Joxer's Quantum Leap, part 2
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by Anne Beaudry

Xena was confused, she knew that she heard a voice. She was sure that it came from right behind her. But when she turned, there was no one there. She didn't feel the tingle at the back of her neck that said that Ares was around, so she knew that it couldn't be him.

"Where is he?" she demanded of the man standing in front of her. She had thought that there was something strange about Joxer since earlier that day. Sometimes when she glanced at him she could see a different person. Someone who had brown hair and broad shoulders, but when she looked again, she could see the familiar black hair and lanky frame of her friend. At first she thought it was one of the gods, but instead of disappearing when the bandit attacked, he had fought. Surprisingly well, too. She had not seen too many men fight like that. She knew that most men she had come across thought they had to have a weapon to fight. This man did almost as good as she did using nothing but his hands.

Turning to face him again she brought her sword up and demanded again, "Who are you?"

"Okay, the truth. But I don't think you're going to believe me. My name is Sam. I come from the future. A long way into the future. The voice you hear is from Al, uh, a, um, holograph. Kind of like a ghost," he said.

"Ghost?" Xena asked.

"Oh boy. Um, an invisible person. He can see you, but you can't see him. In fact, I'm the only one who can see him," Sam said.

"Where's Joxer? Is he okay?" she demanded. "If you've hurt him, I swear on Olympus that you are going to wish..."

"Joxer's fine! I'm not too sure where he is right now... but I know that he's okay. Look, we aren't here to hurt anybody. We're here to help." Looking to Xena's left, he continued, "Al, I think we can tell her. She is Gabrielle's friend and she does have a, um, point here!" Sam said as he looked at Xena's sword.

"Uh, yeah. I see what you mean. Ok... but don't tell her too much!" Al said.

"Xena... We are here to save Gabrielle's life. Sometime tomorrow she is going to die and we are here to stop that from happening," Sam explained.

"I can protect her. Just tell me, who is going to kill her?" Xena said.

"Uh, well, that's the part that we aren't sure about..." Sam said.

"What do you mean... you're not sure about? You know she's going to die but you don't know by who?" Xena said.

"Well, the only information that we have is from some very old scrolls that were found in a cave not far from here. All they say is that an immortal kills her... we don't know any more than that." Sam replied.

"An immortal?" Xena said surprised. That meant it was a god... I wonder which one?? Wouldn't be Aphrodite... I don't think it would be Ares... not his style. Strife is dead or I'd be sure it was him. Hera is gone... Zeus wouldn't bother. She couldn't figure out if Sam were lying or not, but she thought she would let him stay until she could find out for sure.

"Do you know what it might mean?" Sam asked. "Do you know who will kill her? If we can stop them now, then that means I can leave and you get Joxer back! Isn't that what you want?"

Xena looked at him and thought it over. She still didn't know if she could trust him or not... but if there was a chance that Gabrielle was in danger...

"Alright! But don't you dare say anything to Gabrielle! And you areto stay away from her! Do you understand that?" she said.

"Yes! I understand!" Sam said, relieved.

"Good!" Xena said.

Sam turned to Al who was standing beside Xena. "Has Ziggy got anything else she can give us?" Sam asked.

"Only that she is certain that the scroll says it is an immortal that kills her," Al said as he hit the small machine in his hand.

"I want you to go to Gabrielle now and make sure she's okay," Sam said.

"Right," Al said and disappeared.

"Where is he?" Xena asked. "Is he really with Gabrielle now?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. If anything happens or anyone show up he'll let us know right away," Sam said.

"Alright. Look why are you doing this? And why did you pick Joxer's body? He's not exactly known for his fighting skills," she said.

"Well, it's doesn't work like that. I can't pick anybody's body. I wish I could! As for why I am doing this... well, sometimes I don't even know what I'm supposed to do when I leap," he explained. "If it wasn't for Al, I don't think I could have made it this far."

"Leap? Is that what you call it? Why do you call it leap?" she asked.

"Because it is kind of like 'leaping' when I leave one person's body and enter another," he replied.

"That is something that only the god's can do. Are you a god?" Xena askedwarily.

Sam laughed, "No! I'm not a god! Look it's hard to explain and I don't think you would understand anyway."

Xena looked at him closely. She was pretty sure that she could see someone else under Joxer's familiar grin. Looking closer and squinting her eyes she could definitely see another person underneath. Her eyes started to hurt with the strain and she rubbed them and relaxed. Sam was definitely not Ares or any of the other gods she knew. She glanced where the bandit lay and decided that he wasn't going anywhere in the near future and when he did get up she doubted that he would be wanting to go near Joxer... Sam... whoever again. She looked up at the sky and saw that it was quite late. Gabrielle would be worried.

"We'd better get back to camp, Gabrielle will be worried, and I really don't want to leave her alone for very long. Not after what you told me." Xena said and turned to walk back to the camp.

