Ok, I apologize for this chapter running a little long, but it does have a great flashback of Gabrielle-post FIN in it, that I think you will all like. Ok, much more to come including the burning of the White House and flashbacks of George Washington.
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The next thing I remember is waking up on the ground. It was night time, and my killer had a fire going. "Hello, Hansom! Welcome Back!" She said with a grin and a chuckle. It was my long time friend and my partner from the Revolution, Kentucky Sue, another Immortal. You know, it's funny how you sometimes run in to old friends when you least expect it…
It was way back many centuries ago… It was about 15 or 20 years after I first met Xena and Gabriel. I hadn't seen either of them in years; I figured maybe something had happened to them, and besides, I was getting tired of roaming around Greece, so I thought I would go wander elsewhere to try to find adventure; and more than that, maybe some treasure. So, I hopped onboard a boat bound for North Africa. After I got there, I stole some precious jewel from the port city and ended up having to flee into the desert. Man, what an awful time THAT was! I must have died a dozen times!
Well, Eventually, I reached a brilliant city out there in the desert. Because I died so many times, I still don't know how long I had traveled before I got there. If I had to guess, I would say it was nearly a year before I saw civilization again. I soon found out that this great city was called Al-cet-Drula. One day, I wanted to get into the palace, so I befriended a group of wealthy merchants who went in. It turned out later, as I found out, that their leader was an assassin from one of the neighboring nations who had been sent to kill the Sultan. Well, I figured him out, and killed him to save the Sultan, which got me a job as the Sultan's new personal body guard and assassin. That's how I met the first woman I had fallen in love with in 500 years! Ok, sorry, doing it again. ANYWAY- so, I had been there more than 10 years, right..
"Ji-Hoostrit, your excellence, you called for me?"
"Yes Farook, there is a dangerous killer on the loose. Jermare tells me that they have seen a Greek lady with short, blonde hair in armor," said the Sultan, (Jermar was the captain of security for the sultan.) "They say they have seen her attacking caravans out in the desert, and out near the mountains to the west," Jermare explained. "Last week, someone killed Al-Cune, a wealthy merchant from Egypt, when he was trying to do business in the commerce hall on the south side of the city. A fight broke out, and a short time later, they saw the same woman fleeing into the desert. My men tell me she may be trying to go after Ji-Hoostra soon."
"Don't worry, Sultan" I said, turning to Ji-Hoostrit, "I have this all under control." I then walked out. I immediately went to my own room; I would need a disguise.
When I got to my room, "she" was there, of course. By 'she', I mean the woman I loved so much back then, Verisha. There she was, lying on the bed, where I had left her that morning. Heh, only now she was awake. She lay there looking at me with those beautiful, sexy eyes. Now, you have to understand, Veresha was one of those women that look great even when they wake up first thing in the morning. I took my shoes off and went to lie beside her. I held her chin as she looked at me.
"It's another mission, isn't it? That is why you came back in here-so you could get one of your crazy disguises, hm?"
"No, I came in here to get another glimpse of the most beautiful woman in all of Africa."
"Oh sure, so you mean you wouldn't mind returning to Greece for the more beautiful women there, huh, Autolycus?"
"Oh, heheh!" I grinned. "A witty, clever lady for a clever man!"
We then kissed a deep kiss.
"Ok, you got me," I said, "They just told me that there is another sicko on the loose around here; they want me to track the culprit down before the sultan gets killed."
"But, but," she started in.
"Shhh," I shushed her as I began nuzzling my face in between her breasts and kissing her chest. She giggled as my beard tickled her chest. (You see, I now had grown out my facial hair from when I lived in Greece, so that I had a short haired beard and a fuller mustache.)
"Heehee, Auto-Autolycus"
"No one here by that name," I paused to say with a grin.
"Farook!" She said, a little more serious, "Farook, stop a moment."
I stopped. "Yessss?" I said, slowly looking up.
"Farook, when will you stop this?" She asked, with her hand on the back of my head, running her fingers through my hair which I also had grown out a little.
"You know I don't like you doing this sort of thing."
"Oh? Well you seem pretty turned on to me!" I said with a smile.
"No," she said, looking at me pointedly.
"You know what I mean, FAROOK! This, this lifestyle of yours, you know it scares me to have you doing this kind of thing."
"Shh," I said, putting a finger to her lips, "I know, my love, but I have already promised the sultan." With that, her face became just a little more upset.
