No Place Like Home

The evening was still early but Xena, Gabrielle, Eve and Kallopiea were setting out their bedrolls. "We have a long journey tomorrow Kallopiea, you need to get some sleep before we set off." Gabrielle said. "You are my mentor not my mother." Kallopiea replied angrily. "Actually we're your friends, and we promised your mother we would look after you." Xena interrupted. "I am not arguing, I plan to sleep. I am ju…" "Good." Xena interrupted again. Gabrielle got on to her bedroll and tried not to laugh, but Xena noticed the huge smile on her face. "And what are you so happy about?" Xena questioned. "Oh nothing…nothing…well, she reminds me how stubborn you used to be, and even when you agreed you used to argue and agree at the same time just like her." "SHE and HER have a name." Kallopiea started. Which made Gabrielle laughed even more. "Your not arguing with me are you Kallopiea?." Gabrielle said. Kallopiea sighed and laid down on her bedroll, she was between Xena and Eve with Gabrielle the other side of Xena. "Anyhow," Eve spoke, "Tomorrow we will head straight for Amphilopis, right mother?" "That's right." Xena said thoughtfully. Gabrielle noticed Xena's expression, it looked like she want to talk to Gabrielle but not with Eve or Kallopiea around. "Oh no! I think I left my saddlebag at that log 10 minutes from here. Kallopiea could you go get it for me?" Gabrielle said trying to cause a distraction. "Can you not get it?" "Just think of it as an endurance test, Kallopiea." Xena said. Kallopiea got up and started to walk back into the forest. "I'll go with her." Eve stated and followed Kallopiea. "So Xena, what's on your mind?" Gabrielle asked softly once Eve and Kallopiea were out of sight. "I've been thinking about the past, about the present and the future. Gabrielle before we went to Japa we were going to change our direction in life, but things went of course. Now that we are going back home I just can't help but think maybe this is an opportunity to think about things for a while." "You mean settle down in Amphipolis?" Gabrielle asked surprised. "Not settle down, but maybe calm down." "Relax?" "Oh please." "Maybe it would be a good idea. I mean after all, one day you are going to have to say enough is enough, you can't fight forever and one day your are just going to have to except you have made up for your past maybe tomorrows that day." "I wouldn't go that far." "Xena, one day you will forgive yourself, everyone else has." "Eve it is not here." Kallopiea said. "It has to be." "Gabrielle lied, I think she wanted to talk to Xena." Suddenly Kallopiea and Eve heard a noise, a loud thud from behind them. They both turned around and saw a man lying on the floor. Eve cautiously walked up to him. "Are you OK?" She asked. "Ow, ow, oh, yeah." Joxer said while brushing himself down. He saw Eve and screamed at the site of his former killer, Eve screamed back at the sight of Joxer being alive. "Joxer!" Gabrielle said from the camp, "Eve!" Xena replied and they quickly ran into the forest. Joxer quickly started to run backwards, away from Eve. Kallopiea chased him and Joxer ran straight through a solid tree. Filled with fear Kallopiea continued the chase and soon caught up with Joxer and pinned him to the ground. "What are you and how did you run through a tree?" Kallopiea demanded an answer. "I'm a Joxer, I mean I'm Joxer the Mighty." Eve came running up behind Kallopiea, "It's OK. He's a friend of Gabrielle's and mothers. Joxer I thought you were dead?" Kallopiea gave Joxer her hand and pulled him of the ground. "And I thought you were Livia." He said trying to give a reason for screaming. Xena and Gabrielle came running over to them, "Joxer this is Eve, she's good now remember. And Eve, Joxer is a ghost." "And you didn't tell me?" "We were getting around to it." Xena defended. Joxer walked over to Kallopiea, "If that's Eve, and I'm Joxer who are you?" He said. "My name is Kallopiea. I am being trained to be a warrior." "A warrior huh. I know a thing or two about war, oh yes .Did I mention I injured an entire army single handed?" Kallopiea looked at Xena and Gabrielle for conformation, "He poisoned them with his food." Gabrielle smirked. Eve started laughing too them stopped suddenly. "Joxer I'm sorry for killing you." "Listen Livia…Leave…Eve! That's all in the past now and I'm still the gallant warrior I always was." Joxer said. "Anyhow, Xena I am hear for a reason. Something bad has happened." Xena's expression went from a happy to serious. "What?" "Someone, I don't know who, has started a war….on you." "What do you mean?" "He went to Amphipolis and burned some houses down to the ground." "Xena, that's terrible." Gabrielle whispered. "He wants your blood Xena and he heard you were going back to Amphipolis so he went their with an army of warriors and torched it he said he would kill 5 villagers everyday until you faced him." "Then we are going to Amphipolis tonight." Xena said "Xena that is suicide, you need to sleep first or else you will not be fit to fight." Kallopiea replied. "She's right Xena." Gabrielle said. "Then let's get back to camp we will leave at first light." The next morning Xena woke and saw Joxer and Kallopiea talking. "Anyway," Joxer said, "Let's just say that's the last time the Bacchae messed with Joxer the Mighty." "Interesting, yet inconsistent. You said the only way to kill a Bacchae was with a Dryad bone but then you said you speared six on a javelin." "But what you have to remember