Chapter LXXIII

Darius extended his hand to the man swiftly approaching his position. He had arrived on the reservation and been promptly stopped by the tribal police. So he had gotten out of Leena’s car and leaned up against the hood, arms and ankles casually crossed as they had waited for the Chief and the Shaman to arrive. Chief Isaac Running Man was the first to make it, and he met Darius’ hand with a sense of excitement and trepidation. He and the warriors of his clan were looking forward to the coming battle, as it was the first real challenge many of them had faced. But the Shaman had warned them that this fight would be like nothing they’d ever imagined, and that was causing real fear among the tribe.

Still, they had promised their support to both the Fae and to Xena and Gabrielle, who were considered part of the People by virtue of the ties that went back generations. None of them quite understood it, but it was an accepted fact among the tribes. There was too much evidence to refute the claim, even though Xena and Gabrielle had never pursued such recognition. In fact, had Xena not felt the need to ask for permission to utilize part of their land, they likely would not even have known about the approaching conflict. As it was, when she’d asked to use part of the land considered dead and cursed, the Shaman couldn’t have agreed fast enough. Chief Running Man had tried to demand an explanation then and there, but the Shaman - John Stillwater - had refused.

“If… when this is over, and we have survived this, I will explain. I have written it down in case I am one who does not survive… and also to prove I was right,” he added with a grin. “But I have no desire to jinx this operation. The legends and stories we have of the Warrior and Bard are very clear - they have been friends to our Peoples, and to the People of the other nations of natives for far longer than our lifetimes. I believe it is right and also in our best interests to stand with them now.”

“You do not think this will destroy us, then?”

“I think not taking action will be detrimental.”

Chief Running Man had considered his words for several minutes, studying an expression that did not change or waver. Finally, he nodded.

“Very well,” he agreed, then took his decision to the war council. They had begun preparing immediately, and the warriors were still hard at work.

Now, he accepted Darius’ hand in a warrior’s clasp with a smile. “How are you, my friend?”

“I be doin’ all right, Chi… Isaac,” he corrected when the Chief held up his hand. “Yourself?”

Isaac nodded. “There is much excitement among the warriors here… and some fear. Do we know any more about this evil? Have we heard anything specific about his expected arrival?”

Darius shook his head, then turned to greet the Shaman as he arrived. “John,” he said as they shook hands.

“Darius. Sorry to be late to greet you, but my wife is more than a little anxious about this whole thing. I’ve been trying to give her some peace about it, but we’ve been married too long for her not to see through my bullshit,” causing the other two men to chuckle. “It’s hard to convince her everything is going to be okay when I can’t even say for certain what we’re going up against.”

“Well, the Fae should be here any minute,” Darius commented. “I heard from Trick just a little while ago. Maybe that’ll help….”

Just then, a loud clamor could be heard coming down the road. Isaac’s cell phone rang right on cue. “Sir, we’ve got what amounts to a convoy of RV’s and shit coming our way. You want us to gather up the warriors or…?”

Darius was already on the phone with Trick. “Tell ‘em the Blood King is in the lead RV. He be stopping to get out and greet them.” Isaac relayed the message to the sentries, then turned back to Darius. “You want we should go down and meet them?”

Isaac and John nodded simultaneously. “I think it’s in all of our best interests,” climbing into Leena’s car as Darius slid into the driver’s seat. “I wonder why they brought RVs though. You said they were going to stay with our Fae here.”

Darius nodded. “Some will,” he agreed. “But I don’t think you understand just how many Fae be in this procession,” just as they came over the hill and could see the line of vehicles stretched out as far as the eye could see.

“Holy….”
“…Shit.”

Darius would have laughed at the reaction, except John’s phone rang again… this time with a message none of them were expecting.

“Sir, we’ve got a situation.”

Isaac sighed. John covered his eyes and released a slow breath. Darius shook his head and kept driving.

************

It was silent in the conference room for several minutes as the women absorbed the tale Gabrielle had just wrought for them. Honestly, it was a little beyond believable, yet every word she spoke had a ring of truth in it. Bo and Lauren, of course, knew it for fact - they had Trick’s story as well as what they had witnessed themselves from Gabrielle. They remained silent as the others processed what they had been told.

“You’re really millennia old?” was the first question finally asked. Gabrielle turned to Olivia.

“We are,” not mentioning that technically, she was millennia older than Xena at this point, having had to live through each and every day of their separation. “We were there when this all started.” she sighed, not wanting to relive that again. “Look… I know each of you probably have a million questions - some of which are your business and some of which really aren’t - but the fact is, we really don’t have time to fill in two thousand years of blanks just to satisfy your curiosity at the moment. Not to sound harsh or ungrateful, because we’re not, but….”

“Gabrielle,” Barbara broke in. “It’s all right… we get it. The fact is, you’re entitled to your privacy, no matter how curious we are. And we’re pretty curious; I feel confident I can say that for all of us,” watching heads nod around the table. “Maybe when this is over, you’ll be able to and feel like sharing more, but it’s not necessary. We said we’d help, and we meant it. There weren’t any strings attached to that decision.”

Xena and Gabrielle looked around the room, meeting the eyes of each woman present. When they were satisfied that each of them agreed with Barbara’s words, they turned to each other for a moment, and the rest watched in awe as the communicated silently. Then Gabrielle turned back to them with a tremulous smile. “Thank you… all of you.” She cleared her throat. “Now the next thing you should know is….”

At that moment, the Farnsworth in Xena’s pocked buzzed noisily for attention. She gave Gabrielle an apologetic look. “Excuse me,” she muttered, then snapped it open. A panicked looking Claudia stared back at her.

“Dude! You need to come see this. Something is happening at the battlefield.”

Everyone in the room froze with the utterance of those words… everyone except Xena who lunged for the door. “Something like what?” she demanded, not realizing the rest were following her from the room.

************

Darius stopped the car about twenty feet from where the lead RV was idling. He got out and headed toward the man casually standing in front of it with a beautiful woman to either side. Darius’ eyes widened as he sensed a werebeing, but he nearly jerked a knot in his neck when he got a good look at the other woman. He didn’t have time to question it before Trick met him with a hand extended and a wide grin.

“Darius!”

Darius chuckled and locked arms with Trick, bringing him in for as much of a hug as could be managed between their greatly differentiated heights. Though not highly ranked among the Fae, he was highly regarded by them, especially by the Blood King whose life he’d once saved quite by accident and without thought to himself. It had bonded them as little else could and it showed… especially when they were together. They stood back and examined one another to see what changes time had wrought, then Darius turned to the Chief and motioned him forward. He had watched the reunion with no small interest, and he moved forward with alacrity when beckoned. Darius smiled at him, and he almost smiled back in reflex.

“Chief Isaac Running Man, please meet the Blood King of the Fae… Fitzpatrick McCorrigan,” garnering him a glare and a growl from the aforementioned Blood King. “Trick, this is Chief Isaac Running Man, head of the Dakota Sioux tribes in the Black Hills and War Chief among all the Sioux Nations.”

Trick held out his arm. “Chief Running Man… my name is Trick, and it is my pleasure to meet you in person at last.”

Isaac bowed slightly to acknowledge Trick’s role as the Blood King, then took his arm in the traditional warrior way. “It is our honor to host you and your people. Please call me Isaac.” He motioned to the two women that stood silently behind Trick, taking in their surroundings with very little movement. “Will you introduce us to your lovely companions?”

Trick cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. “Let me clear up something really quick here, before this becomes a whole thing. These,” motioning to Tamsin and Ruby, “are my associates. Calling them anything else will lead to bad things.”

Isaac’s eyes widened. “I meant no disrespect.”

“I know. And so would they if things were normal. But they’re not and everyone is just a little bit on edge. Come,” tugging on Isaac’s arm. “Let me introduce you.” He looked back at Darius, who hadn’t moved. “You too, Darius. You’re quite the legend in the Fae community, you know, and everyone wants to meet you.”

Darius leaned to one side so he could see the line of cars and RVs waiting to be admitted onto the res. His eyes glowed briefly, and he swallowed hard. “ALL them folks?” jerking his chin in the general direction.

“All them folks,” Trick confirmed. “But these ladies first,” turning to the two just as a third emerged from inside the vehicle. “Gentlemen, this is Ruby, a werewolf; Tamsin, a Valkyrie; and Kenzi, a pain in my ass,” moving quickly away from her when she swatted at him. “Ladies, our host, Chief Isaac Running Man and  Fae hero, Darius Chansirèn.”

Their greetings were swift, as there was much to do to get such a large group settled. Trick signaled the women to resume their places inside the RV, and he walked Darius and Isaac back to Leena’s car under the guise of meeting the Shaman, who was still on the phone. In the interim, he turned to Darius. “Have you seen Dyson? I expected him to meet us here, but none of us has been able to reach him.”

Darius shook his head. “I know he arrived. He made quite the stir because he came into the encampment as his were self. Miss Gabrielle had to go out and settle things down and take him somewhere he could reform and rest privately. From what I could piece together, he musta run all the way here. I ain’t heard nothin’ from nor ‘bout him since then.”

Trick nodded slowly. “No wonder the boy’s tuckered out.” He clapped Darius’ arm. “Thanks.”

“Any time, Old Man,” he smirked, knowing he was one of the few who could get away with such. They turned back to their hosts just as John hung up the phone. Thankfully, Isaac asked the question all of them were thinking.

“John? What was that all about?”

He looked at the three men facing him. “Were you expecting anyone else? Was another group of warriors invited to this little shindig?”

They looked at one another, then turned to him in confusion. “No?”

“Hmm… because it appears someone invited the Amazons.”

************

Hippolyta pinched the bridge of her nose, wishing beyond hope she’d been able to reach Diana… or Gabrielle… or Xena, for that matter… before they’d left Themiscyra. She and her Amazons had arrived in the place to which Diana had sent them the coordinates, but no one was expecting them, and Diana was not here to greet them. She looked around at her patiently waiting army, wondering what she was supposed to do now.

The warriors that had greeted them were skeptical at best, but they had allowed them to move into the meeting hall until a decision could be made. Hippolyta’s issue with that, of course, was that the Amazons didn’t seem to be part of the decision-making process, and that wasn’t sitting well with anyone in her camp.

“Queen Hippolyta? How long must we sit here waiting for men to decide our fate?”

Hippolyta turned to the young warrior that had spoken. “They are not deciding our fate, Misha. They are deciding if we will stand with them. If they choose not to allow it, then we will go and find our Queen and my daughter. Then it won’t matter what these men decide.”

“Then why don’t we just go find them now? Why waste the time…?”

“Because this is where Diana asked us to wait. I just don’t understand why the People here were not alerted to our coming.”

“It is possible that something unexpected happened to keep the Queen or Princess from notifying the People of this land. But that means we are missing something important… because Diana would not forget about us, and neither would the Queen.”

Hippolyta held up her hands before any sort of hysteria could begin to assert itself into her army. “Enough!” she said in a low, commanding tone. “There is no reason for any of you to start stirring the pot. Everyone is antsy enough without any added pressure. Let’s just wait and talk to the people that are supposed to be on their way here. Perhaps we might come to an understanding without having to start infighting between what should be allies, at this point.”

“Well said, dear lady,” a male voice commented from the door at the back of the room. Every single body turned his way, and before he could introduce himself, the warriors of the Amazons were lined up and in an attack formation that had him in the center of it. He held his hands up in surrender. “I come in peace,” he said, with no hint of a smile. “I am Chief Isaac Running Man. Which of you is Queen Hippolyta?”

Hippolyta stepped forward. “I am actually the Regent, but you may call me Hippolyta.” He dipped his head in acknowledgement. “What is the word on allowing us to remain here with you?”

“I am of a mind to allow it. I believe you speak truth to me about your struggles to reach your daughter as well as the Warrior and the Bard. Throughout their history with us, it has been like that where they are concerned. We are able to reach them when they allow it… or they initiate contact,” garnering smiles around the room. He chuckled. “I see it has been much the same for you.”

Hippolyta rolled her eyes. “You have no idea,” seeing the twinkle in his own. “But I bet you can guess,” laughing when he nodded vigorously. “Where would you like to put us? It’s getting late, and we still need to set up our gear.”

“If you’d like to stay indoors - and I’d advise it as much as is feasible - here would be the best place. It is our largest enclosed space. I wish we could offer better, but since we had no idea of your coming, there really is nowhere else. The Fae made arrangements in advance, and they arrived ahead of you.”

“Why is indoors preferred, and who are the Fae?”

“Indoors is best because we have already had hoar frost and some light dusting of snow on the ground overnight. Not very comfortable to wake up under even when you live in a colder climate, and it is clear from your color that you are used to somewhere that has much sunshine. As for the Fae….” He considered his words for a moment. “I would like you to come with me to meet the Blood King,” causing a murmur to race among the Amazons until Hippolyta raised her hand for silence. Isaac turned to face the Warriors of the Nation. “I would not deliberately put your Queen in harm’s way - that would not bode well for our alliance, and I believe we will need all of us to defeat the evil which is coming.”

“That still doesn’t tell us what Fae are.”

“They are a group of gifted individuals… different gifts according to their birthright and heritage. I believe Trick or Darius could explain better. Let me just….” He pulled out his phone, then hesitated when Hippolyta covered it with her hand before he could place a call. He looked at her in question.

“We were instructed that they would have ‘no electronics’… especially phones. It was felt it would allow Saligia to track them too easily and bring him to them before they were ready.”

Isaac’s expression turned discomfited as he processed her words. “We were not given these instructions. And we’ve been using our phones up to this moment.” Now his countenance, much like Hippolyta’s, held confusion. “Surely, they did not intend to make us the primary target….” his expression turning troubled.

“No,” Hippolyta replied instantly. “They know they are the primary target, and his focus. You and this area shouldn’t be suspect because he won’t be looking in this direction… not with them nearby. It’s why we were sent here. We,” motioning around the general area to include the Natives and the Amazons, “are the unexpected, unprepared for backup.”

He frowned. “How do you hide the arrival of hundreds of people?”

Hippolyta shrugged. “Easy. You focus his attention elsewhere while it happens.”



Chapter LXXIV

Santana was playing quietly with her godson as both Kurt and Brittany ran diagnostics on the Machine. Something had happened to give her a glitch, and Brittany was trying to fix it, while Kurt endeavored to trace its origins. Santana felt there was something more she should be doing, but Bryson’s teething issues and general unhappiness precluded that idea. So, she held him and rocked him, singing to him under her breath so as not to disturb the others. She knew she wasn’t quite successful when they began to sing harmony with her, but she smiled at the sound and the memories it stirred.

She felt a sense of pleasure when his unhappy cries turned to grins, then sleepy yawns. She yawned in reflex, then had to chuckle when both Kurt and Brittany did the same, rolling their eyes at her in tandem. She started to sing a lullaby to charm Bryson to sleep, then stopped abruptly when she saw first Brittany, then Kurt, freeze.

“What is it?” she whispered, moving up behind them to see what had caused such a reaction. Then she froze and looked down at the sleeping child in her arms. She tapped Kurt on the shoulder, and he turned without a word, accepting his son and moving over to the couch.

Santana sat down in the chair he had just vacated. Then she turned towards Brittany and just waited.

“No, Santana. NO. You can’t do this.”

Santana reached out a hand and cupped Brittany’s face, wiping a tear away with her thumb, then tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I have to, Baby. It’s my job. And even if it wasn’t,” she continued before Brittany could offer a protest, “I’d still have to go. My first job… my first responsibility… is to take care of you… to make sure you can make the world a better place.”

“I don’t care about the world, Sanny. I care about you. You are my world.”

“And you are mine,” Santana responded, bringing their foreheads together. “I can’t not do whatever it takes to protect you.” She leaned back and wiped the tears from her face, then that of her wife. “I will do everything I can to come back to you, but if I can’t….” She had to stop speaking for a minute as her voice wavered, and Brittany howled in anguish. She placed on hand over her mouth and the other over Brittany’s. “If I can’t, I want you to do what you need to do to be happy - find someone else… yes,” she said when Brittany started shaking her head vigorously. “Find someone who will love you as fiercely as I do… or as close as you can manage. Be happy. Take the eggs we put away for later and make beautiful babies with Lady Hummel over there,” gesturing towards Kurt, who was trying very hard not to listen to what was being said between them. “Let Xena and Gabrielle look after you for a little while and help you heal.”

“There would be no coming back from this,” Brittany stated emphatically. “So, don’t you go and do something stupid and irrevocable.” She closed her eyes and ignored the tears rolling down her cheeks. “You don’t want to know what will happen if I have to come find you.”

At this, Santana chuckled, though it was watery and weak. “No,” she admitted. “I really don’t. But I do need to go take care of this now.”

