I'm gonna go find that road.
It should be straight ahead, I told you.
Yeah, well you told me that an hour ago when I still had feet.
Maybe it's over here.
Don't get lost.
Mercy ! No !
You're pretty good against unarmed people.
How are you against somebody who can fight back ?
Stay with me. You're going to make it.
Press down on this as hard as you can.
- My brother. - Yeah.
We just have to stop the bleeding.
Keep pressing down hard.
My friends !
- My friends. - There they are !
Teracles !
Teracles ! Husband !
Can you hear me, my dearest ?
We heard the cries, and the swords clashing. We came as fast as we could.
We've got to stop the bleeding.
No ! Stay away from him.
Haven't you got enough blood on you already from our poor good neighbors ?
That woman...
We'll get him home.
Murderer.
Now, wait a minute.
In a time of ancient gods...
...warlords...
...and kings...
A land in turmoil cried out for a hero...
She was Xena...
a mighty princess, forged in the heat of battle...
...The power...
...The passion...
...The danger...
Her courage will change the world...
I didn't kill these people. There was a man here with a sword.
You're the only one we've seen.
He was my friend !
I don't wanna hurt anyone.
I fought the man that killed these people !
Fought an invisible man, did you ?
One who ran away without the money he was stealing ?
And left his blood all over your hands and sword ?
I don't think so.
Together now. Take her !
Stand back !
- After her ! Come on ! - Come on ! We can do it !
Better grab her !
- After her ! - Come on !
Hurry ! Hurry !
- Murderer ! - Stop her !
Here !
Come on in. This stream is great !
Gabrielle... come on.
Time to go.
- Climb aboard. - This horse hates me.
- There she is ! This way ! - No time to argue.
Hurry !
Grathios ? You're sure she's trapped in the mountain glade ?
There's no way out except through the pass we've got covered.
She can't escape... not even on horseback.
Good.
Then I can begin preparations for the trial.
- Trial ? - Trial !
- We don't need a trial ! I saw her standing over the bodies,
and her hands, covered with their blood.
We don't need a trial !
She should be heard...
like any other accused.
Will Doracles' son and daughters care
what excuse their father's murderer may offer ?
And Areolis...
whose young widow carries his child.
You expect us to stand quietly at this ?
Grathios...
didn't Polinios labor in your fields as a boy ?
I say,
why waste time with some useless hearing ?
She will have a fair trial.
Peranis, I understand your rage.
But we can't allow ourselves to become as savage
as the savage we hunt.
With respect, Benitar... you weren't there.
You didn't see the carnage.
Neighbors, Peranis is right !
We need swift revenge, not slow justice !
- Let's do it ! I'm ready ! - We're with you, Peranis !
We'll wait here till nightfall.
Then we can slip by them in the dark.
I don't know what you're worried about.
They're farmers, not warriors.
I've seen what can happen to people whose loved ones are butchered.
Their vision gets bent and twisted.
Then there's no telling what they'll do.
But you didn't do anything.
The villagers saw me standing there, covered with blood.
Well, appearances aren't everything.
That's why they have trials.
If it comes to that, we'd just prove you didn't do it.
That hooded assassin who did do it...
he fights as well as I do...
maybe better.
He's strong and fast, and then he just disappeared.
Do you have an idea who it might have been ?
Maybe.
Gabrielle, if anything happens to us, and we get separated,
I want you to get as far away from here as possible.
What do you mean ?
What do you think is going to happen ?
Just do it.
Looks like the way we came up is the only way back down.
What's the matter ?
Here...
get up on the horse...
now.
What is it ?
What's wrong ?
- Come on ! - This way !
- Keep it moving ! - We almost got her !
- We've got one of them ! - Hold onto her !
Now !
It's me you want. Let her go.
Then give up your sword.
She has done nothing.
So either she goes free right now,
or she comes with me right now.
So be it.
All of you... Peranis... Grathios...
the young girl goes as she pleases.
