PART FOUR: The Truth of Nightmares



As Callisto lay there fuming, she slowly realized just how incredibly stupid she had been. "Son of a fig-wearing, liver-eating Bacchae! What am I, some kind of ... moron??" She reached up to slap herself in the forehead when two things became very evident. Thing number one...her face hurt, and smacking it yet again would not be in her best interest. Thing number two...her hands were, of course, tied to the litter.

She knew just how crazy her explanation would sound to the two women on the other side of the fire. She decided that if this Xena were anything at all like her counterpart, Gabrielle would be the one to work on. She seemed much more open-minded, much less jaded, and definitely less likely to slice her in half with a large sword. She smiled as she realized just how incredible this entire situation was. "By the Gods, I just may have the solution to my problem right here! Now I've got to convince her that I'm telling the truth. But the one thing I've got to figure out is what kind of person my counterpart is. Judging by my tied hands, it's pretty obvious that she and Xena don't get along." She felt confident that if she spent enough time with Gabrielle, she would get them to see who she really was. What she didn't know at the time was that her counterpart in this world was as twisted as Xena was in hers.

She looked over at Xena and Gabrielle, who were sitting on the other side of the fire. Her throat tightened to see the closeness they shared. They were both staring into the fire and talking in low whispers, occasionally glancing in her direction. The bard was leaning on Xena with her blonde head resting on the warrior's broad shoulder. The warrior, in turn, had her long arm wrapped around her friend's slim waist. Every so often, the two would look at each other with what, to Callisto, was obviously more than just simply the love of two friends. "I don't even think they know." Part of her was happy to see that at least in this world love was still possible...still safe. The other part of her was incredibly saddened by the fact that she would never be able to have what they did. She couldn't afford to.

Not a day went by when she didn't think of her mother and sister who had been murdered in Cirra. She couldn't help it...she had the same dream every night. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about that right now. She would have to see it again soon enough. "Strange, though. I didn't have the dream last night. It must have been the herbs Xena gave me." She laughed a bit as she thought about causing another scene. Maybe Xena would drug her again...at least she wouldn't dream.

She looked again at the two friends with barely disguised envy. She turned her head and closed her eyes. Tomorrow she would talk to Gabrielle and try to convince her.

On the other side of the fire, Xena and Gabrielle were leaning into each other, content in just being together. They had again talked over the "Callisto situation" and come to a consensus that she was, indeed, different. That was all they agreed upon, though. Gabrielle insisted that Callisto had changed and Xena stood by her theory that it was the head injury.

Gabrielle laughed to herself, marveling at how stubborn they both could be. She smiled up at her friend who, in turn, pulled the bard closer to her side.

"I think she's finally asleep." Gabrielle whispered. "And speaking of sleep..."

Xena snorted. "Sleep and food. I swear that's all you ever think about, Gabrielle."

The bard backhanded her friend in the gut and retorted. "I don't either!" She stretched out onto the bedroll with her hands behind her head, growling under her breath.

Xena leaned over, got nose-to-nose with the bard, and grinned. "Gotcha!"

Gabrielle swallowed hard and looked up into the warrior's electric-blue eyes.

"Speechless?" Xena wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

Gabrielle didn't respond. She couldn't respond. For some strange reason, she was completely paralyzed. She couldn't move...not that she would anyway. She was completely, utterly, without a doubt, overwhelmed by Xena's close proximity. Although they weren't touching, she could feel the heat coming from the warrior's skin.

Xena stopped smiling and looked at the bard with concern. "Hey, are you alright?" She slapped her hand against her friend's forehead, checking for some kind of fever.

"Fine." Gabrielle noticed that Xena still hadn't moved.

The warrior's concern slowly changed to an uncomfortable confusion. Her face flushed and she stood with an uncharacteristic awkward movement. "I'm going to check on Argo before we turn in." She quickly moved toward the mare, breathing hard and wondering what in Tartarus happened just then. "Ok. I was a little too close and that's why she looked so strange." She tried to rationalize her reaction as well. "And I'm just reacting to her reaction. Yep, that's it. Yep, yep, yep."

The bard watched Xena brush Argo with certifiably manic strokes. "Oh my Gods. I can't believe I did that! What in Tartarus is wrong with me? I can't believe I just lay there like a...a...some kind of lump! She must think...oh, forget it! I've got no idea what she thinks! She'll never come anywhere near me again!" Gabrielle panicked as she thought of the repercussions of her action...or lack of it. She quickly closed her eyes as she saw Xena finish with Argo and head back to their bedrolls. She pretended to sleep as she felt the warrior lay down next to her and pull a blanket up over both of them. "I'll never get to sleep now. I'm too embarrassed to sleep! I wonder if she'll sleep? Oh Gods, I just know I won't be able to sleep!"

An hour later, the fire had died down. Xena was curled up on her side, sleeping lightly as she always did. Gabrielle was snuggled up against the warrior's back, snoring softly...

****************



She was standing outside the burning hut listening to the agonized screams of her family. She tried and tried to get to them, but the flames were too hot. She looked around frantically for help, but realized that everyone in the village was dead, or dying. She was the only one who could save her family...the only one... "Oh Gods, I'm the only one... and I can't!!!" She raged at Xena, and at the Gods for allowing the warlord to destroy her life. She raged at the injustice of being unable to save her murdered family. She raged...and she watched. It made her sick to see, but she couldn't turn away from the horror. She watched them burn. She watched their skin turn red, and blister, and then begin to blacken. She watched them scream... and scream... and scream... while the hungry flames ate away at their humanity. She watched while their faces and bodies became something terrible and monstrous. Then she watched them fall to the dirt and begin to crawl toward her, blackened claws outstretched, reaching for her; mouths gaping and silent. They weren't screaming anymore, but she was. The sound of her own voice filled her head, and the sound of her heart was like thunder. The cacophony of her rage enveloped her, the sounds interleaving with each other to write a twisted song.



****************

A primal shriek ripped through the night and Xena was up in an instant. She stood in a low crouch with her sword, quickly scanning the area for whatever was responsible for waking her. Gabrielle blinked the sleep out of her eyes and reached for her staff.

"What is it?" She asked the warrior.

"I don't know. Sounded like it might be a wildcat."

At that moment, a tortured howl pierced the air and the women realized that it was Callisto. She lay in the dirt, fighting with her bonds as they tore through the flesh around her wrists and ankles. It was obvious that she was in the throes of one of Morpheus' creations.

The warrior and bard raced to the woman's side and dropped to their knees beside her. Xena deftly cut the leather ties with her breast dagger, while Gabrielle reached out and gathered the woman in her arms.

"Shhh..." The bard brushed the white-blonde hair away from Callisto's face. "Shhh...it's alright. It's ok." Her brows crinkled with concern as she wondered what could cause such obvious pain in another human being.

Callisto slowly awoke with the realization that she was being held in a gentle embrace. She didn't know who it was that held her, but she grasped that person with relief. The emotions of the dream were still with her and she tried to stifle the sobs that lodged in her throat.

The bard held tighter to the tortured woman, stroking her hair and making soothing, nonsensical sounds. She shot an agonized look to Xena, who shook her head, not knowing how to help.

"This is her area, not mine." The warrior reached out and gently squeezed Gabrielle's shoulder. The look on her face made it clear that she couldn't help Callisto, but that she would be supportive of the bard.

Callisto opened her eyes and found the sea-green windows to Gabrielle's soul staring at her. She couldn't tear herself away, as she felt herself being embraced by compassion and forgiveness. She reached up to caress the soft skin of the bard's face. "Thank you." She whispered.

Gabrielle shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand. Why are you thanking me?"

"For being here. For letting me hang onto something real for once in my life. For letting me see something besides pain and hate." She pulled the bard close and gently kissed her on the mouth.

Xena sat and watched the entire exchange. Emotion warred inside her...part of her believed that this was another mind-game that Callisto was engaging in. The other part of her truly believed that Callisto had somehow, miraculously changed and now felt emotion where there had been nothing but a vast wasteland for so long. Her most desperate wish, however, was that this woman would no longer be a part of her, or Gabrielle's life...that this woman would no longer be able to hurt the one she loved most in this world. The very last part of her was incredibly annoyed at seeing Callisto put her lips on the bard. That part of her wanted to rip those lips off and stomp them into the dirt.

The bard's eyes widened at the sudden contact with Callisto. Although she knew there was nothing sensuous about the act, knowing that Xena had seen it somehow made her very uncomfortable. She gently pulled away from the distraught woman and looked at the warrior with an apology.

Xena shrugged and gave her friend a wry half-smile. Gabrielle was relieved because she knew that Xena hadn't taken the gesture for anything more than it was.

"Hey." Gabrielle's voice was low and soothing as she spoke to Callisto. "Can you...can you talk about it?"

Callisto gently pushed the bard away and took a deep breath, grateful for a perfect way to broach the subject. "Yes. I can talk about it. But it's more that just the...dream. There's a lot more going on here than you can possibly imagine."

"You got that right." Xena replied with a snort.

Gabrielle gave her friend a somewhat annoyed look. "Xena!"

"Ok. I'm sorry." The warrior acquiesced and nodded, indicating that Callisto should continue.

Callisto took a deep breath and began. "This is going to sound crazy, but the only thing I know to do is to tell you the truth.

Xena rolled her eyes at Gabrielle. "She wouldn't know the truth if it bit her in the..." The bard backslapped the warrior in the gut and shot her yet another annoyed look. Xena sighed and resolved to listen.

"I'm not from this...your...world. I came through a portal...a rift...to get here."

"Why?" Xena asked the woman.

"To stop you." Callisto pointed at the warrior. "Not...you, you...the other you." She huffed in frustration. "Gods, I don't know how else to explain this!"

"What do you mean, 'the other you'?" Gabrielle reached out and took Callisto's hand in hers. "It's ok. We're listening." She shot another look at her friend. "Aren't we, Xena?"

