Setting: This story takes place after the fifth season Xena episode "Motherhood".
Note To Reader: Sometimes brief moments with friends are the greatest treasures.
Prologue:
A single set of strong footsteps crossed the charred ground to enter what had once been a prosperous village. In the distance, the gentle breeze picked up the scent of smoldering fires. Homes lie in ruin all around him. They were scattered in every conceivable direction. Likewise, the bodies of those fallen in a hopeless battle could be seen as well. The picture before him demanded a moments pause in the confident stride of a man well known for his heroic gestures. He stood there quietly taking in the scene before him.
"Hercules...." a villager walked up to greet him, "I.. I'd wished you had gotten here sooner."
The man stopped to cough for a few seconds, leaving Hercules to wonder what might have been had the man's wish been granted. Sadly enough, he had wished the same on several occassions. "I wish I had gotten here sooner too."
The man followed along by Hercules side as the two of them passed through what was left of the town. Hercules glanced over in a particular direction, wanting to see a miracle but knowing it was unlikely to happen.
"I know she must have meant a great deal to you.." The man's voice trailed off in uncertainty. He didn't have the words to comfort on this day. Perhaps he had used his good graces up long ago on the many others around the two of them who had also lost close loved ones.
"That she did." Hercules eyes fixed sadly on the ruins of a small brick and stone house in the center of the village. He made his way there slowly, occassionally reaching out to provide a steadying hand to those who passed by. Once he stood before the fallen home of a good friend, he knelt down slightly as if to search for those answers he knew all too well.
Lilith had been one of the closest friends he had in life. She was a true warrior and well respected by the Amazons, her classmates and by her love Jason. The news would be tragic for his friend who still presided over the academy. Jason was strong though. In trying times like these men and women had to be.
His moment of private grief was interrupted by a slow swirling sound of wind in the air. It was a sound Hercules recognized as belonging to the gods. He stood and braced himself for a renewed attack.
"Hey bro. I see you've been admiring my new decorating efforts." Far above his reach stood the calm, confident figure of the sun god Apollo. A board of pure white and gold held him in the air. A board which matched the color of his clothing.
"Come down here face to face and I'll show you some redecorating ideas of my own." Hercules hands drew up into fists.
"Save your efforts for the mortals." Apollo wasn't impressed by his brother's anger. "They'll need it."
"Isn't this enough?" Hercules took a couple of steps forward. "Haven't you caused enough harm to these people?"
Apollo's eyes passed over him coldly. "Make no mistake...you doomed the lives of these mortals the moment you played a part in the fall of my family. Your own family, if you had the sense to embrace it."
Hercules remembered the time in his youth when Apollo had offered him the food of the gods, the chance to be a full god, but Hercules had rejected him. And that had angered Apollo to no end.
"I'm going to light up the sky in a whole new way little bro." Apollo's eyes glared at him from high above as he let out a harse laugh. "Oh yeah! Every man, woman and child is invited to this party. And its all thanks to you and that warrior woman. Be seeing you around Hercules. Real soon."
With that said, the sun god disappeared from sight in a brilliant flash of golden light. Hercules looked to the sky with renewed concern. Apollo spoke publically on such rare occassions but when he did.... his words were not often ignored or unnoticed.
Chapter 1:
"It doesn't look good Gabrielle." Xena frowned slightly to the scroll in front of her. She held the dry, discolored piece of papyrus up slightly and over to her side so her friend could read it as well. "Augustus says the temperature has been getting hotter by the day in Egypt."
Gabrielle managed to read past the smudged ink used to create the Roman lettering. It was due to the heat and moisture most likely. She could sympathize fully with Augustus. The past few days had seen a noticeable increase in the heat and they were just starting to enter the summer months. "What do you think it means?"
"I'm not sure." Xena looked up to the sky for some kind of answer, not really expecting one but looking all the same. "If this keeps up, Augustus' new lands wont be producing much food."
"New lands?" Gabrielle asked with a light tone to her voice. "Don't forget, we were away for some time Xena."
Xena nodded her head thoughtfully as the two of them continued along on their trip. "I suppose that's true. I haven't really gotten used that just yet."
Xena was having a difficult time of adjusting to a great many things. With the passing of time came the loss of old friends and family, something neither of them had talked about. Xena knew that her friend could see the troubled expression in her face at night. The worries of family and loved ones. Who was still alive, who was.....
Her mother was very important to her though she didn't openly talk about it. The two of them had come to terms with past issues and estrangement in the last few years and she enjoyed time well spent in Amphipolis. Amphipolis. Her home. A town she had just visited several weeks ago. She shook her head at the thought. How could it be twenty-five years?
"Something on your mind?" Gabrielle asked, always alert to when she was distracted.
Xena's voice was a barely audible whisper as she directed Argo II's reigns to the left. "Nothing really. Its just...I was just thinking of the past."