You have our word.
What're you doing ?
Are you all right ?
That was quite a blow you took.
I do have a throbbing headache.
It's not my biggest worry right now.
Why did you just give up ?
Why didn't you fight them ?
They're not warriors.
It would've been a slaughter.
Gabrielle, I told you to get away from here if anything happened.
I meant it.
Save yourself.
We're up against more than you know.
I understand you may be feeling a little negative at the moment.
You can't give in to that !
Justice prevails.
Well, that'd be nice.
I'll get you out of here.
No, Gabrielle, leave.
Get away from here.
Look at you.
Hardly a suitable situation for a warrior princess.
You're probably wondering who I am.
No, I know who you are...
Ares, god of war.
Very good.
I should have known you'd figure it out.
Who else could outfight your sword ?
Behold...
your former mentor, and still greatest fan...
at your service.
I used to wonder what you look like.
Now that's the problem.
You used to wonder.
I can't tell you how disappointing that is.
Better ?
Of course it is.
Take my hand, Xena.
Give me your hand...
and come with me...
out of yourself...
into what is wonderful.
Behold.
You slaughtered those four villagers.
Only three so far.
That one you ministered to might actually recover.
By all the gods you are a beauty.
You must know I've missed you.
What do you want ?
I want you back, of course.
My warrior princess living as my warrior queen.
We were once a great match.
I didn't know any better then.
I thought your ways were all there was for me.
I think you'll be more comfortable in this.
Now that you do know...
there is another side to life...
now tell me...
are you really having more fun these days ?
I'm fighting for a better world.
My dear Xena, you were always fighting for a better world.
You were going to conquer it...
and then...
you were going to rule it...
the perfect way to bring order...
out of chaos.
And you were doing very, very well.
Take a look at these documents on the table here.
"Each village taxed only on its profits. "
"Comfort for the elderly. "
"The teaching of medicine. "
They need only your signature.
I can pass these decrees ?
If it'd make you happy.
Your destiny is to rule the world with me.
Fulfill your destiny.
And fill me again with the delicious sight of you...
the warmth...
the strength of you.
Go look out the window.
What do you see ?
Warriors...
thousands of them.
All of them yours.
Trained, ready, willing to die if you command it.
With an army like that, you could mold the world anew...
eradicate injustice.
You can't tell me that all this holds no... attraction...
even maybe a slight... fascination ?
What's in it for you ?
The world at peace under a great leader...
you.
And to bring all this about...
you need only call out my name.
Call upon me to help you, and I shall be there instantly.
I seriously doubt you're gonna get a better offer.
Just call for my help, Xena... and you'll hold the world.
And you better hurry.
That crowd doesn't seem as fond of you as I am.
Your friend will have a hearing.
We're not barbarians.
Who will speak for her ?
I'll act as her advocate if that's what you mean.
With respect, sir, the fairest way would be
to let her advocate be the person who believes the most in her innocence...
like me.
That's impossible. You don't understand.
It was all I could do to get these people to agree on a trial.
If I were to allow a... an outsider to speak on her behalf,
they may explode.
What is this ?
This is the way the condemned are executed.
Hey ! Is she crazy !
- She can't do that ! - Get away from here !
Stop that.
This isn't about you, Gabrielle.
If you're going to murder one, why not murder two ?
What's the difference ?
She's the only murderer here.
Not for long.
And she's no murderer !
Stop !
I was chosen by you all...
to bring justice to this village !
This is not it !
Get that old fool out of here !
Come on !
If you want blood now, you'll have to come through them.
And if you get through them, you'll have to kill me.
Peranis, justice will be done. I promise you.
Return her to her confinement.
Come on ! Move !
You may act as her advocate.
That was a pretty dumb thing you did back there.
Well, you would've done the same for me.
- That's different. - Why ? Because you're a warrior ?
Yeah, well, normal people like me
take chances to save their best friends, too, you know.
You don't get it, do you ?
