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DISCLAIMER: While this fan fic does use characters from X:WP and
H:TLJ, which are, of course, the sole property of MCA Universal and Renaissance
Pictures, it also includes real people from the XenaVerse Mailing List. The
premise is that all of the members of the XML live in a complex of buildings on
the slopes of Mount Olympus. But Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, and the rest of the
characters from the universe of H:TLJ and X:WP interact with them on a regular
basis. Also, this will eventually include SPOILERS for several 2nd & 3rd
season X:WP episodes.
Also, I did not write this entire epic by myself; James
Davis is equally to blame. But, for the sake of continuity, I have
edited all of the installments into two reels, to give it the feel of an old
cliffhanger serial. Some minor rewriting has also been done to preserve the
narrative voice throughout.
Oh, and it's rated the same as the television show: PG14 for
suggestive language and mild violence.
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"Double Trouble In Macedonia!"
The
sun beat down on the site of an archeological dig outside the city of
Yiannitsa, causing the men working to unearth the mysteries of the past to
sweat profusely as their muscles rippled beneath their light shirts.
"I
could just watch them do this all day long," sighed a dark haired woman
with a distinct Southern drawl. She was wearing a knee-length flowered dress,
silk stockings, and, despite the warnings she had received not to, white high
heeled shoes. She glanced over at the woman next to her and pushed her large
glasses up with a delicate finger. "Couldn't you, Janice?"
"You
have been watching them all day long, Melinda," the other woman replied.
She was a blonde with well-tanned skin, wearing khaki shirt and shorts, with a
whip and a revolver hanging from her belt and a cigar clenched firmly between
her white teeth. A pair of black, steel-toed boots and a rumpled fedora
completed her ensemble.
"Well,
then, I wasn't lying, was I?" Mel pointed out, continuing to gaze at the
men.
Janice
Covington scowled and bit down on the cigar, rolling it around her mouth in
annoyance. Then, her ears heard a slightly different sound among the various
noises, a mild scraping of metal on metal, and she leaped down the slope and
straight towards one of the men.
"Give
me that," she snapped, tearing the shovel from the confused man's grasp.
She carefully probed into the dirt until the tip of the shovel struck something
metallic in nature and then carefully scooped the rocks and sand away, exposing
the top of what appeared to be a statue.
But
it was unlike any the archaeologist had ever seen before.
First
of all it was a strange gold-like metal, but with a distinct silver hue.
Second, the detail was incredible. Right now the only part exposed was the
head--And Janice dearly hoped the rest was intact beneath the surface--but she
was already impressed with the intricacy of the carving. She could make out
individual hairs on both the head and the face.
The
face.
That
was the other, both amazing and disturbing, thing about it. It was sculpted in
what she could clearly see was a moment of intense pain. The head appeared to
be thrown back, the eyes wide and the mouth opened in a silent, eternal scream.
The gifted artist who had sculpted this had unerringly captured all the agony,
all the misery, all the suffering the human spirit was capable of expressing.
Janice
found herself sympathizing with the poor man, even to the point of feeling a
lump forming in her throat.
Then,
Melinda Pappas slammed into her, after having lost her footing on the steep
side of the pit in which the statue had been unearthed, and she pitched forward
and landed on top of the artifact. The wind rushed from her body as her stomach
struck the head of the statue and she let out a small whimper.
"Whoops.
Sorry about that, dear," Melinda apologized, regaining her footing.
"So, what did you find? Anything interesting?"
Janice
sighed and slowly rolled over, exposing the statue.
"Mmm,
very nice craftsmanship. But it doesn't look Greek to me," Mel observed.
"Too finely detailed. No offense, boys." She smiled demurely at the
men surrounding the two women.
The
workers smiled back. They understood very little English.
Janice
slowly sat up, pulling her hair back up beneath her hat as she straightened it.
She picked up her cigar from where it had fallen, brushed the dirt off the
soggy end, and put it back in her mouth. She looked around her, judging the era
from the depth at which the statue had been discovered, and nodded. "For
this early a date, at least," she agreed.
She
once more gazed around her, as if trying to place something which just barely
eluded her ability to grasp its significance, but then held up a hand as the
workers began to resume their digging.
"What
is it, Janice?" Mel asked fearfully.
"Trucks.
German, from the sound of them. Three of them, and the second one needs its
left...no, make it the right front tire realigned. It's pulling to the
left," the archaeologist said thoughtfully.
A
moment later, three large trucks skidded to a halt at the top of the dig, the
one in the center pulling a bit to its left as it did so. They had swastikas
emblazoned on their sides and several German soldiers exited from each.
Including a man wearing the gray uniform of the SS.
"Guten
nachmittag, Fraulein, Herr professor," the man with close-cropped blonde
hair said, clicking the heels of his black boots together. "I am Colonel
Angriefer of the Schutzstaffel and you are both my prisoners." He casually
gestured to the machine guns being aimed at them by his troops. "Kindly
drop your weapon, Herr professor, and save the heroics for the actors in motion
pictures."
Janice
scowled but carefully removed the revolver from the holster on her belt and
dropped it to the ground.
"Danken.
Now, if you'll--Gott im himmel! What is that?" he suddenly exclaimed,
noticing the head of the statue. Particularly the way it reflected the dying
rays of the sun in a dazzling golden glow. Before Janice could respond, he had
ordered some of his men down into the pit to retrieve the clearly valuable
object.
The
men quickly finished uncovering the statue, which proved to be intact and
depicted a man, life-size, holding his hands, clenched into tight fists of rage
and sorrow, in front of him and standing upright, although the knees were
slightly buckled, suggesting he was in the process of falling to the ground.
Janice once again marveled at the skill of the unknown artist who had so
beautifully captured the anguish which the human soul was capable of
experiencing. Melinda just made discreet sounds which conveyed her appreciation
for the artist's subject, if not the art itself.
"It's
too heavy to move, colonel!" a sergeant called from the floor of the pit.
"Then,
break it up, Schlaff. But be quick. I don't want to be out here in the
dark," he ordered.
"That's
a priceless Grecian artifact!" Janice exclaimed, throwing her cigar down
angrily. "You can't destroy it!"
"Herr
professor, much as I might personally regret the loss of such a beautiful piece
of history, necessity demands its destruction," the colonel replied.
"This war is expensive and the Fuhrer requires all the gold he can
acquire-"
"Steal,"
Janice growled.
"-to
win it. If victory for the Reich means the loss of some inferior race's
artwork, so be it," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Colonel!
We can't break it!" Schlaff cried out in amazement. "It not only
resists our efforts, but actually blunts-" a sharp crack sounded behind
him. "...er, breaks our tools. What should we do?"
Angriefer's
blue eyes grew large as he watched in stunned disbelief as shovels, picks, and
hammers shattered when they struck the statue, without so much as leaving a
scratch on it.
He
turned to the two women. "All right, Fraulein, Herr professor, what is
that thing?" he demanded.
Janice
and Melinda looked at each other, then at the colonel.
"One
of the Gods' door stops?" the archaeologist suggested.
Angriefer
lashed out and slapped her hard across her smirking mouth. "Perhaps the
answer is in these?" he said smoothly, removing a familiar package from
his coat.
"The
Xena Scrolls!" gasped Melinda.
"Where'd
you get those?" Janice asked, wiping the blood from her split lip.
"A
friend of yours was intercepted with them when he attempted to cross into
Albania and our Italian allies were kind enough to direct these curious papers
to our attention," the colonel explained.
"Where's
Jack?" Janice demanded, glaring at the German.
"Herr
Kleinman is safe. For the moment, Herr professor," he replied.
"You'll be joining him soon enough. But first, I want to find out what
that thing is!"
"Translating
the scrolls isn't like reading a book, my dear sir," Melinda said
haughtily, her Southern accent becoming as thick as her anger. "It's a
very time consuming and difficult process."
Angriefer
frowned and rubbed his chin. "Very well, Fraulein, you shall have all the
time you require. Schlaff! Attach lines to it and we'll use the trucks to haul
it out and back to the laboratory," he directed. "Ladies..." He
gestured to the truck he'd arrived in and Janice and Melinda got in as the
soldiers hurriedly attached several thick cables to the statue. He got in
beside them and then, after a couple of false starts, the trucks finally
managed to remove the statue from its ancient grave. It left a deep groove in
its wake as it was dragged down the dirt road by the straining vehicles.
The
Greek men who had been working the site thanked God the Germans had ignored
them and quickly made their way to their homes.
Xena
watched with growing amusement as Gabrielle tried again to successfully
complete the fighting maneuver in which you run up the body of your opponent,
kick them in the face or chest, and then flip backwards, landing in front of
them, and finish them off with either a punch or a kick. The tree on which the
determined Bard was practicing was in no immediate danger, the Warrior Princess
decided.
When
Gabrielle once more landed on her head on the ground, Xena said, "You need
to--"
But
the Bard held up her hand. "I can do this on my own, Xena. I just need a
little more practice," she stated, standing and brushing herself off. She
glared at the tree. "You talkin' to me? HAH!" Gabrielle expertly
pummeled it with her staff and then, after taking a moment to collect her
thoughts, during which her feet pumped furiously in one place, she charged the
tree and ran up its trunk...and fell on her head before she could even begin to
execute the kick and back-flip.
As
Gabrielle lay on the ground rubbing her head, Xena walked over and crouched
next to her. "You need to keep your center of gravity farther up, toward
the head of your opponent," she said softly, her stern mouth threatening
to break into a grin.
"I
knew that," the Bard lied, climbing to her feet. She glowered at the tree
and prepared to try again.
"Why
do you want to master this move, Gabrielle?" Xena suddenly asked.
"What?"
Gabrielle replied, confused by the question.
"Why
this move? It doesn't really compliment your staff technique, you know. You'd
be better off incorporating moves which take advantage of the staff into your
repertoire, instead of trying to mimic what I do," Xena added with a
slight smile.
"Mimic??!
I'm not trying to mimic what you do, Xena," Gabrielle replied with a
little laugh. "I'm just trying to improve my combat skills. So that I can
be more useful in our fights."
"You're
already useful, Gabrielle," the Warrior Princess assured her. The Bard
smiled. "Just stick to what you can do and we'll be fine."
The
smile disappeared and was instantly replaced with a determined scowl. "I
can do anything I want to. And, right now, I want to master this move."
She turned back to the tree and once more pummeled it with her staff. Then,
just as she was about to charge it, Joxer emerged from the surrounding forest,
getting in between her and the tree. Gabrielle ran forward, up his body, kicked
him in the face, and then back-flipped off and landed in front of him. She
brought her staff up, intending to hit him in the face--Well, of course, she
was intending to hit the tree, but
you know what I meant--but the length of the staff resulted in her slamming it
between the would-be warrior's legs.
"Nice
variation," Xena commented, nodding approvingly.
"Eep,"
Joxer squeaked. He then fell onto his back, clutching his injured body part.
"Joxer!"
Gabrielle exclaimed, dropping her staff. "I didn't mean...I thought you
were a tree...Are you all right?"
Joxer
slowly nodded his head. "I'm fine," he said in a very high-pitched
voice. She reached down to help him to his feet, but he hastily pushed her
away. "I, um, think I'll just lay here for a minute."
"What
are you doing here?" Xena asked.
"I
came to get you! The warlord Inimicles and his army are camped outside of Edom.
Right now he's negotiating with them for something, but..." Joxer's voice
trailed off and he shrugged.
"Edom?
Isn't that one of the villages founded by the Israelites?" Gabrielle
asked, looking over at Xena.
The
Warrior Princess nodded. "Inimicles, huh? We've never met, but I've heard
of him. I didn't think he operated around these parts," she said
thoughtfully.
"What
have you heard?" the Bard inquired.
"Not
much. He's ambitious and more than a little crazy-" Xena began.
"Like
all warlords," Gabrielle added, glancing at her companion and stifling a
smile.
"He's
also rumored to have shunned Ares," Xena added, ignoring the backhanded
jibe.
"Maybe
he's not as crazy as you thought," Gabby suggested.
"Just
because he doesn't worship Ares doesn't make him any less ruthless,
Gabrielle," Xena frowned. "In fact, it makes him even more
brutal."
"More
brutal?" Joxer questioned, rising shakily to his feet. "I don't get
it."
"He
routinely butchers entire cities loyal to Ares, just to spite him," Xena
explained. "Until now he's been operating in Caria and Phrygia. I wonder
what brought him up here?" She stared off into space for a moment, during
which time Joxer and Gabrielle exchanged questioning glances. "C'mon,
Gabrielle, we're going to find out what he's up to."
"Great!"
grinned Joxer.
"No.
Joxer, I need you to go and warn the XenaVerse complex that Inimicles is in the
area and might be heading their way," the Warrior Princess said sternly.
"Gabrielle and I will handle this."
"But...Okay,"
Joxer finally agreed when he saw the steely gaze directed at him. "But
after I warn them, I'm joining you."
"Fine,"
sighed Xena, knowing better than to waste her breath and time arguing with the
determined would-be warrior. She swung up onto Argo and then she and Gabrielle
headed off toward Edom.
Once
they were out of sight, Joxer pulled a dove from under his helmet and hastily
scrawled out a note warning the XenaVersians of the warlord's presence.
"She never said how to warn
them," he chuckled. Then, he attached it to the bird's leg and released
it, knowing it would return to Pegasus Pizza, and ran off in a different
direction than that taken by the Warrior Princess and the Bard, intending to
meet them at Edom.
Unfortunately,
as he was making his way through the woods near the village, he ran into a
patrol of Inimicles' men. "Hi, fellas," he smiled, waving weakly.
"How's things in the conquer and pillage business?"
"Who
are you?" demanded the party's leader, placing the tip of his sword very
deliberately on Joxer's chest.
"I'm
Joxer the Mighty," the would-be warrior replied in a deep baritone,
puffing out his chest. Unfortunately, this caused the point of the soldier's
sword to slightly stick into him. "Ow. You've heard of me, right?" he
added hopefully.
"No,
can't say that I have," the thug said. "And, after today, no one ever
will again. Kill him." He removed his sword and turned away as the rest of
the patrol closed in on Joxer.
"I
should warn you that I'm not only a highly-skilled warrior," Joxer said
quickly, backing away and pulling his slightly bent sword from its scabbard,
"but I'm also good friends with Xena, and she'll tear your hearts out if
anything happens to me."
The
leader of the patrol turned at the sound of Xena's name. "Hold on. Did you
say you were friends with Xena?" he inquired, pushing past his men and
confronting Joxer face to face.
The
would-be warrior nodded. "We're more like comrades than friends,
though," he added with a slight swagger, hoping the man didn't notice how
badly his knees were shaking.
"Inimicles
will want to talk to you personally. Bring him," the man said and turned
to head back to the main camp.
Joxer,
after being prodded by the other soldiers, followed.
The
would-be warrior was dragged into the warlord's camp and thrown to the ground.
While one of his captors held his foot on Joxer's back to keep him down,
another went to a large tent directly in front of where Joxer lay and, opening
the flap of the tent, he disappeared inside. The other men wandered off,
heading toward the mess tent.
As
Joxer lay pinned to the ground he took advantage of the boredom of the guard
resting his foot on his back to risk taking a look around the camp.
He
saw that the camp was very well laid out with constantly roving patrols. The
soldier noticed Joxer's curiosity and placed more weight on Joxer's back
forcing one side of his face to press painfully against the ground. But Joxer
could see with the eye that was facing upward that there were even sentries
placed in the trees to watch the compound. The soldier once again relaxing his
weight off of Joxer's back, allowed the would-be warrior to raise and turn his
head.
Joxer
watched as two more soldiers entered the camp and stood a few feet away waiting
for the warlord to come out. The new arrivals had obviously been in a fight
and, judging by the miserable looks on their faces, they had lost.
Hearing
a noise from the tent, Joxer turned his head and as best as he could from his
position on the ground watched the tent flap open. First to come out was the
soldier who had helped capture him. He moved over to stand with his partner and
together they lifted Joxer up off of the ground and held him between them.
Seeing the tent flap open again Joxer watched as the warlord Inimicles stepped
out into the sunlight.
"It
can't be!" Joxer muttered in shock to himself.
The
warlord was wearing black leather armor. Upon his arms, he wore black gauntlets
and his hands were covered with gloves that had wicked looking metal spikes
covering the knuckles, but it was his face that held Joxer's attention; it was
the spitting image of Joxer's dead friend, the Bard James!
Inimicles
looked first at Joxer and then turned and looked at the two battered soldiers
standing at attention nearby. Waving his hand in Joxer's direction, he said,
"I'll deal with this one in a moment, but first, these two!" Striding
a few paces until he was in front of the beaten soldiers, he paused and
scowled. "I sent you two to lead a party of ten men to the village of Edom
to acquire something for me. Yet, you have returned, without the item I sent
you for and you are eight men less than you were. Why is this, Wolf?"
One
of the two soldiers stepped forward and, with a stutter, started to explain,
"We were attacked by twenty men. They were heavily armed with swords. We
fought our best but only I and Hawk got away my Lord!"
The
warlord continued to stare at the man without saying anything for the moment.
Being a warlord who did not show allegiance to Ares, the god of war, many of
his men took the names of animals in the superstitious belief that the god of
war would not be able to find them if he did not know what their real names
were.
Inimicles
did not hold with this silly thought but he did not forbid his men from
renaming themselves. As for himself, he glorified in taunting Ares with his
name by carving it into the flesh of Ares' priests and followers every chance
he got.
Some
of his army deserved the nicknames they chose for themselves. Wolf was not one
of them. Oh, he had the viciousness of a wolf, true, but he had none of the
intelligence or courage of his animal namesake. All of this passed through the
warlord's mind as he looked at the bully of a man before him.
Without
taking his eyes off of Wolf, Inimicles asked in a growl to Hawk, "Is this
what happened, Hawk?"
Hawk,
a new recruit who was not sure of his new leader yet, swallowed a few times and
then replied, "No, my lord. We arrived at the town's gate and was met by
some of the town's elders. We told them what we were looking for and they told
us that they were sorry but we would not be taking it. Wolf then told them that
we could easily tear their pitiful town down and take what we wanted. The
elders talked among themselves for a moment and then told us to follow them. We
entered the town and found a fancy tiled town square. The square was completely
empty. At one end of the square there was a statue of a seated man holding a
scroll in one of his hands. Wolf sent the rest of us in to follow the elders
and he stayed at the back of the square near the gate. The elders walked to the
statue and then one of them said they were sorry for having to do this. He
pulled down on the scroll and I felt the whole floor of the square start to
tilt. I leapt to the side and managed to get away. Wolf, who was by the gate,
didn't get trapped by the trick floor but the rest of our men fell into a pit
with spikes."
Wolf
yelled out, "He's lying, my Lord! Believe me!"
Inimicles
finally took his eyes off of Wolf and looked at Hawk. Now, there was a man who
matched his nickname. A thin youth with a sharply angled nose and eyes that
missed nothing. He also had a true predator's mind. That was why Inimicles
chose him when he asked to be added to his army.
"If
things are the way you say, why do you both look like you have been in a
fight?" Inimicles growled at him.