Gabrielle nodded her head silently, due most likely to the same thoughts.
"Your mother's cider. I always liked that." Gabrielle said to herself.
Xena heard her friends comment. "And the oven-baked fresh bread. Every morning she gets ... would get up..." Xena stopped talking. A frown passed over her face with the thought of it all. Of past opportunities gone by. Of a lifetime of chances, second chances, with another child taken from her. In all of those thoughts there was the same name in her memory that kept coming up as responsible for it all.
"I understand." Was Gabrielle's only reply.
Xena and Gabrielle were making good time to the sea port of Merencia. Once there, they could find a trading ship which would make its way to the Egyptian coast. There were always several large to medium sized ships there which generally traveled the inner lanes of the Mediterranean. Xena intended to travel to Augustus' lands in Egypt to see for herself how bad the weather was becoming there. His scroll which had been sent to her through a Roman courier mentioned a drought in the Sahara farmlands which was uncommon for this time of the year.
As the two of them continued along the path, it turned slightly to the right, past several pine and oak trees mixed together unevenly around them. In the distance, the town could be seen. It was large by most standards. There were many forms of trade and bartering which could be found there at all hours of the night. Anything from rich spices, to garments and adventuring supplies could be bought for the right price. Every marketable good that could be imagined was available. What could not have been imagined by either of the two traveling women could be seen more clearly as they passed some more trees.
"Xena what exactly is that?" Gabrielle's eyes drew up into the sky slightly above the town. She pointed a finger up to gain her friend's attention.
Xena looked up and was surprised to see something flying up in the air. At first she thought maybe it was a small bug just in front of her. She reached out to make it go away but there was nothing there. That was when she realized that the object was farther into the distance. It was flying around in the air quickly and something was falling from its position. Something bright.
"Come on Gabrielle. Lets get there fast." Xena picked up her walking pace to a light jog. She could hear that Gabrielle and her horse were keeping up with her. All the time Xena kept her eyes to the object in the sky and whatever seemed to be dropping down from its reach. She could tell in a short time by the controlled way that the dropping material was being purposely sent down.
"By the gods." Gabrielle's muttered comment seemed to answer the pending question in both their minds.
It was the god Apollo. He was sending down blasts of fire toward the marketplace of Merencia. Wave after wave of flames shot out from his hand, catching nearby buildings on fire. The flames quickly grew in height as most of Merencia's buildings were built together. It saved on construction.
"Gabrielle we have to distract him somehow." Xena was running at this point. She had released her hold on Argo II and left her behind. Gabrielle had left her horse behind as well, meeting Xena's pace with a quickened stride of her own.
By the time the two of them reached the city gates, guards had already raised them so that the panicked merchants and townspeople could evacuate. Merencia was a walled-in town which distracted pillaging marauders. On this occasion, having a more open area where escape was not limited to a single entrance would have been great help.
Xena dodged between people as the ran out of the town. She dodged a few fast moving horses and their carts and turned back to find Gabrielle. She was right behind her making her way through the hurried crowd as best she could. She stopped briefly to pick up a small child who had fallen and a nearby adult thanked her. He took the child and continued to run away with the others.
Xena heard something with a loud sound pass overhead. A blast of dirt and a sweeping flame passed by her just yards away. She fell to the ground and rolled to the side. Years of training came into use with the sudden attack. Xena was on her feet in a matter of seconds with her sword drawn.
Gabrielle rushed to her side. "Are you all right? It looked close."
"I'm fine." Xena replied. "But these people wont be if they don't get out of here. Gabrielle. See what you can do will you?"
Gabrielle nodded her head in agreement and ran back to the entrance. She yelled out to the people to be careful. They should run out in order if they could and not run over others in panic. When she had the time she looked over to where Xena had been standing but she was gone.
Xena's hand passed over the shoulder of a couple of women who were screaming from the explosions around them. She shoved them out of the way and ran toward the center of the town. The main marketplace grounds were there and she could get a better view above.
Smoke from the burning homes and trading stores was getting worse. More and more of the people who ran in the opposite direction were coughing because of it. Xena started to cough as well. She held a small piece of cloth up to her mouth with her free hand as she continued on.
In the center of the grounds, she could see that several of the people were trapped behind a collapsed building. Most of the blasts of energy were directed toward them as they tried to hide from their attacker. Another blast hit the ground near them and sprayed dirt on top of them. Xena could hear women and children scream as more blasts of fire fell from the sky.
She could see pass by high above on some kind of board. He laughed at the scared people as they ran for new cover. It was hopeless though as he could continually circle around behind them from above and shoot more blasts of fire at them. He drew back his hand and did just that. To Xena's surprise she saw a man deflect the attack near the people.
The beam of wood Hercules had been holding split in two finally, giving way from the constant stress of Apollo's attack. He was thrown to the side slightly and to the ground. One of the villagers started to run out and help him but others quickly reached out and grabbed the man.
