ACT FOUR

FADE IN:

EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND - NIGHT - PRESENT X&G TIME

Xena and Gabrielle are stretched out on a blanket, studying a similar blanket of stars to the one 36 years prior.  Their fire is also crackling warmly, and the horses are over nibbling at some tough-looking grassy growth.  The terrain has changed slightly, there is more vegetation and the hills are taller than the ones from the morning.

GABRIELLE

I didn't know you were into

stargazing before we met.

XENA

I wasn't, other than

to get my bearings.

GABRIELLE

But you wished on that shooting star.

There must have been some magic

in them for you, even back then.

Xena smiles and rolls to her side, and traces Gabrielle's bare forearm with her fingertips.

XENA

There was no magic in the

stars, Gabrielle, until you

taught me how to see it there.

Gabrielle's face is at first surprised.  Slowly, she smiles, and then pulls Xena into a hug.

GABRIELLE

(whispering)

You wanna know a secret?

XENA

(whispering back)

What?

GABRIELLE

There was no magic in them

for me, until I had someone

to share them with.

They hold each other close for a long moment, then separate just enough to lie on their sides on the bedroll facing each other, with very little space between them.

XENA

I was glad of those stars

that night, though for

a very different reason.

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND - NIGHT - 36 SUMMERS AGO

Xena is asleep on her bedroll.   There are so many stars overhead, they illuminate the ground enough to make out basic detail.  She hears a sound like a twig breaking, and she slowly reaches out from beneath the blanket on both sides, her fingers curling around her chakram and her sword hilt.  She continues to lay still, her eyes closed.

We hear a shuffling noise and Xena's fingers twitch against her chakram, but her eyes remain closed.  A shadow passes over her face and starlight glitters against metal, revealing a scimitar blade raised directly over her throat.  As it descends, Xena's sword pops up, stopping it.  At the same time, she lets her chakram fly.  It ricochets off two rocks and whizzes past Argo.  Several yards behind Argo, a shadowy figure looms with a dagger raised, ready to be hurled at Argo.  The chakram knocks the blade from the man's hand.

Xena jumps to her feet and catches the chakram on the rebound.  She engages the man with the scimitar, while keeping one eye on Argo's would-be attacker.  The man rushes Argo and Xena whistles.  Argo spins and rears, pawing the air before she comes down, knocking the man to the ground.  Starlight reveals his face.  It's Wahed, his features contorted in anger.  He's holding his arm as if he's in pain.

WAHED

Aauuuuuuugghhhh!

He jumps up and searches around for his dagger.  He sees it and kneels down to grab it, then stands, facing Argo.

WAHED

(cont’d)

I'll teach you your last

lesson, you bloody beast!

Xena is still fighting her attacker.  She sees Wahed and flings the chakram again, embedding it in his chest just as he lunges at Argo with the dagger.

XENA

No one teaches my horse

lessons, but me!  Sheeee-ya!

She fights with renewed vigor, forcing her attacker on the defensive.  He swings around with the scimitar using both hands, and she meets it with an equal movement and knocks it from his hands by sheer force.  The scimitar clatters away and Xena jumps the man, pinning him to the ground with her sword at his throat.

XENA

(cont’d, growling)

Fajer.

FAJER

Xena.  I can explain.

XENA

I'm sure you can.

FAJER

I was coming to save

your horse from Wahed.

XENA

You were coming to

cut my head off.

He opens his mouth to speak, and Xena presses the blade closer and he closes it.

XENA

(cont’d)

I saw you and Galeel talking.

Remember?  Before

the race started.

FAJER

(choking)

Yes.  So?

Xena leans closer and draws a dagger from her belt, dragging the flat of the blade down the side of his face.

XENA

(purring)

So I can read lips.

His eyes are wide with fear and comprehension.

FAJER

It would be in your best

interest to let me go.

XENA

Yeah?  And why's that?

FAJER

You killed Wahed. Galeel handpicked

him to win this race. He won't be

happy when he hears about this.

Xena looks around.  The campground is mostly silent.  Stirring noises can be heard inside some of the tents, but no one dares to come out and intervene.

XENA

He's 800 miles away.

She drags the dagger up and down his face again.

XENA

(cont’d)

And if I kill you, who's gonna tell?

Hmmmmm?  They all heard you

just now.  Tent walls are damned thin.

Now they all know the race was

rigged.  You think any of them

are gonna care to rat on me?

VOICE FROM A TENT

I won't rat on you!

ANOTHER VOICE FROM A TENT

Me neither!

ANOTHER VOICE

(squeaking)

Don't hurt me!  I won't tell.

STILL ANOTHER VOICE

What does it mean, to rat?

Whatever it is, I won't do it!

Xena laughs evilly, then her face goes cold.  She withdraws her dagger and sword and shoves against Fajer hard then stands.

