Part 20:

As Jett slowed down as they rode towards the village that Meg and her girls were last reported, his mother held onto his waist tightly. "Why are we here, son?" she asked curiously.

"I promised a friend that I'd pick up Meg and her girls," he explained.

Jezda sighed. "I see," she murmured.

Jett came to a stop in front of Meg's tavern/brothel, dismounted and looked up at his mother. "Mother, I'm going inside and I'd like you to come with me."

Jezda shook her head. "No. I do not want to go into such a place."

"Mother, please! In spite of what she does, she's not a bad person!"

"Non, non, non! Je n'entre pas là!"

"Mother!" Jett exclaimed, closing his eyes as he tried to keep his temper under control.

"Hey! What's going on out here? Joxie! Good to see ya!" a cheerful voice called out.

Jett turned around and gave Meg a look.

The Xena look-a-like's nose wrinkled as she quickly realized her mistake. "Oh. It's you, she said flatly. "Whaddya want here, Jett?"

"I don't have time to explain. Just get your girls. We have to go," he answered curtly.

Meg put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Nuh uh! We're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on!"

Jezda slid off Red Fox's saddle and marched over to Meg. "Now you listen to me, you hussy! My village and home were destroyed by the Gods. So if you don't want it to happen to you also then you better do as my son says!" she snapped.

"Mother... Enough!" Jett's patience, already thin from his long ride and worrying about what he might be coming back home to, was on its last thread and he was ready to explode.

Meg stared at the older woman and then turned back to face Jett. "Okay. Give us at least an hour to get ready. In the meantime, why don't you come in for a drink and relax a bit? You look like you could use it."

Jett shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but no time for a drink. I'll help you get ready."

"No! I will help them, Jett. We will be ready soon. Come along, Meg," the older woman said haughtily.

The two watched in silence as Jezda walked inside before Meg turned to stare at Jett. "Did she call me a hussy?"

Jett nodded wearily. "Uhh... Mother isn't quite herself at the moment," he murmured by way of apology.

Meg made a rude noise, rolled her eyes, and shook her head as she followed the smaller woman inside the building.

Jett exhaled loudly and made a quick inspection of their surroundings. From what he could tell, there was no sign of any trouble but it appeared that everyone else who lived here except for Meg and the girls were gone. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Walking inside Meg's place, he saw that his mother had calmed down considerably and was helping everyone get ready. Seeing that one of the girls was having trouble carrying a heavy sack, he went over to help her. Jezda saw him and nodded. Jett breathed a silent sigh of relief and continued to help the girl out before going outside to get the horses and wagon ready.

With their combined help, everyone was ready to go in a short while. This time, Jezda rode in the wagon with the girls while Meg rode alongside Jett on her black spotted mare. "So, tell me. Is Joxie still married to that blonde?"

Jett felt his lips twitch with amusement. Even after all these years, she still held a candle for Bro, he thought to himself. "Yes - and they're very happy." He took a moment to collect his thoughts before asking, "Meg, what happened to all the townspeople?"

Meg shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno. I woke up a few days ago, went outside to get some flour and other supplies for the tavern, and everyone was gone except for me and my girls."

Jett rubbed his chin and frowned. "I don't get it. There was no sign of any trouble like there was in Mother's village. When I rode up, it was..." his voice trailed off.

"Yeah, I guess it did kind of look like a ghost town when you two rode in, but this village was hopping with activity just a few days before, Jett."

"Why did you stay then, if everyone else had left?"

Meg's eyes grew sad as she stared at him. "Where would we go?" she asked softly before she turned her head away to watch the road.

Jett swallowed hard and frowned, not knowing what to say in reply. He too turned his attention to the road.

"I gotta go! BAD!" a little girl's voice shrilly called out over the noise of wagon-wheels clattering over the road.

"You always 'gotta go'!" a boy - obviously the girl's older brother - sneered in reply.

"Mommy! Belen's being mean to me!" the girl whined.

"Am not, you big baby!"

"Are too!" The girl swallowed back a loud whimper and sniffled.

