FADE IN

A room in the shelter. Darion stands with his feet planted firmly, holding the staff in front of him like a sword. He swings and hits a larger stick. Pull back to show Ares standing in front of him, holding a long stick. The two of them spar, Darion hitting Ares' stick and Ares countering him, back and fourth. Darion is grinning wildly, clearly enjoying it, and Ares looks rather pleased as well.

Haimon walks past the room and stops at the open door to see Ares and Darion sparring. He stands in the doorway, watching them silently but somewhat glumly.

Darion swings at Ares and knocks the stick out of his hands, then points his stick at Ares.

DARION:
     I win. (the grin on his face fades a little) Wait a minute--you let me win, didn't you?

ARES (grins):
     Hey, I don't let just anybody win.

He ruffles Darion's hair. Darion chuckles and picks up his stick.

DARION:
     Let's--

He notices Haimon and his expression turns sullen. He turns away toward Ares.

DARION:
     Let's go one more round.

Xena comes up behind Haimon and comes into the room.

DARION (with genuine joy):
     Xena! (he runs up to hug her)

XENA (hugs him):
     I've missed you, too.

She is obviously glad to see him but looks somewhat preoccupied. She stands up straight, looking at Ares and Haimon.

XENA (continues):
     We need to get out of here--quickly.

Ares and Haimon both give her a questioning look.

ARES:
     Well. So much for a rest stop.

HAIMON:
     What's wrong?

XENA (looks at him):
     Lots of things. The Romans are after us.

HAIMON:
     You mean, after me. They're on my trail, headed here.

XENA:
     Don't know--but I wouldn't be surprised.

HAIMON:
     Then I'll leave right away. I can't endanger Gabrielle--or the boys.

Pan over to Darion. There's a flicker of emotion in Darion's face as he turns away sullenly.

XENA:
     We should head out too. (to Ares) Don't get too comfortable.

ARES:
     Running from the Romans? That's a first.

XENA:
     It's not just the Romans. (she pauses) The woman who runs this place--the one they call the Holy Mother--her real name's Najara. She and I-- (she pauses for a second)

ARES (finishes for her):
     --have a complicated past. (off her sharp look, shrugs) Wild guess.

XENA:
      I don't want to be around her any longer than we have to be.

Xena's gaze falls on the open window, and something below catches her attention. Ares follows her stare and sees Gabrielle and Najara in the garden, talking.

XENA (abruptly and firmly):
     We leave tomorrow.

CUT TO

Gabrielle and Najara in the garden.

NAJARA:
     I can try and talk to Xena. Maybe--

GABRIELLE (shakes her head):
     I don't think that's such a good idea. Xena still doesn't trust you.

NAJARA (after a pause):
     Do you?

A long pause.

GABRIELLE (quietly):
     I want to trust you.

NAJARA:
     I understand. (she takes a deep breath) Gabrielle--about Malia... I didn't tell you the whole truth before.

Gabrielle looks at her warily.

GABRIELLE:
     Go on.

NAJARA (sighs):
      I had--reasons to suspect that Malia was a spy for the king.

Gabrielle stares at her in shock.

NAJARA (continues):
     The day before she--disappeared, I confronted her. She cried and cried. She told me my unjust suspicions had hurt her deeply. I wasn't sure what to think; I was afraid I had wronged her.

GABRIELLE (suspiciously):
     And--?

NAJARA:
     And then next morning, she was gone--without a trace.

GABRIELLE (looks at her probingly):
     You suspected she was a spy--a traitor...

NAJARA:
      Gabrielle, I swear to you I didn't--

They are interrupted by Haimon, who walks out into the garden.

HAIMON:
     Gabrielle.

Gabrielle turns to see him walking toward her.

HAIMON (coming closer):
     I need to talk to you.

GABRIELLE (to Najara, a little flustered):
     I'll--talk to you later, okay?

NAJARA (smiles):
     Any time.

She leaves the garden, walking back into the building. The camera follows her while Haimon talks to Gabrielle in the background.

CUT TO

The room where we last saw Darion, Xena and Ares. Xena has her armor off and is polishing it with mechanical gestures, obviously lost in thought. Ares is trying to mend a rip in one of his boots. He pricks his finger with the needle and flinches.

ARES:
     Ow. (he sucks on his finger)

XENA (glances at him):
     Want me to do it?

ARES:
      No thanks.

He continues, rather clumsily, to mend the boot.

XENA:
     Thought you didn't like touching the tools of common labor.

