It's been a while since I've messed with this story, I uploaded the first chapter and then life decided to flick the finger at me and have me unable to finish it. However, I have found my way back and will set to finishing this project since it is something that is dear to me. Please review and I will set to bringing up chapter two as soon as possible.
Allons-y!
It had taken years to gain the reward she wanted. Friends and enemies alike had been made and equally they had died by either natural or brutal means. Countless battles for the good of mankind against warlords, gods, and the like were fought and defeated but never was the final prize within reach. Always was it hanging just at the tips of her fingers like wisps of smoke. Until finally, a discovery was made that she knew she could not pass up. It was what she wanted ever since the darkness failed to have complete control of her anymore. The sacrifice was well enough: denying the temptation to be brought back to life again and spend the rest of her mortal life with her soul mate to save the thousands that had died because of a decision she made. An accident, but a consequence all the same. A final act to bring about the redemption she had sought after for so many years; a trade that would ease the burden off her shoulders in similarity to Atlas carrying the weight of the heavens. Being soul mates, wouldn't reincarnation occur like they had been told and eventually meet again? However, as Atlas was deceived and made to bear his punishment again the death of a mighty warrior seemed to have fallen upon a similar path. The ache of guilt clutched her heart; the screams of countless people rang in her ears, the yearning to be held by a loved one continued to gnaw at her until she fell to her knees in weakness and confusion. This was not what she had expected to be part of the deal.
In fact, none of this was what she was expecting. Blue eyes were forced open in order to gain a look at her surroundings. Whether her eyes were closed or not seemed to make no difference for darkness enveloped her either way. The screaming never stopped, though, and the raven haired woman tried in vain to cancel them out with her hands. She even bellowed out a yell herself to tell them to silence but to no avail. These cries were those of torment and suffering and they would never end. Whatever happened to redemption? Was this a final test? A final punishment? Not that she would have not gladly (in a supposed masochistic fashion as said by previous blonde acquaintance) received and endured it; the failure of warning was what caught her off guard and perplexed the fallen warrior. She called out again, this time questioning the whereabouts of the one who told her that this would be for the 'greater good'.
And still, there was no word. Of course, not counting the strangled yelps for help coming from unidentified sources. Knowing that the situation was not going to get any better by just clutching her ears and hoping things would grow quiet, the tall Greek stood with her hands still blocking out a fragment of the noise and slowly shuffled forward in the dark. Feet came in contact with peculiar items here and there and once she could have sworn something had scurried past and brushed with rough, soaked fur against her leg. What was this place, for the love of any gods that still existed?
Then, something grabbed a hold of her shoulder but the contact was not entirely noticed for just then the voices disappeared. The ringing in her skull did not, however, extending the duration of the oblivious state until she felt something warm still gripping her causing the woman to nearly fall from the momentum of the spin she did to try and see who had dared to lay a finger upon her. It was far from the usual grace she carried but that was a worry for another time. Suddenly, and liked she might have remembered Eli so many years ago utter about his heaven dwelling god, there was light that descended upon the darkness. Not bright or magnificent like the flashy angels, but indeed enough to force her to close her eyes from the sudden pain of having to adjust. Rubbing her eyes and counting to ten, she opened them slowly again and saw a woman standing nonchalantly about five paces in front of her now. The slender figure seemed bored, looking around the dank and dark environment like she might have when inspecting a sloppy soldier's tent. She was unrecognizable whoever she was, with short black hair and mischievous green eyes.
Green eyes…
A flash went through head as a memory slammed against her skull causing her to drop to one knee unexpectedly. Trees…the smell of salt…someone laughing and smiling but speaking gibberish. Or perhaps she had lost the ability to understand anything. The face…by the gods it made her want to utter a cry. It was so familiar, it stirred such a flame within her very soul and yet she was unable to put a name to it. She relished the sight and the voice and could see the stranger writing while she spoke, sometimes even bringing the quill up to gently brush the blonde's face while she thought of what to put down on the parchment next. It was as if she was noticing for the first time how extraordinary this scene was until everything went dark again and all the brunette could see was the peculiar woman.