I held her face and said: "Look, I love you, you know that, Verisha. And trust me, I have lived in this region for far too long, already. After this, after just this one more mission, Farook dies to this land. We will leave here and then we can go wherever we want; Egypt, down to lower Africa, or even back to Greece or up to Gaul."
"Oh, ok, Autolycus. Oh, I love you so much," she said, and we made out for a long while more.
Later on, I realized it was time to go. I put together a disguise as a deadly thief from across the Mediterranean-(actually not too far from the truth, heheh). I wore a studded red vest with tight brown pants. A dark grey hooded cloak completed the costume. I also wore an eye patch to give me a slightly rougher look.
"How do I look?" I asked her.
"Like you're trying too hard, dear."
"hmm, perhaps you are right," I replied. I then changed into some more 'normal' looking clothes, but kept the eyepatch and the cloak. I also had a grey shawl now covering my face.
"I love you," I said to her as I was about to leave.
"And I, you, Autolycus."
With that, I kissed her a short, passionate kiss on the lips, and then left. Little did I know that that kiss would be our last.
I went down to a bar I knew of in a rougher part of town.
I went in and sat down with one of the slyer looking thugs.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"How much does information cost around here?" I asked him.
"Depends on who is asking," he said with a bat of his eyebrows.
"How about my friend here?" I said, pointing to the long dagger I now held across the table.
He smirked a moment, and then, just as I knew he would, he went to make a move, but before he could do anything, I had my sword pointed into his flesh, high up his inner thigh, leaving him wondering how the hell I ever managed to move so quickly.
"Heheh, don't try it, friend, unless you want to lose your own jewels."
"What do you want!?" He asked sweating, his breath now harder.
"Ya know, I almost forgot myself. I will not reveal my name, but just call me…LichasI am a thief from Troy. I was following the… 'business' all the way from Egypt. However, I seem to have run into a bit of a snag. You see, I was following a wealthy merchant all the way here, who was to purchase a valuable item. I was going to ambush him on his way out from here, but apparently, someone has already picked him off, for good."
"Yes, I know the one! They say he was going to try to buy the Dragon's Tooth. Hey, frankly, if you are such a great thief, why don't you just go after it directly?"
I must admit, at that point, he almost got me, almost appealed to my pride of being the King of Thieves. I paused, and then almost got mad about his cut towards my standing as a thief, but then I remembered myself.
"Oh, I could do that, sure, but you see, I run a very strict operation here, and I cannot have freaks like that Killing off my business. I will have to get rid of the problem, or else it will continue. NOW, enough talk! Where can I find more information on this person?"
"I um, I would ask Jeet Traw, I heard he was there when it happened, he might of even seen who it was!"
I wondered why I hadn't heard of this man before.
"Well, where can I find this man?"
"I would check at the inn on the east side of town, in the 3rd block. He likes to go there every night. You'll know him by the vertical scar on the left side of his face."
"Fine!" I said, throwing him down. I really didn't want to wait until nightfall just to get information about this looney. With any luck, I had hoped to be gone with Verisha by the next morning. Now, it would be at least another day before I even found the one I was looking for. After I left there, I decided to find out where the incident had happened. Supposedly, it was on the south side of town, but when I went there, no one had even seen the man from Egypt. I did, however, hear a mention of the blonde from Greece.
"Yes," said one apple vender, "I remember, she had straight, shoulder length hair, and the deepest blue eyes that burned with a confidence and determination. She was a little less modestly dressed than most women would be, though not any less so than one would expect of a person traveling on a long voyage."
"Do you remember what kind of weapons she carried?" I asked a carpet merchant a little further down.
"Yes, she had a sword at one side. It wasn't anything like our swords, though, or even like the straight swords of the Greeks or Romans. It was thin and narrow, with a slight curve to it." And as I started stroking my beard in thought, he added "Oh- and there was another item she carried on her belt. It was… some sort of strange disk-like object. It was like a ring with sharpened edges so that it could be used as a weapon."
As I walked to the inn that night, something kept sticking out in my mind. It can't be! I would tell myself. But I couldn't deny that I had certainly seen something just like said 'disk-like' object, and there was only one person I knew who carried it..
I got to the inn and slept for several hours until, sure enough, in came a man with a long, nasty looking scar down the left side of his face. After he got a drink and sat down, I went over to him.
