"And hope was lost." "And that's when Meleager appeared, and crushed Damon's troups." "Did I mention the part where Meleager" "Single-handedly hauls a war-wagon full of Spartan javelins over twenty leagues of rocky road?" "Yeah!" "The way you build him up, his head must be in the clouds." "It's not as if I'm making it up." "He is a hero in the truest sense of the word." "It doesn't bother you, does it?" "Oh, it doesn't me." "Well, you should hear me tell stories about you." "Then I really get going." "You know, I wonder what he's into here." "All his message said was," "'Come quick.'" "Excuse me; excuse me, sir." "Sorry, I can't talk." "I gotta get to court." "Let's try in there." "A tavern?" "Xena, that is the last place we would find Meleager." "I did mention his you know-- small drinking problem." "Yes, but he conquered it just in time to save your village." "Yes, he did." "And think about how much strength that took." "It's a hard habit to break." "I've seen men ruined by liquor." "Well, I don't like to mention that part." "It's kind of personal-- even for Meleager the Mighty." "Meleager, huh?" "Excuse me, we're looking for a friend." "Meleager's your friend?" "He must be your friend, too." "I'm sure you make toasts to him all the time, right?" "Toast this!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "I said we're friends of Meleager!" "I think they've got that, Gabrielle!" "Nice friendly little town." "If you're here because of Meleager, you're too late!" "Late?" "Late for what?" "Why do I get the feeling that's Meleager?" "Gabrielle, I knew you'd come" "Of course, I could've used you before the verdict came in." "Wait a minute." "This is a terrible misunderstanding" " Sir?" "Your Honor?" "The name is Arbus, Judge Arbus." "Arbus?" "I've heard of you." "You're known as a just and fair man." "Thank you" "And who are you to the prisoner, young lady?" "A friend" "Whatever he did," "I'm sure he didn't do it." "Mmmm." "Consider this!" "When we doubt that heroes exist in this world, who do the optimists name?" "Hercules, Meleager." "This is a legend in his own time." "The man who slew 100 warriors at the evil Doll's Can 3 hundred and 17 at the rogue Ligurias." "Actually, it was, uh," "Ligurias that had the 100, all in the course of, uh, defending innocent lives-- naturally." "The point being that this is a very good man-- and a hero." "And I, for one, would swear by him." "A very moving testament,young lady." "But I cannot allow justice to be swayed by the heart." "The prisoner has been found guilty of cold-blooded murder;" "the sentence to be carried out in one turn of the sand glass." "And the sentence-- is death!" "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.." "Check the gates." "the noose." "Secure the roap!" "It couldn't have been a fair trial." "If there had been any real discussion" "There's only one real discussion" "Whether to hang me, behead me, or tear me limb from limb in the public square." "They didn't have a blade big enough;" "the square wasn't wide enough;" "so hanging wins." "Lucky me." "Don't even think it." "You're innocent, right?" "Of course I'm innocent, Gabrielle." "This trial was fixed." "You heard him; he's innocent." "Apparently, your friend doesn't know me at all." "No, but I know Gabrielle." "And even judges make mistakes." "So tell us what happened." "Who got killed?" "Some guy I never even met before, by the name of Kalaman." "It was last winter." "I had already left town when it happened." "I mean, I wasn't even here at the time." "I passed through again recently;" "Arbus had me arrested." "Suddenly, I'm center stage at an inquisition!" "This Arbus sounds like the 'hang him first, ask questions later' type." "Not from what I've heard." "Arbus tried Volkur the Vicious." "The people just wanted to tear him apart, but Arbus insisted on a fair trial with lawful evidence." "From what I've hear, he's not someone who rushes to judgment." "Maybe" "You know how things get distorted, blown out of proportion." "What happened to Vulkur-- acquittal?" "I'll go talk to Arbus." "Yeah, you do that." "So, what have you been doing with yourself?" "Oh, this and that" "Saving villages;" "defending the helpless;" "getting convicted of murder." "Meleager's murder weapon-- right here!" "An actual reproduction of the possible murder weapon, that was never found!" "Here you go, little lady-- the perfect souvenir for the occasion!" "I'm not a little lady." "Oh, point taken, point taken." "But these, um, these, um, weapons and wooden toys-- they're but a great keepsake!" "Hey, move it down!" "Hey!" "I'm not missing this." "A lovely day for an execution, don't you think?" "If you wanted a front-row seat, you should've gotten here earlier!" " Oh, yeah?" " Yeah!" "The execution of Meleager is for everyone, not just you early-birds!" "I come when I want." "Now hush!" "I got