According to plan, a squad of twenty warriors under Malonda's direction had concentrated on rounding up the civilian spectators, herding them into a guarded pocket near the gallery's entrance. A further ten warriors had secured that entrance against anyone attempting to leave .. or join the fight. If things had gone well, Eponin would have left four warriors to barricade the door to the holding pens, frustrating Flaccus and his men's attempts at linking with the rest of their unit, while the remainder of her command would sweep the house and detain all other guests and slaves so that word of what was going on didn't escape.

Keeping an eye on the situation around her, as well as checking now and then to make sure that Caesar was still unconscious, the bard began to take mental notes on how the fight was progressing. She easily spotted the towering form of Hercules who had teamed up with a short looking Amazon that just had to be Iolaus. Together they were wreaking sustained havoc, using their fists, wits and synchronised timing to bludgeon persistent soldiers into submission. She winced in sympathy when one luckless legionnaire was hoisted high into the air above the demi-god's head, and sent plummeting down into the pit below to land in a crashing tangle with a group of Flaccus' men who had found their exit from the holding area barred by a heavy, locked door courtesy of Eponin and her group.

"That's gotta hurt," she grinned as she watched the luckless soldier groan and collapse into the sand as his colleagues pulled themselves together and scrambled to their feet looking for a way to join the melee taking place above them.

Flaccus appeared below them and, efficient officer that he was, started to organise his men, sending several off on errands before standing and glaring up at the debacle taking place above him, "Legionnaires!" he bellowed, "Close formation! Find and protect the General!"

"Hera's heels!" cursed the bard as she saw his words begin to take effect and the disciplined Roman soldiers started to reform and attack in fighting wedges that the more lightly armed and armoured Amazons had trouble countering. A glance told her that Ephiny and Toris had been joined by ten Amazons determined to keep their Queen and Regent safe at all costs. So far they had managed to keep a tight cordon around Gabrielle and Caesar, but more of the Romans were trying to converge on the area and rescue their leader.

A frantic search showed that Xena was being hard pressed by soldiers as she stood over the prone body of an Amazon - No. Not an Amazon, - her mind informed her, "Joxer!" she said with quiet intensity.

When Xena had plunged into the chaotic fray created by her 'escape' from the pit, she had nothing in mind other than to work off the intense anger that burned within her, releasing it in her passion for battle .. it was either that or kill Caesar there and then! So she had plunged forward with her borrowed sword, performing her dance of death: spinning, twisting, bobbing and weaving while all the time the blade in her hand licked out injuring, maiming and killing any soldier foolish enough to stand against her.

Pent up rage fuelled her waltz through the enemy, cutting her off from the pain of the occasional scratch that made it through her defences for she knew that she could not afford to hold back the dark killer within her. These soldiers would not willingly surrender. The knowledge that should she escape meant that many of them would suffer death by Crucifiction for dereliction of duty, spurred them forward continuously: they faced death either way. Far better to die as a warrior than to be reviled and face the death of a criminal!

A familiar figure wearing Amazon clothing appeared in her line of sight. She had no trouble identifying the inept warrior as he did his best to prove his worth to his friends by helping with fighting .. a task he was supremely not cut out for. She saw him slip clumsily, luck taking him under the pointed thrust of his opponent, but before he could scramble away, the Roman forced him to his back and prepared to deliver the downward stabbing stroke that would be sure to end her friends life.

A wicked slash of her own sword tore out her opponent's throat and covered her with the hot stickiness of his fountaining blood. Without more thought the Warrior Princess threw herself into a dive that tackled the legionnaire, standing above the downed Joxer, shoving him back and away as he began his downward thrust with his weapon.

Xena felt the burning pain of the sword as it entered her back below her left shoulder. She had a moment to be grateful for the fact that the force of her body hitting the Roman's had thrown off not only the direction of the thrust but also the power. Instead of having two feet of steel shoved through her spine, she suffered a deep gash, painful and bloody, but not debilitating ... yet!

She felt the soldier pull the weapon back for another attempt at felling her and winced at the pain as she felt steel grate against bone. Not being in a position to use her own blade, she swung back her fist and smashed it into the soldiers jaw, her always thunderous blow given added impact from the weight of the sword hilt she held. As the punch landed she felt the disintegration of the man's jaw and knew that this particular Roman would not be rejoining the fray.

As she heaved herself upright she heard Flaccus' bellowed orders while registering the fact that Joxer had managed to get tangled in a couple of bodies that littered the ground around them, "You okay?" she demanded, as she fended off another attacker.

"F..fine," he managed as he struggled to get up.

