Disclaimer II: No sexual content but plenty of subtext. The violence is no more graphic than that of an average episode, so don't worry about it.

Spoiler Warning: Events and/or characters from various seasons--including the fifth--may be present within the boundaries of this story, so read at your own risk!

Timeline: Takes place an undetermined amount of time after Succession, but before a certain revelation in Animal Attraction.

Part 1

PROLOGUE

The road to the village of Palamos was a quiet one, usually.

But this particular evening, the silence was shattered by the sounds of fighting. Two young men in a small wagon had just rounded a corner, and were on the last leg of their journey to Palamos, when several masked figures dropped out of one of the trees ahead of them. Both fought as best they were could, but proved to be no match for their highly-skilled attackers.

Once their bodies were disposed of the leader of the four bandits peeled off his mask. An ugly, scarred face twisted in a sick smile as he began rummaging through the contents of the wagon. "Look's like we made quite a haul, boys! Gold, jewels, and..."

"...a whole lot of trouble!"

Drawing his sword, the lead bandit turned toward the sound of the voice. A blurred silver shape struck the blade of the weapon just above his hands, slicing clean through it before continuing on toward a tree. As his eyes were narrowing, it rebounded off the tree and came back at him, glancing off the big man's chin before continuing on in the direction it first came. He stumbled and went down, stunned but not quite unconscious, while his cohorts drew their own weapons and looked around.

A tall, raven-haired woman--clad in bronze and leather armor--stepped onto the trail in front of them. She also carried a sword on her back, and her sky-blue eyes sparkled like diamonds as she held out her hand and effortlessly caught the silver, discus-like weapon with the handle in the middle.

"Sorry boys," she said through clenched teeth. "Play time's over!"

"Get her!" the leader ordered. "Now!" He was down on one knee, nursing his bruised chin. "One hundred dinars to the man who brings me her head on a stick!"

Xena half-smiled as the three men twirled their weapons and charged her. "A hundred, eh?" She strapped the chakram back in its place on her belt and cracked her knuckles. "How generous of you." With a keening cry, she leaped straight up in the air. "In fact..." She swung her legs up and kicked the first two men in their faces with enough force that it knocked their helmets off, and then she viciously head butted the third on the way back down. "I may just collect on that one myself!"

"Who in Ares' name are you?" the lead bandit snarled, enraged that his men had fallen so easily--and to a lone woman, no less. "What business is this of yours?"

"The name's Xena," the warrior replied. "And I make it my business to deal with scum like you, who prey on innocent travelers who can't even defend themselves!"

The bandit tried to hide the shock on his face, but did not succeed. He knew the name of course...Xena the warrior princess. Once the most fierce and feared warlord in all Greece, now a do-gooder who interfered in the affairs of others wherever she saw fit. At least that was the way most of her former followers told it, the few who were still alive. He preferred not to take chances.

"Maybe you're right. I've seen the error of my ways." The bandit backed away slowly, being careful not to raise his sword, or otherwise make it appear as if he was threatening the warrior princess. "Tell you what, if I promise not to do it again, can we both just walk away?"

Xena arched an eyebrow. "Nope."

The bandit heard someone coming up behind him, trying to be stealthy. He turned and swung his sword at once, hoping to catch whoever it was off-guard. He failed.

Something metal flashed, and he suddenly found himself disarmed.

Before him, to his utter dismay, stood another woman. Though she was a head shorter than Xena, at least, her physique was very nearly as defined. She wore a form-fitting, reddish leather ensemble, which accented her surprisingly muscular arms, legs and abdomen. Her blond hair was cut short, in an almost pixyish style, and she had the greenest eyes he had ever seen. It turned out the flash of metal he had seen was a pair of sai she was clutching near her ample chest.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you crime never pays?" Gabrielle asked.

The bandit's face contorted with rage. Abruptly he let out a throaty roar and lunged forward, ramming his shoulder right into Gabrielle's exposed midriff. The impact drove all the air out of her lungs, and lifted both of her feet off the ground, but she was far from helpless.

Grimacing in both pain and surprise, Gabrielle brought the handles of her sais down into the lower part of the bandit's head. He collapsed, shuddering into unconsciousness, while Gabrielle stumbled back into a tree and started to fall, unable to regain her bearings.

All at once Xena was there, at her side. She caught her friend even as her knees began to buckle, and held her until Gabrielle managed to compose herself. "Are you all right?" the warrior asked worriedly. "That was a nasty blow you took."

"I'm fine," said Gabrielle. "He caught me by surprise is all."

"Maybe you should sit down. Rest."

"Xena..." Gabrielle shook her head. "I'm okay, honest." She looked around. "We'd better bring these men in to the authorities in Palamos. I'll get some rope."

Xena grabbed the rope as she was pulling it out of Argo's saddlebags. "Let me do that. Why don't you just make camp? Maybe start dinner?"

Gabrielle glared at her for a moment, then sighed. "Deal." Xena was worried about her, and while the fact her friend tended to be overprotective sometimes annoyed her, other times--like now--it didn't. She refused to admit the fact she now had a throbbing headache, and she reminded herself to take some anaesthetic root before Xena got back. "But do me one favor would you? While you're there, go by the market and see if you can't pick up some of the sweetcakes I like. You know which ones?"

"How could I forget?" Xena finished binding the bandits hands together. "The last time you missed out on them, you kept going on and on for a week." She climbed into Argo's saddle, and clicked her tongue. "Let's go, girl." She glanced down at Gabrielle. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Gabrielle watched her friend ride off with the bandits in tow, then she winced. "By the Gods." Luckily the root she needed was in her own bag, not Argo's saddlebags, and she dropped down to one knee to search for it. She dug through her scrolls, looking for the medicinal pouch she knew was in there somewhere, then out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of something green near the wagon. "What in Zeus' name?" It was a crystal--a beautiful, bright green crystal, the largest one she had ever seen. It had been mounted on a golden base, apparently for display purposes. "One of the bandits must have dropped it." Or else it had come off the wagon they had looted. Either way, it was an amazing specimen.

Gabrielle bent down and picked up the crystal. As soon as she touched it, she felt a strange warmth. It was almost as if this crystal itself had an heat source of it's own. "Maybe Xena will know what it is." She tucked it into a belt pouch, and went off to set up camp.

CHAPTER 1

Because she was usually the one who did so, Gabrielle got the campsite set up fairly quickly, and even had dinner prepared in record time. She didn't eat immediately, though, she wanted to wait for Xena to get back first, but once the sun went down and it started to get cold she found her stomach rumbling. After all, they'd been on the road since dawn, stopping only once, when they helped a small village fend off a flock--was that even the right word, she wondered? A flock?--of harpies.

Dusk turned to night, night to late evening, and with the full moon shining over her Gabrielle finally gave in to her gnawing hunger. She wasn't worried about Xena as she began to eat. After all, there was not really much of anything that could threaten the warrior princess.

After dinner, Gabrielle spread out their bedrolls, and stoked the fire before laying down to look up at the stars for a while. It was a regular habit she and Xena had gotten into after their experience with Zagrias and Gareth, and one she felt sure they both enjoyed. While waiting, she pulled that strange green crystal from a pouch on her hip and rested it on her chest--and lay there with her mind wandering aimlessly, until she was drawn back to reality by an approaching set of footsteps.

Gabrielle did not bother to reach for her sais, which were laying within easy reach as Xena had taught her to do with her staff so long ago. After all, she recognized the gait of this particular individual, and so turned her head in that direction. "What took you so long?"

Xena slipped out from between two trees, a less than bemused expression on her face. "Don't ask." As she neared the fire she unclasped her breastplate, and let it drop unceremoniously to the ground. Then, she took off her sword and weapons belt and lay them nearby. When Gabrielle did not say anything, but just sat there and stared at her, the warrior sighed. "Okay, asked."

The bard sat up and smiled. "What happened?"

"Good-for-nothing...bureaucrat." Xena dropped to her bedroll, and ran her fingers through her silky black hair. "After turning in our friends, I tried to explain what happened to the magistrate. Unfortunately, he had heard of me by reputation, and actually accused me of being involved and trying to cater the town's favor in the hopes of getting a reward. He wanted to lock me up. And those bandits didn't help any...calling me from the cells, saying I was their leader, their mastermind..." She shook her head. "I finally got out of it, but only after I promised to turn in everything that was stolen in the morning."

Gabrielle nodded. "Well, I made dinner..." She gestured toward the fire, where a small metal pot sat off to one side. "...but it's cold by now. I can heat it up if you want."

"Believe me," said Xena. "I'm not hungry." She picked up one of Argo's saddlebags. "But just in case you are..." She tossed it to Gabrielle. "I got a good deal on your sweetcakes. Seems like that merchant wanted to pack up and go home, especially once he found out who I was."

"Thanks." Gabrielle lay the crystal aside as she dug into the saddlebag. Reflected green light from the fire caught Xena's eye, and she arched an eyebrow.

"What's that?" the warrior asked.

"Something off the wagon," said Gabrielle. "Or else the bandits dropped it."

Xena nodded. "Well, don't get too attached to it, we have to turn everything we found over to the Palamos magistrate first thing in the morning."

"I know." Gabrielle put aside the saddlebag, and picked up the crystal again. "It's beautiful. But it doesn't exactly look valuable. I wonder where it came from." She squinted. "Hey Xena. There's writing here, on the base." She smiled. "It's worn, it must be really old, but I can just barely make it out. C...H...R...I think it's a name...O...N...O...S..." She turned it in her hand, unaware of how the crystal and the base began to move in opposite directions from one another. "Chronos."

Xena's head jerked up as Gabrielle's eyes began to widen. An eerie green glow welled up from the center of the crystal, and it engulfed the bard's entire body in an instant. Even as Xena was getting to her feet there was a flash of green light, and Gabrielle was gone.

"No." The warrior's heart skipped a beat. "Gabrielle!" Hercules, Iolaus and Autolycus had all encountered the legendary Chronos Stone at one time or another, and told her and Gabrielle about it. But neither of them ever expected to see one. "No!"

CHAPTER 2

Xena quickly regained her composure, then gritted her teeth. The Chronos Stone was capable of sending a person, or persons, to a specific place or time according to Hercules and Autolycus. But Gabrielle certainly had not been expecting it to happen, which meant it was probably completely random. She could literally be anywhere...or anywhen. There was no way to know.

"No mortal way," Xena said under her breath. Suddenly realizing what she had to do, the warrior grabbed her armor and weapons and whistled for Argo. She was dressed and ready by the time the mare arrived, and flung herself into the saddle even as Argo was charging by. The mare seemed to sense her urgency, and was as anxious as she to follow her mistress's command--which in this case, was directing the two of them right back toward the village of Palamos.

