Part 7
Gabrielle rushed over to Joxer's side and held him. "Joxer! Joxer! It's
all right. We'll get her back. Xena and
I promise..."
Joxer tried to pull away from Gabrielle's embrace, tears in his eyes.
"No... I didn't even get to see her. It's
not fair. It's not fair..."
Gabrielle held him tighter, running her hands down his back. He
struggled to try to free himself from her
grasp, but she refused to let go. He eventually stopped his efforts to
free himself and wrapped his arms
around her. As he wept, he whispered over and over, "My baby, my
baby..."
"Shhh, Joxer. I know. I know," Gabrielle tried to comfort him.
Xena turned to Jean-Luc. "Tell me more about this God of yours."
"He's not **MY** God, Xena. He's the God of War - at least for this
country," Jean-Luc snorted in reply.
Xena's eyebrow rose. "What do you know about him?"
"He's like any other God of War. He creates war. That's his job."
Gabrielle turned her head away from Joxer briefly. "What does he want
with Joxer's baby?"
Jean-Luc stared at Gabrielle and the others in astonishment. "I have no
clue whatsoever."
Joxer pulled away from Gabrielle and rose to his feet unsteadily. "I'm
NOT just going to sit here and do
nothing! I'm going after my daughter!"
Suddenly a flash of blue light appeared. "And just **where** do you
plan on looking, O Mighty One?"
Ares asked with a mocking sneer.
Joxer turned in the Greek War God's direction. "I don't know, but I'll
find her," he replied with newfound
determination in his voice.
Jean-Luc walked over to Joxer and put his hands on his nephew's
shoulders. "You can't find her alone but
with telepathic help from your brothers, you can." Jean-Luc motioned
for Jett and Jace to stand next to
Joxer. They immediately joined their younger brother.
Jace looked at Joxer through half-hooded eyes, his cheeks tinged pink
with embarrassment. "Joxer, I'm
sorry for what I said to you before."
Joxer nodded his head. "We'll talk later, Jace." He turned to
Jean-Luc. "Tell us what we must do, Uncle."
"Take the hand of the one you love," Jean-Luc instructed his nephews.
Without hesitation, Joxer held out his hand to Gabrielle. She
immediately placed her hand in his. Jett stared
at Xena for a moment before turning to Nebula. She nodded her head in
understanding. Jett held out his
hand to Nebula and she took it. Jace held out his hand to Pierre and
his lover took it.
"Now form a circle," Jean-Luc continued. They each connected hands and
the circle was made.
"Now my nephews, think about the baby." Closing their eyes, the trio
began to think about the child
together but nothing happened. "What's wrong?" Joxer asked.
"You must try harder. You can do it," replied Jean-Luc. The brothers
concentrated on seeing the baby,
sweat pouring down their faces. Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared
before them and when it cleared, they
saw an image of the baby crying in Teutales' arms before he placed her
in a cradle.
Joxer stared at his daughter and swallowed hard. "She's beautiful," he
whispered.
"Good. Concentrate more," Jean-Luc said with a hypnotic tone to his
voice.
Jett, Jace and Joxer concentrated harder, closing their eyes once more.
The others in the room cried out in
surprise when the three disappeared before their eyes.
"Where did they go?!" Gabrielle yelled, turning to Jean-Luc.
"They've found the baby," was Jean-Luc's reply. "Come. We must hurry!"
Jean-Luc ran from the room, the
others following behind him.
The trio opened their eyes to find themselves in Teutales' chambers.
Joxer ran over to his baby only to be
thrown back by a bolt of electricity. "Leave that baby alone. She's
mine!" the Gaul God of War bellowed.
"She's not yours! She's Joxer's child," growled Jett.
The God roared with derisive laughter. "I see that the triplets are
awake and together again. VERY
amusing."
"I'll show YOU amusing!" Jett yelled and ran towards the God, only to
be knocked back by a bolt of
electricity like Joxer had been moments ago.
Suddenly Xena and Jean-Luc appeared in his chambers, Gabrielle and
Nebula following closely behind.
Teutales stared at them in surprise. Xena noticed Teutales appeared
afraid when he looked at Jean-Luc and
her eyebrow rose up when Jean-Luc didn't even look surprised at the War
God's fear of him. "You look
scared, Teutales," he taunted. "You **should** be. This time you've
messed with the *wrong* people. My
nephews together have the power to destroy you - and you know it!"
Teutales became angry at Jean-Luc's words. "Not if I destroy them
first!" he snarled and sent a bolt of fire
in the direction of the brothers, who all managed to avoid it this
time.
"Joxer! Jett! Jace! You're descendants of a long line of God Tamers.
Use your telepathic powers and
destroy him!" Jean-Luc yelled as Teutales aimed a bolt at him. He
ducked behind a table to avoid it as the
three immediately formed a small circle by holding hands and closing
their eyes.
Teutales looked worried for a moment at this latest development, but he
tried to hide it with boasting. "Do
your best! You will not defeat... AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as a streak
of red lightning that came from
the trio's small circle struck him. He collapsed to the floor in agony.
Slowly, he got up and shot an energy
bolt at them, but they deflected it back to him, knocking him against
the wall. Teutales never felt such pain
and groaned in pain. "STOP THIS!"
"Give me back my child!" demanded Joxer, opening his eyes for a moment.
Teutales was about to give in
when in ran his followers, Mimi leading them. "Kill them, Mimi and I
will give you your heart's desire!"
he called out to her. Mimi rushed at the brothers with a loud yell,
ready to stop them.
"THAT'S ENOUGH! AIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYI!" Xena and the rest jumped into
action to keep them away
from the brothers. Mimi circled Xena, an evil smile on her face. "It's
payback time, warrior princess. You
are SO going down," she snarled.
Xena smirked at her words. "Bring it on!" Mimi and Xena circled each
other for a few moments, weapons
ready. Suddenly Mimi charged Xena with her sword drawn, but Xena
managed to avoid her attack by
flipping over her back and turned around and met Mimi's sword, blue
eyes glittering as the battle-rage took
over. Their swords flashed in the sunlight as they fought furiously,
the sound of battle ringing throughout
Teutales' temple.
Gabrielle, with her sais, battled several of Teutales' followers,
sending them crashing to the floor. Jean-Luc
battled them with his thin sword, while Nebula fought hand-to-hand
combat. Together, they brought them
down one by one. Joxer wanted to help and he started to move away from
his brothers but Jean-Luc yelled,
"Do not break the link! You must not break the link!"
Jett grabbed Joxer before he broke the circle. "You heard him."
Joxer looked at him. "But I've got to help them!"
"You *are* helping, Joxer," replied Jace.
Teutales slowly attempted to move towards the baby, crawling towards
her cradle but he was hit by another
bolt of energy. "Stay away from my baby!" demanded Joxer. He and his
brothers' combined energy struck
Teutales again.
Teutales was weakening and he knew he could be defeated if he didn't do
something and something quick.
He raised his hand. "Please, no more! I don't want to die. I will
give you the child," he groaned.
Joxer stared at Teutales. "I want your promise as a God!"
"You have my promise," Teutales readily agreed.
"Then call your followers off before they all get killed!"
Teutales nodded his head. "Put down your weapons! I so command it! Stop
fighting!"
Teutales' followers immediately lowered their weapons. Gabrielle ran
towards Joxer's baby, but Mimi was
closer. She ran over to the baby before Gabrielle could reach her and
snatched her up. "If I can't have what
was promised to me, then this child will die!"
Everyone froze from where they stood. Xena took out her chakram and
desperately tried to find an opening
to hit Mimi but not the child. Suddenly, Mimi let out a scream then
burst into flames, dropping the baby,
who floated harmlessly in midair. The flames consumed her. Gabrielle
ran over, grabbed the crying baby
and took her to Joxer, who took her in his arms. "It's okay, sweetie.
