ACT ONE

FADE IN:

INT. INN ROOM - A SHORT TIME LATER - NIGHT

The sound of the sea bell is now much louder, and the sound of the storm is also much louder.

Xena and Gabrielle ignore it.

It is dark in the room. As the bell continues to ring, it is joined by a much closer bell, one obviously in the town sounding an alarm.

XENA

(sighing)

Y'know....

GABRIELLE

(muttering)

We could just pretend

we don't hear it.

There is the sound of rustling, squeaking, and a vague sucking sound ending in a pop. The shutters to the room are thrown open, and a flare of lightning reveals Xena standing in the window, leaning out.

She is naked.

XENA

Some kind of trouble. The

whole damn town's out there.

Gabrielle joins Xena at the window. She is also naked.

GABRIELLE

I don't see any flooding.

What's the problem?

Xena looks at Gabrielle.

XENA

Guess we're gonna

go find out, huh?

Gabrielle gives a heartfelt sigh.

XENA

(cont’d)

Sooner we find out, sooner it gets

fixed, sooner we come back here.

GABRIELLE

Yeah, but in this weather....

XENA

We'll take another mud bath.

Xena slams the shutters.

GABRIELLE
(V.O.)

Remind me to get

that mud recipe.

CUT TO:

EXT. TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT - MINUTES LATER - NIGHT

The townsfolk are gathered around the town bell. They are obviously upset. Xena and Gabrielle join them on the fringe of the crowd.

INNKEEPER

My friends, my friends.... You heard

the alarm out there. We must go!

The people around him are clearly unwilling.

MAN

The sea's too high!

INNKEEPER

We must! We cannot

ignore the bell!

Xena pushes forward through the crowd and ends up in the middle of it, with Gabrielle at her heels.

XENA

What's going on here?

The crowd quiets, staring at them.

MAN

A stranger! Where did you

come from? Gaddus, you hid....

The innkeeper shoves the man.

INNKEEPER

Ah.... Ah, yes, yes, they arrived

just at sundown. Guests!

Guests of mine. At the inn.

Gabrielle frowns at the man's nervous speech.

GABRIELLE

But what's going on? What's

that bell we keep hearing?

The crowd closes in on them. Xena and Gabrielle turn and go back to back, sensing something is wrong.  Xena puts a hand on her sword hilt.

MAN

The bell? The bell.

(laughing)

The bell is our bane. It means

a ship is lost at sea.

GABRIELLE

That's terrible.

WOMAN

You know not what you say.

Gabrielle looks at the woman.

GABRIELLE

What?

INNKEEPER

(resignedly)

You see, it is our duty... our...

destiny to respond to any ship

that sounds its bell at sea. We must.

XENA

Very nice of you. So

what's the problem?

INNKEEPER

Ah... all our fishing fleet is out to...

ah... to see, you see, and so we

have one boat here, you see,

to go to sea in, but none of us....

The crowd mutters.

XENA

Knows how to sail.

MAN

Exactly.

(pausing)

But I bet you know how to,

don't you? You seem like

the kind that would.

Xena's eyebrows lift.  The storm intensifies. In the crashing of the waves nearby, they can hear the ship's bell again, this time it has an almost desperate sound to it.

XENA

Maybe. How do you know

the boat's in trouble?

GABRIELLE

Xena....

INNKEEPER

You can surely hear the bell

yourself. No ship would ring it

unless they were near to sinking.

They hear the bell again. The crowd is getting restless, and even more fearful.

GABRIELLE

Where's the boat?

Xena can sail anything.

Xena looks at Gabrielle, then rolls her eyes.

XENA

Sure I can. All right, we'll help.

The crowd seems utterly relieved. It is a strange reaction, and Gabrielle looks at them closely. The nearest men and women seem to sense this, and move away.

MAN

This way. Hurry.

(pointing)

Hurry.

They move towards the docks. The crowd follows.

