Had a bit of writer's block with this, but I'm back.
Chapter 10
Xena fell face flat onto the ground. She lifted her head and spat out some grass and smiled seeing that she still possessed the Kronos Stone. Quickly, she got to her feet and ran through the grasslands and saw a village up ahead. She hoped that she was able to transport herself into the correct time period. Using the information that Gabrielle told her she was able to pinpoint a location, she hoped.
Running into the village she saw several children of various ages playing together outside. She saw a small centaur blonde boy playing with a couple of little girls. Smiling softly, she hid behind a hut and watched the children play together outside so freely and innocently. At this age, she had forgotten what it felt like to be so innocent and after she encountered her older warlord self, she guessed that her adult form also forgot what it meant to be a normal person.
Casually, she walked through the village as if she lived there with everyone else. She spotted a redheaded girl crossing paths with a few smaller boys and head into a small hut across the way. She frowned and then heard a man's loud voice from afar. Spinning her head around she saw a centaur and a tall blonde boy running to him.
She ran out to the square and there she saw Gabrielle, though she looked a lot different. She had long hair instead of her short locks that she had grown accustomed to. Peering behind a large wooden column she spotted her older self, wearing the brown leathers. "Oh good, I'm not a warlord anymore," she whispered to herself.
Noticing the distraught look on Gabrielle's face, she frowned sadly and saw her leave the hut. While, the older Xena, centaur and blonde boy entered the hut together. She decided to spy on the three in the hut and crouched down, running across the village square.
She peeked through the window of the hut and saw the older Xena arguing with the centaur and the boy standing, combating the centaur. She heard the centaur say the boy's name and her eyes widened. "Solan..." she whispered.
The older Xena heard her voice from outside and she gasped. Crouching back down, she crawled across the ground and hid behind a barrel of water. She saw her elder self walk outside the hut and survey the area, looking for any intruders. She wasn't going to make that same mistake of allowing her older form to see her again. That was a mess and she obviously couldn't accomplish anything dealing with her evil self, but here, this was different. She was going to fix this.
She held her breath and hoped that wouldn't be caught. She couldn't risk that. She saw her older self walk back into the hut and exhaled deeply. Too close, she thought. Hearing another familiar voice, she popped up from behind the barrel and saw the Amazon queen. "Ephiny," she smiled seeing the blonde Amazon from afar.
Thinking of what Gabrielle said to her before about messing with time remained planted in her mind. She wasn't going to do much here, but she needed to fix this and maybe life would be different when she returned to her normal state eventually.
She ran across to the hut that Gabrielle walked into earlier and peered through the window. She saw Gabrielle talking to the small redheaded girl and frowned, squinting her eyes, trying to hear what they were saying, but their voices were too muffled.
Gabrielle turned her back and rubbed her face out of frustration. Xena spotted the girl leave the hut without Gabrielle noticing. "Hmm," she saw the girl walking through the square and decided to follow her in hope of finding out exactly who this girl really was. She kept her distance and she got a strange feeling from this girl, even from afar. Although, Gabrielle was upset about something. There was a missing piece to this story that Gabrielle never told her. Xena was determined to figure out what exactly that missing puzzle piece was. Right here, right now.
Gabrielle was thrust through the time portal and landed on her back outside of the Halls of War. Groaning, she rubbed the back of her head and sat up slowly. She gasped and saw the portal close right before her eyes. "No!" she ran to the portal and it disappeared. "This is just great!" she threw her hands in the air.
Spinning around, she was back in her normal time and that was a relief, except Xena was nowhere to be found. She was off somewhere else and not in her regular body either because Hebe didn't reverse the spell she put on Xena. Now, both of them were alone and separated from each other.
Ares appeared and she spun around, glaring at the war god. "Happy to be back in your own time, Gabrielle?"
"Where is Xena?" she asked and folded her arms defiantly.
