Author's Notes: It is almost the end of April; I have not gotten nearly as many reviews for part one as I would have liked, but fortunately I made a promise and for my few loyal fans I shall now begin the process of posting Part two. If you haven't read part one I'm afraid you won't be able to enjoy part two; and if you have read it, but haven't reviewed well then What are you waiting for?
Disclaimer: I make no claims of ownership to any of the Xena characters or plotlines; I have merely borrowed them for the use of this story due to my extreme 'Sticks to Continuity' frame of mind. The character of Alain Desrochers AKA Alumni if however completely mine; and so without further ado I ask that you R&R folks. (Oh yes and please don't sue me I have no money.)
In a time of ancient Gods,Warlords… And kings; a land in turmoil cried out for a hero… She was Xena; a mighty Princess forged in the heat of battle…
Prologue
Ares the God of war did not like being in the dark; so far the young man who called himself Alumni had revealed nothing of his purpose in this reality. And his patience would not hold much longer; and yet his mother was adamant, too little was known of the individual and so he waited… He waited as Xena began to train him; he waited as Iolaus taught him the ancient forms of martial arts that he himself had been taught, he waited as his do-gooder half-brother showed him a few tricks of the trade… And he waited for what seemed like eternity; until a new mystery presented itself.
"Brother dear." A voice suddenly spoke; Athena appeared before Ares within his sanctuary, a rare occurrence indeed.
"Well sister, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Ares wondered lips pursed in bemusement; Athena strode over to the image of the young man as he bade farewell to Hercules and Iolaus.
"So he's training with your former protégé still." She observed with a wry smile. "Most interesting."
"You aren't seriously here because of him, are you?" He demanded growing suspicious; his sister rarely showed much interest in his affairs, she smiled disarmingly. That made Ares even more suspicious, but Athena simply ignored his question; she made a small Tsking noise and strode towards the exit.
"I think I should meet this man; if only to see what's so frightening about him that he has mother fidgety of late." She stated before vanishing in a flash; Ares glowered and willed the image to vanish.
"Your secrets won't escape me forever; and then we'll see what's what." He grumbled taking a seat in his throne and twirling his sword around. "Ah; I don't envy him though, Xena is quite the task master." He added with a wry chuckle.
Xena: Warrior Princess
Of Gods and Women; Part Two
I lay back in the water exhausted; it had been a good three days to this dreary little spot and Xena was quite a formidable teacher. Still I was much better then when I first arrived; my body was leaner, faster, stronger and my health had vastly improved. Gone was the short, stocky man whose weight had been detrimental to his health; in his place stood a well muscled individual. Well ok; maybe I wasn't as ripped as Iolaus or Hercules, but I could win against the former in a fair fight and the latter even commented that I had some potential.
Being here for a time had caused me to become more focused and determined in my physical upkeep; it was as if a part of my soul no longer felt absent, as if I had finally become whole in body and in spirit.
"Al…Alumni; Hurry up breakfast is ready!" Gabrielle called; I shrugged and waded back to the shoreline, not an easy feat for a novice swimmer like me. Climbing from the water I headed towards the clothing Salmoneous had procured for me; not very flattering, but it got the job done.
"My, my, my." A voice spoke up startling me. "I bet this is a side Xena doesn't appreciate." I glanced all about for the source; a woman appeared out of thin air, she was a vision of loveliness and wore golden armor. I was so shocked by her appearance I completely forgot that I stood naked before her; fumbling for my glasses I put them on and got a closer look, her smile was one of utter bemusement.
"I take it you're one of those Gods I've heard so much about." I surmised; she nodded as her eyes darted over my now toned body, I would have felt conscientious if I wasn't completely taken aback by her beauty and the sense of power radiating off of her.
"And you're the little man that's got dear brother Ares and great Hera so troubled." She stated striding over to my clothes, which were between us; and passing them over to me.
"Gods are worried about me?" I wondered slipping into the period undergarments without even looking; it had become second nature to me by now, keeping my eyes on a possible threat and getting dressed simultaneously. "I'm impressed; I didn't know I was so powerful." I quipped feeling no reason to curb my tongue; the Goddess before me smiled.
"Don't flatter yourself; Zeus knows who and what you are, he sent me to give you something." She informed holding out a small parchment; or at least it looked like one, I pulled it closer to me only to discover it was blank.
"Is this one of those tricks you're all famous for?" I wondered looking back up only to discover that the Goddess now stood directly in front of me; and she was tall. "Um…"
"You could say that." She whispered before she grabbed me by the open collar of my top and pulled me into a kiss; I fumbled stupidly in her grasp totally lost, a red hot fire burned through my lips and into my body. I wanted to scream, but could not; her tongue explored my mouth and I could tell now she was toying with me at this point.
The nerve centers in my eyes flared; my muffled scream causing her some twisted sense of pleasure judging by the look in her eyes, as the pain subsided the world swam completely out of focus. She parted from me with an obvious reluctance and a smile that would probably drive some men wild; then she plucked the glasses from my face and destroyed them, but I didn't really register that. Because I was stunned into awed silence by the simple fact that I could see twenty-twenty without the use of corrective lenses; my genetic defect was no more.
"A pity you're spoken for; I could find so much to do with someone of your…Caliber." She whispered in a very suggestive tone before vanishing the same way she'd appeared.
