Mental Challange

by Scott Carpenter
scottc@iserv.net 

©Copyright Scott Carpenter February 20, 1997 

If you have not read my previous works then some of the things in this story may confuse the reader. If you do not want to be confused then you may want to go and read my other works first. Twisted Paths. Journey of Friends. Changing Times. The Gift. The characters in this story, at least the ones you recognize, are property of MCA/Universal and the author intends no copyright infringement in the writing of this story. The ones you don't recognize are those of the author and may not be used with out permission of the author. This story may contain some violent content and descriptions, if this offends you in anyway then do not read this story. If not, then read on!

"Gabrielle glanced at the rising orb of the morning sun. As she set out she pondered all that had happened in the last month. Xena's continued teaching of lessons had enhanced her skills greatly. She was surprised one evening when Xena came to her, and asked if she would like to learn "The Touch". The thought had thrilled, and scared Gabrielle in the same moment. After saying "Yes" and learning the skill to Xena's satisfaction, she thought the lessons would end. But they were only beginning. Xena began to teach her different pressure points that could be used to help, disable, and even kill. She also went on to further Gabrielle's medical knowledge of battle field injuries and there care and her herbal knowledge for medicines. Soon the lessons had became constant. Tracking skills, even Xena's special riding lessons and the continuous testing of her fighting skills. Now she was in the middle of their favorite game as of late, "Xena's Hide and seek". Gabrielle was determined to win this round.

In the bright light of the morning Gabrielle crept through the woods. She had awoke to find Xena missing. Finding no signs of a struggle and Xena's own boot prints leaving the campsite, she knew what to do. Search out Xena and not be caught by surprise. Grinning, Gabrielle set off through the trees.

Moving through the trees with an elegant grace Gabrielle noticed not only how beautiful the morning was but also how deadly. She looked at the trap before her and the one just beyond. The first not disguised well but the other hardly noticeable. Those less careful would have stepped over the first and into the second.

Gabrielle looked around for more, seeing none she stepped to her left around the traps. Picking a tree branch from the ground she tossed it onto the snares. As the branches whistled into the air Xena turned her head in the direction of the sound. With a slight smile she moved off in the direction of the traps she had set for Gabrielle.

Gabrielle knew Xena would hear the noise so she moved quickly away with her staff in hand. Dodging branches and brush she began to circle around in hopes of catching Xena unaware. Gabrielle found a suitable hiding place and watched and listened for the sight and sound of Xena.

Xena moved cautiously among the trees. Gabrielle had become so skilled at hiding that extra precautions needed to be taken. No longer did she just look around but she also looked up into the trees. The spot where she had set the snares was just ahead and each shape and shadow was looked over for the slightest peculiarity. Xena looked at the branch hanging high in the trees. She had found both traps and now it was Xena who could be the hunted. She moved away carefully. Making a wide swing around the snares, Xena set out to find her quarry.

Enough time had passed for Gabrielle, she picked her staff from the ground and moved from her hiding place. Circling around so that the snares were now in front of her again. She knew Xena would go to the sound of the traps going off but would not wait around to be ambushed, she would move on. Gabrielle studied her surroundings carefully and planned her next move.

Xena moved as fast as she dared, she stopped as something caught her keen eye. A small branch broken from a bush. The footprints on the ground were those of Gabrielle. Xena looked at the path she had taken. She know knew that by this time Gabrielle was now behind her, Xena was now the hunted. She turned in the opposite direction that her friend had gone.

Suddenly a man burst into the clearing and looked behind him and then around. Seeing a hollow log he pulled a wrapped object from his tunic and hastily stuffed it into the hollow and then ran further into the woods. Not long after the man went out of sight three more men ran through the clearing, swords in hand and giving chase.

Gabrielle moved from her hiding place and towards the log, Xena looked on. As Gabrielle reached the log she heard a scream in the distance. Her head jerked in the direction of the scream as her hand touched what ever the man had hidden and she pulled it free. Xena arose from where she had kneeled and motioned to Gabrielle, Gabrielle moved to her side clutching the wrapped object. Xena took one step and then ducked, instinctively Gabrielle did the same.

The three men had begun to make their way back along the path they had taken, they were searching the brush as they walked. Pushing branches aside and looking under the foliage. One looked in the log, reaching inside. Feeling nothing he ran after his cohorts. The sounds of the men faded off into the woods.