Sam nodded and followed her. She was a beautiful woman. Sometimes he really hated leaping. He had fallen in love with a few of the women he had met during his travels and it hurt every time he had to leave. After years of this, he had thought that he would be used to it by now. But seeing Xena's strong back and long dark hair blowing in the wind caused his mouth to go dry.

He knew that it wouldn't last... it never did. He didn't remember if he was single or married or engaged in his own life and Al never said anything. He noticed that they were approaching the camp and saw Gabrielle smiling and walking towards them. He smiled and waved at her and thought of Xena's long dark hair blowing in the slight breeze.

Gabrielle had worried when Joxer had left by himself after singing. That wasn't like him. He had acted strange when they were in the woods too. Joxer wouldn't have said anything about what he felt towards her. She was also concerned about what Xena said about a bandit in the area. He might get hurt or worse. She was going to get up and follow him but Xena told her that she would go and make sure that he was alright. She had told Xena that she wanted to go with her and Xena gave her the look and told her to get ready for bed. She had sighed and unrolled Xena's bedroll and and her own.

When she got to Joxer's bedroll, she noticed that a parchment lay inside. Curious, she picked it up and guiltily looked around to make sure no one was around to see. She unfolded it and saw a picture of a beautiful woman. It had obviously been handled quite a bit as it was ragged and torn around the edges. The picture was smudged in spots as well. Looking at it again, she saw that it was her. She stared at it for a few moments and then quickly glanced around with a guilty look and replaced the picture in the bedroll. Smiling to herself, she got up and made sure that everything was secured for the night.

She thought about what Xena about the bandit in the area again and started to worry. They had been gone for quite some time and she was worried that perhaps something may have happened to Joxer. She had just made up her mind to go after them when she heard someone approaching the campsite. She listened closely and felt her heart skip a beat. Joxer! He was safe! She thanked the various gods and ran to meet her friends.

"Joxer! Xena! What happened? You were gone so long I thought maybe something had happened to you?" Gabrielle said.

"We're fine. Has anyone been near the campsite since we left?" Xena asked.

"No. I've heard no one around at all. Why? Have you heard something?" she asked nervously.

"No. But Sa... I mean Joxer has heard rumors that someone is looking for me and I wanted to make sure that you were all right. I don't know who it is and they may not be friends, so I want you to be careful," Xena replied.

"Oh. Well, I haven't heard or seen anyone." Gabrielle said.

"Good! If you do, call me right away. Understand?" Xena said and looked at her friend.

Gabrielle knew that there was something that Xena wasn't telling her but knew better than to ask. She looked at Joxer, expecting to find him staring at her like usual, and was surprised to find that he wasn't looking at her at all. In fact, he wasn't even looking in her direction! He was staring at ... Xena? Gabrielle shook her head and rubbed her eyes, she couldn't possibly be seeing what she thought she was seeing, was she? Joxer wasn't staring at Xena... was he? No, she must be mistaken! Joxer didn't love Xena. Unless.... She looked around quickly trying to find the goddess of love or her son or even her grandson... but nobody was around.

"Uh... Xena? Could I talk to you... alone?" Gabrielle asked. Xena looked at her strangely and nodded.

They walked a short way from the camp and Gabrielle looked back to make sure that Joxer stayed put. He was lying on his roll and looking to where they had gone.

"Have you noticed anything... unusual about Joxer? He seems strange," Gabrielle said.

Xena kept a straight face and shook her head. "No... I haven't noticed anything... why?" she asked.

"Oh... um... well... I was just wondering if you had noticed that he was.... watching you."

"Watching me?" Xena asked.

"Yeah. Like he usually does with me. You know staring at you, watching everything you do. I was just sort of wondering if you two had run into Aphrodite or something while you were gone," Gabrielle explained.

"No, we didn't see Aphrodite. We did see a bandit and Joxer managed to take care of him, but that was all," Xena said.

"Oh...okay." Gabrielle said uncertainly. Something had happened! She knew it. But why was Xena covering it up? She was determined to get to the bottom of it!

Gabrielle and Xena arrived back at the camp and found that Joxer had already settled down. They did the same. The bard found herself looking at Joxer and wondering what was going on. It wasn't as though they were seeing each other. She had no claims on him and wouldn't blame him if he did. But why was he openly flirting with Xena? And what secret were they hiding from her? She tried to settle down and go to sleep, but found herself thinking more and more about Joxer's strange behavior.

She was awake well into the night so she heard the noise before the others did. It was barely audible, but it was a quiet night so she heard it clearly. Gabrielle quietly got up and listened closely... the sound seemed to be coming from her left. She quickly glanced at Xena and was surprised to see that she was still sleeping. Gabrielle decided to let her friend sleep, so she picked up her staff and headed in the direction of the sound.

Xena was awake a minute later, but Gabrielle had already left. She frantically looked around and couldn't find her. "Sam... get up! She's gone! Sam!" Xena hissed in his ear.

