ForevaXena's FanFic . . .
Immortality And
Greek Wizardry
by Patricia Winterburn
The standard
disclaimer. The characters of Xena
and Gabrielle belong in their entirety to Universal and Renaissance, and to
their writers and who ever else owns the property.
No copyright infringement was intended and this is all in fun.
No R rating
warning is needed, but a hint of subtext. No
violence just an argument.
Part 1
I am Tapesus.
An immortal Greek wizard. I have existed for nearly 3000 years, all because I
saw them and felt they needed my help.
Being a
wizard isn't all it's cracked up to be. I
mean, how many potions can you mix and magic tricks to learn before you get
bored.
There are
some days you just shouldn't get up out of bed and this was one of them.
I had no
interest in my work today. I
decided to peek into my pool of knowledge and see what was happening in the
outside world. There they were. The dark haired warrior and her strawberry blonde bard.
Beautiful, both of them. I
watched intently as their lives unfolded to me.
Each day seemed to be one adventure after another.
"How could two people get into so much trouble?" I thought to
myself. "Perhaps they could
use a little help, without their knowing about it."
It started
out quite innocently at first. A
well placed dagger for the dark haired warrior to use, or a tree limb shaped
fashionably like a staff for the bard. "How
could it hurt helping them out?" A
question which was soon to be answered.
She appeared
to me one day, after a little hand to my friends, in a huge puff of pink smoke.
Hands on hips she approached me with fire in her eyes and wearing the
most see through pink outfit I had ever seen.
"Aphrodite, Goddess of Love", I spoke softly, while bowing
before her. "What have you
been doing with my girls?" she hollered.
"Nobody plays with Xena and Gabrielle except for me!"
"My
apologies goddess" I stammered, "I had no way of knowing they belonged
to you." " They " ,
she said "are my friends, so hands off."
Just then
another large puff of black smoke appeared.
It was her brother, Ares, God of War.
Again my heart stopped in fear, that
I would be killed by his sword
and left to
die forgotten, as so many of his victims were.
He just growled at me and turned to talk to his sister.
"Stop interfering Dite", he yelled.
"Xena is mine and I will do what I want with her."
"No you won't Ares", she shot back at him, "I love both of
them and you will not bother them anymore!"
Ares just laughed at her and yelled, "we'll finish this once and for
all." "You know what I
mean."
With that
last comment, he was gone and before me sat the Goddess of Love, in tears.
"Can I help you with anything, goddess?" I quietly asked?
She turned to me and said, "Yes, perhaps you can."
She explained
to me, that Ares was even more intent on claiming Xena then ever before.
He even threatened to kill Gabrielle, to hell with Xena's feelings for
her. She had a plan, but it would
require a commitment from me for eternity.
Aphrodite,
shot me a wink. "Sit tight
wizard", "I'll be right back."
In a flash
she was gone, and I collapsed in a heap on the floor.
"What have I gotten
myself into this time." I
didn't dare answer myself.
The battle
that raged on Mt. Olympus between Ares and his sister lasted for days.
Finally Zeus put a stop to his bickering children's argument and came up
with a answer to satisfy both of them. For
love to dominate the world, Xena and Gabrielle must always find each other as
each generation passes. Should they
not meet or come together before Gabrielle's 25th birthday, Ares would take
Xena's descendant for his own and war would rule.
"Immortal,"
she said. "You will
be immortal and ensure that they will always be together."
"How am I going to accomplish this?" I whined, not knowing how
to deal with this. "Their
souls are united," she explained. "Through
out each descendant they will always be looking for the other half
of each other." "They
will know as soon as they meet, it's just getting them there."
"That's where you come in."
I groaned at the thought of trying to convince that stubborn dark haired
warrior to do anything that
wasn't her idea. For her to realize
love even now, Aphrodite had to double douse her with a love potion.
Gabrielle on the other hand, couldn't get enough.
Sometimes I checked on them at the most inconvenient time.
*************************************************************************
The years
passed until that fateful day in Japa. Nothing
I could do or whisper to Xena stopped her from this suicide mission she was on.
The best I could do was to keep Gabrielle alive.
It was not her time. I think
she realized that when I sent Xena's chakram back to her.
They had come full circle. Xena
was redeemed and Gabrielle was a warrior. My
promise to Aphrodite was about to begin.
Xena's spirit
never left Gabrielle's side. She
remained loyal and watched over her friend for many years, even saved the Amazon
Queen's daughter from drowning.
This was
Gabrielle's first descendant who would carry on her legacy.