Knowing full well the trouble she could get into if the magistrate learned of her return, without the wagon and its contents, Xena carried on. The handful of people up at that time of night pointed and stared, after all it was not every day a warrior of her notoriety came to their little village. She ignored them, as they were of no consequence to her. Only one thing mattered--Gabrielle.

Though a small village, in comparison to some in other parts of Greece, Palamos more than made up for a lack of commerce with its wealth of temples. Nearly every single member of the Olympians was represented there in one form or fashion, some more than others, of course. Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Demeter, Xena rode past each of them without even slowing. They, too, were irrelevant.

Finally, Xena saw the banner she was searching for. She rolled out of Argo's saddle, even before the mare had been given the signal to stop, and then motioned for Argo to wait at a nearby clump of grass. To anyone else it would have seemed an odd, even foolish gesture, but she knew her mare as well as the mare knew her in return. The warrior didn't even wait to see if Argo did as she had instructed, which she did--instead Xena stormed right up to the front doors of the temple.

Not surprisingly, given who it belonged to, they were guarded. Two big, ugly-looking men, in black armor which had obviously been well-kept, stood on either side. They both wore horned helmets, and were holding a large sword against their broad chests.

Xena was not impressed. "Get out of my way," she said under her breath.

"No offerings this night, warrior..." said one of the guards. "The priests are busy with a sacrifice, and they cannot be disturbed."

Xena arched an eyebrow. "Is that a fact?" Without warning, she lunged forward and struck both men right across the throat. It was a rather crude rendition of her 'pinch', as Gabrielle called it, which cut off the flow of blood to the brain of her victim. In this case, the two guards suddenly found themselves unable to breath, and they dropped their swords as they clawed desperately at their throats. "Well, consider me a disturbance, 'cause I'm going in anyway!" She knocked the two of them aside--they would be fine as soon as they passed out, their breathing would return to normal--and then kicked the doors.

They exploded inward, scattering dust and shards of wood everywhere. It made for quite a flashy entrance as Xena strode into the temple, her eyes narrowing from a mixture of concentration and anger. Several men in long black robes, who were gathered around a large wooden table, turned. They had blood on their hands, no doubt from the animal carcass laying between them, and a wild look in their eyes. It was a rapture which resulted more from the consumption of wine than communion with their god, but they nonetheless seemed ready to defend their temple from a perceived intruder.

Xena, however, wasn't in the mood. "Leave!" she ordered. "Now!"

For a few tense moments it appeared that the priests were going to attack anyway. After all, there were six of them and only one of her. But something about Xena's demeanor--the expression on her face and the way her body was trembling slightly, like a tightly wound spring, warned them against such rash actions. One by one they backed away, until they were swallowed up by the shadows.

Xena glared around the temple as she tried to decide the best way to get his attention, assuming she didn't have it already, of course. Random destruction generally worked, and she could think of no better place than in his own temple. She drew the chakram from her belt, and let it fly. The discus shot across the temple and decapitated a statue, then glanced off the wall behind it and came back, slicing down the head of yet another statue in the process. It returned to her hand, and with a sneer on her face the warrior was prepared to throw the chakram once more when she felt a rush of cold air behind her.

"What in the name of...me, do you think you're doing?!"

CHAPTER 3

Xena returned the chakram to her belt and turned to face him.

As she expected, Ares--the god of war, of course--was furious. Lightning surged about his tightly clenched fists, but faded as he stepped forward.

"I realize we don't share the same taste, but don't you think this is a bit...extreme?" Ares crossed his arms over his brawny chest. "So tell me, what's happened to Gabrielle now?" He sneered at the surprised look on her face. "I know you, Xena. Gabrielle's the only thing in the world that could ever get you so..." He paused a moment, to consider his next words. "...riled up."

Xena gritted her teeth. "What do you know about the Chronos Stone?"

To anyone else, Ares' face would have appeared to remain unchanged. But Xena knew him just as well as he claimed to know her, and she clearly saw recognition in his eyes. Not at all any admission of guilt, which meant he probably was not involved in what happened to Gabrielle, but he did know something. She crossed her own arms and have him one of her trademark 'looks'.

Ares shuddered, slightly. "Don't tell me you found another one?"

Xena frowned. Hercules, Iolaus, and Autolycus all speculated that there was actually more than one of the mystical artifacts, and now Ares' reaction seemed to confirm it. Assuming that they all acted the same way, she knew she was on the right track here, and nodded.

"This isn't good news, Xena." Ares sighed. "The Chronos Stone permits mortals to travel through time in a more or less controlled manner, as your friend Autolycus discovered. But, without the 'instruction book', there's no way of knowing where--or when--you'll end up. If Gabrielle triggered the Stone's powers without knowing what she was doing, then she's lost. In time."

Gabrielle woke with a start, and a pounding headache.

She lay there, flat on her back, for what seemed like several moments, as she tried to gather her wits about her. As she waited for the pain to go away, it occurred to her that she was no longer on the forest floor either, it was much too cold and hard. In fact it felt more like stone, but that could not be--there was no stone floor or road for miles from the part of Greece they were in. Even in Palamos, the nearest village, the only stones to be found were, perhaps, in a wall or two.

As the pain started to ebb slightly, Gabrielle slowly sat up and opened her eyes. She half-expected to see a healing temple, in Athens or Thrace maybe, if Xena had been as concerned about her as she remembered. It was no floor she was laying on, though, it was the ground--which had been coated with a grayish, stone-like material she had never seen before. It was smooth, unnaturally so, and seemed to absorb the cool air rushing around her. Despite the brightness of the sun, she was bathed in shadows, and upon looking around the bard suddenly realized why, and gasped.

There were buildings on either side of her, forming an alley that was only open on one end. That in and of itself wasn't so unusual, of course, but the buildings themselves almost defied her understanding. They were tall, much more so than even the most elaborate palace she had ever seen--they literally seemed to touch the clouds. They were also designed in a very strict, pillar-like fashion, and whatever they were made out of was very similar to that of the peculiar roadway beneath her. Their windows, which numbered far more than she was able to count, were not open to the air but rather appeared to have been covered with some kind of clear material that reflected the sunlight, and the sky.

Gabrielle shook her head. "What in Hades' name is happening? Where am I?"

The last thing she was clearly able to remember, she and Xena had been camped out for the night near the village of Palamos. She had been studying that strange green crystal...the Chronos Stone, and her eyes grew wide as she realized the implications of the name. Too late, obviously, she remembered what Autolycus had said about the Chronos Stone the last time they saw him, and how both Hercules and Iolaus had been able to confirm his story later. If used properly the Stone, as the king of thieves and the son of Zeus had discovered, was able to send people back and forth in time.

"By the gods," Gabrielle licked her lips. "Is that what happened?" Her memories were a little clouded, but she did seem to recall holding the Stone. She had been turning it in her hands, and she seemed to remember a sudden flash of light. Then nothing...until she woke up here, wherever here was. "Or whenever." The bard shook her head. "Time travel is confusing." One thing was for certain, she was never going to be able to do anything to help herself if she just sat on the ground and pouted.

Gabrielle managed to get to her feet easily enough, then staggered as she was momentarily overcome by a sudden wave of dizziness. She reached out and put a hand against one of the strange stone walls for support, and bowed her head until finally catching her breath. As she was staring at the ground, her eyes took note of the fact that both of her sais had somehow come out of her boot-straps. She had been laying on top of them, and yet had not even noticed. As she put her weapons back in place, it finally occurred to her that she was no longer holding the Chronos Stone. It was gone.

"By the gods!" Gabrielle realized she would be stuck in this new time period, probably forever, unless she could find the Stone. It was the key, and while she had no real clue how to make it work, she certainly could not send herself back home without it. She looked through boxes and piles of paper, in metal trash cans that were lighter than any metal she was familiar with, and from one end of the alley to the other, without a sign of the Stone. "Not good. This is not good."

Gabrielle jerked her head around as she heard a scream. Someone was in trouble, and without even taking a moment to consider the implications of her actions she ran to help. Outside of the alley, she was presented with a most amazing sight--the buildings she seen so far were just two of many, of various shapes and sizes, and stretching for as far as her wide eyes could see. The city was enormous, and intricate in a way that went far beyond even the wildest imaginations of the greatest Greek architects. She was dumbfounded, there just seemed to be too few words to describe what she was seeing.

Loud, however, came to mind. There were people in strange garb lining the walkways on either side of the stone-lined road, and the road itself was home to a seemingly impossible sort of...for lack of a better term, a horseless wagon. They were fully enclosed, though she could see the occupants through windows covered in the same transparent, crystal-like material as those of the buildings, and they seemed to have been made out of glossy, multi-colored metal rather than wood. Even their wheels were unfamiliar to her, made from some soft-looking, black material it appeared. All of this combined to make a cacophony of noises, big and small, and an overwhelming, acrid odor she could not even begin to describe.

Gabrielle was almost starting to forget why she had gotten up at all until she heard another scream. It was abruptly cut off though, but she heard enough to realize that it seemed to be coming from another alley, this one across the road. She didn't relish the idea of trying to get between the vehicles that were whizzing by at speeds no racing chariot could ever hope to match, but if she was going to help whoever was screaming then she was obviously going to have to try.

Without warning, there was a lull in oncoming traffic. One side of the road--which was divided by painted stripes down the middle, she realized--was empty, and all of the...wagons, seemed to be stopped near an odd grouping of poles and what appeared to be colored lanterns. Not so the other side, however, the wagons that were closer to her were still moving. She decided that something, some sort of a signal she was not familiar with, must have been giving the horseless wagons instructions on whether to stop or go. An efficient, if hard to understand, system. She shook her head.

"I don't have time for this." Gabrielle walked out into the section of road closest to her, at a moment when there was a gap between several wagons, and made it to a grassy median without little trouble. From there it was only a matter of studying that other group of wagons, to judge when it would be safest to cross that lane as well, and she held her breath until she made it the rest of the way across. Ignoring the curious stares from both people on the walkways and those in the wagons, she drew her sais from her boots and stepped into the alleyway--ready to help, and to fight, if necessary.

CHAPTER 4

Here, at least, she found something that was familiar. Two men, both of them wearing leather jackets, had a woman down on the ground between them and were tearing at her clothes. She was half-conscious, having been recently struck by one of the men, both of whom were laughing.

Gabrielle stood ready. "Let her go!" she shouted, in as authoritative a voice as possible.

The two men slowly turned, with bemused looks on their rather homely faces.

"Max," asked the one with the bushy moustache. "Did that little skank just tell us what to do?"

The other, a bald bruiser, nodded and even grunted. "Sure did, TK."

"Go over there and teach her a lesson," said TK. "Then we'll party with both of 'em."

Max nodded and hitched up his pants. "It'd be a pleasure." He sneered as Gabrielle readied her sais. "You gonna fight me with those pig-stickers babe?" he asked as he approached her. "You'd better be good, 'cause this ain't no Bruce Lee, kung-fooey movie, this here is real life."

