Chapter 2

Gabrielle's eyes flew open, and she jumped off the bedrolls, Sais in hand. She spun around, only to relax as she saw who it was.

"Aphrodite." Gabrielle breathed.

"Hey sweetie. Sorry to have startled you. I was willing to wait until you woke up naturally, but you seemed to have developed that sixth sense from Xe.." Aphrodite broke off, not wanting to hurt her friend by saying Xena's name out loud.

"Its okay, Aphrodite. You can say her name. You and Xena were friends, and not talking about her dishonours her memory. And yes, while in Jappa, Xena taught me to listen to the sounds behind the sounds. Most mortals would only hear your shimmery approach if they were in a dark cave, with all other senses blocked." Gabrielle explained, as she sat back down on her bedroll.

"Well, Xena sure took her time to pass on that particular skill." said Aphrodite as she came to sit beside her.

"She knew her time was up..." Gabrielle whispered, as sadness filled her.

Aphrodite pulled Gabrielle into a hug.

"Shh, its okay, my little bard. I came here to offer some information and some help."

Gabrielle pulled back from the Goddess, a little irritated, "If you think you're going to put some sort of spell on me to make me forget Xena and fall..."

Aphrodite cut her off. "No. Come on, peanut. You think I would do that to you? You're one of my favourite mortals. And I still owe you and Xena for returning me to my supple Godliness. No, I came to help you reunite with Xena. You two were not meant to be separated by death this early in your lives. Something has gone off course and I want to help set that right. I mean, your love for each other is the greatest love the world has ever seen, and although I didn't have anything to do with creating that love, I still need to make sure it lasts as it was meant to, being the Goddess of Love and all."

"What do you mean, meant to? Xena is dead. Her soul was sacrificed so that the souls of many could be saved. That is the redemption she had worked so hard for. So, if I am not mistaken, that was meant to happen."

"You're partially right sweet cheeks. Xena was meant to die so the 40,000 souls could be redeemed and move on. What no one mentioned to either of you is that Xena is now a spirit warrior, and that she isn't exactly dead, nor is she alive. And the souls aren't automatically redeemed; there is a lot of work behind it."

Gabrielle scrunched up her face, "Okay, I am confused. If she isn't actually dead, doesn't that mean the souls aren't redeemed?"

"Well, that little girl, Akemi, was it? She didn't exactly explain the whole truth to Xena. She was in love with her, and wanted to keep her close. So she said she would need to stay dead. But when Xena 'died' and took on Yodoshi, she didn't need to remain that way when he was destroyed. All she needed to do was gain the powers of a spirit warrior, which she permanently gained with Yodoshi's death. Then she has to seek out the souls and release there spirits with the Katana. I am told that when she discovered she could have remained alive and at your side, Xena's rage against Akemi was akin to her Destroyer of Nation days. I don't know those details and I don't want to. Anyways, she demanded the truth from the girl, and as part of her new powers include knowing when she is being lied to, she knew for sure what Akemi was now telling her was the truth. Akemi told her that she was still in love with her, and that she was jealous of her love for you, and thought that if she had her in the spirit realm with her, she could regain what she lost with Xena long ago."

At this revelation, Gabrielle stood up, visibly enraged by what she heard.

"You mean to tell me that I could have spread Xena's ashes into that fountain?! That she would still be here with me, and we would just be fighting a new battle?!" she paced back and forth in front of the goddess.

"Yes little one, that's correct. I am sorry I have to be the one to bring you this news. I can tell you that Akemi paid dearly for not telling the truth. Not by Xena's hands," Aph held up her hands to stall the question she knew was about to be asked, "No, there is a spirit warrior code of honour that binds all spirits, similar to your laws in the Amazon nation. When it was discovered by their counsel that Akemi lied to Xena and condemned her to this half life, she was judged and executed, if spirits can be executed, I don't really know how it works. Anyways, she is now spending her eternity in Jappa's version of Tartarus." Aphrodite watched Gabrielle relax a little at these words, and patted the bedroll to get her to come back down.

Gabrielle was still irritated when she sat down, but was now able to talk at a more civilized tone. "Wait, so what you are saying is that Xena is still, well not alive, but out there as a spirit warrior? Why hasn't she come to me?"

Aphrodite frowned at the question, "Because she didn't know she had that kind of power. She firmly believed that she was granted that one day on the boat to see you off, but when you reached the borders of spirit realms, she felt an almost invisible wall, stopping her and pulling her back. She wasn't aware that that wall was only a spot for warriors to know when they were now under a different realm, similar to when you go to Egypt or India and there are different Gods. She may be aware now, since some of the souls she is trying to find and release have left Jappa's realm."

"Yes, I remember her saying good-bye, and I remember making plans to continue working towards the greater good as we did so many years ago. Then she was gone. I cried, but I assumed she moved on."

"Well," Aphrodite said with a great sigh, "She didn't move on, but she is still stuck between worlds and taking on a huge task, one that would have been made much simpler if she was able to keep you with her at her side, to keep that part of her that allows her to accomplish good deeds. You gave her the strength she needed to keep going. I think that knowing you're still alive is the only reason she continues this task, since her heart isn't really in it. I think that is part of the reason she doesn't come find you now, as well as being afraid of you."

"Afraid of me? Why?"

"Because she hurt you. She made decisions without you, again, and doesn't believe she deserves you anymore."

"That is utterly ridiculous and totally like her. She should have just come and talk to me."

"Yes, well, she will soon. I promise you that."

Gabrielle sat with her head in her hands, taking in all the Aphrodite was saying. 'By the Gods, we could have still been together. I wouldn't even have cared if we had to have stayed in Jappa.'

"Aphrodite, you said you came to help. I don't see how telling me all this could help me. In fact, it actually hurts more to know I didn't have to suffer these last few months, and that Xena could have come to me and didn't." Gabrielle sunk back into her hands.

Aphrodite put her arm around Gabrielle, "Yes my little one, I did say I could help, didn't I? Well, let me tell you what you need to know. You see..."