He snickered mockingly and approached her with a swagger in his hips. "Well, that is a great question. Since she has the stone she can go to any time period she wants!" he growled and she cringed, taking a step back. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault?" she laughed. "This is your doing, Ares! If you would have just followed Hebe's instructions and did what you were told to do then we wouldn't be in this mess!" she spat. "We both want Xena back and she's trapped somewhere. You go find her and bring. Her. Back!"
He arched an eyebrow, glaring at the short blonde. "Very demanding for a bard, aren't you?" he teased. "Maybe I could find her...and then kill her off and bring the warlord Xena to this time. Sound like a good plan, huh?"
"Ares..." she growled. "Don't even think about it. If you kill Xena then all of her will be lost! You don't think these things through, do you?" she smirked and he rolled his eyes. "You're able to pass through time easily. Go find and bring her back and ask Hebe to reverse this ridiculous spell."
"As if I could ask my sister to help me. Look what happened the first time!"
"That's your fault. You should know better than to trust your own kind," she smiled smugly and he grumbled.
He scoffed, "and you're actually trusting me to bring the brat back here?"
"You and I both care about Xena. That is the only, and I mean the only thing, that we have in common. Come on, Ares. You know it's the right thing to do."
He exhaled heavily. "You speak of this to no one. You hear me? No one." He pointed his finger in her face and vanished. Gabrielle smiled, nodding her head, quite proud of herself, then suddenly it donned on her.
"Hercules!" she gasped then took off running from the Halls of War.
As she ran through the field she spotted Caesar and his men and came to a skidding halt. "Oh gods," she muttered then made a quick decision, running in the opposite direction, far from the Romans. Caesar and his minions were obviously on a mission to find her and she wasn't going to stick around to see what happens next. She just wanted things back to normal, whatever that was.
Xena followed the small redheaded girl from a distance, to a small hut in a secluded part of the village. She hid behind a tree and watched the girl enter the hut and close the door behind her. She raised an eyebrow and quietly snuck up to the hut and crawled on the ground, looking for a window to peek into.
Lifting her eyes slowly, she looked through the window and saw a tall thin blonde woman clad in black armor standing over the girl.
The blonde woman held a brush in her hand and caressed the girl's wild frizzy hair. "Tell me again how Xena looked when you told her that I'd take her precious little secret to the grave?"
The girl smiled, "like she'd been stabbed through the heart with her own sword."
The woman giggled with delight and kept brushing the auburn headed child's hair. "And that's exactly how she'll feel, too, when Solan dies. Stabbed, stabbed through the heart! Pierced to the soul with such exquisite pain!" she grinned gleefully.
Xena's eyes widened, listening to this woman from outside.
The girl cringed as the woman kept brushing her hair harshly. "Ow! Don't!" she cried, yet the blonde continued. "Stop!" she yelled and the brush magically flew out of the woman's hand and landed on the far side of the room.
Xena gasped and covered her mouth. This girl is no girl. She has powers, great powers, and she is working with this woman, a woman she had never seen before. Why would Gabrielle leave this out of her storytelling? There is something more to this. So much more, she thought.
The girl rose from the chair and fluffed her auburn hair. "You'll get your chance. Why do you think I freed you?"
The woman grinned wickedly. "To make her suffer."
"To make her stop," the girl corrected. "My father's kingdom is at hand. The age of darkness, when Dahak will snuff out the people Xena loves, till he's crushed her very soul. And as she goes, so goes the world."
Xena slowly backed away from the hut and ran back to the village as quickly as possible. This is where it happens. Solan will die and she couldn't do anything about it at the time, but why not? What happened? What is missing here?
Upon returning to the village she spotted her older self leaving with Gabrielle and the large centaur also left the hut. She took the opportunity to see if Solan was still inside the hut and she peeked through the door and saw him sitting on the bed talking quietly to himself.
She stepped inside and his eyes immediately glanced over at her. He stared at her suspiciously and she smiled faintly. "Solan..." she said and closed the door behind her.
