Violence Warning/Disclaimer: This story depicts scenes of violence and/or their aftermath and demonic possession. Readers who are disturbed by or sensitive to this type of depiction may wish to read something other than this story.
Author's Note: This story contains many spoilers for Season Four of Xena:WP, especially the episode Devi. There are some spoilers for other Seasons of Xena as well, but nothing big.
This story is part Three of Four parts (used to be part 3 of 3, but I got long winded), but can be read as a stand alone story as well.
Please feel free to send comments, burnt or otherwise. GmMcCords@aol.com
©1999
Part 1
The short woman with hair the color of beaten copper and the tall dark warrior-woman leading the golden mare strode down the road away from the castle of King Melos. They walked along silently for a time, just enjoying the warm sun and watching the scenery as they moved.
Finally the tall woman spoke. "Gabrielle?"
"Hmmm?" The short woman poked her staff at a hovering dragonfly without looking at her friend.
The woman known throughout Greece as the Warrior Princess hesitated and her petite companion glanced up at her. She squinted and stopped walking. "What is it, Xena?"
The warrior stopped too and the golden mare she was leading came to a halt and whickered questioningly. Xena stroked the horse's muzzle absently and spoke. "I, um, I'm glad you managed to repair your green top. Just wanted to say I was sorry, again..."
"Xena, that's over," said the bard kindly. "I'm not mad any more and there's no harm done," she looked curiously at her friend. Xena was staring at the ground, showing no signs of moving on. "Was there ... something else?"
"I, uh, just wondered..." the warrior said and stopped.
"Wondered what?" Gabrielle leaned on the staff, watching her more curiously.
Xena looked uncomfortable. "Just ... well ... I wondered, how come you never tell me your stories any more?"
The bard looked at her in surprise and the golden horse Argo snorted as if she were shocked.
The big warrior rushed on. "You always used to be so full of stories ... you'd be bursting to tell them and would always, you know, recite them to me as we traveled. Now you never even tell them in public anymore ... you didn't even seem to want to tell one to princess Alesia the other day."
Gabrielle pulled back her hair and gazed at the white fur on the end of her amazon staff for a moment before speaking. "I thought you were sorta just, well ... tolerating me," she said at last. "You know how you were always teasing me about my stories and telling me to leave you out of them ... I finally figured I shouldn't bother you with them anymore..."
Xena looked disappointed. "I-I thought you knew I WAS teasing," she said in a small voice, "I loved your stories, Gabrielle. They are some of the best times I remember about our travels together..."
The bard smiled and the expression lit up her face. "Thank you," she said modestly, a faint blush on her cheeks. "But really, Xena," she continued, "I don't have any new stories to tell. We do everything together. We've been traveling and sharing our adventures for so long that I'm living the stories I used to tell for my own enjoyment ... I guess I just ran out of new tales to tell and I got tired of retelling the old ones. Sorry."
"Oh," said the warrior, "I guess that's true now I think about it ... still I wish..."
"You know what?" said the bard suddenly, interrupting her friend. "Maybe we need to travel somewhere new for a change; somewhere different from Greece. Somewhere like the kingdom of Chin or someplace."
"Definitely not Chin," said Xena uncomfortably. "I never want to go there again."
Gabrielle nodded. "I understand; too many bad memories. Besides, I didn't mean let's go to Chin, I'm not that fond of the place myself. And I certainly don't want to go back to Britannia..."
At the mention of Britannia both she and Xena shivered involuntarily. Then the bard's face brightened. "Hey! Here's an idea; how about India? We've never been there!"
"India? Yer kiddin', right?" The big warrior rubbed at a bruise on the arm that she had gotten climbing a vine out of a canyon with the little princess on her back.
"No, I'm not kidding. I hear that it is about as different as we could find. I'll bet you even know how to get there too!"
"Yeah," said Xena wryly, "you go east about as far as Chin. I don't think so."
"Oh, come on, Xena! Why not? I bet it'd be fun!" The bard almost danced with excitement and the warrior regarded her in surprised pleasure. "Let's do it. Let's go to India! Please?"
Xena hesitated and Gabrielle plunged on. "We'd get away from Greece and the same old things for a while. No more Ares, or Olympian gods, or Caesar, or feuding warlords. Think of the new things we could learn and see. I hear they sleep on beds of nails and keep snakes in baskets there. There'd be new sights and sounds, a whole different culture, the ... the new kinds of FOOD!" Her green eyes sparkled.
"Yeah, food. I wondered when you'd get around to the important part," Xena grunted and her friend grinned sheepishly.
"Well, you know how I like my food," the bard giggled.
"Yeah, on the plate and plenty of it," Xena smirked.
"All right, smarty," Gabrielle grinned, "but I also hear they have all kinds of mental disciplines there too, sorta like Lao Ma taught you. There's Yoga, the Kama Sutra, meditation..."
"Yoga?" The Warrior Princess teased. "You mean yogurt? We got that here in Greece; you talkin' about food again? And uh, I don't believe the Kama Sutra is in exactly the same class as meditation, although it CAN get you relaxed after a while..." she said slyly.
"Well, see there?" said Gabrielle eagerly, "We should learn it then ... gods know we could get stand to get relaxed ... what's so darn funny?" She interrupted herself as Xena broke up.
"Never mind," snickered the warrior, "tell me more about this India idea."
The bard glared at her for a moment, but then continued on about the wonders both real and imagined that they might see on such a trip. As they walked the two friends bantered back and forth with Gabrielle enthusiastically going on and on and Xena cheerfully poopooing everything she said.
Despite her outward show of disdain, as the bard chattered Xena found herself beginning to think about the trip as a real possibility. Even as traveled as she was, she had never been to India and it did sound interesting. Besides, she thought watching her animated friend, this was the first thing that Gabrielle had seemed truly excited about since ... Xena considered ... since the bard had been going to form a Hospice with Najara. And look how that idea had immediately gone to the dogs, she thought sadly.
Gabrielle had seemed to go into a funk after she had found out the truth about Najara. So much so that she had become almost hostile during the battle for the city of Actus. Xena still remembered how angry the bard had been when the warrior had tried to tell her about the vision that Alti had shown her of their future deaths by crucifixion. The young woman had flatly denied it could be true and refused to listen.
She was so angry in fact, that after Actus she left Xena and went home to Poteidaia for a visit with her family. Thus she had not been there when that business with Joxer and Meg and Autolycus and the baby-king-key had come up. Oh, Xena had handled it all right, but she had felt alone and unhappy without the bard at her side.
Gabrielle had come back afterward in a better frame of mind and the relieved Xena had decided they should just travel around a bit with no particular destination in mind. Then the next thing they knew they had become embroiled with the savage Horde again and barely escaped with their lives.
No, not the Horde, Xena corrected herself absently; they called themselves the Pomira. Despite their savage looks, they were very human warriors whose values were not so different from her own. During that whole time, Gabrielle had seemed distant and preoccupied, saying inappropriate and strange things. It had even been her idea to commit them to try and rescue the girl Pele from the Pomira. Against Xena's better judgment, she had agreed.
Carrying out that plan had almost caused a war between the city folk and the Pomira when the bard and warrior had rescued the girl and returned her to her true family in the city. Thank the gods that it had finally come out all right, although Xena still felt as if she personally had failed there. She had been forced to kill Milo the Hunter in the fight at the city gates. But he gave me no choice, she thought with both anger and sadness. He was exactly what I used to be, bigoted, angry and Hades on a chariot in a fight; killing him was like killing myself.
The death of Milo had so depressed the Warrior Princess, that she had wanted only to sleep for a time. She overslept a number of days after, sometimes well into the morning. She would tell Gabrielle to wake her at the usual time if she didn't get up, but the bard kept letting her sleep in. The last day especially was the worst.