Gabrielle could only understand about every other word this brute had said, but his meaning was clear. He intended to do her harm, and she wasn't about to allow that. She gritted her teeth, as the big man got closer, and studied his movements for the fastest way to take him down while doing minimal damage. After all, she was willing to fight to help people or to defend herself, but that did not mean she had to take any pleasure in hurting anyone...even the bad guys.

"Come to poppa, little lady!" Max reached out with both beefy hands, obviously anticipating an easy catch in someone so much smaller than he. "It's party time!"

Gabrielle ducked, evading his clumsy attempt at a grab with ease, and then drove the hilts of her sais right into the big man's exposed stomach. He was doubled over, huffing loudly, from the sudden lack of air in his

lungs, while she stood up and kicked him square in the face. Her kicking ability was neither as powerful nor as refined as Xena's, of course, but it was more than enough to get the job down here. Max was unconscious even before he hit the ground, and she shook her head.

"Nice moves, ninjudy." TK shoved his would-be victim aside, and approached Gabrielle instead. "But you see, I ain't as easily impressed as my buddy Max. Me, I take a much more subtle approach to fighting. See, I just don't do it..." He reached into his coat pocket, and drew out a what Gabrielle assumed--from the way he was aiming it at her--to be a weapon. It was small and black, metallic, and resembled a miniature crossbow, but had no arrow that she could see. "...lessen I got me an equalizer." He sneered. "So, drop the ninja knives or I'll put a hole through you the size o' the Manhattan Tunnel."

Gabrielle frowned. Again, his words seemed strange to her. He did not seem to be speaking Greek, yet she grasped most of what he was saying. Some of his words were no doubt colloquial, but if he was not speaking Greek in the first place, she knew she should not have been able to understand him at all. Clearly, there was another, unknown factor at work here, but it was one she didn't have time to worry about at this moment, as the man was pointing his weapon right at her head.

"What's it going to be? The knives, or the gun?"

Gabrielle licked her lips. If Xena had been there, she would probably have used her chakram to disarm the man before he was able to fire his...gun, as she had heard him call it. Xena, of course, was not there, but the idea still seemed to be a viable one.

"Okay." The bard raised her hands, signaling surrender. "You leave me little choice." She kept a close eye on TK's body language, and when a barely noticeable slump of his shoulders indicated he was relaxing both of his arms, slightly, she decided it was time to act. Before he knew what was going on, she stepped forward and pitched her sais as hard as she could. They were not actually meant to be used as throwing weapons, but Gabrielle was trained with them enough now to be reasonable accurate.

TK's eyes grew wide as one of the sais struck the gun and sent it tumbling out of his hand, while the other imbedded itself hilt-deep in the wall behind him...right between his legs. He was too stunned to move by the time Gabrielle came to reclaim her weapons, and he was still shaking in his boots while she went over to his would-be victim and helped her up.

"Are you all right?" the bard asked. "Did they hurt you?"

The pale, teary-eyed blond woman shook her head. "N-No. Thanks to you."

"It's a good thing I was in this neighborhood," Gabrielle said, with a smile. She glanced over her shoulder at TK, but he had not yet found the will to move. "Listen, I don't know much about this city of yours..." The bard paused a moment. "Actually, I don't know anything. What do you call it?"

"The city?" the woman asked. Gabrielle nodded. "It's New York."

Gabrielle tried the name to herself, but found it felt strange on her lips. "Interesting." She shook her head. "This may sound strange, but I'm not from around here."

The woman looked her up and down, and nodded. "No kidding."

Gabrielle ignored the jibe. "Where can I go to get more information about your...New Yark?"

"Well, there's city hall. They have city maps, and pamphlets and stuff." She smiled. "And then there's the library. All kinds of reference books there, I think."

Gabrielle was glad to hear that people still read in this day and age. "The library sounds good. How would I go about finding that?"

The woman pointed. "Go out on the street and take a right. Keeping going straight for...oh four blocks I'd say, and it'll eventually be to your right. It's a big building, says New York Public Library on the front. You can't miss it, trust me."

"Thank you," said Gabrielle. "I appreciate the..." She heard a groan, and realized that TK's partner, Max, was starting to wake up. "I think it would be best if you got out of here now. It looks like there's going to be more trouble, and I don't think you want to be in the middle of it."

"Okay." The woman turned. She leaned over, and kissed Gabrielle on the cheek. "Thank you. My name is Jenny Mc Arthur. I'm in the book." Then, she was gone.

Gabrielle's face reddened as she watched Jenny leave, then she returned to the business at hand. Max was definitely getting back to his feet now, and TK was starting to rouse from the state of paralysis he had been in. She quickly reclaimed her sais, and stood ready.

"Oh you're going to pay for that one, little girl." TK looked around for his gun, but it had been lost during the fight. "Big time." He pulled a wicked-looking knife from his belt. "I'm going to cut you open, and watch you bleed! What do you think about that?"

The bard shrugged her shoulders. "I think you talk too much. If you want to fight, let's just get to it. I still have things to do, you know."

TK and Max glanced at one another, and the big man sneered. "Why not?" He cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you to pieces!"

"Come on now, boys! Two against one?" Max, TK, and Gabrielle all turned. Someone was standing in the mouth of the alley. She was silhouetted against the sun so specific features were impossible to make out, but it was definitely a woman's voice. "That's not fair!"

Gabrielle frowned. 'Xena?' she said to herself. 'It can't be. Can it?'

CHAPTER 5

Xena was confused, despondent, and worried.

She hid it quite well, however. Her face remained stoic, her eyes hooded. Just because Ares said Gabrielle was lost in time, did not necessarily make it so--he wasn't well known for telling the truth after all. Besides, the Chronos Stone was not the only means of time travel.

Both of them knew it too. But Ares was hesitant to mention it, and it didn't occur to Xena until some time after she went outside for some air. She burst back into the temple, her eyes narrowed, and found the god of war sprawled across his throne, feeding himself grapes. He used to have servant girls for such a task, but a recent encounter with Xena had scared them off.

"You can do it!" the warrior princess snapped. "You can send me after her!"

Ares sighed. "Let me guess, you've been talking to Hercules' little buddy, haven't you?"

Xena crossed her arms and nodded. "Iolaus told me about how you sent him through time after Callisto, if that's what you mean. If you did it for him, you can damn sure do it for me."

"Perhaps." Ares stood up. "And you probably will not believe me when I tell you this Xena, but that was a unique circumstance. Callisto was a god. It was a simple matter for me to determine the ripple in the stream of time that her passage caused, and to cast Iolaus into it. But this is different. Gabrielle, as exceptional as I will admit she may be, is still just a mortal. Her passage does not affect the flow of time in the same way as Callisto's did, and I don't know if I can..."

Xena lunged forward, and pressed the blade of her chakram to Ares' throat. "Now you listen to me, god of war! I have literally gone to hell and back to save Gabrielle. I have killed for her and, if necessary, I'm more than ready to die for her. Finding her, wherever and whenever she is, is my top priority. And if that means I have to storm Mount Olympus, that's what I'll do!" She released him and stepped back. "So, either you help me get Gabrielle back, or you can just go straight to Tartarus!"

Ares looked her up and down, and shook his head. "Look what she's done to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You." The god of war crossed his arms. "You've changed, Xena. Thanks to Gabrielle."

Xena nodded. "At least we can agree on that much. I'm a much better person because of Gabrielle. That is why it's so important I get her back. And not just for my own sake, but if this world is deprived of her light, her love, it--like me--will just shrivel up and die."

"Spare me the melodramatics, Xena. You love her. I get that. Can we please move on?"

Xena's eyes narrowed. "Don't be flippant with me, Ares. I'm not in the mood. And while you're at it, stop trying to change the subject. You and I both know you have the power to help me. You can send me through time to find Gabrielle, so let's get down to business. What do you want?"

Ares' made a patently unrealistic 'innocent' face. "I don't know what you mean."

"I know you, Ares. Despite the risks, to the timeline and to what the other gods might do if they find out, I know you'll help if the price is right. I just need to know what that is..." Xena arched her eyebrow. "Though I can already imagine what your answer is going to be."

Ares sneered. "Don't be so sure, Xena. You don't know me as well as you think. And certainly not as well as I know you. For example, right now, you're probably under the impression that I'm going to demand you come back to me. To serve as my warrior princess." He shook his head. "Well, you're wrong. We both know that's never going to happen, and even if by some miracle it did you'd find some way, some reason, to break away from me soon enough. So no, that is not what I want."

"Get on with it, Ares."

"Fine. On to the matter of my payment." Ares smiled. "Well, why don't we just say you owe me one really big favor, and leave it at that?"

"Like you did with Gabrielle? Holding off, until you were ready to use her to save Hope?" Xena shook her head. "No deal, Ares. I'm not handing you that much leverage."

Ares took a step back and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. Be that way. Let's see you do it yourself." With a knowing smile on his face, the god of war disappeared in a surge of light.

Xena nearly dropped her chakram, as she realized she had just lost out on her best opportunity to save her best friend. She couldn't go to any of the other gods, Ares was the only one she had any real influence over, and quite a few of them hated her outright. She sighed. There was no other choice. "Come back." She really detested the idea of what she was about to say but, for Gabrielle's sake, she would swallow her pride and say it anyway. Even so, she had to bite her lip. "Please."

Almost instantaneously, Ares reappeared before her. A cocky smile crossed his face. "Now there's a first. Xena, warrior princess, actually saying please. To me."

"Don't push your luck, Ares." Xena returned the chakram to her belt. "I agree to the terms. But I swear, if you try to use this against me later..."

Ares held up his hands. "You misjudge me, Xena."

"So how do we do this?" the warrior asked. "Do you just zap me, or what?"

The god of war shook his head. "I wish. No, like I said before, following a mortal like Gabrielle across the timestream is an exceedingly difficult task. Even for me. If you really intend to go through with this, you're going to need a more solid piece of Gabrielle to help you, and me, focus."

Xena frowned. "Like what?"

"Like, say, a portion of her thread of life," said Ares. "Which means you'll have to visit..."

The warrior nodded. "...the Fates."

CHAPTER 6

According to legend, the Fates were even older than the gods themselves.

It was believed they had once counseled the Titans, predecessors of the Olympian gods, and that they took many different forms over untold millennia. In their current incarnation, they were known by mortals as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. The three faces of fate.

Clotho, who was the youngest in appearance, spun the thread of life.

Lachesis, somewhat older in appearance, measured it.

And Atropos, the eldest of the three, used a pair of mystical shears to cut it.

Few, if any, mortals, ever saw the Fates in person. Even the gods rarely called on them, for the Fates were a power unto themselves. A council even Zeus held in reverence.

