Xena skipped across the rough area of stone and loose earth, where the rockslide had cleared away the defenses and came close to an officer that had managed to control his soldiers in the evolving chaos that this battle had become.
"You there, get as many archers as you can together and get them to pepper the enemies on the wall. Tell them that it isn't important to aim just to keep them too occupied to fire back at them or the rest of us," she said in the command voice that was second nature to her even now years after having led soldiers into battle. The man didn't even take time to think about her orders. He just saluted her and ran off with a couple of his men trying to find some archers. Xena looked at his men and yelled over the battle noise: "Put your shields over your heads and follow me!"
The first rain drops began falling slowly from above. They fell gently towards the mass of Chinese soldiers braving the rough rubble strewn ground and the missiles fired from above as they made their way towards the still intact wall. A peal of thunder so big that it sent echoes from one end of the plateau to the other broke above them. Somewhere in the clouds lightning flashed and a mighty serpentine shape was briefly outlined by it although no one on the ground were looking up to see it. The gentle drops were joined by millions of others falling thick and heavy upon the battlefield.
"Strange it didn't look like rain a moment ago," Xena thought as she led a sizeable and growing number of Chinese soldiers towards the palisades. She barely noticed as her instincts picked up on another arrow headed towards her and plucked it from the air.
A woman looking slightly older then Xena dressed in leather armor and heavy animal pelts walked onto the battlements just as the Chinese began to move from their positions. A small group of officers were following the feared shamaness. Jenn looked out over the attacking Chinese barely acknowledging that the arrows were flying around her. Her sycophants each hoping to become her next Temudjin turned and looked as well. A wicked smile filled her blood painted face as she saw another plan coming to fruition.
"The spirits have guided us well. The Chinese will not succeed even with the black haired warrior bitch on their side. I can sense her soul from here. It is strong but it is not capable of displaying that strength anymore. It is wounded and thus I will win brilliant warrior skills or not," Jenn said more to herself than her overly eager companions.
Suddenly Jenn seemed to shudder and her eyes turned white for a few moments. They returned to normal as she turned to address her officers. "Prepare the men. The Chinese will make a breech in the wall… over there," she said and pointed at a section of the wall. The men turned and ran off to fulfill her orders.
The rain began and lightning began hitting the ground and battlements. "Damn that accursed dragon and it's overly smart animal friends. After I have bathed myself in its blood, I will personally see to it that they all get turned into rugs for my palace," Jenn said and shook her fist at the sky.
Behind her the combined hit of a large load of stones and fire reduced a small section of her fortress' defenses to kindling. The Chinese would soon face their enemies directly. Jenn took out her thin yet razor sharp curved sword and made her way towards the place. "It is time for my would-be bane to die," she muttered to herself as she descended to the ground on the wooden staircase.
Xena heard the heavy loads of burning oil flasks and stone fly over head and grinned as they hammered into a section of the Mongolian palisades. The catapults reduced the defenses to burning lumber scattered across the Mongolian camp that lay beyond. She sensed how the entire Chinese army saw their chance and began making their way across the slippery mud and stones towards the hole.
But there were still lives to be saved from Mongolian archers. So after a cursory glance over the area and some rapid calculations she drew the golden and metallic disk from her belt and threw it with all the strength her body could muster towards a big rock. Soon it had split against it and each of the halves headed off on a shrieking course around the fortress. Xena knew where it would reassemble and dashed as fast as she could towards the breech in the fortress defenses. Xena's eyes widened with dismay as a well prepared group of Mongolians did the opposite of what everyone expected and charged out of there in small disciplined units as if they had just been waiting on the other side of the walls for them to attack.
Chang saw the palisades crumble and fall from the pounding delivered to it by their catapults. But he also saw the mass of Mongolian infantry that charged out of there as if they had been ready for the Chinese damaging their palisades in exactly that spot. He sighed then grasped his sword. "Send the last reserves to the front and continue the bombardment," he commanded and jumped on to his horse. He couldn't face send this many people into battle and not join it himself. Even if it didn't look good for them right now.
Chang was following around the shore of the sea keeping an eye on both the men getting pulverized by the Mongolian cavalry and the army that had engaged the Mongolians by their palisade. Then his eyes caught something or several things moving in the forests just beyond the spot on the other side of the lake where his spearmen were facing a marauding band of Mongolian cavalry. It began with a warhorse suddenly getting spooked and tossing off its rider. Chang stopped his horse for a moment, when all of a sudden a tiger easily larger than the giant Xena had brought to see the general leapt from the forest and pounced on an unsuspecting cavalry man and his horse. The man and his horse were tumbled to the ground both looking to be in bad health.
A group of giant tigers, bears and even wolves poured from the forest over there and with what seemed like a collective roar the 10 or so animals attacked the suddenly scared Mongolians. Chang turned his eyes towards the much larger battlefield and saw an even larger group of animals bursting from the forest with an even more resounding roar. Above them the dragon also roared in a voice surely heard miles away and hundreds of lightning bolts suddenly struck into the Mongolian fortress reducing large parts of its defenses and buildings to burning embers. Chang spurred his horse forward. His spirits were high for the first time these last few days. "I love it when bastards get what is coming to them," he mumbled as the landscape whizzed by.
