CHARACTERS (in order of appearance in Part 3)
Poseidon
Xena
Hades
Discord
Deimos
Gabrielle
Athena
Ares
Aphrodite
Eve
Joxer
The Furies
Aphrodite's body guard
Poseidon sensed danger as the baptism occurred. He tried to fathom why he was feeling this way. He had just discovered from his fellow gods that Xena, her baby and her companion had died. The gods' worries of being destroyed were over.
But that didn't stop him from going to the beach to investigate. He knew Xena had escaped death before. She could very well do it again.
He materialized, the sea racing upward as it outlined his body. He saw Xena, standing on the shore alone, wielding her sword in front of her.
He let every god who could hear his telepathic plea know of her return. Within a moment, a group materialized on shore.
Xena lowered her sword. "I don't want to fight you. But I will if I have to. Leave me and my daughter alone."
Hades scowled and produced a fireball in his hand. She may have tricked them into thinking she drank poison, but his fireball strike killed Gabrielle and Eve. One more throw and he could take her out too. Then they could all be together in "Heaven", a place slowly usurping the power of his afterlife compound, much to his chagrin.
He threw the ball and she deflected it with her sword. It went crashing into Poseidon, killing him. His body flopped to the ocean in a thunderous roar. Xena cleared the shore to avoid being hit by the waves that followed.
Discord approached in screaming fury and met the same fate as she had in the previous timeline.
From their spot atop the cliffs, Gabrielle watched and murmured in awe, "It's the same battle." As Deimos and Hades met their demise, the Goddess of Wisdom and the God of War appeared.
"Retreat!" Athena rallied. The gods, looking at the Warrior Princess with new respect, horror and fear, did as they were commanded.
Athena turned to Ares and surmised, "If Xena can kill gods, that means that Eve is alive. And if Eve is alive and Xena is alive..." Athena smiled broadly.
Ares brow furrowed in confusion over what his sister was so happy about. "I don't know what's going on in that mind of yours," he insisted, "but I don't want Xena dead. Kill the daughter, kill the sidekick, but leave Xena for me."
Athena smiled teasingly at her brother. "You'll get your Warrior Princess. After the others are dead."
The immortal Ares looked askance at the Goddess of Wisdom. "Make sure that I do," he scowled. And with nothing more to add, he disappeared.
The adrenalin still pumped through Xena's heart as she raced to her companions at the top of the cliffs.
"You know, you could always just bring her here yourself," Joxer suggested.
Aphrodite shriveled up her nose. "Nah. It's more fun this way."
The mortal Ares smirked.
"Aphrodite," Gabrielle warned, shifting Eve's weight on her hip.
"Oh, all right," the Goddess of Love conceded. She zapped Xena to their position.
"Aphrodite," she huffed, "this battle- the same events from the previous timeline are playing out."
Aphrodite shrugged. "Some things are destined, I guess."
Xena noticed that Gabrielle was holding Eve. She grabbed the child from her friend's arms. Gabrielle gave her up guiltily, fearing what might happen next.
Athena found the group atop a nearby cliff on the mainland. She couldn't say she was surprised seeing the Goddess of Love with them, but the presence of the God of War disturbed her.
The furies appeared behind her.
"Seems Ares is more fond of Xena than I thought," she seethed. Her gaze turned toward Gabrielle as she looked forlornly at the Warrior Princess, then to Joxer who was pretending with Eve that he had Eve's nose in his hand. The furies shrieked in disgust when they noticed Ares with them.
"Go," Athena commanded. "You know what you need to do." They swooshed down upon Gabrielle and Joxer.
"Can't you see how much they despise you?" one whispered to Joxer.
Joxer looked around nervously. "Did you guys hear that?"
"They deliberately left you out of their plan. They wanted to die to escape you, but it failed. They wanted nothing to do with you anymore."
Xena turned around. "Hear what?"
"Eve is the one Xena cares about, not you," another whispered to Gabrielle. "The child is evil. Xena just can't see it."
