"How much further till we get to the temple?" "Not too far Sure you don't want a ride?" "No, I'm enjoying the walk." "You don't have to come with me, you know?" "After all, it's a family thing." "I think it's wonderful, honoring your brother like this." "It's something I do every year at this time." "You two must have been very close." "We were." "Maybe I will take that ride." "I always wanted to have a brother." "That must have made your sister happy." "I mean, in addition to Lila." "By this flame, I call on the three Fates" "The Maiden," "the Mother," "and the Crone." "Comfort my brother, Lyceus, whose life you cut short this day eleven years ago." "In his memory, I ask it." "I wish I could have known your younger brother." "If I hadn't insisted that we rally against Cortese, you might have." "Xena, it's not your fault." "He chose to stand for something he believed in." "Yeah, me." "Gabrielle, you don't know what it's like to take a life, let alone cause the death of someone you love." "The gods grant you never do." "I know you You're Xena!" "Xena,behind you!" "He's just a boy." "Xena, you know us." "Everyone knows the three faces of Fate." "But few glimpse them." "And fewer still incur our debt." "You saved our temple." "Name your reward." "If it's our to bestow, it's yours." "Reward for what?" "For killing a boy barely out of his childhood?" "I don't want a reward;" "I want that boy's life back." "By the gods," "I wish I'd never followed the sword in the first place." "So be it all is restored." "You mean you can bring him back?" "All is restored, until the first time you draw blood in anger." "What are you saying?" "Spill so much as a drop of blood in rage, and everything changes back." "But I'm a warrior." "How can I obey that?" "As a warrior, you can't." "Gabrielle?" "Xena!" "Hey, where are you?" "Lyceus?" "Lyceus?" "Lyceus!" "Oh!" "Hey, sisters!" "What are you grinning at?" "OK, what is it, what's wrong?" "Wrong?" "Well, you keep staring at me." "Is my face dirty or something?" "No, it's perfect." "You sure you're all right?" "I'm not sure about anything anymore." "You seem sort of, I don't know funny." "Look who's talking the guy who still wears his Virillus token." "Hey, come on." "Lots of guys still wear their tokens." "Besides, it's good luck it saved my life, remember?" "How could I forget?" "Yeah, well I never will." "If that arrow had a' hit me instead of my token," "I'd be a memory." "Instead, you're a grown man." "Look, uh, I can handle things at the inn." "Why don't you go home-- maybe lie down-- relax." "Go home." "I have." "11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20." "Enough!" "Anymore, and the slave'd pass out." "And they make much better examples to the rest when they're writhing in pain." "Don't you agree?" "Absolutely, though" "I admit my Amazons rarely give me the pleasure of hearing them scream." "Still, given time" "I'll break them." "Soon, the whole world will feel our boots on their necks." "Or our whips on their backs if they resist us." "Resist?" "!" "By the gods," "I'd like to see any fool who tries." "Hello, Xena." "Good morning." "Hi." "Good morning." "One move and I break it." "OK, I'm a statue." "Bad day at the inn?" "Maphias?" "Of course who else?" "Unless you've got another suitor on the side." "Suitor?" "N, no, I mean, I mean, of course I don't I hope." "Well, good." "Then let me show you a few moves of my own." "Something wrong?" "What could be wrong?" "You're not gonna try and postpone the wedding again, are you?" "Why would I want to do that?" "You tell me." "First, it was Cortese's attack, then the town's reconstruction." "I'm warning you, Xena." "You keep putting me off like this, and I'm liable to give up" "in ten or fifteen years." "I'll keep that in mind." "Do." "After all, it was the last thing we promised her we ought to make good on it." "Promised who?" "Mother." "Xena?" "Maphias said you were here." "I just, just had to see" "I guess I'm having trouble accepting it, you know?" "I know." "It's been nearly ten years now, and I still feel responsible." "You?" "It broke her heart losing everything to Cortese-- but what else could I do?" "You were there we had to run." "Lyceus, it is not your fault, believe me." "If it's anybody's fault, it's mine." "Sure, and what could you have done?" "Fought Cortese yourself?" "On second thought, that might have been something to see." "Listen, I'm just gonna wait outside." "Be there in a bit." "All right." "Mother I never meant for this to happen." "I just wanted that boy's life back." "And now, I've got another chance at life,too." "So, I'm gonna take it." "The hardest thing is losing you and Gabrielle." "But it makes it easier just knowing that in this life," "I never shamed you." "And Gabrielle never left her family, and I never led Lyceus to die in battle." "And I know that's