Chapter 2

Greece – many years ago (Shortly after the events of "Light in the Darkness")

Hope had been wandering by herself for a bit now. Just wandering around through the forest.

It was not as if anything could truly happen to her, being who and what she was.

Any wildlife or bandits should rather be afraid of her, instead the other way around.

It was a few days ago now they had released Solan from the now corrupted Afterlife.

To some part, she admitted to herself, it was her way to make things up with Xena. As far as that was even possible. Not that she thought that Xena had any right to judge her. Not after all the things Xena herself had done.

But it also just felt like something she should do.

Now however Hope had still another matter on her mind.

Something she wanted to talk about to one of her new – well… comrades.

It was something she had been dragging on for too long now. One last thing she believed she should come clear about.

xxx

Hope had walked back to the place she and the others were were camping.

As she had expected, she found them sitting together around a fire – Gabrielle, Xena, Hercules, Iolaus and Eve.

She looked at the person she wanted to talk to.

"Hercules," Hope said.

"Hope."

"I wanted to talk with you about something," she told him.

"Yes?"

"Maybe I should have brought this up earlier, but it never seemed like the right time. Not with all the other things that happened."

`Like Hercules grieving over Morrigan, who had died against my Father´s Warriors,´ she thought.

"Just tell me," Hercules said calmly.

"Do you remember the time we first met?" she asked him.

This question caught them all by surprise for a moment.

"I guess you are not talking about the time you send Callisto back in time?" Iolaus stated. "As I remember you and Hercules never really met face to face back then."

Hope remembered this all too well. She had tried to have his mother killed before Hercules was even born and erase him from the timeline.

"You are talking about the incident that brought that parallel world where I was known as The Conqueror into existence?" Xena questioned.

"Yes," Iolaus confirmed.

Hope nodded.

"Even if that was not exactly what I intended," she said. "I certainly didn´t want to make you ruler of Greece."

"Of course not," Xena replied with a dry smile.

The relationship between this two had clearly gotten better. Basically because they could be at the same place without trying to kill each other.

But this was not what Hope wanted to talk about.

"I did send Callisto. This was the first time we tried to change the past to eliminate you as an enemy," she said.

"But it was not the only one," she admitted.

"It was during the time I was physically dead and just a bodiless entity. In this form moving through time and space is even easier than it is normally for a god."

She looked Hercules in the eyes.

"It was when you were a young man. You were on a quest to find Caine, shortly after you met him for the first time.

For me, it was after my last meeting with Mother and Xena in Potideia. We were both not in a good state of mind back then," she admitted openly.

"Veila?" Hercules asked.

The same name she had used in the centaur village, back when she was just a few months old.

For the first time he made the connection to the young woman he had met over fifty years ago, who had claimed to be another Halfgod.

Of course she was not the only woman he had met over the time, who happened to look exactly like Gabrielle since then. There were also a few others who had an remarkable similarity over the years.

Hercules remembered what had happened. How they had met. How they had become closer and started to understand each other. And how in the end she had still followed her mission… to kill him.

He could understand why she had been reluctant to mention it.

xxxxxxx

The Town Mira – Present Time

Xena and Gabrielle were still involved in their converzation with the man standing at the bar of the tavern.

And the group of white robed men was also still watching them from the other side of the room where they were standing in.

Suddenly however they were interrupted by another sudden visitor. One who suddenly appeared out of thin air with a small burst of flames.

It was the being calling itself Sin – a Demon from Hell.

Everyone else in the room was of course starring at them as well.

A stranger who appeared out of thin air in a burst of flames? It was clear to all of them what she was.

A Demon had just shown up right under them.

As Xena saw which form this Demon had taken, she could barely hold herself back.

"Oh Xena," she greeted her, "I see you have arrived. But is that a way to greet someone who has warned you from a coming danger?" she asked with fake innocense.

Before Sin had even finished speaking, Xena already had her sword pointed at the Demon.

"What exactly are you thinking taking that form?" Xena asked her angrily.

Right now Sin was looking exactly like Eve.

This was not just annoying. Given the circumstances that Eve was currently living in this town and as it seemed a group of Christian fanatics was walking around here, it was dangerous.