"Xena!" Gabrielle exclaimed in fear, looking around her as if there was no escape. She recognized the voices from the previous timeline.
"Xena can't kill her daughter. You remember what that was like. You have to do it for her."
Xena crossed her arms. "Alright, furies, come out and face me, don't hide inside Gabrielle and Joxer."
"She's talking craziness now," they said to both. "See how her hand is close to her sword? You need to act..." Suddenly both Gabrielle and Joxer were hit with a burst of white light. A black fog appeared from their heads, squealing as the three furies materialized.
Aphrodite shook her head and clicked disapprovingly with her tongue. "Sorry girl, but I'm not about to let you inhabit my friends. If you want to hang with me so much, I'm having a special seminar next Tuesday on makeup application techniques and accessorizing." Her gaze flowed from the furies' heads to their feet and back again. "I think you three could really benefit from it."
They hissed at her before disappearing. Aphrodite threw her arms up into the air.
"You know, you try to help people, and this is the thanks you get," she scoffed.
Xena sat down and looked at her friends helplessly. "They aren't going to leave me alone. The timeline is repeating." She looked at Aphrodite. "You know what happens next."
Aphrodite bit her lip. "Yeah. Olympus."
Xena stood and looked at the goddess sadly. "I promise you that I'll try my best to make them see reason."
"They won't," Aphrodite answered matter-of-factly. "And you know they won't." She smiled faintly. "But I know you'll try your best to."
Xena nodded and handed Eve back to Gabrielle. Just as Aphrodite was about to send her to Olympus, mortal Ares stepped forward.
"Wait. I want to go with her."
Aphrodite scoffed. "As if!"
Xena sneered and pulled the former God of War aside. "What are you doing? You can't come with me. You'll only get in the way. Have you forgotten that you're mortal now?"
Ares stared at her, pretending her words didn't affect him. "Trust me. You want me there."
"Why should I start trusting you now?" Xena spat.
Ares' gaze flew to Gabrielle and Eve. Xena's followed and softened, slowly turning to Aphrodite. Aphrodite shrugged. Xena returned a hard gaze on Ares.
"Okay," Xena glared. "But it's your funeral."
With a flick of Aphrodite's hand, Xena and Ares materialized in the hallway outside Zeus' old throne room. Hearing arguing, they peaked their heads through the open door. Athena had accused Ares of betraying them. Ares insisted on his innocence. The other gods were taking sides.
"Hmmm... maybe I should stay out here," the mortal Ares decided, causing one of the corners of Xena's lips to curl.
She walked in on the row. All action ceased as she entered.
"Didn't mean to break up the party," she noted wryly. She slowly approached Athena. "But I'll be out of your way as soon I receive word from you that you won't harm my family."
"Never," Athena avowed, still angry from the fight with her brother.
Xena turned quickly and threw her chakram, causing the arrow that Artemis released to reverse direction. It embedded itself in the goddess' abdomen. She clutched at the arrow, collapsed and died.
Xena turned back to Athena and pleaded, "This doesn't have to happen!"
A familiar voice behind her spoke. "On the contrary, it does."
Xena turned to face the God of War. He withdrew his sword from its sheath and she did the same.
"Xena, I've given you so many chances. Just give us the girl." He smirked. "I'll gladly provide you with another."
"Not on your life," she seethed.
Ares' face clouded over. "Then it will be the end of yours."
He attacked and they dueled, flipping and jumping onto marble chairs and tables. Ares made some headway, keeping Xena on her guard, but a good kick to the head swept him off his feet. Xena pointed her sword inches from his throat.
"It's over, Ares," she hissed, although she didn't seem to take much pleasure in the words.
She hesitated as she was about to strike him. This gave him enough time to dematerialize. He appeared atop one of the grand ornamental ionic columns.
"Not quite," he responded.
She looked at his position with frustration and aggravation. She jumped the two stories to the top of the columns. The duo thrashed their swords while deftly maintaining their balance, each on a column.
"Wow, this is kind of cool," the mortal Ares noted to himself nonchalantly as he watched his godly counterpart fight the Warrior Princess, hopping and flipping from column to column.