"That's right. That's right." Apollo was laughing out loud at the fun he was having. "Always protecting the innocent. When are you ever gonna learn?"
Apollo threw another blast of fire down at Hercules before he could get up. The blast struck the ground near him and sent him flying into the air. "Whooooaaaaahh!" Hercules landed with a loud crash into some pottery. The clay pots lay broken all around him as he rubbed his head.
"Schooltime is now in session." Apollo drew back his arm once again. He turned his head at a strange sound in the air.
"Lesson time is over." Xena yelled as she threw her chakram. Apollo looked in her direction to see who was foolish enough to announce themselves as a target. His eyes recognized her instantly, but not soon enough. Her chackram cut through his board between his feet and sent him falling to the ground. It reflected from the cut and shot down to the ground. Xena caught it and put it back at her side.
Xena ran over to where Hercules was. He was now standing and looked to her with his ever boyish charm. "Old times again?"
"Seems like it." She replied with an enthusiastic smile.
Apollo stood up and brushed the dust off his gold and white clothing. The sun god raised an accusing finger to her. "That was a gift from my father."
Xena looked to him coldly. "Why don't you go visit him and ask for another."
Apollo growled out in rage and sent another blast of fire toward Xena and Hercules. They jumped to either side of the blast as it exploded into a small building. Both rolled out of the fall and stood. Xena could see that Apollo's focus was now on her.
"You're in my world now lady." Apollo sneered at her and threw another blast of fire in her direction.
Xena drew her chakram and threw it at him. It hit the blast of fire and both were sent back to their original owners. Xena caught her chakram with her hand. Apollo on the other hand caught the blast of fire with his chest and was thrown far back into a wall.
He stood up quickly and looked at her with a violent glare. "Don't count on it being that easy next time. I got a long memory and a lot of time.. to burn." With that said he laughed out loud again and disappeared in a flash of golden light.
Xena rubbed her side which hurt from the unplanned fall. Hercules walked up to her side to see if she was all right. He shrugged his shoulders innocently as though the past few minutes never happened. "So, anything new these days?"
Xena gave him a brief smile and shook her head as the two of them made their way to the main gates and Gabrielle.
Chapter 2:
"Gabrielle. Its good to see you again." Hercules appeared relieved to see the two of them. He reached out and hugged her briefly, allowing for a few moments of peace for the day. "I'd say its seemed like years, but that would be out of place."
Gabrielle returned his smile with one of her own. She stood beside Hercules and Xena as the villagers slowly returned to their home. Many of them showed signs of slight injury from Apollo's recent attack but they were all willing to reclaim their town.
"Just a few weeks for us actually." She responded with a light mood as she placed her sais at her side. "How have you been?"
Xena started to give Gabrielle a look that hinted the question might be better at a later time. She had the feeling that something unfavorable had been keeping their friend busy for some time. She doubted today's attack was an isolated incident, but there was no need to insist on any details. Gabrielle recognized Xena's look and nodded slightly. Still, the question had already been asked.
Hercules shrugged his shoulders slightly and rewarded the two women with a polite smile. "The usual. Travelling. Meeting with people." He raised a hand toward the town briefly and then put it back down. "The occassional family reunion."
"Sorry to hear about that." Xena responded supportively.
He waved a hand to dismiss any concerns. "I've gotten used to it by now."
"Thank you Hercules. Thank you." Several villagers approached the three of them. They were pleased to see the attack on their home as ended. A mother who had been standing near a fallen home reached out and took his hand. "If it hadn't been for you, the great god Apollo would have harmed my baby."
"Well, I don't know about his being a...great god." Hercules waved to a few others who where thanking him as he spoke to the woman. "I would imagine everything will be safe from now on. Once I get moving along."
Xena and Gabrielle shared a smile to one another as more of the villagers shared their gratitude for their hero. He thought to mention the efforts of Xena and Gabrielle as well on a few occasions but the someone in the crowd of admirers always seemed to speak up at that time. Neither of the women seemed to mind.
With their goodwill fully given to Hercules and his friends, gradually the townspeople began to draw their attention back to the town of Merencia. Several large homes and a few businesses had been damaged during the unprovoked attack. There was a lot of rebuilding to be done.
Hercules began to walk along the simple dirt path, westward toward the next destination that might happen across his path. Xena and Gabrielle joined him.
"I see travelling the countryside is still one of your hobbies." Xena looked over to him as she and Gabrielle continued along his side.
"That and helping people whenever I can." Hercules looked to her briefly, then to the trees and thick grass which surrounded both sides of the trail. "Where there are gods, there always seems to be need for help."
