Fighting the Darkness
Disclaimer : Xena, Gabrielle and Ares belong to Renaissance. MCA/Universal Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended. This story contains non-graphic scenes of love between two women. If you're underage, if this offends you or if it's illegal in your State/Country, please don't read any further. There's also a tiny bit of bad language.
Dedication: For Dec, as always. For Sham, my inspiration and for the PitStaff. Hope you enjoy this one!
Comments/Constructive criticism to cheeya@xenafan.com
Bard's Note : This is the second part of the 'A Life Worth Living' series. The first part is called 'Gabrielle's Fate' but you don't have to have read that to understand this story.
Xena looked up at the black night sky and rolled onto her side. She gently pulled her lover closer to her, running her hand over the bard's stomach and feeling the muscles shift lightly under her skin. She brushed her lips against the woman's shoulder and then allowed herself to drift back to sleep.
"I'm living the life I was supposed to, Xena. You made sure of that when you decided you didn't love me anymore and left me. I'm fighting for Ares now."
"Decided I didn't love you? Gabrielle, I've spent the past seven months looking for you. I love you more than my own life and I want you back."
The Warrior Princess was chilled by the cold laugh that came from her once kind and warm lover.
"You love me, huh? You didn't show that very well when you rode away from me at the temple. Ares was there to pick up the pieces of my shattered heart."
Xena sprang forward in fright, her heart pounding and her breathing fast and sharp. She looked to her left and found her partner sleeping peacefully, her hand under her cheek and her short blonde hair falling gently into her eyes.
"Gods," the warrior gasped and lay back down, wiping the sweat away from her forehead with her hand. She lay awake, thinking about how close she had come to losing the woman she loved, the only person she had ever, truly loved. Damn you, Ares. Just accept that I'm never coming back to you. I'm never giving Gabrielle up so you'd better just leave us alone.
"Hey," said a soft, low voice and Xena jumped slightly.
"Hi."
Gabrielle rested her head on the warrior's shoulder and draped an arm over her stomach.
"Nightmare again?" she asked, hearing the warrior's pounding heart under her right ear.
"Yeah, can't shake it," said Xena with a tiny shake of her head.
"I'm sorry," came the pained reply and Xena kissed the crown of her soulmate's head.
"It's not your fault, Gabrielle. It's Ares'. He's pulled this shit one too many times and I'm not taking it anymore."
"What can you do? You can't kill a god, Xena."
A long sigh floated down to the bard.
"I know but there has to be a way to get rid of him once and for all. I need to make him give up on us. He wants us both now, you especially."
"Yeah but Xena, don't think about it, ok? We're back together and that's all that matters for now."
"You're right. Let's just relax and take it easy."
They lay together in companionable silence until Xena finally asked the question that was burning inside her.
"Gabrielle?"
"Hmm?"
"When you were with Ares, did you and he ever… um…"
The bard pinned her partner with a truthful, green gaze.
"I'm sorry, Xena. The answer is yes. I thought you and I were finished and…"
Xena shook her head.
"It's alright," she drawled. "I just needed to know."
"Are you mad at me?"
"No, not mad but, to be honest, it hurts, Gabrielle. I don't blame you. We've both made mistakes over the past five years, but we always learn from them. Let's just chalk this one up to that too, ok? Losing you to Ares only made me realise how much I really love you."
"I realised the same thing. Gods, Xena, my heart broke when you left the temple. I really thought…"
"Don't think about that now. It's over. Let's just get on with living."
Gabrielle nodded, lowered her head back to the warrior's shoulder and tightened her grip on her ribcage.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too, Gabrielle."
The sun rose in the eastern sky and warrior and bard woke to the sound of birds singing. The breeze was warm, even at that early hour and it gently tousled their hair.
"Got any plans for today?" asked Gabrielle as she got dressed.
"No, not really. What do you think?" Xena replied, with an arched eyebrow.
"How about some fishing?"
Xena chuckled and shot her friend a look.
"You hate fishing, Gabrielle."
"No, I don't. It's just… I like fishing for my breakfast or dinner but just fishing for the sake of fishing… hmmm… not really my thing. Now, that flying parchment thing was fun."
