Gabrielle smiles and settles in to enjoy. The scene becomes hazy as we fade though various parts of the play. PUCK painted blue turns acrobatic tricks and the audience cheers and throws money. We PAN across Joxer who sits in the audience unseen by Gabrielle. TITANIA in silly diaphanous wings being regal. Gabrielle taking notes and stopping to laugh. BOTTOM entering with an ass's head. The audience practically falling over to throw more money except Joxer who finds this strangely disturbing. One man, in disguise, throws more money than the others. He is PRINCE INO we'll meet him later. The play comes to an end.

THE CAMERA SLOWLY ZOOMS FROM ITS PROFILE OF PUCK'S SOLILOQUY TO A WOODED CORNER OF THE HILL where there are hidden watchers. Bandits, waiting for the audience to leave so they can take the earnings.

The audience cheers and leaves, some stop to give the performers bread or fruit but all are quickly gone. Gabrielle approaches ROBIN.

No matter how sweet the sentiment is she can't help roughly shoving the head at him and turning away in disgust. All the actors have now given ROBIN the money they have been picking out of the grass. ROBIN deposits it all in a bag.

The bandits attack. There aren't many of them, maybe four or five and some are mounted. It's a standard bank job, one does the talking and the others are crowd control.

Bandit#3 elbows Joxer in the gut causing him to drop the ass's head squarely on top of his own, backwards. Joxer goes down all confusion and flailing limbs looking like an ass. A slightly Xena look crosses Gabrielle's face. As soon as the opportunity presents itself these losers are gonna get thumped.

Bandit#3 turns, leaving Joxer to stumble around ass backwards. As soon as Bandit#2's sword falls from Gabrielle's throat she catches him under the chin with her staff then sweeps his feet. Bandit#3 turns with sword already swinging but Joxer bumbles in the way and gets flat sided to the donkey head. Which gives us a goofy look as he goes down again.

Gabrielle places her foot on Bandit#2's neck to keep him down. Catches Bandit#3, who is still fowled in Joxer, in the crotch. He gives an "ooo right in the nuts" face and doubles over. She brains him double handed. The actors are amazed, the bandits are just trying to get away. Gabrielle turns and sees Bandit#1 mounting his horse and taking to the hills.

In a twinkling Gabrielle is sprinting across tabletops and wagons making a bee-line for Bandit#1. THE CAMERA DOLLY'S FAST NEXT TO HER; back drop supports, make-up mirrors, costume racks and amazed spectators all flash between us. At the end of her run Gabrielle uses her staff as a vaulting poll and we get Bandit#1's POV as she puts one boot in his chest and the other in his face. He hits the ground like so much metal wrapped spam with her still standing on his chest. She snags the bag of loot, which lies on the ground, with her toe and flips it to ROBIN.

He is beating on the already disabled Bandits#2 & 3. The asses head comes off as he flails.

She does and we see the crest of Euboea water marked in the paper.

Gabrielle grabs the inn keep by his collars.

Both retire to their rooms.

Sees no one and enters. There is a note on the bed which reads "Joxer; wait for me. Gabrielle"

He sits in a chair and THE CAMERA DOES ONE OF THOSE SAM RAIMI START ON THE PERSON PAN AROUND THE ROOM BACK TO THE PERSON shots. By the time we get back to Joxer he is asleep, mouth open, drool on his chin. THE CAMERA DOES THE PAN AGAIN and as we pass the door it opens. Joxer awakes from a dream with a start and a

Dissolve to.

Phineus dismounts, tips his hat to the WW and goes to the house. Gabrielle goes to the side yard of the house. A quick look left, right and she's over the hedge in a flurry of rags.

The wagon pulls away leaving Gabrielle to look at the coin in her hand. SEGUE

She decides the disguise is all wrong and starts again.

Gabrielle emerges as a priestess of Atheana. You know brainy, bookish, yet alluring. Atheana in the "Hercules" episode with Aphrodite and Aertimus in the beauty contest is the obvious reference point.

Phineus's wagon pulls up with the newlyweds. One of the drinking men rushes to help Harmonia down obviously looking for money. The second drinking man shoulders him out of the way, it looks like it might get rough. The tinker intervenes with an iron skillet and then everything goes to pieces. Clay steins over peoples heads, skillets in the gut, the woman selling poultry defends herself with rubber chickens. The wedding couple are surrounded. Gabrielle rushes in.

Joxer's POV, something happens to GABRIELLE but the crowd makes it unclear. She goes down with red stuff on her forehead. Joxer rushes in to "save her". Up to now everyone has been throwing fake punches so they are rather surprised when Joxer throws real ones. Most of the fight disperses. Phineus and Harmonia rush to the gate. Joxer slips Gabrielle's arm around his neck to stand her up and she tightens it to a head lock.

The tinker decides to get even for a cheap shot Joxer gave him. The frypan comes down with unerring accuracy and Joxer kisses the stones. The poultry woman cries out.

Phineus helps Gabrielle to her feet. Feigning wooziness Gabrielle looks down and sees Joxer out cold. Taking a stein from one of the drinking men Gabrielle "accidentally" spills it in Joxer's face. He sputters to consciousness with a

Phineus, Harmonia, and Gabrielle go inside. Joxer goes to the side of the house and bumbles his way through the hedge.

Phineus goes to the kitchen.

Crosses, opens the window and we hear Joxer get brained. Gabrielle covers by coughing.

Gabrielle gives the signal as soon as Phineus leaves the room.

Where the hell is that fire?! Joxer is still fumbling.

Inois looks like Ino and he's about ten years old. Gabrielle pieces this together quite quickly.

Inois obviously wants to stay and look at the priestess of Atheana. Phineus takes him by the shoulders and guides him out. As they are leaving Inois sniffs the "blood" on his fingers then licks it. Harmonia catches the following.

Suddenly the smoking brassier comes through the window. Joxer having finally succeeded in setting himself alight screams

and runs into the night with flaming hands and pant leg. Phineus leaves with the boy in tow ready to get his new family out of the supposedly burning house Harmonia opens a small hiding place in the wall. Once Gabrielle sees where the letters are hidden she says

Phineus re-enters for his wife.

Gabrielle looks at the hiding place but Phineus is still in the room.

As they walk away from us into darkness Joxer's bucket squeaks.

The players leave and Gabrielle sits thinking. It's not the problem that's bothering her though it's how she should go about solving it.

Gabrielle sits on the edge of the bed. Makes her decision and leaves.

Gabrielle looks down at a plate of what appear to be eggs sunny side up but the colour is all wrong and a bowl of ... well, gruel.

Gabrielle scoops an egg and stuffs it into Joxer's mouth.

Joxer receives another egg in the face.

Gabrielle goes to the hiding place and retrieves the letters. They are wrapped in a new letter. She opens it. Ino grabs the stack leaving GABRIELLE the new one. As Ino riffles the pile to make sure they're all there Gabrielle reads

Gabrielle gives the purse to Harmonia and the five of them continue down the road. When they are far in the distance.