Worlds Apart by Kirk Baldridge

Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. If I did, I'd treat them better than...some people.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse: http://mysticmuse.net
You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
Feedback: Yes please.
Spoilers: Come on. Both shows are over. Is anyone really going to be spoiled by anything I say in here?.
Author's Notes: I am playing with the history of both shows here. I decided to take elements I liked from each and ignore others. So you may see and hear characters from Xena and Buffy talking, acting, dressing etc. like they do in one season, while interacting with things from others. This is intentional so please don't write me any nasty e-mails. I hope nothing is too confusing, but if it is just let me know.
Pairing: Willow/Tara

On the roof of the high school Dahak and the First, now wearing Glory's form, watched the lamppost go flying, neither of them looking particularly worried.

"I'm not entirely certain. When it appeared on this plane it was in the possession of a troll and yet it is clearly a gods-forged weapon." Glory smirked. "Speaking of weapons, you know Xena's chakram?"

"There's another one. An artifact made of the same metal, and it's right here in Sunnydale."

"I suppose I could have had my Bringers dig it out, but there's this whole big it's only meant for her thing..." The Hellgoddess turned into Buffy. "Why give the Slayer any more of an edge than she already has? She doesn't know about the thing, and with it bound in rock there's almost no chance she'll ever get it out."

"There aren't too many demons left, you know. Old rivalries and all that." 'Buffy' smiled. "But the ones who still live are stalking the halls, looking for a fight. What about you?"

"I think the Slayer will enjoy the little surprise waiting for her in the basement. It's to die for."

Xena and Giles, with Tara behind them, entered the back corridor causiously. The warrior had kicked it open as soon as the witch assured her there was no magical reason not to.

"Slow and easy," said Xena. "We don't know how long it'll take Dahak to notice we're here."

A pair of big, minotaur-like demons were coming their way. They were unarmed, but their rippling muscles and sharp horns indicated they were still incredibly dangerous.

Xena smiled. "Oh good. A welcoming committee." She ducked under a vicious, if somewhat clumsy, swing of a demonic fist, and brought her sword across its chest and abdomen. It howled in pain and collapsed as black blood spurted from a gaping wond, while the other demon punched her in the back.

As Xena fell Giles brought his own sword into play. He slashed it across the demon's broad upper back, slicing its flesh and narrowly avoided the resulting blood spray as it went down.

"Goddess, duck!" Giles did so as Tara was raising her hands. "Dissolvo!" A bolt of blue-energy erupted from her outstretched fingers and struck the reptile demon that had been skittering across the ceiling toward them. With a shrill screech it went flying down the hall and splattered against the far wall.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Xena cautioned. "I don't know the layout of this building. Which way?"

Buffy found that the lock on the front door had been broken already, making things easier, but as she was about to push the door open she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's magic. That's the point." Willow dug into her hip pouch and came out with a vial of powder. "This should do the trick." She sprinkled the vial's contents on the door handle and there was a flash, after which a bright red mark could be seen etched on the metal. It faded quickly. "Okay. It's safe now."

"Thanks, Will." Buffy threw open the door and glanced inside, then nodded to Willow and Gabrielle. "Come on, but stay behind me." She readied the troll hammer as she stepped into shadows.

Gabrielle had a bad feeling as she followed them. A moment later her fears were justified, as she saw shapes in the darkness moving on their own. "Watch out!"

The bard gripped her sais with whitening knuckles. She had no idea how to fight shadows.

Willow raised a hand. "Flagrare!" A ball of light formed in her palm, instantly eliminating the darkness. With an agonizing scream the shadow-demons dissolved into dust.

Xena parried the sword of a skeletal demon clad in samurai-like armor, while Giles was knocked down by a big green demon with long black horns.

Tara, meanwhile, was dealing with the row of tiles blocking their way. She had sensed the trigger-magic as they were rounding a corner, cried out to stop Giles from stepping on it, and gave the demons a chance to attack them from the classrooms on either side. "I can't tell what kind of a spell it is," she said to herself. "But it's better to be safe than sorry." She poured the contents of a pouch into her hand and scattered it over the tiles, while saying the requisite incantation under her breath that caused lightning-like tendrils of energy to crackle and surge from one tile to the next, cancelling out whatever spell had been laying in wait for them.

Xena's opponent was lay on the ground, its head having been cleaved from its neck, while the warrior thrust her sword into the back of the other demon as it throttled Giles.

"Don't mention it." Xena looked to Tara. "Did you fix our problem yet?" She was frustrated, because she'd asked why she couldn't just jump over the tiles and Giles pointed out that such a manuever might be exactly what Dahak

Buffy was thrown back into a wall by a pair of massively muscled, stoney-skinned demons that were faster than their great bulk would seem to imply.

Gabrielle used her sais to block the dagger-like claws of a humanoid snake demon, similar to but much smaller than the one Glory had sent after Dawn.

Willow, much to her chagrin, was reduced to ducking behind a trash can to avoid the paralyzing mucus from the Fyraal demon that had grabbed at her from a classroom as they passed by. "Damn. Where's the Lone Ranger when you really need him?" Fyraal's were only vulnerable to silver.

Then the redhead remembered something she had read in one of Tara's books. Digging into her pouch she came out with a stake, over which she whispered a spell that turned it into silver. It was barely more than a glamour and would only last a short time, but if luck was on her side she'd only need one shot. Taking a deep breath she got to her feet and found herself face to face with the snarling Fyraal.

The redhead ducked as Buffy sent the second of the two stoney-skinned demons flying with a vicious spin-kick and it crashed into the Fyraal. As they both went down she jammed the stake into the Fyraal's heart and backed up to avoid the other demon as it lurched to its feet.

Gabrielle then stepped up beside Willow. "Mind if I cut in?" Smiling, she grabbed the demon's arm and swung it toward Buffy who – having reclaimed the hammer after the demons ambushed them – practically knocked its head off. It landed in a heap beside its twin, both with a broken neck, and the still twitched corpse of the snake-demon, which had one of Gabrielle's sais still sticking out of its forehead.

"Thanks." Being this close to the beautiful bard made Willow blush, as she was reminded of the perceived crush she had on the actress who played her, which Tara and Xander both mercilessly taunted her about every time they caught her watching the show. "We, uh, better keep moving."

The two groups found one antother again in front of the principal's office, which Giles had said was situated on top of the Hellmouth itself. Willow and Tara embraced upon their reunion, as did Xena and Gabrielle, which left Buffy and Giles standing around looking uncomfortable.

Comparing notes, they determined they had killed over three dozen demons between them, many of them kinds the Scoobies had never seen before. Buffy then told them this was only a fraction of the number she'd seen when she was at Dahak's castle.

"We also saw corpses," said Xena. "Besides the ones we killed. I'd say they turned on each other."

Giles nodded. "It makes sense. Most of these breeds were never meant to interact. I have to say, it is something of a minor miracle Dahak got as far with them as he did."

"Come on. Let's get this over with," said Buffy. She led them to the basement door, found it locked, and angrily kicked it open before Tara could warn her.

A burst of energy lifted the Slayer off her feet and flung her across the hall, throwing her through a door on the opposite side. She tumbled head over heels into the room and slid to a stop near the far wall, nearly unconscious, while the troll hammer remained where she had been standing.

A demon strode out of the darkness of the stairwell. "For now." It was seven feet tall if it was an inch, with dark brown skin and stringy black hair tied in dreadlocks. It had slitted golden eyes, a hooked nose and a mouth full of dagger-like teeth, bared as it smirked. "But that's gonna change, soon enough."

Xena twirled her sword and stepped forward. "You're pretty tough, picking on children."

"Watch your mouth, warrior princess." The demon nodded at the expression on Xena and Gabrielle's faces. "Oh yes. I know all about you. Dahak has been most informative."

"It doesn't really matter. After all, in the end dead..." The demon cracked its knuckles and lightning-like bolts of energy crackled around it's fingertips. "...is dead, no matter what."

Xena shook her head and started forward, but someone grabbed her arm. It was Buffy. The unsteady Slayer held the hammer tightly in her other hand. "No. This one is mine."

"Are you sure?" the warrior asked. From the way she was moving, she could tell Buffy was hurt.

The Slayer nodded. "I can handle it." She took a deep breath and turned to the demon. "That was a dirty trick. Do you think you can handle me face to face?"

"I do." The demon chuckled. "Do you really think you can stop me using that big ass lightning rod?"

The demon shrugged its wide shoulders and unleashed twin bolts of lightning from its hands. The Slayer waited until the last second to swing the hammer.

Under normal circumstances it would indeed have conducted the electricity right up Buffy's arms and probably fried every cell in her body. But this particular hammer was not of any regular, conductive metal, and its inherent mystical properties deflected the energy well away from the Slayer.

Buffy smiled at the shocked expression on the demon's face. "What? Oh is it my turn? 'kay." Even though it was incredibly heavy she heaved the hammer like it was a toy, and it flew with such speed that the demon was not able to get out of the way. It was driven back into the wall with such force that an outline of its body remained while it slumped to the ground, stunned and unable to catch its breath. It still managed a throaty snarl though as the Slayer reclaimed her weapon and shrugged her shoulders. "Guess I win." She swung the hammer one last time, flattening the demon's head against the wall. "That was a lot harder than it should've been."

"Like somebody hit me with a stun gun and kicked me in the head at the same time." Buffy frowned. "My skin is still tingling. What the hell was that?"

"Whatever he was before, he's just another dead demon now," said Xena. "Let's keep moving."

Buffy nodded. "Xena and I go first. Giles and Gabrielle cover our backs. Will, need you and Tara to be our eyes and ears, okay? I don't want to run into any more surprises like that last one. It's bad enough we have no clue what else Dahak has waiting for us down there."

A few steps through the doorway the stairs fell flat and they all went sliding down into darkness.

Buffy, Xena and Gabrielle all ended up on their feet, weapons up and ready, while the others landed in a tangled heap behind them. The room was too dark to even see their hands in front of their faces.

"Giles?" Buffy started to panic internally when the Watcher didn't answer. "Come on, don't do this to me. Giles, can you hear me? Giles?!"

Someone chuckled. "What's wrong, Slayer?" The deep, booming voice, all too familiar to Buffy as well as Xena and Gabrielle, came from somewhere in front of them. "Lose another one?"

A sudden spotlight revealed Dahak, seated on a throne of demon skeletons. The smoldering crack in the ground that was the physical access point of the Hellmouth was to one side.

With the light Buffy was able to see Giles. Much to her relief he was alive and breathing, just unconscious. She turned back to Dahak. "You son of a bitch. Where's my sister?"

"Come on, is that all we get?" A tall, lanky, curly-haired figure in a long red dress stepped out of the shadows to the left of Dahak. All our brilliant planning, and you're worried about the brat?"

"You aren't Glory," said Buffy. "See, she's dead. Which, I'm guessing, makes you the First, right?" She looked to Dahak. "You don't mind me calling her that, do you? I hear there's some controversy."

"Oh very well. I will show you." Dahak snapped his fingers. "If only to ease your admittedly limited mind, so we can get on with the business at hand." More lights came on, unveiling a larger, more ornate, temple-like structure that reminded Xena and Gabrielle of home. In a metal cage hanging above Dahak, on the bottom of which was the now deactivated spotlight, stood Dawn and Xander. They were conscious.

"Buffy!" The younger Summers clutched at the bars with white knuckles. "Get out of here!"

Willow frowned. "What's he...?" A hand grabbed the back of the redhead's neck and lifted her off her feet, doing the same thing to Tara. The hand in question belonged to a demon woman, beside whom stood a platinum blonde-haired vampire, both with solid black eyes.

"I'm afraid the details go far beyond your limited human understanding. In simplest terms though, you could say I tapped into their internal darkness and brought it to the surface."

"That still doesn't explain Anya," said Buffy. "She's a demon again. But you couldn't...neither one of you has that kind of power."

'Glory' shook her head. "I called in a favor from D'Hoffryn. He was more than happy to comply. It seems he has been considering bringing Anyanka back into the fold for a while now."

"The two of them make marginally interesting playthings," said Dahak. "A pity the boy and your sibling were not so accommodating." He smirked. "I would have enjoyed watching the expression on your face as you were beaten down by your own sister."

"Let them go," Buffy hissed. "You want me? You got me. But you don't need Xander or Dawn, or anyone else. If you let everybody go I'll do whatever you want."

'Glory' laughed. "You still don't understand do you Slayer?" She nodded, and Anya released the witches. She and Spike growled. "We've already won."

"I allowed you entry into this building," said Dahak. "Because it pleased me to do so. Now that you are here, the dimensional barriers erected by D'Hoffryn and his ilk have been fully reinstated." He smiled at the stunned looks on Willow and Tara's faces. "Yes. I was well-prepared. The Hellmouth has allowed for the alterations you can see all around you. This room, for example, is far larger and more ornately decorated than the basement you were no doubt expecting. You did happen to notice that, didn't you?"

Xena twirled her sword. "I've had enough of this nonsense Dahak. We have a score to settle!"

"Indeed we do, warrior princess." Dahak stood up. "But there is no need for us to fight." He held up his hand and the palm began to glow. "You'll be seeing things my way soon enough."

Even the warrior could not escape the waves of magical energy that erupted from Dahak's hand. They swept her up and thrust her mind into a darkness of swirling, random images.

It filled her mind with acts of violence and bloodshed, particularly stabbing Meridian.

Gabrielle fought the impulses as hard as she could until she just couldn't stand it anymore, and screamed. In the end her eyes were black too, but the darkness was swirling and unfocused.

"And don't fool yourself into thinking you're safe from my influence either, Slayer." Dahak's power seeped into the minds of Buffy and the just awakening Giles.

She was swallowed up by the memory of her fight with the Knights of Byzantium, and the fateful moment when she threw an axe at one of them. Then there were the others she'd chosen to knock off the top of the camper they were riding in at the time, knowing full well some would not survive.

Giles relived, in excruciating detail, the deaths he'd helped cause by the demon Eyghon, but no matter how hard he tried he could not forget the image most notably saw himself smothering Glory's mortal half, Ben, in order to protect Buffy and her friends. He'd convinced himself it was the right thing to do, even though he had notably not told her or any of the Scoobies about what happened.

Dahak chuckled as their eyes soon turned black as well. "This is almost too easy. You humans allow yourselves to be swayed so easily by evil." He eyed Willow. "Speaking of which, there's something you and I need to discuss Miss Rosenberg. I can sense your darkness from here."

"...killed anyone? That is, as you intellectuals are so fond of saying, the common denominator with the others. I assume you two saw and felt that, like you were supposed to?" Dahak smiled. "Yes, you're quite right, you haven't taken a human life. Rest assured that does not mean the potential isn't there." He held up his hand. "I feel I should warn you. Given that fact – this will be considerably more difficult, not to mention painful, for you than it was for your friends. But, I will not be denied my prize."

Tara tried to go to her lover, only to find her arms being held by Giles and Buffy. "No, let me go!" Tears welled up in her eyes as Willow began to scream. "Stop it! Leave her alone!"

Through whatever magic Dahak and the First had employed Tara experienced, in vivid detail, everything Willow was seeing and hearing and feeling.

Calling forth and then slitting the throat of the baby deer, to bring Buffy back to life.

Tara's mind was racing. She had known about Glory, Rack and the car wreck, second-hand of course, but clearly there were aspects of Buffy's resurrection she'd overlooked. There was a lot about that day she still regretted and probably would for the rest of her life.

Dahak chuckled as he felt Willow's control slipping. "I had no idea you were so complex, witch."

Willow's eyes turned black, then red, and then black again. She gritted her teeth and sank to her knees while the very air around her began to ripple and churn with barely visible energy.

"Intriguing," Dahak continued. "I think this bears closer examination." He put his hand on Willow's forehead and closed his eyes. Her body jerked and she gasped.

Tara felt it again. Everything Willow was going through. The magic surging through her, and channeling it to do damage to Glory. She actually made a god scream.

"So, you battled Glorificus and survived, eh?" Dahak asked. "Impressive for one so young."

"Willow." Her lover was hurting, and there wasn't anything Tara could do about it. "I'm sorry." Or was there? She was still connected to Willow. It occured to her that there was a way she might be able to use Dahak's own magic against him. "Hang on, sweety. I'm coming." She closed her eyes.

In Willow's mind the fight with Glory was happening over and over again. Each time though, Willow seemed to get stronger while Glory fell just a little faster. Then suddenly Tara materialized between them. She shuddered at the sight of the Hellgod, then turned to the black-eyed redhead.

"Willow, you've got to stop this. Dahak's using this memory against you. Come back to me Willow. You can do it, I know you can. I need your help to stop him. Together we can..." In the memory Glory backhanded the blonde, as she had done to Willow during their real fight. In the real world a leathery, clawed hand clamped around Tara's throat, drawing her back to her body. She struggled vainly, unable to breath.

Snarling, Dahak lifted the blonde off her feet. "Witch! How dare you interfere!"

Tara could feel herself starting to black out. The combination of lack of oxygen and her own fear prevented her from concentrating and using magic to free herself. Tears filled her eyes.

Through Dahak's magic, Willow saw and heard and felt everything Tara did. She felt her lover's pain, sensed her consciousness drifting away, and knew to the depths of her soul how scared Tara was. Not so much of dieing, but of their never seeing one another again.

Willow threw her head back and screamed as the blackness filling her eyes burst into flames. Magical energies flowed off her in every direction. Everyone in the room, including Dahak but not Tara and the First – who was not corporeal and thus immune to this effect – was driven as far away from her as the limits of the room would allow, while the redhead fell to her knees, sobbing.

The First transformed into Spike. "Nice move Red." He became Buffy. "Too bad it drained you." She turned into Glory. "Get up, idiot. Don't let her recover."

Dahak had been sent crashing through his throne. He shrugged the bones off and lurched to his feet. The demon was furious now. "I will rip your heart out for this, witch!"

