Rated G
Date Written: February 22 – March 9, 2001
E-mail: sinbody@denvermail.com (Please send me feedback; I want to know
what you think!)
Author's Note/Summery: In the 21rst
century, the cast and crew of "Xena: Warrior Princess" surprises Lucy and Kevin
with a birthday party but little did the two realize that they would get more
of a surprise on their birthday than just a party. This story is dedicated to Lucy Lawless and Kevin Smith for their
outstanding accomplishments on the show.
Happy birthday Lucy and Kevin!
"You had this planned all along." Ares chuckled, grinning devilishly. "You…are so good."
Xena gave him a kind smile.
"It's what I do."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Cut! Great job!
Lucy, get ready for the last scene."
The director shouted.
Kevin jumped down from the wooden platform and walked over
to Lucy, smiling. "Good job." He said, putting his arm on her shoulder.
"You too." She
replied.
"So, Lucy, your birthday is coming up, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Two
weeks. But if I'm not mistaken, yours
is before mine. Am I right?"
He glanced at the ground and then looked at the raven-haired
beauty next to him. "Yeah, yeah. But it's not a big deal. Every birthday means that I am one year
closer to being forty and that is not something I'm looking forward to."
"You're right. It
really isn't a big deal. I mean, what's
one more birthday? They all are the
same anyway."
"Lucy! We need you
back on set! We have to finish before
sunset!"
"Well, I got work to do so I guess I'll see you later
then?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah." Kevin said
as she walked back toward the set to shoot the last scene.
When she was done with the shoot, she went back to her
trailer to change out of her studio cloths and into her normal ones. She put on a light blue t-shirt that formed
to her body perfectly and a pair of blue jeans. As she did so, there was a knock at the door. Lucy finished and walked over to the door,
opening it. Before her stood Kevin,
dressed in a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a leather jacket.
"Come on. Let's
go." He told her.
"Where are we going?"
She asked, stepping out of the trailer and closing the door behind her.
"Rob wants us to come to the studio right away. I don't know why. That's just what he said."
"Okay." She replied
as they both walked toward the Renaissance Pictures studio.
When they walked in, the room was pitch black but when Kevin
went to flip the light switch, the room suddenly filled with light.
"Surprise!!" The
crew cried out.
Lucy and Kevin where shocked at first but soon smiles of
happiness and joy appeared on their faces.
"What is all this?"
Lucy questioned.
"A birthday celebration."
Rob answered.
"We knew that your birthdays are only a few weeks away and
we decided to surprise you with an early party. Aren't you surprised?"
Renee said cheerfully walking up to them.
"Well, thank you all, but you didn't have to do this." Lucy said.
"Oh, it was no trouble.
Besides, this is probably one of the last time we'll all be together--the
shows ending, you know." Rob said,
walking over to them and leading them to a table filled with fruits and
pastries.
In the center was a white iced cake decorated along the
border with miniature chakrams. In the
center stood two small plastic figures depicting their characters--Xena and
Ares. The figures were surrounded by
the words 'Happy Birthday Lucy and Kevin!'
Kevin looked at it, then at Lucy and then at the crowd of
people around them. "Thanks
everyone. This is wonderful."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's party!" Adrienne
exclaimed.
Music started to play and everyone started to dance. Lucy walked over the table and poured
herself some punch. Kevin did the same
and then they turned to look at each other.
"Happy birthday, Kevin."
"Happy birthday, Lucy."
He responded as they clinked their glasses together.
The party seemed to go on forever. The food was great and the music was spectacular. The whole atmosphere made Kevin and Lucy
both feel like teenagers again. They
hadn't had that much fun in a long time.
All of the cast and crew had been there. They had made some great friends during their six years on XENA. They were going to miss everyone when the
show was over and to be truthful, they weren't ready for the show to end. They had greatly enjoyed playing their
characters and they wished that there was still another year left. It had all gone by too fast and now, there
were only a few months before it was completely over. But it was time for them to get on with their lives and find new
acting careers.
Their birthday celebration finally ended around 10:00. The rest of the cast and crew began to
slowly leave until the only two people who were left were Kevin and Lucy.