They've got eyewitnesses who saw me standing there
with a bloody sword and nobody else around.
Which brings us to the subject of your defense.
Are you sure that none of the villagers
saw you fighting this mysterious hooded man ?
I'm sure.
Well, I'll just have to find some exonerating evidence.
That's it.
Benitar ! Benitar !
I can prove that there was someone else at the murder site,
and that Xena fought him.
What are you talking about ?
There are two sets of footprints face-to-face.
One is Xena's...
and the other is longer and wider.
They're definitely prints made by warrior boots.
Not the footwear of choice for humble villagers.
Show me.
It's right up here, over the hill.
The different footprints are toe-to-toe and they're are all over the place,
as footprints would tend to be after a sword fight.
This will definitely prove that Xena is innocent.
They're right here...
Where are they ?
I don't understand.
They were right here.
I hope you don't waste our time
with nonsense like this during the hearing.
And from your field, you could hear the sounds of the massacre ?
I heard men screaming.
I left my plow and ran towards the road.
That's when I recognized my husband's voice.
He was yelling 'No ! Please, no ! '
Then I heard him scream, too.
I was trying so hard to get there !
But, by the time I did get there, my husband and the others were dead.
And I saw her...
kneeling over Teracles, robbing him...
blood on her hands, blood on her sword,
and my husband's blood coloring the ground.
Your father and the others... had just been selling at the market.
That would mean that each of them would have money.
His purse was gone when they finally brought him to us.
My two little sisters were... eating supper.
You all say you heard the sounds of the massacre...
and that... is what drew you to the road.
Yes.
In addition to the voices, there were the sounds of the fight itself...
the swords clashing.
That's right.
But none of the men who died were carrying swords.
If you heard Xena fighting before you got there,
who was she fighting ?
She said that she fought with a hooded man,
and kept him from killing the one man who did survive.
And that is what you heard, isn't it ?
There was no hooded man,
there was only her.
By the time you got there, yes.
And... she was using her fine medical knowledge
to save that one survivor.
If she had killed all the others...
why would she save him ?
She was covered in blood, young lady,
- and so was her sword. - That's right !
Have you ever helped someone on your farm who was...
badly injured and bleeding ?
One time, yeah.
- Any of the blood get on you ? - Well of course... I was helping him.
Exactly my point.
You say the surviving man... Teracles ?...
he had his money scattered around in the dirt ?
If we hadn't gotten there quick as we did,
she'd've picked him clean, too.
then where's the money ?
If she had already robbed everybody else, where did she put the money ?
So she... threw away... to come back for it later... I don't know.
When the rest of you showed up, she could've killed you, too...
no witnesses.
Now, why didn't she do that ?
Hey, if she wasn't guilty, why'd she run away ?
Nobody here cares that she didn't kill anyone.
Nobody cares that she was only trying to help !
Nobody believes that she fought the real murderer !
All you care about is executing someone !
I'd've run away, too...
so would you.
There he is, now.
Quiet, everyone.
That's the man I tried to save.
Thank the gods.
Teracles, what happened ?
Attacked...
so quickly.
By whom ?
Who murdered our three neighbors and left you like this ?
I felt a sword strike me.
I fell.
Then the sword came down again.
The last thing I remember was...
that woman, standing over me...
my own blood covering her sword.
No ! Sir...
if I could just ask you just a couple of questions...
Stay away from him.
He already told you what happened, now leave him alone !
This hearing is finished. Leave the poor man alone.
The council will meet this evening,
I'll post my verdict in the morning.
Remove the accused.
Take her away !
- Let's go. - Sir...
may I have a word with your council ?
I'm glad now we can kill you.
We've got until tomorrow morning until we do kill you.
Meanwhile...
Palinios...
He was my best friend.
I'll tell you about the others you murdered...
one by one.
You almost let them drag you to death today.
And Doracles.
And now...
some unbearably smelly farmer is beating you half to death.
- And Areolis. - This is grotesque.