"In my world," Callisto looked hard at the warrior. "you...the other you...are a powerful and extremely bloodthirsty warlord. Your army has decimated entire cities. You are called The Conqueror, The Soulless One...The Destroyer of Nations. The amazons no longer exist." She heard Gabrielle's horrified gasp, but continued on. "The centaurs are all but extinct. Your goal was to conquer our world...and you succeeded."

Xena was intrigued by the story, but still did not believe. "How do you fit into all this?"

"When you destroyed Cirra and murdered my family, I vowed to make you suffer."

"Now that's the Callisto I know and hate." Xena's eyebrows rose in challenge.

Callisto ignored the warrior and concentrated her gaze on Gabrielle. "For a year or two I followed you. I watched you...I watched your army and studied your every move. I planned your death...I fantasized about it every day. All I could focus on was your death...and your suffering."



"And...?" The warrior questioned.

Callisto shrugged her shoulders. "One day I realized that I wasn't the only one you had destroyed. There were others out there. Hundreds…thousands of them." She went on to describe, in detail, the depravity that Xena and her army visited on the people of her world.

"And...?" Xena asked through clenched teeth.

"There was no one to lead those people to fight for their freedom. I decided to change that." Callisto hung her head in shame. "But I've failed miserably."

Gabrielle leaned forward and gently squeezed the woman's hands as she gave a distressed look toward the warrior. "How? How have you failed, Callisto?"

The look on Xena's face was a mixture of horror and disbelief. She desperately wanted to believe that Callisto was lying. She couldn't bear to face the fact that in another time and another place, she could have become the malevolent person that was described. She knew that she had done some horrible things in her past, but this...this was beyond imagining.

"I failed by being so damned arrogant! Me…Callisto…saving the world. Ha! And if that wasn't bad enough, I failed by trusting too much. I was betrayed by someone close to me. I don't know who, but..." She cut the thought short. "It doesn't matter now. What does matter is that she's here and she plans on taking this world apart as well."

Xena absorbed all that Callisto had said and simply found it too impossible to believe. She told a very convincing story, and the look on Gabrielle's face confirmed that. She was certain that this was yet another way for Callisto to torment her by somehow using the bard's misplaced compassion against her. She shook her head, stood, and began to pace the camp. "Let's just say that you're telling the truth. What do you expect us to do about it?"

"I'm not sure yet, but give me a minute and I'll think of something." Callisto replied with a grim look.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll think of something. You always do. Murder. Torture. That kind of thing."

Now it was Callisto's turn for confusion. "What do you mean murder and torture?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized that Xena was speaking of her world's Callisto. She needed to ask, but she dreaded the answer. She took a deep breath and posed the question again. "What do you mean...murder and torture?"

Xena replied with more than a hint of sarcasm. "Ok. In case you've forgotten, murder is killing someone in cold blood. And torture is causing someone an unimaginable amount of pain before you murder them!" Xena was staring cold, hard daggers at the blond woman seated by the fire.

Gabrielle stood and placed a soothing hand on the warrior's arm. "Xena. She's not our Callisto, can't you see that? She's not our Callisto any more than you're her Xena."

"Gabrielle, I can't believe you're falling for that drivel!" The warrior angrily shrugged off the hand on her arm. "It's ludicrous! It's insane!" She stomped to her pack to retrieve two more leather ties. She had every intention of tying Callisto up again, and leaving her that way until they got to Amphipolis.

"Xena, wait!" Gabrielle ran after the warrior. "Why don't you believe her? Why is it so hard to imagine? The Gods have played worse tricks than this, and you know it!"

Xena whirled around and looked hard at her friend. "In case you hadn't noticed, this is Callisto we're talking about here. You know...the Callisto who nearly killed me...the Callisto who did kill Perdicas...that Callisto!"

Gabrielle's eyes filled with hurt. "I know better than you do who killed Perdicas. If you don't want to believe her, that's your business. But I do. And I'm going to find a way to help her, even if you don't." With that, she spun on her heel and stalked away from the frustrated warrior. "And I'm not going to let you tie her up again!"

Xena was immediately sorry she launched into the tirade. She knew more than anyone what Gabrielle had suffered at the hands of Callisto. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wishing she could take back the hurtful words. She turned to watch as the bard flopped down beside Callisto.

Gabrielle kept her gaze down and began to trace lines in the dirt. "Do...I... exist in your world?"

Callisto wasn't certain how to answer that question. She recognized Gabrielle the moment she saw her, but couldn't bring herself to admit it to the girl. She decided to be truthful without telling the whole truth. She reached out and cupped the bard's cheek with her hand. "No, little bard. You don't exist in my world."

Gabrielle wanted to ask the obvious questions, but was interrupted by a raspy voice. "Well, well, well...if it ain't the Warrior Princess." Her eyes widened and she looked up to see a tall, heavyset man standing on the edge of the camp. He was wearing well-used armor over filthy black leathers. He had long greasy hair, which sprouted from underneath a battered helmet. The only thing that looked well cared for was the broadsword he held in one hand. "She said I might find you here, and she was right!"

Gabrielle leaped to her feet, staff at the ready, joining Callisto who had already assumed a defensive stance. The bard glanced at the warrior, who was holding her sword with practiced ease.

"So fat boy, you found me. Now what are you gonna do about it?" Xena's eyebrows rose in a challenge.

The pungent fighter smiled and called out over his shoulder. "Hey! Xena Warrior Princess wants to know what we're gonna do!" He laughed as at least fourteen more men filtered into the camp behind their leader. They began to circle around the three women, who moved to the center and stood facing outward.

"Hey!" Callisto jabbed her elbow into Xena's ribs. "It would be helpful if I had some kind of weapon, don't you think?!"

"No." Xena snarled her reply.

"Xena. I think we could use the help." Gabrielle interjected.

"I said no!" Xena hissed.

The large, filthy man who appeared to be the "leader" of the group of brigands spoke. "Hey boys! We got us a little cat fight goin' on!" He laughed and the rest of his men joined in, jostling each other and eyeing the women with undisguised lust.

"Enjoy your laugh while you can, fat boy." Xena spoke with an icy voice. "It'll be your last." With that, she launched herself into the air with a somersault and landed behind three of the men. Her back was to them, but before they had a chance to react, she swung around and with a powerful stroke relieved them of their heads.

"I hate it when she does that!" Gabrielle grumbled under her breath. "She knows how much I hate the 'heads in the campfire' thing!" The second she finished the sentence, two men rushed toward her and the unarmed Callisto.

"Stay behind me!" She shouted at the woman as she swung her staff and took the feet out from under one of the men. She swung the staff in an arc and caught the second man in the side of the head. He went down hard as the first man scrambled to his feet. She jabbed the staff forward and caught the man full in the chest. As he began to fall forward, she came up with a quick uppercut to the chin. He dropped like a stone and didn't move.

She turned to check Xena and found that the warrior was fighting off seven men including their lumbering spokesman. That left three more for her to deal with. She spun around and saw that the three in question were slowly advancing on her, laughing.

"Hey girl! Why dontcha just drop the stick and save yerself the trouble!"

"Yeah! Be nice to us and we jus' might be nice to you!" With that, all three of the men roared and elbowed each other.

Gabrielle smiled sweetly and replied. "Thanks, but I'd rather throw myself off the nearest cliff." The bard bent her knees and readied herself as the men came lumbering toward her. "Where in Tartarus is Callisto?" She thought as she swung her staff around her head, trying to keep the men at bay.

As soon as the fighting began, Callisto decided she had no intention of standing there while the other two women got to have all the fun. She saw Xena neatly take the heads off the first three men. "Hey! Three swords in the dirt and no one to use them!" She ran toward the corpses as she saw the bard take out two of the men with her staff. "Not bad for a bard." She reached out, grabbed a sword and cut the hamstrings of one of the men surrounding the warrior. He fell, screaming and clutching at his legs. She took a quick moment to assess the situation and decided that Gabrielle needed her help more than Xena did. The Warrior Princess, as a matter of fact, looked as though she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Callisto looked toward the bard and saw three ugly, unkempt men running toward her with their swords drawn. "Oops...gotta go!" With that, she ran to Gabrielle.

"Hey! I thought you might need some help!" Callisto grinned at the staff-whirling bard. "By the way, remind me not to get you ticked off."

Gabrielle shot a grateful look at the smiling, blonde woman and jabbed her staff into the groin of one of the men. As he fell, she brought the staff across the back of his head with a satisfying thud. Of the two men remaining, one turned toward Callisto and the other toward the bard.

**

As Xena fought, she kept a watchful eye on Gabrielle, ready to protect the bard if necessary. She smiled to herself as she saw her friend take down two of the thugs. "Looks like all that sparring practice is paying off." She was surrounded by seven of the men, but really wasn't worried. She knew she could take them all with relative ease. She was more worried about Callisto and how she might use this situation to her advantage

Out of the corner of her eye the warrior saw Callisto pick up a sword from one of the dead men. "Oh this is great! Just great!" But no one could have been more surprised than Xena when Callisto ran by and sliced the legs of one of the men she was fighting. "She probably did that just to mess with my head!" It was nice, however, to have one less creep to deal with. She noted that the blonde woman paused for a moment before heading off in the bard's direction. Xena clenched her teeth as she realized that Gabrielle might very well be in serious danger...not from the thugs, but from Callisto. She reached for her chakram and flung it directly at the leader of the dwindling group of men. He dropped to the ground, unconscious, as the weapon ricocheted off his helm. The chakram flew from one man to the other, bouncing off their heads on its way to the next victim. Within seconds, the weapon was back in Xena's hands and she turned to look for the bard.

Callisto smiled at the man standing in front of her and wiggled her eyebrows up and down. "Hey big guy. Wanna piece of me?" She twirled her sword in an intricate dance that mesmerized her assailant. "Come and geeeet it!" With that, she thrust forward and sunk the cold steel into his belly. His eyes widened in shock as blood gushed from his mouth. He crumpled to the ground and she shook her head in disgust at how easily he died.

"Hey!" She kicked the dead man. "You could have at least put up some kind of fight!"

