Fear filled Gabrielle's eyes as Dorian stood over her, his blade poised to pierce her flesh. She tried to move, but in her severely weakened state, at this point the young woman could barely even sit up. So unable to get away, it looked as though Gabrielle's death would come not from the poison as she had expected, but by the end of the Persian soldier's blade. Or so it seemed, until a loud crash caused Dorian to look behind him just in time to see one of his fellow soldiers drop from the ceiling as he crashed through the roof and land sprawled on the floor several feet from where Dorian stood. Then looking back up, he spotted Xena just before she jumped down through the hole in the roof, barely landing before leaping straight for Dorian. Swinging her blade, Xena forced the soldier to step back as she put herself between the soldier and Gabrielle. Her eyes burned through him as she glared intensely at the man for a brief moment before she let out an angry yell and lept toward him, bringing down her sword when she landed as Dorian dodged. The soldier turned to face the warrior woman with a swipe of his own blade that she blocked before shoving his blade away and followed up as she planted her boot in his chest, shoving him off of the upper level of the armory to the ground below.
Then without missing a beat, Xena cut through a rope that was tied onto one of the building's support pillars, releasing a flurry of arrows she had set up into a number of enemy soldiers, and killing all of them. Letting out her battle cry, the woman jumped down to land amongst more Persian soldiers and continued to fight. She slashed, stabbed, punched and kicked anything around her that moved as more bodies continued to fall by her hand.
Letting out a fierce roar, Xena sank her blood coated sword into yet another Persian soldier before ripping it from his flesh and grabbing a hand axe that was stuck in the wooden beam beside her and hurling it half-way across the room into a different man's chest. The raven-haired warrior continued her relentless onslaught as she cut another rope that sent several heavy water barrels rolling down from the second floor crashing down onto a group of soldiers. Then, grabbing the rest of the hanging rope, she swung feet first into another, landing hard on his chest as her sword sank into the stomach of a different soldier. Her blade still embedded in the man's flesh, Xena's keen hearing picked up the sound of an arrow flying through the air. Not even turning her head, the warrior's hand shot up and grabbed the projectile right out of midair, just in front of her face. Her eye's then shifted to the side where she saw Dorian standing with a bow in his hand as he looked at the woman with a stunned expression on his face. Then looking at the arrow, Xena noticed that it matched the one that Gabrielle had been shot with and sniffed it to find that it too was laced with poison.
XENA
(Quiet angry tone) Poison, just like Gabrielle.
The warrior's eye's burned with rage as she tore her sword free from the soldier in front of her and leapt at Dorian. Seeing the woman coming toward him, the soldier tried to run, only to be grabbed from behind by the enraged woman and spun around before she drove the poisoned arrow into the man's shoulder. Giving it a good twist, just to add a bit more pain,
XENA
(Sinister tone) Except I'm going to let you die quicker.
Xena then ripped it back out of the man's flesh, getting a painful yelp in response.
XENA
(Sinister tone) But with far more pain.
The woman raised the arrow to stab him again, but was forced to push him away as more soldiers came at her. She cut down one man after another as they came toward her, and she spotted Dorian crawling away.
XENA
(Angry tone) That's right, crawl. Crawl for your fucking life!
Blood pooled on the ground around her as more and more bodies were laid out around Xena as she continued to fight. In the midst of the chaos, she found Dorian again as he made his way to where a fallen soldier laid, and saw him pull a small bottle from the man's belt. Quickly, the man uncorked the container to drink its contents, only to have it snatched from his hand by the warrior woman.
XENA
You feeling better, now that you found your medicine?
He sneered at the woman as he grabbed his sword and stood, before charging at Xena with a furious yell. Standing firm as he rushed toward her, Xena waited until the very last moment before stepping just slightly to the side and let him run past her as she turned around. Having the woman so easily avoid him, Dorian sneered and spun to face her once again, only to let out a painful gasp as he felt Xena's sword become buried in his stomach. His eyes locked with Xena's that were colder than the steel buried in his flesh, as he tasted the blood that began to fill his mouth, and his legs began to buckle before he was kicked off of Xena's sword to fall back onto the ground.
As more soldiers kept coming, Xena cut down one after another, after another. Carving through one, cutting down the next, and plunging her blade into another. Finally, as she gripped her sword's blood soaked handle and yanked it from one more dead body, she looked to see the remaining Persian soldiers stop in their tracks as they looked at the lone warrior woman as if they had laid eyes on a real life monster. Her blood pumping and with a crazed look in her eyes as her body screamed with exhaustion that she had forced herself to push down, Xena raised her bloody blade to point at the drastically reduced number of remaining men standing before her.
XENA
Go home, there are thousands more like me!
Seeing the utter devastation that the woman had caused by herself, the invading soldiers knew they wouldn't stand a chance if there were in fact more fighters of the same caliber as the warrior standing before them. So with no other option but to either stay and fight and likely die. Or leave and live to fight another day. The remainder of the army chose the latter, as they turned and fled the old, rundown building to return home in defeat.
Xena stood watching the men until the room was clear, and she quickly returned to where she had left Gabrielle.
XENA
Gabrielle?
The warrior moved to kneel beside the bard as she wiped what blood she could from her hands and got the small bottle out from where she was holding it after taking it from Dorian.
XENA
I have the antidote.
Not getting any kind of response, Xena feared the worst as a sinking feeling began to form in her stomach.
XENA
Gabrielle?
Again, the young woman didn't react as the warrior reached out to gentle stroke the still woman's cheek
XENA
Gabrielle? Hey, can you hear me?
No reaction still, Xena quickly lifted Gabrielle's head slightly as she held the bottle containing the antidote to the young woman's lips, forcing some of it into her mouth and down her throat.
XENA
Come on Gabrielle, just open your eyes.
Pouring a bit more of the liquid into the woman's mouth, Xena watched as Gabrielle coughed a bit, and she quickly stopped pouring the antidote as she breathed a huge sigh of relief and let the blonde swallow the liquid she had been given and slowly opened her eyes to see the dark-haired warrior looking down at her.
GABRIELLE
(Tired tone) Are we dead?
Xena smiled softly.
XENA
No, not today. Here, drink this.
She held the bottle to Gabrielle's mouth again as the bard took a few more swallows of the antidote before taking it away when the blonde coughed again.
XENA
There, that should do it.
Xena lowered the bard's head back down and set the bottle aside.
GABRIELLE
(Tired/ joking tone) I thought that you said those guys were tough.
The warrior chuckled slightly as she laid down next to the blonde, completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.
XENA
Guess we caught 'em on an off day.
Gabrielle looked over to the woman and noticed several cuts on her arms and legs.
GABRIELLE
(Tired tone) You're hurt.
XENA
I'm all right. It's nothing serious. You just get some sleep. We'll be heading out in a few hours.
Closing her eyes, Xena settled down as she held Gabrielle's hand, and the armory fell silent for a few moments until the bard spoke again.
GABRIELLE
(Tired tone) Xena?
XENA
Hmm?
GABRIELLE
(Tired tone) When we get to Thessaly, you still owe me a new pair of boots.
The warrior smiled slightly.
XENA
Sure thing Gabrielle. Whatever you want.
She sighed as her body finally gave way to exhaustion and began to drift off to sleep as she spoke.
XENA
Whatever you want.
TO BE CONTINUED…