The sun shone from high in a cloudless sky as Gabrielle and David continued their trek to Theopolis. With every step, their feet sank into the white sand of the beach, making their legs ache.
 
"Maybe we should walk closer to the water," David suggested. "The sand will be firmer there."
 
"Good idea," agreed Gabrielle. "Why didn't you think of it earlier?"
 
"I'm not the only one with a brain here," he teased. "Or is being a 'sidekick' the only thing you're cut out for?"
 
"I'll have you know I'm a bard," she countered with a laugh. "A writer and storyteller. I can have everyone in a tavern on the edge of their seats like that," she said with a snap of her fingers.
 
"Really," he said, and now the teasing left his voice. "What kinds of things do you write about?"
 
"Oh, anything that's interesting," she replied. "Like, I write about different people's heroic exploits, especially Xena's. Or I write stories about the gods. Those are interesting to a lot of people. The gods can be pretty colourful."
 
"You talk as if you actually believe the gods exist," said David.
 
Gabrielle gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean? Of course they exist. Look at the world around you. Look at the sky. Look at the beautiful sun Zeus made to shine on us today."
 
"But have you actually seen the gods?" David asked. "Or have you just heard and told stories of them?"
 
"We wouldn't mind seeing a little less of them, as a matter of fact," she said. "Most of them are pretty petty, concerned only about their own interests. Except for Hercules. Now there's an example of what a god should be. Of course, he's only half god."
 
David stopped walking. "Wait a minute," he said. "You mean to tell me you've actually seen Hercules? You know him personally?"
 
"Well, I don't know him all that well," the bard answered. "But, Xena, now that's another story. From what I've heard, she knows him extremely well." She added with a casual smile, "Apparently, he 'unchained her heart.'"
 
"Are you sure about these 'gods'?" he asked as he began to walk again. "I mean, could they be magicians or something fooling everybody?"
 
"Not from what I've seen," Gabrielle said. "Everybody knows of the gods. Why are you asking things like this? Are you telling me you've never encountered them?"
 
"Gabrielle," David said, trying to choose his words carefully, knowing this was one of those moments when he was going to tell her more than he should. "Where I come from, no-one's ever seen the gods of Olympus. And if anyone said they did, they'd be dismissed as a crackpot. Our society has for centuries assumed that they never existed -- that they were just made-up stories."
 
"It sounds like a terribly repressive, dark time," Gabrielle said sympathetically. "Of course, maybe it's just as well. The fear of the gods is no picnic. They're always sticking their noses in where they don't belong, and there's nothing we can do about it."
 
David was silent, incredulous -- then suspicious. It occurred to him that perhaps he was getting carried away. Maybe she was the most wonderful woman he had ever met, but she was still a part of this time -- and though she may be quite intelligent, she was still subject to some of the same ignorant notions as anyone else here. He would have to check out the business about these 'gods'.
 
"Well, there are a lot of people who believe they did exist," he went on, "but that they weren't actually gods -- they were ... visitors."
 
"'Visitors'? What do you mean?" the bard asked.
 
"Visitors, like me. Only not necessarily from the future. Maybe from another world."
 
"I still don't follow you," said Gabrielle.
 
"Another world," repeated David. "Like this one. Only far, far out in the sky where you can't even see it. They would have come here in ships that could sail tremendous distances across the sky. Like Scott and I, they would have machines and things that you wouldn't understand and so, if they wanted to, they could easily make you believe that they're gods."
 
"Like you tried to do?" Gabrielle said with a crooked smile.
 
"We were just trying to maintain a disguise. But others might have different reasons. So they could make you do what they want you to. So they could have you as toys to play with." Now David became aware of just how many beans he was spilling. In his mind's eye, he saw Gabrielle leading a revolt against the gods, armed with this new knowledge. "Gabrielle," he said, "please remember that it's very important you don't tell anyone about me and Scott, or about the things we tell you."
 
"I know, you've said that before," she said. "Why? Why is it such a big deal?"
 
"Because we're just supposed to be finding out things," he answered. "We're not supposed to change anything. That would mess everything up. If different things happen because I was here, that can cause a cascade effect. The differences three thousand years from now could be unimaginable."
 
"Your dream," she said. "You dreamed of a scary, dark world that was completely different from your home. You're afraid you'll cause change, and it will be bad."
 
"I guess so," he answered thoughtfully. "Time seems so fragile. Sometimes I wonder if we should be doing this at all."
 
"Nonsense," argued Gabrielle. "If you'd never come here, you'd never have met me. And you'd be much worse off for it," she said as she playfully poked him in the chest.
 
David's face relaxed into a smile. "I'll go along with that," he said, and the two continued on toward Theopolis, which was now only about a half mile away.
 

