His sleep was blissful. He remembered his life in such vivid detail, right from the great rush of energy he felt the moment his fangs tore into the neck of a woman at the palace up to when he returned to this town for the Slayer. He smiled as he thought of the battle to come.
She had become so powerful that she had slain the First Evil. Yes there were those who said the First was slain by Warlock or that the First was still alive. But Bacchus knew that the Slayer, his Slayer had done it. Whispers through the demon world said it. Demons had always been wary of the Slayer but those that believed that she had killed the First were now absolutely terrified of her. It was said that she could not be killed. That she was a goddess. Some demons were even turning to worship her as such.
It was irony at its best. She was just like Xena. The Xena, who in a time when women were seen as little more than property, had led men into battle to live and die for her. The Xena who had challenged the son of Zeus himself. The Xena who was the most favored paramour of the god of war himself. The Xena who was unfortunately best remembered by a horrible television show and not the glorious legends of her. Bacchus winced at that.
The program had some glimmers of truth to it, but was mostly a crock of shit. It was much like the one about Hercules. Myths were taken out of context and made more politically correct. Characters that had lived a thousand years before, like Goliath, or a thousand years later, like Caesar were used. Hercules was not a shining knight who helped the helpless. That was his comrade in the Avengers, Captain America. Hercules was a boozing, whoring, oaf who loved to fight. That's why he did what he did. Like Hercules, the Xena of the television show and the Xena of reality were much different.
Xena was indeed a tall, statuesque woman with raven hair and blue eyes. She did wield a chakram that could kill gods. But the rest, the rest was what was so different. She was a lowly war orphan. Her father and brothers had been killed in a campaign when she was but a child. Even then she had shown the makings of a warrior. Her father had made sure she knew how to use a dagger at a young age. Some men could just not be trusted.
When her father and brothers died, she ran away from home because she knew it would only be a matter of time before someone tried to take her home from her mother. She knew that her mother would probably be raped and killed and she right after her. She could fight of course, but the result would be the same so why bother?
She lived as a thief for years, wandering from town to town. On one such occasion when she was an old maid…fourteen or so… she was fallen upon by a creature with yellow eyes and razor fangs. She had often heard stories of these creatures. They were dead men who rose from their graves to feed on blood. The ones that were buried without coins so Charon would not ferry them to the other side. Xena struggled with the creature and killed it with her walking staff.
Xena then began to notice things about her were different. She was easily stronger than any men in the villages she visited. She also had a certain sixth sense that alerted her when the wandering dead were around; while they wore the faces they had in life.
Sometimes she would come to a village plagued by the wandering dead and would provide services to rid the towns of them. For a price of course. She was no fool. And so her fame grew. Eventually, groups of the dead came for her because of this. And they never knew her as Xena. They always called her just one name; Slayer.
Once she was overwhelmed and beaten down by a group of the things and that's when her life changed forever. As she lay down being beaten by a mob of the dead she had a vision. A powerful man in a horned helmet with black armor and a cape that seemed to shine radiantly stood before her. He was glorious and at once, Xena knew he was a god. He spoke to her and offered her a choice.
"Die and be nothing. Leave nothing. Accept me and become mine and I will give you a great reward. You will be general of my armies and in time, queen of all you survey."
Xena would be an idiot to say no at that point. When she agreed, the wandering dead were set ablaze and the god appeared before her again and outstretched his hand. Xena took it and in that moment became the property of Ares, god of war.
Ares took her and trained her in his own way before any of the human Watchers could find her and train her their way. They wanted a Slayer, he wanted something entirely different. He wanted a Warrior Princess. He taught her about the application of Ki energy. He taught her swordplay. He taught her how to cut the flow of blood off from the brain by using pressure points. He taught her how to behave in bed. He trained her hard, and at times believed she would not endure it.
But she did. The training went on, day by day until she was eighteen. That is when Ares sent her into the world as his emissary. And he gifted her with her throwing blade, the chakram. The weapon that could kill a god, as some of those would try and stop her.
Armies were raised in the name of Ares and they blanketed Greece and the surrounding areas. Villages were burned and one particular girl was left an orphan and became Xena's greatest foe, Callisto. Sparta bowed to Xena and pledged allegiance to her. Xena crossed swords with the Kherabum known as Zealot in this time, spawning another rival. Xena took on a bard called Gabrielle to sing her praises. The Warrior Princess had the world in her hand and Ares smiled down upon her.