"Having fun here?" The silken voice questioned, green eyes giving an amused look.
"A fantastic time, actually... Now can you tell me what 'here' is? Or better yet, who you are?" Her own voice was scratchy as if sick and it pained her. Holding a hand to her throat she felt an odd scar around her neck, as if he throat had been scratched with a knife.
"You'll have some discomfort in talking or swallowing for a bit. Comes with the whole head being lopped off." The woman said as she reached over to a wall and touched it, examined her fingers, then flicked the dust off. After seeing a perplexed look aimed her way she sighed. "Right now, you are in a pretty shitty place. I guess you were expecting some sort of Elysian Fields?"
"Expecting, yes. I thought I redeemed myself. Wasn't that the whole purpose of my death?" Feeling more confident that she wouldn't receive another flash of memory, she stood up fully. Laughter met her ears and she cringed, still sensitive to loud noise after all the screaming.
"Honey, you don't even remember how you died. I saw how you looked at me when I mentioned your decapitation. How could you have been redeemed? Besides, if this is your version of heaven then you are pretty screwed up. Tell me, do you even remember your name?" The woman walked up to her, much closer than she liked and completely invaded her personal space. The warrior backed up while trying to come up with answers for this woman but realized she had none. No, she didn't know she died by having her head cut off. All she knew was that she had died to save souls she had killed…and that it took her a lot of pain and grief to get to this place. And by the gods, what in Tartarus was her name?
"Xena, darling. It's Xena." Came with answer with an exasperated sigh. "It looks like the blood was gone from your brain a little bit too long. Looks like I won't be able to have any fun until you start getting those memories back. Now let's see…what would be the best way…and where to start, hmm? Tell me, what's the first thing you remember?" The short haired woman tapped Xena on the head, causing the tall woman to growl in irritation.
"What I do remember is the fact you still have failed to give me a name."
"Oh, how rude of me, eh? Iva. Pleasure to meet the famed Warrior Princess."
"Warrior Princess? You're kidding me, right?" Xena asked, looking at her incredulously. More laughter emanated from Iva.
"My, my. You have a lot to remember, Princess. Come on, let's get started on the story of your life. I'm sure you want to remember everything right?"
"I'd actually like to know why I'm here."
"All in due time, Princess. First you need to recover your memories to fully understand why you are here. If I explained everything now you'd just be asking more and more questions and not believing anything I told you after a certain point despite anything I say being the truth. To avoid that frustration, let's just get that old thinker of yours working right."
"And what's your interest in me?" Xena watched Iva warily, the shorter woman walking slowly around her.
"As said before, all in due time. Now, I'm pretty sure you were curious as to where you were. I was right in saying it's a shitty place, why don't I give you a partial tour?" A grin was flashed and Xena grew a bit unnerved by it but felt a slender hand grab her wrist and pull her into the darkness. "Oh come on, Princess, stop giving me that look. Would you rather go with me or hear that beautiful chorus you were trying to block out earlier? There, that's a better face."
Without another word Iva left, the dim light following her. Now that Xena had a chance to examine it, it was like a grey flame that followed the woman and light up her path which was probably convenient but made the raven haired fighter wonder if that was from Iva's own abilities or a useful item born of this world. Deciding that her questions wouldn't be answered to full satisfaction, she merely followed quickly. Looking about now that she had a chance, she could see that she was in some type of dungeon like setting: broken stone walls and dirt covered floors along with a chill of the earth. Though if she had been decapitated she very much doubted she was anywhere on Gaia. Bringing her fingers to brush along her neck again, she was highly curious as to how that even happened. Surely not willingly…was it? She knew she died for redemption but she kind of expected to have died by a sword going through her or at the very least arrows. Her warrior self wanted some heroic type of death, but for the sake of saving others decapitation would have had to do. But this wasn't redemption, not at all, so she allowed anger to seep in and ponder on who exactly had the audacity to kill her like that. To take her away from all that she loved, who she loved…Xena's blue eyes looked down in shame. She couldn't even remember who it was she loved. It was love, right? Every time she thought of that blonde scribe or whoever she was her heart began to burn something fierce and she ached to just say one word to her.