Especially if she presented herself in a room full of people like that. Who said someone would not think Eve truly was her?

"It just seemed fitting, given the circumstances. Don´t you like it?" Sin asked her.

"Not at all. Are you trying to frame my daugher for your actions?" Xena questioned.

"Framing Livia – the so called Bitch of Rome of something? Now, why would I do that? Or rather why would I need to do that?" she replied in a fake-innocent tone.

"But that is all far in the past – long forgotten, right?"

Xena looked at her with a frown on her face. But she said nothing. What would be the point? There was no denying Eve´s past crimes, just like her own.

But all that was not the reason they were here. They were just wasting time.

"If you don´t like this form, how about someone else?" Sin said.

She changed her appearance with a bright flash and now looked exactly like Callisto.

"This is not much better," Gabrielle said, her hands on her own weapons.

"Really?"

With another flash the Demon changed once again and was now looking exactly like Hercules former wife Serena. A form that she seemed particular fond of.

"Stop this games," Xena told her. She put her sword aside. "You asked me to come here for a reason, right?"

"Yes - but I fear you are a bit late." Sin said. "Cupid has already tried what he planned to… and the result was exactly what I predicted."

"So he had truly brought her back?" Xena stated.

"Accidentally," Sin replied, "but - yes. Actually she is now on the way here. She will probably attack this place very soon."

Somebody else who had also witness what was going on was the group of white clad zeolots.

Who were now approaching them.

"You," the one standing in the front addressed Xena and Ganrielle. "You two were suspicious right from the start.

And now you are standing here, dealing with this Demon you have brought into our town.

We will bring you in and before the court. And then even the Bishop will finally have to take us serious."

"I see that you understand nothing," Xena replied to him.

"I understand enough." He draw his sword at her, with his comrades following his example a moment later.

"Devil worshipper," he said.

He pointed his sword to Xena´s throat.

Xena turned her head around to the Demon Sin, demonstrately ignoring the blade pointed at her, as if it were no real threat to her. This of course only angered the zealots even more.

"You just have to cause trouble, right?" she asked her.

But nearly in the same moment Xena turned back around to the zealot-group – taking them by surprise

And with an incredible quick move threw the sword out of their leader´s hand.

For a split-second he was just starring at her dumbfounded and in shocked surprise.

He had never seen someone move so fast. Who in the world was this woman?

But in the same second Xena had already moved again and used her fingers to place The Pinch on his throat.

The leader of the group of thugs now collapsed – both in body and in confidence – and sank to his knees, gasping for air.

At the same time Gabrielle made her move as well. She lunged forward and slammed the back of one of her sais into one man´s face and placed a kick on another one.

Who then stumbled into two of his comrades, bringing them all off balance… and making it easy for Xena to bring them down with another line of punches and kicks.

During the short fight, Sin was just standing there, smiling.

"That is enough." They suddenly heard a voice coming from the door.

It was an older man, with white hair and a beard clad in an reddish colored coat. Standing behind him was a group of armed soldiers.

The Bishop – it had to be him.

"Demon," he said, addressing Sin, "this town is no place for you."

"Really?" Sin commented with a side-glance at the group of zealot thugs. "And I was starting to feel just like home."

"Bishop!" one of the zealots called out. "You see we were right. Demons have infiltrated this town. They are right under us. And these strangers here are working with them."

Their leader tried to shout something as well. But The Pinch was still on him, making it hard for him to talk clearly or loud.

"H-help," he stammered instead.

Xena took mercy on him and released The Pinch. This only caused the man to fall down on the ground.

"I think I will make up my mind about this by myself," the Bishop said. "Now stand down – all of you."

They reluctantly followed his order. Especially as the soldiers following the Bishop moved and surrounded the men.

Xena and Gabrielle put their own weapons aside as well. They could only hope that Eve was right about this man.

Otherwise this situation might become unnecessary complicated now. Xena was confident that they could take the Bishop´s warriors as well if it came hard to hard.

But that would make it much harder for them to cooperate later, when Callisto would attack this place.