Xena couldn't help but notice the dislike in his voice. She knew there was a long held rivalry between him and some of the gods. Most notably Hera, the queen of the gods. She had made his life one of constant trials and dangers as a means of revenge against Zeus. Hercules was never one to share much of his problems. Xena admired him for that. She could only imagine the many trials and labors set upon him over the years.
There was one god that she knew all too well. A god she easily imagine as creating problems for Hercules. He had caused her many problems as well. It was a talent of which Ares was skillful. Xena shook her head at the thought of him.
Xena suggested that the three of them make camp a days walk from Merencia. Hercules wanted to continue, to ensure the people there would know no further suffering on his accout. Gabrielle was the deciding vote in their discussion. She reasoned that an early night would do them good. Reluctantly, Hercules agreed.
Hercules helped with the gathering of wood while Xena and Gabrielle set up camp. There were many fallen tree branches in the area. They remined him of the lives lost in the village days ago. He looked down sadly. He had seen the same image in his mind time after time after time. Sometimes, he grew tired of the constant battle.
"We're ready." Gabrielle called out to him.
Hercules took a deep breath and a his face gave a peaceful appearance. He joined his friends for an evening of memories and stories.
The night went well. They spoke of many interesting things. Of what had happened in the years since the two women had been asleep, of the trials that the remaining gods had set before a legendary hero, and of life in general. There had been many interesting changes in twenty-five years.
A full moon cast a gentle reflection on the campsite as small passing clouds moved gracefully across the midnight sky. There was a gentle breeze through the trees. The sound of rustling leaves through branches had always been a favorite sound to Gabrielle. As a child, much to her sister's protests, she had insisted upon an open window at night, so she could hear the wind pass through the leaves. It always seemed to make her night easier.
She glanced out and away from the camp, at nothing in particular. The tree trunk ahead was easily noticeable in the full moonlight. It was a cool evening. The kind of evening that she liked. The kind of evening that seemed to invite rest.
As her eyes passed over the dying campfire and its glow, she noticed a friend who not there. His blanket was tossed to the side. Gabrielle lifted her head and looked around but saw nothing. She could see her other friend was sleeping peacefully. The sound of Xena's soft breath was a comfort to her. She would let her continue to sleep undisturbed.
Gabrielle quietly stood. She was careful not to wake her friend as she made her way past the campfire and into the night. In the darkness, the distant sounds of insects and animals could be heard. Far away from the camp, another sound could be heard as well.
She recognized the sound of Hercules without the need to see him. It wasn't something she knew how to explain. He was her friend and friends knew such things. He must have known as well. He paused long enough in his stride that she could walk along beside him.
"I though we were going to wait until tomorrow?" Gabrielle asked curiously as they continued along through the forest.
"I know." He said quietly. "I just needed... to walk." He had raised his hands briefly, showing that it was just something he had wanted to do.
"You're not going to come back then are you?" She looked to him as they passed through some leaves. The gentle rustling of the leaves past her boots reminded her of those days long ago. Days of innocence when two sisters could rest peacefully in their home and listen to the leaves and look to the stars.
"No." Hercules answered softly. "I need to keep going Gabrielle. Its.. what I do best."
Gabrielle could sense a sadness in his words. If she could make any of his problems feel better with words she would do so of course. She reached out to take his hand. She held his hand firmly as a friend should. "I remember when we talked. You felt empty inside."
"I know." He smiled at her effort to comfort him and held her hand firmly in return. "Loosing a father is never easy. I'm glad you were there to talk to me when you did."
The two of them stopped for a few minutes. Each of them looked to each other with a smile. A legendary hero who had inspired a young woman through the years to become the strong warrior and leader that she was today. A trusted friend who had grown over the years still remaining a source of inspiration with her stories and support. The two of them stood there just looking to one another.
Gabrielle reached up and brushed her hand across his face gently. He took her hand and kissed it gently. A look of caring was in his eyes and perhaps something more. Something the both of them had sensed together while they had left a new mother and daughter to be with each other so long ago. It had been a feeling they both shared. There was a level of caring between the two of them that seemed to justify a gentle kiss to the hand.
She found herself stepping closer to him and looking up to him. Gabrielle could see him take a step closer as well as his hand rested on her shoulder gently, a soft look of asking for permission in his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. The warmth of his kiss drew her further into their moment of being together. She found herself gently moving her arms around his neck.
And then.... and then the moment passed as they so often do. They both pulled away from their kiss and looked to each other quietly for several minutes. Each of them thankful for a brief moment of sharing. It had only been the second time they had ever kissed, but Gabrielle felt it was as full of love as if it had been the first.
Hercules took her hand and placed a final kiss on her open palm. "Twenty-five years... was well worth the wait."
Gabrielle stood back from him without saying a word. She watched as he reached down to pick up his travel pack. He looked to her one last time and smiled slightly. In his eyes, she could see something more than before. Something of renewed ambition and worth.
She watched silently as her friend made his way through the moonlit night.
THE END.