"We
were set upon by the village youths with staffs after the rest of our men were
killed and we had to fight our way out," Hawk replied hesitantly, clearly
fearful of the warlord's reaction.
Wolf
yelled again. "He is lying! He ran from the battle and I caught up to him
outside of our camp!"
Inimicles
lowered his voice to a gentle tone and allowed a smile to appear on his face.
"Now, Wolf, calm down. You've had a rough time recently and I appreciate
all of your hard work."
To
Joxer's confusion the man started to shake with fear and whimper at the gentle
tone the warlord was now using. Joxer looked at the man named Hawk and saw
confusion on his face as well. Turning his head, Joxer saw with amazement that
everyone else in the camp was moving as slowly and as inconspicuously as they
could away from the three men. Even the soldiers holding Joxer started to step
back slowly.
"You
just used a little bad judgement back there is all" Inimicles continued.
"But I'm afraid because of that I am..." Inimicles moved so fast
Joxer barely saw the warlord pull his short sword and slice Wolf from his groin
to the tip of his throat. The warlord reached inside the man and, pulling his
guts out, he showed them to the terrified man "...going to have to sever
our working relationship. Sorry."
Wolf,
after looking at his own guts for a moment, rolled his eyes back in his head
and fell forward and died.
Inimicles
looked at the white faced Hawk. "If he had found you outside of camp after
fleeing a battle he would have killed you. Not just brought you into camp with
him." Seeing that Hawk still staring at him with confusion, he added,
"Oh, that! My parents never gave me much but they did teach me that there
are three times when you should be extra polite to a man or woman: Their
birthday, their wedding day, and their death day. Today was Wolf's death
day." Inimicles lost the smile on his face and growled at Hawk, "Take
his body and drag it around the camp behind your horse five times and then hang
it from a tree as a warning to my men. I don't tolerate failure or lying to me!
Oh, and there's no reason to ruin the men's meals, so hang it downwind from the
mess tent." Inimicles started to turn away but, turning back he added,
"However, there's no reason for them to enjoy their meals too much when I
have been denied what I want, so hang it were it is visible from the mess
tent."
Inimicles
then turned and, walking toward Joxer and his guards, he licked the blood off
of his hand. Arriving in front of Joxer, he smiled and asked in a pleasant
voice, "So, you're friends with Xena?"
Joxer
promptly fainted.
As
the three trucks bounced down the dirt road, Janice briefly considered disabling
the SS colonel and the driver, then using the vehicle as a ramming device to
force the other two trucks off the road, dispatching the soldiers with the
machine guns in the back of this truck, and then rescuing Jack and heading for
the American Embassy in Thessaloniki.
Only
two things prevented her: 1) The Lugar which Angriefer had jammed into Mel's
ribs, and 2) She had no idea where Jack was being held.
So,
the archaeologist bided her time and rode along in silence while Mel chatted
with the German officer.
"What's
your interest in some dusty old scrolls?" Mel asked, batting her eyes
fetchingly.
"Personally,
Fraulein, I have none. I prefer to study the history of my own glorious people,
rather than the scribbles of uncivilized barbarians," Angriefer replied.
"But our glorious Fuhrer has sent teams all over the globe searching for
anything which might aid him in his struggle to free the German people from the
yoke of oppression placed upon their shoulders after the last war."
"I
see. And how do you suppose these obscure scrolls will help him do that?"
Melinda inquired.
"Once
you have translated them, I'll be in a better position to answer that,
Fraulein," he smiled. "But, just based on what your associate, Herr
Kleinman, told us, they should prove quite interesting to the Fuhrer."
"And
just what did Jack tell you?" Janice suddenly asked, glancing around Mel
and looking the German in the eyes.
"He
was quite informative, once we loosened his tongue a bit, and a couple of
teeth," the colonel added, smiling cruelly. "He told us all about
your encounter with the being who called himself Ares."
"I
was there, colonel, and, as difficult as it might be to believe, it was Ares," Melinda assured him.
"Of
course it wasn't, Fraulein. The Greek Gods are simply characters in stories,
made up to explain the workings of a world their creators couldn't
comprehend," Angriefer explained. "What you met was an alien."
"An
alien??!" Mel exclaimed.
"Ja.
Possibly from Mars or Venus," he elaborated.
"Mars
or Venus?" she pressed.
"Of
course. Those are the only two planets capable of sustaining life in the Solar
system. You surely don't think an alien could come from beyond our own system,
do you?" He chuckled at the thought.
"Nah,
that's just silly," Janice said, urging Mel to play along with her eyes.
"So, if the being we met was an alien, what's that to Hitler?"
"By
posing as the Greek God of warfare, it's obvious that the alien is not only
familiar with war, but revels in it. Therefore, the Fuhrer wishes to make sure
that this so-called Ares is on the side of the Third Reich. Possibly, he will
be able to provide us with some fantastic weapons, or the knowledge to create
them."
"Ares
wasn't the brightest bulb in the pack, colonel," Janice stated.
"Don't hold your breath waiting for knowledge. Besides, he's gone. He, um,
went back to Mars."
"Herr
Kleinman told us you buried him in his spaceship," Angriefer corrected.
"Spaceship??!"
Mel exclaimed.
"He
said tomb, of course, but I know it was his spaceship."
"Right.
Well, anyway, the explosion was just to hide the, er, spaceship's, um, take
off," Janice explained, trying to keep a straight face and glaring at Mel
to keep quiet. "Jack was so alarmed by the whole experience, we thought it
best to let him think Ares had simply been buried."
The
colonel studied the archaeologist's face, looking deeply into her emerald eyes.
Finally, he shook his head slowly. "A pity, Herr professor. The Fuhrer
will be disappointed to learn this," he said sadly.
"Well,
you can't win'em all," Janice shrugged.
"Let
us hope that this metal man proves less of a disappointment to him, for your
sakes’," Angriefer said with quiet menace. "Ah, here we are."
The
headlights of the three trucks illuminated a large stone structure sitting atop
a small hill. From the construction, Janice guessed it was a castle from the
late 15th century, built during the Ottoman conquest. They were escorted inside
and, after passing through a large entry hall, led up some ancient stone stairs
and down a hallway. An armed guard stood in front of one of the doors.
The
soldier saluted crisply and stepped aside when Angriefer approached, opening
the door as he did so.
A
man with exaggerated features looked up at them, his face puffy and black and
blue from several recent beatings. It was clear from his disheveled appearance
that he'd been their "guest" for a while.
"Jack!"
Mel exclaimed, rushing to his side. "Are you all right?"
"I
won't be winning any beauty contests for a while, but I'll live," he
replied.
"Can
we expect the same treatment?" Janice demanded, glaring angrily at the SS
officer.
"Only
if you prove difficult, Herr professor," he replied smoothly. "See
that you don't."
He
then left and they heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.
"Albania??!"
Janice exclaimed, turning to Jack, her green eyes shining with exasperation.
"What the Hell were you thinking?"
"I
got lost," he shrugged. "And when I saw this little booth by the side
of the road, I thought it was one of those information thingies and stopped to
ask directions."
"This
is just great! We entrusted those scrolls to you, Jack, because you swore you
could get them back to the states. Now, not only are they not in the states,
they're in the hands of the Nazis!" Janice hissed in a sort of strangled
whispering shout.
"Sorry,"
Jack said sheepishly.
"Sorry??!
As if all that wasn't bad enough, you actually told them about Ares and the
tomb!" she snarled, threatening to go into some sort of apoplectic fit.
"Are you insane??!! If the Nazis free Ares somehow, we'll all be
goose-stepping by Christmas!"
"Now,
Janice," Mel cooed, stroking Jack's hair, "it looks like they worked
poor Jack over pretty good and, with your story about Ares going back to Mars,
I don't think we need to worry about that happening. I'll explain later,
darlin'," she added in response to Jack's puzzled look.
"Well,
those krauts made one serious mistake," Janice growled, removing a cigar
from her shirt pocket and lighting it by striking a match against Jack's
unshaven cheek. "They left Jack with us." She walked over to the
window and peered outside. Unfortunately, not only were there bars on the
window, but armed guards patrolling the grounds below. Scowling, she walked
back over to her two friends.
"Okay,
here's the plan..."
---------------------------
After
hearing the key in the lock, they heard knob turn and saw the door swing
inward. Since all the lights in the room itself had been extinguished, the only
light came from the gas lamps lining the hallway. Janice grabbed the outline in
the doorway, clamping her arm around the struggling individual's throat and
applying near-deadly pressure.
"Relax,
mein Herr, and you'll live through the next few minutes," Janice hissed
into her captive's ear. "Tell the goon to drop his gun or I'll snap your
neck like burnt bratwurst."
"Hey!
I'm no Herr!" a distinctly female voice choked out.
Angriefer,
followed by the armed guard, entered and switched on the light, revealing that
Dr. Covington held in her arms a woman with dark skin, long black hair, and
large brown eyes. She was wearing a green silk blouse and black loose-fitting
pants of some light material.
"I'd
like to introduce you all to another guest of the Reich, Dr. Isidora
Lykken," the colonel said snidely.
"The
Egyptologist?" Janice asked the woman in her grasp.
"The
late Egyptologist if you don't loosen that grip, sister," she replied,
nodding as best she was able.
"Sorry,"
Jan said, letting her go.
"Why
don't you get to know each other, since you'll all be working together. Dinner
is in an hour. Oh, and I warned you once to save the heroics for the actors in
motion pictures, Dr. Covington. I will not warn you again," he stated,
closing the door and locking it.
Entering
the kitchen from the hallway that lead to the pigeon coups, Julie was reading a
note with a puzzled look on her face. "Hey, Buffy! We've got a message
from one of our pigeons but I can't make heads or tails out of it."
Buffy
turned from the counter where she was kneading some pizza dough and, wiping the
flour off of her hands on a dish towel, she held her hand up for the note.
Turning the note one way and then the other she finally spoke, "I make it
out to read, 'Inimicles is coming'."
"Okay.
So what's an Inimicles?" Julie said putting her hands on her hips.
Buffy
stood with a confused look on her face for a moment and then scowled. "It
must be one of those ad birds we get every once in a while. You know, for a new
product coming out on the market."
"Okay.
So what's an Inimicles?" Julie repeated. "I know. Maybe it's a new
brand of soap for the hot tub group upstairs. You know, `Get hot and wet with
Inimicles in your tub'?"
Buffy
looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook her head. "It came to us so
it must be for the pizza place. Maybe it's a new pizza. `I'll have a hot
Inimicles smothered in gooey sauce and cheese'?"
Julie
shook her head. "Maybe a new drink? `I'll have a swallow of Inimicles'?"
Buffy
thought for a moment. "I don't know. Inimicles doesn't exactly roll off of
the tongue. `I'll have an Inimicles straight'? It just doesn't sound natural
somehow."
"So,
what do I do about this message?" Julie asked Buffy as she took back the
note.
"Throw
it away. If it was important, they would have given us more information."
---------------------------
Joxer,
with a sudden jerk, came awake. Slowly opening his eyes he saw that he was
inside the warlord Inimicles' large tent. Wondering why he seemed to be several
feet off of the floor, Joxer craned his head around and saw that he was chained
to a large wooden X at one side of the tent. Looking around he saw that the
tent was sparsely furnished. There was a large table in the middle of the tent
with maps laid out on it. At the very back of the tent was a bedroll and to the
left of it was one chair. A chest near the front flap of the tent was the last
piece of furniture to be found. `I wonder what's in the chest?' Joxer thought
to himself. After all manner of unpleasant things that could be in the chest
was suggested to him by his imagination, however, he decided he didn't want to
know what might be in the chest.
The
sudden glare of sunlight that came into the tent when the flap was open caught
Joxer's attention, and he watched as the warlord who was wearing his friend
James' face entered the tent.
"Why
am I here?" he asked in a voice that he thought was fearsome, but only
came out as scared.
"I
thought you would be more comfortable chained up in here, than outside in the
sunlight," Inimicles answered him.
"That's
not what I meant. If you only knew who you have chained, you would be worried,
then." Joxer tried to growl.
"You
are Joxer. You like to call yourself Joxer the Mighty. Your parents were
warlords, before they were captured and imprisoned. You have two brothers. One
named Jett, who was an assassin before he was caught, and the other one is
named Jace." Here, the warlord frowned. "My sources could not get any
more information on that brother at all.
Joxer
just tried his best to shrug and kept quiet.
"For
reasons that I cannot fathom, Xena the Warrior Princess occasionally allows you
to hang out with her and the Amazon Queen Gabrielle."
"You
had me checked out?" Joxer squeaked in surprise. "Smart move to find
out about the great warriors in an area before you try to move in," Joxer
finished, trying to puff his chest out. Not easy to do when you are chained to
a wooden X.
The
warlord walked back to the chair and dragged it so he could sit and face Joxer.
"Xena is the one I'm interested in. But information is always important,
so I found out as much as I could about her friends."
"You
can torture me as much as you want, but I'll never tell you anything about Xena!"
Joxer yelled defiantly.
"Torture
is such an ugly word, and it's all relative anyway. Just spend some time with
your relatives and you'll see what I mean."
"If
I'm not here to be tortured for information, why am I here?"
"As
insurance in case Xena does show up. Besides, I don't want to hurt you, Joxer.
We have a lot in common."
"Like
what?"
"Well,
both of our parents were warlords. And we both had brothers that picked on us
when we were younger." The warlord settled back in the chair and his eyes
got a faraway look in them. "My parents wanted my older brother to be a
great warlord. So, at the age of 13 my brother was lead to a temple of Ares. I
was 10 then. I was tied to the altar and my brother was left with a knife to
sacrifice me to Ares."
"That's
horrible!" Joxer exclaimed.
The
warlord did not even notice that Joxer had spoken. "Unfortunately for my
brother, he just did not have the cold-blooded killer instinct in him."
"What
happened?" Joxer asked.
The
warlord smiled wolfishly at Joxer. "I did have the killer instinct. I
killed my brother after he untied me and I sacrificed him, but not to that
miserable excuse for a god, Ares, but to myself! In my name!" Inimicles
shouted at Joxer.
"Gee,
how did your parents take it?" Joxer asked in a small voice.
"They
were very upset. So, I killed them, too," he replied with a shrug of his
mighty shoulders. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have plans to attend
to." The warlord rose from his chair and went outside.
"Oh,
Xena and Gabrielle, if you're out there, I think I really stepped in the
centaur poop this time!" Joxer quietly said to the empty tent.
---------------------------
With
a cloud of dust, Xena and Gabrielle on Argo pulled to a stop at the village
gates of Edom. Xena, dismounting in a hurry, looked around but was surprised at
the peaceful scene that met her.
"The
people here sure don't look like they're under attack from a warlord, do
they?" Gabrielle asked, slowly dismounting from Argo.
Xena
was about to answer when she is stopped by the arrival of a very old man with a
white beard.
"What
business do you have in this village, warrior?" the old man asked without
a trace of anger.
"I
heard that a warlord was in the area and I came to see if I could help,"
Xena explained while she continued to scan the area for trouble.
"Yes,
he sent some men to try and negotiate with us for the holy item, but we
refused. His men then tried to take it but we stopped them with one of our
traps," the old man calmly replied.
"What
is this holy item?" Gabrielle could not help but blurt out.
"That
we do not know. It was entrusted to our most holy man to look after when we
came to this valley. He had a great maze built underground and placed the holy
item somewhere in the maze and filled the path to it with traps and locks and
logic puzzles. He then ordered this village to be built over the maze. When all
the work was done, he entered the maze one last time and was never seen again.
That was some 15 years ago. None of the rest of us know what the holy item is
or where it is located inside the maze."
"Well
you stopped the men who were sent to get it anyway, so that's that,
right?" Gabrielle asked, looking first at Xena and then the old man.
"No.
Two men escaped the trap and managed to get away to report to their leader. Our
trap will not catch them unaware again," the old man continued calmly.
"Inimicles
won't be scared off by losing a few of his men. He'll come back again and again
till he gets what he wants. He'll kill all of your people, unless you give this
item to him," Xena said, fighting an urge to shake the old man to get him
to show some emotion.
"As
I said, we cannot give it to him even if we wanted to. We do not know how to
find the item or how to avoid the traps to search for it," the old man
calmly replied.
"I
think I know someone who can, though," Xena said with a gleam in her eye.
"Autolycus,"
Gabrielle said with a smile on her face. "Let's go get him. Once we have
this holy item, we can use it to draw Inimicles to a spot away from all these
villagers and then fight him. Right, Xena?"
"Right!
Except, I'll go find him while you stay here," Xena spoke quickly to stop
the argument she could see beginning in Gabrielle's eyes. "I need you to
stay here and, if another envoy from Inimicles shows up asking for the holy
item, delay them. You can also help the village build up its defenses."
Xena turned to the strangely calm old man. "If that is all right with your
people?"
"Of
course. The Lord always provides help to those who will accept it. We knew that
someone would come to our aid when we needed it," the old man said with a
bow to Xena.
Xena
clasped Gabrielle's arm in a warrior's handshake and then used it to pull her
into a hug. "Don't try and fight Inimicles yourself. Don't try to find
this holy item until I get back with Autolycus. And, most important of all,
stay out of trouble!" Xena said quietly to Gabrielle.
Gabrielle
stepped back from the hug. "What kind of trouble can I get into here at
the village?" she asked peevishly.
Xena
did not answer, but merely raised one eyebrow and remounted Argo. With one last
look back at Gabrielle she rode off to find Autolycus.
Janice
appraised the newcomer, scowling as she paced around her, rolling the cigar
around in her mouth and making unsatisfied grunting noises as she debated
silently with herself. Finally, reaching some sort of conclusion to her
internal struggle, she faced the darker woman and demanded, "What does
Gerry want with an Egyptologist in the first place, let alone in Greece?"
"They
discovered some artifact here, an Egyptian artifact, and, because of my
ancestry, arranged to have me brought here. I was told it was to deliver a
lecture to the University of Athens," she explained as her eyes roamed
freely up and down the archaeologist and her dark haired companion. Janice and
the others immediately noticed her distinct English accent. "But when I
arrived in Greece, I was brought here and ordered to unlock
the
secrets of the ankh."
"The
ankh?" Jack questioned. "What's an ankh?"
"It's
the Egyptian symbol for rebirth or life," Mel said quickly. "It looks
like a cross with a loop on the top."
Dr.
Lykken nodded approvingly. "Very good, love. You're not just a pretty
face, after all," she smiled.
"Why
do they think you can unlock the secrets of this ankh, assuming it even has any
to be unlocked?" Janice asked.
"Oh,
if it's what I think it is, ducks, it's definitely got some secrets locked
away," Isidora assured her. "As for why me: Simple, I'm the last
living descendant of Cleopatra VII. You know, the one who seduced both Julius
Caesar and Marc Antony. This chap you may have heard of wrote a play about her.
His name was William Bloody Shakespeare."
"What
an awful name!" Jack exclaimed. "I'll bet he got teased a lot in
school."
"Just
ignore him, Dr. Lykken," Janice sighed.
"Call
me Dori, all my friends do," she said quickly.
"Oh,
where on Earth are my manners?" Mel exclaimed. "I'm Melinda Pappas,
this is Jack Kleinman, and this is Dr. Janice Covington. I'm ever so pleased to
meet you."
