THE EVER BURNING FIRE OF THE CORRUPTED HEART
Xena looked at the skull in her hands for a long moment, she felt awful her body ached and she could still taste blood in her mouth. Her hair was damp with sweat and she looked awful. She had no time to fix this though she had to leave now she had no idea where Gabrielle or her counter part was. She looked up watching as Itzli came closer as she stepped away from the gods who were still talking. "We have to leave now." Itzli looked up slowly. "How are you feeling?" Xena turned to meet his dark brown gaze. "I've had better days." She looked down in to the darkness of the skulls hollow eyes.
She took a deep breath as she spoke. "We have to find Gabrielle and the other part of her." Itzli put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you have any idea where ether of them will be?" Xena pushed her wet hair back as she looked up. "She could be anywhere in this city." She turned as Ares stepped closer. She eyed him before turning back to face Itzli. "Where ever they are they both won't be hidden for long." Her words were cut off as a hummingbird surrounded by glowing white light flew in to the keep at an alarming speed a small dog was asleep in the tail of comet of light. The hummingbird turned in to a mass of light as it took its human form.
The small dog floated in mid air for a moment as the warrior eased his hands up taking hold of it. Itzli blinked watching as Coaxoch came closer to him he could see Gabrielle's dog in his hand, the small creature was shivering. He watched as Coaxoch stroked its head trying to calm it down something had really scared the little animal. Huitzilopochtli turned looking at his head warrior he could see the panic in his glowing eyes even from a distance. He walked forward watching as Coaxoch looked up. "What is wrong?" Coaxoch breathed in deeply as looking around him at all the gods, he'd never seen this many here ever. The sad thing was that he didn't have time to ask what was going on.
His gaze drifted to Xena who was covered in dried blood and Itzli who was standing next to her, something huge must have happened here if they were both still alive and he'd no doubt find out what it was at a later time. He turned moving towards his god. "Its Milintica the grand serpent he's here in our city!" He breathed in deeply seeing the surprise as it spread across his gods face. "He's near your father's temple! He came here looking for the Blood Jaguar!" He looked up slightly. "There's two of her, the one you love great sun god she now has the wings like an eagle and another." Xena didn't think as she turned grabbed the heavenly warriors arm. "Did you say wings?"
Coaxoch turned to meet her blood shot gaze. "Yes wings two huge ones both the size of her body." Xena narrowed her gaze. "Are they black ones with gleaming green wing feathers?" Coaxoch looked at her before shaking his head. "No their multicoloured like the ones she had in her hummingbird form." He was sure that she'd seen that form. Xena looked down as she let go of his arm she had very vivid memories of those wings. Gabrielle had, had them when she'd stood against her when they'd been sent in to the after life. She had gone to hell as an Ark angel to free Gabrielle from Callisto's demon clawed hands. She had seen the other angels escape with her lover while she'd fought Callisto.
In a moment of regret and pain she'd given up her light to free her tormented enemy with out even thinking about the consciences. From what she'd learnt about heaven the place twisted with your mind and made you have crazy moments when you didn't think and just did. Worst of all you couldn't stop yourself. In taking on Callisto's darkness she had become a demon and her only thought had been to plunder heaven. More to the point it had been to so she could capture Gabrielle and bring her back down in hell with her whether her lover liked it or not. Gabrielle now being an Ark angel had stood against her, she had never blamed her for any of her actions she knew by then that heaven played with your mind as much as hell did.
She could remember the image though of her standing there on the mountain face of the heavens with her wings full spread. Gods it just made her want her all the more. It was one of the few times in her life when it was all so crystal clear to her, true it was wrong to pull an angel in to hell but it was Gabrielle and she couldn't stand the thought of being with out her for the rest of eternity. Now it seemed that the light version of Gabrielle had taken on those wings once again which seemed almost fitting. A part of her really wanted to see them again just to touch the feathers, something which had never had a change to do during the battle. Even when they'd been brought back to life she'd kept on thinking about it only to let it go months later seeing it as a lost dream.