"No!" Though her throat was raw, and still feeling light-headed, Tara crawled over to her lover's side and put her arms around the trembling redhead. "Willow, the others. We have to free the others. Do you understand? Dahak's coming, sweety. We can stop him, but I need your help. One last time. Please?"

Willow held her hand out and Tara clasped it. Both witches closed their eyes and focused on the magic that was linking them all together. They poured every ounce of power they could into severing the control Dahak had over their friends. Giles and Buffy's minds cleared very quickly. So did Gabrielle's. But it was much more of an effort to break through to Spike, Anya and Xena, all three of whom had killed a lot of people and commited a lot of evil acts in their time. In the end the demon and vampire passed out from the strain, leaving no way for the witches to be certain they had actually succeeded in their task. Xena fell to her knees, her sword rolling out of her suddenly numb fingers, and tears poured down her cheeks.

It was at that point Dahak got to Willow and Tara. He grabbed each of them by the collar and picked them up, an angry sneer on his face. "What do you think you're doing?"

Dahak turned his head, eyes narrowing. Gabrielle had just helped Xena to her feet. Nearby, Buffy picked up the troll hammer and smiled. The demon snarled and tossed the witches aside.

Buffy, Gabrielle and Xena attacked Dahak from three different directions at once, though the demon looked to be angry rather than worried. He casually deflected the warrior's sword and the bard's sais with his the bony parts of his arms, but as a result was unable to stop Buffy from swinging the hammer around into the small of his back, and the sudden shock brought him to his knees and pain radiated throughout his body.

"Protect Willow and Tara," Buffy said to Gabrielle. "We owe them." The bard nodded and rushed to the witches, while Dahak reached up and grabbed the head of the hammer. "Hey!"

He jerked it out of her hand. But as soon as it left her grip it became incalcuably heavy. As strong as he was the demon watched it drop to the ground like a stone.

Xena took advantage of his momentarily extended arm to attack with her chakram. It sliced easily right through his wrist, and black blood spurted out as his hand fell to the floor.

"Does it hurt?" the warrior asked, as Dahak roared in pain. "Good." She thrust her sword into Dahak's back and it came out his chest, piercing his heart. "Now, maybe, you know how I felt when that demon-spawn of yours killed my son." She twisted the sword once more and then pulled it out, letting Dahak to slump face-forward into a pool of his own thick black blood. "Told you I'd kill you."

Seeing Dahak fall Buffy went to check on her friends. Willow and Tara were bruised but all right. Giles and the others were still unconscious. She then turned her attention to the cage containing Xander and Dawn. "Hang on. I think I, uh..." She frowned as Xena joined her. "How're we gonna get them down?"

Xena smiled and threw her chakram. It struck the cage door once, rebounded off the ceiling and struck the cage again, then came back to her hand as the door of the cage swung open.

"Nice frisbee," said Xander, after he'd helped Dawn out and Buffy caught him. "Who's your friend?"

"Long story," said Buffy. "Look. Do me a favor. Take Dawn and Giles home, okay?" Be started to say something but she shook her head. "We'll follow as soon as we can with Anya and Spike."

Buffy hugged her sister good-bye and promised she'd be home soon then approached the First, who turned into a duplicate of her. "Cute."

"I want you to contact D'Hoffryn," said Buffy. "And get him to change Anya back into a human."

"You are in no position to be making demands Slayer. You can't even touch me. You certainly can't force me to do anything of the sort."

"Oh no?" Buffy leaned in close to her duplicate and whispered in her ear. "Let's try this. You thrive on having all the demons and vampires and other assorted baddies in this town at your back and call. How long you do suppose that'll last, once they realize the war I'm declaring on them from here on in is because of you? They thought I was bad news before? How about I don't stop until every monster on the Hellmouth is toast? I can do it you know. If I put my mind to it I can make Sunnydale a great place to live, at least for those of us who have pulses and don't get a wicked sunburn. And what about you? Think you'll be so high and mighty once you no longer have vamps killing in your name? No demon blood offerings for the biggest bad?"

The First transformed into Mayor Wilkins. "Someone certainly has a high opinion of herself."

"I can see that. Unlike my Faith, you take things entirely too seriously. Life. Death. Demon. Human? So what if I lose Sunnydale? You think this is the only Hellmouth?" Mayor Wilkins became Professor Walsh. "My plans are fluid, as am I. I can reestablish myself anywhere. New demons will come, they always do. And beyond them, I am in the heart and mind of every living being. I am evil, little girl."

Professor Walsh turned into Drusilla, who turned in a slow circle. "Brave words. But your heart trembles. I can taste it." Her body collapsed in on itself and she vanished in a pinpoint of light.

Buffy shook her head. "I'm just glad that's over. Xena, help me with Spike and Anya, would you?"

Once they were all gone the First reappeared, once again as Buffy. "You can get up now."

Spike and Anya woke up about halfway back to the Magic Box, and insisted they could walk on their own. Spike grumbled "bloody nothing" when asked what he remembered about being with Dahak, and Anya kept staring at her hands and she clenched and unclenched them.

"I'm a demon again aren't I?" Anya asked. "God, I'd forgotten what the power feels like." She smiled. "I feel alive for the first time in years. Every nerve is tingling."

Anya's face became that of the vengeance demon Anyanka. "No! No way! I won't lose it again!" Wisps of energy started to swirl around her, but Buffy grabbed her arm.

"Oh no you don't! Giles research told us all about how your teleporting thing works. You can't take anyone else along with you, and you can't go when you're anchored."

"You sure about that?" Anya punched the Slayer in the chest with her free hand, staggering her. She then felt the touch of something cold and metallic at her throat, and glanced down to see the chakram.

"How fast can you move, demon?" Xena asked. Her voice was quiet, but her tone unmistakable. "I've killed gods so I somehow doubt you'll be much of a challenge."

"A friend," said Gabrielle. "So you might want to think about keeping it that way."

Spike, who had been observing all this with great amusement, smiled as he looked from Buffy to Xena and then back again. "Who's your friend, Slayer? Bird's even more butch than you are."

"Shut up Spike." A glint of something green just beneath Xena's chakram caught Buffy's eye. She recalled more of what Giles had said about vengeance demons. "Her necklace. Xena, that's her power center. Destroy it and she becomes the normal, annoying version of Anya again."

Xena nodded. "Okay." She reached for the necklace with her other hand, but Anya grabbed her wrist. The demon had moved so fast even the warrior didn't see it coming. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself!" Anya lifted Xena up off her feet and spun around. She sent the warrior flying through the air, to crash headlong into the side of a newspaper stand. "I don't like being touched!"

"No!" said Buffy. "You're wasting your time. Regular weapons won't work on her."

Spike leaned against a mailbox and crossed his arms. He was clearly amused. "If I'd known there was gonna be a show, I'd have brought some bloody popcorn."

"Shut up, Spike." Buffy turned to Anya. "You see? This is what I'm talking about. The longer you stay a demon, it goes to your head, Anya. You're going to hurt someone. You may have already."

Gabrielle helped her stand up when her knees buckled. "Not recently. Are you sure you're all right?"

"It's not my conscience, or anything like that," Anya replied. "I just know that if I try to keep this thing, you'll be hounding me all the time. I can put up with you as a human, because I have no choice. But if I stay a demon, then I am going to have to deal with the whining every time I teleport in."

"Thanks," said Buffy. "I think." She dropped the necklace on the ground and crushed it with her heel. There was a flash of green light and Anya's face changed back to normal.

Xena and Gabrielle both glanced at Buffy, who shrugged. "She's stil bitter about the wedding..."

"...that never was," Anya added. "Don't forget that. He left me, at the altar. Why, I ask you? Aren't I great catch? I mean, look at me. This body is mortal, again, but it can go all night long."

Back at the Hellmouth, the First – as Xena – walked in slow circles around Dahak, who was still sprawled out on the ground. It shook its head. "Look at you. The lord of darkness. Reduced to this."

"I know you have, at times, shared a portion of your essence, with your servant. To strengthen him."

'Buffy' nodded. "It's true. Caleb sometimes required a...recharge. What's your point?"

"Hmm...I supposed I could, at that. But why bother? You're as good as dead. Why shouldn't I just let you pass on and go find myself a new toy to play with? One more reliable."

"You exist for the spread of evil. I am chaos incarnate. Can you think of a bigger, more disruptive and may I add more evil, act than robbing the world of some of its greatest heroes? If we kill Xena and the Slayer, then this will be a much better world for both of us. You can continue to feed on the death and destruction brought about by all of the demons and creatures who will bend to my will. We both win."

'Buffy' smiled. "You make a good point, 'Dad'. But there's something else, isn't there? Something you are trying to hide from me, something deep in your subconscious. I can't look into your mind like I can my demons, but I'm connected to all the evil in this world, and that includes you."

Dahak snarled. "Fool! The longer we waste with this ridiculous banter, the greater the chance Xena will go back to her own time, and we'll lose our chance to kill her!"

"Very well." 'Buffy' kneeled beside Dahak. She arched her spine as the semi-transparent image of the entity that represented its true form erupted from her mouth, nose, ears and eyes. "But you better not try anything." Now it's voice came from all around. "I will sense instantly if you..." The entity's face contorted in surprise as it felt itself being drawn in...totally, and it couldn't pull away "No!"

Dahak arched his back and howled. The First seemed to dissolve into tiny black particles that were absorbed by the growing cocoon of blackness that soon filled the entire room.

Dawn was shaken, scared, and started crying all over again, about Janice, as soon as they were safely back at the Magic Box. She relaxed somewhat when Buffy arrived, and threw herself into her sister's arms.

"Shh. It's okay, Dawnie. I had no intention of dieing, again. Been there, done that."

Buffy peeked in and saw the witches curled up together on one of the mats, arms and legs entertwined. She was relieved, and closed the door quietly. "Good. They deserve it."

"How are you doing?" Xander asked, his eyes drifting time and again to Spike and Anya.

"We're fine." The Slayer glanced over her shoulder. "So are they, Xan. We destroyed Anya's necklace. She's not a demon anymore."

Xander glared at him. "We're not." He turned back to Buffy. "That's it then? We're done?"

"All-righty then. Giles was just filling us in on the Xena and Gabrielle situation." Xander smiled. "You know it's days like this that make living on the Hellmouth so much fun. Every Xenite's dream, the real Xena and Gabrielle, standing right here. Wish I had a camera." He sighed. "And, I also wish I wasn't such a geek."

"You're not the only one," said Anya. "Willow had the same reaction. Except with more lusty stares. Frankly I'm a little surprised Tara didn't catch on."

"This hero worship stuff. Like with Minya. It's just a good thing we didn't have...TV, in our time."

Gabrielle nodded. "We kind of asked him for a favor. He sent us here after Dahak and said we could come back whenever we wanted, but Xena's right. He didn't tell us how."

Xena raised her head. "Ares!" Everyone except Gabrielle and Anya gave her a funny look. "Ares!" Soon after she realized the others were staring at her. "If he's still around, he should be able to hear me."

"We may be able to assist you," said Giles. "I have a number of texts on temporal manipulation."

On the roof of Sunnydale High stood a being which had not walked the face of the Earth for untold millennia. It was pure chaos and evil given form. The living embodiment of hate.

It stood eight feet in height, with arms and legs like tree trunks and a body more massive than any demon. It had silky smooth skin that appeared to have been formed from darkness itself, with a head featureless except for two curved horns and thin, slitted red eyes. It had talons instead of fingers and cloven feet.

Within the deepest recesses of his mind the dwindling remnants of the First screamed. "How can this be? What have you done to me?"

Dahak chuckled. "Fool. You are of me. When we merged you returned to me. Your time has ended, child, while mine has begun anew. Rejoice."

The First shrieked as its mind dissolved completely, and only one true first evil remained.

Dahak looked out over the city, which was oblivious to his presence. He could see into the dark minds of every vampire, demon and monster in Sunnydale, not to mention the dark hearts of much of those humans who were all too aquainted with their own inner darkness. And even through the structure of the high school he could also feel the pulsing power of the Hellmouth, calling to him. Begging to be unleashed.

"Soon. Very soon. I do not know yet which realm you open unto, but your will be done. Our time is at hand. I've one matter to attend to first, however. If I don't, there are some annoying little gnats in this city who may yet find some way to interfere." His eyes burned with literal flame, and he laughed.

Buffy and Xena made little effort to pretend that they had any understanding of or interest in temporal physics, or any of the other "high-browed" talk from Giles and the newly awakened Willow. Xander even went so far as to take doughnut requests from everyone before simply walking out of the shop, while Anya stayed behind to "keep an eye on the money". Only Tara, Gabrielle, and Dawn remained, and were willing, to help Giles and Willow with research, though there was really very little to go on.

"It's a subject that is, as far as I am aware, highly theoretical. And unfortunately, we do not have easy access to a willing Olympian deity or any of the mystical artifacts you have told us about Gabrielle," said the Watcher. "But I familiar with certain spells involving temporal manipulation." He handed out books to each of them. "In the event these texts prove less that fruitful, I shall endeavor to make contact with one of the temporal demons which have taken up residence in Sunnydale. Though they are unlikely to be cooperative."

Willow nodded. "Don't worry." She sat down beside Tara, who squeezed her hand, and turned to Gabrielle. "One way or another, we'll get you guys home."

Buffy, watching her friends start flipping through books, shook her head. "It blows my mind, you know?"

"Them. You and I, we're strong and tough and fast. We can fight monsters and gods and everything this big, ugly world wants to throw at us. But where would we be without them?"

After Xander got back they shared some doughnuts then everyone fell back into predictable patterns. Giles and Willow led Dawn, Tara and Gabrielle back into 'research mode', while Xena and Buffy arm-wrestled. Xander was watching them while Anya was busy doing something in the basement.

Just as she was finally started to get the edge over Buffy, Xena felt an odd tingling on the back of her neck. She was distracted enough that the Slayer drove her arm down. "Hey. I'm three for..." She could tell by the look on the warrior's face that she something was wrong. "What is it?"

"Now that you mention it, I kind of do." Buffy looked around, her eyes narrowing. "It's all tingly."

Across the room, Tara lifted her head as she finally noticed what had been on the outer edge of her senses for a while. "Willow. Somebody's casting..." She never got to finish that sentence, as she and everyone else in the shop was swallowed up by a shimmering wave of energy.

Not long afterward, Anya emerged from the basement with a small wooden box. "I found it! Hello?" She looked around. "Hey! Where'd everybody go?"

The others materialized in the basement of the high school, which had reverted to its normal state. Dahak stood with one foot on either side of the Hellmouth, observing as they looked around in confution. Even though he had no mouth, thus no discernible facial expressions, they got the feeling he was smirking.

Xena gritted her teeth. "Son of a Bacchae. That's Dahak. I'd recognize his stench anywhere!"

Dahak held up the chakram. "Looking for this?" He chuckled. "Oh, and Slayer?" He gestured with his other hand, to the troll hammer, which was somehow sitting on the floor by his side. "Perhaps I can not pick it up, but at least this way I can make certain you don't either."

Xander blinked. "Okay. Let me see if I got this right. Mr. 'I'm so Evil' got an upgrade, and now he's worse? Does this rank pretty damn high on anyone else's wiggin's scale?" Dawn, Tara and Willow all held up their hands. Buffy and even Giles nodded. Spike just snorted. "Good. So it's not just me then."

"Bloody perfect," said the vampire. "Bugger's dripping with evil. I can feel it from here."

Tara nodded. "His aura. It's...oh Goddess." She turned and buried her face in Willow's neck. "I-I can't..."

"Okay?" Dahak laughed. "I think not. Things are from okay Miss Rosenberg. Your mate is right to be afraid." He spread his arms. "I am as I was. Evil. Power absolute. The one you called the First has been restored to his proper place, within my very being. My essence is retored to its former glory."

"Why are you doing this?" Gabrielle asked. "If you really have all this power, and you wanted us dead..."

"...you would be," said Dahak. "Except, you're only half right. You see, I do have all this power and I do want you all dead. But I didn't want to do it from afar. Striking you down with a bolt from the blue would be so anticlimatic at this juncture. After all, this has been a long time coming. I want to savor it."

Xena crossed her arms. She noticed Gabrielle, at least, still had her sais. "So what now?"

"I suppose I should just squash you and be done with it. But once the lot of you are out of my way, there will be nothing and no one in this world to oppose me. And I find that whole concept somehow unappealing. A world full of my supplicants would be...well, a wonderful place to live, I imagine. Also, tedious, and dull. So I will give you, as well as the Slayer and the vampire, one more chance to join me."

"You? You are a weak, unpredictable fool," said Dahak. "Don't forget, I have seen into your soul, witch. You can hardly control the power you weild, and in truth you fear it besides. You'd be of no use to me. And the other? She has even less power though far more control, and her heart is shielded. I cannot touch her essence at all, just like the boy and the Slayer's sister. That makes her too much of a liability."

"What? Don't be foolish. I have nothing to fear from the likes of you, warrior princess."

"No? Then why did you take my chakram? And the hammer? If they're no threat, why bother?"

"Liar. They hurt you before, and I'd wager that even in this new body they can still hurt you. That's why you took them away. Magic is dangerous to you. Isn't it? It's the only thing you fear. The only thing that can have any effect on you regardless of what form you're wearing."

"Touched a nerve, huh?" Buffy asked. "I think Xena's on to something. You may be some big cosmic bogeyman, Dahak, but these witches scare the crap out of you."

"Not to mention the other witches and their weapons," said Spike. "No offense, Slayer."

"Why?" Dahak sank into the shadows, rising at almost the exact same instant between Xena and Buffy. "When it is far easier..." He simultaneously slapped the Slayer one way and the warrior another. "...to cheat." He turned and caught Gabrielle's wrists, her sais inches from the back of his head. "Speaking of. How foolish. Did you honestly believe you could sneak up on me little girl?" She strained, but could not move her arms in the slighest. Even her close encounters with Ares hadn't demonstrated this kind of strength. "Not that it would have done you any good anyway. Observe." He let her go suddenly, and the unexpected momentum made her to lose her balance and drive the points of her sais into his broad chest – where they promptly shattered. "You see? Those toys might have been touched by one of the so-called gods, but they were not in the same league as..."