But Xena had once earned their respect, and their debt. When she and Gabrielle saved their temple from a warlord, the warrior was unintentionally responsible for the death of a boy. The Fates appeared before her in the temple, with an offer of reward. In the end their 'reward' proved to be more of a harsh life-lesson than a true recompense, but as a result she had never forgotten them.

Even now, as she approached their temple in Palamos, Xena was reluctant. But Ares' words still rung true in her head. And if this was what was needed to rescue Gabrielle, then she would get a piece of the thread of life, even if she had to steal it right out of the fickle hands of the Fates.

"Your thoughts..."

"...speak volumes..."

"...friend Xena."

The warrior did not react at the sound of three ethereal voice speaking as one, or the fact that the doors of the temple opened before her of their own accord.

"I suppose you already know why I'm here," she said as she stepped inside.

"Yes..."

"...we..."

"...do."

Xena nodded. "I have to find my friend, Gabrielle. Will you help me?"

"The thread is not..."

"...a toy to be..."

"...trifled with, warrior princess."

"I realize that. But I need only a small portion of her lifeline."

One by one, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos appeared before the warrior. Behind them was a rotating pillar made up of an unknowable number of individual, multi-colored threads. The lifespans of every mortal being on Earth, and all of the immortals as well, was laid there.

Clotho and Lachesis stood side by side, their hands clasped behind their backs, while Atropos stood just a short distance apart from them, holding the shears she used to cut the thread of life. All three of them stared at the warrior with sad, knowing eyes.

"Can you help me?" Xena asked. The trio nodded. "Will you?"

The three Fates glanced at one another. Clotho and Atropos nodded, and then Lachesis stepped forward to speak on their behalf apparently. "Your request can be granted, Xena. But severing a portion of a lifethread, even temporarily, is a risky venture. If you were to misplace it, or if it were to become damaged, then all of the memories and experiences contained within would be lost. Your friend would cease to be the person she is now, because a part of her past would have been destroyed, forever."

Xena arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying this could actually hurt Gabrielle?"

"Not physically perhaps..." Lachesis replied. "On the surface, she would remain the same person you have always known. But her consciousness would be irrevocably damaged. Instead of the rich, colorful tapestry it is now, Gabrielle's memory would become a dark and dismal place full of holes in thought and unexplained gaps in her memory. In effect, she would be a shell of her former self."

"And what happens to Gabrielle if I decide not to do this?" asked Xena. "Does she remain trapped in time for eternity, or is there another way to save her? Lachesis stepped back, and Atropos came forward with the shears held ready. "I don't want to know the answer to that, do I?"

Atropos cocked her head. "The choice is yours, Xena." She gestured, and one of the threads--a shiny gold one--moved from the pillar into her hands. "But you must decide now. Each moment you waste here, makes it more and more difficult to locate your friend."

"In that case..." Xena stepped closer. "...let's finish this. What do I do?"

"You must choose," said Atropos. "Choose the point in Gabrielle's life with which you will travel through the timestream. It would be best if it were of a specific place or time, one you both are familiar with, but the choice is yours alone. When you are ready, touch this lifethread, and we can begin."

Xena hesitated only a moment. She was, however, holding her breath as she reached out...

...and was instantly overwhelmed by cacophony of light and sound, of thoughts and feelings and emotions that had been born deep within the heart of another.

Through her friend's own memories, Xena recalled with perfect clarity a day after the spring floods, when the two sisters went down to a nearby creek against their parents order to the contrary. She remembered the rush that came from doing something they were not supposed to, and the terror Gabrielle experienced when Lila fell in and Gabrielle had to jump in to save her.

Xena also witnessed firsthand the seemingly miraculous--to a young Gabrielle, at least--birth of Tympani, her friend's beloved horse. It was followed, not so many years later, by heartbreak and loss, as Gabrielle had to watch the horse die, for reasons she could not understand to this day.

Atropos altered the position of her hand slightly, and the thread moved through Xena's tenuous grip. That dramatically changed what Xena was experiencing.

It was still the past, but not so distant.

Gabrielle was all grown up, and through her eyes Xena saw herself fight off a group of men while she and her mother and Lila all looked on. Xena recognized the markings these men wore--they were Draco's thugs, which meant this was the day the two of them first met. It held a very special place in both of their hearts, it was one of the most important times in either of their lives.

Xena's eyes snapped open. She staggered back, gasping. "That's it!"

"So be it." Atropos moved her shears over the surface of the thread, where Xena had been touching it, and while it did not actually cut it there was a marked change. A strand of golden thread came loose and in spite of herself, Xena reached up to catch it.

As it settled into her palm, the warrior was flooded with all the love and awe and respect she now realized Gabrielle had felt toward her from the start. She smiled.

Atropos, meanwhile, stepped back to stand with the other Fates again.

"Heed this warning well, Xena..."

"...the safety of the thread..."

"...is crucial to Gabrielle's survival."

Xena nodded. "I'll remember." She placed the strand in a pouch and slid it into her breastplate, where she knew it would both be safe, and always be close to her heart. "Thank you."

Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos vanished just after she left the temple, but their words carried on the wind, though there was no one there to hear it.

"Good..."

"...luck..."

"...Xena."

CHAPTER 7

It wasn't Xena, of course.

Gabrielle knew her mind was just playing tricks on her. After all, Xena was back in Greece, somewhere in what she imagined must have been the distant past. There was no way for even the warrior princess to get to her, not without the Chronos Stone at least, and she had lost that herself.

This new arrival, however, carried herself with strength and confidence that impressed the bard, and since joining with Xena she was not easily impressed.

As she stepped out of the light and into the alley, Gabrielle realized the woman in question was barely any taller than she was. She had a tawny complexion, bright green eyes and shoulder-length, chestnut hair filled with blond and red streaks. Her clothes seemed strange to the bard, moreso than anyone else's she had seen thusfar...black breeches made of an unfamiliar material, a red top which--if possible--was even smaller than the one she had worn as amazon Queen and a black overcoat that, upon first glance, appeared to be made of leather, but which further inspection told her was not. She also wore boots, with metal heels if the sound she made on the alley floor was any indication.

"What did I tell you about picking on people in my neighborhood, TK?"

The thug seemed more anxious than before. He shook his head. "Just a misunderstanding is all. We didn't mean nothing by it, right Max?"

"That's right," said the big man. "We got lost. Sorry about that."

The woman did not seem impressed. She jerked her head. "Get out of here." Her gaze followed them right out of the alley, then she turned to Gabrielle. "You okay?"

"Fine," said the bard. "Thank you."

"I don't recall seeing you around here before." The woman crossed her arms as she walked closer, and the bard realized the stranger was not much older than she. "Are you a working girl?"

Gabrielle started. Though her words were different, her implication was quite clear. "Absolutely not. I am a...traveler, and I wound up in this city by accident." She lowered her sais to her sides, but took notice of the fact the woman eyed them the whole time. "By the way, my name is Gabrielle."

"I'm Jordan," said the newcomer. "Jordan Lopez. You really know how to use those things?"

It took Gabrielle a moment to figure out what she meant. "Oh, yes." She held her said up. "It's been a few months now, and I think I'm getting pretty good."

Jordan nodded. "Then you probably didn't need my help."

"Maybe not." Gabrielle smiled. "But I still appreciate it." She glanced toward the mouth of the alley. "Can I ask you a question Jordan?" The other woman nodded. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look like a fighter. Why were those two so afraid of you?"

"Looks can be deceiving," said Jordan. She lay her hands on her hips. "As I'm sure you know." She shook her head. "But the truth is, the fact I could knock both of them on their asses with two hands tied behind my back has nothing to do with it, they're not afraid of a fight. They are afraid of the fact I used to run with one of the local gangs though, and bottom-feeders like TK and Max don't want to risk getting in my face in case I can send some of the locals after them."

Gabrielle nodded. This, at least, she understood. Even after all these years, after all of the good she'd done for Greece, many people still only thought of Xena as a mass murderer. Reputations, especially those which were earned and not simply given, were hard to overcome.

"Well, since everything here is taken care of, I'm gonna jet." Jordan turned to leave.

Gabrielle stepped forward. "Wait. Please?" She tried to organize her thoughts, to determine what was the best way of getting across what she needed to say, without making herself sound crazy. After all time travel, even in such a technologically advanced time period, was hard to explain and even harder to make someone believe. "I realize we've just met, but I need your help."

"What's the problem?" Jordan asked.

"Like I said before, I'm a lost traveler. I came here, to your New Yark City, by accident--and I don't know anything about it." Gabrielle sighed. "I also need to find something I've...misplaced, a large green crystal. It was with me on the journey, but now I've lost track of it."

Jordan looked her up and down. "I can't help you with the rock, though I know a couple of fences who are into that sort of thing. They may have seen it." She smiled. "But if it's info on New York you need, I am the one to ask. I know all the best people, the hot spots..." She shook her head. "...and I also know that if you're going to be seen around town with me, you're going to need some new threads. Where the hell are you from anyway, girl?"

"Poteadia," Gabrielle said without thinking. She smiled. "A town in Greece."

"Okay." Jordan crossed her arms. "Let's see, we can get you something from Nick's maybe..." She paused a moment, as something occurred to her. "You do have money, don't you?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "Not New Yark money, I'm afraid." She took the coin pouch from her belt, and showed Jordan the dinars inside. "I don't suppose...?"

"Doubtful." Jordan arched an eyebrow. "Although, I do know someone who deals in rare coins. Maybe we can convinced him to take a few of them off your hands, for a decent price, of course." She turned. "That is, assuming you don't mind taking your money to a pawn shop?"

CHAPTER 8

"Yeah, I'd be interested."

Jordan took Gabrielle to a place called Hock It, where the fifty-something year old man behind the counter took one look at some of her coins, and his jaw hit the floor. He recovered quickly though, and acted like he was hardly interested as he studied them more closely.

"How much would you be wanting?" the man asked, pushing his glasses up.

Jordan glanced at Gabrielle--who shrugged her shoulders--then crossed her arms. "Ike. We both know you already have a figure in mind. But if you want to get your hands on these coins you'll have to be honest with me. So, how much are they worth, and remember..."

"I know, the wise man knows his limitations, and seeks to overcome them." Ike shook his head. "Come on Jo, enough with the philosophy lesson already." He took off his glasses and sighed. "I'll give you a fair deal, 'cause I like you. Two hundred dollars, for the six of them."

Gabrielle leaned close, and whispered in Jordan's ear. "Is that good?"

"Not really," said Jordan. She cleared her throat. "Ike, the fact you're willing to shell out two hundred is a good sign that they're worth a whole lot more. Now, either we go find someone who is willing to pay us the right amount, or you up your bid to...eight hundred?"

Ike recoiled. "Jo, these are Greek dinars, in the best condition I've ever seen. But just because they're over three thousand years old..." Gabrielle's eyes widened at that. "...does not mean I can afford to shell out more than say...five hundred? What do you think?"

