Part 17:
"MOM!" Eve cried out as she ran over to her mother. "I've missed you so much!" she exclaimed as she launched herself into Xena's arms and hugged her fiercely.
Xena's lips curled into a smile. "I missed you too, Evie," she murmured as she returned the hug.
They were quickly joined by Gabrielle, Adora, and Joxer, who yelled out, "GROUP HUG!" to much laughter.
Jett watched the reunion with a small smile on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'd call it more like a group squish," he observed. "Good to see you, Xena."
"You too, Jett," Xena replied.
"Hey, hey, hey! Normally there's nothing I like better than watching the little love-fest that's going on in here, people, but would you like mind taking it elsewhere for now? I've left Hephie waiting for too long as it is!" Aphrodite grumbled. "The wonder horse is parked outside, Xena. The kind of stuff she's got to offer is something I so totally don't want, need, or desire!"
"Thank you, Aphrodite, for bringing Xena home," Gabrielle said.
"Phhht! It was nothing, Miss Bardly! Just call it my good deed of the day - or middle of the night." The Love Goddess shrugged her shoulders, sighed expansively, and surveyed the rest of the group, shaking her head. "Later, peeps!" she said and disappeared from the temple in a wave of pink sparkles.
"C'mon. Let's go home," Joxer said quietly. He turned to Adora and Eve and gazed at them steadily. "This isn't the place to talk - and I think Xena would like to sit down and rest a little, too. She's come a long way."
The two friends exchanged glances and Eve nodded slowly. "We've waited this long. I guess we can wait a little longer," she agreed.
Adora opened her mouth to protest when Eve's eyes widened and she sighed. "Okay. I suppose you're right," she muttered grudgingly. "Let's go." She turned around and stalked towards the temple's entrance, the others following behind her.
Joxer closed his eyes and put his hand over the right side of his face, sucking in his breath through his teeth with a slight hiss. Gabrielle leaned over and murmured, "Are you sure that you're all right?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," Joxer replied quietly. "I've just got the headache from Tartarus, that's all."
"Joxer, I've got something in my saddlebag that should help," Xena said. She took a second, closer look at his face and frowned when she saw just how pale he was - much paler than normal - and she didn't like that strained expression he wore either. "This is going to be a very long night." Her eyes glittered as she took a closer look at Adora and saw that she didn't look too well either.
"A lot's happened since you've been gone - especially over the last few days," Gabrielle agreed. She watched as Xena got a small pouch from her saddlebag and pulled a couple of leaves from it before putting it back and turning around.
"I figured as much, Gabrielle," Xena said quietly. "Chew on a couple of these," she directed Joxer. Leading Argo by the reins, she then walked over to Adora and gave her a couple of leaves, giving her the same directive.
Joxer made a face at the bitter taste that spread through his mouth as he began chewing on the leaves. "Blech! What is the deal with stuff that makes you feel better tasting so awful?" he mumbled while the group walked down the path that took them into town.
"I dunno, bro," Jett said as he joined Joxer and Gabrielle. "I just hope that she's got a couple of those for Auto. He's gonna need them."
Joxer shook his head and sighed. "Did you really have to belt him like that?" he asked wearily.
"It worked, didn't it?"
"Good point. But still..." Joxer trailed off, knowing it was fruitless to argue with Jett. "Shouldn't you go back home and check on Melody to see if she's okay?" he asked, changing the subject.
"She's all right, Jox. Tired and sore, but okay. She woke up when I got up and I told her I needed some fresh air," Jett said. His face hardened. "Besides, I need to talk to Xena about the business with Tolly."
Joxer nodded and sighed. "I know," he replied as the group approached his, Gabrielle's, and Adora's home. He saw that Autolycus, who had heard the group's various conversations from the open window, was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He also saw that Autolycus had the beginnings of a spectacular bruise on his cheek and winced sympathetically.
"Hey! It's the return of the prodigal warrior mom!" Autolycus exclaimed cheerfully as he spotted Xena. "I thought you weren't going to be back here until sometime tomorrow night!"
"I had a little bit of help - courtesy of Aphrodite," Xena replied with a smirk as she tied Argo's reins to a convenient fence-post. "Good to see you too, Autolycus. That's a real nice-looking bruise, by the way. Black, blue, purple, and green suit your complexion very well," she added in dryly as she walked up the stairs.