"Charmed,
I'm sure," Jack added.
"Yeah,
yeah. But, Dori, as every school child knows, Cleopatra was the last of the
Ptolemies. None of her children survived. So, you can't be her
descendant," Janice pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest and
staring at the other woman as she inhaled deeply on the cigar clenched firmly
between her white teeth. "And that means you're nothing but a lying piece
of Nazi trash." She blew the smoke she'd inhaled directly into Dori's
face, causing the other woman to cough violently.
Janice
cocked her arm, fist clenched, and prepared to strike the woman while she was
helplessly coughing, but Dori suddenly choked out, "Wait! Let me explain!
Why would I make up such a ridiculous story?"
"She's
got a point, Janice," Melinda said, pursing her lips. "No one trying
to fool a couple of history experts would choose such a patently false cover
story."
Janice
nodded and walked over and sat down on the bed next to Melinda. "Start
talkin'," she grunted.
Dori
coughed the last of the smoke away and sat cross-legged on the floor in front
of them. "According to the story handed down from parent to child for over
a thousand years, while on a visit to Greece before she became Queen, Cleopatra
met a man named Autolycus," she explained. Mel and Janice exchanged
surprised glances with each other. "When she returned to Egypt, she
discovered that she was pregnant with his child. Fearing the consequences of
this indiscretion, she had the baby in secret, away from the prying eyes of the
court at Alexandria. The boy, whom she named Autolemy, was raised by trusted
servants as one of their own, but when he was old enough to understand,
Cleopatra revealed the truth of his heritage to him. By this time she had given
birth to several other children by both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, but,
still fearing for his safety, now for entirely different reasons, she sent him
to Greece. He was the only one to
survive
Octavian's revenge."
"Let's
just say for the moment that your story is true," Janice said slowly.
"I still have two questions: How does your ancestry figure into this whole
ankh business? And, how in the world did the Germans find out about it?"
"Well,
after graduating from the Institute of Archaeology at University College in
London, I did some post-graduate work at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhlems
Universitat in Bonn. One of my papers at that time was an attempt to legitimize
the historical accuracy of my family's claim that they were the living
descendants of the Ptolemies. Unfortunately," she added with a frown,
"I couldn't find any evidence that this Autolycus ever existed. Just a
bunch of myths about a `King of Thieves.'"
"We
might be able to help you prove your claim," Mel said slowly, after
glancing over at Janice, who nodded slightly.
"But
that still doesn't explain why your ancestry, even if true, is significant to
the Nazis," the archaeologist reminded her.
"From
Autolemy to myself, the ancient rituals, known only to the Pharaohs of Egypt,
have been passed on, including the ritual which activates the Ankh of
Osiris," Dori explained.
"Don't
tell me the Krauts have that!"
Janice exclaimed. Dori nodded. "Oh, that's just great!"
"I'm
unfamiliar with this Ankh of Osiris, Dori," Mel said, not liking the look
on Janice's face. "Perhaps you could explain its powers..."
"Sure
thing, love, but you're not going to like it," Dori promised.
---------------------------
When
the quartet of prisoners arrived in the main dining hall for their evening
meal, they were not surprised to find Colonel Angriefer already seated and
enjoying some ouzo. But seated at the table with him was an older man with a
bald pate and enormous, owl-like glasses. He was wearing a dark suit beneath a
white lab jacket and he smiled unsettlingly when they entered and were seated.
"Frauleins,
Herr Kleinman, allow me to introduce the brilliant physicist, Professor
Dinglehoffstederachtungiosky," the colonel smiled, indicating the man who
was far too small for such a name. "He is working on a device which will
help to ensure the Reich's victory. Perhaps you would care to explain your
project, Herr professor?"
"Certainly,
colonel, always happy to enlighten the lower races, when possible," he
chuckled. "I call it `Photon Emitting in Narrow Intensity Stimulation.' It
works on the principle that normal light is incoherent and unfocused..."
He then went on to describe his theory about the concentrating of light to the
point where it could actually be used as
a
weapon. "What do you think?" he asked when he had finished.
"Light
amplified by stimulated emission of radiation..." Mel pondered, absently
chewing on her lower lip. "It sounds crazy to me."
"Crazy,
is it?!" the professor cried, leaping to his feet, whereupon they realized
that he was quite short, since he'd actually been taller when he was seated.
"They called Da Vinci crazy, too!"
"No,
they didn't," Melinda said, shaking her head.
"Galileo.
They called him crazy, right?" Dinglehoffstederachtungiosky asked
sheepishly.
"Not
really. The Church Fathers condemned his Heliocentric theory, but they never
called him crazy. Just blasphemous," she said, shrugging.
"What
about Newton?" the professor inquired.
"Nope."
"Columbus?"
"That's
just a myth. He was highly respected before and after his voyage to the New
World."
"Edison?"
he tried, sitting back down.
"I'm
afraid not."
The
professor sat silently for a few moments. "Maybe it is crazy," he
conceded. "But once I have finished the refinements on the prototype,
we'll see who's crazy, Fraulein! Then, the world will tremble before the insane
power wielded by the Third Reich!" he screamed, jumping up onto his chair
and waving his arms around frantically.
"Professor,
perhaps you should retire to your room," Angriefer suggested, motioning
for one of the guards to escort him. "You've had a full day and tomorrow
is likely to be busy as well."
The
older man nodded and climbed down from his chair. "You're right, colonel.
Guten abend, Frauleins, Herr Kleinman, colonel." He then followed the
soldier from the room.
"He's
a few dates short of a fruitcake," Janice commented once he'd gone.
"The
professor has had a hard life," Angriefer said, nodding in agreement.
"With
a name like his, I don't doubt it," Jack whistled.
"However,
he is a brilliant scientist and, despite what you might think, I've seen his
device and studied the principles behind it, and I believe it will work as he
says," the colonel stated.
"Well,
no one here has accused you of having all the workings to make your clock
cuckoo either," Janice pointed out.
"Do
not push your luck with me, Herr professor. I have Frau Pappas and Professor
Lykken. You and Herr Kleinman are quite expendable," he informed her.
"Not
if you want my cooperation, they're not," Mel stated angrily.
"My
dear Frau Pappas, we have other ways to make you cooperate, if we need
them," he sneered, his blue eyes glinting with menace. "But for the
time being, you have my word that no harm will come to your friends, providing
you translate the scrolls for us. Agreed?"
Melinda
scowled but reluctantly nodded. "Agreed," she said quietly.
"Excellent.
Now, why don't we enjoy this sumptuous meal, and the fine dessert our cooks
have prepared, and then turn in. You and Frau Lykken have a lot of work to do
tomorrow," he added, digging into his sausage.
Autolycus
carefully lowered himself from the skylight of the building using his grappling
hook and line until he was able to reach the glass dome covering the object of
his larcenous desires: A fantastic golden sculpture depicting Zeus as a swan
with diamond eyes. It was a scene from the story of the King of the Gods'
seduction of Leda, and the prized possession of the town of Tangae. As he
carefully removed the dome and set it to the side, the King of Thieves tried to
convince himself that he was stealing this piece because he was personally
offended by the adoration being accorded Zeus in a disguise whose only purpose
was to seduce an innocent young woman, and that the dinars he would receive for
the piece meant next to nothing.
In
reality, of course, he was not only already spending the dinars on wine, women,
and whatever else he could, but was jealous of Zeus for being able to do such a
thing.
Still,
it made the theft easier on his conscience to think it was otherwise. And, if
there was one thing Autolycus excelled at, it was deluding himself.
As
he started to draw himself back up to the roof, he heard an unmistakable voice
cut through the silence of the hall.
"Put
it back, Autolycus."
He
looked over and saw Xena standing near the entrance, shaking her head and
scowling. "Now," she added, removing her chakram from her belt.
"You
wouldn't!" Auto gasped.
Xena
just grinned wolfishly.
"You
would," he said miserably. He reluctantly replaced the statue and was just
in the process of replacing the dome when several of the city's guards burst
into the room.
"Stop,
thieves!" they shouted.
"Don't
worry about it, gentlemen," Xena said. "We were just leaving."
"Quiet,
wench!" one of them said, raising his sword threateningly.
"Uh,
trust me here, fella, you definitely don't want to do that," Auto warned,
dropping to the ground and retrieving his grappling hook with a flick of his
wrist.
"Why?
Is the little girlie-wurlie gonna cwy?" the soldier chuckled, causing his
companions to laugh.
"No,
but she might make you eat that thing if you don't get it out of her face,"
Autolycus replied.
"Ooh,
I am soooo scared," the man mocked.
"Good.
I prefer my men frightened," Xena smiled. Suddenly, she punched him in the
face so hard that he just fell to his rear. He spit out a couple of teeth and
then toppled backwards.
Predictably,
his companions screamed and charged the Warrior Princess.
Autolycus
hesitated only a moment before joining the fight.
"We
really need to work on your timing," Auto said, dodging a sword and
kicking the man in the stomach.
"Sorry,
but this is urgent," Xena replied, grabbing the wrist of the sword-arm of
a soldier and then spinning him around and using him like a puppet to fight off
two other soldiers before kicking him in the back and sending him sprawling.
"What
could be so urgent that you couldn't have waited until after I'd gotten away with the statue?" the thief inquired,
grabbing the man he'd kicked and throwing him into a companion head-first.
"I
need your help," Xena said, dropping the last of the soldiers with a kick
to the face which sent him flying into a wall. "Happy?"
"Insanely,"
Auto grinned. "Shall we discuss my fee?" He let his eyes travel down
her body as he twirled his mustache with a flourish.
"Your
fee is I don't turn you over to the city watch for this attempted theft,"
Xena replied, as she grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off his feet.
"They don't like thieves here. I understand they cut off a hand, brand
them, and send them to a work camp on the island of Corcyra."
"Xena,
Xena, you also need to learn how to take a joke," Auto said, smiling
nervously.
"So
do you," she replied with a wicked grin as she set him back down.
"What's
the emergency?" he asked as the pair made their way out of the exhibition
hall.
"I'll
explain as we ride to Edom," she replied, casually stomping on the chest
of the first soldier she'd knocked out as he started to groan and sit up. He
dropped soundlessly to his back.
"You
got a horse?" she asked, climbing onto Argo's saddle.
"I
do now," Auto replied, spotting a stable at the end of the street. It was
next to a blacksmith's shop, but there was no sign of the blacksmith or a
stable-hand. "Unless you'd prefer I ride with you?" He waggled his
eyebrows suggestively.
"Nice
try. Get the horse, but see that you leave some dinars for it," Xena
warned.
"You
take all the fun, and profit, out of being a thief," Autolycus scowled,
walking off.
A
few minutes later he rode up on a dapple gray stallion. "What do you
think? I call him `Overpriced piece of dogfood on the hoof.'"
"I
think we need to get going," Xena said, kicking her heels into Argo's
sides.
Auto
kicked his heels into his horse's sides and the animal shot forward, nearly
jumping out from under the thief in the process. He held on for dear life as the
horse charged past Argo. "HELP!!!" he screamed.
Xena
sighed and lashed Argo forward, quickly catching up to Auto's frightened steed
and calming it down by grabbing the reins and soothing it by petting its nose
and talking softly to it.
Autolycus
clutched his chest, his brown eyes large as saucers. "I could use a little
comforting, too," he panted, fearing his heart would burst from his chest
at any moment.
"You
should've told me you didn't know how to ride," Xena scolded, leading the
stallion as Auto regained his composure.
"You
never asked," the thief shrugged. "Besides, I figured `How hard can
it be? You jump on a horse and hold on. No big deal.' You never told me about
the kicking and pounding and how fast these things can go!"
"You
never asked," Xena smiled.
"Hardy
har, har. So, what's in Edom?" Auto asked, relaxing a bit, now that he
wasn't actually controlling the horse.
"At
the moment, Gabrielle and a mystery," she answered. "That's where you
come in."
"Ooh,
I love a challenge," he smirked, rubbing his hands together.
"Oh,
yeah. There's also a warlord and his army. He also wants to solve the
mystery," she added nonchalantly.
"Great.
Okay, so what's this mystery I'm supposed to solve?"
Xena
proceeded to tell him what the village elder had told her about the maze and
the holy object somewhere in its twisting, trap-filled passages.
"You
up to this challenge?" she asked when she'd finished, noticing his
silence.
"I'm
always up to any challenge, especially from you, Xena," he said, leering
at her.
The
warrior Princess just sighed and then suddenly urged Argo and the stallion
forward, causing Autolycus to hang on for dear life. "Aw, come on, Xena!
It was just a joke! Honest! Will you slow down, for the love of Zeus? Pleeeeeeease!!!"
After
dinner, which the prisoners had to admit was delicious, they were escorted back
up to the hallway and each was shown to their own private room. Naturally, a
guard was posted outside of each and they were securely locked in for the
night.
Or
so the Germans thought.
Much
later, as the guards slumbered in chairs outside the make-shift cells, one of
the locks clicked and then the door slowly swung open. Dori cautiously peeked
out and, seeing that the guards were still snoring away, she crept across the
hall and quickly opened the door and slipped inside.
She
tiptoed to the figure sleeping in the bed and suddenly clamped her hand over
its mouth. "Quiet, sweetheart, it's just me," she whispered. "No
screaming, okay?" She removed her hand and smiled.
"How...?"
Melinda began, her blue eyes shining with curiosity.
"Just
something that comes naturally," the dark-skinned woman shrugged.
"Always has."
"Thank
goodness for that!" Mel smiled. "I'll hurry and get dressed so we can
get Janice and Jack and get of here before the Germans realize we've
escaped." She quickly got up and got dressed. "Ready."
"Stay
here while I get Janice and Jack," Dori instructed.
"You
could have told me that before I rushed to get dressed," Mel huffed,
sitting down on the bed.
"I
know," the other woman grinned.
Dori,
seeing that the Germans were still sleeping, stole to the next room over and
quickly opened the door and slipped inside. She quietly made her way to the bed
and moved to place her hand over the mouth of the figure sleeping in it.
Suddenly, she was thrown onto the bed from behind and she felt a knee drive
itself into the small of her back as two hands circled around her neck.
"It's
me! Dori!" she gasped.
"Dori?"
said Janice, releasing the woman and removing her knee. "Great work. Let's
get Melinda and Jack and blow this sauerkraut stand before the Germans get
wise!"
"I've
already got Melinda ready to go," she informed her. "Stay here while
I go get Jack."
"Right,"
Janice nodded.
Dori
crept across the hall and within moments had picked the lock and was inside
Jack's room. She quickly shut the door, wondering how he could manage to sleep
through the sound of his own snoring, and padded over to where he lay sprawled
across the bed.
"Jack?"
she whispered, gently shaking him.
More
snoring.
She
reached over and placed one hand across his mouth and sharply pinched his arm
with her other.
Jack
gasped and then screamed into her hand as his eyes flew open.
"Quiet,
ducks, it's me, Dori," she said, staring into his eyes until comprehension
dawned. "Come on, we're leaving."
"What
about Mel and Janice?" he asked, struggling into his shoes.
"Ready
and waiting for us. All set?" she asked, peering out the door.
"All
set," he replied, giving her a `thumbs up.'
The
pair silently made their way out into the hallway and Dori retrieved the two
women with soft taps on their doors.
As
the three women made their way down the hall, Jack paused and tried to pry a
machine gun loose from a slumbering guard.
"Leave
that and come on!" Janice hissed, gesturing forcefully for him to follow
them.
"I've
almost got it," he whispered back, tugging on the strap.
Suddenly,
the trigger caught on the guard's belt and the gun began to discharge, causing
the three women to throw themselves onto the floor as bullets ripped over their
heads.
Jack
reached down and grabbed the gun. Trying to tear it loose from the man's belt,
he jerked violently, freeing the weapon. But in the process, his finger became
jammed in between the trigger and the stock, causing the gun to continue to
fire wildly as he vainly tried to free his finger.
When
the gun at least exhausted its clip and Jack finally managed to extricate his finger,
he saw over a dozen machine guns aimed at himself and the three women. He
immediately dropped the empty gun and meekly raised his hands.
Behind
him, Janice, Melinda, and Isidora did likewise.
"I
can see that my warnings were not enough," Colonel Angriefer sighed,
entering the hallway wearing pajamas covered with swastikas. "Pity."
---------------------------
After
spending the rest of the night handcuffed to their beds and securely gagged
with a guard both inside the room and outside in hallway, the four prisoners
made their way down to the dining hall for breakfast. Angriefer and
Dinglehoffstederachtungiosky were already there, enjoying some freshly squeezed
orange juice.
"I
trust you all slept well," the SS officer smirked as they sat down.
"Like
a log. Nothing like my own private Kraut night light to help me get a good
night's sleep," Janice replied.
"I
grow weary of your insults, Herr professor," the colonel sighed. "We
are doing what we can to make this a pleasant experience for you."
"Oh,
yeah, this has been almost like a vacation," Janice nodded. "Except
for the kidnapping, getting slapped around, and the machine guns aimed at us,
of course. Just like a day at Coney Island."
"Don't
waste your breath on them, Herr colonel," the professor suddenly said.
"Once my P.E.N.I.S. is fully operational, the world will tremble before
its awesome power!"
Melinda's
face immediately turned bright red while Jack almost choked on his sausage.
Janice and Dori just smiled at each other.
"Perhaps
it would be best if we didn't refer to the device by that particular acronym,
Herr professor," Angriefer suggested, his own face reddening slightly.
"Eh?
What do you...Gott im himmel!" he exclaimed, his eyes growing very large
behind his owlish glasses as his own face started to glow with embarrassment.
"Of course, Herr colonel. We shall simply call it a photon emitter when in
mixed company. Forgive me, Frauleins, I didn't realize."
"Well,
I never!" Melinda huffed, desperately wishing she had a fan. "I seem
to have lost my appetite, so, if y'all will excuse me..."
"A
moment, Fraulein," said Angriefer, removing the package which contained
the Xena Scrolls from the briefcase beside his chair. He held them out to her.
"I expect to see considerable progress by the end of the day. You may work
in your room, the library, or anywhere else you choose. Just see that you work.
Hans, here," he gestured to a strapping Aryan soldier who was standing at
attention near the window, "will be your shadow. Where you go, he goes. He
speaks very little English, but you should be able to convey
any
needs you have to him."
"I
speak excellent German, Colonel Angriefer," Melinda informed him,
accepting the package and standing up. "So, we won't have any trouble communicating
with each other." She left the room followed by the soldier.
"As
for you, professor Lykken," he said, turning to the Egyptologist and
removing an object wrapped in white cloth from his briefcase, "I trust you
are ready to attempt the necessary ritual." He handed the object to her.
"As
ready as I'll ever be, colonel," Dori sighed, unwrapping the bundle and
revealing a gem-studded golden ankh. "But it's been years since I was
taught those rituals, and I never thought I'd really get a chance to use them,
so I'm not sure if I remember every word and gesture."
"The
Third Reich will not accept excuses, professor Lykken," he replied coldly.
"You will do as you are told or your father dies."
Dori
nodded. "I said I'd do my best, colonel. That's all I can do."