To Dahak's surprise, neither the chakram or the hammer were on the floor where he had left them. Instead, they were sliding across the room, and into the hands of Willow and Tara. The redhead picked up the discus, while the blonde was wrapping her pale fingers around the leather-bound hilt of the hammer. Just by sheer weight it should have been far too heavy, but it came up off the ground with ease.

"No," said Willow. "But neither can you." She held up a hand. "Flagrare...incindere...dissolvo!" A pulse of flames and swirling light shot toward Dahak, striking him in the chest and bowling him over. The redhead knees buckled, and she would have fallen if not for Tara.

"Sweety, you can't go mixing spells like that. You know it takes too much out of you."

Dahak rose. His chest was still smoldering, but he showed no other obvious signs of injury. "I'll give you credit little girl. You've got some impressive power. However, you're wasting your time, and mine. Even the two of you together don't have enough to stop me."

Something struck Dahak in the back, taking him completely by surprise. He stumbled, but did not quite fall, and glared back over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed as Xena, rebounding from a drop-kick, landed on her feet. Then he was rocked by a vicious punch from the left and the right by Buffy and Spike. Gabrielle followed that with her own kick, spinning it into Dahak's chest.

Tara held out a hand, palm up. "Obfuscate!" A gray blob appeared and she threw it at Dahak. It hit him in the face and spread into a thick gray mass which obscured his vision and would likely have cut off his airways if he had, in fact, needed to breath. Still he clawed at his face, obviously angry.

"Teamwork," said Buffy. "Gotta love it." Willow and Tara handed the weapons to their respective owners. "Good work. Now I think you guys better get out of here."

"No," the Slayer insisted. "No argument from you." She clutched her sister's shoulder. "Just go. Please."

"Okay." Dawn hugged her sister and whispered in her ear. "But don't you go dieing on me again."

"We're out of here," said Xander. "But Buffy, do me a favor, would you? Kick his ass."

Buffy nodded and readied the hammer. Xena and Gabrielle stepped to one side of her, Spike to the other, while Willow and Tara got behind them.

Xena, Buffy and Spike all charged Dahak at once, from three different directions.

He ignored the unarmed vampire, instead focusing on the Slayer and the warrior. A step back easily got him out of range of the hammer, but while he was doing that Xena threw her chakram. It shot past him, only to bounce off a wall and come right back at the demon's exposed back.

Dahak shook his head. "Nice try, Xena." He sank into the shadows, letting the chakram slice harmlessly through empty air, only to rise again behind the unsuspecting Buffy. "But don't forget." He punched the Slayer in the back and she was thrown across the room. "I've been watching you for years."

Spike snarled. "Buffy!" He launched himself at Dahak, who turned and caught him by the throat. He struggled in the demon's iron-like grip, just glad he didn't have to breath.

"You're the most pathetic creature I've ever seen. You should be here, fighting by my side, and yet you continue to grovel at the feet of the Slayer. For what? In the hopes she will throw some small scraps of affection your way one day? I really should put you out of your misery."

"Sod off!" Spike was shocked. Not just as the demon's strength, though he couldn't even pry so much as a finger off his throat, but the feel of Dahak's oily 'flesh' made his skin crawl. And he had been in close quarters with a lot of evil, disgusting creatures in his decades of existence.

"Hang on, Spike!" Buffy came running. She swung the hammer, only to have Dahak catch the head with one hand and tear it out of her grip. Of course it fell right to the ground. He ignored that and backhanded the Slayer. "Little girl, won't you ever learn?" He then turned and slapped Xena's chakram out of the air, inches from the back of his head. "Enough!" He casually tossed Spike aside. "This is becoming tiresome. Whatever unity you pathetic insects may have had before is clearly gone now, and I'm no longer in the mood."

"Dahak just said it. Unity. Don't you remember that spell we were talking about last week?"

Tara's eyes widened. "You mean...the one based on what you used against Adam?" Willow nodded. "We've never tried it. It haven't even discussed it with the others before."

"I realize that. But if we don't do something soon..." Willow pointed at Dahak, who had just picked Spike up and thrown him at Buffy. "So what do you say?"

"What are you up to?" Gabrielle asked. She was staying out of the fight to protect Willow and Tara, as Xena and Buffy both had asked her to do.

Before they did anything else, Willow closed her eyes and whispered another spell she was quite familiar with, which would allow her to communicate directly with her friend's minds. 'Buffy, Xena, Spike. We have an idea we wanna run by you.'

"Cripes, Red!" Shortly after they took up patrolling following Buffy's death Willow discovered Spike could not respond internally, like everyone else, for unknown reasons she assumed had to do with his being a vampire. "I've told you to warn me before you do that!"

The redhead briefly explained what she and Tara were considering. In-between punching and avoiding blows and claw swings they agreed it was dangerous, but perhaps their only chance as well.

'Just make sure to give us plenty of warning first,' said Xena. 'And, tell her good luck for me.'

Dahak had only been privy to Spike's part of the conversation, and seemed to find it very amusing. "Perhaps I've hit you one too many times, vampire. You're talking to yourself."

Willow and Tara and Gabrielle moved to the other side of the basement, out of sight behind a pile of cardboard boxes. They hard the bard kneel while they sat cross-legged on either side of her and held hands so Gabrielle was inside the circle, then they closed their eyes and began to chant.

Buffy trusted Willow and Tara with her life. Together the two of them had helped her save the world, more than once, and if they said they could do it again she believed them.

Xena had no idea if the witches were really capable of doing what they said or not but if Gabrielle trusted them enough to let them do this that was good enough for her.

Dahak, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to what was going on. That is, until there was a lull in the fight. As he slapped the vampire down, again, he became aware of surging mystical energy. Someone was casting a spell, a powerful one, and that meant the witches. He looked around, and saw the faint aura of magic coming from behind some boxes. His eyes narrowed. "What are they up to?"

Buffy, realizing where Dahak was headed, scooped up the hammer and swung in a clumsy, deliberately slow arc which forced his attention back to her. He deflected it easily. "Stop him!"

Xena flipped over the Slayer and kicked Dahak in the chest, then swung her chakram. He twisted out of the way just in time, only to get struck by the hammer. That staggered him, allowing Spike to spin around and kick his his feet out from under him. When he landed, flat on his back, the ground shook.

'It's time.' Willow's voice echoed in their minds. 'You'd better back away from him.'

Buffy, Xena and Spike did just that, which must have really confused Dahak, who lurched back to his feet. "You are entirely too reliant on the witches. I don't know who you think you're fooling, trying to delay me like this, but I can assure you..." To his obvious surprise his three adversaries suddenly collapsed. From where he was standing he could tell that the warrior and Slayer were barely breathing. "What is this?" The mystical energy he had sensed before was surging even more strongly now, and he knew he was too late.

Dahak understood, now, what the witches had been doing. From Gabrielle he also sensed the essences of Xena, Buffy and Spike, all within the body of the bard. He could barely tell where one left off and the next began. Their merging was almost complete, which meant the four of them would have a hard time coming apart when the spell ended. It was a clever, albeit extremely dangerous and desperate, manuever.

Gabrielle never said a word. With blinding speed she cartwheeled forward, spun around, and kicked Dahak with enough forced to send him flying across the room. Even as he slammed into a wall and slid to the ground she was picking up the hammer in one hand and the chakram in the other.

"Combined strength, I see. Intriguing." He deflected a swing of the hammer, but had to move out of the way of a chakram strike. "You do realize, of course, that your body is now burning up? That pretty little shell of yours was never meant to hold four separate souls. By doing this you significantly..."

Gabrielle shut Dahak up, and doubled him over, with a hammer blow to the midsection. She followed that up by bringing it down upon the top of his skull. Then a series of lightning-fast slices of the chakram, which drew black blood from dozens of deep, jagged cuts all over his body.

Dahak couldn't keep up. Though they didn't know it, he had been able to stay one step ahead of Buffy, Spike and Xena, by gazing into the dark spots in their auras. Evil was connected, after all. Now, however, that advantage was overridden by Gabrielle's unusually bright inner light, which he'd barely been able to peirce the last time. And his own physical abilities, though virtually unlimited by human standards, were still new to him. Unaccustomed as he was to fighting like this his power was waning. It wasn't possible, but she was winning.

A barely visible pulse of energy pushed Gabrielle away, long enough for Dahak to crawled toward a smoldering crack in the ground. He exerted as much power as he could all at once for one desperate act, which even if it was successful might mean his end along with that of his enemies.

The part of Gabrielle that was made up of Spike and Buffy recognized, in a moment of unexpected clarity, what he was planning to do. "The Hellmouth."

Dahak was determined now, to complete his alternate plan; opening the Hellmouth. He had intended on doing it anyway, as a final show of victory, but doing it now would take care of two problems at once. As he raised a hand he heard footsteps, and without even turning released a volley of energy bolts, forcing the bard to leap out of the way. It also gave him time to exert a measure of power and reach down into the earth itself.

For most demons opening the Hellmouth was a long, complicated process involving ritualistic sacrifices and a host of time-consuming rituals. But as tied as he was to the source of all evil in Sunnydale it was a simple matter for him to jar it open. Plumes of flame and gas erupted from the jagged crack in the ground, enfusing Dahak with raw power from the demon dimension. His eyes fluttered closed.

"I’ll give you all credit. You did your best. But it’s over now." Dahak spread his arms. "Once the Hellmouth has fully opened, this world ends. Nothing you do here matters anymore."

Gabrielle cartwheeled toward him and tried to kick him in the chest, but he slapped her foot away.

Dozens of thick, leathery tentacles rose from the Hellmouth behind him. They wrapped around Dahak arms and legs and waist and lifted the struggling demon off his feet. "OH REALLY?"

"I‘ve been waiting for you to open the door. I tried calling, but I didn‘t think you heard me."

Dreadericon was the third nearly omnipowerful entity who had shared the other dimensional prison with Dahak and Glorificus for so long. Dahak roared. "That’s the world this gateway opens into?"

"Release me! Don't you see? This is your chance to be free! Like me. We can purge this world of its filth and it will be made into our new paradise."

"Who are utterly obediant, unlike the insects of that world. I’d rather lord it over demons who worship me, than kill off everyone and everything and be the god of an empty, barren rock."

"If I allow you to do this, my peace and quiet will be shattered when our two realms merge. I think it is time for you to come home, Dahak. Back to where you belong!"

"Not really. I actually enjoyed our arguments. Now will you come willingly or do I have to force you? We both know I can. That’s one of the limitations of physicality."

Dahak struggled wildy and, in vain. Dreadericon dragged kicking and screaming down into the Hellmouth, and a pillar of flames signalled it's resealing.

Once everyone recovered they headed back to the Magic Box. Everyone except Spike, who grumbled he’d had enough heroics for one day and was going back to his crypt. Buffy, surprising everyone including herself and the vampire, hugged him and even whispered a thank you for his help.

Giles, Xander and Dawn were gathered around the table when they arrived. The Summers sisters embraced, and Buffy assured the others them the threat was over for real this time. Giles was both curious and disturbed to hear they had been ‘saved’ by another entity, and vowed to delve into researching ‘Dread’ just as soon as they finished dealing with their current problem. "It seems Anya has discovered something."

The ex-demon was sitting at the table, holding an ornate wooden box. "As I was listening to you all whine about time travel I was reminded of my orginal days as a vengeance demon, when I could..."

Anya pouted. "Fine. Spoil my moment of heroism. Everyone gets to have one." She patted the box. "I found this thing down in the basement after I started working here. I’d forgotten it was there until earlier today, and when I finally found it I came back up here and all of you were gone." She opened the box to reveal a large green crystal mounted on a golden base, covered in what appeared to be ancient writing.

"So, those are Greek letters, right?" Anya asked. The bard nodded. "I thought I recognized it. It’s been centuries since I’ve seen anything like this though."

"Don’t you remember the story Autolycus told us a couple of years ago? The one we both assumed was made up at the time?" Gabrielle asked. "That’s the Quallus crystal. Or it was called that while it was the property of a man named Quallus, anyway. The real name of it is the Kronos Stone."

"There’s no need for snacks," said Giles. "I already know the basic origin behind the Kronos Stone. It’s used as a particularly effective method of time travel if I’m not mistaken. But how did it come to be in our possession? I was under the impression it had disappeared from a private collection decades ago."

Anya shrugged her shoulders. "As far as I can tell it was in a shipment Bogarty ordered before he died. He’s the previous owner of the shop," she explained to Xena and Gabrielle. "I don’t know if whoever he bought it from stole it, or maybe it got stuck in there by accident. I noticed it downstairs a few months ago, I just hadn’t gotten around to bringing it up here and cataloguing it yet. I wonder what else is down there?"

"Iolaus mentioned it too," said Xena. She picked up the crystal. "So this little thing can get us home? How does it work, anyway?"

"There’s supposed to be an instruction manual," said Gabrielle. "According to Autolycus." She checked around and underneath the base but found nothing. "Then again this thing is thousands of years old. I doubt papyrus could have lasted that long anyway."

Willow put her arms around Tara. "This is great, you guys. As soon as we figure out how to make this thing work, you can go home. I wish I could see Greece too. There are so many people I’d like to meet, and places I’d love to go. Like Sappho. Do you know her?"

Gabrielle glanced at Xena, who averted her eyes. "Unfortunately, no. She doesn’t leave her island very often. I had a chance to meet her once, but I missed out."

"It’s cool that you know the Amazons," said Tara. "Cyrene. Ephiny. They’re great on the show."

"And in real life," said Gabrielle. "By the way, I wanted to thank you both. For helping us, and for what you did for me." She held out her hand, and Tara took it. "I’ve always wanted a chance to be the hero. Now I know a little bit more about how it feels to be you, Xena."

The bard clapped her friend on the shoulder with her free hand at the exact moment the warrior twisted the base of the Kronos Stone in just the right, or wrong, way and there was a flash of light. When they could see again the Scoobies were shocked to discover that Xena and Gabrielle were both gone, and so were Willow and Tara.

Iolaus was sitting alone by a campfire, roasting a rabbit for dinner. Hercules had gone to see his mother, while his friend remained behind to visit a friend who lived in the area. Only it turned out his friend wasn't home, so he planned to spend the night here and then go on to Athens.

The rabbit was just about ready. Iolaus heard a clap of what sounded like thunder and gazed skyward, thinking it might be about to rain. Instead he was knocked off the log he'd been sitting on by an outwardly expanding ring of green light. He clambered to his feet, a hand on his sword.

Xena and Gabrielle were back, but they weren't alone. Two other women stood with them. A pretty redhead and an even more beautiful blonde. Iolaus was too stunned to say anything.

Gabrielle shook her head. "Where...by the gods! Iolaus!" She rushed forward to embrace the warrior, who – now convinced he wasn't imagining things – hugged her back. "We're home!"

"Travel back through time?" Iolaus asked. "Afraid so. That's the Kronos stone, isn't it?"

Xena handed it to him. "That's right. You've had more recent experience with it, haven't you?"

"Long story," said Gabrielle. "We have to introduce you to somebody. Iolaus these are our new friends. Willow and Tara. Ladies, this is our old friend, Iolaus."

"Is that rabbit?" Gabrielle asked. Her mouth was practically watering. "I'm famished."

"Baby, we are thousands of years in the past," said Willow. "Shouldn't we figure out how to get home before we worry about eating?"

"I can help you with that," said Iolaus. He held up the Kronos stone. "I don't know exactly when you ladies came from, but with this thing you can return whenever you like. It's a piece of cake."

"That's the beauty of time travel. You can use the stone here to go back to seconds after you left. Whoever you left behind will barely know you're gone before you come back."

"I'm a fast learner. Okay, the truth is, after I used it the last time, I asked Hercules to tell me all about it. Just in case it ever happened again." Iolaus gestured for the women to sit down. "So please. Rest. Eat."

They did. After their hunger was sated Willow and Gabrielle filled Iolaus in. He was relieved to hear that Dahak had been defeated, and surprised that Xena had accidently set off the Kronos stone.

"Don't worry. When you're ready to go back, I'll show you how to use it the right way." Iolaus smiled, Gabrielle chuckled, and Xena just glared. "So, what now?"

"Baby, wait." Willow put a hand on her lover's. "I was thinking. Maybe we shouldn't be in such a rush to go home after all."

"Well, I'm not hungry anymore. And let's face it, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We're in Greece. If we go home now we'll miss our only chance to meet the Amazons, Sappho, even the Greek gods. I don't want to pass this up." Willow's face fell. "But, if you really want..."

They started to kiss then remembered they were in different company than usual. Tara's cheeks flushed and she lowered her head, while Willow's expression was more difficult to decipher.

Iolaus held up his hand. "Please. Don't mind us." He stood. "I'm going to get some more firewood."

"I'll go with you," said Xena. "I need to check on Argo. You did bring her with you, didn't you?"

Once they were gone, Gabrielle turned to the witches. "Can I ask the two of you something?"

"In your time you only seem comfortable with one another in private, or with friends. I noticed you acted more carefully in public. Doing little more than holding hands. Are you ashamed of your love?"

Willow tensed, her hand reflexively squeezing Tara's. "No!" The blonde stroked her cheek, and she sighed. "But, there are those in our time, our world, who hate those they consider different. People like Tara and I. We're seen by some as deviant, sinful, and there's often violence..."

Gabrielle nodded sadly. "I wish I could say it was different here. It is in a few places, like Corinth or Sparta, and of course among the Amazons. Sadly women who love women and men who love men are often frowned upon or shunned, but there is very little actual violence."

"Then maybe this really is a better world," said Tara. She kissed Willow's hand.

"Is that why you've never told Xena?" Willow asked. "How you feel about her, I mean."

Gabrielle stared into the fire for a moment, her cheeks reddening. "Am I really that transparent?"