Gabrielle realized her mistake as soon as she made it. As she stepped back to deflect a blow directed at her head, her heel landed on a rock, which threw her off balance. As she fell to one knee, the sword hit the staff and skittered down and to the left. The cold steel sliced into her side and she gasped at the pain. The man smiled and raised his sword.

"Say goodbye, little girl!" He snarled as he swung the weapon toward Gabrielle's unprotected neck.

"Goodbye, little girl!" Callisto quipped as she parried the man's sword, driving it away from the bard and into the dirt. At exactly the same moment, a chakram planted itself in the man's back with a thud.

**

Xena's eyes widened in horror as she saw the sword cut into the bard's flesh. She saw the man raise his weapon for the killing blow and threw her chakram with all her might. The second the chakram buried itself in the man's back, she saw Callisto deflect the blow that was aimed for Gabrielle's neck. She sighed in relief, but fear clutched at her heart to see blood flowing freely from the bard's side. She crossed the space between them in record time, hoping that the wound wasn't serious.

"Gabrielle!" Xena kneeled next to the bard, who had her arm pressed against her side. "Let me see." She gently pulled her friend's arm away from the wound and clenched her teeth at the sight. Although the gash wasn't long, it was deep. She could see the white of exposed bone through the torn flesh and blood. It looked as though the ribs were intact, which was good, but the bard was losing a lot of blood.

She turned to Callisto, but found that the woman was already rifling through the packs for clean cloths and herbs. The warrior pressed her hand to Gabrielle's side, ignoring the gasp of pain, which wrenched from her friend's lips. It devastated her to see the bard in such pain, but she needed to push the feelings of helplessness and anger down in order to do what needed to be done. She gathered the nearly unconscious woman in her arms and gently lay her down.

"Oh Xena...I'm so sorry." Gabrielle whispered. She raised a shaky hand and touched the warrior's cheek.

Xena tenderly brushed the hair out of her friend's eyes and smiled warmly at her beloved bard. "Shhh...it's ok, Gabrielle. Don't say anything...just rest." The warrior increased the pressure on the bard's wound and grit her teeth. "Gabrielle. You're seriously injured. I'm going to have to stop the bleeding and the only way I can do it is to press as hard has I can. I know it hurts and it's only going to get worse before it gets better. I'll have to clean the wound and then sew it up. I'll try to be as gentle as I can..." Xena pressed one hand against the jagged tear in Gabrielle's side and the other gently caressed her face. Her gut wrenched at the site of the bard, with her face so white from pain. She railed at herself for not being there. "I brought her here, damn it! I should have left her in that Gods be damned village where she came from! I caused this! I should've just gotten it over with instead of playing with them... You'll never learn, will you? You won't learn until she's dead!

Even through the blinding pain, Gabrielle could see her friend blaming herself for what happened. "It's not...your fault...Xena..." She reached out and took the warrior's hand in her own. "Please don't...blame..." The bard's eyes closed as she gave herself up to unconsciousness.

"Callisto!"

A handful of rags were thrust into the warrior's face. "You bellowed?" Callisto asked, voice dripping with sarcasm and although her voice didn't indicate it, her face betrayed her deep concern for the bard. She dropped to her knees and began to prepare an herb paste from what she was able to find in the packs.

Xena snarled at the woman and grabbed the rags, which she placed on the bard's injured side. "Please, sweet Aphrodite. Please don't let her die. Oh Gods, this is just like Thessaly. I can't do this again. Oh please, please, please...Gods, I need her, I can't live without her. " Xena began to slowly rock back and forth as she repeated the litany to herself. It was only minutes, but it seemed like hours before she was able to staunch the flow of blood. When she gently lifted the last of the rags from the wound, she found that Callisto had already prepared the needle, catgut, and herbal paste.

"Watch her." Xena crossed the camp and grabbed a wineskin from one of the packs. She returned to pour the cleansing liquid into the wound. The warrior's eyes misted as she heard her friend gasp in pain. Burgundy fluid ran through the gaping tear and into the earth, mixing with the bard's coagulating blood. She swallowed hard and blinked away the tears, which threatened to spill down her cheeks. She raised her chin at Callisto, indicating that she wanted the items that had been prepared. The warrior didn't speak, but her eyes showed the gratitude that she couldn't express.

"Come on, little bard. Don't give up. Can't you see that Xena would be lost without you?" Callisto smiled at the unconscious woman as she gently brushed the damp blonde hair from the too-pale forehead. "I, and my world, would be lost without you too. I don't know how or why, but you're the key to stopping all of this. I know you can make it. We need you." She watched in silence, as Xena cleaned and sewed the wound. She was impressed at the skill the warrior showed while caring for the bard. She offered up a silent prayer to the Gods of this world, that their combined efforts would allow Gabrielle to survive.



____________________________________________________



PART FIVE: The Healing



Gabrielle stood and looked around at the flat, barren landscape. There wasn't a living thing as far as the eye could see. No trees, no animals, no birds, not even a solitary insect inhabited this strange land. There was nothing but sand and rock, and a blue, cloudless sky. She squinted against the brightness of the sun, tried to remember how she had gotten here, but found that she couldn't. She looked down and saw that she was attired in a short, white leather skirt and tunic. A wide belt circled her waist, and she wore a pair of well-made boots the same color as her clothing.

"Ok, the last thing I remember is fighting, and then being injured, and then talking to Xena." Her eyes widened in horror. "Am I dead? If I am, this is definitely not the Elysian Fields. That means this must be...no...if I were in Tartarus, I would be hanging from a cross, or burning alive, or getting my skin peeled off, or something disgusting like that." But a memory suddenly pushed its way to the forefront of her mind. "This…this must be In Between Place." She'd heard stories when she was a child, that those who had unresolved issues went to the In Between Place. There, it was expected that the soul would face a challenge that would turn the tide one way or the other. Life or Death. "What will it be for me?", she wondered.

She looked around and saw the wasteland continued as far as she could see in every direction. The only exception to the monotonous landscape was a mountain range far to the south. Gabrielle had no idea exactly where she was, in her journey, but in light of the situation, the mountains seemed to be the most logical objective. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Ok Xena, you had better be waiting for me somewhere in this awful place. Please be waiting for me..." Her thoughts trailed off as she turned and headed toward the distant peaks.

The bard felt like she had been walking for hours, yet the mountains seemed no closer now than when she began her trek. She noticed that the sun was slowly making its way toward the western horizon, so she knew that time was passing. What she didn't know was how long it would take her to reach her goal. As she kept moving southward she realized how thirsty she was. Her mouth was dry and her lips were beginning to crack. Although she had been keeping her eye out, she hadn't found anything that even held the promise of water. She tried to push the incredible thirst from her mind as she focused on each step she took. Sweat was running in rivulets down her face and into her eyes. She wiped her brow for what she felt was the thousandth time. "Hey! Maybe I can just suck on my tunic. Gods know I've sweated enough into it!" She laughed to herself as she realized how desperate she was getting.

********

"She's starting to spike a fever." Xena's voice was filled with concern. "Get some water." She ordered Callisto who, to her credit, didn't say a word. Once she had the fresh waterskin in her hands, the warrior began to slowly pour it over the bard's body.

********

Finally, the sun began to sink into the earth and the light grew more and more dim. Gabrielle realized that she wouldn't be able to continue in the dark so she began looking for a place to rest. She saw a grouping of large boulders several feet to her right and decided that would be as good a place as any. As she made her way toward the rocks, she heard a noise behind her. She whirled around and froze in a defensive stance. Her eyes were having difficulty penetrating the dark, but she could definitely hear something moving around out there.

"OK! Whoever you are out there, the least you can do is show yourself!" Gabrielle shouted in the general direction of the noise.

Hearing nothing, the bard became bolder. "I have to warn you that I'm armed and I'm not afraid to use my sta...ah...sword to cut you into tiny, little pieces!" She carefully took a step forward and kneeled in the red dirt. Keeping her eyes focused in front of her, she felt the ground for anything she could use as a weapon. Her fingers closed on a fist-sized rock and she stood, ready to hurl it at the offending...whatever it was out there.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out from the darkness and advanced toward the bard. When she realized just who the mysterious person was, she let the rock fall from her hand and rushed forward. She threw her arms around the figure and pulled her into an embrace. "Xena! Gods, am I glad to see you! Where have you been? Do you know what it is I'm supposed to do? How do we get out of..." Gentle fingers pressing against her lips silenced the bard's questions.

"Gabrielle!" The dark-haired warrior laughed and smiled down at her friend. "One thing at a time. First, I just found myself here. It was dark and I didn't know who you were right away. That's why I waited to step out into the open. Second, I have no idea what you will be facing. Only you know the answer to that question. And third, I'm not where you need to be, but the mountain range seems like the best place to start."

Gabrielle smiled up at the warrior. "We're hopelessly lost, we've got no water, and I'm starving to death. But I can face all that, and worse, as long as I'm with you." She squeezed her friend again and stepped back, realizing that she was dressed in the same white leather that she wore. The only difference was that Xena wore breeches instead of a skirt. "And...I can honestly say that our fashion designer has absolutely no imagination whatsoever."

The warrior chuckled. "Yes we're lost, but it's not hopeless." She reached down and removed a waterskin from the belt around her waist. "At least we've got some water." She held a hand up against the question she knew the bard was getting ready to ask. "No, I don't know how I got it. It was just...here...like me, like you, and like these clothes." She saw the bard take a breath and again interrupted before a sound could be uttered. "Sorry. No food."

The bard grabbed the waterskin from her friend and took a swallow. "Aaah. It's warm, it's moldy-tasting, but it's water!" Gabrielle grinned at the warrior and tossed the skin back. "Thanks. I guess I can live without the food. But not for long, mind you."

"No problem. And how could I ever forget that food is your best friend?" Xena replied as she turned toward the boulders. "Let's get some sleep. We can start again in the morning."

Gabrielle wrinkled her brow in concern. "Xena?" The warrior had suddenly become stiff as she walked away from the bard, almost as if she was unaccustomed to her body "Xena, are you alright?"

