"I don't see why Ares wants Gabrielle all of a sudden," Xena muttered as
she stalked away from Hercules and Iolaus. Her plan to get their help had
failed. The stupid men didn't even realize she was jealous! They thought
she was actually concerned about Gabrielle's safety and honor. "She just
scribbles nonsense in scrolls! And talks nonsense! I'm the one he loves.
Me!"
She whistled for Argo as her mind whirled at top speed. She needed to do something more concrete to gain Ares' interest back. It was becoming clear that the innocent bard had her claws deep in him already. Was Gabrielle actually more clever than she gave her credit for? Could her innocence all be an act? Maybe she had it planned from the beginning to steal Ares away. It was common knowledge that Ares favored the Warrior Princess, that she knew him. Was that why Gabrielle had wanted to travel with her, to get to know Ares? She had allowed the bard to travel with her to cook and clean. Besides, she had always presumed the annoying girl held no interest for Ares.
Ares liked warriors.
So why did Ares want to marry Gabrielle?!
"I'm the one he's supposed to marry! Me! I'm the one who's going to become a Goddess and be Ares' Warrior Queen!" Xena thought of all the things she had been through to get where she was today. Caesar breaking her legs, getting beat by her own soldiers, the years of being a warlord. And it would all be for nothing if her prize was snatched away! It was so unfair! "Well, that's not going to happen. Maybe I've been playing hard-to-get too long with Ares. Maybe he tired of the game and went looking elsewhere. So I'll have to make sure he knows how I really feel about him."
But it would have been so much easier if Hercules would have helped. That way Gabrielle would continue to believe in her. She didn't want to ruin that. Good cooks who were willing to travel anywhere were so hard to find! She had been willing to overlook the girl's tendencies to get in trouble, but this was the last straw! Ares was hers! "And if you're smart, Gabrielle, you better keep your hands off!"
********
"Boy, I can't believe she pulled a dagger on you!" Iolaus shook his head as he watched the Warrior Princess step off the pier and onto the boardwalk. "She's out of control. It's scary, like seeing the old Xena. The evil Xena!"
"Yeah, I know. I wonder what's really going on that has her so upset? There must be a lot more to this then she's saying." Hercules stopped talking and tilted his head, listening. "Do you hear something?"
"Um, now that you mention it I do." Iolaus twisted around as he searched for the source of the sound. Stepping to the end of the pier, he peered into the water. A frown marred his face. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh what?" Hercules asked.
"The water's bubbling." Iolaus replied as he stepped away from the edge, not wanting to fall in.
"That can't be good." Hercules said.
A loud cracking sound filled the air and the pier began to tremble beneath their boots. Hercules waved his arms for balance and stumbled a few times, but managed to remain on his feet. Iolaus wasn't as lucky. He tumbled to the wooden deck and clung to the edge, his body now stretched out across the pier. Suddenly the entire pier shot up into the air and tilted on an angle. Hercules lost his balance and tumbled end over end. He flew right off the end and landed in the shallow water.
"Hercules!" Iolaus cried from on top of the pier.
"I'm OK." Hercules spat out a mouthful of sand, sitting up in the warm water. His brown hair hung limp and pasted to his head. Right in front of him was a wall of black. It took the big hero a minute to realize he was looking at a giant crab! What was left of the pier was perched on an angle at the top of its flat shell. The creature's eyes were two glowing embers, partly protected by its shell. Hercules scrambled to his feet and just stared at it for a moment. It was without doubt the largest crab ever! "Whoa. That is one big crab."
The crab opened and closed its giant claws. Then its dark eyes focused on Hercules. It skittled forward, its legs making a loud clicking sound. It moved a lot faster than Hercules thought it could. Before he knew it, it was reaching for him. He leaped up into the air, the sharp claw closing on where he had been a moment ago. Twisting through the air, he landed in the open space between its two giant claws. He wasn't sure what he should do. He didn't have a weapon and nothing suitable was available. He couldn't lead the crab into town, where it would do major damage. And the townspeople! They would be easy prey to this overgrown sea monster.
"What are we going to do, Herc?" Iolaus asked, still clinging to the edge of the pier. "It's covered in a hard shell!"
"I don't know yet!" Hercules yelled as he dodged another attempt to grab him. "But this thing isn't giving up!"
"Well, you better think of something fast!" Iolaus cried down to his best friend. The crab's frantic movements made the pier tip even further, going almost straight up and down. Iolaus climbed to his feet and made a wild jump just as the pier crashed to the ground. For a moment he was airborne, then he landed on the creature's back. Its shell was smooth and wet, not the perfect environment to land on safely. On impact his feet slid out from under him and he landed hard on his butt, sliding across the slightly curved carapace. Just when he thought he was going to slide right off, he came to a stop. Iolaus found himself in a precarious spot. For one, there was nothing to hang onto. The crab's shell was extremely slippery! And the area where he was, on the crab's rear end, curved downward at an angle. He twisted over onto his stomach, clinging to the creature. "Herc! You better do something!"