knitting to do!" "Quiet!" "We've been waiting--!" "I said, 'Quiet!" "'" "Now, listen to me, and listen good." "This is an execution, not a public spectacle!" "A man is going to die here today!" "And I will not have that cheapened by this kind of behavior!" "Any more of this!" "the execution will take place behind locked doors!" "Some people have some pretty sick ideas of entertainment." "Sadly, that can't be helped." "It has nothing to do with the reason I ordered this." "If justice is to mean anything, the people must see it in action." "I missed the trial, but I have heard of Meleager's reputation." "He's not known as a murderer." "Mistakes get made." "I'm sure even someone as respected as you can agree that." "You know my reputation as well, then." "Just as I know yours, Xena." "I guess formal introductions are out." "I'd heard you'd changed your ways, looking to amend your past." "All well and good;" "but I could still call you to judgment for past crimes." "But not without proper evidence and witnesses That's the law." "Which brings us back to Meleager" "A man with no past crimes against his name." "One is all it takes." "Believe me, the eye-witness testimony was compelling." "Someone saw him do it?" "Rena, come here." "Tell her what you saw that night." "Well, it was late." "Our mare was near giving birth, dear thing." "And I was hurrying towards the stable and" "I saw it in his hand" "It was covered in blood." "I'm sorry another man's gonna die, but that's what I saw." "I gotta get back to my seat, if that's OK?" "You told the truth , Rena." "You can be proud" " Go now." "Sometimes, the truth can be a heavy burden." "Yes, it can." "Xena, I know what we have to do." "Now, Meleager was camping with a guy when the murder happened." "He's some hermit." "He has one eye." "Meleager's eye-witness is a Cyclops?" "He's not a Cyclops;" "he's just a one-eyed guy." "It can't" "Sounds like a wild goose chase." "What?" "Maybe you should think about spending the time between now and tomorrow with Meleager." "You think he's guilty?" "I don't think he's being completely honest with you." "Gabrielle, Gabrielle, Ga" "Hello, it's me again." "What's in the cart?" "Your Warrior Princess friend?" "This is Meleager's last meal." "Do you think it's enough?" "Oh, Mmmm!" "Smells like I've died and gone to Elysia already" "Uh, bring it here!" "Wait!" "Boys, it's our job to sample everything." "ha-ha-ha." "What do you know?" "Something to wash it all down." "You brought me wine?" "I had a feeling it would never touch those lips." "What goes with lamb?" "White or red?" "It's bad enough that I'm gonna die, but my last meal's disappearing before my eyes." "Just hang in there" " Oh, sorry." "A little kabob, chicken schwarma, in just the right mix." "You add a little wine" "Puts 'em out every time." "Go!" "You find that one-eyed man and clear yourself." "Gabrielle, you're gonna have to leave town." "These guys are not gonna be happy." "Don't worry about me" " Go!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Get your hands off me!" "Quit pulling me!" "Let her go!" "Get back!" "Get back!" "Enough!" "Enough!" "There will be no lynching here!" "Meleager is innocent!" "He's gone to find someone who'll prove it!" "He had every chance to prove it, young lady!" "Now, I intend to hold you responsible for his escape!" "I'll bring him back." "No, Xena!" "But, she comes with me!" "She let him go!" "Very well!" "I'll trust you, Xena." "But even I can't hold this town back forever." "I'll have to send men out if you don't return!" "Go!" "Go!" "He's headed north that makes sense." "The Gauls won't care what his crimes are." "Xena, you've got to give him a chance." "Please, I'm begging you." "Don't make this more difficult than it already is." "I don't wanna bring him back, but I have to!" "He is an innocent man." "You don't know that!" "I do have some questions I wanna ask Arbus, but first things first, and that means getting Meleager back." "His running won't help his case any." "Neither will his hanging." "Meleager, run!" "Into the woods!" "Hurry!" "No!" "You're gonna have to go through me to get to him!" "Don't do this, Gabrielle." "Let's just walk away." "We never even came to this part of the country." "If Meleager is guilty, and I let him escape justice" "He is not guilty!" "Meleager!" "Give it up, Meleager!" "Xena!" "No!" "Run, Meleager!" "Run!" "I'm closing in on you, Meleager!" "I'll not use a sword on you, Xena." "But I can't let you stop me." "Well, I can't let you get away." "Xena!" "Xena!" "You are so good!" "As good as I was once." "But you can't stack youth and ambition against age and experience." "Oh, I have experience, too." "Xena!" "I'm not going back." "Well, if not, it's Gabrielle who'll pay." "Arbus will hound her forever for freeing you." "Is that what you want?" "No!" "I won't let you do