He arrived at the Temple and decided to practise a few fall and rolls. After throwing himself to the ground and rolling back and forth, he was experimenting with a run-up and jump, when Gabrielle found him just at the bottom of the steps.

"Hello Joxer, what are you doing?" she asked him out of curiosity.

"It's some skills that Xena taught me and I'm trying to learn how to use them properly," he told her. "At least I won't hurt so much when I fall over now."

Gabrielle smiled and sat down on the bottom step. "Would you come and sit down with me? I need to talk to you about something," and she patted the step invitingly.

"Sure Gabby, what do you want to talk about?" and he sat down beside her, wondering what she wanted to talk about.

"We're best friends aren't we?" she said.

"Of course we are," he agreed.

"And best friends can tell each other anything, can't they?" she continued.

"I guess so," he said, watching her warily, with a suspicion of what she was trying to say.

"Well, it's just that these last few days have gone by so fast, with you and Xena and me being so close together, I don't ever want to lose that, so - "

She got no further, as Joxer suddenly jumped up. He looked into the gloom, seeing nothing but the dark and the shadows, but his sharp ears had heard something.

"What is it Joxer?" Gabrielle asked, but he shushed her.

The moonlight emerged from behind a cloud, revealing shadowy figures moving towards the village. Joxer grabbed Gabrielle and pulled her into the shadows by the ash trees outside the Temple and whispered hurriedly in her ear.

"There's some men approaching - I think Callisto's sent some scouts to see how well-defended the village is. We'll have to take them out ourselves, we haven't got time to tell Xena or get help."

"How many do you think there are?" she whispered back, the murk making it difficult to spot the figures approaching the trees

"I make it four, how about you?" Joxer murmured.

"I can't see any more, we should wait until they're in the village, then attack them," Gabrielle breathed.

He concurred, then pointed the nearer of the two pairs were approaching the Temple and indicated that she'd engage that pair, while he attacked the other two heading towards the marketsquare. He raced across from the trees into the cover of the houses, and he and Gabrielle both waited for their quarries to appear. By the Temple, as the first pair came out of the shadows into the lights of the Temple, the Bard jumped out in front of them, taking them both by surprise, her first few blows knocking one of them out cold, and matching blow for blow with the other, then sweeping his legs out from under him and dispatching him.

Meanwhile Joxer was having similar luck with his pair near the square, as they both emerged from the path they'd gone down. The first one came out into the square and was slammed against a wall, with both Sai threatening to rip his throat open.

"Shhh!" Joxer warned him, as his victim went white as a sheet.

His partner was about ten yards behind him and his first realisation there was someone else in the village apart from his fellow scouts was when Joxer hit him with a full-blooded kick to where it hurt most, and he keeled over onto the ground, almost passing out from the pain. All four scouts were quickly bound and gagged and hidden in the shadows.

Joxer quickly found the house where Xena was and told her what had happened, saying he and Gabrielle would act as a decoy until Callisto and her men were in the village.

After twenty minutes for her scouts to come back, Callisto tired of waiting. "If you want a job done properly, you have to do it yourself," she growled and she waved her men forward to attack. Her animal instincts on full alert, she warily led the way into the village, only to see Gabrielle and Joxer waiting by the Temple for her, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Well, who's afraid of the big bad Warrior?" she said with a grin, "not you two, that's for sure!"

"You should run while you can Callisto, Hercules is coming to get you," Gabrielle shouted defiantly.

"Ah, so that's where Xena's gone," said Callisto, "thanks for that information. Okay boys, let's take this place apart!"

"Girl just won't take a hint," Joxer muttered and he reached down into his waistcoat pocket for a large stone. "Gabby, duck!" Joxer said to the bard urgently. As she ducked, wondering why, but not questioning him, he spun round and hit the bell by the main door of the Temple with a resounding loud clang. Gabrielle raised her head again and looked round at Callisto and her army, who had halted abruptly, scanning the village for some hidden trap. When none appeared, they all moved menacingly forwards to Joxer and Gabrielle

"Oh Joxer, when you create a distraction, you have to run. Else why would you create the distraction?" said Callisto, shaking her head in disappointment.

"So you wouldn't believe me if I said that Hercules had just arrived behind me, then?" Joxer said calmly.

"Nope," Callisto said firmly.

"So how about if I said that Xena was right behind your army?" Joxer persisted.