Xena had wanted to get up at first light to trap a warlord before he broke camp. The warrior had been so miffed to find she had been left yet again to oversleep, that she stole Gabrielle's beloved green top while the bard was bathing. She ripped it into strips for a rope to tie up the warlord when she captured him and made sure the bard knew it.
The petite woman was not happy of course and the episode had set off an all day squabbling match between the two friends. This was further complicated by the presence of the captured warlord, the bumbling Joxer, a little runaway princess and the interference of Aphrodite. After Xena had snippily implied that Gabrielle was only good for washing dishes, the bard had stormed off vowing never to return. They only got back together once both had finally apologized for treating each other with contempt rather than friendship.
Xena was startled out of her reverie by Gabrielle chirping. "Well, What about it?"
Frantically the warrior tried to recall what she had been asked. "Uhhh ... well..." she temporized.
"Come on, Xena..." begged the bard. "Lets just DO it, huh? Let's just GO. Why shouldn't we? We don't have any missions to perform right now. It's been so long since we did something just for fun ... whatta'ya say?"
"I say it's getting towards evening and we should find a place to camp," the big warrior said gazing about. "There, that looks like a possible spot. It's forested, there should be a coverlet back among those trees where we can hide our campfire from the road. Let's check it out."
"But what about India..."
"Gabrielle, let's just think about it, okay?" Xena refused to commit herself. "We don't have to leave tonight, do we?"
The bard was disappointed, but shrugged. "No, I guess not ... come on, lets check out the woods."
Xena nodded and pulled Argo along past Gabrielle toward the trees, thus she did not see the sudden expression that passed over the bard's face when her back was turned. The petite woman's eyes narrowed and her face went dead. For a moment it was as if a beautiful mask had been lifted to reveal a universe of pure hatred underneath. Then the expression relaxed and the bard looked normal once again as she followed the warrior and the horse towards the stand of trees.
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The woods had indeed proven to hide a good campsite. After making camp, the two women had eaten a filling dinner of jerked meat, mushrooms and cheese all cooked into a bubbling stew. Along with black bread and a salad of greens the bard had found while gathering firewood, they washed the food down with cold clear water from a nearby stream. After cleaning the cooking utensils the bard had scribbled on a scroll by the firelight while Xena worked on repairing some seams and cuts on her leathers. Finally the bard rolled up the parchment and put her pens and ink away with a yawn.
"G'night, Xena." The bard rolled into her blanket near the fire and relaxed for sleep.
"Night, Gabrielle. Pleasant dreams," Xena smiled. She began sharpening her sword as she usually did before going to bed. In the past few years she had so often needed it instantly upon awakening, that she never put off doing the job till morning any more. Besides, it gave her a quiet time to reflect over the days events.
Gabrielle had seemed so happy today that it had come as a surprise to Xena. Uneasily she admitted to herself the fact that she was surprised that the bard was happy, was also a surprise. Her sharpening stone stopped in mid stroke as she thought uncomfortably about it. When had she started taking it for granted that her friend would not be happy? She had always BEEN happy ... before. Before Dahak and Hope and Caesar and a dozen other things had changed her; taken away her innocence and left her sadder but wiser.
"Admit it, Warrior Princess," Xena thought with sorrow, "you fall into that category too."
She stared at her sword and sharpening stone as if she had never seen them before. She realized she wanted the old Gabrielle back; wanted her very much indeed. The Gabrielle that was so full of the joy of experiencing new things and places. The Gabrielle who was always laughing, smiling and telling stories. Could India possibly restore her?
"But she's gone," thought the warrior sadly. "I slowly killed her in a dozen ways. First when I took her to Britannia and both Caesar and Dahak got ahold of her. Caesar, the bastard, had her tied on a cross and we just barely saved her; but Dahak ... what that monster did to her..." Her eyes filled as she remembered Gabrielle floating in the demon's fiery grasp.
"She lost her blood innocence and even got pregnant by the demonic-scum..." Xena ground her teeth in rage. "When she gave birth to his daughter, she saw it as her hope for redemption. Then when she felt she had to lie to me about it's death to keep me from killing it, she died a little that day..."
The warrior stared unseeing at the darkness. "As if that wasn't enough, just as things started to return to normal, that whole thing in Chin came up. We both made mistakes then ... big ones, but the worst was yet to come."
Xena closed her eyes in pain. "I blamed her for Solan's death when it was Callisto and Hope's fault. What was I thinking? SHE didn't kill my son, they did." The warrior pressed both hands to her face. "Then she gave her own daughter poison because I had said to ... that little bitch Hope deserved it, but oh, Gabrielle, you didn't deserve to have to do that and you died a little more..."
Xena's lips trembled and her breath was a sob. "Then, gods forgive me, I-I let Ares get to ME with his hatred and I tried to drag you to d-death behind an amazon horse and when that didn't finish you, I was going to throw you off a cliff into the sea."
The Warrior Princess opened her eyes and found her vision blurred by tears. She wiped at them furtively, glancing at where Gabrielle was wrapped in her blanket by the fire. As far as she could tell, the bard was asleep. The big woman looked up at the sky full of stars. Somewhere nearby there were night blooming blossoms that perfumed the air and she breathed deeply of their calming scent.
"Then came the miracle, Gabrielle, when my dear dead Solan came back to life long enough to take us to Illusia. There we managed to fight through our hatred and came back home healed." She thought back to when she and Gabrielle had frolicked in the warm waves on the beach and smiled softly for a moment.
"Everything seemed okay for a while, until I took you to Rome when I went up against Caesar again. You shouldn't have had to make that decision about Crassus on the spur of the moment, Gabrielle." The warrior stared at the guttering campfire. "Besides, that bastard Caesar knew who he was and chose to let him die in the arena, but you blamed yourself for it all and died some more..."
The fire snapped and the sleeping bard stirred but didn't wake up. Somewhere in the bush came the faint squeal of a mouse as a hunting owl silently swooped down for dinner. Elsewhere came a faint noise in the undergrowth as some small animal moved about its business. The leaves high in the trees rustled in a light breeze and a nut fell clicking to the ground as it hit branches on the way down. Absently the warrior's mind noted all the varied sounds, catalogued and dismissed them as no threat.
The Warrior Princess sighed softly. "After Crassus' death, when you talked in your sleep, I began to see just what I had done to you. Then I set it up so that you could go to the temple of Mnemosyne to forget everything including me if you chose to..." she blinked back sudden tears. "But you fought through that too and came back to me again ... thank the gods."
Xena grimaced. "Then when that bitch daughter of yours returned and Ares joined Dahak, you threw yourself and Hope into the volcanic pit to save me. When I thought you were dead, it almost destroyed me, but I found you again, Gabrielle."
The warrior looked at her hands. "Gods, I was SO happy to see you alive. I thought all our troubles were over, but it all started again. First it was Caesar trying to invade Greece, then there was that Shark Island Prison thing and then came Najara, damn her." Xena felt her lower jaw where a tooth was missing. "And now here we are ... we almost split up thanks to this whole stupid business with Aphrodite and that bratty little princess."
Xena frowned unseeing into the dark starry sky. "India ... maybe we SHOULD go see someplace new again." She slid her sword back into the sheath and yawned as she glanced around the quiet camp one last time. Then she snuggled into her own blanket and lay looking toward her sleeping friend as she began to doze off. Her last thoughts before falling asleep were, "Yeah, India ... why not?"
