Part 16:
Xena gazed at the campfire blazing before her wearily. It had been a long day of traveling at close to top speed for her and Argo. She glanced over at her faithful companion and saw that the mare was happily munching on some grass. Her lips curled up slightly and she stared down at the remnants of her dinner, the tiny smile transforming into a grimace.
She raised a hand up to her mouth to stifle a yawn and then stretched slowly to get the kinks from her back. Seeing that the fire was going down, she tossed a couple of logs into the fire and poked it with another stick to stir the embers. She then reached over for her sword, unsheathed it and got her sharpening stone from her pack. The sound of stone striking against metal was oddly comforting and she allowed herself to relax slightly.
The relaxed illusion shattered moments later as Xena felt the hair on the back of her neck rise and her head shot up, all traces of weariness leaving her body. She quickly rose to her feet, gripping her sword so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes narrowed and shifted back and forth, searching for something in the darkness. Her nostrils flared out and she growled under her breath.
Argo's head rose up in mid-chew and she snorted as she watched her mistress.
"Ares, come out! I can smell you," Xena growled, raising her sword up in a defensive position.
The darkly handsome God appeared in a flash of blue-white light, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. "It's good to see you too, Xena," he scoffed.
Xena's eyes closed in exasperation. "What do you want, Ares?" She saw the glint in his dark eyes and whipped the sword out in front of her, its tip touching his vest. "Don't even think about it!" she snapped.
Ares raised his hands up in mock surrender. "Is all this really necessary?"
Xena's eyebrow rose.
Ares' amused manner immediately changed to a brisk and business-like countenance. "Fine, then." He paused, his own eyebrow rising in return. "I've gotta give old Morph some credit. He certainly gave you a rude awakening this morning," he observed.
"Your point, Ares?" Xena asked, pressing her sword-tip further into his vest.
Ares glanced down at the sword and then back up into Xena's face. "Wouldn't that be your point?" he asked.
Xena's eyes rolled as she lowered her sword and re-sheathed it, sighing as she did so. "Spare me the witty repartee! Why are you here?" Her breath caught in sharply. "Are..."
"Your precious daughter and your annoying do-gooder friends are safe - for the moment," Ares interrupted harshly.
Xena's hackles rose at his last words. "Ares..."
"What?"
"Tell me why you're here or leave! I'm not in the mood."
"Are you ever in the mood?" Ares quipped, leering. The leer quickly disappeared when the business end of Xena's chakram was suddenly pressed against the side of his face. "Your sense of humor really leaves much to be desired."
Even white teeth flashed in a wicked grin. "Personally, I've always thought that I've got a great sense of humor," she replied. Her face twisted up into a scowl. "Now start talking!" she demanded.
Ares' dark eyes glittered as he returned Xena's stare. Instead of saying anything, he flashed images into her mind, making her gasp and turn pale. When he was finished, he raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
Xena slowly lowered her chakram. "Get out of here!" she ground out through clenched teeth.
The dark God stared at her impassively. "Whatever you wish, my warrior princess," he said, sketching a sardonic bow in her direction before he disappeared in a blue-white flash with an accompanying thunderclap.
"ARES!" Xena yelled, throwing her chakram into the darkness. She heard the pieces split apart and ricochet against a couple of trees and a large stone before it came back together and landed in her outstretched hand. She closed her eyes as she replaced the weapon back at her hip with shaking fingers.
Argo whinnied and Xena turned around, walking over to the mare. She sighed as the horse butted her shoulder and then nuzzled her cheek. "I know, old girl. I know," she murmured, reaching over to scratch underneath Argo's chin. Her eyes turned back to where the God had been standing just moments before and she sighed again, shaking her head.
Hercules, Iolaus, White Dove and Aphrodite looked up curiously when Ares returned to camp with a furious scowl on his face.
"ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGH!" the God yelled. He held his right arm out and a huge fireball shot from his fingertips and whizzed over the group's heads to its intended target - a large boulder, smashing it to smithereens.