Realizing that wallowing in her progressively growing pity party wasn't going to help her discovery any more than staying in that screaming room was, she paid attention again to where they were going. Iva in the meantime had still did not say anything, seemingly more concerned with their destination. More light was coming from the end of the tunnel, a copper-like hue compared to the ball of light that led the pair. As Xena and Iva came closer and closer to this exit, Xena could now examine the walls more closely. No, these weren't just stone walls, but stone with the occasional body protruding from it. Some faces looked at Xena mournfully, unable to speak while others flailed around trying to grab them. These must have been the beings who were screaming nonstop, and now it looked as if the wall was preventing them all from making a single noise aside from the slapping of hands and feet against stone and floor.
"If you were curious about those souls you were so intent on redeeming, some are here staring at you. Looks rather uncomfortable, don't you think? Poor bastards."
Xena looked at Iva with an eyebrow raised but said nothing. Ah. So her death was meaningless. How nice.
"Alright, you can look at where we are now. Could have hired a better interior decorator but I suppose this could do for now."
Taking her advice, the warrior stepped out from the tunnel finally onto a ledge and was amazed. It looked as if they were in some sort of volcano, with blackened walls rising up on all sides to melt together into the sky and down below tongues of flames yearning to taste the flesh of the women. Xena nearly gasped but kept her composure. Down below on narrow paths odd beasts lumbered past people in a single file line, occasionally pushing a person into the fire and laughing.
"So I take it I'm in Tartarus?" Xena questioned, taking in the scene and then looking over at the shorter-haired woman.
"Not quite. Hades was killed so Tartarus doesn't quite exist anymore. You're in what those who follow Eli like to call 'Hell'. If I had to make a comparison I would say this place is worse. You can't precisely make a deal with the ruler of this place anymore without more strings being attached. Hades watched over the dead, the ruler of this place is more interested in collecting as many souls as possible." Iva explained, and then began to follow a path that led upwards.
"Hades is dead? And who exactly is the ruler of this place?" Xena went through all, and by all that was a fairly small amount, that she could remember to try and recollect what all was being said to her.
"See, this is why I didn't want you asking too many questions before we went through the process of getting your memories back. It just leads to more than I have the patience to answer. I'll at least tell you who rules the place, however. Lucifer. Fantastic name for a cat, by the way." Iva paused and looked back at Xena. "You're quite a different person when you don't remember who you are."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You talk more. I don't think I quite like that." Xena clenched her jaw and refused to respond. "That's better. Come on, Princess."
She knew she wasn't alone. Wherever she was, Xena would be there. Or should have been there. That was what they had promised each other. A tanned hand gripped the chakram tighter than what was safe causing rivulets of ruby to make its way down the circular blade and make a minute puddle in the dirt. Gabrielle brought a hand up to wipe the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. It had been nearly a couple months already and she was just getting to the point of being able to walk through a crowd and not panicking when she saw someone tall with dark hair. It was taking her an even longer time to go through Xena's old things, a chest containing what little the warrior actually owned was still sitting in the corner untouched and covered with a fur blanket. The only item of her lover that she kept in sight was the chakram, a rather useful weapon when she learned how to use it. Releasing her tight hold on the chakram as she finally acknowledged what she was doing, she growled at the cut that was across her palm now and went over to her bedside table. Fresh bandages littered the tabletop in a rather untidy fashion along with a small bowl filled with water. Usually it was just to treat any cuts she received during drilling but occasionally her mind would wander back to the days she spent to the Warrior Princess and the blonde would end up harming herself in one way or the other by not paying attention. Her lack of concern worried those around her though they kept their mouths shut, knowing the sharp comments they would receive in return.
Gabrielle was not quite the…Gabrielle they knew anymore. She occasionally traveled on the road to help others but it was not with the same motivation it once was. The creative and caring young women everyone had grown to love had vanished and all that remained was a puppet playing off of the memories and faux emotions humans are supposed to have but failing miserably to represent them. When she traveled that was when they worried about her the most, and every now and then a pair of Amazons followed secretly for their Queen's safety.