this." "Gabrielle." "She's not taking you anywhere." "Gabrielle, listen." "If I have to go in your place, I will." "Gabrielle, stop!" "Stop it!" "There is no one-eyed man." "I ran because I'm guilty." "I killed that man, just as they said." "Everything's a blur" "I can't remember details because" "I was--drunk at the time." "Drunk?" "He must have thought I was trying to rob him." "He came at me." "After I saw the lady, I ran." "I held onto the sword-- I didn't even drop it." "You can take me back." "I won't give you any more trouble." "It's late." "We'll camp here and head back in the morning." "I didn't want you to know I started drinking again." "I thought I could handle just one." "Then it was another and another." "I thought I" "Xena, you tell Gabrielle I'm sorry." "You should tell her yourself." "I tried, but she never wants to hear from me again." "I can't blame her." "I really screwed up when I lied to her." "Which lie?" "The one about the drinking, or the one about the killing?" "I deserve that." "But I betrayed her faith and turned her against you-- her best friend." "Hanging's too good for me." "Out of curiosity, how did those simple villagers catch you anyway?" "Were you drunk then?" "No, I haven't touched a drop since that night." "No, to fight my way free," "I would have hurt some innocent people." "They were only doing what they thought was right." "Argo's fed, watered, and so brushed she shines." "I'm keeping busy." "Keeping away from Meleager, you mean." "He needs a friend now more than ever." "Friends don't lie." "You were right;" "he wasn't being honest." "I'm sorry for not believing you." "That's not an issue." "You and I have plenty of time to talk about it, but Meleager's not that lucky." "Besides, I can't help wandering if you're more angry at him or yourself." "You put people on a pedestal." "Sooner or later, they're gonna fall, and your expectations fall with them." "I put people on a pedestal?" "Meleager's made his mistakes drunk and sober." "Tomorrow he might have to pay for one-- at least talk to him." "If you don't, you'll regret it." "You don't deserve that guilt." "Meleager, when you saw Kalaman get off his horse, did he look all right?" "Yeah, I guess so, I don't know." "It's hard to remember." "But, I think he stumbled a bit." "But if you're asking me whether he fell on his sword, I wish I could say yes." "That witness wasn't wrong about what she saw." "But, she didn't actually see you kill Kalaman." "The bloody sword was in my hand, so, I would say that was the tipoff." "Well, someone told me it was never found;" "what happened to it?" "Next morning, I woke up in a cave with it beside me." "I don't know why I held onto it." "It was a clumsy skull encrusted monstrosity." "Kalaman was a big man, burly Butt-ugly in a good light?" "Yeah, you knew the guy?" "Whoa!" "Nice catch!" "Gabrielle, get down!" "Second round!" "Meleager, don't move!" "You dropped these!" "Let me go!" "I'm supposed to bring Meleager in!" "Dead or alive?" "More dead than alive, apparently?" "Long arm of the law, I take it?" "An execution's an execution, whether it takes place here or in town!" "I'm within my rights!" "You tell Arbus that I said I would bring Meleager in." "Let's go." "Excuse me if I have mixed feelings at the moment, but, you just saved me from an execution to take me back for my execution?" "I'm not taking you back not yet." "Where are we going?" "Meleager's cave." "Why?" "I wanna see that sword." "There it is-- right where I left it." "Xena, if you bring it back, it'll be more evidence against Meleager." "No it won't." "Because now I know you're innocent." "You didn't kill that man." "I did." "It was last winter when Gabrielle was at the Athens Academy." "On the road outside Quellmire" "I saw this Kalaman attacking an unarmed man." "We fought." "When it was all over, he'd taken his own sword right through his chest." "His horse must have headed instinctively back to the stable, where Meleager and the witness lady crossed paths with him." "I was at the stable earlier, and I noticed some dried blood on a saddle, but I didn't think anything about it until you told your story." "Nobody could have suspected that he was already dying at my hand." "Gabrielle, I wasn't lying;" "at least I didn't know I wasn't lying." "I am innocent." "How are we going to prove this to Judge Arbus?" "The little guy that Kalaman was trying to kill could prove it." "He was scared witless and kept raving about some more assassins coming after him." "Why would he be a target?" "Ah, he wouldn't say." "I told him about a hiding place my men used to use." "You think he's still there?" "There's one way to find out." "You two stay here." "Once I have him, I'll bring him back to Arbus." "I thought Xena was a woman of her word." "Now, it looks as though she's siding with Meleager." "I tried!" "But she's just too, too, Xena!" "I