"HEY!" Aphrodite hollered, holding her arms over her head as the boulder's remains rained over their heads. She rose to her feet and stomped over to the angry War God. "I don't know what bee got in your bonnet this time, but like knock it off already!" she continued, poking Ares squarely in the chest.
Ares' lips turned up in a wordless snarl and he disappeared into the ether.
"OOO! He makes me so darn mad when he acts like a total putz!" Aphrodite mumbled under her breath as she snapped her fingers, immediately cleaning herself up. She turned to the others and a shower of pink and gold sparkles shot from her fingertips, also cleaning them up.
"Uh... Thanks again, Aphrodite," Iolaus murmured as he looked down at himself.
"It's all part of the service, Curly. Can't go traveling around with you mortals looking like a bunch of slobs! It would totally make my Goddess stock plummet just like that doofus Icarus did," Aphrodite said, dismissing Iolaus' thanks with a wave of her hand. She saw the scowl on Hercules' face and rolled her eyes. "Chill out, Herc! We've got more important things to worry about than Tall, Dark, and Grumpy's grody 'tude," she reminded him.
Hercules growled low in his throat but nodded as he turned to his friends. "Are you guys all right?" he asked with audible concern in his voice.
"We've been through worse," Iolaus replied wearily. White Dove signed her agreement, nodding.
"Isn't that the truth," Hercules said and chuckled ruefully as he squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, sighing. "I don't know about you two, but I'm beat and we've still got a long way to go," he added in.
Iolaus nodded and put his hand up to his mouth to hide a huge yawn. "Yeah," he mumbled.
"Be back in the morning, peeps! Gotta check in with Big Daddy and Hephie - plus I've got a massage scheduled too. 'Sides, there's nothing more boring than listening to mortals that snore loud enough to rattle the old homestead!" Aphrodite exclaimed with a giggle and disappeared in a whirl of pink and gold sparkles, leaving behind the scent of roses.
"She couldn't just leave without making a snide remark, could she?" Iolaus muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Hey! I heard that, Curly!" Aphrodite's voice echoed over their heads.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere more important?" Hercules asked, running his hand over his face in complete exasperation.
"Oh, all right! I'm like leaving already! Jeez!" the Goddess' voice whined.
The three silently waited for a few tense minutes before Iolaus asked, "Do you think she's gone?"
There was no angry response from the Love Goddess. Hercules shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so," he said.
The three friends exchanged glances and Hercules put out the fire while Iolaus and White Dove began laying out their furs to go to bed.
The fire crackled in the small fireplace as two people wrapped in each other's arms sat by it. For a long time, neither one of them spoke, both of them simply staring into the fire until one finally did break the silence. "I wonder how long we've got until..."
Pierre sighed. "Jace, please. Let's not talk about it. I'm sure that what happened today was just one of those things."
Jace turned to face Pierre and frowned. "If only it was, but it's not and you know it. Maybe I'm not like Jett and Joxer, but I know that something is very wrong. Tolly went crazy and killed his entire family and all of his neighbors - and now he's dead, too! Pierre, what if something like that happens to you or me?"
Pierre pulled Jace in tighter to his embrace and kissed his husband on the forehead. "Jace, you worry about the silliest things. That will never happen to us," he said reassuringly.
Jace shook his head. "How do you know that? Tolly was a decent man and look at what happened to him! Pierre, we have to leave! We have to get away from this!"
"How can we? I'm not sure what is happening, but I do know we can't run from it," Pierre pointed out.
"But we can't stay here either!" Jace said stubbornly.
"Jace, I know that you're scared but we must stay. We have to face whatever is happening with our family."
Jace sighed unhappily as he leaned his head against Pierre's chest. "I know you're right, Pierre." He paused for a moment before he whispered, "I don't want to lose you."
Pierre ran his fingers through Jace's hair. "You won't, my love. We'll face whatever's happening here together."