With the men safely in the distance Xena and Gabrielle moved to where they had heard the scream. Farther into the woods they found the mans body, cut down from behind, his cloths showed signs of being searched. A full money pouch lay next to him. Xena bent down and scooped the spilled coins from the ground and put them into the pouch as Gabrielle looked on. Xena began to search the mans body.

Around the dead mans neck was an amulet, Xena carefully pulled it from his neck, eyeing it. "We will bury the body and see if we can find out who he was. We will return this money to his family if we can. What did he hide Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle looked at the wrapped item which she still held. "I don't know." She began to remove the cloth covered object. Pulling aside the last layer of cloth she found a round plate of bronze, each side was covered with markings that Gabrielle had never seen before. "This was worth killing a man over? It does not look like much."

Xena looked up at what Gabrielle held. The site of the disk made Xena gasp, she snatched the disk from Gabrielle's hands. "Hey! You could have asked, I would have given it to you." Xena turned and began to wander into the woods looking at the disk. "Xena? Xena!" She turned and looked at her friend, a blank look on her face. "What’s wrong?"

"I know what this is!" Her voice trembling "This is the Disk of Hermes, it is supposed to give the power to use your voice to command all that hear you. I tried to take it once. My army spend five days trying to get at this disk a long time ago and in the end it was used to send us away." Gabrielle had a confused look on her face. "I wanted it to make my conquest easy. It would have been simple to walk into a town and just ask for what ever I wanted." Xena handed the disk back to Gabrielle. "Wrap it back up, we need to return it to it's rightful place." Gabrielle began to cover the disk with the cloth. "Put it in your bag and what ever you do, don’t show it to anyone."

Gabrielle placed the disk in a small pouch hanging at her side. "So where is it's rightful place, is it far from here?" Xena had begun to dig a grave for the dead man.

"The Temple of Hermes is about four days ride from here. We will have to be careful on our way because someone is obviously looking for the disk. Go get Argo and Thesis, I will finish up here." Gabrielle headed off into the woods. Xena turned to warn her to be careful but she could tell by the way she was moving that she did not need to be told. Xena looked at the mans body as she continued to dig, she knew he was a Temple guard by his amulet.

Gabrielle cautiously made her way through the woods, who ever those men were they would not be alone. Reaching the campsite she quickly gathered their things and buried the fire. As she placed her foot in the stirrup she thought better of it, if she rode Thesis she would be more visible. She took the reins of both horses and began to lead them back to where Xena was burying the mans body. As she approached she saw Xena just pushing the last of the dirt back over the grave and mark the spot with a stone. "So who do you suppose those men were Xena?"

Xena brushed dirt from her hands. "Probably soldiers in some warlord's army who is determined to rule all he can. I don't know why the disk was not in the Temple, it should be safe there. Our concern is not who is after it right now, only to return the disk safely." Xena hung the amulet the man wore around her own neck. "We better get moving Gabrielle, we have a long ride ahead of us." As the two moved away from the grave site Gabrielle looked back, such a waste of life for conquest.

With the rest of the day quietly passing, a quite glade near a small stream made a perfect spot to forget the mornings troubles. As Xena gathered wood for a fire Gabrielle pulled the bronze disk from her pouch and unwrapped it. How such a simple thing could be so powerful was a mystery to her. The disk did not look to be dangerous. Xena dropped an armload of wood to the ground. "So does this thing really work Xena?" Xena extended her hand and Gabrielle placed the disk in her hands.

"It must Gabrielle." Xena turned the disk over in her hands, looking at the inscriptions. "I do know that on the sixth day of my army's siege a priest came out and asked me and my army to leave. The next thing I remember is waking up in my tent camped two days ride from the temple."

Xena handed the disk back to Gabrielle, pulling it back she looked at it once more and then placed it in Gabrielles hands. Running her fingers over the inscriptions Gabrielle began to wrap the disk again in the cloth. "So all he did was ask you to do was leave? Fascinating!"

"Yes that’s all he said. In the wrong hands that disk could be a devastating weapon, that's why we need to return it." Xena sat on a nearby log and thought of that day so many years ago. Returning the disk to it's rightful place was another piece of her shattered past she could piece back together.