Xena grinned and glanced up from lacing her boots.
"Let's fly some parchment then," she said. "I still have it. It's tucked away in pieces in my saddlebag."
"You've been carrying that around for two years?" asked the bard incredulously.
"Yep, never know when it might come in handy… like today for instance."
"Alright, Xena, let's fly some parchment."
After a quick breakfast, Xena and Gabrielle rode to a nearby lake. The lake had memories and Gabrielle chuckled as she remembered their day of obsession.
"Hey, Xena, I can't shake that picture of Joxer in my sleeping shift," she said.
The warrior laughed and retrieved her flying parchment from her saddlebag.
"Well, I seem to remember a bard telling me that I had brought her here so there would be no competition for me. You were so funny! I remember the look on your face when I cut your hair!"
"Hey, I seem to remember someone spending the entire day fishing and then having a tantrum when I wasn't around to hold her flying parchment! If I remember correctly, it was something along the lines of 'fish don't just catch themselves'"
The Warrior Princess scowled and shook her head.
"Alright, alright. Go easy on me, Gabrielle the Great, Gabrielle of the Four Seasons, Gabrielle of Troy… wait, there's more!"
The bard laughed helplessly.
"I was really bad, wasn't I? Oh, you've fixed the parchment. Ready?"
"Just about. Let me just… ok, there. Now it's ready."
Xena raised the parchment and examined it.
"You know, we should really give it a better name than flying parchment."
Gabrielle perched her hands on her hips and then lightly scratched at an itch on her stomach.
"Like what?"
"Oh, I dunno. You're the bard, you come up with a name," the warrior replied.
"Leave it with me."
"Ok, let's test this baby out."
Warrior and bard headed for a wide-open space and Gabrielle ran with the parchment, letting it go as the wind caught it. It rose gracefully into the air and Xena fed out the rope as it climbed.
"We have lift off! WooHoo!" Gabrielle yelled and Xena chuckled at her enthusiasm.
"Yep. Hey, watch this."
The warrior pulled on the string and the parchment dipped and then rose, then she made it loop in the air, much to Gabrielle's amusement.
"That's excellent. How did you learn that?"
"I have many skills," Xena replied and received a playful cuff from her soulmate.
"Typical Warrior Princess answer," she stated. "You know, Xena, you should really get a new line."
"Like what? How about I change it to 'I have many talents'?"
Gabrielle mulled this over in her mind and then shook her head.
"Nah, stick to many skills," she replied.
She looked at her partner and found that Xena had frozen, her head cocked.
"What was that," she said.
"I didn't hear…"
"HELP ME!"
Xena dropped the rope from the flying parchment and weighed it down with a rock.
"Come on, Gabrielle," she cried and took off, running in the direction of the shout. The bard was right behind her as she entered a clearing and found a group of women being rounded up by some slavers. Xena leapt into the air and flipped, landing between the soldiers and their prisoners. She spun her sword slowly in her hand and smiled, her piercing blue eyes icy cold.
"Hello, Boys!"
They shifted uncomfortably, obviously recognising her.
"You're Xena," one of them stated.
"That's right. Wanna play?"
She leapt into the air once more and kicked out with both legs, catching two of the twelve soldiers under the chin and knocking them senseless. She sheathed her sword and took her fighting stance, moving in a slow circle. She glanced over at Gabrielle, who was busy with three soldiers and grinned as she flipped into the air and kicked two of them in the back of the head, dropping them like sacks of flour. Xena, was still trying to find out how much Gabrielle had learned from Ares and every time they fought, the bard displayed a new skill. The last one had been arrow catching, something that she had never been able to do before the God of War's tutelage. In fact, she had saved Xena's life, much to the warrior's surprise, when a fourth arrow had been headed straight for her head. Xena had caught the first three but wouldn't have been able to stop the last one.
Xena deflected a sword blow on her gauntlet and punched another slaver squarely in the nose, driving the bone into his brain and killing him instantly. She quickly counted the remaining men. Gabrielle had taken three and she had taken three. That left six and she watched as Gabrielle threw her sais, lodging them up to their hilts in two of the slaver's throats. Xena winced and then grinned.
