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The Sins That are Never Cleansed

Like bad politicians, some things never go away

8

Callisto stood keeping close watch. She wondered about her family. Her mother, whom Chaos had brought back from the grave, had rejected her and this hurt Callisto deeply. Callisto had a small tear roll down her check as the moon began to rise. Callisto observed Gabrielle reviewing war plans with a little bit admiration. She had nowhere near the experience that she herself or Xena had in battle or strategy but she threw herself into it and showed considerable talent and understanding.

However the training course in war from Chaos and Aphrodite certainly went along way Callisto mused. She fingered her chakram still somewhat upset about her sword being captured by Hercules, not to mention she was wearing Gabrielle's boots as well, Gabrielle's boots were not exactly her size and there was no other boots available. Damn wars and limited supplies.

Iolaus had arrived to relieve Callisto. Iolaus said as he walked up to her, "I'm sorry I doubted you. I thought you were still that crazy… well you know."

Callisto raised an eyebrow in manner more commonly seen with Xena, "I'm sorry about your friend."

Iolaus sighed deeply, "I can't explain it. I mean he's Hercules. I've seen him do so much good over the years. I've seen him brave everyone and everything, even the gods but now he has become the villain we fought so much against all these years."

Callisto tried to reassure the blonde man as she placed her hand upon his shoulder, "Somehow we will fix this. I turned away from evil, how hard could it be to convince someone like Hercules to turn back."

Iolaus scoffed, "You ever killed innocent women and children? He has."

Callisto's eyes lit up with rage, "I think you should pay attention to who you are talking to! I killed many women and children."

Iolaus was taken aback, but then he remembered the stories, feeling guilty he replied, "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, I haven't hardly slept in days."

Callisto left his side without saying a word, to even be reminded of her past stung. Since news of the destruction of Athens reached Argos she had thought about her past more and more, the screams, the fire, the looks of the dead children.

Callisto took a moment to note Borias as he passed her by, she noticed just how queit and calm he was, very much like the calm before a battle. Callisto gathered that this was how he always was before fighting a battle.

They did not know if battle would actually come that night but they were more aware as you often do in a potential war zone. Callisto fingered her chakram again, as if to pick off that unseen enemy. Borias was fingering his sword as well, prepared for the moment when war would be upon them.

Callisto's mind wandered as she considered among other things, Athena's offer. She could understand the Goddess's position. Hercules killed everyone in her chosen city. She was right to be angry. However it only increased Callisto's distaste for the gods; that she should try to use Callisto as an instrument in her own personal vengeance.

Why do gods always pawn their problems on other people? If it was the old Callisto looking for vengeance, she would have been riding towards Hercules with sword in hand ready to kill. Athena on the other hand would rather a mortal do the job, something that Callisto did not at all approve of.

Callisto approached Gabrielle. Even though the two women had come to a peace, her presence still seemed to make Gabrielle unsettled, to say the least. It wasn't but two months ago that Callisto had killed her husband Perdicas. It took Callisto ten years to get over the bloodlust for Xena, hard to imagine Gabrielle being over him in just two months.

Gabrielle still had her back to Callisto as she asked, "Got it all worked out?"

Gabrielle turned around, "We expect Hercules to be destroying all the towns along the way, so we have evacuated the towns between here and Corinth and the centaurs in particular are moving south toward Sparta. If Hercules arrives too soon, we won't have enough reinforcements to defend Argos. We will probably have to withdraw. King Jason still hasn't chosen an overall commander."

"Gabrielle, you're wrong about Hercules."

Gabrielle gave Callisto a cold stare, misunderstanding Callisto's point.

Callisto continued, "Yes Hercules is driven by bloodlust, but he is not driven by vengeance. Athens was a show of what he might do. Athens would have been too dangerous to have not destroyed. Hercules is still a logical being, even if he is a monster. I wasn't all that logical, I destroyed everything in my path, I wasn't looking for conquest, I just wanted to kill everything in my path. Hercules however is looking for conquest. So he needs those towns for strategic and tactical reasons.

