Chapter 6

Gabrielle, Argo and Damian came to a calm river far from the village. The two blondes looked at the boy curiously and he smiled then turned around, looking up at both women.

"Well, ladies, this is where we go to Tartarus."

Argo raised an eyebrow. "You want us to go in the river? Do you plan to drown us?"

He rolled his eyes. "We have to swim to the bottom of the river. That's how you get to the underworld. From there we meet Charon at the River Styx and he'll help us. I must warn you that he doesn't like escorting the living so let me do all the talking, got it?"

Gabrielle sighs and looked down at Xena who looked up to her with blue eyes surrounded by black fur. She had a horrible feeling about going to see Medusa but if it was going to help turn her warrior back into a human being then she'd do anything.

Damian eyed the canine and ferret. "Oh and one more thing," he smiles from ear to ear and added, "Your friends must stay behind. No animals are allowed in Tartarus."

"No way!" Argo spat. "You expect us to leave them here all by themselves?"

"Hey, these aren't my rules. Do you ladies want my help or not?"

The bard frowned at the little boy and if he didn't have such great powers gifted by his parents, she'd probably have thrown them in the river already. "We'll do what you say, Damian."

"But Gabrielle…" Argo pleaded.

"For whatever reason, you and I have something in common; to help Xena." She said and looked at Joxer. "And him too," she added and the ferret squeaked up at her whilst sitting atop of Xena's back. "Let's get this over with before I change my mind."

Damian nodded and stepped aside. "Ladies first."

Charon, the ferryman of the underworld, waited by his boat picking at his long rotting fingernails and saw guests approaching his boat. He grinned with his mismatched discolored teeth and both Gabrielle and Argo were horrified of the ferryman.

He tapped his long fingernails against the side of the boat. "Ah, Prince Damian," he made a disgusted face. "What do you want this time?" he spat in his raspy voice.

Damian folded his arms and looked back at the two blondes. "I got a thing to do for my mother."

"Ah," Charon smiles, "the witch Circe!" he cackles, "What a lovely woman she is. She brings many souls to me. What errand does she request?"

Argo leaned down to the bard, "who is this horrid man? He looks scary and it smells like death in here!"

"We are in Tartarus…" she whispered. "Just don't say anything and make sure not to fall out of the boat. Lost souls drag you down into the river."

Argo widened her brown eyes. "My gods, that is horrendous!"

"Uh huh."

Damian waved his hand at the women, "I'm here to escort these ladies to Medusa's lair."

Charon hissed, "Medusa…." He spat on the ground, "a horrible woman she is, Prince Damian. What possess you to go see the gorgon of Tartarus?"

"Like I said, something I need for my mother. Can you take us there or not?"

The ferryman grumbled and looked at the healthy blondes. "Are they from the land of the living?" he asks and Damian nodded. "Bah, mortals," he spat again and Gabrielle covered her mouth from the stench surrounding her.

"You know the rules, Prince Damian. I cannot escort mortals across the River Styx unless…you got something for me? A few extra tokens perhaps?" he wiggled his necrotic fingers.

"I'll pay you once I finish this errand," the boy said. "Trust me. I can give you more than tokens," he whispers in Charon's ear.

The ferryman nodded with an eager smile and climbed into his boat. "Come aboard, ladies!"

Argo hesitantly stepped in and Gabrielle followed. They sat down on the bench and stared at Damian who sat opposite of them. He kept smiling eerily and they felt nausea creep up on them the longer they stayed docked at the bed of the River Styx.

Charon pushed the boat into the water and rowed slowly. Argo leaned over and saw faces in the dark water and heard voices. She gasped and covered her ears, trying to block everything out.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?!"

Gabrielle pursed her mouth. "I keep asking myself the same question…"

Damian pulled out three cloths from his pocket and threw two of them to his guests. "You will need this to cover your eyes from the gorgon. One look at her face and you turn into stone!"

"I'm aware of the story," says Gabrielle snidely.

Argo held the cloth in her lap and looked over at the annoyed bard. "Gabrielle, will we really get the scepter from Medusa?"

"I'm not sure but we need to try."

"What if she doesn't give it to us?" she asks and Gabrielle groaned. "And what about him?" she whispered and nudged her head at Damian who was chatting it up with Charon.

"We'll see what happens. Right now, this is the only option we have. If we don't get the scepter from Medusa then we'll find another way."

Argo heaves deeply. "I hope so. I really don't want Xena to remain a wolf forever."