"Nice try Joxer, but there's nobody to help you now," Callisto said savagely.

"Wrong," said Xena from behind Callisto's army, and threw her Chakram at the group of men nearest her, easily disabling them. At the same time, the village came to life in an instant, with spears, javelins and bows appearing at every doorway, firing a deadly volley. Those who'd thrown themselves into the ground to avoid this attack, found themselves easy targets for Gabrielle weighing in with her staff, Joxer with his Sai and Xena with her sword. The remainder fled under this heavy assault to the trees, but in the confusion nobody had noticed where Callisto had gone.

A crossbow bolt appeared from nowhere and embedded in Gabrielle's right leg. She cried out in pain and collapsed onto the ground, Joxer and Xena rushed to her aid, horror-struck at the plight of their best friend, who was visibly going paler and losing colour. Callisto dramatically re-appeared, by throwing some corpses off she'd hidden under, discarding the crossbow, and jumping onto a house roof.

"Ah, ah, Xena, you know I'll only throw it back, " she said to Xena, seeing she was ready to grab her Chakram. "Besides, you'll lose the only chance of finding out what the antidote is to the bolt I just fired. Just send the idiot along to the abandoned house in the bend of the road in two hours time with no weapons. By the way, that bolt is a present from Ares, so don't bother to try to work out what the antidote is."

"Don't be a stranger!" she called out as she leapt off into the gloom and into the forest.

As they carried Gabrielle gingerly up the steps to the Temple, her breathing became shallower until they rested her on a table and supported her wounded leg. Xena put the 'pinch' on her bad leg and it went numb, allowing the bolt to be extracted. Where the bolt had penetrated, the flesh had gone all black with a foul odour emitting from it.

Elena and Xena both looked her over, desperately trying to find something that would arrest the deadly pain racking Gabrielle's body, speaking in whispers. Xena picked up the bolt, examining it more closely, then she went extremely pale as she recognised it, murmuring "Ares' bolt!" under her breath.

"How long will that hold her leg steady?" asked Elena.

"For a while at least, but that's not the problem. This is no ordinary bolt, this is one of Ares' bolts. They have a slow-acting venom that kills the victim in about three hours and there's no known antidote," answered Xena grimly.

"I've not come across this sort of wound before - What if we amputate the leg, would that save her?" Elena suggested.

Xena shook her head and turned Gabrielle over on her side, pointing to the darkened skin on the wound and the blotches further up her thigh. "I've had experience of this before - Ares' bolts have never failed to kill their target yet. They're slow-working but inevitable."

"There's nothing at all we can do then?" said Elena despairingly.

"Well - if you have anything that can stall her condition for even an hour, I'm going to find out what Ares and Callisto know about an antidote."

"What if they won't tell you or if there isn't an antidote?" asked Elena worriedly.

"They'd better find one," said Xena grimly. "Where's the nearest Temple to Ares?"

"It's in a village about three miles away, opposite here across the valley. I've got a few things that can help Gabrielle and in the meantime I'll make her as comfortable as possible."

Xena stormed from the chamber, her face as hard as granite and as black as thunder, the door of the Temple slamming into the plaster as she leapt onto Argo and galloped away, riding hell for leather. Joxer, alarmed by Xena's expression, raced into the chamber where Elena was treating Gabrielle and what he saw stopped him in his tracks. Her breathing and colour was even worse than before and it was clear that her condition was deteriorating.

"So how is she Elena?" he asked her.

She knew how fond of Gabrielle he was and she didn't know how he'd take her present condition, so she decided to dress up the truth. "Well, she's not in A1 condition at the moment, but give it a few days and she'll be fighting fit again."

"She is going to be alright, then?" his voice resounding with relief.

"I'm a healer - would I lie to you?" she said, bluffing like mad.

"So what was Xena looking so mad about?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, she's gone to see Ares in his Temple across the valley about why he let Callisto out of Tartarus," she said, hoping the half-truth would convince him. He nodded in agreement and was about to leave, when he remembered Callisto's closing words before she vanished, about the antidote and Ares' bolt.

"Are you sure you've told me everything?" he said to Elena, narrowing his eyes. "This bolt Callisto fired, it wouldn't be deadly at all, would it?"

Elena sighed inwardly; this wasn't going to be easy, but he had to be told. "Sit down a minute, Joxer, I have some bad news."

