielle smirks and looks at Xena out of the corner of her eye.

GABRIELLE:
     Can we help you?

CROTUS:
     Oh--I hope so! My name is Crotus. I have a small farm about two leagues southwest of the village. I don't have much livestock...just some pigs and chickens and a few goats. I've had some disputes with my neighbor over water rights--he's been trying anything he can think of to drive me off of my land for months. (he wipes his misting eyes with the cuff of his shirt.) Yesterday he went too far. He stole my Selene!

XENA:
     Selene is your wife?

CROTUS:
     No! Selene is my prize milking goat. Yesterday she wandered off. No sooner did she cross the bridge that separates my land from Trollius' that he snatched her up. When I went to claim her Troillus refused to give her back. At first he tried denying he had her but I just knew Selene was there. (he rubs at his eye) I need Selene. I've got five little ones at home. Without her milk I don't know if I'll be able to feed them all.

GABRIELLE (nodding in empathy):
     And when you saw us you thought we might be able to talk to Trollius?

CROTUS (pointing to the chakram):
     Well everyone knows that Xena sticks up even for nobodies like me.

Gabrielle raises her eyebrows at Xena who rolls her eyes and looks away. Gabrielle is both shocked and disappointed at Xena's unwillingness to help but she masks that from Crotus.

GABRIELLE:
     All right, Crotus. I'll go talk to Trollius for you and get Selene back. (she glances at Xena, then back at Crotus.) Just give me a minute, will you?

Crotus nods gratefully and retreats to the bar, a respectful distance away.

GABRIELLE:
     Well it's not exactly the battle of Troy but it's a job, right? Are you coming?

XENA:
     No thanks. You go ahead. I'll keep the home fires burning.

GABRIELLE (sighs in resignation):
     Right. I'm headed back to Rome after this. If you need me--

XENA:
     I know where to find you.

Gabrielle reaches out to squeeze Xena's shoulder affectionately and Xena reaches up to pat her hand. They pause a moment, sharing the affection between them. Then Gabrielle reaches for the chakram on her hip and runs her finger over its blade, obviously pondering something as we:

FADE OUT

END OF ACT ONE