Epilogue

She was one with the golden creature beneath her, running into the wind with wild abandonment. She didn't want to stop. It was her only escape from all the darkness of her past. Her long, bronzed legs tightened against the sides of the horse, urging it to go even faster. A cry of child-like glee escaped her lips as the creature responded.

The lush, green fields and hills were a blur around them, blending into an endless, deep blue sky that was giving way to the twilight. By the time they finally stopped, it was pitch black, the colors of the landscape no longer discernable. She slipped from the saddle and fished around in the saddlebag, finding a flask of water. She opened it and poured some of the cool liquid into the palm of her left hand, offering it to her horse. She loved the feel of the creature's soft tongue against her flesh.

She knew she had to get back. Her dearest, closest friend would be worried sick by now. After taking a long drink from the flask, she returned it to the bag. She had just remounted when suddenly the horse whinnied and reared up, nearly throwing her off its back. She began to talk softly to the animal, but it would not be soothed. It continued to whiny frantically and rear up as if to ward something off. And that is when she saw it.

A huge, hairy, demon-like creature rose up before them. Its eyes glowed blood red and bore into her ice blue ones. Its mouth opened to reveal sharp, long teeth. She reached instinctively for her sword and drew it from its scabbard just as the creature lunged forward. The blade caught its arm, drawing blood from a deep gash, which only infuriated the creature more. It lunged again, knocking the weapon from her hand.

She was finally able to get her horse moving. Her heart racing in time with the sound of the hoofbeats. She glanced over her shoulder and saw no sign of the beast, but she was not about to slow down, not until she got back into the camp she and her friend had set up.

A startled cry pierced the night as sharp claws wrapped around her waist, cutting into the leather of her dress, piercing the flesh underneath. She was pulled from her horse and thrown to the ground like a rag doll. The beast stood above her. Saliva dripped from its teeth onto her face, trickling into her hair as she lay, staring helplessly up at it. She knew it was going to kill her and it was too great for her to fight. She prayed that it wouldn't go after her friend once it was finished with her.

The creature leaned forward until its face was just inches from hers. The foul stench of death permeated her nostrils, causing her to gag. She tightly closed her eyes to block it all out and waited for the inevitable.

Nothing happened. Slowly she opened her eyes. The beast was gone.

"Oh gods!" She fearfully thought, struggling to get to her feet. "It has gone after her!"

She took a couple of steps, but was overcome by wracking pains that caused her to grasp her stomach and collapse back to the ground. Her fingers felt the shredded leather and became wet and sticky with the blood that oozed from the wounds. She could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, but tried to fight it with what little strength she had left.

"Gab-ri-elllllle!!!!" She cried as she fell into its dark world.

Warm rays of sunshine peered through a thinly curtained window to touch the sleeping form, curled up in a fetal position in the bed. Blue eyes slowly opened and blinked against the brilliant display.

Xena yawned and lay on her back, stretching her long body to the full-length of the bed.

Where was she anyway?

As she became more awake, her mind wandered to the run-in she had had with that creature. Maybe Gabrielle had found her and brought her to this place so she could be cared for. But it certainly didn't look like Nicklio's hut. She tried to sit up, but was forced back down by a sudden throbbing pain in her head.

"I don't remember injuring my head," she thought, reaching under the covers to touch her stomach, expecting to feel the wounds the beast had inflicted, but only finding smooth skin. This was strange. Xena pushed down the covers and looked at her stomach. Not a single mark. She did notice bruises on her arms that were turning brownish-green. How could that be? She was just recently injured. Or was she? It was becoming more complicated to figure out and causing her head to hurt even worse. She closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep.

A hand was gently stroking her forehead.

"Gabrielle?" She mumbled, not quite awake.

"Yes, I am here."

A surge of happiness overtook Xena's heart to hear the familiar voice. She opened her eyes and looked over at the form sitting next to the bed. Her dark eyebrows knitted into a deep frown. It was Gabrielle, but not really Gabrielle. The girl looked like her: same long, reddish-blonde hair, same blue-green eyes, same dimpled smile.

"I thought you would never wake up," the girl said, still stroking Xena's forehead. "I was becoming worried. How do you feel?"

"My head hurts," replied Xena, her voice dry and raspy.

The girl propped Xena into a sitting position and picked up a pitcher that had been sitting on a table by the bed. She poured some water into a glass.