Coaxoch took a deep breath as he stepped closer to his god. "The other is a monster that walks on two legs and it like looks like the beast Ahuizotl but it has huge horns!" Xena felt her world stop in an instant she turned staring at him. "Does it look like a wolf?" Coaxoch looking at her for a long moment, he didn't like where this was going. "Yes." Xena put a hand on her face. "Is it seven foot tall with blonde fur and are its horns like those of a stag?" Coaxoch eased up his free hand. "I do not know what stag horns look like but I can tell you that it is seven foot tall. It has red fur, as red as blood it also has black horns, both are a single horn that separates into two as its reaches skywards."
He breathed in deeply. "One of these horns the one on the right looks broken and the beast looks as if it's un-dead much like the skeleton warriors I've seen in other gods regions. Its right eye has a huge claw mark on it and the eye its self is milky white, where as its other eye looks like the Blood Jaguars true eye." He stroked the dogs head as he met her surprised gaze. "You know what it is, don't you?" Xena breathed in deeply, she watched as Itzli turned to look at her waiting for her answer. She knew what it was although she couldn't believe it herself. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised since one form had angels wings, a part of her had just never expected that Gabrielle would end up in the werewolf form of Horn Hind once more.
It wasn't that form though it wasn't Horn Hind not the true Horn Hind which she knew it sounded like something else. This creature had Horn Hind's strength but none of the forms good nature. Ares moved forward he folded his arms as he listened to the clinging silence, everyone was waiting to hear what Xena had to say but he knew that she would have problems saying it. More because she had never considered that werewolf form as evil she had loved the werewolf form of Gabrielle as much as she'd loved the human one, she also didn't consider werewolves as evil. His mocking laugher filled the air as he looked at Huitzilopochtli he watched as everyone turned to look at him once more. "It's Horn Hind or shall we say a not very nice version of her."
He eyed the Aztec war god who now looked completely out of his depth. "Horn Hind was a deer horned werewolf from Greece a symbol of freedom to every lycanthrope in my land. Gabrielle gave up the werewolf form and became human again permanently safe to say you're a total idiot for throwing that part away, what ever it is now, it obviously has her in human strength among other things." Xochipilli turned sharply. "I have heard of lycanthropes though I have never seen one." Xochiquetzal shook her head turning to meet her brother's gaze. "Nether have I, though I know that the werewolf race spans most of the world and that they originated from Greece." She shook her head. "I'm guessing another one of Zeus creations."
Ares ignored the other gods he felt his cold smile widen as he eyed Huitzilopochtli. "May be Gabrielle's werewolf side will try to rip your head of, like she tried to do to me once." Xena eyed him in disgust. "You were asking for that, you tried to kill her!" Ares turned to meet her blood shot gaze. "Yes I did a mistake I won't make again as long as I draw breath." Xena eyed him for a long moment she wasn't a hundred percent sure by what he meant by those words. Again it was something she didn't have time to mull over she looked up eyeing Huitzilopochtli. "Take me to her so I can fix this." Huitzilopochtli breathed in deeply. "I will but first I must kill the serpent." He slowly turned to look at her. "You should come with me." Xena looked turned meeting Coaxoch's anxious glowing gaze. "Are both her sides fighting the serpent?"
Coaxoch looked up as he nodded. "The grand serpent was looking for the Blood Jaguar but he couldn't tell who was who, in the end he concluded that the red wolf was the true Blood Jaguar." He shook his head. "They started to fight and her angelic counterpart told her us to leave, we had no choice but to go. The red wolf had already taken an innocent girl who we took back from her with her counterparts help. Before she was able to do what she was going to do." Xena stared at him for a long moment. "What was she going to do to her?" Coaxoch looked down sadly. "Force herself up on her, we thought it was the angelic Blood Jaguar's doing and we all blamed her for it. She was also blamed for the death of three men not long ago as well as another act of trying to force herself up on another young woman." He looked up seeing the shock in the tall dark haired woman's piercing blue eyes.
Xena leaned down picking up her sword she turned looking at him trying to control the painful rush of emotion that she was felt. Her lover didn't do things like that it wasn't in her nature! Those were things a common thug would do and her lover was no common thug! There were things that even at her worst she'd never do and that was one of them! She looked up feeling her voice hit the air in a painful rush. "Gabrielle would never do anything like that! She doesn't go around forcing people to sleep with her!" Xochipilli shook his head sadly. "Xena this isn't Gabrielle, as the Greek god of war said this is a being made of her parts and with out the other good half to guide it, is capable of terrible brutality."