Xena parried a sword as it dove for the man that fought next to her. She pressed it back and gave its owner a kick in the guts for his troubles. Her mind was for the first time in ages not locked on her grief or her loneliness. All doubts and fears were slipping away with each passing moment as she chose to loose herself in the battle. Everything was reduced to movement, muscles and pure instincts.
Xena slugged a guy in the face sending him left towards a mass of wooden residue from the palisades. The rain pelted her so hard that it was running off her in small streams. Xena swung her sword out to her far right and took the arm of a man that had been trying to behead her from the side. She jumped up almost walking up the chest of an enemy, kicking in the face, swung head over heels and landed on her feet to see her latest victim crumble to the ground a few feet away.
The Chinese and Mongolian armies were locked in battle a couple of yards from the breech. A slight sound alerted her to the arrival of an expected guest. Xena held her hand up to catch her reassembled chakram. Her eyes widened as a way too light load landed there instead. Slowly she drew her hand down to look at the meager half of her weapon that had returned to her. Mentally she rethreaded her throw and the position she was in. Everything was correct. The chakram should have been resting in her palm not just half of it.
"It is time for your life to end Warrior Woman," a female voice hissed at her. Xena lifted her eyes and looked into the ice cold orbs of the pelt and leather clad witch. The woman didn't look like she would be much of a challenge. She was wearing heavy clothing and her sword looked pitiful if sharp compared to hers. Most importantly her stance and muscle tone didn't match that of a trained warrior.
"My name is Xena," she corrected her and readied herself for battle, "You must be the bitch that is the cause of all this." Xena rushed forward swinging her sword.
And it found only air where her enemy should have been.
Jenn's voice coming from further away than expected said: "Ah, ah I think you'll have to do better than that to defeat me. I may not be as strong as the great Alti yet, but I can still beat you."
Xena looked up towards the witch. She had, somehow without Xena seeing or hearing her move, made it three paces away from the spot she should have been in.
Xena jumped forward and flew over the witch. She swung her sword over her head, knowing that she should wound the witch as she twirled past her. She felt a jarring impact as her sword was parried and landed back on her feet facing towards her unwounded enemy.
"There is nothing you can do that I can't predict or counter. I will kill you and my rule of this land will be complete," Jenn said and screeched. Suddenly she appeared only a few feet away her sword swinging towards Xena's neck at a blinding speed.
Xena barely managed to parry it and jumped back in surprise, while mumbling: "I hate people with supernatural powers."
Then as the increasing rain seemed to still for a short moment the entire battlefield was suddenly filled with the chorus of angry animal roars. Xena saw Jenn look around in surprise and confusion. Then suddenly above an even mightier voice joined the animal ones sending echoes bouncing between the mountains and then the world seemed to explode with light and noise.
Xena desperately blinked the spot from her eyes, while swinging her sword around her in a defensive pattern. As she looked around she saw Jenn standing a couple of horse lengths away looking at her nearly destroyed fortress in anger and confusion. "I guess that wasn't part of the plan," Xena teased and swung her sword around as she moved in for the rematch.
Jenn turned towards her a screech in a tone of voice that reminded her of Callisto, before running towards her with her razor sharp sword ready for an attack.
All around them the suddenly disadvantaged Mongolians got pushed back towards a fortress with only vestiges of walls to protect them. Huge tigers, bears and wolves joined the Chinese in the attack and with every moment their claws and fangs slaughtered more and more of the shaken army. A bear slapped a Mongolian soldier so hard he flew clear across his unit and landed in the middle of another. Wolves working in small three wolf packs harried and hunted single Mongolians like normal wolves would a deer in the wild. And above all the numerous tigers slashed and tore at any thing that wasn't on the side of the Chinese. Nobody noticed that Chang joined the battle fighting from atop his horse like his year of service with the Little Dragon had taught him. Just as many saw Chen coming around the outside of ruined palisades with a figure riding on him like he was a horse. They flew across the battlefield with a speed that made them nearly a blur to anyone that watched.
Xena barely parried another of the Jenn's lightning fast attacks. She pushed the sword back and tried to kick the woman away, but as every other time in this battle she missed. She could feel her body tiring. It was in moments like these in the past that the thought of Gabrielle and their continuing life would give her strength, but it could do that no more and for some twisted reason even though she loved her daughter more than her own life, she just couldn't muster the same determination from the thought of her. Xena forced herself into a leaping kick and wasn't surprised when she again missed her target.
"Feeling a little tired maybe," the witch gloated. She disappeared again and Xena felt a searing pain shoot through her left arm and something whizzing by as she barely dodged the vicious attack of her opponent. She whirled about to find Jenn licking some of her blood from the blade of her sword. Xena didn't bother to look at her arm, the throbbing pain in upper arm and numbness in her left hand told her everything she had to know.
"And now for the finishing blow," Jenn mused. Xena somehow managed to see the witch blurring shape moving towards her this time. Everything seemed to slow down. She fought but just couldn't bring her sword about. The sounds of the battlefield fell into the background and it was as if she could hear Gabrielle's voice calling out to her telling her come to her. Xena felt herself drawn somewhere and let the feeling guide her.