"Here. You must be thirsty." She handed the glass to Xena, who gratefully took it and gulped down the refreshing fluid, nearly choking in the process.

"Oh, be careful." The girl took the empty glass and returned it to its place next to the pitcher. "I bet you are hungry too."

Xena never thought about being hungry until then. Her stomach began to growl in response. The girl stood up and went over to a sliding door, which she opened to reveal a bunch of clothing hanging on a rod. She pulled out a blouse/pant outfit and held it where Xena could see it.

"I think this may fit you. It belonged to a roommate of mine who had left it behind when she moved out." She laid it at the foot of the bed and went over to the door. "I will see you when you are ready." She turned to go out, but paused, looking back. "Do you need any help?"

Xena was about to say no when she tried to stand up and became dizzy. She sat back down on the bed and pressed her hands to her forehead.

"I guess I do," she sheepishly admitted.

The girl helped Xena out of her nightgown and into the outfit, which fit just fine. After being helped back to her feet, Xena caught a glimpse of her reflection in a mirror she hadn't noticed until then. She studied her doppelganger. She didn't even look like herself. The clothes were so strange. Even the clothes the girl had on were strange. Her whole environment was strange.

The girl took her by the arm and guided her from the room into a room where there was a table and four chairs around the table. Xena saw many items in the room she had never seen before in her life. She wanted to pick up each thing and exam it, but she knew if she did, her caregiver would think her odd. She sat down in a chair by a window and looked through the glass to the outside world. She could see a road, but it wasn't a dirt road as she was use to. It was dark gray in color and had odd objects moving over it. They certainly didn't look like chariots, nor horse drawn carts. There weren't even horses pulling these things! She was so engrossed in the sight she didn't notice the meal her caregiver had placed before her until the girl brought her attention to it.

"I hope this is okay." The girl sat across from her and began eating.

Xena recognized the ham and eggs. At least something was familiar.

"It is just fine," she replied.

They ate in silence for awhile and then the girl broke it.

"I am so glad that you woke up. You were in the hospital and seemed to be getting better and I was allowed to bring you home because no one came to claim you." A sad look crossed her face. "I didn't want to leave you. You drifted in and out of consciousness and I thought you would have to return to the hospital, but a doctor has been coming here to check up on you."

Xena had been in a hospital?

"What happened to me?" she asked.

The girl didn't seem at all surprised by the question.

"You were thrown from a horse and knocked unconscious. I saw it happen and called emergency to have you rushed to the hospital. I would come and check up on you every day. You had a concussion and were bruised up pretty good, considering you were thrown into a bunch of rocks. The doctors figured you wouldn't have any recollection of it."

They were certainly right about that.

The girl put her fork down and leaned forward as if to confide something to Xena.

"When you were about to wake up, you called my name. How did you know it?"

Xena averted her eyes to her plate so Gabrielle wouldn't see the sadness that had filled them.

"I had a very close friend named Gabrielle," her voice came out quietly. Your voice sounds just like hers and you look a lot like her as well."

"Where is she?" There was a note of happiness in Gabrielle's voice. "I bet she is worried sick about you. We must get in touch with her and let her know you are okay."

Xena shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know where she is. She just disappeared one day and I never saw her again."

How else could she explain it? And for all she knew, that demon creature could have gotten ahold of Gabrielle. It was all her fault if it had. She could have fought the creature somehow, but she didn't. She had just lain there and for that her best friend was probably dead. At the thought, the sadness overflowed and spilled down her cheeks.

"I am so sorry," Gabrielle consoled. "I hope nothing terrible happened to her."

"I hope so too."

Xena prayed her bard was okay. How would she ever find out? Would she ever be able to go home and see her again? She wished this was all a bad dream and that she would just wake up and be next to Gabrielle by the campfire. She wished she had never gone off riding. She wiped her tears away and pulled herself together.

The meal was over and Gabrielle cleared the table. Xena watched as she put the plates, cups and utensils into a bin with running water. She wondered if she should ask the girl where she was. Gabrielle would only figure she was asking to get her memory back. It certainly wouldn't hurt, but it sure would help.

"Gabrielle, where exactly am I?"

"Do you remember anything at all?" Gabrielle responded with her own question.

Xena shook her head.

"You are in Laguna Beach, California."

Laguna Beach? California? What were those? They certainly didn't sound like any place in Greece like Amphipolis nor Potedia.

"What winter is it?"