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As if she had been under water and was coming up for air, Gabrielle felt herself rising to the surface. Up, up she floated, until ... she blinked. By the gods! She had blinked! She could feel her eyelids go down, then back up. Something soft red and golden glowed in her vision, the campfire burning low. She ... she could see! Sounds of the night jumped into almost painful clarity in her ears. She could hear crickets! In the brush some small animal moved about its business. She could hear Argo somewhere cropping some grass as a late snack and ... she could hear Xena breathing deeply as she slept nearby.
Now, the bard could feel the cool night air on her skin ... Oh, Zeus! She had forgotten all the feelings. Grassy humps under her ground sheet, something she had used to hate, but now she found it almost sensual. The scent of the charcoal from the low smoldering campfire and the sweet smell of earth and night air was like some rare incense as she breathed it in gratefully.
"Xena," she thought suddenly. "Good gods, you fool! Don't just lay here sniffing the breeze! You gotta warn Xena about Hope! Get up, get UP!"
Gabrielle pushed herself up with heavy forearms, struggled to get to her feet. Somehow she made it and swayed with the unaccustomed feel of making her muscles move for herself again. Hope had been in control of her for too long. She took a step towards the sleeping warrior ... and her foot caught in the tangle of her blankets. She fell with a clang into the nearby camp supplies, sending Minya's frying pan flying. The painful landing knocked the wind out of her.
"Xena-" she managed to gasp out, but she didn't need to. At the noise of her fall, the tall warrior was already out of her blankets in a half crouch. Sword at the ready she spun about looking for enemies. Seeing none, she turned to her struggling friend.
"Gabrielle?" She spoke with concern, "What is it? Are you all right?" She moved towards the gasping bard, looking worried.
"Xena," she wheezed, trying to get her breath, "It's me..." Then came the swirl of darkness closing in around her as her daughter emerged from deep inside of her again.
"No, you don't, mother," the insidious darkness that was her daughter Hope whispered in her brain as it clamped down on her vocal cords, "that's not the plan!"
Gabrielle wanted to scream, kick, thrash, but lost control as Hope pushed her down inside of herself once again.
"No, it's not fair, noooooo," she screamed silently to no avail. Outside her body Xena helped the trembling bard to her feet.
"Gabrielle, what's wrong?" she asked with worry, "Are you all right?"
"Watch this mother dear," said Hope's snide voice inside the bard.
She collapsed against the warrior, crying wildly, "Where am I, where are they? Oh, Xena, stop them; if the priests sacrifice Sarafin, Hope will be loose from her cocoon!"
Xena pulled the sobbing bard against her and cuddled her tenderly. She spoke in a soothing voice. "Gabrielle. Come on, Gabrielle. Sarafin isn't here, she's safe back in Poteidaia; we saved her and Hope's dead! That was all months ago." Tenderly she stroked the bard's hair. "You were having a nightmare and I think you were sleep walking as well..."
"Nightmare? What?" said Hope through Gabrielle's mouth. She pretended confusion, "Oh, by the gods! It ... it was a d-dream? The temple, the sacrificial pit. It was so real. Or ... is this the dream?" She looked around sobbing wildly and trembled convincingly against the large woman. Inwardly, Hope was laughing with pleasure; Gabrielle watched it all take place as she had so many times now since Hope had taken control of her body that night in Poteidaia and felt sick.
"Shhh. Shhh." Xena held her close with comforting arms. "I gotcha, I gotcha. Yer okay. Don't cry, yer awake now. A dream can't hurt you."
"Oh, Xena," Hope sniffled, snuggling closer and allowing her sobs to slow. "You are so g-good to me. I-I don't know what I would d-do without you."
"Damn you, Hope," groaned the submerged bard. "You are so smug."
"That's right, mother dear," whispered her daughter with black joy, "and I'm in control again, so you may just as well relax and enjoy the show."
Outside, Xena smiled and spoke gently. "Gabrielle, I was thinking and I've made a decision. If you still want to, I think the India trip is a great idea. Tomorrow we'll pick up supplies in the next town and start right out. Okay?"
Hope allowed herself to smile tearfully up at her enemy, "Really? We can? Oh, Xena, that would be so great." She hugged the pleased warrior. "You ARE good to me and we'll have a wonderful time ... I just know it."
"I'm sure we will," smiled the warrior, ruffling her friend's hair. "Do you feel like trying to sleep again? It's still hours till dawn."
"I think so," murmured Hope, faking a yawn. "Could I sleep next to you? I-I'd feel safer I think..."
"Sure," Xena said. "Here, come on. Bring your blanket over by mine."
In frustration Gabrielle watched from inside as Hope moved her body around, getting the blankets and snuggling down next to Xena, back to back. On that side of the fire lay Minya's fallen frying pan and the cook knife. The blade gleamed dully in the glow from the embers.
"Ohhh, mother, look at that..." purred the Hope thought, "It would be soooo easy. Once she's asleep ... swickkkk! Across the throat with the cook knife and it'd all be over ... and we could watch her dying eyes as she realized it was sweet little you that had killed her!"
Gabrielle was terrified, but quelled her fears, knowing that Hope was just trying to torment her. "Sure, go ahead," she thought-said disdainfully. "Then it WILL be over and I won't have to listen to you play your little head-games any more. Go on; finish it. Then I won't have to go to India with you and watch you pull more of your crap."
"Oh, no you don't," said the darkness, disappointed. "You are NOT getting out of this that easy. I haven't done nearly enough to either of you yet and India might be a very good place for stuff to happen in."
"Whatever," thought the bard, pretending disinterest to hide the relief she felt. She continued trying to keep her daughter's mind off of killing Xena. "By the way, why did you bring up India anyhow? What was the point of that?"
"When Xena asked me why I didn't tell stories anymore," Hope grumbled, "I'm no good at making up those stupid tales that you like; I've got more important things on my mind. I just said the first thing I could think of to distract her ... and she's so dumb she went for it."
"Clever you," Gabrielle mentally snorted, "you don't like to tell stories, but LYING now; you're sure GOOD at that. Your father certainly taught you well, didn't he?"
"Oh, shut up," snarled the daughter of Dahak and the bard subsided, grateful that her ploy had worked. Hope grumbled for a bit more then quieted down. As she drifted off into sleep Gabrielle couldn't help but be a little excited at the prospects of the trip ahead.
"India..." she thought, surprised at her own eagerness. "We've never been there before ... and maybe, just maybe I can find a way to get loose while Hope is distracted..."
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It was dawn and the woods were cool with dew and the smells of woody things. Birds were already rustling breakfast and singing industriously as they found the various worms, bugs, berries or seeds that they loved. In the camp too, the occupants were busy. Xena was doing her morning exercises and the bard was cooking some eggs and leftover jerky and greens into an omelet for two. Argo was alternately rubbing her back against a tree and nipping up a tasty patch of tender new grass she had found.
As the bard stirred the eggs and ingredients in Minya's frying pan, it seemed she was completely engrossed in her work, but nothing was further from the truth. Inside her was a constant struggle as Hope mocked and tormented her mother with words, mental images and ugly thoughts.
"So, mommy," snickered Hope, "how did you like the way I stuck it to Xena the other day when I had her convinced you were leaving her over tearing up that stupid green top of yours?"
Gabrielle refrained from answering. Gone was the optimism of last night when she had gone to sleep dreaming of India. First thing this morning it had started again with Hope needling and whining at her about everything from her toilette to how it would feel to cut off Xena's head and little by little she was being worn down. It had been months now since Hope had taken over Gabrielle's body in Poteidaia and the bard was no closer to finding a way out of her situation than before; it seemed impossible and the bard was becoming depressed.
"Mother!" The tone of Hope's bubbling thought sharpened. "Answer me!"