Xena stopped and turned, staring at Gabrielle with a feral, almost evil look on her face. The look was gone as quickly as it appeared. "Yes, I'm fine. Come on. Let's get some sleep." She smiled at the bard and held her hand out. Gabrielle wrapped her hand around the warrior's and allowed herself to be lead toward the boulders.

As she cleared away the rocks to make a place for herself to lie, Gabrielle realized just how exhausted she was. She had pushed the earlier incident out of her mind. "She's probably just tired, that's all." The warrior was already stretched out next to the boulder, with her legs crossed and her hands behind her head. The bard smiled gently and lay down next to her friend. As she gazed up into the night sky, she realized something was missing. "Stars."

"Hmm?"

"There aren't any stars. This is so strange. There isn't a cloud in the sky, so we should be able to see stars. But...they don't seem to exist here. Don't you find that odd, Xena?" When the bard got no reply, she turned to see the warrior asleep. She smiled to herself. "That's another strange thing about this place. Xena actually fell asleep before I did!" Gabrielle reached out and gently touched her warrior's face, tracing the outline of the prominent cheekbone. "She looks so peaceful...so innocent...I wish she could be this way more often." The bard sighed and dropped her hand to her side. "I don't think I've ever felt so drained in my life..." It didn't take long until her eyes closed and she drifted into the realm of Morpheus.

********

"How's she doing?" Callisto had spent the better part of the day burying the dead men and cleaning the gore from the camp. Although it was a grotesque task that needed doing, she was grateful for the temporary distraction. She was on the verge of insanity with worry. Now she needed to know…

Xena replied without looking the other woman. "Holding her own."

********

She felt soft kisses on her face and a gentle hand on her thigh. A singsong voice whispered into her ear. "Gabrieeeelle..." She slowly opened her eyes to find that Xena was leaning over her, kissing her, touching her. The bard could scarcely breathe, unable to resist the exquisite feel of Xena's body hovering over hers. Although Gabrielle had been waiting for this moment, something about it seemed wrong somehow. She placed her hands on either side of the warrior's face and looked deep into her eyes, searching for the source of her discomfort. It didn't take long for her to find it and she jumped up in alarm.

"What's wrong, Gabrielle? Didn't you like what I was doing?" Xena asked with a seductive smile on her face.

"Uhh...well, I couldn't say that I did, Xena." The bard backed away from the warrior, who stood with fluid grace. "But, then again, you're not Xena, are you?"

Xena rolled her eyes. "Of course, I'm Xena! You're just tired from all that's happened to you in the past couple of days. You're letting your imagination run wild." She held her hand out to her friend and smiled. "Come on. I won't bite, you know."

Gabrielle continued to back away, intently watching the warrior. "Nope. I don't think so. And I'm not so sure about the biting thing, so I'll just stay over here, if it's all right with you. By the way, if you're going to impersonate Xena, next time remember that her eyes are blue, not red." The bard looked around frantically for something to defend herself with. Unable to find anything, she tried to distract the imposter.

"Sooo...where are you from? Got any brothers or sisters?" Gabrielle's eyes widened with fear as the Xena-thing took a step toward her. "Ah...how 'bout parents? Dogs? Cats?" The thing continued to advance and the bard realized that her only option was to run...fast. She spun on her heel but before she could take a step, the thing was directly in front of her.

"Huh...you're really good at that jumping, flipping thing." Gabrielle said with a nervous laugh. "You've gotta teach me that sometime."

Xena smiled and eyed the bard with a look of pure evil on her face. "Come on, Gabrielle. What's wrong? You know I'd never hurt you, don't you? I... love you."

Gabrielle's eyes widened at the hideous transformation that was taking place. She watched the warrior's flesh begin to melt away, her body sloughing off chunks of skin and muscle. Her fingers split apart and curled up against the white tendons of her wrists. The Xena-thing screamed in agony as it's arms crumbled and fell away from it's changing body. "Oh yeah!!!" The thing screamed again. "No pain, no gain!!!!" Suddenly, it's head burst open with a spray of blood and bone.

The bard's mouth opened in absolute disbelief. "This can't be happening! Ohhhhhh no! No way is this real!" The more she tried to convince herself, the more horrified she became. "Well, it's obvious that I don't have time to debate this...!!!" She spun again and ran as fast and as hard as she could. She ran until her lungs burned and her legs felt like lead. She didn't expect to stay ahead of the thing for long, and wasn't surprised when she heard it behind her.

"What the..? It sounds like a dragon!" Above her head came the sound of wings flapping...large and leathery. "But they're not real! They're just a myth!"

"XENA!!!" She screamed as she tried to find something to hide behind. Gabrielle's body exploded in pain as the dragon raked its claws down the length of her back, pitching her forward into the sand. She rolled onto her back as the monster landed just a few feet away. "XEEENAAAA!!!"

"Xeenaaa!!" The dragon mocked the bard with an evil, rumbling laugh. "She can't save you now, bard. No one can." The monster pressed one claw against its chin, tapping it thoughtfully. "Hmmm...now how should I do this? I could...say...incinerate you, in which case you would be dead instantly. Or I could...shred you with my claws, but that would be kind of messy. Besides, I hate getting skin under my nails." The dragon cocked its head and grinned, showing a full compliment of sharp fangs. "But I personally feel that the slow and painful process is the best way to go." The monster leaned forward and took a deep breath.

Gabrielle tried to scramble away, but was pinned to the ground by the dragon's long claw. She screamed as she felt it tear into her side. "Xena! Help me, please!"

The dragon laughed low in its throat. "Oh yeah...you gotta love that slow-roasted flavor." The monster exhaled, sending tendrils of flame toward the bard.

"NOOOOO!!! OH GODS, NO!! XENA, PLEASE HELP ME!! I'M BURNING!! I'M BURNING!!!!"

********

Callisto leaned over and put her delicate hand on Gabrielle's forehead. She looked at Xena with undisguised concern. "She's just too hot and her wound is becoming infected. We've got to bring this fever down or she's not going to make it."

The warrior snarled and grasped Callisto by the front of her shift. "Don't even think it!" Blue eyes filled with tears of helplessness, which she blinked away in frustration. She released Callisto as soon as she saw the annoyed look on the woman's face.

"I've never been good at this..." Xena uttered what, for her, was as close to an apology as she could come.

"Nooo problem." The slim, blonde woman paused before going further with her thought. She needed to think about how she was going to broach this subject. Callisto stood and paced the camp. They had already been here three nights. That, coupled with the first night she was found, left only three more until the portal opened again. They were two days outside of Amphipolis, give or take an hour or two. She knew that Amphipolis was where the warlord had crossed through the rift. She didn't actually see the 'grand entrance', but she felt an unexplainable pull toward the unassuming village. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is where the door would be. Time was running out and she knew that she had one choice left. Callisto was so certain the bard would recover quickly, but it seemed that the gods of this world were just as cruel as those in hers. She had hoped the fever caused by the wound would have run its course by now one way or the other. It hadn't, so the only choice she now had was to use what she knew to heal the bard. She hated having to reveal her abilities this way, but she couldn't let Gabrielle die. The bard was the key to the survival of both their worlds, and besides that, she had grown fond of the girl.

"Xena." Callisto knelt down to make eye contact with the warrior.

Xena was oblivious to the blonde woman kneeling next to her. Her entire focus was on the young bard. She methodically dipped a cloth into a bowl of cool water and squeezed it over Gabrielle's prone body. She was desperate to get the fever down. "I can't believe I was so damned stupid!" She cleaned and stitched Gabrielle's wound, never thinking for a moment that the fever would set in. She took such care with the cleaning. She used the paste, she made the curative tea from the herbs she kept, she did everything right! She did everything right and still...still the fever came. It came and there was nothing she could do about it. Except make more paste, make more tea, and watch. Her worst fears were coming to fruition here before her eyes. The light of her soul was dimming, growing weaker...leaving her. Gods, she didn't think she could bear the darkness that would engulf her in its absence. She got lucky in Thessaly. She didn't think she was going to be so lucky now.

"Xena!" The warrior was startled to find Callisto's face a mere inch from her own. She nearly fell back on her rump.

"What?" Xena replied with a glare that normally reduced people to quivering, pants-wetting lumps.

Callisto ignored the death-gaze she was getting from Xena and continued. "Look. I know this is going to sound...odd...but I can heal her." The woman sighed at the look of disbelief on the warrior's face. "In my world, certain people have certain abilities, but only if they're favored of the Gods. I just happen to be one of those people."

"You're favored of the Gods. Yeah, right. You know, I may acknowledge the fact that you're not the Callisto I'm used to, but you're still insane." Xena snarled at the blonde woman.

"Whatever." Callisto moved toward the unconscious bard, hands outstretched.

Xena reached out and grasped the slim woman's wrist in an iron grip. "What are you doing?"

Callisto's eyes traveled from the warrior's flashing blue eyes to the muscled hand wrapped around her tiny wrist and back again. "Trying to help, but I can't do that if you break my arm, now can I?"

Xena's eyes narrowed as she roughly released the woman's captive wrist. "Explain. And it had better be good." She said through clenched teeth.

Callisto closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Athena...I don't know how you work in this world, but if you can hear me, please give me the strength to keep me from smacking her halfway to Carthage." Once she had centered herself, she opened her eyes and regarded the Warrior Princess. What she saw in the electric blue eyes brought an abiding sadness to her heart. She had absolutely no doubt that Xena truly loved the bard. Somehow, the word 'love' seemed so inadequate for what she was witnessing. The warrior's eye radiated an emotion so powerful that it defied description. There was also a look of sorrow so deep that Callisto could hardly bear the gaze.

Callisto averted her eyes and looked down at her small hands. "It's simple, really. I put my hands on the injured area, concentrate, and push some of my life force into her." The blonde woman shrugged and again turned toward Gabrielle.

Xena scowled and followed behind. "Well if it's so simple, why didn't you do this yesterday? I thought catching this 'other' Xena was so damned important?"

