ACT TWO

FADE IN:

7 INT. GOODS STORE - DAY - CLOSE ON WALL

As the Storekeep is thrown up against the wall and held there by Xena. She is pissed; the Storekeep is appropriately frightened.

XENA
They took my friend! Where are they?

STOREKEEP
Probably back at the Fortress of
Morpheus by now! It's solstice!
The mystics need a young maiden! We
send our young girls away! I thought
you knew!

XENA
No, you didn't. Your eyes practically
lit up when we came into town. What
are they going to do to her?

The Storekeep is reluctant to answer at first. Xena slams him agains the wall again.

STOREKEEP
Stop! By the gods you're strong!
Every solstice they come down from the
mountain and take a young girl! We
never see them again!
(then)
Last year, it was my niece. She was
barely nineteen when the Mystics
came... Now, she's gone.

XENA
Where is this fortress?

STOREKEEP
I don't know. I don't! Please don't
hurt me! Only they know the way!

XENA
(realizing)
That blind man... he was a mystic.

STOREKEEP
Yeah! Yeah, go see him! I can tell
you where *he* lives!

Off this:

CUT TO:

8 INT. MORPHEUS ROTUNDRUM - DAY

This is a huge chamber. Very ceremonial in nature, there are tributes and altars to Morpheus placed about the room. A large twelve foot high statue of Morpheus stands near one end of the room. Below it kneels Manus.

MANUS
Soon, my Lord Morpheus. I think you
will be pleased with your bride. As
soon as she proves herself worthy.

At that moment a Warrior enters, bows his head, and covers his eyes in a type of Morpheus salute. Manus acknowledges him, stands, and exits.

9 INT. GABRIELLE'S CELL - DAY

A simple four by four room with a bunk and not much else. At the moment, Gabrielle is inspecting the bunk looking for a weapon or something. The sound of the door being unlocked is heard. She quickly turns as Manus enters.

GABRIELLE
Let me go! I know people! Believe me,
you are in *big* trouble!

MANUS
Do you know Zeus?

GABRIELLE
Zeus? Well... we've talked.

MANUS
Zeus is the only one who can help you
now.
(smiling)
My child. I understand your confusion.
But take heart. You are being honored
today.

GABRIELLE
(suspicious)
Okay... Keep talking.

MANUS
You have been selected to be the bride
of Morpheus!

GABRIELLE
Bride? Morpheus? Hold on... He's got
the wrong girl, take my word for it.
I'm not the wifely type.
I sleep late; I get edgy when it's hot
and sick when it's cold; I don't know a
lick about housework. And children?
I mean look at these hipbones. No
way.

MANUS
None of that matters to Morpheus.

GABRIELLE
Really? Well what does? I've got
*lots* of faults.

MANUS
You are to go through a series of
challenges against worthy opponents.
If you survive, you will become the
honored wife of Morpheus. If not, you
will have been sacrificed in the
name --

GABRIELLE
(interrupting)
Hold on... back up to that "If you
survive" part for a moment...

MANUS
The challenges are not easy. And each
one has a fight to the death.

GABRIELLE
And if I don't want to do the
challenges?

MANUS
We will kill you and you will have
sacrificed your life for nothing.

He motions to a Warrior who puts a blade to her throat. A beat, then:

CUT TO:

10 INT. ELKTON'S HUT - DAY

Where we find Elkton unpacking the goods he bought in the village. Suddenly, Elkton stop... senses something...

ELKTON
Who is there? someone? I'm not as
blind as you think!

He grabs a knife and turns to face the wall.

ELKTON
You see? I have senses you can't
conceive of! Come on. Speak up!

He turns suddenly and lets the knife fly. The CAMERA MOVES to REVEAL Xena standing in the doorway as she catches the knife in mid-flight.

XENA
I'm not here to hurt you.

ELKTON
That voice... you were in the store
today. You bought me that halter!

XENA
(ignoring it)
I want to know about the Mystics.

Elkton darkens at the mention.

ELKTON
They're evil. A perverted cult that
worships the dark brother of the gods
of dreams. I know all about them. I
was a mystic once. Back when the order
was good.

XENA
The dream gods aren't evil.

ELKTON
Certainly Phantasus and Phoebetor
aren't. But Morpheus has a side that
isn't happy with the simple praise of
common people. The new high Priest,
Manus, feeds that side with evil. And
my people... my poor people have
suffered... Manus took my eyesight and
cast me out so I could not protect them
anymore.
(then)
But why do you ask? And just who are
you?