"Only to anyone with eyes," said Tara. "Whose heart isn't blinded the same way. She loves you too I think."

Xena and Iolaus returned. "We'll camp here for the night," said the warrior princess. "Our pack's on Argo. In the morning we'll go into town and get you some more...appropriate clothing."

"Assuming you still want to stay," said Iolaus, throwing an armful wood down beside the fire.

They didn't have enough blankets to go around so Willow and Tara shared one, as did Xena and Gabrielle, while Iolaus curled up closer to the fire. He was the first one up the next morning, which came as something a surprise since Xena usually rose with the sun, and stoked the fire. He'd just returned from fishing for breakfast to find the warrior princess on her feet, sans armor.

"Yeah." Iolaus found himself staring for a moment at Willow and Tara, their bodies spooned together, arms and legs entertwined. "They're a really cute couple."

Iolaus put the fish down. "Come on. If I have to spell it out to you, then maybe I'm wrong."

Gabrielle woke next. She told the others she'd slept better that night than any in recent memory. "Guess beating Dahak finally lifted some weight off my shoulders."

"You didn't cook it, did you?" Gabrielle asked, biting her lip to keep from smiling.

It wasn't until the smell of roasted fish wafted through the clearing that Willow and Tara finally stirred. It was a still earlier than they were used to being up, however.

"No. Actually, I better get going. My friend Armus is expecting me." Iolaus finished packing and clasped a hand with Xena. "You know where we are if you need us, right?"

Iolaus clasped Gabrielle's hand too, then smiled at Willow and Tara. "Enjoy, ladies."

Xena and Gabrielle took the witches to the bazaar in Pylos to get some less conspicuous clothing. After all the clothes they were wearing were made of fabrics, and even exhibited types of colors, which would not exist in the world for thousands of years. This drew some unwanted attention from many of the passersby, but they generally backed off without saying a word after a glare or two from the warrior.

"What should I wear?" Tara asked. There weren't as many selections as she was used to, and many of the clothes were more revealing that she was comfortable with.

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders. "Anything you want. Don't worry. We have plenty of dinars."

"I wonder what the exchange rate is," Willow mused. "Between dollars and dinars?"

"While we're here you might want to think about getting some new weapons," Xena said to her partner.

Gabrielle nodded. "Good idea. We can go there after...if, they can ever make up their minds."

They did, in time. But what the bard and warrior didn't realize was that shopping had a very different meaning to Willow and Tara. The witches came from a place where they could wander through vast department stores, trying on a virtually endless variety of outfits before finally coming up with one they liked. Fashion and comfort were a key consideration, instead of clothing being more or less just a neccessity.

Tara had on a simple yet attractive azure peasent dress, while Willow chose a somewhat more daring two-piece brown leather outfit, similar to Gabrielle's only less revealing. One thing the did agree on were boots, in place of their equally noticeable tennis shoes. The redhead also carried a small pack with their clothes in it, as well as the Kronos stone, which she insisted on keeping with her.

"Mmmm...Willow-tummy." Tara playfully stroked her lover's enticingly bare midriff, smiling when the redhead trembled and her breathing grew heavier.

Xena cleared her throat. "Follow us. We're going to get Gabrielle some new weapons."

They rounded a corner and almost ran into a young, dark-haired woman in a really low cut white robe. Her eyes lit up as she saw the bard. "Excuse me. Gabrielle?"

"Oh no. I'm sorry. My name is Cyria. I'm one of the attendants at the goddess Aphrodite's temple, and I was sent to find you. My, she described you perfectly. The goddess wishes an audience."

"Yes." Cyria glanced at the others, wilting when she saw the look on Xena's face. "O-Of course your friends are welcome as well." She pointed. "The temple is this way." She bowed her head and started off, not waiting to see if they followed her or not.

"Don't let the pomp and circumstance fool you," said Gabrielle. "Dite's a pussy cat."

Cyria led them to the temple, bowing slightly to Gabrielle at the end and left, probably off to fulfill some other task for her goddess.

Inside were paintings, statues and tapestries bearing uncanny likenesses of the real Aphrodite, who unlike most of the other gods often appeared to her subjects in person. That brought her more offerings and praise from men and women alike, who came to her for a variety of love and sex related reasons.

"Is this really what she looks like?" Tara asked, examining an incredibly detailed, anatomically correct, and less than fully clothed, statue of the goddess.

A shower of golden sparks and the distinctive scent of roses heralded the arrival of a buxom, beautiful figure on the ivory throne in the middle of the room. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, barely wearing a slinky, negligee-like pink dress. "I get that all the time."

"You’re here aren’t you?" Aphrodite stood up. "I know you two. You wouldn’t have come back if the job wasn’t done. Besides, we can feel it. Everybody on Olympus is grateful."

"Willow and Tara. I know." Aphrodite giggled at the stunned expressions on the witches faces. "Don’t forget, I am a goddess." She snapped her fingers and an ornate wooden box appeared in her hands. "By the way Gabrielle, Heph asked me to give this to you. He’s just sorry he couldn’t deliver it himself."

Gabrielle took the box. "Hepheastus? What…" Inside sat a pair of gleaming silver sais. "By the gods…literally in this case. They’re incredible." Her eyes widened. "Wait, that metal. Is it…?"

"Heph’s special formula? Sure is. He noticed you came back without the ones he enchanted, so he stayed up all night making those just for you. They’re perfectly balanced and fitted to your hands." Aphrodite’s brow furrowed as she strove to remember something else Hepheastus had told her. "Oh, he made the box too. It’s red oak. From Poteadia, if I’m not mistaken."

Gabrielle stroke the outside of the box, then put it down and took out the sais. "Amazing. They feel almost like they’re alive. Can you thank Hepheastus for me?"

Aphrodite frowned. "What, can’t a goddess just say hi?" The warrior arched an eyebrow, and she sighed. "Okay. So I also wanted to meet the other time travelers. Red and blondie's being in town has half of Olympus more than a little concerned."

"No, but you are major players in your world, and that apparently means something. I even overheard somebody saying you were…nex, umm…nex-something."

"A nexus is a focal point for magic," Willow replied. "Lots of things both good and bad seem to happen around nexi. Being one means you’re often in trouble, and if you go somewhere you bring it with you. So, we’re nexi, on top of a Hellmouth at home?"

"Finish each other’s sentences." The goddess shrugged, making her breasts bounce slightly. "I guess that’s what happens when you share a soul though. Like me and Heph."

Tara bit her lip. "Goddess." She glanced at Aphrodite. "Sorry. I didn't mean..."

"If we really are nexi, we shouldn't stay here. Our presence may disrupt the whole space time continuum. There is a chance we could alter the past, and ruin our future."

"Freaky," said Aphrodite. "That is exactly what my sister Athena said." She shook her head. "But the Fates said it was no big deal. Only they used a lot more words. They said you being here now was meant to happen. You're not outside of time or the hands of fate. You're right where they intended you to be."

"Would I lie to someone with such great taste in gods?" Aphrodite giggled at Tara's rising blush.

"Relax kid." Aphrodite disappeared, only to rematerialize an instant later right beside Willow. "I know true love when I see it. I'm not trying to get in the way. You two have something a lot of people in this world will never get to experience. And believe me not for my lack of trying. Some people fight it, waste it, abuse it..." She glanced at Xena and Gabrielle. "...or are just too clueless to see what's right before their eyes! Enjoy one another while you can. Life's way too short. For you guys at least. Toodles."

Xena and Gabrielle showed the witches around Pylos, then they all decided to travel to Amphipolis to meet the warrior's mother. She was surprised to hear they were from the future, but given everything she had been through over the years took the whole situation remarkably in stride. Later in the evening the quartet returned from a tour of Amphipolis, and Cyrene made them dinner and prepared a pair of rooms.

Tara nodded. "Actually, we were wondering if you could take us to meet the Amazons?"

Gabrielle bit her lip and glanced at Xena, who sighed. "I don't think Ephiny or her tribe are really up for visitors right now. She lost some good friends in the fight against Dahak."

"We could always go see Yakut's tribe," Gabrielle suggested. "It's been a while since we left Amarice with them anyway. I'm kind of curious to see how she's doing."

"That's not a bad idea," said Xena. "They follow animal migrations. This time of year the tribe shouldn't be more than a day or two away from us. We could leave first thing in the morning."

"It's settled then. After dinner you and I can get some supplies, Xena. We'll need horses."

"Calm down, sweety." Tara squeezed her lover's hand, smiling at the look on Xena and Gabrielle's faces. "Will's got this thing about horses. She's convinced they eat arms."

"Not all of them," the redhead insisted. "But when I was little I had this bad birthday pony that..."

"You don't have to worry," said Gabrielle. "Horses don't like arm, as a rule. Though, come to think of it, there is that warlord in Mythia that Argo took a bite out of. What was his name?"

Tara shook her head. "Would you two stop? You're going to give her a heart attack."

Willow's eyes sparkled. "I don't know about anybody else, but I'm a breast gal."

After dinner the witches went to their room to get ready for bed – after all they'd done more walking in this one day than they usually did in a week in Sunnydale – while Xena and Gabrielle, who had the room next to theirs, said they were going to stay up for a while and talk to Cyrene.

Tara pulled on the sleeping tunic she had picked up at the Pylos bazaar. It reminded her of a burlap sack but was still the most comfortable one she'd found. "What do you think?"

"About what?" The redhead, standing on the other side of the bed, hadn't been able to find anything she liked and elected to sleep in the nude. She was washing her face in a bowl of water.

"Hideous." Tara sighed. "I know." She pulled the tunic off. "Forget it. Who needs clothes anyway?"

On the other side of the unfortunately thin wall, Xena rolled her eyes as the moaning started. "How long do you suppose they can keep that up?"

Gabrielle, who was retreiving a scroll from her pack to show Cyrene, shrugged. "I remember a night, back when I was the Amazon Queen, that Eponin and Solari kept eachother screaming for hours. Then again the Amazons do have a thing for marathons. Megara once told me..."

"I really don't need to hear it," said Xena. "But thanks anyway. I'm gonna go take a bath." Her ears recognized the next throaty sound as Tara's, which surprised her. She hadn't imagined the blonde being be quite so vocal. "Maybe a cold one." She stripped off her armor.

Gabrielle held her breath as Willow's voice joined Tara's. "Maybe I'll join you."

Tara and Willow walked into the tavern the next morning to find Cyrene by herself.

"Where are Xena and Gabrielle?" Tara asked. "We knocked on their door but no one answered."

"Gabrielle is buying supplies for your journey and Xena is seeing to the horses. They told me to tell you they'll be at the stables when you're ready to leave." She glanced over shoulder. "Excuse me." She turned and walked into the kitchen. "Have a seat. Breakfast will be in a few minutes."

"Sugar bread." A man was glaring at them from a corner table. He was all in black, from his hair and beard to his arm baring leathers. "I hear it's quite good."

Willow frowned. He hadn't been there a moment ago, she was sure of it. "Where'd you come from?"

Tara sensed an old, powerful kind of magic around the man, and menace was coming off him in waves. It was an awful lot like what she remembered feeling from Glory. "Will, be careful."

"Oh yes Will, do be careful." He stood up. "You wouldn't want to accidently set this place on fire or anything. It is within your power to do that, isn't it?" He walked in slow circles around the redhead, who shuddered as she felt his eyes roaming all over her body. "You have great potential, witch."

Something about the man made Tara's skin crawl. He was doing something mystical, she was sure of it, she just wasn't sure what. She suddenly felt very nervous though. "L-Leave her alone!"

He turned his head, slowly, and smirked at her. "Or what? Do you have any idea who I am, little girl?"

Willow opened her mouth as if to speak, but he silenced her with a gesture. She lowered her head. "Your power is impressive, for a mortal, but it's nothing compared to mine."

Tara's eyes widened. Now she understood. His aura was so strong, she had barely been able to visualize it in the first place. It was nearly identical to Aphrodite's, and to a lesser extent Glory's and Dahak's. Now that she looked more closely she realized he reminded her of someone from the show. "Ares."

The god of war smiled. "Very good. I was wondering if you were going to figure it out."

Ares sighed. "This has nothing to do with you. I'm here for the redhead." He turned back to Willow. "With your potential and my training, we could rule this world."

"Say, isn’t that the same line you used on my daughter?" Cyrene was standing in the kitchen door, holding a tray of bread and a pitcher of what appeared to be juice.

Ares shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, when it works." Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Tara trying to sneak close enough to Willow to get her away from him. "Oh no you don’t." He brought his hand up and a pulse of light sent Tara flying across the room.

Cyrene's heart skipped a beat. She dropped breakfast and looked around for a weapon, although she knew it was all but pointless to try and fight the god of war.

Willow shuddered. Tara’s scream was like a dagger in her heart, and all at once her mind began to clear. Energy swirled behind her eyes as she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"That’s it." Ares smiled. "Get angry. Let out your fire. Come on! I want to see it all!"

Across the room Tara, with a bloody lip and a pounding head, sat up. Even from this far away she could feel the power building within Willow, and she knew if her lover let it all out at once she might seriously hurt herself, or everyone around her. So the blonde pointed a hand at Ares. "Thicken!"

Ares felt the air solidifying around his body. It exerted an odd, uncomfortable pressure but did little to actually impede his movements. He turned. "What is this supposed to be?"

"Flagrare!" Tara willed the air encircling Ares to burst into flames, engulfing the wide-eyed god of war. She let her hand slump to the floor and sighed. Her headache was worse now.

Ares strode out of the fire, completely unharmed. "It seems I may have underestimated you, little girl. That was refreshing." He smirked and the flames gathered into a ball he held in his outstretched hand. "Of course, now I’m going to have to punish you."

Willow saw the fear in Tara’s eyes and the expression on Ares' face. She knew he was serious. He was going to do something horrible to the woman she loved. "No."

Ares laughed. "Let me? Kid, don’t you get it yet? I’m a god. You can’t stop me. You can’t even hurt me."

Willow grabbed his arm. "Watch me." She put every ounce of power she could muster into one final, desperate spell. One she had promised Tara she would never do alone again. "Discane!"

Disbelief colored Ares’ face as he disappeared in a flash of light not his own.

Cyrene got to her first. She glanced off her shoulder as Tara crawled to her lover’s side. "She’s alive. Whatever she did must have taken a lot out of her."

Ares rematerialized on Mount Olympus, in his throne room, his leathers still smoldering.

Willow's spell had sent him into the heart of a semi-dormant volcano, and his efforts to extricate himself from the lava had caused it to erupt. Not that he was particularly concerned with the people in the village below, called Pompei if he was not mistaken, as he considered going after Willow.

But revenge could wait. He had what he needed. He knew what the redhead was capable of, and there were more important things he needed to be doing. Before sitting down, he checked to make sure Strife was still sharpening swords in the next room. He was being punished for his failure to ignite a war between two villages that Ares had intended to bring him many sacrifices and lots of work for Hades.

Willow woke with a start, scared and confused, and when her mind finally cleared her first thought was of Tara, and the fact she had last seen her with the god of war. She sat up, gasping, and looked around to find she was back in their room in Cyrene's tavern. She was also by herself.

A shape moved in the darkness by the door. Whoever it was moved out of the shadows and swept open a curtain to let the moonlight in.

"You've been asleep all day, and she refused to leave your side until Xena physically made her get something to eat. She's exhausted too." Gabrielle sat down on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?"

"From what I hear you stood up to Ares. I've gotta say, that's impressive. The first time I ever met him in person I thought I was going to pass out."

Willow sighed. "Great. We just got rid of Dahak, and now we have to deal with Ares."

Willow followed Gabrielle out to the tavern, where she was practically tackled by Tara, hugging and kissing her in spite of all the eyes upon them. "Goddess. I was so worried."

Tara shook her head. "I didn't try to teleport a god all by myself. That was incredibly dangerous Will. You could have been very badly hurt. Why did you do that?"

"I couldn't stand by and let another god hurt you, baby. Not after Glory. What's a little headache?"

"I love you too." Willow put a hand to her forehead. "But I don't think it's up to me. Ares..."

To her right stood Iolaus and a tall, brown-haired man in a yellow tunic. The big man nodded. "He's not going to be bothering you guys anymore."

Iolaus gestured. "Ladies, this is my best friend, Hercules. Herc, Willow and Tara."

"Xena got Dite to fill me in on what Ares did," said Hercules. "I petitioned Zeus on your behalf."

"Consider it the Olympian version of a restraining order," said Tara. "Ares won't be able to come anywhere near us as long as we're here."

Iolaus rubbed his hands together. "Now, who's for roast quail? I caught it myself."

"If you're interested in meeting the Amazons," Hercules said after dinner. "I can ask Artemis to find out exactly where they are. She keeps an eye on all of the tribes."

Willow put her hand on Tara's and squeezed it lightly. "Actually, we were just talking about that. If it's okay with you Xena, we'd rather go and see Sappho."

Gabrielle smiled. "Me too. I've never met her, but Xena once got her to write a poem for me." She turned to the warrior. "Can we?"

"I don't know. She rarely leaves her island, so we'd have to go to her. Which means we'd need a ship."

"You should go to Amphion," Hercules suggested. "They have the best deals in the area."

Iolaus smiled. "Yeah. Especially at...well, check out ALL-SHIP's. It's a used boat dealer, and the guy who runs it is somebody you've just gotta meet."

"We can't anyway," said Hercules. "Just before I came here I got a message from my brother Iphicles. It said his kingdom has been having a problem with raiders, and his forces are spread kind of thin. He's asked Iolaus and I to lend him a hand. Sounds like fun, huh?"

Iolaus nodded. "Hey, if you want, you could come with us Xena. We may need the help. Iphicles messenge said these guys are pretty tough. And three heads are better than two."

Xena glanced at Gabrielle, who shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like we'll need an extra warrior on Lesbos. The island is supposed to be pretty peaceful from what I understand."

"Okay. I'll come with you, Hercules. But I'll also catch up as soon as I can, Gabrielle."

