FADE IN

ANNOUNCER:
     Previously on Xena...

Montage of scenes:

--Angel Callisto touching Xena's stomach in "Fallen Angel"

--Eve being born in "God Fearing Child"

--Michael (in the form of a flame) appearing to Xena on the beach in "Motherhood."

CUT TO

Scene from "Lord of the Wings."

XENA:
     A child should be born of love, but Michael used that power to bring about the downfall of the Olympians.

CUT TO

Scene from "Motherhood."

Xena killing Athena. Olympus starting to shake.

CUT TO

From "Harbinger of Twilight":

XENA:
     The gods are in Hell?!

CUT TO

From "A Very Narrow Bridge."

In Xena crosses a bridge over an abyss lit by hellfire; Eve, Gabrielle, and Ares follow, holding onto the ropes on the side of the bridge.

CUT TO

A small glass sphere is shattered and a dazed-looking Athena arises from it; Zeus and Hera can be seen in the background.

CUT TO

EVE:
     The gods are free. (she smiles) I hope they take advantage of their second chance at life and use it wisely.

CUT TO

From "Lord of the Wings."

RAPHAEL (to Xena and Gabrielle):
     The Light will no longer try to expand its realm; there is no reason why we can't coexist peacefully with the other gods.

CUT TO

From "Set in Stone": Xena squaring off with Artemis.

ARTEMIS:
     That's right--you killed my only son. (with a cruel smirk) It's ironic, you know. I decided to have a child when I found out about the Twilight prophecy. He was my insurance--the one who was supposed to keep my legacy alive.

XENA:
     I killed your son to protect the Amazons--your own people!

CUT TO

Artemis talking to Athena.

ARTEMIS:
     Athena, the gods have become jokes! We've lost most of our followers! Back in the days when we killed Niobe's children, we were feared--we were worshipped. Tell me you don't miss that.

CUT TO

Xena talking to Gabrielle.

XENA:
     For a long time, I wondered if I did the right thing when I killed the gods. Now, I sometimes wonder if we did the right thing bringing them back.

[END OF MONTAGE]

FADE TO

Dusk. A temple comes into view.

The camera zooms in and sweeps over the building, and we see that it looks deserted and neglected, with grass growing through cracks in the front steps and moss on the chipped and peeling walls.

The camera moves into an inner courtyard, which looks rather like Demeter's temple in "Succession" and may even be the same place. Here, too, everything has a visible air of abandonment and neglect. The camera pans over the altar to show some offerings with nothing but some remnants of fruit and vegetables--rotted away, dried up, or eaten by birds--left on the plate. Pan to a broken statue lying in the corner, its unseeing eyes staring upwards.

The camera begins to zoom out.

DISSOLVE TO

A dark sky. Lightning flashes, illuminating a great palace on a mountaintop: Mount Olympus.

DISSOLVE TO

Main hall. Zeus, King of the Gods, sits in his throne holding his head. He is obviously in deep thought, and looks troubled. The rest of Olympus seems empty except for the echoing of thunder and flashes of light that appears in the halls.

The silence is broken by a flash of blue light. Ares appears standing in front of Zeus. Zeus lifts his head.

ARES (guardedly):
     You wanted to see me?

ZEUS:
     Son. (sighs heavily) There is--bad news.

CUT TO

A chamber on Olympus, richly decorated with gold and marble statues. The statues, the wall paintings, and the design on the draperies have agricultural themes (fruit, vegetables, grain, corn), suggesting that this is Demeter's chamber. Some of the figures, sculpted and painted on the walls, depict a little sitting in her mother's lap and then the same girl as a teenager. Panning over the room, the camera pauses on a wall painting of a woman who looks familiar: tall and with long curled hair.

There is a flash of purple light, and the woman in the painting appears in the chamber. We recognize her as Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld ("Who Let the Dog Out?")--only this time, with no trace of her former Fran-like perkiness, which has given way to a grief-stricken look.

PERSEPHONE:
     Mother!

The camera pans over to show Demeter lying in bed, a worried-looking goddess sitting by her bedside.

The camera zooms in on Demeter. Her rich golden hair looks faded and graying; she looks weak and strangely old for a goddess.

The young goddess looks up at Persephone.

PERSEPHONE:
     Leave us, Hebe.

Hebe stands up, bows her head and leaves.

Persephone approaches her mother's bedside and sits down, now openly weeping. Demeter manages a smile as she touches her daughter's face.

PERSEPHONE (through tears):
     Why are you doing this to yourself, Mother?

Demeter looks at her daughter in disbelief.

DEMETER (with a bitter chuckle):
     You think I'm doing this to myself?

PERSEPHONE:
     Mother, I remember how you were when I first married Hades--

DEMETER (softly):
     This is different. I feel weak now, Persephone. My body is aching. My powers are leaving me--I can feel my immortality draining away...