"Am not!" That was followed up with a loud raspberry.

"Both of you! Stop it and behave yourselves!" their mother snapped. "We'll be there soon, I promise."

"That's what you said a long time ago!" Belen grumbled.

Autolycus groaned as the girl's whimpering grew to full-fledged wails. "All right, people! Let's take a quick break!" he yelled out as he drew his horse to a halt. He turned around and glared at the young mother and her two children meaningfully. "And I do mean quick!"

The woman nodded as she quickly got off the wagon and took the girl in her arms. With a sharp rebuke to her son to stay in the wagon and behave himself, she set off in a quick trot towards a patch of tall bushes a short distance away from the roadside.

Autolycus shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, sucking his breath through his teeth as exquisite pain shot up his left side. He wasn't used to long jaunts on horseback and he wanted nothing better than to get home and take a long soak in a hot tub for his aching muscles. Not that THAT was going to happen anytime soon, he thought unhappily.

"Are you all right?" Cyrene asked softly.

Startled by her question, he turned his head briefly in the older woman's direction and somehow managed to smile charmingly. "Of course I'm fine!" he exclaimed.

Cyrene's eyebrows rose. "Then why don't you get down and take a break too?" she suggested with a smile.

"Uhhh... Umm... Errrr..." Autolycus hemmed and hawed for a moment before another ear-splitting grin graced his features. "Because I want to get to the village as quickly as possible, so it'd be a waste of time for me to get up and down!" he exclaimed.

Cyrene smiled knowingly. "Of course it would be," she agreed with a nod.

"You said a mouthful!" Autolycus exclaimed with a cheeky wink, his grin becoming decidedly crooked as he shrugged his shoulders. "At least we don't have much further to go," he added in.

Cyrene nodded as the smile slipped from her face. "How did the girls handle everything?" she asked quietly.

Autolycus scowled as he recalled the previous night's conversation. "As well as could be expected, I guess," he answered dubiously. He recalled the picture that Adora had drawn on her scroll and he shuddered slightly.

Cyrene sighed. "I suppose you're right," she murmured. She turned towards the direction that the mother and girl had set off in and saw that they were already on their way back to their wagon.

The rest watched as the young woman suddenly picked up her child and ran over to the wagon as if her feet were on fire. Her face was flushed as she lifted the girl inside and climbed in once the girl was settled next to her brother. "We're all set!" she called out in a very shaky voice, the color draining from her face as her daughter buried her face against her shoulder.

Autolycus and Cyrene exchanged worried glances, but they decided not to alarm the others further by asking what the two had seen or heard while away from the group. Instead, Autolycus had his horse take the lead and the group headed towards what he and Cyrene hoped would be relative safety.

It was a very silent and tense group that arrived at the village outskirts a couple of hours later. As they drew towards the gate, a lone person armed with a sword stood before it waiting for them. Autolycus, shading his eyes from the late-day sun's rays, saw that it was Joxer, who raised his hand in greeting as he began walking forward to meet them.

Cyrene, who hadn't seen Joxer in a couple of months, was shocked to see how drawn and pinched-looking his face was as he drew closer to them. "Is he all right? He looks like he's been sick," she murmured in an aside.

"He's exhausted from what happened last night," Autolycus replied softly, his left eyebrow rising. "So, did Xena and Gabrielle send you out here to keep you from tripping all over everything, you big clumsy goof?" he asked, raising his voice and plastering a huge grin on his face to hide his concern for his friend as he had his horse come to a halt.

Joxer smiled wearily. "Nice to see you too, Auto," he said quietly. He turned towards Xena's mother and nodded. "Hi, Cyrene."

"Hello Joxer," Cyrene replied as she got down from the wagon. "It's good to see you."

"Thanks. Xena's waiting for you and the others in the center of town," Joxer explained. "Follow me, folks, and we'll get you settled in!" he shouted to the others.

Autolycus slowly got down from his horse and grunted softly as he stretched tired and aching muscles. He then took the horse's reins and fell in step beside Joxer as the caravan began making their way down the path that would lead them to the main agora.