He looked at his hands. "These beings are not Gabrielle there both manifestations made from her parts." He breathed in deeply. "These parts good and bad make up the woman that you love. You've always loved her yet you may never have seen or realized that the evil was there, you just accepted it as part of the whole." Xena looked down feeling her eyes dart she hadn't thought of it like that at all, but the thought of seeing this evil face to face terrified her. Maybe it was because she was so used her lover's goodness and warmth. Even after everything that had happened in Mexica she'd found it so difficult to accept Gabrielle's dark side.
She had come to considered it as a part of her lover's depression and not her overall personality. She knew though that she was using that excuse to blind her self to the truth because was afraid of looking at her lover's evil eye to eye. Mexica had shown her that, her lover's evil matched her own on many levels. She found that very hard to take in even though she'd always known it was there even though she'd seen glimpses of it so many times. She breathed in deeply trying to ignore the tired ache in her body she looked up slightly seeing that Huitzilopochtli was looking at her, the concern showing in his golden eyes she breathed in deeply. "Take me and Itzli with you."
8
Blood Jaguar ran faster watching as another set of small stalls were torn apart by the snake's huge lower body. Her clawed feet pounded the ground and she could taste blood in her mouth still that made the feeling all the more joyful. She narrowed her gaze seeing what she'd been looking for. The huge store house lay ahead of her on the main street she could already see people running and screaming as they tried to get away. The real Gabrielle's memories were so useful she could see what she was looking for in an instant. A small back door which was at the store houses side, it was how she'd gotten out of the one in the Jaguar gods city. She turned seeing the snake get closer, its jaws opening wide as it got ready to strike.
She sneered as she pulled herself on to her hind legs seeing the small door in front of her. She snarled as she pulled her shoulder's down this was going to hurt but what in Tartarus did it matter? She roared with all her might as she smashed her body in to the small door watching with glee as it shattered with the force. Broken wood flew past her as she hit the ground on all fours running in to the huge dimly huge dimly lit room. She moved sharply in between the sacks of food finally seeing what it was she what she wanted. The alcohol barrels were all stacked up in the corner the fire torches around them moved far apart for safety.
As if storing alcohol was ever safe she jumped on to the mounted grain bags as she turned waiting in silence. It was a moment that seemed to take an eternity to come to pass. She lower her ears watching as the whole side of the store house was smashed apart as Milintica's lower body came through it. She smiled as she stepped back raising herself on to her hind legs watching as his one good eye fell upon her. He flicked out his tongue as his expression turned to anger that was just what she wanted. She pawed the ground feeling the claws on her feet tear in to the grain bags causing the golden wheat to spill out of the long cuts.
She leaned over grabbing a large lizard who was walking by on a higher grain bag she held it up by its tail eyeing it ignoring Milintica's blinding rage. "Life's not fair is it?" Milintica hissed as he narrowed his good eye. "You little fool I don't know what you expected to gain by bringing me here in to this meat bags food house?!" Blood Jaguar let go of the lizards tail watching as it crawled over her hand she grabbed it again as tried to get away. "He's such a big stupid bastard isn't he? To think that he might be a related to you awful thought isn't it?" Milintica felt his anger start to burn even brighter, she dared to mock him by ignoring him and talking to a lowly little lizard!
Blood Jaguar eyed the lizard again. "You see it's this cruel food chain I eat you, he eats me but you know it doesn't have to be that way?" She didn't think as she turned tearing the lizard apart in her teeth. "At least not the part about him eating me." Milintica came towards her opening his jaws wide. He watched as she leaped up avoiding his strike which caused him to plunge head first in to the huge number of barrels smashing them apart. Clear liquid splashed in to his body causing his only good eye to sting with pain, it also stung when he flicked out his tongue. He swung his head violently trying to get rid of the liquid which was dripping of him.
Blood Jaguar felt the force as she landed on the ground she turned tearing one of the flaming torches from the wall. She looked up slightly watched as his head swung around as his only good eye fell up on her. "Stings does it not?" Milintica hissed, little fool what didn't care about this liquid it was nothing but water in his minds eye! He hissed again leaning closer. "This is no more than water wolf thing!" Blood Jaguar laughed enjoying the mocking sound as it floated through the air. "Your wrong, allow to show you how unlike water it is." She threw the torch upwards with all her might watching as it hit his face directly on the snout.