Until HE came. Hercules was the one bold enough, the one stubborn enough to never bow to Xena. So they battled. And battled. And battled. Xena found herself greatly attracted to the son of Zeus, something that irked Ares to no end. But all of this was immaterial and unimportant. What was important was the day she died.
Bacchus smiled in his sleep as he remembered. Xena had to be twenty seven, kept safe from the usual early death of the Slayer by Ares and by her armies afterwards. Her campaign went forward into lands best left alone. Her armies raped and slaughtered an envoy of Bacchus worshippers, maidens known as Bacchae. Maidens that were promised to Bacchus. They were his prime food source.
This brought Bacchus into opposition with Xena. It was ironic really. A Slayer who was chosen by a god to be his champion versus a vampire who usurped a few cults from another god. Though, Xena had punished those who were responsible she had no intention or apologizing to or backing away from anyone who claimed to be a god, unless it was Ares. So they fought.
Her sword met his claws and sparks flew. Xena flipped in the air, shouting her battle cry. She brought the sword down slicing the tip of Bacchus's horn. Bacchus grabbed her wrist and squeezed until blood flowed from it. Then he threw her into a tree. Undaunted, Xena rose and charged again acting as if she was about to slash him with her sword, but dropping it at the last second and striking his neck several times with her hands. Bacchus backed away slowly, his neck in slight pain. Xena smiled.
"The blood has been cut off from your brain."
"So it has." Bacchus replied with a toothy grin as he punched Xena hard.
Xena flipped in mid-air and did back handstands until she finally stopped. Xena's attack had failed, proving that this creature was indeed at least a god. Or at least so she thought. Xena never knew the mechanics of vampires as she was taught by Ares instead of the Watcher's Council. The blood of a vampire flows so minutely through the body that it is as if their heart doesn't beat at all. She really did no damage whatsoever.
Still she had no idea that this was a vampire. It was a god, and gods she could kill. Xena unleashed her mighty chakram and watched with a smile as it slammed into the chest of Bacchus and stuck there. She was very disappointed when he didn't explode like most gods did. Bacchus merely pulled the chakram out and threw it to the ground. Then he charged.
Xena leapt over him and pulled a dagger from her side and put it in the back of his skull. Bacchus turned just as she did and violently backhanded her. She rolled and sent a savage kick to his mid-section which he merely absorbed. Bacchus threw another blow, which Xena grabbed and turned behind his back. She grunted and with all her strength broke his right arm. Bacchus threw his head back, the handle of the dagger slamming into her brow. It swelled up and bled but Xena just wiped the blood away. Then she sent her foot into his crotch at amazing speeds making him double over in pain.
Xena gripped his horns and sent her knee rocketing into his nose breaking it as well. With a roar of force, Bacchus sent her flying with a head butt. Xena fought her way up flipping Bacchus as he approached her from behind. He was up in the bat of an eye and savagely bit into her shoulder. Xena roared in pain and put a thumb into one of his eyes gouging it out. She pulled away and grabbed her sword and ran Bacchus through with it. Bacchus spit her own blood into her face and backhanded her with his good arm. He pulled the sword out and lashed out at her with it. She dodged the attack and kicked the blade, breaking it as it stuck into the ground.
Xena backed up, her men cheering her on as she fought this creature in single combat. She focused and began shouting her battle cry again as a blast of Ki issued forth from her hands. Bacchus ducked it and used all of his preternatural strength to move forward before she get off another shot. He gored her viciously with his horns and took her to the ground pushing them in deeper. The Warrior Princess cursed in pain and pulled the dagger from the back of Bacchus's head and stabbed it down, again and again into his skull. Bacchus stood and threw Xena from his horns with a roar of pure animal passion.
The more blood of this woman that was spilled, the more he wanted her. She was amazing and her smell could only be that of a Slayer. Still, she was his enemy. And she would have to die. Bacchus strode forward and stomped her bleeding mid-section with authority. Xena cursed at him in pain and then laughed as she brought her hands together and sent a Ki blast into his face. Flesh was seared and burned away at an alarming speed and his horns caught fire. Bacchus staggered away and put the fire out, leaving blackened skin barely hanging on his skull and leaving his remaining eye lidless.
Xena rose, holding her stomach, trying to block out the pain and hold her intestines in. Bacchus stared at her, horribly mutilated. Xena stood facing the creature before with a look on her face that said even if he killed her, he would never truly DEFEAT her. And in that moment, Bacchus loved her. She was single-handedly tearing down millennia of boredom with her defiance.