"Amphion is about a days ride east of here," said the bard. "Maybe two if we don't ride very hard." She patted her horses' mane. "You do know how to ride, don't you?"

Willow looked shocked, putting a hand to her chest in an overdramatic pose. "Says who?" She wilted at the look on her girlfriend's face. "Okay, so, maybe a little. I had this bad birthday pony experience when I was younger, but I've been assured that most horses do not like arm, very much."

Gabrielle shook her head. "You'll be fine." She climbed into the saddle. "Xena's horse, Argo, is so tall. She used to scared me death whenever I had to get on her. But the fact of the matter is we need them to get around, and the breed as a whole are really very gentle, good-natured creatures, most of the time."

Tara climbed into the saddle of a coal black mare. "Come on, Will. It'll be okay. Trust me."

"You I trust." Willow got about halfway up the side of a bronze-furred mare, then it shuddered and whinnied and she lost her nerve. "Her, I'm not so sure about."

This seemed to make up Willow's mind for her. She put her hand in Tara's and allowed herself to be half-pulled into the saddle, where she immediately wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist. She snuggled close to the blonde and sighed. "Mmm...this is nice."

"Now don't go getting any ideas." Though Tara couldn't help getting a few of her own as Willow's fingers lightly grazed her abdomen. "You vixen."

They rode until dusk, at which time Gabrielle decided they should make camp for the night since they were not yet at Amphion. The bard suggested the witches gather kindling while she dug a firepit then she would show them how to cool down the horses and make camp. What she did not tell them, was she had another reason for sending them off alone.

Gabrielle knew from personal experience that riding horses all day could make some women, herself included, very aroused. More than once she had to get away from Xena and if possible go bath in the nearest cold river, for it drove her crazy to be turned on and so close to the women she loved and not be able to touch her. She had seen how the witches were all over each other when they got off the horse, so she wasn't surprised to hear a chorus of cries and moans from off in the woods a few minutes later.

They were up at dawn the next morning, and Willow was slightly less irritable than usual because of it. Within a couple of hours they were riding into Amphion.

After stabling the horses they set out in search of ALL-SHIPS, the place Iolaus had told them about. It was, not surprisingly, on the docks. But Gabrielle was a little surprised by the proprietor.

The balding, bearded man in a brightly colored toga turned. "Gabrielle!!" He motioned a young man to take over and came to hug the bard. "What are you doing here? Where's Xena?"

"In Corinth. She should be behind us in a couple of days or so. I'm here because I need a ship to take my friends to meet Sappho." Gabrielle gestured. "This is Willow, and Tara."

Salmoneous bowed as much as he was able. "A pleasure to be in the company of so many beautiful women." He rubbed his hands together. "Now, Lesbos you say? I don't have any ships scheduled to go there, but I can probably arrange for a special deal on of my..."

"We are!" Salmoneous motioned around. "But in case you hadn't noticed this is a business, and a very profitable one at that. What kind of an entrepreneur would I be if I gave away my best ships to my friends?"

"Oh, a recommendation from the son of Zeus brought you here, eh?" Several eyes turned his way. "That changes everything." Salmoneous lowered his voice. "I promised Hercules that if he sent me business I'd owe him a favor. This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but I guess beggars can't be choosers."

"Sure, but it's not just a ship you understand. I'll also have to supply a crew, unless of course you plan to row all the way to Lesbos." Salmoneous chewed on his lower lip as he worked some calculations out in his head. "Now, I do have a small cargo ship off the line that's due for repainting. If I divert it to Lesbos, then back here, I'll only be off schedule two or three days. More if they have to take Xena too later. It won't be the most comfortable ride in the world but it'll get you where you want to go."

It turned out it was going to take a couple of hours to get the ship ready, and arrange for a crew, so Salmoneous offered to give the trio a tour of the city from Salmoneous. He let them through some of what he called 'Official Sites of Historic Significance', viewings of which he apparently planned to sell tickets for at some later date, and upon finding out Willow and Tara were together tried more than once to sell the couple parcels of land and a fish market stand he assured them was a guaranteed cash flow opportunity.

"I love this town. I'd move here if the rent wasn't so outrageous." Once the ship was ready Salmoneous stood on the dock and waved good-bye, until he probably thought they were out of earshot, at which point he turned to one of his associates. "Remember what I said. No autographs when Xena gets here. Scribes only. But I doubt she'll be in a mood to give interviews. This is what I want you to do..."

Gabrielle shook her head. "Amazing. That man never gives up. Only this time he's going to be risking the life of some poor, unsuspecting writer. The last scribe who tried to interview talk to Xena? Well...let's just say he asked one personal question too many."

"As I understand it he wasn't able to use one of his hands for a couple of weeks, and I think they're still trying to find his quill." Gabrielle laughed as both witches smiled. "Seriously though. Salmoneous may be a money hungry, conniving, greedy little miser, but besides that he's a sweet guy." This time Willow and Tara laughed. "Oh. But the truth is, Greece would be a much less interesting place without him."

Some time into the journey, which the captain assured them would take less than a day if the weather held, Tara came out on deck in search of Gabrielle, who hadn't been in her room. Willow was in theirs, studying the Kronos stone. She found the bard leaning over the rail, vomiting. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." Gabrielle groaned. She looked ill. "By the gods, I'd forgotten just how much the ocean and I do not get along." She retched again, but nothing came out this time.

Tara put a hand on the bard's back to steady her. "Goddess. Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's kind of embarressing." Gabrielle poked at her wrist. "This pressure point Xena showed me usually does the trick, but there seems to be more rocking motion than usual, so it's not..." She flung herself halfway over the side of the ship again, so much so Tara had to grab her legs because it really looked like she was going to fall into the water for a moment or too. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Tara studied the bard's aura. It was far more fragmented than normal, and she was pretty sure she knew why. "You're worried about her, aren't you?"

"That is what's really bothering you. You can't concentrate on keeping yourself from feeling sick, because your mind is elsewhere. You're wondering how Xena is."

Gabrielle shook her head. "Are you crazy? Xena fights gods and wins. Plus she has Hercules with her. I'm sure I don't have to worry about a bunch of no-account raiders."

"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it. You're not wondering if Xena's okay, in terms of whether or not she's in danger. You're wondering how she's doing without you. You guys are a team. No, more than that. You are soulmates, like Will and I. Whether the relationship is romantic or not you feel like she belongs with you, or failing that, you belong with her. You wanna be fighting by her side. I get that."

Tara nodded. "Early on, before Will and I officially started dating and she started taking me on patrols, I used to wonder what the Scooby life was like. Truth be told I felt a little jealous really, because there was this whole part of her life that I didn't belong in, and I really wanted to. I told her differently, of course, I didn't want to make her feel bad or anything like that, but I was envious of her and Buffy."

Tara's eyes widened. "Oh! No. That's not what I, no. Goddess no. Buffy's so straight she could give a ruler some pointers. No, what I meant, is that she and Will have known each other for years. They were best friends, who had repeatedly risked their lives for one another. I'd never had anything like that. I'd never imagined anything like that before...before Willow and I...she changed my life."

Gabrielle nodded. "That I understand. I'll never forget the day Xena and I met outside Poteadia. Honestly I think a part of me was in love with her from the first time I saw her. I just didn't realize it for a long time. In between, I got kind of distracted. Talus. Iolaus. And poor Perdicus." She sighed. "Through it all, the many, many fights, Ares, Dahak, the Persians, Xena has always been there."

"I don't know. Like I said before, I guess I was scared. Seeing the two of you together though, it makes me think I've been a fool to stay silent all these years."

The two women started to embrace, only to be knocked away from one another by the ship lurching first to one side and then the other. The water around the ship began to bubble and churn as a towering figure rose. A bearded man wearing a crown and carrying a trident, all formed from the sea itself.

The captain ordered his men to throw down the anchor, then he and his crew retreated below deck. Though they were, as a whole, a hardy lot, sailors did not want to encounter their patron god "in the flesh" so to speak. It was a terribly bad omen they all preferred to avoid.

Gabrielle hesitated. If Poseidon was plotting something against the ship believing Xena was aboard might make him reconsider. On the other hand if he found out she was lying he would probably end up angrier than he clearly already was. She decided to play things more cautiously. "No."

"What can we do for you Poseidon?" Gabrielle tried not to sound or act as scared as she felt. Poseidon was one of the elder Olympians, whose power was said to rival that of Zeus himself, and if he chose to attack their vessel there wasn't much any of them could do to stop him.

"W-What d-do you want?" Tara asked. She held her breath, fearing the god's answer.

"The one with you. My nephew Ares came to me claiming he had been disgraced by this...Willow, and asked me to seek a measure of revenge on his behalf."

Poseidon stared at her. "I haven't decided yet. Bring her forth. I would see the witch."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," said Gabrielle. "Willow is under my protection, and that of Xena."

"I bear neither you nor the warrior princess any enmity, little bard. Even if it was she who interfered in so many of my affairs. But I cannot have you standing in my way either. Harm will come to more than just the witch if she is not brought before me. This entire vessel rests in my embrace, don't forget."

"Leave them alone." Willow was standing in the cabin door. "I'm the one you want."

Poseidon stared at Willow for a moment, and then began to chuckle. "This slip of a girl ousted my nephew? His shame is great indeed. I had thought you some magnificent sorceress."

"On the contrary. I find this whole thing amusing. I should have known something was amiss when Ares came to me for aid, instead of his mother or one of his siblings. I'd assumed it was just because you were traveling across my domain. Now, I see he believed the others would think him weak, and he hoped I would act to crush you under my thumb without stopping to question the validity of his claims."

Tara put an arm around Willow, who she was proud to see was staring up at the god with no fear showing on her face. "So, what does this mean?"

"I see no reason to destroy a boatload of my loyal worshippers just because my arrogant nephew holds a grudge against one little witch. You have nothing to fear from the sea." Poseidon sank back into the waves, but his words continued to echo around them. "In fact, because I have delayed your journey..." A particularly big wave swept the ship up and carried it forward at an incredible pace.

Thanks to Poseidon they got to Lesbos in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. It was still early in the afternoon when they sailed into the harbor. Standing out on the deck the bard and the witches noticed they, or the ship at least, already had a welcoming committee.

Two tanned and muscular, dark-haired men wearing what amounted to leather loincloths standing on either side of a scantily dressed blonde woman. The men clutched spears in their hands, and the women held a leather-bound book under one arm.

"Thank you," said the bard, who was first off the ship. "My name is Gabrielle. These are my friends, Willow and Tara."

Alisia bowed. "My mistress bids you welcome. She would have come herself but there are matters she needs to attend to elsewhere on the island."

"We understand," said Tara. "She is here though, right? We will get to meet her?"

"Of course. Sappho makes an effort to ascertain everyone who visits her retreat enjoys themselves. She will, in the days to come, hold poetry workshops and readings, an art display and, I believe, modeling classes. If the daily schedule does not appeal to you, we can help you come up with your own." Alisia gestured. "Now, please...follow me. I'll show you to your rooms. There is food and drink, and baths are being prepared."

Tara's eyes lit up. "A bath? Thank the Goddess. I've been feeling so gritty for the last several days."

"Stay here long enough and you'll get used to that," said Gabrielle. "It comes with being on the road." She shook her head. "I just wish Xena was here. I have a hard time reaching my own back."

Alisia directed them to one of the three largest structures they could see on the island. "Forgive me if I've read this wrong, but I pride myself on being an observant and forthright person so...am I correct in thinking the two of you will only require a room with one bed?" Her question was directed at Willow and Tara.

"I have a friend coming later. We, umm..." The bard's gaze was caught by Tara, who nodded. "...no. Just one. Bed, I mean. One bed will be fine."

Alisia smiled. "Of course." She motioned to two doors. "These are some of our finest rooms. I'm sure you'll all be pleased with the accommodations but if you aren't just let me know." She opened the book she'd been carrying and pulled a quill out from behind her left ear. "If you would please just sign this registry? Sappho likes to keep a record of her guests."

Gabrielle and Tara signed first. Willow stopped with the quill an inch or so above the papyrus, and then brought it up to her face. "Wait. How does this work? I didn't see you dip it in any ink."

"That quill was a gift to Sappho from one of the Muses," Alisia replied. "It requires no external ink, and will not dry out, need to be cleaned, or have it's tip replaced. It's quite extraordinary, really." Willow signed her name just below Tara's. "Excellent. I'll leave you to your preparations." She turned to walk away, but stopped. "The baths are down the hall and to the right, when you're ready, but I should warn you. They are communal. In fact there is little division of the sexes on the island. Men and women share in the work, in the activities, and in their freedoms. All pleasures will be accommodated, within reason of course, and public displays of affection are encouraged. Don't be shocked or surprised if you come across someone making love by a fountain or on the beach, even during one of the poetry readings. Sappho has been known to bring that out in people."

Willow smiled as they opened the door to their room. "I think I'm going to like this place."

"You would," said Gabrielle. She chuckled as Tara blushed. "See you guys later." She closed the door behind her and dropped her pack on the bed. It occured to her that this would be the longest period of time she and Xena had been apart in years. It scared her to realize how much she missed her friend.

By the door Gabrielle found a robe and put it on. In the bath-room were four large wooden tubs; two empty and two filled with steaming water. The bard was a bit surprised to be the first one there as she let the robe fall to the floor and slid into the water with a long sigh. "Gods. That feels so good." She and Xena rarely got a chance to just sit back and relax like this, and she intended to enjoy every moment of it. She lay back against the side of the tub, closed her eyes and let her mind drift away. Soon, she dozed off.

Gabrielle was awakened by the creaking of the door. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Willow and Tara. It was some other woman, however, one she didn't recognize. Though, upon closer inspection, the bard realized the woman had a passing resemblance to Xena. Her hair was long and black and she was tall and atheletic, but she did not have the same distant, sad look in her eyes she had often noticed on the warrior.

The newcomer let her blue robe fall to the floor, revealing a magnificently toned nude body. "Forgive me if my brazenness, or my nudity, offends you. But it is my island, after all."

The woman nodded and smiled. "I'd heard we had new guests on the island, and I needed a bath anyway, so if you don't mind..." She climbed into the tub with Gabrielle. "Am I bothering you?"

"No. Surprising, is more like it. Like you said, it is your island." The bard looked around. "Just out of curiousity though, why didn't you get into the other one?"

"I also understand that my other guests are a couple, and I assumed they'd want the tub to themselves."

"You're probably right." Gabrielle held out her hand. "By the way, my name is..."

"...Gabrielle," said the woman. "I know. I make it a point to know everything I can about everyone who comes to my island." She gazed quite openly at the bard's breasts as her movement lifted them briefly from the water. "As a matter of fact, I think I've heard of you. You're a bard, aren't you?"

"Would it possible for you to grace us with a reading of some of your scrolls before you leave?"

"Of course. I'd be happy to. I brought some along just in case." Gabrielle couldn't help staring at the woman, and not just because she was so beautiful – though there was no denying that. She was breathing more heavily, and her thought were getting more and more unfocused by the moment.

Sappho brought her hand up and cupped the bard's cheek. "You certainly are a beautiful woman. I'm beginning to understand what the warrior princess sees in you."

Gabrielle opened her lips to speak, only no sound came out at first. "Oh. You...know Xena?"

"Let's not talk about her right now." Sappho grabbed Gabrielle and kissed her with a hunger that the bard eagerly returned. They put their arms around one another, and the bard moaned.

That was when Willow and Tara walked in. The witches were holding hands and wearing robes liked Gabrielle's, and had been in the middle of a conversation when they stopped in their tracks.

Tara blushed. "Oh, s-sorry." As the woman with Gabrielle turned the blonde was struck by the surging energy of her aura. She'd seen it before, in fact, in Ares and Aphrodite. "Wait. Who are you?"

Willow recognized the face on Tara's face. She was sensing something. "What is it?"

Sappho sighed. "See, this is why I don't like dealing with witches. You're so damn perceptive." She stood up and put her hands on her naked hips as she transformed into a smaller, raven-haired woman.

Willow and Tara had no way of recognizing her, of course, but Gabrielle scrambled to the other side of the tub, though she didn't bother to cover herself. "Discord!"

The goddess shrugged her shoulders. "I gotta give you credit, Gabs. You're a pretty good kisser." Winking at the bard, she then sneered at Tara and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Discord. I'm guessing Ares sent her." Gabrielle frowned. "And I'm fine. I think."

"Who, Ares? Not likely. Being able to hold a grudge kind of comes with being immortal."

"But it looked like, why was she trying to seduce you?" Willow asked. "I thought Ares was after me?"

Discord rematerialized, fully clothed, on Mount Olympus, only to be thrown across the room by a sizzling bolt of lightning. She tumbled head over heels and finally slid to a stop against the far wall, looking up dizzily to see a very angry-looking Ares stalking toward her.

"You stupid, insolent little tramp!" The god of war gestured, and Discord was levitated, upside-down, in front of him. "What did you think you were doing? I didn't tell you to get frisky with the bard. I sent you there to get close to the witch!"

"I'll bet." Ares turned and sat down on his throne, letting Discord fall to the floor. Strife was off in a corner, his face red from laughing. "You blew it, you know. They'll be on-guard from now on." He shook his head. "You had a golden opportunity. I only wanted you to separate the witches, so the redhead would be more vulnerable. For all I cared you could have played with the witch all you wanted."

"Like I said, they'll be on-guard. The game is over." Ares sighed. "I've got better things to do anyway."

Strife got up and came over to the throne. "Yeah Unc, there's the thing in Thrace with..." Discord threw a ball of fire that knocked him head over heels. "What'd you do that for?"

Ares threw another lightning bolt. Discord went flying across the room again. The war god laughed.

"Guess that makes him nobody," Strife mumbled. He squealed as he was zapped too.

Gabrielle refused to talk about what had happened with Discord, insisting that Willow and Tara get into the bath they had come for instead. After a few minutes of soaking in silence the two witches opened their eyes, and Tara looked over at Gabrielle, who was staring up at the ceiling.

