Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Xena: Warrior Princess or Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Rated: PG
Author's Note: It's been a long, long while since I've written any fan
fiction concerning the character of Joxer, or the TV series of Xena
Warrior Princess for that matter. I have come a long way since then
from my really bad days of writing as KSCOTT2112 from the Joxerite Fan
Fiction Guild (my only favorite story I did was Joxer: Spider-Man…only
favorite one of my work). I posted this awhile ago on the GJRS yahoo group (so it looks a bit weird) and kind of lost a bit of interest in completing it at the time, but now I think I may continue with this story.
Continuity: Takes place after Season 2. Possibly a few months or so after a Comedy of Eros!
Summary: Joxer exchanges his love for Gabrielle to unlock the swordsman within him, but is it worth it?
Desperate Decision
Chapter 1
They called him the Exchanger. A simple name for a mystical immortal
who could have been easily mistaken for a god. Only the Exchanger had
no temples in his honor and worship. He didn't care much for that. He
had a gift; sometimes it was good, and sometimes it wasn't.
It was like a saying: "there is always a price to something that we
want most."
Joxer had been very hesitant on adventuring to the Exchanger's domain
which was cave deep in the highest mountains of Greece. The would-be warrior had not
exactly just rushed in like he usually did. He had actually given much
thought about his current situation after learning about the
Exchanger, about what he could give, and what he could take in return.
At the moment, Joxer could not find any reason not to meet this
Exchanger. He could not even blame himself, even if others would in
the future: Aphrodite, for one.
Or maybe not.
Either way, after months of nothing but bad luck and always ending up
with the shortest end of the stick, his mind was made up.
Joxer gulped as he carefully laid down his tribute to the Exchanger
before the candle-lit shrine. It was now or never as he bowed his head
and spoke.
"Oh, uh, g-great Exchanger! Hear….hear th-thee my request and answer
my prayer!"
Joxer waited for a response….and waited, and waited, and waited….
Nothing.
He looked around confused. There was nobody in the cave but him. Had
he heard wrong? Did the Exchanger not exist? Or maybe the Exchanger,
like everyone else it seemed, just thought little of the praying fool
in his domain to appear and help him out?
…..Oh! Maybe he needed a bigger offering! And Joxer knew just the thing.
Reaching into his belongings, Joxer pulled out his lute, clearing his
throat as he strummed the strings of his beloved instrument.
If the Exchanger demanded a better offering, then by the gods, he
would get one.
Joxer opened his mouth, ready to sing….
"That will not be necessary."
….and about jumped ten feet in the air like a cat just after he heard
someone speak behind him, holding his lute out in front of him like it
were some weapon.
The figure was tall, cloaked n black. Joxer could not even see if it
were even a human, or something else for that matter. The voice did
sound like an average mortal's though.
"Back off, pal! I'm a warrior, and I'm not afraid to use this!" Joxer
waved the lute at the cloaked figure.
He heard a soft smirk from under the hood of the cloaked figure.
"You're no warrior, friend. The only thing you were ever trained to be
was a musician."
Joxer's jaw dropped. How could this person....or god, or whatever he was have known that?!
The cloaked figure raised its arms as it slowly began walking towards
Joxer. "I am the Exchanger."
Joxer's face paled. Slowly, he lowered his lute at his side.
"Not quite what you were expecting, right? I've gotten that a lot from
all the other mortals who want something; all the mortals who are
willing to exchange something of great value to them, even if they do
not realize how valuable it is until they've lost it." the Exchanger
spoke, stopping just a short distance away from Joxer.
Joxer began. "H-how did you uh, did you know about my, uh…er…."
"Your thoughts, Joxer. Through them, I can see your memories." the
Exchanger moved closer to Joxer. "But, you're not hear to remember
your childhood, are you?"
Joxer said nothing. All he could do was gulp again as he stared up at
the towering cloaked figure.
"You are here for an exchange."
Summoning up what ever courage that laid inside of him, Joxer
readjusted his feet, trying to prevent himself from fidgeting, with
little success. "Xena said that somewhere inside me is a great warrior."
"A swordsman." the Exchanger supplied.
"Well, uh, see….if that's true, then…..then I want you to make me into
the swordsman I could be."
The Exchanger said nothing at first. For a moment, Joxer was fearful
that he…or it, would refuse him with probably a hurtful laugh or a
wave of his….well, Joxer wanted to believe this Exchanger had hands.
Mortal-like hands. Hopefully not claws. That would be scary. Really, really scary.
Instead, the Exchanger spoke again. "As you may have heard, if one
wants something, there is the price of exchanging something for it.
Offerings like that won't help." the Exchanger nodded its head towards
Joxer's offerings by the shrine.
"I-I know."
"You do? Well then, Joxer….the Mighty, is it? What are you willing to
exchange for this?" In one slow and swift motion, the Exchanger's hand
suddenly fell on Joxer's shoulder, and the would-be warrior froze on
the spot.
After a brief moment of silence, the Exchanger spoke again. "Ah, I
see." He removed his hand back. "You're in love."
Joxer shifted his eyes away. He did not want to be reminded of this,
but it seemed the Exchanger did not care as it continued.
"Xena's best friend: Gabrielle, the Battling Bard of Poteidaea. An
Amazon Queen as well. Quite a catch for a mortal, she is. Are you sure
you want this?"
Joxer opened his mouth to reply, but the Exchanger held up what was
the hand of a mortal, cutting him off. "Before you answer, know this.
The love you have for this bard, it's not something created by any
love spells of the love goddess nor the arrows of her son. It is
something beyond that; It's real. True."
"Or maybe it's just me being in love with the idea of….well, being in
love! I mean, she really treated me nice, and I mean, we`ve hardly
really gotten along at times!" Joxer cried.
"Is that how you feel?" the Exchanger asked.
Joxer blinked a few times as he replied, "Yes. Yes, it is. I…..I
think." He sighed, shrugging with the shake of his head. "Look, are we
gonna do this, or what?"
Joxer regretted speaking in such a frustrated tone, especially to someone
like the Exchanger who could do….well, gods knew what he could do?!
If the Exchanger was furious, it didn't seem to show. Not that Joxer
could see the Exchanger's face anyways.
"Is this really what you want?" the Exchanger asked.
"Damn right, it is! I'm sick and tired of being treated like….like
dirt! For once, I wanna be respected! I wanna be able to not have to
depend on Xena or anyone else to save my neck all the time! I…..I
wanna make my family proud! And now, I have something to offer that
can get me just that!"
The Exchanger suddenly folded his arms, falling silent again but only for a brief moment.
"Very well."
Joxer could feel his heart racing so fast that he thought it would
have burst right out of his chest the moment the Exchanger spoke. At
last, his dream would be become reality!
"I'm ready." Joxer smiled enthusiastically.
"Are you?" the Exchanger smirked. Joxer gave the Exchanger a confused
look, but before he could speak, the Exchanger raised his hand at
Joxer's chest, and then, there was a light.
There was an exchange.