Adora lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling. Her mind was racing at what had happened during the day. Her attack on Eve... Her father said that someone must have controlled her somehow, but only a God could do that. Why would the Gods make her do such a thing? She knew she was not going to find the answer in bed, so she got up and walked over to her bedroom window. She was going to find out what was going on and she knew exactly who to ask. Adora slowly climbed out the bedroom window, trying to keep as quiet as possible so she didn't wake up anybody in the house.
"Ah! I remember when I used to climb out of windows on a regular basis. Hmm... I also remember climbing into windows," a merry voice observed just as Adora put her feet on the ground.
"Uncle Autolycus! You scared me," Adora gasped as she whirled around to face him.
Autolycus' dark eyes twinkled as he gazed at the teen. "So, my fine young lady... Exactly where are you headed to this time of night?" he asked, his eyebrow rising as he folded his arms over his chest.
Adora bit her bottom lip. "I'm going to go to Aphrodite's temple and try to see if she'll speak with me. I think that she'll answer my questions and not give me the runaround."
"Whoa there! Hold on a moment, missy! Now you know that I just can't let you go off like that! What would your parents say, not to mention what Gabrielle would do to me once she found out I let you go there?"
"You can't stop me! I'm going to go see her," Adora said as she started to walk away from him.
Autolycus grabbed her firmly but not roughly by the arm. "Oh no, you don..." he began to say as they stared into each other's eyes. His face lost all expression as he looked at her dumbly while Adora glared back at him angrily.
Adora's eyes suddenly flashed with an eerie orange glow. Autolycus' eyes rolled up in his head and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. She stared down at his sleeping form and put a hand to her throbbing forehead. "I'm sorry, Uncle Autolycus, but I have to find out the truth," she mumbled, blinking several times to regain her focus. She hoped that she didn't knock him out for too long as she headed towards the Love Goddess' temple.
Eve stepped out of the shadows and looked down at Autolycus. After kneeling down next to him and checking him over, she saw that he was only sleeping. She quietly rose to her feet and followed Adora.
Adora slowly walked down the path towards the temple when Eve suddenly jumped out in front of her. "Eve! What are you trying to do, scare me to death?" she gasped.
Eve shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, Dorie... So, where are you off to?"
Adora scowled. "To find some answers."
Eve nodded in agreement. "Good. Then I'll go with you," she decided.
Adora couldn't look at her friend. "Eve... I might...You know..."
"What? Attack me?"
"Yeah," Adora mumbled.
Eve shook her head fiercely. "No way! That's not gonna happen, girlfriend. Now, come on! Aunt 'Dite owes us an explanation."
Joxer sat up with a start. Gabrielle rolled over and looked at him. "What's wrong?" she asked sleepily.
Joxer put a hand up to his forehead, wincing. "Adora used her powers."
All traces of sleepiness left Gabrielle as she sat up next to her husband, alarmed. "I see."
Joxer slowly got up and put on his shirt and breeches.
"Want me to go with you?" Gabrielle asked as he pulled on his boots.
"No. I won't be long."
"Okay."
Joxer went into Adora's room and saw that the shutters to her window had been pushed open and there was no sign of her. He glanced outside and saw Autolycus lying on the ground. With a muffled curse, he quickly went out the door to check on him. As he walked over to the unconscious man, Jett showed up.
"I think he's only asleep," said Joxer as he knelt down. "What are you doing out here at this time of night? Is there something wrong with Melody?"
"She's all right, Jox. I just couldn't sleep. I kept having these really bad dreams, so I decided to take a walk and get some fresh air," Jett replied as he knelt down next to his brother. "I think you're right. See if you can wake him."
Joxer nodded and gave Autolycus' face a couple of soft taps. Autolycus moaned softly.
Jett rolled his eyes. "Jox, just give him a good slap!"
"What? Are you nuts? I don't want to knock him out for real!"
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Jett's arm went back and he gave Autolycus a hard slap across the face before Joxer could stop him.
"Hey! Not the face! Not the face! What are you trying to do, knock my teeth out? I happen to like chewing my food!" Autolycus said as he slowly sat up and rubbed the spot where he had been hit. "Jeez!"