"You know how you wonder why I never make a move on you?" Xena asked hostily. "I'm making one now." She flipped from her column to his, knocking him to the next one. He missed landing on the top, but managed to gain a hold of the top's edge. As Xena jumped to it, about to land on his fingers, he slid down the column and onto the floor, right near the mortal Ares' hiding place. Xena followed.
The swordplay continued. Xena was closing in on Ares when he yelled out. "Athena, did I give you enough time?"
Xena quickly looked in the direction of the Goddess of Wisdom.
"Yes, I've resent the furies," she spoke matter-of-factly. Their eyes met just as Ares lunged his sword toward her middle.
"NO!" a voice sounded out, revealing his hiding place. Immortal Ares and Athena turned to the mortal Ares. Xena took advantage of the opportunity. With all the strength she could muster, she plunged her sword through the God of War's heart.
He dropped his sword and collapsed on his knees in front of her, never removing his gaze from her face. Xena's eyes watered and her lip trembled as she pulled the sword from his chest.
Mortal Ares ran toward the dropped God of War's sword and retrieved it with victory in his eyes. He had his sword again. It would transfer the power to him, before the immortal Ares died. Within a few seconds, however, the sword disappeared in his hands, as did the God of War from Xena's.
Ares stood in shock, staring at his empty hands, then staring at the spot where his counterpart disappeared into oblivion. "Damn it," he mumbled. He thought he planned how to get his godhood back well. He shivered. He didn't recommend witnessing one's own deaths, even if it technically wasn't one's own.
Xena attacked Athena, who was also still reeling from seeing two Ares. The two fought for only a short while, mostly Athena defending herself while trying to regain her bearings, before Xena plunged the sword through her stomach.
For a moment, Athena recoiled. Then she opened her eyes and laughed.
"Xena," she teased. "I didn't feel a thing." She stepped back and out of the path of the sword.
Xena stared at the Goddess of Wisdom in terror, knowing what such a phenomenon meant.
Aphrodite transported Gabrielle, Joxer and Eve to her main temple. One of her several buff bodyguards entered to see who had arrived. He did a double take.
"But I just finished giving you a massage," he fathomed.
"No, chickee-poo," she cooed, "you gave the massage to the other me. Could you please tell the Goddess of Love that the Goddess of Love is here to see her?" She stated it and looked around the room as if it was the most normal thing she ever said.
The bodyguard bowed and left in a confused hurry. He returned saying that goddess would meet with her.
Aphrodite turned to Joxer and Gabrielle as she held Eve. "This is something I've got to do on my own, 'kay? You three wait here. I'll be back in a jiffy."
Joxer put his hand on her shoulder as she began to walk off. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asked with concern.
Aphrodite flashed the most brilliant, flattered smile his way. She patted his hand. "I'll be fine." She eyed Gabrielle as she bounced Eve on her leg. "Go play with your two biggest fans, studmuffin." She winked and left the room.
As Joxer walked into the room after his conversation with Aphrodite, Gabrielle placed Eve on a fluffy carpet, surrounded her with pillows, and tried to ignore that she was spending her first moments alone with Joxer since he had died. Joxer, however, was not one that could be ignored easily.
"So are you going to explain what happened to you since this morning?" he asked.
Gabrielle shook her head and rubbed her temples. "I can't, Joxer. Not now. Maybe not ever."
After a few minutes of silence, Joxer noticed the tension in the room and began rubbing the middle of her back as she watched over Eve. For a moment, she surrendered to his touch. Her tight muscles ached for a massage. Maybe one of Aphrodite's men could give her one-a tame one, that is, and nothing more.
Sensing her enjoyment, Joxer rubbed harder and in bigger sweeps. He used two hands, moving to her neck and shoulders and worked the thumbs against the nape of the neck. She moaned as her body started to go limp.
"Just let it go, Gabrielle," he murmured. She opened her eyes in horror at the voice, immediately tensed and recoiled, remembering whose hands were on her.