"Then get off your butt and go help Gabrielle keep an eye on Caesar for me," she snarled as she parried the lunge of a soldier and swayed to her right to avoid another attacker.

"S..sure thing Xena." He at last managed to extricate himself and turned to head for the bard's position, before he looked back and said, "Thanks for saving me. It's good to have you back again."

"Not now Joxer," she growled as she ducked an impatient slash, "Later."

Nodding his agreement, the wannabe warrior made his way to the cordon of Amazons around Gabrielle, avoiding getting skewered with a series of trips, slips and accidental spins that provided the perfect ungainly counterpoint to the Warrior Princess' graceful movement.

Hoping that Joxer would be alright, but not being able to track his movements due to her adversaries who were doggedly demanding her full attention. A lighting thrust and vicious swipe sent the pair clattering backwards until she could yell her own orders, "Amazons! Regroup around the Queen!" She threw a look across to the other side of the pit and caught Hercules' eye, "You and Iolaus hold that side and I'll hold this!" she yelled above the noise of the battle.

Preparing herself as the Roman's organised into small mobile wedges of five men, she was startled to find a tall Amazon standing at her shoulder .. - No, not an Amazon! - she realised, "Damn it Toris! I thought I told you to stay with Gabrielle!" she swore as she picked up the fight once more, refusing to give ground to the soldiers before her.

"You can't hold this side alone!" he grunted back at her as he engaged a Roman, "And Mother told me to bring you home safe!" He grinned at the incredulous look his sister gave him.

After that they had no time for more conversation as they battled against the frantic soldiers who were determined to rescue their emperor or die.

Iolaus was back at his partner's side fighting, and it felt .. comfortable, - Yeah, that's the way to describe it. Comfortable and right. - He'd missed Hercules in the time that he'd been running around Narbonensis and Italia. True he'd made a friend in Toris, - Who'd have thought that? - he asked himself as he ducked under a sword slash and retaliated with a straight right to the nose that sent the soldier stumbling backwards.

He'd nearly burst his sides holding in the laughter as he saw Xena catapult the demi-god out of the pit, and follow him out with one of her characteristic flips and a battlecry. He'd won several bets on that event, including one with Hercules who had insisted that he'd boost their friend out into a safe area and follow after. He had known that Xena wouldn't go for that, and he'd been proven right! - Ooops! Concentrate Iolaus! - he reminded himself as he felt the sharp graze of a sword slicing across his biceps.

He slipped back into the familiar routine of complimenting Hercules' power with his own speed and agility. With the Amazons snapping around the edges and the Romans disorganised and with no strong commander, they were making good progress towards bringing things to a speedy conclusion. It was at that point that a hard bitten, veteran soldier had issued loud, crisp commands to the men fighting along the gallery. There was a general disengagement as legionnaires reformed and advanced once more in organised formations that were proving difficult to counter.

He'd looked up when Xena had shouted out her orders and had seen Hercules nod his agreement. Then they were plunged into the thick of the fighting once again. The demi-god grabbed two of the closing soldiers, one in either hand, and swung them into each other in a clatter of armour stunning them, before hoisting them onto his shoulders and using their bodies to batter their comrades into submission.

Iolaus was not idle during this. Not having the brute power of his best friend, the blonde warrior relied on his speed and agility to duck blows, get out of tight scrapes, and deliver flashing attacks with fists, feet and if all else failed, his head. Between the two of them, they were making heavy inroads into their Roman attackers, with many of the vanquished soldiers being tossed over the edge of the pit into the growing numbers below.

Risking a glance across the pit, Iolaus saw Xena and Toris working together in bloody tandem as they fought with ferocity and uncompromising steel. The Warrior Princess was covered in crimson gore as she savagely pared down the ranks of the Romans. The blonde knew that most of the blood would be her opponents, but undoubtedly some was her own, yet if she was hurt it didn't show as her fighting skills remained undiminished.

Launching himself at three legionaries trying to break past them, Iolaus grabbed tightly to one man, while scissoring his legs around a second man's throat. He dealt with the one in the middle by the simple expedient of head butting him. "Ow!" he yelped as his forehead connected with the legionnaire's helmet, but the force was enough to daze the man. Keeping his legs tightly locked, he pummelled the first man into submission by repeatedly punching him in the face until he dropped unconscious. As he dropped the weight of his own body towards the floor, the blonde gave a sharp twist with his legs and sent the third man sailing out over the gallery railing into the pit below.