is that…that…that…well you see…are yes the javelin had a Dryad bone at the end of it where the spiky bit is." Xena smiled from behind them. "Really?" Kallopiea asked sarcastically. "Oh yeah." Xena said, "Perfectly made by Joxer." "Just like Gabrielle's bag being at that log yesterday, am I correct Xena?" Kallopiea replied. "Exactly. Anyhow wake up those two I'll go get the horses prepared." Xena ordered. "As for Argo Junior, who do you think made that the horse what he is today?" "Argo is a she, not a he." Kallopiea corrected. "That's what I said." After preparing the horses the fours warriors and Joxer started to make there way to Amphipolis. They travelled for many hours and didn't stop until they couldn't move anymore because of exhaustion. "We will rest here for a short time then we continue." Xena announced. "Good idea," Joxer said and sat down on a rock, he fell right through and was sat in the rock with his feet poking out. "OW!" He screamed. "It's less then an hour journey now but we need to rest before we fight. Joxer, what do you know about the man attacking my village?" Xena said while drinking water from a wine skin. Still trying to get out of the rock Joxer answered Xena's question. "Not a lot, he seems to know you well from what he said to his men. You must have met him recently because he is young, maybe 25, 26." "Who could that be?" Gabrielle asked Xena. "I don't know." Xena said deep in thought. "What are you thinking?" "Nothing." Gabrielle respected Xena's silence and decided not to question her. "Let's continue to Amphipolis." Xena said and got on her horse. Gabrielle, Eve and Kallopiea quickly did the same. "You know this ghost stuff is a real pain, not being able to rid horses is just stupid." Kallopiea dismounted her horse and walked with Joxer, "What is it like being a ghost?" Kallopiea asked. "It's a lot like being human," Joxer said, "Except you can't ride horses." He shouted trying to make everyone feel guilty. "May I ask how Eve killed you?" "She was trying to kill Gabrielle, so I tried to cause a distraction and she killed me instead." "That is incredible harsh. So fast, one minute you are alive and the next." "Well some people get it quicker." Joxer said. Kallopiea looked at him confused, "Some people just get; mind that chariot, what chariot? Splat." He joked. Kallopiea laughed but tried not to show it so walked ahead of them all. "Hey Kallopiea wait up." Joxer shouted and chased after her. "Have you thought who the attacker could be yet mother?" Eve asked. "I have an idea." "Who?" Gabrielle asked. "Almost everyone we met this past year, we killed. I mean everyone who has attacked us. So unless they're are a God or immortal or something." Xena expression changed dramatically, "Xena is it a God?" Before Xena could answer Kallopiea pointed out a think black cloud coming from a nearby town. "Ya!" Xena shouted at Argo and rode quickly to the source. Gabrielle and Eve quickly followed her. Realizing that the town was Amphipolis Kallopiea got back on her horse and rode off as well. "Hey! Wait for me." Joxer shouted after them and started running to Amphipolis. Xena, Gabrielle, Eve and Kallopiea reached the town within minute and were all speechless at what they saw. Almost all the houses had been burnt to the ground and the ones that weren't had been torn down. Many dead bodies were lying on the ground, Gabrielle noticed a young women who was still alive but badly injured. She got off her horse and walked over to her. "What happened her?" Gabrielle asked. "A man came, he killed my husband and my baby." The women cried, "Then he torched the village." "Do you know why?" "Because he said he wanted to destroy Xena, once and for all." The women kept crying and ran away in shock. Xena heard a building collapse so dismounted her horse and went to find it. After just a few minutes she saw what it was, her mother's tavern was on fire. Xena walked up close to it starring at the raging flames. Then a man walked out from behind the tavern, he was a very tall man with long black hair. In his hand was a fierce and heavy looking sword "I thought to myself how can I fight Xena then it hit me if this doesn't get the attention of the warrior princess nothing will." Said the man in a very deep voice then he slowly walked away. Gabrielle ran past Xena and started to chase him but Xena stopped him. "No Gabrielle." "But Xena…" "NO!" Xena shouted and walked back into Amphipolis. She started to look for any injured people she could help. "Xena who is he?" Gabrielle asked demandingly. "Get some water, try and put out the fire and help these people. We will talk about him later." Gabrielle, Eve and Kallopiea did as she asked. After almost two hours of tiringing labour the fires were put out and the few remaining survivors had been treated and fled to safety. By now Joxer had managed to reach Amphipolis and was trying to do what he could to help. After putting out the last fire Gabrielle noticed Xena was stood by the ashes of her mother's tavern. "So who was he Xena?" She asked softly, "You have to tell us." "Come with me." Xena replied and lead them all to the mausoleum where her brother and mother were. It was the only place not destroyed and Xena knew exactly why. "His name is Khairelion." Xena started, "Years ago, along time after Borias's death, after giving up Solan I was lost. I had nowhere to go and no army. Most of my men had either deserted me or died in war. I was known throughout most of Greece for being