You above all should know
what grief can drive people to do.
I so hoped you'd call my name.
I think I almost did.
Now that's the important thing,
you did want my help.
I wanted to live, yes.
You want more than just living.
Danger excites you.
And as you know, I am somewhat dangerous.
Action and power draw you like a moth to a flame.
It burns inside you.
I burn inside you.
You can feel me there... like a fever.
Xena will never be answerable to these pathetic creatures...
not the Xena whose Army scorched the earth at will.
You are remembering it now...
the unfettered freedom of it.
You're Xena...
unstoppable...
unbeatable.
Now summon forth that super-mortal strength of yours.
Here... take this.
Once again, you could've escaped if you chose.
We don't understand you.
I realize now it doesn't matter whether I killed your friends or not.
I've done a lot worse in my time.
And I guess I'm capable of it again.
You saw what I did to my best friend.
As your friend argued before the council,
we can hold you answerable only for what you've done here.
Our verdict will be objective.
Hi.
I found Argo.
I'll wrap this rope around the bars, and we can pull them out of the wall.
How could you come back after what I did to you ?
What you did wasn't you, I know that.
I also know now that there's a big difference between
what justice is and what the law is.
I don't think we'd better wait around for justice.
No.
If I run now, I'll be running forever.
Well, it beats being dead.
You've got an idea.
Someone made me a better offer.
I need you to leave me alone for a while.
Okay.
I didn't mean that like it sounded.
I'm glad you came back.
Ares.
Somehow I felt I might hear my name.
If the verdict's guilty, they'll execute me in the morning.
I'd rather live.
But you won't merely live.
You'll make the world a better place by leading it our way.
It is a joy to have you back.
Well, I'm not back yet.
Only if they find me guilty.
I wouldn't've bothered killing those village fools
if I didn't know they would find you guilty.
You did all this... just to get me back.
I'm flattered.
Well, if I'm going to be your warrior again...
No, not just my warrior.
You'll be... the architect of a new world...
my kind of world...
where force of arms keeps the peace
and one great Warrior Queen rules.
You're irresistible.
But I suppose you already know that.
I'll have to have a new army.
Whatever you want, whom... ever you want...
the most legendary fighters in history if you'd like.
Hector ? Achilles ? Agamemnon ?
They're long gone.
I'm Ares, god of war.
For you... I'll bring them back and anyone else you desire.
Anyone ?
I just want to be sure of the deal.
Anyone you name.
As long as I have your word.
You have my word...
my pledge...
whatever you want.
It's almost time.
See you later, then.
The woman, Xena, having been found guilty...
of murdering the good and innocent men,
Palinios, Doracles, and Areolis, of this village...
will now, and publically...
pay the supreme penalty for her crimes.
'Guilty. '
You said I could have anyone I name.
I call on you to send forth the following protectors...
the good and innocent men of this village...
Palinios,
Doracles,
and Areolis.
Marvelously manipulated, my dear.
Areolis ?
Palinios ?
Dad ? Dad !
Nobody's even dead.
Nobody.
Everybody !
Hear me, my friends !
This brave and noble woman...
she was the last thing I saw...
battling a cowardly hooded man who attacked us.
She fought him for our lives, though we were total strangers.
Truly, I say she is the very soul of goodness.
And we thank her, with all our hearts.
Excuse me again, sir.
Not guilty,
charges dismissed.
Well played, my dear.
Your choice was totally wrong, of course, but...
even as an adversary, you are one of a kind.
I know my choice was the right one for me.
In that case...
until next time.
You coming back for me
really meant a lot after what I did to you.
I trust you.
I never thought for a moment you meant to hurt me.
Well, I owe you.
Thanks.
I owe you, too.
What was that ?
Paybacks for hitting me.
- Feel better ? - I think I broke my hand...
but, I do feel better.
Good...
so do I.
How did those guys come back from the dead ?
Well, ever hear of Ares ?
Until next time, Xena...
until next time.