Gabrielle began to make the fire. She looked to Xena who was now staring into the woods. She could tell that she was deep in thought and she would not disturb her. Her past with the disk must have brought back some memories that she was now dealing with.

Xena rose from the log and began to walk aimlessly among the trees. Her head flooding with memories of days long passed, days she wished she could forget but knew she never could. Her past haunted her and she knew it would not go away over time, it would always be with her, part of her. Returning the disk would redeem a small slice of her past but not all of it. Her path to redemption was long and treacherous.

With the fire going and dinner cooking Gabrielle looked for Xena. Scanning the trees she finally spotted her standing in the distance. Staff in hand she headed her way.

As Gabrielle approach she saw Xena's head sag. Placing a hand on her shoulder caused Xena to jump. Gabrielle had never seen Xena so off guard before. "Xena what’s wrong? This isn't like you."

Xena looked at her friend and placed a hand on the bards shoulder. "It's my past, memories I need to deal with."

Gabrielle could tell she was hurting. "I am here if you need me. The food will be ready soon." Gabrielle walked away, glancing back at Xena as she milled about the trees. Her hand went to the bag hanging at her side. She could feel the disk inside. She hoped that it's return would give Xena a bit of peace.

A roll of thunder could be heard, like the sound of a great battle being fought far off in the distance.....Gabrielle lifted her head at the sound and looked in the direction of the approaching storm. A movement caught her eye, Xena walking through the trees back toward camp. Gabrielle picked up a bowl and filled it for her.

"I hope it doesn't rain tonight, I hate sleeping out in the rain." As Xena sat beside her she placed the bowl in her hands, Xena started to set it aside. Gabrielle grabbed her arm. "Oh no you don't, you eat something!" Xena looked up and took the offered spoon. She began to eat. Gabrielle allowed herself a slight smile.

Xena finished the bowl and set it aside, a blank look to her face. Gabrielle looked at a chilling scene, Xena's face was without expression, as if she was in a trance. Gabrielle waved a hand in front of her face, Xena simply blinked. "You know keeping this all bottled up inside does you no good, do you want to talk about it?"

Xena blinked and stared up at Gabrielle. "What? What’s wrong Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle threw up her hands. "What’s wrong! It's like I was talking to a stone wall for the past few minutes! I wish you would just talk to me!"

Gabrielle grabbed her staff and walked into the trees as a fit of rage overwhelmed her. She stopped in a clearing and closed her eyes, letting the surroundings fill her mind, every tree and rock. She needed to be in control and not let the anger control her, she took a deep breath. With a flourish, she moved her staff, avoiding everything in her path, gliding around the trees with an elegant grace, her staff a constant blur. Letting her training take over, rather than a blind rage.

Xena watched Gabrielle move. She had no idea what was going on, the last thing she remembered was sitting down and a bowl being placed in her hands and then..... Xena stood up and looked down at the empty bowl by her feet and then at the blur of Gabrielle. She remembered the bowl but not eating it, she knew she was full but... Xena briskly walked towards Gabrielle.

Gabrielle swung her staff over and over through every move she knew. Every lesson and practice session filled her mind. Stepping up onto a large rock she flipped high into the air and landed behind Xena.

The stern look on Xena's face was not the one Gabrielle expected. "Gabrielle what just happened? I remember sitting down but nothing else!"

A puzzled Gabrielle lowered her staff. "You started to set the bowl I handed you down and I stopped you and told you to eat. You took the spoon and ate. Why?"

A concerned look crossed Xena's face. Her eyes fell to the pouch hanging at Gabrielle's side. "The disk! That must be it, you activated the disk some how and made me eat."

Gabrielle's hand fell to her side, the disk safely tucked away. "But how? I wasn't touching it, I just told you to eat."

Xena shook her head. "It must have been the way you said it or something, that’s all I can think of." Xena placed her hand on her shoulder. "Well we know it works but lets not worry about it, just don't let it happen again. That was a nice move by the way, where did you learn that?"

Gabrielle smiled. "I think I saw someone do it once." Xena nervously laughed as the two headed back to the camp. This little episode disturbed Xena.

Threcin looked over the reports in his hand and stopped when one caught his eye. The name Joxer leapt from the page. He was reported far south of Threcin’s encampment and was not a threat at this time. The warlord took a drink of wine and thought for a moment. He would deal with this Joxer the Mighty when the time came. He set the report aside and looked at the next, it was short, just two women traveling east and one was a warri....... Threcin dropped his wine goblet.