He looked fearful as he sat him down on a stool, wondering what she was going to tell him about his beloved Gabby. She sat down beside him and what she said confirmed his worst fears. "Okay Joxer, she's lot worse than I led you to believe; in fact she's dying, she may have only hours left to live." At this grim news, he sat there in silence for a moment, his face staring vacantly ahead and his eyes unblinking, unable to take this in, his mind refusing to register what Elena had just told him.

Then he went white as a sheet, screamed "No!" and rushed to Gabrielle's bedside, hugging her as though he might never see her again, his silent tears streaming down her face as he held her in his arms, softly saying her name over and over again. Elena gently parted him from her and escorted him to an ante-room, hidden away behind the main chamber of the Temple and sat next to him on a bed, her arms wrapped around him, comforting him like she would a child.

"Don't despair and give up hope yet; That's why Xena went tearing off in such a hurry, to find Ares in order to find out if there's an antidote."

"And if there isn't?" he said to her desperately. "For Ares' sake, there'd better be. Otherwise....... Well, he'd just better have one, that's all I can say," she said, shuddering as she remembered Xena's expression on leaving the Temple. "Hey, come on Joxer, don't be like this, all's not lost yet," said Elena reassuringly. "From what you've told me of Xena, she'll tear down Olympus before she'd let Gabrielle die. If there's any antidote, Xena'll find it and she'll be back in plenty of time to save Gabrielle."

"I guess you're right," he sniffed, wiping his eyes. "It was just that she's my whole life, and if she were gone, well it'd feel like there was nothing worth living for."

Suddenly, there was a commotion from the bed, as Gabrielle began to convulse and shake. Elena ran over to the bed, trying to hold her steady. "Joxer, hold her down, while I get something I prepared earlier!" she called out to him. He leapt up from the stool and quickly placed himself across her prone figure, limiting her struggling, due to his weight on her. It may have looked ungainly, his arms, legs and body facing every whichway direction, but at least it held her steady, though he could still feel her limbs attempting to move underneath him.

Elena raced back to the bedside with a small tray and laid the items out on the bed next to where Gabrielle and Joxer were lying together. She soaked a cloth in a foul-smelling liquid and dabbed it on her arms, chest and face and the convulsions eased considerably, her breathing more relaxed and easy. Joxer raised himself from on top of her body and lowered himself to the floor, standing next to Elena.

"Hey, she's well again," he shouted joyfully, before Elena stopped him, by placing her hands on his shoulders. "No, it's just a temporary fix, it'll only hold her condition for half an hour. Joxer, she's getting worse and it won't take long for her to get beyond all saving, but I do have one last-ditch measure that I use on very rare occasions. It's dangerous, but it's her last hope, until that antidote turns up. As Xena isn't here, I need to ask your permission to use it on Gabrielle."

He looked at the bard, then at Elena. "Do it. Whatever it is, it can't make her worse than she already is," he said resignedly.

She nodded and mixed a variety of ingredients together to form a coloured liquid and she poured it into a mug. Together they carefully raised the now sleeping Gabrielle, so that she was sitting up with her back supported by the back of the bed and the wall.

Joxer held her head in a tilted position with one hand, using the other to stop from slipping back onto the bed, whilst Elena pinched her nose to get Gabrielle to open her mouth, pouring the mug of liquid down her throat with her free hand, until the mug was empty. She motioned to Joxer to ease her back down onto the bed, the body spasmed violently for a moment, then went completely still.

"What- what's happened to her? What have you done to Gabby?" he said accusingly. "Joxer, she had at most two and a half hours left, but I've slowed her heartrate right down with that potion, so that the poison of that bolt is spreading more slowly, which gives you and Xena four hours to get that antidote," said Elena.

He leant down over Gabrielle and felt her infrequent breaths against his ear as he held it close above her face. His relief was masked with confusion, as he registered her last statement. "Why four hours?" he asked.

"After four hours, if she isn't given the antidote, she'll die anyway because her heart will slow to a complete stop. But if you give me the antidote to that bolt, I can reverse the process of the potion. What you and Xena needed most of all was time; now that you've got it, you must find the answer," she said emphatically. "I'm going into the kitchens for a short while, will you be alright on your own?"

He nodded silently, and she left, taking the tray and its contents with her. He sat there by his beloved's bedside, watching over her, wishing there was some way he could help her. Maybe there was; a prayer to the Gods couldn't hurt, he thought. "Aphrodite, I hope you're listening. It's Joxer again. I guess you know how I feel about Gabby, you being the Goddess of Love and all, but I'd do anything to save her, whatever it cost me," he finished, getting up from his penitant position, only to see her leaning casually on the pillar behind him, beaming at him as he turned to face her.