Smart to evacuate the townspeople though and the centaurs though, he most likely would have tried to wipe the centaurs out and would have been victimizing the townspeople as an example for them to follow so they would fear him."

Gabrielle decided to take a chance and learn from someone who had a lot more experience, so she asked Callisto, "Do you think he will attack tonight?"

Callisto replied, "No, he took a lot of casualties at Athens. However, he won't wait long, he will be coming, maybe even."

"Thank you."

Callisto nodded, and then went on about her business. Callisto thought to herself about how odd to be thanked considering this knowledge of hers comes from a history of merciless murder and slaughter.

As Callisto walked away, she accidently ran into a man. He stared at her with anger in his eyes. The man stated in a low growl, "Remember Teilitopolis?"

An image of a slaughter appeared in her mind. The man continued, "You killed my family. If we weren't fighting Hercules I'd kill you here."

Callisto said in a soft voice filled with deep sadness and regret, "I'm…sorry…"

The man sneered, "Whatever!" as he walked by slamming his shoulder into her. Her mind wandered back to her sins, she deserved that treatment.

Callisto approached her cot to sleep for a few hours before she would have to get up and pull guard again. She removed her, or rather Gabrielle's boots and carefully removed her bandages cleaning the wounds on her feet. She grimaced at the sting of the still fresh wounds as she replaced the bandages.

She didn't sleep very much as the images of her atrocities invaded her mind. The effect of which was turning her into something of an insomniac over the last couple of months. The fact she hadn't hardly slept in two days did allow her to sleep more than she normally did.

8

Xena was staring at the same moon that was rising when Callisto had been earlier as she was preparing to move towards the dungeon and hopefully rescue Hercules' mother and Iphicles. Xena silently moved through the streets in her classic leather and breastplate get up. It was still quiet in Corinth but rumor was that Hercules would be returning soon, maybe within the hour.

The night air stuck to Xena as it was early may and it was beginning to heat up but she continued as rays of moonlight shown down upon the city. Xena had a good view on the dungeon as she saw small contingent of guards the entrance. Xena could not help but wonder what happened to the days of just having one or two guards as she motioned closer.

If she got caught she would have the whole city on alert. She prepared to move again, but suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her head as she fell to the ground. As Xena passed out she could have sworn it was a smiling Aphrodite looking over her.

8

Xena awoke in the dungeon chained up to the outside of the bars. Suddenly a figure walked down the walkway. He said with a cold smile, "Xena, I never thought you would be captured so easily."

Xena looked up to see a familiar face as she shot her cold reply, "Hercules."

Hercules laughed, "Yup, how'd you guess?"

Xena said "I remember when all your concern was stopping me because you thought I killed women and children. What happened to that Hercules?"

Hercules' eyes turned to rage, Xena waited for it as she knew what was coming. Hercules seized her by the face squeezing enough for her to feel the pain.

Hercules' voice took a dark turn, "That is a past and it will not be brought up again." He let her go.

Xena then said, "What about the time we banded together to fight Darphus and Ares, and we were ready to do whatever it takes to stop them."

Hercules punched her in the stomach.

Xena coughed heavily but decided to continued, "Remember when you were going to free Prometheus even though using the sword would have killed you."

Hercules punched her several times as he shouted, "Shut up!"

Xena struggled, "I remember when you unchained my heart."

Hercules grabbed Xena by the throat and began to choke her with his bare hands as Iphicles begged, "Stop brother!"

Hercules didn't stop, he continued to choke Xena until she started to fade away. Iphicles shouted, "Hercules you bastard stop it!"

Hercules finally let go, Xena was still alive. Hercules commanded the soldiers open the prison cell of Iphicles. He casually walked in while saying, "Brother it's time for some discipline" Hercules proceed to beat Iphicles until he collapsed to the ground. Hercules' mother Alceme begged, "Please stop Hercules! Please!" Hercules stopped as Iphicles nose gushed with blood.