The food and beverages were all gone and at the moment, the
place was a mess. Lucy looked around at
everything and walked over to where the cake had been. She gently picked up the Xena and Ares
figures. She chuckled and then looked
at Kevin who was standing on the other side of the table.
"Hmm. These really do
look like us." She smiled, tossing the
Ares one across the table to Kevin.
He too smiled.
"You're right. Who knew?"
Lucy walked back to where Kevin was standing. "So, what are you planning to do once "Xena"
is over?"
"I don't know. I
haven't really thought about it. I
probably will continue acting along with playing in my rock band."
"Oh. Just like you,
I really don't know what I am going to do either. I'll definitely continue acting if I can find a job."
"Yeah. Well, I guess
we had better get back home. It is late
and we have an early day tomorrow."
"You're right."
They both put the little dolls in their pockets but as they
headed for the door, the lights in the room began to flicker and slowly faded
until the room was as dark as it was when they had first entered earlier that
evening.
"What happened?"
Lucy wondered.
"I…have no idea."
Kevin answered.
Before they had time to turn the light switches on again, a
white light started to glow from the ground in front of them. They looked on in wonder as the glow became
brighter, rising from the ground like smoke.
The brightness of it got so intense that Kevin and Lucy had to cover
their eyes so that it didn't blind them.
Finally, the light faded and as they uncovered their eyes they saw a
beautiful woman standing before them.
A glow of light continued to illuminate around her. She was dressed in a white silk dress that
reached down to just above her knees.
It was ruffled at the hem, along the triangle neckline and around the
edges of the sleeves. It was covered
with dust size crystals causing it to sparkle magnificently. Her shoes were also white, sparkling just as
the dress did.
The young woman was very slender and tall. Her hair was a beautiful golden yellow,
hanging behind her back in an elegant braid.
A clear crystal pendant hung around her neck on a silver chain and
matching crystal earrings adorned each ear.
Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were pale blue, twinkling like the
stars.
In her left hand she held a scepter with a crystal ball
placed on top of it. She looked at Lucy
and Kevin calmly as they stared back at her, their mouths almost gaping open.
"Who are you?" Kevin
asked, perplexed.
"I think 'what are you?' is a better question." Lucy whispered to him.
"I am Odessa, the Goddess of Truth." She politely replied.
"A goddess? No,
wait. That can't be. There are no such things as goddesses. They're just myth." Lucy said, a little shocked.
"Is this a trick?
Oh, it has to be." Kevin said.
"No. This isn't a
trick and I am a goddess."
"Okay, so if indeed you are a…goddess, then why are you
here?" Lucy questioned.
"I am here to show you the truth of who you are. Both of your birthdays are coming up soon
and it is time that you know the truth."
"The truth? What
truth?" Kevin asked.
"About your past.
More specifically, your past lives.
You two were once great people that, even though you would never admit
it, loved each other very much."
Both Lucy and Kevin were blown away by what the goddess had
said. Their past lives? Reincarnation? It jus t took them by surprise.
"Who were we?" Kevin
asked.
"I know about your career as actors and that you play on a
show called "Xena: Warrior Princess." I
also know that in a few months, the show will have ended and you will miss
it. You have become very attached to
the characters you play and you know your characters inside and out. But what you don't know is exactly why they
have become so much a part of your lives.
And it's not just because you have acted them out for six years. It's more than just acting for the two of
you because you feel like you become the characters. The reason for that is because in a past life, you were
once Xena, the Warrior Princess and Ares, the God of War. You play the characters so well because
their spirits are inside of you."
"Do you mean to tell us that we were once the characters we
play in the show? That's absurd!" Lucy
exclaimed. "How could I have been this
Xena? She is a make believe character
created from the minds of our writers."