"Hi Studmuffin, how you doin'?" she greeted him breezily. "Anything, huh? I'll keep that in mind," she giggled.

He started at her sudden appearance behind him, but recovered himself to return a wistful smile to the Goddess. "Hi Aphrodite. I'm glad to see you. Is there any way you can help?"

"Well kiddo, she's not looking too clever at the moment, is she?" she said, following his glance towards Gabrielle on the bed. "But between the four of us," she continued, "I'm sure we can 'persuade' Ares and Callisto to reveal the antidote to his bolt."

"But how can we possibly defeat Ares and Callisto?" Joxer asked doubtfully. "No disrespect meant," he added, noting her frown, "but even Xena struggles to beat Callisto sometimes, so how will we succeed in beating both of them?"

She waved his concerns away with a flick of her hand. "Oh, puh-leeze! Like I can't handle my own brother? We'll win for three reasons; Firstly, to prove that Love is totally better than War. Secondly, you're my favourite mortal, so even though me and Blondie here have never got on, you love her, so that works for me."

"And thirdly?" Joxer prompted her.

"Thirdly, we'll cheat!" laughed the Goddess

"Tubular!" Joxer said gleefully.

Xena was nearing Ares' Temple after a furious ride across the valley, pulling up as she arrived at the village and dismounting off the exhausted Argo. She left the mare by the stream outside the village and warily approached the Temple, an eerie silence blanketing the village. She quickly weighed caution against haste, then ascended one of the houses nearest to where she was standing, moving as silently and speedily as possible towards the Temple via the rooftops.

She scanned the streets for any movement, but the only movement was from rats scurrying around. She dropped down from the roof and walked up to the two men guarding the Temple entrance.

"Sorry, no more visitors today, the Temple's closed," said one of them, holding up his hand in front of her.

"Guess it's time for a re-opening!" yelled Xena, as she fly-kicked one into submission, then threw him into the other guard, both crashing to the floor in a single movement. She threw open the doors with a flourish, marching up to the altar.

"Ares!" she yelled, her voice echoing throughout the Temple. "Ares! Come out where I can see you, I know you're here!" The Temple remained silent however, save for her voice and her pacing up and down the Temple. Emitting a scream of rage, she threw her Chackram around the Temple, which cannoned off all the walls and exploding into dust all the vases, candles and assorted offerings upon impact before returning back to her waiting hand.

"Tsk, tsk, Xena! Such anger, you need to channel it, try and focus it once in a while." said Ares lounging lazily on his altar, as he materialized. He snapped his fingers and all the offerings, candles and vases were restored as though they'd never been destroyed. "So, is this a social call or was there something on your mind?"

"Ares, you bastard, you killed Gabrielle! Take off the effect of that bolt you gave Callisto, or I'll hunt you down and show you the same mercy you show everyone else. If it takes the rest of my life, I'll find some Hind's blood and kill you with it,"screamed Xena, her body shaking in fury.

Ares looked positively relaxed, despite the venom of her verbal attack and her promise of death against him, his tight leather jacket and trousers squelching as he made himself more comfortable. "Well, that really depends on you, doesn't it Xena? You know what I want and I know what you want - Everyone has their price don't they?"

"So, is that what this is all about?" shouted Xena, her face barely masking her contempt and anger. "Forget it, you've tried that before Ares; It didn't work then and it's not going to work now. I'm finished with all that - finished!"

"Well, I'm sure you can be comforted over their deaths that you did the right thing," he said smugly. "The Idiot must be setting off to see Callisto right about now, in the mistaken belief that she'll tell him what the antidote is! She'll play with him a while before disposing of him and then it'll be just you. Of course, you could make it in time to stop him being killed, but then you wouldn't have time to say farewell to your little friend on her deathbed. It's a quandary, isn't it?"

She stood there dumbfounded for a moment, at a loss what to do. She knew Gabrielle and Joxer would both rather die than their lives be saved at the expense of her becoming The Destroyer of Nations again, but she couldn't just let them both die. But maybe there was a third option, short notice though it was, one that she and Ares had both overlooked?