XENA

(growling)

You come within twenty yards

of me or my horse again,

I'll kill you on sight.

She turns in disgust to check Argo and hears a whooshing noise behind her.  She spins around, sword first, and runs it through Fajer as he charges her with his scimitar.  He gasps and blood dribbles from his lips.  As Xena withdraws her sword, he falls to the ground with a thud.  She studies her sword with satisfaction, then walks over to Wahed, bracing a booted foot against his chest as she tugs her chakram free.  She wipes the blood on both chakram and sword on his tunic, then gives his body a little push with her foot.

XENA

(cont’d)

Pig.

She walks over to Argo and checks her all over, petting her profusely in the process.

XENA

(cont’d)

You okay, girl?  He didn't

get to ya, did he?

Argo nuzzles her stomach, making whickering noises.

XENA

(cont’d)

We're both wide-awake.  Might

as well get started early, huh?

Argo rumbles as if in agreement.  Xena turns around and addresses all the tents.

XENA

(cont’d)

Listen up!  I'm giving you fair warning!

There's no rules about start time each

morning.  I'm packing it up and starting

my last day now.  Sun'll be up in

a couple more hours anyway.

She turns and begins saddling Argo.  The campground erupts with activity and much grumbling as the others follow suit.  Xena finishes the saddling, secures her pack and weapons, and mounts Argo.  She looks around the camp and the bustling riders, and shakes her head.  Her eyes fall last on the two dead bodies on the ground and a wicked grin appears on her face.  She spits between them, then turns Argo away from them and they ride away toward the west.  Back behind her, the faintest hint of pink sky is already seen over the eastern hills.

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND - NIGHT - PRESENT X&G TIME

Xena and Gabrielle are still lying close together under the stars, facing each other.  Xena is looking down and keeps looking down as she starts to speak.

XENA

The thing is, Gabrielle,

I enjoyed killing them.

GABRIELLE

But you were defending

Argo.  And yourself.

XENA

But I enjoyed it.

Gabrielle reaches across and touches her face.

GABRIELLE

After all this time, you think

I haven't seen that side of

you?  Xena, look at me.

Soulful blue eyes slowly peer upward.

GABRIELLE

(cont’d)

It's part of who you are.

Gods, it's part of who I am

too.  I know how that feels.

Xena gasps, as if she's in pain.

GABRIELLE

(cont’d)

Xena, it's survival.  It's part of the world

we live in.  Kill or be killed, isn't that

what it sometimes comes down to?

Xena nods slightly.

GABRIELLE

I once told you I had a warrior's

reflexes, but not a warrior's

judgment.  Remember?

With Virgil and the cannibals?

XENA

Yeah.  I remember.

GABRIELLE

But that adrenalin rush, Xena.  I know

what that feels like.  That rush when

you know you've just escaped death.

XENA

But you've never enjoyed killing.

GABRIELLE

(sighing)

No.  But sometimes in the heat of

battle, I think things get all mixed

up inside.  That rush - sometimes it's

what keeps you going, and sometimes

it feels good, you know?  But

sometimes that what it takes to survive.

XENA

But you're not a murderer.

Gabrielle touches her face again.

GABRIELLE

And neither are you.  Not even then.

Xena, since you met Hercules, have

you ever murdered anyone?  Not

killed in self-defense or killed to

protect someone else, but out

and out murdered anyone?

XENA

I... Ming....

GABRIELLE

No!  Would we have made it out

of Chin alive if he had lived?

XENA

(softly)

No.  He would've come after us.

GABRIELLE

Anyone else?  Anyone at

all you can think of?

Xena closes her eyes to think, as Gabrielle continues to cup her face.  Slowly, Xena raises a hand and covers Gabrielle's and opens her eyes.

XENA

No.  You know what I think?

GABRIELLE

What?

XENA

I think I wish I'd had a Gabrielle back then

to talk some sense into me.  Then, all I felt

for the rest of the race was the guilt.  I'd left

Greece and come all that way, only to discover

that deep down inside, I still enjoyed the kill.

It was one of my lowest moments.

GABRIELLE

I take it you finished the race?

XENA

I won it.

GABRIELLE

What?!

She looks around. 

GABRIELLE

(cont’d)

Not to state the obvious, but how come

we're lying here in the middle of the

desert on this blanket instead of

in your fine house somewhere?

Xena laughs.

XENA

It was pretty anti-climactic, really.

Some of the others kept challenging

us, but every time anyone caught up,

Argo would press harder.  Didn't have

to do much but hang on for the ride.

CUT TO:

EXT. TOWN OF GAZA - DAY - 36 SUMMERS AGO

Xena and Argo are running through the town with several riders right on their heels.  All along the streets a crowd cheers them on.  One rider gains on them and almost catches up with them, riding side by side.  Xena glances over at him and turns as she hears yet another one not too far behind.  He flanks her on the other side, and all three ride neck-in-neck to the edge of town.