"That's right," he furrowed his eyebrows. "Do I know you?"
What a complicated question, she mused. "Not really. I'm a friend of your m..." she began, "of Xena," she corrected herself. "Listen, you are not safe here."
"What are you talking about?"
"Someone is going to kill you. You can't stay here, it's not safe." She stepped forward and he grabbed his dagger, pointing it at her. "Please, you have to believe me." She begged. She was beginning to understand what Gabrielle meant when things got messy when you toyed with time.
"I just want to help. Xena, where did she go?"
He rose from the bed, almost the same height as her. "Why should I tell you?" he asked. His eyes drifted down to the chakram on her belt and his eyes widened. "You have Xena's chakram."
Oh no, she thought. "It's not what you think, Solan." This isn't going exactly like she hoped it would. "I don't have time to explain but you need to come with me. I can get you out of here and you will be safe." She extended her hair. "Please?"
"Why should I trust you? You probably killed Xena and took her chakram!" he exclaimed and Xena groaned, growing more and more frustrated.
"I did not kill her because I...because I just didn't." she huffed, "come with me now!" she ordered. Solan took a few steps back, still gripping onto his dagger. "If you don't come with me you will die!" her eyes grew in fear. "Please, Solan. I'm trying to save you..."
"I don't even know you!"
She snarled and grabbed his hand. "That's enough! You are coming with me!" she pulled him along with her and snagged the Kronos Stone out from her pocket and inhaled heavily.
"Going somewhere?" Ares blocked the doorway and she gasped. He waved his hand froze Solan in place. She turned and saw he was unable to move. Waving her hand in front of his face, she whipped her head around and snarled at the war god.
"Get out of my way, Ares! This doesn't concern you!"
He snickered. "Oh, but it does. You are screwing with time, little princess. I know you have this martyr phase you're going through but you can't save everyone. You couldn't save our son then, what makes you can save him now?"
She held up the stone with a smug grin. "Because I have this."
"You're really start to get on my nerves," he grumbled and she held the stone close to her chest.
"Let me save him. I can do it if you just let me."
He laughed. "As if I would let you do this! You're messing with the wrong god this time, Xena!" he spat. "This god will haunt you forever. He is far worse than any Olympian and your meddling with time needs to end. Hand over the stone before I take it from you. I'd hate to hurt you..." he winked and she creased her eyebrows and looked back at Solan.
"Let me send him to a safe place and I'll give you the Kronos Stone. I promise." She pleaded and he rolled his eyes dramatically. "You want him to die don't you?"
"Look, there's a lot of things you don't know."
She gave him an incredulous look and crossed her arms. "I can change this. I have the power. You do too. You can let him die, Ares. Maybe my life could be different. You care about me inside, I can tell. You don't want me to suffer, do you?"
He pondered on that. Suddenly he was beginning to regret ever going through with this deal he made with Gabrielle, but he couldn't leave Xena like this and his eyes were focused on the stone. He proposed an idea to the teenager.
"I'll take the blonde brat to safety if you hand over the stone."
He stepped back and gripped the stone. "Why should I trust you? You're a liar."
He smiled softly. "Xena...I know you. I know everything about you. Hand over the stone and I'll get Solan to safety but –"
Of course there is a 'but', she thought.
"You belong to me when we return to the present time. Deal?" he held out his hand and she grimaced.
"Take him somewhere safe first," she said and he groaned.
With a wave of his hand, Solan vanished from sight and time was unfrozen for the time being. He heard the older Xena's voice from outside the hut. "Give the stone to me now!" he ordered. She held her breath and placed the stone in his palm. His eyes lit up, grasping the powerful tool in his hand once more. He grabbed her hand and disappeared from the hut.
Moments later, Xena was tossed onto the ground in front of the Halls of War. Slowly, she rose to her knees and felt incredibly sore not to mention she had a headache. She vowed from this moment she would never involve herself in time traveling again if she could avoid it.