Brittany nodded, straightening Santana’s collar before she locked her hands behind her neck. “Come home to me,” she instructed.

“Do my best.”

“That’s all I can asked for,” then they kissed for long moments before Santana unlocked Brittany’s hands from behind her neck. She raised them to her lips and kissed them, then she met Kurt’s eyes and gave him a sharp nod before exiting the room without a backward glance.

He and Brittany stared at the closed door for a full minute, then he stood and placed his son in the nest Santana had built for him. Kurt made sure his boy was safe, then he returned to his computer. “Let’s make sure she comes home,” he said to Brittany in a low tone. Brittany didn’t verbally respond; she just returned her attention back to her work.

************

The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable; they were the partners that waited; that listened; that cheered the games together while their other halves gossiped and shopped. They had actually spent some time in the last year hanging out without much conversation or discussion. So standing Shiva with Ian was not a real hardship for either Shaw or Lucy. And secretly, Ian was happy for the company.

He had just glanced at his watch, idly wondering how much longer Casey might be, when he heard a howl that sent chills up his spine. He turned to look at Shaw, who was half-hidden in the shadows of the other side of the tree he was leaning against, and the look on her face nearly broke his heart. He stepped closer, wanting to make sure she was all right. But when he put a hand on her arm, she swung blindly and released a scream of her own, then ran back toward the campground.

Not that Ian was in a position to know this - when Shaw’s fist had connected with his face, all he’d known was darkness for what felt like forever. He felt Casey’s touch, and he turned toward it, wincing at how badly his face ached. It took a couple minutes, but eventually he was standing on his own two feet again.

“You all right?” Lucy asked, seeing him sway.

“Yeah,” he said. “C’mon.” He took Casey’s hand and started back, walking as quickly as he could. Abbie came up beside Lucy, and they clustered close behind, not wanting to be alone to discover whatever had caused Shaw to react so violently. They weren’t ready for the horror that awaited them.

************

The Amazons had set up their gear as well as could be managed. Quarters were tight, and it had been a long time since they’d had to be quite so cozy with one another. But as the Chief had pointed out, they were inside with heat and running water. All things considered, it could have been much worse.

However, setting up hadn’t taken too long, and it was far too early to try to go to sleep… despite whatever exhaustion they might be feeling from their travel. No one was really surprised to see Hippolyta grab her jacket and head outside. It took less than two minutes for the remainder of the warriors to do the same.

They didn’t speak - they didn’t need to. They’d sworn an oath to follow this woman - their Regent - to their death if necessary, and none of them believed that was where she was leading them… at least not at the moment. Instead, they arrived at a bonfire that was surrounded by all manner of people. Most turned and looked at them, then simply made room for them to join. That action caused Chief Running Man to take notice, and he crossed over to greet Hippolyta, offering his hand in welcome.

“Hello, Hippolyta. I was hoping you and your warriors would join us. As you pointed out, we are unexpected, unlooked for allies in this venture. It’s for the best that we learn that here before we are put to the test out there.”

She noted the movement of her troops, as well as those of the People and even some of the Fae. She smirked. “Somehow… I don’t think it’s going to be a problem,” knowing there were going to be challenges and tests between them, so they could learn one another’s capabilities and weaknesses. She met his eyes. “We might need to put our healers on alert, though.”

Isaac looked around at the activity taking place, and his eyes widened a bit. “Oh… dear. Yes, perhaps we should,” he agreed casually. “In the meantime, would you join Trick and me?” nodding his head to where the Blood King sat with Darius and the Shaman. He would like to meet you.”

Hippolyta studied the small group watching them intently and was surprised when Trick bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment of her position. She returned his nod graciously, then turned back to Isaac and took his arm. “I would be delighted.” Several of the Queen’s Guard moved to join them, but Hippolyta shook her head. “No… you go join the war games; I’ll be fine.”

“And if something happens and the Queen finds out?” her Captain demanded. “Each of them has a second with them,” jerking her chin in the direction of the seated men.

Hippolyta sighed. “You may join us, Drea. But I insist the rest go take part in the games. The warriors need to know they can depend on one another; this is the time to establish that.”

Drea nodded. “As you say, Regent,” flicking her fingers to scatter the rest of the Guard into the preparations for the games. She knew - they both did - that it would only take a single motion of her head or fingers to bring them running to the Regent’s defense. “Shall we move on?” gesturing to where the men were still waiting and observing.

Hippolyta smirked, as though it was not Drea that had caused the hold up in the first place. She turned to Isaac, who had silently considered the tableau between the Regent and her second. He sensed great respect there, but also more than a hint of frustration. It made him wonder a great many things, but before he could speculate further, Hippolyta nodded her head in the direction of the waiting leaders.

“Shall we, Isaac? I am very interested to meet this Blood King, and to find out more about yourself and your People here. We’ve had little exposure to the Native Peoples of this land, and Diana did not give us much detail when she sent us here. I apologize for that, by the way. I fully expected that she or our Queen would have notified you of our coming. It seems like common courtesy.”

He shrugged as they arrived on the other side of the bonfire. “Perhaps, dear lady. But I can understand their need for secrecy if that is the reason they did not. A surprise for us would also be a surprise for Saligia. But also, I have been given to understand that their timeline changed quite rapidly. Some of the details could have slipped through the cracks.”

“I hope not,” she replied gravely. “For one thing, your People and mine are not merely details. For another, if they can forget something as large and as important as their allies, what does that say for our chances of defeating him when the time comes?”

The rest looked thoughtful at her words, even as Trick stood and rose to his full, short height and stepped forward. The rest followed his example, though they remained in place otherwise. Hippolyta didn’t even flinch. She simply accepted his hand in her own and studied him with a warrior’s eye. He was obviously more than he seemed at first glance. He strength was apparent in his arms and shoulders, and he had a twinkle in his eyes that belied his sense of humor. But beyond that, she could see the exhaustion of his years - something that she understood firsthand. She proffered her hand to him, and he accepted with alacrity… something that brought knowing smiles to the faces of the men gathered there and a frown to her Guard.

“Queen Hippolyta,” he greeted, lifting her hand to his lips. “It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you. I had wondered if we would ever have the chance.” She squeezed his hand lightly, and he released his hold. “I am Fitzpatrick McCorrigan, known to my friends as Trick.”

Hippolyta nodded. “Trick,” she repeated. “This is my second and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Drea,” who nodded in their general direction, though she did not offer her hand. He offered a nod of his own, then turned back to the Regent when she spoke again. “And who are these other two gentlemen?”

“My friend, Darius Chansirèn,” motioning him forward. Darius bowed low and let his eyes flash. Hippolyta nodded her head in acceptance, and his eyes widened in surprise.

“You know of the Siren?”

She smiled gently. “When you have lived as long as I have, you learn many things about the world, whether you live in it or not.”

He bowed again at her words and moved back to allow the Shaman to come forward. Isaac patted the hand that still rested on his arm. “This is our Shaman - our medicine man - John Stillwater.” John offered his arm in a warrior greeting, and Hippolyta took it without hesitation and shook it firmly. He didn’t say anything but smiled his acceptance of her strength and leadership. When John released Hippolyta’s arm, Isaac spoke again. “Shall we be seated, gentlemen and ladies? I do believe there is much for us to discuss.”

They formed a small circle, with Hippolyta, Trick and Isaac on the inside circle, and Drea, Darius and John sitting slightly behind and to their right forming a second, larger circle. then they fell into conversation that fell into full swing for a bit until darkness fully fell. Then the sound of a howl brought everyone and everything to a standstill… for a long moment before they all started shifting into action.

Hippolyta stood and held up her hand, but no one paid attention. Without being asked, Darius stood beside her and whistled so sharply that the entire contingent of movement halted and waited to see what directives they would be given. Surely, this was their cue to ready for battle. Everyone was surprised by the words that came out of Hippolyta’s mouth.

************

Santana carefully strapped on her weapons - the extras she almost never bothered with. She’d gotten a lot better about not bragging on herself - Xena had taught her that, and the value of leaving something in reserve to surprise your enemies with - but the fact was, she rarely needed more than the single gun she normally kept on her person. In fairness, usually Joss or Shaw was with her to watch her back… or Root if she was tired of being cooped up in the office…, so she seldom needed more. This time, however, it was just her. Shaw and Root were with Xena and Gabrielle in BFE South Dakota, and Joss had been called away on another assignment. She blew out a nervous breath. This time, she was genuinely scared.

What they had all seen on the monitor reminded her of the stories she’d heard about the Headless Horseman when they’d all returned from New Orleans. She’d wished, at the time, that she and Brittany had been able to go to the convention, but now she could only think how horrifying it must have been. Because whatever she’d seen on the monitor that looked like the monster they had described had scared the crap out of her. But she knew for a certainty that she had to keep it away from Brittany and the Machine at all costs. She had a feeling it was responsible for the glitch that was making things difficult for them to monitor things like they should be.

She took a deep breath and stepped into the odd, red lighting of the stairwell that lead to the roof, leading with her Glock 17. Her footsteps were silent, and the door opened soundlessly. She looked around cautiously, not entirely sure what she would find but suspecting that the Horseman was waiting for… something. She moved away from the door slowly, carefully placing each footstep so as to remain undetected. Then she came around the corner of the building that housed the Machine’s secondary power unit….

… only to find nothing. She released a slow breath, knowing there was no way it could be that easy. She rounded the next corner, then the next, until she reached the final corner that would put her back where she’d started. She closed her eyes and offered up a prayer for her safety and Brittany’s and stepped around the corner.

The Horseman was larger than she’d expected her to be - close to six and a half feet without her head - her horse massive. Santana chanced to wonder how she’d managed to get such a huge animal to the roof of a mid-rise building, but the thought slid away when both horse and rider focused on her with harsh, red eyes.

“You’re no innocent,” the Horseman stated from under her arm where her head was tucked.

Santana smirked and snorted, her bravado overcoming her natural fear and distaste. “Neither are you.”

She watched as flames lit up the red eyes from within and bit her lip to keep from responding visually. “You mock me?” the Horseman demanded, her voice low and gravelly with a hint of discordant music running through it. Santana shook her head, though she never let her weapon waver.

“I would never. I’m just stating fact.”

The Horseman eyed her for a moment longer, then gave a sickening grin. “I like you,” causing shivers of misery to scoot up Santana’s spine. She kept from shivering by sheer will. “As such, I am going to make you an offer. Choose wisely, mortal. I do not do this often.”

Santana waited, then rolled her eyes. “You gonna tell me what this offer is, or are we just gonna stand around looking at each other all day. I mean, I can see why you’d wanna stare - I’m a fine piece of ass, after all, but I gotta tell ya… you’re not much to look at.”

“Impudence! I should….”

“You should get on with it. I gots other places to be and a wife to cuddle with. Can we cut to the chase already?” arm still steady as her gun remained pointed at the intruder.

The Horseman stared at Santana, but she’d grown used to the hideousness and returned her regard benignly. Finally… “I will give you one opportunity to leave - turn and walk away and return to your wife and friend. In return, I will ignore your temerity in speaking to me as you have, for I admire the spirit and bravery you have shown regarding me this eve.”

Santana felt oddly flattered by the words, but she knew it was so much bullshit. “Um hm… so, you want me to leave you alone up here to do what exactly? Because I’m pretty sure you’re the one causing the issues my wife is having right now, and see… it’s my job to stop that.”

The Horseman sneered. “You can’t stop me, Mortal!”

Santana shrugged. “Maybe not, but I can make sure you can’t finish!” she yelled as the wind picked up around her. She released the safety and started firing before she finished speaking. She saw the Horseman flinch more than once… especially when a shot hit her directly in the eye… and wondered why simple bullets would make something supernatural and beyond the mortal plane recoil in visible pain.

Then she didn’t have the chance to think anymore, as she found her neck in the grasp of an incredibly strong being. She dropped her gun and reached for the hands curled around her neck and squeezing, hoping beyond hope that Brittany wasn’t watching her die.

“I did warn you, Mortal,” the Horseman stated with a diabolical grin.

“You did,” she wheezed with a sickly grin of her own as she reached to her back and drew the blade Xena had given her specifically for this situation. She had to wonder how she could have known but figured it all tied into something beyond her own experience. She smiled grimly. “But at least I’ll get to do some damage first,” swinging her arm and hitting the Horseman square in the chest. The Horseman winced and loosened her grip, allowing Santana to drop to the ground. She knelt, wheezing as she tried to get her breath. Then she felt herself wrapped up in a bone rope, and then she knew nothing at all.



Chapter LXXV

Brittany watched the tableau playing out before her despite Kurt’s every attempt to move her away from the larger monitor. She’d known what was coming as soon as Santana had decided to take care of a threat that shouldn’t have been anywhere near them. All their intel indicated that the Horseman should be in BFE, South Dakota with Saligia.

She blinked as that train of thought settled into her mind, and she realized what that meant. The Machine was obviously a threat to Saligia, and Santana was doing her best to make sure Saligia’s minion wouldn’t succeed in her mission. With one eye on the monitor, her fingers flew over the keyboard. When she was satisfied that the Machine understood the directives she had given and was ready to fulfill her new purpose, Brittany’s attention went back to the interplay on the roof. She watched the Horseman wrap her bone rope around Santana’s body, and she hit the ENTER button on her keyboard as the tears flowed down her face. Then she raced out the door and fled up the stairs, hoping against hope for one more minute with her wife.

************

Kurt watched her go, his hand pressed tightly against his mouth to keep his screams silent. He had seen what the Horseman had done to Santana in her final moments, but he knew better than to try and stop Brittany. If he knew Santana - and he liked to think he did after all these years - she would have locked the door behind her to keep anyone from following her out onto the roof. It gave him a few minutes to pull himself together before he followed Brittany and offered her whatever support he could. He closed his eyes and drew several breaths, then he went to the desk and turned off the monitor, picking up the emergency number Xena had left with them and grabbing his phone.

He sat down beside his son and ran a shaky hand through his hair, glad he was asleep and too young to understand what was going on. Then he pressed the numbers on the note and waited for a voice to answer.

************

Shaw felt the howl that came from Root’s mouth almost before she heard it. She turned and started running back to the battlefield, not realizing that she clocked Ian hard enough to knock him flat of his ass. She was too focused on getting back to Root, because that sound meant nothing good. This was a woman that had suffered any manner of injuries with little more than her sarcastic wit, so to hear her literally scream in misery was a sign of bad, bad things. Shaw only realized how bad as she crested the top of the hill that led down into the battlefield valley.

Where there had been hundreds of women milling about and a huge bonfire as well as several smaller ones, now there was… nothing. There was no trace of anyone or anything, and nothing left to show that there ever had been anyone or anything there in the first place. There were no bodies; no footprints; not a scrap of paper nor a hint of smoke. It was all an empty nothing… much like she suspected it had been before they’d claimed it as their place to make a stand.

She looked around frantically. Surely there must be some trace of something somewhere. People didn’t just disappear without leaving a trace… especially that many people. And Root would have waited for her if it had been at all possible. She knew Shaw would come running to her rescue after hearing that scream, and she’d have waited, despite knowing the teasing that would have followed.

Shaw’s Marine instincts clicked in, and she drew her weapon, scanning the entire area again with a scout’s eyes. She saw something… maybe, then she heard her companions coming up behind her, making enough noise to be heard in the next county. She held up her hand, fist clenched, and both Ian and Lucy halted and made certain their companions did the same and remained silent. Shaw turned and gave them a look and the slightest nod. Lucy and Ian exchanged glances, then Lucy made her way to Shaw’s side.

“What’s going on?” she whispered so lowly that Shaw only made out the words because they were spoken directly into her ear. She grasped Lucy’s chin and shifted her head until she could see across the empty battlefield. Shaw felt her gasp, but Lucy was professional enough that she didn’t actually hear it. She felt Lucy take her hand and remove it from her face, and they turned and met one another’s eyes.

“What the actual fuck?”

Shaw shrugged and shook her head, then tugged on the hand Lucy still clasped. Together, they made their way back to where the others were silently waiting.

Four mouths opened, but before they could do more than pull in a breath, Shaw held up a hand and motioned them away from the battlefield. Silently, they moved back toward the trailer area, not speaking until Abbie led them inside and the door was closed soundly behind them. then they all turned and looked at Shaw… and waited.

She swallowed hard, trying to rid herself of the taste of bile she could feel burning at the back of her throat. Then she shook her head and sucked in air as though her lungs were empty, clearing her throat before she spoke. “Something… something is wrong - something bad. There’s nothing left on the battlefield; there’s not even a sign there’s ever been anything there,” watching eyes widen as they processed the meaning of her words. “There may be something beyond the immediate… after all, these trailers are still here… but there is literally no sign that anyone was ever in the area. And we know no one came this way while you two were talking,” motioning between Abbie and Casey. “I was getting ready to do a sweep when you guys came up the hill.”