"No," said the blonde. "It's not about that. These baths...how is the water staying hot?"

"In our time we have hot and cold running water indoors. It's easy to add more when you need it. But you need a fire somewhere, and someone bringing in fresh hot water, don't you?"

Gabrielle touched the water. She had been in it was some time and it was just as hot as ever, but she hadn't even realized it. "Usually."

Tara nodded. "After we're done. Goddess, these feels so good." She leaned against Willow, and the two of them closed their eyes again.

Gabrielle stared sadly at them. She tried once again to focus on Xena, but her thought invariably drifted back to Discord, and what the goddesses lips felt like upon her own. The intimacy of their bare breasts pressing together was burned into her memory. She suppressed a shudder.

Alisia was waiting when in the corridor when they finally emerged. "Hello. Did you enjoy your baths?"

"But I have a question," Willow added. "The baths...how does the water stay hot?"

"Sappho has earned favors with more on Olympus than just the Muses. While I do not pretend to understand the technical workings, I believe the baths were designed by Hephaestus."

"Oh yes. Sappho is the most highly respected bard in Greece." Alisia smiled. "Speaking of, she is ready to meet you all. At your convenience of course."

Gabrielle perked up. "Really?" She couldn't put Discord completely out of her mind, but the thought of meeting a woman who had been an idol of hers since childhood took focus away from the goddess.

"I will show you to her chambers, though I presume you all wish to dress first. I took the liberty of having some new clothes set out for you all. As we speak what you were wearing when you arrived is being washed and will be set back into your rooms so you wear it again as soon as possible."

"This place is like a resort," Willow said, back in their room. "We should bring Buffy here."

"What do you mean?" Willow finished putting on one of the light gray gowns they'd found on the bed.

Tara had on the other one. "If there wasn't something for her to slay she'd go out of her mind."

"She's not that bad...all of the time." Willow sighed as her lover arched an eyebrow. "Okay. Maybe Buffy is a bit intense. But it kind of comes with the territory, you know?"

"I do. And Will, I'm not trying to speak ill of her. I love Buffy just as much as you do. But let's face it. She does not have much of a life outside of the vampire hunting business."

Willow nodded. "It's hard. Having to balance being the Slayer with big sister and mother to Dawn. Without Mrs. Summers...frankly, I think it's a wonder she's doing as well as she is."

"I agree. We should definitely do something for her when we get back to Sunnydale."

Something occured to Willow. She started looking around the room. "Alisia said our clothes are being cleaned, right?" Tara nodded. "I left the Kronos Stone in one of the pockets."

"Goddess." The blonde started searching too. Pretty soon they had turned the room upside down, and still found no sign of the green crystal. "You don't think she stole it, do you?"

"Probably not," said Willow. "But she may not have noticed it when she was bundling everything up. We have to make sure whoever's doing the cleaning doesn't just throw it away."

They almost ran into Gabrielle on the way out of their room. The bard also had on a gown. "Wow. We look like we're...what's the matter?" They told her about the Stone. "Let's find Alisia."

The hostess was waiting for them in the main entry room. "Ladies. Ready to meet Sappho?"

"Not yet," said Willow. "We...okay, I kind of left something really valuable in our clothes, and we need to make sure we get it back. It's a green crystal, about this big?"

"I didn't notice any crystal," Alisia replied. "But don't worry. Out people always check pockets and pouches. The artifact in question will be found and set aside, I assure you."

"We don't mean to be a bother," said Tara. "But it's very important we get it back as soon as possible."

"Of course. I will go to our wash room and retreive it, then bring it to you personally," said Alisia. "Just as soon as I have delivered you to Sappho, as per my previous orders."

As they followed, Tara couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something was wrong. She wasn't sure if she was just understandably worried about getting home or whether there was something Alisia was not telling them, but she put her hand in Willow's and kept an eye out, just in case.

Alisia led them to the end of a long corridor lined with tapestries, where a set of huge, ornately carved wooden doors swung open on their own as they approached.

"Another gift from Hepheastus?" Tara asked. Alisia nodded. "They must be very close."

"They're just friends actually. Some years ago Hepheastus was having a problem with his wife, Aphrodite. So he appealed to Sappho and in the end she agreed to write a love poem on his behalf."

"As I understand it, the two of them weren't seen outside Aphrodite's chambers for days."

"Alisia," a woman's voice said from the inner room. "Are you telling stories about me again?"

"Only truths, mistress." Alisia gestured. "Ladies, I present the Muse on Earth. Sappho."

The woman leaning against a large wooden desk looked exactly like the one Discord had been pretending to be, only she was wearing a long gray toga that bared her left shoulder. "Alisia I have asked you, time and again, not to make such a big production out of my introduction."

Sappho shook her head and chuckled. "Would you please stop asking like you're my servant? How long have we known one another?"

Alisia smiled. "Fifteen years. Give or take. And I just like to be respectful, at least in public."

"No, you like to show off." Sappho sighed. "Give me some time alone with my guests, would you?"

"Of course." Alisia bowed, winked, then turned and left. The doors closed behind her.

Sappho shrugged her shoulders. "Please forgive her exuberance. She tends to be a little melodramatic, but gods help me, I honestly don't know what I'd do without out."

"Sappho," said Gabrielle. "It's so good to meet you." She held out her arm. "My name is Gabrielle."

"Yes, I know." The elder bard clasped her arm. "During the brief time we spoke Xena couldn't stop talking about you. Until now, I had presumed she was exaggerating..." She looked Gabrielle up and down in a way that made her blush. "...but you are one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen."

Sappho turned to Willow and Tara and clasped her hands behind her back. "No offense meant, ladies. I know the two of you are in a relationship already, and I presumed neither would appreciate my leering over the other." Her eyes roamed over both of them quite openly. "Though, I must admit, it is quite difficult."

"I wanted to thank you," said Gabrielle. "For that poem you wrote me. It was so wonderful."

"You're very welcome." Sappho walked around the desk and sat down. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I must say, Xena didn't seem to know what to make of it." She gestured for them to have a seat as well.

"I gathered." Sappho steepled her fingers. "Are you enjoying your stay on Lesbos so far?"

"It's a beautiful place," said Tara. "Though we haven't seen very much of it yet."

"I could arrange a guided tour if you like. We have a number of sites I think you'll all enjoy."

"I don't know. We had, umm, a large green crystal. It was in one of our pockets, but apparently our clothes were taken to be cleaned and now we seem to have...misplace the crystal."

Sappho sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'll get Alisia right on that, if she isn't already."

"In the meantime, Gabrielle, I understand you are a bard yourself. Would you favor with me a reading?"

"I can leave the room if you like," said Sappho. She laughed when Gabrielle blushed. "Look. I'm nothing special, really. I'm just a writer like you. It just so happens more people have read my stuff. That doesn't make my writing any better than anyone elses. It just means I'm lucky."

"I've read some of your stuff as well," said Sappho. "And don't underestimate yourself. Believe me. If you could get more people to read your scrolls you'd be more famous too."

Willow whispered to Tara. "Might even make a nationwide TV show out of them." The blonde bit her lip to keep from laughing. Sappho glanced at them. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt."

"As I was saying, you have great potential, Gabrielle. There are a few things you might want to try though, and if you like I would be happy to give you some advice."

Sappho rang a bell on her desk, and a few moments later the doors swung open to admit Alisia.

"Are you looking into this missing crystal?" Sappho asked, pointing to Willow and Tara.

Alisia nodded. "I've already sent word to the wash room. They'll make a thorough search of the clothes and send word if they find it. I'll go collect it personally."

"I feel confident they will. However, if they do not, I'll make certain everyone on the island keeps a lookout for it. We'll find it for you. I assure you."

"Yes. Thanks to Apollo. She sometimes helps me when I'm suffering from writer's block, and more than one of my guests has come out of one of her sessions feeling better about themselves."

Sappho stood up. "I'll arrange for it as part of your tour, then. Alisia, why don't you show these beautiful women to the dining hall so they can get something to eat?"

"I hate to cut this so short, but I'm afraid something has come up," said Sappho. "I'll see you all later." Once they were gone she turned to face the window. "What is it?"

Alisia was busy when they finished eating, but she sent someone to take them on their tour. A dark-skinned girl with bright eyes and braided hair, named Liv, showed them around.

First up were the gardens which spanned much of the center of the island. There were flowers of all shapes and sizes, along with fountains and statues of various Greek heroes.

Next she took them to see Sappho's library, said to be the most extensive collection of books and scrolls in all of Greece. There were full and short stories, essays, poems and even personal correspondence from some of the finest and best known writers in the world.

"Oh. I believe the mistress considers that be...bragging. She doesn't want to show off, so she keeps her personal works in her private chambers. I can take you to see them if you like."

Tara noticed Willow examining one of the scrolls. "You can't actually read that, can you?"

"I wish. No, Miriam’s Translation only works for the spoken word, and it would have failed by now if you hadn't thought to recast it after we arrived." Willow held up the scroll. "Do you realize how big of a deal this is? No one in our time has ever seen anything like this. It's literally history in our hands." She smiled. "Can you imagine what Giles would say if he could see this?"

"Just a little homesickness. We'll be right behind you." Tara caressed her lover's cheek. "Right?"

Liv next took them to Olympian square; so named because it had statues, circles and shrines dedicated to many of the Olympians. "There's only actual temple on the island, and it's for the Muses alone. But every Olympian has at least one offering center, even Hades and the Furies. Sappho respects and allows for all beliefs, and worship is permitted openly so long as it doesn't interfere with anyone else." They came upon two young people kissing and fondling behind a statue of Aphrodite. "Michael. Marina." The couple didn't seem to notice them, they didn't look up or stop what they were doing. "They're trying to set a record. Most places on the island. Come this way and I'll you to the outcropping where the sailors pray to Poseidon."

Liv was a very thorough guide, and by the end of the tour Willow and Tara were convinced they had seen almost every square inch of the island. Almost, because there was one path she avoided taking them down time and again when they passed it. A sign posted nearby caught Tara's eye.

"I'm not sure." Tara cocked her head. "It just feels almost...familiar, somehow."

"We were just wondering where this pathway leads," said Gabrielle. "You didn't show it to us."

"Oh, that. I can't, you see. That's private. Only a select few people on the island are allowed down that route. I'm afraid mistress Sappho or Alisia will have to show you the way." She gestured. "Now, we have one more stop, and it is fortunately back where we started. The Oracle room."

Willow smiled. "Yippee. I've never met a real Oracle before. Well, except this one time, in Sunnydale..."

Liv led them to a nondescript door, at the end of a corridor they could have sworn had been empty the last time they passed it. "Those who seek the Oracle's guidance will find it inside."

"What's she like?" Gabrielle asked. "It is a she, isn't it? Most Oracles seem to be."

Liv nodded. "The Oracle is a she, but I am afraid I can say no more. I have only seen her in passing, and have not been fortunate enough to meet her in person."

"I would, but I'm afraid there are other matters I must attend to." Liv bowed. "If you'll excuse me."

Willow watched her go. "Is it just me, or did she seem to be in way too much of a hurry to get out of here? You don't suppose there's anything Sunnydaleish going on here, do you?"

"Maybe she's just wigged out by the thought of actually meeting the Oracle," Tara offered. "It probably wouldn't hurt to be on-guard though. You know, just in case?"

Gabrielle nodded. "I wouldn't worry too much about it though." She pushed the door open. "I've been to a couple of Oracles in my time, and most of them are...gods."

The doorway opened into a seemingly endless black void, with only a few dim pinpoints of light that resembled stars scattered throughout. It was like walking in space, only they could still breath and there was obviously solid ground beneath their feet. Looking down almost gave them vertigo.

"I bid you welcome, children of destiny." The melodic woman's voice seemed to echo from everywhere around them at once. "I've been expecting you."

Gabrielle, Willow and Tara gazed around. The three of them sensed they were in the presence of something far beyond their usual areas of understanding. Not raw power like Dahak or the Olympians had though, but more like an undeniable otherworldliness.

"Think of me as the voice of the truth and the light. The eyes and ears on Earth of those who will come, in time, to be known as The Powers That Be." A dark-haired, light-skinned woman strode out of the darkness, her flowing gown blending perfectly into her surroundings. "But you can call me Sarah."

The Oracle nodded. "I do. Allow me. You are Tara Maclay. Last of a long line of powerful seers and mystics, or witches as they are often called in your time, and owner of one of the purest souls I have ever had the pleasure of meeting." She turned. "You are Willow Rosenberg, her paramour, and even though you come late to the craft you have an innate, exceptional talent for wielding mystical energies which run so rampant in your world." Again, she turned. "And last, but by no means least, Gabrielle of Poteadia. Exceptional bard and most capable warrior. Yours is a story yet to be written, young one. Do not think yourself confined to Xena's shadow. In time you will venture out on your own and make a name for yourself, but do not get in any hurry to do so."

"Curiosity, in part. As well as concern for your ability to return to your own time," Sarah replied. "I can tell you the Kronos stone you seek is still here on the island. Sadly, I fear it has not been merely misplaced. It was stolen by forces intent on using it for more devious purposes. This is why the three of you were brought here to the isle to begin with. The Fates and the Powers, it seems, have an odd sense of humor."

"In point of fact it was destiny. You three were brought to Lesbos to deal with a threat that would not have been awakened if you had not brought the Kronos stone here in the first place."

Gabrielle crossed her arms. "Now that we are here, what do we have to do exactly?"

"The Kronos stone, by itself, is no real danger. It can, however, be used as the final link in a mystical chain, that will ultimately bond a force of energy from beyond this realm to a single point. Someone is trying to gain power rivaling, perhaps even exceeding, that of the Olympians."

"No. The mistress of the island has been kept deliberately in the dark by one close to her."

"You cannot. Sappho's place in this has already been written." Sarah gestured, and a door appeared in the wall of stars behind her. "You must follow a different path."

The door swung open. Willow, Tara, and Gabrielle glanced at one another and nodded. One by one they stepped through the door, which slammed closed behind them.

Tara pointed to the sign. "This is the place Liv wouldn't let us go. You don't suppose she..."

"Liv?" Gabrielle asked. "I doubt it. Sarah said whoever's behind this would break Sappho's heart. I don't think Liv is close enough to Sappho for that to happen." The bard led them down the path, which in time brought them to an out of place looking stone structure in the shape of a pyramid. It was smaller and appeared to be newer than most of the other architecture on the island. "Is this the place?"

Tara nodded. "I can feel something. Great magic, oddly familiar. Pyramids are places of power. Focal points. If they really are trying to gather some extradimensional energy source..."

"...the pyramid will act kind of like a lens," Willow continued. "To draw the power into the Kronos stone. We've got to stop them. Whoever them is...are, well, you get the idea."

"Don't you?" Tara asked. "You're her partner. You've fought by her side for years. You can do this, you just need to have a little confidence in yourself."

Tara playfully slapped at her lover's arm. "Gabrielle, we're in your world so we'll follow your lead. What do you want us to do?"

The bard thought about it for a few moments, then took a deep breath. "Okay. Here's the plan."

At Gabrielle's suggestion they scouted the perimeter and found two ways into the pyramid; the front door and a partially hidden entrance in the back. To better their chance of surprising whoever was inside they agreed to split up. Gabrielle would go in the front way, Willow and Tara in the back.

"Are you sure you don't want to be armed for this? I'm sure we can find something. Staves, at least."

Willow shook her head. "Thanks but no." She held out her hand and sparks of light danced across her palm. "We have all the weapons we're gonna need right here."

"Okay." Gabrielle clasped each of their arms in turn. "Be careful anyway. And good luck."

The bard started to go, then turned back. "If something happens, if you guys make it out and I don't, will you tell Xena something for me?"

"You can tell her whatever it is yourself," said Tara. "When she gets here, and you're waiting for her."

Gabrielle sighed. "Humor me. Please." The witches nodded. "Tell her that I love her more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. Tell her, that my last thoughts were of her."

Willow cleared her throat. "Sweety, since we are delivering last will declarations and all maybe we should send one back to Buffy and the others? Just in case?"

"Okay. Gabrielle, if something happens to us will you please try to get back to our friends? Let them know how much we missed them and will always, always love them."

"Even Spike?" Willow asked. "Cause, you know, the loving of Spike is just..." She shuddered.

With the air of tension broken the three women shared a nervous laugh and a quick embrace, then separated for what each of them knew knew could actually be the last time.

Gabrielle approached the front door of the pyramid slowly and with trepidation, because things were just going too easily for her tastes. No guards, no apparent traps. It didn't seem like a fortress where something sinister was going on, at least not on the surface.

Not for the first time she found herself wishing Xena was there. The warrior somehow always seemed to know when there was trouble, at a distance, and she wasn't one to walk into a trap. It was more than just keen hearing or eyesight, though Xena certainly possessed those traits as well, and despite all her experiences she was still more than a little amazed every time the warrior caught arrows out of the air or knew, without looking, where Ares was going to appear.

At the pyramid door Gabrielle examined the wall and found a small star-shaped stone. She turned it left with no results then smiled as she turned it right and heard a thunk. The heavy stone door scraped and slid open, unveiling a long, dark passageway. She cursed herself for not bringing a torch. Readying her sais she stepped into the black corridor, green eyes darting from side to side. She knew from experience that every shadow, corner, and crevice were potential hiding places for attackers, and she was as prepared as she could be.

However, Gabrielle wasn't expecting to round a corner and came to a dead end. Frowning, the bard walked up to the wall and touched it. "Solid." She'd seen no other doors on the way here though, admittedly, it was dark enough that she could have missed something. Still, she didn't want to backtrack now, so she started running her hands up and down the wall, blindly feeling for a hidden trigger. "What's...ah hah!"

She had found two irregularities; a recessed square and a pronounced circle. Both felt like triggers, but the fact that there were two of them troubled her. That probably meant either they were supposed to be activated in some specific order, or else only one was actually the way in. The other was most likely a trap. Sighing, the bard took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pressed the circle.