Bouncing to his feet, Iolaus couldn't help but grin. He enjoyed this and he hadn't had any decent action since his and Toris' little skirmish in Pisae. Thinking of Toris, he chanced another glance in the direction of the tall dark haired man and his sister. - He's good, - he acknowledged to himself as he saw Toris run an opponent through with an extended lunge, taking the Roman out as he was about to get a free shot at Xena. - They work well together, - he decided as he watched, - Xena takes most of the heat protecting Toris who works around the edges mopping up any danger to her. Seems to be a comfortable, well used combination. -

"Iolaus! Look out!" yelled Hercules as a soldier charged him.

Without conscious thought, the blonde twisted to one side, feeling the blade score a shallow gash across his abdomen as he did so. As the Roman was carried past on the momentum of his charge and thrust, Iolaus crashed a fist into his armoured ribs and when the soldier doubled up, floored him with a double handed downward punch. "Thanks Herc," he acknowledged, shaking his right hand which he'd bruised on the soldiers armour.

"Anytime, pal," came the reply, "Now lets get this mopped up so we can go home."

"Sure thing!" agreed the blonde, launching himself back into the melee.

Gabrielle bit her lip as she watched the progression of the fight. She'd been relieved when Joxer had finally made it over to the relative safety of the Amazon redoubt around her and she'd even managed to get him to do something useful by tumbling any downed Roman into the pit below. She hadn't seen exactly when Toris had slipped away, but she picked him out as he'd approached and joined Xena, and had watched, with rapt attention, the familiarity they displayed with each other fighting side by side against the foe.

As more and more of the legionaries went down, Ephiny despatched a couple of hands (the bard had learned that an Amazon fighting unit of a hand consisted of five warriors) to throw the battle's debris into the pit, knowing that it would frustrate Flaccus' efforts in trying to get out of there to join the fight, while having the added benefit of ensuring that neither Xena, Toris, Hercules, nor Iolaus, stumbled over downed men.

All of the civilians were in a huddled, cowed mass and were causing no problems that their Amazon guards couldn't handle. Gabrielle noted the rather wry grimace on Graccus' face as he observed the riotous shambles that his party had become. She couldn't stifle a grin and she wished she could invite him to a real Amazon celebration so that he could see what a real riot was! There were occasional complaints from the more outraged members of that penned group, but nothing that Malonda and her cohorts couldn't handle.

She had seen Eponin arrive at the doorway and she had given the thumbs up sign to signal that all was secured and that they had managed to prevent anyone from leaving. She couldn't fail to see the wistful expression on the Weapon Master's face as she enviously watched the combat taking place before recalling her own duties and heading back into the palace to double check that everything was under control.

It was becoming more and more obvious that the Romans were beaten and Gabrielle heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that they were one step closer to achieving what they had set out to do. But her intense interest in the fight going on around her almost led to disaster as she completely forgot about Caesar.

It sounded as if a swarm of bees was buzzing in his head as he slowly struggled back to consciousness. To be honest, he couldn't really believe that he was still alive. He'd seen and recognised the hatred and desire to kill in her eyes and had almost believed that his destiny had deserted him ... almost!

He cracked open an eye to try and get his bearings. From what he could see, from his prone position, his men were losing badly! The grunts and cries and howls that rang through the chamber made a tumultuous din that really intensified the ache in his skull, but he had little care for either that or his dying men as he wracked his brain for a way to regain control of the situation.

Looking up he recognised the presence of Ephiny as she directed her Amazons in several different tasks. She seemed more concerned with ensuring that her perimeter was secure than with watching over her prisoner, - Which means that someone else must have that honour, - he told himself.

Carefully turning his head he found an Amazon standing beside him leaning confidently on a staff. He tracked his eyes up the short muscular body to the back of her head .. her attention obviously on the battle around them .. and recognised the red/gold hair of the bard. - Bad mistake, Gabrielle, - he said to himself, - You should never, ever, take your eyes off a dangerous prisoner! -

Moving his hand slowly he inched towards one of the stiletto's he kept in his boots. Feeling a sense of relief when his hand closed around the hilt, he slowly pulled it from its sheath and prepared to move decisively. Once he had the blade pressed to the bard's throat he could call this farce to an end. Xena would be quickly put back in chains and the Amazon contingent could be dealt with. The thought of having Ephiny entirely under his control almost made his lick his lips in anticipation.

Judging that it was time for his move, Caesar tensed his muscles and forced himself from the floor, reaching for Gabrielle, knife ready in his hand. But as he gained his feet there was a dazzling flash of gold and green light and he found himself facing an intense seeming Amazon sighting down the length of a deadly looking arrow ready to fire at point blank range.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she told him. "Unless you're looking to spend the rest of your life as a pig!" she quirked a mischievous smile, "Although that might actually be an improvement for you!"