Eve carried on Xena's.
The day
Gabrielle died, my heart broke. Even
Aphrodite cried as she blessed her friend for the last time. Eli accompanied Xena for
Gabrielle's spirit. He allowed them
a short reunion before it was time to enter the heavens.
They would both be reborn soon and a new life would begin.
My hunt for their souls would soon begin.
I was lucky
at first. The world was young and
small. Most of the population
centred around what is now called
Europe and they where easy to find. As
I expected the dark haired one was always hard to convince. Magic potions usually worked, but sometimes one had to resort
to a swift kick in the butt to get her to see.
As the planets population grew, it became harder to find them.
Sometimes time would be running out before the blondes 25th birthday.
I would hear Ares laughter in the background ready to take his prize, but
some how I always managed to make the deadline.
That is until Alti returned.
*************************************************************************
I remember
the day Xena took a strand of her and Gabrielle's long hair, twisted them
together and inserted them into the handle of her sword.
It was just another jester of love that Xena showed her bard.
"It's a warrior thing." she
would say. Some how Alti must have known, for in the 21st century
mankind discovered cloning.
With those two strands of hair still imbedded in the swords handle Alti
cloned Xena and Gabrielle. She had brought them back to life to seek her revenge, that
had eaten at her soul for centuries. Her
evil was more powerful then ever
and modern technology was on her side.
But when she revived them they had no memory of the past. They were at her mercy.
The search
for their descendants had proved impossible.
No where. Every country,
every city, every small village, nothing. Something
was wrong. I felt the tremble of
the stars and the shift of the earth. The
cosmos was out of line. Ares, it
had to be Ares doing. After all
these centuries he must of
discovered a way to stop me from finding them.
In desperation I called for Aphrodite.
It had been many lifetimes since our last
encounter. I hoped I was
still in her favour. A cloud of
white smoke filled my office. Yes, even I had changed with the times.
Her blonde hair hadn't changed. She
was clothed in an outfit of gold. Shimmering
in the light, she looked more beautiful then ever.
"Given up on pink, goddess?" I asked with a huge grin on my
face. "Duh, wizard, that was
two millenniums ago." "The
cosmos is out of whack, goddess." "Any
idea what's going on?" "Alti",
was her only reply. Somehow that
name said it all.
She explained
what Alti had done and how it has changed the course of history.
Xena and Gabrielle had returned, so their souls
would be reunited. But, they
had no memory, without their memory, their souls were lost.
How do I bring these two hearts together?
Two hearts, one soul.
"And
what of the descendants?" I looked at Aphrodite with the saddest of eyes
and a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer.
"Find them, and keep Xena and Gabrielle alive and away from
Alti." "How," but
she was gone , leaving me to this impossible task.
"Damn, why didn't I just stay in bed that morning," I said to
no one in particular. "After
all these centuries and I'm still kicking myself."
My magic was
no match for Alti's. Her evil was
far to powerful for me to tangle with. But,
a sly grin came over my face, I wonder if a certain bard will take one look at
that beautiful face of
a certain warrior princess and maybe their own magic will start to
happen? With a little help of
course.
Alti had
revived them only to discover they had no memory of themselves or her.
In her anger,
chairs flew, lights exploded and she was ready to destroy them in
a flip of a switch. But a
certain God of War had other ideas. With
a huge puff of that familiar black smoke, he appeared before her.
"Touch that switch ," he growled, "and I will send you
back into Tartarus." "Try
to stop me," she screamed at him. "I've
had enough of your interference, Ares."
In that moment of time , these two powerful forces clashed .
It felt like an earthquake had hit the city.
People ran for cover as windows broke, buildings shook and bolts of fire
rained down everywhere. Lucky for
me, two stray bolts, with the power of lightning, hit the computer terminal that
controlled Xena and Gabrielle's enviro-unit.
Sparks flew, lights on the board exploded and their two bodies jumped
back to life. I had never done this
in all my years with them, but time was running short.
It was time
they met their wizard. My own
powers had developed quite well over
the years.
As the other two still battled each other, I appeared before my two
startled friends. "Take my
hands and hold on tight." In a flash we were back in the safety of my office.
Here we were. Face to face for the first time in all these years.
"Welcome to the 21st century." I said.
One very angry warrior started
snarling at me. "Who are you
and what do you mean the 21st century?"
I was shocked to hear the ancient Greek language that flowed from her mouth. It
had been a long time since I had heard her voice, so deep and commanding.