Hercules grunted once, and then he proceeded out of the cell, he focused again Xena, "You shall live to see you little blonde friend be executed Xena."

Xena was barely able to say, "This is not you Hercules."

Hercules stopped for a moment. A voice entered his head saying, "What have I done. I have to stop this."

Then the creature that Chaos created hushed that voice saying, "they all deserve to die."

Hercules eye's scrolled onto the hurting Xena, "Lock her up on the inside of the cage so that if she gets free we still have her inside the cage."

"Yes sir."

Hercules then left the dungeon.

Iphicles said to Xena, "What were you trying to accomplish there."

Xena looked upon him, his black eye and busted lips were obvious to all, "Something is wrong with Hercules."

Iphicles scoffed, "You're telling me."

Xena continued, "No, there is something else there. I felt it."

Iphicles was dismissive, "whatever! Far as I see, he just my bastard of a brother!"

Xena said, "No, it's something else." But he wasn't listening. Xena shook her head, which hurt a great deal. She looked around. Her chakram was on the table outside. No way to get that. She would have to wait for a chance to get free.

8

Argos an hour after Xena got captured.

Gabrielle found herself looking at the moon as it was now high in the sky. Something was wrong, and she could feel it. She decided to go to Callisto, to speak with her. Callisto was sleeping and she was about to wake her up when Aphrodite appeared, wearing very tight thin black leather that showed her bodies form.

Aphrodite mused, "So Gabrielle, you've had this chance before."

"What are you talking about?"

Aphrodite replied with a smile, "A chance to kill her."

"I won't."

Aphrodite replied, "Who killed Perdicas?" Gabrielle shook her head. Aphrodite put her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder and whispered gently into her ear, "She did."

Gabrielle wiped the tears out of her eyes. Aphrodite stood now in front of the blonde, "She turn evil again. I know it, and you could stop her, save a lot of lives. Come on, you don't want to be hurt again because of her, do you?" Gabrielle said shook her head, crying.

Gabrielle pulled her dagger slowly out of her boot. She stared intently at the blade's tip, and at the throat of Callisto. Aphrodite said, "It's simple really, start at the ear, make a hole across the throat, like this." Gabrielle felt Aphrodite's finger come across her own throat.

Gabrielle wanted to, for Perdicas, for everything. That body of that demon that lay before her deserved to die, a simple motion and Callisto wouldn't be a threat anymore. All she needed was to just act. But she couldn't, not even with the dagger she'd used to kill Brutus. Finally Gabrielle cast the dagger to the floor.

Aphrodite disappeared as Callisto woke up suddenly with her blade in hand, then she realized it was Gabrielle and put it away. Callisto noticed that something was wrong with Gabrielle but instead asked not choosing to deal with it, "What do you need?"

Gabrielle fought her emotion, and tried to maintain a normal voice, "Xena went to Corinth. I'm worried, she should have been back."

Callisto mused, "We are talking about Xena here."

Gabrielle nodded, "I know, but something is wrong, I'm sure of it."

Callisto pulled herself out of bed, "Fine, we can go after her."

Callisto stepped out the door as Gabrielle halted. Gabrielle grabbed her dagger, and just as Callisto turned and asked, "Are you coming?" Gabrielle quickly hit the dagger behind her so Callisto couldn't see it.

Once Callisto was facing away, Gabrielle put her dagger away.

8

Ares continued to move towards Argos pushing his horse fast as he could, but he knew he could not get there until sometime tomorrow. Still, he didn't let up. Someone had set him up, someone had used Ares own nature against him. This fact only served to send him into a rage as she kicked the horse to speed it up.

He would get his mantle as God of War back. Then he would have his vengeance on the people who did this to him. Then he could go back to making the world his own again.