XENA
My name is Xena. They took my friend.
I'm going to get her back.

ELKTON
(sadly)
She's been chosen as Morpheus'
bride. She's going to give up her
blood innocence.

XENA
What blood innocence?

ELKTON
Your friend has never killed anyone.
She will go through a series of
challenges against strong opponents.
She will be tricked into killing to
survive. And, as soon as she does
that, she is sacrificed.

XENA
You know where the fortress is. Take
me there.

ELKTON
It's no good! It's hidden in the
mountians, well protected by an army of
Warriors. It would take you months...

He touches her arm... Feels the muscle.

ELKTON
...*days* to fight your way in. By
then, you friend would be dead.
Unless...
(brightening)
You're the one! In a dream vision, I
saw a warrior who could travel the
Dream Passage and defeat Morpheus! You
*must* be the one! A woman with a dark
past... strong and brave...

XENA
What Dream Passage?

ELKTON
A Passage through your own dreams.
It's very dangerous. If you aren't the
one, you won't survive.

XENA
My friend is in danger. I'm the one.
Show me.

Off this we:

DISSOLVE TO:

11 EXT. MOUNTIANS - DUSK (STOCK)

To show the passage of time as the sun goes down.

12 INT. ELKTON'S HUT - NIGHT

Xena is sitting on the stone table. Several candles have been lit. Elkton is mixing some liquids.

ELKTON
The world of Dreams is made up of many
passages. It's possible to follow one
from one location to another.
Essentially, you bypass the physical
world.

XENA
You said it was dangerous. What can I
expect?

ELKTON
Everything in the dreamscape comes from
*your* mind. Once in, Morpheus will
know everything that you know. He will
use that to try and stop you. Drink
this and lay back.

Xena drinks it and lays down on the table. Elkton goes to a couple of candles and blows them out. The room is darker now. He places a large bucket next to Xena and pulls a rag out of it. It is sopping wet. Slowly he squeezes the rag over her body, the fluid dripping onto her.

ELKTON
This is N'Kama oil. The instant your
soul enters the Passage, your body will
begin to lose its life fluids. N'Kama
oil will give you more time.

XENA
And how much is that?

ELKTON
A few hours at best. Your goal is to
find the exit door at the other end of
the Dream Passage. Once you pass
throught it, your body will reunite with
your soul. If not, the body dies.
Until then, I will guard it. And,
don't worry. I'm a gentleman.

Elkton puts down the bucket and picks up a small cup. He snaps his fingers into the cup and a flame appears.

ELKTON
This is the fire of dreams. This
is the key.

He picks up a spoon and stirs the flame. Dull thunder is heard in the distance. Elkton smiles.

ELKTON
Morpheus know what we're up to.
Listen to me carefully, Xena. He will
try to use your own mind against you.
If you defeat him there, you'll win.
Don't be obvious. And remember: It's
*your* Dream Passage.

Elkton lifts the spoon out of the cup. A burning glob of something is in the spoon. He grabs her head with his free hand and slowly lowers the flame. He removes the spoon, leaving a small, brightly burning square on her forehead. He then puts a piece of leather to her lips.

ELKTON
Bite on this... hard.

She opens her mouth and clamps her teeth on it. Then, he brushes his hand over her eyes, closing them.

ELKTON
The gods be with you...

And, with that, he blows out the flame. Xena stiffens, every muscle becoming tense, and then relaxes. The distant thunder is louder...

CUT TO:

13 INT. DREAMSCAPE PASSAGE - CLOSE ON XENA

As we left her, Xena's eyes are closed. Her head moves back and forth as if in a nightmare in a STUTTER CUT slow motion effect. Then, the sound of CHEERING rises up in the background. Xena opens her eyes suddenly as we lose the film effect and we PULL BACK TO REVEAL:

MISTY CAVE - THE "VILLAGE" - DREAMSCAPE PASSAGE

Xena is sitting on a platform being carried by four men who are made up in the warrior garb that her soldiers use to wear. They are all cheering her as they march into a burned-out village. (Note: Xena's attire is more formal, more regal).

2ND WARRIOR
Another village for you, Our Queen!

1ST WARRIOR
Our brilliant commander! We've taken
another town!

2ND WARRIOR
They are destroyed as you wished!
Every one of them!

