Innocence of War
Parts 1 - 4
by Arianwen P.F. Everett
Disclaimer: I do not own Xena, Gabrielle, The Fates, Hera, Zeus, Ares, Strife (in loving memory), or Hestia. Although I've said it before and I'll say it again, I wouldn't mind owning Kevin Smith. Please don't sue me.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: RATED PG-13 for language.
Part 1
The once simple home of the three Fates now looked like war central, as Ares and his minions worked steadily day and night, preparing for the menacing god known as Dahak and his demon seed Hope. Since the death of Strife, Ares had made many visits to the Fates, they being the only gods other than himself, with enough foresight to see the threat Dahak brought. When Atropos had had to cut Strife's thread, they had summoned him with their concerns. The casual death of Olympian gods could not be tolerated, even the death of one as insignificant and virtually powerless as Strife.
Ares stood imposingly over the three women, who in all outward appearance, where performing their godly duties, spinning, weaving, and cutting the threads of mortals and gods' lives. Ares let out an exasperated sigh. For allies, these 3 were being quite difficult. "I still don't see why you just can't find the threads of Dahak’s mortal followers and snip snip," Ares made a scissors motion in the air.
"We've explained it to you before. We can't just indescriminently kill mortals by cutting threads. Each mortal has a certain time to die, even the evil ones faithful. The threads must be able to weave themselves together until it is the proper time for clipping," Lachesis, the weaver, tried to explain calmly.
"So millennia old gods like Strife must just lay down their lives, in order to protect the mortal fabric! To Tartarus with the mortal fabric! We gods existed before mortals, and we would exist without them!" Ares shouted angrily, the memory of Strife's slaughter still fresh in his mind.
"And what kind of existence would that be? Gods would be poisoning themselves with hinds blood within a century," Atropos returned, snipping an old Roman peasant's thread.
"What, you afraid your hand would cramp up?" Ares shot back without thinking.
Clotho found one particular thread, handed it down to Lachesis, who handed it to the offended Atropos.
Atropos grabbed the War god's arm and pulled him over. "See this thread Warmonger. This is the thread of the Warrior Princess. The two threads that seem to intertwine it at several different junctures belong to you and her Bard friend. If I cut it here," the goddess menacingly
opened the blade of her shears around the living fiber, as Ares stiffened at the thought. "then not only does she die, but the bard does too, and your thread slacks off, refusing to weave anymore. A fate far worse than that incurred by Strife with these shears. At least that was death," Atropos finished coldly, her voice barely a whisper.
Ares shivered despite himself, then let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"And you are not the only god with such close ties to the mortal world," Atropos finished, dropping Xena's thread, as Ares thread weaved itself closer with Xena's. Ares grumbled in frustration, as Lachesis gave him a knowing look.
"What the... No!" Clotho shrieked, as the mostly blackened thread of the War god started pulling backward, unraveling from the beginning. It had snagged on those of the Warrior Princess and the Bard, and pulled their threads back towards the beginning of the tapestry, back through generations, back before humans were little more than cave dwelling apes.
Ares screamed in pain, as the thread that was his long life span so far slacked.
"It was all I could do," Clothos said to her sisters, had I continued spinning his thread it would have snapped, and he would have died. At least now, with the Warrior Princess and the Bard back at the beginning, he has a chance. We must tell Zeus!" Clothos finished, standing up.
Before the three sister Fates could reach the door to their hut, it slammed shut, and a horned beast demon appeared in the room. "I am the Deliverer. With the War god's life sacrifice, Dahak shall reign for eternity!" the evil thing shouted.
Part 2
Xena and Gabrielle awoke, and for the first few seconds, neither knew that anything was wrong, until Xena felt something crawling on her leg. She looked down, careful not to move the rest of the body, and saw an odd spider crawling towards her boot. She had never seen a spider like this before, but she didn't want to take chances. "Gabrielle," Xena whispered urgently.
The sleepy bard turned toward her best friend. "What," Gabrielle said, not really even asking, as she was still half asleep.
"There is a strange spider on my leg. I don't want to move in case it's poisonous. My chakram is under the bed roll, near my head. Slowly get it, and put it in my hand," Xena said, slowly inching her hand to her stomach, as not to threaten the spider. When Gabrielle had removed the chakram, she handed it to Xena with a small encouraging smile.
As expected, the weapon flew from Xena's hand, even at such an awkward angle, slicing off the offending arachnid. As she sat up, she caught the mighty circle, as it obediently returned to her hand.
Xena looked around, and her brow furrowed. "Where are we?" she asked.
Gabrielle looked around. "I don't know," Gabrielle said, looking up at the tall trees around her. They had made camp in a clearing near the main road to Amphipolis. Now they were in what looked like a rain forest. They stood up, and felt the soft, but walkable mud under their feet.
Xena looked for the sun, rising as always, in the East. "Well, wherever we are, we aren't going to get any answers out here. Lets get moving, and find a town or village. I'm sure someone can tell us where we are," Xena said, rolling up her bedroll, and stretching.
