Disclaimer: I do not own Xena: The Warrior Princess or any of the series' characters. Any resemblance to other fictions are pure coincidental.

Notes: This is an AU (Alternate Universe) and a Xena x Gabrielle fanfiction. I'm a fan of the pairing ok? Xena is my childhood hero and after re-watching the series this year, I decided to make a fanfiction. YEY. Comments are welcome. Reviews are welcome. Please be nice ahahhahahha it's my first Xena fanfic. I hope you all enjoy. :DD

Introduction

In a time of ancient excavations, humans were divided according to their territory—earth, water, sky. When the Aerial Territory proclaimed its superiority and command over the others, people whose souls were linked in every life time must fight to defend their loved ones; to protect their dreams; and to secure a future for humanity.

Chapter 7: Epidemic

The sun had finally shone through the clouds after the rain which gave the leaves brilliant glitter in the morning. Argo's feet were covered in cold mud as he walked with two quiet women on his back. Alexis preferred to enjoy the glistening green scenery. Xena, on the other hand, had a very quiet demeanor when hunting or traveling through the forest. Her senses had always been alert but that time, her senses were distracted by her thoughts about the masked woman—who she was and what she really wanted from her—and the mysterious round metal which its purpose—to save or to kill—was still a matter of debate in her head. It seemed all so complicated not knowing where to start searching for answers. Alexis, who had been more knowledgeable, told her that it would be a good start to know more about the world, most specifically, the war where the masked woman seemed to be directly involved in. Judging by the masked woman's influence on the Voetian soldiers back in Amphipolis, she was someone of high ranking. Hence, finding her was not a problem but getting close to her and getting answers without getting killed were.

Argo snort and walked in a faster pace. Xena sensed that Argo saw something wrong. She looked straight ahead and saw a body lying on the muddy ground. It was a boy with a loose shoulder length bronze hair. Alexis got off first to check the boy's condition. He was suffering from a high fever.

Xena came down from Argo's back. "What's wrong with him?"

"He has a very high fever." Alexis opened the boy's eyes and saw them yellowish.

"It must be some kind of infection. He needs to be treated. We need to get to the village fast and take this boy to a healer"

"Can't you do something?" Xena asked.

"Well, unfortunately, I only brought my knowledge with me. I couldn't bring any medicines with me. The villagers back in Amphipolis need them."

Xena carried the boy, placed him on top of Argo who stood very still when Xena was securing the child. The horse stag walked carefully after his lady's signal.

After an hour, they finally reached the village gates. The village guards signaled them to a halt.

"There is an epidemic spreading in the village right now. We advise you not to enter." One of the village guards said.

Xena explained that they found a very sick boy on their way to the village and asked if they could visit the village clinic to give the boy a treatment. The guards took a look at the boy and recognized him as one of the villagers.

"He probably got the disease too. I'll escort you to the village hall. It's wear most patients are being treated." Said one of the guards.

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Argo was left to rest on the stables near the gates. The guard led the way, Xena carrying the boy by her back and Alexis walking behind observing the villagers, people in white—healers and nurses— running around in and out of houses. The healers and nurses from the royal capital had been in the village for three days, controlling the spread of the epidemic, giving treatments and finding a 'fighter' against the disease.

Finally reaching the village hall, the guard left them to go back to his post. Inside the village hall lay patients lying on the floor. Men and women ; young and old; the disease did not seem to care at all. A corpse was just removed from the floor. After the nurse replaced the cloth, she gave a signal that it was ok to lay the boy. A healer immediately attended to the child. She was all in white except for her brown boots; long sleeved shirt; sleeveless long coat; tight pants and gloves. For Xena, it was strange to see people wearing the same clothes even when they share the same duty. Still, this healer somehow stood up from the rest because of her beauty and elegance. The healers had their hair all tied up but hers were left freely flowing. Although of different gold shade and length, her hair actually reminded her of Gabrielle's,

"What is your relation to this child?" asked the healer.

"We just found him lying on the ground outside the village." Replied Xena.

"He's suffering from a high fever and his sclera is yellowish. It's a kind of infection I've never seen before. Have you already produced a 'fighter' for this? Asked Alexis,

The healer took a small tube of liquid medicine attached to her belt and gave it to the boy as an oral medicine. Even from a distance, they could smell its unique scent.

"Oh, are you a healer?" The healer immediately recognized Alexis because of her inquiry. "No, we still have no 'fighter' yet. The alchemists are having a hard time making one. "

Seven years of friendship with Alexis earned her a lot of basic knowledge about healing. Infections need fighters or the person would eventually just die. Treatments were not cures but would just slow down the development of the disease hoping that the patients would live long enough for a fighter to be produced.