"For
your father's sake, I hope it's enough," he said, wiping his mouth with a
napkin emblazoned with a swastika. "You two will accompany professor
Lykken to the lab so that you can fully appreciate how invincible the Reich
will be."
"Oh,
goody," Janice scowled.
After
breakfast, they were led down to a large room dominated by two things: 1) The
professor's device--A large tube-shaped object which reminded Janice of the
anti-aircraft guns on a ship as it had a seat in which the operator sat and was
on a swiveling platform; and 2) The strange, disturbing, statue they had uncovered
at the dig. She noted with amazement that it was still in pristine condition,
although there were several drills, hammers, and saws lying next to it that were
in anything but, having apparently been practically destroyed by the Nazis'
efforts to make the slightest impact on the thing.
"What's
that?" Dori asked, pointing toward the statue.
"A
mystery, professor Lykken, but one which does not concern you. Ah, here is your
subject," he smiled when two soldiers wheeled a cart into the room on
which lay a figure beneath a white sheet.
"Is
that...?" Jack began, gulping loudly.
"How
else is the professor going to demonstrate the power of the ankh?" Angriefer
replied, pulling the cloth back and revealing the pale face of an older man.
"This was Major Schlitz, a valued member of the SS. You will resurrect
him, professor Lykken. Now."
Dori
nodded and held the ankh in front of her with both hands. As she started to
chant in a language no one outside of her family had heard for over a thousand
years, the gems on the ankh began to glow, flashing slowly in apparently random
order. Then, as the chanting continued, the gems pulsed faster and faster, and
brighter and brighter.
"This
can't work, can it, Doc?" Jack whispered.
"A
few months ago, I'd have said no," Janice replied. "Now, I'm not so
sure."
Suddenly,
all of the gems flared brightly and the electric lights in the room all
exploded, plunging them into darkness.
"Where
am I?" said a deep voice. But it clearly wasn't coming from the stretcher
in front of them.
"Lights!
Schlaff! Bring us lights!" Angriefer ordered. A moment later, the sergeant
rushed in with several kerosene lamps and handed one to the colonel. Angriefer
held the lamp over the body on the cart, but it was unchanged. Scowling, he
held the light up to Isidora.
"Who
are you people?" said the same deep voice.
As
one, they all turned toward the statue and were horrified to see it looking at
them.
"Gabrielle?
Joxer? Cleopatra?" the statue questioned. "What's going on?"
Gabrielle
found the people of Edom to be so peaceful, so serene, so...so irritating. `In
recent times I thought it would be nice to find some place peaceful, but these
people are taking it to the extremes!' the Bard thought to herself.
In
the time since Xena had left her in the village to prepare them for the
warlord's assault, she had helped a woman give birth and attended a funeral for
a young boy who had fallen out of a tree and broke his neck. In both instances
the people of the village had reacted the same way: With a quiet smile and
acceptance.
When
the child was born the elders proclaimed it to be a blessing of their God and
when the child died it was God's will. It was driving the highly passionate
Bard crazy. The villagers didn't cry, but they never laughed, either. Gabrielle
tried to tell some of her stories, but after getting absolutely no reaction
from her audience one way or another, she finally gave up on that and threw
herself into teaching them how to fight with a staff.
Gabrielle
managed to show some of the younger people in the village some new staff
fighting techniques, and they were pretty good at it. But they showed no
pleasure in their skills, or trepidation at the thought that they might soon
have to use those skills.
The
Bard was beginning to wish that Inimicles would attack just so she wouldn't die
of boredom when she saw a young man of 13 summers running past her make shift
training grounds with a look of excitement on his face.
"Someone
actually has an emotion in this village?" she said with surprise.
Following the boy, she reached the house of one of the elders of the village
and heard voices inside.
"I
bring news of Inimicles' camp! He has captured someone who knows Xena and
Gabrielle! I heard the guards talking about a fool named Joxer!" the young
boy inside blurted out to the Elder.
Gabrielle's
blood ran cold at hearing this.
"How
many times do I have to tell you, we do not get excited here. Everything
progresses at God's will, so there is no reason to be emotional. You should not
have snuck into the warlord's camp. If we were supposed to have known this
information it would have been given to us. Now, I want you to go and practice
being calm. Remember, the Lord has scripted out everything that is to happen in
your life, so there is no reason to fear or worry," the Elder told the
young boy.
Gabrielle
did not wait to hear more. Grabbing up her staff, she ran out of the village in
the direction that the young boy had come from. She had Joxer to save and no
one better try and stop her. The few villagers who saw her leave just shook
their heads at her haste and, smiling a placid smile, they went back to their
daily tasks.
---------------------------
"Lord
Inimicles, why do we wait to attack the village?" one of his officers, a
man named Snake, asked.
"We
wait because I don't want the item that I am after to be destroyed by those
villagers to keep it from me!" Inimicles yelled at the officer. "My
sources tell me that the item is in a maze guarded by traps and locks. I need
someone who could get in, find the item and get out without the villagers
knowing about it. After I have the item, then you may slaughter the
villagers," Inimicles said with a gesture, dismissing him.
Joxer,
hanging on his wooden X, watched as Inimicles paced back in forth in front of
him. "It's a pity that Autolycus isn't here." Hearing Inimicles'
pacing stop, Joxer realized that he had spoken that thought out loud. If he
could have, he would have kicked himself.
"Ah,
yes! The King of Thieves. I have heard that he also hangs out with the Warrior
Princess. His services would be useful." Turning toward the bound Joxer,
Inimicles hissed, "Where can I find him?"
"He
usually hangs out at the XenaVerse complex on Mount Olympus," Joxer
answered before he thought about it.
"Excellent!
Then I will travel to this complex and tell Autolycus that if he ever wants to
see his friend Joxer alive again, he will help me procure the item that I am
after!"
"Um,
maybe you better just tell him that you will pay him really well instead,"
Joxer mumbled to himself.
One
of the soldiers suddenly entered the tent. "My Lord, we have a woman who
claims she represents the villagers. She wants to talk to you."
Inimicles,
stepping out from his tent, was presented with the sight of Gabrielle standing
between two guards. "Who would you be, then?" he asked her.
To
say that Gabrielle was stunned by the sight of her dead friend James dressed as
a warlord would be putting it mildly, but, being a bard, she managed to hide
her shock. "James?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"No.
My name is Inimicles, but you are the second person to call me that name. Again
I ask, who are you?"
"My
name is...Mavis. Yes, that's my name. I have lived all of my life in the
village and I do not want to see it destroyed and I was hoping that I could
talk you out of attacking it. Maybe as a sign of your good faith, you could
release any prisoners you had to me and then I could go back and talk the
Elders into giving you what you want?"
Inimicles
looked at Gabrielle for a moment and then smiled. "You are a liar, and not
a very good one at that. Lived in the village all your life? The village was
settled by Israelites. You are dressed in Greek Amazon clothing and the staff
you are carrying declares you to be an Amazon queen. So, Queen Gabrielle of the
Amazons, where is your friend Xena?"
Gabrielle,
knowing that she could not bluff her way out of this one, decided to try and
fight her way out. Swinging her staff, she caught the guards on either side of
her completely off guard. `Which is a strange thing to be able to do to
guards,' Gabrielle fleetingly thought. She managed to knock them out quickly
and, turning her attention back to Inimicles, she saw that he had not moved a
muscle, not even drawn his sword yet.
"Impressive,
little queen, but what do you plan to do about me?" Inimicles asked in a
polite voice.
Gabrielle
immediately launched an all-out attack with her staff, but Inimicles merely
blocked the blows with his arms and legs without effort. Then, with a loud
yell, she ran toward him, planning to run up his body and then do the kick in
the face move she'd practiced earlier. Inimicles just stood with his arms
folded and waited till Gabrielle jumped into the air and then...stepped aside.
Gabrielle sailed through the air, through the tent flap, and landed hard on her
back knocking the wind out of her.
`The
trees I practiced on never pulled that on me,' she thought. Looking up from the
ground, the first sight that met her was Joxer hanging off the wooden X. The
second sight was Inimicles' sword pointing at her nose.
"Hi,
Gabby!" Joxer said to her.
Troya
woke up in a camp in a beautiful clearing near a lake. Rolling over she saw the
love of her life sitting on a log near the remains of a campfire.
"Isn't
it beautiful here? I'm so happy that you brought me to this lovely place for a
vacation. How long can we stay here?" she asked in a happy voice.
James,
who had heard these exact same morning greetings for months felt a moment of
irritation that evaporated the second he looked into Troya's eyes. "We can
stay as long as you want, my love," he told her softly with a smile.
Meanwhile thinking to himself, `What can I show her today that I haven't shown
her 20 or 30 times already? Everyday is a new day for her, but I'm getting
bored with the same thing everyday.'
Troya
breathed a sigh of contentment and rolled over onto her back to watch the
sunlight filtering through the trees.
Things
had been a little awkward at first. Trying to carry on conversations that went
from one day to the next that James remembered but she didn't. Dealing with her
shock and sadness when she heard the thoughts of her friends thinking of her
and she realized that she was now dead. Those were the times when the bard
understood and appreciated the memory loss from day to day.
The
first time that he left the Fields and traveled up in the outside world since
Troya's death, he had felt so guilty and miserable that he didn't stay gone for
long. But arriving back and finding out that she really did not even know that
he had been gone made it easier. He was just about to make the day's suggestion
on what to do, when he heard a voice that he hadn't heard for a while inside
his head.
"Oh,
James, I miss you, my friend, and I am in trouble up here. There is a warlord
that looks exactly like you and he has captured Joxer and I. Xena went off to
find Auto and the warlord is making preparations to go to the XenaVerse complex
to find Auto himself. It's a mess! I wish you could help me somehow!"
Rising
from the log that he had been sitting on, James walked over to where Troya was
still daydreaming, looking up into the trees. Kneeling down, he took one of her
hands in his and, kissing it, said softly, "My love, I just remembered
that I told some of our friends that I would meet them today. I'll be gone for
the day, but I promise that I'll be back
tomorrow."
Troya
frowned for a moment, but the magic of the Fields that kept someone from being
unhappy for any length of time took effect and she just smiled. "Do you
promise you will only be gone for one day?"
"I
promise. You won't even remember that I was gone," he answered truthfully.
"I
could go with you," she said with a pout.
"No,
you stay and enjoy your vacation. Take a swim in the lake. You always enjoy
that," he told her with a smile.
"How
can I 'always enjoy that' when this is the first day we have been here?"
Troya said with a look of confusion passing briefly over her face.
"I
meant that you will enjoy taking a swim in that lake, of course. I'll be back
soon." After giving her a kiss, he walked a short distance away and then
willed himself to find Gabrielle and Joxer in the world of the living.
Gabrielle,
tied to a wooden X beside Joxer's, opened her eyes from her silently talking to
the spirit of her dead friend James and looked over at Joxer. "I thought
you were supposed to warn the XenaVerse complex that Inimicles was in the area?
How did you get back here so fast?"
"I
did warn them! Everyone at the complex knows that Inimicles is near and are
probably mounting a rescue party for us right now! Knowing how much you and
Xena could use my expert help, I raced like the wind and got here fast,"
Joxer assured Gabrielle.
Gabrielle
was about to tell Joxer that he couldn't even break wind fast when she heard
the warlord about to enter the tent so she settled for giving a snort and
rolling her eyes instead.
Inimicles
strolled into the tent and, without even looking at his two captives, he went
straight to the chest and started to pull out clothing. Without a thought of
the two people watching him, he quickly stripped off his armor and warlord
leathers and dressed in simple clothing of soft brown leather pants and a plain
white shirt.
"Don't
look, Gabrielle!" Joxer whispered urgently.
Gabrielle
for her part just rolled her eyes at Joxer's attempt to protect her sense of
propriety.
"Well,
how do I look?" the warlord Inimicles asked his 'guests' as he turned
around.
Gabrielle
could not bring herself to speak. With his armor and fighting leathers replaced
with more simple clothing, Inimicles looked even more like the late bard James.
"This
should trick those fools at your XenaVerse complex into thinking that I am just
another visitor and allow me to explore that place and find Autolycus without
bringing any notice to myself," Inimicles said with satisfaction.
`Oh,
yeah! Having someone who looks like someone who has been dead for months
walking around should not attract any attention at all!' Gabrielle thought to
herself. Noticing that Joxer was just about to speak, she quickly started
talking in the hopes that Joxer would wise up and not mention the fact that
James was dead. "What about us?" she asked.
"Don't
worry. I still plan on using you as insurance in case Xena shows up and tries
to stop me, so you're safe. I have given orders that you are to taken care of,
and not to be molested or harmed. My men carry enough healthy fear of me that
they will not disobey my orders." So saying, the warlord turned and left
the tent.
Gabrielle
allowed herself to slump down on the wooden X slightly. Oh, she wasn't worried.
She knew that Xena would rescue her. Xena always rescued her. It was just that
Xena would be angry at her for not staying at the village and she was getting
bored hanging around.
Out
of the corner of her eye she saw an image flicker for a moment. Turning her
head, she thought for a moment that the warlord had returned, but this image
was wearing different clothing than the warlord was when he left. This person
was wearing clothing that looked like Ares' clothing. The person was quite
solid looking and looked very much like James did right when he died. The
person walked over till he was standing directly in front of her, with his head
cocked sadly to the side. "Gabrielle, Gabrielle, can't you stay out of trouble
for more than several heartbeats?"
"James,
is that you? I mean really you this time? How come I can hear and see
you?" Gabrielle asked in an excited voice.
Joxer
hanging over on his cross, looked where Gabrielle was looking and talking to
and saw and heard nothing. `Poor Gabby! The pressure was too much for her!
She's snapped!' he thought to himself.
"You
can see me and hear me?" James asked Gabrielle. "It must have been
the time my spirit spent inside your body the last adventure we had together. We're
linked somehow. I can hear your thoughts, even when you're not thinking of me,
and you can see and hear me."
"This
is great!" Gabrielle said with an enthusiasm which quickly died. "But
what can you do to help us?" she added.
Joxer,
watching Gabrielle closely, thought to himself, `Oh, yeah. She's lost it big
time! One scroll short of a satchel. She's got splinters in the staff of her
mind!'
Later
that night, Gabrielle was resting as well as could be expected being chained to
a wooden X. So far, the warlord Inimicles was correct in that his soldiers
treated her and Joxer well. They unchained them to eat and take care of
personal business, although never at the same time. Always keeping one chained
to insure the other behaved.
The
Bard was surprised by how few soldiers there actually were in the camp 'till
she heard one guard talking to another and found out that Inimicles had split
his army into small units and spread them around to guard the village and make
sure that the villagers did not manage to sneak his prize away under his nose.
With
night fallen, Gabrielle only heard the occasional sounds of a patrol passing
outside the tent. Sighing, she once again tried to find some comfortable angle
to hang from, so she could go back to sleep. Joxer's snoring did not help
Gabrielle's rest in the least either. The spirit of James had promised to help
somehow, but then he disappeared in mid-afternoon and Gabrielle had not seen or
heard him since then.
Suddenly,
Gabrielle jerked wide awake at the sounds of someone stumbling toward the tent.
It was not the quiet steps of the sentries but the shambling steps of someone
either drunk or highly drugged. She managed to hold in a squeak of fear when
she saw, silhouetted by the moonlight, the tent flap slowly open and a large
figure enter the tent.
The
interior of the tent was pitch black--No sense wasting light on captives--but
the person who entered went straight to the table at the center without falling
and lit a small lamp that was sitting on it. When the figure turned from the
table Gabrielle almost felt like sobbing. It was one of the dirtiest and
smelliest of the guards that had fed them earlier and his sneaking into the
tent at this late hour could only have one meaning. Gabrielle prepared herself
to fight as well as she could, chained to the X, but she was determined that,
no matter what, the soldier was going to pay for his fun.
She
watched as the man moved closer to where she was chained. Something was wrong.
His eyes were open, but they had a glazed look in them. He'd been drinking was
her first thought. Gabrielle almost screamed when a second head suddenly seemed
to sprout out of the top of his. It was the spirit of her good friend James.
"Shh.
Be quiet! I can only control this body until he wakes up. Lucky for me this guy
not only drank himself unconscious, but he smells so bad his fellow soldiers
make him sleep on the far side of the camp, away from everyone else. Do you
know where the keys to these locks are?"
Gabrielle
quietly nodded her head. "The guards who fed us took them with them. How
are you going to get us free?"
The
spirit head of James frowned. "Well, this guy's hands are a little ham
fisted for such delicate work, but let's see if this trick that I learned from
Auto will work." So saying, James sank back fully into the body of the
soldier and the soldier's hands undid the buckle on his belt and using the wire
from the buckle started to pick the locks on Gabrielle's chains.
Joxer,
turning his head in his sleep, jarred himself enough that he woke up, and the
sight of a dirty soldier with his belt undone kneeling in front of Gabrielle
was more than he could take.
"Get
away from her! You slimy son of a harpy!" he shouted.
"Joxer,
be quiet! It's James inside the soldier's body! He's trying to pick the locks
on our chains!" Gabrielle hissed urgently.
The
soldier stopped his work and started to blink rapidly as he began to wake up.
Feeling
his control over the man slipping away, James used all of his concentration and
made him walk slightly to the side and then made him smash his head against
Gabrielle's X, once again knocking him back out.
"Oh,
poor Gabby! You have really snapped, haven't you. James is dead and gone. He's
not coming back to help," Joxer informed her in a low voice.
Gabrielle
rolled her eyes at Joxer and turned her head back to look down at the soldier's
body as it rose shakily to it's feet. "Are you okay, James?"
"Yeah.
The blow knocked out the soldier again, but I'm feeling the pain. I'll have a
headache until I can get out of this body," he told Gabrielle in the
soldier's voice.
Giving
a glare to the stunned, and thankfully now silent Joxer, James started to work
on the locks once again.
---------------------------
Buffy
was carrying a crock that contained the latest shipment of fine olive oil up
from where the deliveries were made to the kitchen of Pegasus Pizza when she
suddenly dropped the crock she was carrying and let out a little scream.
Julie,
who was right behind her, immediately said, "I'm not cleaning that up! You
dropped it, you clean up." Getting no argument from Buffy, Julie looked
over Buffy's shoulder and gave a little scream of her own.
Just
getting down from a horse in the courtyard was the dead bard James.
Buffy
paused for a moment, wondering if she should make a run for it or grab James in
a big welcome home hug. Finally, she decided on a cautious hello. "James!
Back again?" she asked in a reasonably calm voice.
The
man who got off the horse looked around briefly before he realized that there
was no one else present and that she was talking to him. The warlord Inimicles
had not survived for such a long time by being slow or stupid.
"Yeah.
I'm back. I've got to find Autolycus. Do you know where he is?"
"So
formal. Not even a hello? And what's wrong with your voice? It sounds a little
gravelly," Buffy mock frowned.
"Sorry,
but it's an emergency. Do you know where he is?" Inimicles said, trying to
smooth out his voice.
"I
haven't seen him in a while, but you might try the Pun-N-Pub Party Palace. If
he's here, you can bet that's where he'll be," Buffy said with a real
frown now. The James she had known had always been very polite and smiling.
