Okay, so this is a story I will be working on in the future, one of at least two anyway... I will be posting one other prologue after this one, whichever gets the most reviews while I finish up my two current stories will be worked on first. The main character role is technically split, into four here... The regular main characters, Xena and Gabrielle of course! And the future Xena in the form of my OC, Axis. As well as the future form of Gabrielle in the form of my OC, Rainen.

In my mind I wanted to do something where Xena choosing death in Japan kind of alters her relationship with Gabrielle for future lives, with the help of a villain of course! The beginning there is a little slow... But it will be necessary for the next chapter when I finally update this one, I know this story will be pretty unique but I hope that any readers will think that is a positive thing. ._.;

The only reason I am throwing these two in is because they really do remind me of Gabrielle and Xena, this story was kind of inspired by two different animes as well... InuYasha and Fushigi Yuugi. If you're familiar with either of them I'm sure you can kind of guess how this story will work, at least in regards to time travel.

PS, I had NO clue what to call this... So sorry for the title.

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Bilateral Symmetry

Prologue

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"How long has your niece been missing, Miss Miller?"

"About twelve hours... They told me to wait until twenty four had passed to come in though, have you found something?"

"We may have... And where was Axis when she went missing?"

"She was at work, she works part time as a bouncer for my tavern during the busy season but she took some interest in a new exhibit coming to town at the museum and decided to get a job there for overnight security... She went in for her first shift and never came home."

"You said she took interest in the exhibit, interest in what exactly?"

"There was a collection of swords coming in... Axis' father was of Japanese descent, when Axis was very little... Her father and mother were murdered... And his weapons were stolen, Axis thought that one of the swords in the show was her fathers and wanted to see if she was right."

"I see. Do you happen to know which sword it was?"

"She told me it was red, black and gold. I've never seen it, so I can't describe it in any more detail than that... What's going on?"

"Miss Miller... We believe we found your niece, and we have footage of her arriving at the museum for her shift... But there were technical issues with the security cameras and when the feed came back there was no sign of Axis or the sword."

"You think she took it, don't you?"

"She was last seen standing by the sword but we did not find it in her possession, now she did grow up in your care, correct?"

"Yes, she did. And you've found her? Is she alright...?"

"We'll get to that ma'am, did Axis take any foreign languages while she was in school or possibly have any relatives that spoke Greek?"

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A young woman groaned and sat up slowly, her hand pushing her dark hair out of her eyes as she blinked groggily in the bright morning light. She narrowed her eyes in confusion as she noticed her surroundings for the first time, she was in what appeared to be an alley. The tall, light brick buildings on either side of her almost the same color as the dusty dirt ground beneath her. Glancing around herself she also noticed her backpack laying not far from her. Sighing with relief she snatched up the full bag before quickly putting it on her back and getting to her feet. Noticing something shiny out of the corner of her eye Axis glanced to her left, she was surprised to find the katana from the museum laying just off to where she herself had been laying moments before. It was partially concealed under a pile of hay, she grabbed the weapon quickly before turning towards the end of the alley way. She could hear shouting coming from what appeared to be a large square, adjusting her backpack the girl moved forward quickly.

She immediately noticed that all of the people in the square around her were dressed strangely but that was quickly pushed to the back of her mind as she noticed five heavily armored men attempting to subdue a woman not much older than herself. She narrowed her eyes as they pinned the woman's face to the dirt, pulled her arms back behind her and began to tie her up.

"Hey! Assholes, let her go!" Axis cried running forward, the men looked up at her angrily for the interruption. The one closest to her turned and drew his sword, mumbling something incoherent under his breath as he moved forward.

Axis' eyes moved to his sword, she could feel her throat tighten as she noticed how real it looked. Her first thought when she'd seen the strange clothing had been movie set but now she wasn't so sure. Was she still dreaming?

Tightening her grip on her own weapon she took a stance and drew her blade, "Stop right there, don't come any closer."

The man arched a thick brow, placed his hand behind his ear as if asking her to repeat. She narrowed her eyes at the gesture and moved to speak again but before she could release the breath to do so she found herself being forced to move. The blade slicing the air where she'd just been, she grit her teeth and parried the next attack.