Jenn's blurry shape and her reflecting surface of her sword drew closer. Soon it would end her misery and set her soul free to be with her bard. Xena welcomed it even if she had no time to prepare for her oncoming death.
A sword no wider than half a thumb and a little shorter than an arm, with no apparent edge or inscriptions on the straight blade parried the killing blow meant for Xena. A heavy leather boot kicked the witch away.
Xena turned her head and saw a short woman dressed in blue silk with red embroidery with shoulder length sun-bleached blonde hair, a muscular body and teary emerald green eyes framed by a beautiful face and lips that smiled almost shyly. She had one of those swords in each hand. "Gabrielle," she managed to stammer forth before Jenn's indignant screech drew her back into the battle.
Jenn raced forward again. Xena still couldn't see her move, but somehow that no longer mattered. Seeing Gabrielle standing alive at her side had filled her with energy and an urge to finish this battle in her favor. Her senses soared. She heard the rain pelt the mud and small pools of water all around them. The roar of warriors and animals filled the air, while the sounds of swords clashing and arrows flying mixed with the impact of another load from the Chinese catapults. Just to her left side a heartbeat as well known as her own mixed with the slight sound that Jenn's feet made as she ran towards them.
Xena slashed her sword in a low curve from right to left. She felt a gratifying impact in her wrist that told her she had hit something, while the air filled with the sound of one sword meeting another. She looked up to see that Gabrielle had used one of her swords to deflect another one of Jenn's nearly invisible blows.
Jenn stopped and turned towards them. "You're dead. The spirits told me you died at the hands of Temudjin," she screamed and pointed with her sword at Gabrielle.
"I'm her soul mate and when you fight Xena you fight me," Gabrielle's beloved voice rang across the battlefield. It was the one sweet sound that Xena had missed for so long and only the situation kept her from closing her eyes to savor it.
"Neither of you are strong enough to stop me," Jenn claimed, but she didn't sound so sure of herself. Xena looked pointedly at the witch's right leg, where her sword had left a wound across her thigh. She also noticed half of her chakram resting on Gabrielle's belt.
"Gabrielle," Xena said and looked at the half of her chakram then up at the witch hoping that she would understand, while drawing up the half she had. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gabrielle drop one of her swords and pull the half into her hands.
Jenn seemed to consider her options and readied herself with a smile. She faked forward.
"Now," Xena yelled as suddenly a catapult load exploded nearby. She drew back her half and tossed it as hard as she could.
At her side Gabrielle not even wincing from the nearby explosion did the same.
Jenn smiled smugly and stepped back out of the place where the half had been aimed. "They will both miss," she thought in triumph and readied herself for another deadly pass this time aimed at the shorter blonde that she had hated since she had seen her as a captive in Temudjin's castle.
The chakram reformed and blazed forward from the collective force from both halves. When a wet pop it cut over half way into the very surprised looking witch's forehead. Her corpse flew back from the impact and landed in front of a couple of her officers.
"I…" Xena looked at Gabrielle, who was looking at her with bewilderment. Xena knew her eyes showed the same.
An arrow thundered between them and they drew slightly away from each other.
"I have to help the Chinese," Gabrielle said and bent down to recollect her sword.
Xena knew that they couldn't just stop and talk in the middle of a major battle and went to recollect her chakram, while vowing to herself that she wouldn't leave Gabrielle alone no matter what. She turned to see Gabrielle fighting four men at once. She ran towards them ready to save her.
Then Gabrielle swept her swords around sending two to the ground bleeding profusely then jumping up to catch another one around his neck with both her legs. The warrior bard then hammered the full length of one of her blades in his neck. He toppled over, while she rolled backwards into the air landing on her feet. Xena gasped the fourth man drove his sword towards her back. Suddenly there was a small roar and she heard the unlikely sound of metal shattering. Gabrielle didn't waste time. She turned around and delivered a couple of blows with the heavy pommels of her swords sending the Mongolian into dreamland.
Xena was so caught up in Gabrielle's fight that only her instincts saved her from getting skewered by the spear of a Mongolian warrior. She grapped the spear and in a burst of strength that she hadn't cared to use for a long time used it to throw its unsuspecting and now screaming owner out into the Chinese army.
"I don't believe it," Chang's voice rang from yards away. "Look people it is the Little Dragon. She has returned to guide us to final victory against the invaders," he yelled. Heads turned towards the little woman whose silk clothing had been sufficiently ruined to show her perfect dragon tattoo. A victory cry came from the Chinese army. Their already bolstered morale suddenly overflowed just as the very same morale withered and died amongst the Mongolians. Xena felt like an onlooker all of a sudden as Gabrielle mounted Chen, who didn't seem to mind at all and lead what she surmised would be the final charge against the almost fleeing Mongolians. Even with all the stories she had heard and remembering the battle at Helicon it surprised her as Gabrielle began barking out orders, guiding the men into a much more disciplined formation. Xena didn't join the charge. She remained standing and watched Gabrielle as the battle led her further and further away.