The bard finished wrapping the gauze around her hand and flexed the now sore palm. Looking down at the blade again, she sighed and picked it up. Going to clean it, she heard a soft knock on the door but knew they would come in whether she answered positively or negatively. And indeed she was correct, for a curly blonde head poked into the hut with a lopsided smile.
"Hey, Gab! We were wondering if you wanted to grab breakfast with us before you leave or…" Ephiny hesitated, looking on the bed and already seeing things packed and ready to go, "If you wanted to eat on the road and we would ride with you a bit…" The last portion was more of improvised hopefulness as she stared at the empty shell that was her friend. Gabrielle looked back at Ephiny and gave the usual hollow smile.
"Sure, that would be great. I'll probably just load these on Argo and then we can head out." Gabrielle said softly and went to go get her small bags. Ephiny nodded, holding the door open and grabbing Gabrielle's other weapons that were near the door. A staff that had been carved as a gift to the Queen and a pair of sais, the bard's weapon of choice when she finally got around to wielding blades.
"Gab…" The way her name was said made the bard stop what she was doing and look at her friend. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean-"
"Please don't, Eph. A friend needs my help and that is what I am doing."
"No, you found an opportunity despite Yakut's warnings and you are diving in headfirst. This is foolish, Gabrielle." The Amazon argued, though pursed her lips when Gabrielle slowly turned to look at her. If she had to describe it, it was almost as if Gabrielle was turning into the old Xena. And that thought terrified her.
"Foolish? Is it really so foolish? I mean, really, what else am I supposed to do? Go on like nothing has happened? I can't Ephiny. That was my best friend who had been murdered that day and no one seems to give a damn!" Gabrielle threw her arms up in frustration, a little crack in the once unbreakable mask she had worn since the funeral. Ephiny put the weapons down and place an arm on her Queen.
"We care, Gab. Everyone in this camp does. You can't compare grieving processes and you of all people should know when it comes to deaths we make it a point not to be open about it. But we were never as close to her as you were, no matter how close of a friendship we thought we may have had. And right now we have to look forward and…Gab, we are so scared about what you are going to do…we're afraid you might not come back." Pure emotion was revealed, and Gabrielle had to look away before she lost it. Like she did every night when there was no one there to hold her when she cried or comfort her when she felt lost.
"Please just…let me do this. If…if I'm only successful in helping him then at least I helped someone. It's just…I need to see her. I need to make things right." Green eyes, threatening to spill tears, gazed at Ephiny. The Amazon frowned slightly but hugged her friend all the same.
"And what if you don't see her? And what if you don't see what you want? You should just accept that she's gone. Gab!" Ephiny watched as Gabrielle picked up the weapons as well and stormed past her. The Regent rushed after her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Gab, please. I know how difficult it is. I know what you are going through but you are crossing a line you are going to regret crossing. Do you really think Xena would-"
A loud smack was heard and Ephiny stopped talking, mostly because the shock that she just got slapped right across the jaw made her mind go blank.
"Don't you dare tell me what Xena would or would not want. She took no effort into thinking about what I wanted. How I would be after all of…this…" Tears started falling down her face as the blonde shook her head. "We were supposed to do this together, she never even waited to hear about…about what I-I…" And for the first time since the death of the warrior Gabrielle finally broke down and collapsed onto the floor, not caring if the whole village saw her. Ephiny finally lowered herself onto her knees and took the bard into her arms, whispering into her ear comforting words and feeling tears come to her eyes as well.
"I'm so sorry, Ephiny. I'm so sorry…I just…I need to do this…if I don't…" Ephiny held her tighter, not content with hearing the end of whatever Gabrielle had to say. Her heart was breaking at the sight of her Queen and her best friend falling apart. Waiting until the sniffling was over, she pulled back slowly and looked at her comrade with a sad smile. Without a word they went to pick up her stuff and head towards the stables as what was originally planned. The trek there was unbearable, both walking in pained silence and ignoring the looks the other Amazons were giving. None were negative, but all pleaded for Ephiny to stop Gabrielle, looks of pity, and confusion as to what was happening. They entered the stables, going past steeds who stuck their heads out curious as to what was going on and the pair did not stop until Gabrielle's hand reached out and stroked the soft nose of the familiar palomino. Even the horse looked defeated and depressed, leading Gabrielle to acknowledge that she wasn't the only one grieving. She leaned forward and gave Argo a light kiss before patting the horse's neck and setting her stuff down to get her ready to ride out. Ephiny merely stayed silent and aided in the process, barely looking over her shoulder to see the crowd of Amazons growing a stone throw away.