"Clyus!!!!"

Startled, Clyus set his sword and sharpening stone aside and rushed into the tent. "Yes my lord?"

Threcin thrust the report under his nose. "Do you know who this is?"

Clyus took the scroll and quickly read the short report. "No my lord I don't, should I?"

Threcin snatched the parchment from his hands an waved it in his face. "That warrior woman is Xena and she is heading for the Hermes temple! She either has the disk or knows where it is. Ready some men, tomorrow we will move to intercept her."

Clyus turned swiftly and left the tent.

Threcin sat heavily in his chair. First he had worried about Joxer, now he had to deal with Xena as well. Threcin placed his head in his hands and then looked up at the map before him. He traced a line to were his men had caught the guard and were Xena was now headed. She must have the disk. He looked to were Joxer was supposed to be, he hoped to be able to deal with Xena long before he had to deal with Joxer. He sat back and wondered what his chances were. His head slumped as he thought of the last four warlords that had been defeated by Joxer and had their armies disbanded. He didn't know who to fear more, Xena or Joxer.

Threcin rose from his chair and poured himself more wine. He thought of the days long ago when Xena's army was feared. Now it was her alone and she was still feared. He thought for a moment and then took a long drink. Picking his sword from the table he stalked out of the tent and into the cool evening air.

Xena sat on the log and stared into the flames of the fire. Her mind wandered to the town of Cirra, burning to the ground and leaving barely a soul alive. Callisto's face seemed to jump from the flames and her laugh filled her ears. Xena shook the vision from her head and looked up. Gabrielle was writing as usual.

Memories flooded back into her mind even as she looked at Gabrielle's pen move. Places she had been, faces of people she known, had killed. She rose from the log and moved next to Gabrielle.

"What are you writing about?"

Gabrielle finished and looked up, she saw pain. "Just about this disk, your past and your work to correct it." Gabrielle set her pen aside and put her arm around Xena. "Your going to have to deal with your past eventually Xena, or it will consume your very being."

Xena turned and looked at her friend and nodded. "I know, eventually every thing I have done will come back to haunt me. Cirra, Callisto, trying to kill Hercules, everything." A tear rolled down her cheek.

Gabrielle hugged her and Xena pulled away. She rose and looked down into the fire, then into the black night. "I'll be back in a while, don't wait up for me." Xena walked into the trees and out of sight. Gabrielle watched her disappear in the flickering shadows from the fire. She watched the woods for a moment and then picked up her pen once again.

Xena stopped at a large tree and leaned against it, she brushed a tear from her face. The only time her past had effected her so badly before was when dealing with Callisto. Her mind wandered back to a time many years before, pushing the Temple defenses back to the brink of defeat, only to have victory snatched away suddenly. Why this memory was any different she did not know, it was all a mystery to her, like the disk.

Gabrielle did not look up as Xena returned, she sat and mindlessly poked at the fire. They looked up at each other and said nothing, no words were needed.

Xena removed her sword sheath from her back and drew the blade, taking a cloth from her saddle bag she wiped the well used blade down. She leaned in close to the fire and inspected each edge for nicks. She set the blade aside and removed her chakram from her side and then her armor. She spread her bed roll out next to the fire and laid down, staring into the flames. Gabrielle only watched. She was mystified by Xena's sudden lack of control over her emotions. Her usual stoic nature was not the same. Gabrielle tossed her stick into the flames and her laid down on her bedroll with her staff at her side.

The next morning Gabrielle woke early. She stoked the embers of the evening fire with a stick and tossed in small sticks until they caught fire. She basked in the warmth of the small flames for a moment and then looked at the still sleeping form of Xena. She reached for her saddle bag for the mornings food as a stick popped in the fire. Xena sat upright with her chakram in hand, her head darting from side to side, looking for a target. Seeing only Gabrielle she lowered the deadly ring.

Garielle instintivly ducked when Xena bolted upright. Carefully looking up. "How are you feeling this morning Xena?"

Xena pondered the question for a moment and set her chakram down. While her troubled emotions were still there the nights rest had done her some good. "I feel better, what’s for breakfast?"

