A Masochist's Lullaby
Chapter One – She Knows Me
Xena could feel her limbs being torn slowly from her body, along with the few remnants of life still clinging to her. Helpless and ravaged, the proud Warrior Princess was now a bloody heap on the floor, struggling to even stay on her knees. And above the fallen warrior stood Alti, her most dangerous enemy, a smirk plastered all over the shamaness' chillingly skeletal face.
"Where's that power of yours now, my Xena?" Alti growled. She had her claw-like grip to Xena's throat, putting the usually stronger woman at a significant disadvantage, and Alti loved every minute of it. She wasn't about to let go now; her most sought-after fear was, after all, that which had always eluded her: the fear of Xena.
"I'll tell you where that power is, Xena – right here," Alti pressed a hand to her robed chest. "Everything that's ever made you who you are - your delicious darkness, your vicious fire, your cunning mind - it's all here with me now. You've failed, Xena… and you'll spend the rest of eternity in the afterlife paying the price." Alti laughed and raised the broken Warrior Princess high above her head, tightening her grip as Xena's neck turned to jello in Alti's hands. Xena could only gurgle and spit blood as her senses dimmed and the world went black.
Suddenly, Xena heard a voice that pulled her from the death and chaos she seemed to be all but drowning in until now.
Xena opened her azure eyes to find her companion, Gabrielle, above her. Xena stirred, "Gabrielle? What - what happened?"
"Xena, you were just dreaming." The bard looked at Xena through those same loving eyes that could console even a warlord. "Was it that same nightmare?"
"Yes. Alti had me beaten and had stolen my energy - there was nothing I could do." Xena stared into the crackling flames beside her. "I was totally helpless, Gabrielle."
"But Alti's been dead - Yakut helped us destroy her soul. Do you think somehow Alti could be haunting your dreams?"
Xena did nothing to hide the sensation of dread she felt like a cloak over her. "It's entirely possible, isn't it? Callisto did it to me years ago, you remember. But there's no guilt this time around; Alti has nothing to go on. She lost most of her powers after we defeated her in India, but…" Xena trailed off in her own thoughts, aloof to the worried Gabrielle who sat beside her.
Gabrielle shifted uncomfortably, sensing Xena's worry. After all these years, the steely Warrior Princess was like an open book to her. "But, are you afraid that she could return somehow?"
"Gabrielle, you know how powerful Alti is. If there's a way, even after her soul's been annihilated, I wouldn't put it past her to discover it."
"Xena," Gabrielle was stern now. "Do you remember what Naima said, back in India? Alti will return many times, but you'll always beat her. Even if she does return somehow, someway - she won't win."
"I know, I know," Xena laid back down on her blanket, staring off into the stars. "I just doubt it sometimes. She has a weapon against me that no other enemy has." Xena looked at Gabrielle and paused, embracing the warrior bard with a cold blue stare.
"She knows me, Gabrielle."