Another healer came calling "Healer Lauren. May I have a word with you?"

The healer nodded, stood up and turned to Xena and Alexis. "It was kind of you to bring the sick child here but you have to leave. The longer you stay here, the higher the risk of you getting sick too. Rest assured that we will take care of this boy."

"Thank you. Healer Lauren." Replied Xena.

Lauren took her leave and went with the other healer.

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Alexis and Xena went to the shop to buy some supplies. Unfortunately, the shop had little commodities to offer but the basic needs like food, water purifying stones and common weapons were available but herbs and stones for healing were all out of stock. Xena bought enough food supply for two days as it was the only amount of supply the store owner allowed them to buy. On the other hand, Alexis grabbed herself a good knife which earned her a strange look from Xena. Not that Xena wanted to underestimate her healer friend but she had never seen Alexis use sharp objects other than surgical tools. Alexis gave Xena a smirk and suddenly threw the knife almost scaring Xena's face.

"Bull's eye." The store owner mumbled looking at the knife stuck right at the center of his target board.

"Oh, didn't know you had that skill." Xena said with a calm but surprised face.

Just in front of the store, Xena and Alexis heard a group of village guards talking about a masked woman seen lurking in the mines. Xena walked out the store and asked the guards about this woman. It turns out that the guards only heard it from the miners. Xena instantly wanted to investigate as it could be the same masked woman from Amphipolis.

"Hey…" It was Healer Lauren who called. "May you please escort me to the mines?" She asked the guards.

One of the guards stepped forward and agreed to escort.

"Healer Lauren, may we come with you? We would like to give you some assistance." Alexis approached her.

"Oh, it's you. The head healer asked me to get some immunity stones from the mines. We ran out." Her voice became suddenly softer at the end.

Alexis knows the importance of immunity stones and running out of them during a spread of a disease meant disaster. Immunity stones were stones used by most healers and nurses to prevent them from being infected by the diseases of their patients. Just like water purifying stones, they turn to useless stones when fully corrupted. Only healers and nurses from the capital had them as they were very rare and expensive.

"My friend Xena can help you in the mines. I'll fill in your post for a while." Alexis replied and turned to Xena.

"I doubt that it's the masked woman we're looking for. Let's just try to help this village a bit." She whispered to Xena.

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The Minahan village was a village of miners. A percentage of the Gracia's 'stones' were being extracted from the mines in that village. There were no opportunities aside from mining and farming. The Royal Capital would pay the village with money or food supplies for the stones it produced.

Xena looked at Lauren, frantically searching for immunity stones from obviously empty boxes and cabinets in the storage shack.

"This can't be.. There is not a single immunity stone here." Lauren sat on a chair calming herself down.

The guard who had been staying outside went in and said "Healer, immunity stones are rare in this mines. All of the immunity stones this village had excavated were all sold to the Royal Capital. Many of our miners had caught the disease and paralyzed the mines. You won't be able to find anything in here"

Xena took a tool hanging on the wall "Well, I guess we just have to dig some immunity stones ourselves."

Lauren smiled at the idea.

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The boy's fever has gone down a bit but his eyes were still yellowish. Alexis took his pulse and found it a weak. Most of the patience she had checked were the same—dying. The treatments only prolong their pain and there was no news about any fighter developed by the alchemists.

"This is not good. If they don't make a fighter soon, these patients will die in a few days time." Alexis said to herself.

When she ran out of treatments, she went to the healers' quarters to ask for more. Before she could open the door, she over heard a Gracian soldier reading an order from the Royal Capital.

"The best of our Alchemists failed to make a fighter for the disease spreading within the Minahan Village. To prevent the disease in reaching the other nearby villages, the King orders the isolation of the village. All Royal Capital healers and nurses are commanded to evacuate the village tomorrow morning before sunrise. The village gates will be barricaded. No villager will be allowed to pass through the gates"

"The King is being practical about the situation.. too practical even for a devil's taste.." Alexis whispered and then hurriedly went off to the mines.

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They were already quite a few meters away from the entrance making the light outside useless. It was getting darker as they walked deeper in the mines which was more of a maze. Xena, leading the way, was holding a firefly torch and a map with markings they found in the storage shack. Lauren and the guard were just a few steps behind her, Lauren with a bag on her back and the guard with a pick on his hands.

"Watch your step..." Feeling some huge rocks she's stepping on, Xena warned the other two behind her.