Autolycus rolled his eyes and moved aside to allow the others to enter the house. "Very funny, Xena!" he said, favoring Jett with a glare as he walked by. Jett shrugged his shoulders eloquently but said nothing. He sighed and closed the door, joining the others as they sat down at the table.
Joxer looked at Adora. "All right then, young lady. Say goodnight then it's off to bed. We will talk in the morning."
Adora only nodded as she gave each of them a kiss goodnight and went into her room. Eve tried to hide a yawn behind her hand and Xena smiled at her daughter. "It looks like you better go to bed too."
"But I'm not sleepy!" Eve protested through another yawn.
"Yeah, I know, but go to bed anyway. You will have a big day tomorrow," Xena replied.
"Okay. Goodnight, all." Eve kissed them all goodnight and went into her room.
Once the girls were gone, Xena turned to her friends. "Okay... What's been going on around here? Any unusual or out-of-place events?"
Jett gave her a look. "Now that you ask, yes - something bad has happened. Do you remember Tolly?"
Xena had a drink of cool water before answering. "Yes, of course I know who Tolly is. He's one of the sweetest men that I know."
Jett drummed his fingers on the table. "Well, he's not anymore. He's dead."
Xena's eyebrow rose. "Dead? What happened?"
"He went berserk. He killed his family and all of his next-door neighbors. He then went on a rampage with his men, slaughtering an entire village's children. When I finally found him, all of his men apparently had turned on each other and he committed suicide." A muscle worked in Jett's jaw as he recounted the day's events. "We spoke briefly before he died and he acted like he was in a state of shock - that he couldn't believe what he had done."
Xena held up a hand as an expression of disbelief appeared on her face. "His men? Jett, he was a farmer, not a warlord."
Jett nodded grimly. "I know."
Xena stood up and walked over to the door. "When I was traveling back home, I kept having dreams about villages being burned to the ground and the people slaughtering each other. I had dismissed them as nightmares from the past but now I'm not so sure," she admitted as she turned around to face the others with a worried look on her face. She wasn't ready to tell them about the last nightmare she had, no thanks to Morpheus. Nor was she ready to talk about her subsequent encounters with Athena and Ares during the day because she knew it would alarm them even more than they already were. It had certainly unsettled her greatly and there was no telling what it would do to her friends if she told them.
Gabrielle got up and walked over to her friend. "Do you think that your dreams were some kind of a warning?"
Xena nodded. Joxer and Jett joined the two. "Then we've got to stop them before they become reality," Joxer said.
Xena nodded. "Yes, we do." Her eyes narrowed to slits. "And Eve and Adora are the keys to prevent them from happening."
Aer stood outside the window of Adora's room, fuming. "Damn, this is not going to plan! If they tell you and your bratty friend what's going on and you figure out how to use your powers to their full extent, we're finished. I've got to do something..." she thought out loud. Her lips curled into a sudden sneer as an idea came into her mind. "I know what to do..."
Aer knocked on one of the shutters, which were left partially open to let in some fresh air, of Adora's window. Adora turned over on her side but did not wake up. Aer growled low in her throat and threw a small stone towards the girl. The stone hit the wall next to the bed with a dull thunk.
Adora slowly woke up, disturbed by the noise. "What the heck was that?" she mumbled through a yawn as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Hey!"
Adora stared in shock when she saw Ioannes standing outside her bedroom window beckoning for her to come out. She pulled back the bedcovers then got up and walked over to the partially open window. "Ioannes, what are you doing here?" she whispered as she opened the shutters the rest of the way and leaned over the windowsill.
"I had to see you, Adora. I missed you."
Adora smiled a little at that. "I've missed you too, but you shouldn't be here."
"Adora, I'm going away and I want us to spend one night together. Please say you'll come with me!" he begged.
Adora's eyebrows disappeared underneath her bangs. "What? Ioannes, why are you leaving?"
"My folks are afraid. Father said that something bad is going to happen."
"What is going to happen?"
"I don't know. I just know that my folks don't want to stay here! Adora, if you love me, you'll come spend one last night with me!"
Adora shook her head in refusal. "Ioannes, I do love you, but I'm already in enough trouble with my dad as it is," she said gently. "I just can't go. I'm sorry. Now you better leave before you get caught out here." With her last words, Adora closed the shutters.
Aer transformed herself back into her normal form and stalked away, furious. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around, staring at the closed window, eyes lighting up in a weird yellow-green glow.