Callisto's face was beet-red as she whirled on the Warrior Princess "Look you obnoxious, leather-wearing, sword-wielding, round-thing-throwing BITCH! I am sick and tired of you constantly in my face! All you've done since you found me is complain about this, whine about that, order me around, and tie me up! I don't know what your world's Calli is like, and frankly, I don't give a Hydra's hoo-ha!!!" The blonde woman was in a rage, poking her finger into Xena's chest, completely oblivious of the deadly look in the warrior's eye. "If I didn't care about what happens to Gabrielle, I would have left you both to rot!" She paused for a breath. "And don't give me that look, either! I've seen a lot worse things than you!"

"Chakram." Xena raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"The round thing."

"Oh."

"Hoo-ha?"

"It's just a...phrase we like to use..."

"Hm."

That small exchange was a close to kissing and making up as the two strong-willed women would allow themselves.

Callisto tilted her head. "Let's begin, shall we?" She kneeled in the dirt next to the bard, placed her hands on the festering wound, and closed her eyes. She slowed her breathing and began to empty her mind of physical distractions. She concentrated until she could no longer feel the pebbles digging into her knees or the chill air against her skin. She could no longer hear the rustling of the wind through the trees, the chirping of birds, or her own breathing. She could no longer smell the fresh sweetgrass, the earth on which she sat, or the smoke from the fire. She was completely oblivious to the world around her and that allowed her to focus on the world within her. She searched herself until she found her essence...her life force, radiant beyond measure. She reached out with her mind and gently coaxed a tiny fragment away from the core. A sharp pain lanced through her soul, as it always did when she took a part of herself away. She expected it, and was ready for it. Once that was done, she concentrated on the conduit through which she would transfer her life force. She felt her hands begin to grow hot, and in her mind she saw a multicolored tunnel. This was the way to Gabrielle and she began to move toward the swirling light, holding forth the part of herself that would heal the bard. As she reached out farther, she realized that now she was being pulled toward the tunnel. This had never happened to her before! Every other time, she had merely pushed her life force into the conduit, which would then disappear. For some reason, she was being drawn against her will into the passageway! She struggled to pull back, but it was no use. Before she knew it, she was surrounded by myriad colors swirling so fast that it was impossible focus.

********

Callisto found herself in a rocky, barren place and the first thing she noticed was a large, black dragon standing over Gabrielle. The second thing she noticed was that the dragon had the bard pinned to the dirt with a long talon stabbing through the white shirt she wore. She heard the dragon take a deep breath and watched as tendrils of flame slowly reached for the bard. " Oh, I don't think so!" The slim woman ran as fast as she could toward the dragon, positioning herself directly underneath it's lower jaw. She punched upward as hard as she could, her fist connecting with tough dragon hide. "Hey ugly!" She yelled, punching again. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, you overgrown snake!"

The bard lay on the ground, certain that she was going to die, when she noticed a small, blonde woman standing under the dragon's head. She saw the woman punch the beast and heard the deep intake of breath, which drew the smoke and flames back into the dragon's maw. She felt the talon withdraw from her body, and she flopped backwards into the dirt, breathing a sigh of relief.



The dragon felt an annoying sting on it's chin not once, but twice. Accompanying that sting was an equally annoying voice, insulting it no less! The beast stepped back to reveal a tiny woman, with white-blonde hair and liquid brown eyes standing defiantly with her fists clenched, ready to punch again. "Excuse me, but who are you, and why are you punching my chin?" The dragon decided to play a bit with this new distraction.

"Well, for starters, that's my friend you were getting ready to barbecue!" Callisto swung her arm toward the bard, pointing at the prone woman. "And aren't you kind of big to be picking on tiny, defenseless people? What's wrong with you anyway? Did you get up on the wrong side of the lair or something? Or...what...your pile of gold isn't big enough and it's put you in a pissy mood? Why don't you pick on me, you big, ugly lizard!" She jumped back in a fighter's stance, laughing maniacally, trying to provoke the beast.

"Wow! And I thought I could talk!" The bard's eyes widened with admiration for the feisty blonde assaulting the dragon. She stood to get a better view of the bizarre exchange, taking care not to jostle her injured side. "That laugh though!" She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I guess there are some things that just don't change..."

The dragon laughed with a deep, rumbling sound. "You know, you've interrupted my little party and...well...I just can't have that." With that, the beast flicked Callisto away with one long talon. It watched as she somersaulted through the air and landed on her stomach in front of Gabrielle. Dirt and dust flew from the impact, creating a small red cloud, which hovered over the two women. "Oh yeah. Can I aim, or what?" The dragon spread it's wings and bent forward, bowing to no one in particular.

Callisto raised her head, spitting out a mouthful of red dirt. "Pht! Ptoo!!"

"Is this supposed to be your idea of a rescue?" Gabrielle reached down to help the woman out of the small crater caused by the considerable force of Callisto's landing. "Because if it is, you really need to work on you're planning."

Callisto looked at the bard in annoyance. "Hey, I'm here aren't I? Not by choice, I might add." She then turned to the dragon and held up a slim finger. "Can you give us a minute here, pal? You've got all day to fire us up, so just cut me a break."

The dragon responded with a shrug. "I don't see the harm." It began to examine the dirt under its claws, humming off-key.

"What are you doing?" The bard hissed, grabbing Callisto by the shoulder and wheeling her back around.

Callisto shook off the hand gripping her shoulder. "Listen to me, Gabrielle. We don't have much time, and I can't explain everything. I need you to focus on making that dragon disappear." She ignored the confused look in the bard's green eyes and continued. "You've got more control here than you think. Just do it! Because if that thing kills us here, we die...both of us."

The bard sensed the urgency and the truth behind the words. She closed her eyes and began to visualize the dragon as it was. Once she had the image clear in her mind, she began to visualize the beast shrinking.

"Time's up!" The dragon bellowed, causing the rank odor of brimstone to waft toward the women.

Callisto felt Gabrielle jump and whispered encouragement into her ear. "Come on, bard. You can do it."

"Hey!! What the...? HEY!!!!" The beast screeched in rage.

The bard opened her eyes to see that what she had visualized was actually occurring! She squeezed her eyes shut and continued making the dragon smaller and smaller. Within seconds, it was reduced to the size of a field mouse. As she was concentrating on the dragon, the realization of Callisto's words hit her. "Somehow, we're inside my mind. I don't know how, but all of this is my doing. That means if I kill the dragon, I kill a part of myself!"

Callisto walked over to the tiny, extremely annoyed dragon and looked down at it. "Gabrielle, it's still here! Don't stop now!" The pint-sized beast ran to her boot and attempted to breathe fire onto the thick leather. She heard a high-pitched sound emanating from the tiny dragon near her toes.

"Hey! I may be small, but I'm still a dragon!" The beast looked up at Callisto and it's evil, red eyes locked onto brown ones.

"Not for long." Callisto snarled and raised her foot, ready to stomp the little dragon into oblivion.

"Wait!"

Callisto's foot stopped its downward motion at the sound of the bard's voice. She looked over her shoulder, exasperated by the interference. "What?" She snapped.

"You can't kill it, Callisto. You do know that, don't you?"

"Yes, I know." She turned back toward the defiant little dragon and ground her heel into its leathery body, laughing at the squeak of protest coming from underneath her boot.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING???!!!" Gabrielle yelled as she wrapped her arms around Callisto, taking them both to the ground. Callisto twisted out from under the bard and jumped to her feet.

"I'm just releasing a little tension, is all. You said it yourself...I can't kill it. You're the only one who can." Callisto sighed and did a graceful pirouette. "I feel so much better now. Besides, the little guy is just fine." She pointed to the mouse-sized dragon, shaking out its wings and spitting angry sparks.

Gabrielle stood and angrily brushed the dirt off of her now-not-so-white clothing. "You're telling me you stomped on a defenseless creature to release tension?! I guess you're not so different from our Callisto after all, are you?" She shook her head in disappointment.

"Well, since I don't know her, I guess I really can't respond to that." Callisto approached the little bard, and took one hand. "Look...I'm sorry if I scared you. Listen, let's just concentrate on why I'm here, OK?"

Gabrielle looked up and returned Callisto's gentle smile. "OK. But, just so you know, this isn't over." She took a deep breath. "Now...why are you here?"

"I need to give you this." Callisto placed one fist over her heart and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened her clenched fist to reveal a small sphere of brilliant light, which she held toward the bard.

"What is it?" Gabrielle whispered. "It's beautiful."

"It's a part of my life-force. You need to take it."

"I can't take that from you!" The bard was alarmed. "It wouldn't be right! Besides, don't you need it?"

"Gabrielle, it's very important that you take this from me. You're very sick. Xena's tried everything and it's...well...to be perfectly blunt, you're dying. This part of me is the only thing that can save you. Please take it. I don't know how much time you've got left."

"I just don't know..." Her thought was cut short when Callisto took her hand and thrust the sphere into it. Her eyes widened in amazement as she felt an intense, though not painful, heat radiating from the light. The light grew, slowly encompassing her entire being. Soon she was bathed in its brilliance and the pain of her injured side disappeared. She closed her eyes, allowing the warmth to seep into her very bones. She began to feel strange...as though she were floating. She opened her eyes to see everything around her fading away.