"I'm sorry, Joxer," she said sadly. "I just can't..."
He defended, "I didn't mean anything by it! I was just giving you a massage, doing something nice for you. I can't even do that?"
Gabrielle hesitated. "That's not it at all. I've been..."
"And even if I did mean something by it, I think I'd be justified considering you haven't let go of me all day," he stated harshly, folding his arms in front of him.
"Ah-ha, so you did mean something by it!" she accused.
"Did not! I was just saying you've been sending me mixed signals, which I've certainly gotten very used to..."
"Since when have I sent you mixed signals?" Gabrielle demanded rhetorically. "I've never sent you mixed signals. I've always been quite clear on where we stand. I told you before, Joxer-I don't love you in that way. How much plainer can I be?"
The exasperation escaped her voice, followed by a groan after seeing the hurt expression on his face. She tried putting her arms around him, but this time he recoiled.
"I'm sorry," she said morosely. She put her head on his shoulder. "I didn't mean..."
"Yeah, you did," he interrupted. He stood up and walked to the other side of the room. "You said it to me before. Today just seemed different though, the way you were looking at me and all. It just made me think..."
He couldn't finish his thought. The voices started again.
"She hates you, Joxer," one hissed in his ear. "They all hate you. The things they say about you behind their backs..."
"Gabrielle likes seeing you in pain," another one suggested. "She leads you on just so she can dump you and hurt you when you're feeling good."
"Xena does it too," a third hissed. "Gives you menial tasks, makes you a messenger boy-because they can't stand you."
"Don't want you around," the first whispered.
"They care about Eve," the second reported. "And Eve only."
"She's taken your place," the third interjected. "They joke that she can fight better than you and she's only a baby."
Joxer gulped. "Leave me alone," he muttered.
Gabrielle nodded and walked away.
"Look at that," one hissed as the others laughed. "She thinks you were talking to her. She ran away without a fight. Guess that shows you right there how she feels about you."
Gabrielle walked to the window and plopped herself down on a mass of pillows. She hugged one tightly to her chest and stared out into the sunlight.
"You can prove your worth to them. Kill Eve."
"Show them how evil Eve is, before something terrible happens. You don't want anything terrible to happen, do you, Joxer?"
He swallowed hard and paled.
"Show them, Joxer. Live up to your name of Joxer the Mighty. Kill the girl before she grows to kill herself, like Gabrielle's daughter did."
"She's another child of Dahok!" a third squealed.
Joxer slowly walked over to the spot where Eve was playing.
Joxer gazed at the little girl, his fists clenched as she sat facing away from him. His steps became more hurried as he walked around her. The Furies reveled in his intense manner, following closely behind.
His face contorted in panic. Gemstones from an offering made to Aphrodite lay in Eve's lap. The child before him was blue.
He quickly picked up the girl with her back to his chest. He carefully placed the knuckle of his right thumb at the bottom of her rib cage and pushed up. A diamond popped out of Eve's mouth and fell to the floor. She began to cough, taking huge breaths, before finding the strength to scream in fear.
Athena screamed at the same moment, as Xena thrust her sword into the belly of the Goddess of Wisdom. The goddess' screams lessened as her essence disappeared. The baby's screams grew stronger as her lungs acquired more oxygen.
"There, there," Joxer comforted, caressing Eve's back. "It's okay. You're all right now." The tiny tot's face crimsoned as adrenalin and oxygen raced through her body.
Gabrielle was at Joxer's side as soon as Eve started to scream. She saw the final tints of blue on the girl's skin as well as the pile of gemstones, and made the connection.
She covered her mouth with her hands. "By the gods!" She looked again at Eve and at the jewels, marveling at what how fast Eve must have gotten a hold of them. "Joxer, how did you..." Her gaze kept moving from the jewels, to Eve then to Joxer.
"Something I learned in cooking school," he answered. Gabrielle shook her head in amazement, bewildered and speechless.