"What's the matter, Aer? Your stupid plan didn't work again?" Abnoba's voice echoed mockingly in the furious War Goddess' head.
"Don't think that will stop me, Abnoba. If I can't make that brat come with me the easy way, I'll kill her here! It'll save us all a lot of trouble!" Aer suddenly raised her hand and shot a lightning bolt at the ground. It hit a spider that grew huge in size. "Now, my pet, destroy the person in that room," she directed the creature.
"AER, YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO HARM HER!"
"I'll do whatever I damn well want to, Abnoba, and if getting rid of Teutales' whelp is the only way to assure our success against that pathetic bunch of Olympians, I'll use any method that I please!" Aer snarled and began laughing hysterically as the gigantic spider crashed through Adora's window.
"What in Tartarus was that?" Xena gasped as everyone got up.
"It came from Dorie's room!" cried Gabrielle. In confirmation, the girl's loud and terrified screams suddenly echoed throughout the house.
Joxer slammed his hands over his head and let out an anguished cry before he fell to the floor.
Jett hurried over and knelt down next to his fallen brother. "Go check on Dorie! I'll see to Jox!" he shouted hoarsely. "Auto, give me a hand!"
Eve, woken up by all the yelling, came from her bedroom. "What's going on?" she demanded as the two women rushed by her, weapons at the ready. She went to follow them, but Autolycus grabbed her by the upper arms. "Let me go!" she yelled, struggling in his grasp. "Dorie's in trouble!"
"You stay here and let your mom and Aunt Gabrielle handle this," Autolycus said sternly.
Eve continued her struggles briefly, but stopped when she saw how much pain her Uncle Joxer was in. She stopped and Autolycus cautiously let her go, getting ready to grab her again if she decided to change her mind, but she didn't and instead walked over to Jett and Joxer and knelt beside them.
Both women rushed into the room and Gabrielle gasped in shock when she saw the spider hovering over Adora and spinning its silk around her body. "Gods!" she exclaimed. They could see the terrified teen struggling wildly underneath the webbing and her eyes glowed with a bright orange light.
"DORIE, STOP! YOU'RE KILLING YOUR FATHER!" Xena screamed at Adora as she rushed towards the transformed creature with sword raised over her head. "Settle down! Your mom and I will take care of this thing!"
Adora's mouth was covered with spider-silk so she couldn't speak but her eyes stopped glowing. They were huge and filled with tears. Gabrielle could hear tiny, muffled screams coming from her throat. She ran over to Adora and saw that the trapped girl could barely breathe through the silk. "Don't move!" she said, holding her sais up. Adora nodded, keeping her eyes on her mother as she began cutting the webbing away from her face.
Xena plunged her sword-blade fully into the spider's body. With a loud hiss, it turned around to face her, and she just barely managed to get out of the way before a black liquid shot from its mouth. The liquid hit the floor and burned a hole in it. With a loud cry, Xena whirled around and plunged her sword into the spider's body a second time.
Thankful for her longtime friend's distraction, Gabrielle used her sais to quickly cut Adora loose from the remainder of her bonds. "Now hurry and get out of here!" she exclaimed as she ran over to help Xena dispatch the huge spider.
Coughing and choking as she caught her breath, Adora ran from the room and out into the main part of the house to discover her father slowly sitting up, Jett and Eve kneeling beside him as Autolycus watched close by.
"Hey, take it easy, Jox!" Jett exclaimed.
"Wh... Wha... What happened?" Joxer asked weakly.
"It was my fault. I tried to use my powers to get away from that spider. I'm so sorry, Papa," she said shakily, still trying to catch her breath.
Joxer looked at his daughter. "I'm okay, Dorie. Are you okay?" he asked quietly. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, Jett and Eve ready to help in case he fell, but he managed to get up without their assistance. He shakily held his arms out and Adora walked over to him.
"I'm just so scared, Papa," Adora whispered as she embraced her father and put her head against his chest, closing her eyes. She shivered violently as she tried to calm herself down.
"Shhh. It's okay. I know you are, Dorie. I know," Joxer replied softly, kissing the top of her head. His stricken eyes met Jett's and his brother shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to say. "Come on. Let's go sit down," he continued. He honestly didn't know how much longer he could stand up.
Adora nodded and the two slowly walked over to the table, where they sat down next to each other. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Joxer's chest as he held her, stroking her hair and singing softly to her and that was the way that Xena and Gabrielle found them when they came out from Adora's room a few minutes later, having disposed of the enlarged spider.