Hebe appeared beside her brother and her eyes immediately darted to the stone. "Well done, brother. You found your warrior and the stone. Now, hand it over!" she reached forward and he pushed her away with a simple flick of his finger.
Xena frowned and hobbled to her feet. She ducked when she saw the small goddess fly over her head. She glared at Ares as he had quite a smug yet satisfied smile on his lips. "You promised, Ares."
"Of course and you made a deal with me. You are mine." He grinned and looked over at his disheveled sister. "Hebe! Turn her back!"
The goddess blew hair away from her face and brushed the wrinkles out of her gown. Waltzing over she circled around Xena and snickered under her breath. "Such a cute little girl. What a shame that I have to turn you back...or do I?" she frowned at the war god.
"Hebe, you turn her back like you said you would..." he said lowly.
"I made no such promise and you double crossed me, Ares! Give me my share of the stone and I will turn your mortal back." She wiggled her fingers and he rolled his eyes.
"Xena!"
The teenager turned and saw Gabrielle with Hercules and Iolaus running straight for her with big smiles on their faces. "Gabrielle!" she waved her hand and Ares grabbed her arm, bringing her close to his chest.
"Change her!" he ordered his sister. The goddess snapped her fingers and Xena fell to her knees, writhing in agony. She wrapped her arms around her body.
Gabrielle gasped and she glared at Ares. "What have you done to her now?!"
"Patience, blondie," Ares held up his hand and saw the teenager below him, transforming before his eyes. Gabrielle's eyes grew in fear. Xena's hair grew longer. The seams of her pants ripped open and her blouse was soon outgrown. Hercules and Iolaus cringed, as if they watched the strange process, meanwhile, Ares had a delightful grin on his face. He was eager to see Xena turn into the woman he knew her to be.
Xena lifted her head and her hands grazed her face. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed onto the ground. Gabrielle hastily ran to her side and held Xena's head in her lap. She pat her cheek gently and caressed her face, the face she had missed and longed to see again. It felt like forever and yet there was something different about Xena. She was not the innocent teenager anymore yet, she felt like she had lost a part of Xena that she'd never see again. That innocence was lost again and never to be seen again.
Ares stepped forward and grabbed Xena's arm, lifting her unconscious body off the ground. "Now, she is mine."
"No!" Hebe yelled and tackled him to the ground. "Give me the stone!" she pressed her fingers into his eyes. Ares let go of Xena's arm and Gabrielle grabbed Xena's legs and began dragging her off while the two deities fought one another.
"Help me!" she begged and Hercules ran over to aid her. He picked up Xena in his arms and her head lolled backward. "Go in the forest! I will meet up with you two later!" she said. Hercules nodded and took off running with Iolaus trailing behind him.
She eyed the stone in Ares' grasp and smiled. She ran over and snatched the stone from his grasp. He pushed Hebe off of him and rose to his feet. Ares and Hebe glanced over at Gabriele, holding the most precious thing on the earth.
"Gabrielle...think about it..." Ares warned. "Think about it!"
The smile on her lips grew and she threw the stone on the ground and stomped on it. Hebe gasped when she saw the stone shattered into millions of pieces. "No more playtime for you two." The bard crossed her arms, quite proud of herself and Hebe ran her fingers through her hair and then let out an ear piercing scream. Gabrielle covered her ears and Ares shoved his sister aside.
"This isn't over, Gabrielle. I will be back for Xena. Mark my words," the war god shook his head then vanished.
The bard let out a sigh of relief and then Hebe disappeared as well. She collapsed onto the ground and rubbed her forehead. She picked up one of the broken pieces of the Kronos Stone and smirked. She tossed the piece aside and looked back at the forest behind her. An eager smile graced her lips and she quickly ran off to go see Xena. Her Xena. At last.
This isn't over yet ;)