It's okay. Daddy's here," he cooed at
her in a singsong voice. The baby immediately stopped crying, looked
into Joxer's smiling face, and fell
asleep.
Everyone turned towards Ares, for the Greek God of War had saved
Joxer's baby. Xena walked over to him
and kissed him gently on the lips. "Thank you, Ares."
Ares smirked. "Hey, what can I say? She's a cute kid... for a
half-mortal. Xena, this one's a freebie. You
don't owe me anything - this time."
Xena's lips curved slightly. "I still owe you for the other times."
"Forget it."
Xena smiled again. "Ares, you *know* me. I *keep* my promises."
Ares grinned widely and licked his lips. "Yeah, I know - and one of
these days, I may just collect on them,"
were his last words before he disappeared into the ether in a flash of
light. Xena sighed and shook her head.
Joxer slowly gave Gabrielle the baby. "Here Gabrielle, hold Adora. My
brothers and I need to talk to
Teutales."
Gabrielle smiled as she took the baby from Joxer's arms and watched
with concern as the triplets
approached Teutales.
Jett, as the oldest, spoke for the three. "Teutales, we will not
destroy you because you are needed here. Like
our God of War, you serve a purpose. All we ask of you is to let Joxer
keep his child and take away any
powers she might have in the future. Make her a normal child and
relinquish any further claims on her."
Teutales nodded his head, came forward and touched the child, a small
ray of light emitting from where he
touched her on the forehead. "It is done. She will live a normal life
and have no knowledge of me. Her
Gods will be your Gods." With those words, Teutales vanished.
Nebula walked up to Jett and grinned, taking his arm. "Come on, let's
blow this place." The others agreed
and they walked back to Jean-Luc's home. Joxer turned to Gabrielle, who
was still holding the baby.
"Gabrielle, Adora really seems to have taken to you," he said softly.
Gabrielle smiled. "Yeah, I know." She gazed down at the child's face.
"She's going to have your eyes,
Joxer."
Joxer cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. " She's going to be
needing someone to tell her girl stuff."
Gabrielle cooed at Adora. Joxer smiled at her. "Gabs, I really think
you should be the one to do it."
Gabrielle looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling. "Joxer, for
crying out loud, just ASK me."
Part 8
Joxer smiled at Gabrielle and was about to speak when Jace suddenly
grabbed him. "Joxer, I really must
talk to you now."
Joxer turned and looked at Jace. "Can't it wait?" he growled.
"No, it can't! I need to talk to you NOW, Joxer," Jace insisted.
"Oh, all right! I'll be right back, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle looked up from cooing at Adora. "Okay, Joxer. Adora and I
will be waiting."
Joxer followed Jace into another room. "Okay, Jace. What was *so*
important that it couldn't wait until
later?"
Jace stood there for a moment knowing what he was about to say would
not be easy. He took a deep breath.
"Joxer, you can't ask Gabrielle to marry you."
Joxer's face turned an angry beet-red. "What do you mean, I can't ask
her to marry me? What right do
*you* have to tell me what to do?"
Jace placed his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Joxer, listen to me!
Gabrielle doesn't love you - at least
not in that way."
Joxer pulled away from Jace. "How dare you say that! Gabrielle does too
love me - and she wants to marry
me!"
Jace sadly shook his head. "Joxer, I've been in love. I know what love
is. Gabrielle *loves* you, but not in
that way."
"Then why did she say, 'just ask me'?"
"Because I believe she wants to marry you because of Adora."
"That's not true! She loves me, and even if you are right, so what?
She'll grow to love me too."
Jace shook his head. "Do you really believe that, Joxer?" he asked
softly.
Joxer's face grew expressionless. "You know what I believe, Jace? Let
me tell you: I believe you're so
jealous of me because I was changed into a woman and I had Adora and
not you, so that's why you're
saying that."
Jace was quiet for a moment and then sighed heavily. "Believe what you
will, Joxer. I was just warning you
because I don't want to see you hurt."
Joxer looked at Jace. "Well, thanks for your concern, brother," he shot
over his shoulder as he walked
away.
Jace watched as Joxer left the room, wondering if he should have just
kept quiet. Joxer returned to the
group.
"What did Jace want?" asked Jett.
"Nothing. He just wanted to be a jerk," Joxer replied.
Jett rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that all?"
Joxer ignored Jett and walked over to Gabrielle. "Gabrielle can we go
somewhere and talk - just you and
me?"
"Joxer, just ask me!"
"Gabrielle, will you marry me?"
"Joxer, I would be honored to be your wife."
"No, I forbid it! You are not marrying my nephew! You don't love him
enough to marry him. I forbid it!"
Everyone turned and looked at Jean-Luc running into the room, Jace
following behind him. Joxer came
towards him, his face etched with anger. "You have *no right* to forbid
it. I'm a grown man and you can't
tell me what to do! I *will* marry Gabrielle and you can't stop me!"
Jace grabbed a hold of Joxer. "Joxer, listen to him! He speaks the
truth. Gabrielle only wants to marry you
because of Adora."
Joxer knocked Jace aside. "What would *you* know about the truth?
You're living a lie! I'm going to marry
Gabrielle with or without your blessing!"
Jace stood very still, stunned at Joxer's words. "What do you mean I'm
living a lie?"
Joxer stared intensely at Jace. "You know darn well what I mean!"
"No, brother. Why don't you tell me? Come on, enlighten me."
"Look at you! You dress like a... a... dork!"
"Hmph! Speak for yourself, Joxer! Go on."
"You pretend you're from the old country, not Greece."
Jace stared at Joxer and shook his head in astonishment. "You *can't*
be serious! That's not a lie. It's
called SHOW BUSINESS. That's my gimmick! Joxer, all show people have a
gimmick and that's mine."
Joxer turned and walked away, refusing to say anything else. Jace
turned and looked at Jett, who was
standing next to Nebula. Jett only sighed. Nebula said nothing, but she
wondered if that was the only thing
bothering Joxer.
Xena watched him walk away and turned to Gabrielle, who was still
holding Adora. "Gabrielle, give me
Adora and go talk to Joxer."
Gabrielle looked at Xena. "Xena, you're much better at that than I am."
Xena's face grew stern. "Gabrielle, you're going to become Joxer's
wife. You have to talk to him."
"Not now, Xena. Adora needs me," Gabrielle cooed to the baby. "You need
mommy, don't you, my little
Adora?"
Xena gave her friend 'the look', but Jett did more. He took Adora away
from Gabrielle and growled at her,
"You're not her mother, Joxer is!" Adora began crying. Gabrielle tried
to take her back, but Jett moved
away from her. Xena glared at him, but he ignored her and gave Adora to
his mother.
Jezda looked at Gabrielle then at Xena, who shrugged her shoulders.
"Young lady, do you love my son?"
Gabrielle's eyes were fixed on Adora as she answered, "Yes, I love him
in my own way. Please give me
back Adora. I'm sorry I said I was her mommy. It's just that I feel as
if I am."
Jezda looked at Gabrielle. "Why are you acting this way? I don't
understand," she asked.
The bard was now in tears. "Don't you understand? I've been given
another chance to raise a baby right this
time! I won't make the same mistake I made the last time!"
Jezda, Jett, Jace and Jean-Luc looked at Xena for clarification. Xena
turned to Gabrielle, raising an
eyebrow in a silent question. She nodded in reply. Xena sighed and
began speaking very quietly. "Gabrielle
had a daughter by the dark God Dahok. Her name was Hope. I took her to
Britannia where she was raped
by him and she had Hope."