"Huh? Wha...? Xena?" Sam said and shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain. He looked up at the tall warrior woman and tried to focus on her face.

"Gabrielle is gone! We've got to find her!" she said, determined.

"What? Why would she leave? Are you sure that she's not just... um... using the little girl's bush?" Sam asked.

Xena whirled on him and gave him a look that would stop Ares in his tracks.

Sam winced and knew that he said the wrong thing. Xena was really worried and he couldn't say he blamed her. He stood up and quickly looked around, trying to determine the direction she might have taken. He noticed some broken branches and bending down he saw a half smudged footprint.

"I think she went this way," he said.

"I know. I'm going to follow it. Are you coming?" she asked.

"Yes. Al!" he called and looked around hoping that his friend would be around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Xena started off into the brush quietly and followed the trail of broken branches. It was difficult as it was night, but she was thankful that it was a full moon tonight. She heard Sam following her and turned around, motioning for him to be quiet. He nodded and tried to follow her silently.

She turned back to the trail and was trying to find the next branch or footprint. She was worried that she might be too late and was cursing herself for taking so long.

"Sam! I'm back...where's the blonde?" Al asked looking around. "What are you doing?"

"Al! Gabrielle's gone! I need you to zone in on her and tell us where she is!" Sam cried.

"Hang on, Sam! Ziggy! I need you to get me to Gabrielle!" Al paused and listened to an unheard voice and then continued, "I don't care! Do it or I'll take apart your emotion chip! And hurry it up!"

Sam watched as Al vanished. He sighed with relief. At least they wouldn't have to worry about finding her. He heard Al's voice about fifty feet in front of him and a little to his left. He started to head towards it and discovered that Xena was almost there. He ran after her and saw Al appear in front of her.

"Stop! You gotta get down! There's a group of about 25 men just ahead. They have Gabrielle tied up. You'll never get to her this way," Al said.

"Alright, so how do we get to her? What's the best way?" Xena asked.

"Hold on! I'm working on it. Wait here... I'll be right back!" Al said and disappeared again. A few minutes later he reappeared.

"Okay... Just follow me! I'll lead you past most of the guards. Just stay down," Al said and started to walk towards the right. Xena looked at Sam and he went in front of her and quietly followed Al. They went around to the opposite side of the camp and Al came back. "Okay... there are two really big guys with swords on your left and ... another one to your right. Gabrielle is straight ahead of you about ten feet. She looks okay," Al said.

"Thanks, Al. I want you to stay with her. Just make sure that she is okay." Sam said.

"But I can't do anything... if any of these neanderthal apes decide to do anything..." Al started.

"They won't get the chance!" Xena growled. "I will be there! Nobody is going hurt her! If anybody so much as touches her, they'll have me to deal with!"

"Alright! Al, go. Xena, what do you think we should do? Do you want to..." he didn't get the chance to finish as he heard a shrill war cry and saw the beautiful warrior woman leap into the air and land into the camp!

He ran into the camp behind her and saw that she was busy fighting three of the guards and had two on the ground already. A guard ran to him and raised his sword. Sam jumped and his foot smashed into the man's face, dropping him. Several other guards approached and drew their swords. Sam saw that they were trying to surround him. He looked nervously around and decided to attack the one to his left. He cautiously approached and held his hands in front of him.

The burly man chuckled as he saw a tall, thin man approach wearing a pot lid on his chest and no sword. He raised his sword to slice through the skinny man's "armor" and was surprised to see the skinny man's boot in front of his face, just before he lost consciousness.

Sam looked around and saw three men left... one on either side and one in front. He was tired and glanced to see how Xena was doing. She had leaped high in the air and seemed to float as she kicked two men in the face several times and then spun in mid-air and knocked them both back onto their back. He grinned and savoured the sight of her body twisting like a cat's to land solidly on her feet, only to leap again and bring down two more guards.

His attention shifted back to the men who were almost upon him and he dropped to the ground and swept the feet out from the two closest guards. They went down and he jumped on one and knocked him out with one blow. Shaking his hand, he quickly went to the other, but before he could do anything the man got on his feet and viciously kicked Sam in the ribs. Sam felt a fire in his chest and knew that one of his ribs were broken. But he had no choice other than fight. He knew that he could die, but struggled to his feet again and holding his chest with one hand, jumped into the air and gave a round house kick to the brute's temple. The man went down and

Sam quickly looked around and saw that Xena was by his side, the other guard laying unconcious at her feet.

"Sam, over here! She's over here!" Al called.

At that moment a cloaked figure appeared next to Gabrielle and grabbed her. Sam tried to run for her but the pain in his chest was too much and he slowed to a fast walk. Xena sprinted to her friend and tried to grab the hooded figure. It stepped back and out of her reach. Xena tried to grab her friend but was too late! The figure had touched Gabrielle and both disappeared in a flash of light.

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