"Maybe not!" said Xena with an air of confidence and turned to leave. Ares raised his eyebrows in surprise and wondered if she was just trying it on, or whether she really did have a plan? Naah! He had every contingency covered and she would soon be his again, wreaking havoc and destruction once again, only this time there would be no stopping her. He held up an hourglass and eyed the rapidly disappearing sands from the top into the bottom.

"Time's running out - If you decide to make the right choice, you know where I am," and he vanished again.

Xena ran nimbly out of the village to where she'd left Argo, refreshed after the furious gallop but still not up to anything more than a canter, and rode back to the village on the other side of the valley. Time! she thought, as she raced across the valley; Time was what she needed, but she didn't have any of it to spare, especially the forty minutes she'd spent haring across to Ares' Temple and back to no avail, so she'd have to do the best with what she had. It was an unlikely port of call for her to go to, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and the loss of her two best friends certainly came under that category.

She stopped off in the village first, quickly alighting off Argo and ran into the temple, to see Elena dabbing Gabrielle's forehead with a damp sponge. "So how is she?" Xena asked her breathlessly.

"Well, there's good news and bad news," said Elena, looking her straight in the eye. "I've managed to extend her life expectancy to three hours and twenty minutes from now, but if I don't have the antidote before that, she'll die anyway."

"And Joxer?"

"He left about ten minutes ago, he said he was stepping outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air," she replied.

Xena's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what he'd done. "Of all the stupid, idiotic - Quick, which way did he go?"

"Well, I saw him by the roadside a while back -" she stopped abruptly. "Oh no, he hasn't, has he? Tell me you're not thinking what I'm thinking? He hasn't gone to challenge Callisto on his own?" she asked Xena worriedly.

"If he has, I'll stop him before Callisto gets to him and make him see sense. You look after Gabrielle and I'll stop Joxer. I'll cut through the trees and I should get there well ahead of him." Xena squeezed Gabrielle's hand tightly and left wordlessly, rapidly proceding on foot through the broken ground of gorse, bushes and trees. As she neared the deserted house, still remaining in cover within the trees, she eyed the surrounding area warily for any sign of ambush from Callisto, or the approach from the village by Joxer, but nothing stirred.

Her keen ears revealed nothing either, save for the chatter of the birds in the trees. What on earth possessed him to make him believe he could actually beat Callisto, thought Xena, shaking her head in bemusement. Why didn't he wait for me, especially now that I know that she doesn't have the antidote.

She reached the copse opposite the area where Joxer was supposed to meet Callisto, and looked around thoroughly for any sign of Joxer. There was no sign of him appearing down the road or any sound from the woods where she was currently standing, though if he was in there, the sounds from the birds and the woodland animals masked any sound he was making.

She ran across the road to where the hut was and scouted for Callisto and her force. After ten minutes of searching, the only sign of them there at all was a smouldering fire where the camp clearly was and scattered bits and pieces. Even the hut showed nothing other than some loose bonds and a broken chair. Well, if they were still here, they were well hidden and were giving nothing away from their position.

Her eyes and ears failed to reveal anyone here, hidden or not, and the birds in the trees she could hear, weren't giving any indication of any human visitors in the treetops. She stood there for a time, tapping her fingers on her thigh impatiently, debating what to do. If she stayed here, she could intercept Joxer and stop his death-wish meeting with Callisto.

But, on the other, her time was short and getting shorter, and her solution to the quandary Ares had put to her, needed addressing now. She took another look down the road to see if Joxer was coming, then made up her mind. If she was quick and lucky with what she was about to do, she could get back to the hut in time to see Joxer before Callisto and her army, if they were still here, rendezvoused.

With no sign of Joxer or Callisto, she decided to go for a gamble and ran stealthily towards a building some 300 yards away round the curve in the road. She stopped briefly outside and thoughtfully examined the flowers in the bushes surrounding the building. She picked a selection of flowers at random, and sighed, going forward into the main hall.

She entered with an air of uncertainty, being as this was not a regular occurrence for her and she was doing this purely for her friends. As soon as Xena left the copse, Callisto gave a tuneless whistle and the wood seemed to come to life, she and her men emerged from their camouflaged hiding places, dropping from the trees, still holding the chattering birds, and rising up from the ground, hidden under the strewn grass.

"See boys, stay with Auntie Callisto and she'll look after you!" Callisto said with delight. She waved her men over to wait behind the big oaktree, with a few sentries to keep an eye out for the idiot..

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