"Make it six," said Jordan. "And you've got a deal."

Ike sighed, and then after a moment, nodded.

Jordan glanced over her shoulder. "Does that sound right to you, Gabrielle?"

"Fine by me." The bard looked on as Ike counted out several green pieces of papyrus, then handed them to Jordan. She wondered if everyone had done away with coins, or else this was only a local form of currency, but decided the question might be too strange to pose to Jordan.

"Thanks for the help, Ike." Jordan led Gabrielle to the door, where she handed over the six pieces of green papyrus. "I realize it's not much, but if you do it right, that should tide you over for a little while. I've really got to go now, so..." She frowned as Gabrielle touched her arm.

"I'm sorry," said the bard. "But, I've one more favor to ask. Your friend mentioned something about those coins of mind being over three thousand years old? I had no idea so much time had passed..." She shook her head. "I-I mean that they were so...never mind." She smiled nervously. "Jordan, if it's not too much trouble, could you show me where the local library is? I have a feeling I might be able to find about more about your city, and maybe it will help me trace down that stone of mine."

Jordan pushed up the sleeve of her jacket, to look at a small device she had strapped on her wrist. "I guess we can swing by. It is on the way."

The device reminded Gabrielle of those wristdials Salmoneous had once tried to sell. The concept proved to be flawed then, but perhaps someone had perfected it. "Thank you."

"I'm already running late now." Jordan looked her in the eye. "I don't suppose I could convince you to get us a cab? I mean, since you have the money and all now?"

Gabrielle did not understand 'cab', for whatever reason the word did not seem to make sense to her, but it seemed like a reasonable request nonetheless, so she nodded. "Sure. It would only be the fair thing to do, as you did help me out. Let's get a...a cab."

Jordan nodded and led them outside to the street. "Taxi!" Gabrielle's eyes grew wide as one of the passing horseless wagons, a bright yellow one, came to a screeching halt in front of them. "Take us to the New York Public Library please, and step on it."

Once inside, Gabrielle found herself gripping the slick tan seat as the vehicle she was riding inside of took off without so much as the crack of a whip from its driver. He had his hands on some sort of wheel, and that seemed to be the control mechanism by which he directed them into oncoming traffic. The bard was amazed at the smoothness of the ride, and stared in wonder at the passing people, places and things, though the look on Jordan's face indicated she was not impressed by any of it.

"Are all...taxi's, like this?" Gabrielle asked.

Jordan shrugged. "Pretty much." She frowned. "They don't have taxi's in Greece?"

"Nothing like this," said Gabrielle. "We use horses and wagons, mostly."

"Sounds quaint."

They rode in silence for a few minutes, then the bard's curiosity got the better of her, again. "Jordan? Can I ask you another question?"

Jordan sighed. "If you must. What is it now?"

"Do you...I mean are there..." Gabrielle wasn't sure why the question was so difficult. "I was wondering if you had gods? I mean, do you worship anything?"

"Me personally?" Jordan asked. "Not exactly. I do believe in a higher power in the universe, if that's what you mean. But it's always seemed pretty damned arrogant, to me, for people to try and give it any particular name. That's just my own opinion, of course."

Gabrielle nodded. "Actually, I was referring to the people at large. New Yarkers, say. Is there any religion or pantheon, perhaps, that is dominant?"

"Well, a common belief is that Christianity rules. Of course, only the Christians think that. But, I suppose, if any one religion is dominant in America, it's Christianity."

"And what gods do they worship?"

Jordan shook her head. "You really are from out of town, aren't you? There's only one God to them, and I disagree with them on one thing. Personally, I believe if they're right, God is a woman." She smiled. "But, I digress. Why so many questions about religion? And what about you?"

"I don't really," said Gabrielle. "Not for a long time. But there's a long tradition in my family, of saying a prayer or two to the Greek pantheon. You know, Zeus, Hera?"

"Yeah, mythology is." Jordan put her hands behind her head. "It's too bad that stuff's not real, it would be so cool to go back in time, and meet some of the gods."

Gabrielle smiled slightly. 'I have,' she thought to herself. 'They're not that cool.'

CHAPTER 9

"Gods!"

Xena crouched on one knee behind a wagon, watching as men in tattered armor stomped from one side of the square to another with their swords out and ready. In the middle of it all stood a hefty gray-bearded man in loud robes--the magistrate.

The warrior was concerned. The magistrate had it in for her because of her past, because of things she had done which didn't directly involve him or his city, and was using her discovery of the wagon as an excuse to attack her. He more than likely wanted to instigate this fight, so if his men won he could claim to be the one who took down the warrior princess.

Xena didn't really care what other people thought of her, but she was not about to let this magistrate build his reputation by trying to destroy hers. Particularly since it meant he delayed her getting to Gabrielle. Fed up with waiting, the warrior drew her sword and stepped out into the open. "If you're looking for me, Colos, I'm right here! Come and get me!"

Colos turned, and his eyes narrowed. "Xena!" He sneered. "Listen up, men! An extra one...no make it two hundred dinars, to the man who brings me her head!"

"Why does everyone want my head?" the warrior asked. "What about the rest of me?" She had not wanted this pointless fight. But she was not about to shy away from it either, and the faster she got through with the guards the sooner she could get back to Ares, and Gabrielle.

Xena parried two sword thrusts almost simultaneously, and kicked one of the men in the face. She drove a fist into the gut of another man, doubling him over, and chuckled as she used him as a stepping stone to flip into the air. As she came down her boots struck the backs of two men's helmets, driving their faces into the ground, and she viciously headbutted yet another man as he charged her. She spun around in time to parry a desperate sword swipe from the final guardsman, then for his trouble she kicked him in the face so hard that it literally knocked him head over heels. Sheathing her sword she turned toward the ashen-faced magistrate, and shook her head. "Lucky for you, I'm in a rush. Your precious wagon is on the east trail, you can bring it back yourself, if you want it so badly."

The warrior turned her back and walked away, leaving him shaking in his boots.

Moments later, as she approached the doors of Ares' temple, Xena heard a muffled explosion, followed by a second, then a third. Inside, she discovered that the god of war had lined up several statues of Hercules--in one heroic pose or another--by the far wall. He was decimating each one of them, piece by piece, with bolts of lightning from his hands.

"Feeling bitter, are we?" the warrior asked.

Ares glanced over his shoulder. "Ah Xena, good. You're back." He released one last volley of lightning, it struck the lead statue and destroyed it. The subsequent eruption of stone and heat, caused the others to burst into flames as well, eliminating them all out with one shot. "I assume you were successful." The god turned, and crossed his arms. "Or else you wouldn't have come back."

"I got it." Xena reached into her breastplate--drawing a lascivious grin from Ares--and pulled out a pouch containing the lifethread that held a fragment of Gabrielle's essence. "Like you said. So, what do we have to do? How does this help me get Gabrielle back?"

With a tiny spark of godly energy, he lifted the pouch from her hand and brought it across the room to his own. He poured the thread out into his hand. "Just as I thought, I can feel her."

"Let's just get this over with, Ares!" Xena gritted her teeth. "I'm worried about Gabrielle!"

Ares began to slowly circle her. "I've heard time travel can be very taxing, especially on a mortal. There's even a chance it could kill you, presuming you arrive in the right time at all."

"I don't care!" Xena glared at him. "Ares, if you think you're going to scare me out of this...forget it! I am going after Gabrielle, and that's all there is to it!"

Ares nodded. "Have it your way." He reached out but stopped at the last moment. "One more thing I feel I should tell you, Xena. Even assuming this works and you do make it to whatever time period Gabrielle is in, you're not going to appear at her side. Most likely, you'll materialize wherever she did to begin with, which means you'll probably have to search for her."

"I understand," said Xena. "Do it!"

Ares shrugged his shoulders. "It's your funeral." He sneered. "Figure of speech." The god put his hand on her chest, right between her breasts. "Oh, I almost forget, you can come back whenever you want. All you'll have to do is concentrate. But if you plan on bringing Gabrielle back with you, you have to make sure you're touching her at the time, or it won't work."

With that Ares dropped the lifethread down between Xena's breasts, and smiled at the way she opened her eyes to stare angrily at him. White light surged around the warrior. She arched her back as the very fabric of time and space literally folded around her, making it appear as if her body was collapsing in on itself. When the disruption faded, the warrior was gone, and Ares' face fell.

"Good luck," he said quietly. "You'll need it."

CHAPTER 10

A cab pulled up outside the New York Public Library.

Jordan climbed out first, followed by Gabrielle. They had made one stop along the way, to a clothing store called Torii's, to get the bard something less conspicuous to wear.

Gabrielle found the so-called 'blue jeans' to be more form-fitting than she was accustomed to, but they did cover her legs and protect her from the elements. The simple green blouse had been on sale, though she had purchased it mainly because it reminded her of that green top she used to wear, before she and Xena went to India. Her boots were real leather, and fit even better than any of the ones she had found in Greece. She was also carrying a knapsack over her shoulder which contained her original clothes and her sais, which she had agreed to put away only after Jordan convinced her the weapons might be misinterpreted by members of the local law enforcement community.

"This is a library?" Gabrielle asked, wide-eyed. "It's huge!"

Jordan nodded. "Biggest in town." Something caught her eye. "Hey, you're from Greece, right?" Gabrielle nodded. "Then you might want to forget about the library for right now, and head across the street. Could be like old home week for you."

Gabrielle followed Jordan's advice and turned. There she saw an even larger building than the library--the Manhattan Archeological Museum, with a colorful banner stretched across the front that read Greek Exhibit Now OPEN! Her eyes widened at that. "My people?"

"Looks like it," said Jordan. "You want to go check it out?"

Gabrielle glanced up at her. "Didn't you say, in the cab, you had a date?"

"Forget about it." Jordan glanced at her watch. "I'm already late, as it is. What's a few more minutes? I'm sure she'll wait for me."

As Jordan and Gabrielle headed up the stairs toward the museum, someone stepped out of the shadows of an alley across the street. A young woman, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years, at most, wearing black sweat clothes and a red bandana, as well as dark sunglasses. She followed the two of them with her eyes until they disappeared into the building, then reached into her pocket. Out came a cell-phone. One quick dial later and a woman's voice answered.

"Talk to me."

"Meet me in front of the library. Bring the others."

"What is it?" asked the voice.

The young woman pushed her sunglasses back up, and gritted her teeth. "Jordan."

"This place is amazing."

Gabrielle walked in circles and stared, and this was just the entryway. They had not even made it to any of the exhibits yet.

"So much history. So much time had passed..."

Jordan arched an eyebrow. "Time? What do you mean?"

Gabrielle started. Once again, she had spoken without thinking. It was getting to be a bad habit. "So much time has passed...in your nation's history. It's amazing."

