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ACT THREE
FADE IN:
EXT. Temple – day
Gabrielle reacts, clutching her sais tighter and unconsciously readying herself for a fight.
gabrielle (strongly) Who are you?
xena (smirking) Come now, Gabrielle. Is that any way to greet your soulmate?
Radiating dark, sensual energy, Xena takes another casual step forward. Gabrielle tenses, but stands her ground.
gabrielle You’re not my soulmate.
Xena’s eyebrow quirks, and her smirk turns into a leer.
xena Sure I am. (beat) And I can prove it to you.
Xena takes another step, clearly stalking her intended prey.
gabrielle Stay back!
xena (seductively) You don’t wanna hurt me, Gabrielle. You can’t…hurt me.
gabrielle I will if you don’t stay where you are.
Xena produces a mock frown, and slows to a stop.
gabrielle
(Cont'd)
xena Always the courteous one, aren’t you, Gabrielle?
gabrielle I’ll ask you again. Who are you?
After a moment, Xena brazenly gazes at Gabrielle, from head to toe and back again. She licks her lips.
xena Your body speaks a truth your tongue denies, Gabrielle.
Gabrielle refuses to be baited.
xena
(Cont'd) All right, I can see it’s gonna take a little convincing for you to see things my way. (beat, as she considers) Who else would know about that delicious little birthmark on the inside of your left thigh, or how you purr when I....
gabrielle ENOUGH!
Xena laughs.
xena Enough? Oh no, I don’t think so.
She resumes her forward motion; long, easy, confident strides.
xena
(Cont'd)
Another step closer.
xena
(Cont'd)
The distance between them is closed. Xena places a fingertip on the point of each sai, and easily moves them out of the way of her advance.
xena
(Cont'd)
Supremely confident, Xena releases her light grip on the sais and reaches for Gabrielle’s waist, pulling the smaller woman tight against her and covering her lips in an primal, lustful kiss.
Stunned, Gabrielle’s body responds before her mind can catch up, pulled in by the overbearing sexuality of this woman she realizes is, in fact, her soulmate. The kiss goes on for a long, passionate moment, before Xena finally pulls away, her eyes half-lidded and as dark as the smile she sports.
xena
(Cont'd) Proof enough? Or should we take this dance a little further?
Gabrielle blinks, and swallows hard, trying to regain control of her rebellious body.
gabrielle (hoarsely) How?
xena The brainless dishrag you share the furs with had it right. There’s a power here. I can smell it on the wind. (beat) Like blood on a battlefield.
gabrielle What kind of power?
Xena grins.
xena Destiny.
Gabrielle I’m afraid I don’t understand.
Xena Oh, but I think you do, Gabrielle. (beat) That so-called “good side” of me that you so cherish has been burned away, leaving me free to fulfill my destiny.
gabrielle And that destiny is?
Xena’s eyes darken.
xena False innocence doesn’t become you.
Gabrielle remains silent, standing her ground.
xena (Cont’d) I’ll need an army, of course. Your Amazons should fill the bill nicely, at least for now. They’re decent fighters, and they know how to work together as a group, which is more than I can say for most start-up armies I’ve commanded.
Gabrielle is stunned.
gabrielle There is no way in Tartarus that the Amazons are going to follow you on some quest for world domination, Xena.
xena (grinning) Oh, they won’t be following me, Gabrielle. You’re their Queen, after all.
gabrielle (whispering) You’re crazy.
Xena cups Gabrielle’s cheek and brushes her thumb against Gabrielle’s lips.
xena Am I really?
gabrielle Don’t do this, Xena.
xena Admit it, Gabrielle. Power intoxicates you. And why shouldn’t it? (beat) It’s glorious.
gabrielle You’re wrong.
xena You might be able to fool yourself, Gabrielle. But you could never fool me. (beat) You didn’t even wait for my corpse to cool before accepting the Queen’s mask, did you?
gabrielle (heatedly) That’s not true!
xena Isn’t it? You ignored my dying wish to have my body taken to Amphipolis.
gabrielle The Amazons needed me. You know that.
xena So you’ve said, yes. But given the choice, you snapped up that mask with barely a second thought. (beat) Admit it, Gabrielle. You love power. I can feel it burning within you.