Nebula growled at the mention of Dahok's name. *Iolaus...* "So what
happened to Hope?" she asked.
"I helped kill her!" cried Gabrielle.
Jezda held her granddaughter closer. "Why would you do something like
that?"
Gabrielle turned to Jezda, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Because
she was evil and would've destroyed
the world. I didn't want to, but I had to do it! Please understand, I
wouldn't have been a bad mother if Hope
had been a normal child!"
Nobody said anything for a minute as Gabrielle cried very softly. Jezda
walked over to the still-weeping
bard and looked into her eyes. "I understand, Gabrielle," she told her.
Gabrielle took a moment to wipe her
eyes before Jezda gave Adora back to her. "Now please go talk to my
son. Maybe love will grow - if you
allow it to."
Taking Adora, Gabrielle went to look for Joxer. She found him sitting
on a log by the river skipping stones.
"Hey, can we join you?" she asked softly.
"Sure," Joxer moved over so she could sit. She smiled at him. He turned
and looked at her. "Are Jace and
Uncle Jean-Luc right? Are you only marrying me because of Adora?"
"I don't know, Joxer. I *do* love you... But... Joxer, this is hard for
me. I want to raise this baby so much
and call it my own, but I don't want to take that away from you,
either. So, the only solution is to get
married."
"Even if you don't love me," Joxer said, his face expressionless but
his deep brown eyes were sad.
Gabrielle nodded. "Yes. But Joxer, I could grow to love you. I *do*
care about you very much, Joxer. I
really do."
"Or you could grow to resent me instead," Joxer whispered, turning his
head away from her. A single tear
ran down his cheek and he hastily wiped it away.
Gabrielle sighed and placed a hand on Joxer's shoulder. "I would never
resent you, Joxer, but we can't get
married here. We have to go home and get married."
Joxer raised his head to stare into Gabrielle's eyes. "Why can't we get
married here, Gabrielle?"
"Joxer, I want my family to be there with me when we get married. You
do understand, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do. Okay, then tonight we're going home," Joxer said as he
rose to his feet.
Gabrielle stood up and kissed him. "Thank you, Joxer! I promise I will
make this work."
"I know you will, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle smiled at him. "Good. You go tell the others and we'll wait
here for you."
Gabrielle looked at Adora as Joxer walked away. "Oh little one, I hope
this works out. I want to love Joxer
the way he wants me to, but I'm so afraid! Everyone I've ever loved has
left me..."
"Now Mother, that's simply not true! Xena's never left you and *I*
certainly never did. I was sent away and
later killed by you instead. So, now you want to raise that baby. Well
Mother, I forbid it!" a voice that
sounded just like Gabrielle's said in a mocking tone.
Gabrielle sprang up, holding Adora. "Hope! What are you doing here? You
get out of here! There's no way
I'll let you harm Adora!"
Hope laughed harshly. "HARM HER? Mother, I don't want to *harm* her...
I want to raise her! You and
that bitch Xena took my son away from me." Her face twisted in a parody
of grief. "My precious little son...
My heart, my soul..."
"You don't have a heart OR a soul!" Gabrielle shouted, moving away from
Hope, clutching Adora tightly to
her.
"No I don't, thanks to you, *Mother,*" Hope purred. "NOW GIVE ME THAT
BABY!" The purr changed
to a shrill shriek.
"Never! You will never get her! Do you hear me? NEVER!"
Hope smirked. "Never say never, *Mother*! FATHER, I NEED YOU!" she
bellowed.
Suddenly Gabrielle felt something taking Adora from her arms and into
Hope's. She screamed and tried to
charge Hope, but instead found herself being lifted in the air and
thrown into a tree. She hit her head,
moaned once, and then lay still.
Hope smiled and held up Adora, "Well, hello."
Adora looked at Hope and screamed and cried.
*******
Joxer ran back to where the others were waiting. "Everybody! Guess
what? Gabrielle said she'll marry me
and we're going back to Greece for the wedding, so get packing!"
Xena was about to reply when she heard a moan. Turning around, she saw
Gabrielle staggering from the
woods holding her head. She could barely stand. Xena and Joxer ran to
her.
"Gabrielle!" cried Xena. "What happened?"
Joxer saw that Adora was not with her and became alarmed. "Gabrielle,
where's Adora?" he asked
anxiously, fear in his voice.
Gabrielle collapsed, Xena catching her before she fell down to the
ground. Joxer knelt down beside her.
Gabrielle looked up at her friend and then at Joxer, tears running down
her face. "No, no! It can't be
happening again! Oh gods, no..."
Xena brushed the hair away from her eyes. "Focus, Gabrielle! What
happened? Where's Adora?"
The bard grabbed Xena 's hand and gasped, "Hope has her... Jox..."
Joxer rose to his feet, terrified. "HOPE! YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU SAW HOPE
DIE IN THE ARMS
OF HER SON!" His head whipped over to Xena and back down to
Gabrielle's. "How can she be alive and
how could you let that monster take my daughter?"
Gabrielle looked at Joxer. "I tried to stop her, Joxer. She had the
power of Dahok on her side," she gasped.
"I was no match for either of them. Oh gods, Joxer! I'm so sorry!" At
that, Gabrielle went limp in Xena's
arms. Xena felt a bump on her head and knew that Gabrielle had been
knocked unconscious earlier. She
gently placed Gabrielle's head down, and then turned on Joxer, grabbing
him by the throat. "Now you listen
to me, Joxer! I know that you're upset, but you know that Hope's
Dahok's daughter and..."
"Let him go now, Xena! We don't have time for this! We have to stop
Hope before she hurts my niece," Jett
growled.
Xena let Joxer go and he fell to the ground, rubbing his throat. She
then bent down to pick up Gabrielle and
carried her to her room. Jezda followed her. Joxer got up, still
rubbing his throat. He had not meant what he
said to Gabrielle and he felt guilty.
Joxer followed Xena and caught up with her just in time to hear his
mother say, "Xena, please find my
granddaughter. I will look after Gabrielle."
Xena acknowledged the Trio's mother with a curt nod and went back
outside, Joxer at her side. "Xena, I
didn't mean..." Joxer began to say, tears in his eyes.
Xena held up a hand to silence him. "I know you didn't, but it's not me
you need to apologize to." Joxer
nodded and blinked hard. She gave him a moment to compose himself
before she spoke again. "All right,
Joxer. Where did you leave Gabrielle and Adora?"
"By the river."
"All right. Let's search there first."
******
"Stop your crying, you little brat, before I do something you will
regret."
Adora kept right on crying. She sensed that this woman was not
Gabrielle, but a very dangerous woman.
Hope screamed, "Oh! I can't take this bawling! Father, make her older!"
Suddenly the sky grew dark, and when it was light again, Adora was now
a child about ten years old.
"Now *that's* better. Hello, Adora. I'm your mother," Hope purred.
Adora looked at Hope and stood up, her brown eyes, so like Joxer's,
wide with fear and anger. "You're not
my mother!" Before Hope could blink or make any kind of reply, she was
thrown into the air like a rag
doll. She landed hard on the ground. Adora's eyes glowed with an eerie
light. "I want my mother now!" she
cried. Hope tried to use her powers, but discovered that they were
somehow deflected away from the little
girl, as if she had an invisible shield around her body. "MY MOTHER! I
WANT MY MOTHER!" Adora
yelled at the top of her lungs.
Hope got up, holding her hands up so that Adora could see them. "Now
calm down, Adora. Mommy is
here," she said.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT MY MOMMY!"
Hope slowly walked over to the child. "Yes, baby. I'm your mommy.
Please believe me, sweetie," she said
in a soothing voice.
Adora 's eyes slowly lost their fire as she looked at Hope. "You're
really my mommy?"