"It's true. You were
Xena. And in a past life you, Kevin,
were Ares. The stories your writers
create are not completely unreal. Many
of the stories, in fact most of them, did happen thousands of years ago in
ancient Greece. They were first scrolls
written by the legendary bard of Potidaea herself--Gabrielle and most parts of
the stories you act out are true. Ares
was the God of War and yes, he did love the mortal Xena with all his
heart. But just like in the show, Xena
wouldn't accept his love. She never
did. Ares did give up his
immortality, that is a fact but unlike in the show, he was never restored with
the power of godhood. He died trying to
protect Xena from an arrow but failed when the arrow went through both of
them. They died in the arms of each
other."
Lucy's eyes began to fill with tears as she knelt to the
ground.
"What's wrong, Lucy?"
Kevin asked.
She didn't answer.
"Lucy?" He asked
again, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I remember." She
breathed, looking up at the goddess. "I
remember everything now. I was
Xena."
"Lucy, are you sure you're okay? That's crazy. How could
you have been Xena?" Kevin said,
somewhat worried about her because of the crazy things she was saying.
Lucy dried her eyes and stood up, looking at Kevin. "You don't remember? You don't remember about being Ares?"
"No. There is
nothing to remember because I was not Ares."
"Maybe this will bring back your memory."
Lucy grabbed his head and pulled him into a kiss more
passionate than anything they had ever done on the show. When she released herself from him, he
stepped back and leaned on the table, closing his eyes. She just watched him until he regained
control of himself.
Finally he looked up at her and she saw a gleam in his eyes
that hadn't been there before. "I am
Ares. And you are Xena."
"See, I told you."
Odessa said, walking over to them.
"Now, how would you like to live the lives you never had?"
Lucy and Kevin looked at each other, holding each other's
hands.
"There is nothing for us here. This time period is not where we belong. We belong together, back in ancient
Greece." Lucy told her.
"There is nothing for me here either." Kevin said.
"Very well then. You
are going to live again. You are going
to live as Xena and Ares once more."
Odessa replied.
She raised her hands and a white glow formed around Lucy and
Kevin. Odessa held up her crystal
scepter with one hand and in it formed a picture of Xena and Ares standing in a
flower filled meadow. With a slight
flick of her other hand, the spirits of Xena and Ares suddenly rose from their
bodies, leaving the spirits of Lucy and Kevin intact. Kevin and Lucy would continue to live as they always had. They would continue the show until it ended
but they would never remember that they had ever been Xena and Ares in the
past. That part of their lives was gone
and they would continue on without it.
In the form of a glowing ball of light, the spirits flew
over to the glowing crystal scepter and disappeared inside of it. The crystal scepter stopped glowing and once
again became just clear and transparent.
Odessa smiled. "My
work is complete. They found the
truth."
With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared in a flash of
white light. When she was gone, Lucy
and Kevin were released from the bright light.
Everything about Odessa and them being Xena and Ares had been erased
from their minds. All they remembered
was that the party had ended and that they were going home. They looked at each other, said their
goodbyes and then left the room.
Odessa appeared back in Greece, thousands of years before
Kevin and Lucy were even born. She had
returned to the time Xena and Ares would have lived.
The goddess was standing in a meadow full of wild flowers,
the same scene that had been in the crystal ball. There was a warm breeze that blew over the land. The sun was beginning to set over the
horizon. Odessa raised the crystal
scepter and it began to glow once again.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and smoke that erupted from
the crystal ball and flew in front of Odessa.
When it faded, Xena and Ares stood in its' place. They looked at each other and then at
Odessa.
"You have a chance to live your lives again so make the most
of it." The goddess told them.
"Thank you, Odessa.
For everything." Xena said.
Odessa nodded her head.
"Good luck to you both." She
said and then disappeared in a gust of wind and light.
Xena took Ares' hands and held them gently.
"I'm sorry that I never admitted my feelings for you. You tried every way you could think of to
make me see that you loved me. I'm
sorry I didn't understand that. I love
you, Ares and I don't know why I couldn't tell you before it was too late. I--"
Ares raised a finger to her lips. "You don't need to say anymore.
We're together now; we have another chance at life and that's all that
counts. The past is gone…for both of
us."
Ares kissed her softly and when he parted, he put his arm
around her shoulder. Xena leaned her
head against his strong body as they stared off into the sunset.