"Jeet-Traw?" I asked.
"Yeah, who wants to know?"
"My name is a Justonia, the most notorious bounty hunter in all of North Africa. I am looking for a killer."
"Hahahah! Why should I help you?" He asked.
"Well, along with your life, I'll even throw in this!" I said, pulling out the jewel I had swiped from the town I had gone through when I first reached Africa. I didn't really need it any more as I would be leaving in a few days, anyway.
"Ok, you've got yourself a deal. What do you want to know?"
"I heard you might know who killed the Egyptian merchant Al-Cune."
"Maybe. I could tell you something about the incident; I was there."
"Then go on!"
"Well, he was over in a corner of the room-"Where!?"
"Oh yes, it was in a place called the Hallas Hall-don't ask. Anyway, he was having a secret meeting there; I was in the far corner, watching, though they didn't know it. It looked like he was just about to bring in his side of the barter, but then I saw heard a sound, like something spiraling through the air. I thought I caught a glimpse of something flying through the air like a ring or something, and then when I looked back, the Egyptian merchant was dead. Some say they saw a blonde lady fleeing from the scene, going west."
"Ok, I've heard enough. Thank you for your time, here is your payment, as promised."
With that, I left; I had to go and find out if all the rumors, as well as my own rising suspicions had any truth to them. First, I went to my own room to get a change of clothes. However, what I found was something I could never have been prepared for. There, lying on the floor, was dead, bloody body of my dear, sweet Veresha.
"NOOO!!!" I went down to my knees by her side and held her, sobbing.
I knew I couldn't let this stop my progress in finding the killer; no, I would use this to push me on.
I went west, where the land got all rocky and mountainous. By early afternoon, I came to a large crevice in the cliffs. I thought I heard someone watching me, and then a lady in a dark mask jumped down and started attacking me with her sword. We battled for several minutes, until I managed to get my sword at her throat and remove her mask.
"Gabrielle!?" I exclaimed, amazed to see that she still looked so young. She had changed considerably, though. There was no longer the same innocence and gentleness in her eyes; it was now replaced with a poise and determination. It was similar to that of Xena's eyes, actually. Also, her hair was longer now than when I last saw her, though not as long as when I first met her. It was almost shoulder length now.
"Oh, Gabrielle" I picked her up and held her, just glad to see an old friend again.
She pulled back "Autolycus!?" Obviously, she hadn't recognized me with my longer hair and facial hair.
"Yes, sweetheart, it's me…But where is..?"
With that, she buried her head in my chest and began to sob..
"Oh Gabby, I am so sorry," I said, as I gave her a kiss on top of her head. We just stood there for awhile, holding each other, for I soon told her of my own recent loss.
Later on in her hideout in a cave, we talked. She told me of how she had been there when the Egyptian man was killed, but she had merely thrown the Chakram to try and Save him. She also told me what had happened to Xena.
"So, after cheating time for 25 years, she was killed by a Japanese warlord and his army of followers? Gabrielle… I don't know what to say. She was certainly a great woman. And now, you have now taken on her task?" I asked, indicating the chakram she carried on her built.
"Yes. I have been here in Africa for more than a year now. But what about you? Autolycus, look at you, you look Great."
"Well, thank you, I try," I replied, brushing my hair aside. (That's what I normally would have said, but at this point, I just didn't have my usual flair.) In reality, I simply nodded as she continued.
"I mean, you must have been at least thirty or forty when I last saw you, but it's been more than twenty years since then. I Xena and I cheated time by being locked in ice for all those years but Autolycus, what are you? A sorcerer? A god!?"
"Sigh, no Gabbrielle, I am not any of those things, but I am Immortal. It's something I never told either of you. We rarely tell anyone of our secret."
"We!?"
"Yes, there are several more of us, maybe even dozens. You said I looked like I must have been 40, well try more like 500! You see, my kind, as you can see, looks just like the rest of you. We have no special powers, except for that we are a little bit stronger and faster than most mortals. We never age. Unlike gods, we can be injured and even killed, but we will always recover, with one exception. If we are beheaded, then we die. Look, I would love to sit here and explain all about it but we have a killer to catch, so that's going to have to be enough for now, ok?"
She nodded hesitantly and then, after taking a big gulp, allowed herself a smile.
"Autolycus, it's so good to see you again. I like the new look." Running her fingered through the back of my hair.