"Yes, I'm really your mommy," she lied, plastering a wide smile on her
face.
Hope was now in front of her. Adora looked into Hope's eyes for a long
time, and the smile faltered on
Hope's lips. "YOU LIE! You're NOT my mommy! I can *feel* the evil
coming from you! Go back to
where you came from!" A burst of light surrounded the child, throwing
Hope on the ground. Hope
screamed in agony as Adora sent her back. She turned around when she
heard voices and then saw Joxer
and the others came running, tears streaming down her face as she ran
to Joxer, arms outstretched.
"Mommy! Mommy!"
"ADORA?!"
Part 9
Joxer stared in shock as the child ran into his arms. "Oh Mommy! I was
so scared of that evil thing! Please
hold me, Mommy. Please!"
Joxer slowly placed his arms around Adora. He didn't know what to do.
He looked up at Xena. She was
about to speak when one of the servants came running up. "Please, Miss
Xena. The master has sent for you.
You are to come now."
Xena turned and follow the servant back to the house. Joxer looked at
Adora. "Come on, Adora. Let's
return to the house."
Adora nodded and placed her hand in his. Joxer followed Xena, Nebula
and Jett right behind them. When
they got there, Xena was arguing with Jean-Luc and another man.
"There's no way I'm giving up on
Gabrielle!"
The healer shook his head. "Her injuries are too severe. There's
nothing I can do. Not even you can help
her. I'm so sorry."
Xena ran past them and into Gabrielle's room with Joxer and Adora right
behind her. Gabrielle lay on the
bed pale as a ghost. Xena went over to her, took her hand and held it,
tears running down her face. The
healer was right: there was nothing she could do. She gently kissed
Gabrielle's hand. "Goodbye, Gabrielle.
I'll miss you."
"Why are you saying goodbye?" Adora spoke up.
Joxer put his hands on Adora's shoulders, tears in his eyes. "Come on,
Adora. Let's go outside."
Adora turned and looked at him. "Mommy, why is she saying goodbye?"
Joxer didn't know how to tell her. Jett stepped forward. "Adora,
Gabrielle is dying."
"Jett!"
"Jox, she asked and I think she has to be told."
"Do you mean her life is ending?"
"Yes."
Adora smiled. "Oh is that all? I can fix her."
Jett and Joxer exchanged startled glances and Xena's head whipped
around. "You can do WHAT?"
"Fix her. I can fix her."
Adora walked over to Gabrielle and placed her hands over the bard's
heart. Gabrielle's body glowed
brightly and when it stopped glowing, Gabrielle opened her eyes. Adora
smiled at her and then turned back
to a completely stunned Joxer. "All fixed! See, no problem."
Xena stared at Adora as she ran over to Joxer. Gabrielle was also
staring at her. "Who's that?"
"Adora," Xena said.
"No, that can't be Adora! She's just a baby. Gods, it's not fair..."
Gabrielle buried her head in the pillow and
cried her heart out. Xena did her best to comfort her.
Adora looked at Joxer. "Why is she crying, Mommy?"
"She wants to raise you with me and now it's too late," Joxer told her
sadly.
"Is that all? Mommy, Uncle Jett, Uncle Jace, please come outside with
me."
The trio exchanged glances but followed the child outside. "Adora,
what's this all about?" asked Jett.
"Please form a circle around me and think of me as I was as a baby,"
Adora replied.
They looked at each other again but did what she requested. They each
thought of Adora as a baby but
nothing happened. Adora turned to Joxer. "Mommy, please tell Jace what
is bothering you."
"Huh? What are you talking about? Nothing's bothering me!" Joxer
sputtered.
"Yes there is, Mommy. It is interfering with the channel. I should be a
baby now and I'm not."
"We didn't change you into a child in the first place, so how can we
change you back?" asked Jace.
"Because as long as there is no interference, together you three have
powers greater than the Gods
themselves," Adora said softly.
"Adora is correct," a new voice broke in. The Trio turned around to see
their uncle approaching them. "You
three have a great power in you, but only if you are together and you
can channel. So Joxer, whatever is
bothering you, tell Jace."
Joxer turned towards Jace. "Jace, I miss you so much."
"Miss me? Joxer, I'm right here," Jace said, gazing at his brother,
puzzled.
"No, I don't mean that. When I saw you at the music festival in
Melodia, I was so angry because I hadn't
seen you since you left years ago and I learned to hate you so it would
stop hurting."
Jace hung his head. "I'm sorry, Joxer. I thought cutting off my ties
with the family was for the best. I never
knew I hurt you."
"You did. I waited for you to come back for me, but you didn't and you
never answered my messages. They
were always sent back."
Jace was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, Joxer. I just didn't know."
Joxer looked at his brother. "Let's try this again. We can talk later."
"No we have to talk now, because as long as you feel this way, we can't
do anything together."
Joxer nodded. "Jace, I want so much to love you like I used to, but I'm
afraid."
"Oh Joxer," Jace replied as he gave Joxer a hug. "I'm so sorry I hurt
you. Please forgive me."
Joxer slowly smiled at Jace. "I will. It will just take time."
Jace playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Play the game, Joxer!"
Joxer smiled at his brother. "No Jace, but someday you can play it with
Adora. Come on, let's get her back
to being a baby."
Jace smiled. "Let's do it," he agreed.
Once again, The Trio formed a circle around Adora and thought about her
as a baby. After a while, a
glowing light surrounded Adora and...
*****
Gabrielle cried her eyes out in Xena's arms. "It's so unfair! I thought
this was my chance! You got another
chance with Eve. Why can't I? Why in Tartarus am I being punished? Why
can't I have a child, have a
family? Why? What did I do, Xena?"
Xena didn't have any answers for her best friend, no matter how much
she wished she did. Life did seem to
bring Gabrielle a hard time. She said nothing, just continued to hold
her. She happened to glance over
Gabrielle's shoulder to see Joxer coming in the room with Adora in a
blanket. Xena smiled and Joxer
returned it.
"Gabrielle, there's someone to see you," Joxer said softly.
"Go away Joxer, please."
"Not until you say hi."
Gabrielle lifted up her head from Xena's shoulder. "I said *go away*,
you dor...." She stopped as she saw
Joxer standing about halfway across the room, holding Adora. She got
out of bed and went over to him.
"This is Adora?"
"Yep," Joxer smiled proudly down at his daughter.
"But how? She was a child!"
"I'm not really sure how we did it, but my brothers and I changed her
back."
"May I hold her?"
"Of course! After all, you're going to be her mom."
Gabrielle gazed at him sadly. "Joxer, I can't marry you. Your uncle and
Jace are right. I only wanted to
marry you because of Adora. It's not fair to you."
Joxer's eyes were equally sad as he gave Adora to Gabrielle. "I still
want to marry you."
"Joxer, didn't you hear me? I don't love you that way!"
"I heard you, Gabrielle but I think you *do*. You just don't know it
yet and I can live with it."
"Live with the fact I will never love you like the way you want me to,"
Gabrielle replied stubbornly.
Joxer stared into her eyes. "I have faith that love will grow," he told
her softly.
Gabrielle laughed at this. "Well, if you are willing to try, then so am
I."
Joxer smiled and left. Xena turned to Gabrielle. "I have to go talk to
Joxer. Will you be all right?"
Gabrielle held Adora. "I will now. Thanks, Xena." Xena gave her a hug
and walked from the room to find
Joxer. Gabrielle held Adora and danced around the room with her. She
didn't see Jean-Luc standing in the
doorway.
"Well, if you insist on marrying my nephew, then we're doing it now, so
come on," he said gruffly.
Gabrielle stopped dancing when she heard his words. "Now?
"Yes. NOW."