As they pass the last building, they ride out onto a wide expanse of open beach.  Xena crouches low and laughs wildly, as the wind whips her hair back and Argo takes off, leaving the others in the dust.  She sees a bright banner and another crowd, and laughs again as they approach it and break through it.  The crowd erupts in roaring applause, and they keep riding, right up to the edge of the surf.  Xena jumps off Argo and hits the water, wading in and dunking under.  She comes back up and splashes some water on Argo's legs and body.  Argo appears to enjoy it, shaking her head up and down and urging Xena on.

A finely dressed man approaches her and she straightens up and walks out of the water to meet him, leading Argo behind her by the reins. 

MAN

I am Majeed.  Congratulations!

You've won the Ocean of Fire.

He studies Argo.

MAJEED

(cont’d)

She's not Arabian.

He sucks in a shocked breath.

MAJEED

(cont’d)

You're the one!  Galeel, he sent

word by carrier pigeon.  He

thought it was a good joke.

He smiles, and bows slightly.

MAJEED

(cont’d)

I see he was wrong.  Go with

Allah, my lady.  And always

know you've won the greatest

race in the history of man.

He hands her a large sack that jingles with a metallic sound as she accepts it.  Xena opens it and peers inside, and grins from ear to ear.

XENA

Thank you.

They clasp arms and she and Argo start to walk away. She stops and turns.

XENA

(cont’d)

Majeed, you're nothing like

your brother.  Stay that way.

Majeed tilts his head in puzzlement, as she turns and walks back toward the town, and the crowd cheers wildly behind her.

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT CAMPSITE - NIGHT - PRESENT X&G TIME

It is the same night, same blanket, same stars.  They are still lying close together, talking.

GABRIELLE

So what happened

to the money?

XENA

First things first.  I rode out into

the desert and found another

herd of wild ponies and let Argo go.

GABRIELLE

But....

XENA

Hold on.  I'm getting to that.  I let her

go because I felt I owed it to her.  She'd

carried me all the way to the Persian

Gulf and back and made me a wealthy

woman.  The least I could do was

give her back her freedom.

GABRIELLE

That sounds fair enough. 

But....

Xena covers her mouth and laughs, then uncovers it. Gabrielle smiles at her charmingly.

XENA

Then I walked back into town.  I planned to

get a room for the night and book passage

back to Greece the next morning.  But first I

went back down to the beach where we'd won.

I wanted to get away from the crowd of the town

for a while and just think and rest.  Sure enough,

the beach was empty by then, except for one boy.

CUT TO:

EXT. BEACH - DAY - 36 SUMMERS AGO

Xena is walking along the beach barefoot, carrying her pack and boots.  Way down the beach she can see someone sitting in the edge of the surf.  She starts to turn away, when she cocks her head to the side, and we hear a sobbing noise.  She frowns and keeps walking toward him.  As she gets closer, we can see it is the same boy who was riding in the race.  He looks up and sees her and stands and starts to walk away.

XENA

Hold on.

He appears to think about it and his shoulders slump.  He waits until she catches up to him.  His face is streaked with tears.

XENA

(cont’d)

You ran in the race, didn't you?

BOY

(sniffling)

Yeah.

XENA

What's your name?

BOY

Shabab.

XENA

Where's your horse?

SHABAB

I... I sold him.

Xena sighs and looks as if she'd rather be anywhere else.

XENA

Why?  Hey, how old

are you, anyway?

SHABAB

I'm twelve summers.

I sold my horse to buy food.

And passage home.

XENA

Where's home?

SHABAB

Cairo.  My family is there.

XENA

Cairo?  Your family let a kid like

you travel all the way to Hajar alone

to ride in a thousand mile race

across the desert.  Right.

Kid, you tell a good story.

SHABAB

(defiantly)

No one let me do anything.  I ran away

two years ago.  I heard about the race

and begged my way from caravan to

caravan until I made it to Hajar.  I worked

for months in a wealthy sheik's stable.

Finally, I convinced him to partly pay me

with one of his horses.  He wasn't the finest

horse, but he was pure Arabian.  And I saved

enough money to buy a spot in the race.

Now... now everything is ruined.

He looks down and his entire body heaves with one last shudder.  Xena claps him on the shoulder, and digs into her pack, withdrawing a few gold coins from her winnings.  She hands them to him.

XENA

Listen kid.  I'm sorry you lost, but it isn't

the end of the world.  So you had a big

adventure you can tell your grandchildren

about someday.  You ran a good race.

Maybe when you've grown to be a man,

you can come back and try again. Now

quit crying and go back home to your family.

Kid your age, that's where you belong.

SHABAB

(sadly)

I will go home, but I can't