believe someone here sent for me." "Ah, the executioner." "Welcome, welcome." "There's been ay, uh, a slight delay." "So, there's no point in getting ready just yet." "Why don't you go change into some comfortable clothes?" "I'll-- call for you when we're ready." "These are my comfortable clothes." "I'll be at the inn." "Gather the men.This time, I'll lead them myself." "I will make sure that justice is carried out." "This is where they left me." "This is the place." "There's the rope I told you about." "This way!" "Go away!" "I'm not going to hurt you." "Remember me?" "I saved you from that assassin." "How do I know you haven't taken the job for yourself?" "'Cause if I had, you'd already be dead." "I see you've made yourself quite at home." "No choice." "I figure I'm safer here." "That man must think I'm dead, still." "And that's why he didn't send another assassin." "Who?" "Who thinks you're" "Who?" "!" "The power-hungry hypocrite who pretends he's a man of justice." "But I know the truth." "Judge Arbus?" "Judge Arbus" "Builds his career on the Volkur case." "But here's the kicker." "It wasn't Volkur." "Arbus executed an innocent man-- and he knew it-- all for his reputation." "Don't go outside." "When Xena says to stay put, she means right where she left us." "I don't think anyone saw me." "As long as you're scribing," "I'd like to dictate my last will and testament." "Don't be silly." "I'm not being silly" "Do it; write it." "These are my belongings." "Everything in the world" "I own is in here-- mostly just trinkets given to me by villagers for saving their lives." "Small things-- hah-hah." "It doesn't matter how valuable they are, as long as it's priceless to you." "Besides,you wouldn't have carried it all around with you." "You're right" "They are priceless to me." "OK." "I,Meleager the Mighty," " bequeath all these my worldy" " Slow down." "Priceless possessions to my family" "To you.You're the closest thing to a daughter" "I've ever known, Gabrielle." "Anyway,just write it down." "Good, that's done." "Did you hear something?" "Nah, that couldn't be Xena already." "Meleager, Gabrielle?" "Whoa!" "Someone had a heck of a party in here!" "Arbus" "He's got them" "How much longer?" "Over here!" "Come on, we don't have time." "No, no" " No way!" "I'm not going back." "Well, if you don't, some innocent people are going to die!" "I thought you were taking me to Athens, or someplace to testify." "But you're going back there!" "No way." "Arbus owns that town." "Arbus is that town." "Postpone the execution." "Xena is on her way here with proof that Meleager didn't do it!" "I'm sorry." "He was found guilty, and the people demand justice." "This isn't about justice." "If it were, you would wait." "Say your goodbyes." "You don't have much time." "Post archers on every gate and parapet." "If Xena show, kill her!" "You heard Judge Arbus, come on!" "Xena will get here, you'll see." "Arbus will hang us both." "It's best she doesn't get here." "Look, Gabrielle, when the time comes, don't look outside." "I have to." "I want you to look at me." "I want the last face that you to see in this world to be a friend." "If you give us any more trouble, we'll settle this now." "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction." "Let's go!" "No!" "There he is!" "Make him pay!" "You deserve it!" "Executioner!" "It's time!" "Clear the gate." "The gate is clear." "What about Xena and the girl?" "Tell the archers to stay at their posts." "We'll try the girl for setting Meleager free in the morning." "Go now." "Cause of death:" "Justice." "Is that what you said about Volkur the Vicious?" "Who's there?" "Who's there?" "You're dead!" "You've crossed to the other side!" "The guilty can never escape the dead, Arbus." "This will never end for you, unless you confess you killed an innocent man." "I don't care how many innocent people die." "If I pass judgment, that makes it right!" "You, do your job, kill him!" "I never did the first time." "I don't understand." "I saw him hanged." "I saw the executioner do it!" "Don't believe everything you see." "Clear the gate." "The gate is clear." "Fortunately, Meleager catches on quick." "Not that quick" " Rope burn." "Oh." "I gave you all what you wanted-- law and order!" "Without me, you are sheep!" "All of you!" "Lawlessness will rein!" "Anarchy!" "Come now, Judge Arbus." "For your last official act, you're gonna pardon a friend of ours." "Gabrielle." "You're too late." "For what, what did I miss?" "You're alive!" "You made me think you were dead!" "Well, I practically was." "Xena, that was close." "Yeah, well I'm sorry." "We had no time to warn you,Gabrielle." "See you guys." "Bye, Meleager." "When I'm that age," "I hope I'm knitting socks." "Ah, don't worry about it." "People in our line of work never get to be that age." "That's a comforting thought." "manu2005"