what you would have wanted." "It's like Xena," "Warrior Princess, never existed." "But the world's a better place without her." "I don't know maybe it's just a brother thing, but she's not herself today." "Yeah, I sensed that myself." "You two have a fight or something?" "Trust me, if we'd had a fight, I'd have noticed no, it's something else." "Like what?" "Well, I'm not sure." "At first I thought it was cold feet." "You know about the wedding." "Well, given the groom, can you blame her?" "Hey, whose side are you on?" "It's odd, though, when I mentioned our promise to your mother, it was almost like she was hearing it for the first time." "She's been that way all day sort of foggy and dazed." "Maybe she's coming down with something." "Hey look, if you're really worried," "I could talk to her see what's going on." "Would you?" "I mean, it's probably nothing, but she's all the family I've got." "Not all." "Hey!" "Thanks." "Please." "Hold on" "What do you think you're doing?" "We're here to place an order two wagonloads of food and hay to be delivered by midday tomorrow." "That a problem?" "No, but I'll need some dinars-- as good faith." "You wanna see some good faith?" "Start praying and if I spare you, that's as good as it gets." "Oh, I'm sorry." "I" " I was just checking the price of this rug." "Are you all right?" "I guess I don't know my own strength." "Can you ever forgive me?" "Next time, watch what you're doing." "You might hurt someone." "Well, don't just stand there bring in the slaves to fetch dinner!" "Quick thinking." "Thanks." "Guess you'll be doing quite a lot of that unless you're tired of the quiet life." "If so, you know the remedy." "I do." "But I'm through with fighting, and nothing's going to change that." "Watch it, slave girl." "Move!" "Oh, you clumsy fool!" "I'll teach you." "Don't touch her." "Out of my way, unless you wanna join her." "I won't let you beat her." "Won't let me?" "Wait!" "Stop!" "I can explain;" "it's all a misunderstanding right, Darling?" "You see, we're getting married soon, which means we're in the market for a house slave" "Isn't that so, Sweetheart?" "she's right- this girl should be perfect." "But if I've told her once," "I've told her a thousand times ask before you examine the goods." "Isn't that true, my love?" "Yes, that's true." "So, how much?" "Forget it." "Mezentius likes her too much to sell her at any price." "Mezentius." "Ready to go!" "Right-- Load everyone into the wagons." "Come on, you worthless slave." "Come on." "Move!" "Gabri" "Let go, they're taking her away." "What do you think you're doing?" "!" "Saving your neck!" "What's gotten into you, today?" "Lyceus is worried, and so am I. That's why I'm here." "Lyceus sent you?" "Good thing he did, too." "What were you doing, interfering like that?" "I wasn't interfering!" "I was trying to save a fr to save a girl from being beaten." "She was a slave." "The way you were acting, you'd think slavery was a crime." "It is." "Don't give me that argument again." "It's very generous and noble, but, when are gonna learn that you've gotta go along to get along?" "That's how the world works." "And you can't change the world, Xena no matter what you think." "He's wrong, you know?" "One drop of blood-- and the world changes back to what it was." "No, no." "This world might not be perfect, but my world wasn't perfect either." "And I won't take my brother's life not again." "And your friend." "What about her life?" "I can change that." "All I have to do is free her, and Gabrielle will be fine." "You sound very sure." "But as you said, things are different here." "People too." "This is Gabrielle we're talking about." "How different can she be?" "It won't work They've gotta know we're coming, or they won't be scared." "Give me that bread." "If the village knows we're coming, they'll mount a defense." "Yeah?" "That's why we want to surprise them." "Where's the fun in that?" "Let them put up a defense;" "my men need the exercise." "I wanna minimize casualties." "Since when do you care about villagers?" "Since they became potential slaves fewer casualties-- higher profits." "Yeah, well higher profits would be good especially when you're dividing them by three." "Right, sweet thing?" "Yeah, I know three's a lot." "But by combining your muscle, my strategies and Caputius' deadly arts, we'll more than triple our take." "The three of us will be a regular force of nature." "Not so fast, sweet thing more wine." "Yes, sir." "Our first move is the most important." "What's the word from Amphipolis?" "Ripe for the picking like some other things around here." "Hey, sweet thing." "A guy by the name of Lyceus could give us trouble, though." "According to my spies, he and his sister stood up to Cortese a few years back before they were forced into the hills." "If they thought Cortese was bad, what'll