This James seemed cold and acted like this was the first time he had ever been
here. `Oh, well, I guess coming back from the dead can change a person,' she
thought to herself.
She
and Julie watched as James, after a moment of searching, found the entrance to
the main part of the complex and went in. Turning, she found Julie watching
her. "I am still not cleaning up that mess!" Julie said, pointing at
the smashed crockery.
Inimicles
had searched most of the complex quietly and had found no one. `Where is
everyone in this place?' he thought to himself.
Trying
one more door in a long line of doors, he was surprised when it was suddenly
jerked open by a lovely woman wearing very little clothing.
"James!
You're back again!" the woman squealed as she jerked him into the room and
flung him into a hot tub filled with people.
Inimicles
was trying to decide if he just wanted to cut the woman open or just drown her
in the pool when he came up from the bottom of the hot tub spitting water. The
sight of literally dozens of Amazon women lounging around and in the hot tub made
him reconsider his options. Inimicles respected Amazon warriors. They were
fierce fighters and they did not worship Ares. So they had his respect.
"I'm
sorry, but I'm looking for Autolycus. It's an emergency!" Inimicles
sputtered to Lissla.
"Auto?
He's been gone for about two weeks. Said something about 'Lucy in the sky with
diamonds.'" Lissla spoke in a rush as she raced around the room giving
everyone drinks.
"Not
`Lucy in the sky with diamonds.' It was `Goosey in the sky with
diamonds,'" an Amazon beside Inimicles in the pool spoke up.
"Not
a goosey. It was something about a swan. And it wasn't diamonds in the sky. It
was diamonds in its eyes," spoke yet another Amazon warrior, sitting on
the edge of the hot tub.
"Oh,
Lyrica. That doesn't make any sense at all," Lissla scolded the woman
warrior as she passed by.
Inimicles
had had enough. "I have to go! I need to get back!"
"You
mean you have to return so soon?" Lissla said sadly. "I was hoping
that Hades would let you stay longer this time. By the way, how is Troya?"
Inimicles,
realizing that he had no idea what the people in the room were talking about,
and that if he said anything he might reveal that he was not James, just got up
from the tub and ran out of the room.
"Well!
I guess that being dead doesn't do anything for your manners!" Lissla
huffed at the door as it closed.
Inimicles
made his way down to his horse and, mounting it quickly, he raced away from the
complex. `Those people are crazy!' he thought to himself as he rode away.
Waking
up, James rolled over and kissed Troya awake. "Good morning, my
Love," he tenderly said to her.
"James,
behave yourself. We have company remember?"
Laughing
a little, James sat up and looked across the campsite to where Xena and
Gabrielle were. Well, Gabrielle was still in her bedroll asleep. The Warrior
Princess had already went to the lake for an early morning bath.
"This
is such a lovely place for a vacation. I'm glad that you brought me here. And
isn't it great that Xena and Gabrielle decided to join us?"
James
spent a few moments trying to remember when Xena and Gabrielle joined he and
Troya on their vacation, but when a feeling of perfect peace came over him, he
realized that it was not important and promptly forgot about it.
James
turned to answer Troya when he felt a sudden pull, as if someone had a rope
tied to him and gave it a mighty jerk, and everything went black.
Opening
his eyes, all James could see was darkness. He was just about to call out for
Troya when he heard a strange voice yelling for someone to get some lights.
"Where
am I?" James asked.
When
a light flared, he watched as someone brought in an odd looking lantern and
handed it to another man wearing a strange uniform.
"Who
are you people?" the confused bard inquired.
When
everyone whirled around to look at him, James saw some familiar faces among the
strangers. "Gabrielle? Joxer? Cleopatra? What's going on?"
The
man wearing the strange looking uniform quickly set the lantern down on a bed
like thing that was near him and, reaching under his left arm, pulled something
out and pointed it at James.
"Whatever
you are, don't move!" he commanded.
James
started to raise his hands, to show that he was not armed and, with a sudden
motion, the man did something with the object in his hand. There was a loud
bang and the bard felt a brief sting on his forehead where something small had
hit it.
Continuing
to raise his hand, James rubbed at his forehead. "Don't do that," he
replied mildly. He looked at his hand in the dim light and saw that it was
golden metal. "I'm back in my metal body?" With a flash, James
remembered everything. Hephaestos building the metal body. The battle with
Velasca where he lost the metal body. The fight with a warlord named Inimicles.
All the happy times and the sad times. The moment of his second (or was it his
third?) death. And, the final meeting with Hades where he said that James was
going to the Fields. This time to stay.
"Where
am I?" James asked the woman who looked like Gabrielle. The woman was
standing frozen with shock and did not answer. Taking a step forward, James
heard a noise coming from behind the man in the uniform. Looking over his
shoulder, the bard saw a strange little man with large round pieces of glass
over his eyes.
"Mein
Gott! It's attacking!" he squeaked in a high voice.
Several
things happened very rapidly in the next few moments:
The
man with the large glasses ran over to a strange object that had lots of glass
tubes all over it;
Gabrielle,
Joxer, and Cleopatra stepped quickly to one side and the man in the uniform
continued to look first at the object in his hand and then at James with his
mouth hanging open; and
The
man with the glasses threw himself into a seat on the side of the object and a
second later a bright red beam lanced out of the object and hit James fully in
the chest.
The
bard felt a slight impact, as though hit in the chest by one of Velasca's
lightning bolts. Although a very weak one. The red beam hit him and split into
several different beams that blasted holes in the walls. From the flashes of
red light bouncing off his body, James could see Gabrielle, Joxer and Cleopatra
running for cover under the tables in the room.
"Not
enough power!" the little man with the glasses yelled and flipped several
switches on the side of the object.
With
a high pitched whine, the red beam increased in intensity and James was forced
a few steps back. The beams that bounced off his chest continued to blow holes
in the walls and ceiling. He watched as the man with the uniform ran to some
steps leading up and, with several others, charged up the stairs and was gone.
With
a final piercing sound like a wounded animal, the object blew up and threw the
little man clear across the room to land near the steps and he, too, ran out.
James
started to head toward the steps himself when he heard Joxer yell out for help.
Looking over, in the dim light of the lanterns, he could see Gabrielle,
Cleopatra and Joxer had taken refuge under a large table and that several large
stones had fallen from the ceiling to land on the table pinning them under it.
He started toward them when he heard a loud cracking noise and, looking up, he
saw a support beam start to break above them. Racing over, he reached up and
held the beam up, to keep it from falling.
"Joxer!
Get them out of here while I hold this," he yelled to the man who looked
his friend.
"The
name is Jack, not Joxer!" The man started to argue, but seeing several
large rocks fall, he added, "But that's not important right now! Ladies,
this way out!" He scrambled out from under the table and led the women to
the stairs.
"What
about you?" Gabrielle in the strange clothing yelled to James.
"Don't
worry about me. There is almost nothing that can harm me. If the whole of this
building falls on me, I will just dig my way out and meet you on the
outside."
The
young woman with the strange hat looked like she was going to argue some more
but hearing a woman's scream from the rooms above, she nodded and ran up the
stairs and was gone.
With
a loud snap, as though the very spine of the building had broken, the ceiling
gave way and came crashing down on him and for the second time that day everything
went black.
Even
in his terror to escape the monster which the Egyptologist had brought to life,
Colonel Angriefer had the presence of mind to grab the ankh from the woman'
numb hands before bolting for the stairs. Schlaff and the guards were right
behind him. And, a moment later, after the prototype exploded, Dr.
Dinglehoffstederachtungiosky joined them, right before the roof fell in,
burying the lab in tons of rock.
Hearing
Frau Pappas scream, the SS officer rushed into the study just in time to
witness poor Hans' crushed body fall through an enormous crack in the floor.
Apparently a large chunk of the ceiling had broken loose and fallen on him,
weakening the floor from above, even as the laser had weakened it from below.
Then, Angriefer noted with alarm that both the ceiling and the floor had large,
ominous cracks spreading through them.
"Frau
Pappas, there is no time to argue, take my hand and let's get out of
here," he said, extending one hand, while holding onto the door frame with
the other. Bits of masonry dropped to the floor between the two people.
"Where
are my friends?" the frightened woman demanded, glancing down at the
expanding fissures at her feet.
"They're
safe, Fraulein. Now, give me your hand, and don't forget the scrolls!" he
commanded. "Hurry! Or you will join Hans."
Melinda
hesitated, looking about for some other way out of the room, besides dropping
down into the blackness which had claimed her guard. Then, when she felt bits
of rubble fall on her head, she looked up and saw a huge chunk of the ceiling
tearing loose right over her. She leaped out of the way just in time and
managed to grab the colonel's outstretched hand as the roof crashed into the
floor, causing the latter to literally drop out from under her feet.
Angriefer
grunted as he found his arm supporting Mel's entire weight. "Hang on,
Fraulein, and I'll pull you up," he said through tightly gritted teeth.
"Schlaff! Some assistance, mach schnell!"
Melinda
looked over her shoulder and saw nothing but a yawning blackness. She tucked
the precious scrolls down her top and grabbed the colonel's wrist with her
other hand.
He
looked down and nodded. "Smart, Fraulein. Now, hold on tightly and I'll
pull you up. Schlaff!!" Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "It's
about time, dummkopf!"
"That's
no way to talk to a lady, colonel," Janice said evenly in his ear.
"Hang on, or you'll be following her, Angriefer. Understand?" The
colonel nodded. "Okay, Mel, we're bringing you up. Just relax and let me
do all the work. Like always," she added with a slight smile.
Melinda
looked up and smiled back.
Janice
reached around and grabbed hold of Mel's arm and began to haul her up and, with
the colonel's help, a few moments later the Southern belle was standing next to
them. She threw her arms around the blonde and hugged her tightly. "All
right, all right. We don't have time for this right now, Mel," Janice
growled good-naturedly. "Jack and Dori are guarding Schlaff and the rest
of Angriefer's goons and we need to get out of here before this whole building
falls on top of us. Come on, colonel."
Angriefer
suddenly whipped his gun out and aimed it at the two women. "I think not,
Herr professor," he said snidely. He grabbed Mel and pulled her to him and
then edged around Janice. "I'm sorry that I can't risk bringing you with
me, but I fear Frau Pappas will prove enough of a handful." He viciously
lashed out and struck Janice across the forehead with the barrel of his Lugar.
"NOOO!!!!"
screamed Mel as her friend toppled over the edge and disappeared into the
darkness below. "You monster!"
"Unfortunately,
Fraulein, I am not the only monster in the castle. Let's hurry before it
escapes and finds us," he said, forcing her forward.
"What
are you talking about?" she questioned. "What monster?"
"I'll
explain later, Fraulein. Ah, here are your companions," he smiled, seeing
Jack and Dori, the former nervously holding a machine gun on Schlaff and four
of his men. "Drop the gun, Herr Kleinman, or Frau Pappas dies." He
stepped into view and placed the Lugar to Mel's temple. "Now."
Jack
looked over at Dori, who shrugged, and then reluctantly dropped the gun.
"Where's the Doc?" he asked as Schlaff and the soldiers quickly aimed
their own guns at he and Isidora.
"He
pushed her into the basement!" Mel exclaimed, close to tears.
"Professor
Lykken will be coming with us, but I'm afraid that you, Herr Kleinman, have
outlived your usefulness. Schlaff," he said, nodding.
"No!
Kill him and I'll refuse to translate the scrolls. Then, what will you tell
your Fuhrer. He won't be happy to learn you've failed him twice," Mel
pointed out.
"Very
well, Fraulein," he smiled. "I can be a reasonable man." He
gestured to the sergeant and Schlaff struck Jack across the back of the head
with the butt of his gun, sending him sprawling on the ground. "You
see?" Mel and Dori both glared at him. "Now, then, we've wasted
enough time here and I still don't trust this thing not to collapse further.
Shall we go?"
Suddenly,
Dori leaped away, handspringing head over heels, and out of the room. By the
time the Germans had raised their guns and fired, she was long gone.
"Leave
her!" Angriefer ordered when the soldiers started after her. Hearing the
groans of the castle, he looked up. "I have the ankh, let's get out of
here."
He
drug Mel out to the truck and was surprised to find the professor sitting in
the cab and quietly sobbing. "My poor P.E.N.I.S. It's gone. Destroyed.
Exploded. It wasn't powerful enough!" he wailed.
"No
time to cry over spilled milk, Herr professor," Angriefer said, forcing
Mel into the cab. He gunned the truck's motor, as the other soldiers climbed
into the other two trucks and did the same, and then slammed it into gear and
the three vehicles rumbled off into the night.
Behind
them, with a final, deep groan, the castle fell in on itself and Mel screamed
as the dust from its destruction rose into the moonless sky.
As
Autolycus and Xena rode along towards the village of Edom, the thief, trying to
make conversation, asked, "So, how did you track me down, anyway?"
"It
wasn't hard. I just checked with all your usual fences and learned that you'd
been inquiring what you could get for a golden swan," Xena replied.
"After that, it was easy to figure out your target."
"I'm
gonna have to learn to keep my big mouth shut in the future," Auto
scowled. "Or find some less talkative fences."
"Well,
they didn't really have much choice, so don't be too angry with them," she
said.
"You
and that damn pinch! Would it hurt you to just trick information out of people,
or use some other, less violent, method to learn what you want?" he asked.
"I
was in a hurry," Xena shrugged. "I'm worried about leaving Gabrielle
in that village with a bloodthirsty warlord camped nearby."
"Gabrielle's
not a little girl anymore, Xena, not by a long shot," he added, his eyes
sort of glazing over. She looked back at him and loudly cleared her throat.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. My point is that she can take care of herself with that
staff of hers."
"You
didn't see her practicing on a tree the other day," the Warrior Princess
chuckled. "But you're right, she can take care of herself. It's just that
Inimicles is such a wild card, I'm not sure how patient he'll be. He might just
torch the village if they keep defying him. He's done it before. Quite a few
times."
"But
you said those were towns loyal to Ares," Auto pointed out. "Edom
certainly isn't one of the Wargod's holdings."
"That's
true. And, it's the only thing which gives me hope that he won't decide to
simply kill everyone and take what he wants," she nodded.
"Any
idea what this `holy object' is?" he asked.
Xena
shook her head and the pair rode on in silence.
---------------------------
Joxer
watched suspiciously as the guard finished picking the locks that held him to
the wooden X. Gabrielle, whom he had released first, was searching the tent
looking for her staff. The guard stepped back from Joxer and, walking
stiff-legged, went over to the side of the tent and laid down and did not move
again, except for the rising and falling of his chest, showing that he was
still alive.
"That
is really weird," Joxer whispered to Gabrielle. "Why did the guard
release us and then just go to sleep?"
"I
told you, Joxer. That was James, inside the body of the guard, who released us
while the guard was knocked out," Gabrielle replied quietly as she
continued to search.
"James
is dead and gone. The guard must've just been really drunk? Yeah, that's it. He
was drunk and he unchained us to do something horrible to us and then he passed
out from fright at my manliness," Joxer proclaimed in a whisper to
Gabrielle.
Gabrielle
let out a loud snort and rolled her eyes. "Joxer, we need to find my staff
and get out of here."
"Don't
forget my sword and my hand pounded armor!" Joxer whispered as he moved to
help Gabrielle search.
"Yeah,
we can't forget your armor, can we?" Gabrielle whispered sarcastically.
She suddenly stopped her searching and looked at the entrance of the tent.
"James says he knows where they stored our stuff. Come on," she
whispered as she grabbed Joxer's arm and dragged him toward the tent flap.
Gabrielle
lead Joxer along a twisty path through the camp, stopping every once in a while
as though she was listening to someone. Joxer noticed that when she would stop
and pause for a moment in the shadows, a patrol would pass by, missing them in
the dark. `Boy, she sure has learned a lot from Xena,' Joxer thought to
himself.
Reaching
one tent that looked like all the rest, Gabrielle turned to him. "James
says that this is a weapon supply tent and that our stuff is inside. Let's get
them and go." So saying, she ducked into the tent without pause. Joxer
waited frozen for a moment, just knowing that he was about to hear some
soldiers yelling after being woke up by Gabrielle diving into their tent. After
another heartbeat, Gabrielle's head poked out of the tent. "Are you going
to help me look for our stuff or not?" Joxer ducked into the tent and found
that it was indeed nothing more than a storage tent for weapons.
"How
did you know that this was the right tent?" he asked as he started
searching by hand for his sword and armor.
"I
told you. James knew where it was," Gabrielle whispered angrily. Joxer
started to retort back again that James was not here when his hand hit the
chest plate of his armor. Searching further, he quickly found his helmet, his
sword and Gabrielle's staff.
"Here's
your staff and my armor. I'll be just a second getting my armor and helmet
on."
Gabrielle
grabbed his arm. "James says that if we try to leave this camp with you
wearing your armor, we won't get more than several yards before we're caught
again. Here, wrap your armor in these bags and put it in this big bag that I
found and carry it out of here on your back!"
"Hey,
that's pretty smart! You're good at thinking these things through, even if you
are delusional at the moment," Joxer replied as he quickly shoved his
armor and helmet into a bag.
Gabrielle,
standing at the tent flap, looking out, whispered, "I'm going to have to
smack him one in a minute."
She
was startled when she heard James, who knew that no one else could hear him,
laugh out loud.
Weaving
through the woods, past patrols with James' guidance, they made good time.
Gabrielle was glad for the fact that in the total darkness of the forest,
James, at least to her eyes, glowed slightly.
"Watch
out for that tree root," James told her. Gabrielle carefully stepped over
the root and repeated the warning to Joxer.
Splat!
Clank! Joxer tripped over the root and landed face first.
"Joxer!
Be careful!" she whispered to him as she helped him up.
"I
don't understand why we have to go this route. There is a perfect path just a
few yards over," Joxer complained, pointing to the side where the path
was.
Gabrielle
looked to where the spirit of James was floating. "James says that the
path has strings run across it with bells attached and that there is a patrol
of Inimicles coming this way. We have to go this way and we have to be
quiet!" she whispered urgently to Joxer.
"I'm
tired of this fantasy of yours, Gabrielle. I'm going to use the path,"
Joxer said as he headed toward the path in question.
Gabrielle
hesitated for a slight moment and then conked Joxer over the head with her
staff.
James
quickly entered Joxer's body and moved it quietly further into the woods with
Gabrielle following.
A
few moments later, they heard as a large patrol of Inimicles' men passed by.
Gabrielle waited till the soldiers were well gone and then whispered, "Is
Joxer all right?"
"He's
fine. Just knocked out. Let's see if we can get to the village before he wakes
up," James told her using Joxer's voice.
With
him now controlling Joxer's body, they slipped through the forest as quiet as
two ghosts.
Arriving
at the village gates, Gabrielle stopped and then slowly slid down the gate
tiredly. She watched as James, inside of Joxer's body, walked up to the gate
and lowered himself into a sitting position.
"I
wonder when the village opens it's gates? Or if they will open the gates with
Inimicles' army around here?" he asked her.
"Oh,
don't worry. They'll open the gates in a little while. I don't think they'd
change the pattern of their lives, even if Inimicles was standing here right
now," Gabrielle said, slightly slurring her words.