"Joxer, is she okay?" Gabrielle asked softly as she walked over to her husband and daughter.
"She will be, Gabrielle," he murmured as she sat down next to Adora and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. Adora turned around and embraced Gabrielle fiercely as Joxer wearily looked on.
Xena looked around the room worriedly before her gaze focused on the two men standing in the middle of the room. "Jett? Autolycus? Go get the others. I think it's about time that everyone knows what's going on," she said as she sat down at the table, Eve sitting next to her.
Nodding, the two left and re-appeared a short time later with Jace, Pierre, and Melody. Jett cradled a sound-asleep Andy in his arms. Xena rose to her feet and held up her hand as the others started to greet her. "I'm glad to see all of you, too, but I'm afraid that we've got some trouble to deal with. Big trouble."
The others nodded in agreement as they took seats around the table.
Aer continued laughing as she walked away from the house. "It'll serve the dumb little brat right once she dies, taking that stupid vessel that bore her when she breathes her last!" she gloated between her chuckles. "Now, let's see..."
"I wouldn't be so quick to brag about nonexistent victories, Aer."
Aer stopped in her tracks when she heard that soft and deadly voice. Her throat suddenly became dry as she slowly turned around to face Teutales, who was staring at her calmly with a raised eyebrow. "Just what do you think that you are doing?" he asked.
Aer's temper flared at the question. "Saving us a lot of trouble and you know it! That stupid little whelp..."
Almost-black eyes flared white-hot for a second before returning to normal. "That stupid little whelp will help us overthrow the Olympians," Teutales replied, not raising his voice.
"That stupid little whelp is too soft-hearted and weak-minded to do anything of the sort! Look at the vessel that you used to produce that weakling in the first place!" Aer shot back, her gray eyes taking on a yellow-green tinge again. She gasped when strong hands suddenly clasped her biceps and squeezed them hard. "Let me go!" she demanded, the glow in her eyes taking on a dangerous glint.
"The chosen vessel was a mistake, yes..." Teutales murmured thoughtfully as he continued gripping the younger Goddess' biceps. "However, that is of little consequence now. In the end, we will get what we want." He pushed her away from him and gazed at her disdainfully. "In the meantime, Aer, you will play by the rules that Taranis has set for you whether you want to or not."
"I want Abnoba off my back!" Aer shouted, completely flustered now.
Teutales laughed heartily at that. "I think not, Aer. Somebody has to keep you in line somehow," he observed. "Too bad it has to be her." The laughter faded as he stalked over to her, coming to a halt when the tips of his boots touched hers. She gulped nervously as he tilted his head down and snarled, "Never mess with what is mine again, Aer, or I'll make sure that your atoms are blown to dust and scattered across all the known universes!"
Aer's eyes were like saucers as she stared up into the handsome yet furious-looking War God's face and nodded fiercely. Her tongue darted out to wet too-dry lips.
"We have an understanding, then?"
More nods.
A dazzling, snow-white smile appeared on Teutales' face. "Good. I'd hate to have to do just that. You're good to have around in a fight," he finished, disappearing in a blue-green ball of light.
Aer stood in the middle of the field where Teutales had left her, silently fuming.
"Aw... Having a temper tantrum again because you didn't get your way? Poor baby! Aren't you ever going to grow up?"
"SHUT UP, ABNOBA, YOU DAMNED SNITCH!" Aer screeched. Her right arm shot out and she fired a thick lightning bolt, hitting a tree. She watched in grim silence as the tree burned and withered to ash in moments.
"I didn't have to say a thing. I'm not the only one that's watching you, in case you've forgotten," Abnoba's voice echoed in Aer's mind. "You were told from the start when you volunteered for this mission that you weren't to harm the girl. I'm surprised that Teutales let you off so easily, quite frankly. I wouldn't have been so merciful if I were in his place," she admitted.
"Just leave me alone!" Aer growled.
"As you wish, Aer," Abnoba replied lightly. There was a pause and the War Goddess no longer felt her rival's presence in the area. She turned around and gazed in the direction of Gabrielle, Joxer, and Adora's home.
"We'll see who wins in the end, mortal scum," Aer grinned, her eyes flashing with glee as another plan came into her mind. "We'll see." She turned around and disappeared into the ether in a white-hot flash of light.