"What winter?" Gabrielle looked confused, and then slowly it dawned on her. "Oh, you mean what year? She clicked her tongue in sympathy. "You poor thing. You really don't remember anything. It is August 1999. It is almost the end of the 20^th Century."

The 20^th Century! How in the world did she end up in a century, and the 20^th one for that? This was scary, but in a way it was fascinating. She was actually in the future, a future only descendants would be able to live in, if she even had any descendants. Solon would have been the only one to carry on the line and he was murdered. Her brother Toris could have settled down and had a family. Wouldn't it be something to run into one of them!

Gabrielle interrupted her thoughts. "Do you even remember anything about yourself, such as your name, where you are from? Any family?"

Xena thought of her mother, Cyrene, and how long it had been since she had last visited her. She probably would never get the chance to see her again.

"My name is Xena. My family was from Greece, but they are all dead. I don't have anyone. I am all alone."

A comforting hand touched her shoulder. "You're not alone."

Xena gave Gabrielle a small smile. That is what her Gabrielle had said to her when they had first met.

The two women spent the rest of the day talking and getting to know one another even though Xena kept a lot of her life secret and made up things. She was glad Gabrielle never asked her to indulge. Her Gabrielle would have.

The next day, Xena was feeling almost like her old self. Gabrielle decided to take her shopping for clothes. Xena learned that the magic chariots she had seen the day before were called cars. She got to shop in a mall with Gabrielle helping her pick out outfits, undergarments, shoes, and hair accessories. Gabrielle even made her model them as well.

With many bags weighing down their arms, the two women decided to grab lunch and take it easy for a bit. Xena got to try a hamburger, French fries and soda pop and loved them.

"This stuff will only add inches to my waist, hips and thighs," said Gabrielle, after polishing off her burger. "But it is such a wonderful, guilty pleasure." She leaned back in her chair and patted her flat, muscular stomach. "I will really have to double my workout at the gym."

Afterwards, they went home and Gabrielle helped Xena put all of her new things away. They spent the rest of the evening out in the backyard, enjoying the summer air that was pleasantly cool that night.

Over the following days, Xena learned about television, radio, computers, telephones, cellphones, microwaves, refrigerators - the list went on and on. It was all so fascinating. If only these modern conveniences existed in her time! She began to go on morning walks with Gabrielle along the beach and even joined her at the gym a couple of times. Until the second time she was banned from the gym when she put a neck pinch on a patron who kept insisting her time was up on the rowing machine. No one tells the warrior princess her time is up and gets by with it!

One day, Xena talked Gabrielle into fishing and showed Gabrielle her unique techniques in catching fish. For many nights they had fish for dinner, even though one night when Gabrielle let Xena cook, Xena accidentally started a fire on the stove by turning the flame up too high. Gabrielle didn't let her cook after that. Even in the future, Xena's culinary skills were still lacking.

During one evening as they sat in the backyard, staring up at the few stars in the sky, Gabrielle brought up a serious subject.

"Xena, I know you have only been here a few months," she hesitated, then placing her hand over Xena's she continued, "but I feel as if I have known you for a lifetime. I have never had so much fun before. You are like the sister I never had and always wanted."

The words warmed Xena's heart.

"I have had a wonderful time," she admitted, causing a huge, dimpled smile to break out over Gabrielle's face. "I feel as if I have known you a lifetime as well."

Gabrielle's face grew solemn. "Xena, I want you stay here. I want you to be my roommate. Everything in this house is yours. You can do whatever you want." She cracked a grin. "Well, except cook."

Xena laughed. Gabrielle's small fingers tightly wrapped around her long ones.

"Please Xena." Her blue-green eyes were wide with pleading. "Please."

Xena was at a loss for words. She was literally torn between two worlds. She didn't know how much longer she would be in this one. She could just all of a sudden wake up one morning and find herself back in her world.

"I don't know what to say," she finally found her voice. "I am touched by the offer, but I just don't know."

Gabrielle disengaged her hand and stood up.

"That's okay," she replied. "You don't have to make a decision now."

Xena winced at the hurt in her voice. She didn't want to cause Gabrielle any pain. She hated it when she would cause her Gabrielle pain. She was good at doing that. She got up and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman.

"I am sorry," she whispered into the soft, reddish-blonde hair. "I don't have anywhere else to go." She released Gabrielle and held her where she could look down into her face. "So, I guess you are stuck with me."

Gabrielle let out a delighted cry and threw herself back into Xena's embrace.