"I'm trying!" Hercules shouted as he once again avoided the crab's claws.
********
Gabrielle turned at the sudden shouting and screaming. People were stampeding away from the sea, terrified expressions on their faces. She gasped in shock when she saw the giant crab scurry out of the water. It reached for Hercules with a claw and the Demigod just barely missed getting pinched to death.
She and Ares had been heading to the seaside museum when the crab appeared. It really wasn't that far away from them. Gabrielle wanted to help Hercules, but what could she do against such a large beast? She felt certain that it would snap her Amazon staff in half like a dry twig. Turning to Ares, she clutched at his arm. "Ares you have to do something! You have to help Hercules and Iolaus!"
Before Ares could reply, a familiar cry raked the air.
Xena's war cry.
The Warrior Princess came charging down the beach on Argo. She was leaning forward in the saddle, her raven black hair flying straight out behind her. She gripped the reigns with one hand, her other hand holding her sword aloft. When she got closer to the hideous beast, she stood up in the stirrups and leaped. Her war cry rang out again, her voice yodeling up and down as she somersaulted through the air. Landing right on its flat back, she knelt down on one knee. Leaning forward, she jammed the sword into the opening where its eyes and the rest of its face was hidden. A terrible sound came from the beast and it lurched sideways.
"Aaahhh!" Iolaus finally lost his grip and slid off the crab's back, landing in the sand. He hurried to his feet and Hercules gripped him by the arm, pulling him away from the creature's legs.
Xena twisted the sword and jammed it deeper. Finally the crab stopped moving and fell onto its stomach. Smiling, Xena freed her sword and stood on its back. She motioned with her hands to the crowd that hung back, near the safely of doorways. "It's OK. It's dead now. Come and get your free crab meat, on the house!"
Her blue eyes on Ares, Xena leaped down effortlessly and wiped her blade on the sand. She had his attention now. He was looking right at her, like he always did before. Smiling seductively, she licked her lips. Then she sauntered right past him and continued down the street. When she looked over her shoulder, she caught him staring at her. Winking an eye, she continued on her way with an extra spring in her step and an extra sway to her hips.
"Try to beat that, Bard!" Xena laughed to herself. "Before long, I'll have Ares eating out of my hand again."
She whistled for Argo as her mind whirled at top speed. She needed to do something more concrete to gain Ares' interest back. It was becoming clear that the innocent bard had her claws deep in him already. Was Gabrielle actually more clever than she gave her credit for? Could her innocence all be an act? Maybe she had it planned from the beginning to steal Ares away. It was common knowledge that Ares favored the Warrior Princess, that she knew him. Was that why Gabrielle had wanted to travel with her, to get to know Ares? She had allowed the bard to travel with her to cook and clean. Besides, she had always presumed the annoying girl held no interest for Ares.
Ares liked warriors.
So why did Ares want to marry Gabrielle?!
"I'm the one he's supposed to marry! Me! I'm the one who's going to become a Goddess and be Ares' Warrior Queen!" Xena thought of all the things she had been through to get where she was today. Caesar breaking her legs, getting beat by her own soldiers, the years of being a warlord. And it would all be for nothing if her prize was snatched away! It was so unfair! "Well, that's not going to happen. Maybe I've been playing hard-to-get too long with Ares. Maybe he tired of the game and went looking elsewhere. So I'll have to make sure he knows how I really feel about him."
But it would have been so much easier if Hercules would have helped. That way Gabrielle would continue to believe in her. She didn't want to ruin that. Good cooks who were willing to travel anywhere were so hard to find! She had been willing to overlook the girl's tendencies to get in trouble, but this was the last straw! Ares was hers! "And if you're smart, Gabrielle, you better keep your hands off!"
********
"Boy, I can't believe she pulled a dagger on you!" Iolaus shook his head as he watched the Warrior Princess step off the pier and onto the boardwalk. "She's out of control. It's scary, like seeing the old Xena. The evil Xena!"
"Yeah, I know. I wonder what's really going on that has her so upset? There must be a lot more to this then she's saying." Hercules stopped talking and tilted his head, listening. "Do you hear something?"
"Um, now that you mention it I do." Iolaus twisted around as he searched for the source of the sound. Stepping to the end of the pier, he peered into the water. A frown marred his face. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh what?" Hercules asked.
"The water's bubbling." Iolaus replied as he stepped away from the edge, not wanting to fall in.