"Well, so is yours," said Jordan. "After all, Greece is said to be the cradle of the world."

"Really? I never thought that title would catch on..." Gabrielle corrected herself quickly. "...outside of my own country, of course."

Jordan nodded. "Ah, here we go." She pointed to a sign. "Greek Exhibit--to the left."

They passed several statues and paintings as they entered the 'Acropolis', as someone in authority decided to name that section of the museum. Gabrielle could not help but note--when she saw the dedication plaques on some of them--how inaccurate they were. She had actually known some of the people featured, and few if any of them actually looked as they were being represented.

On the other hand, she was pleased to see the works of some of her friends--Homer, for one--had all been given their rightful places in history. Others, of whom she had read but never met, such as Socrates, Sappho and Aristotle, were featured prominently as well. Of course, the bard in her couldn't help noticing that none of her own stories seemed to have found their way to the museum. So many scrolls, so many years from her life with Xena, and they were nowhere in sight. She wondered if it was a simple oversight, or--if it had truly been over three thousand years--whether her scrolls had simply been lost.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Jordan obviously expected some sort of a reaction from Gabrielle, and when she didn't get one she turned to find the bard staring at a case containing the poems of someone called Sappho. As she stepped closer, she recognized such sadness in the younger woman's eyes. "Hey..." She gently rested a hand on Gabrielle's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

The bard nodded. "I'm fine. I was just thinking..."

"Yeah? About what?" said Jordan. "If you don't mind my asking."

"Home," Gabrielle replied. "I miss it. I miss my friends and my family..." She looked around. "Nothing in this place can tell me about them, or can it? I want to know about my past, my family history, but I don't see any way to do that." She looked up. "Do you?"

Jordan opened her mouth as if to answer, then just as quickly closed it again. "Sorry. I can't be a whole lot of help in the family department. See I grew up on the street. I don't even know who my real parents are, so I guess I'm not really the best one to ask about that sort of thing." She looked around. "But, maybe, that guy over there is." She pointed to a big, dark-skinned man with his back to them, who was wearing a blue jacket with the words CURATOR emblazoned on the back.

Gabrielle nodded. "Maybe." They approached him. "Excuse me sir?" He started to turn. "I was wondering if you could help..." Seeing his face, she gasped. "Cecrops?"

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I-I'm sorry, I..." Gabrielle shook her head. "You reminded of someone I used to know."

"That's quite all right." He crossed his arms. "My name is Tony."

The bard started. "I'm Gabrielle. This is my friend, Jordan."

"Nice to meet you both," said Tony. "How can I be of assistance to you, ladies?"

"I'm looking for information, on Greece," Gabrielle replied. "Maybe something things that are not part of your normal exhibits?"

Tony seemed bemused by this. "Anything in particular?"

"Uh oh." Jordan glanced at her watch. "I hate to interrupt, Gabrielle, but I'm really late now. If I don't get over to Candace's place soon, she'll never forgive me."

The bard nodded. "I understand. Thank you for all your help, Jordan."

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself? You being new to the city and all."

"I'll be fine. Don't worry." Gabrielle smiled. "Good luck on your date."

Jordan shrugged her shoulders. "Thanks, you too. I mean good luck with your...uhh, history lesson." She turned and strode quickly out of the Grecian wing of the museum.

Tony watched her go, then watched Gabrielle watching her, and smiled. "I see you still have the same sort of taste in women."

Gabrielle glared up at him, surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You know, tall, good-looking. Say, can this one fight too?"

Realization struck the bard like a blow to the head. She gasped. "Cecrops? It really is you?"

"Of course." He took her arm and directed her to a corner, out of eye and ear shot. "You seem surprised. I am immortal, after all."

"Thanks to Athena." Gabrielle sighed. "By the gods, I'm so happy to see someone I know." She threw her arms around the big man, and hugged him tightly. "This world is so strange. It's so different from Greece. I don't know what to do."

Cecrops nodded. "I guess that answers one question. You obviously didn't find some way to make yourself immortal. The question is, how did you get here?"

"Time travel," Gabrielle replied. "Have you ever heard of the Chronos Stone?"

"Stories, mostly. It was said to exist, in one form or another, even before Poseidon cursed me to travel the sea for all those centuries, but I've never seen one though." Cecrops frowned. "You don't sound happy to be here, so can I assume this wasn't a planned journey?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "Not at all. The Stone jerked me out of Greece, and dropped me here. I'm lucky I ran across Jordan, or I don't know what I would have done."

Cecrops nodded. "You do seem to pick your friends well Gabrielle, I'll grant you that."

"Yes," She put an arm around his waist, and smiled. "I do, don't I?"

"Someone call the cops!" a man's voice shouted from the front room. "There's a fight!"

"Sounds like trouble," said Cecrops.

"We'd better see if we can help," added the bard. "Assuming you're up to it?"

Cecrops chuckled as they entered a growing crowd moving toward the front doors. "Are you kidding? The museum is fine most of the time, but if I had to listen to one more little kid whining about how boring it is I thought I would go out of my mind."

Outside they had to push through a throng of people standing on the stairs in order to make it down to the street, then all at once Gabrielle abruptly stopped in her tracks. So much so, in fact, that Cecrops nearly ran into the bard from behind. He followed her gaze, and his eyes narrowed.

Two young women in black clothes and red bandanas were unconscious on the sidewalk. Eight identically dressed girls were still on their feet though, and they were all brandishing nasty-looking switchblades. They seemed intent on using them on a young woman that he found very familiar--the one who had come into the museum with Gabrielle, he realized. Jordan. She was outnumbered, and someone had already cut one of her arms. She was bleeding profusely.

"I've been in this neighborhood long enough to recognize the colors," he whispered to Gabrielle. "They're an all-girl gang, calling themselves the Daggers."

Gabrielle nodded. "Jordan said she used to be in a gang, but that she got out."

"The Daggers might not know that," said Cecrops. He shrugged his powerful shoulders. "Or they may not care. Either way, your friend's in big trouble."

"Not if I can help it."

CHAPTER 11

In the alley where Gabrielle first awakened, something strange began to happen.

One moment everything was normal, and the next--all of the trash and loose debris began to swirl as if the air itself was alive. Trash cans were knocked over, cardboard boxes were scattered, and a number of rats off the in a corner abruptly found themselves airborne. A crackling sphere of blue-white energy surged to life in mid-air, instantly ionizing the atmosphere.

From the center of it, a decidedly human-like shape could be seen forming. As the sphere flared, and then was extinguished, Xena appeared. She flipped head over heels and landed on her feet--momentarily dizzy as her mind and body tried to reorient themselves. As she finally regained her bearings, the warrior opened her eyes and looked around. She noted the very same things about the buildings and the street that had attracted Gabrielle's attention, and came to that same conclusion as well.

"This can't be our past." While she was no architectural expert, there were building materials here she did not recognize. "It must be the future. But, how far?" The warrior realized something else...there was no sign of Gabrielle. Which meant Ares, unfortunately, was right. She was going to have to search for her friend. In a strange and unfamiliar futuristic world, with stone roadways that defied her celebrated tracking skills. "By the gods, how am I supposed to find her?"

Xena tensed as she felt an unexpected warmth between her breasts. She sheathed her sword, pulled out the breastplate with one hand, and used the other to reach into her cleavage. The warrior drew out the lifethread from where Ares had dropped it, and was surprised to see it glowing.

"What in Tartarus?"

Her mind was once again flooded by images of the first time Gabrielle saw her. It was a strange sensation, having such vivid recollections of things she had personally experienced, only from someone else's point of view. She opened her eyes, and shook her head.

"If I didn't know better, I'd swear this thing was trying to tell me something."

Xena clutched the strand tightly in her hand as a thought came to her. It was, for all intents and purposes, a part of Gabrielle. That meant, perhaps, there was a connection between the two of them that she could use to her advantage. The warrior took a deep breath.

"Help me find Gabrielle," she said quietly. "Please."

The glow about the strand increased tenfold for a moment, then just as quickly returned to normal. Xena's heart swelled, as she was filled with that unbridled sense of love and devotion that she and Gabrielle felt for one another. From another source this time, an external one--not coming from herself or from the strand. It was Gabrielle, she was sure of it, and she seemed to be calling her north.

"I feel it." Xena smiled. "I feel you, Gabrielle!"

The warrior was not yet prepared to face whatever strangeness might await her on the streets of this brand new city. Instead, she decided on a more elevated perspective, and headed to one of the metal staircases she had noticed on the side of a nearby building. She scaled it as quickly as possible, then stood atop that twelve story apartment structure, and looked out over the vast, lighted landscape.

"I'm coming, Gabrielle. You just hold on."

"Gabrielle, hold on."

Cecrops gripped the bard's trembling shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

Gabrielle pulled away. "I can't stand around, and watch a friend of mine get hurt."

"But this is crazy. You hardly know her. And this isn't even your world."

The bard shook her head. "Maybe not, but that's still not going to stop me. If you don't want to fight, fine, but don't get in my way. Jordan needs my help."

Cecrops held up his hands. Apparently, he had decided not to intervene either way.

Gabrielle pulled her sais out of the bag and then tossed it aside. As she started toward the street, she saw a girl coming at Jordan from behind, with what appeared to be a metal pipe of some kind. At that moment her friend was too preoccupied with another in front of her, holding a knife, to notice. The bard's eyes widened, as she realized she was too far away to help directly.

"Jordan, look out!" Even as she shouted out the warning, Gabrielle was on the move. She stepped forward and pitched one of her sais, even as she saw Jordan turning to look over her shoulder. The sai struck the girl with the pipe in the hand, sending it flying, while the momentary distraction on Jordan's part was too much of an opportunity for the girl with a knife to pass up.

The blond lunged at Jordan, trying to stab her in the back, but at the last possible instant Jordan seemed to realize she was there. She twisted her torso as best she could, to get out of the way, and rather than stabbing her the blade merely tore into her right side. It was still an exceedingly painful wound, however, and gushed blood everywhere as she fell to her knees, moaning and crying. She was soon silenced by the same girl, who kicked her in the face and then knocked her flat on her back while smiling.

Gabrielle's eyes widened. "Gods!" She rushed to Jordan's defense--taking her attacker by surprise with an impressive spin-kick, then grabbing her half-conscious form and throwing her into the girl who had wielded the pipe. Both of them crumpled in a heap near the other Daggers. "I don't know what your problem is with my friend here, but if you want her you're going to have to go through me!"

One of the gang members, a young redheaded woman who appeared to be Gabrielle's age at least, stepped forward. She was smoking something, a filthy habit the bard recalled from her own time she had never been able to understand, and had a knife on her belt.

"And just who the hell are you?" she asked. "Her bodyguard? Or maybe...her bitch?"

Gabrielle gritted her teeth. "I'm warning you..."