The two women walked for a day, when finally, as the sun was descending again, the obscuring treeline broke, and the Earth became more firm under foot. All day long they'd walked, and not a sign of civilization. They'd only eaten what rations they'd had, and those were running low. The plants were mostly foreign, and Xena was worried about poisoning. If they didn't find edible food soon, they'd have to take their chances on the fruits and grubs around them.
They made camp, agreeing not to eat dinner, as to save food, and each wished the other a good night. Xena had taken first watch in this new and odd environment. She could only hope that tomorrow would prove more fruitful.
The next morning, Gabrielle and Xena shared a small breakfast, then started continuing their trek east. Today was going a bit better. They had found a lake, on the now firmer ground, and they had successfully fished for their dinner. Neither said much. There wasn't much to say. They didn't know where they were, how they'd gotten there, or if they'd ever get back. Still, they hadn't come across another living soul. Gabrielle had commented, before she'd gone to sleep that night, that it seemed like they were the only two people in the world.
On the start of third day in this strange place, Xena awoke to a blood curdling scream, Gabrielle's scream. She jumped to her feet, only to stand face to face with a giant mutated creature that looked like a cross between a snake and a scorpion. The creature sized her and Gabrielle up, and Xena was sure they were on this things breakfast menu. She waited patiently for the thing to make a move, for the battle to begin, when the creature slowly eased back. When it was a few feet from the two women, it opened its mouth. "What are you?" it asked.
Xena and Gabrielle looked at each other in shock. "What are you?" Xena countered.
"I am Seeto, daughter of Gaia and Uranos. What are you?" the creature asked again, this time more insistent.
"My name is Xena, and this is Gabrielle. We're mortals, people," Xena tried to explain.
Gabrielle's mind did a back flip. She pulled Xena aside, whispering. "Xena, Seeto was slain trying to protect her 10,000 children during the war with the Titans. Zeus went on a rampage, killing her kids because they were so monstrously ugly, and when she tried to stop him, he killed her too."
Xena looked at her incredulously. Then she turned back to the creature before them. "This question may sound strange, but we really need to know. Where exactly are we?" Xena asked.
Seeto hissed, as she seemed to mull over the question. "You are where you are. I do not understand your question, Creature that calls itself Xena," Seeto answered.
Xena looked towards Gabrielle, who seemed to have just had a revelation. "I don't think the question is where we are, but when we are, Xena," Gabrielle hypothesized, then turned towards Seeto. "Seeto, who is the king of the gods?" Gabrielle asked.
"You Creature Mortals are quite stupid and annoying. The King of the gods is Chronos, and why would you need to ask such a question?"
Part 3
"Chronos is still leading the gods? Great!" Xena shouted. "Not only are we in the past, we're in the ancient past!"
"Well, it explains why we haven't seen any other human beings. There aren't any yet, except us! Hey, that makes us the first people!" Gabrielle said, teasing Xena with a smile.
"That explains why you are so stupid. There are other 'humans', Creature known as Gabrielle. They live in the caves three hills away. They are little more than smelly animals. I sometimes snack on a few to keep then and their pointy sticks in line. You are the first to even consider a dialogue, so I will not eat you, but I will not continue conversing with such lowly things," Seeto stated, disgustedly, then turned her gigantic body around and plodded back into the treeline.
"Titan Monsters!" Xena said in exasperation.
"And to think I felt sorry for her and her 10,000 children, when I first heard the story," Gabrielle said, shaking her head. She then gathered her supplies as Xena stared at her.
"Where do you think you're going?" Xena asked.
"Three hills over, to were the people are. Maybe they have a map for around here, or at least supplies," Gabrielle explained.
"Gabrielle, that may not be such a good idea. These people are not what we're used to. They may not even be able to speak; that monstrosity did refer to them as 'smelly animals, who don't even attempt to communicate'. We know they're armed, though I doubt they have very advanced weapons. I say it's not worth the trouble, yet," Xena deducted, the stress beginning to get to her.
"Do you have a better idea, Xena... Xena, Xena," Gabrielle called, trying to get her friends attention.
"Gabrielle, look over there, the general shape of those mountains, in the far distance. These slight slope of this land leading into those hills, and then beyond, to... the main road towards Gaul! I don't think we ever left Greece," Xena stated astonished, ideas running through her mind.
Gabrielle got a confused look on her face, as she too stared into the distance. Then it hit her. "Same place, wrong time? Why?"
"Why any of this?" Xena asked back, as a plan began to form. She reached to the ground for her bedroll.
"You're on to something. I know that look. What have you figured out? What's going on?" the Bard asked, stopping her friend from refastening a loose stay on her bodice.
"I don't know, but I think I know where we can get some answers. Remember that old temple, we past a day before all this happened?" Xena asked, gesticulating to get her meaning across.
"Yeah, why?" Gabrielle asked.