ARES (in mock outrage):
     What are you calling common labor?

Xena chuckles and then tenses as she hears something outside the door. The door is pushed open and Najara comes in, a little hesitantly. Xena stands quickly, her posture stiff and defensive. She stares Najara down as if ready for a fight.

XENA:
     What do you want?

NAJARA:
     A word with you. (glances at Ares) Alone.

XENA (scoffs):
     Not interested.

NAJARA:
     Xena. Give me a chance.

Xena moves toward her, her eyes cold.

XENA:
     You ran out of chances years ago.

Ares puts down the boot he's trying to mend and stares at her, intrigued by the fury of her reaction.

XENA:
     Turning Gabrielle and me against each other--deceiving us twice... Or at least, deceiving Gabrielle twice--because I didn't fall for it the second time--and I sure ain't falling for it in the third round.

NAJARA:
     Gabrielle--

XENA:
     Look, I know Gabrielle trusts you. Or wants to trust you. I don't want to fight with her over that--not again. But don't think you're going to win me over, 'cause it's not happening.

NAJARA:
      Very well.

She turns around and leaves. Xena sits down on the bed, exhaling. Ares moves up to her and puts his hands on her shoulders.

ARES:
     So. This is personal, huh?

XENA (sharply):
     What are you talking about? She's dangerous. She's a crazy zealot who's very good at fooling people with her talk of goodness and light.

ARES (gently squeezing her shoulders):
     Mm-hmm--people like Gabrielle?

XENA (whips around and stares at him):
     What are you saying? That I'm j--

She stops in mid-word. Ares gives her an innocent look.

XENA (grimly):
     Let's just get out of here tomorrow.

He rubs her shoulders and she closes her eyes for a moment, leaning back into him, but remains visibly tense.

CUT TO

Gabrielle and Haimon sitting on the bench in the garden. Gabrielle is looking down.

GABRIELLE (quietly):
     I'm sorry you have to go. (She sighs and looks up) I don't think we'll be staying here much longer, either.

HAIMON:
     I don't think you should. (brief pause) Do you trust Najara?

GABRIELLE:
     I don't know. I'm... (sighs) I want to trust her but--this whole thing with Malia... After everything that happened before--I just don't know if I can put it past Najara to have--done something to that girl if she thought Malia had betrayed her.

HAIMON:
     Xena needs to know.

GABRIELLE (shakes head, emphatic):
     No. If I tell Xena, she'll convict Najara immediately. I don't know what she'll do. But I'd rather not risk it.

She sighs, dropping her head in her hands.

GABRIELLE (continues):
     I don't know what to think.

Haimon reaches out gently and touches her shoulder.

CUT TO

Najara standing in a window behind them; she has obviously heard the conversation. Her expression is unreadable.

Suddenly, she shifts her eyes to the garden, hearing something.

CUT TO

The five Romans we saw at the end of Act 3 rush into the garden.

ROMAN #1 (pointing toward Haimon):
     That's him!

Gabrielle and Haimon leap to their feet. The Romans charge them. Haimon moves in front of Gabrielle, drawing his sword to fend them off.

HAIMON (to Gabrielle):
     Get out of here!

GABRIELLE (vehemently):
     No!

Najara runs out into the garden and yells, looking up toward the windows.

NAJARA:
     Xena!

CUT TO

Xena, half-lying in Ares' arms on the bed, bolts to her feet and toward the window. She sees Haimon fighting off the Romans and Gabrielle standing back hesitantly.

XENA (to Ares):
     Let's go.

CUT TO

The garden. Haimon is trying to fight off the Romans but they are surrounding him. Finally, Gabrielle charges forward, drawing her sais.

NAJARA:
     Gabrielle!

Gabrielle fights one of the Romans; she blocks his sword with her sais, then knocks it from his hand and kicks him in the face. He staggers back. Haimon spins around and knocks him down. Meanwhile, Gabrielle slips the sais back into her boots and picks up the Roman's sword.

Najara stands watching this, obviously wanting to intervene but hesitating. Finally, she runs forward.

NAJARA:
     Gabrielle! Don't do this.

GABRIELLE (snaps):
     Najara, let me go. I'm not leaving Haimon alone.

NAJARA (grabs Gabrielle's arm):
      Xena will be here any moment.

GABRIELLE:
     Let go of me!