Crying, Persephone clasps her mother's frail hand.

CUT TO

Outside Demeter's chambers. Zeus stands outside the chamber door, cracked open so he can see his sister and her daughter. Ares stands next to him.

ARES:
      Is she--

ZEUS (not looking at his son):
     She has been growing weaker and weaker as the day passes.

ARES (shocked):
     What's causing it?

Zeus begins to walk away from the chamber doors, and further down the hall. We realize this as the place where Ares confronted Xena in "Motherhood" and she threw him in chains.

ZEUS (embarrassed):
     I...I don't know.

There is a short silence between them. A close-up of Ares; he looks confused and rather helpless.

As they continue to walk, purple light flashes and Persephone stands in their way, her face streaked with tears.

PERSEPHONE (shouting):
     What's happening to her?

Zeus and Ares halt abruptly, Zeus holding his hands in a calming gesture.

ZEUS:
     Just calm dow--

PERSEPHONE:
     Don't tell me to calm down when my mother is dying!

The word has the effect of an explosion. A flash of lightning illuminates the chamber.

Ares, Zeus and Persephone stare at each other in shock. Finally, Zeus speaks, a new resolution in his voice.

ZEUS:
     I'm going to go to The Fates--see if I can find some answers.

ARES:
     You do that--Dad.

Zeus turns around, to face his son. There is a short, awkward tension between the two. Zeus manages a nod and then a slight; he walks off and vanishes in a flash of light in mid-stride.

Persephone starts to sob and leans on Ares' shoulder. He gives her a startled look, obviously not quite knowing what to do.

ARES (softly, struggling with words):
     She'll, uh--she'll be all right.

He awkwardly pats Persephone's hair.

A flash of light. It comes across sounding more like a question then a statement.

A distant flash of lightning illuminates the hall again.

DISSOLVE TO

A lightning-filled sky.

DISSOLVE TO

An overhead shot of a village as a thunderstorm rages. The camera zooms in on one of the huts...

DISSOLVE TO

The Queen's hut. Eve is asleep in her bed. As the camera moves in we dissolve into her dreamscape...

DISSOLVE TO

Scene from "Motherhood"

Mount Olympus. Everything begins to shake. Athena looks worried.

XENA (voice-over, from "Seeds of Faith):
     The Fates spoke of a time when mankind would no longer need the gods--they would lose their power.

CUT TO

Scene from "Seeds of Faith"

ELI (speaking out to the people):
     We don't need to fear them, anymore. It's their turn to fear us!

CUT TO

Scene from "Seeds of Faith"

CALLISTO (softly):
     The new world can only be built on the foundation of the old one. The order of the gods must fall. And you--

FLASH TO

Scene from "Eve"

Eve looking up at the blinding light.

CALLISTO (voice-over):
     --are the hammer. (short pause) There is no reason to be afraid.

CUT TO

Scene from "God Fearing Child"

Zeus stands in front of the Fates.

CLOTHO:
     As it has been since time beyond remembering--you will continue to rule supreme among supreme--

FLASH TO

Scene from "Seeds of Faith"

LACHESIS (voice-over, from "God Fearing Child"):
     --until such time, as a child not begotten by man is born--

Callisto reaches out and touches pregnant Xena's stomach.

CUT TO

Scene from "God Fearing Child"

ATROPOS (voice-over, from "God Fearing Child"):
     --a time that is fast approaching.

Xena goes into labor as Gabrielle delivers the baby. Zeus approaches with a lightning bolt.

CUT TO

Scene from "Eve"

CLOTHO (voice-over, from "Looking Death in the Eye):
     Only in the essence of death--will the child find salvation--and the twilight be set in motion.

Eve raises the chakram half over Xena in the Temple. A blinding light appears. Eve covers her eyes.

CUT TO

A black room. All is silent except for a single heart beating.

CALLISTO (voice-over, from "Seeds of Faith"):
     You wouldn't have been chosen if you weren't afraid. Remember--in everything you do--we are always with you.

SMASH CUT TO

Amazon hut. Eve jolts up from her bed breathing deeply and with a concerned look on her face. She then begins to wonder if she is awakening from the dream, or if it was because of something else. She senses something--or someone, rather.

She jumps up from bed, grabs the staff standing by the bed and whips around, assuming a defensive posture.

The camera pulls around to show a figure in the corner of her room, nestled in the shadows. A woman steps out of the shadows, the moon reflecting her long red hair.

It's Artemis.

ARTEMIS (soft sinister tone):
     Sweet dreams, my Queen?

Eve holds tightly to her staff. The camera pulls on Artemis as an evil grin appears across her face, as we:

FADE OUT

END OF TEASER