Finally, Xena listened to the buzzing in her skull that was not concussion, but her long repressed Slayer senses telling her that this creature was one of the wandering dead. Xena grinned and knew exactly how to kill it now. A shaft of wood to the heart always sent those things to Tartarus. She looked around and saw her chance. They were doing battle in a vineyard, and nearby were a grouping of trees.
Carefully, Xena positioned herself in front of the trees so as not to call suspicion to her plan. Her chakram lay at her feet. She knew how she had to play this. She put her foot under the edge and kicked it up into the air, grabbing it there and throwing it at Bacchus. Bacchus dodged it with ease and charged, as was Xena's intention.
She waited until the last instant and jumped into the air as high as she could, flipping over Bacchus and kicking him as well. Bacchus stumbled forwards into the tree, his head impacting with it as Xena caught her chakram on its return. With a loud scream, she threw it again, slicing off a small tree branch. Running forward she caught the branch as it fell and caught her returning chakram again. She thrust at Bacchus and nearly hit her mark, but he pulled back at the last second.
Cursing, Xena swung her chakram like a sword and slashed Bacchus's throat. Bacchus struck back, raking his claws across her chest. Xena roared and jammed the makeshift stake at Bacchus's chest. Bacchus brought his hand down at the last second and pushed the stake into his chest JUST BELOW HIS HEART. He grabbed Xena and threw her across the field. She didn't flip anymore. She just rolled, but she still rose. Bacchus walked slowly, methodically for her.
With her men cheering her on and the pain finally taking its toll, Xena let a few tears of agony roll down her face. She then smiled and remembered another way to kill one of the walking dead. Take their head. Her fingers closed on her chakram and she was confident she could take his head in one strike, or at least take enough of it to give him pause so she could take the rest.
Bacchus saw her fingers tighten on her chakram and he knew what she was up to. With his good arm he reached down and lifted the remains of her sword. Xena turned and threw her chakram with her battle cry sounding more loudly than ever.
It turned to a wet gurgle as soon as she saw her chakram spark against the sword in Bacchus's hand. Her greatest weapon hit the blade and rebounded back at her, imbedding itself in her chest. Blood came from her mouth as she fell and began to slowly lie down, struggling for air. Her men grew silent when this happened.
Bacchus walked towards her and knelt beside her, gripped her neck savagely with a grip that could crumble marble. He then relented and kissed her passionately on the lips. He then sank his teeth into her neck and drank from her as she lay dying. For a moment, Bacchus considered turning her right there. She could be his for eternity, an eternity with this one who in acts of hatred had given him more love than he had ever experienced before, even from his sire.
But no, he decided to let her die. Ares would be angry that she was dead, but she died in honorable combat and would bare him no malice for that. If he turned her though, Ares would destroy them both for daring to take something that was his. And though Bacchus claimed to be a god, he could not hope to ever best Ares, even with this woman as his childe. So Bacchus merely drank and looked to her men. Any second now, he was sure that they would attack. But they didn't because he saw the form of Ares standing in front of them scowling directly at him. Bacchus could swear her saw one tear on the god of war's cheek. Then Ares merely ordered the army away.
One girl stayed. A blonde who didn't look the part of a warrior. She looked to be a bard. She slowly walked forward with tears in her eyes and grabbed Xena's discarded, ruined sword and tried to wield it. Bacchus would have laughed, but he saw that this girl too loved his victim. So he held it in and rose, his wounds already rapidly repairing themselves thanks to drinking the blood of the Slayer.
The blonde girl shouted and attacked. Bacchus effortlessly sidestepped her and knocked the blade from her hands. He thought of breaking her neck, but then reconsidered it when he saw she carried several scrolls on her belt.
"I'll let you live for one reason, bard." Bacchus stated, "Write what you have seen here today. Let them all know what happened and how gloriously this Slayer died. Let them all know that she fought tooth and nail until the end."
The girl cursed him over and over, before falling to her knees crying. Bacchus looked away from her and to the body of Xena before reaching down and pulling the chakram from her chest. He smiled and licked the blood from the chakram and returned to his temple to rest.
The girl, Gabrielle, did write down what had happened and sealed all of her scrolls of Xena's deeds in a cavern where they would be undisturbed until the nineteen thirties. And years after that the idiot grandson of the man who discovered them would sell them for a few thousand dollars to a film company, who would bastardize her adventures so they could cash in on their successful Hercules series. Bacchus killed many Slayers since then but he never loved them like he loved Xena. There were none like her, until perhaps now.
Bacchus awoke from his sleep in the old church that he had chosen to make his residence in Sunnydale. He looked to his side and caressed the chakram of Xena that lay beside him. He smiled.
"I love you still."