Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from X:WP

Authors note: This story takes place in modern day and in Xena's time shortly after being frozen and the Livia/Eve thing. So i'm knida rewriting the sixth season... sorta. LoL. Enjoy!

THE "GODS" UNKNOWN

CHAPTER 1 -- THE DISCOVERY

August 19, 2004

100 miles north of Athens

"Jansen! Jansen! Come quick!", exclaims Professor (James) Rodenson.

"What is it?!", says (Eric) Jansen as he rushes over to his partners side. As he approaches he sees his research partner holding what looks to be a very old bag and some parchment.

"Scrolls!"

"Yes! Jansen do you realize what this means!", says Rodenson eyes wide as he grasps the scrolls and opens one to reveal what looks to be an ancient text.

"YES!!! Wait no.", he says with his previous look of excitement now turning into confusion. (Jansen was smart just sometimes a little slow on the uptake.)

"My friend these scrolls could be our ticket out and into higher and better things!!!"

"But we don't even know what's written. I mean don't you think we should at least read them?"

"I guess… but I mean any museum would pay big for these! Doesn't matter what's on them, all they know is that they're old and crusty and that means money in museum terms!"

"Come on Rodenson we should at lest see what's on them."

"Fine knock yourself out I'm gonna see if there's anything else down here.", he says as he hands the scrolls over.

Jansen takes a seat at a table and looks at the scrolls in awe. He runs his hands over them cherishing the thought of what they could contain. He pulls out a very thick book from his knapsack and plops it down near the small bundle of scrolls. "Ancient Texts" read the title.

"I guess It's time to get to work"

CHAPTER 2 -- THE MEETING

It was late that night by the time Jansen had finished deciphering the scrolls.

"Rodenson! I've done it! Here come lets read!", he says as if a small school boy.

Rodenson looks over at Jansen and rolls his eyes going back to reading his paper.

"Come on James you can't tell me you're not a little bit curious!"

"Fine fine!", says Rodenson a little irritated.

"You know these are amazing as I was… as you say decoding them… I realized that these are like a journal, a look into someone's life and adventures!!! They're written in what looks to be a form of Greek only maybe a bit older because the text I used to right it out wasn't exact but close."

"Umm humm.", replies Rodenson very nonchalantly.

"Today started off as any other day. Xena and I walking through the forest, on the outskirts of Preveza…"

"… Xena isn't it so beautiful out today?", I say as I take in the landscape and the warm summer air.

"Yeah… beautiful."

Xena wasn't much in the mood for talking. Understandable, she was still mad at Ares. You see we'd just come out of being frozen for 25 years and well Ares had pretty much screwed up everything in Xena's life during that time we were frozen. Things were getting better but Xena had her days where it seemed to get her more than others. Today was one of those days.

We'd recently been traveling around less populated areas in Greece. Xena hadn't felt like being around a whole lot of people lately.

"Xena… hey, come on relax a little."

"Gabrielle………………………………"

I knew she wanted to snap at me but I'm glad she didn't.

"I'm trying… I am.", she says with a sigh.

"Ok, that's all I wanted I hear."

We walked for a long while and it seemed as the scenery became more beautiful Xena became less tense. It was breath taking… high trees that seemed to touch the sky and cast grand shadows on the forest floor below. Flowers of every kind lined the trail and the smell of the air was warm and had a slight sent of flowers. I looked over at Xena to see her not at my side any more, as I looked about to see where she had gone I notice she was a few yards behind me. She seemed to be listening very hard.

"Xena?"

"Shhhhhhhhhhhh."

I walked over to my friend now on edge trying to be very quiet. "Xena what is it?", I asked almost in a whisper.

She didn't respond but instead unsheathed her sword as she spun around to point it at bush. A young girl soon emerged from the bush panting and almost running into the end of Xena's sword. The girl had an utter look of fear on her face as she looked at Xena.

"Xena… you don't need your sword, she's just a girl."

Xena gave me a quick glance as she normally does when she knows I'm right and put her sword back in her scabbard.

The girl fell to her knees as she began to cry. As she sat there on the ground a miraculous thing happened… I could barely believe my eyes. A ring of flowers and grass had begun to sprout and grow around her. I looked at Xena to see her reaction and it was obvious by the look on her face she couldn't believe it either. I quickly broke from my staring as I realized that there was still as very scared person sitting in front of us.

"Hey hey… I'm sorry if we scared you. We didn't mean it."

The girl looked up with a tear streaked face and glazed over eyes… she had beautiful eyes. They were as green as the trees in the forest.

"Are- are you with them?", she said in the smallest, quietest, most little voice I had ever heard.

"With who?", Xena said from behind me in her usual interrogating voice.

"Xena!", I didn't understand why she was being this way to this poor girl.

"The one's who want to take me away……..because I'm like them…"

Suddenly we heard a noise coming in our direction.

"No! I won't let them take me!"