NAJARA (pleading):
     Gabrielle, you know what all this violence was doing to your spirit. You have a chance to stop it. You've brought new life into the world. Maybe it was a way for a higher power to--

GABRIELLE:
      And maybe the father of my child could be killed while we're debating my spiritual path. Let go!

She forcefully pushes Najara aside--only to see one of the Romans knock Haimon down.

GABRIELLE (in an intense whisper):
     No.

As the Roman starts to raise his sword, Gabrielle grabs one of her sais and throws it at him, hitting him in the face. He staggers and loses his footing, tumbling to the ground. This gives Haimon a chance to get back to his feet and fend off another Roman.

ROMAN OFFICER:
     Somebody get that girl!

A Roman soldier, sword drawn, charges toward Gabrielle. She assumes a combat stance, her sword ready.

NAJARA:
     Gabrielle, wait--

She runs in front of Gabrielle.

Zoom in on Najara's face, her eyes wide open in shock as a small cry pushes out of her lips.

PAN TO Gabrielle, who looks horrified.

GABRIELLE (screams):
     Najara!

The camera pulls back to show Najara staggering, a dark bloodstain spreading on the front of her dress.

As the camera pulls further back, we see the Roman, looking somewhat perplexed, pulling his sword out of Najara's back. Najara collapses to her knees, blood tricking from her mouth.

With a scream of rage, Gabrielle charges the Roman with her sword. She knocks the sword out of his hand and attacks him with a flurry of kicks, shouting as she delivers each of them. He staggers and falls, and with a final furious cry Gabrielle raises her sword and brings it down, running him through.

NAJARA (weakly):
     Gabrielle--

Gabrielle looks at her bloody sword, sighs and shakes her head.

Xena and Ares come running into the garden. Xena surveys the situation--Najara on her knees and bleeding, Gabrielle with the bloody sword--with a momentary look of shock on her face, then rushes into the fray to fight the other Romans. Ares follows.

Gabrielle drops the sword, runs to Najara and kneels next to her.

GABRIELLE (moves her hands toward the wound and applying pressure; the blood seeps through her fingers):
      Najara--

NAJARA (weakly):
      I'm--I'm sorry. (she lifts her hand and strokes Gabrielle's face)

In the background, Xena, Ares, and Haimon are seen fighting the Romans. The camera zooms in on the fight.

Xena is fighting with two swords, her own and one of the Romans'. A Roman soldier charges Ares, who spins and gives him a powerful kick to the side, causing him to stagger and fall down. Xena, in a move reminiscent of the battle from Endgame, twirls the two swords and plunges them into the Roman with a fierce yell. Two Romans are attacking Haimon; Xena throws her second sword at one of them, killing him on the spot, while Haimon kills the other.

Pan back to Gabrielle and Najara.

GABRIELLE:
     Najara...I know you meant well--

NAJARA (hoarsely):
     Just remember, Gabrielle-- (struggles to speak) It's never too late for a second chance...

Her hand in Gabrielle's hand goes limp; she slumps forward, dead.

The camera pulls back to show that the fight is over. Xena sheathes her sword, with a grim look on her face, and walks toward Gabrielle. Haimon follows behind.

DISSOLVE TO

An overhead shot of the garden. The Romans lie dead on the ground. Gabrielle rises from her knees and stands over Najara's body, looking down. Xena comes up to stand beside Gabrielle and puts a hand on her shoulder; Gabrielle turns her head slightly. Haimon lingers a couple of steps back, while Ares sheathes his sword. Meanwhile, Najara's disciples and shelter residents start filing out of the building into the garden.

PAN TO

Xena and Gabrielle, standing over Najara's body.

XENA (quietly):
     I'm sorry.

Xena pulls Gabrielle into a hug. Gabrielle rests her head on Xena's shoulder.

DISSOLVE TO

The flames of a funeral pyre in the garden. The camera pulls back to show the mourners, Saalim and Jannah among them, standing around the pyre. Xena and Gabrielle stand next to each other; Ares stands next to Xena and Darion next to Gabrielle, holding Samuel in his arms.

GABRIELLE (speaking almost to herself):
      I guess now I'll never know who Najara really was.

Xena glances at her and says nothing.

FEMALE VOICE (off-camera):
     I'm so sorry she's dead.

Gabrielle turns around to see a slender, olive-skinned, dark-haired young woman in a blue dress. She looks guilty and regretful.

SAALIM (off-camera):
      Malia?

The camera pans to him. He looks incredulous, as do some of the other disciples.

JANNAH:
     What happened to you? We were so worried...

