Rating: PG -- about the same as the show.
Summary: After a certain thief touches something forbidden, all Tarturus breaks loose! Can Xena and her friends make things right again? Tune in and see...
Author's note: This is based on a story idea that Tab thought of. She asked me to write it for her... so some of the credit goes to her. Thanks for the great idea Tab!

A loud boom filled the air and the man pulled his cloak closer. A flash of lightning lit the area and the traveller glanced around quickly. Noticing a small fissure between two large rocks, he made his way towards it. He hoped it was deep enough for him to get completely out of the rain. He reached the cave and ducked quickly inside.

Taking off the wide-brimmed hat, he shook the excess water off it and then ran a hand through his short black hair. Smoothing out his small, neatly-trimmed moustache, he looked around and was surprised to see the cave was actually larger than what he originally thought. Torches lined the walls, providing more than enough light to see by. A large pool of water was in the middle of the cavern and he could hear the sound of trickling water coming from his right. He glanced toward the sound and saw a large stalactite with water dripping to a small stream below. The stream ran into the pool. He looked for a dry place to sit. Seeing nothing, he sighed. "Well, the King of Thieves has been in worse places than this. Maybe there's a dry spot further in."

He noticed a small passage at the back of the cave, and, grabbing a torch, made his way towards it. He peered forward, but the torchlight hardly made any impression in the darkness. Now he could barely make out faint sounds. Cries that almost seemed human, and there was something else. A chill ran down his spine and he shuddered.

He thought about leaving, but the thought of returning to the storm made him hesitate. A loud boom shook the cave and his mind was made up. Making his way into the tunnel, he could hear skittering sounds coming from up ahead. Rats! Autolycus thought to himself. I hate rats! He pulled his short sword and held it in front of him, warily. As he walked along, he could hear the skittering get louder, but there was no signs of whatever was making it. He rounded a bend in the tunnel and came to a stop. It was a dead end. A round room with nothing but dirt walls and cobwebs.

"This doesn't make sense. There's got to be something here," he said to himself and leaned against the wall. A small section moved under his weight and he jumped up immediately. "Well, well, well. What have we here? Some sort of secret lever." He pushed the switch in and watched as a large section of the wall about two feet away began to slide into the floor.

He began to walk inside when he retreated quickly, wiping a sticky substance off his face. "Spider webs!" he muttered. Autolycus heard a skittering sound and a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned in time to see a huge spider rear up and attack. Tossing the torch aside and swinging his sword, he cut off two legs and the creature backed off a bit before returning to attack again. He heard another spider skitter behind him and knew there must be more of these creatures in the tunnels. He glanced back quickly to see the other spider rear up, preparing to attack, and dodged aside. He caught a glance of the unprotected belly and jabbed his sword towards it, feeling a slight resistance as the blade penetrated the flesh. The huge spider uttered a high-pitched scream, then died, its legs still twitching spasmodically.

"Hah! Thought you could outsmart the King of Thieves, did you?" Autolycus gloated. A skittering sound behind him and a brief glimpse of movement ended his rejoicing. He pulled the sword out of the arachnid's corpse and spun around just in time to block another attack. As the spider reared up, he slashed across its belly, jumping back in time to avoid getting splashed by the blackish ooze that spilled forth from the mortal wound. He listened cautiously for more skittering sounds, but all was silent, except for the constant dripping of water. He looked down at the two bodies in front of him and nudged them. The first one was obviously dead, with its remaining legs curled around its stiff abdomen, but as the thief nudged the second spider, it squealed and its legs scratched the ground weakly. Autolycus ran his blade through the body and the legs twitched once...twice...then stopped entirely. He pulled his sword out and wiped it on the arachnid.

He picked up the torch and held it high as he looked around the small chamber. He saw a small throwing dagger and picked it up. It was well-used, but still serviceable. Otherwise, the chamber was empty of everything save cobwebs. A wooden door was at the opposite end of the chamber and the thief made his way to it. He put his hand on the door to open it, and frowned. The wood was warm to the touch, but not hot enough to burn. He pushed on the door, but it was stuck. He pushed a little harder and the door gave a few inches. Autolycus walked back a few steps and ran at the door, using his shoulder as a battering ram. The door flew open when he struck it and the thief stumbled onto a ledge, grabbing the door to stop himself. He gasped as he realized that he had almost fallen into a huge lava pool. His eyes swept the room as he regained his balance, and wiped a trickle of sweat that ran down his forehead. The room was as hot as a sauna and the King of Thieves took off his heavy cloak. The lava pool almost reached the walls of the large chamber, but a thin ledge lined the chamber. Another wooden door could be seen across the large pool and torches lined the walls. Autolycus looked at the ledge and thought briefly about waiting out the storm in the first chamber, but curiousity got the better of him and he walked cautiously around the hot lava. He tossed his torch into the lava and saw it burst into a small flame, then disappear under the surface. Eventually, he got to the other door and pulled on it, but the door refused to open.