Gabrielle lowered her head and felt responsible for this entire disaster. If she hadn't gone into the cave with Joxer and left the woods in a fit of rage, this wouldn't have happened and she wouldn't be sitting in Charon's boat on the way to meet Medusa.

If she had been nicer to Ambrosia and listened to Xena then her best friend wouldn't have been turned into a beast at all. She looked over at the brown eyed blonde beside her.

Argo caught the side gaze of the bard and half smiled. Gabrielle looked into her doe eyes intensely and her long wavy blonde locks. She was the perfect woman, Gabrielle thought, of course Xena would like her. She looked almost as perfect as a goddess; her perfect hair, her perfect face, perfect body and serene attitude.

Gabrielle averted her gaze and sighed heavily. "I hope that Xena can forgive me for all that has happened."

"She will," Argo said confidently. "She always does."

The bard whipped her head around at the strange answer. "You don't know anything about mine and Xena's relationship. How can you say that?"

Argo realized she faltered again and she wrapped the cloth around her wrist nervously. "She has a forgiving heart. She's learned it…through her journeys…as a warlord," she adds.

Gabrielle raised her eyebrow skeptically. She nods and dismisses the subject. "You know a lot about her."

The tall blonde grinned. She knew Xena all too well and they'd been through several battles together. She'd been with Xena for many years before Gabrielle came into the picture. Argo had seen plenty of deaths and horrible things that her master had done over the years. She didn't want to admit that she didn't care for Gabrielle in the beginning but three years later, she began to understand her more. And if Xena liked her then that meant she had to as well. Now, she understood the bard better but she knew that Gabrielle would probably never enjoy her company.

"More than you know, Gabrielle."

The bard looked over at her questionably and knitted her brows, unsure of what that was supposed to mean. She sighs and leans her elbow on the rocking boat, trying to enjoy her scenery.

Ares made himself present near the river and spotted his favorite warrior basking in the sun while Joxer had his ferret head in the ground, digging furiously. He rolled his eyes and made his way over and Xena lifted her snout, snarling at the war god.

"Ah, come on, Xena. Aren't you glad to see me?" he teased with a chortle. She turned her head and gazed at the river. "Waiting for the bard huh?" he sat down on the grass beside her and she continued to ignore him.

"It's not as fun talking to you without your sarcastic comebacks and wit," he marveled.

She huffed through her nostrils and scooted along the grass, turning her back towards him.

He wrapped his arms around his knees and smirks. "Not fun when you are the one who needs saving, is it Xena?" he asks and she looked over her shoulder, glaring at him with icy canine eyes. "Still got that menacing stare though," he gave a charming grin. "You know it pains me to see you like this."

Xena emits a low growl and slowly gets up from the ground and walked on all fours to sit closer to the water. She sat down and continued glaring at the river, waiting patiently.

Ares walked over and rest his hand on her back and she whipped her head around and snapped at him. He quickly pulled his hand away and raised his eyebrows. "Hey, it's not my fault you're in this situation. You can blame Gabrielle for that and…oh what's her name? Ambrosia?" he chuckled. "I thought there was something odd about her when I met her," he began. "She looks familiar. You pick girls up wherever you go, Xena. You like charity cases."

If she could roll her eyes, she definitely would and if she could talk, she'd tell him to go away, but she couldn't.

"I know you must be missing Argo…" he hinted.

She spun around and snarled.

"Ah, yes. Your gorgeous blonde horse. Where could she have run off to? Oh wait, that's right. She's with Gabrielle."

Xena widened her eyes and the war god nodded.

"She's been right in front of you this entire time and you didn't even know it!" he laughed. "The work of Circe is something not to be messed with, Xena. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pity about Argo, though." He sighed, feigning sympathy. "I wonder what will happen to her now?"

Charon stopped the boat at the edge of a dark cave. Gabrielle stepped out and helped Argo off the boat as well. Damian hopped out and gave the ferryman a high-five.

"We won't be long! Can you wait for us?" asked Damian.

Charon picked at his teeth. "Ah, anything for you, Prince Damian," he smiled and glared at the two blondes. "Bah, mortals," he mutters and spat in the river.

Argo cringed. "That man is disgusting."

"What do you expect?" Gabrielle said. She then walked over to the son of Ares. "Alright, we're here. Where is she?"

He waved his hand and walked ahead. "Follow me. You got your cloths, right?"

They held up the cloths and he nods then hurried to the gorgon's lair. Argo's eyes wandered around the dark cave and heard strange noises as they descended deeper and deeper. She didn't care for this place and wish she never came here but she had Xena on her mind. That was the only thing that kept her going for now.