"That can't be good." Hercules said.
A loud cracking sound filled the air and the pier began to tremble beneath their boots. Hercules waved his arms for balance and stumbled a few times, but managed to remain on his feet. Iolaus wasn't as lucky. He tumbled to the wooden deck and clung to the edge, his body now stretched out across the pier. Suddenly the entire pier shot up into the air and tilted on an angle. Hercules lost his balance and tumbled end over end. He flew right off the end and landed in the shallow water.
"Hercules!" Iolaus cried from on top of the pier.
"I'm OK." Hercules spat out a mouthful of sand, sitting up in the warm water. His brown hair hung limp and pasted to his head. Right in front of him was a wall of black. It took the big hero a minute to realize he was looking at a giant crab! What was left of the pier was perched on an angle at the top of its flat shell. The creature's eyes were two glowing embers, partly protected by its shell. Hercules scrambled to his feet and just stared at it for a moment. It was without doubt the largest crab ever! "Whoa. That is one big crab."
The crab opened and closed its giant claws. Then its dark eyes focused on Hercules. It skittled forward, its legs making a loud clicking sound. It moved a lot faster than Hercules thought it could. Before he knew it, it was reaching for him. He leaped up into the air, the sharp claw closing on where he had been a moment ago. Twisting through the air, he landed in the open space between its two giant claws. He wasn't sure what he should do. He didn't have a weapon and nothing suitable was available. He couldn't lead the crab into town, where it would do major damage. And the townspeople! They would be easy prey to this overgrown sea monster.
"What are we going to do, Herc?" Iolaus asked, still clinging to the edge of the pier. "It's covered in a hard shell!"
"I don't know yet!" Hercules yelled as he dodged another attempt to grab him. "But this thing isn't giving up!"
"Well, you better think of something fast!" Iolaus cried down to his best friend. The crab's frantic movements made the pier tip even further, going almost straight up and down. Iolaus climbed to his feet and made a wild jump just as the pier crashed to the ground. For a moment he was airborne, then he landed on the creature's back. Its shell was smooth and wet, not the perfect environment to land on safely. On impact his feet slid out from under him and he landed hard on his butt, sliding across the slightly curved carapace. Just when he thought he was going to slide right off, he came to a stop. Iolaus found himself in a precarious spot. For one, there was nothing to hang onto. The crab's shell was extremely slippery! And the area where he was, on the crab's rear end, curved downward at an angle. He twisted over onto his stomach, clinging to the creature. "Herc! You better do something!"
"I'm trying!" Hercules shouted as he once again avoided the crab's claws.
********
Gabrielle turned at the sudden shouting and screaming. People were stampeding away from the sea, terrified expressions on their faces. She gasped in shock when she saw the giant crab scurry out of the water. It reached for Hercules with a claw and the Demigod just barely missed getting pinched to death.
She and Ares had been heading to the seaside museum when the crab appeared. It really wasn't that far away from them. Gabrielle wanted to help Hercules, but what could she do against such a large beast? She felt certain that it would snap her Amazon staff in half like a dry twig. Turning to Ares, she clutched at his arm. "Ares you have to do something! You have to help Hercules and Iolaus!"
Before Ares could reply, a familiar cry raked the air.
Xena's war cry.
The Warrior Princess came charging down the beach on Argo. She was leaning forward in the saddle, her raven black hair flying straight out behind her. She gripped the reigns with one hand, her other hand holding her sword aloft. When she got closer to the hideous beast, she stood up in the stirrups and leaped. Her war cry rang out again, her voice yodeling up and down as she somersaulted through the air. Landing right on its flat back, she knelt down on one knee. Leaning forward, she jammed the sword into the opening where its eyes and the rest of its face was hidden. A terrible sound came from the beast and it lurched sideways.
"Aaahhh!" Iolaus finally lost his grip and slid off the crab's back, landing in the sand. He hurried to his feet and Hercules gripped him by the arm, pulling him away from the creature's legs.
Xena twisted the sword and jammed it deeper. Finally the crab stopped moving and fell onto its stomach. Smiling, Xena freed her sword and stood on its back. She motioned with her hands to the crowd that hung back, near the safely of doorways. "It's OK. It's dead now. Come and get your free crab meat, on the house!"
Her blue eyes on Ares, Xena leaped down effortlessly and wiped her blade on the sand. She had his attention now. He was looking right at her, like he always did before. Smiling seductively, she licked her lips. Then she sauntered right past him and continued down the street. When she looked over her shoulder, she caught him staring at her. Winking an eye, she continued on her way with an extra spring in her step and an extra sway to her hips.
"Try to beat that, Bard!" Xena laughed to herself. "Before long, I'll have Ares eating out of my hand again."