"Poor
Gabrielle! You must be exhausted. Take a nap here and I'll keep watch. I'll
leave Joxer's body and take a look around in spirit form and make sure that
we're safe."
Gabrielle
could only nod once before she fell asleep.
Early
the next morning, when Xena and Autolycus rode up to the gates of the village,
a strange sight greeted them. Gabrielle was sitting just to the side of the
gate and beside her, with his arm around her shoulders, was Joxer. They both
appeared to be asleep.
"Just
what in Hades' name is going on here?" Xena asked Autolycus, who was
sitting on his horse next to her.
Autolycus
just raised his eyebrow and shrugged. Clearing his throat loudly, he watched as
Gabrielle started to wake. "Guess we'll find out."
Gabrielle
stretched and, when she did, she moved out from under Joxer's arm, causing him
to fall over and wake up.
Joxer,
seeing Xena and Autolycus sitting on horses in front of him, leaped to his
feet. "Hi, Xena. Autolycus. Poor Gabrielle is exhausted. I had to rescue
her from Inimicles' clutches."
Gabrielle,
coming fully awake, yelled, "What?!?"
"I'm
afraid the strain was too much for her, though. She keeps claiming that she
sees the spirit of James floating around talking to her," Joxer finished
sadly.
Xena
and Auto looked first at Joxer and then at a fuming Gabrielle. Finally, the
King of Thieves spoke. "So, I take it James is back again?"
Gabrielle,
still too angry to talk, just nodded her head.
Xena
jumped off of Argo and moved over to Gabrielle. "I also take it that Joxer
got caught by Inimicles and that you went to rescue him and got caught
yourself?"
This
time Gabrielle blushed as she nodded.
Auto
picked up where Xena left off. "And, with James' help, you and Joxer
managed to get away and that you just made it back to the village?"
Gabrielle
nodded again. "Where is James anyway? He said that he was going to look
over the area and make sure we were safe here."
Joxer
was just about to open his mouth and explain to Gabrielle, Xena and Autolycus
that James could not possibly be around when Gabrielle suddenly stiffened and
asked empty air, "Where have you been?"
Auto,
looking at the empty space Gabrielle was addressing, asked, "You can see
and hear him now?"
Gabrielle
distractedly replied, "Yeah. We think it's because he was in my body for a
while before he got his metal body."
"What
does James have to say?" Auto asked her.
"He
says that there's something really strange about the center of this village. He
was looking around and felt something try to drag him into the ground and
capture him. That's the reason he wasn't around. He's been fighting it to get
away all this time and only just managed to escape now."
Joxer
looked at Gabrielle, then Autolycus, and finally at Xena. "Am I the only
one around here who's sane?" he asked out loud.
A
few minutes after the Germans left the room, Isidora rushed in and grabbed
Jack's unconscious body and dragged him out of the castle. She exited out a
side door, thereby avoiding the Nazis as they piled into their trucks in the
front, and laid him down in the cool grass and gently shook him awake.
Jack
blinked and opened his eyes when the trucks' motors roared to life. "What
about the Doc?" he asked, slowly sitting up and rubbing the goose egg on
the back of his head.
Dori
shook her head. "I couldn't get to her. If only I had a grappling
hook..." she sighed.
"And
Mel?" he inquired.
"The
Nazis took her, and the ankh, and the scrolls," Dori added.
"This
is all my fault," Jack groaned.
"Yeah,
I'd have to agree with that," she nodded. "So, what are you gonna do
about it?"
"The
first thing I'm going to do is go back in there and find the Doc," he
said, struggling to his feet.
Suddenly,
the entire castle collapsed and the pair heard Mel's scream echoing in the
night as the trucks drove away.
"What's
the second thing you're going to do?" Dori asked, placing a hand on the
man's slumping shoulders.
---------------------------
Janice
groaned and put a hand to her forehead and felt sticky moisture. She pulled a
kerchief from a pocket and wound it around her skull and then retrieved her
fedora and placed it firmly on her head to hold the makeshift bandage in place.
When she tried to stand up, she realized that the fall must have either
sprained or broken her ankle and she dropped back down onto the pile of debris,
gritting her teeth in pain. Then, from the light cast by the burning remains of
the professor's machine, she spotted several papers lying on the pile near her.
She picked one up and instantly recognized Mel's delicate, frilly handwriting.
Realizing that these were the notes she'd made to herself as she worked to
translate the Xena Scrolls, Janice collected them and stuffed them down her
shirt.
Then,
she cast about, looking for a sturdy piece of wood to use as a crutch, but all
of the beams were too thick and too long. When the machine sputtered and popped
as the flames engulfed it, she suddenly remembered that there were a number of
broken picks and shovels lying near it that had been destroyed trying to damage
the strange statue that she could use as a crutch, if she could make it over to
them.
As
she began to slide down the pile, a golden hand suddenly burst out of it right
next to her head. She probably would have screamed right then were it not for
the fact that a second later the head of the thing erupted between her legs.
"Gabrielle?" it said, and Janice could have sworn it was actually
blushing as its other hand emerged and covered its eyes.
"Not
exactly," Janice said, doing her best to scoot up so that she could close
her legs. "I'm her descendant, Janice Covington."
"I'm
James. I'm...I was a friend of your ancestor's," he explained, pulling
himself out of the debris pile. "I'm not sure what I'm doing here,
wherever and whenever here is, but if I can help, you need only ask."
"Thanks,
James. I think the thing to do at the moment is get out of here before the rest
of this castle drops onto our heads," she replied.
"Too
late, Janice!" he exclaimed, reaching around and grabbing the surprised
archaeologist and lowering her into the hole his exit had just made and then
lying over the top of it just as the castle did in fact collapse. "You
should be all right in there, and I won't even feel it."
"What's
that body made of and how did you get it in the first place?" Janice
asked, cringing at the sound of tons of rocks and debris crashing down onto the
statue above her.
"That's
sort of a long story," James replied, and, even though Janice couldn't see
his face in the blackness, she was sure it was smiling.
"I
think we've got time while you dig us out of here," she returned, smiling
as well. "Why don't you fill me in?"
"Okay.
But just remember that I'm not making this up, no matter how fantastic it
sounds," he said, listening to make sure that nothing else was falling
before beginning to carefully dig his way out. "It all started when Strife
cut my Thread of Life...Or did it begin long before that? Well, let's just say,
for the sake of argument, and because every story has to begin somewhere, that
that's when it started. Since Strife isn't the God in charge of cutting Life
Threads..."
---------------------------
"Jack,
staying around here isn't doing us or Melinda any good!" Dori exclaimed,
ducking another rock. "And I'm sorry, but Dr. Covington is beyond
helping."
"You
don't know the Doc like I do," he replied, tossing another rock over his
shoulder as he frantically tried to dig Janice out with his bare hands.
"She's a survivor."
"No
one could have survived this, Jack! We've got to think about the living. About
Melinda and my father. They need us, Janice doesn't," Dori pointed out,
circling around in front of the distressed man and forcing his face to look at
her. His bloodshot eyes, still wet with fresh tears, blinked furiously and his
mouth was twisted into a grim scowl. "She's beyond needing anything or
anyone. Let her go. Worry about the people you can help."
Jack
nodded and let the rock in his hand fall from his numb, bleeding fingers. It
bounced down the side of the pile that was all that remained of the castle and
came to rest near the bottom. Suddenly, a golden hand shot out of the debris,
knocking the rock away. A few minutes later, moving very carefully on hands and
knees, shielding the familiar figure of the blonde archaeologist beneath him,
the odd statue crawled out and helped Janice to her feet--Well, to her one good
foot; the right.
Jack
promptly passed out.
James
finished brushing off the remaining rock dust off of himself and looked over to
where what could only be the descendant of Joxer lay on the ground out cold.
The woman standing beside him with her mouth hanging open was a dead ringer for
Cleopatra. "Something the matter?" he asked her with a hint of humor
in his voice.
"No.
We're used to metal men digging their way out from under the ruins of a Nazi
castle everyday. Isn't everyone?" she replied with sarcasm.
He
chuckled and replied, "You remind me of a certain sneaky thief I used to
know."
James
turned to check the condition of Gabrielle's descendant, Janice, and missed the
hopeful look that crossed Dori's face, but he could hear it in her voice.
"You knew Autolycus, the King of Thieves?"
"Yes,
along with Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer, he was one of my best friends," he
replied, bending down on one knee to check Janice's left foot. Pulling off her
boot, he gently probed around her ankle and noticed her grimace of pain.
"I'm afraid that it's badly sprained."
"Can't
you just point your finger and heal it instantly?" she asked hopefully.
"No,
I'm your usual, normal, run-of the-mill metal man. Indestructible, but not able
to heal people instantly. Sorry. "
"Oh
great! Then what good are you?" Janice said with a smile to show she was
kidding.
"I
was taught basic healing by one of the greatest healers of Greece, though. Xena
said that I was an excellent student. We need to wrap your foot tightly and
keep you off of it as much as we can," he said looking for something to
wrap her foot with. Seeing some bright red cloth laying on the pile of rubble,
James got up off of his knee and walked over to pick it up. It was obviously
some kind of flag as it was still attached to a pole. It was bright red with a
white circle in the middle with a funny looking symbol in black inside the
circle. Quickly ripping it into strips, he said, "This will do to wrap it.
Pity we don't have any cold water to soak your foot in to reduce the swelling."
"Hurry.
Just wrap it so we can get after those Nazis. They have Mel and there's no
telling where they've taken her!" Janice said with a look of worry on her
face.
In
the background he could see the other woman sat holding Joxer's descendant's
head off of the ground and lightly slapping his face to bring him around.
"We have to go after the Nazis holding my father! Now that they think that
I was killed in the castle's collapse they'll kill him as being useless to
them!" She glared at him. Softening the look on her face, she said,
"By the way, my name is Dori and the pillar of strength in my lap is
Jack."
James
nodded and went back to work on Janice's ankle. "Do you know where they're
holding your father?" he asked Dori without looking up from his work.
"Yeah.
He's in a small house about 20 kilometers from here."
James
shook his head at the strange term and asked her, "If we can find some
kind of transportation for you, how long will it take you to reach the
house?"
"Less
than a hour."
Janice
put her hand on his shoulder. "We need to rescue Mel! The Nazis wanted her
to translate the Xena Scrolls for some reason. Do you know what they could be
looking for?"
"First
off, who is Mel?" he asked Janice, putting the finishing touches on her ankle
wrapping.
"She's
the descendant of Xena."
"Then
I would think that it would be the Nazis that need rescuing," he said with
a grin.
"No,
you don't understand. She may be Xena's descendant, but she's not like Xena.
She's a fairly innocent woman that has lived a sheltered life. She doesn't know
how to fight. She lives for translating old scrolls and studying books,"
Janice said, her voice taking on a pleading note.
"Okay.
We need to rescue Mel," James said, raising his hands in a calming gesture.
"Now, who or what are these Nazis?"
Janice
would have paced back and forth if her foot didn't hurt so much. "They’re
a ruthless band of bullies who follow a mad man who wants to rule the
world." She paused for a moment. "They're an army that's following a
warlord," she simplified for his benefit.
"Gotcha!
Been there, dealt with that kind before! And you say they're after something
mentioned in Gabrielle's scrolls?"
Janice
nodded her head. "Do you know what it could be?"
"Hmm,
let’s see…Hind's blood? Not unless they want to kill a God. Poseidon's trident?
That could be useful to sink ships. No, that was hid in a place where they
could never get it and I don't think that Gabrielle wrote about that adventure
anyway. Aphrodite's mirror? Nah. I don't think these Nazis are interested in
learning who their soul mates are," he said as he paced back and forth.
"There were so many dangerous things that Xena and Gabrielle came across.
Can't you give me some hint?"
Janice
started to shake her head and then she remembered the notes that she had
stuffed inside her shirt. Reaching into her shirt she said, "I think
something in here might give you some ideas."
She
was so busy trying to find the notes, she missed James' raised eyebrow.
Dori
and the finally awakened Jack went to explore an old shack that was still
standing next to where the castle used to be.
"Aha,
found it!" Janice proclaimed triumphantly and handed over Mel's notes.
Glancing
at the notes which were written in a language that he could not read, James
started to hand them back, but his eye caught a word that was still in it's
original Greek: Edom. The name of the village where Xena, Autolycus, Gabrielle,
and he had once faced the warlord Inimicles.
"If
they go after the relic that was housed in Edom, we are indeed in
trouble!" he said worriedly.
"Do
you know where this relic is now?" Janice asked.
"Yeah,
I was with Xena and Gabrielle when they hid it for safe keeping."
Dori
and Jack returned pushing a strange looking object with three wheels. It had
two wheels in a line and a kind of box with one wheel attached to the side.
"We
found this German motorcycle with a side car in the shack over there,"
Jack said as he walked a wide strip around the metal man.
"Good!
You and Dori take the 'motorcycle' and go and rescue her father. Janice and I
will go after Mel and the Nazis," James said, looking around.
"What
are we going to use for transportation, then?" Janice asked impatiently.
With
a smile, James swept Janice up into his arms. "Did I mention that I can
run as fast as a horse and I don't get tired?" he asked with a wink.
"Just one thing before we go. Do you know where the Amazon lands are from
here?" Janice frowned and shook her head. "How about the village of
Amphipolis?"
At
this question, Janice smiled and said, "That I do know." Glancing up
at the sun she thought for a moment. "It's in that direction but it's a
long way off." She pointed East.
James
called out to Dori as she mounted the motorcycle with Jack in the side car,
"We'll rescue Mel and meet up with you guys at Amphipolis. May the Gods
smile upon you."
Then,
with a roar from the motorcycle and a sprint from James, they were off in
different directions, both trying to rescue someone important to them.
As
Autolycus and Xena were talking to Gabrielle and Joxer, the gate opened and the
village Elder invited them inside. "This is Autolycus, the man who's going
to retrieve the holy object from the maze," Xena said.
"What
can you tell me about this maze and what sorts of things I might expect?"
Auto inquired, looking about the village and wondering how these people could
possess anything of value to anyone.
"All
we know is that there are puzzles of logic and traps of skill to be overcome
before reaching the prize," he replied, the same blank expression on his
face that he always had.
"Logic
puzzles?" the thief scowled. "You didn't say anything about logic
puzzles." He glanced at Xena.
"I
love logic puzzles!" Gabrielle said suddenly. "And, I'm very good at
them. I'll go with Autolycus."
"No,
it's too dangerous," Xena said, shaking her head.
"And
staying here to confront Inimicles and his army isn't?" the Bard shot
back. "Look, getting this holy object away from here is the only chance
these people have, and I know I can be more useful if I help Auto, than if I
stay up here."
"You've
got a point," Xena nodded.
"I
just wish it wasn't on your head," Autolycus mumbled. "Hey! What
about James? If he comes, too, he can scope out the physical dangers for us at
least."
Gabrielle
stared at empty space for a moment. "He says he's not sure. Something
below the village tried to capture him and he's not sure if he can resist it a
second time," she relayed.
The
Elder looked suspiciously at Gabrielle. "This James you spoke to, is he a
shade or spirit?" She nodded. "Then, he cannot enter the maze, for it
has been warded against spirits of any kind. Should he attempt to enter, he
will be bound in the warding glyph for all of time."
"There
goes that idea," Auto frowned.
"How
was James able to help you and Joxer escape, Gabrielle?" Xena suddenly
asked.
"He
possessed the body of a drunken guard," she replied, ignoring Joxer's
incredulous look.
"I
thought as much," the Warrior Princess nodded, smiling. "I've got an
idea how we can use James' unique talents to stall Inimicles until you two can
get the object." She quickly related her plan. "Does James think he
can do it?"
"He
sees no reason why it shouldn't work," Gabrielle replied after a moment.
Xena
smiled wolfishly while Joxer looked from one of his friends to the other,
trying to figure out if maybe he wasn't the crazy one, after all.
The
village Elder lead Autolycus and Gabrielle to a statue of a seated man at the
center of the village at one end of a fancy, tiled town square. In one hand the
statue held a scroll, in the other a shepherd's staff. The old man turned to
Autolycus and Gabrielle as he reached up for the staff. "Are you sure you
want to do this? There's no way out once you enter, save successfully
negotiating the maze and emerging with its prize," he added.
"This
is the only chance your people have," Gabrielle replied. "We're
ready."
"Yeah,
what she said," Autolycus scowled.
"Very
well," he pulled on the shepherd's crook and a panel slid away, revealing
a stone staircase which descended into darkness. "Good luck. May the One
God bless your journey and bring you safely home, if that is his will."
Auto
and Gab looked at each other. "He just had to add that last bit, didn't
he?" growled the thief. Gabrielle shrugged and they both lit their torches
and entered the tunnel.
As
soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, the panel above them slid closed
with an ominous click.
"What's
that?" Autolycus asked, shining the light of his torch on some unusual
scratchings in the stone wall near the stairs. "Instructions, I
hope."
"No,
it must be the warding glyph the Elder told us about," Gabrielle said
thoughtfully, lightly brushing the strange markings with her fingers.
"Hey!
Should you be touching that?" the thief yelped.
"It
can't hurt me, just spirits and shades," she laughed.
"You
never know when it comes to strangers," he replied. "My motto is:
Better safe than dead."
Gabrielle
just laughed and started down the passageway.
"Why
don't you let me lead the way, Gabrielle?" he suggested. "After all,
I am..." He looked to the blonde expectantly.
"The
King of Thieves," the Bard said.
"Exactly.
When I find a logic puzzle, I'll let you solve it," he assured her, taking
the lead. "But in the meantime, let me be on the lookout for traps
and--AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" He jumped back as a shining blade dropped from the
roof and swung across the corridor.
"Like
that?" Gabrielle asked innocently, trying very hard not to laugh.
Autolycus
glared at her as he clutched his wildly beating heart. "Yeah, like that.
Now, shut up--If you can--and let me concentrate," he hissed.
He
carefully examined the floor with a gloved hand and grunted with satisfaction.
"A pressure plate," he announced, pressing a stone in the center of
the passage with his hand. The silver blade swung silently across the corridor.
"I would've noticed it if you hadn't been yakking. Just keep to the sides
and it's easy to get by."
"I
suspect the rest of the traps won't be as easily detected, or avoided,"
Gabrielle said as she carefully bypassed the trigger stone.
Autolycus
nodded and the pair cautiously made their way deeper into the maze, guided by
the flickering light of their sputtering torches.
Janice
once again marveled at the metal man James as he ran carrying her without a
trace of strain, his quick strides eating miles and miles of distance without
slowing or tiring. `I should be bouncing up and down being carried like this at
this speed,' she thought to herself. `But the only motion I feel is a gentle
rocking, as though I were on a ship in the ocean.'
Feeling
Janice's tense muscles start to relax, James glanced down at the lovely woman
being carried in his arms and asked her, "Are you doing all right?"
"Fine.
The motion of your running reminds me of an ocean voyage. It's surprisingly
relaxing." Janice smiled as she relaxed more into his arms, although she
wondered about the strange smile that appeared on James' face with that comment
and suddenly realized that she was wasting a golden opportunity to actually
talk to someone who knew Xena and, oh, yeah, Gabrielle. "Would it bother
you if I were to ask you a few questions while you ran?"