TBC
Gabrielle rushed over to Joxer's side and held him. "Joxer! Joxer! It's
all right. We'll get her back. Xena and
I promise..."
Joxer tried to pull away from Gabrielle's embrace, tears in his eyes.
"No... I didn't even get to see her. It's
not fair. It's not fair..."
Gabrielle held him tighter, running her hands down his back. He
struggled to try to free himself from her
grasp, but she refused to let go. He eventually stopped his efforts to
free himself and wrapped his arms
around her. As he wept, he whispered over and over, "My baby, my
baby..."
"Shhh, Joxer. I know. I know," Gabrielle tried to comfort him.
Xena turned to Jean-Luc. "Tell me more about this God of yours."
"He's not **MY** God, Xena. He's the God of War - at least for this
country," Jean-Luc snorted in reply.
Xena's eyebrow rose. "What do you know about him?"
"He's like any other God of War. He creates war. That's his job."
Gabrielle turned her head away from Joxer briefly. "What does he want
with Joxer's baby?"
Jean-Luc stared at Gabrielle and the others in astonishment. "I have no
clue whatsoever."
Joxer pulled away from Gabrielle and rose to his feet unsteadily. "I'm
NOT just going to sit here and do
nothing! I'm going after my daughter!"
Suddenly a flash of blue light appeared. "And just **where** do you
plan on looking, O Mighty One?"
Ares asked with a mocking sneer.
Joxer turned in the Greek War God's direction. "I don't know, but I'll
find her," he replied with newfound
determination in his voice.
Jean-Luc walked over to Joxer and put his hands on his nephew's
shoulders. "You can't find her alone but
with telepathic help from your brothers, you can." Jean-Luc motioned
for Jett and Jace to stand next to
Joxer. They immediately joined their younger brother.
Jace looked at Joxer through half-hooded eyes, his cheeks tinged pink
with embarrassment. "Joxer, I'm
sorry for what I said to you before."
Joxer nodded his head. "We'll talk later, Jace." He turned to
Jean-Luc. "Tell us what we must do, Uncle."
"Take the hand of the one you love," Jean-Luc instructed his nephews.
Without hesitation, Joxer held out his hand to Gabrielle. She
immediately placed her hand in his. Jett stared
at Xena for a moment before turning to Nebula. She nodded her head in
understanding. Jett held out his
hand to Nebula and she took it. Jace held out his hand to Pierre and
his lover took it.
"Now form a circle," Jean-Luc continued. They each connected hands and
the circle was made.
"Now my nephews, think about the baby." Closing their eyes, the trio
began to think about the child
together but nothing happened. "What's wrong?" Joxer asked.
"You must try harder. You can do it," replied Jean-Luc. The brothers
concentrated on seeing the baby,
sweat pouring down their faces. Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared
before them and when it cleared, they
saw an image of the baby crying in Teutales' arms before he placed her
in a cradle.
Joxer stared at his daughter and swallowed hard. "She's beautiful," he
whispered.
"Good. Concentrate more," Jean-Luc said with a hypnotic tone to his
voice.
Jett, Jace and Joxer concentrated harder, closing their eyes once more.
The others in the room cried out in
surprise when the three disappeared before their eyes.
"Where did they go?!" Gabrielle yelled, turning to Jean-Luc.
"They've found the baby," was Jean-Luc's reply. "Come. We must hurry!"
Jean-Luc ran from the room, the
others following behind him.
The trio opened their eyes to find themselves in Teutales' chambers.
Joxer ran over to his baby only to be
thrown back by a bolt of electricity. "Leave that baby alone. She's
mine!" the Gaul God of War bellowed.
"She's not yours! She's Joxer's child," growled Jett.
The God roared with derisive laughter. "I see that the triplets are
awake and together again. VERY
amusing."
"I'll show YOU amusing!" Jett yelled and ran towards the God, only to
be knocked back by a bolt of
electricity like Joxer had been moments ago.
Suddenly Xena and Jean-Luc appeared in his chambers, Gabrielle and
Nebula following closely behind.
Teutales stared at them in surprise. Xena noticed Teutales appeared
afraid when he looked at Jean-Luc and
her eyebrow rose up when Jean-Luc didn't even look surprised at the War
God's fear of him. "You look
scared, Teutales," he taunted. "You **should** be. This time you've
messed with the *wrong* people. My
nephews together have the power to destroy you - and you know it!"
Teutales became angry at Jean-Luc's words. "Not if I destroy them
first!" he snarled and sent a bolt of fire
in the direction of the brothers, who all managed to avoid it this
time.
"Joxer! Jett! Jace! You're descendants of a long line of God Tamers.
Use your telepathic powers and
destroy him!" Jean-Luc yelled as Teutales aimed a bolt at him. He
ducked behind a table to avoid it as the
three immediately formed a small circle by holding hands and closing
their eyes.
Teutales looked worried for a moment at this latest development, but he
tried to hide it with boasting. "Do
your best! You will not defeat... AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as a streak
of red lightning that came from
the trio's small circle struck him. He collapsed to the floor in agony.
Slowly, he got up and shot an energy
bolt at them, but they deflected it back to him, knocking him against
the wall. Teutales never felt such pain
and groaned in pain. "STOP THIS!"
"Give me back my child!" demanded Joxer, opening his eyes for a moment.
Teutales was about to give in
when in ran his followers, Mimi leading them. "Kill them, Mimi and I
will give you your heart's desire!"
he called out to her. Mimi rushed at the brothers with a loud yell,
ready to stop them.
"THAT'S ENOUGH! AIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYI!" Xena and the rest jumped into
action to keep them away
from the brothers. Mimi circled Xena, an evil smile on her face. "It's
payback time, warrior princess. You
are SO going down," she snarled.
Xena smirked at her words. "Bring it on!" Mimi and Xena circled each
other for a few moments, weapons
ready. Suddenly Mimi charged Xena with her sword drawn, but Xena
managed to avoid her attack by
flipping over her back and turned around and met Mimi's sword, blue
eyes glittering as the battle-rage took
over. Their swords flashed in the sunlight as they fought furiously,
the sound of battle ringing throughout
Teutales' temple.
Gabrielle, with her sais, battled several of Teutales' followers,
sending them crashing to the floor. Jean-Luc
battled them with his thin sword, while Nebula fought hand-to-hand
combat. Together, they brought them
down one by one. Joxer wanted to help and he started to move away from
his brothers but Jean-Luc yelled,
"Do not break the link! You must not break the link!"
Jett grabbed Joxer before he broke the circle. "You heard him."
Joxer looked at him. "But I've got to help them!"
"You *are* helping, Joxer," replied Jace.
Teutales slowly attempted to move towards the baby, crawling towards
her cradle but he was hit by another
bolt of energy. "Stay away from my baby!" demanded Joxer. He and his
brothers' combined energy struck
Teutales again.
Teutales was weakening and he knew he could be defeated if he didn't do
something and something quick.
He raised his hand. "Please, no more! I don't want to die. I will
give you the child," he groaned.
Joxer stared at Teutales. "I want your promise as a God!"
"You have my promise," Teutales readily agreed.
"Then call your followers off before they all get killed!"
Teutales nodded his head. "Put down your weapons! I so command it! Stop
fighting!"
Teutales' followers immediately lowered their weapons. Gabrielle ran
towards Joxer's baby, but Mimi was
closer. She ran over to the baby before Gabrielle could reach her and
snatched her up. "If I can't have what
was promised to me, then this child will die!"
Everyone froze from where they stood. Xena took out her chakram and
desperately tried to find an opening
to hit Mimi but not the child. Suddenly, Mimi let out a scream then
burst into flames, dropping the baby,
who floated harmlessly in midair. The flames consumed her. Gabrielle
ran over, grabbed the crying baby
and took her to Joxer, who took her in his arms. "It's okay, sweetie.