"No," said the redhead. "I'm telling you! No one strays into Dagger territory, and gets away with it! Blood for blood!" She drew her knife. "Take 'em both, girls!"

The bard tensed as five young women armed with knives and clubs charged her at once. While she wasn't afraid for herself--she knew how to fight after all, and she wasn't afraid to die anymore, not after Rome--she was concerned with what could happen to Jordan if she failed. They would kill her, most likely, and she was not prepared to let that happen if she could do anything to stop it.

Gabrielle stepped up and joined the fray. She took down one, two, three girls, in rapid succession. Though they were well-armed they did not seem to be all that familiar with the weapons, nor did any of them appear to be particularly skilled in fighting. They were thugs, just like many of the bandits she and Xena ran across in Greece, not related to Amazons like she had first suspected.

But the last two girls held back, their faces masks of concentration, and they began to circle her instead. It was something of a stand-off...they both had knives to match her sais, yet were not willing to come at her as recklessly as had all the others. They laughed and hurled insults, in an effort to make the bard angry enough to let her guard down, but she was not about so fall for so obvious a ruse.

Gabrielle shook her head. "Come on. Let's finish this!" She decided to try and turn the tables on them. "If you think either of you is woman enough." She smiled. "Which I doubt!" Her smile broadened, as the young woman glanced at one another, then charged her. From there, it was a fairly simple matter for her to disarm them both in a matter of seconds, yet they continued to attack. They scratched and clawed wildly at her, and she could swear one of them even bit her, but did no real damage.

They were young, Gabrielle knew, and most likely inexperienced. Against an obviously superior opponent they had the strength of will not to run away, yet they were frustrated by her continued ability to thwart their every move. So they resorted to desperate tactics, in an effort to prove they were still capable of fighting an adversary they could not actually defeat on their own. The bard took pity on them finally...dropping her sais she grabbed each of them by the hair and slammed their heads together, rendering the two of them instantly unconscious but neither permanently nor seriously injured.

Gabrielle had no time to celebrate her victory, as she heard an unfamiliar sound behind her. It was similar to the cocking of a crossbow, though she had seen no such weapon among her opponents. Glancing over her shoulder the bard saw the apparent leader of the gang taking aim at her with one of those 'guns'. Unlike the last time, in the alley, she was out of position to bring her sais into play.

The gang leader sneered as she started to pull the trigger. "Time to die, bitch!"

Gabrielle closed her eyes as she heard the gun go off.

She tensed, waiting for the pain, but it never came. After a few moments she opened her eyes and realized there was someone standing in front of her and Jordan...Cecrops. He had apparently decided to get involved after all, and had taken an attack meant for her. As she looked on, Cecrops fell to his knees, clutching at his stomach and grimacing in pain.

"Let's get out of here!" said the gang leader. "Cops!" She, and those of her followers who were conscious, ran away, as did most of the crowd outside the museum.

Soon, Gabrielle began to hear a whining sound. Sirens, but not like any she was accustomed to. They were at a distance right now, but were rapidly coming closer, and from the way the crowd had dispersed she came to wonder who these 'cops' were that everyone ran from them.

Cecrops opened his eyes, and his raising his head drew Gabrielle's attention. "Are you all right?" the bard asked as he was getting to his feet. "That weapon..."

"...is a real nasty invention. Believe me, I know." Cecrops pulled up the lower part of his shirt, baring part of his stomach which was slightly discolored, as if the flesh was new. "I was probably one of the first people to get shot by one of these things after they were invented, and let me tell you...the siege crossbows of your time have nothing on some versions of guns these days."

"I'm glad you're okay," Gabrielle looked down. "But Jordan is not so lucky. She needs help."

Cecrops looked around, his eyes narrowing. The sirens were very close now, and were getting even closer every passing second. "We can take her back to my place." He scooped the relatively small young woman up into his powerful arms, and nodded to Gabrielle. "Come on. Quickly. If we run into the cops, there'll be hell to pay." They started down the street.

"What are cops?" Gabrielle asked, following after she grabbed her bag.

"The law," said Cerops. "But not like the ones you know. Worse, in a lot of ways."

Gabrielle shuddered. That certainly wasn't a pleasant thought.

CHAPTER 12

Xena stood on the rooftop of a building, across the street from another building with the words Manhattan Archeological Museum on it. Despite the fact it was nearly dark, there was still a crowd standing around out front. But there was so much noise coming from them--and from strange horseless wagons that drove by on the street--that she could not make out what any of them were saying. Unfortunately, she also didn't she see Gabrielle anywhere among them, but she was certain that her friend had been there at one time, she got that much from the lifethread at least.

But despite her strength of will and her determination, even the warrior princess had her limits. Xena was getting tired--particularly after having spent the whole day leaping from rooftop to rooftop, going from one end of this enormous city to the other and back again. She didn't understand how Gabrielle could have been one step ahead of her all this time, unless either someone else was controlling her movements, or Gabrielle had found another, faster mode of transportation. One of those horseless wagons, for example. There was no telling where in the city she was by now.

Xena was not ready to quit, of course, yet she knew she would be of little use to Gabrielle if she exhausted before even finding her friend. So she decided it would be in her and Gabrielle's best interest, if she found a safe place to camp for the night, and started her search again fresh in the morning. The rooftops were drafty though, and the alleys uncomfortable, but from one of the rooftops she had seen a vast section of apparently preserved forest, so she headed in that direction. As she approached the wooded area, she came across signs identifying it as Central Park, though she neither knew nor cared what those words meant. Her only concern was that this was the only place in this entire, gods-forsaken city that felt even remotely like Greece, and the warrior sighed as she found a suitable clearing.

As she sat down to dig a fire-pit, it occured to Xena that she had been so concerned about Gabrielle, she'd neglected to bring along any supplies. She had neither food or water, nor bedroll, but while the latter was an inconvenience, the former would be dangerous if there were no animals in this Central Park. After she got a fire going, the warrior decided to try hunting.

It proved easier than Xena was expecting. While she could not find any wild animals, except for the weird looking birds in some of the trees, the warrior was pleased and surprised to discover someone had caged an assortment of animals, exotic and otherwise, and put them on exhibit in the park. She even found something called a petting zoo which had rabbits...one of her favorites. She took two for dinner, leaving behind several dinars as payment, and headed for camp.

But on the way back, Xena detected a disturbance ahead of her. Someone was moving in the trees between her position and the warming glow of her campfire. Several someones, in fact, and she could tell from their rather clumsy movements that they were clearly not professionals, but they were armed. She heard the oh-so familiar sound of knives being drawn, and ragged breathing.

'An ambush,' the warrior said to herself. 'That should liven things up.'

Xena resumed her previous course, stomping along the trail as if she was completely unaware of what was about to happen. She even put on a fairly realistic-looking expression of surprise when two men leapt out of the bushes ahead of her to block her path while another did the same behind her. All three of them wielding knives that, by her standards, were small and inadequate.

"Hold up, warrior-lady!" one of the men, perhaps Gabrielle's age, grunted.

Xena frowned. She knew he was speaking, she heard it, but she didn't understand the words.

"Give us your money," said the second, whose bald head did little to distract from his unattractive face. "I said give it up now, and maybe we won't have to cut you!"

Again, the man's words were gibberish. If it was a language, it was certainly not Greek.

"You got a problem, lady?" The third man, whose leather stunk of alcohol, cocked his head. "Maybe she's a foreigner, boys. Don't you understand English?"

"Maybe we could give her a lesson!" said the first. All three seemed to find this amusing, they nudged one another and started to laugh uproariously.

Xena, however, merely arched an eyebrow. "You boys don't realize how happy I am to see you. It's been a long, hard day, and I was looking for a way to wind down."

They seemed to find this even more amusing, and continued to laugh.

"Or, maybe not!" Xena lunged forward and swung the string of rabbits, smashing them across the faces of the two nearest men. One of them was knocked head over heels and did not get back up, the other lurched to one side, only to run face-first into a tree. As he staggered she kicked him in the head, and he fell flat on his face, not to get up this time. The warrior then turned to the last man standing.

"Who the hell are you, lady?" he asked, his lips trembling.

Xena frowned. "You're lucky I'm in such a good mood," she said through clenched teeth. She shoved him away--making her intentions clear even to his clouded mind. He grabbed his two companions, and the three of them stumbled off into the darkness.

The warrior shook her head as she returned to camp.

CHAPTER 13

Cecrops took Gabrielle and Jordan to his apartment at the Kirkstar Grand.

He called it a small place, but compared to some of the buildings she was used to in Greece, the apartment was far more luxurious than one of the suites at King Midas' palace. It boasted wall to wall plush carpeting, beautiful draperies finer than the best silks she had ever seen, and works of art the likes of which she hadn't found in some of the best museums in the country.

"Make yourself comfortable," said Cecrops, after he lay Jordan--who was still unconscious--on the couch and then headed for the bathroom. "I'll get some towels." He brought them along with a bottle of something called hydrogen peroxide. "It's all I had," he said after Gabrielle gave him a confused look. "I don't get sick or ill, you know."

They treated Jordan's wounds as best they could under the circumstances. Cecrops even tore up one of the towels for makeshift bandages. By the time they were finished she was, at least, resting comfortably, though her dreams were obviously troubled. Occasionally, she even cried out.

Cecrops then motioned Gabrielle to follow him into the kitchen, where he fixed her something to eat. The bard was as amazed by refrigerator as the stove and the microwave, and to his dismay she continued to open and close the door to see if the little light stayed on or not.

"This must be one of Hephaestus' creations," said Gabrielle. "It's amazing."

Cecrops shook his head. "Gabrielle, the gods don't exist anymore."

"What?" She came back to the table and sat down across the table from him. "What do you mean?"

"The gods--Hephaestus, Aphrodite...Athena. They're all gone. They ceased to exist, at least as far as I can tell, after mankind stopped needed them. When the worshipping ended, so did the gods. Without the powers we gave them by believing in them, they ceased to exist."

Gabrielle shook her head. "When did all this happen? They are still around in my time..."

Cecrops frowned. "Oh, must have been...two thousand years ago. At least. Maybe closer to three. It wasn't all at once, you understand. Humankind moved away from the worship of gods, the Greek pantheon at least, over probably a hundred years or so. The dominant religion, at least in this country, is Christianity, and they worship only one God. He doesn't even have a name."

"I remember Jordan saying something about that," said Gabrielle. "I wonder if it's the same religion Xena and I came across with David and his family."

"There is a prominent figure in the Christian belief named David," said Cecrops. "He was hailed as a hero when he single-handedly defeated a mighty giant called..."

"Goliath?" Gabrielle frowned when he nodded. "But that's not right, that's not how it happened. I know, I was there. David was a brave man, and certainly a great leader for his people, but he'd never have been able to beat Goliath if it was not for Xena. She was the one who came up with the idea of blinding Goliath, so he had to take off his helmet and reveal the soft spot on his forehead."

