Chapter 5

The `other´ group - Xena2 and Gabrielle2

While this was happening, the `other group´ was coming closer and closer to the town. Just like the two of the first one that had arrived they were Xena and Gabrielle, only with a slightly different history from them.

In their world, Gabrielle had, at that critical moment in Ares temple, reached Hope before Xena could stab her with the Hind's Blood Dagger and threw both her and herself into the fiery abyss right behind them.

As a result, none of them had died that day and this Xena also had not become possessed. Things had gone differently there. But for them, this only took place a few months ago, not over 26 years, like for the first two groups.

Xena had known for some time now that they were being followed. Tracking her of all people and remain unnoticed was something nearly impossible. Still, they managed to come really close to them, she admitted. Still they managed to come really close to them, she admitted. Far closer than she would have liked and she wasn´t completely sure how many it were.

Whoever this was, was good, really good.

"Gabrielle," she whispered, "get ready."

I had begun. They were here. Their pursuers had reached them.

The attack came suddenly and actually quite obvious.

Two men, clad in black battle armor came running, yelling loudly towards them. Xena was actually a bit disappointed. She had expected something better than this.

The two fighters attacked her wild and brutally, without any restraint and as it seemed, without reason. They were going for blood, trying to kill her. But she easily fought them off.

Still, both of the men made no move to back off. It was as if they had no interests in their minds beside trying to murder her.

She cut both of them down quite quickly. It wasn´t as if they were giving her much choice here. Xena looked down at the two dead bodies.

This was not what she had expected. It was too easy. Nearly as if it was...a distraction.

Just the moment she thought this, someone else stepped out into the open from the trees. They were two women, both of them they had never seen before and in a short distance behind them, one man.

As Gabrielle saw him however, she froze instantly. Even Xena was shocked. They both recognized him. But it was impossible, he was dead, he had been that way for decades. They both pointed their weapons at the newcomers.

"I see you have been awaiting us `Xena´," the obvious leader of the three addressed her. "We have expected to meet someone, some competitors, on our way. But that it is you of all people, I must admit, that's quite a surprise, at least in a way."

The first woman was maybe in her mid to late twenties, dressed in a similar battle armor like the two men she had just killed. Hers however seemed to be sleeker and better crafted. To that came the way she was moving and holding herself. It was clear that she was higher ranked than the others.

Xena couldn´t help but feel that there was something about her that was unsettling familiar. She had long brown hair and blue eyes, just in the same shade as her own, a small part of Xena she thought.

"It seems that you know me," she responded. There was something about this woman that just set her of. She nearly felt as if she should know who she was. "Who are you?" she asked with some force.

"So it seems that you don´t know me." the woman turned her own words back at her. "Well, given the situation this is not really a wonder. We belong to different worlds after all. Well, I have already been informed about this phenomenon beforehand," she stated.

"What are you talking about?" Xena asked, now visibly irritated.

She lifted her sword a bit higher in a challenging gesture, hoping to draw her opponent into giving her some clearer information. What she said however was more than unexpected for Xena.

"It is a shame that you don´t know me in your world `mother´..." she said, "and you never will."

This took even Xena off guard. Of all the things in the world she had thought she might say, this was probably the last….Just like her opponent had expected.

She gave a short glance to her side, where one of her own companions was standing. The other woman was wearing similar armor like herself and had deep red hair that was hanging over her shoulders.

"Now," she ordered.

Then, it suddenly happened. Xena didn´t see or feel the attack coming. She couldn´t have, even if she had tried to anticipate it. It was something she had no real defense against. From one moment to the other she couldn´t move her own body, couldn´t lift her arms.

This was however a form of power she and Gabrielle had encountered before, telekinesis. It reminded both of them in a shocking way of Hope.

Xena tried struggling to free herself, but couldn´t do it in time. An invisible hand lifted her off the ground and held her suspended in mid-air. It was the red haired woman, they realized.

"Xena," Gabrielle yelled, but it was senseless. Their other two opponents were now standing in her way and holding her off, while their leader was casually moving closer to the helpless warrior.

"Why are you doing this ?" Gabrielle asked the male member of the trio in a horrified tone. He was the one who shocked her the most, despite the frightening power his companion displayed. It was nobody else than Perdicas, her own...long dead husband.

"I have no choice," he answered.