"You two," the Bishop said. "You are the ones Eve told me about, aren´t you? Her mother Xena and Gabrielle."

"We are," Gabrielle replied.

"You know Eve - Your Emminence?" Xena said.

"Yes – I had a few very interesting discussions with her. She has some interesting views and ideas. Her knowledge about the Faith is also impressive. Even if she used to be one of Eli´s followers."

"Heretics – followers of the False Prophet," one of the zealots shouted.

"Eli was not a false prophet," Gabrielle called out. "He was just… human."

"I am sure he was," the Bishop agreed. "We should not be so quick to condemn others."

"You!" the leader of the zeolot-thugs now called out. "I see now. Under your holy fassade you are just another heretic yourself. Traitor – instead of trying to convince you, we should better have killed you," he shouted.

"Now – how interesting," Sin said. "Hatred, arrogance and bigotery, the will to kill anyone who things differently than yourself. If that is what it means tob e a Christian in this days, then we have already won," she stated.

"Well – since you all have asked me to go, I will leave now."

She formed a fireball in her hand.

"And since you are so eager to show the darkness in your soul," she addressed the leader of the zeolot group - who was still on his knees from Xena´s attack earlier,

"I think I will just take you back home with me," she stated.

Panic now showed up on the man´s face.

"No," he whispered afraid.

A wall of flames appeared right in front of his group of followers. Who now completely lost their nerves and run away in fear.

"It seems your friends have left you behind," Sin commented, looking at the now pitiful man as she aimed the fireball at him.

"No – please don´t," he pleaded.

Xena and Gabrielle raised their weapons again. They were not really happy to have to fight Sin to defend this guy of all people, but well…

But Bishop Nicolaus reacted first. He raised his staff and a bright light started to shine from it.

As this light fell on the flames Sin had ignited, they were drawing back.

As the light his her, she froze for a moment, but then caught herself again.

"Go Demon," the red clad Bishop said, "leave this man alone and leave this town."

"You dare to challenge me?" she asked.

"It is not me. It is God who is challenging you," he replied.

The light shone even brighter… and Sin took one step backwards.

"There is no point in fighting you right now. I will leave for now. But only for now," she said.

She disappeared in another burst of flames.

"Thank you, thank you," the completely broken zealot leader cried out now.

"Quite pathetic. Just a minute ago he threatened to kill him," Gabrielle whispered quietly to Xena, who just nodded.

The Bishop turned around to them.

"Come – let us continue our conversation somewhere else. Eve is waiting for you at my home."

xxxxxxx

A few miles from the town

Cupid barely managed to dodge the fireball she had thrown at him.

She was really just as crazy as he had heard of.

How could things go so wrong? He had been tring to bring the other Gods back – his family, not this insane murderer.

"Now Cupid – why are you running away? Come here and play with me," Callisto called out in a twisted sing son voice.

To his luck he still had some of the powers he had absorbed from his mother.

Cupid teleported away. In the direction of the town close by.

It was he who had brought this menace right to their doorstep.

He at least had to warn them.

"Two can play this game," Callisto said and teleported as well.

xxxxxxx

Mira

Bishop Nicolaus had meanwhile brought Xena and Gabrielle to his home with him. To his own house, not the Church building.

As he told them, Eve had been waiting for them at the entrance.

"Mother, Gabrielle," she greeted them.

Just like Xena and Gabrielle she had not truly aged in all these years.

Both laid her arms around her to greet her.

Then they followed the Bishop inside. While it was a quite large building, it was not very luxurious. In fact it was quite spartanic.

Nicolaus was leading them through a few rooms, until they arrive at one long table where they were sitting down together.

"It seems the stories about your God given powers are true Bishop," Xena said.

"God given, yes. Like I told this Demon, they are not my own," he replied.

"Eve might have already mentioned it, there is something we want to ask you," Gabrielle said.

"You are talking about the powers that are on all of you?" Nicolaus stated. "Like curses."

"Yes," Xena answered.

"The one on you is different, darker. And deeper," he told her.

This was exactly correct. Eve and Gabrielle had received their agelessnes when Ares had accidentally transfered some of his immortality to them. But with Xena it was something else, a pact with the Darkness itself that had brought her back to life.