"Ooh, that gotta hurt," she growled and ducked as another man swung at her. He swung again and again but she blocked each punch with her wrists until she saw an opening and leaned to her left, kicking with her right foot and smashing her boot into his stomach. He dropped to his knees and she punched him in the temple, knocking him out cold. She looked around for her next opponent and realised that Gabrielle had finished the others. The bard went to retrieve her sais, wiping them off on the clothes of the two dead slavers and then slid them back into the holders on her boots.
"That was fun," she stated but Xena was troubled at the look of glee on her partner's face. There had been a time when she would have had a look of horror on her face at the death around them. Things change, Xena thought to herself.
"Are you alright?" the warrior asked as she strolled up to her soulmate.
"Never better," Gabrielle replied. "Gods, I feel exhilarated!"
She saw the look of surprise on Xena's face and shook her head.
"Don't worry, Honey. I'm not happy that I had to kill some of those men, but I enjoyed the workout. It's been quiet lately."
"Well, ok," Xena replied but she felt something wasn't right. Something in Gabrielle had changed. She could feel it but she couldn't put her finger on it. She filed the feeling away for further thought and wrapped her arm around her soulmate's shoulders.
"I think we'd better check on the flying parchment," she said.
"Kite," Gabrielle replied.
Xena laughed.
"Pardon me?"
"That's its new name, Xena. It came to me while I was fighting. We can call it a kite. It's much shorter than flying parchment."
The Warrior Princess raised an expressive eyebrow.
"Ok, kite it is. Good choice, Gabrielle."
She turned to walk away but she realised the bard wasn't at her side so she looked back and to her utter horror, she saw Gabrielle looking though the bodies. It wasn't that that sickened her really, it was the fact that, when she was finished, she licked the blood off her fingers and smiled evilly.
"Gabrielle! What the hell are you doing?" Xena yelled angrily.
The evil smile dropped from the bard's face and she looked blankly at her soulmate.
"What do you mean?"
"You just licked that guy's blood off your hands!"
Gabrielle looked down at her hands and suddenly turned away and ran to a nearby bush where she vomited again and again. Xena was at her side in a split second, holding her and rubbing her back.
"It's ok, Gabrielle. Just calm down."
Finally, the bard dropped cross-legged to the ground and looked again at her shaking, bloodstained hands. She started to sob and Xena sat behind her, holding her tightly and rocking her.
"It's ok. You're just in shock. It'll ease up in a few minutes. Trust me, Gabrielle."
Xena was right and within a few minutes, Gabrielle was feeling better. She looked up at her partner with a soulful, green gaze.
"What's happening to me, Xena?" she whispered.
"I don't know, Gabrielle, I'm going to find out."
She climbed slowly to her feet and closed her eyes.
"Ares," she whispered and the God of War suddenly appeared in a flash of blue light.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Warrior Princess and her girlfriend. Hmmm, what could they possibly want?"
Xena opened her mouth to speak but she stopped as Gabrielle jumped on the God of War, grabbing him by the front of his leather tunic and pulling him down close to her face.
"What have you done to me?" she demanded in a menacing tone.
Ares laughed and extracted himself from her grip.
"Let's just say I took out a little insurance. When you agreed to stay with me, I bonded you to me for life, just in case Blue Eyes and Leggy here managed to talk you out of commanding my armies."
Xena shook her head in disgust and put a hand on her partner's shoulder.
"You're sick," she spat angrily but Ares just laughed.
"Every time you fight, the bloodlust is going to get worse until you finally come back to me, Gabrielle."
He stared at Xena and stroked his beard.
"Hmm, Xena's thinking about how she can fix this. Sorry, my Dear, you can't. It's a god thing. Have fun!"
He waved and then disappeared in another flash of blue light.
"Xena, what…?"
The Warrior Princess pulled Gabrielle into her arms and held her.
"It's alright, Gabrielle. You're going to be ok," she said but a feeling of dread caused her stomach to clench.
Damn, how am I gonna get us out of this one.