It's okay. Daddy's here," he cooed at
her in a singsong voice. The baby immediately stopped crying, looked
into Joxer's smiling face, and fell
asleep.
Everyone turned towards Ares, for the Greek God of War had saved
Joxer's baby. Xena walked over to him
and kissed him gently on the lips. "Thank you, Ares."
Ares smirked. "Hey, what can I say? She's a cute kid... for a
half-mortal. Xena, this one's a freebie. You
don't owe me anything - this time."
Xena's lips curved slightly. "I still owe you for the other times."
"Forget it."
Xena smiled again. "Ares, you *know* me. I *keep* my promises."
Ares grinned widely and licked his lips. "Yeah, I know - and one of
these days, I may just collect on them,"
were his last words before he disappeared into the ether in a flash of
light. Xena sighed and shook her head.
Joxer slowly gave Gabrielle the baby. "Here Gabrielle, hold Adora. My
brothers and I need to talk to
Teutales."
Gabrielle smiled as she took the baby from Joxer's arms and watched
with concern as the triplets
approached Teutales.
Jett, as the oldest, spoke for the three. "Teutales, we will not
destroy you because you are needed here. Like
our God of War, you serve a purpose. All we ask of you is to let Joxer
keep his child and take away any
powers she might have in the future. Make her a normal child and
relinquish any further claims on her."
Teutales nodded his head, came forward and touched the child, a small
ray of light emitting from where he
touched her on the forehead. "It is done. She will live a normal life
and have no knowledge of me. Her
Gods will be your Gods." With those words, Teutales vanished.
Nebula walked up to Jett and grinned, taking his arm. "Come on, let's
blow this place." The others agreed
and they walked back to Jean-Luc's home. Joxer turned to Gabrielle, who
was still holding the baby.
"Gabrielle, Adora really seems to have taken to you," he said softly.
Gabrielle smiled. "Yeah, I know." She gazed down at the child's face.
"She's going to have your eyes,
Joxer."
Joxer cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. " She's going to be
needing someone to tell her girl stuff."
Gabrielle cooed at Adora. Joxer smiled at her. "Gabs, I really think
you should be the one to do it."
Gabrielle looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling. "Joxer, for
crying out loud, just ASK me."
Part 8
Joxer smiled at Gabrielle and was about to speak when Jace suddenly
grabbed him. "Joxer, I really must
talk to you now."
Joxer turned and looked at Jace. "Can't it wait?" he growled.
"No, it can't! I need to talk to you NOW, Joxer," Jace insisted.
"Oh, all right! I'll be right back, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle looked up from cooing at Adora. "Okay, Joxer. Adora and I
will be waiting."
Joxer followed Jace into another room. "Okay, Jace. What was *so*
important that it couldn't wait until
later?"
Jace stood there for a moment knowing what he was about to say would
not be easy. He took a deep breath.
"Joxer, you can't ask Gabrielle to marry you."
Joxer's face turned an angry beet-red. "What do you mean, I can't ask
her to marry me? What right do
*you* have to tell me what to do?"
Jace placed his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Joxer, listen to me!
Gabrielle doesn't love you - at least
not in that way."
Joxer pulled away from Jace. "How dare you say that! Gabrielle does too
love me - and she wants to marry
me!"
Jace sadly shook his head. "Joxer, I've been in love. I know what love
is. Gabrielle *loves* you, but not in
that way."
"Then why did she say, 'just ask me'?"
"Because I believe she wants to marry you because of Adora."
"That's not true! She loves me, and even if you are right, so what?
She'll grow to love me too."
Jace shook his head. "Do you really believe that, Joxer?" he asked
softly.
Joxer's face grew expressionless. "You know what I believe, Jace? Let
me tell you: I believe you're so
jealous of me because I was changed into a woman and I had Adora and
not you, so that's why you're
saying that."
Jace was quiet for a moment and then sighed heavily. "Believe what you
will, Joxer. I was just warning you
because I don't want to see you hurt."
Joxer looked at Jace. "Well, thanks for your concern, brother," he shot
over his shoulder as he walked
away.
Jace watched as Joxer left the room, wondering if he should have just
kept quiet. Joxer returned to the
group.
"What did Jace want?" asked Jett.
"Nothing. He just wanted to be a jerk," Joxer replied.
Jett rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that all?"
Joxer ignored Jett and walked over to Gabrielle. "Gabrielle can we go
somewhere and talk - just you and
me?"
"Joxer, just ask me!"
"Gabrielle, will you marry me?"
"Joxer, I would be honored to be your wife."
"No, I forbid it! You are not marrying my nephew! You don't love him
enough to marry him. I forbid it!"
Everyone turned and looked at Jean-Luc running into the room, Jace
following behind him. Joxer came
towards him, his face etched with anger. "You have *no right* to forbid
it. I'm a grown man and you can't
tell me what to do! I *will* marry Gabrielle and you can't stop me!"
Jace grabbed a hold of Joxer. "Joxer, listen to him! He speaks the
truth. Gabrielle only wants to marry you
because of Adora."
Joxer knocked Jace aside. "What would *you* know about the truth?
You're living a lie! I'm going to marry
Gabrielle with or without your blessing!"
Jace stood very still, stunned at Joxer's words. "What do you mean I'm
living a lie?"
Joxer stared intensely at Jace. "You know darn well what I mean!"
"No, brother. Why don't you tell me? Come on, enlighten me."
"Look at you! You dress like a... a... dork!"
"Hmph! Speak for yourself, Joxer! Go on."
"You pretend you're from the old country, not Greece."
Jace stared at Joxer and shook his head in astonishment. "You *can't*
be serious! That's not a lie. It's
called SHOW BUSINESS. That's my gimmick! Joxer, all show people have a
gimmick and that's mine."
Joxer turned and walked away, refusing to say anything else. Jace
turned and looked at Jett, who was
standing next to Nebula. Jett only sighed. Nebula said nothing, but she
wondered if that was the only thing
bothering Joxer.
Xena watched him walk away and turned to Gabrielle, who was still
holding Adora. "Gabrielle, give me
Adora and go talk to Joxer."
Gabrielle looked at Xena. "Xena, you're much better at that than I am."
Xena's face grew stern. "Gabrielle, you're going to become Joxer's
wife. You have to talk to him."
"Not now, Xena. Adora needs me," Gabrielle cooed to the baby. "You need
mommy, don't you, my little
Adora?"
Xena gave her friend 'the look', but Jett did more. He took Adora away
from Gabrielle and growled at her,
"You're not her mother, Joxer is!" Adora began crying. Gabrielle tried
to take her back, but Jett moved
away from her. Xena glared at him, but he ignored her and gave Adora to
his mother.
Jezda looked at Gabrielle then at Xena, who shrugged her shoulders.
"Young lady, do you love my son?"
Gabrielle's eyes were fixed on Adora as she answered, "Yes, I love him
in my own way. Please give me
back Adora. I'm sorry I said I was her mommy. It's just that I feel as
if I am."
Jezda looked at Gabrielle. "Why are you acting this way? I don't
understand," she asked.
The bard was now in tears. "Don't you understand? I've been given
another chance to raise a baby right this
time! I won't make the same mistake I made the last time!"
Jezda, Jett, Jace and Jean-Luc looked at Xena for clarification. Xena
turned to Gabrielle, raising an
eyebrow in a silent question. She nodded in reply. Xena sighed and
began speaking very quietly. "Gabrielle
had a daughter by the dark God Dahok. Her name was Hope. I took her to
Britannia where she was raped
by him and she had Hope."