For a moment nothing happened. Gabrielle opened her eyes as she heard a click, then the floor opened beneath her feet. She screamed as she was plunged into darkness.

Willow and Tara soon found out that what they had thought was a door in back of the pyramid was, in fact, more of a grate covering a long, narrow shaft angled downward. The witches discussed the siutation and concurred that if they could get the grate off they could probably slide down, but before they did so they would need something to light their way and something else to keep them from falling.

The redhead held her hands together, palms up. "Revealed." A flashlight materialized.

"I was. Then it occured to me a torch could go out which, as you can imagine, would be bad. So, as I was casting I amended the focal point of my spell to the English definition of torch."

The blonde nodded, and held out her own hands. "Revealed." A three-pronged metal hook materialized, tied to a considerable length of thick brown rope. "You think this is enough?"

Willow quickly counted. "A hundred feet? It better be. Surely they didn't dig any further than that?"

Next, the witches held hands and concentrated on the grate. It took only a minor exertion of their power to tear it out of the wall and send it flying across the clearing. They placed the grappling hook in an optimal location and threw the rope down into the darkness, without hearing it hit bottom.

Willow shook her head. "That would be you." She leaned over and kissed her lover.

Tara had just climbed into the shaft behind her lover when the rope began to vibrate, and they heard a sound that made them both look up. A figure at the entrance, backlit by the afternoon sun, had what appeared to be a knife in its hand and was cutting right through their lifeline.

Both witches screamed as the rope was severed, and they were swallowed up by the darkness.

Gabrielle awoke to an aching head and a dull throbbing in her left shoulder that made it impossible to move her arm without an explosion of pain. She sat up and tried to look around, only to discover it was too dark to actually see anything. Dropping her good arm into her lap she sighed.

"I am," Willow tired voice announced from nearby. "I don't know where here is, exactly, but wherever it is that's where I am."

"She's here with me, but she's unconscious. We fell into some kind of shaft and I guess I must have blacked out or something. I have a splitting headache."

"Cage?" Gabrielle felt around and, sure enough, there were metal bars on all four sides and above her. The floor was solid metal beneath her. "Damn it." She sighed. "You know, just once I'd like to get captured and put in a nice, warm, well-lit room. Maybe one with flowers."

Gabrielle crawled closer to the sound. "Hey. Don't worry. We'll find a way out of this."

"It was my decision to stay here, even after everything that happened. We wouldn't be in this mess if I'd listened to Tara and gone home in the first place."

Gabrielle shook her head, even though she knew Willow couldn't see it. "It's not your fault. Whoever trapped us down here is to blame, not you. And don't worry. Like I said, we'll get out of this."

"Yeah." Gabrielle thought of Ephiny, standing up to Velasca and Dahak, and smiled. "Like an Amazon."

Tara woke after some gentle prodding from Willow. She listened as the redhead told her what happened, where they were, and then she sighed. "So what now?"

"Think about it. We're stuck in cages, in the dark somewhere. In ancient Greece, I might add. And the only thing that can get us home is the Goddess knows were. So what do we do now?"

"We need light," said Gabrielle. "First things first. We need to get a better look at our situation."

"I can help with that," said Willow. "But we've been in the dark too long. To be on the safe side you better shield your eyes." Tara and Gabrielle assured her they had done so. "Fiat lux!" A ball of energy appeared in the redhead's hand, giving off more light than any bulb. She threw it up in the air and it floated near the ceiling.

Gabrielle smiled. "Nice." She moved to examine the lock on her cage, but in her zeal moved a little too quickly and pain shot down the length of her injured arm. She fell back, gasping.

"You need to put that in a sling." Willow slipped her hand through the bars and cupped a hand over the lock. Her eyes narrowed. "Obfuscate." There was a click, and she was ablo to just push the door open. She and Tara climbed out and came over to Gabrielle's cage. "Obfuscate."

Tara opened the bard's cage and helped her out. "We don't have anything to make a sling with."

Willow bit her lip, then reached under her tunic and pulled off her bra. She and Tara had continued to wear their modern underwear. "Here. We can use this. If you don't mind."

Gabrielle winced again. "Umm, under the circumstances, I'm not going to be picky."

It took a little creative twisting and knot-tying on Willow's part to make her bra into a sling. "Here. It won't be a very comfortable sling, but it should work until we can find something better."

"Let me help you," said Tara. She got the sling on Gabrielle, then put a hand on her arm. "Narco."

"Actually, it's just being hidden. Don't let it fool you," the blonde warned. "You're still hurt. The spell just keeps the pain from getting to your brain, basically."

Gabrielle headed toward the door. "Let's go." Surprisingly, it wasn't locked and there were no guards. There was a door on the opposite end of the corridor.

"You don't hear me complaining." Gabrielle opened the door. "After everything I've seen and done I'd be thrilled if things actually went easy for a change."

Alisia was holding Gabrielle off the ground with a single hand clamped around her throat. "You've been allowed the illusion of freedom, in thanks for you help. But I'm afraid that time..." She lowered her head, showing Willow and Tara her red eyes and fangs. "...is over now."

Willow and Tara stepped back, clutching at one another. They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Chuckling, Alisia dropped Gabrielle, who fell to her knees, coughing. "No, not...vampires."

Someone shoved the witches into the room. They heard the door get shut and locked behind them and turned to see Liv and Marina standing there, with eyes and fangs like Alisia’s.

"They’re Bacchae," said Gabrielle. "Servants of Bacchus. I was one of them once."

Alisia snarled. "Indeed, and our lord has commanded the three of you brought here. The time of the summoning is almost upon us." She gestured to a pedestal in the center of the room, holding the Kronos stone.

"You’re the one the Oracle warned us about," said Tara. "You’ve betrayed Sappho. Why?"

"What does Bacchus want with this…energy?" Willow asked. "He’s already a god."

"It's not our place to question why," Alisia replied. "Bacchus commanded we watch you, and that we appropriate this crystal for the ceremony his newest servant will perform."

"He is not one of us. He is human. As for why he has allied himself with our lord, I cannot say."

Liv licked her lips as she stared hungrily at Tara. "Can’t we just have a little taste? I’m so very hungry."

Willow stepped between them and Tara, and crossed her arms. "Stay away from her."

"Or what?" Liv asked. "In case you haven’t noticed, you’re outnumbered, witch." She pointed to the dozen or so other Bacchae now peering out of the shadows around them, and smiled.

Willow, Tara and Gabrielle moved together. They were indeed outnumbered, and surrounded.

"Our lord commanded they be brought here." Alisia smirked. "He said nothing about their condition. So long as you do not kill any of them, you may play to your heart’s content, sisters."

"Don't you dare." A figure stepped out of the shadows. "Or you'll have to answer for it."

Alisia's eyes narrowed, and she snarled angrily. "Sappho? How did you get in here?"

"Darling, this is my island. Did you honestly believe anything could be built here without my knowledge? When I authorized the construction of this...place, I had them install a few secret passageways of my own. Just in case I needed to stop, well, something like this, actually."

"I've suspected for quite some time. Truth be told, I prayed I was wrong." Sappho sighed. "Alisia, I know you are in there somewhere. Deep down, you must see that Bacchus is a monster who's poisoned your mind." She smiled at Liv and Marina. "We're family. Can't you remember that?"

Alisia backed up to join the other two Bacchae. "These are all the family I need. Lord Bacchus is..."

"You would know the capabilities of my tonque better than anyone dearest Alisia." Sappho shook her head. "But in this case it is your master who should watch his. Bacchus, during one of his drunken revelries I imagine, made the mistake of opening his mouth once too often and garnered the attention of Athena. She came to see me just a little while ago, to warned me that I am ill-suited to deal with the threat posed by a woman I thought I knew better than my own heart. I asked her to send me someone well versed in the ways of battling the Bacchae." She stepped away from the hidden doorway she had come through. "And she did."

"Literally," said the warrior princess. "I guess they did something right for a change."

"Ah yes, the warrior princess. I've heard of you." Alisia looked Xena up and down. "Lord Bacchus will reward us greatly for bringing you back into his embrace Xena. You narrowly escaped him when last you met, but you shall not be quite so fortunate this time. Liv! Marina! Take her!"

Hissing, the Bacchae flung themselves at the warrior princess. They flew into the air, missing Xena completely when the warrior dropped down and drew her chakram from her belt. She used it to cut Liv's belt as she passed by and then grabbed the bottom edge of the Bacchae's skirt, jerking it right off. Liv was thrown off-course and came within inches of slamming into a wall while Xena twirled and pitched the garment at Marina. The other Bacchae's startled, angry growl was abruptly silenced as the warrior punched her in the face.

Alisia flew straight up into the air and came down behind the bard, then grabbed her by the throat. "Enough! You may have bested the children Xena, but I won't be so easily taken."

"Are you sure?" Gabrielle knew from personal experience what a Bacchae could withstand, and stomped as hard as she could on Alisia's foot. As the Bacchae howled in pain her grip wavered, slightly, and the bard succeeded in slipping away. But she didn't get far.

"Oh no you don't!" Alisia reached for the bard, grabbing her injured arm by chance.

The benefits of Tara's spell were overwhelmed by a pain that radiated throughout Gabrielle's entire body. It was too much all at once and the bard passed out, into the Bacchae's arms.

Willow and Tara could see the rage that erupted in Xena's face and aura, respectively.

Even Alisia recognized the warrior's visible rage. She gently lay Gabrielle on the ground. "Now, don't even...I'm protected by lord Bacchus. You cannot..."

Xena's trademark battle cry was notably absent as she charged the Bacchae, punched her repeatedly in the chest and stomach before she had the chance to react then swept her feet out from under her and straddled the smaller, wide-eyed woman. From her cleavage she pulled a long, white object. "Know what this is?"

Xena stopped herself, with the point of the dryad bone touching Alisia's left breast, inches above her heart. She glared over her shoulder. "This is why you brought me here, isn't it?"

"I never said I was going to stand by and watch you kill my dearest friend." Sappho crossed her arms. "Not when I can do something to save her."

"Like what?" Xena didn't move the dryad bone, knowing it was the only thing keeping the Bacchae from fighting back or fleeing.

Sappho raised her head. "Athena? I know you're watching. I realize I've asked for so much already, and I'm sorry to do this, but I need to speak with Bacchus right now. Please."

Everyone looked around expectantly. When nothing happened after a couple of minuutes, Xena shook her head and started to say someting, until she felt a shift in the air. Heat. She was the only one who anticipated the ring of fire's appearance. Out of it an inhuman figure rose.

The massively muscled, crimson-skinned, black-horned creature was familiar to Xena and Gabrielle. Bacchus's cape flowed majestically out behind him as he turned to glare at Sappho. "I do not appreciate being summoned by a mortal. Who are you to be granted such favors from my sister?"

Xena stood up, allowing Alisia to scramble back to her feet and rejoin her fellow Bacchae.

That was when Bacchus noticed her. "Xena!" His huge fists clenched. "What is she doing here?"

"Forget about her." Sappho pointed at Alisia and the others. "You've turned my friends into monsters, and I want you to change them back."

"Why should I? I am well within my rights to convert any mortals I wish. They worshipped me freely."

Bacchus nodded. "But you do, child. You were a welcome member to my little family."

"Family?" Xena asked. "Is that what you call this? You prey on women who don't know any better, or you lie and cheat to corrupt their souls. You're worse than Ares. At least Ares is up front about how twisted he really is." She showed Bacchus the dryad bone. "Remember this? I can force you."

"Come now Xena. We both know only a Bacchae can harm me, and I'm not going to make that mistake a second time. Your so-called threat is meaningless."

"But mine isn't," said Sappho. "Bacchus, you know people on my island are under the guardianship of the Muses and Athena. You have no right to do this to any of them. Your brother Ares was already taken to task for Discord, and I have a much stronger case against you."

Bacchus and Sappho squared off face to face, and for a moment it almost looked like they might actually come to blows. Then the god growled. "Fine. I'll release them from their debt to me, though I am under no obligation to do so, if only to keep the peace on Olympus, but I will not forget this."

Flames enveloped Bacchus and he vanished. Alisia, Liv and Marina cried out and collapsed. Sappho rushed over to check on them. All had strong pulses and steady breathing, but were unconscious.

Xena approached Gabrielle. "Are you all right?" She eyed the bard's arm. "What happened?"

Gabrielle put her good hand on her friend's arm. "Can we get out of here? I need to talk to you."

Willow nodded. "I'll get it." She started toward the pedestal, glancing down when she heard a soft click near her foot. "Tara, watch out! I think I just..." A bolt of energy struck the redhead, knocking her across the room and into a wall. She slumped to the ground, her back still smoldering.

All the color drained from Tara's face. "Will!" She rushed to her lover's side. The redhead was unconscious, but alive. "Goddess." Whatever had struck her scorched her clothes, yet only reddened the skin underneath. Someone with impressive mystical talent had set a trap. "Watch out, Xena. There's someone here."

"I know. I..." The warrior caught an arrow out of the air. She arched an eyebrow. "Nice try." Too late she noticed the arrowhead was glowing. Tendrils of crackling energy erupted from it, flowed up her arm, and set every cell in her body on fire. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.

"Xena, no!" Gabrielle wished she had her sais, not that she was sure they'd do her any good. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"I'd introduce myself love." A tall, thin man with salt and pepper hair strode out of the shadows. He was wearing a long, blood-red robe. "But I don't think it'd mean anything to you."

Tara didn't know who he was, but she recognized his accent as British. Not that there should have been any with that kind of accent in the world yet.

"I know everyone who comes to my island," said Sappho. "And yet I've never seen you before."

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Then you clearly don't know everyone. I've been here for a while."

He laughed. "Not bloody likely. I got involved with Bacchus shortly after I popped into this temporal plane, and since our agendas intersected we decided to work together."

"I knew it," said Tara. "Your accent, your mannerisms. You're from the twentieth century, aren't you?"

"A fellow time traveler then? Isn't that sweet?" He cupped the blonde's cheek, and she felt a burst of heat from a ring he was wearing. Before she pull away her eyes fluttered closed, and she slumped into his arms. "I don't know who you are love, but I can't take the chance of your interfering." He heard Gabrielle and Sappho approaching and shook his head. "Any of you." The two bards struck an invisible barrier around him, screamed as they were caught up in the crackling energy and were knocked away from the man, who sighed.

The voice of her beloved echoed in the redhead's mind and she slowly opened her eyes. She saw Tara sitting on the floor a few feet away, her hands chained to the wall.

The blonde smiled. "Thank the Goddess. You haven't moved for hours. I was going out of my mind."

"A trap," said Xena. She and Gabrielle, both conscious, were similarly bound. "Nasty one too."

Sappho was there too, sitting between Marina, Liv and Alisia. "Apparently, now that Bacchus is gone, that guy is in charge." She nodded to the red-robed figure standing in front of the Kronos stone, who had his back to them at the moment. "Only he won't tell us his name."

"I should think so, Miss Rosenberg." He turned, a cocky smile on his familiar – to her – face. "After all the years we've known each other."

"Ah, so you do remember me. Such a pity the same can't be said for your mates. I do so loathe having to explain my history to people. Miss Rosenberg, would you be so kind and do it for me?" Smiling, Ethan turned back to the Kronos stone and continued doing...whatever it was he had been doing.

All eyes were on Willow now. She sighed. "Okay. Long story short. Ethan Rayne used to a friend of Giles', who is a friend of ours from the future. By the way Sappho, we're from the future."

"Okay. Ethan and Giles apparently grew up together and they did some really wild stuff when they were young. I don't know the extent of it, Giles doesn't like to talk about his past."

Willow ignored him. Buffy and Giles both had told her it was the best tactic. "After they raised a demon named Eyghon, which killed a lot of people, Giles turned good and Ethan started worshipping chaos."

Ethan laughed. "Hardly. I followed chaos long before Eyghon came along." He glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, I apologize Miss Rosenberg. Go on, please."

"He has an annoying habit of popping up once a year or so, usually to mess with Giles or the rest of us. I'm kind of at a loss to explain how he could be here right now though."

"I could say the same about you, Miss Rosenberg." Ethan turned. "Tell you what. I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Willow sneered, which just made him smile all the more. "Fine. I'll go first. As you may recall, during my last foray to Sunnydale I turned Ripper into a demon."

"Ripper's what he calles Giles," Willow explained to the others. "I'm not sure why."

"That blasted Slayer of yours interrupted my fun, and I was placed into the custody of these decidely unpleasent wankers in Army fatigues. They had the nerve to lock me away like I was a common criminal, and in the company of some rather unseemly creatures."

"I think he's talking about the Initiative," said Willow. "I'll explain them later."

"Then something happened. The lights went out and our cages opened. The whole sodding place started to come down around my ears. To this day I'm not bloody sure what it was, but I'm sure you and your mates were involved, witch." Ethan frowned. "I knew I couldn't fight my way through all the demons and soldiers..."

"Call it what you will. With the security off it was easy for my to get into one of the usually secured laboraties, and once I'd barred the door I looked for weapons. These being government types I was hoping for a bloody laser gun or something, but apparently the boys in green kept their blasted Star Wars technology someplace else. All I found was this big sodding machined called the Chronal Displacement Module."

Willow's eyes widened. "Chronal Displacement? So the Initiative was working on time-travel too?"

"Oh, if only I'd had you along to translate." Willow stuck her tongue out as he continued. "Things got hairy when a demon broke the door down. We fought, the machine got activated, and..."

"On the contrary. It is I who was fortunate to have been brought here. You people are so weak-willed, it's been a bloody piece of cake to manipulate you. Money, clothes, women."

"One of the birds I was attempting to seduce proved to be a Bacchae. Rather than kill me she said she found my magic skills intriguing, and introduced me to Bacchus. He convinced me to use my talents to bring in more birds for him to turn into Bacchae and the rest, as they say, is history."

Sappho pulled against her chains. "It was you, wasn't you? You brought Bacchus to my island?"