"Yes," Gabrielle thought-sighed, "I hear you..." She was looking through the peripheral vision of Hope's eyes at Xena. Her friend was going slowly through a new combat routine with her sword, the moves choreographed like a dance. But the moves were not a set piece for she was also varying and adding other movements as she thought of them. She began moving more quickly through the patterns and giving little grunts and low battle cries as she got more and more into it. She was fully engrossed in her practice and completely unaware of the pain and suffering going on just yards from her.
"I asked how you liked it when I had Xena convinced you were leaving for good. Ya think it hurt her?"
Gabrielle groaned. "Do we have to do this, Hope?"
"Well, unless you'd rather I shut you down for a while..." sneered her daughter.
Gods, no, the bard thought to herself. You've had me cut off so much lately I sometimes don't know what month it is, let alone what day.
"All right, all right..." she thought to her daughter. "I doubt it hurt her, she's pretty tough..."
"Pfui! She was bothered, I could tell. I thought it all as was funny as a Centaur mounting a sheep. When I left, she got that hurt look on her face and her voice was trembly too. I could'a died laughing..."
"Hilarious, you're a riot," thought the bard scathingly, although deep underneath she knew that Hope's angry leave-taking HAD hurt Xena. The big warrior was very sensitive where Gabrielle was concerned.
Hope was not pleased. She wanted a better reaction from her mother. She was silent as she thought for a while, then grinned to herself. "Ya know mom," said Hope slyly, "it's too bad that old googoo-eyes Joxer left us back in King Melos' city yesterday. It might have been interesting if he was along too. That big dummy has the hots for you, ya know."
Gabrielle was startled out of her complacency. "Oh, get real," she snapped. "He's just a friend. He's got a heart of gold and a brain of mush and he'd trip over a thought if he ever had one."
"Sounds like love. Maybe I'll seduce him for you mom," Hope giggled. "Then after he's well hooked, I'll break up with him. See if I can drive him nuts too ... Serve him right for not hanging around for my child's dinner that time. I wonder if he's suicidal?"
"HOPE!" Gabrielle's thought was furious. "You would defile me, us ... defile yourself, by doing such a thing with a-a, an innocent fool like Joxer?"
"Well, truth be known I wouldn't want someone like him slobbering all over me ... an Ares he's not. But if bothers you that much, maybe it's worth a try next time we see him..." Hope chuckled slyly.
Gabrielle was about to retort with a blast of anger, but suddenly realized that this was just what Hope wanted. Focus, Gab, Focus, she thought desperately. Remember what Xena always says ... if you lose your temper, you lose the battle; you can't think straight.
"Fine," she thought-spoke as calmly as she was able, "go ahead and do him ... you will anyway if you want to. Besides," she made her thought purr, "I always sorta wondered what he'd be like in the bedroll ... and I haven't had any for quite awhile. Come to think of it, he IS kinda cute..."
"Cute? Joxer? CUTE?" Hope's thought-tone was incredulous. "That pasty-skinned moron? You have GOT to be kidding!! By the gods, mother, after Ares you think I would stoop to a lowlife little wimp like Joxer?"
"Why not?" Gabrielle made her thoughts whine, "He likes me you say ... probably treat us real nice ... and that broken nose of his; I always thought that was really his best feature ... he does have a cute mouth and he HAS got big feet; you know what they say about a man with big feet having a big..."
"Mother, you are sick-sick-SICK," roared Hope in horror. "You shut up right now, or I'll put you back in your box for good!!"
"But Hope, he's..."
"No, buts! Shut UP!! Be quiet, right now! One more word and you're grounded! I MEAN it!! Yer too disgusting to talk to this morning." As her daughter continued sputtering in outrage, Gabrielle wisely kept her piece.
"Xena," she thought to herself with satisfaction, "I LOVE you. Thank Zeus for the wisdom and strength you taught me. By the gods, I'm beginning to think I can get through this nightmare after all."
"Gabrielle!" Hope and her mother looked up in surprise. Xena stood before them, covered with perspiration from her workout. The warrior pointed at Minya's frying pan; the egg-omelet was a blackened and scorched mess. "What in Tartarus are you doing to breakfast? Isn't char-broiling more for steaks?"
"Oops!" Hope stammered. "I-I was thinking of something I wanted to write, and I guess I wasn't paying attention ... s-sorry."
"I'll say you weren't," said the warrior, shaking her head. "You know, I used to think you were a good cook, but the way you burn things nowadays," she scratched her damp head and grinned, "I'm beginning to think you got too close to the flames in Dahak's pit."
"Xena, it's all my fault..." Hope gulped, trying to make the warrior think she was unhappy, "now there's nothing for breakfast..."
"Don't worry about it." The tall woman wiped sweat off her brow and raised a muscled armpit for a sniff. "Whoo! I'm for a quick dip, I wouldn't want to eat this close to myself right now anyway. We can get lunch and dinner in the next village 'cause we'll be buying supplies and staying the night there."
"Staying the night? How come?" said Hope.
Xena winked, "because as I recall from my maps, that's where we gotta turn off for the trail to India."
She took the fry pan and scraped the mess into the fire and tossed it aside. "Come on, lets get a bath and then we'll get going..." she started off for the stream, then looked back at the bard and clapped her hands. "Well, let's go, slowpoke; we don't have all day! India awaits us! But first, I'll race ya to the water!"
With a laugh she sprinted off and after a moment of mental cursing, Hope followed.
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Many weeks of travel and adventures later, the two women and the golden mare came down the rough mountain trail. Some six days before, they had left Gar, the old mercenary. The crusty soldier had bid them farewell and happily gone on his way towards his home after their encounter with the strange and evil entity Aiden. After Xena had slain Aiden, the demise of the creature had freed them all from it's mental grasp and allowed them to escape the compelling make-believe world it had created, but it had been a near thing. Now the big warrior woman was limping just slightly as she led Argo and Hope/Gabrielle noticed.
"How's the leg, Xena?" she asked. "Still bothering you from where that big bandit cut it before we met Aiden?" Does it hurt, she thought hopefully.
The warrior stopped and sat down on a boulder by the side of the road, took off her boot and shook it out. "Nope, I'll be just fine once I get this rock outa here," she grinned. After she dusted the bottom of her foot, she examined the faint mark across her knee where a sword cut had been. "Scarred over nicely, thank you. No ill affects, even from your sailor hands doing the stitching."
"Ha, ha. Next time you need first aid, do it yerself, X-Na!" I should'a used the big stitches, Hope thought.
"Hey, I'm kidding, Scab-brielle," grinned the Warrior Princess, referring to the skin disease her friend had contacted once in a swamp. "You don't have sailor hands. Even if they were blue rock, which they almost were, I'm sure they'd be soft and gentle with your fungus fetish."
"Thanks for nothing..." grunted the bard. "At least I'm over that now, thank the gods. Zeus, do I hate swamps." She took a water skin from Argo's saddle, uncorked and drank a swallow, then poured some in her hand for the big horse to snuffle up. "Here, want some?" she asked the warrior. Here, Xena, you drink after the horse, snickered Dahak's daughter to herself.
"Thanks." Xena took the skin without noticeable worry over being last and drank a swallow, then shook it with an expert hand. "Gettin' towards empty. We'd better find a spring soon or get down outa these mountains, or we could be in trouble; we've only found one clear stream since we left Aiden's cave." She put her boot back on and stood up, stamping her foot. "Ah, that's better. Lets get going. Hopefully we can be outa this pass by nightfall."
The bard nodded and they started off again over the rocky trail. As they went, Gabrielle broke her inner silence to speak to her daughter.
"Hope," she thought. "About Aiden; you knew right away what he was and you could have shrugged off that dream-world of his anytime ... why didn't you? Why did you let it go so far? You almost let me ... let us, get turned into one of those blue statues of his."
