A/N: This story has been coming to me for a few days now. It's a little off the show's plot line, but I haven't changed too much. It takes place sometime after the 25 year freeze, but *obviously* before Xena's death. Let me know what you all think.

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"Xena, wait," Gabrielle yelled as Xena hovered over the prone figure with her sword.

"What?" Xena said, rather frustrated. Cutting her eyes, she glared at Gabrielle.

"Do you even know if it's a bad guy? It could be a messenger, or someone needing our help, or-?" Gabrielle trailed off, not having many more ideas.

"No, but it would have to be someone with a pretty big death wish to barge in on us in the middle of the night. She tried to ignore the look Gabrielle was giving her and sighed.

"Good to see you two are still getting along as well as ever," a young female voice, snapped. "Mind pointing that thing somewhere else?" the girl asked, rolling over and smirking up at Xena.

"Amarice?" both older women spoke in total shock. A look crossed between the two as they tried to take in the whole situation.

"We heard you were dead?" Gabrielle said, her hand covering her mouth. She moved closer, but hesitated. Gabrielle couldn't help but fear that if she touched the young Amazon she might disappear.

Amarice scoffed and shook her head good naturedly. "You think you guys have run the market on coming back from the dead?" She smiled softly and turned to Xena, "Going to help me up, Xena? Or has all this time made you feeble?"

"You wish," Xena laughed, extending her hand and pulling the girl up and into a hug. "It's good to see you."

"How did this happen?" Gabrielle asked, still amazed by the situation. She pulled her friend into a hug and squeezed the girl tightly. "What happened?"

"Geeze Gabs, been putting on some muscle?" Amarice laughed, holding her ribs gently. "Actually, you don't look any different than the last time I saw you two." She took a moment to glance over both their forms. Even in the moonlight she could tell they were the same two friends she'd always known and hadn't aged much at all. "Eli said it had been nearly thirty years," she murmured to herself.

"Eli?" Gabrielle asked, surprised. "When did you speak to him? How? He's been dead for well it's been years." Gabrielle rubbed her arms, feeling a sudden chill run over her skin at all the questions rising due to the newfound situation.

"Let's move back to camp," Xena said casually. She could tell everyone needed a moment to clear their heads and get warmed up. It wasn't particularly cold, but it was one of those nights where a fire made things that much more comfortable.

Gabrielle started to ask Amarice more about how she'd been brought back, but stopped herself until they reached camp.

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"So Ares froze you guys? I can't believe that worked," Amarice said, having listened to the story behind their youth.

"Yup, that about sums it up," Xena said, checking the blade of her sword against the firelight. "So, what's your story?"

"Well after I died I went to heaven. It's nice and all but, it so wasn't my thing. Sitting around all day: nothing to do, no one to really talk to, no butts to kick." She smirked at the last part, "I mean you guys were there, you saw."

"Actually we only made it to the outskirts of heaven, but even that taste was more than enough for me," Xena said, sighing heavily.

"Xena," Gabrielle said, shocked and a little hurt. She had found comfort in the fact that no matter what happened on earth she and Xena would spend eternity together with a kind of peace they'd never known.

"I'm just saying, it's not that great of a place for a warrior," Xena hesitated, realizing her rationale was of no good on the younger bard. "Listen, you and I had each other, but Amarice-" she trailed off, hoping she'd get some backup.

Amarice shook her head and laughed. Xena was so whipped when it came to Gabrielle. "Gabrielle, I think what Xena's trying to explain is she has you. For me there was no one, and not just no one I didn't know anybody. Sitting around waiting, knowing there's nothing else, it kind of sucked."

"Fine, fine," Gabrielle replied, waving it off, "Continue with your story."

"Well I'd heard talk of reincarnation, and let me tell you, that interested me. A chance to come back and live it all again, to be able to live a whole other life it sounded exciting. They just kept telling me it wasn't my time. But, finally Eli came to me. It was kind of ironic. I'd hoped for so long to find someone I knew to talk to and it turns out to be Mr. Peace Love and Happiness."

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"Amarice," Eli greeted, reaching his hands out to clasp hers. Neither was surprised when this time she didn't snatch herself away.

"I heard you'd died," Amarice said, smiling sympathetically.

"As you can see, we never really die. My death brought on so much hope for the world that I couldn't ask for more. But tell me how are you settling in?" Eli said, sitting down on the bench next to the young Amazon.

"I'm going out of my mind Eli, everyone keeps saying that I just need to give it time, but I'm telling you this stillness it's going to make me insane." Amarice looked to him with a pleading look he'd never seen on the spirited woman.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that your time here is coming to an end," Eli said, squeezing Amarice's hand reassuringly.

"I'm going back?" she asked, practically bouncing with excitement.

Eli nodded and led her through the courtyard to the guarded doors. She'd often wondered what went on back there, but no one ever had any clear answers. All she had been able to tell was the people that went through those doors didn't come back. "Can you tell me anything about where I'm going? Who I'm going to be? Anything?" she walked along next to him, mind racing through the possibilities.

Eli laughed amused, "Amarice you're not being reincarnated. If that was going to happen it would have happened a long time ago."

"I'm not?" she asked confused. All excitement had drained from her face and she was almost afraid to hear what Eli was trying to explain.

"There's not a lot I'm allowed to tell you. However, I can tell you a few things to help you find your path. You will be going back as yourself, but things won't be the same. On earth over twenty-five years have passed. You are the chosen one. You've proved that by the many lessons you learned in your short life. Amarice, I can't begin to tell you how important this is." Eli cupped her face, willing her to understand. He knew she was full of spirit and fire, he just hoped she could tame that enough that she could be relied upon for the greatest task.

"I'm ready Eli. I won't let you down. This is exactly what I've been waiting for." The excitement was back in her eyes, but there was a wisdom there that he'd not remembered seeing during their time together on earth.

"Very well, your task Amarice, is to protect the one known as-"

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"The messenger of peace," Xena finished, with Amarice. Her gaze darted to Gabrielle, wondering what kind of danger Eve might be in that messengers of god were sending down bodyguards.