"You too, Gabrielle. I don't know anything about this case except for that everyone thinks that a lady with your description is the one committing the crimes."
"Well…. You, you said that he must have….. gotten into your room in the palace somehow, right?
"Yeah….." I said, then after a long pause, continued "and noone could have gotten into the palace undetected except for.."
"Someone on the INSIDE! Autolycus, do you know anyone on the inside who might be after the Sultan?"
"As a matter of fact, I do!" I said, knowing now that it must be Jermare, the captain of the guard.
"Gabrielle, we have to get to the palace! There is a ceremony tonight and bet that's when he plans to kill the sultan. You see, the problem is that he won't do it, if he thinks I am there to stop him. I've got an idea though. Heheh, it involves me getting killed. Look, I am going to go in there and publicly announce that there is a conspirator in our mists. Then, since he knows that this is his last chance, he will try to kill him right then."
As we approached the palace, I turned to Gabrielle.
"Gabrielle, there's not much time left, but I just wanted to say, well. I have always loved you, as, as friend of course. Both of you, you and Xena. And by the way, you seem to be doing a great job at feeling her.. boots." I grinned. "Look, after we do this, I'll be leaving this place. Who knows, you may even get a job as the Sultan's new personal guard. The point is, we probably won't ever see each other again. So," I said with a sigh " So when you do leave, when you get to the other side many years from now, after a long, happy, warrior woman's life.. tell the Warrior Princess I said hey." I kissed her on her forehead.
"I will Autolycus, thank you, for every thing," and with that she gave me a peck on the cheek and a short but affectionate hug.
We went in and snuck into the main reception room.
"Ok, you see those guys over there," I told her, pointing out to very suspicious looking archers on the terrace, "Insurance. Just how good are you with that Chakram?"
She looked at me with a confident grin.
"At this point, almost as good as Xena herself."
"Good."
Well, just as they were about to begin the ceremony, I came running in. "Sir, sir I have an important announcement to make! Everyone, I have an important announcement," I said, turning to the Sultan. (Normally, I was not supposed to even talk to the king in public, so as to keep my identity a secret, but I figured since I was going to die anyway.) "There is a Trator in our mitsts, even in this very room! Sir, my very love Veresha was killed in my room. Until now, the only one who would even know who I was, is.." and as I turned to point to Jermare, I saw him go for the Sultan. I quickly lunged in front of him, taking the knife myself.
Since I died shortly there after, I never got to see what happened to Jarmare. But since I revived out in the desert right where I asked Gabrielle to have my body taken, and not buried under the ground, I must assume she succeeded, and I never doubted she would.
So anyway, enough reminiscing, back to the story at hand.
BACK TO 1813!
"Thanks a lot, Sue! You know you owe me another shirt, now!" I exclaimed, getting to my feet "What in the free world are you doing here, anyway?"
"What do you Think you old Corn Nucket!" she said, smacking me on the butt. "In case you haven't noticed there's another war goin' on! Or did you Just get back from babysitting that little British brisket? Heheheh,! I guess you two can't be partners now, eh?"
"Hey, you better watch it sister! As I recall, I still owe you one after that cheap shot at the docks!"
"Oh, come on then, you wanna go right here?"
"Oh boy, don't you know I'd love to, but like you said, we've got a war to win"
"Yeah, let's go shoot some redcoats! Heheh, look at you, in a uniform, I gotta admit it is kinda hot. What's wrong, you not going solo this time?"
"Not this time, Sue. You know me. These last few years I have been trying to be more, heheh, uniform. Yeah, I know we've already fought the British once, but let's kick these snobs out of our country once and for all! Even if we have to sweep through Canada ourselves. I honestly have never been very big on war, but if they didn't get the message the first time, maybe they need a little reminder!"
"Well mister uniform ranks! If you're so regal, what are you doing out here by yourself, anyway?"
"Well, I was marching with a group on the way to Fort Johnston, when we were ambushed by British soldiers who killed us all, including me."
"Fort Johnston? We can be there by morning, Jack! Now, let's eat!"
Oh great," I sarcastically said with a grin, "Kentucky Sue's legendary cooking, heheh! Oh, and by the way, it's Anthony Stiles, now"
She cocked an eyebrow at me "See, that's why I'm going vigilante this time, none of that name changing crap. Your gonna love this though: roast rabbit!"
I had to admit I was starving, and it was good to have a friend here in a time of war.