The Final Battle Begins

Callisto stood out their looking at the walls as the Spartans were already moving towards their objective. A few volleys of arrows were already being launched into Corinth. The catapults would be in position soon. The battle would be at hand momentarily. She'd put so much of herself into gaining this victory, and now she was here. The moment was just one siege ahead.

However, the battle would be over, but the war wouldn't, at least not the war with Chaos. While Hercules had been defeated, and Selenta soon would be, the battle with Chaos was just beginning. Her dreams of peace were gone, and she knew it. She came into this conflict as an unwilling participant, and now she had reached a point, where she began to feel like maybe this was just who she was.

She would never be that monster that she once was, but maybe now, she would just be the warrior, and try to bring some good into the world. She observed off in the distance the men were nearly in position, it would soon be time to let the battle call forth. She didn't relish the death that would soon follow but it had to be done to put an evil out of this world.

She rode up to Iolaus deciding that now may be the best time to give Iolaus the news about Hercules. As she approached the blond man, he was helping the soldiers push the catapult into position. Callisto dismounted from her horse.

Iolaus turned around, "Callisto?"

"I need a word with you in private."

Iolaus looked at a soldier, "Sergeant. I want these catapults ready to fire in a matter of minutes."

"Yes Sir!" replied the sergeant.

Once they were away from the others, Iolaus turned to the Warrior Queen, "What is it?"

"What I tell you is in the strictest confidence and is not spoken about with anyone in this army."

"Ok…"

Callisto paused, waiting to be sure that Iolaus was ready to hear what was said next. Finally, gaining her confidence, she spoke. "Hercules is alive."

Iolaus was stunned by the statement, and almost fell backwards in shock. "He…"

"He was possessed by one of the minions of Chaos. That was why he did what he did."

"Of course… the Hercules I knew would have never done what this one had done. But…"

Callisto shook her head, "That doesn't matter. What's important now is that he and Xena are infiltrating Corinth as we speak to put an end to this war."

"So… how?" Iolaus was still in shock that his old friend was alive.

"I was there, I saw thing that had possessed him."

Iolaus finally managed to absorb what he'd been told, "Then the reason for the big secret is…"

"The land of Greece will see him as a war criminal, and the army would remove me if they knew that I'd kept this from them. Frankly, I don't know what's going to happen to him after this war, but for the time being. He is doing something we need him to do. No one else stands a better chance of getting that city to surrender."

Iolaus managed to emit a smile, "He's alive, and he's his old self. That's the best news I've heard in a very long time. I will have to find him when I get the chance. Thank you for telling me. I won't tell a soul."

A relieved Callisto replied, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Finally, Callisto and Iolaus returned to the site of the catapults. The sergeant saluted Callisto and Iolaus, "They are ready."

"Good." Stated Iolaus.

Callisto stated, "The volley shall begin now. Fire at will, and don't stop until ordered to."

The sergeant nodded, and then Callisto mounted her horse and road to the eastern command post. Behind her the first volley of catapult shot flew into the air, streaking across the sky and then crashing down into the city of Corinth.

As she reached Borias, she shouted in a commanding voice, "Borias! Order the rams to attack the gates. I'm going to the western side and keep Aliston honest."

Borias saluted, and then he turned to his soldiers and began to shout them forward.

Gabrielle was already with the troops when the orders came. She witnessed the ram approach the gate. She turned to her archers. "Fire! Aim for the men on the gates."

The fired a few arrows and watched as they drove into the bodies of the enemy. Gabrielle took a step back in surprise. She'd realized she had just ordered men to kill other men. She was almost in awe of how much things had changed for her. Once a upon a time, she'd never killed anyone. Then one day, she killed a man who had tried to harm her.

Now she had just ordered soldiers to kill other soldiers. Things had changed, but instead of allowing it to dig a dark hole in her heart as she had so recently with the slaying of Brutus, she instead embraced that this was what had to be done. For the greater good, men would have to die. She'd come to that point at least, as sad as it was, she couldn't hide from that truth.

Still, she watched the oil dump onto the soldiers who were in the ram unit. She would be lying to say that the screams of pain from the men whose flesh was burning off didn't affect her. Those screams shook her deep. But she had to not let it get to her. But still, she now understood why Callisto didn't put her there with the ram unit. That wouldn't have been the place for her. She turned to her soldiers again who had a fresh volley prepared and shouted, "Fire!"

Callisto reached the Western Army as the Spartans and Athenians had begun their attack. The siege had just begun, and the war was coming to an end, but before that… Corinth would have to be broken.