Dahak's daughter was smug. "I played along with him because I wanted to see what he had in the way of power; see if maybe I could get some of it from him. That 'Good Draining' thing he did could come in useful, mommy."
"Of course," thought Gabrielle disgustedly, "I should have known that's the kind of thing you WOULD do. You know, one day you are going to walk into that kind of trap and find that you can't just shake it off."
"Pfui," her daughter thought a spitting noise. "Remember who my father was; I'm a half-god, remember. Aiden was just some strange mortal creature. I'm not that easy to take!"
"You mean you'd like to think you aren't," mind-growled the bard.
"Pfui!" Hope thought again, then spoke aloud, surprising her mother. "Hey, Xena, look! Oh, isn't it beautiful?"
The big warrior looked up and grinned, "I guess you could say that," she admitted.
Indeed it was. The bare and rocky mountain trail they were on had made an abrupt turn around a rock face. Spreading out before them was a vast sun-splashed green valley-plain with a river running through it where boats sailed. In the center of the valley on the river banks stood a large and prosperous looking city. The walls and buildings were of an orangish-yellow stone the like of which the three Greeks had not seen before. It seemed to shimmer in the hot sun and they could see roads and farms and dwellings spread out for miles around the metropolis where thousands of people lived and worked and traveled. As the two women who were three gazed around at the lush valley they were taken by the peacefulness and exotic beauty of the scene.
"Look there, Xena," cried the bard pointing excitedly. "They're plowing the WATER!" Indeed, there were strange flooded square areas along the river where men and oxen toiled with plows in the water just as if they were working fields. "What can they be doing?"
"Strange as it seems," smiled the Warrior Princess, "they ARE plowing the water, or actually the mud under it," she amended. "They're planting rice, I think. I've seen 'em doing that in parts of Chin, too."
"Huh," grunted the petite redhead. "I never would'a figured that out. Yer sure 'bout that?"
"S'truth," smiled Xena, "This is definitely India we've reached now and things ARE different here, remember?"
"I guess ... not that different though. Look at that city. We can sleep inside tonight, maybe even have a bath," whooped the bard. "About time too. A hot tub and sleeping in a bed again will be quite a change from cold mountain streams and these darn rocks."
Xena put an arm around her friend and smiled, her striking blue eyes tender. "You know, Gabrielle, I'm glad you brought up coming to India," she said softly, hugging the bard.
Hope was surprised, for once didn't seem to know what to say. "Really, w-why?" she stuttered.
"Because it is beautiful and different and..." the warrior looked thoughtful, "and because I have a feeling that this trip is going to be good for us; really good. For the first time since Alti showed me that vision of our deaths, I feel at peace. I know, you don't believe in the vision and that's okay. But I just feel like we are going to learn so much here that's new and beneficial for us ... thanks for suggesting this trip, Gabrielle. And-and thanks..." Xena blushed faintly, but went on, "...thanks for being my friend."
"Uh, you're ... welcome," said Hope hesitantly as Xena hugged her again. Inside, as Xena hugged them, Gabrielle was surprised to feel a tiny glimmer of something like pleasure and maybe even longing from her daughter. Even as she noticed it however, Hope's thoughts returned to darkness and disdain so that Gabrielle wasn't even certain of what she had felt. She resolved to pay closer attention to what her daughter was feeling during times of closeness with Xena and others. The submerged bard had always felt that there had to be some good in her daughter. After all, Hope had shown a mother's love and pride in her hideous son, the Destroyer, and had always seemed to seek Gabrielle's affection. If there was any possibility of Hope's turning from evil, her mother wanted to encourage it. It might be the key to her own freedom as well. If only she could end this horrible possession and be in control of her own body again.
Outside, Xena grinned, taking Hope/Gabrielle's hand. "Okay, enough of this mush. Come on, let's get going!"
Hand in hand the two woman and the golden horse quickly negotiated the rocky trail down into the valley. Crossing a field to a road leading to the far off city, they began to see other travelers. Caravans laden with goods and rich people with guards went here and there and mingled with small groups of travelers in ones and twos like themselves. As the two Greeks and the horse went they passed a group of people traveling the same direction as they. The group consisted mainly of men, but there were a few women as well.
The people would walk several steps and then as a group they would all throw themselves full length upon their stomachs with their hands outstretched ahead of them in the dust. In less than two seconds, they would arise and walk several more steps before throwing themselves down again. It seemed to be some kind of ritual and it looked exceedingly strange to the three Greeks and the horse.
"I wonder what they're doin'?" whispered Hope glancing covertly at the people as they passed, "Should we ask 'em?"
"Gods, no," Xena muttered in a low voice, "one thing I learned traveling, was never to question strange things I saw unless I was ready to get into an argument or a fight. It's probably something religious in nature and they'd either get mad or ignore us as heathens."
"Zeus, that's gotta be uncomfortable," marveled Hope as the group hit the ground in unison and began getting up again, "not to mention getting dirt and grit in all yer unmentionables..."
"You could be right," smiled the warrior. "In fact I think that's part of the idea ... to show you can take any amount of discomfort in the name of what you are doing ... whatever it is..."
At their normal walking speed the two woman and the horse soon outdistanced the group. This was hardly a feat of speed as the bard observed, since the two of them and Argo weren't falling down every few steps.
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They reached the outskirts of the city at nightfall and sought out an inn. There they also stabled Argo, paying a good price for her upkeep for the next week for they did not want to have to lead the golden horse through town wherever they went. At the inn the two Greeks who were three had a hot cooked meal of strange food and drink, some of which was so spicy that it made their eyes stream tears. That night they had hot baths and slept under a roof for the first time in weeks. The beds were made of wicker with thick cusions and pillows stuffed with goosedown and were heavenly, but best of all there were no bugs climbing over them in the night.
The next morning early, the two/three went into the city to see the sights, a definite change from business as usual for them. They had no mission to perform, no one to find, nothing to deliver; no reason to be there other than enjoyment and they found this both strange and delightful. As they walked about they took in all the strange sights, sounds and smells. They listened to the background chatter of the strange liquid language and music, and marveled at the bright colors that seemed to be painted on the wall surfaces everywhere. Gabrielle found to her surprise, that Hope seemed as excited as she and Xena were at the sights and she squirreled that information away to look at another time. Right now there were new things to see aplenty for all three.
Here were men twisting their bodies with awkward but apparently comfortable Yogic positions in the middle of the square. On this side were a row of baskets where men in turbans sat playing squealing tunes on strange pipes that made snakes come swaying up out of the containers. A gaggle of women dressed in strange flowing clothes of vivid silky colors passed laughing and giggling at the two foreign women, one in conservative seeming Grecian dress, the other wearing men's armor and weapons.
Stopping to stare at one of the men doing Yoga who was in a horribly contorted position, ankles crossed behind his head, the bard remarked, "now do you see why I do Yoga every day?"
Xena snorted with derision. "So you don't end up like that?"
"Xena, he's a MASTER," Gabrielle said in an awed tone. "I can only hope to achieve that kind of power."
"Don't get me wrong..." the Warrior Princess said condescendingly, "the gods know I've done stranger things, but yoga's just not me."
The copper-haired young woman shook her head at her friends tone. "Well, when yer crippled and old and I'm doing headstands, I'll remind you of this."
"I'll bet you will..." agreed the warrior sarcastically. "Come on, something over there smells good to eat; let's check it out."
Everywhere the two women walked with the teeming populace through the sun-baked streets they passed small stalls with sizzling smells of strange foods and spices that filled the nose and tempted with mouth watering promises. The two Greeks bought various strange foods at these booths and sometimes grimaced at tastes the natives seemed to relish. More often they smiled and bought more to carry with them and nibble as they went on looking at the goods for sale.