"Who are you going to see?" Ephiny finally asked when she offered assistance to boost Gabrielle on Argo. Despite not really needing it, Gabrielle accepted the offer and got adjusted to the saddle before replying.
"An old friend from when I was at the Academy. Orpheus. He sent a letter a week ago requesting my help. Please don't tell anyone the details of what I am doing, this is between Yakut, you, and me." It was spoken quietly as she brushed her short blonde hair from her face. Ephiny's hand reached up and Gabrielle grasped it, giving the warrior's handshake. The regent smiled weakly one last time at her and then let go.
"Be safe, Gab. We all love you. Please remember that." Ephiny said, the emotions raw in her voice. Gabrielle did not say a word and clicked her tongue. Argo took the cue and left the stables as fast as she could, the Amazons scattering away to avoid getting run over by the old war horse.
Upwards they traveled, past shades, past the tortured and chained and crying souls who found themselves in a land they could never escape. Xena felt for them, almost wishing there was something she could do to help but didn't let this show in front of Iva, whoever she might be. Finding herself in this place, Xena was growing cautious as to whether she could really trust this woman but in the meantime she didn't see any other choice. It was either follow and see what was going to happen or wander aimlessly through this 'Hell'. In all honesty, Xena wasn't too thrilled about meeting up face to face with the grotesque creatures that seemed to be the grunts of whoever this Lucifer was. Making sure that she wasn't going to accidently walk off the edge of the cliff, she tried to see exactly what they were. They walked like apes, with small hind legs and large forearms with thick bony structures jutting out from their shoulders and arms. She couldn't see any eyes on them, so their enjoyment out of pushing people was probably to hear their cries of pain and surprise. Stopping suddenly before she ran into Iva, she looked to see what had made the shorter woman stop and saw two of the grunts fighting less than twenty spaces from them. One roared and beat its bloody paws against its chest before it was rammed into the wall by the other. Xena could see the faces better, and she nearly shuddered at the sight. Large fangs came from a human like mouth and tusks that resembled the pincers of an ant ripped at the flesh. A scream of pain was emitted and with a hook of a tusk into the losing grunt's ribs, the winning grunt used all of its force to fling the creature into the flames. The warrior shuddered and didn't feel so much like the killer she knew she was. Suddenly, something cold was shoved against her chest.
"You'd better take this. You can't die, you're already dead, but those tusks still cause a bitch load of pain." Looking down, the blue eyes took in the gift that was a sword. It seemed so similar in design, though the heavily jeweled and decorated hilt was something different she at least knew.
Looking at Iva, Xena asked, "And what about you? More of a hand-to-hand type of girl?"
Iva chuckled. "No, I won't need weapons. They know better than to go after me. You, though…you they may be attracted to. I doubt it's for your looks though."
As if hearing them, the grunt turned its head and growled before charging.
"Well, looks like we'll be having some fun after all before the boring process of remembering. Show me your famed skills, Princess." And with that Iva disappeared, only to reappear behind the grunt with a devilish smile. Glaring, Xena twirled the sword and ran at the beast, flipping over the creature just before it could crash into her but instead of gracefully landing she fell upon the rough floor in an awkward manner and nearly dropped the sword over the edge. Wondering how that error in ability could have happened since she was so sure that was a move she usually made with ease, she stood up quickly and turned around to see the grunt had stopped and turned its head quickly in an attempt to figure out her location by sound and smell. Coming to the conclusion that it could probably pick her scent out above the sulfur and smoke, Xena decided to act quickly. Running towards the beast she swung the sword with all her might and felt the blade slow down some but still continue the journey through the animal's side and stop at the spine. A gargled yelp made the grunt leap forward and fall as ebony colored blood seeped from its wound and it proceeded to drag itself away from the warrior. Easily being able to follow it, she raised her sword to finish it off but felt a hand on her wrist again.