********

Xena sat on a boulder next to the two women, watching...and waiting. She knew it hadn't been long, but it seemed like hours had passed since Callisto went into her trance. She knew she was taking a big chance by trusting the woman even halfway, but she just couldn't bear the thought of losing Gabrielle. She had tried everything to save her friend...everything! Now she was reduced to putting her faith in someone she knew to be completely insane and completely unpredictable. The warrior was angry with herself for believing even a little bit that Callisto might be able to help Gabrielle. She should have just killed her and been done with it. She slammed a fist into her thigh, cursing herself for allowing this to happen. As far as she was concerned it was over. She stood, reached for her sword and readied herself to do what must be done. Gabrielle would die...of that she was certain. Every second that passed, the bard's face grew more pale and her breathing more ragged. So...she would simply kill Callisto right here and now; she would rid the world, and herself, of another corrupt soul. She raised the sword above her head and brought it whistling down toward Callisto's exposed neck. At the last second, she saw a subtle glow surrounding the woman's hands. Xena was able to check the trajectory of her weapon and bring it behind Callisto's head. The warrior was dumbfounded at what she was witnessing. She had seen the handiwork of the Gods before, but never had she seen something like this issue from the hands of a mortal. The glow grew beyond Callisto's hands to cover her entire body. The woman stiffened as the light flowed from her into Gabrielle. In an instant, it was gone and she collapsed on top of the bard. Xena roughly pulled the unconscious woman away from her friend, not caring that she nearly dislocated Callisto's shoulder in the effort. She knelt next to the bard and tenderly brushed a lock of hair from the damp forehead. She noticed several things all at once, not the least of which were those beautiful green eyes staring up at her. She gently removed the dressing covering the bard's wound, only to find that it had been completely healed, leaving only the trace of a scar. She touched her friend's forehead and found the skin cool to the touch. Once she had satisfied herself that Gabrielle was truly alive and well, she allowed the tears to fall freely down her cheeks. She gathered the bard in her arms and held her, rocking back and forth, comforting herself as much as her friend.

Gabrielle reached up and gently caressed the warrior's face. She brushed the tears away and sighed. "Oh Xena. I've missed you so..." She took one callused hand and turned it over, gently kissing the palm. She leaned her face into the warrior's trembling hand and smiled. "I was inside myself...my mind... the entire time, and you were there...only it wasn't really you. And then Callisto showed up and saved me from..." The bard shook her head sadly.

"What, Gabrielle? What did she save you from?" Xena pulled away slightly to focus on her friend's face, immediately noting the troubled look.

"It was a part of myself, but I don't know which part! Xena, it was horrible! First it was you...and then it wasn't you...and then it was trying to kill me!" The bard was visibly shaken by the experience.

"Shhh...Gabrielle, it's going to be alright. We'll figure it out. What matters now is that you're safe and you're healthy." Xena pulled the bard closer to her, trying to ward off the fear.

Gabrielle suddenly pushed away from the warrior. "Callisto! Where is she? Is she alright?"

Xena jerked her head toward the right. "Over there."

"By the Gods, Xena! Is she alive? What happened? And...why is your sword laying out?" Gabrielle gave Xena a suspicious look as she tried to stand.

"I'll tell you about it later." The warrior got to her feet, pulling the bard up with her. She placed a steadying hand on her friend's waist as they moved toward the unconscious woman. Callisto was lying facedown, with one arm trapped underneath her body. Just as the two reached her side, she rolled over and groaned.

"Ugh. I feel like I've gone three rounds with a crazed Minotaur." She raised up on her elbows and immediately noticed Gabrielle. "Hey! You made it!" She jumped to her feet, grinning like a fool. "Yes!! Thank Athena!" She bent down, placing her hands on her knees as a wave of dizziness hit. "Whew. I forgot how this feels afterwards." Xena and Gabrielle moved to help, but she waved them away. "Just give me a minute. I'll be ok." After a minute, she regained her composure. She reached for the bard and grasped both her shoulders. "I wasn't sure this would work, but it obviously did!" She pulled Gabrielle into a crushing embrace and kissed her on the cheek. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're still around!"

Xena, annoyed by the contact between the bard and Callisto, stepped forward and pushed the two apart. She raised an eyebrow and glared at Callisto. "I think you both need to rest."

Gabrielle looked at Xena with surprise clearly etched across her face. "Xena...I'm fine. I feel fine. Callisto feels fine. We both feel fine. Don't we Callisto?" She paused for a moment and really looked at the warrior and what she saw in those blue eyes shocked her. "Jealousy? Could she actually be jealous? Wow..."

Callisto crossed her arms and watched the exchange, enjoying Xena's discomfort at inadvertently showing her feelings. "Ha! You'll have to admit it now, Xena!" She slapped the warrior on the back, ignoring the 'look' being directed toward her. "Come on. We don't have much time. We can rest later. We need to be in Amphipolis before the Other gets there. We've got plenty of daylight left, so let's get moving." She started toward the bedrolls, but was stopped by Xena's hand on her arm. She turned toward the warrior with a look of abject determination on her face. "Look, Xena. We don't have time for this. We've got to..." She was interrupted by one very surprising word from the dark-haired woman.

"Thanks."

She nodded; acknowledging the effort it took for Xena to say that word. "You're welcome."



____________________________________________________



PART SIX: Separation



They broke camp quickly, speaking only when necessary. Each of the three women took on their separate tasks, working together as if they had always done so. They were back on the path to Amphipolis shortly after the sun reached its zenith. As they traveled, each was absorbed in their own thoughts of what had happened and what was to come.

The bard was deeply concerned by what she had experienced inside her mind. Gabrielle had always been aware of Xena's dark side. She may have been a bit naïve about it when they first began travelling together, but the bard had seen that part of the warrior enough to force her to face reality. The first time she had been with Xena during a fight, she couldn't believe it was the same person.

********

The warrior had seen the bandits long before Gabrielle did. The bard found herself pushed into the bushes with a hissed warning to stay put. She had just begun travelling with the warrior and hadn't yet learned how to defend herself. Needless to say, she didn't need to be told twice to stay out of harm's way. Xena approached the five men, not so much trying to defuse the situation as to provoke it. It didn't take much, and what Gabrielle saw that day would be forever etched in her mind. The bard immediately realized that the bandits were horribly outmatched. The warrior knew it as well. Even so, she played a macabre game, toying with the men, taking her time killing them. When she was finally finished, she calmly used the cloak from one of the corpses to clean the gore from her sword. When Xena finally moved toward the bushes, there was a feral fire in those blue eyes that made the young bard shudder.

The warrior placed her sword back in its scabbard. "Are you alright?"

Gabrielle slowly moved from the bushes, wary of approaching the tall woman. "Yes. I'm fine. Are you...alright?"

The warrior raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I'm always alright Gabrielle." She noted the look of horror on the bard's face. "So. Still willing to travel with me?"

********

Gabrielle knew the answer even though she had seen what her friend was capable of. She saw the dark unleashed, but still couldn't bring herself to abandon the warrior. She knew now that her reasons were twofold, although she didn't realize it until later. The bard was certain she could help Xena find the path back to herself. What she didn't know at that time, however, was just how much the warrior had insinuated herself into the bard's heart and soul.

Xena had changed so much since that first day, Gabrielle couldn't imagine there was a part of herself that was still afraid of her friend. She had to admit that she had been at first, but now she knew who the warrior was. She had peeled away layer upon layer until she reached the vulnerable humanity underneath. After that, she could never be afraid again. She didn't think the dragon was about Xena. It was something deeper than that, but it would take a little more introspection to figure out just exactly what it meant.

**

Xena shook her head, unable to believe that, just hours ago, Gabrielle was near death. She turned to look at her friend, who appeared to be very much lost in thought as she walked beside Argo. Gabrielle had been, for the most part, silent ever since they left their camp. The warrior suspected that the bard was most likely trying to analyze what had happened while she was "in between". She knew that her friend would talk to her when she thought she had everything sorted out. Xena was actually surprised that young bard wasn't being more vocal in her search for answers. Gabrielle usually liked to think out loud, waving her arms and thumping her staff into the dirt to emphasize an important revelation. It concerned the dark-haired woman that Gabrielle wasn't her normally expressive self. It indicated that her friend was deeply troubled by what happened. The anger at herself surged at the thought of Gabrielle once more being forced to reevaluate herself and the path she had chosen. Xena decided she would again try to talk the bard into going back to Poteidaia. She would be safer there than she would be travelling with an ex-warlord. The tall warrior sighed at the thought of again broaching the subject with Gabrielle. It was their oldest argument and one that the bard had always won. "Not this time."

With a gentle nudge, Xena coaxed Argo into picking up the pace a bit. She wanted to see if she could get any information out of Callisto, who had managed to push several yards ahead. "I need to find out exactly what happened." With that thought, she had truly admitted to herself that this Callisto was, indeed, from another reality. Xena didn't know why or how, but her world was connected with another...similar yet different. She couldn't even begin to fathom the ramifications of the 'rift' that had been helped into existence by someone on the other side. She shuddered to think of her alternate self, and what would happen when they met. They would meet...of that, she was certain. What she wasn't certain about was whether she would win the contest.

"Hey."

The sudden interruption of her thoughts startled Callisto. She had been trying to wrap her brain around what had taken place between herself and the bard. Nothing like that had ever happened to her...then again, she had never taken part in the Thumos Doron in another world, away from her Athena. Xena's appearance at her side shook her from her thoughts. She glanced up at the warrior astride the tall horse, tilting her head slightly. "Hey yourself."

With fluid grace, the dark-haired woman dismounted, taking Argo's reigns in one hand. "I need to know what happened."

"Don't we all." Came the sarcastic reply.

A long arm snaked out, grasping Callisto's wrist in a crushing hold. The warrior wheeled the slim woman around to face her. Electric blue eyes flashed in barely controlled anger. Callisto's eyebrows rose in challenge to the action. Although Xena's face acknowledged the unspoken threat in the liquid brown eyes, she did not release the woman. "Looks like she's got some things in common with our Callisto after all."

Callisto wrenched her arm away from the warrior with a snarl. "Fine. I was there. Gabrielle was there. We fought a dragon. I gave her a gift. She lived. Satisfied?"

"No. I'm not satisfied. She's having a hard time dealing with whatever it is that happened." Taking in the dark circles under Callisto's eyes, the warrior realized that the woman hadn't been as unaffected as she had made it seem earlier. "And by the looks of you, you're not doing much better. Look...just let me help. Okay?"

Callisto's voice softened. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm still trying to figure it out myself. It's so odd how it worked out here."

Xena motioned for the two women to continue down the path to Amphipolis, taking care to make sure Gabrielle was still behind her. The bard seemed completely oblivious to the exchange that had just taken place. She stared ahead with a far off look in her green eyes, not really focusing on anything in particular. "She's not concentrating on her surroundings, which means that she's putting herself in danger...again." The warrior couldn't help but be annoyed with her young friend. It seemed that no matter how many times she had told Gabrielle to be more aware, she would just stroll down the road concentrating on her latest story rather than what could be around the next corner. It frustrated the Xena to no end. Leading Argo and a slightly confused Callisto, the warrior positioned herself behind Gabrielle. "It's easier to keep an eye on her if we're back here." Xena explained.