"Great," he muttered. "Just my luck."

He leaned against the door and fell backward when the door opened under his weight. He picked himself up and dusted himself off. This chamber looked more like a palace entry hall than a cave and the thief's eyes glittered as he looked around. White marble pillars lined the room with small alcoves between them. Armoured skeletons stood in the alcoves like statues. The walls were covered in golden tapestries and matched by an intricately woven rug. As he walked further into the hall, he noticed an elegantly carved wooden door at the end of the room. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

The long rectangular room in front of him was even more beautiful than the room he just left. Tapers were set on small tables lining the walls and tapestries covered with scenes of strange worlds were on the two long walls. Figurines and other small knick-knacks were arranged on several shelves and the thief knew his trip through the caverns were not going to be made in vain. He pulled out a black sack and began to put the ornaments gently into it. His eyes caught the glint of reflected light at the end of the hallway and he looked up to see the most beautiful, ornate mirror he had ever seen. A small plaque was under it and he read it quickly.

"Beware, unwary traveller!
Corporeal hands don't touch Anu's Portal!
Belial lies in wait through the Shining Path!"

Autolycus read the message again and shrugged. He looked around the room for something resembling a "portal" or "shining path," but couldn't anything resembling either. He looked again at the mirror and licked his lips in anticipation. The surface didn't give a true reflection, but the gold frame would definitely be worth more than a few dinars.

"Come to me, my pretty," Autolycus whispered as he reached for the mirror.

The thief held his breath as he touched the frame. In the same instant, the surface of the mirror rippled and the thief drew his hand back. But it was too late; the mirror glowed with a supernatural light and the earth began to shake. Autolycus realized too late what the "portal" was! A dark shape swirled in the mists of the mirror and the thief could see a horned snarling face staring back at him. He backed away from the mirror as fear began to twist his stomach into tight knots. The horned beast tried to come through the portal, but moments later the mirror shattered and the thief ducked for cover.

"What in the name of Zeus...?" the thief left the question unasked, preferring instead to leave the area.

As he hurried back through the caves, he began to talk to himself. "They can't blame that on me. After all, how was I to know... and anyway it's not as though anything really bad happened. So the mirror broke, it's not as though it hurt anything." He continued until he reached the mouth of the cave and ducked back outside, into the storm... and right into a tall, dark-haired woman who was just about to enter the cave herself.

"Xena," Autolycus said in greeting. "Fancy meeting you here! Uh, look, I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

The Warrior Princess raised an eyebrow as she appraised the thief. He looked extremely upset. His face was pale and his hands shook, imperceptible to anyone but Xena. "What's wrong, Autolycus? What mess did you get yourself into this time?" she asked smoothly.

"Mess? Me?" the thief laughed nervously. "I'm shocked that you would think..." A look from Xena made him stop. "Uh, yeah... look, it wasn't my fault! I mean, all I did was touch it and it broke."

Xena narrowed her eyes at the thief. "What broke? Autolycus, what did you do?"

Autolycus shifted nervously. "A mirror... I mean, it looked like a mirror, but it was really some kind of portal or something."

A young blonde woman and a tall slender man appeared at Xena's sides.

"Xena, are we going in or... Autolycus," the bard said in surprise as she saw the King of Thieves. "Xena, I'm getting soaked. Can't we go in and talk there? I don't want to get sick again."

"I see you still have your little side-kick there," Autolycus commented.

Xena gave him another look and he shut up. She ducked inside the cave and quickly glanced around to make sure it was safe, then waved for her companions to join her. "It looks safe enough. Gabrielle, why don't you and Joxer gather some wood and make a fire so you can dry off. I want to talk to Autolycus." The bard nodded unhappily and left the cave again, followed by Joxer. Xena watched them go, then turned back to Autolycus. "Alright, I want the full story. What's going on?" she demanded.

The thief told her everything that happened since he entered the caves, omitting the part about trying to steal some items, though Xena easily filled in that blank. Gabrielle and Joxer had come back and were sitting quietly by the small fire they had lit, watching and listening. When Autolycus had finished, Gabrielle looked at Xena, trying to determine what her friend was thinking.

"What are we going to do, Xena?" she asked quietly.

Xena paused for moment and looked around at her three companions. "We're going to go to the portal," she answered.

"Oh, no," Autolycus protested with his hands up. "I'm not going back there! I'm going to wai..yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" His protests were cut short as Xena grabbed his ear and dragged him to his feet. "Alright! I'll go with you! Just let go! OUCH!" The thief rubbed his ear and glared at the Warrior Princess. "I'm gonna get you for that," he muttered as he followed her back into the tunnels.

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