Meanwhile the leader was now standing right in front of Xena, who was still trying to overcome the telekinetic grip. She lifted her sword.

"I guess that means goodbye mother," she said. "Well, I will see you again soon anyway, but I fear you won´t."

With these words, she stabbed her blade right through the chest of the still defenseless Xena. The grin she had on her face while doing it, matched her actions perfectly.

"No!" Gabrielle shouted desperately, but it was too late.

Her friend´s now limp body fell motionless to the ground. Xena was dead.

"And what do we have here?" the leader asked sarcastically. "A Gabrielle, a slightly younger version than we are used to though. To be honest, I have no real interest in killing her however. Not like with Xena. I am just not in the mood for it.

"What do you think?" she turned to the red haired woman standing next to her. "Maybe we should take her with us. She would make a great toy for Hope, don´t you think?"

"If you say so Eve," the woman replied.

xxxxxxx

The first group

They were again on their way through town. This time however, at night.

In the darkness, their surroundings were even more unsettling than it had been during daytime.

"So Chaos is some sort of ancient god, you said?" Xena questioned.

"Yes, it is believed to be the first living entity that has ever been created in the universe, that means the third being in existence as a whole."

"How does that work out?" Callisto questioned.

"Our old friend Dahak and the one known as the God of Light have never actually been created," he answered. "They existed since before the beginning of time and space, before even the universe itself.

Chaos on the other hand comes right after them in this regard. It was the very first entity that came into being back in the still young cosmos, before worlds, planets, stars or even any solid matter at all was formed and also probably before it started to split into countless parallel realities. That at least is what the legend says. It originally existed in an empty universe, without physical laws, because nothing physical existed yet, without any borders. That is its natural state.

I am not talking about `chaos´ here, as Discord represents it, with a bit of mischief, fighting and some common unrest."

"Hey, it is much more than just a bit of mischief," Discord said grumpily. But everybody around her just ignored her comment.

"This is something completely different," Ares continued. "It is the embodiment of emptiness, desolation and the breakdown of all natural order. But it is also the source from where we, the gods came from. Uranos and Gaia, the parents of the Titans rose from it, as had many others. They were the first gods, the ancestors of most of the Pantheons.

Then, as the physical world as we know it continued to take shape, Chaos was pushed back more and more. But it never completely vanished. It was still there, somewhere, hiding in the void between realities. Some people believe that, should Chaos ever return to our realm, it would mean the breakdown of all natural order. Judging by the things that are going on in this town, I would say that is a strong hint that these people were right," he added.

"And you believe that this cult is aiming to achieve precisely …this?" Xena questioned.

"We know that they worship Chaos and with the Necronomicon and its ways to open gates to other dimensions, it would certainly be the ideal tool to bring it back into our world," he answered.

"Even if they aren´t planning something like this right now, the book in the hands of them is just too much of a threat," Discord pointed out. "The book alone is highly dangerous. It is one of the strongest sources of dark magic in existence."

"The Necronomicon means more than just black magic," Ares cut in. "It is the key to other planes of existence, places where old and very dangerous beings reside. Chaos is only one of them. These are things that should have better been forgotten by mortals."

"How do you know that?" Discord asked him, slightly confused. She had never heard of this.

"Let us say in my own world I had much time to get aquainted with themes like this," he replied.

"I am surprised that you of all people would do that," she commented.

"You could say I also had several tough lessons to learn over the course of this time in my world," he responded.

"This would also explain why Discord still has access to a part of her power, while you and Aphrodite do not," Xena mentioned. "Her role as a goddess has in its nature many similarities to Chaos, only in a much less extreme form."

"Yes, she is pretty much a dumped down version of Chaos," Ares agreed, "very dumbed down."

"Hey!" Discord yelled, "I think I had enough of you two talking about me this way. I am still a god and right now I am probably the only one here who truly has the right to call herself this. I didn´t even want to come along on this stupid mission in the first place, I only came because you asked me to. So I will not be mocked or talked down by you two again. Have you understood me?"

"Yes Discord, we are sorry, we will never do it again" Ares responded casually. Still he didn't really sound as if he actually cared much either way.

xxx

It was dark night by now. With the fog that was hanging over the entire area, it was barely possible to see into ten meters distance.

This however was actually working to their advantage. It allowed them to get quite close to their target, undetected.