"Xena?"

Xena moaned and turned onto her side, curling up into a fetal position.

"Xena, can you hear me?"

"Gabrielle? Is that you?" Xena opened her eyes and glanced to where the voice had come from, but the room was too dark to see anything. She reached over to the night table and groped for the lamp, switching it on. She blinked against the sudden burst of light. When her eyes adjusted, she could see a figure standing by her bed, a figure that was truly a sight for sore eyes.

"By the Gods!" She cried out, jumping out of bed, "Gabrielle!!"

She threw her arms around the girl, but they went right through her. Xena stared at her best friend in shock and surprise. Was she really there? Or was she just a figment of a wistful imagination?

"Xena, please," the apparition tearfully implored. "Come back to me. Please, don't leave me. I can't live without you for you are my life, my soul. Please, I beg of you! Come back to me!"

Xena burst into tears. "I will, Gabrielle," she sobbed. "I promise. I could never leave you. I will come back. You are my life, my family. I am nothing without you."

She felt soft fingers brush against her wet cheeks.

"I love you Xena." The apparition disappeared, taking the light with it.

"I love you too, Gabrielle," Xena whispered into the darkness.

Collapsing onto the bed, she buried her face in the pillow and began sobbing uncontrollably.

There was a knock at the door.

"Xena?"

Xena did not answer. She heard Gabrielle enter the room and saw the light come on.

"Xena, what is wrong? What's happened?" The girl asked, rushing over to her grieving friend and sitting down on the edge of the bed. She began to stroke Xena's long, raven black hair.

"I had a dream," came Xena's muffled voice. "It was my friend. She came to me."

"Maybe it is a premonition that she is okay," Gabrielle offered, but that did not bring comfort to Xena.

"I want to go home!" the warrior princess wailed, turning her face from the pillow. "I miss her so much."

She continued to weep inconsolably. She felt Gabrielle lay down next to her and rest her cheek against hers.

"I will miss you," the girl said softly. "But I am so glad that you came into my life and brought the light to my dark, lonely world."

Xena reached her hand around to touch the girl's face and realized Gabrielle was crying too.

"I always said that to my friend," she sniffled. "Now I know how she feels when I say it."

The two remained together for the rest of the night, comforted by each other's presence. Their tears finally spent, they fell asleep as the morning sun began to peek over the horizon.

When Xena awoke, she discovered that Gabrielle was gone. She stretched and got up, grabbing a robe from the closet doorknob and putting it on over her nightgown. She went out into the hallway expecting to smell the wonderful aroma of steak and eggs that always greeted her every morning, but all that greeted her this time was an ocean breeze the drifted in through an open window.

"Gabrielle?"

No answer. She checked every room, but never found her friend. She went out into the backyard. There wasn't any sign of her there either.

"Gabrielle?"

Maybe she went for her walk, Xena concluded. She went into the kitchen and took out a carton of milk and poured herself some into a glass. Next, she tried to fix a piece of toast, but only ended up turning it into a piece of charcoal. Even the simplest things! She chuckled as she opened up more windows to clear the smoke. She sat down at the table to sip her breakfast and wait for Gabrielle, but as the minutes went by, Xena only grew restless when she still hadn't shown up. She decided she was going to go look for her.

After getting dressed, Xena went outside and began to follow the route Gabrielle took every morning. When she got closer to the beach, the hair on the back of her neck began to stand on end. Something was not right. She took the steps down the cliffside and went out onto the rocks that extended into the sea. Looking down into the water, she saw the waves pushing something green against the base of the rocks. Her heart froze in her chest as she realized what it was.

"Gab-ri-elllllle!!!"

Ignoring the danger to herself, she jumped into the ocean, scraping a few rocks on the way, and swam to the girl. She wrapped her arm around her and swam to shore.

"Oh, gods Gabrielle!" She cried, turning the girl onto her side. Some water began to trickle from Gabrielle's mouth. Xena put her ear to the girl's chest. There wasn't any heartbeat. She began to do to mouth to mouth resuscitation, but did not receive a response.

"Don't you dare die on me!" She thumped the girl on the chest over and over. "Don't you dare die on me! Do you even hear me?! You come back to me! You can't leave me!" She cradled the girl's face close to hers and wept bitterly.

She felt arms wrap around her waist and pull her away. She struggled against her captor, but could not break free.

Let me go!" she screamed, "I won't leave my friend! You hear me?! I won't leave her!"