The girl took off running…

"No wait come back!!!"

As I watched her run off I also saw that with each step she took a fresh patch of bright green grass immediately grew. As the noise grew louder Xena took out her sword again and I grabbed my sias… we were ready to take on what ever was coming… or were we? Suddenly a loud roaring was heard, like that of a furnace and the bushes and trees in front of us were lit a blaze in a roaring forest fire. I could feel my heart begin to race as I saw three figures step from the flames. The first a man with flaming red hair and red eyes, the second another man built like mountain with dark brown hair and deep set dark eyes and the last a woman with long blond almost white hair and bright blue eyes. It looked over at Xena to see what she might be thinking and she looked un-phased by the three… creatures.

"Who dares stand in our way?", said the man with the fire like hair in a voice that almost made me melt… much like Ares.

"Who wants to know?", said Xena right back at him giving him that steely glare of hers.

"A god.", he says through clenched teeth.

"A god? Sorry bub there are no more gods, care to try again?", said Xena.

"How dare you! I am not speaking of the Olympians… you shall show respect to the gods of tomorrow!!!"

Just as Xena and this so acclaimed god were about to get into it someone called out.

"Enough!!!"

Xena and I both quickly turned ready to face another foe but this man look as of he had no intention if getting into a fight.

"Kol, my orders were for you to retrieve the girl in a peaceful manner not go about chasing her off and burning up the forest!"

"Well Caleb she wouldn't come so easily.", spat the firey haired man.

Xena and I continued to look on as the two men continued to bicker.

"Hey! HEY!!!", Xena yelled over the men getting rather angry and still not putting down her sword, "What's goin' on?!"

The third man that had come to break up the first fight looked over at Xena and back at the red haired man, "Go back to the temple."

At the command the three turned and walked back along the now black and bare ground.

I slowly lowered my sais but didn't put them back in my boots. This man looked like he wasn't going to be trouble but you never know.

"I'm sorry for that… sometimes they don't know how to control themselves. My names Caleb by the way.", he says extending a hand out.

Xena still refused to put down her weapon. Instead I put mine down and shook his hand, "My names Gabrielle. This is my friend Xena." After a moment Xena put her sword away and shook hands as well. But she still looked skeptical.

"What did that man mean by the gods of tomorrow and what do you want that girl?", I asked. I was curious.

"Well you see… me and a select few have been blessed with gifts. Gifts of the earth and the elements. We have the powers to control natural elements… like Kol, he has the gift of controlling fire and I myself have the gift of controlling earth. We are not sure how we got these powers but we presume that they were given to us so that we may pick up where the Olympians left off. At the moment there are nine of us and that girl we were after will be the tenth."

"Isn't it a little egotistical to be calling yourselves gods just because you can do a few tricks?", Xena says eyes not moving from Caleb.

Right after Xena made that comment the ground began to shake. Caleb was lifted by a great mound of rock and dirt high into the air past the tree tops. "IS IT A TRICK TO MAKE MOUTAINS APPEAR BEFORE YOUR EYES?! TO MAKE THE GROUND SPLIT IN TWO SO FAR THAT YOU WOULD REACH TARTURUS IF YOU FELL IN!?", yelled Caleb at the top of his voice as he continued to rise up.

He rose up so high that as I watched I felt as if I would fall over. By the time it stopped he was so high in the air that he looked no bigger than a speck. He looked as if he was still at the top but right before our eyes he stepped from the center of the mountainous pile of dirt and with the wave of his hand the pile collapsed. I didn't realize that my mouth was practically on the ground by the time it was over until he spoke again.

"These are not mere tricks Xena.", Caleb says with a slight smirk.

I looked over once again to see my friends reaction… she had be stunned for a second but quickly regained her composer. "Impressive I'll give ya' that. But what if someone doesn't want to join your little wanna be religion and be a 'god of tomorrow'?"

"Well they always the choice. We just try persuade them…", he says in a cool manner.

Persuade? I didn't like the way that sounded. I imagine Xena didn't either.

"The only reason this girl didn't come along is because Kol frightened her off. We have no intention of hurting one of our own."

"Didn't look that way when those three came burning through the forest. I would have run off too.", I didn't like what this guy was saying.

"Yes well I regret now sending Kol after her… he has quite a temper."

"Really.", said Xena in that, well-that's-obvious, type of tone.

"We want to protect this girl. If you didn't notice she didn't have the greatest control over her powers… what would the general population think?"

I know that got Xena thinking… me too. I mean what would happen to this girl if people knew what she could do?

"What do you say you come to my temple and if you like what you see, help me get the girl. If you don't you walk out and what you please. Deal?"

Xena and I exchanged a glance and silently decided.

"Deal."

Author's note: Hope you all enjoyed!!! Please bare with me it's my first attempt at writing in 1st person POV so if the first few chapters suck i am truly sorry! They should get better over time! Please review!!! Thanks! :)