Xena and Gabrielle walked slowly back to camp, collecting the kite on their way. Gabrielle was quiet and her face was tense. She was very worried and upset and Xena didn't know how to make her feel better. They made some dinner but neither ate much and they sat in relative silence. Xena pulled her whetstone out of her saddlebag and began her nightly ritual of sword sharpening. It wasn't yet dark but she found that the repetitive action calmed her down and allowed her to think more clearly. Suddenly, something Ares had said popped into her mind and an idea began to formulate.
"Gabrielle?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you remember what Ares said about you?"
"I think so. He said that when I agreed to join him, he bonded me to him for life as insurance."
"That's right, Gabrielle. He said, for life. Which means that if you died, the bond would be broken, right?"
The bard nodded thoughtfully.
"That's true but I don't much like the idea of dying either, Xena."
The warrior grinned and suddenly saw hope.
"Nothing says you have to stay dead, Gabrielle."
The bard's interest piqued and she moved closer to her soulmate.
"Xena, go on."
"Gabrielle, if I put the pinch on you and let you die, I could bring you back."
"Xena, isn't that a painful way to die?"
The Warrior Princess shook her head.
"Not if I do it a different way to the way I normally do. I wouldn't be shutting off the flow of blood to your brain. I can use the pressure point for your breathing. I can put you asleep with one and stop your breathing with another. You wouldn't feel a thing."
Gabrielle considered this carefully.
"Xena, I trust you, I really do, but what if you can't bring me back?"
Xena frowned and nodded.
"It a risk, Gabrielle and it has to be your decision."
After a few minutes, Gabrielle wrapped her arm around the warrior's waist.
"Let's do it, Xena. I can't stand the thought of being bonded to Ares. Let's get it over with."
Xena hugged her soulmate and kissed her gently.
"Ok, lie down."
Gabrielle got comfortable on her bedroll and Xena kissed her on the forehead.
"I love you, Gabrielle. Now, close your eyes."
The bard sighed and closed her eyes. She felt a sudden stabbing movement against her neck and then her world was no more. Xena wiped a shaking hand across her face and then closed her eyes. We can do this.
She hit another pressure point toward the bard's right shoulder, cutting off her breathing. She counted to two hundred and then released the points. Gabrielle lay silently on the bedroll and Xena felt her pulse. Her heart had stopped so the warrior blew into her mouth, willing the life back into her soulmate.
"Come on, Gabrielle," she urged, as she blew again and again. She pumped on her chest and blew air into her lungs rhythmically. "Gabrielle, I need you to fight! Come on fight!" She raised her fist and pounded hard on Gabrielle's chest. There was no change so she blew into her mouth again.
"Gabrielle! FIGHT! FIGHT, DAMMIT!"
She pounded again and again and she started to cry as memories of those terrifying few moments in the Thessilian temple flooded back to her.
"Don't leave me, Gabrielle! Come on, breathe! Open your eyes and breathe!"
She raised her fist and brought it down on the bard's chest with all her strength in a last effort to bring her soulmate back and suddenly, Gabrielle took a breath and opened her eyes. Xena pulled her forward and cradled her in her arms.
"We did it. We did it, Gabrielle."
"Xena," the bard whispered and her eyes fluttered shut in exhaustion. "Thank you."
Just then the God of War appeared with a face like thunder.
"I can't believe it! You broke the bond! You… you… aaaagggghhhh!"
He disappeared again and Xena laughed.
"I really like it when we piss him off like that," she stated and heard the soft chuckle from her partner. "How you doing?"
"I'm ok. I feel… different…peaceful. I'm only realising now that I had constant anger deep down inside me, but now I feel… free."
Xena sighed in relief and hugged her soulmate.
"That's how Ares controls people, Gabrielle. He taps into their anger. After Cortese attacked Amphipolis and killed my brother, Ares was able to use my anger against me, to make me do terrible things. He used me, Gabrielle and he would have used you too, had you not had the courage to do this."
"Xena?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now get some sleep. You'll feel much better in the morning."
Xena helped her undress and then removed her own clothes. She lay down next to her soulmate and gathered her into her arms, holding her tightly and stroking her short, blonde hair.
"Sweet dreams, Xena," Gabrielle mumbled sleepily and the Warrior Princess knew that the dream that had terrified her so much would never disturb her sleep again.
The End
To be continued in part 3