Gabrielle pulled the usual bread and cheese from the bag and the last of the jerky they had purchased in the last town. "Just the usual, no surprises."

The two friends ate in relative silence in front of the fire before breaking camp. Gabrielle saw a nervous Xena before her. Something was wrong, very wrong. This experience was unsettling for her but it would pass, she was sure she would have the old Xena back soon.

Clyus studied the map carefully and then the landscape in front of him. He traced his finger along the intended route. Their path should cut in front of Xena's well before the Temple, leaving ample time to arrange the ambush. He wheeled his horse around and back towards the column. Clyus strode next to Threcin. "My lord, is Xena more a threat than this Joxer?"

Threcin eyed his lieutenant. "They are both threats to me at this point. Xena has always been and this Joxer from what I hear is as dangerous as she is."

Clyus wondered a moment, he knew of Xena and her reputation but not this Joxer until recently. "What about this traveling companion of Xena's, who is she?"

"From what I have heard she is a bard that has been traveling with Xena for some time. Don't take her lightly, not only is she a skilled fighter but there is a rumor that she is an Amazon as well."

Clyus arched his brow. "An Amazon! Fascinating."

Gabrielle rode along watching Xena. This was really bothering her and she needed to talk. She moved Thesis up next to Argo. "Xena, will you talk to me about what is going on in your head, please?"

Xena glanced at her friend. "Oh Gabrielle you don't want to know what is going on in my head, it's a big mess in there."

"Xena you need to talk, I can tell this is tearing you upside and it's not good. So just tell me, please!"

Xena heard the serious tone in her voice and knew she would not let this go. She inhaled deeply. "I don't know Gabrielle, I just keep thinking about all the bad things I have done and the people I have hurt. I can usually just push these feelings of guilt aside, knowing that I am working on righting my wrongs but for some reason these past few days I can't. They are all just flooding over the barriers I have created for them.

Gabrielle could see that talking about her memories were bothering her as they spoke, that the visions from her past were tormenting her incessantly. Gabrielle was about to speak when Xena cut her short.

"I wonder if I had done things differently, if I had kept a tighter rein on my army then Callisto would not have lost her family, or if I had not even become the ruthless warlord in the first place, what my life would have been like. Xena thought back to the experience with the Fates...."Well maybe not going that far, I think I would have still fought back but I could have done some things differently."

Gabrielle listened to Xena rehashing her decisions over the years past. She stopped Thesis when she spotted the group of soldiers far in the distance. Xena kept riding and talking. "Xena!"

Xena stopped as Gabrielle hissed her name. She looked up and back.

Gabrielle nodded towards the soldiers. "Shall we ride on or avoid them?"

Xena looked ahead. "There is no way of knowing who they are but to be on the safe side we will go around them." Xena turned Argo toward a stand of trees, Gabrielle followed close behind. They watched as the soldiers passed them by. With the men safely in distance the two moved through the small stand of trees and out the other side. "Those soldiers were dressed like the ones who killed the temple guard. We will have to be very careful from now on."

Gabrielle looked back down the road as the men passed out of sight. Turning her attention back to Xena she pursued her quest for answers from her friend. "Xena you can't doubt your actions, what happened in that past is just that, the past.

"I know it is but I wish things could be a little different. I regret what I did to Iaolus, to Hercules. What happened to Callisto should never have happened. I destroyed so many lives, and the possibilities I threw away...." Gabrielle moved Thesis closer to Xena and grabbed her friend's arm firmly, but gently.

"You did what you did. It's past." Xena stared Gabrielle in the eyes.

"Is it?" Moving Argo along Xena hoped that Gabrielle was satisfied but she knew she wasn't. She did not understand why what had been such a simple task had now become a difficulty, her emotional control was mostly gone, her torturous memories forcing their way forward. Maybe she needed time off, a vacation of sorts. Go back home again and see her mother, take some time to relax.

Threcin looked over the map set before him. Tomorrow he would be in position to ambush Xena and her friend, take the disk and then deal with Joxer. Such a simple task it seemed, yet seemingly impossible. Clyus entered the tent with a scout close behind him.

"My lord, the scouting parties have returned and reported no sign of Xena or her companion."

Threcin wearily eyed his lieutenant. "Did the search all travelers on the road?"

"Yes my lord. They did not find anyone matching their description."