"When did Jett leave you?" Joxer asked.

"Shortly after we got to Amphipolis," Autolycus explained. "He knew that he was going to have a fight on his hands trying to persuade Gabrielle's pop to leave the farm."

Joxer's lips twitched with quickly suppressed amusement and he nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody - not even on my worst enemy!"

Autolycus snickered at Joxer's wry observation. "Yep..." He moved his neck from side to side, trying to alleviate the stiffness in it. "And after getting your mom, he's gonna go get Meg and..." his voice faltered when he saw a frown appear on Joxer's face. Eyes narrowing suspiciously, he suddenly reached over and poked Joxer hard in the bicep.

"OW!" Joxer yelped. "What was that for?" he asked sulkily, his lips jutting out in a pout as he began rubbing the spot that he was just poked in.

"You got a problem with Meg coming here?" Autolycus demanded.

"Of course I don't have a problem with her and her girls coming here!" Joxer replied, rolling his eyes upward. Gabrielle, on the other hand, might have something else to say about it...

Autolycus' hackles slowly lowered. "Okay," he mumbled. "It just didn't feel right leaving her behind to try to fend for herself."

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I understand," Joxer replied. He ran a hand down the side of his face and over his mouth to hide a yawn. "I just hope that everyone makes it here safely."

Autolycus nodded grimly. As they walked along, he noticed that several houses had their windows boarded up and the townspeople that hurried past them in the streets were armed with some type of weapon - anything from old swords to slingshots. A sour taste entered his mouth and he resolutely swallowed it back as they entered the center of town, where Xena and Gabrielle were directing several people how to set up barricades. He saw that Jace and Pierre were hammering boards over windows, while Adora was running over to Nikolas' house with a large bundle of clean white cloths - for bandages, he realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Xena and Gabrielle looked up when they heard the clatter of wagon-wheels. Gabrielle waved at them before turning her attention back to her work while Xena put down the large piece of wood she was carrying on the ground.

"Mom!" Xena exclaimed as she hurried over to the group, Eve trailing right behind her. "Good to see that you all made it safely," she added in as she embraced Cyrene briefly.

"It's good to see you home," Cyrene replied as she returned the embrace and then hugged her granddaughter tightly.

Xena nodded, her blue eyes sparkling with worry. "Joxer, go back out to the gate and keep watch for anybody else that might be coming," she directed him.

Joxer nodded once and turned around, slowly walking back towards the gate. Xena's gaze focused on Autolycus and she jerked her head in the direction that their clumsy friend was walking in.

"Hey! Wait up, Doofus!" Autolycus shouted good-naturedly. Joxer came to a halt, turned around and waited for him to catch up. "Somebody's got to make sure you keep out of trouble," he continued, clapping his arm over the lanky man's shoulders. Joxer rolled his eyes and sighed as he and Autolycus walked away.

Xena and Cyrene watched the two for a couple of moments before they turned around. "Okay, people. Let's get you settled - and we'll need your help too," Xena said crisply.

As Eve led the group away to temporary shelter, Aer grinned wickedly as she leaned up against a building, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched everyone preparing the village for battle. "Not that it's going to help you in the end," she sneered. "I'll make sure of it." She turned her head in the direction that Joxer and Autolycus had walked off in and her grin widened

Jett and his small band had not gone very far when they heard a voice yelling, "Arrêt! Arrêt!"

Jezda reached out and grabbed the arm of the girl sitting next to her. "Stop! Wait, Jett! It's Gaston!"

Jett whirled Red Fox around as the girl, whose name was Misty, had the wagon come to a stop. She stared at the older woman. "It's who?"

"Gaston. My fiancé," Jezda explained patiently.

Jett's eyes narrowed. "Your WHAT? And since when have you been engaged, much less DATING someone, Mother?" he demanded. "When were you going to bother telling us, huh?"

"Jett, please calm down!" Jezda said as she turned her head and the small group watched as a man wearing a red outfit sitting atop a burro rode up to them.