"You knew about this and still let us enter your house without any guards?" Xena asked.

"I have gotten to know Eve and she said you were trustworthy. Besides – I have seen you. You could have easily killed these men earlier if you wanted, didn´t you?" he said meaningfully.

They all exchanged a short look with each other.

"And I saw you two raise your weapons to defend one of them from the Demon. Even if he had threatened you earlier. Whatever else you are, you are certainly not in league with the Devil or evil people."

"Some of us certainly were," Eve replied.

On the wall on other side of the room was a long board with different object being lined up on it. Some of them were something you would hardly expect in the house of a Bishop.

Gabrielle´s gaze fell on the board and wandered over it.

There were a few trinkests and precious items, but also some small statues and objects of art and a few… toys for chidren?

She wondered why something like this was here.

Then however her eyes fell on one certain object. That was impossible.

She looked once more, then another time to be sure she was seeing what she thought she did.

Before Gabrielle herself fully realized it, she had suddenly stood up and was starring at the object on the board, one between several other.

It was a small wooden lamb. Looking absolutely identical to another one she had once possessed so many years ago. The one she had given Hope after her birth.

"That…"

"Gabrielle?" Xena asked.

Her own eyes wandered to the spot where Gabrielle was looking at and for a moment she starred in surprise as well.

She walked over and took the toy into her hands.

"Bishop – where did you get this?" Xena asked him.

"This?" he said surprised. "It belonged to one of my ancestors. Like several other of these objects here."

"I had another lamb just like this a long time ago," Gabrielle said. "I gave it to my daughter as a present. But it was burned."

`Because I burned it on the funeral pyre along with my daughter´s body… after I killed her,´ she thought to herself. `Only that she didn´t truly die, because nothing can truly kill her.´

"It is good possible that my ancestor had made more than one," Nicolaus stated. "He had started the tradition to hand out presents to the children and the poor at Winter Solstice. A tradition that I have let live up again at Christmas here in Mira," he mentioned.

"Yes – we have me… heard of your ancestor," Gabrielle said, correcting herself.

"I see," Nicolaus replied.

If he had noticed Gabrielle´s lapse, he didn´t show it.

"Do you want it?" he asked her. "As I said, it is habbit here to give gifts at Christmas."

"I-… yes, I guess. Maybe I will give it to my daughter again when I see her."

"Your daugher is still alive, I see. Despite the immortality that is placed on you?" Nicolaus stated.

"Well – yes."

"I understand," he said.

He turned around to Xena, then to Eve.

"Do you not think we should stop playing this games?" he asked them calmly.

"You are the Xena – the legendary Warrior Princess – cursed with immortatily after she returned from the dead.

And you are her daughter Eve – the former Messenger of Eli – also known as Livia… and her partner Gabrielle. And I am also aware who your daughter is.

You have heard of the abilities God has gifted me with and you now seek my help to remove the immortality placed on you. Is that correct?"

For a few moments nobody said anything.

"It is correct," Xena finally admitted.

"I will do my best," Nicolaus just said with a smile.

xxxxxxx

At the same time, Cupid just appeared at the border of the town…

… closely followed by Callisto.

The first flashback part between Hope and Hercules seems unrelated to the rest of the plot. It will however play a role later in the story.

xxc

For the sake of the story, I have made Nicolaus an descandant of the character Senticles from Season Two of Xena. Who was kind of a stand-in Santa Claus – while Nicolaus would of course be the real deal.

Like stated in the story Days of Tomorow, I have made the characters Sin (Hercules S.5) and Mephistopheles (Xena S.6) separate characters. Despite Sin obviously being meant to be Mephistopheles in disguise.

They do not really work out as the same anyway however, because Mephistopheles needed Eve´s blood to even manifest himself on Earth, while Sin was freely walking around before Eve was even born.

xxc

It also follows my theory that Dahak and the force shown controlling Hell (Heart of Darkness) are identical.

Something that is actually quite obvious if you think it over. Both are an incoporal powerful Force of Darkness that directly opposes the God of Light and hast he habbit of transforming people into Demons.