"Where's Adora?" Joxer demanded.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Joxer. Thanks for asking," Autolycus mumbled, still rubbing his face, which now sported Jett's handprint. "I always enjoy getting my brains rattled as a wake-up call."
"Look Autolycus, Jox asked you where Adora is," Jett growled.
"She went to see Aphrodite and I did try to stop her, but she put the whammy on me instead," Autolycus mumbled.
"Yeah, I know. Jett, I'm going after her."
Gabrielle ran outside. "Joxer, Eve's gone!"
"Don't worry, Gabrielle. She must be with Dorie. I'm going after them," Joxer said in a determined voice as he and Jett rose to their feet. He held his hand out to Autolycus and helped him to his feet.
Jett placed his hand on Joxer's shoulder. "You're not going by yourself. I'm coming too."
"And me as well," Gabrielle piped in.
"Gabrielle, please stay here just in case I'm wrong about Eve."
Gabrielle shook her head fiercely. "No, Joxer. I'm coming too! Autolycus can stay here just in case Eve or Adora comes back."
"Yeah, I can stay here," Autolycus immediately agreed, still looking a bit shaky from being the unwilling recipient of Jett's slap.
Joxer said nothing as he turned and headed down the path with Jett and Gabrielle right behind him.
Autolycus blearily watched the three depart before he turned around and unsteadily walked up the stairs into Gabrielle and Joxer's home to wait for their return.
The two girls arrived in front of the temple entrance and Eve's head rose up as she gazed at the doorway. "Okay, Dorie. Now what?" she asked.
"We go inside," Adora replied.
Eve's eyebrows rose. "Without an offering?"
Adora said nothing as she gazed down at her hands and closed her eyes.
Eve watched in worried silence as Adora frowned in ferocious concentration. Suddenly, the air around the two seemed to grow heavy for a moment and Eve watched as a box of candy that had a red satin bow around it materialized in the smaller girl's hands. Without a word, Adora opened her eyes and walked inside the temple with a determined expression on her face.
"Candy," Eve muttered as she followed her friend inside the temple. "Works for me."
Jett looked at Joxer, who gasped and slapped his hand over his forehead as he stumbled forward. "She used her powers again, didn't she?" He reached out to steady his brother.
"Yes, and it's giving me the father of all headaches!" Joxer growled as he got his balance back and the three hurried toward Aphrodite's temple.
Adora carefully placed the gaily-wrapped box of candy on the altar, making sure that she didn't knock over any of the day's offerings. She shook her head in silent amusement at the basket filled with fish, knowing just how much the Love Goddess despised the creatures. She turned around to face Eve, who was standing in the middle of the temple with her arms crossed over her chest, looking very much like her Aunt Xena.
"Well, now what?" Eve asked softly. "She's not going to show up if we pray for her to come."
Adora nodded. "I know. Maybe this will work." She cleared her throat, raised her head, and yelled, "APHRODITE!" at the top of her lungs. "APHRODITE!" Eve's voice combined with Adora's and they yelled for several minutes until their voices started to get hoarse.
There was no response from the Love Goddess.
Adora's shoulders slumped. "Mom said it works... Sometimes..." she mumbled.
"I don't think that us yelling at the top of our lungs is gonna get her attention, Dorie," Eve said. Her blue eyes glittered as she walked over to a very large and beautiful vase standing on a pedestal. "But this might," she added in with a grin as she reached out and pushed the object off.
"HEY! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, KIDDO! NO MESSING WITH THE MERCHANDISE!" Aphrodite yelled as she appeared in a flash of pink light. Her finger darted out and a pink and gold lightning bolt shot from the tip. The vase stopped in mid-fall and hung inches away from the floor.
Aphrodite pointed her finger and the girls watched in stunned silence as the Goddess moved the vase onto a high shelf well out of harm's way and put her hands on her shapely hips. "Like what is it with you and the rest of your family, anyway?" she griped. "You peeps have no respect for other folks' property - MINE in particular!" She tapped a slippered foot on the temple floor impatiently. "This better be good! I do not like having my quality time with Hephie interrupted!"
