Chapter 4 [Clearing—about five miles away from the village

Xena had ridden Argo hard through the forest, trying to let her friend deal with her own frustrations. While weaving around this tree and vaulting a bush, her mind fumed over the issue at hand. As if I'm going to let anyone else hunt down Yodoshi! She frowned recalling her own encounters on the side of Fuji. I owe it to Akemi to take that bastard down myself! She sniffed the air and felt its vibrations shift.

For two miles she rode on, not really feeling like dealing with the pest.

However, the twitch never went away; its burning increasing along her neck and down her back under the dark leather.

"Awright! Enough of this!" she growled. Upon reaching the open meadow, she pulled up on the reins. After a triple backward flip from the saddle to the ground, she drew her sword and braced herself in less than a heartbeat. "Get out here, Ares!"

"I love it when you're all pissed off!" the war god crowed while appearing in a flash of orange light. "It's enough to make me wanna….."

Before he could finish, her fist found his face.

He flew backward, pancaking against a massive tree.

"I ain't in the mood!" she hissed; her eyes clearly in the wide-eyed battle-crazed glare.

"Come on! You're clearly spoiling for a fight!" he rebutted. "You know you could kick Yodoshi's ass!"

"I could really kick yers," she growled, getting right in his face and eye to eye. "Right now, any fight's lookin' good." Before he could throw an energy burst in his own defense, she lowered her shoulder and dented the tree with his hide again. "You're really pushin' yer luck, Ares." She held up her hands in prime position to deliver the Pinch but stopped herself cold. "You're not worth it."

"I knew you've gone soft. Since when have you cared about the rules?" he challenged.

"Since I care about what my friends have built! It's gotten me a lot farther than you ever did!" she spat. "Scram! I really don't have time for this right now!"

"Fine! Be that way!" he concluded derisively to cover his own hurt feelings. Then he disappeared in another energy burst.

"Damn it!" Much as Jasmine had done earlier, she whacked away at a tree in anger and frustration. Then she felt another presence. "Ares, I warned ya!"

No, Xena. It is not him.

She turned to find two spirits floating above the grassy plain. "Lao Ma? Akemi?"

"Yes, Xena," her former mentor replied while she and her companion assumed solid form. "Even at your angriest, you restrained yourself."

"Ares kind of brings it out of me," the warrior retorted while sheathing her sword. "Sorry you had to see that."

"That, Xena, is the reason we are here," Akemi announced. "Yours is a dangerous path into darkness. Just as a flower allowing the razor to glide across its stem risks its life so too do you. Trust in the one called Yori. She and her master are our allies in the light."

"Your rage comes from frustration and vengeance, Xena," Lao Ma added. "As your seeress has predicted, yours will not be the deciding blow. While your darkness is not at issue, it could become so should you continue down your current path." Just as she had done decades earlier, the spirit's eyes shone compassionately at her student. "Let go of your will, Xena. All desire. All anger. All drives. Once calm, your mind will find its way."

Although Xena was boiling mad, the words did calm her slightly. "That's not going to help against Yodoshi."

"Then you risk falling as I did, Xena," Akemi reminded her. "Seeing that would break my heart."

Glancing into the eyes of the Japanese spirit made the warrior's own water. "Damn it! Miranda's been through enough!"

"As much as I admire your pure motives for protecting her, Xena, that is exactly the point," Lao Ma argued. "The girl has to master her own fear and inner darkness. This is to be her test."

"Then why do you need me?" Xena demanded with her hands raised in frustration.

"Who better to guide and teach her?" Akemi proposed. "You are an excellent teacher, Xena. It was not your fault I fell from the path. Do not repeat my error."

"But…" Xena backed away; her mind clearly torn between the protective and vengeful sides of itself.

"But what, Xena?" Lao Ma interrupted. "This is the only way. The young ones are to be tested. So shall it be. Focus on the bigger picture. Surrender your will to it. Then you will see what I am saying."

"Remember what happened before, Xena. You have faced your demons. Do not allow them hold of you once more," Akemi begged. "Please."

"Think on it, Xena. That's all we can ask," Lao Ma concluded.

With that, the two spirits disappeared, leaving the warrior to consider her own thinking in the upcoming matter.

She sat on the ground and closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax. As her mentor had requested, she relaxed her inner will, allowing herself to float on the energies of existence. For several minutes, she felt the living things approach and retreat again as if warned off by some higher power.

As she relaxed, Xena felt lighter than air—almost like a puff of dandelion dander floating on the summer breeze or a cork floating on a river current.

It was then that the energies of all life flooded through her, making her a part of their world. It has been said that few people live in the world and that the majority live on it. It was at that moment—as she had done for a few minutes in Chin so long before—that she had reached Lao Ma's goal. While she would always follow the way of the warrior, her mind had steadied itself for the journey ahead.

Thank you, Xena. Remember this as you move on, Lao Ma's thoughts echoed in her mind.

Xena smiled at her teacher's praise and opened her eyes again.

"Mother?" Eve asked while approaching her with two other Amazons. "Are you all right?"

"Better than I've been in a while," Xena assured her daughter. "I needed to figure some things out." She hesitated for a second before continuing, "Lao Ma reminded me of her lesson."

"About the Way? I remember reading about it in Gabrielle's scrolls," Eve noted.

"She wanted me to achieve a state where I could abandon my own will and goals for the greater good." Xena took a deep breath. "I don't know if I can do it all of the time but for this mission, I can."

"I'm proud of you, Mother," Eve praised while hugging her mother tightly.

In addition to the words from her mentor, those meant more to the Warrior Princess than gold or any amount of dinars. She returned the gesture, letting the positive energies flow between them before urging, "Let's get back."

"Gabrielle will have the entire tribe looking for us if we don't get back," Eve agreed as they and the other two Amazons mounted their horses and took off toward the village.