Xena’s hand tightens on Gabrielle’s jaw.
xena
(Cont'd)
Gabrielle grasps Xena’s wrist and squeezes tightly.
gabrielle No.
Smirking, Xena loosens her grip, and takes a short step away.
xena You have fire, Gabrielle. It’s one of the things I enjoy most about you. (pause, as she takes another lingering look up and down Gabrielle’s body) Among…other assets. (beat) I’m offering you the chance to rule the world with me, Gabrielle.
gabrielle Over my dead body.
xena It just might come to that.
gabrielle Then do it now, or I’ll spend every single waking moment trying to stop you.
Xena laughs.
xena You can try. (beat) But we both know who’d win. (beat) Join me, Gabrielle. I’ll give you riches you’ve never dreamed of.
gabrielle I don’t want riches, Xena. I want you. All of you. Darkness and light.
xena I’m sorry, Gabrielle. That’s one wish I’ll never grant.
gabrielle It’s the only wish I want granted.
Xena smiles, and Gabrielle wonders if there’s a bit of sadness in it.
xena Go back to your simpering little do-gooder, Gabrielle. I’ll be back with your Amazons. I think you’ll have changed your mind by then.
gabrielle The Amazons won’t follow you, Xena.
xena Oh, I think they will. (beat) Because if they don’t… (beat) ... I’ll just kill ‘em all.
Putting her fingers up to her lips, Xena gives a piercing whistle, and Argo prances forward. Xena leaps on her back, and, with a final smile, is gone into the woods.
gabrielle XENA!!!!
cut to:
int. inn - day
Gabrielle bursts through the doors and into the tavern. The diners all look up, staring at the disheveled wild woman who has just entered.
gabrielle Spiros!!
Spiros comes out from the kitchen.
spiros What in Tartarus is going…Gabrielle! What’s wrong? Are you all right? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!
gabrielle Spiros, I need Xena. Right now. Where is she?
spiros She’s in your room, Gabrielle. What....
His voice trails off as Gabrielle pushes past him and runs up the stairs. Spiros quickly follows.
cut to:
int. sleeping room - day
Xena stands as the door opens and Gabrielle enters. Seeing the shattered look in Xena’s eyes, she comes to a stop less than a foot away.
gabrielle (with certainty) You know.
xena Yes. It all came together when the mob attacked. (beat) Did you find her?
gabrielle Yes, and we have to do something about it. Right now. (beat) Xena, she’s going to try to force the Amazons to join her. We need to stop her.
xena And we will. But first we need to find out how this happened in the first place, and how to reverse it.
gabrielle Xena, we don’t have time! She’s on her way to the Amazons right now! She said if they don’t join up with her, she’ll....
xena ... Kill them all. I know.
Standing behind the two, Spiros politely clears his throat.
spiros Perhaps I might be of some help? If you’d care to tell me what’s going on, that is.
Gabrielle rounds on Spiros in frustration, then forces herself to relax, realizing that he is just trying to help them. She puts a hand up to her head for a moment to calm her emotions, then releases a pent-up breath.
gabrielle Do you know anything about the temple in the woods north of here?
Spiros frowns as he considers.
spiros It was a temple to Athena, at one time. She fell out of favor here maybe ten or so years back. Other cults have worshipped there every now and then. None of them ever last for very long. Why do you ask?
gabrielle We were there yesterday, looking around. Xena went inside, and the temple collapsed.
spiros Good gods! Are you all right?
xena In a manner of speaking.
spiros I’m afraid I don’t understand.
gabrielle That makes three of us. (beat) Something happened when the temple collapsed, and we didn’t know what it was until today.
Spiros looks at Gabrielle expectantly.
gabrielle
(Cont'd) One, all good. The other, all evil.
Sprios looks at Xena and takes an involuntary step back. | |||||