"Ah, ma chérie! Why did you not wait for me?" the man asked.

Jezda quickly climbed off the wagon and threw her arms around him. "Oh Gaston! I've missed you so much."

"Why did you not wait?" Gaston asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Before Jezda could answer, the little man found himself being yanked away from his fiancée, turned around, picked up by the collar and staring into the darkest and angriest eyes he had ever seen in his life. "Who in Tartarus are you and what are you doing with my mother?" Jett snarled.

Gaston gulped loudly and licked his lips. "If you would kindly let me down, my good man, I will tell you!" he answered.

Growling, Jett dropped Gaston, who fell to the ground squarely on his behind. "Well, start talking! I'm not in the mood for any games!" he sneered, his lips turned up in disgust.

"Jett! Leave Gaston alone! I will not have you behaving towards my fiancé this way!" Jezda shouted.

Jett glared down at the clearly frightened man. "Fiancé, huh?"

"Oui," Gaston agreed with a fierce nod. He swallowed hard before he asked, "And who are you, sir?"

"I'm Jett. I'm one of her sons," Jett replied reluctantly, watching as the much smaller man rose to his feet and brushed the dirt from his rumpled outfit.

Gaston's blue eyes lit up at Jett's admission. "You are one of Jezda's sons? I'm so pleased to meet you! I will soon be your father!"

"My WHAT?" Jett quickly turned to his mother. "Mother, what is going on?"

"I was going to tell you about Gaston," Jezda said softly.

Jett was far too angry to show his normal respect for his mother. "Sure you were! When?"

"When I believe the time was right."

"And when would you have thought that the time was right, Mother? When Tartarus froze over?" Jett threw his hands up in the air. "I can't believe that you've been doing this behind our backs!" Jett turned back to Gaston. "Why did you desert my mother then, if you supposedly love her?" he demanded, poking the older man in the chest.

"Non, non! Ce n'est pas vrai! I would never desert my Jezda! I was going for help!" Gaston protested.

"On that… thing?"

"Pedro is a good burro. Jezda was safe."

Jett leaned down so that his face was inches away from Gaston's. "Her home and the entire village was destroyed, you stupid idiot! Mother could've died there!" he exclaimed in a raspy whisper. And you will NEVER be my father! he thought to himself.

Gaston's face lost all color as he stared up at the younger man's furious face before he slowly turned away to look at Jezda. "Is this true, ma chérie?"

Jezda nodded slowly. "Oui. Two days after you left, it got worse."

Gaston shook his head in disbelief. "I didn't know this would happen, truly, I didn't. Otherwise I never would've gone in the first place and left you behind, chérie."

"But you left for help, so something must've happened to make you leave," Jett interrupted before Jezda could reply.

Gaston turned back to the still-fuming Jett and nodded. "Oui, something did. Agatone and his wife were turned into pillars of salt and destroyed. I went to look for the legendary Hercules and his companion Iolaus for help. I told Jezda that I'd be back once I found them, but I got lost - and it's been very dangerous traveling around," he admitted. "It was pure luck that I spotted you." He sighed then, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I failed you."

"Non, mon amour," Jezda replied, smiling at Gaston in reassurance. She then looked up at her oldest son. "Let's leave this place." Her dark eyes grew stern as she added in, "We will talk more about this later on."

Jett shook his head in disgust as he re-mounted Red Fox after making sure that his mother was safely back in the wagon and that Gaston's burro had been put on a lead. "Let's go! I don't want to lose the light!" he threw over his shoulder as he rode back up to the front.

Meg rode up beside him, her left eyebrow rising up. "Are you going to let him come with us? He's such a strange little man," she observed.

Jett looked back at the wagon that Gaston was now driving. He saw that his mother had her arm around the man's shoulders and he saw the affectionate glances that she kept throwing his way. The muscle in his jaw worked as he said grudgingly, "I guess I've got no choice in the matter. Can't wait to hear what Jace and Jox are gonna say about this…"

"Neither can I," Meg replied, trying not to burst into giggles.