"But Xena, she is gone." her assailant said in a voice that was meant to soothe, but Xena only grew more agitated.

"No, she isn't. She is okay. I need to be with her. She will come back. I know she will. Gabrielle has come back before."

"Look at her, Xena." Xena suddenly realized that she was back up on the rocks. She looked to where she had lain Gabrielle and saw herself still holding the girl in her arms, rocking back and forth, weeping and wailing.

"She had been thinking about you leaving," her captor remarked.

Xena felt the pressure release from her waist. She turned to see this person, but no one was there. It was a disembodied voice. "She didn't want you to leave," it continued next to her ear, "but she knew you had to now that you had found your friend."

"But why did she die?" Xena questioned. "Why?"

"She was a very unhappy person until you came along. She didn't have anyone at all and you changed all that. You gave her a reason to live. Now that you are leaving, she has lost that happiness and her world has grown dark once again."

"She died because of me." Xena closed her eyes against the sight down below her.

"Both of them are dead because of you, Xena."

"What do you mean?!" Xena demanded, her eyes flying open, flashing ice blue anger. "Gabrielle is not dead! She came to me last night, begging me to come home! She is not dead. You are wrong!"

"The demon you refused to fight killed her, Xena. The demon of your dark past that you battle every day and will never defeat."

Xena pressed her hands against her ears, trying to block out the nasty, viscous voice, but it was now coming from inside her head.

"Even after that, she came to you asking you to join her in the afterlife. She can still forgive you."

Xena shook her head violently from side to side.

"No, you are lying!" she shouted. "Please stop! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Because Xena, I am your guilty conscience and I am the only one who can get you home to your precious Gabrielle."

Xena felt herself being pushed to the edge of the rocks. She looked down at the water. The waves seemed to swell higher and higher, waiting to claim their next victim.

Then she was falling, falling into complete darkness.

A startled cry pierced the night as sharp claws wrapped around Xena's waist, cutting into the leather of her dress, piercing the flesh underneath. She was pulled from Argo and thrown to the ground like a rag doll. The beast stood above her. Saliva dripped from its teeth onto her face, trickling into her hair, as she lay staring up at it. She knew it was going to try and kill her, but she wasn't going to let it accomplish that.

With a mighty war cry, she raised her feet and kicked the creature hard in the chest, catching it off balance. She took the opportunity to get to her feet and grab for her Chakram.

"I will never hurt Gabrielle ever again!" She shouted, her eyes glinting with fury. "Do you hear me?!"

The best growled and lunged for her. Xena took aim with the Chakram and let it go. It sliced into the throat of the creature, beheading it instantly.

The headless body crashed to the ground, nearly knocking the warrior princess backwards from the force. Blood began to ooze from the gaping wound and puddle at her feet. The head landed next to it, its eyes now staring lifelessly up at her.

Xena returned her priceless weapon to its place on her right hip. She noticed that the wounds the beast had inflicted were no longer there. She whistled for Argo. The golden mare instantly came to her master and Xena mounted her.

Now the warrior princess could return home.

"By the gods, Xena!" Gabrielle cried as the warrior princess rode into camp. "I have been worried sick about you!"

Xena jumped down from Argo and threw her arms around her best friend, hugging her as tightly as she could.

"I have missed you so much!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I thought I would never be able to return to you."

"Xena, what do you mean?" Gabrielle asked. "What happened?"

Xena told her everything she had been through and everything she had seen: the demon, the 20^th Century, the future Gabrielle and her tragic death, and defeating the demon. All the while she continued to hold onto the girl as if her life depended on it. She was afraid that if she let go Gabrielle would disappear just like the apparition had.

"All that in just a few candlemarks?" Gabrielle sounded a little doubtful.

Xena released her hold and moved the girl where she could look down into her face.

"It felt like it really happened, Gabrielle, and it did." Her voice held a note of pleading in it, wanting desperately for her best friend to believe her. "And you even came to me, begging me to come home. And I made my way home."

Tears filled her beautiful blue eyes and slipped down her cheeks. Gabrielle reached up and wiped them away. Xena hugged her to her again.

"I will never ever leave you again," she promised, burying her face into the long reddish-blonde hair. "And I will never ever do anything to hurt you again"

"I love you Xena," Gabrielle whispered, overcome by her own emotions.

More tears slipped down the warrior's face.

"I love you, too, Gabrielle."

THE END