"I'm afraid you have that backwards, my dear. About a year ago I met your Alisia in Corinth and got her to come with me to a temple, where I watched Bacchus turn her into a Bacchae. She in turn secreted me here to Lesbos to turn several of her friends, and pave the way for my work."

Gabrielle, Willow and Tara all looked at one another. They knew Ethan was after the mysterious energy source, they just hadn't gotten the chance to tell the warrior.

"Enough witty banter. I have work to do. It's nearly midnight and I've got to start the ritual." He winked at Alisia, who blanched, and returned to the Kronos stone.

Xena strained against her bonds, but the manacles were just too strong. "Any bright ideas?"

Willow and Tara's eyes met, and the blonde nodded. The redhead's smiled, then her eyes narrowed as she began to focus on the bands of metal surrounding her lover's wrists.

"Xena, cut it out," said Gabrielle. "You're going to hurt yourself." She couldn't help noticing that the warrior did not stop trying. "You're not Hercules, so I don't think brute force is going to do us any good here. We need to try something a little more subtle."

Willow pushed with her magic and Tara's manacles came open. The blonde grinned as she pulled her hands free and rubbed her wrists. "I agree."

Between the two of them it took a modicum of time and effort to free everyone else. But now air and pinpricks of light were beginning to swirl around Ethan. Willow guessed either his power had grown or he was tapping into something big. The witches could feel the magic coming off him.

"Sappho, you and your friends better get out of here," said Gabrielle. "Let us deal with him."

Xena put her hand on the bard's arm. "That's very brave of you. But Gabrielle's right. She and I can fight. Willow and Tara have their magic. You..."

"...would just be a distraction." Sappho sighed. " All right. Ladies, let's go."

Alisia, Marina and Liv bowed their heads as they followed their mistress into the secret passage.

Warrior and bard couldn't help wishing they had their weapons as they led the witches toward Ethan. When they got to the section of the floor they now realized was covered in runes they stopped.

Tara shook her head. "I don't think you have to worry about that. He would have deactivated any ongoing ward or rune spells so they couldn't interfere with the ritual."

"Still, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be cautious," said Xena. She took one of the manacles and spun it over her head, then threw it at Ethan. It bounced off an invisible barrier and clattered to the ground.

Willow frowned. "Of course, that doesn't mean any personal protection couldn't still be in effect."

Tara held her hand out and Willow took it. "We can't touch him, yet." They closed their eyes. "There are ways to accomplish a goal besides punching and kicking you know."

"Although, once we're through, a little punching and kicking isn't out of the question," said Willow.

While the witches were doing...whatever it was they were doing Xena started to notice a peculiar tingling in the air. She raised her head and saw a swirling green energy vortex forming above Ethan.

Ethan opened his eyes and put his hands on the Kronos stone. "Janus Tempus Kronos, unbar this door and bring forth that which knows no bounds. The time is right. This vessel is prepared. Come forth!" A bolt of green energy shot down and struck the crystal, which then seemed to act like a battery as it drew the essence of the vortex into itself, glowing brighter and brighter as the outward energy dwindled.

Then the air around Ethan, his otherwise imperceptible circle of protective magic, shattered like glass. Willow and Tara dropped their hands and opened their eyes.

The warrior slapped the Kronos stone out of his hands. "You're done, little man." The crystal tumbled head over heels and hit a wall, a crack forming down one side.

"No!" Ethan took one step toward it, then just as abruptly changed his mind. "We have to get out of here! You've ruined it! Now the matrix is unstable!"

"That energy...it's part of a temporal anomaly. Outside of time and space. Everything had to be perfectly aligned to be able to gather it safely. I thought your crystal would be enough, but now it's gathering too much energy with no way to stop it. It's going to explode, and if we're lucky it'll only destroy the essence of that energy throughout the time-space continuum."

"You don't want to know," Tara warned. Ethan and Willow nodded. "He's right. We have to run."

Xena sneered and punched Ethan in the face to knock him out. "You're coming with us. "She slung him over her shoulder. "Follow me." They headed for the secret exit Sappho and the others had used.

A high-pitched whine filled the air, and more cracks appeared in the surface of the crystal

"Even if the explosion is limited, it's still going to destroy the Kronos stone. That's our way home."

The quartet made it out of the pyramid moments before a tremendous subterranean explosion rocked the entire island. Along with Sappho and her friends, who were waiting nearby, they were thrown off their feet as a pillar of pure green energy erupted from the top of the pyramid and shot straight up into the sky. It pierced the clouds and disappeared into space, continuing for less than a minute before tapering off, at which point the remainder of the pyramid heaved and then collapsed in on itself.

Willow, Tara, Xena and Gabrielle, who were just getting back to their feet, all felt suddenly dizzy. It passed just as quickly as it had come, and they allowed Sappho and her friends to help them up.

"Are you all right?" Sappho asked. Everyone nodded. She turned to inspect the smoldering ruins of the pyramid, a slight smile pursing her lips. "It always was at eyesore." She put an arm around Alisia. "I think we could all use a good night's sleep. We'll discuss the situation further in the morning."

"Oh, I'm sure I can find some place to hold him until we decide what to do with him." Sappho arranged to have a crate prepared in one of her storage rooms and tossed Ethan into it. She was kind enough to give him a blanket to sleep on, but also made sure to bind his hands, gag him and post an armed guard inside and outside the room, just in case. "He's lucky I don't feed him to the sharks for what he's done."

Gabrielle showed Xena to her room, then sat on the bed and watched the warrior as she peeled off her armor in order to go take a bath. The bard stared openly, longingly, as she had done numerous times before, only this time Xena actually turned her head and gazed right back at her.

"I wasn't. I..." Gabrielle frowned as she saw the faintest hint of a smile on the warrior's lips. "By the gods, you're toying with me, aren't you?"

"This thing you've been dying to tell me since I arrived. I know you. I can see it in your eyes."

"I'm in love with you, Xena. I have been for a very long time. Desperately, totally, head over heels, by the gods I think I'm going to die if I don't see her again in love with you."

Xena put a finger against the bard's lips to silence her. "I think that Willowbabble stuff is contagious. If you can just stop for a second, you know, maybe take a breath or something, it'd give me the chance to tell you that I'm in love with you too, Gabrielle."

"I swear on the grave of my brother Lyceus that I, Xena of Amphipolis, am in love with you."

Gabrielle leaned up, lips parted, and Xena lowered her head. Together they fell back on the bed.

Though not right next door this time, Willow and Tara's room was close enough that they were quite easily able to hear most of what was going on.

The blonde, sitting with her back against the headboard, smiled wistfully. "It's about time."

"Do we ever make that much noise?" Willow asked. She was laying with her head in her lover's lap.

"According to Buffy. Remember the time we found her downstairs, wearing earphones?"

Now Willow did smile, a little. "Yeah. How about that time, at the Magic Box, when we thought everybody else was gone..."

"Oh Goddess. And we came out of the training room, to find Anya with that sign? What did it say?"

"Eight. No wait, nine. I think she said something about using the Olympic system." Willow sighed. "We're never going to see them again."

"Why not? It's true. Without the Kronos stone we're stuck here, unless you have some new spell in mind you're not telling me about." When Tara didn't say anything Willow opened her eyes and looked up at the blonde. "Hey, I know that smirk. You've got an idea." She sat up. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking. Why don't we do what Xena and Gabrielle did in the first place?"

"They didn't have the Kronos stone when they came to Sunnydale. They got Ares to send them. Why can't we go get Aphrodite or somebody to send us home? It worked before."

Willow nodded. "That's a great idea. My Goddess, you're incredible. I want you so much."

"Excellent. Show them in." Sappho smiled as Willow and Tara came in, followed by Xena and Gabrielle. "Thank you for coming, ladies. Do have a seat, please. Alisia, bring Liv would you?"

Tara glanced over her shoulder, noting how Alisia's eyes never fell directly upon Sappho as she closed the door on her way out. "How are things between the two of you?"

"Strained. It's going to take some time I think. I had hoped it would help her knowing she wasn't responsible for many of her actions but Alisia is a deeply sensitive person. She believes she has betrayed me, which I have yet to persuade her is simply not possible." Sappho steepled her fingers. "I understand my east wing was treated to quite the symphony last night. You four certainly aren't shy, are you?"

Sappho shrugged her shoulders. "No matter. I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here?"

"After things calmed down last night, Alisia came to me. She said she'd found something in her quarters she did not remember taking until this morning."

The door opened again. Alisia came in carrying Xena's sword and chakram. Behind her was Liv with Gabrielle's sais. They handed the weapons to their respective owners.

Alisia nodded. "He said he didn't want to take the chance of you finding them, in case you somehow managed to get out of his...how did he put it?"

"I'm sorry it took us so long to get them back to you," said Alisia. "My mind's still..."

Gabrielle shook her head. "You don't have to apologize. I remember what it was like. Trust me. It might not feel like it right now, but things will get better."

"We polished them," said Liv. "I tried to sharpen them too, but my whetstone broke."

"It's okay." Xena sheathed her sword, but held on to her chakram. "They're fine. Thank you."

Sappho rested her hands in her lap. "Alisia, Liv. Give us the room, would you?" Once they were gone she leaned back and sighed. "I hear you're thinking of leaving?"

Tara nodded. "It's about time we get home. Our friends must be worried sick by now."

"Undoubtedly," Sappho asked. "I'll admit I know very little about time travel. But can't you simply return to your own time mere moments after you left, at least in their eyes?"

"Yes," said Willow. "But it's already been days. If we wait too much longer, it's entirely possible Buffy will find some way to get back here herself, and that could cause all sorts of trouble."

"I understand. I'll have a ship prepared for departure by morning." Sappho stood up. "Assuming I am correct, that you wish to return to the mainland?"

"Of course." Sappho walked over to her bookshelf. "Since you're all here I have something for you." She handed a scroll to each woman. "I wrote these specially for you. As a thank you."

"Poems," said Gabrielle. "This is wonderful. Sappho, thank you." She embraced the elder bard.

"That must be a first." Sappho smiled at the redhead's blush. "You're always welcome on my island."

Xena passed on the hug, instead settling for a hand-clasp. "It was nice seeing you again."

"You have a wonderful woman," Sappho whispered in the warrior's ear. "Take good care of her."

Sappho clapped her hands, and Alisia appeared. "Tell the cooks to prepare a grand feast. We're having a farewell party for the heroines of Lesbos."

The celebration went on through the night and well into morning. Some of the participants passed out wherever they happened to be, others went back to their rooms. A few found secluded places where the couple, or in some cases the trio, could have some quality time alone.

Tara and Willow were pleased to see that Xena seemed more relaxed than usual. The warrior was hanging on to Gabrielle all night long, laughing and smiling, and they even saw the two of them dancing a few times, though the witches were a little surprised to notice the bard was leading.

At one point Sappho brought two women, a lanky brunette and a lithe redhead, to their table. She listened to the punchline of the joke Gabrielle was telling, and waited for the subsequent laughter to fade before she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt, ladies, but I wanted to introduce you to someone." All eyes turned her way. "This is Mikaelah and Melissa. They're newlyweds."

"That's Willow, Tara, Xena, and Gabrielle." Sappho said to the couple. "Mika and Mel will be joining you on the ship so I thought you might want to get acquainted. Given that this is the first time they've been out of their room since they arrived on the island, I'll wager you won't see them much above decks."

Sappho glanced over her shoulder, and saw Alisia watching her. "Excuse me." Everyone at the table saw the bard catch up to her friend and say something, only to have Alisia shake her head and turn away. Sappho grabbed at her arm and said something none of them could hear. Whatever it was must have gotten through to Alisia. She turned back, tears in her eyes, and threw herself into Sappho's outstretched arms.

Tara smiled as the two of them kissed passionately. "Well, that makes me feel a little better."

The guard standing inside the room that housed Ethan's makeshift prison heard the conjurer muttering, over and over, what must have sounded to him like gibberish.

Suspicious, having been told to be on the lookout for tricks, the guard drew his sword. He opened the crate and discovered that Ethan Rayne was gone. He immediately raised on alarm, but a search of the island found no trace of the man. It was as if he had vanished off the face of the earth.

Sappho politely rebuffed their offer to stay. "I appreciate you saying that but I don't think it's necessary. I doubt he is still on the island. Most likely he was either rescued by Bacchus or had some mystical means of escape set up, for just such an eventuality. You should feel no guilt for your departure." She escorted the quartet to the ship, where Mikaelah and Melissa were waiting, and embraced everyone except Xena. She and the warrior exchanged a hearty hand-clasp, and a few select words about their respective loved ones. "Make sure to nuture her creativity. I would hate to see a gift such as hers lost to the ages."

Xena nodded. "I will. You just make sure not to wait too long to tell yours you love her."

Alisia joined Sappho on the dock, and the two of them waved until the ship was out of sight. Then, hand in hand, they turned and walked back toward the bard's home.

Aboardship Willow went to their cabin soon after departure, suffering from a bout of seasickness, and Tara did a small spell to help her feel better. No one knew for certain when Mikaelah and Melissa went below, but true to Sappho's prediction they were not seen above decks for the duration of the journey except once or twice to get a meal from the galley. Xena stayed on deck, and Gabrielle was right by her side.

Cyrene welcomed everyone back to her tavern with open arms. "I got word from Hercules that you left him and Iolaus on a summons from Athena? That's not like you."

Cyrene listened as the quartet told her, interestingly from several different perspectives, what had happened on Lesbos. She asked very informed questions proving, once and for all, to Gabrielle exactly where Xena had gotten her analytical mind. To her credit she took it all in stride. "It comes with the territory," she explained when Tara's curiosity finally got the better of her. "My daughter has died several times, and come back. She and Gabrielle are on speaking terms with several gods and count the son of Zeus as one of their closest friends. At this stage in my life I am inclined to accept most anything on faith."

"Speaking of the gods I was thinking we should ask Aphrodite," Willow said, seemingly out of the blue. She got curious looks from everyone in the room, including Tara. "Oh. I was having the discussion in my head and I guess some of it leaked out. Our return trip? We still need someone to send us back."

"Does she really have the power though?" Cyrene asked. "I mean, it's one thing when Ares..."

A shower of sparks and flowers announced the arrival of the goddess of love. "Ex-squeeze me? That's so totally harsh. You think Ares' power is greater than mine just because he makes people kill each other with swords and I get them to fu..." Aphrodite stopped herself on a glare from Xena. "Look, babes, this is a done deal. You want me to give you a ride home? Just say the word, and it's California here you come."

Willow and Tara both blinked. Silently they wondered if Aphrodite was really saying things like ex-squeeze me or if that was simply how their translation spell made it sound to them.

"Okay." Willow and Tara said their good-byes to Xena, Gabrielle and Cyrene then stood hand in hand in front of Aphrodite and announced they were ready to leave.

"Bitchin!" Aphrodite raised her hands above her head. Willow smiled and Tara blushed as this made the goddess of love's ample breasts bob up out of her dress. "Hey. Eyes back in your head, lady." She winked at Willow, and it was the redhead's turn to blush as Aphrodite made a broad gesture and they both vanished.

They had been expecting Xena and Gabrielle to disappear, not Willow and Tara. The thought of her friends back in ancient Greece, being subjected to who knew what kind of danger, was enough to throw the Slayer into a mode of panic she was not particularly accustomed to, or comfortable with.

"And so we shall. But you must calm down, Buffy. This overreaction will not help anyone."

Xander grabbed the Slayer's shoulders. "He's right, Buff. Why don't you go in the back room and..."

Electricity suddenly filled the air, and a low hum drew all eyes to the spot where Willow and Tara vanished just seconds before. As a sphere of energy took shape Buffy grabbed a sword.

"We went back to Greece," said Willow. "It was incredible. We met Hercules and Ares and Sappho and Bacchus and there were these things called Bacchae, which are like vampires but not..."

"...and Ethan was there." Willow nodded. "I know. I just wanted to get it all out for a change."

Giles frowned. "Ethan? You mean Ethan Rayne?" Willow nodded. "In ancient Greece?" Another nod. "Dare I ask how he came to be in another part of the world, thousands of years ago?"

"How long can it possibly be?" Xander asked. "You were only gone like thirty seconds."

Buffy arched an eyebrow. "Which I have to say, makes those new outfits even more question-worthy."

Willow glanced at Tara, who smiled. "Okay," said the redhead. "A long, and complicated story."

Giles nodded. "Anya, would you and Xander lock up for me? I'm going to give the ladies a ride home."

"Speaking of the house, I was wondering, have you decided what to do with the empty room yet?" Willow asked as she and Tara followed Buffy and Giles out the door.

The witches had moved into the Slayer's house, to help her after the untimely death of her mother. At first they slept in the spare bedroom while Buffy cried in her own, but ultimately they took the room that had been Joyce's because it was larger. This left a room in the house empty, and there was still much deliberation between the trio as to what should be done with it. No one had an idea they could agree on.

As the four of them climbed into Giles' car they failed to notice they were being watched. In point of fact there were two separate pairs of eyes glaring at them; one a figure veiled in the shadows of an alleyway, and the other a black-clad being on the back of a hefty-looking motorcycle.

Spike, the vampire standing in the darkness, spit out his cigarette and snarled. "Slayer." For a time it seemed the two of them might become allies of a sort. Before he realized he could hurt demons he had, much to his chagrin, been almost dependant on Buffy and the Scoobies. After the collapse of the Initiative he left Sunnydale, on a quest to get the chip in his brain removed. It wasn't gone, unfortunately, but in time he found a way to deactivate it. The Big Bad, as he liked to say, was finally. "Time to have a reckoning, you and I."

"Bad idea." The black-clad figure on the motorcycle turned its helmet to face the vampire. "As soon as she sees you can kill again, you'll just be dust in the wind."

The rider climbed off his motorcycle, and removed the helmet to reveal a face that would have been familiar to Willow and Tara, or Xena and Gabrielle for that matter.

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Worlds Apart

by Kirk Baldridge

Copyright © 2004

KirkBwriter@juno.com