From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   5-22    Motherhood   
      
   (aka  "Twilight of the Gods")   
      
      
      
   First aired on May 15, 2000.   
      
   The final story of Season Five starts with Eve stumbling through the desert in   
   rags. Xena and   
   Gabrielle are on a sand dune looking down at her after catching up to her.   
   Gabrielle says she   
   doesn't think she wants help her because she killed Joxer. But after Xena says   
   she was lucky   
   because she found Gabrielle, Gabrielle changes her mind.   
      
   On Mt. Olympus, the gods are angry at Ares for not telling them Eve was alive.   
   (In attendance are   
   Ares, Athena, Hades, Artemis, Discord, Deimos Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.)   
   Athena calls the Furies.   
   Ares says he already tried using them to get rid of Xena but Athena says her   
   plan is more subtle.   
   Aphrodite whispers to Athena if she can leave Gabrielle out of it. Athena   
   tells her not to watch.   
      
   Back in the desert Xena throws her Chakram at Eve, but just before it hits   
   her, it splits and   
   deflects two spears thrown at her. A bunch of men on foot and horseback ride   
   down on Eve. Xena and   
   Gabrielle run down to protect her. They fight while Eve remains kneeling in   
   the sand. Suddenly Eve   
   is lassoed, and the Eve-Drag is on. Xena throws her Chakram to cut the rope,   
   but Eve catches (death   
   wish). Xena mounts up and catches the guy and knocks him off the horse and Eve   
   is saved.   
      
   After the fight, Xena gives Eve water while the Furies whisper to Gabrielle   
   that Eve will break   
   Xena's heart and the were be no peace until she's dead. Fury Alecto says she   
   killed Joxer, and who   
   will her next victim be?   
      
   An old woman comes up and, after telling them Xena is known as the defender of   
   the faith (of Eli),   
   offers them shelter in her home. Gabrielle is telling the followers that Eli   
   was just a man who   
   taught that everything can be saved by love. Eve tells them about the horrible   
   things she's done -   
   wiped out villages that wouldn't pay her tribute, and drank the blood of men   
   she killed.   
      
   Xena asks about the initiation Eli used on sinners. The old woman says there   
   is a man they call the   
   Baptist.  They find him in a river baptizing a man. He sees Eve and beckons   
   her to him. While he is   
   baptizing her, and shaft of fire comes down from the heavens to Xena, It has   
   Michael, the   
   Archangel's face. Xena says he's ready. Alecto whispers to Gabrielle that Xena   
   is setting herself   
   up to get hurt again.   
      
             Suddenly, Poseidon rises out of the ocean. They start to run way,   
   but many of the gods   
   appear on the other side. Fireballs are thrown. Xena deflects one of them and   
   Poseidon evaporates   
   and dies. In a rage, Discord attacks Xena and Xena decapitates her.   
      
             Hephaestus throws his axe at Xena, but she ends up killing him with   
   it. Mt Olympus   
   shakes, Ares looks worried. Athena realizes Xena can kill gods. She is pissed   
   at the other gods for   
   not letting the Furies work her plan. Ares says Xena needs a distraction, and   
   volunteers.   
      
             Xena explains to Gabrielle that while Eve was being baptized,   
   Archangel Michael came to   
   her and told her Eve would prepare the way for the rule of the god of love and   
   she was her   
   protector. And as long as Eve lives, she can kill gods. Eve is confused. She   
   said one burden was   
   lifted and was replaced by one just as frightening. Xena tells her she needs   
   to face someone she   
   wronged.   
      
             They arrive at Joxer and Meg's tavern. Virgil is writing on a   
   scroll. He sees them ride   
   up, but when he sees Eve, he tries to kill her but Xena won't let him. Eve   
   says if her death would   
   bring back Joxer, she'd gladly die. He says he never saw Joxer do or say a   
   mean thing to anyone and   
   Eve killed him. He tells Gabrielle that Meg was mad with grief and took his   
   brothers and sisters to   
   Athens.  He leaves to join them.   
      
             Inside the tavern, Eve has Gabrielle's scrolls. She goes to another   
   room to read them. It   
   is storming and Xena looks out a window and sees Ares. She tells Gabrielle to   
   watch the back and   
   runs out to confront him.   
      
             Young Joxer's ghost appears to Gabrielle. He says she shouldn't have   
   let Eve kill him.   
   Gabrielle says he didn't let her. Hope appears and says Xena's making a   
   mistake trying to save Eve,   
   just like Gabrielle made one when she didn't kill Hope when she had the   
   chance. Hope says Eve must   
   die to stop the cycle of violence.   
      
             Xena has her sword at Ares' neck. He says she won't kill him because   
   he loves her. Xena   
   is suspicious.   
      
             Gabrielle is standing behind Eve while Hope urges her over and over   
   to kill her.   
   Gabrielle slowly takes out one of her sais and raises it over her head with   
   both hands. Xena   
   realizes Ares is a decoy and runs back into the tavern just in time to see   
   Gabrielle stab Eve. In a   
   panic, she throws her Chakram and hits Gabrielle in the back of her head with   
   it. She catches the   
   bloody Chakram, then realizes what she did. Xena runs to Eve to check on her,   
   then sees to   
   Gabrielle. Xena realizes the Furies were behind it.   
      
             On Mt Olympus, Athena asks Ares how Xena was able to stop Gabrielle.   
   She says they now   
   will launch a full-scale attack.   
      
             In the tavern Athena tells Xena it's four against one but Xena isn't   
   worried. They start   
   fighting. Fireballs are thrown. Xena turns over a table to hide behind. She   
   throws her Chakram and   
   it ricochets over and over keeping the gods ducking away.   
      
             Aphrodite appears next to Gabrielle, dressed in black. Xena pulls a   
   knife but she tells   
   her she just wants to help. She teleports Gabrielle to another room away from   
   the fighting.   
      
    Hades gathers a large fireball to blast Eve but Xena spits wine over a torch   
   and he burns up and   
   dies.  Xena gets Eve into the room with Gabrielle and Aphrodite and tells   
   Aphrodite to take care of   
   her. Aphrodite looks over at Eve.   
      
   A fireball explosion raises a large table and it lands on Deimos and he dies.   
   Athena disappears.   
      
   Ares appears next to Eve, draws his sword and starts to kill her, but Xena   
   throws her Chakram and   
   knocks the sword from his hand. Then the Chakram slices his leg and he   
   disappears.   
      
             Xena drags Gabrielle out of the burning tavern by the arm while   
   half-way carrying Eve.   
   Aphrodite appears and says things are so sad. Xena tells her to cure   
   Gabrielle. She says gods can't   
   cure without Athena's blessing, which won't happen. Xena tells her to take   
   them to Mt. Olympus, she   
   has a deal for Athena. Aphrodite does. Xena tells her to leave before things   
   get ugly. Aphrodite   
   says goodbye to Gabrielle and Xena thanks her.   
      
             Ares confronts Xena, who is carrying Hephaestus' chains and a   
   crossbow. He says they will   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)