“Should we do that now?”

Shaw’s smirk was wry. “Does anyone know how to aside from Lucy?” seeing Ian raise his hand. “And do you have a weapon with you?” watching him nod slowly as he removed a .380 Smith & Wesson from a back holster.

“My Dáskalos taught me never to be without one, and this is something I’ve learned how to conceal even when I fly commercial.”

Two sets of eyes widened at that bit of information. “I’d like to hear about that,” Lucy commented, garnering a nod from Shaw before she refocused their attention on the task at hand.

“I’m guessing that explains the size,” smiling grimly when he nodded. “It’ll do.” she turned to Casey and Abbie. “You two stay here and lock the door behind us. Don’t open it for anyone except the three of us.”

“Now wait just a damn minute,” Abbie protested. “Who the hell do you think…?”

Her words were cut off when Shaw grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the ground as she pushed her against the wall.

“I am the woman telling you exactly how shit is gonna go down. You don’t have a weapon - that makes you a liability. There’s more going on here than your fragile ego. So you can either stay here by choice, or I’ll shoot you myself.”

The other three remained stock still, knowing Shaw was at a hair-trigger, and any movement from them could mean bad consequences for Abbie. For her part, Abbie’s eyes never left Shaw’s face, studying it intently as she wondered how such a small person could radiate such menace. She nodded her head slowly. Shaw held her in place a moment longer, then released her hold. Abbie’s feet hit the floor and she allowed her body to follow until she was sitting on the ground. Shaw turned back to the rest and pinned Casey with her stare.

“Stay here. Keep the door locked until we get back, and don’t open it for anyone, including us, unless we give you the password.”

Casey frowned. “What password?”

Shaw looked at her a long moment, then smirked. She moved over beside Casey and leaned into her until she could cup a hand around her moth and whisper directly into Casey’s ear when she bent down to listen. Then she burst into laughter and repeated it into Shaw’s ear to ensure she’d understood. Shaw nodded.

“I’ll tell these two, and you can share with her once we’re gone and the door is locked.” Then she led the way to the door with all but Abbie following along behind her. She opened the door and motioned Ian and Lucy ahead of her. “Lock it, then go back and check on your friend. We’ll be back as quick as we can.” then she closed the door and headed back toward the battlefield with determined steps.

************

Xena closed the Farnsworth as she entered the office, then was nearly run over when she turned to close the door. She looked at Gabrielle with an arched brow. Gabrielle simply smirked and shrugged her shoulders. “C’mon, Xe. We can’t expect them to stay behind anymore. They’re part of this.”

Xena nodded, but she didn’t say anything. she watched as the women moved single file until they were squeezed into the small office. She turned to Claudia. “What’ve we got?”

At that moment, the door from the corridor burst inward and half a dozen weapons were brought to bear on the unsuspecting Helena as she skidded into the doorway. Her hands went up to try and diffuse the situation she had accidentally created, though it was clear from the look on her face that she was still dazed with sleep.

“Red? What the hell’s going on here? What was that scream?”

Everyone stared at her in befuddlement, then turned back to Xena, who in turn gave her attention back to Claudia. Before she could open her lips to respond, however, there was another clatter in the corridor, and weapons were brought up again. Dinah didn’t even notice as she pushed past Helena and walked directly to Gabrielle, expecting people to move aside for her. She tucked herself into her side and held on for dear life as she hid her face in Gabrielle’s neck.

“They’re dead,” she whispered as tears fell from her eyes. “They’re all just… gone.”

Gabrielle wrapped her up in a tight hug but pulled back so she could look into Dinah’s eyes. “Who’s dead, Dinah? Where are they gone?” But Dinah didn’t answer. She just tucked herself in again and held on tighter.  She felt Diana’s hand rub her back gently, but it only made her squinch her eyes shut harder. Fortunately, Claudia was able to pick up the ball and run with it.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you guys. Something was going on at the battlefield.” She turned her computer screen around so they could see. “There’s nothing left - it’s like there was never anything there.”

Xena picked up the screen and Claudia bit her tongue, having found out enough about both Xena and Gabrielle to know they had every right and then some when it came to the Warehouse. Still, it made her nervous to let her tech out of her hands like that, and she clasped her hands together tightly in her lap and bit her lips together hard. Xena handed the monitor back without a word, then let her eyes track over to Gabrielle, shaking her head the slightest amount.

“What’s happening?” Barbara asked, now holding a lapful of sleepy partner. The rest waited in silence to see what the answer was.

“Claudia, is there a screen in the conference room we were in?”

“Um… yeah, yeah. Along that back wall - just push…. Here, let me go set….”

Myka shook her head. “I’ll take everyone back to the conference room and set it up when we get there.”

“You sure you remember how?”

“Hey! I only forgot the one time. I got this. You find out what Xena needs to send there, and I’ll take care of making sure these guys can see it.” She waved a hand forward, gathering the Guardians together. “C’mon, you guys. Follow me, and we’ll see if we can figure this thing out.”

Barbara was among the last to leave, with Helena shuffling behind her. Gabrielle transferred Dinah’s hold to Diana and indicated she and Kara should follow the rest back to the conference room, then she gestured to HG, who made her way over.

“Can you get some food for these guys? I have a feeling this may be the last chance they get for a while, and Helena and Kara especially need to eat, preferably in large amounts.”

“Will the MREs suffice or…?”

“They’ll be fine. Just bring plenty. And if you know what apartment Br… Batman is in, will you please ask him to join us in the conference room.”

“Certainly,” making her way out of the office and to the storage area when they were keeping boxes of MREs ready for the Guardians. Then she rethought her plan, realizing that ‘plenty’ likely meant she would need help carrying the not-exactly-lightweight boxes. She decided she might as well kill two birds and all that.

************

When the office door closed behind HG, Xena turned back to Claudia, who held up her hand before Xena could speak. “Thanks. I didn’t want to bring this up in front of the others; I don’t think you want them to know about this,” searching across her desk until she found the note she was looking for. “A man named….” she twisted the paper back and forth trying to make out her own handwriting, then tilted her head before exclaiming, “Oh! Kurt Hummel… he called about half an hour ago,” watching Xena’s expression morph into something not quite rage. “Before you ask,” she continued, “As soon as I got off the phone with him, I sent a drone out to the battlefield. I couldn’t… I couldn’t find anything. That’s when I called you.”

“What did Kurt have to say?” Gabrielle asked. “The number he had to reach us here was only to be used in an emergency.”

Claudia cleared her throat, eyes watering at the question. “He, um… he was really upset, like he was trying desperately not to lose his composure. He said that the Horseman had shown up on the roof of your building, and that someone named Santana died trying to subdue her.”

Gabrielle covered her mouth to contain her gasp, and Xena merely closed her eyes and released a slow breath before she cursed. “Fuck.”

“That’s why I sent the drone to the battlefield before I called you. I just thought if the Horseman had been spotted in New York, I should probably get eyes on the battlefield in case the Horseman or that Saligia guy showed up before you were expecting them.”

Xena nodded slowly. “All right. Get the drone back out there. See if you can find any trace of… anything. Is there a way to check on the trailers without actually sending someone out into the area?”

Claudia shook her head thoughtfully. “I don’t think so. We don’t have any way to see inside, and without that….” She shrugged. “But the fact that there is literally no trace of anyone being there? Yeah… not good, Dude. Something’s not right.”

“Something’s worse than not right,” Mrs. Frederick said from behind her, making her jump in surprise before she turned and glared. Mrs. F just returned the look briefly, then turned back to Xena and Gabrielle. “Something is very wrong. You need to get your Guardians ready and get out to the battlefield. Saligia is here.”

“Claudia, send the original drone video to the conference room, and keep an eye on the battlefield. Let us know the minute something changes. We’re going to go get the Guardians ready to go.”

“Can you…? Get ready for this, I mean?”

Gabrielle shrugged casually, though her face was tense. “It’s the only chance we’ve got,” she replied, following Xena out the door and closing it quietly behind her.

Claudia turned back to her screen, launching the drone once more and heading back to the battlefield area. She twitched when a warm hand unexpectedly landed on her shoulder and looked back to find Mrs. Frederick still in the room and watching her with knowing eyes.

“Call Peter, Mr. Jinks, and Arthur back up here. I have a feeling we’re going to need them soon.”

Claudia kept one hand on the joystick and with the other pressed the intercom button.

************

HG got the distinct feeling that the man (Bat?) currently walking beside her - carrying two boxes of MREs to her one - was more than a little uncomfortable in the Warehouse and certainly not thrilled to be with her.

“So, what should I call you? I heard the young woman Helena telling Peter and Jinks that you weren’t to be addressed as the Batman.”

He smirked. “Just Batman. No ‘the’.

“Ah.” She nodded her understanding. “Batman. How did you become…?” motioning toward his costume as much as she was able with her hands full, then wished she hadn’t when his eyes hardened. “I’m sorry,” she continued before he could answer. “I’m not trying to pry, exactly; I’m trying to understand. Where I come from, we didn’t have anything like you.”

“Should I ask where you come from?”

She tilted her head as she regarded him. “I would be willing to share my story with you if you would share yours with me.” They arrived at the conference room, and she bumped into it. It only took a moment before Myka opened the door to admit them. They stepped in and set their boxes on the table, and Batman stepped back as soon as his hands were empty. HG turned to address the room.

“Xena and Gabrielle aren’t far behind us. They suggested you all eat something now as it could be some time before you have another opportunity.”

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“Me, darling? I don’t know anything more than you do and that I was instructed to bring these MREs for you all to eat. Other than that?” she shrugged. “All speculation on my part.”

The Guardians and their partners looked around at one another, then at the boxes sitting on the table. Alex stood up and leaned over the one closest to her. “Does anyone have a way to open the boxes? Because I don’t think anyone needs fiber badly enough to chew on the cardboard.”

Before she finished, Batman had stepped forward and slashed open all three boxes. They got up and chose their meals, resuming their seats even as Myka and HG handed out bottles of water that were stored in the room as a matter of course. When everyone was served, they hesitantly opened their packs and slowly began to sample the food they’d been given, expressions of surprise clear on their faces.

“These are surprisingly good,” Jane commented. “Sure beats stakeout food,” garnering nods of agreement from every law enforcement officer.

“Probably because they come from France,” Gabrielle commented as she and Xena entered the room. “Eat your fill,” she directed them firmly, “but not enough to make you sick when your adrenaline spikes. We’re gonna show you the video from earlier while you gear up, and then we’re going to have a little talk. But make no mistake, ladies… and gentleman,” as she recalled Bruce’s presence. “This is not a drill. We have every reason to believe that Saligia is here… now. Ready or not - it’s time to deal with him.”


Chapter LXXVI

Shaw led the way back toward the battlefield area, her steps slow and measured. A chill wind blew over them, and she shivered in reaction, then stilled. There was something…. She held up her hand, and Lucy and Ian stopped moving, turning their backs to one another until they could see in every direction. Shaw lifted her head and tilted it slightly, allowing her nose and ears to become her primary senses. There was nothing at first beyond what she already knew - sand, rocks, scrub, and the occasional tree. She drew her focus down and could smell the metal of the trailers; hear the slight wail of the wind. She closed her eyes, and now she smelled a hint of the bonfire and the odd smell of packaged food that was not American. Then….

Her eyes popped open, and she tapped Lucy, then Ian, on the shoulder for their attention. They each gave a last look around to be sure they were alone, then turned inward so they could talk privately. She dropped into a squat, and they followed her lead, leaning their heads together to better hear one another.

“Can you smell it?” she asked without preamble. “Can you hear it?”

Lucy and Ian glanced at each other then turned back to Shaw. “Hear what?” Ian asked in a whisper. “All I hear is this infernal wind blowing.”

“Yeah,” Lucy agreed. “And I don’t smell anything but….” She tilted her head, then shook it in frustration. “Maybe a little woodsmoke? It’s hard to say. It’s barely there.”

“Fair. Been a long time since I had to use these skills. Beneath the wind, there is moaning… like someone who’s been shot and trying not to dry attention to himself. And under the scent of woodsmoke, there is death and decay… something rotten.”

Neither asked how she recognized that smell. They had known her long enough not to push that particular button. Instead, Ian asked, “What do we need to do?”

Shaw sighed. There were no good choices here, and she still needed to find out what had happened to Root. Beyond finding everyone that had simply disappeared into the ether, she had to know why Root had screamed. Shaw shook her head. “I need to find Root. She’s the one that screamed earlier, and I have to know why - she’s not the type… not like that. But we also need to find the rest and discover where those sounds and smells are coming from. Pretty sure they’re all tied together, because of course they would be - we’re not ready.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “You think Saligia is here?”

“It’s not Halloween yet!” Ian hissed.

“Halloween was our timeline… our best guess. No guaranteed he’d stick to it.”

“Besides, it is Halloween in some parts of the world. Halloween morning, but still.”

“Right,” Shaw agreed. “Let’s get down into the valley and see if we can figure out what’s going on without Saligia finding us.” They looked at one another then, knowing the likelihood of those odds was pretty slim. Then they rose and took up their positions, allowing Shaw to lead them and following behind, protecting each others’ backs.

************

“Where is everyone?” Magnus asked as they watched the drone footage. “They were all gathered ‘round a massive campfire when I headed up this way.” she stood and went to the screen, and Gabrielle paused the scene. “There was a huge fire here,” gesturing to the center area, “and smaller fires around the perimeter,” pointing out several other places. “They were in between with a makeshift stage of some kind here, sharing stories with the group. It hasn’t been that long!”

“She’s right,” Xena concurred.

“So where are they now?”

The Farnsworth chirped, and Xena flipped it open. “You have something, Claudia?”

“Yeah. Sending it to you right now.” They watched the feed snow over briefly, then the picture cleared. It looked very similar to what they had been looking at before, only now there was real-time movement from people Xena and Gabrielle recognized instantly.

“Isn’t that Lucy?” Kara whispered to Diana. She nodded her head almost imperceptibly, though Xena turned and met her eyes.

“It is Lucy,” having heard the question and wanting everyone to understand what was going on. “And Shaw and Ian. What the hell are they doing?”

“Following the trail of something, if I was to guess,” Olivia commented. “Can they see something we can’t?”

“Unlikely. But they could certainly smell or hear things we don’t have access to. C’mon,” causing everyone to rise from their seats around the table and gather the bags that held their talisman boxes as a matter of course. “We need to get out there now… before something else happens.”

“Wait… look!” Janet said, pointing to the tableau taking place in front of them. “I think it’s too late.”

************

“Are you sure about this, Hippolyta?” Isaac asked as they and Trick lay on the ground watching the scene taking place below them. “We could stop this.”

“Perhaps, Isaac,” she confirmed. “But then we would be caught in his web as well and of no use when the Guardians came out to fight.” She shook her head. “No. We need to wait for the Guardians. We are their backup.”

“And what of these?” motioning to the three people currently being taunted by Saligia.

Hippolyta watched the Horseman move forward and closed her eyes. “We will hope they can be recovered when he is defeated. But he must be defeated first.”

Isaac turned to Trick, who nodded his agreement, turning and heading back toward the area where the warriors and Fae waited. He had seen enough bloodshed and death in his time. He had no desire to see more. He wasn’t surprised to find Hippolyta right behind him. From what he knew of the Amazons, he felt she was of the same mind. He glanced in her direction when they stepped off the plateau.

“The young ones are always so eager,” he said quietly, not wanting Isaac to take offense.

Hippolyta gave a tired nod. “Because they have not seen the loss and suffering we know.”

“This is gonna be a hell of a learning curve.”

“Indeed.”

************

“You’re not Xena,” Saligia snarled as Shaw and her compatriots set foot on the battlefield. “Has she become such a coward that she sacrifices useless mortals rather than face me herself?”

Shaw kept her weapon pointed at him, suspecting who he was and knowing their odds of survival had just plummeted if she was right. Still, she couldn’t help but goad him a little bit. “Should I know who you are?” smirking at him. “Because you look like a fat, little turd to me.”

His face turned a lurid purple color, but he managed to control his temper until he could speak. “You’re not worth wasting my time or energy on, Mortal,” motioning the Horseman forward. “She’ll take care of you as she has the others. You will all serve me when the time comes.”

Shaw snorted. “I don’t serve shit, you fucktard… except maybe the Marines. And your fat ass couldn’t even make it in the Army.”

“Um.. Shaw?” Lucy commented out the side of her mouth. Shaw didn’t turn, but she did respond.