"Ohhh don't do that. Watch what happens. Here, step back quickly." Lowering the sword and backing up slowly, Xena wondered what it was that was going to be shown to her but then saw something out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, there were more grunts crawling down the cliff side but not for the duo. About four landed on the path and crept closer to their brother before sniffing and contemplating while the wounded beast squirmed on the ground trying to get away. Deciding enough was enough, all four pounced on it and began to devour it alive, panicked and unnatural screams coming from a creature that would never be able to fully die. Knowing this, Xena turned quickly to avoid spilling whatever might be in her guts.
"Huh, I forgot, you're a little goody two shoes without your memories. Too much like that damned blonde." Iva whined, stomping back up the path in annoyance. Without missing a beat, she was shoved and held against the wall with the sword at her neck.
"Leave her out of this. Or I'll make sure you end up like I did when I died." Xena growled, blue eyes growing darker. A bark of a laugh came from Iva.
"You can't even recall her name, what is she to you?"
"I don't know. Everything, nothing. I want to find out."
"You sure about that?"
"What?"
Iva shook her head and pushed Xena back. "You're going to regret everything about her. Then again, you'll need to know her. Alrighty then, let's continue, shall we?" And pushing the warrior princess with more strength than she was given credit for, left Xena behind. Xena snarled at this and wiped the blood off the blade with the end of the tunic she found herself wearing. She was getting tired of all her questions being put aside for later. She was almost curious if she would get straight away answers if she just rammed the sword through Iva, but she couldn't bring herself to that thought which was interesting. She felt as if there was a time that she would have done so without a moment's hesitation but now it almost seemed to sicken her. The fact that she had sliced that beast and could remember the feeling of the blade slicing into its flesh almost made her want to retch. Her weakness disgusted her and made her doubt whether she even did lose her blood innocence.
An archway was drawing near, and Xena could hear a booming voice come from the alcove. The bricks surrounding the depression in the cliff had chunks of bone sticking out and other body parts. She tried not to examine it too closely, as if afraid of seeing a familiar face. Part of the souls she thought she had redeemed was here, who knew who else was that she might know. Then again, would she even recognize them? Iva stopped at the archway and looked, allowing Xena a chance to catch up and peer into where the odd woman was staring. A large door with deformed face was sleeping, ignoring the angered yells muffled behind it. Iva huffed and began to tap her foot, waiting. Xena was about to say something but stopped when the blackened face suddenly moved and yawned.
"About time. Open up." Iva all but demanded. The door opened its eyes and blinked in surprised, perhaps more in the fact that someone was actually talking to it. They eyes weren't balls of flames or anything evil like Xena thought, but intelligent brown eyes that gazed upon them with interest. Something about the face looked so familiar but Xena didn't let it bother her. There would probably be a lot of things that would seem familiar.
"My, that's a rude awakening. I suppose once people enter Hell they leave their manners at the door." The face began to laugh at his own pun and Xena nearly went to try her idea of seeing if her sword in the face's mouth would act like a key in a lock. "Now, as rules and regulations go, what would be your purpose beyond me? You are aware you would be meeting with the Judge and his brothers and if you aren't in line to be reviewed they don't take kindly to being thrown off schedule."
"My purpose is to bring a special client in. Trust me, they won't mind setting a couple souls back to their waiting chair to get a hold of this one." Iva said with hint of impatience in her voice as she pointed to the woman behind her. . Xena watched her with amusement but noticed that the door was growing a bit wary. After looking them over some, he finally nodded. Or as much as a face on a door could nod.