"Well, when I was still a warlord, my army frequented that road we were on. I once asked a frightened old peasant what god that temple was for. My men wanted to burn the structure, and build a new one to Ares, since we controlled the road. The man said that that temple had long go been dedicated to Chronos and his wife Rhea, and was on a spot sacred to the former King and Queen of gods since the beginning of time, before any humans existed. So I figure, if we return to where that temple will stand, and make a little noise..."
"We might get Chronos and, or Rhea to send us home," Gabrielle concluded, smiling.
"Yep, now let’s get moving, we have over four days journey to get back there. I'm almost sure, now that I know where we are, that I can get us back to the spot," Xena stated more confidently than she felt.
"Almost sure?" Gabrielle asked, hearing the uncertainty in her companions voice. Xena gave her a hard look, and Gabrielle raised her hands defensively. "all right. I have faith in you. You'll get us home. You always do," Gabrielle stated, truth, slipping into her words as she said them, and by the time she was silent once more, she fully believed them too.
Part 4
The first day of their journey back towards Chronos and Rhea's sacred ground, was uneventful, if awe inspiring. They couldn't believe how different Greece had been in this ancient time, and while Gabrielle found it fascinating, Xena found it disturbing. She seemed tenser than usual, if that was possible, so Gabrielle just let her be, concentrating on the wonders of this bygone world.
Xena could only hope that the odd creatures stayed away, as they seemed to be doing, and they didn't run into any more like Seeto, only even less friendly. To Xena, everything posed a danger here, and she had to be ready for it. This was not HER Greece, and she had to admit that she was also a bit worried about her future meeting with Chronos and Rhea. What if they wouldn't send them home? She knew very little of the gods ruling in this age, and too much of those to come after.
A shuffling in the bushes got her attention, and she looked around. "Who's there?" she asked. She looked over to the battle ready Gabrielle, holding her trusty staff. She walked towards the brush. "I said, who's there?" she called even louder.
Suddenly there was a flurry of movement, and Xena pounced on it, barely catching the speedy creature in her steel grip. A muffled cry escaped from underneath, a baby's cry.
"Let me go, you insane mortal woman!" the person beneath her howled.
Xena got up slowly, keeping her sword on the woman she'd caught. The woman was fit and tanned, and quite attractive. While she wasn't a warrior, she looked like she knew how to give a good fight, and if she wasn't carrying the squalling baby at her chest, she probably would have given Xena and Gabrielle a bit of a workout.
"Hera," Gabrielle, whispered in amazement. She had seen ancient statues in her travels, and the resemblance was uncanny.
"How do you know me, girl?" the Queen she would become, shining through.
"I... I've seen statues and engravings," Gabrielle answered, breaking out of her stupor.
The woman laughed a hearty laugh. "Statues of me! Wife to the fallen god, Zeus! You must be insane! My family and I are public enemy number one! If you mortals, and I'm surprised you two are of those beasts, as you are wearing clothes like we gods do, were ever to dedicate so much as a pebble in my name, Chronos would wipe your whole species out of existence!" Hera laughed, bitterness filling her voice.
Suddenly there was a mild tremor, and Hera's eye's widened. "Shit! I've stayed here too long, talking to you baboons! I've got to go!" Hera shouted under her breath, her green eyes, pleading with Xena to let her up.
The warrior confidently, moved the sword closer to the goddesses neck. "What are you so afraid of?" Xena asked, as the baby started screaming, as a second thud rattled the Earth beneath them even more forcefully.
"Look, if you don't let me up, Japetos will find me, and probably kill you two in the process! If you run, now, you may have a chance!" Hera pleaded in anger and fear.
"Xena, if that is Japetos, then we'd all better get out of here! He's one BIG, MEAN Titan! Not to mention if we're in the middle of the war between the Titans and Olympian gods..."
"We'll be squashed like bugs," Xena concluded, removing her sword from Hera's neck.
Hera quickly sprinted away, and Xena and Gabrielle, knowing nowhere else to go or hide, ran after her, barely keeping pace.
The baby around Hera, shrieked the whole run.
Stopping suddenly, Hera, not too gently, removed the papoose from her neck, laying the frightened infant against a tree. She then turned, as if to set off in an opposing direction.
"What are you doing?!" Gabrielle shouted over the baby's cries.
Hera, turned around, still running in place. "He's leading Japetos right to us! He's expendable! I can have more children! Go, now! Run!" Hera called back, as she disappeared out of sight.
"DAMN THE GODS!" Xena swore, scooping the child into her arms, as she and Gabrielle continued their escape, the baby's cries having ceased.
The three made it to a nearby cave, having lost the angry Titan. Neither Xena nor Gabrielle found a trace of Hera, and they realized, with some horror, that they were in possession of an abandoned baby god, who seemed to have fallen asleep during the chaos.
Xena looked down at the sweet child, a slight smile forming at her lips, despite herself, as the baby, nuzzled his head closer to her, greedily trying to absorb her heat in the chilly cave. "Gods," she whispered to Gabrielle, as she rested her own head against her pal's shoulder for a moment of comfort.
Continue to Chapter 5
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