She felt the joy as the fire consumed the alcohol all over his face and neck turning in to a blazing inferno which blasted light outwards over the dimly lit store house. The serpent's roar of pain hit the air as his whole upper body went upwards towards the store houses heavy roof smashing it hard. Gabrielle looked up from her kneeled position on the store house roof which she'd landed on. She could see the chaos which had been left on the street in the serpents wake. She could hear the screaming and crying as well as see the Shattered stalls, broken streets. There were injured people all over the damaged streets it was awful to witness and it made her heart hurt for all of them.
She was so powerless she was a mere one person, how much difference could she make? She shook her head as she stood up slightly looking at the snake's tail which was still poking out of the store houses smashed side. She could see a whole group of comets in the distance heading towards the store house building, they were the hummingbird warriors. They were being closely followed by a number of living warriors holding chains ropes and nets all them looked terrified. She felt at such a loss this serpent had come here for her but had instead gone for her counterpart who it had clamed had ripped it eye out, which sounded like a crazy thing to do to a snake that big.
She felt the whole roof suddenly shake as something smashed in to it from the inside causing the wood to rattle. She breathed in deeply her counterpart had said that Xena was her true lover and not her Lord. Everything about that seemed to make sense although it was a strange kind of sense. When she'd kissed her she'd experienced that pure love which she hadn't felt with her Lord. Even the look the tall woman had given her made sense now, she had been looking at her wanting her back. She looked down sadly but it wasn't her she loved it was the real Gabrielle who she loved and because she looked so like her, she been given that love.
She braced herself as the roof was hit again causing everything to rattle she stood up slowly spreading out her wings. She tensed feeling all her feathers ruffle. Did the tall dark haired woman love this evil side as much as she loved her? How could you love a being as hatful as that one and with out any feelings of remorse, kindness or compassion? That confused her all the more maybe because she viewed love as pure selfless and kind her counterpart had none of these attributes so how could she be loved the same? She couldn't understand it and a part of her really didn't want to understand it. She felt the roof shake again as something was smashed in to it with immense force which in turn caused some of the upper planks to crack. She braced herself as she looked down the real truth was that she wasn't even the real Gabrielle she just looked like her.
She was nothing more than a copy and that hurt her deep down in side when she thought about it. She would never be the real Gabrielle and never be the person who Xena loved she'd always be no more than an imitation. Xena would never love the imitation how could she, it wasn't her true lover? Her Lord had lied to her from the start and she had been too foolish to realize the truth. He had loved Gabrielle the real Gabrielle but had, had a wish to create a Gabrielle to suite him and she had become that Gabrielle. She felt the tears as they started to run down her cheeks no matter what she did or what did it would never change anything.
At the end of the day she would never be the real person just a piece of her and this piece had only been made to suite her Lords purposes. Her Lord why was she even bothering to say that? He wasn't her Lord he wasn't even her real lover, he was just someone who had wanted to process the real Gabrielle and she was no more than a by-products of his desires. Nothing about her past life in this city was real it was all just a fabricated illusion which had no meaning what so ever. It was no more real than she was. She breathed in painfully may be it was for the best that she rejoin her counterpart because in essence they were both just the same. Both were imitations and no more real than each other.
They could both lie to themselves forever but it changed nothing the fact was they were only a real person, when they were together and part of the true Gabrielle. She looked up feeling the world slow down to a crawl as the roof smashed apart in front of her as the huge head of the serpent rose up its screech hitting the air. Its head was a mass of flames and she could see her counterpart with in them her huge horns rising up as she clung on to the top of its head ignoring the flames completely as if they didn't exist. She took a deep breath as she spread her wings she was no where near as brave as her counterpart but she was going to stop this! She couldn't stand the thought of anyone else suffering because a part of her was causing all this. She leaned down easing the sai blades free in a swift motion. She flapped her wings with all her might as she left the roof, she didn't care about herself anymore only the thought of ending the tragedy which had befallen this cities innocent people.
End of part 77
Silvermoonlight
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