There was a flickering light up ahead and Damian held up his hand. "Medusa!" he calls out.

Argo hid behind Gabrielle, although she was at least a foot taller than her, she felt so small. "Gabrielle…" she whispers, "I'm afraid."

"Don't be afraid," Gabrielle says with a half smile, a bit amused by Argo's fearfulness.

Some rustling was heard and then Damian put on his blindfold. "Put on the cloths, ladies. She is coming this way!"

He didn't have to repeat himself and they did as instructed. Medusa walked out from her lair and raised her eyebrow at the little boy and two women standing behind him. She folds her arms and stands incredibly close to Damian.

"The brat greets me again," she hisses and leans down towards his face. "What is it that your mother wants this time?"

"We're in need of your assistance, gorgon."

She walked over to the mortals and grinned. "And you've brought guests. Perhaps I shall feed them to the worms that eat away at my feet at night?" she steps close to Gabrielle and her serpent tongue slithers outward, an inch away from Gabrielle's face.

The bard contorts her face at the stench in front of her and tried not to make any sudden movements. She tried to remain composed but the smell from the gorgon's breath made her stomach churn.

"We…we need a scepter," she says while holding her breath. "Circe's scepter shattered. She…she can't do any magic."

Medusa grinned and her tongue slithered back into her mouth. "Is that so? The witch needs my help once again yet she has not visited me in centuries. Here, answer this riddle for me, mortals and maybe I can be of assistance…"

Damian groaned. "We don't have time for your games, gorgon!"

"You want my help or not, brat?!" she spat.

Argo wrapped her arm around Gabrielle and covered her mouth. "Gabrielle, what are we going to do? She's not going to help us!"

The bard sighed. "What is the riddle, Medusa?" she felt brave enough to answer as she was quite good at riddles and Greek stories. She'd studied them since she was a child.

The gorgon chuckled and stared at the confident petite blonde. "Answer my three riddles and I will aid you, mortals. Answer me this, 'it's so fragile even just saying its name can break it.'" She bent down and hissed, "What is it?"

Gabrielle rubbed her chin and muttered, "fragile…saying its name can break it," she repeated the riddle.

Argo felt the gorgon was near and bit her bottom lip. Medusa smirked and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Come now, don't be afraid, mortal but I should warn you, if you guess my riddles wrong, you will not leave Tartarus. Choose your answers wisely."

"Gabrielle!" Argo yelped and ran away from the gorgon. "We should leave this place! This was a bad idea! So bad! We should've never come here! We are going to be stuck here for an eternity!"

The bard ignored Argo's babbling and kept thinking of the riddle. She blurts out, "silence. The answer is silence."

The gorgon smiled. "Very good, mortal."

Argo's jaw dropped and she reached outward blindly. "Gabrielle that was amazing!" she walked over carefully and placed her hands on the bard's shoulders.

"Answer me this, 'feed me and I will live, but give me a drink and I will die'. What am I?"

Gabrielle snorted. "That one's easy. Fire."

Medusa frowned. "You a very good at this game, mortal. I have but one last riddle for you. If you answer incorrectly you don't get what you want and must stay…here." She threatened.

"'It can't be seen, can't be felt, can't be heard and can't be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life and kills laughter.'"

She walks close to Gabrielle and her tongue glides against her cheek. "What am I?" she whispers in a deep unsettling voice.

Gabrielle stepped backward and bumped into Argo. She grunted and sighed heavily. "Lies behind stars…under hills, what in the world is it?" she muttered.

"Your time is ticking, mortal. Choose your answer wisely."

Gabrielle felt sweat dripping down her back. "A…shadow?"

Medusa's laugh echoed in the cave. "So close, mortal!" she cackled loudly.

"No, wait, it's the dark! It's darkness! Empty holes, ends life and kills laughter. Darkness!"

"You only get one answer!" she wrapped her cold hand around the bard's neck. "You lose!"

Damian slapped his forehead. "Great! This is just great! This is why I don't work with mortals."

Argo put a hand over her chest. "This is awful! Gabrielle! We're going to be stuck here in this horrible place! Gods, what are we going to do now?"

Medusa walked off away from her lair. "Have fun in Tartarus. The mortal realm awaits me."

Gabrielle gasped. "What?!" she spun around blindly and reached forward, trying to find the gorgon. "That is not what you said! You didn't say anything about that!"

"Never trust a gorgon, mortal."

Damian folded his arms. "Nice going, blondie. Now you've released the gorgon from her lair. If you would've guessed correctly then we wouldn't be in this mess!"