Eve's crying started settling down. She rubbed her face against Joxer the Mighty's shoulder. Because of her movements, Joxer's shirt bunched by Eve's mouth. She put her mouth around the bunched material and settled down further. Joxer continued caressing her back and shushing the little girl. Within a few minutes, she was asleep on Joxer's shoulders, exhausted from the ordeal.
When he heard her snores, Joxer looked in direction of the Furies. Although he couldn't see them, he could feel their presence. They were standing somewhat dumbfounded, replaying the scene in their minds and uncertain how to proceed.
"You might as well leave," he announced. "Whatever your plan was, it failed."
"Plan?" Gabrielle asked. "Joxer, what are you talking about?"
The Furies hissed and disappeared, embarrassed that what almost caused Eve's destruction was not even their doing.
"What?" Joxer asked.
"You said something about the plan failing?" she questioned.
Joxer smiled and looked at the bundle of joy clinging to him lovingly. "Not the plan. Just their plan."
Aphrodite walked into her bedchamber to meet her counterpart.
"Well, isn't this a surprise!" the present Goddess of Love stated warily as she lay sprawled sideways on her pink chaise lounge, her upper arm supporting her weight and her hand holding her head. "What better guest for me than me." Her face darkened slightly. "What do you want anyway?"
The future Aphrodite sighed. How could she phrase this delicately? "You can take a long walk off a short pier."
The present Aphrodite blinked. Her mouth gaped. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Beat it. Take a hike. I'm taking over." She slowly approached the present Goddess of Love. "I'll give you whatever you want if you just get lost."
The present Aphrodite broke into guffaws. "As if! Are you trying to bribe me?"
The future Aphrodite folded her arms in front of her with pride. "Yep."
The present Aphrodite shook her head. "Nuh uh. I'm not leaving. No matter what you offer me, you just can't get rid of me that easily."
"Twenty-five years can do a lot to a girl's heart, even the Goddess of Love's. I want a chance to do things the right way."
The present Aphrodite sat up and looked at her future self in disgust. "Oh, gods- all that Eli 'right way' talk finally got to you, huh. I've been humoring Gabrielle about it, but it's a sad day when I actually start believing it." She rolled her eyes and began filing her nails. She turned her back to her counterpart as she felt tears forming, thinking of the emotions that raced through her when she heard that Gabrielle was dead, and then hearing later in the day that she was alive again.
"You can't lie to me," the future Aphrodite firmly stated, taking the nail file from the present Aphrodite's hands and looking her straight in the eye. "You do believe it. You just won't admit it to anyone- admit that Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer are your friends- that they are more to you than just pet project mortals."
The present Aphrodite stared at the future one. Both contemplated each other before the future Goddess of Love produced the Chronos Stone in a flash of light. The present Aphrodite gasped.
"You restored its powers!" she marveled.
"I did. Took a little bit of work, but I managed it."
The present Aphrodite looked apprehensive. "We're banned from using this."
The future Aphrodite scoffed. "How many relatives do you have left to ban you from using it? This is it. As we speak, Xena is killing off the gods who attack her. There aren't many others left. All those rules go right out the window.
The present Aphrodite hesitated and bit her lip, thinking of her family on Mt. Olympus. She had expressed her derision for an attack on Xena, not that anyone listened. Even her own husband had refused to listen. She warned her father to leave Xena alone, and when he refused to listen, he paid the price with his own life. They weren't listening to her, so why should she listen to any of them? If her brother and sisters were dead, so be it, she told herself as she tried to harden her heart. She had enough of these silly self-fulfilling prophesies.
She picked up the stone and examined it closely. The future Aphrodite could see that the idea needed a little more pushing- at least she could see it being considered.
"You've always wanted to see the world in different time periods. This would be a wonderful way to do it. You'll have all creatures at your disposal to play your love games on and when you get bored, you can simply move on."
The present Aphrodite conceded this point. Being on Olympus and dealing with the same people for eternity did get a little stale. She shook he head, however. "No, I need more than that."
"You can take your bodyguards with you."
The present Aphrodite's right eyebrow rose, indicating that she needed much more than that to tempt her.