There were many other strange and unfamiliar sights to see as well. Small monkeys ran and climbed everywhere in the trees, on buildings, in the streets and no one paid heed. Cows too wandered here and there and held up traffic when they stopped for no reason in the center of a crowded street. No one shooed them off or seemed to care and the two Greeks took a clue from the populace and did nothing either. When this happened, as it often did, they sought a different route with others who didn't wish to wait for the animals to move.
Passing through an alley they saw a man. He lay snoring on a bed of nails with no seeming discomfort and passersby paid him no heed. Unable to control her curiosity, Hope crept up and felt of one of the nails and winced at the sharpness she found. The man was sound asleep and noticed nothing, but Xena pulled her away anyhow. Once again on a main street, they found themselves in a marketplace with throngs of people and places to buy things.
At last they came to where a crowd was gathered near a building and worked their way to the front. Here was a bearded street magician in a green robe and a lovely young woman in a flowing dress.
"Good people," he shouted, "prepare to be astonished as I send my brave assistant Maya into the land of the spirits!" With the rest of the crowd, Gabrielle looked on with excitement, but Xena looked openly skeptical.
With a shout, the man threw a rope into the air and to the amazement of the crowd it formed a straight line upwards into thin air and stood there quivering from the coil at the bottom as if alive.
"Xena," gasped Hope, "how is that possible?"
The equally amazed warrior took a guess, "I uh, suppose the coil at the bottom supports the rope?"
The street magician apparently overheard her, or anticipated the question uppermost on all minds in the crowd. "Come," he said loudly, "any skeptics are welcome to join me and prove it's but an illusion..."
The bard pushed the surprised warrior forward. "Here's your woman!" she shouted with a wide grin.
Xena glowered at her, but stepped up on the stage. She drew her sword and poised herself. "Oookay, since you ask..." she said, indicating the quivering rope. The magician shrugged and inclined his head with a knowing look.
The big woman swung the sword with a grunt, neatly severing the rope at about waist height. The bottom piece immediately collapsed, but to Xena and the crowds surprise the top part remained quivering in the air as if tied there. The magician smiled. "Satisfied?" he asked.
Embarrassed, Xena stepped back from the dangling rope into the crowd and put her sword away. Hope/Gabrielle grinned at her and the warrior elbowed the bard soundly in the ribs. Meanwhile, the magician spoke again. "Come Maya, up you go. Let's not keep the spirits waiting."
The young woman grinned and grasped the rope and began pulling herself strongly up. The rope trembled a bit, but easily held her weight. As she went the green robed magician kept up his patter. "There she goes people. Up to that land beyond this earthly vale, a place known only in songs and legends ... a region completely uncharted by humans..." his voice dropped to a whisper, "until now."
The girl had reached the top of the rope and was hanging there. She smiled and waved merrily at the gaping people below. The magician raised his hand. "Wish her luck, folks," he called.
Then he waved his hands and shouted a mystic word. With a puff of smoke, the girl was gone from the top of the rope! The crowd gasped and even Xena looked impressed. The empty rope continued to stand in the air and quiver. The magician turned to the crowd and smiled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if it is true that seeing is believing ... then you have just witnessed a miracle ... but please, don't take my word for it. Ask her yourself..." he looked up and raised his voice, "Maya! Return to us!" The crowd gazed upwards in rapt attention for her return, but only the rope stood there quivering in the air.
The magician appeared puzzled, "Maya!" he repeated louder, "Return to us!"
Once more the crowd looked up in expectation. For a moment it seemed they were to be disappointed again, then something fell from mid air to the ground; it was a human arm! Suddenly the sky began raining severed body parts! Another arm, two legs, a torso, a head. They fell onto the stage clumping and thumping like some ghastly fruit from a dying tree.
"Maya!" shouted the magician, "By the gods, what's happened?" he began grabbing up the body parts and throwing them all into a large wicker basket sitting there.
The Warrior Princess whispered to the bard, "Don't be scared; those are just pieces of a dummy..."
"And not a very good one at that," murmured the small red-blond woman, covering her smile with a hand.
On stage the magician gave a commanding look at the crowd. "Wait," he shouted, "there's still a chance that I can save her, but I will require complete silence." The horrified audience held it's breath, but the bard and the warrior were now skeptical; Xena nudged Gabrielle with a knowing look at the basket. The magician closed the lid of the container full of body parts. He shouted another word of power and the lid flew off of the basket and the young woman began rising out of it completely whole again.
Hope suddenly spoke to Gabrielle and her thought was intrigued. "Hello ... now this is odd, mother. This woman has changed. Can you see the colors outlining her?"
Gabrielle, looking with her daughter's vision could indeed see a pinkish shimmering like faint sparks around the woman. "What is it," she asked in wonder.
"Shhh. I don't know, just watch..." thought the daughter of Dahak. "This could be interesting..."
On the stage the act continued. "Thank goodness," the magician said, putting on a relieved look for the crowd, "For a minute there I thought something had gone wrong..."
The young woman's head was bowed as she rose from the basket, but when her face was revealed, there was a hideous sneer upon it and her eyes were glassy white. She hissed like a snake and leaped from the basket toward the magician with her fingers curved into claws.
The man looked truly surprised and fearful at the sight. "Maya," he cried, "what's wrong? This isn't part of the act." The woman hissed again and picked up two swords from a rack of magical props. They were heavy and she should have had trouble holding them, but they seemed to be light as feathers to her. They clashed as one in each hand, she began spinning them back and forth in a deadly ring of steel and advanced on the man as he fell back in alarm.
"Neat," chuckled Hope to her mother, "I think she's possessed! She'll make tossed salad out of him with those swords."
"Possessed?" Gabrielle thought in horror. "You mean something has taken her over, like ... like..."
"Yeah, just like I did you, mommy," bubbled her daughter. "I wonder who or what it is? This could be really intense."
Meanwhile, outside, Xena instantly took in the situation and realized that this was no longer part of the act. Drawing her sword, she flipped up onto the stage with a battle cry. As she landed the woman turned, swords still twirling and moved towards her instead.
"Be careful," shouted the terrified magician. "Something's gone wrong."
The warrior back-flipped away from the deadly ring of spinning steel, grabbed a heavy melon from a nearby venders stall and hurled it at the woman. The melon seemed to explode into a million chunks as it met the swords in midair and slowed down their motion not at all.
"Yeah, oh YEAH," chortled Hope to her mother. "Come ON, Maya! Get her!"
Just then Xena cracked her whip around Maya's waist and yanked her so that she spun out of control towards the warrior. When she was fully wrapped up in the whip, the Warrior Princess gave a battle cry and yanked it the other way, causing the other woman to spin like a yo-yo and fly through the air to demolish a food stall with her body.
"It's over," exclaimed the submerged bard with relief. "She's gotta be out cold from a hit like that."
"No way," whispered her daughter with a bubbling giggle. "Watch her..."
Hope was right; the impact should have incapacitated any normal human, but with a sudden hiss the woman smashed her way out of the ruins of the stall and began twirling the swords as she advanced on Xena again. The big warrior was ready and did a spinning leap-kick forward which catapulted the possessed woman backwards toward the magician who had been gaping at the struggle all this time.
"Abba, help me..." he screamed as his flying assistant smashed into him. He was staggered backwards and the woman hit the ground on her back. Instantly she went into convulsions, arms and legs flailing as a screeching whine like rusty nails on stone clawed its way from her throat. Xena, the magician and the crowd watched in stunned horror, not understanding what was happening. Hope on the other hand was running forward.
"What are you doing?" Gabrielle thought in a panic. "You don't know how to help her..."