 

"That ought to build a good fire," Scott said as he set down his pile of wood on top of Xena's. He slapped his hands together a few times to get the bits of bark off. "Nice, dry wood."
 
"We've got to be careful not to let the fire get too big," said Xena. "If it gets out of control, we could have a forest fire on our hands."
 
"Only you can prevent them," Scott said offhandedly.
 
"What do you mean by that?" Xena asked.
 
"Oh, oh, nothing," Scott stammered. "Just an expression I've heard. What's for dinner?"
 
"Gabrielle usually handles that," the warrior answered, then added with mock bitterness, "but we can't ask her. She's busy."
 
Scott glanced at her sideways and smiled sympathetically. "You're pretty used to having her around, aren't you?"
 
"She's very special," Xena sighed. "But obviously, I'm not the only one who thinks so."
 
"She'll be OK with Dave," Scott tried to assure her. "He's a caring, down to earth guy."
 
The warrior looked off into the distance. "Beautiful," she muttered to herself. Scott looked at her, puzzled.
 
All at once, the relative silence was shattered by the sound of a thunderclap that seemed for all the world to have occurred just a few feet away. "What the ... that's strange," Scott remarked. "There's not a cloud in the ..."
 
He stopped upon seeing Xena's determined stare. He followed the direction of her gaze and saw a man standing at the edge of the clearing dressed in a worn leather shirt with no sleeves. About his waist was a girth of armour. He was not an extremely large man, but Scott had never seen anyone quite so solidly built. He exuded a somewhat frightening air of arrogance and power.
 
"Hello, Ares," Xena said with a slight sneer. "What are you doing here?"
 
"Why, Xena," replied the god with mock congeniality. "I would think you'd be happy to see me. You and I have meant so much to each other in the past."
 
Xena silently folded her arms.
 
"Ah, Xena," said Ares as he walked closer. "Your arms say 'no no', but your eyes ..." he leaned in to look more closely at her face. "Well, your eyes say 'no no', too. But I know there's 'yes yes' somewhere in that warrior's heart of yours."
 
"Xena, what's going on?" Scott finally asked. His instinct was to try and protect her from whoever this was, though he knew that would not be necessary, let alone possible.
 
"Nothing, Scott," the warrior replied, never turning her gaze from Ares. "I can handle this."
 
"I see you have company," Ares said, noticing Scott for the first time. "Maybe I should go and come back another time."
 
"He's just a friend," Xena said. "But maybe you should go and not come back another time."
 
Ares now turned to Scott. "Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a nonchalance that seemed somehow threatening. "I'm Ares, god of war."
 
"I'll ask you again, Ares," Xena said, not waiting for a reply from Scott. "What are you doing here?"
 
The god of war turned back toward the warrior. "Opportunities, Xena," he said, stepping still closer to her. "New opportunities left and right for you and I to join forces once again. And I'm thinking of it especially now. The festival of the gods is a great time for new beginnings, don't you think? Leaving behind the mistakes of the past, moving on into the future."
 
"I've been trying to do that for a long time," Xena said. "Trying to live down the reputation I gained while I was working with you."
 
"You've got it backwards," said Ares. "Leaving my side was the mistake. That miserable half-breed excuse for a god poisoned your mind. Listening to Hercules, that was where you went wrong. But you can leave that behind you now and join me. I'm forgiving, I'll take you back." He reached out and gently caressed her shoulders. "We were an unstoppable team, Xena."
 
Xena looked at her shoulder, her eyes following Ares' strong hand as it slowly traced the curve. Her face slowly turned to meet his piercing gaze. Gods he's handsome, she thought, but she stopped herself before her eyes gave away the maybes that flashed, if only for a moment, through her thoughts.
 
"Sorry, Ares," she said flatly. "You may never change, but I have."
 
"Of course," Ares sarcastically droned. "You work to help people now. You prevent wars instead of starting them. You've been far too influenced by that blonde bubblehead you pal around with."
 
He took his hands from her shoulders and she felt a slight sense of loss -- a feeling which she could scarcely even admit to herself.
 
"By the way," Ares continued, "where is the little trollop? I just noticed how quiet it's been since I got here."
 
"It's really none of your business where Gabrielle is," Xena said. "Maybe she just disappeared." And now she glared pointedly at him. "Maybe you should, too."
 
Ares folded his arms. "Maybe I'll go find her," he said. "Maybe I can persuade her to talk some sense into you." And with that, the god of war silently disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.
 
Xena raised an eyebrow and slowly turned in the direction of Argo. As she passed a motionless Scott, she stopped and, lifting a finger to his chin, gently shut his slackened jaw. "Flies will get in," she said, and continued on, more intently now, toward the mare.