“If we’re going down, Diamond, we’re gonna go down hard and take as much as we can with us. Fire!” Ian and Lucy came shoulder to shoulder with her and began unloading their magazines as quickly as they could. Saligia flinched as several bullets hit his person and he started to bleed, then he held up a hand to form a shield around himself. These three were nothing like the others he had subdued; none of the others had brought weapons to bear against him, and these were nothing like the weapons he remembered. He allowed himself to disappear, knowing he would miss the denouement of these three, but also understanding they had managed to do some kind of damage to his person that had to be rectified before he confronted Xena and Gabrielle.

Shaw screamed in anger and frustration when he disappeared from view, and she turned her attention to the Horseman now casually waiting for them to finish firing. She swore she saw her flinch a time or two when the bullets hit particularly vulnerable flesh and wondered at the blade she could have sworn was sticking from a ghostly chest. It was a twin to the one she and Lucy both carried and had been since New Orleans. ‘A last resort’, Xena had explained when she’d given the knives to them, coated in a thin layer of dried blood. She hadn’t asked and neither had Lucy, but they’d understood it was there for a reason, and that was explanation enough. Now, she pulled the knife from her belt and raised it up as she ran toward the Horseman, whose eyes flared with white-hot anger… and a hint of fear.

“Oh no,” she growled in her discordant voice. “I already have one of those,” grabbing her bone lasso and twirling it over her head. “I don’t need another,” letting the lasso fly and wrap around Shaw’s torso. The knife dropped as though it was too heavy for her to bear any longer, and the Horseman jumped from her mount, ready to end this farce. She marched forward with purpose, assuming the other two would be stunned by her presence long enough for her to dispatch Shaw before turning her attention to them. It would be a costly miscalculation.

While she finished wrapping the rope around Shaw’s now inert body, Lucy’s eyes met Ian’s and gestured toward the fallen knife. He edged around so he could retrieve it, bending over just as the Horseman reached back for her sword, admiring the flame that ran along its edge briefly before raising it over her head. In that instant, a number of things happened at almost the exact same time.

Lucy and Ian both rushed forward, plunging their blades into the Horseman’s body - one in the thigh and the other through the ribcage. The Horseman screamed in agony and swung her sword, managing to lop off the top of Shaw’s head, scalping her though not severing the head from the shoulders. Her follow-through swing sliced off Lucy’s left arm and cut deeply across Ian’s chest. Blood was spurting in every direction, and the Horseman limped back to try and recover from what were becoming debilitating wounds. The acid that burned through her veins was the most painful thing she’d experienced in millennia, and the worst part was, she couldn’t remove the knives without causing even more damage to herself.

She grabbed the reins of her steed, then realized she had no way to remount him without causing more injury. She took his reins and led him off into the darkness, knowing she could get her army to help her… if she could get to them first.

************

They had run out of the Warehouse as soon as they had seen Saligia appear. Now they were standing shoulder to shoulder, crammed into every conceivable space of the Batplane as Batman tried to ease the plane from the ground. Truthfully, he’d never tried to lift quite as much weight with the new engines before. He felt confident he could - he just didn’t expect it to be very pretty. They wiggled and wobbled as they lifted from the ground, and he kept it low… both to stay under any radar as well as to keep from straining the craft too much.

The Warehouse Agents were trailing along behind in a fully loaded down SUV. Though the purple goo hadn’t done anything to neutralize the talismans, they were bringing along a huge vat full… just in case. Worst case scenario - they’d return it all to the Warehouse. Right now, it was the best way they could hope to contribute, because no one had any idea what Saligia might have dug up to bring along.

The plane managed to make it to the battlefield safely, though some of the women on board were regretting their earlier meals; most were secretly swearing off plane travel for the duration, feeling more than a little sick between what little they had witnessed and their current circumstances. Everyone drew a deep breath the moment Batman set the plane back on the ground and opened the landing ramp, but surprisingly, no one moved… waiting for their instruction.

“All right, everyone - listen up,” Xena said from her place beside Bruce. “Head down the ramp safely, but as quickly as possible, then wait beside the plane. As soon as we’re all outside, we’ll head to the battlefield.”

Bruce tugged on the hem of her shirt, causing her to look down at him with an arched eyebrow. “What do you want me to do?”

“You’re welcome to join us. I’d leave the ramp down, though… just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“In case anyone survives this and needs a way to get back to the Warehouse.”

His eyes widened in surprise, but thanks to his costume, that was his only visible reaction she got from him until he nodded brusquely. Then he followed her down the ramp onto the uneven ground, ready to follow her into battle.

She took off at a run toward their fallen comrades, and he realized she had a field medic’s kit looped over her head. He kept up with her step for step, while the rest followed behind singly or in pairs. spaced out enough to make them a little less of a target. Not that they really expected Saligia to pick them off one at a time. No, after all this effort, they figured he would grandstand and make quite a spectacle of defeating them.

Xena reached the spot where Shaw and her compatriots had fallen, closing her eyes briefly when she saw the damage that had been done to them. Then she pulled the kit from around her body and dropped to her knees beside Shaw, hearing Bruce remove his cape to try and stop the bleeding on Ian’s chest. A second later, Gabrielle slid into place beside Lucy, followed immediately by Janet Fraiser.

“I need fire,” she called out, knowing Sam, at least, would follow her directive. She looked at Gabrielle. “We can’t save the arm - no time or resources - but we may still be able to save her life. We have to cauterize the wound.”

Gabrielle nodded. “I’ve done that. See if you can save Ian,” hearing the death rattle in his breathing.

Janet immediately moved to kneel beside Bruce and removed the cape from Ian’s chest, wincing at the visible damage she could see. “Gut, needle!” she barked, not surprised when it was instantly thrust into her hand. She stitched as quickly as she could manage, careful to close every bleeder she could find. As she ran out of thread, she found another needle ready for her to continue, and she took it without looking up from her task. The smell of burned flesh was unsettling, but she set it aside, knowing she didn’t have time to indulge in distaste or sickness, unlike some of those standing around watching the events taking place around them. She heard Sam talking to Xena, then the rustle of medicine being passed out, and she smiled grimly. If nothing else, the Air Force had prepared her and Sam for battle conditions. She only hoped the rest would not suffer to greatly from what was coming, because this was only the beginning.

Xena knelt beside Shaw, recognizing forthwith that she had no chance of recovery from the blow she’d been dealt. She was in agony and unable to even express her pain beyond the small whimpers coming from her throat. She looked at Xena with only a hint of cognizance and relief.

“I can’t fix this, my friend,” feeling the small shudder that ran through Shaw’s frame. “But I can end your pain and suffering.” She smiled crookedly. “Guess I should have taught you this, hmm?” as tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Shaw. Maybe in your next life,” pulling back her hands, then rapidly hitting the pressure points in her neck. She felt Shaw’s immediate relaxation and held onto her until her breathing eased to a slow stop. “Find peace, my friend,” Xena whispered, then closed Shaw’s eyes. She blinked the tears from her eyes and turned to see how the other two were doing.

She nodded her approval at Janet’s work, knowing the doctor was the best chance Ian had at living. She crossed over to Gabrielle’s side, nodding at Sam, who with Lauren and Maura was trying desperately to get enough of a fire going to use. “What are we going to cauterize with?” as the fire started to finally catch.

Xena reached into her bag and handed Gabrielle a tool she recognized from their time traveling through Greece. Gabrielle nodded and passed it over to Lauren, who, with Maura, studied it for a brief moment before shoving it into the middle of the small conflagration. Maura turned to Xena. “That is an exquisite piece; it looks like an antique. Can I ask where you found it?”

Xena cleared her throat. “I created it… a long time ago,” her tone making it clear it was a closed subject. “It should be hot enough,” gesturing toward the metal that was now glowing white hot.

“How are we going to do this?” Lauren asked. “It’s going to be excruciating… even though she’s unconscious.”

“I can do a temporary pain block - long enough for Gab to cauterize the wound - but not much longer than that. Maura, if you’ll hold her head still, and Lauren, you push down on the right side of her torso. I’ll sit across her hips.” She looked at Gabrielle. “Be quick, and shove that into her other arm as soon as you finish,” nodding toward the syringe she’d prepared. “It won’t be instantaneous, but it’ll help some.”

“Got it. On three,” she instructed, looking at the other two to make sure they were ready. “One… two….”

On three, she slammed the flat piece of white-hot metal into the sluggishly bleeding stump. The smell of burned flesh took her back to many other battlefields, and a tear slid slowly down her face. After a long moment of holding the cauterizer in place to assure it did its job, she dropped it to one side and jabbed the syringe full of antibiotic and pain killer into Lucy’s other arm. Xena waited until the very last second before she released the block, knowing the pain that would follow would be unbelievable.

Lucy screamed in reflex, then passed out. Maura shifted her hands until her fingers could find the rapidly beating pulse, feeling it slow under her touch. She looked up at Xena and Gabrielle. “We’ll keep an eye on her. Go check on your son.”

They were a bit startled; They hadn’t realized their relationship with Ian had become common knowledge. Still, they murmured their thanks and moved the short distance to where Janet was just closing up the last of her stitching. She looked up at them and shook her head.

“I did my best; I just don’t know if it’s enough.”

Gabrielle placed a hand on her arm and squeezed gently.”You gave him a chance, Janet. That’s the most we could hope for,” watching as Xena pumped him full of antibiotics and pain killer.

“Some time, I’d like to learn that blocking technique I saw you use,” Janet said to Xena. “Seems like a good thing to know. And maybe you’d share where you learned it?”

“Maybe….”

“… but not today,” came a slimy voice out of the darkness as torches sparked to life around them. “We have unfinished business, and I think it’s time we took care of that.”



Chapter LXXVII

Kurt grabbed a thin box and the set of keys from the back of his desk drawer, where he had hidden them as soon as Xena and Gabrielle had left for South Dakota. Casey had been so busy with last minute preparations, and Xena had casually mentioned to him the location of the keys in case of emergency. He had taken it for the directive it was and moved them to a safer location he could easily reach without invading anyone else’s privacy. Now he was glad he had.

He called the nanny Gabrielle had engaged for him - a young woman that was actually part of the security force - and she arrived almost immediately, making him wonder how far away she’d been… and what she knew of the situation. Still, he knew the young woman had been vetted by both Xena and Gabrielle, so he allowed her to take his son back to his rooms. He waited until the elevator closed behind her, then he unclenched his hand from around the keys that were cutting into his skin from the force of his grip. He stood still a moment longer, allowing his memories to travel back to the time when Brittany had come to work with Root and the Machine, and he and Santana had met up seriously for the first time in years.

************

“Lady Hummel.”

“Satan.”

They’d been in the lobby of WarriorBard Enterprises and had run into one another by accident. They’d stared hard at each other for what seemed like hours, but was, in reality, less than a minute. They’d lost touch shortly after their impromptu double wedding, and now they were more like strangers than anything else. Finally, Santana broke the stalemate.

“What are you doing here?”

Kurt frowned. “In New York? Santana, “I’ve been here since high school graduation, remember? We lived together through part of that.” He raised a hand toward her forehead. “Did you forget that questionable part of our history?”

She slapped his hand away. “No! How could I forget that fucking nightmare?? God, you’re more annoying than Berry, and that’s saying something.” she waved her hand around again. “No… what are you doing *here*?” motioning around the building. “Last I saw you and Other Gay, you were married and expecting Quinn’s baby by Berry.” She screwed up her face so comically, he almost started laughing. “God, that sounds so weird. Aren’t you some kind of celebrity or something?”

“Or something,” he mumbled. “I’ve moved into writing and directing. I find it a bit more fulfilling.”

“Too many people think you sound like a girl,” she stated, though with a surprisingly straight face and no hint of mockery.

He nodded stiffly. “There isn’t much call for men with my vocal range, no. Why are you here?”

She jerked her head toward the elevator. “Britt. She’s got some new gig working with some almighty Machine.” She shrugged. “It’s what she wants to do right now, and it still leaves time for her to dance. You still haven’t said why you’re here,” fixing him with a harsh stare.

“I work here… upstairs with the Computer. I’m working on a script at the moment, and this is steady work that pays the bills. And these are good people to work for.”

“Hope so. I’d hate to have to go all Lima Heights on someone’s ass.” To her surprise, Kurt burst into laughter, though he covered his mouth and tried to bring his reaction under control when he saw her face darken in anger. He held up a hand before she could voice her displeasure.

“Oh Honey,” he said with a hint of a smile. “I hate to break it to you, but you couldn’t touch these people with a ten-foot pole if they stood still and waited for you.” He sobered and shook his head when her lips parted to speak. “I’m not kidding, Santana. These aren’t the kind of people you can handle. They are something far beyond anything you or I could understand. The best thing you can do is be the kind of person they want to welcome into their family and call friend.”

She tilted her head and studied him for a long moment. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No. Trust me when I tell you they’re the best to have on your side, but you don’t want to make enemies of them.”

She gazed at him, then nodded. “All right. I suppose I should at least give them a fair shot… especially since I’ll be working here too.”

Kurt’s brows slid into his forehead. “Really? Doing what?”

Her face darkened again, until she realized Kurt was asking an honest question in an effort to understand. After all, it wasn’t like he’d been a part of her life in a number of years, and he had no idea what had happened in the interim. “I um… I do some security work - take care of situations that need to be handled discreetly. And yes,” she continued drolly, “I can actually do discreet.”

He nodded. “Will you be working with Zoe by chance?”

“You know her?”

He smiled. “Oh yes. I oversee a lot of her assignments - make sure she had the tools and information she needs to get her job done. So we might be working together.”

She nodded slowly, then turned toward the elevator and taking a couple steps before reversing her course. Kurt patiently waited, knowing something was troubling her but also smart enough to know not to call attention to it. He remembered enough from their past to understand that; he hoped that now that they were grown and beyond much of their high school bullshit, they might finally be able to become friends. God knew one could never have too many of those, and he was fairly certain he was going to lose a majority of the ones he had in the City when word got out about him and Blaine separating… even though Blaine’s behavior was the underlying cause.

Santana looked at him and sighed. “Look… I know we’ve had kind of a shitty past and most of that was my fault. Do you think we could maybe start fresh… try to be friends? We don’t have many here, and I know Britt would love to spend some time with you and Blaine,” eyes widening at his almost imperceptible flinch, “or just you,” she tacked on hastily.

He put a hand on her arm before she could dig herself any deeper, and to his surprise, she covered it with her own. “I’d love to, Santana. It’d be nice to create a circle of new, old friends. And I’m pretty sure we could include Rachel and Quinn in our little circle if you want. They’re both here in the City.”

She nodded briskly. “We’d like that.” She turned again to go, but before she took a step this time, she turned back to him again. He cocked his head at her. “Listen, you know what my job here is… understand what it entails, yeah?” waiting for him to agree. “Right… so….” She sighed and studied the marble flooring and parquet tiles that were part of the receptionist’s desk nearby before she brought her attention back to him. “I need a favor. I need…. If something goes wrong - and I don’t expect it to; I’m that good,” giving him the confident, sarcastic smirk she’d sported much of the time he’d known her. “But if something does go wrong, and something happens to me, I need you to promise that you’ll take care of Britt. You’re one of the few people I trust to be able to do that.”

“Okay,” he assented. “But don’t make it necessary, all right? It would destroy her.”

“Do my best,” she said with a hint of a sneer. “I gots lotsa life left to live with my wife, ya know? But I learned the hard way not to have ‘just-in-case’ plans.”

He wanted to ask, but the expression on her face made it clear he wouldn’t get answers and Santana would end up frustrated. Instead, he nodded. “Of course. I wish I’d had the same foresight on some things.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get upstairs. You coming?”

“Yeah. I’m supposed to meet Zoe shortly. She’s gonna give me a tour of the place, then we’re gonna go out into the City so she can show me a few more things.” He gestured her to go head of him, and together they made their way to the elevator. He removed a keycard from his wallet and scanned it, then turned back to her as he put it away again. “So… what do you think of this Machine?”

He glanced at the corner of the elevator, knowing by the bright red light that She was monitoring them. Santana noticed his glanced and cocked an eyebrow, then her eyes widened at his subtle nod. “I think She’s done a lot of good that will never quite be appreciated by the masses.”

Santana nodded but didn’t reply, and in another moment, the elevator stopped at her floor and the doors opened. She stepped out and hesitated, keeping her back to Kurt and barely turning her head. “Thanks, Kurt. You’ll never know….”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I do.” Then the door closed, and he rode the rest of the way to the computer center in contemplative silence.

************

He wasn’t surprised when the doors opened as soon as he touched the button. He assumed She had been keeping an eye on things and was trying to make it as easy for them all as possible. He chanced to wonder what Brittany had done to Her before running for the roof, but then it didn’t matter. The elevator arrived at the penthouse level and he exited, turning to his right and the singular door that stood outside Xena and Gabrielle’s apartment. He pushed the heavy door open, wincing at the squeal of protest it made, then climbed the stairs that went to the roof level. His heart broke when he found Brittany clawing at the steel door - tears streaming down her face - trying desperately to get the door open.