CUT TO:

EXT TOWN DOCKS - NIGHT

Xena and Gabrielle are on the deck of a sturdy ship, with two big sails and coils of rope piled on the deck.

XENA

Looks like it'll stand up....

The men on shore cut them loose, and push the boat away from the docks. It starts to drift out to sea.

XENA

(cont’d)

Hey!

INNKEEPER

The bell! Listen!

The rain starts to pour down harder. Xena struggles to get the sail raised. Gabrielle helps her haul it up, and tie it off. The ship starts to move out away from the land.

XENA

Y'know, Gabrielle....

Gabrielle has been tying off all the rope ends she can find, and now joins Xena near the front of the boat. They shade their eyes from the storm.

GABRIELLE

There was something just

not right back there, right?

XENA

Right.

GABRIELLE

Maybe they're all just scared.

She holds her stomach as the boat rocks in the storm.

GABRIELLE

(cont’d)

Or maybe they're just all like me.

Xena has hold of the wheel. She steers into the wind.

XENA

Nah.

The boat heels over to one side. Xena grabs Gabrielle just as she's about to fly overboard, and pulls her close.

XENA

(cont’d)

You're one of kind.

Gabrielle grabs the wheel to keep herself steady. She peers into the rain.

GABRIELLE

Xena, how are we supposed to

find this ship when we can't even

see the front of our own boat?

The boat pitches up and down, even more violently.

XENA

You better go below.

This is gonna get ugly.

Gabrielle takes a firmer hold of the wheel.

GABRIELLE

It's this, or tossing my cookies. I'll

take this. Want to go up front?

Xena leaves the wheel in Gabrielle's hands and fights her way forward, disappearing into the thick rain and night.

GABRIELLE

(cont’d)

(under her breath)

Greater good, Gabrielle.

Greater good.

CUT TO:

EXT.SHIP - NIGHT - FORWARD

Xena stands on the bow, holding tight to the ship's railing. She leans forward, seeing something in the storm.

XENA

(yelling)

Over there! Steer to starboard!

CUT TO:

EXT. SHIP - NIGHT - WHEEL

GABRIELLE

Starboard? Where the

Hades does she see stars?

(yelling)

Xena! Left or right?!?

CUT TO:

EXT. SHIP - NIGHT - FORWARD

Xena hears the bell, louder now.

XENA

Right!

CUT TO:

EXT. SHIP - NIGHT - WHEEL

Gabrielle turns the wheel, ducking as the sail boom comes over her head. Xena slips under the boom at the very last second and rejoins her.

XENA

Saw a lantern. Over there.

(pointing)

Must be the ship.

Gabrielle strains to look through the rain. She shakes her head after a moment.

GABRIELLE

If you say so. Here. You take this.

I'll see what we can use to help them out.

Xena takes the wheel. Gabrielle starts to search around the ship, holding on as the storm pitches them up and down. The rain washes across the deck, and the thunder sounds almost continuously.

Lightning flares.

XENA

There! Look!

Gabrielle lifts a coil of rope, then stares not at what Xena has found, but at her feet.

GABRIELLE

Xena!

XENA

There it is! Gabrielle!

Gabrielle turns and is thrown across the deck, colliding with Xena. Another lightning flash lights up the sea, revealing a huge ship directly in front of them, with tattered sails.

GABRIELLE

Xena, the ship has a leak!

XENA

That one? Sure it does!

GABRIELLE

THIS one!

(pointing)

And there's nothing here

but some old rope!

Xena starts to go look, then suddenly the ship pitches up, and wheels directly for the bigger vessel, the sails shredding in the fierce wind that has suddenly risen.

XENA

Hang on! Gabrielle!

Gabrielle!!!!!

Gabrielle grabs hold of the wheel, and Xena's arm, just as the sea lifts the bigger boat up on a giant wave and sends it crashing down on top of them.

GABRIELLE

Xena!!!!!!!!!

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT ONE

ACT TWO