Nebula growled at the mention of Dahok's name. *Iolaus...* "So what
happened to Hope?" she asked.
"I helped kill her!" cried Gabrielle.
Jezda held her granddaughter closer. "Why would you do something like
that?"
Gabrielle turned to Jezda, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Because
she was evil and would've destroyed
the world. I didn't want to, but I had to do it! Please understand, I
wouldn't have been a bad mother if Hope
had been a normal child!"
Nobody said anything for a minute as Gabrielle cried very softly. Jezda
walked over to the still-weeping
bard and looked into her eyes. "I understand, Gabrielle," she told her.
Gabrielle took a moment to wipe her
eyes before Jezda gave Adora back to her. "Now please go talk to my
son. Maybe love will grow - if you
allow it to."
Taking Adora, Gabrielle went to look for Joxer. She found him sitting
on a log by the river skipping stones.
"Hey, can we join you?" she asked softly.
"Sure," Joxer moved over so she could sit. She smiled at him. He turned
and looked at her. "Are Jace and
Uncle Jean-Luc right? Are you only marrying me because of Adora?"
"I don't know, Joxer. I *do* love you... But... Joxer, this is hard for
me. I want to raise this baby so much
and call it my own, but I don't want to take that away from you,
either. So, the only solution is to get
married."
"Even if you don't love me," Joxer said, his face expressionless but
his deep brown eyes were sad.
Gabrielle nodded. "Yes. But Joxer, I could grow to love you. I *do*
care about you very much, Joxer. I
really do."
"Or you could grow to resent me instead," Joxer whispered, turning his
head away from her. A single tear
ran down his cheek and he hastily wiped it away.
Gabrielle sighed and placed a hand on Joxer's shoulder. "I would never
resent you, Joxer, but we can't get
married here. We have to go home and get married."
Joxer raised his head to stare into Gabrielle's eyes. "Why can't we get
married here, Gabrielle?"
"Joxer, I want my family to be there with me when we get married. You
do understand, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do. Okay, then tonight we're going home," Joxer said as he
rose to his feet.
Gabrielle stood up and kissed him. "Thank you, Joxer! I promise I will
make this work."
"I know you will, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle smiled at him. "Good. You go tell the others and we'll wait
here for you."
Gabrielle looked at Adora as Joxer walked away. "Oh little one, I hope
this works out. I want to love Joxer
the way he wants me to, but I'm so afraid! Everyone I've ever loved has
left me..."
"Now Mother, that's simply not true! Xena's never left you and *I*
certainly never did. I was sent away and
later killed by you instead. So, now you want to raise that baby. Well
Mother, I forbid it!" a voice that
sounded just like Gabrielle's said in a mocking tone.
Gabrielle sprang up, holding Adora. "Hope! What are you doing here? You
get out of here! There's no way
I'll let you harm Adora!"
Hope laughed harshly. "HARM HER? Mother, I don't want to *harm* her...
I want to raise her! You and
that bitch Xena took my son away from me." Her face twisted in a parody
of grief. "My precious little son...
My heart, my soul..."
"You don't have a heart OR a soul!" Gabrielle shouted, moving away from
Hope, clutching Adora tightly to
her.
"No I don't, thanks to you, *Mother,*" Hope purred. "NOW GIVE ME THAT
BABY!" The purr changed
to a shrill shriek.
"Never! You will never get her! Do you hear me? NEVER!"
Hope smirked. "Never say never, *Mother*! FATHER, I NEED YOU!" she
bellowed.
Suddenly Gabrielle felt something taking Adora from her arms and into
Hope's. She screamed and tried to
charge Hope, but instead found herself being lifted in the air and
thrown into a tree. She hit her head,
moaned once, and then lay still.
Hope smiled and held up Adora, "Well, hello."
Adora looked at Hope and screamed and cried.
*******
Joxer ran back to where the others were waiting. "Everybody! Guess
what? Gabrielle said she'll marry me
and we're going back to Greece for the wedding, so get packing!"
Xena was about to reply when she heard a moan. Turning around, she saw
Gabrielle staggering from the
woods holding her head. She could barely stand. Xena and Joxer ran to
her.
"Gabrielle!" cried Xena. "What happened?"
Joxer saw that Adora was not with her and became alarmed. "Gabrielle,
where's Adora?" he asked
anxiously, fear in his voice.
Gabrielle collapsed, Xena catching her before she fell down to the
ground. Joxer knelt down beside her.
Gabrielle looked up at her friend and then at Joxer, tears running down
her face. "No, no! It can't be
happening again! Oh gods, no..."
Xena brushed the hair away from her eyes. "Focus, Gabrielle! What
happened? Where's Adora?"
The bard grabbed Xena 's hand and gasped, "Hope has her... Jox..."
Joxer rose to his feet, terrified. "HOPE! YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU SAW HOPE
DIE IN THE ARMS
OF HER SON!" His head whipped over to Xena and back down to
Gabrielle's. "How can she be alive and
how could you let that monster take my daughter?"
Gabrielle looked at Joxer. "I tried to stop her, Joxer. She had the
power of Dahok on her side," she gasped.
"I was no match for either of them. Oh gods, Joxer! I'm so sorry!" At
that, Gabrielle went limp in Xena's
arms. Xena felt a bump on her head and knew that Gabrielle had been
knocked unconscious earlier. She
gently placed Gabrielle's head down, and then turned on Joxer, grabbing
him by the throat. "Now you listen
to me, Joxer! I know that you're upset, but you know that Hope's
Dahok's daughter and..."
"Let him go now, Xena! We don't have time for this! We have to stop
Hope before she hurts my niece," Jett
growled.
Xena let Joxer go and he fell to the ground, rubbing his throat. She
then bent down to pick up Gabrielle and
carried her to her room. Jezda followed her. Joxer got up, still
rubbing his throat. He had not meant what he
said to Gabrielle and he felt guilty.
Joxer followed Xena and caught up with her just in time to hear his
mother say, "Xena, please find my
granddaughter. I will look after Gabrielle."
Xena acknowledged the Trio's mother with a curt nod and went back
outside, Joxer at her side. "Xena, I
didn't mean..." Joxer began to say, tears in his eyes.
Xena held up a hand to silence him. "I know you didn't, but it's not me
you need to apologize to." Joxer
nodded and blinked hard. She gave him a moment to compose himself
before she spoke again. "All right,
Joxer. Where did you leave Gabrielle and Adora?"
"By the river."
"All right. Let's search there first."
******
"Stop your crying, you little brat, before I do something you will
regret."
Adora kept right on crying. She sensed that this woman was not
Gabrielle, but a very dangerous woman.
Hope screamed, "Oh! I can't take this bawling! Father, make her older!"
Suddenly the sky grew dark, and when it was light again, Adora was now
a child about ten years old.
"Now *that's* better. Hello, Adora. I'm your mother," Hope purred.
Adora looked at Hope and stood up, her brown eyes, so like Joxer's,
wide with fear and anger. "You're not
my mother!" Before Hope could blink or make any kind of reply, she was
thrown into the air like a rag
doll. She landed hard on the ground. Adora's eyes glowed with an eerie
light. "I want my mother now!" she
cried. Hope tried to use her powers, but discovered that they were
somehow deflected away from the little
girl, as if she had an invisible shield around her body. "MY MOTHER! I
WANT MY MOTHER!" Adora
yelled at the top of her lungs.
Hope got up, holding her hands up so that Adora could see them. "Now
calm down, Adora. Mommy is
here," she said.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT MY MOMMY!"
Hope slowly walked over to the child. "Yes, baby. I'm your mommy.
Please believe me, sweetie," she said
in a soothing voice.
Adora 's eyes slowly lost their fire as she looked at Hope. "You're
really my mommy?"