“Britt?” his voice was soft, but she flinched at the sound of her nickname falling from his lips. “Honey, I need you to come away from the door,” reaching out and watching her pull away from his touch as she shook her head vehemently.

“No, Kurt. She’s out there! Santana’s out there and she needs my help!” jerking on the door handle and shaking it violently. “I need to get to her… I have to!”

“All right, Honey… all right,” reaching toward her again with calming motions. “Let me help you, okay?” Her eyes were wild as she watched him. “I’ve got the keys right here,” jingling them on his pocket. “Let me get to the door, and we’ll go check on Santana, all right?” coaxing her away gently even as she shied from his touch. “That’s it… c’mon now. Good girl.” He eased around her and pulled his hand from his pocket while his back was turned. He pulled out the thin box and removed the syringe, thumping it a few times to remove any air bubbles. He closed his eyes briefly, praying that he would remember the lessons Xena had insisted he and the others have in emergency medicine. At the time, it had seemed somewhat ridiculous and time-consuming - surely basic first aid responder knowledge should be sufficient - but now Xena’s explanation made a lot more sense. “It doesn’t cost you anything to have the knowledge, and you never know when it might come in handy to have it.”

He turned and pushed the needle into Brittany’s neck, causing her to whirl on him with an expression of betrayal. “Why would you…?” before her knees started to give out and she took them both to the floor with her deadweight. Kurt held onto her and made sure they landed gently before he realized he was going to need some help. Before he could reach for his phone, Brittany lolled her head in his direction, gazing at him with fathomless depths of sadness. “She’s gone from me, isn’t she?” she asked in a dazed whisper.

“I think so, Honey… yeah,” he responded equally softly, lifting a hand to wipe the tear from her cheek. “But you let me worry about that for right now, okay? You just close your eyes and sleep right now.”

“Why? It won’t get better when I wake up,” she said with remorse.

“Maybe not, but would it really hurt anything for you to try?”

Brittany closed her eyes. “S’pose not,” allowing another tear to slide down he face.

Kurt remained still until he felt her relax against him, then he dug for his phone and called down to the security office. “Jason, it’s Kurt. Look, I need you to send a team up to the stair entrance to the roof. We’ve got a situation.”

“I’ve got people on the way to you. We started do a sweep as soon as the monitors went down. Should be there momentarily.”

“Thanks, Jason. Make sure you send Reggie. He can carry Brittany out of here.”

He could hear Jason’s frown in his voice. “Brittany? Kurt, what…?”

“Just get ‘em here, Jase. It’s all gone to shit,” running his hand through his hair.

“You got it.”

Kurt closed his phone and leaned his head against the still locked door, eyes closing in exhaustion. He knew the next little while was going to be a nightmare.

************

He blinked his eyes open when he heard the commotion at the bottom door. In another moment, the security team had the door open, and Reggie jogged up the stairs. He didn’t hesitate but scooped Brittany into his arms and headed back down and out the stairwell. As soon as he was clear, Kurt stood and stretched, and the remainder of the team ran up to join him. He took a deep breath and met each of their eyes before he spoke.

“You should know - when the monitors went out….” He sucked in a shivering breath to try to steady his voice. “It’s not going to be pretty.”

“Kurt,” Jason said carefully. “We’re all vets. We’ve seen death.”

Kurt closed his eyes and shook his head. “I know. I just think this is going to be something gruesome… something beyond anything you’ve been exposed to. I don’t want anyone going in blind.”

“We’ll be all right. C’mon and open the door. Let’s get this taken care of.”

Kurt held his eyes for another moment, then spared a look at the remainder of the security team. They each nodded at him, and he turned, satisfied that he had done what he could. Then he turned back to the door and unlocked it, crossing the threshold and holding the door for the men and women who followed behind him.

The first thing that hit them was the sweet, sickly scent of copper, followed almost immediately by the stickiness as they stepped into drying blood spatter. The combined sensations made the bile rise in Kurt’s throat, and he swallowed hard in an effort not to throw up. Then he moved around the corner to the last place Santana had been seen on the monitor, and he turned away to retch.

The spatter went from one side of the roof to the other, and in the center of that lay her crumpled body. There was a pool of blood underneath where her head should have been, and he chanced to wonder why she had been treated differently than those who had come before her - because he remembered Gabrielle’s tale. There should have been no blood; she should have remained tied in the bone rope from the one that had been executed before her; and her own spine should have been removed for use as the next lasso. He furrowed his brown, wiping the vomit from his mouth and wishing for… many things, really - a mint; a do-over; Santana’s sarcastic wit mocking his weakness….

Jason walked over and handed him a bottle of water. “Sorry… best I can do right now.”

Kurt accepted it gratefully, rinsing his mouth out and spitting to the side. “It’s fine,” he said hoarsely. “I thought I was prepared, but….”

Jason clasped his shoulder briefly and shook his head. “Not something you can prepare for… even if you know what’s coming. Don’t worry, Kid… we’ve all been there, and we’ve all hurled our guts a time or two. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t react.”

Kurt smirked at him weakly. “So… what does that make you guys? Because I didn’t see anyone else puking.”

“Jaded,” Jason responded seriously. “We’ve been at this a long time, Kid, and we’ve seen a lot of shit. Granted, this ranks among the worst, especially since she was one of our own, but don’t kid yourself. The world is a pretty shit place. Crap like this goes on more often than you know.” He winced when he saw Kurt pale at his words. “Fortunately, we have people like you to help balance things out - people who bring light and music and happiness into the world.”

This time Kurt’s smile was genuine, if still a little bit strained. “Thanks, Jason. That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

He shrugged. “Don’t get used to it.” He glanced over to where his team had been working to gather Santana’s remains. “Look… we’re about ready to start moving the, um… the body. How about you go open the doors for us?”

“What about…?”

“We’ll take care of it.”

“Where are you gonna take her? Because you know Brittany is gonna ask me about her as soon as she wakes up.”

“We’ll take her to the medical suite for now. There’s a cooler down there, and we can turn the temperature down to help preserve the body for a little while, but a decision on what to do with her remains will need to be made sooner or later.” He cleared his throat. “Have you told the Boss about this?”

“It was the first call I made. I wasn’t able to talk to either of them, though, so if we can maybe hold off doing anything for a little while…?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah… sure. Like I said, we can give you a little time. I know both Big X and Gabrielle would want to be here to say goodbye if we can manage it.” He gave Kurt a gentle shove toward the door. “Go on, now. The sooner we get this started, the sooner we can sit Shiva with her.”

“Are you Jewish?” Kurt asked in surprise, even as he made his way toward the stairwell.

Jason shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s complicated.”
Kurt took his words for the dismissal they were and propped open the upstairs door before jogging down the stairs to open the lower door. He spared a glance at the closed penthouse doors, wishing beyond hope that Xena and Gabrielle were behind them and could do something… anything… to turn back the clock and make the nightmare be over already.



Chapter LXXVIII

Isaac came and stood beside Trick and Hippolyta, recognizing that they were something beyond his understanding and knowing innately that their knowledge of war and its machinations were borne of hard-won experience. They turned as he approached, realizing he had finally grasped the seriousness of the situation, beyond the excitement of the coming battle - because they both felt the blood stirring at the thought of going up against a foe that could defeat them. It had been a long time since either had been so tested, and they would admit to a frisson of exhilaration that ran just beneath their skin. That feeling, however, was in contrast to the knowledge that people would die on this battlefield tonight, and there was a high probability that it would be for naught unless they were very lucky. Still… neither had been ones to shirk their responsibilities, so they straightened their shoulders and met Isaac’s eyes.

“The Guardians have arrived. What would you have us do?”

“Let’s see how they are lined up to face him, and we’ll make our determination from there,” Hippolyta instructed, and Trick deferred to her with a nod of agreement. “I think it’s in our best interests to remain hidden as long as possible. If he thinks they are alone, he may grow careless, and that will work to our benefit.”

They rushed back to the crest of the hill, noting the activity beneath them as the Warrior and the medical personnel worked frantically to save their friends. Isaac was the first to note the movement beyond them, noting that Saligia was on foot, and that the army behind him was moving at a creeping pace.

By mutual, unspoken agreement, they turned their backs and slid down to confer without the prospect of being seen by the enemy. Not that they expected to be noticed - Saligia’s attention was completely focused on Xena and Gabrielle.

“What’s the plan?” Trick asked, having ideas of his own but wanting to hear what the others had to offer.

Hippolyta looked between the two men. “How many Fae are there here? And how many Warriors of the People?” When she was given a number from each of them, she realized that they were mostly evenly matched. “I think we should split our forces and make a pincer that will surround his army and catch them between us, now that we know where they are coming from.”

“Do you think that’s viable? We don’t know how large his army stands.”

“I think it’s our best option, regardless of how large his army is. The fact is, we can cause mayhem and disruption from behind the lines, and if we are successful enough at that, size won’t matter… at least not in their favor. They will turn against each other trying to get to us, and if they are that much larger than we are, they will destroy themselves… or at least a good part of them will, thinking they can win by defeating us. Remember - from what my daughter shared, these are not soldiers. They are simply the dead the Horseman collected in an effort to have numbers to throw against the Guardians.”

Trick nodded. “I think it’s a good plan, but we need to move now. Isaac and I will take the back flank, and we’ll move in on your signal.”

Hippolyta cocked an eyebrow. “How will I know when you’re in place?”

Trick smirked. “You’ll know. I promise.” Then he and Isaac gathered up Warriors and Fae and Amazons and they disappeared into the darkness of night.

************

Xena and Gabrielle turned at the sound of a whiny voice addressing them, a look of disdain clear on both their countenances when they met Saligia’s smirk. They could see hints of blood on the robes he wore and smiled wickedly, knowing that their friends had caused some damage before they had been consigned to the sidelines. Rage flared in his eyes, but he swallowed his ire, certain that had been the cause of his defeat in their previous meeting. Xena had goaded him until he had done something stupid - something irreparable - and he had never recovered.

So he let his fury become his fuel and his face slid into something resembling a smile. Their expressions didn’t change, and he wondered if they understood just exactly how far behind the eight ball they truly were. “So nice of you to finally join us. I’d say I was sorry about stealing your <ahem> army,” he mocked, “but I’m really not. I’m sure they will serve me well in the coming battle.”

Xena and Gabrielle didn’t flinch, but they could feel the dismay from the Guardians that were gathering around them. Xena stepped forward slightly to draw his attention to her while Gabrielle turned to the women with them. “Don’t give him a reaction,” she instructed in low tones. “He feeds off anything he thinks hurts or damages us. We will get past this, but we have to focus on us and on the talismans… not on the people who aren’t with us,” watching as resolution dawned in the eyes of the Guardians and their companions. “We can do this, all right?”

“How do you want us?” How will we be most effective?”

She closed her eyes. It hadn’t been something they’d had to consider before. It had just been the two of them, and by the time they had put him away, they had been so in sync that words hadn’t been necessary between them. “Form a semi-circle around Kara and Diana - Guardians up front, companions to the heart side, and be close enough to touch one another. Companions, take the boxes from your bags, but don’t open them yet… just have them unlocked and ready to go.”

She took the box from the bag she carried and took her place on Kara’s right side, by Diana, and the rest formed up around her. She nodded in approval and turned her attention back to Xena, who had her head tilted at Saligia, while he was frowning at her in confusion. It made Gabrielle wonder when they had switched roles so effortlessly, but she knew it was confusing Saligia no end… because they weren’t even remotely the people he had confronted in Ancient Greece millennia ago.

“Explain it to me again, Saligia. How does having an army that doesn’t know how to fight help you?”

His grin was sly and sickly this time, giving the impression that he knew more than she could ever possibly fathom. He chuckled viciously. “I don’t think you understand how long I’ve been working on my triumphant return to life and to power.” His visage shifted until none other than Arthur Beaumont was standing in front of her, though his verbiage didn’t change to fit the visual. “Arthur was my latest iteration… in an attempt to see exactly what I would be going up against when I finally confronted you.” He snorted. “Let me say that I was less than impressed. You’re nothing! You have no army; no titles; no power to speak of. You’ve had millennia, Xena… millennia… yet instead of ruling the puny humans that occupy space here, you’ve become one of them… weak and underwhelming. Worse, you live among them and treat them as equals.” He sneered. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about things… I’ve been awake for much longer than I think you realize.”

“Took you that long to recover?” she asked sweetly, knowing she had hit the mark when his eyes flared.

“Took me that long to choose how I wanted to return,” he bit out. “I considered offering you a partnership - something that would allow my return to power that wouldn’t interfere with yours. Imagine my surprise to find out you don’t have any! You brought children with you to fight a god,” motioning to the Guardians and then gesturing to the slow-moving army of questionably dead trudging along behind the wounded Horseman. Saligia frowned at the sight but didn’t take the time to question it. “Besides, I made a much better alliance… one that will ensure my success this time.”

“Hello, Xena.”

She wanted to say she was surprised to hear his voice… surprised at the betrayal staring her in the face. But somehow, she’d expected Ares to be on the other side when it came right down to it. He’d never been known for his loyalty. She cocked a brow in his direction.

“Ares.”

He crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest and looked at her with bewilderment and pity and a hint of sadness. “Really? That’s all you have to say?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never really trusted you, Ares. You’ve never given me a reason to.”

Ares flinched and clutched at his chest. “You wound me.”

She snorted. “Give me a few. I’ll do more than that.”

“Not this time,” he said flatly. “You have no way to win.”

“And you think you do?” She pointed to Saligia staring back at them from Arthur’s face, his amusement plain to witness. “You think he’s gonna let you stay a god?”

“I think we made a bargain.”

This time, Xena laughed, and the sound was chilling. “You’re a moron,” she commented, smirking when his hands dropped to his side as his ire grew. “What do you think your family is gonna do when they find out about your betrayal?”

Ares shrugged. “It won’t matter. I will have saved them all, and they’ll be beholden to me… even the Old Man. I think they’ll get in line to stay gods.” He grimaced in memory. “None of them want to be human.”

She shrugged. “There are far worse things to be. A coward for instance.”

He couldn’t stop the fireballs that formed, but a touch from Saligia on his arm kept him from lobbing them across at her. “They’ll be payback for your insolence.”

“You can count on it.” She shifted away from him in dismissal and turned back toward Saligia. “So, we’re doing this?”

Saligia laughed mockingly. “Do you seriously want to waste the time and watch your <ahem> peers be destroyed? Why don’t you just give me the talismans? I’ll release your friends from my army,” pointing behind him, “and give you my word that no one here will come to harm from me.”

“Your word is meaningless,” she stated. “Do your worst, Asshat. We will still defeat you.”

Saligia looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “You’re serious.” He turned to Ares, who shrugged his shoulders, palms raised to the sky. “She’s serious?” He looked back at Xena. “You’ll be sorry for this,” he promised dramatically. “I’ll make you pay for every single minute I suffered.”

She snorted at him. “You can try. But make sure you get it right the first time. You won’t get another chance.”

She turned her back on him, and he lifted his hands to destroy her, then decided it would be too easy to take her out with her back turned. He wanted this victory to make a statement - to the other gods, who would fall in line, or else - and to the humans, whom he intended to rule for a very long time. Besides, of everyone on this field… including the god standing beside him… Xena was the one that most needed to suffer. She had been the one that had ultimately defeated him the last time. He wanted her to witness his success over her and all those she cared about.

************

“Oh my God, this asshole is a windbag,” Bo muttered, though it was loud enough to be heard by all the women standing around her. “Does he ever shut up?”

Gabrielle snorted. “Not really. And Xena is winding him up intentionally.”

“Why?”

“Because she wants to keep him focused on her and on the fact that he wants to make a grandstand play to defeat us. He knows she won’t willingly give up the talismans, and picking us off singly, now that we’re all here together, well… that would make him look weak.”

“She’s making him play her game.”

“Um hmm….”

“What about Ares?” This from Diana, who had a special hate/hate relationship with the War God.

Gabrielle shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t trust him - I never have. He’s always had Ares’ best interests at heart. I do know he doesn’t know everything… not about us and what we’re doing, but we don’t know what he’s got going on either. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve dealt with him double- or triple-crossing us for his own gain.”

“I do not like that man,” Diana stated darkly.

“With good reason, Princess,” Gabrielle agreed. “But I learned long ago that he was always going to be part of our lives… like him or not.”

Diana shook her head. “Glad I’m not you then,” causing wan smiles to travel around the group. She noted a tiny movement off to the side and tilted her head just slightly so as not to give too much away. “My Queen?” drawing Gabrielle’s attention.