they think of us?" "Crazy!" "Your sister has totally lost her mind!" "Taking on a slave boss-- and not just any slave boss, but one who works for Mezentius." "To tell you the truth, I'm relieved." "Relieved?" "She could have been hurt, or worse." "Xena?" "Oh, that's right." "You two practice fighting and swordplay while these guys are professionals." "They hurt people for a living." "We may not get paid to fight." "But I'd put us up against the best they've got." "Well then you'd lose." "And,and, for what?" "To stop someone you don't even know from being legally punished?" "To stop someone anyone from being abused, legal or not." "Oh, gods deliver me You're as bad as she is!" "What's so bad about wanting to help someone?" "Well, nothing, as long as you don't get hurt in the process." "So, Xena didn't get hurt." "Not yet." "Sorry, we're closed-- you'll have to come back tomorrow." "Oh, it's you, Xena." "Forget something?" "No, no I,I just wanted to get some, ah one of those." "I'll get you a fresh one." "So I guess you'll be taking those supplies out to Mezentius tomorrow, huh?" "It's like dealing with Ares himself." "But a man's gotta make a living, right?" "Right." "So, your men will be leaving early?" "Gone by first light;" "back by dark." "Why, are you looking for a job?" "No, ha-ha." "No, just dinner." "There you go." "Is that all you need?" "It'll be fine." "Thanks." "Put it on the tab." "You should've seen him, Lyceus." "Petty son-of-a-blood sucking Bacchae." "That's what all slavers are." "You act like it's news." "Why do I think I wanted to stop Cortese?" "Not just to get the town back." "Men like that can't go unchallenged" "Look what happened to the Amazons." "The Amazons?" "Yeah, I guess they're a good example,aren't they?" "Sure." "No one challenged the warlord who started things with them and the Centaurs- and now where are they?" "Dead, mostly or enslaved by the same scum who tricked them." "What was his name?" "Cretan." "No, Crouton." "Krykus." "Yeah, right another charmer." "Seems like everywhere you look these days, things are going from bad to worse." "And, no one's doing a thing to stop it-- except you." "Me?" "Why, going up against a slave boss like you did." "Guess all that sparring finally paid off, huh?" "Next thing you know, you'll be taking on Mezentius himself." "Don't think I wouldn't love it." "No, there's gotta be another way to go." "It's not your fault the world's the way it is." "And with Mezentirus lording it safely in his castle, what can you do?" "You're drunk!" "So?" "You shouldn't be allowed on the road!" "Move on!" "That's it, move." "Shut up!" "Come on, you slave!" "Don't worry, it's me." "I was at the market yesterday, remember?" "Yeah, I remember." "You tried to buy me." "What do you want?" "To get you out of here." "As soon as it's clear, we make our move." "But stick close timing is everything." "You're crazy." "The only move I'm making is back to work." "No, wait." "Why?" "Do you even know what they do to runaway slaves?" "You ever seen it?" "Oh, Gabrielle, I'm so sorry." "How do you know my name?" "Who are you?" "My name is Xena-- I just want to help you." "Right." "Gabrielle my brother, Lyceus and I" "We can hide you until it's safe." "Lyceus?" "The same Lyceus who stood against Cortese?" "Before he ran for the hills, I mean." "How do you know about that?" "I heard 'em talking Mezentius and Krykus." "They think I'm like an animal." "But I hear, and I remember." "Myzentius and Krykus?" "Yes" "They're sworn enemies." "So is Caputius." "He's gonna join 'em, too, come tomorrow." "All three of them together." "Gabrielle, we must tell my brother what you know." "If those three warlords combine, no one is safe." "I'm not going anywhere." "So, you're just gonna let these three kill and destroy and do nothing about it." "I don't buy that-- not from you." "You don't even know me." "Maybe you don't know yourself." "What do you mean, she's gone?" "Gone, as in not here." "Since when?" "I don't know, since before I got up, though." "I thought maybe the two of you, you know?" "No, I haven't seen her since yesterday." "Oh, well-- maybe she went for a walk or a ride." "Oh yeah, maybe." "You don't think she's in some sort of trouble?" "Let's hope not." "You!" "What are you doing with this mead?" "I'm taking it to the fire to mull." "I take my mead full strength" "Bring me a cup!" "Yes, sir." "Bar's closed." "Put out the fire!" "Here you go." "Give me the broom!" "Get on the plank!" "What?" "Get ready to fly, Gabrielle." "What are you doing?" "Bye boys." "I hate long flights." "Welcome to freedom, Gabrielle." "My mother was about your size, so this ought to fit." "It's beautiful." "So was she." "Guess I'll leave you to change." "Why are you doing this?" "I know what you said about wanting to help me but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you