MALIA (stares down grimly, then looks up):
      I--have a confession to make. I'm one King Aretas' servants. Or at least I was. (Saalim looks at her in shock) I came to this place because he wanted me to spy on Neimah.

Gasps of disbelief. Pan for a close-up on Gabrielle, who looks incredulous, stricken, and relieved at the same time.

MALIA:
      Neimah found out. Or at least she had suspicions. I went back to the king and he sent me out of town. (sighs) I know they were planning to spread rumors that Neimah--harmed me in some way...

GABRIELLE (looks down):
     They did.

Xena gives her a puzzled look.

MALIA (sighs):
      Anyway, I...I wasn't feeling good about what I was doing. And I felt even worse when I heard she'd been killed. That's why I came back. (to Saalim) I want to help keep this place alive. If you'll let me.

Saalim looks at her, his face reflecting a struggle. Finally, he nods.

SAALIM:
     The Holy Mother would have forgiven you. We can do no less.

The other disciples murmur in assent. Saalim embraces Malia; Jannah does likewise.

MALIA:
     She was a good woman.

GABRIELLE (nods slowly, tears in her eyes):
     She was.

Xena sympathetically squeezes her shoulder.

DISSOLVE TO

Later. The funeral pyre is still burning but most of the mourners are walking back into the house.

Haimon approaches and stops, looking at Gabrielle, Darion and Samuel. His inscrutable expression gradually becomes tender, then guilty and finally rueful.

Xena glances in his direction, then touches Ares' hand.

XENA:
     C'mon.

Xena and Ares walk toward the house. Xena turns around, once, as Haimon steps up to Gabrielle.

Darion looks down at his feet while Gabrielle gazes up at Haimon. There is a hint of longing in her eyes.

HAIMON:
      This is all my fault.

GABRIELLE:
     We've both made mistakes.

Haimon nods towards the funeral pyre.

HAIMON:
     But my mistake got someone killed. I never should have come here. I'm a deserter from the Roman Legions--a wanted man. I put you and Darion and Samuel in danger.

DARION:
     You're going to leave again.

Haimon reaches out to touch Darion's cheek but the boy jerks away. Haimon frowns and pauses a moment, then withdraws his hand.

HAIMON:
     I can't help it. You and Gabrielle and Samuel will never be safe as long I'm with you. You understand, don't you, Darion?

Darion shrugs sullenly and looks away. Haimon strokes Samuel's forehead gently.

HAIMON:
     I'm counting on you to take care of Gabrielle and your baby brother. You'll do that for me, won't you?

Darion steps back, moving Samuel out of his reach.

DARION (sullenly):
     We'll be fine.

Haimon winces. Darion has obviously struck a nerve. Darion turns and walks off towards Xena, Ares and Naomi.

GABRIELLE:
     He'll understand when he's older. Sometimes we have to make choices we don't want to make.

Haimon sighs and nods sadly.

HAIMON:
     I'm sorry I let you down.

GABRIELLE:
     I'm the one that should be sorry. I should have told you about Samuel. I just... (she becomes flustered, at a loss to explain herself) I wish we had been able to work things out.

HAIMON:
     We've had some ups and downs.

GABRIELLE (reluctantly):
     Haimon...this isn't...will I ever see you again?

Haimon smiles sadly and reaches out, tenderly taking Gabrielle's hand in his. They gaze at one another silently as we:

FADE OUT

THE END

[The Djinn were not harmed during the production of this motion picture.]

Xena: Warrior Princess Shipper Seasons Season 10 Episode 2 Clean Slate Story By: Aurora and LadyKate Written By: Aurora, LadyKate and Sais 2 Cool Collage By: Aurora Images Gathered By: Aurora Cast Xena Lucy Lawless Gabrielle Renee O'Connor Ares Kevin Smith Darion Alexander Gandar Najara Kathryn Morris Haimon Michael Vartan Jannah Julie Little Duman Aaron Hannum Saalim Richard Tuck Original Airdate March 1, 2009 The Djinn were not harmed during the production of this motion picture. DEDICATED TO KEVIN SMITH All characters and storylines that have appeared in the syndicated series Xena: Warrior Princess are a copyright and trademark of Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No infringement was intended during the writing of this script. All original characters and storylines are a copyright of the respective authors and of the Shipper Seasons. No script may be reproduced on a website elsewhere without the author's consent. © Shipper Seasons www.shipperseasons.com

This script is provided by GDev Resources.