Gabrielle nodded. “I see them. I’m pretty sure they’re on our side.”

“And if they’re not?” asked Batman.

“We’ll deal with them when the time comes.”

************

“That’s a lot of….” Pete turned to look out the windows as he slowly drove the SUV around the outside of the slowly advancing army. “Are they dead?”

Myka leaned forward, eyes squinting as she tried to make out the myriad of forms in the darkness. She nodded. “Some of them, yeah,” jerking back a little when faced with the chiseled bone and hollowed out eyes of ghostly skeletons that stared back from just outside the window. The spirits were dressed in rags and styles from many bygone eras, not all of which she recognized. They didn’t seem to be a threat so far, but she wasn’t comfortable with them only a thin pane of glass away from touching her either.

She did note they seemed more interested in surrounding the more modernly dressed individuals that appeared to be mostly women. She felt HG tap her on the shoulder from the seat behind and turned her head to see where she was pointing.

“Who are they… and where did they come from?”

Myka stared for a long moment, eyes squinting as she tried to differentiate between the various figures walking around them. “Zombies?” she queried with a hint of nervous laughter. “I never really thought they were real, but….”

Artie snorted. “They’re not,” he replied as he started digging through his satchel. “There’s a whole lot of supernatural beyond what we normally deal with,” causing wary looks to pass between the Agents crammed into the SUV, “but there are no zombies. We’ve got spirits - those who are truly dead and have been for a while; walking ‘dead’ - those that appear to have no will of their own, but who are not actually dead; and Fae. I think the Fae are those Ms. Wells was referring to.” He glanced at her. “The ones with the burnished eyes?” She nodded. “Yes… those are Fae, and I think they’re on our side.”

“You think?”

“Well, yes. Short of stopping and asking, thinking and making conjecture is the best I can do at the moment. And if you watch, there seems to be evidence to back up my thought process.”

Pete slowed down even further, until they were barely moving at a crawl. Surprisingly, that took attention away from them, as the army lost interest in them in favor of moving toward the heart of the battlefield. He huffed in frustration.

“Not that I’m disappointed by their lack of interest, but it’d be nice if we could see what was going on… you know, beyond this wall of …. Can we even call them people?”

“Dude, I’m trying to get a visual with the drone, but I’m getting a ton of interference. Can you maybe pull us out of this….” She motioned around the truck. “This. Maybe that will clear things up.”

He swiftly turned and looked at her in disbelief, before refocusing his eyes on the confusion in front of him - only to slam on the brakes when he saw a line of… well, he was pretty sure they were still living human beings, though he’d never quite seen the likes outside of a movie theatre. “What the hell?”

“Amazons,” Artie muttered. “I never thought I’d live to see the day,” as he pawed through his satchel again.

“Amazons?” Myka breathed. “Are you sure?”

He gave her a disgruntled, irritated glance. “Again with the questions? Yes… I’m as sure as I can be without  asking them outright.” He huffed impatiently. “What is with you all? This is no different than what we deal with every day. Why the sudden doubts?”

“Arthur, this is nothing like what we deal with every day,” HG replied drolly, earning her a dirty look which she ignored. “And we have certainly never seen anything supernatural or however you’d like to describe this,” gesturing to the windshield, “involving so many… beings.”

He opened his lips to retort, then stopped when one of the Amazon warriors approached the vehicle. She stared at Pete until he cracked the window just enough to be able to communicate. “Yeah?”

“Who are you, and why are you here?”

“Oh…um, my name is Special Agent Pete Lattimer, and I’m from Warehouse 13,” figuring complete honesty was best at this point. Even Artie didn’t flinch at his candor.

The Amazon ducked slightly to look in the windows. “Are all of you Special Agents from Warehouse 13?” nodding when he answered in the affirmative. “You need to get out of your vehicle and come with me.”

“Not until you tell us why and where you’re taking us. Who are you, anyway?”

“I am called Drea, and I am the Captain of the Queen’s Guard. If you are the friends of our Queen and her Consort that you are purported to be, then you will exit your vehicle and come with me… especially if you would like to be part of the takedown of Saligia.”

Pete nearly strangled himself trying to get out of the SUV. The rest followed more sedately, with Artie giving him fierce glares for being so reckless. “Pete! What the hell were you thinking?! We still don’t know anything about these people… no offense,” muttered toward the woman trying desperately not to smirk at him.

“None taken,” motioning them toward the line of women still blocking the way of the now parked SUV.

“Trust me, Artie. I’ve got a good vibe about these guys. I don’t know if they’re really Amazons, but they are against Saligia, and that’s enough for me.”

Artie rolled his eyes and kept trudging toward them. “Let’s hope it’s good enough for all of us.”


Chapter LXXIX

“So… how long are we gonna wait in here?” Abbie asked with a smirk when Casey closed the door behind them. “Because I don’t know about you, but I damn sure didn’t come all this way to be locked in a trailer while there’s a fight going on out there somewhere.”

Casey crossed her arms over her chest and hunched over slightly, trying to get a little more warmth into her suddenly chilled body. “Same. But I think we need to give them a few minutes head start. Shaw can get a little crazy bossy when she gets an idea in her head, and it’d be more trouble than it’s worth to defy that. We could actually put them and us in more danger that way.”

Abbie cocked her head. “You really have made a new place for yourself, haven’t you?” a little wistfully but also with more than a hint of pride in her tone.

Casey smiled. “Yeah… I really have, and I’m very happy with it.” She shook her head. “The funny thing is that I truly don’t miss the law like I expected to. I thought I’d just take a short break to get the Foundation up and running, but I found out that the constant fighting and arguing had started sucking the joy from my life. I do sometimes miss the thrill of winning… especially those cases that get under your skin,” watching Abbie nod her understanding. “But there’s a lot to be said for peace.”

“I never thought you’d stop fighting,” knowing her words were twofold.

“Sometimes, you have to… if only to do what’s best for yourself,” was Casey’s soft rejoinder.

Abbie nodded again. “I guess sometimes you do. Despite everything, I’m happy for you, Casey… really.” She looked pointedly at the door. “Do you think it’s been long enough, yet? ‘Cause I would love to get out of here.”

Casey glanced at her watch. “Yeah. Let’s go see if we can find some trouble.”

************

Regina stood akimbo and pursed her lips. “Miss Swan! I’m beginning to lose my patience with you! Where the hell is your focus? What’s wrong with you?”

Emma shook her head. “I dunno. I’ve never had this problem before… you know that. Once I learned to channel my magic through the keychain, I haven’t needed to physically use it.” She threw up her hands into the air. “I can’t figure out what the issue is.”

Regina stared at her for a minute longer, then dropped her hands from her hips and shook her head. “Close your eyes.” Emma stared at her mutely, and Regina stared back before sighing. “Emma… trust me. You’re trying too hard. We both are,” she continued in a mutter. “But in your case, it’s short-circuiting your magic. Close your eyes and trust me, all right? We can do this.”

Emma sucked a deep breath in through her nose, then released it slowly as she nodded her head. “Yeah… all right,” she concurred, closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing like Regina had taught her all those years ago. She concentrated on the mechanics of the process - in… out… in… out… - slowing her heartbeat and narrowing her attention to the inhalation and exhalation of a single breath. As she began to slip into a zen state, she felt the warmth of Regina slide into her space, but she kept her eyes closed.

She could feel the frisson of dark magic skitter along her skin, prickling the hairs into a standing position. Then followed the awareness of light magic, sending warmth throughout her body and into her fingertips. She smiled slightly.

“Can you feel it?” came the words from inside her own head. “Do you feel our magic building and combining together?” Emma felt her hands being cupped together and the solid feel of the keychain placed between them before Regina’s hands covered hers. “Now… focus. Let your magic flow through you - you control it; you choose its destiny.” Regina could feel it stirring… brewing just beneath the surface. Then suddenly… it was gone. She jerked back. “Emma?”

Emma opened her eyes, and her eyes were glowing - not quite green; not quite silver; not quite blue. “I’ve got this,” she announced solemnly, though there was the tiniest quirk of a smile hovering around her lips. “I’ve got it, and I’ve got it under control.”

Regina tiled her head. “You’re sure?”

Emma chuckled. “Trust me,” lifting up her fingers and rubbing them together to make microscopic sparkles cascade from them. “It’s right there. But I don’t see a reason to alert anyone else to our little secret.” She clutched the keychain in one hand and grasped Regina’s in the other. “C’mon. Let’s go see if we can help make a difference in this fight.”

They turned and made their way back to the battlefield.

************

The sound of flesh striking flesh was loud and reverberated throughout the halls of Mt. Olympus. It caused a complete cessation of noise and movement, and all heads turned toward Aphrodite and Zeus. He covered his cheek with one hand and gazed at her in shock. She glared and pulled back her hand to strike him again, surprised when he jerked back out of her reach. She moved to take a step forward… only to find herself caught in Athena’s grasp.

“Let me go, ‘The,” she growled without taking her eyes off of him. “This fucktard is the reason we’re stuck here… the reason Saligia is back.”

He straightened to refute her words - stunned by the vitriol she was directing at him - when he realized they had the attention of every single being currently caught on Mt. Olympus. He was dismayed to note that none of them appeared very sympathetic to his plight, and more than one seemed furious at him for the accusations Aphrodite had just laid at his feet.

“I have nothing to do with Saligia being back… nor for the destruction of our society.”

“Liar!” Aphrodite accused. “I know what you’ve done.” She allowed the hatred she felt for him and his endless machinations to show in her countenance. “I know about the bet you have going with Ares.”

He paled at her statement, then allowed a cocky expression to cross his face. “Then you know it’s a win/win for us. What I did, I did to protect us all.”

“Liar,” she charged again. “What you did, you did to hold onto your place as King of the Gods,” smiling maliciously when she watched him swallow nervously. She turned to address the rest, who were now studying the tableau before them with a hint of interest and more than a hint of curiosity. “Allow me to totally explain what these two whack-a-doodles have done, and then we’ll see how judgment plays out for them. See… the Old Man,” gesturing to Zeus, “knew about the cracks in the foundation that was keeping Saligia asleep. But instead of repairing them, or, ya know… at least trying to destroy him forever… he totally decided to let them go - just to see what would happen. He figured Xena and Gabrielle could handle it like they did the last time, and if they couldn’t, well… that’d be okay too. We’d have time to figure it out, and hey… at least it was something new for a change.”

Apollo looked between Aphrodite and Zeus as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re making this up.”

She shook her head. “Wish I was. Nope… this is the truth. He knew, and he did nothing. And when Ares called him out about it, they bet on it.”

“Excuse me??” This time it was Hera who spoke, and everyone shivered slightly at the coldness in her tone. “What exactly did they bet on?”

“Whether or not Big X and Gab could handle this again… alone, again. We do nothing… risk nothing. We just sit back and wait for the results… like we did before.”

“So Ares isn’t on Saligia’s side?” Demeter asked.

Aphrodite shrugged. “Not sure, but I don’t think so. He’s playing like he is in an effort to be the hero of all this - you know, because he will have saved all of us and our godliness regardless of who wins. But he’s not on their side either. The whole bet comes down to whether or not Saligia can be taken down without us. If they do, Ares wins and becomes King of the Gods. If they don’t….” She shrugged again. “I don’t think that’s going to matter for us in the long run. If we could have defeated him without them, we would have done so in the first place millennia ago.”

“You really think a couple of immortal humans can do what the gods themselves couldn’t accomplish?”

“They already did once. And they haven’t needed us in longer than most of us care to remember.” She turned back to Zeus. “Frankly, I don’t care which of you wins the bet.” She met his eyes squarely, then glanced away. “You’re dead to me,” causing gasps of shock to rise from the gathered assembly as she turned her back on him and walked away.

The others watched her go, then one by one turned their backs as well. Zeus stood defiant, sputtering out excuses to which no one was left listening.

Hera was the last to leave. “You may need to rethink your existence,” she instructed coldly. “It appears you’ve outstayed your welcome, and I think it’s safe to say you’re pretty much persona non grata around here at this point.”

“What I did….”

“… has no excuse. You put yourself and your selfishness above everything and everyone… again… but this time, I don’t think you’ll find absolution or forgiveness.” She motioned around them. “Find somewhere else to be. I don’t want to see you when I come back.”

Zeus wanted to reply, but before he could formulate a response, she was gone. And he was left standing alone in the middle of Mt. Olympus wondering just exactly when things had gone so wrong.

************

“Well… at least we know now why the gods haven’t returned,” Xena commented as she arrived back on the other side of the battlefield where the Guardians stood waiting. “If Ares could create a shield against Saligia, it stands to reason he could do the same against his family.”

“Couldn’t they break it, though?”

Xena shrugged. “Possibly. But we have to assume they are beyond our reach… and Saligia’s… at the moment.”

“So, once again it comes down to us.”

Xena nodded and met Gabrielle’s eyes. “Once again, it comes down to us.”

“And all of us too,” Bo cut in. “Don’t forget about us.”

Gabrielle couldn’t stop the quirk of her lips any more than Xena could contain the twinkle in her eye. But before either of them could respond, another voice broke through the silence.

“Has anyone ever forgotten about you, Dennis?” Bo whirled around to find Jane Rizzoli smirking at her, causing the rest to chuckle at their foolishness. She opened her mouth to answer when Supergirl spoke up.

“Um… are we waiting for something? Like for him to attack or something? Because I think that something may be getting ready to happen.”

Her words caused all their attention to fixate back on the battlefield and the activity taking place just behind Saligia. Ares was nowhere to be seen, but the Horseman was getting closer by the moment, and she was not alone. Line after line of dead followed in her wake, and beyond that, Kara could just make out the visages of the women who had been part of their number. She narrowed her vision, recognizing something else - someone else- but before she could comment, Saligia bellowed from the other side of the battlefield.

“One last chance, Xena. You and Gabrielle surrender the talismans to me, and I’ll let you and your friends walk. No harm… no foul. Otherwise….” He shrugged.

“Otherwise, you’re gonna grandstand and make a spectacle and let the whole wide world watch while we kick. your. ass. again.”

He laughed, though the sound as malicious and bone-chilling. “It’s nice that you think that. And you’ll be made to pay for your insolence.” He motioned to the army, spreading them out to either side of him. “The best part is that you’ll be fighting your own. It’s the only reason I didn’t simply destroy you outright. I want to watch you suffer and bleed for these people. And if we can make your defeat an entertainment spectacle for the masses who will be able to witness it? So much the better for me.”

“Oh my fucking God,” Bo groused as she stepped forward slightly. “You really do never shut up, do you?”

Saligia’s reaction was almost predictable; the outcome, however, was completely unexpected. Though he did intend to make an exhibition of his defeat of Xena and Gabrielle, he wasn’t about to accept a smart mouth from one of the humans that stood between him and total victory… especially since he planned to make them all suffer at his hand. No reason he shouldn’t make an early example of this one who seemed determined to draw attention to herself.

He raised his hand and created a small fireball, the flames licking red and white around his hand. He relished the warmth of it briefly before he released it and sent it hurling toward Bo. Her eyes barely had time to widen in dismay when a body stepped between her and it and absorbed the blow. Then it was as if time itself stopped.

Saligia froze, unable to believe what he had just seen. Not only had he not hit his mark, but someone had moved fast enough to intercept his fireball. And not only had he been intercepted, but the woman who had absorbed it like it was nothing was still standing and staring back at him like he was some sort of ill-behaved child. He raised his hand again, but this time, Supergirl rushed toward him, and it was only sheer dumb luck at the last minute that kept her from throttling him by the throat. Instead, she overshot her mark, and Saligia was able to hit her again… this time in the back. It was unfortunate, because he wasn’t able to see the change that washed over her countenance, and when she turned to face him again, her eyes were blazing.

At that moment, Ares reappeared, and he put his arms around her to contain her movement. “Chill out, Supergirl,” he whispered in her ear. “There’s no reason for you to die today.”

“And there’s no reason for you to continue to live,” she growled as she tried to jerk away from him. “Let go of me!”

“No can do, Sweetheart. I need you out of this… one way or another. S’up to you if it’s the easy way or the hard way.” She lifted her leg to stomp his foot, but he divined her intention and allowed her motion to raise them slightly off the ground. Then he reached into the pouch at his waist and removed a red crystal… one which caused her to fight harder, despite the lack of leverage. Still, it only took a few moments exposure before she settled down, darkness falling over her features and her lip curling into a sneer.

“You’re a real motherfucker,” she stated emotionlessly as he set them back on the ground. “You know you can’t control me, right?”

Ares snorted. “I don’t need to control you. I just need you out of the way. And let’s be honest… you don’t really want to help all these puny mortals. You’re better than them. You’re a god among them.”