Threcin laughed. "You fool, if they had met up with Xena we would know about it, the men would have come back battered and wounded, those left alive that is. She probably evaded the scouts. No matter, tomorrow we will have her."

Xena's attitude had improved during the day, her lighthearted conversation during the day with Gabrielle had helped take her mind off of things. "And remember the time Joxer had the egg on his face in that barn."

Gabrielle laughed. "Or Autolycus, the first time we met him when you pulled him down those steps."

Xena smiled at the thought of those times as an old memory came back to her. "Oh you haven't seen anything until you have seen Salmoneus in a dress." The two friends laughed together, like old times.

Gabrielle did her best to keep Xena's spirits up, fixing her favorite dinner of rabbit and keeping the conversation cheerful. Her heart sank as she saw Xena's expression go blank, staring off into the woods. "Xena what is it now?"

Xena looked at her friend over the fire. "Wait here, I'll be back soon."

Gabrielle protested as Xena headed into the trees. "Xena please, not this again!"

Xena stopped and turned, a concerned look in her face. "No, I heard something, I'll be back." She stalked into the inky blackness of the night. Gabrielle looked about in the shadows thrown by the fire and held her staff tightly, tuning her mind to the sounds of the surrounding forest, nothing other than Xena's quite footfalls fading into the distance. She sat close to the low burning fire with her staff beside her.

A louder sound caught Xena's ear, the sound of men and horses. She moved deeper into the woods. Stalking closer she spied movement and the flicker of camp fires. Looking closely among the trees she spotted a few sentries and quietly slipped past them, heading for the largest tent. This stealthy activity helped her mind as well, tuning her mind to avoid danger. Moving to the back wall of the tent she heard voices.

Threcin looked at the map spread out before him. "Clyus I want men positioned here and here, we'll cut Xena off at this point. Once that trap is sprung I want men to come up from behind at this point and cut off any escape routes." Clyus nodded, watching intently with the other men as Threcin laid out his plan.

A memory flashed through Xena's mind, she knew the place this warlord was referring to, she knew it all too well as the scene of an ambush she herself had suffered at the hands of the temple guards. She moved soundlessly from the tent and into the shadows. A safe distance from the camp, she moved stealthily through the trees in the direction of her campsite.

Gabrielle poked critically at the rabbit cooking on the spit; it was just right. Since she hated to dine alone, she hoped that Xena would return soon. At the periphery of conscious perception, the sound of rapid foot- falls, twigs snapping. Xena burst from the trees. "Pack your things. We're leaving."

Gabrielle furrowed her brow. "Leaving? We just got here!"

Xena quickly rolled her bedroll and began to collect her things. "The warlord who is after the Disk is camped not far from here. He is planning an ambush for us. We need to get further away from here to camp. In the morning we will get far ahead of him and avoid his little trap."

Gabrielle gathered her things and began to pack them onto Theses. She noticed that Xena seemed invigorated by the excitement and the bard was silently grateful that this threat of ambush had pulled Xena from the clutches of her disturbing mood. "Something for the road." Gabrielle plucked the stick that held the rabbit over the fire. Minutes later the two women made their way through the trees, avoiding branches as best they could in the darkness. Once on the road they dined on cold rabbit as they made their way east.

Slowly making their way down the road the two didn't speak. Xena led the way on Argo, well adapted to traveling in the dark. Xena's emotions were in check it seemed, with a threat to be dealt with and her senses heightened she was her old self. She found it odd that Xena had chosen to run from a fight. Was she afraid of this warlord, was she scared to go into battle? This was puzzling but tossed the thoughts aside.

Moving along the dark road Xena suddenly pulled Argo to a halt. Gabrielle moved up next to her. "What is it?"

"See the pass ahead, where the road narrows and those rocks rise on each side? Thats the ambush spot, thats where I was ambushed so many years ago.?

The memory flashed through her mind, rocks and arrows raining on her and her men from above. The death of some of her best men.......The vision disappeared as Gabrielle shook her arm. "So what do we do? Go around?"

"There is no way around for miles Gabrielle, we have to go through here. It should be fine even at this time of night."

Xena urged Argo forward and Gabrielle followed. Gabrielle looked up at the ominous rocks as they entered the pass. She could only imagine what it was like with men above throwing rocks down on you. The pass was only wide enough for a small cart, perfect for an ambush.