The two women walked in companionable silence for quite some time before Callisto began to speak. "It's called the Thumos Doron. It's the ability, given to me by Athena, to gift another person with a fragment of my spirit. We're not all so lucky, though." She said with a sarcastic tone. "As far as the 'why' of it, the closest I've ever gotten to an explanation was when one of the priestesses said that there were certain of the favored who were a little more than special to Athena. She had given us these gifts because the Fates had set us on a special course in our lives." She shook her blonde head, chuckling. "I guess being propelled into another world would qualify as a 'special course'."

Xena raised her eyebrows, giving Callisto one of her trademark half-smiles. "Yeah. I'd say that you're little impromptu trip would definitely qualify." The warrior was impatient to get to the heart of the matter, but she didn't want to push Callisto too hard, for fear the woman would close herself up.

"When we were being trained in the use of our gift, we were told that there would be very specific indicators of how to transfer the spirit from ourselves to someone else. I've only done the Thumos Doron twice before, and both times it was exactly how the priestesses described it would be. This time there was a completely new twist thrown in and, to be perfectly blunt, I was clueless. I didn't really have a frame of reference. I just did what I felt was right at the time. When I arrived on the plane where Gabrielle was, she was about to be incinerated by a dragon. Somehow I knew that she had control of that dragon. I told her as much and I also told her that if that dragon killed us where we were, we would die in reality. So...she shrunk it."

"Shrunk it?"

"Shrunk it."

"I would have just killed it."

"Me too." Callisto grinned. "As a matter of fact, I stomped on it."

"Stomped on it?"

"Squished it flat. Didn't kill it though."

Xena chuckled. "Why not?"

"Gabrielle was the only one who had that power. " Callisto paused, tilting her head in thought. "You know, she has an incredible amount of insight. She recognized that the dragon, whatever it was, was a part of her. Killing it would have irrevocably changed her."

"How?"

"I don't know. It would have depended on what part of her was the dragon."

"So. What did she do when she saw you stomping on her dragon?"

"Ha!" Callisto laughed out loud. "She tackled me into the dirt, ready to kick my butt from here to Tartarus."

The warrior joined in the laughter. "I can see that. She tends to get upset when defenseless creatures are harmed."

"Yes. Well...she forgot about the fact that the 'defenseless creature' was about two seconds from frying her before she shrunk the damned thing."

The warrior waited a few moments before pushing on with her questioning. "So... I need to ask you something else."

"I think I have an idea of what you want to ask." Callisto responded softly, unable to meet the blue eyes she knew were staring hard.

"Really. What would that be?" Xena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why didn't I heal her sooner? Right?"

Several minutes went by. "Well?" Xena prompted.

"The Thumos Doron is a last resort. It has to be. I need you to understand that every time I give up a fragment of my soul, I give up a fragment of my life. I'm not an unlimited resource. It's not that I didn't want to help...I just needed to be sure that it was the only choice left." Callisto paused again. "She's very special, you know. You're lucky."

"I know."

They walked quietly as Xena absorbed everything that Callisto had said. She knew now that whatever was bothering Gabrielle had to do with the dragon that had nearly killed her. She recalled her friend saying that she, Xena, had changed into the dragon. Was that what the bard truly thought of her? That she was as evil as that dragon? Sadness swept over the warrior as she realized that was the only possible explanation for its presence within Gabrielle's mind. That fueled her resolve to talk to the bard and get her...force her, if necessary...to go back home. She and Callisto could handle the 'other' and her friend would be safe from harm. Gabrielle would be safe...from the warrior and her dark past.

As they walked, the sun began to set, coloring the sky with soft reds and pinks. The gentle rays seemed to infuse warmth into everything they touched and the leaves on the trees glowed with the glorious light of Sol sinking into the horizon. Callisto wondered if this would be the last time that she would be able to enjoy such an incredible sight. She hoped not.

Neither woman spoke for quite some time after the sun had disappeared into the earth. Callisto wanted to clear up one more matter between the two. "I've answered your questions, Xena. Now you need to answer mine." Her voice became hard.

Xena raised her eyebrows and glanced sidelong at the slim woman walking next to her. "Go ahead."

"After the Thumos Doron, I noticed your sword lying on the ground back at the camp. I also noticed a rather large...shall we say...gouge in dirt the right next to where I was sitting. So...planning on killing me, were you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Gabrielle was dying. As far as I was concerned, you were our Callisto. I figured we were better off with you dead than alive."

"What stopped you?"

"The thumos-thing worked."

Callisto looked at the warrior, brown eyes as hard as granite. "Don't try it again. You have no idea who I am or what I'm capable of."

A dark eyebrow crawled up the warrior's forehead. "Threats?"

"No. Reality. After what I've seen in my lifetime, there isn't anything or anyone that I fear. It's a glorious way to fight, you know."

"I do know." The warrior replied.

The blonde woman snorted, waving her hand dismissively. "You may have known in the past, but not now Xena. You live with a certain fear now, and that's what changes the way you fight. It's going to kill you one day."



"What do you know about a damned thing, Callisto?" Xena snarled, angry because Callisto was right. She had thought as much herself, but she certainly didn't like hearing it from someone else.

"I know enough." Callisto shrugged, unfazed by the warrior's anger. "The way I see it, you have two choices."

The warrior's eyes narrowed. "Oh really? You gonna enlighten me?"

Callisto grinned, annoying Xena even more. "Why yes, as a matter of fact I am. However did you know? Choice number one, keep your bard and constantly worry about watching your back and hers. Choice number two, get rid of her and be free to hack and slash with rabid abandon! Of course, you'll still be wandering the countryside doing good deeds..."

"Of course..." The warrior was seething at this point. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to throttle the woman. "I thought you said I was lucky to have her with me."

"Oh, you are. I'd give anything to have the kind of...friendship...that you two have. It's not possible for me, however." Callisto shrugged again. "It's quite a little dilemma you have, isn't it Xena? I mean, do you live with her, or without her? With or without? Hmmmmm..."

"Oh shut up, will ya?" Xena snarled through clenched teeth.

"Touchy, touchy."

"GODS! You're almost as exasperating as the other Callisto! As a matter of fact, you two are more alike than even I thought."

Callisto burst out laughing. "Oh come on, Xena. I can't be that bad, can I?" She paused to take a breath. "Or...maybe I can, since I have no idea what this other Callisto is like."

Xena looked at the blonde woman with barely disguised aversion. "Well, I can definitely say that the laugh is the same."

Callisto covered her mouth with one hand, trying to stifle the laughter that seemed to be grating on the warrior's nerves. "Ok. Here's the deal. I'll try not to laugh if you stop calling me 'Callisto'. I've always hated that! Gods, it reminds me of...well...nevermind. Anyway, just call me Calli."

"Calli?? What kind of name is that?" Xena's eyebrows scrunched in distaste.

"What's wrong with it?" The blonde woman was indignant.

"It's...dainty." The warrior replied with a smirk.

That remark caused Callisto to start snickering. "I'll show you just how dainty I am when I kick your butt all the way across Greece and back!"

The sound of Callisto's manic laughter reached into Gabrielle's reverie, bringing her focus back to the present. She immediately realized that Xena wasn't in her usual place beside her, nor was she in front of her. The bard spun on her heel to find Xena and Callisto several paces behind her. Callisto was laughing that...laugh...and the warrior wore a decidedly annoyed expression on her face. Argo, quietly plodding along beside the women, seemed to be completely ignoring everyone. As Gabrielle waited for her friend to catch up, she noticed that the sky was dark. "Hmm. Now when did that happen?" She wondered. "I have got to start paying more attention!",

The little bard grinned at the women. "Hey, why are you guys all the way back there? Spying on me?"

Xena's eyebrow rose as she replied with more than a little sarcasm. "Yeah, right. More like making sure you don't walk off a cliff in your haze."

"Well excuuuse me!" The bard huffed.

Callisto snorted and the warrior spun around, poking one long finger into the blonde woman's chest. "And don't you start that laughing again!"

"If you two can stop your bickering for long enough, do you think we could find a place to stop for the night?" Gabrielle thumped her staff into the dirt. "Besides, I'm starving."

Xena chuckled at the indignation of her friend. "Well...looks like you're back to normal." The tall warrior surveyed their location and headed off the path and into the trees. "Come on!" She called over her shoulder. "There's a small clearing right next to the stream up here."

"How does she do that!" The bard's eyebrows crinkled together in consternation. "That is so annoying!"

"Do what?"

Gabrielle shook her head, allowing herself a little smile. "She just knows things. We could be dragged off to a completely different land on a completely different world and she would somehow find a small clearing next to some stream somewhere." The bard chuckled and turned to follow her friend into the trees.

"I don't suppose it could be that she used to live around here?" Calli called after the bard.

"Oh yeah. Well, that too…" The blonde's voice trailed off as she entered the woods.

Callisto shrugged, trailing after Gabrielle. When she emerged into the clearing, she could hear the trickling of the stream. The sound made her cringe. "Gods, I hope they don't try to feed me fish again!" Xena had busied herself taking care of Argo. The warrior had removed the saddle and bags from the mare and was in the process of giving the horse a good brushing. Argo was in heaven enjoying the ministrations of her 'person' while munching on some fine tasting oats. Gabrielle was tramping around the outskirts of the clearing searching for wood to build the fire. "I might as well make myself useful. Besides, if I don't it will be fish....again..." The lithe blonde sidled up to the warrior who was still tending to her mare. "Don't worry about dinner. I'll catch it."

Xena glanced sidelong at Callisto with a half-smile. "Fine by me. Just don't get lost."

Callisto rolled her eyes and snorted. "Oh please." She turned on her heel, ignoring the smirking warrior, when she realized something. "Ah...I need to borrow a dagger."