"Alright. It's your hell if you are being an ass for no reason…" And with that he opened his mouth wide. And wider, and wider until the other room was visible and they could walk through. Iva didn't hesitate to enter the door's mouth and go to the other side but Xena wasn't so sure. Taking a deep breath, she nearly ran the couple of steps to safety and looked back with wonder as their entrance disappeared. "Hey, pay attention, chicken wuss. Gods, is this what you would have been like if you were just a little farm girl?" Iva's voice snapped Xena back to the situation at hand and she looked ahead. And ahead was something she wasn't sure she liked. Before her were three magnificent marble thrones, with two lines forming up to the two outside judges and a smaller line of undecided souls being led to the middle judge. Each man was significantly larger than the average human, the size of a cyclops if Xena had to guess. They wore flowing purple robes but the ends were covered in dried blood and their hands looked horrendous and disgusting as they picked up each soul to question, inspect, and cast with their final say what the final destination of these wretched beings would be. It wasn't until Iva walked up to the middle line and began pushing aside the damned in the pits in order to reach the more dominant giant did the three judges stop and watch the two women approach.
"What is this that you do not wait your turn? Are you eager to be sentenced?" The judge on the right bellowed. His beard drooped off of his lap and against the floor as he leaned forward to see the intruders.
"I come bearing a soul who needs to be shown where she truly belongs, but cannot remember her crimes." Iva said innocently enough, and Xena became worried about what was about to happen. She raised her sword in a defensive manner, as if afraid that she would be plucked up by one of the judges and cast into the bowels of hell before recovering her memories. "Surely one of you can help her. She is, after all, Xena. The reason why you work so hard." At this, the three judges stopped moving all at once and immediately the souls also froze. This definitely did not look good, but before Xena could inch closer and question the peculiar woman about her motives, the judge on the left spoke up.
"I've waited a long time to see the one they called Xena. So many have said your name, have blamed you, and have damned you themselves. And here I thought she would be out of my grasp…" He went as if to grab her but did not lean forward enough in his throne. "This is indeed an issue. Not often do they come to Hell and not know why they are here…" Looking at his brothers, the judge nodded. "We do know how to remedy this…bring her here…"
Xena looked at the giant as if she could hardly believe he would be dumb enough to think she would willingly walk up to him. It wasn't necessarily a request, however, as a few grunts landed behind her and growled menacingly. Looking from the beasts to the open palm of the judge, she groaned out loud and jogged over until she was snatched up rather uncomfortably and lifted faster than her stomach liked. She was held close against the face of the judge, nearly wanting to puke from the smell of rotted flesh and other scents she couldn't precisely identify.
"I can see why you are in hell, with a face like that I doubt Aphrodite would have let you walk around the Elysian Fields." She said sharply, causing the judge to laugh and spittle to land on her face.
"Ah, Xena, let me introduce myself. I am Aeacus, and I shall be the first of returning your memories."
"Wait, the first?" She questioned, trying to wriggle out of his hand but failing miserably. The blade of the sword was beginning to cut into her leg but she wasn't about to say anything to him about it. It was Hell, she doubted he gave a damn about whether she was comfortable or not.
"Of course, the first. My child, you didn't murder only in the western world and you weren't born only in the western world." Aeacus chuckled again but this time had the decency to lower her a bit so she wasn't showered again. Oh if only they had baths that weren't made for torture then perhaps she wouldn't have minded as much.
"That…doesn't entirely make a lot of…sense." The warrior gasped, his grip becoming tighter as he laughed causing her ability to breath to become harder and the blade to cut deeper.
"It doesn't, but it will. Once you remember…" It was then he noticed something dripping from his hand and raising her near his nose to sniff he smiled. "Here, let me put you down so that we can begin."
Xena sighed in relief but regretted it since the other two judges began to laugh like hyenas and looking quickly to Iva she noticed the woman was nowhere in sight but didn't have a chance to fully look around since she was soon hurled down into a newly formed pit that just as easily disappeared the moment she passed through the hole. Several grunts pounced to where she should have landed and sniffed around, angered that they weren't able to devour fresh meat. Barking at each other and tempted to pass their aggression onto their brothers, they soon looked up when Aeacus let Xena's blood drip to them.
"Soon, my friends, will you consume the flesh of the Destroyer of Nations. Her punishment is near…"