---

[Xena and Grinhilda fall to the ground, cushioned by a few tree branches. Xena gets up from the snowy ground and retrieves her sword. She approaches a crawling Grinhilda and raises her sword to kill her, but decides to just knock her unconscious. She then flies off on her trusty flying steed.]

Brunnhilda: "So, now only the Rhine Maidens stood between Xena and the ultimate power …"

Maiden #1: "Sister, come join us. Our new friend is delightful. I think I love her." Maiden #2: "You fall in love too easily, sister." Maiden #3: "I love her, too." Maiden #1: "Be quiet. She's my friend." … [dives under the water and gooses Xena]

Maiden #1: [Xena whispers something in her ear] … "I can't show you that."
Xena: "Come on, just a peek."
Maiden #1: "It's strictly forbidden."
Xena: "Well, how can I be a Rhine Maiden if I don't see it."
Maiden #1: "You want to become a Rhine Maiden?"
Xena: "Sure. Then I can play with you all day."
Maiden #1: "Follow me."

[Xena and the Rhine Maiden swim into a small underwater cave.]

Xena: "Where is it? … [Xena finds and opens a small chest] … the Rheingold."
Maiden #1: "You mustn't touch it."
Xena: "Yes, I must."

Maiden #1: "Are you mad? The Rheingold will only bring about your destruction." Xena: "Only if I haven't forsaken love." Maiden #1: "Have you?" Xena: "Yah! … [elbows the poor little Rhine Maiden in the nose] … yep."

Brunnhilda: "A ring forged by the Rheingold would give Xena ultimate power. And once she put it on, she became invincible."
Gabrielle: "Xena wouldn't need a ring. She's a great fighter, probably the best."
Brunnhilda: "You love her very much, don't you?"
Gabrielle: "She's my best friend. I know her like I know my own heart."
Brunnhilda: "A friendship like that is something to be envied."
Gabrielle: "It has a price, like everything."
Brunnhilda: "A price you love paying."
Gabrielle: "Yeah."

Brunnhilda: "She feels the same?" Gabrielle: "I hope so." Brunnhilda: "She must. She must be on a very dangerous mission, otherwise, she wouldn't have left you behind." Gabrielle: "That's what her note said."

---

Beowulf: "You miss your friend, don't you?"
Xena: "Sure."
Beowulf: "She's very beautiful."
Xena: "Yes, she is."
Beowulf: "I only saw her the one time, but she seems very special. Who knows how I'd feel if I got to know her."
Xena: "Oh, you'd like her."
Beowulf: "Of course, neither one of us will live long enough to see her again, anyway."

Beowulf: "We'll be there soon." Xena: "Good." Beowulf: "The people up there think of you as a demon." Xena: "So they should."

---

Brunnhilda: "Can you think of any reason yet? Any reason she would have come north?"
Gabrielle: "No. Ever since that Beowulf came--"
Brunnhilda: "Beowulf?"
Gabrielle: "Yeah. He had this lock. It had two ravens on it."
Brunnhilda: "Two ravens?"
Gabrielle: "Yeah."
Brunnhilda: "Then I know why she came north, Gabrielle. She's on a suicide mission."

---

[Xena and Beowulf approach a farmhouse with dead bodies littering the ground.]

Beowulf: "Well, this is it … the end of the line."
Xena: "Stay strong, Gabrielle."

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