"What? I should think you'd be able to kill your prey with your bare hands." Xena smiled, gently teasing the woman.

Brown eyes darkened at an unbidden memory come to surface. "I can. And I have." The blonde's eyes cleared up as she pushed the memory back down where it belonged. "I'd like to dress the catch while I'm out there. I get the impression that Gabrielle would rather not see the blood and guts involved."

Xena sensed that she had unwittingly stumbled onto a very sensitive subject. She never really gave much thought to what this Callisto was like or what she had to do to survive in her world. The warrior had a healthy respect for inner demons. Gods knew she had enough of her own. She fought them every day of her life, winning most of the time. Every so often, however, one would creep up on her taking her unawares. She regarded the blonde woman defiantly standing before her. With a lift of her chin, the Warrior Princess acknowledged the darkness within Callisto. More than that, her expression told the woman that she understood it, that she would not be judged for it.

Callisto smiled, accepting the warrior's assessment. "Well, are you going to give me the dagger, or am I going to have to use my teeth?"

The warrior rolled her eyes as she tossed her breast dagger to the Callisto.

By the time Callisto returned to the camp with three plump rabbits, the fire was going and the bedrolls were laid out. She was curious as to why two of the rolls weren't next to each other as they had been the first night she was in camp. Perhaps it was because the warrior no longer felt the need to protect the bard from the 'Evil Callisto'. She shook her head, wondering why they just couldn't go ahead and admit their feelings to each other. The little dance the two women insisted on playing was getting on her nerves. She couldn't believe that they were completely clueless as to their feelings for each other. She had seen them interact enough to know that it was as obvious as the battered nose on her face that the two women were in love. Well, if Xena wasn't going to anything about the bard, perhaps she should. Callisto's teeth shined in the firelight as she grinned. "Let's see if we can get a rise out of you that way, Xena!

"Agh!" Gabrielle yelled as three rabbits came sailing out of the dark. "Good grief, Callisto!"

"Call her 'Calli'."

Gabrielle stared at Xena in total confusion. "What?"

"She prefers to go by 'Calli'."

"Ooook. Now, before I was so rudely interrupted...good grief, Calli!" Gabrielle eyed the three skinned and dressed rabbits, admiring their size. "Wow! These are huge! How did you catch three this big?" The bard began rifling through her cooking pouch, searching for the right herbs to use on the meat.

"Ohhhh...I have my ways." Calli smiled as she sat on one of the bed rolls.

"Oh great." The bard snorted. "I've got one Warrior Princess with 'many skills', and I've got one...I don't know what, who 'has her ways'." The little bard continued to mumble under her breath as she prepared supper.

Xena gave Gabrielle a smirk and a raised eyebrow for her trouble. The warrior continued sharpening her sword as she reveled in the normalcy of the evening. Just this morning she had come within a hair's breadth of losing her dearest friend. "But she's so much more than a friend to me. She's the other half of me...the light to my dark. Gods, I have loved her for so long that I can't imagine not having her by my side." The warrior was startled at the revelation she had just come to. Deep in her heart, she had always known she felt...love...for Gabrielle. Not the love of one friend for another, or even the love felt for one lover by another. It was a kind of love that one soul felt for its other half. Now that she had admitted this to herself, how could she admit it to Gabrielle? The answer was, she couldn't. If she did, one of two things would happen. Either the bard would run screaming all the way to Chin, never to be seen again. Or...she would feel obligated to stay with the warrior, and that was something Xena couldn't abide. She simply couldn't bear to think that Gabrielle would stay with her out of some misplaced sense of duty. No, she couldn't, wouldn't tell Gabrielle. She rolled her eyes at herself. This was all moot anyway, since she was going to convince her friend somehow, someway, to go back home to Poteidaia. Once she was back in her home village, the warrior wouldn't have to worry about it. Xena had begun trying to separate herself by arranging the bedrolls around the fire herself, rather than let Gabrielle do it. And she pointedly ignored the hurt look in the bard's face as she went about the task.

It never once occurred to the warrior that Gabrielle could possibly love her. It was that undying belief she still held, in the dark corners of her mind, that no one would ever love her. The bard had chipped away at that, and had almost made her feel redeemable. Even so, Xena could only look back at who she had once been and not who she was now.

The savory smell of rabbit stew was filling the camp. The growling noises emanating from Calli's stomach resembled an angry mountain lion. "Hey bard! Is it time to eat yet?"

Gabrielle, kneeling in front of the pot hanging above the fire, smiled at the hungry woman. "As a matter of fact it is. By the way, why were you so anxious to catch dinner anyway?"

Calli stood, rubbing her empty stomach. "I hate fish." She shrugged as she reached for one of the wooden bowls sitting next to the pile of packs near her bedroll.

"Hate fish?" The bard was incredulous. "How can anyone in their right minds hate fish?" She took Calli's bowl, filling it with a generous portion of stew. She handed the bowl back to the obviously ravenous woman and tilted her head.

"I hate fish with every fiber of my being." With that, Calli wrapped her lips around the bowl and proceeded to slurp the contents. "AAAAGH! It's HOT!! Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!!!" She began sucking air in and out of her mouth, sounding like a smithy's bellows.

Gabrielle tossed a waterskin and a spoon over to the agonized Calli. "Hey. Wanna try eating like a regular person?"

Calli took a long swallow of water, cooling off her sizzling mouth. "Sarcasm, I don't need." She mumbled under her breath.

Later in the evening, the women worked together to clean the dishes and secure the camp. It took all of five seconds for Calli to fall asleep. Gabrielle and Xena lay awake on opposite sides of the fire, both contemplating the day. The warrior ignored the hurt on Gabrielle's face when she noticed the sleeping arrangements. The bard didn't seem inclined to comment on it, however, so Xena lay there wondering when Gabrielle would open up about the previous morning. She didn't have to wait long when she heard a small voice.

"Xena?"

"Yes, Gabrielle?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Of course."

"Well, I think it would be better if I moved my bedroll over next to yours. That way we won't wake Calli up. Is that ok?"

Xena closed her eyes and grit her teeth. "Sure."

Once the little bard was situated next to the warrior, she propped herself up on one elbow to watch her friend. She reached out and took Xena's hand in her own. The warrior's breath caught in her throat at how such a simple gesture made her feel. The warmth rushed through her, making her break out in a sweat. She pushed the blanket away from herself, exposing her upper body to the cool night air.

"Xena, what's wrong?" Gabrielle's voice was filled with concern.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just a little warm, that's all."

"Oh. Ok." The bard paused for a moment. "Xena, I've been thinking a lot about what happened. About you, and the dragon, and what it all means." When the warrior didn't respond, the little blonde took that as her cue to continue. "You were in my mind, and you changed into this evil, horrible dragon who tried to incinerate me. I know you Xena. All day you were probably thinking that my dragon was really all about you...how I really feel about you...how I really fear you deep inside."

Unshed tears shone from the warrior's electric blue eyes. She didn't answer the bard...she couldn't. There was a lump in her throat the size of Mount Olympus and she couldn't speak even if she wanted to. She never ceased to be amazed at how easily Gabrielle read her. It was maddening, really...

If the bard noticed Xena's reaction, she chose not to express it. "It's not about you, Xena!" Gabrielle sounded almost happy. "It's about me! After I found out about another you, I think I was faced with my own arrogance in a way. I walk around each day with the incredible audacity to think that if it weren't for me, you would still be what that other Xena is. Who am I to think that I have such an incredible influence on your life? Sometimes I think I expect you to be perfect, Xena and that is so unfair. What if, someday, my unreasonable expectations push you away? I think, Xena, that the dragon was about my fear of failing you. It was about the possibility that deep inside, there's a part of me that has a hard time accepting you with all your flaws...with all the darkness...with all the nuances that make you you." Gabrielle flopped onto her back as if exhausted. "I'm so very sorry, Xena."

The warrior could hear the tears in Gabrielle's voice and her heart ached. She rolled over, tentatively reached out, and brushed the tears from the bard's soft cheeks. "Don't cry, Gabrielle. You do have an incredible influence on my life. If it weren't for you, who knows where I'd be? And you have more faith in me than anyone I've ever known. "

Sea-green eyes locked onto electric blue and Gabrielle was startled by what she saw. It was...love! Her heart began beating faster as her trembling hand reached up to caress Xena's face. Suddenly, the warrior jerked her head away as if the bard's touch would burn her. Gabrielle tried to cover the hurt by quickly rolling onto her side. "Well, that's what I came up with anyway."

Xena mentally kicked herself for hurting her friend. "But it has to be done. I can't have her thinking that I feel more for her than friendship." In the warrior's twisted logic, revealing her feelings would somehow wind up killing the bard, herself, or them both. She flopped down onto the bedroll, watching the stars. It was something she and Gabrielle did together on occasion. It was a kind of game they played. Each seeing the heavens through the eyes of the other...

As much as Gabrielle wanted to, she couldn't bear to lie next to the warrior. The hurt was just too much. She wiped the tears from her eyes, stood, and moved her bedroll to its original position. She pretended not to notice the intake of breath that came from the warrior at the sudden disappearance of the bard's warmth.

On the other side of the fire, Calli listened to the entire exchange. She was impressed by Gabrielle's interpretation of the dragon. It was very plausible. Calli was certain that if the Gabrielle in her world had lived, she would definitely have been one of the favored. Calli was more concerned, however, with the fact that now she would have to deal with the escalating tension between the two. She was hoping that perhaps this talk would lead to something more between the warrior and the bard, but she was sorely disappointed. She sighed as she rose and placed her bedroll next to Gabrielle's. She grasped the bard's hand in a gesture of friendship and nothing else...although Xena wouldn't know the difference.

"I have no idea why I even care about those two. I should concentrate on catching that sadistic bitch and getting back to my own world." She sighed deeply. "I guess I'm just a romantic at heart, but Gods help me if anyone else finds out about this." As if her original mission wasn't bad enough, now she had to somehow get the stoic Warrior Princess and the talkative Amazon bard together.



CONTINUED IN PART SEVEN