"Shuddup, mommy," snarled the daughter of Dahak. "I don't care about helping her ... I wanna see this closer!" She ran right up and kneeled beside the screaming, vibrating woman and watched raptly. "This is great!" she said, "I could make your body do this too, you know, mother." Slowly she reached out and touched the contorting woman.
At that moment, it was as if a hot pink light erupted from the magician's assistant. Vaguely human in form, but like pink smoke it flew up into the air and whipped around the area like a screaming cyclone, making the crowd duck and cry out in terror. Then it hovered back over the assistant and Hope/Gabrielle for a moment before seeming to vanish into thin air. But the submerged bard knew better, for the pink light was inside her now! Not only that, but it had been pulled there by the darkness that was inside of her; by the darkness that was Hope, her daughter and the daughter of Dahak.
"Gotcha," thought-grinned Hope, pushing the hot pinkness down next to her mother. "Now, whattaya got that I WANT?"
The pinkness swirling around Gabrielle seemed to consist of all fangs, claws and hungry appetite. An appetite for praise, for fulfilling it's own desires, for tawdry symbols of worship and above all, for power over all beings who were somehow in it's rabid estimations, lesser than it ... and it seemed somehow, female. The bard was aware of all this and at the same time somehow distantly sensed what was going on outside as well. Hope was asking the magician's assistant if she was all right and Xena and the magician were both there too.
The pinkness swirled around and seemed to become aware of her for the first time. "I be Tataka! You will submit," it raved. "Submit or Tataka HURT you!"
"I don't THINK so," thought Gabrielle to the swirling pink mist that seemed to surround her. "In case you haven't noticed, you're the one in trouble here, not me. Uh, I mean I'm in trouble too," she amended, "but you're in MORE trouble, or at least as much trouble as I am ... I mean, I don't even have a body right now ... well, I do, but..."
The pinkness seemed to purr. "You not want submit to Tataka? Good! Tataka LIKE hurt you!" It seemed to somehow form claws and Gabrielle felt a sudden fear. At that moment the Hope blackness swirled around the pinkness and somehow seemed to effortlessly contain it in chains of darkness. Suddenly the thing that called itself Tataka was afraid.
"Let Tataka go and she not hurt you..." the pinkness said experimentally testing the bonds.
"Shuddup and don't cause me any trouble," snarled Hope. "I'm a little busy right now; understand?" And Dahak's daughter suddenly applied pressure in some manner and the pinkness wailed.
"Ooooo! Stop! Stop! Tataka be good, please not hurt Tataka, oh greater demon..."
"Good," snickered Hope. "Now stay there and be quiet till I'm ready to deal with you ... Oh, and don't bother her either," she said indicating her mother. "She's mine and no one torments her but me!"
"Yes, mistress," sniveled the chained pinkness.
"Later, mommy!" Chuckled Hope as she swirled away, blocking off all of her mother's outside senses.
Dammit, thought the bard, mentally rolling her eyes. I was hoping she wasn't gonna do that again for a while. Well, at least I have company this time.
"And you are...?" she thought-spoke to the pinkness.
"I be Tataka," Said the pink mist as if that explained everything.
"Nicely cryptic, but not very informative," Gabrielle thought-sighed. "What are you?"
"I not be 'what', I be Tataka, great goddess of lustful desire," the pinkness said proudly.
"Really," said the bard ironically, "not much of a job description. If you're this great goddess, how come yer trapped in here with me?"
"Tataka was tricked," said the pink mist angrily. "Was kicked out of woman's body I took, by the Devi who pretends to be street magician. Then big black demon grabbed me when I try to take your body."
"Why try to take MY body anyway? Why not just fly off and find someone else?"
"Warrior woman be cause of Tataka being cast out; she fought and Tataka lost good body of Maya because of her. Tataka want revenge on warrior, but she be too tough for normal host to fight, so Tataka get sneaky. Thought to take warrior's friend; for always, friend not fight as hard against friend."
"Revenge," thought the bard with disgust, "it always seems to come back on those seeking it and people like me get stuck in the middle." Something struck her then. "You said the street magician is a Devi?" Gabrielle asked curiously. "What's a Devi?"
"Devi be a demon ridder," the Tataka pinkness swirled a bit trying Hope's chains for weakness. "When warrior woman knock me into him, Devi call his power and cast Tataka out of nice body she took; not fair! Then big black demon grab Tataka; again not fair to little nice demon like Tataka!"
"Oh, so now yer a demon, not a goddess after all?" said the bard.
"No, Tataka is goddess," said the pinkness unconvincingly. "Who you? Minor demon big black demon capture like poor Tataka?"
"I'm no demon, minor or otherwise," said the bard, "my name is Gabrielle and what you call the big black demon is my daughter, Hope ... and she's more of a-a half-god."
"Half-god? Gabry-el be the concubine of a god?"
"No," snapped the bard, "I'm not anybody's concubine, thank you very much!"
The pinkness was curious. "Where you and daughter from, Gabry-el? Tataka not hear of you before."
"We're not from around here," Gabrielle thought-sighed. "We're from Greece, if it matters."
"Grees? Where that?" said the pinkness, "Is near Sunnupttra Grotto?"
"I don't know," said the bard, "it's far to the west of here, near the Aegean Sea ... many months travel away."
"Ahhh," said the pink mist, "that why Tataka never hear of this Grees; that be long way from here ... long way, yeessss..."
Gabrielle wasn't sure, but she thought she could sense a certain craftiness that suddenly underlay the pink mist's demeanor. Hope, she thought, you'd better be careful with this Tataka, or you could land us both in big trouble.
Suddenly Hope was there and Gabrielle and the pink mist that was Tataka could see and hear to the outside again. The bard was surprised at the changes from the last time she had been able to see. They were still in the city square, but the street magician and Xena were nowhere in sight. The bard of Poteidaia was alone and the crowd was encircling her all around. They were jostling and pushing and attempting to reach her and the volume of noise was frightening and the foreign accents hard to understand. The faces were not helping either, because some looked awed, some looked frightened, some seemed in shock and some seemed almost panicked.
"Well, that's about it," Hope snarled with anger. "To Tartarus with it; I'm gonna blast 'em all." She began looking about. "Where's some weapons I can start mind-throwing?"
"What? Who?" Thought the bard in confusion. "What's wrong, Hope?"
"Xena's gone, Eli's gone, Maya's gone, even the priest is gone! All these smelly peasants are starting to crowd me! They all want something and they're tryin' to touch me! Me, the daughter of Dahak, and I don't like it!" Hope dodged aside from a burly one-eyed man who tried to touch her. "That's it! I'm gonna start kickin' some butt..."
Suddenly the chained pinkness spoke. "Please mistress. No hurt them. These be simple people. Let Tataka have control for little while ... Tataka know what be do with these people. Please? Please, great black mistress?"
Again, Gabrielle sensed the underlying current of cunning in Tattika's thought and was worried. "Hope," she thought-spoke, "I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Quiet, mommy," said her daughter disdainfully. "I can handle this. Okay, Tataka, I'm gonna let you have control for a while ... lets see what you can do ... and remember ... if I don't like what I see you doing, I'll punish you and take back over."
"Yes, mistress Hope," came the meek answer.
The daughter of Dahak did something with her mind and the black chains holding Tataka vanished as if they had never been there, which indeed they had not except mentally. The pinkness flowed around as if stretching now that it was free again, then "moved" somehow to assume command of the bard's body. Gabrielle and Hope watched curiously as Tataka smoothly took control. Meanwhile the crowd had encircled them chanting the same few words over and over. The bard thought she could recognize the word "Devi" among them.
Tataka had Gabrielle's body raise her hands and the throng quieted somewhat to listen. "But I'm not what you think I am," she said to the crowd, "I'm not a Devi." The crowd began milling about, fawning on her, taking up the chant once more.