evil and cruel, which I was. Then one day a man called Daedacrates walked up to me with a fresh task, a new challenge, something I had never done before. He asked if I wanted to be in a tournament to compete against people from all over the world who could fight like me. And the prize was to become a god and rule the world. At first I didn't like the idea or believe him so I disagreed and left but when a few weeks went by I got bored and decided to do it. Remembering the man gave me a scroll, which stated the place where the tournament was going to take place I went there. As I entered the arena everyone was given a special gem, which after every fight the loser would have to give to the winner. At the end of it all the gems would belong to just one person making him a god. My first fight was against a huge man from Chin, he was hard to beat but…" "You won anyway." Gabrielle interrupted. "Yes, I continued to fight and was one of the last eight. There was a short break in the tournament while some of the fighters recovered from injuries from previous fights. Everyone was allowed to go anywhere and recover for three weeks. But some of the fighters were afraid to die while taking the break, and some were still not convinced of Daedacrates power to turn them into a god. So Daedacrates cast a spell that blessed all the gems, making it so that when the owner had it on him he couldn't die or age unless he was fighting someone else who had a similar gem in a fair fight also because of the spell the only way someone could touch someone else's gem was if they beat him in the tournament. This helped all the men get over their fears of death and betrayal and every left ready to return in three weeks. While I was away I started to get an army up together promising them that when I was a god we would take the world by force. Many joined but before it was time to go back a new opportunity arrived, the chance to kill Hercules." "That's when you turned good." "Exactly, I had never tried the good thing and gave it a shot. Of course after meeting you I never returned to the tournament. When you went to Athens to be a bard I travelled back to Amphipolis, realising I would never need the gem again and hide it here making sure that I would never use it's powers unfairly against any enemy." "That's a great story Xena, but what in the name of Eli does this have to do with Khairelion?" Joxer asked. "Khairelion was another contestant, I am guessing when I never returned to the tournament they continued to fight each other until there was only one left, presuming I was late getting back." "But when you never returned the winner didn't have all the gems and so was never made a god." Kallopiea said. "All this time he hasn't aged because he has the gem on him." "So how do we stop him, if we can't take his gem, and we can't kill him then the only way is…." "For me to fight him and finish the tournament." "But then you will become a god." "Only if I take his gems I don't have to do that." Xena walked over to Lyceus's coffin and lifted it up slightly, below it was a small round blue gem, she picked it up and started to walk out of the mausoleum, "let's do this." She said and left. Outside Khairelion was already waiting, "So you have come to fight me have you?" He asked. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you've got." Xena and Khairelion walked up to each other and stopped about a meter a part. They both took off all their weapons and bowed and then Khairelion went to hit Xena. She managed to block him and quickly retaliated with a kick. Khairelion dodge her and spun around to kick her but Xena ducked just in time. Quickly she stood up straight again but while doing so hit Khairelion hard in the stomach, he fell backwards and Xena ran up to him and kick him the ribs. Khairelion managed to swipe her legs from under her sending her to the ground. While down he hit Xena in the face give her a huge bloody cut. She got back up and flipped over him very fast then kicked him directly in the back throwing him to the ground, before he had a chance to rise Xena kicked him again. Khairelion tried to stand but was unable to, Xena hit him in the back injuring him even more. "You can't kill me Xena not with your bear hands, where ever you go I will always chase you, your friends and your daughter." "No you wont." Xena said and quickly twisted his neck, breaking it instantly. Xena then took out her gem from her breastplate and buried it under the ground, then she did the same to Khairelion's. "Now only I can touch them, they can do no harm." Xena said and walked over to her mother's destroyed tavern. Gabrielle walked up to Xena who was trying to hold back tears. Gabrielle quickly put her arm around Xena trying to give her comfort. "No matter what I do, Gabrielle, there is always something reminding me of my past. Of who I used to be and the pain that I caused." "Xena, you are who you are today, you have to leave the past in the past and live your life. You have paid for your past." "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't but either way there is bad stuff happening now I wont sit by and live a life of luxury while others need me, I don't care what I have done in my past it is my duty to help people which is what I will always do." Xena and Gabrielle slowly walked back over to Kallopiea and Eve and together they all left Amphipolis. No Place Like Home by Kitana copywrite Kitana 2002©

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