When she was younger Axis had learned some sword techniques from her father but that had been years ago, she knew that she was rusty and would ultimately be defeated unless she could disarm him. Her attention flicked over to the man's companions who were watching intently now that they'd tied up their prey, she swore under her breath as she caught herself being thrown backwards.

The chipped blade of the man now just inches away from her face as she fought with all of her strength to keep the iron from meeting the flesh of her cheek and forehead, she could hear the man above her talking again. Even with the close proximity his words seemed foreign to her ears, he kept saying one thing over and over. In almost every sentence she heard it, her lip curled slightly as his hot breath filled her senses.

She could hear more yelling breaking out in the square and the men that had tied the young woman up seemed to be unhappy about the commotion.

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Gabrielle could hear her heart pounding as she fought her way through the crowd, she had promised herself that before she did anything in Egypt that she was obligated to find Eve and Virgil. She had to tell them the news of Xena's death as quickly as possible in the hopes that she might get there before the news of the warrior's untimely demise did. After hearing the news Eve had grown quiet, she had eventually spoken up only to inform them that she was going to go for a walk. Shortly after Eve's exit Gabrielle had heard shouting erupt not far from the tavern they had met up at, feeling an unease grip her the blonde had been compelled to investigate. She could still hear Virgil hot on her heels but ignored the younger man as she moved as quickly as her feet would carry her, as she rounded the bend in the main street leading into the square she felt her stomach lurch. Her eyes fell on the prone form of Eve, hog tied and surrounded by heavily armed Romans. Cursing under her breath Gabrielle urged her aching legs to move faster, as she drew closer she noticed one of the Roman's in a stalemate with a dark haired woman.

The woman was obviously tall, despite the fact that she was currently pinned to the ground by the much heavier Roman. Her hairstyle and clothing confused Gabrielle, in all of her travels she'd never seen anything like them. The blonde's eyes widened as the woman's blade slipped suddenly giving the man above her the upper hand, he gave a loud guttural laugh as he moved to kill the bizarre woman. Gabrielle's hand moved to the chakram on her hip, she let the bladed ring fly without thinking.

"Shit!" She cried as she watched the sparks fly off of the Roman's blade, her aim had been just slightly off. The amazon winced as she heard the woman cry out in pain before counter attacking her assailant. Gabrielle watched impressed as the woman overpowered the roman before pinning him to the ground and pummeling him repeatedly in his unprotected face. Without a second thought Gabrielle raced passed the two and placed herself in between them and the rest of the man's group.

The men wasted no time moving in on the much smaller blonde but they quickly found themselves regretting their decision as she sent them staggering away with bleeding and bruised faces. Virgil had barely made his way over to the scene when the abused men turned and fled in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, you run! You're all just lucky that I had a big meal!" He huffed between raspy breaths, Gabrielle shot him a quick glare.

"Untie Eve, now. Next time keep yourself in shape, I could have used your help."

Virgil gulped slightly before bending down next to Eve, the girl was staring wide eyed towards the dark haired woman now slumped over the unconscious Roman soldier. Virgil followed her gaze in confusion, his own view partially obstructed by Gabrielle who was moving to turn the woman over.

The bard suddenly felt everything in the square around her fade away, the sounds of the people crowding around them was completely washed out. She stared down at the bloodied face of the woman now laying in her lap, the clothing and hair was foreign but the face was almost as familiar as her own.

"Xena?" She whispered, a tear slowly making it's way down her cheek as she held the unconscious woman closer to her.

As soon as she was untied Eve pushed passed Virgil and latched onto Gabrielle and the fragile form in her arms, the two woman too caught up in their emotions to notice anything else.

Oh man, I've had this started for WEEKS. Things have been really busy for me lately... Sorry I'm taking so long to update, I'll be trying to get the next chapter of Stranger up shortly... But it's going to be a bit difficult for me to write, there is a pretty epic fight scene in it. I can't say too much because I don't want to give anything away. I hope this was at least decent filler until then! :D My other fanfiction idea that will have a teaser prologue coming has to do with the Antony and Cleopatra episode... Only, my style. Anyone that follows my art on Deviantart will already have an idea of what that will be about. ;) And if you want to see any pictures of Axis or Rainen check out my DA, I have a folder for all of my comic stuff labelled "ACR."