Cecrops shook his head. "That's not the way history sees it. In fact, if you go back over the centuries, you would find that it was written almost exclusively by men. Victorious men, to be exact. Most of the time they rewrote it as they saw fit, in order to preserve their way of life. Women like you and Xena, who excelled at a type of free existence most often attributed exclusively to men, were seen as an inconveniance if not a direct threat, so more often than not you were written out. Period."

"T-That's not fair!" said Gabrielle. "How...?"

"Very few writings from women have survived to this time. It's not fair, your right, but the men of history seem to prefer it this way." Cecrops sighed. "I've done my best to show the truth when I can. You didn't get to see it, but one of my exhibits at the museum had to do with the Amazons."

Gabrielle nodded. "What about Xena? Is she remembered, at least, as a great warrior?"

"Actually, no." Cecrops shrugged his shoulders. "She's...a TV show." He considered trying to explain TV to her, and then changed his mind. "Let's just say, at best people think Xena is a fictional character, and the few who know better believe she was just a bloodthirsty warlord." He patted the bard's hand. "Of course, we know the truth, right?"

Gabrielle was full of curiosity, but with the stress of the day finally taking its toll the one thing she proved not to be full of, was energy. She eventually fell asleep at the table and Cecrops carried her to his bed, which

was rarely ever used otherwise since--as an immortal--he didn't need to sleep. He made sure Jordan was not uncomfortable, though she did remain unconscious, then he picked a book from his extensive collection and sat down to read.

Outside, as the night grew long, two young women in Dagger colors watched Cecrops' apartment window from an alley across the street. One had a cell-phone.

"Progress?" said a voice on the other end.

"We followed 'em to a high-class apartment on ninth street," said the platinum blond. "Jordan, that blond babe who helped her, and some huge frigging black guy."

The woman's voice on the phone sighed. "All right, here's the plan..."

On a fire escape overlooking the alley, two more young women in colors decidedly different that those of the Daggers, watched with angry eyes.

"See? I told you," said one. "Daggers."

The other nodded. "Better call Ling. Tell her we've got a problem."

Later in the evening, Cecrops was right in the middle of the best part of the book he was reading, when he heard a noise and raised his head. His senses were not exactly superhuman, but they were considerably more keen than those of an average mortal, and he was sure he heard someone in the hall outside. He sat his book

aside and stood up, just as the door to his apartment burst inward.

Three young women--a redhead, a brunette and a blonde--all wearing matching jackets and bandanas over the lower half of their faces, stepped in with guns held up and ready. Before Cecrops even had the chance to put a sentence together, they opened fire.

Bullets tore into his shoulder, chest and stomach, and knocked the big man off his feet. He tumbled across the table and lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. The three young gunwomen apparently failed to notice the decided lack of blood as they looked around the apartment.

On the couch, a still unconscious Jordan began to stir, undoubtedly roused by the gunfire. Unfortunately, a moan from her alerted the three young women, and they got within close range before they raised their guns once more. As they were about to fire, the bedroom door opened.

A pillow came flying out--striking one of the three young women, it knocked the gun out of her hand. She started to turn as Gabrielle came charging out of the bedroom, throwing her sai to disarm another of the two remaining gunwomen. The third, however, was out of Gabrielle's range as she was behind and to the left, so she still had a clear shot at Jordan and was prepared to take it.

All at once, a large, dark-skinned hand clamped down on the barrel of the gun. Her eyes grew wide as she followed the hand up its equally muscular arm, to the seething face of Cecrops, who was clearly not dead or particularly happy about the situation.

"You ruined...my favorite...shirt!" The young woman was trembling as he yanked the gun out of her hand and threw it across the room. For a moment it looked as it he was actually going to strike her, then he shook his head and turned to see how Gabrielle was doing.

The bard took advantage of the distraction, caused by Cecrops' 'ressurrection', to lunge forward and drive the hilt of her sai into the throat of one of the two remaining women. She went down, gasping, while a well- placed kick to the head virtually knocked out the last one.

Cecrops grabbed the only Dagger--for he recognized their clothing, and their faces, in spite of the feeble attempts at a disguise, from outside the museum--still standing by the collar. Gritting his teeth, he lifted her off her feet and brought her face closer to his. "If you ever, ever, try to hurt my friends again, I will find you three and make sure the last thing you see is my face! Get it?" She nodded nervously, and he let her go. "So, take your little hit-squad and get the hell out of here!"

The girl nodded. She gathered up her two friends and they stumbled out of the apartment.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh?" Gabrielle asked. "She was just a girl."

"Harsh?" Cecrops pulled out the front of his shirt, to accentuate the bullet holes. "Gabrielle, they shot me! They were trying to kill me! They're lucky all I did was yell."

The bard nodded. "I know. But they didn't. Kill you, I mean. They can't. You're immortal."

"Do you really think that makes a difference? Do you think I enjoy getting shot?"

"Maybe not, but..." Gabrielle's face fell, as did Cecrops', when they heard someone clear their throat. The two of them turned, to see Jordan watching them from the couch. The young brunette had a clearly confused expression on her own face. She looked from Gabrielle, to Cecrops, and back again.

"Does somebody want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Gabrielle glanced, pleadingly, up at Cecrops, who shrugged his shoulders. He had no clue what to say and was obviously leaving the decision up to her. She cleared her own throat. "It's a long story, Jordan. One you probably won't believe, but..."

"Try starting at the beginning then," said Jordan. "And work your way forward."

Cecrops interjected himself. "Before that, can we go someplace else? Someone must have called the cops by now, and I don't think we need to try explaining this to them too."

Gabrielle nodded. "Good idea. But where?"

CHAPTER 14

Xena, of course, was up with the sun.

The warrior had not gotten much sleep the night before. Twice she was awakened by bedraggled people--a young woman by herself the first time and a young woman with two young boys the next--all asking, by way of gestures, to share the warmth of her fire. She relented, and after they left she was approached by a man in blue, who rather rudely pointed at the fire and gestured for her to move off. The warrior resisted the urge to go after him--even in this time period she recognized a law enforcement official when she saw one--and she instead decided to do as she was told.

It was his world, after all.

The warrior was not familiar with local law or customs, and she had no intention of becoming any more so either. She was planning to be there just long enough to find Gabrielle, and then get the two of them back to Greece where they belonged.

Ironically, at almost the exact same moment Xena was thinking about Gabrielle, across the city, Gabrielle was thinking about Xena. She and Cecrops--along with Jordan, of course--had gone to a secluded restaurant a few blocks from his apartment, both for breakfast and a chance to talk in private. They chose a rear booth, and the decor made the bard think of a tavern she and Xena frequented.

'By the gods, I miss her. Why did I have to pick up that stupid Stone in the first place?'

Cecrops, realizing Gabrielle was distracted, ordered for the both of them. Jordan only ordered coffee, and then once the waitress had gone she leaned forward and cleared her throat. "All right. I think it's safe to say we have some things to talk about. Who wants to go first?"

Gabrielle and Cecrops glanced at one another and frowned. Clearly, Jordan had heard at least part of their conversation as she was waking up. But there was also the chance she had not really understood what it was they were talking about, and that they could talk her out of her suspicions. Presuming, of course, she hadn't already made her mind up, one way or another.

"Okay, fine." Jordan sighed. "Obviously the first thing that needs to be said is...thank you." She shook her head. "I remember what went on outside that museum. The Daggers would have killed me, if the two of you hadn't showed up when you did. You probably saved my life, and from the looks of it, you even took care of me afterwards." She smiled. "I don't know what to say, except thank you."

"That's what friends are for," said Gabrielle. "You helped me, and I returned the favor."

Jordan nodded. "But there's a big difference between showing someone around the city and saving the life of someone you hardly know." She looked up at Cecrops. "I remember you from the museum. But Gabrielle, didn't you tell me you didn't know anyone here?"

"Turns out I was wrong," said the bard. "Cecrops and I are..." She flinched. "...friends."

Jordan arched an eyebrow as she looked them over. "That's what you called him when you saw him at the museum. He denied it." She crossed her arms. "So now, let me see if I've got this right. First, Gabrielle, you show up looking like something off of the Xena TV show. You even have the same name. Then you meet up with a guy named Cecrops, who also has a name off the TV show. You know how to use sais like the girl on the show, and your big buddy here takes bullets for breakfast without even slowing down." His face fell, and she nodded. "Yeah, I saw. You should be dead. At first I thought maybe I was imagining things, or that Ray and Tina were just lousy shots. Then I remembered that Cecrops on the show was immortal, and as crazy as this sounds, I started to wonder..." She shook her head. "You guys aren't just crazy fans are you? You're the real deal. The ones the characters were named after. Gabrielle, and Cecrops."

The bard sighed. "She's good, isn't she?"

"Afraid so," said Cecrops. "Looks like we're just going to have to kill her."

Jordan's started, but Gabrielle shook her head. "Don't worry, he's kidding." She glanced at him. "You are kidding, aren't you?" He nodded. "Look, Jordan...you're right about both of us. Cecrops is immortal, and he has lived all these thousands of years. But me, my being here is an accident. That much of what I told you is true. There was this rock, called the Chronos Stone..."

"I saw that episode," said Jordan. "On the other show, what was it? Hercules."

"Hercules too?" asked Gabrielle. "That figures." She shook her head. "I need your help Jordan. I've got to find the Chronos Stone, it's my only way back to Greece. Unfortunately, when I woke up in the alley, it was gone. I've got a terrible feeling it was stolen, probably by someone who does not realize what sort of power they've actually got. If something happens to it..."

INTERLUDE

"So, what do you think?"

A shadowy figure in an uptown high-rise, seated behind a large oak desk, twirled the shimmering emerald Chronos Stone in his hands and smiled.

"Interesting." He was alone, talking to a woman's voice through a speakerphone. "And, you say you found this just laying is an alley? All by itself?"

"Not me," said the woman's voice. "One of my girls. And it wasn't alone. She told me there was a woman on the ground nearby. Unconscious. Dressed all in leather."

Unseen, the man's mouth tensed somewhat. "This woman...where is she now?"

"I don't know. My girls are out looking for her, but all I know for sure's she's helping Jordan Lopez." She paused. "Who is she, anyway?"

"No one you need to worry about," he replied. "As long as she doesn't interfere with the operation, she's a non-issue." He leaned forward. "Speaking of which..."

"We're all set," said the woman's voice. "They'll never know what hit them."

He sighed. "Excellent." Disconnecting the speakerphone he leaned back in the chair, holding the Stone up to the light. "I knew you'd find a way to interfere. This little piece of home tells me how you got here, but it won't do you any good this time, Xena! Even you will never figure out what's going on...until it's too late to do anything about it!"

His bellowing laughter filled the otherwise empty office.

END OF INTERLUDE

Continued in Part 2.