Gabrielle just stood there looking around the room, not knowing what to
think or say at this time. "Sit
down, please." I said in the
ancient tongue. "How much do
you remember?" I asked.
They both looked at each other and said. "Nothing."
*************************************************************************
Nothing.
I sat down at my desk and stared at these two lost warriors, who I had
spent my entire life watching over. I
knew every possible course that their lives had taken.
Every battle, good deed, friend, child born and their final death. Even just
to explain to them they're own lives, they would never grasp the bond that held
them together for so many years. "My
name is Tapesus." I am a
wizard who has watched over your lives and that of your descendants for almost
3000 years. A smile came over my
face. "Perhaps a history
lesson is in order." With a
wave of my hand we returned to a place long forgotten to mortal man. It had been a long time since I had returned back home to my
cave where it had been home for many years.
Computers in the modern world had made life so much easier and there was
no need to live like my ancient for self. The
pool of knowledge still glowed. It's
warmth reminded me, how much I missed this part of my life.
A simpler time. No wires and plugs and e-mails.
Just me, Xena and Gabrielle. "Ok
girls." "I hope this
works." I brought both of
their hands together and placed it over the pool of knowledge.
Their eyes closed and held their breathe.
A warm glow surrounded both of them.
A look of wonder came over both of their faces as
each of their lives started to unfold for both of them.
From childhood, to teenager, to warlord, to protecter of the innocent.
It was almost to much for Xena to bare.
The tears fell down her checks as she watched her entire life before her.
Surely this was not me. How could
someone have lived like that and still had the love of one so beautiful as
Gabrielle. "Was Japa the right thing to do?"
"How could I have left you?"
"I am so sorry, please forgive me."
Gabrielle
viewed her life with much more wonder. A
bard, an Amazon Queen and finally a warrior.
Her own tears fell at Xena's final battle.
"But look Xena!" She cried.
"You gave me a child." "Just
like Callisto gave you Eve." When the pool had finished showing Gabrielle her life, they
both turned and stared into each
others eyes. "What a beautiful
life we had together." Xena
whispered. With that statement
Gabrielle reached up and gave Xena a passionate kiss. "I remember everything now." "Yes Xena, I wouldn't have traded our life together for
anything."
Xena turned
and looked at me. "You were
there to watch over us." It
was more of a statement then a question. "I
couldn't help it." "I
tried to make sure you were always in the right time at the right place."
"That extra foot, you knew you couldn't jump, but did."
"That was me pushing you." "An
extra dagger, a handy rock or stick?"
"That was me too." "And
Japa?" Xena asked. "You
wouldn't listen to me." My
head hanging in sorrow. "I did
hear you." She smiled.
"I thought I was doing the right thing."
Just then I
felt the earth tremble again. It
shook and twisted. I felt a
familiar rhythm to the planet, looking up even the stars look in alignment.
Looking over at Xena and Gabrielle, I saw that look in their eyes.
Their souls are one.
Another
familiar feeling came over me. Their
descendants. I feel them.
They too are together, without needing
my help. I had beaten Ares again.
Gabrielle's descendant won't be 25 until next week.
But, there
was still a problem to fix. "What
am I going to do with you two?" Xena
laughed, "That's what my mother used to say every time Gabrielle and I
would come home to Amphipolis." "Oh,
and how I remember." I grinned at both of them. Gabrielle looked at me.
"Just how much did you check up on us?"
My face turned red. "Sometimes,
ah, well, you have to understand,
ah nuts." You two were like
rabbits." "It was only
embarrassing for me." "You never knew I was there."
We sat and
talked for a very long time. If
they stayed in the 21st century, Alti would surely find them.
To go back into the past, what part in time would they want to be sent.
To have to relive Japa, no. It
would be to much for me to watch again. There
was only one place that I could think of, they could spend the rest of their
mortal lives in this world. Here,
in my wizards cave, with the pool of knowledge.
The land surrounding them would provide them
with hunting and all the water they'll ever need.
They would be able to live, as they should have.
Together. For many years to
come. It was agreed upon.
I would come back and check on them from time to time.
"I swear I will knock before entering the cave." Laughing as
I'm trying to get the words out. A
growling warrior stood over me. "I
remember how to use my sword." "Make
sure you do."
With a warm
goodbye and a curt nod, I returned to the new world and my office.
"You
have mail." My computer
reminded me as I sat down at my desk. A
picture of a familiar dark haired beauty with her arm around another familiar
blonde appeared on my screen. Sandra
Baxter and Amy Saunders. Immortality,
it does have it's rewards.
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