1ST WARRIOR
As you ordered!

XENA
No! I left this behind me!

1ST WARRIOR
You can't leave who you are!

2ND WARRIOR
And you are a Warrior. To be feared
and obeyed. And those that don't...

1ST WARRIOR
...die at the feet of our Warrior
Queen!

They set the platform down and cheer her as they move back the way they came into the darkness. Xena stands and looks around. This village looks like it was recently razed. The signature of the devastation so familiar to Xena. Then she looks down to see the clothing she wears. Some one moves up behind her. She turns suddenly and faces a man. His name is MESMER. He looks as if he had been on the wrong side of a losing battle.

MESMER
Xena... do you know me, Warrior Queen?

XENA
I'm not... who are you?

MESMER
This was my village. All gone now.
Your men came and killed it. And me.
As you commanded. Did you know I had a
name?

XENA
I didn't do this...

MESMER
My name is Mesmer. I had a wife. And
two children.

XENA
I'm sorry...

MESMER
Sorry? Sorry to know my name? Oh,
that's right. Your victims were always
faceless. You never knew much about
them, did you? Or cared.

Another man, BARUCH, appears next to him looking much like
Mesmer.

BARUCH
My name is Baruch. I also had a
wife. And two fine boys, one fifteen,
the other twenty. They were killed,
too, Do you want to know their names?

XENA
Please... *I left this behind me!*

Another man, DOLAS appears.

BARUCH
(continuing)
Septim and Valius.

DOLAS
I am Dolas. My brother and I were the
first to die. His name was Linius.

They are slowly backing Xena up. Then more shadows appear and it seems as all of them are whispering names of loved ones who died under Xena's orders. The weight of their presence is overpowering. Xena can only back up as they surround her.

XENA
Stand back! Don't crowd me!

DOLAS
We're not crowding you, Xena.

BARUCH
It's the weight of your memories...

Xena tries to back away but runs into more villagers. She recoils into another group. They seem to be intent on crushing her under the weight of their combined bodies. During all this, we are still hearing the whispers of names from the past that fell under Xena's command. Then, she backs into... a sword! Stuck in the ground, gleaming, waiting to be used...

MESMER
You can end this, Xena. You can end it
easily.

BARUCH
Kill us. You know how. Take the
sword.

Now, the whispers change to a combinateion of "kill us" and "take the sword." Xena stares at it. It's tempting. The crowd around her begins to raise its hands forming them into fists to strike at her. Finally, Xena looks up into the darkness of the heavens.

XENA
Morpheus! I'm not going to do it! I'm
*not* going to kill for you! You're
trying to use the past of a Xena long
dead! *I'm not her anymore!*

With that exclamation, all the villagers dissapear, leaving Xena alone in the burned-out village.

Xena shakes it off, exhaling a breath she has probably been holding for the past ten minutes. She heads toward a large door near the end of the room. As she exits, the village dissapears.

CUT TO:

13A INT. MORPHEUS ROTUNDRUM - NIGHT

Manus stands in front of the statue of Morpheus, his head bowed, eyes closed as if in contct with his god. A beat, then a Warrior comes over to him and stands at attention, waiting. Manus comes out of his "trance" and turns to the Warrior.

MANUS
The Innocent has a friend who has
entered the Dreamscape Passage. This
is Elkton's work. Find him and you
will find her body. Morpheus wants
them both to die. Go.

The Warrior bows his head in salute and exits. Manus looks up at the statue as we HEAR the sound of THUNDER:

CUT TO:

14A INT. ELKTON'S HUT - NIGHT

With the CRASH OF THUNDER, we come into Elkton's hut. Elkton is extremely worried as he touches Xena's face. He mutters to himself.

ELKTON
No... No... it's happening too fast...

He moves slightly, allowing us a view of Xena's body. Her face is becoming gaunt and tight. As if she is freeze-drying in front of us. Nothing drastic yet, but enough to notice and enough to send Elkton into a fit of concern. He begins to apply more of the N'Kama oil to her body. This time, he really splashes it on as he talks to her sleeping form:

ELKTON
What is going on in there? Morpheus is
draining your life quicker than I
expected! What is he confronting you
with?

He slops more oil on her, then pauses as the THUNDER is heard again.

ELKTON
You must hurry, Xena. Your body is
draining too fast. And I can't stop
it.

Off this, we:

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT TWO