can't trust anyone." "Now, what about you?" "Guess, you need another slave, huh?" "No." "You're right, though." "There is a reason I'm doing this." "You remind me of my best friend." "I do?" "When I look at you, I see, the purest, the kindest person I've ever known." "Someone who's full of wonder, and, and stories, and would never give up on anything or anyone." "Then you better look again." "It's not me." "Lyceus, relax." "I'm sure he's fine." "I don't like it." "Maphias should have been back by now." "Maybe he's having trouble convincing the others." "Well, I have to admit the thought of three warlords banding together does sound pretty unbelievable." "I'm sure that's what they're counting on-- the element of surprise." "Yeah?" "Well, they're the ones who are gonna be surprised when we counter their attack with one of our own." "What I've thought was Maphias and I will lead the attack through here, while you and the others arm yourselves and do what you can here and here." "What do you think?" "Lyceus, I can't." "Sure you can." "Don't underestimate yourself." "You're nearly as strong as I am, and better with a sword." "The fact is, if I didn't need you to organize the others," "I'd have you riding with me." "No, I mean I" "Excuse me." "Xena, am I interrupting?" "No, not at all." "Please, come in." "Won't you have a seat?" "Thank you." "It's too good to be true." "I know what you mean." "It's all right-- you're safe here." "It's just Maphias." "Did you bring the others?" "It's all right they just want the slave." "I made a deal." "We give her back;" "they leave us alone no problems." "Leave her alone!" "Take 'em all!" "Hey, what are you doing?" "We have a deal?" "Deal's changed." "Why, you lying piece" "Come on!" "Xena!" "Here, catch!" "What's wrong with you?" "Lyceus." "Xena!" "Try cutting against the grain." "I'm surprised you care one way or the other, seeing how you sold us out." "Aren't you confusing me with Maphias?" "At least Maphias thought he was protecting us." "You just gave up." "We could've taken those guys, but you didn't even try." "Why not?" "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." "Well, try me!" "'Cause right now," "I don't know what to believe." "I thought we felt the same way about these monsters!" "We do." "Then why didn't you fight?" "!" "I saw you Xena you wanted to!" "Why didn't you pick up the sword?" "!" "Because I,Because I was afraid." "We're all afraid to die, Xena." "But for me, some things are worth fighting for you, our friends, Gabrielle." "These men have gotta be stopped!" "I know, and given time" "Given time, they'll be unstoppable." "Look, maybe it's a lost cause but I'd rather die_fighting these bastards, then live with myself if I don't." "Gabrielle?" "If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened." "You're right." "If it wasn't for you" "I would never have known how it felt to be free again." "I don't know whether to thank you or to hate you." "Hate me?" "At least, before," "I'd forgotten what a real life was." "You showed me all of that." "You gave me hope." "You made me think that maybe it wasn't too late for me." "But now" "I'm sorry." "I reminded you of your friend." "No, you are my friend." "All right, you three, look alive so as I can tell you from the others." "Which one does Caputius want?" "The boy." "Think you can help me with the" "Maphias." "I made a big mistake, last night." "But I figure--better late than never." "Right?" "Right." "Hey!" "You gonna keep us hanging around here all day?" "I guess this means we're postponing the wedding again?" "Let's get out of one fix before we jump into another." "It's about time you showed up." "Well, it took me awhile to wake up, but I have." "OK,here's how things stand." "All three warlords are meeting in the great hall." "So if we hurry, we can be gone and out of here before they even know we're missing." "Any questions?" "Yeah" " Where's Lyceus?" "All right, you men." "Stow it!" "I'm about to make a toast to the fiercest fighting force the world will ever see." "Thanks for the tribute." "Now, I'll earn it." "We'll see about that." "Get him!" "Welcome to the party!" "What are you waiting for?" "Kill them!" "Right!" "Maphias" " Catch!" "Where are your table manners?" "Get a sword!" "No." "Arm yourself!" "I can't." "Don't fight destiny!" "Gabrielle!" "Here's your sweet thing." "Goodbye, Lyceus." "Xena, behind you!" "Get up." "You've got a second chance." "Swear you won't waste it by killing." "I swear it!" "Get outta here!" "He dropped something." "It'a Virillus token." "Huh!" "What's this for?" "Just for being you." "Are you OK?" "You don't seem yourself." "No, you're wrong I'm more myself than ever." "Xena, aren't you gonna go back inside?" "Do you think the Fates have our lives planned out?" "If they do, I wish they'd tell us." "Me too." "MANU2005"