"What's she up to," thought Gabrielle worriedly. "How come she talks differently now?"
"Who knows; shuddup and watch," said the daughter of Dahak. "I wanna see this."
As mother and daughter watched, one man in particular came forward from the crowd. He was the big burly man with one blind eye who had tried to touch Hope before. He was chattering about her driving out the demon from the woman and being a Devi. "Praise her," he said bending low, "praise our Devi!"
When he came up from his bow, he shouted with astonishment for his damaged eye was whole again. "I can see! Look! Look! I can see you!" he cried as the crowd went wild. He drew a huge curved blade and placed it point down to the ground in front of the small blond. "You did it! You cured me! Your servant and defender, Devi; my sword for you!"
"Tataka did that?" Thought Gabrielle in amazement. "She healed him? Healing is good! Maybe she's not ... evil?"
"No way, mommy," her daughter thought disdainfully. "He did it himself; two dinars says he was never blind. Can't you see that red light all around him? He's another demon, working with Tataka!"
"What? How?" As she looked carefully Gabrielle found she could see a faint red glow around the huge man.
"It's obvious, mom. She's got a real team working. I'd bet she's done this sorta stuff lotsa times before. These demons probably all hang together for the easy pickings. Look, there comes another one ... and another." Now there were two more of the large warrior types who proclaimed their swords to protect and defend the "Devi". To the bard's somehow enhanced vision, both had a dim red light surrounding them.
Outside, Tataka, surrounded now by the three other demon "guards" smiled and chatted with the thronging people, blessing them and touching their outstretched hands as she moved among them. The crowd moved with her, chanting and calling for more miracles. Looking out of her eyes as Tataka moved her head around, Gabrielle could see everything in a curious tunnel vision. She found that it was not quite the same as watching when Hope was in charge and the bard's part of her mind wondered what the difference was. As they moved, she caught occasional glimpses of an older Indian man in a blue robe on the outskirts of the crowd. He was staring at the scene and an expression of dislike was on his face. She studied him as best she could in glimpses and wondered what he was angry about, but then Hope broke her concentration.
"Wow, this is great mommy," her daughter chuckled. "They all love me! This is almost as good as being worshiped by those fools in father's temple."
"Not everybody loves you, it seems..." said her mother. "I wonder why that man is looking so sourly at us?"
"What man? Let me see..." said Hope sharply. "Oh, him? I thought he was gone. He's that priest guy who gave Eli a hard time about bringing evil with him to the town; harmless old geek."
"He gave Eli a hard time? Hope, I've never even seen this man before and who's this Eli you mentioned?" Gabrielle thought confusedly. "And by the way, where's Xena?"
"Never mind," thought her daughter with disdain. "It all happened right after Tataka got here while you were closed down..."
The submerged bard was angry. "It was you that closed me down, remember. You know what? I'm not just some old oil lamp you can light or blow out anytime you want..."
"Shuddup!" Hope snapped, "It all takes too long to explain..."
"And whose fault is that..."
"Eli is Devi who cast Tataka out," Tataka suddenly thought-interrupted with a snarl. "Your Xena got him away when priest start trouble. Devi must be killed, so he not threaten us. Priest must be killed too; if he suspect Tataka is here he may try exorcise us..."
"Oh, to Tartarus with this!" Hope cursed, "You've had your fun, Tataka, but I can do what you are doing here just as well. Give me back control now."
"Sorry mistress Hope," purred the pink thought. "You give Tataka control; Tataka not want give back yet!"
There was a stunned thought silence for a moment, then the Tataka pinkness began laughing unpleasantly.
"Uh, oh," thought Gabrielle half worried and half tickled at the same time, "looks like the boot's on the other foot, Hope. I tried to warn you..."
"No WAY!" Dahak's daughter roared incredulously. "Give control back to me this instant you little pink piss-ant of a demon, or I'll HURT you! I'm in charge here..."
"No," said the pinkness. "Tataka be in charge; you give control to Tataka. According to Magical Treaty of Sunnupttra Grotto: When first demon Possessor give control of host to second demon, only way control can be get back is if second demon Possessor agree. All agree to be bound by treaty; no one can break. Tataka NOT give back host! Nyahh!"
"WHAT?!!" Hope was incredulous, "I didn't know about this Treaty of Sunni-poopoo whatever-it-was..."
"Is tough!" snickered the pinkness. "Rules be rules. Tataka in charge now, and Tataka STAY in charge! Big black Hope demon can bite bubbles in bath water!" and she sent a crude mental picture to go with her words.
At this rude image, Gabrielle giggled in spite of herself. She realized she was enjoying the exchange between Hope who had held her captive for so long and Tataka who now seemed to hold Hope in the same way.
"RULES? Rules mean nothing to me," thought-bellowed Hope. "I'm the daughter of Dahak! I'm not going to just punish you, Pinkie! Now I'm gonna destroy you!"
"Take best shot," said the pink mist, seeming to form claws, "Tataka not go without fight, mistress."
Gabrielle caught a feeling of joyful cunning from the pink mist again and tried to speak to her raving daughter. "Uh, Hope, I don't think..."
The Hope blackness ignored her and began gathering itself, swirling about like a tornado. As if the bard had a body that could be physically affected, Gabrielle was thrust aside somehow by a wind where there was no wind, a solid wall of water where there was none. She sensed rather than felt her daughter hurl herself at the Tataka demon, ravening for the kill.
However, the pinkness and the blackness did not even seem to touch, but there was somehow a blinding flash of discord. Gabrielle was somehow flung about. She felt as if she were inside a ringing temple bell and smelled a nasty color of green which caused her thoughts to spin madly ... then she knew nothing more.
Outside, the Devi stumbled and almost fell to her knees, but the large self-proclaimed defender caught her before she could go over. The crowd around her shouted questions and surged about. The other two guards drew their swords looking for enemies and for a moment it looked as if there might be bloodshed. Suddenly the crowd quieted again as the Devi raised her hands.
"I be all right," she said in a croaking voice like a knife scraping stone. The people in the crowd nearest her stared at the change and even the three Defenders looked uncertain. The Devi coughed and cleared her throat.
"No, really, I'm fine. Really." She said in the loving low voice the people had come to expect. The Defenders relaxed a tad and the crowd milled about uncertainly.
"What happened, Devi?" called someone from the crowd. "Are you all right?"
"Something caught in my throat and I had to cough, that's all. I'm fine. Thank you for catching me, Ravi." She laid a hand on the large guards arm, and smiled a beautiful smile. The formerly one-eyed man shivered as if he were a dog who had been petted by it's mistress.
"Praise our Devi," he shouted. "Praise her!" The crowd took up the chant and the Devi smiled graciously as they moved on.
As they went through the streets, the Devi spoke in an undertone to the burly guard. "Now let's go to the next market square over, when we get there, help me leave the crowd. For now, I need to meet Xena alone."
"Yes, Devi. You will be all right?"
"Oh yes. She is my ... friend, after all. You can meet me tomorrow where we stay ... oh, and gather a crowd and bring them along as well."
"Yes, Devi." The man nodded. "You have but to command."
The short woman with the coppery hair smiled. "In the meantime, Ravi, once the crowd departs, I have something I need you and the others to do..."
"Yes, Devi. We need to move quickly then?"
The woman considered. "No. Tonight will be soon enough and darkness hides many sins. There is this priest ... you know the one?"
"I saw him; I know where he may be found."
"Good," said the petite woman smiling again and waving at the crowd. "He needs to be raised up so that all who see him can benefit from the wisdom he provides. You understand?"
The large man grinned and bobbed his head. "I hear and obey, Devi."