In the shine of the torches that were standing around them however, they could actually make out the forms of the cloaked figures who were forming a circle in a short distance before them.

Around this group was standing an even greater number of spectators, who were obviously watching the ceremony. Xena and the others could still not see them clearly, but there were at least forty people. All of them were wearing red robes and were hiding their faces behind white featureless masks.

One however, on the other side was standing in the center of the circle. This was most likely the leader of the ceremony and he was reciting words in a language that none of them, not even Ares and Discord, could recognize. His voice sounded distorted and hollow, nearly as if it wasn´t the one of an actual human being and by what they had seen by the appearance of the inn keeper, maybe it wasn´t, not anymore.

As he ended his litany however, he began to speak in Greek. They could understand his words now.

"The time is near. Soon the great change will arrive," he announced loud. "and we will be its harbingers."

Close to him, on what seemed to be a bizarre looking altar made out of stone, they saw something that looked like a book…the same book they had been looking for, nearly in their reach.

"What we need now is a distraction," Callisto whispered.

"I agree." Xena responded. She turned to Discord. "You have still powers left. Do you think you can do something to divert their attention? "

"Yes, I think I can do something," she replied.

"I've just had the same idea. It seems like we really do think in similar ways," Callisto said with a smile.

"Don´t even try it..." Xena countered. "This is not the time for your mind games."

"No, you are right, it is not," she answered. "We have other things to do." she replied, and her entire behavior had suddenly changed. It was clear that she was taking this serious.

"Maybe we should try to get our hands on a few of those robes," Gabrielle suggested.

"A good idea," Xena gave back. "Discord, Callisto...Ares, Gabrielle...Sarah," she said, addressing the members of their group.

They were just about to start their makeshift plan, as Xena realized something else. Callisto and Gabrielle had noticed it as well.

"We are not alone," she whispered.

"You could say that," Ares replied sarcastically. "There are tons of these robed figures in front of us."

"No, I mean there is someone else here. Over there," she pointed to their side. "Probably someone who wants to sneak up on them as well."

Now they were all looking in this direction.

"Try to get your hands on some of those robes," Xena told the others. "Gabrielle and I will take care of our interloper."

They all nodded.

xxx

She was getting closer now, moving slowly. But she was not the only one. Her target had already changed its position. Whoever this was, he or she was good, Xena had to admit, very good.

Through the still thick fog, she could now make out the figure. It was a woman, dark hair, quite tall, clad in battle armor. She was obviously a warrior and she knew that someone was tracking her. Xena drew her sword.

She hoped that she could avoid a fight. This was clearly not a member of the cult, but someone who was going after them as well. That meant a possible ally. But she couldn´t be sure.

xxx

Ares, Callisto, Sarah and Gabrielle were now very close behind a few of the cultists, only a few meters away. They could see them clearly now.

They were three of the robed figures who were standing in the background, two of them a bit outside of the main group.

At a closer look, at least one of them seemed to be standing in a strange, unnatural, posture. His back was bent to one side and his neck crooked to the other, as if his spine was twisted into two different directions. Gabrielle had to once again remember the man in the inn.

As if what they could see of the first one under his cloak wasn´t already unsettling enough, the Bard thought...but the other.

Her gaze was on his right arm. Sarah had seen it as well. She looked as if she could barely hold herself away from screaming. There, at the end of his sleeve, where his hand should have been, instead stuck out two grey tentacles.

"Discord," Ares whispered to her, "get ready."

xxx

Xena had nearly reached her now. Both she and the other woman had drawn their weapons. She was only a few meters away, close enough for the other to hear her without the risk of alarming the cultists.

"Don´t move," she said. "I am not here to attack you. But I don´t want them hearing us."

The figure before her turned around...and Xena froze. She was looking into her own face.

xxxxxxx

Xena3

`Xena´, the one who had reached this place all by herself, was nearly at her goal. She had found what she was looking for, ever since she had started on her self-claimed mission, since she had heard about this place the first time.

She knew that someone was closing up on her. Good, she thought. She had no problem with this, truly not.

The person was truly skilled. Someone else would probably not even have noticed it until it had been too late. She draw her sword, she was ready.

But then something happened that more than surprised her. She heard a voice talking to her. It was her own voice.

As she had turned around to be sure, she saw nobody else standing before her than...herself.