She happened to notice the large basket of fish placed in with the other offerings and she groaned. "Oh no! Not again!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air in exasperation. "I so need a better training program for my priests! Chocolate and jewelry - GOOD! Fish - BAD!" She tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder and huffed. "So like whaddya want, anyway?"
Adora moved forward a couple of steps as she gazed at the unhappy Love Goddess. "We want to know the truth, Aphrodite," she said quietly. "My powers went out of control today and I nearly hurt Eve - and I want to know why. Dad said that maybe one of the Gods is trying to play a sick joke on me. We thought that you'd tell us the truth and not give us the runaround on why it happened."
Eve nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she said.
Aphrodite's left eyebrow rose. "As if!" she snorted. "Like what makes you think that I'd know? I can't keep tabs on everything that's happening!" she pointed out. "I'm busy enough as it is with the love-match gig!"
Adora and Eve exchanged glances. This was not going like she thought it would, Adora realized. "Please, Aphrodite. I have to know the truth! I'm scared that they might go out of control again and someone's really going to be hurt - or killed!" she pleaded, her dark eyes, so like Joxer's, wide with fright.
Aphrodite's beautiful face softened for a moment, but she shook her head and sighed wearily. "Listen, kiddo, you need to talk to Studmuffin, Miss Bard, and the Warrior Babe to get the total story."
"But they won't tell us anything!" Adora yelled, her eyes filling with frustrated tears. "I'm sick of being coddled like a baby! I need to know, Aphrodite!" Her hands clenched together in angry fists.
Eve put her hand on Adora's shoulder. "Calm down, Dorie. Yelling at her isn't going to get us anywhere." She shook her head and sighed. "She's not going to tell us a darned thing, are you?"
Aphrodite gazed at the two longtime friends before she said quietly, "Honey, it's not my place to spill the beans." She tilted her chin upward. "Is it, Studmuffin?" she continued, raising her voice as Joxer, Gabrielle, and Jett entered the temple.
Adora and Eve turned around and stared at the three adults in shock as they came to a halt before them.
"No, it's not," Joxer answered, putting a hand to his forehead for a moment.
"'Kay, then. I'm totally outta here! Later!" the Goddess exclaimed and left the temple in a shower of golden sparkles. The box of candy disappeared with her.
"Nice to know that Aunt 'Dite's got priorities," Eve grumbled. Gabrielle shot her a disapproving look and she blushed.
Adora could see a vein pulsing in her father's neck and he looked paler than normal. Swallowing hard, she looked at Gabrielle and Jett, who returned the gaze calmly before she dropped her eyes and looked down at the floor. "So, how much trouble am I in this time?" she mumbled. "Is Uncle Autolycus okay?"
"Uncle Autolycus will be okay, but his face may hurt for a while."
Adora gazed at her father, puzzled. "Papa, I didn't hit him."
"I know you didn't. Your Uncle Jett did to wake him up," Joxer explained.
Adora stared at Jett, who calmly returned the stare. "Remind me not to let you wake me up," she said.
"Adora!"
"Sorry, Papa."
Joxer ran his hand down his face and sighed loudly. "You know you did wrong. Don't you?"
Adora stared at her father, uncle, and mother. Eve silently watched her and knew she was getting angry by the look in her friend's eyes.
"No, I don't know! No one is telling me…" She quickly corrected herself. "…US… anything! Something bad is going on, I think it involves us, and nobody will tell us the truth! I had to come and ask Aphrodite, fat lot of good that did! It's not fair, Papa!" she exclaimed and burst into tears.
Gabrielle walked over to Adora and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. She glanced at Joxer, who nodded. "You're right, Dorie. It isn't fair to hold this back from you and Eve any longer. The two of you deserve to know what's going on."
"Then we should tell them."
They all turned around to see Xena standing next to the altar, Aphrodite at her side.