"I don't understand why they don't have firefly stones setup around here. They excavate them right here" Xena sounded pissed.

"The King demanded that all stones excavated be sold to the Royal Capital. They say it was for the preparation for the war against Voetia" said the guard after hitting his head on a lower ceiling.

"Watch your head too.." Although it was kind of late, Lauren warned the guard.

Xena took a left turn, following the map showing where immunity stones can be found. Moist ground, walls seemed to be closing, path getting narrow, a loud breathing was heard. Xena's eyes focused straight ahead but saw nothing. The torch could only reach a few meters. They stopped; sense of hearing in height. They heard a powerful snort and heavy quick footsteps getting louder and louder. It was coming towards them.

"RUN!" Xena shouted and turned around. Something was running after them they did not dare to stand and just find out.

The path was getting wider again, wide enough for Xena to run beside Lauren.

It was getting closer to them. The black haired hunter heard a loud stomp. It leaped.

"Get down!"

Xena and Lauren got down; their whole bodies on the ground and their hands covering their heads.

Scream echoed in the mines. The women raised their heads to see what it was. It had a lower body of an animal with strong thick hind legs and a whip like tail. Its upper body was that of a man with stoned hard muscles. It had a shoulder almost double as a tikabalang's. Its strong arms tore the guard limb from limb. Blood splattered on the walls.

Lauren couldn't move. Her eyes fixed on the creature.

"Snap out of it…" Xena said in a low but authoritative voice.

She pulled her up and pushed her behind a rock. Her hands signaled the blonde to hide and stay put. She ran towards the creature;on its back and leaped in front of it. It didn't even budge but it snorted and hot air could be seen coming out of its nose. It was still holding the upper body of the guard who had no more limbs attached to him. The guard moaned for one last time as it grabbed his head tearing it from his bloody body. Xena could see its red eyes looking at her as if saying that she was next. Letting go of the bloody torso, as it stepped forward, the earring on its left with a huge green stone clanked—a signal to run.

"No need to provoke you then…" Xena ran with the torch on her hand and her sword on the other.

The creature roared giving Xena few more seconds to get ahead and then it ran after her.

The female hunter ran as fast as she could, counting and remembering each turn. The last thing she would want was to get lost in the mines with that creature. She tapped her firefly torch. Its light slowly faded away.

"Let's see.. if you can find me.." The light had faded completely. The creature roared and continued to run after her. Holding her breath, she stopped running, leaned against the wall. Not a sound or movement from her. It passed by her.

"Your brain isn't as big as you look.." She mocked the creature in her head.

When its footsteps was faintly heard, she ran back to Lauren. No need to look at the map, she knew exactly where she was and how to get back to Lauren.

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She had been sitting behind the rock, seeing nothing but darkness, for half an hour thinking if she could still get out of the mines alive. Her thoughts were disturbed by a sharp object pointed on the side of her neck.

"You're a healer aren't you?" A woman's voice spoke to her.

"Stand up." The mysterious woman grabbed her hands and tied them behind her back.

"Let's go.. just follow me.."

Lauren swallowed hard.. "I can't exactly see you in this darkness."

The woman moved closer and whispered behind Lauren's ear "Just listen to my directions.. Let me lead you." If not for the threat on her throat, she could have thought that it was a whisper of seduction.

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Xena tapped the torch when she was near the spot where she left Lauren. It was a mess. Limbs scattered and blood all over the walls.

"Lauren?" She called out.

"Blondes…" The hunter suddenly remembered the small woman she met in the Troll Forest. "They don't really stay put do they?" She pursed her lips.

Xena examined the ground and the walls for any tracks left behind. There was none except for a familiar scent—the scent of medicine.

"Smart woman.."

~End of Chapter 7: Epidemic ~

Author's Notes: Christmas Vacation is almost over. Sigh. Lauren? Well, it's no other than Doctor Hotpants herself! For those who doesn't know, she's from Lost Girl—a Canadian series from Showcase. I'm planning to make her a recurring character in this fanfic together with her succubus (which by now, you guys know who she is in this chapter)

Reviews motivate authors to write more and write better. :) So yeah, reviews will be much appreciated. And oh, do log in so that I can send you a personal message. :)

Thanks again!

Xena: Oh, so this is a crossover now?

Authoress: Kind of but I'm not going to change this fanfic's category. I don't think it's necessary to do so.

Xena: By the way, about that 'creature'…

Authoress: He's kinda dull huh?

Creature: snort!

Xena and Authoress: Shit…! Ruuuuun!