"Yes, I'm really your mommy," she lied, plastering a wide smile on her
face.
Hope was now in front of her. Adora looked into Hope's eyes for a long
time, and the smile faltered on
Hope's lips. "YOU LIE! You're NOT my mommy! I can *feel* the evil
coming from you! Go back to
where you came from!" A burst of light surrounded the child, throwing
Hope on the ground. Hope
screamed in agony as Adora sent her back. She turned around when she
heard voices and then saw Joxer
and the others came running, tears streaming down her face as she ran
to Joxer, arms outstretched.
"Mommy! Mommy!"
"ADORA?!"
Part 9
Joxer stared in shock as the child ran into his arms. "Oh Mommy! I was
so scared of that evil thing! Please
hold me, Mommy. Please!"
Joxer slowly placed his arms around Adora. He didn't know what to do.
He looked up at Xena. She was
about to speak when one of the servants came running up. "Please, Miss
Xena. The master has sent for you.
You are to come now."
Xena turned and follow the servant back to the house. Joxer looked at
Adora. "Come on, Adora. Let's
return to the house."
Adora nodded and placed her hand in his. Joxer followed Xena, Nebula
and Jett right behind them. When
they got there, Xena was arguing with Jean-Luc and another man.
"There's no way I'm giving up on
Gabrielle!"
The healer shook his head. "Her injuries are too severe. There's
nothing I can do. Not even you can help
her. I'm so sorry."
Xena ran past them and into Gabrielle's room with Joxer and Adora right
behind her. Gabrielle lay on the
bed pale as a ghost. Xena went over to her, took her hand and held it,
tears running down her face. The
healer was right: there was nothing she could do. She gently kissed
Gabrielle's hand. "Goodbye, Gabrielle.
I'll miss you."
"Why are you saying goodbye?" Adora spoke up.
Joxer put his hands on Adora's shoulders, tears in his eyes. "Come on,
Adora. Let's go outside."
Adora turned and looked at him. "Mommy, why is she saying goodbye?"
Joxer didn't know how to tell her. Jett stepped forward. "Adora,
Gabrielle is dying."
"Jett!"
"Jox, she asked and I think she has to be told."
"Do you mean her life is ending?"
"Yes."
Adora smiled. "Oh is that all? I can fix her."
Jett and Joxer exchanged startled glances and Xena's head whipped
around. "You can do WHAT?"
"Fix her. I can fix her."
Adora walked over to Gabrielle and placed her hands over the bard's
heart. Gabrielle's body glowed
brightly and when it stopped glowing, Gabrielle opened her eyes. Adora
smiled at her and then turned back
to a completely stunned Joxer. "All fixed! See, no problem."
Xena stared at Adora as she ran over to Joxer. Gabrielle was also
staring at her. "Who's that?"
"Adora," Xena said.
"No, that can't be Adora! She's just a baby. Gods, it's not fair..."
Gabrielle buried her head in the pillow and
cried her heart out. Xena did her best to comfort her.
Adora looked at Joxer. "Why is she crying, Mommy?"
"She wants to raise you with me and now it's too late," Joxer told her
sadly.
"Is that all? Mommy, Uncle Jett, Uncle Jace, please come outside with
me."
The trio exchanged glances but followed the child outside. "Adora,
what's this all about?" asked Jett.
"Please form a circle around me and think of me as I was as a baby,"
Adora replied.
They looked at each other again but did what she requested. They each
thought of Adora as a baby but
nothing happened. Adora turned to Joxer. "Mommy, please tell Jace what
is bothering you."
"Huh? What are you talking about? Nothing's bothering me!" Joxer
sputtered.
"Yes there is, Mommy. It is interfering with the channel. I should be a
baby now and I'm not."
"We didn't change you into a child in the first place, so how can we
change you back?" asked Jace.
"Because as long as there is no interference, together you three have
powers greater than the Gods
themselves," Adora said softly.
"Adora is correct," a new voice broke in. The Trio turned around to see
their uncle approaching them. "You
three have a great power in you, but only if you are together and you
can channel. So Joxer, whatever is
bothering you, tell Jace."
Joxer turned towards Jace. "Jace, I miss you so much."
"Miss me? Joxer, I'm right here," Jace said, gazing at his brother,
puzzled.
"No, I don't mean that. When I saw you at the music festival in
Melodia, I was so angry because I hadn't
seen you since you left years ago and I learned to hate you so it would
stop hurting."
Jace hung his head. "I'm sorry, Joxer. I thought cutting off my ties
with the family was for the best. I never
knew I hurt you."
"You did. I waited for you to come back for me, but you didn't and you
never answered my messages. They
were always sent back."
Jace was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, Joxer. I just didn't know."
Joxer looked at his brother. "Let's try this again. We can talk later."
"No we have to talk now, because as long as you feel this way, we can't
do anything together."
Joxer nodded. "Jace, I want so much to love you like I used to, but I'm
afraid."
"Oh Joxer," Jace replied as he gave Joxer a hug. "I'm so sorry I hurt
you. Please forgive me."
Joxer slowly smiled at Jace. "I will. It will just take time."
Jace playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Play the game, Joxer!"
Joxer smiled at his brother. "No Jace, but someday you can play it with
Adora. Come on, let's get her back
to being a baby."
Jace smiled. "Let's do it," he agreed.
Once again, The Trio formed a circle around Adora and thought about her
as a baby. After a while, a
glowing light surrounded Adora and...
*****
Gabrielle cried her eyes out in Xena's arms. "It's so unfair! I thought
this was my chance! You got another
chance with Eve. Why can't I? Why in Tartarus am I being punished? Why
can't I have a child, have a
family? Why? What did I do, Xena?"
Xena didn't have any answers for her best friend, no matter how much
she wished she did. Life did seem to
bring Gabrielle a hard time. She said nothing, just continued to hold
her. She happened to glance over
Gabrielle's shoulder to see Joxer coming in the room with Adora in a
blanket. Xena smiled and Joxer
returned it.
"Gabrielle, there's someone to see you," Joxer said softly.
"Go away Joxer, please."
"Not until you say hi."
Gabrielle lifted up her head from Xena's shoulder. "I said *go away*,
you dor...." She stopped as she saw
Joxer standing about halfway across the room, holding Adora. She got
out of bed and went over to him.
"This is Adora?"
"Yep," Joxer smiled proudly down at his daughter.
"But how? She was a child!"
"I'm not really sure how we did it, but my brothers and I changed her
back."
"May I hold her?"
"Of course! After all, you're going to be her mom."
Gabrielle gazed at him sadly. "Joxer, I can't marry you. Your uncle and
Jace are right. I only wanted to
marry you because of Adora. It's not fair to you."
Joxer's eyes were equally sad as he gave Adora to Gabrielle. "I still
want to marry you."
"Joxer, didn't you hear me? I don't love you that way!"
"I heard you, Gabrielle but I think you *do*. You just don't know it
yet and I can live with it."
"Live with the fact I will never love you like the way you want me to,"
Gabrielle replied stubbornly.
Joxer stared into her eyes. "I have faith that love will grow," he told
her softly.
Gabrielle laughed at this. "Well, if you are willing to try, then so am
I."
Joxer smiled and left. Xena turned to Gabrielle. "I have to go talk to
Joxer. Will you be all right?"
Gabrielle held Adora. "I will now. Thanks, Xena." Xena gave her a hug
and walked from the room to find
Joxer. Gabrielle held Adora and danced around the room with her. She
didn't see Jean-Luc standing in the
doorway.
"Well, if you insist on marrying my nephew, then we're doing it now, so
come on," he said gruffly.
Gabrielle stopped dancing when she heard his words. "Now?
"Yes. NOW."
TBC