"No,
not at all. I would doubt that you were really Gabrielle's descendant if you
didn't," James replied with a bigger smile.
She
was going to ask him about Xena, but, to her surprise, when she opened her
mouth the words that came out were, "What was my ancestor Gabrielle
like?"
"Appearance-wise,
you look exactly like her. Although she favored wearing Amazon clothing that
left her legs, arms, and abs exposed to the air."
Janice
glanced down at her mannish clothing. "How else am I different than
her?"
James
actually laughed. "Well, for one thing, Gabrielle hated boats with a
passion. She would certainly not have thought of an ocean voyage as relaxing.
As matter of fact, Gabrielle would have probably already thrown up on me from
all of this swaying back in forth."
"I've
often wondered why Xena would have put up with an annoying side-kick like
Gabrielle," Janice said with a frown. Then, she noticed immediately that
James' running rhythm changed and that he swerved off of the road into the
forest. `Did I say something wrong?' she thought to herself worriedly as James
stopped behind a large tree. She searched the face of the metal man closely and
was about to ask him what was wrong when she heard the sound of a truck
rumbling down the road they were just on.
James
remained still a few moments after the truck passed by and then, with a slight
nod, he said, "It's clear now. Oh, and by the way, Gabrielle was not an
annoying side-kick. She was a true partner to Xena. She could fight as well as
most men could, but she just chose not to take a life if she could help it.
Gabrielle was Queen of the Amazons and during her time people traveled over
half of the countryside whenever it was just rumored that she might be
storytelling at a local tavern that night!"
Janice
noticed that faint frown lines of anger appeared on the metal forehead of
James. "I didn't mean anything about what I said. It's just that in all of
the legends about Xena, rarely, if ever, did they mention Gabrielle," she
said, raising her hands in a calming gesture.
Returning
to the road, James once again started to run. "That's because the scrolls
that were written about Xena were written by Gabrielle, and another of
Gabrielle's virtues was the fact that she was extremely modest. She always said
that the story was not about her but about how Xena turned her life around. She
and Xena used to argue about the fact that Gabrielle never took credit for what
she did but only stressed what Xena had done. In her own way she was as incredible
a woman as Xena was." James' voice carried his emotions strongly to the
young archaeologist.
"You
were in love with her." Janice's voice made the question a statement. She
watched as James' surprisingly expressive metal face frowned and she thought for
a moment that he was going to deny it.
"Everyone
who met, and spent any time with, Gabrielle fell in love with her, but the
smart ones realized that there was and only could be one true love in
Gabrielle's life."
Janice
started to ask who that love was, but, with a yelp, she tightened her hold
around James' neck as he suddenly leapt to the side of the road and quickly hid
behind another tree. She listened as several large trucks, and what sounded
like three or four motorcycles, roared by.
"Do
you think that the Nazis will get the relic before we can get there?" she
asked worriedly.
She
was surprised when a large smile broke out on James' face. "I just
remembered something about where Xena and Gabrielle hid it. That German officer
should have taken you along with Mel."
"Why?"
Janice asked with a frown.
"Because
only someone who is an Amazon Queen or the descendant of one can get to where
it is hidden."
"Then,
we have to get there first, so we can use it to trade for Mel's life! If the Germans
find its hiding place, and discover they can't get to it, they might hurt
Mel!" Janice's voice rose with fear.
James
smile faded and, nodding, he regained the road and started to run again.
Pulling
to a sudden stop at the foot of a bridge awoke Janice from where she had fallen
asleep in James' arms. "What's wrong?" she asked sleepily.
"Nothing.
We've arrived at Amphipolis."
Janice
looked and saw a bridge over a river and off in the distance a quiet, small
town with a few lights shining in the windows. "How do you know that this
is Amphipolis?" she asked James.
"Because
of that," James said as he lowered the young woman to her feet and pointed
to the side of the bridge.
Janice
wobbled a little on her feet because her legs had gone to sleep on the long
journey and, peering in the moonlight, she could make out a large statue of a
lion on a pedestal. "Oh, the Lion of Amphipolis! It is said that it was
built in honor of a son of Amphipolis. Some of the possibilities it was built
for include Nearchos, Alexander the Great's admiral, Androsthenes, and
Laomedon." Janice was startled by a loud snort from James.
"I
told that stupid sculptor that he should make it a female lion and not a male
one, but would he listen to me? No! It had to be a male lion because if he made
a female one, somebody might mistake it for a panther. Well, you got your male
lion and now no one knows who it was even supposed to represent!" James
barked at the silent statue.
Janice
looked at the statue on its pedestal and then looked back at James. "You
mean..."
"Exactly.
The lion was a tribute from the grateful people of Amphipolis to Xena. There
should be another statue on the right side of the bridge, too. It was an eagle
with a scroll in its beak," James said sadly.
"For
Gabrielle. Right?"
"Yes."
"How
do you know this?" Janice asked as she examined in the moonlight the right
side of the bridge for any signs that a statue used to stand there.
"I
helped Hercules, Iolaus, Joxer, and Autolycus to place them here. We did it in
secret while Xena and Gabrielle were off somewhere else. Xena didn't like the
idea of anyone building her monuments. She never believed that she deserved
them," James said as he walked over to the lion. "The sculptor was
handpicked by a friend of ours named Salmoneus. He even sold the marble to the
people of Amphipolis at a ridiculously low rate for the statues. I was
surprised when it didn't melt in the first rain storm."
"How
did Xena react when she saw it?" Janice asked curiously.
"She
liked the idea of the eagle for Gabrielle but she threatened to tie Argo to the
lion and have her pull it over. It was only when Gabrielle begged her to leave
it that she relented. And now only Xena's lion is left standing and no one
remembers who it was for."
Janice
watched as James bowed his head and let it rest on one of the lion's forepaws
for a moment.
"We
need to get you some food and me something to cover my metal form with so we
don't attract attention tomorrow," James said as he straightened back up
once again.
"I'm
all right! We need to get to the hidden temple and retrieve the relic before
the Nazis do," Janice said, right before her stomach growled loudly.
In
the moonlight she could see a smile appear on James' face.
"It's
nice to see you share something with your ancestor. You need food and proper
rest. It won't do you any good to get to our destination and be so tired or
hungry that you can't do anything. Besides, it will take time for your Mel to
translate the scrolls and even longer for her to figure out the references
Gabrielle gave for the location of Artemis' secret temple where the object is
hidden. Now we are going in to the town of Amphipolis and get you something to
eat and then you are going to sleep till dawn."
Janice
finally nodded at James' insistence and started to cross the bridge, but
stopped with a grimace as her left foot pained her. She felt herself swept off
her feet once again as James picked her up and silently carried her over the
bridge into the sleeping modern town of Amphipolis.
---------------------------
As
Isidora drove the motorcycle through the Grecian countryside, her face a grim
mask of determination, Jack asked, "We don't have any weapons, how do you
intend to rescue your father?"
"Check
under your seat," she responded gruffly.
Jack's
hands explored the area beneath the low seat of the sidecar and felt something
cold and hard. His fingers closed around it and he brought it out so he could
see exactly what it was. "A machine gun," he yelped, remembering the
last time he'd held one.
"Don't
worry, the safety's on this one," Dori grinned, as if reading his
thoughts. "And there's an extra clip in the pocket to your left."
"So,"
he said, removing the clip, "are we just going to go in there, gun
blazing, and kill them all?"
"I
hope it won't come to that," the woman replied. "But if that's what I
have to do to save my father, then that's what I'll do, by God."
"Where's
your mother?" Jack asked, holding tightly to the gun and the ammunition
clip.
"Heaven,
or maybe the Elysian Fields," she replied with a slight laugh.
"I'm sorry," he said solemnly.
"I know what it's like to lose someone you love."
"She
died when I was 14," Dori continued, looking down at Jack and nodding to let
him know she appreciated his efforts to comfort her. "It was stupid. A
senseless accident. But at least it was quick. She didn't suffer, the doctor
told us. Unfortunately, father did. He blamed himself, and, to some extent, he
even blamed me. She'd gone to the store to pick up something for me--Funny,
you'd think I'd remember every detail of that day, but I don't--when it
happened. Father died a little that day, too. And, I guess I did as well, only
I didn't realize it until many years later. Anyway, father turned in on
himself, shutting me, and everyone else out of his life, trying to deal with
the pain on his own, living in the past in a way. And, so did I. Not my past,
not exactly, but mother's past. That's when I became obsessed with proving the
claim that mother and I were the last living Ptolemys. Father had no idea that
he was married to Cleopatra's descendant, or that his wife practiced sacred
rituals and passed them on to their daughter. And, after mother's death, he
wouldn't listen when I tried to explain it to him. He called it nonsense and
told me to get out if his name and heritage weren't good enough for me."
Jack
saw that Dori was crying as she pushed the motorcycle harder and harder,
whipping around corners with wild abandon, as the tears were snatched from her
eyes. He cautiously laid a hand on her thigh and she looked over and smiled and
slowed the bike down.
"So,
I went to London, and then to Bonn, and never looked back. This is my first
time in Greece since I left for London almost 10 years ago," she said.
"I wasn't even planning on seeing my father. Just give my lecture and
return to my flat in London. I probably would have done it, too, if not for
these damn Nazis. Now, they've left me no choice. I can't just abandon my
father. I can't do to him what he did to me, not if it means his death."
"Maybe
you should thank them for making you realize that, at least, before you blow
them to pieces," Jack added quickly when Dori glared at him. "Or not.
Your call."
"Who
did you lose?" she asked, seeking to change the subject.
"Oh,
uh, well, it wasn't so much a `who' as a `what,'" he began, swallowing
nervously. "I had this turtle when I was little. His name was Sparky. At
least, I think it was a he. I never bothered to check. Anyway, one day I woke
up and discovered that he was gone."
"Died,
huh?" Dori asked.
"No.
Well, eventually, of course, but I can't be sure because I never found
him," Jack explained. "He was just missing. It really broke me up.
Until I got a puppy. Now, Pal's death really devastated me."
"I'm
sure it did. Oh, look. We're here. Guess that story will have to wait for
another time," she said, trying to sound disappointed as she cut the
motorcycle's engine and let it coast to a stop behind a nearby bush. She stood
up and held out her hands. "Give me the gun and the clip, Jack."
"I'm
not sure that's such a good idea," he replied, exiting the sidecar, still
holding firmly to the items in question.
"Do
you know how to use one of those?" she asked pointedly.
"Not
really. I suppose you do?" he questioned.
"I
know how to shoot a gun. That's one thing my father and I did together growing
up: Hunt. So, give me the gun. Now," she said sternly.
Jack
gulped and reluctantly handed over the gun and the clip. "What's the
plan?" he asked, watching as Dori familiarized herself with the weapon.
"I
need you to create a distraction while I sneak in the back door."
"How
can you be so sure the house has a
back door?" Jack asked.
"Because
I grew up in it," she answered, flipping the safety off. "Let's get
this over with so we can join Dr. Covington and that living fossil. I've got
some questions for our metal friend. Ready?"
Jack
nodded. "I guess so."
Jack
walked up to the German soldier on guard in front of the house, staring
intently at a map he'd found in the pocket of the sidecar and mumbling to
himself in his French accent.
"Halt!
This area is verboten," the soldier warned, raising his gun.
"Eh?"
Jack looked up and feigned surprise. "Oh, pardon moi, monsieur. I am
looking for the Naousa hot springs. According to my map, this is where they are
located."
"Let
me see that map," the German growled, snatching it from Jack. "I've
never heard of any hot springs around here. Dummkopf! This is a map of Germany,
not Greece!"
"This
isn't Germany?" Jack asked innocently.
Meanwhile,
as Jack and the soldier continued to argue, Dori snuck around to the back of
the house and quickly opened the back door using the key her father always kept
hidden beneath the planter on the back porch. A wave of memories flooded into
her mind as she entered the home of her childhood and she saw her mother
standing at the stove, cooking breakfast for them while her father prepared for
work and little Isidora gathered her things for school. Then, the scene shifted
and it was her mother teaching her the sacred rituals of the Pharaohs in the
pre-dawn hours while father slept on unawares. Another change. This time it was
her father, sitting at the small table and finishing off another bottle of
ouzo. She was there, trying to reason with him, to get through to him, to
simply have some sort of two-way dialogue with him, but he ignored her younger
self. Finally, she saw herself leaving for London. Her bags were stacked near
the back door and she was hoping her father would at least say goodbye and wish
her well, but he never even came down from his room. The taxi arrived and she
and the driver loaded her things and she left. She wondered then, as she
wondered now, if he had even noticed the fresh flowers she'd placed in mother's
favorite vase and left on the table.
Then,
her reminisces were cut short by the sound of the German in the house yelling
at his partner outside to keep quiet. She was about to creep into the next room
when she suddenly noticed the vase, sitting exactly where she left it, filled
with fresh flowers. She smiled and wiped away a tear and then continued into
the next room, staying low.
She
could just barely make out Jack and the soldier really going at it out on the
front porch and waited until the German in the living room, a big brute with
cold gray eyes and a square chin, finally stood up and threw open the door.
"Was
is going on out here?" he demanded.
"This
idiotic Frenchman thinks he's in Germany!" his partner exclaimed.
"Well,
if this isn't Germany, peut-etre you can explain why I've seen so many Germans,
hmmm?" Jack questioned.
"Go
away, little man, before I forget my manners and put a bullet in what little
brain you've got," snarled the second German. He raised his gun
threateningly, but just then Dori smashed the butt of her weapon into the back
of his head, knocking him forward and into his partner.
Jack
stepped aside and watched as the two men tumbled down the stairs and onto the
grass. Neither got up.
"Tie
them up," Dori said, tossing him a couple of extension cords. "I'll
see to my father."
Jack
nodded and she ducked inside. "Father?" she called. She rushed to the
door of his bedroom and threw it open. An old man, much older than she remembered,
lay in the familiar, but empty-looking, bed, his white hair little more than a
memory itself, although his beard had grown in quite nicely. He opened his dark
eyes and looked up.
"Come
to kill me at last, have you?" he asked, seeing only the silhouette of a
gun-carrying figure in the doorway. "I'm not afraid to die, you filth. I
died a long time ago, in fact. So, go ahead and end my mockery of an existence.
I welcome your bullets."
"Father,"
Dori said, turning on the light, "it's me, Isidora. You're safe now. I've
rescued you."
"What'd
you go and do a damn fool thing like that for?" he demanded, getting out
of bed. "You could have been killed!"
"Because
I love you, papa," she replied softly.
"I
don't want it. I don't deserve it," he added quietly.
"That's
the wonderful thing about love, it's incapable of discriminating between who
deserves it and who doesn't," she smiled, walking forward and taking his
hand and squeezing it affectionately. "You must go to Uncle Otis', and
wait there until I send word that it's safe for you to return here."
"And
you, what will you do?" he inquired, squeezing her hand in kind.
"I've
got to meet up with some friends and finish what I started here," she
replied. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet."
Jack
looked up and saw Dori standing in the front doorway with an old man in plain
pajamas. "Jack Kleinman, this is Gregory Lykken, my father," she
said. "Jack is one of the friends I mentioned, father."
"You
take good care of her, son," the old man scolded, walking down the steps
and grunting with satisfaction at the sight of his former guards trussed up
like pigs going to market.
"I
will, sir," Jack promised, extending his hand.
Gregory
shook it and then looked over to where Dori was relieving the unconscious men
of any guns and ammunition. "I'll see you when all this is over, Dori. I
look forward-"
"No,
father, you won't," Dori said suddenly. "You won't ever see me again.
I won't put myself through it a second time. I've returned the gift of life you
once gave me, and I've never stopped loving you, but I won't give you the
chance to hurt me again. Come on, Jack."
She
turned and walked toward where the motorcycle stood waiting for them without
looking back. Jack frowned, looking from her to her father, and then shrugged
and ran to catch up to her. She stopped when she reached the bike and asked
softly, "Would you mind driving to Amphipolis?"
"Not
at all," he replied, climbing onto the motorcycle as she settled into the
sidecar. "You all right?"
"Yeah.
It's funny. I've been afraid of him for ten years. Afraid to confront him.
Afraid he'd hurt me again. But after seeing him again, I realize the only power
he has to hurt me is the power I give him to do so. And, I'll never give him
that power again," she said with quiet determination. "Never."
Jack
gunned the engine to life and they roared off, leaving Gregory standing in his
front yard, feeling like he should care that he wouldn't be seeing his daughter
again, but when it came right down to it, he didn't. Not really. So, he went
back inside, packed his things, and hopped in his old truck and drove over to
his brother's house.
When
they asked who'd helped him escape, he told them it was two strangers.
As
Inimicles rode past his patrols to his camp he realized that there was
something wrong. There were far fewer sentries than there should have been.
Pulling
his horse to a savage stop just outside of his tent, he dismounted and started
yelling for his lieutenant, the man named Snake whom he had left in charge.
Snake
came running from one of the tents and skidded to a halt in front of his
commander. "Sir! You're back earlier than we expected."
Inimicles
said nothing but just looked his second over with a critical eye. The man was
sweating profusely and had a definite nervous twitch on his face.
Inimicles
allowed his voice to lower to a friendly volume and plastered a smile on his
face. All of which caused the man Snake to sweat and twitch even more.
"What's wrong, Snake? You seem nervous."
"Uh,
I'm sorry, really sorry, to have to report that your guests seem to have
managed to escape last night," Snake said, almost shaking in fright.
"I
see. Any other good news?" Inimicles said with a dangerous velvety voice.
"They
managed to not only sneak out of camp but recover their weapons from the
storage tent, and our sentries near the village have said that they have met up
with the warrior woman Xena and a man dressed in green and are now in the
village of Edom." Snake's voice had sped up and then gotten quieter as he
finished, till the last was said in a quick whisper.
Snake
could see a vein throbbing in his commander's forehead and he almost leapt back
as Inimicles made a quick twist of his head. Snake could hear a tense bone pop
in Inimicles' neck.
"Anything
else?" Inimicles asked.
"Um,
when our sentries heard that the female bard and that clown Joxer managed to
slip through all our patrols and make it to the village without being seen,
some of them deserted rather than face your wrath," Snake added while
mentally wondering if he had a coin to give Charon for the boat ride across the
river Styx.
Inimicles'
body nearly hummed with anger but with a visible effort he brought it under control.
"Snake, gather my men, those still in camp that is. And send word to my
other forces around the village of Edom. We attack this afternoon! I want
nothing left alive in that village by nightfall!"
Snake
was so grateful to still be living that he started to run off to carry out
Inimicles' orders but was halted when Inimicles grabbed him by the throat and
pulled him to within inches of the warlord's face. "I mean nothing left
alive in that village! Not even dogs, chickens or insects when we're through!
Do you understand?" Inimicles shouted into
his
face.
"Yes,
my lord! What about the item you have been searching for all this time?"
Snake asked knowing that he was really pushing his luck.
"After
everyone is dead in the village I will bring in slaves from other villages and
tear that place apart brick by brick until I find what I am looking for,"
Inimicles snarled as he released Snake. "Now, go!"