Supergirl hauled back and punched Ares squarely in the face, knocking him on his ass as he clutched at his broken nose and split lip. “I am certainly more of a god than anyone here.” Then she turned and shoved past Saligia, bowling him over until he was flat on his back, stomping her way back to the Guardians.

She snatched Pandora’s box out of Wonder Woman’s hands, placing her palm on the trigger and turning it until the latch popped open. Then she thrust the open box back into Diana’s grip. “I can’t stay,” she growled. “Not now. I could do more damage than good.” She grabbed Dinah’s jacket, careful not to actually touch any part of her person. “You stand with Diana and be her second,” feeling another wave of anger and hatred flow through her. “I’ve gotta go.”

She launched into the sky… or tried to, as the instant she rose from the ground, both Saligia and Ares pelted her with fireballs. But instead of trying to escape, she allowed them to hit until she was buried under their assault. She had decided - the only other time she’d been infected with Red K - that she would never expose the world to that side of her again. Her intent had been to go to her Fortress of Solitude - one she’d spent months crafting after the first incident. However, this was a solution as well, and one that might still allow her to be part of the solution… if she could get control of the fury currently rolling through her veins. Surprisingly, focusing on the fireballs was sharpening that control; she just needed to survive the burning pain they were beginning to cause her. And for now, she was enough of a distraction that several things were happening that neither Ares nor Saligia had yet to notice.

************

Trick looked around in satisfaction, nodding to both Isaac and Drea as they met up behind the lines following the Horseman toward the battlefield. They had managed to segregate most of the people who had come to stand with Xena and Gabrielle, and the Fae were working their magic to bring them back to their real-life senses. It was slow going, but they were making some progress, as evidenced by the growing number of people looking around in dazed confusion. Fortunately, they were all cognizant enough to realize explanations would have to wait, and they moved to stand with the Amazons and Warriors, anticipating their marching orders at any time.

Drea looked at Trick. “We’re in position. When are you going to give the signal?”

Trick looked around again. They were in position, but the Fae were still busy trying to revert the remaining  non-dead humans back to their original state, and there were more of them than he was comfortable leaving untouched as part of the Horseman’s army. Besides, he needed all the Fae with them marching forward to meet up with Hippolyta and the rest.

“We need the rest of Gabrielle’s friends converted back to their living state. I didn’t realize there were so many or that it was gonna take so long, else I wouldn’t have had any Fae remain with Hippolyta.”

“Um… excuse me,” Pete’s voice broke into their tableau. “We might be able to help with that.”

“Who are you, and how do you think you can help?” Trick demanded harshly.

Pete looked at the little man barking at him and swallowed any smart remarks on his lips. He might not know who Trick was, but he could certainly sense the powerful vibes emanating from his being. He cleared his throat. “My name is Special Agent Pete Lattimer, and I’m an Agent of Warehouse 13,” seeing Trick nod his understanding. “It’s possible that the neutralizer we brought with us might help speed up your process.”

Trick looked around again, noting the myriad of individuals still slowing shuffling toward the battlefield. “You got some way to dispense a lot of it in a hurry?”

Pete nodded with excitement and exchanged grins with Jinks. “Oh yeah. We made sure of that. C’mon.” The three of them made their way back toward the abandoned SUV while the rest watched them go.

“I hope this works,” Drea commented mostly to herself. “We don’t have much time.”



Chapter LXXX

Casey and Abbie walked as swiftly as they could without running, trying to stick to the path they thought the others had taken. It was difficult at best in the dark, but they really had no desire to accidentally stumble into something they couldn’t get themselves out of. Then Casey literally tripped over something unseen in her path and went down hard, wincing when rock and sand cut into her palms. Abbie stopped moving as soon as she heard Casey grunt.

“Ow.”

“You all right?”

Casey paused a moment to take stock, happy to note that none of the damage seemed permanent. Her hands were the worst, and they were mostly scraped up and a little bruised. “Yeah. Feel kinda stupid, though. What did I trip on?”

Abbie shook her head, even though she knew Casey couldn’t see her in the dark. “Dunno. I quit walking when I heard you fall. I didn’t think me falling on top of you would make things better.”

“Huh… good point. Can you look around and see if you can find anything? I’d prefer not to end up on the ground again,” she said softly as she struggled to get up. She winced and hissed when she put pressure on her hands and again at the soreness in her knees when she straightened them. She gave a thought of thanks for the fact that she had on long pants, so at least her knees weren’t scratched.

“Um… Case? I think we’ve got bigger issues than you falling down.” She squatted and lifted a hand to push the hair back away from the face she could just see hints of in the dark. “You didn’t trip over some thing. You fell over some one.”

Casey scrambled the rest of the way to her feet, wincing when she automatically brushed her hands together and biting her lip to keep from cursing aloud. Then she turned and eased her way over to Abbie, inching along until she hit something solid. She clasped the warm hand that was extended to her, then grimaced as she knelt again. She allowed Abbie to help her down, then move her hand into position to feel whomever she had fallen over.

She was honestly surprised to feel the warmth of living flesh against her own. Given the way things had gone so far, she figured she was entitled to that much. She let herself gently touch the soft skin - trying to reassure the woman she was not a threat - but she got no reaction to the contact between them.

Casey sighed loudly. “I wish I had my phone,” she grumbled. “At least we’d have a little light.”

She heard Abbie turn her head towards her. “Would it be safe to shed a little light on the subject? I have my lighter.” The lighter that had been handed down to her from her grandfather that she always kept on her person as a matter of habit.

Casey looked around carefully, barely able to see Abbie’s profile. “Maybe if you can keep your hand cupped around it? I kinda hate to risk it, but I think we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

Abbie shifted enough to pull the lighter from her pocket, then flicked it to life. The flame seemed amazingly bright after the almost total darkness they had been in, but Abbie did her best to contain the light between them. Still, she nearly dropped the lighter when Casey squeezed her arm hard and gasped.

“Root!”

It was Root - Casey was certain of that - but the woman didn’t respond to her at all. There was no reaction to her name; no hint of recognition in her eyes. It was as though her mind and her body were no longer a singular entity. Casey bit her lip. This was something far beyond her ability to fix, but they couldn’t leave Root to fend for herself either. The way she was curled into herself, silently rocking and barely whimpering, told Casey something horrible had happened. But she had no way of determining what or how or why. She exchanged glances with Abbie who snapped the lighter shut.

“What’s wrong with her?” she asked in a whisper.

Casey shook her head. “I dunno. Given her lack of response….” A sigh. “It’s like she’s not there… like she’s retreated into herself.”

“What should we do with her then? We can’t leave her here and we can’t take her with us.”

Casey sighed again. “I know. I think we need to get her inside. At least she should be out of danger until this is over, and maybe Xena can figure out what’s wrong and how to bring her back.”

“You think she saw something that pushed her over the edge?”

“I don’t know what to think. All I know is that she can’t stay out here by herself.”

“All right,” Abbie agreed. “How do you want to do this? She’s not huge or anything, but I’m not sure either of us can carry her alone, and it’s too damn dark for us to carry her between us. We’re liable to wind up face down on the ground again, and this time, it would be a dog pile.”

“Yeah… don’t want to be at the bottom of that pile. No offense.” She eased to her feet, pinching her lips together to keep from groaning out loud. Abbie took her cue and rose as well. Casey looked between them, then extended a hand down to Root. “Root?” she called softly, hoping for a response. “I know you don’t remember me at the moment, and that’s okay. I know something bad happened to you; I’m sorry about that too. But we need to get out of here and get to somewhere safe. Can you trust us to take you somewhere?”

Root remained stationary throughout Casey’s speech, but she reacted just barely to the soft touch on her face. She turned into it slightly, allowing the touch to comfort her, though she had no cognizant understanding of what it all really meant.

“Should we pick her up?” Abbie asked quietly. “I still think it’s a bad idea in the dark, but I’m not sure she’s able to do much for herself.”

“Maybe we can help,” came a voice from the darkness. Casey tilted her head, trying to place the familiarity she felt.

“Who’s there?” Regina and Emma stepped forward together, and Regina held out a darkened fireball to add a tiny bit of illumination to the situation. “How did you find us?”

“Who are they?” Abbie asked. She swiveled her head toward them.“Who are you?”

“They’re friends,” Casey replied before Emma or Regina could answer. She turned back to them. “Do you really think you can help? Something is terribly wrong with her. It’s like she’s lost inside her own head or something, because she doesn’t recognize me at all. And she doesn’t seem capable of… being Root.”

Regina and Emma glanced at one another, then turned back to Root before looking at one another again. “Is there somewhere private we can go? I have no desire to draw attention to our location, and if we’re going to try and help her, well… I would be best if we could do so behind closed doors.”

“Um… yeah, yeah,” Casey said. “We just need to get her up first.”

“Leave that to me, “Emma said, leaning over and scooping Root into her arms. “If you’ll just lead the way?”

“I’ll go first if the rest of you want to hang onto each other and single file behind me,” Casey said, extending her hand. Regina took it and put her other hand on Emma’s arm, allowing her to direct Emma’s footsteps from the front. Abbie brought up the rear, keeping one hand on Emma’s other arm, and making sure they were all stable and stayed together.

And so they passed through the darkness to reach the trailers, slipping inside and closing the door, leaving nothing more than a hole in the darkness.

************

Hippolyta spared a glance at John Stillwater, who continued to keep the binoculars to his eyes as he surveyed the activity going on across the battlefield. They had both given up trying to figure out what was going on with the Guardians, as it appeared they were simply standing around waiting for something. Then John saw a surge in the lines approaching Saligia from behind and realized that something beyond what they had discussed was happening… because the lines seemed to be falling away from the battlefield. Hundreds of people were suddenly not there as part of the army.

“Hippolyta?” he whispered, motioning her over and passing her the binoculars.

She took them and raised them to her eyes, jerking them away to look at John briefly. He nodded his head in confirmation, and she lifted them again, understanding that this was Trick’s signal. She spared a glance at the Guardians and smiled grimly at what she saw. She nodded to herself and handed the glasses back to the Shaman.

“All right,” she said softly. “Time to go.”

Her quiet words were passed among the ranks like wildfire, and in no time they were lined up and moving down the hill silently, hidden by the darkness around them.

************

The moment Ares’ and Saligia’s attention was focused on Supergirl, Xena turned to the Guardians. “Open your boxes and take out your talismans,” steeling herself for the consequences and watching Gabrielle do the same.

“What about the boxes?”

“Toss them aside for now. They’re of no use to us,” not letting her eyes leave her soulmate’s. “Are you ready for this?” she asked sotto voce.

Gabrielle simply opened the box she held and gritted her teeth to stop the humming she could feel buzzing throughout her whole body. Xena snatched up the talisman, feeling her eyes shift and her teeth elongate, watching as the same happened to Gabrielle. There would be no way to hide this from the women that surrounded them, but there was nothing to be done for it now. She looked down when she felt Gabrielle’s touch burn into the skin of her forearm.

Gabrielle didn’t speak, but she removed the long coat she’d been wearing and Xena’s brow rose in surprise. When had she had the chance…? but she refused to look a gift horse in the mouth either. She accepted the sword and sheath as Gabrielle lifted it over her own head, remembering well the time she’d spent crafting the belted sheath when she realized that putting clips on every piece of clothing she owned was a little outrageous. She didn’t take the time to admire her handiwork; she simply slipped it into place with a sense of satisfaction. Her eyes widened when Gabrielle handed her the chakram, wondering again how she had missed the addition of her weapons to Gabrielle’s person at some point. She made a mental note to ask when all this was over, then she captured Gabrielle’s lips for a long, passionate moment.

“Now what, Chosen?” Diana’s voice cut into their interlude, and they both growled in response to the interruption, but they also recognized the validity of her question as well as the necessity of the interruption. They looked at her, eyes burning and teeth bared, and she returned their gaze without flinching. She felt Dinah clasp onto the material at her waist and figured there was a tremendous amount of energy - sexual and otherwise - flowing from them in waves. But other than that tight grasp, Dinah gave no reaction to their appearance. The rest stood completely still, waiting for their marching orders.

“Now?” Xena laughed, the sound chilling. “Now we send this motherfucker back to the stone age in pieces so small, even the universe won’t find the molecules. Stay together, people. Diana… at my side!” She removed the sword from the sheath and stepped forward, Diana walking with her step by step. Gabrielle moved in tandem with them both, and Dinah follow a bare pace behind, her hand firmly grasping Diana’s. The rest quickly formed up behind them, each couple linked by their hands, and all of them touching one another so that they formed a continuous link.

“Hey… Numb Nuts!” Xena called, causing both Ares and Saligia to turn her way and all of the women with her to titter with laughter. “Enough!” seeing Kara relax as the fireballs ceased coming in her direction. “She’s not the one you want… not really. And honestly, if you don’t want to turn public sentiment against you before we even get started, you’ll leave her alone. She’s a bona fide hero, ya know. Lotta people won’t take to kindly to you destroying her.”

“Then she shouldn’t have come to play in the grown-up sandbox, should she?” Saligia sneered as he turned in Xena’s direction. He sent another couple zingers off in Supergirl’s direction, squealing with delight when she rolled over onto her back and stopped moving. “Besides,” he motioned to the other three still figures lying on the ground a short distance away. “What makes her more special than your other friends, hmm? Or those coming along with the Horseman? Surely all life is sacred and important to you.” He shook his head. “It isn’t though, is it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have brought along such puny humans to help you defeat a god.” He snorted. “You see, Xena… I meant what I said. I intend to make a spectacle of this and of you. I’m going to show the whole world how powerful and amazing I am, and how weak and pathetic you and your Guardians are. It’s why I’ve permitted you time to get ready to mount a defense. It will be much more interesting when I defeat you. The fact that I already have your ‘army’? Just a bonus for me, and it will make for interesting footage when Ares cobbles all this together for me.” He raised his arms and brought a fireball to bear. “However, I’m not interested in fighting you in personal combat. We both know you are the more skilled warrior, and I’m done playing fair!” screeching at her as he released the flame.

Ares, meanwhile, had motioned to the Horseman to move forward and bring the army with her. He hadn’t been part of a good slaughter in a long time, and this had the earmarks of a massacre.

The army moved forward in time with the Horseman, but Ares frowned when he got a better look at it. It wasn’t nearly as large as it had appeared only a few hours ago, and he couldn’t seem to pick out any of the women from those who considered themselves Xena’s army. Not that it mattered in the long run, of course - they were useless as fighters. Their sole reason for being assimilated was strictly to utilize them as fodder against Xena and having her slaughter them… or at least being forced to watch them die. Then he had to duck, as she swung her sword and sent Saligia’s fireball directly toward him.

Interestingly enough, when he ducked, the fireball just kinda… fizzled out. It didn’t do any damage to the army behind him that he could see, and he grinned wickedly. That gave him and Saligia a distinct advantage… because the Guardians could most certainly be destroyed by them. That wasn’t the plan though - not to start with, at any rate. First, there would be mayhem and torture and as much destruction as they could manage without actually killing anyone. Then there would be death. But first they planned to have as much fun as they could manage.

That was their plan, anyway. Too bad no one told Xena and the Guardians.

When Saligia threw the first fireball toward them, Xena stepped up with her sword drawn and batted it back toward them as though it had been a baseball. Saligia watched Ares duck and chortled a little, amused that the God of War couldn’t seem to handle a little heat. No matter, though; their alliance was only temporary - just long enough to defeat Xena and Gabrielle. The rest would be a bonus, of course, but Xena and Gabrielle were the primary targets.

So, while Ares ducked from Xena’s first return volley, Saligia settled down in earnest to have a bit of fun. Right about then, everything went to hell.

************

Pete and Jinks hustled back to the SVU, and opened the doors to the back end, exposing the huge tank of neutralizer they’d brought along. They heard the front doors of the truck slam closed and peered around to find Myka and HG in the cab. Pete held out his arms in the universal gesture that asked a question. Fortunately, Myka had known him long enough to understand the unspoken.

“HG’s gonna navigate while I drive in reverse to get you guys as close to those things as I can. You and Jinks gear up. Quicker we get this done, the quicker we can go back to Leena’s for cookies and milk.”

He gave her a double thumbs up, then slipped into the hazmat gear they’d brought along with them… just in case. When they were ready, Pete knocked on the doors of the SUV and waited for Myka to slowly begin moving toward them.

Jinks started powering up his gun, listening to the whine as he turned toward Pete. “What’s the range on these things, do you think?”

Pete shrugged. “Don’t know. Fifty feet? We get close enough, we’ll start spraying. That’ll give us our range.”

“How many do you think we can hit before we run dry?” They were close to the back of the army now… close enough that many heads had turned their way, and though they made no move toward them, it was a little unnerving to see so many dead staring at them with empty eye sockets. Pete tapped the back of the SUV again, and Myka slowed to a halt and waited.