The future Aphrodite scratched her head, trying to conjure a more convincing argument. "You'll be able to see thousands of years into the future and live in each time period. Isn't that enough?"
"No way! What am I going to be-a roving tourist? Blech! You know I don't look good in those flowery shirts."
The future Aphrodite hesitated until she recalled what she wanted to do most of all as a child.
"You don't have to be a tourist. You always wanted to be an actress, remember?"
The present Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh please! Who is going to hire the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite? I'd get typecast, if you know what I mean." She sighed and settled back onto her chaise. Within a few moments, however, she became lost in her thoughts and dreams. She hesitated before speaking. "If I acted, and notice I said if- I'd need a stage name so I could win serious roles. And there is just no name that could possibly suit me better than the goddess one I have now. I'm not about to act unless I have a stage name that complements the real me and can help me take the world by storm."
The future Aphrodite grinned and shook her head, wondering if she was always so self involved. "Take the world by storm? Who do you think you are, Alexander the Great?"
The present Aphrodite heard the name of the conquerer and scrunched her face in thought, quickly changing to wide-eyed joy as the Goddess of Love had an epiphany. "Alexandra," she stated, waving her hand from left to right as she imagined the name on a giant parchment. "AlexAAAAANNNNNNNdra," she repeated and smiled. She clapped with joy. "Oh, I love it! Strong, but feminine. Beautiful!" Her grin quickly changed to a frown, however, and she shook her head as if she was shaking the dreams away. "I can't. I just can't. I can't up and leave Hephaestus."
"I'll be looking out for him," the future Aphrodite consoled.
"Yes, but I'd miss him! The only way this deal could work is if I took Hephie with me."
The future Aphrodite's jaw clenched. This was not an option. She looked at her counterpart cautiously. "Some of the mortals in my time talk of reincarnation. They believe that when they die, they don't go to Hades. They return to Earth as someone else and meet their soulmates." She paused. "Maybe it's the same for gods too, when they die."
The present Aphrodite scoffed. "Hello? Immortality here. And unless some nut is running around with the Hind's Blood Dagger, who cares?" She turned her back on the future Aphrodite and returned to filing her nails, indicating that the conversation was over. After a few seconds, however, she looked up in horror. "That didn't happen, did it?"
The future Aphrodite averted her gaze. "Not quite."
The present Aphrodite pursed her lips. "Hephaestus?"
The future Aphrodite's eyes widened in sadness as she sat next to the present Goddess of Love and held her hand. "You can go into the future to try to find him. He could be there, reborn as someone else, looking for you." She shuffled her feet. "I mean, I'd do it myself, except..." her voice trailed off.
"You also have to watch over Gabrielle and the rest to make sure certain things don't happen," the present Aphrodite answered for her. "I can see it in your eyes. You just want your old life back and I'd like a new one." She sighed and looked at her future, unaged self. "Find Hephie in another life, huh. Could be exciting." She rubbed her chin. "You've got a deal on one condition. If I want to return, you'll let me take over again as The Goddess of Love."
The future Aphrodite's face wrinkled as she considered the proposal. After a few moments, she hesitantly answered, "Okay, but if you do return, you have to return to 100 years from now. I want quality time with my man," her eyebrows peaked in amusement, "and my friends."
This seemed amiable to the present Aphrodite, and the two shook on the deal. The future Aphrodite didn't anticipate the present one returning at all, but if the present one did, she could enjoy cruising through time on her own and return when the present Aphrodite was once again bored and in need of a vacation.
"Let's go cut and dye that hair," the future Aphrodite instructed.
"What?!" the present Aphrodite shrieked, placing her hands protectively over her blonde locks. "What is wrong with my hair?"
"Absolutely nothing. That's the problem. Nobody is going to believe you're a mortal with hair as gorgeous as that."
She smiled at the compliment. "Yeah, that's a good point. Just promise that you won't cut it the way Athena did when we were little."
The future Aphrodite laughed at the memory. "Honey, don't you know who you're dealing with here?"
"Yeah. Myself!"