Moving in silence, Xena stealthily tracked Seraphin as the young woman moved through the Halls Of War. She was careful to keep her distance to avoid being noticed as she followed Seraphin down a long corridor until the young woman led her to a large, open room. As she entered, Xena quickly took cover behind one of the many pillars in the room and watched Seraphin as she approached the giant cocoon.

SERAPHIN

I'm here, my goddess. And I bring you freedom in the form of my life's blood.

The young woman kneeled as several hooded people entered the area, and the lead priest moved to stand before Seraphin.

PRIEST

Behold, the Priestess of the Blood. The chosen one that will bring about the rebirth of the goddess.

The priest drew a long dagger from his robes as Seraphin bowed her head, ready to give her life to bring Hope back to earth.

PRIEST

With this offering, the goddess awakens. The daughter of Dahak, and the bringer of the Destroyer.

The man raised the dagger to stab Seraphin, and just as he was ready to plunge the blade into the young woman's flesh, his hand was sliced by Xena's chakram as it flew by and caused him to drop the dagger as he yelled from being cut.

Clutching his bleeding hand, the priest sneered as he looked to see Xena move out from behind a pillar as she caught her returning chakram.

PRIEST

(Angry tone) Kill her!

Immediately, the others in the group charged the warrior. Sword drawn, Xena cut down the first cultist that came her way with ease, before kicking another to the ground. She blocked an incoming sword swipe and countered with a fist to their face that staggered the cultist before her blade sliced straight up from their stomach to chest and their insides began to spill out and hit the floor before the rest of their body as Xena continued to fight. The raven-haired woman kicked the weapon out of one cultist's hands and into the air as she cut them down before catching the falling dagger and chucking it into the chest of another.

Amidst the chaos, Seraphin spotted a discarded dagger and moved to pick it up. As she continued to fight the cultists, Xena drove her boot into the midsection of one, forcing them to bend forward as she leapt over them and brought her sword down into the cultist behind them as she landed. Then turning around at the same time as the cultist behind her as they stood up straight, the cultist was met with the warrior's blade being buried deep into his midsection. Then out of the corner of her eye, Xena spotted Seraphin with a dagger in her hands. And as the young woman raised the dagger over her head with the blade pointing down and no one near her, it was clear to Xena what Seraphin intended to do.

So without a second to spare, Xena cut down a cultist who stood in her way and jumped over the rest of the group with a quick sound of her battle cry as she landed in front of Seraphin and kicked the dagger out of the young woman's grasp.

XENA

(Irritated tone) I told you I will not let you bring that monster back. So if you try pulling something like that again, since you're so insistent on dying, after I'm done here, I'll be more than happy to hurl you off the nearest cliff myself.

Turning her focus back to the cultist, Xena continued to fight, her sword dripping with the blood of the slain as one more body fell to the warrior. One after another, the cultists dropped as Xena pulled her blade from yet another and her eyes landed on the cult leader. Seeing that the woman's sights were now focused on him, the man tried to turn and run, but was stopped as Xena lept and landed between him and the exit.

XENA

Going somewhere?

Nowhere to run, the man frantically tried to back away as Xena braced her sword for the kill.

SERAPHIN

No, Xena!

Out of nowhere, Seraphin threw herself between the warrior and the priest, forcing Xena to stop her swing short to avoid hitting the young woman. Then before she could do anything to stop it, the priest grabbed the dagger from the ground and drove it into Seraphin's side. The young woman yelled in pain as she felt the steel pierce her flesh and she fell to the ground.

With an angry shout, the warrior slashed the priest across the chest and killed him as more cultists came at her. One by one, the woman dropped the enemies as they attacked, kicking, punching, cutting and stabbing anyone around her. But while Xena fought, she didn't realize the Seraphin was still alive or that the young woman had managed to drag herself up to the large cocoon. And as her vision dimmed, and she felt the grip of death upon her, with every last bit of strength she had, Seraphin pressed her hand to the wound on her side and then with the same hand, reached up and smeared the blood over the mass And just as Xena turned to see it, Seraphin fell limply to the ground as the last bit of life left her body and her then unseeing eyes remained hauntingly open as if to watch as the cocoon reacted to her blood and began to pulse.

XENA

No.

Seeing that the worst was about to happen, Xena quickly ran toward the cocoon to try and stop Hope before she could get free. Reaching the platform, the woman raised her sword with the tip pointed down to drive it into the mass and with a yell began to drive it down, before being tackled from the side and driven to the ground. Expecting it to have been one of the cultists, Xena raised her head ready to fight back, only to stop when she saw that the person that had stopped her from killing Hope was Gabrielle.

XENA

What do you think you're doing?!

Suddenly the cocoon began to move just as Callisto appeared to see the whole thing. The sides of the structure stretched as its occupant began to claw their way to freedom. Now no longer able to stop it, Xena and Gabrielle watched as the walls of the cocoon grew increasingly thin until a hand that was fighting to escape burst from within, and was followed by a second as from there they ripped and tore the fleshy mass away. And as the last bit of the cocoon fell away and what was inside was revealed, neither Xena nor Gabrielle could believe their eyes as Callisto's laughter echoed through the hall. Because while they had known what they were up against in needing to stop Hope, What neither of them could have ever seen coming was that Hope's new form standing before them would look completely identical to Gabrielle herself.

XENA

…No.

Covered in a strange goo from the cocoon, a sinister smile crossed the bard look-alikes face as the priest bowed before the woman as her eyes met with Gabrielle's.

HOPE

Hello Mother.

The bard shook her head in disbelief at what she was seeing as she and Xena stood and the priest and the few remaining followers bowed before the freshly reborn demon spawn.

GABRIELLE

Hope?

CALLISTO

(Sarcasm) Aw, how touching the mother and child reunion. I'm all misty-eyed.

Callisto cackled as she relished in seeing the disturbed looks on both Gabrielle and Xena. But still determined to stop Hope before she could get the chance to do anything, readied her sword to finish what she had come there to do, but again was stopped by Gabrielle grabbing her arm.

GABRIELLE

No, Xena don't.

XENA

(Slightly irritated tone) Get out of my way, Gabrielle.

The warrior pulled her arm away as she pushed Gabrielle aside and held her blade pointed toward Hope. Then letting her battle cry ring out, the dark-haired woman ran at the blonde. And as she closed in, Xena drew her sword back to strike as she prepared to take off through the air, but suddenly found herself completely frozen mid-run. Her body rendered totally immobile, the warrior woman struggled to move as Hope slowly walked up to her.

HOPE

Ah, Xena. You never did like me.

Though she didn't say anything, Xena's eyes spoke volumes as she glared at her with an intense hatred.

HOPE

Don't worry, I never cared for you either. After all, you were the one who told my mother that her own child needed to die.

(Sinister tone) But now it's your turn.

Using her power, Hope tore the sword from the other woman's hand. Then without a single motion, Hope threw Xena to the side, slamming the woman into the stone wall. Xena groaned in pain as she dropped to the floor, but was forced to quickly dive to the side when her sword was sent flying at her and stuck in the wall as she moved out of the way just in time and looked from the sword back to Hope as she heard Callisto laugh.

CALLISTO

Oh now, she's scary. And you just lost your one chance before she hatched, Xena.

XENA

That's what you think.

Drawing her chakram, Xena prepared to take out Hope for good. And as Gabrielle watched as the woman drew her arm back to throw, she ran to stop her. Knowing that if she succeeded in killing Hope, due to the deal that Ares had made with the Fates, Xena would unknowingly also be sealing her own demise.

TO BE CONTINUED…