Pete and Jinks exchanged another glanced, then raised their weapons. “On three?” Jinks asked.

“On three,” Pete agreed. “One… two….”

No one said ‘three’; they simply started shooting. And they realized fairly quickly that they were probably a little closer to the dead than was prudent. The moment neutralizer began hitting those beings that were truly dead, a great scream arose. The neutralizer started melting the bones of the dead, and the smell… the smell was something beyond horrific. The eye sockets - that had been staring blankly - suddenly became malevolent, and bodies turned toward them with ill intent.

“Oh shit,” Pete muttered, pounding on the back of the SUV, only to realize his mistake when Myka started edging toward them again. “Mykes! Myka!! Go forward… forward!” he shouted. It took a moment for her to stop and shift gears, then the truck slowly rolled forward at a snail’s pace. “Little faster!” he bellowed, gratified when she picked up speed, though he immediately realized it still wasn’t fast enough. Though they weren’t moving quickly, the dead were continuing to move towards him and Jinks unflinchingly, despite the havoc the neutralizer was wreaking upon them… and they just kept coming. Between the screams and the squelching sound of them stepping in the ooze that remained of those destroyed by the neutralizer, it was rapidly becoming one of the worst sounds he could remember hearing. And then he heard something even worse.

His gun began to sputter as they reached the end of the neutralizer. He only hoped he had given the Fae enough time to finish their work.



Chapter LXXXI

Pete and Jinks threw the guns into the back of the truck, slamming the doors and running to jump into the middle seat. Their appearance startled Myka, and she turned to look at them until she caught a glimpse at what was coming toward them. Without a word, she slammed the truck into drive and headed away from the skeletons that were approaching them with deadly intent. She didn’t go far; she couldn’t - Artie and Claudia were waiting with the rest for their marching orders from Trick. She turned and looked between Pete and Jinks.

“What happened?”

“Well… the good news is the neutralizer works.”

“The bad news is we ran out and now their attention seems to be focused on us.”

At that moment, a shrill sound arose, and the dead turned toward it as though it was their siren song. They started moving rapidly, too… almost at a run until they caught up with their compatriots. The four Agents in the truck looked around at one another.

“What was that all about?” Pete asked aloud, then realized he was talking to himself and Jinks as Myka and HG had already exited the vehicle. The two men followed suit and were soon standing with far more people than he had known they had as allies… until he recognized that the Fae had been successful, and the women Xena and Gabrielle had brought with them were back to normal. He turned to Artie.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Artie turned to Trick, who shrugged. “Now we close the pincer and take this fucker out.”

They all nodded their agreement to his summation and began moving steadily forward, careful to avoid the puddles of goo that the neutralizer had created.

************

Hippolyta led the way down the hill, Warriors and Fae bowing to her leadership without argument. They were silent in their approach and were able to reach the canyon floor of the battlefield without incident, though that was due in part to the singular focus Saligia was giving Xena and Gabrielle. She was intrigued to note that Ares didn’t appear to be doing… much of anything, really. He was careful not to get hit by any stray bullets or fireballs, and he was mindful of where Xena’s sword and chakram were at all times, but by and large, he wasn’t actually participating in the battle - such as it was - at the moment.

Using hand signals, Hippolyta silently gave instructions to those under her command. Several of her Amazons grinned viciously when they understood her instructions, and the Warriors did the same when they shared her plan with them.

A small group of them separated from the main body, taking a wide route around the side opposite where the Horseman was approaching. They didn’t have a problem meeting the oncoming army, but none of them desired to be within the Horseman’s reach. The darkness hid them, for the most part, and they were able to cross the imaginary battle line without being detected. They met up with the Fae that had been working to return the women of Xena’s army back to their normal selves, expecting to close one side of the pincer that they were creating around the Horseman and Saligia’s army. What they got was more than they bargained for.

Just as they moved forward to begin pinning people between them and Trick’s group, the Horseman emitted a high, shrill sound that caused almost everyone to flinch… similar to what Darius had done in New Orleans, but loud enough that everyone could hear it. What happened then was….

The women who had come from all over the world to stand with Xena and Gabrielle suddenly turned and fell on the Amazons, Warriors and Fae in a vicious, violent attack. They used their bodies as weapons - biting and clawing as though they were animals. At first, the fighters tried desperately to keep from hurting the women that were somehow being controlled by the Horseman while protecting themselves… until serious injury was done. Then all bets were off, and they began fighting with purpose - still trying not to kill, but more than willing to do bodily harm. At least hurting them should take them out of the fight, and the fighters could worry about rendering aid when the women were subdued.

Meanwhile, the dead passed right through them as though they weren’t even there, and many were the cold chills that skittered up and down the spines of those that suffered that unfortunate experience. There wasn’t time to dwell on it, of course - they were too busy fighting for survival.

The worst of it was - the remainder of Hippolyta’s army couldn’t see what was happening to the group that had left her to help close the pincer. They were away from the torches that lit the main battlefield, and it was nearly pitch dark. And for reasons of a godly nature, she couldn’t hear any of the fighting, so she assumed they still had the advantage of surprise on their side.

Drea, who had led the Amazons, and Isaac, who was leading the Warriors, couldn’t understand why Hippolyta had not come to their aid. The Fae had withdrawn on Trick’s signal, and the Amazons and Warriors were being slaughtered by women that seemed to possess inordinate strength… beyond what even a bodybuilding female should be capable of… especially with their bare hands. Thus, it became a battle for survival, and the fighters were finding that killing the women was much simpler and more effective than maiming them.

Drea found herself bowled over by one of her own Amazons - a warrior named Anise. She shoved Drea out of the way just as she would have been impacted by a blow from Gail Peck. Instead, Anise was flattened to the ground by a sideways kick that Drea would never have seen coming from behind her. Before Anise could roll out of the way, Holly Stewart landed on her, straddling her waist and reaching for her neck with skilled doctor’s hands. Anise didn’t even hesitate, but withdrew the knife she had strapped to her side - one that she had carried into battle when the Amazons were still a formidable force in ancient Greece. She pulled her arm back as far as she could manage, then slammed it into Holly’s side, feeling her hands loosen immediately. The rest of her was a little slower to react, and Anise watched the surprise cross her face as the pain washed through her body. She pushed Holly from her as she rolled to a kneeling position, sliding the knife out of her body with a squelching sound and noting the copious amount of blood that spurted from the open wound. That was about all she had time for, because Gail came roaring back in her direction, hands curled into claws and mouth open in a silent scream. She struggled to her feet and braced herself - unfortunately, she was so focused on what was in front of her, she forgot to keep an eye on what… or who… was behind her, and before Gail reached her, she was toppled to the ground by several women determined to destroy the threat for which they saw her.

Drea raced over and stared throwing the women off of Anise, heedless of the damage she was wreaking. She snapped the neck of the first and throat-punched the second, not even noticing when the woman began gasping for air through a shattered airway. The next two, she simply threw from her until she was able to reach down and pull Anise away from them… only to discover she wasn’t breathing. She hit her in the chest, hoping to jumpstart her heartbeat until they could get some place a little safer. Anise gasped harshly, and Drea breathed out a brief prayer of thanks.

She shrugged the woman onto her back and across her shoulders, then started looking for a way out. Whatever this was supposed to be, Drea was quite certain it wasn’t what it had become.

She saw a number of her Amazon sisters engaged in fights that they couldn’t win, simply due to the overwhelming number of women that were attacking them. She spotted some of the People’s Warriors having the same issue and made a command decision to call for a retreat to regroup. She’d deal with the consequences later.

************

At the same time Drea was calling for her Amazons and Warriors to retreat, the Warriors and Amazons under Isaac’s command that formed the other side of the pincer realized that the Fae had disappeared. Their only saving grace was that the women seemed to be focused on those coming from the other direction, as they were between them and the rest of Saligia’s army, so Isaac’s army wasn’t under attack; any threat they faced was because they attacked first and brought attention to themselves. Fortunately, they could pick and choose their battles and were able to disable the women without killing them, but it made for slow going. And Saligia’s army was making progress toward the battlefield at an alarmingly steady rate. Closing the pincer was becoming a lot more difficult than any of them believed it would be.

On the plus side, there seemed to be fewer of the dead that the Horseman had brought with her - thanks in great part to the neutralizer Pete and Jinks had used against them. But the women that had been taken from Xena’s army did not appear to be responding to the Fae as they should have been - as they had been right up to the point that the Horseman had screeched out the high, long pitch that had set everyone’s nerve endings on fire.

Was the Horseman what she was expected to be? Or was it possible she was something beyond?

************

Hippolyta saw motion coming in her direction, and she instructed her army to be ready for an attack. But instead of the women from Xena’s army, or the dead that were the Horseman’s, what emerged from the dark were the remnants of the group she had sent ahead to do reconnaissance and a little hit-and-run attack, and they were straggling back mostly decimated.

She rushed forward to meet Drea, who gave her a dirty look before easing Anise to the ground and calling for a healer. Only once she was sure the wounded were being seen to did she turn back to her Queen with accusing eyes.

“Where were you, Pol?? We were being slaughtered like fodder in there with no backup in sight!! Whatever the Fae were doing didn’t work, and they disappeared, leaving only the few of us you sent in against the bulk of women that comprised Xena’s army! So where were you? Surely you could hear us screaming for help!”

Hippolyta was angry at the accusation and anger coming from Drea, especially with the use of her name instead of her title. But Drea’s words made her gasp in horror and shake her head vehemently. “We didn’t hear anything!” She cocked her head and listened. “I still don’t hear anything… nothing. No battle; no movement; no screams. Can you?” meeting Drea’s eyes directly. “Do you hear anything at all coming from that direction?”

Drea turned to where she knew the fight had been, tilting her head and squinting her eyes as though that would help her hear better. She turned back to Hippolyta. “I am sorry, my Queen. I don’t hear anything,” looking around at the Amazons and Warriors that had escaped with her. Each of them shook their heads as well. She huffed. “I suspect Ares fine hand.”

“As do I. The question is, what are we going to do about it?”

“Whatever it is, we need to do it quickly. They were headed this way, and it won’t take them long to reach us. I need a way to contact Trick and Isaac.”

“We’ll have to send a runner.”

“I’m not sure….”

“Yeah, I’m not either, but what choice do we have, really? No one has a cellphone.”

Hippolyta shook her head. “Isaac does, and so does John.” Without another word, they walked briskly towards the shaman who was directing the medical personnel. Maybe they could salvage something from this offensive before Saligia discovered their presence.

************

Saligia hefted another fireball, considering his options. He had been tossing tiny ones so far - trying to induce some bleeding and bruising among the Guardians. So far, they had proven incredibly resilient with some pretty impressive reflexes that kept them dodging everything he threw in their direction. Still, they were beginning to show a little wear and tear - except for Xena, Gabrielle, and Wonder Woman, whose immortality made them a better able to defend themselves, though even their best efforts hadn’t been able to keep the Guardians from harm.

“Why aren’t the talismans working? Shouldn’t they be doing something to protect us or help us defeat him or… I dunno… make some kind of difference for us?” the anger in her voice apparent.

Xena growled at Gabrielle’s question. “I. Don’t. Know.” she gritted out. “We’ve never tried something like this.” She licked the points of her fangs. “It’s affecting us - it should be doing something to him and to Ares. They’re immortal just like we are.”

“Except they’re not - they’re gods… or at least mostly. We’re not. Xena, the Guardians can’t keep this up,” Gabrielle commented in a low voice she knew only Xena, Diana, and possibly Helena would hear. “We can’t keep this up indefinitely. He’s trying to wear us down, and it’s working. I think we need to find a way to go on the offensive. Let’s take the fight to them.”

Xena nodded her acknowledgment of Gabrielle’s words, then sent another fireball back toward Saligia. Unlike Ares, he didn’t duck, but instead he lifted a hand to catch the return volley. He laughed maliciously when he caught the expression on Xena’s face.

“I told you I came to win this time, Xena. You took something from me, and I have come to take it back.” He raised his arm and slammed a second fireball into the first. “Time to get down to business,” he said with a snarl, then sent the massive fireball directly toward Alex Cabot’s chest.

Alex watched, horrified, as the thing rushed towards her, unable to move. Olivia realized what Saligia was doing and leaped to put her body between the fireball and Alex, but she was a fraction of a second too slow. She felt the heat as it passed close to her face, then she heard Alex scream as it landed squarely in her chest. They hit the ground simultaneously, and Olivia scrambled to cradle Alex to her, knowing by the rattle in her breathing there was no way she was going to survive.

Tears streamed down her face, and she cupped Alex’s face in her free hand, closing out every extraneous sound until the world consisted of nothing but the two of them. Alex clenched her jaw to keep from screaming again - it felt as though acid was traveling through her veins. Olivia leaned down until their foreheads were touching and their lips were a hairsbreadth apart.

“Stay with me, Alex. C’mon, Baby… we’re not supposed to end like this.”

Alex smiled, though the blood covering her teeth made it gruesome at best. “Oh, Sweetheart… this… isn’t… the end. <gasp> This is… just… a pause.” She coughed and winced, blood spurting from her mouth and speckling Olivia’s face. “I’ll wait <gasp> for you <cough> <cough> whenever… it’s your… time. Love….” she whispered before she coughed one final time before she gurgled her last breath. Olivia held onto her a moment longer, then kissed her lips gently and placed her on the ground. When she rose, her eyes were full of fire and hatred, and she removed the gun she carried from its holster.

************

Saligia watched with vindictive glee, savoring the first death at his hands, even though it wasn’t a Guardian who had died. He had a plan in mind, and he was going to relish each and every death… one at a time… starting with the companions of the Guardians.

He smirked when Olivia stood and faced him, not surprised when the remaining Guardians shifted to stand beside her. Nor was he particularly nonplussed when Olivia raised her gun and opened fire on him. He was a little more startled to find each Guardian or their partner do the same, and spared a moment’s thought for the time he’d spent weaving the tightest shield round himself that he could manage. He’d had enough damage done to his person by those new infernal weapons - he certainly had no desire to encounter them so up close and personal again.

He let them shoot until they emptied their magazines, brushing imaginary lint from the seersucker suit he’d come to appreciate as Arthur Beaumont. He stroked the mustache he still wasn’t quite accustomed to, then turned his attention back to the Guardians and their partners, glorying in their frustrated countenances. He glanced at Ares, who returned his smirk with a slight nod and a wave of his hand. Saligia turned back to the Guardians once more.

“Well, ladies… this has been delightful, really. But it has come to my attention that I’m being selfish… trying to take all the fun for myself. So Ares and I are going to step back for just a little bit to allow your friends and the army that the Horseman collected to have a chance to play a little bit too. After all, we have plenty of time, and I could really use a drink. If you’ll excuse us….”

“SALIGIA!!!” bellowed from several individuals when all chaos broke loose. Olivia charged forward, determined to make him pay for Alex’s death. Xena and Gabrielle ran forward as well, desperate to catch both Saligia and Ares before they melted into the darkness. But before they could cross no man’s land, Ares and Saligia were gone… though not without a parting shot from Saligia, directed at Olivia Benson. She froze as the fireball hit her center mass, absorbing the searing pain and the burning sensation in shocked silence. She didn’t even realize she had stopped breathing until everything went black… and then she didn’t care enough for it to matter.

As her life slipped from her, her talisman slid from her hand. But instead of going to Saligia, as he had fully expected, it instead went to Diana and the Hope talisman… where it attached itself firmly as part of that charm. The Guardians and their partners looked around at one another, then all eyes turned towards Xena and Gabrielle… who were already shaking their heads. Helena stepped forward as the spokesman, knowing she of all of them - except maybe Oracle, Supergirl and Wonder Woman - had the right to step up and be heard. She’d earned the right by being the one that always got stuck interrupting sticky situations.

“You have to let us do this,” she said fiercely. “If this is the only way to defeat this fucker, then so be it. We all knew what we were signing up for when we agreed to this. It’s our choice.”

“No, Helena….”

Helena shook her head to stop Xena’s speech. “Our. Choice.” she emphasized. “But first I think we have some guests that need their comeuppance,” motioning to the dead and the women of Xena’s army that were moving forward to meet them on the battlefield. “Show no mercy,” she encouraged. “They made their choice to be here and stand together with you both. Honor their choice… and ours. And let’s kick these fuckers to the curb.”

Xena and Gabrielle looked around at the women who had pledged themselves to this course of action long before they’d come to BFE South Dakota. Then they nodded solemnly, and Xena turned to face the Horseman with her sword upraised.

“Kill 'em all!!!” she commanded, then she gave her battlecry and rushed forward, meeting the Horseman one-on-one. It was time to end this.


Part 10