"O…K…" I began clearly confused and aroused by this particular encounter. "On the one hand I've got a God out to kill me and on the other, a Goddess that wants to bed me… And here I thought my biggest concern was learning how to ride a horse." I muttered before I quickly finished getting dressed and hurrying back to camp for a no doubt, cold meal.
Gabrielle watched as Xena demonstrated a succession of moves designed to unbalance your opponent; my mimicry of them was slightly jerky, but better then last time.
"No, no, no; you want to block his second swing and come around on his third to disarm or kill him." She chastised; I sighed and repeated the motions.
"Wouldn't it be easier to practice against me?" I demanded irritated with the slow pace.
"If you want to die, sure." Was the clipped response; frustrated now I tossed the sword aside and instead charged Xena, with a little shake of her head she spun out of the way and connected with the small of my back. This time I used the fall; as Iolaus had taught me, and managed to get back to my feet swiftly. She smiled approvingly; I shook my head and switched stances, she corrected me moving my arms and feet further apart.
"This stuff seems easier." I admitted closing my eyes and breathing deep as I'd been taught.
"It is definitely easier." She agreed. "Though difficult because it takes great discipline."
"Yes; and yet a part of me seems to naturally flow into it." I returned bringing clarity and focus to my mind; without alerting Xena to my plans I swung the left arm out and felt it connect with her own. Our bodies surged and bucked as we engaged in physical combat; we never hit each other hard enough to break anything, but we did manage to bruise the other on occasion. Xena got a lucky shot past my defenses and hit my bandaged ribs; I gasped at the pain and backed up fighting to breathe.
"Oh; sorry." Xena apologized sounding less then sincere.
"I deserved that." I retorted rubbing my bandaged side; still it was quite amazing how much I could do despite my injury.
"Did Athena really do…That; to you?" Gabrielle suddenly asked distracting us from our sparring and training session.
"I told you I don't know which Goddess it was, but yes, kissing complete with tongue." I replied suppressing the urge to grin stupidly with remembrance.
"Strange; Athena doesn't strike me as such the bold type." She returned with a tilt of her head; Xena snorted and beckoned me back to our work. I assumed the stance and found my center; Xena calmly waited, in time she knew I'd be ready at a moment's notice. Once again we were a whirl of motion; and this time I blocked the cheap shot to my ribs, she nodded in approval.
"He's certainly taken to that." A new voice observed as the usual squeaking armor of Joxer entered my field of hearing.
"He's a natural student; it's as if he's born to it." Gabrielle returned. "So what brings you here?" She asked.
"Autolycus sends his regards; that little favor Xena asked him to do." Joxer reminded passing a small scroll to Gabrielle. "Everything's there; word for word." He added nodding to indicate the parchment with his head.
"Great; what did they have to say?" Gabrielle wondered unfurling the scroll; her eyes flew over it hungrily and widened in shock as they came to the end. "Xena!" She called distracting the warrior princess for only a fraction of a second; which did not prove enough to get a good hit in, she requested a pause and moved over to her friend. Her eyes darted over the parchment; then back to me and once more to the parchment; the deepness of that gaze unsettled me greatly, but I shot her a lopsided grin.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
"That depends; what do you know of the Fates?" She asked in turn; I tilted my head to one side searching my scattered and fragmented memories, little came to me except of course small teases.
"Very little." I returned. "Don't they weave some form of tapestry?" I wondered.
"Yes; and you're not on it." She revealed; I chuckled openly at that.
"Of course; I came through a vortex obviously from some other plane of existence, why would I be on it if I wasn't born here?" I shot back; Xena nodded at that, but then held up the parchment.
"Fair enough, but if that is the case; how can there be a prophecy about you?" She asked; I frowned at that and approached her at a brisk pace, grabbing it from her hand I proceeded to read it.
"What the hell?" I exclaimed filled with a strange numbness; the phrase great destructive force popped up on more then one occasion.
"My thoughts exactly." She returned; I crumpled the parchment in my fist and glared offensively at it.
"Uh; what's wrong with that?" Joxer wondered naively; Xena turned partially so her gaze now fell on him.
"The fact that what is on the tapestry of the Fates is absolute; nothing can exist without being a part of it, which means Alumni here is not only an enigma, but someone Hera and Ares will want to kill all the more now." She explained in a very serious tone.
"In other words he's a target." Gabrielle observed; Xena nodded slowly, I did not like the sounds of this at all.
"Oh…" Joxer began taking a few steps further away from me; I shook my head and reclaimed my sword. Xena began to gather our belongings.
"We've got to find a temple and fast; we need to ask one of the other Gods how this is even possible." She stated; Gabrielle nodded and quickly began to aid her friend, Joxer looked stupidly between the three of us.
"Uh; I think I'll go see if Hercules needs my help." He stated before heading off; I shook my head twirled the sword and sheathed it.
"I suppose that means I don't get my horse riding lessons." I remarked in relief; Xena's eyes twinkled as she loaded up Argo.
"Think again; we can kill two birds with one stone." She stated smiling; I did not like the looks of that one bit.
To Be Continued: In the next chapter we enter the world of Xena the television series for the very first time; if you're at all familiar with it you'll most likely recognize that the episodes I'm placing my character in begin with the Season Two episode titled Destiny...