---------------------------
Joxer
was running to report to Xena at the front gate when he tripped over a small
rock in his way and landed face first directly in front of her. Getting up, he
dusted himself off and peeked up to see the Warrior Princess shaking her head
at him.
"I
checked all the walls of the village. I think we're as ready as we can be.
Maybe Inimicles won't attack today and we'll have one more day for Auto and
Gabby to find that holy item and get it out of the village?" he asked
hopefully.
"Maybe.
But I like to be prepared just in case. From what I've heard about Inimicles,
he's going to go off the deep end when he finds out that you and Gabrielle
managed to escape from his camp. He'll take it as a personal insult," Xena
said as she scanned the forest.
"Yeah,
it's a pity that he doesn't act like who he looks like," Joxer said as he
joined Xena in watching the forest nervously.
"What
do you mean?" Xena sharply turned and looked at Joxer.
"Didn't
me and Gabby get a chance to tell you? He looks exactly like James does, ah
did. Well, you know what I mean."
"No,
neither one of you mentioned it. Do you remember the plan, Joxer? Take the blow
gun and when you see someone who looks like he's in charge of Inimicles' army
shoot him with the sleeping darts," Xena instructed the would-be warrior.
"Right!
I remember. What do you take me for, a fool?" Joxer asked. "I'll go
to the other side of the village and wait," he finished, deciding it was
better to make his exit before Xena had a chance to answer his question.
Starting to turn he stopped when Xena called out his name and pointed at the
blowgun and the darts laying on the ground.
"Heh,
heh. The blowgun and the darts. Right." Grabbing them up, he ran off.
It
was barely a few minutes after Joxer left that Xena heard the yelling and
roaring of many men and saw Inimicles' forces charging out of the forest toward
the village of Edom. Throwing her chakram, she cut a rope that was holding a
tree standing up at the edge of the forest line. As the tree fell it jerked a
rope that was tied to it through some low limbs up, causing the rope to
suddenly appear at riders height thus sweeping the first riders off of their
horses. Xena watched as a man rode up and cursed the men laying on the ground
and ordered them back on their horses.
Lifting
a blowgun, she took careful aim and, with a mighty breath, she fired. The man
slapped his hand over his neck and swayed for a moment like he was going to
fall, then he suddenly sat upright once again and yelled at the men to regain
their horses and ride around the village. The men on the ground and those still
on horseback looked around in confusion and started to argue.
The
man who had just rode up and been shot by Xena with the sleeping dart raised
his voice and yelled out, "Inimicles has discovered that one of his
lieutenants has decided to raid the village and take his prize for himself. We
are now ordered to go around the village and attack the other forces under the
command of that lieutenant. Any of you lot that want to argue about it, take it
up with Inimicles. Inimicles also told me to tell you that the one who brings
him the head of that lieutenant will receive 300 dinars."
With
that news, the soldiers of Inimicles immediately leaped on their horse and rode
around the village of Edom to attack their comrades on the other side of the
village. The man who gave the orders sat back and waited till the men were gone
and then moved his horse till he was staring down at Xena.
"Xena,"
the man said.
"James.
How you been since the last time?" Xena said with a large smile, leaning
on the wall.
James,
inside the sleeping lieutenant's body, smiled and said, "Oh, not bad. Wish
we could talk a little longer but I guess I better ditch this body and go to
the other side of the village and convince them that they need to fight their
comrades."
"Yeah.
Just make sure you don't get too close to the village so that thing in the
middle doesn't get you!" Xena warned him.
The
man on horseback nodded and stiffened for a moment and then fell off his horse.
Xena caught the body and lowered it to the ground where it lay snoring gently.
Joxer
had been nervously waiting and was thinking about going to check to see if Xena
needed his help when he heard the roar and the thundering of Inimicles'
horsemen approaching. Looking over the wall, he watched as a man wearing crude
makeshift armor with a large snake on his helmet rode up and started giving
orders to the other men on how to breach the walls. Joxer took careful aim with
the blowgun, all the while praying to whatever God was listening that he would
not miss, and he fired. He watched as the man with the snake on his helmet
grabbed his arm and started to sway. Joxer watched as the man fell off his
horse. As some of the other soldiers dismounted to check on the man, Joxer
heard and then saw a large group of soldiers ride around the edge of the
village walls and start to attack the group that was milling around.
Suddenly,
the man who had been lying on the ground leaped up and started yelling that one
of Inimicles' lieutenants had betrayed them and to attack the other soldiers.
Within moments, the overwhelming forces that would have crushed the village
were fighting among themselves while Joxer watched unbelieving from his spot on
the wall. Looking back into the village, Joxer shook his head at the villagers
who acted as if they didn't even hear or care about the sounds of battle that
was drifting over the wall of their village and continued to go about their
daily tasks as if nothing was going on.
Deciding
to report to Xena, Joxer started to climb down the ladder he was on when he
caught his hand on something. Looking up, he saw that he had stuck himself with
one of the sleeping darts that had rolled out of the bag that they were in. As
everything started to go black for Joxer and he felt himself start to fall off
of the ladder he hoped that it wouldn't hurt too much when he broke his neck.
Seeing
that the forces of Inimicles were totally occupied with fighting among
themselves, James decided to look and see if he could find Inimicles. Freeing
himself from the body of one of Inimicles' lieutenants, he started to drift off
to look for him when he saw Joxer start to fall off of a ladder. Racing
forward, he entered his body and caught the rungs of the ladder with his hands.
Lowering Joxer down off of the ladder, he started to leave Joxer's body, but
stopped as he felt a force grab hold of him and start to drag him toward the
center of the village. Remaining in Joxer's body did not help. The force just
dragged Joxer's body along with him.
Strolling
through the village of Amphipolis, with Gabrielle's descendant, Janice, in his
arms, James felt an odd sense of familiar and, at the same time, strangeness.
He had visited the home town of Xena many times and had actually lived there
for a few weeks while the sculptor put his finishing touches on the 'Lion of
Amphipolis' and the 'Eagle of Poteidaea'. The river and the surrounding forest
were still the same as he remembered them, but everything else was, of course,
different. For example, while there was indeed a bridge over the river, this
one was made of metal and much larger than the old stone and wood one he had
crossed so many times before.
Traveling
through the strange and yet familiar village, James paused where his instincts
told him Xena's mother's tavern once stood and, with surprise, he noticed that
it was now a very fancy looking building with a lot of vehicles in front of it.
"I
am not staying in that hotel!" Janice, who was still in his arms, blurted
out.
"Hotel?"
"You
know. They're like...taverns. You pay to stay the night there."
"Ah,
I understand. Why not? You need to get some sleep and food."
In
answer, Janice just pointed at some of the vehicles that were sitting in front
of the building. Looking more closely in the moonlight, James could see that a
number of them had small flags on them that looked like the one that had been
on the castle.
"Nazis?"
he asked.
"Nazis!"
Janice nodded.
Wandering
through the village, they eventually found a farmhouse on the edge of town that
looked to be abandoned. Looking inside the living quarters of the farm, it
appeared that whoever had lived there had moved out quite suddenly, but had
still managed to take everything with them. Moving toward the back of the
farmhouse, the pair found a barn that still had hay and some chickens in it.
After placing Janice down gently on the hay, James went back outside of the
barn to a well that he had spotted on the way in and drew a bucket of water.
Bringing it back in, he started to clear a spot inside the barn of all hay till
he had a clear, circular spot. Breaking a few boards from the side of the barn,
he piled them in the center of the cleared spot and then, striking his hands
together above the wood, he caused a spark and soon had a roaring fire going.
Janice
watched everything that the metal man James did closely and with a growing
curiosity. When he struck his hands together and started the fire she almost
jumped but managed to remain sitting still as though she saw someone start a
fire like that everyday. She watched as he got up and, going over to where the
chickens were roosting, pulled several eggs out from under the hens. He then
walked back over to the fire and sat down crossed legged. Putting the eggs down
carefully beside him, he then cupped his hands and plunged them into the water
bucket. Bringing his hands out of the water bucket, Janice then gave a sharp
hiss of breath in shock as James then held his cupped hands over the fire.
"Are
you out of your mind?" She finally could not contain herself any longer.
"Nope.
Just drop the eggs into the water when it starts to boil and in a short time
you will have boiled eggs to eat," James grinned at her.
Janice
continued to stare at James' seemingly unconcerned air as the water trapped in
his hands started to bubble and boil.
"Unless,
of course. you wanted fried eggs? In which case I could lay down over the fire
and you could fry the eggs on my back," James told her in a serious voice.
When
Janice jerked back in alarm at his suggestion, James could not help but laugh.
"Just kidding."
"Th-th-that
doesn't hurt?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.
"No,
I can turn the feelings of my body off and on when I need to. It comes in handy
at times."
Janice
shook her head and carefully dropped the eggs into James' steaming hands.
After
eating the eggs, Janice relaxed back into the hay and allowed James to check
her left foot and soak it in the chilly water from the well.
"Tell
me about Xena?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
"Xena?
Xena was an incredible woman. Beautiful, deadly."
"Yes
but I mean what was she like?" Janice propped herself up on a hay bale.
"She
was a good, loyal friend. She had a twisted sense of humor and there was almost
nothing that she could not do once she set her mind on it." James smiled
in memory.
"Wasn't
she a cold person? Unemotional, I mean," Janice asked as she struggled to
keep her eyes open.
"Xena?
No way! Oh, she could do the stoic warrior routine when she felt like she had
to, but she had emotions! She would have died for Gabrielle, or any of her
friends, and she did come back from the dead several times for Gabrielle. To
everyone else she might have been the unfeeling warrior, but for her friends
she let the walls down once in a while and allowed us to see the unsure woman
inside."
Janice's
eyes popped open wide and she nearly yelled, "Unsure woman? You just said
that there was almost nothing she couldn't do! What was she unsure about?"
James
stared into the fire for a while before finally speaking. "A lot of
things. She was unsure if she would ever reach a point where she deserved to be
forgiven for what she did as a warlord. She was unsure if she could always be
there for Gabrielle. She was unsure if she would always be able to resist the
pull of Ares and not go back to being a warlord. Trust me, Xena was a very
feeling woman who had more than her share of personal demons and fears."
Janice
started to ask more questions but James held his hand up. "Janice, go to
sleep. You need your rest. We can talk some more tomorrow."
"I
can't sleep till I get some of this road grime off of me. I still have rock
dust inside my clothes from this morning." So saying Janice casually
stripped off her shirt and dipping it into the bucket of water started to wash
herself. She heard a gasp and watched with an amused look on her face as James
got up and walked over to the door of the barn and stood with his back to her
looking out.
Finishing
with her bathing, she rinsed out her clothing and hung them up to dry. She laid
back on the hay in only her bra and a pair of men's boxer shorts she always
wore. "Good night, James," she called out.
She
saw as James turned and, getting a look at what she was wearing, quickly turned
back to looking outside.
"Good
night, Janice," he called over his shoulder to her.
After
passing the blade trap and negotiating several twists and turns which had ended
in dead ends, forcing the pair to back track, they came to a different kind of
dead end. This one was a door, made of heavy cedar wood and fitted with a
bronze lock. Grinning, Autolycus removed his lockpicking tools and approached
it, only to halt in his tracks when he saw that the lock had no keyhole.
"What
the--?! How are we supposed to get through this?" he growled.
"Maybe
these will tell us," Gabrielle suggested, shining her torch on a series of
raised panels on one of the walls.
"Eh?
What are those?" the thief inquired, adding his own torch light.
Gabrielle
cautiously reached out and touched one of the illustrated panels and was
surprised to feel it move beneath her hand. Looking closer, she realized that
all twelve of the panels were set on moving tracks which allowed them to be
maneuvered and placed in any order. She peered owlishly at the pictures and
suddenly nodded her head. "I recognize this story!" she exclaimed.
"It's the Israelites' escape from Egypt. See, Moses, their leader,
confronted the Pharaoh and demanded that he free the Israelites--That's this
picture," she said, moving that one to the first position and clicking it
into place. "But Pharaoh refused and so the God of the Israelites sent a
series of ten plagues to force him to change his mind."
"And
I thought our Gods were nasty customers," Auto shuddered.
"The
first was turning the Nile to blood," she continued, moving the
corresponding picture tile. Click.
"Ewww."
"The
second was frogs." Click.
"That
doesn't sound so bad."
"The
third was gnats...or was it flies?" she pondered, staring at the two tiles.
One depicted the familiar form of a stylized fly with its enormous segmented
eyes, the other a smaller, diamond-shaped insect.
Autolycus
looked around, but could spot no obvious indications of what they might expect
should she get the order wrong. "I'd be very sure before you click any
more of those into place, Gabrielle. Whoever built this thing wasn't worried
about killing anyone foolish enough to enter without all the keys to his little
puzzles," he pointed out.
Gabrielle
nodded. "It was gnats and then flies. I'm sure of it," she announced,
clicking the two tiles into place.
The
King of Thieves and the Bard looked about them fearfully, but nothing happened.
"Whew.
Okay, next came the death of the livestock." Click.
"Poor
cows."
"Then
the boils." Click.
"Gross."
"The
scourge of hail." Click.
"Ouch."
"Locusts."
Click.
"Talk
about overkill."
"Darkness."
Click.
"Scary,
but not deadly."
"And,
finally, the death of all Egyptian first born children." Click.
"Whoa.
Harsh."
"This
final panel depicts the Israelites safely crossing the Red Sea, while Pharaoh's
army is drowned." Click.
"Remind
me to stay on this God's good side. Sheesh. What a grouch."
"Look,
the door is opening," Gabrielle exclaimed, pointing to the lockless door
as it swung slowly open.
The
pair quickly entered the next room and the door closed behind them.
Autolycus
and Gabrielle found themselves in a long corridor, with no visible exits on the
sides. At the far end of the hallway, the maze branched to the right and the
left. "Be careful," Auto warned, carefully making his way forward.
"I don't trust this hall. Too empty. Too long."
Suddenly,
his foot sunk as the entire block making up the floor dropped slightly. The
sound of ropes unlashing could be heard and a second later the entire hallway
was filled with metal-spiked logs swinging back and forth, blocking all further
progress. "Oh, great," the thief sighed. "What is it, is there
some sort of rule that states that every dungeon or maze has to have this
trap?"
"You've
seen this before, then?" Gabrielle asked.
"Too
many times to remember. I'll navigate to the end and look for the way to
disengage it so you can get through," he said. Before Gabrielle could say
a word, he leaped past the first log, handsprang past the second, dodged the
third, was grazed by the fourth before getting by it, danced around the fifth
and rolled past the sixth. "I made it," he called back, holding his
wounded shoulder. "Now, just hold on while I look for some way to stop
those things."
"Don't
bother," Gabrielle called.
Autolycus
looked back to the far end but couldn't see her. "Where are you?" he
shouted.
"Down
here. The designer used logs so short that I was able to crawl beneath them
without getting touched," she replied, standing up and brushing herself
off. "How's your arm?"
"It's
fine," Auto snapped. "Well, which way should we go from here? Right
or left?"
Gabrielle
looked down both passages and saw that each twisted to the right after about
twenty paces. "Hmmm, I don't know. What do you think?"
"I'm
inclined to take the right, which probably means we should go left," he
grinned.
"No,
let's tempt fate and go right," Gabrielle smiled. "I mean, how bad
could it be?"
Suddenly,
the walls began to close in on them and bars sprang up, blocking both their
advance and retreat.
"You
just had to ask, didn't you?" Autolycus growled. He charged to the bars
and called out in relief, "There's the release lever!" He pointed to
a wooden bar sticking out of a slot in the wall just beyond arm's length past
the bars.
"Hurry
up and activate it!" Gabrielle cried. "The passage is too narrow to
use my staff to block the walls!"
With
a flick of his wrist, his grappling hook appeared in his hand. "Don't let
me down, baby!" he purred, kissing it and then twirling it around and
letting it fly. It struck the lever, but dropped to the floor without fastening
to it. "Come on, sweetheart!" he pleaded, retrieving it and then
letting it fly again as the walls began to squeeze against his shoulders.
This
time, the line wrapped itself around the lever and Auto jerked the line
downward, tripping the lever and causing the bars to drop back down into the
floor and the walls to recede. Autolycus dropped to his knees and laughed
softly to himself, "Oh, yeah, you're still the king, baby."
"Should
we continue on this way, or head back and take the other fork?" Gabrielle
asked.
"Are
you kidding me? After that, this had better be the right way! Come on, let's
find that holy whatzit and get out of here," he grumbled, climbing to his
feet. "After this, that warlord might be a welcome sight."
"He
might," Gabby giggled, "but I don't think you'll care for his
company."
"What
are you talking about?" he demanded, carefully making his way around the
corner.
"Oh,
you'll see," she snickered.
"I
don't see how Xena puts up--Well, what have we here?" he said suddenly.
Before him was a another door of heavy cedar, but this one had a lock with a
keyhole. There was a small table beside the door and on it rested a curious
metal object made of countless linked rods and plates. Currently, it was in the
rough shape of a man, but when Auto touched it, it collapsed into a shapeless
pile. "Here, play with this and keep out of my hair while I open this
sucker," he said, tossing the strange object to the Bard and removing his
lockpicking tools.
As
he started to work on the lock, Gabrielle experimented with the thing, allowing
it to form whatever it willed at first, and then trying to mold it back into
the shape it had originally been in. She was amazed at how many different
things she could create with it.
"I
don't get it," Auto growled, pounding on the door. "The lock must
have some sort of magnetic quality which repels my tools."
"What
does that mean?" Gabrielle asked, still playing with the mysterious
object.
"It
means that the key must also contain this same quality, and that we're going to
have to go back to the other fork, after all," he sighed, putting away his
tools.
"Wait
a minute!" the Bard exclaimed, her hands working to mold the thing in her
hands into a specific shape. "Try this," she grinned, handing him the
object, which was now in the form of a key.
Auto
scowled thoughtfully and tried the key in the lock. It clicked open and he
said, without even turning around, "Beginner's luck."
Gabrielle
smiled to herself but wisely kept quiet.
"Uh-oh,
I don't like the looks of this," Auto said softly.
"What's
wrong?" Gabby asked, peering around his shoulder. "It just looks like
an empty room to me."
Before
them was a room, roughly ten by ten paces, with nothing unusual or remarkable
about it. Not even the lockless door on the opposite wall.
"Exactly.
That means this one is bound to be deadlier than any of the others," Auto
warned, carefully probing the floor with his foot.
"Maybe
this is like a rest area, a reward for having made it this far without getting
killed?" she suggested.
"You
haven't been in a whole lot of mazes, have you?" Autolycus asked, turning
to face her.
"Not
a lot, no," she confessed.
"I
thought as much." He turned and continued to probe the floor carefully
until he reached the door. "Now, stand back, this is more than likely
where the trap will be sprung." He closed his eyes and opened the door.
Silence. Squinting through his eyelids, he peered around and saw that no deadly
trap had been triggered.
"See?"
Gabrielle scolded, walking past him and into the next room. "You're too
suspici-AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" She screamed in sudden terror as the
floor on both sides of the door fell away, revealing a pit filled with deadly
spikes.