It was a bright sunny afternoon day on Rhodes, encouraging everyone to turn out on another busy market day. The harbour was bustling too, with fishing boats and merchant galleys drawing in to the mouth. The Colossus overlooked it all, its shadow dwarfing half the island. The 160 ft statue of bronze and iron stood astride the harbour mouth, ships using it as a beacon to steer by. This day however, there was another to share the view. She sat perched within the upreaching hand, her arms arched on her hips impatiently.

Unobserved by all below, the Goddess watched the open seas like a hawk, her blonde hair swishing in the winds. Another fleet appeared on the horizon, Myceneans by the look of their sail and craft. Callisto pursed her lips testily, annoyed her powers were lacking outside of Greece. But that would change soon enough. A lone ship came into sight, straggling after the Myceneans. It was a curious ship, not like any galley or vessel crafted by Greek or Roman. As the junk neared the harbour slowly, its cargo overflowing the hold became visible and Callisto's eyes lit up. Her hands pointed at the ship and suddenly the junk wasn't heaving any more as its contents were emptied. "Now it begins," she grinned as the cargo was deposited in her chosen place of storage.

After darting around the island, Xena saw the Colossus and knew instantly this was it. Nothing else could possibly be the launcher aimed at Olympus. She gazed up and up at the mighty obelisk and wondered where within the black powder was stacked. Her chakram wouldn't even leave a scratch on it, even if she knew where to look – which she didn't. It would take time to look, and time was one thing she didn't have.

One thing was puzzling her though as she moved closer to the Colossus. Why here? Anywhere would have worked just as well, yet she chose here. Why?

Something was nagging away at the back of her mind, something Callisto had said at Cirra. Her mind focused, going back through what had happened and what was said. There was something she was missing here, the traps, the clues, everything. The answer was there if she knew what to look for.

As her thoughts and memories of the two days melded and meandered, the sun flashed in her eyes temporary blinding her. Blinking under the glare and lifting a hand to shield her vision, she looked up in realisation. The Sun. Or more to the point, Apollo.

Callisto had referred to "..when the Oracle died" and of course, there was only one Oracle. At Delphi. Which was only a chakram's throw away from Cirra. What she had missed, the theme running over the two days. Every trap, every clue were all to do with Apollo. And now she knew where to go, where the black powder was stored.

She raced through the centre of the capital city, aimed like an arrow straight at the skyscraping Colossus. Seeing an unmanned cart, Xena took up the reins and raced at breakneck speed towards the harbour mouth, scattering people like skittles. Using the momentum of the cart as she neared the statue, she took a flying leap and began to climb. Against the sheer size of the statue, Xena was a mere ant as she ascended, the bronze form gleaming in the sun.

Keeping half an eye on the head of the statue above, she scrambled for handholds on the bronze surface which proved a tricky task at best. There was something worrying her though – this wasn't just Callisto at work, there was another hand working the scenes. All those traps weren't her style – kill first and think about it afterwards was her motto. As Xena was mulling this over, there was a double entrance which helped answer her question – or at least partly.

There was a thunderclap of sound, followed by a high-pitched Whoosh! and a golden streak that lit up the sky with all the subtlety of a catapult shot. The figure blazed a trail at breakneck pace, until it halted by the Colossus' head. "Yo Callie!" it greeted the Goddess. "What up'?"

Callisto cast a baleful eye at the Messenger of the Gods. Going by the look she was casting at him, she didn't take kindly to being called 'Callie'. She whipped up a flaming sphere within her right hand and tossed it in the air, casually bouncing it on her hand. Hermes wasn't discomfited however and transformed it into a ball. It promptly bounced off her hand and after a long pause it plunged into the ocean below before bobbing on the water.

There was a brief crackle in the air before a dark-haired Goddess arrived, who promptly swatted both of them. "Anytime you feel like making this happen, that'd be good," she declared, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Callisto pursed her lips tight in silent annoyance, not happy about told what to do by a minor Goddess. Much as torching them both appealed, a mere spark – never mind a full-blown fireball - wasn't a nifty move right now. She could wait.

"So where is he?" the blonde said testily. "Couldn't he get any decent servants?"

They looked at each other in mutual hostility, each waiting for the other to make a move. They were distracted suddenly by a dramatic rise in temperature as the sun burnt brightly. An object tore itself off and it plummeted downwards at speed, slowing gradually as it neared the godly trio. It was a chariot. A golden chariot drawn by swans in fact. It pulled up a short distance from the head of the Colossus, its inhabitant leaving a discreet distance between he and Callisto. He didn't trust her one iota and caution was always a virtue well worth taking with this woman – particularly after Strife's demise.

"I couldn't get any reliable allies either," Apollo sneered. "but you'll have to do. So are we going to get this show on the road, or are you three just going to bicker some more?"

Hermes and Discord were on board because they had cooked up the wild goosechase for Xena to go after, and also because they would do as they were told. But Callisto had been chosen deliberately because of who she was; A complete loony psychotic with a Xena fixation and likely to destroy something or someone because she felt like it, certainly made her stand out on the Godly scene. But she was a sideshow event – but a very important sideshow – to force the Gods to take their eye off the ball whilst he disposed of everyone bar these three. And when their usefulness came to an end, they could go too. And now it was time.

Between the four of them, the torch lifted itself from the grip of the statue and slowly ascended. It changed its angle slightly then hovered, as the quartet drew on their power to force the torch home. The deadly payload hung momentarily in midair, before soaring upwards in a swift movement. The four Gods watched their surprise present rise towards the home of the Gods and were equally surprised by an object moving even faster on a similar trajectory.

As their concentration broke, the torch wavered and slowed down. The smaller item caught it up, a blur beside the much bigger torch. Apollo and the others watched breathlessly, knowing that one collision wouldn't break it off course but might be enough to strike a deadly spark. The torch charged onwards again, twisting to avoid the tiny object that buzzed around it like an angry wasp.

All eyes focused on the chakram – for so it was - as it neared closer and closer. The Sun God and his accomplices tensed themselves for the inevitable explosion as the two projectiles raced yard for yard, watching on helpless. The chakram finally came within touching distance....

And missed.

By a hair's breadth, but might as well have been a mile away for all the good it did. A waft of breeze was the only effect as it scraped the sky ahead of the torch, leaving it behind in its wake. The rebels looked on in relief, then down briefly at their antagonist. Free of having to control the torch – which was now on its unstoppable course – the Gods saw Xena and smiled. It wasn't the kind of smile that boded well for those being smiled upon.

Meeting their glance was a look that could only be described as aghast, watching the torch sailing onwards and upwards safely into the blue yonder. Seeing Callisto plus the Goddess' allies awakened Xena from her shock, and only a swift drop to the foot of the statue and a flip to the side stopped her being fried. It wasn't Callisto, Discord or Hermes that worried her however. It was Apollo. He wasn't called the Far-shooter for nothing and only Artemis could rival his archery.

She cast a brief glance to the chariot and saw the prettyboy of Olympus drawing his bow and notching a white arrow. Knowing that once he let loose she was a dead duck, she sought shelter, which wasn't helped by Hermes blocking her way. "Move!" she growled, whipping free her broadsword and swinging it him in a single movement.

"How can you hurt me, when all you hold.....?" Hermes returned, unperturbed by the vicious sword stroke and waving a dismissive hand. "...is a bunch of flowers...!"

Before Xena could react, Hermes raced upwards with a whoop of joy at his mischief making and perspicacity. Gritting her teeth and shrugging the flowers to one side, she dived into the water alongside and vanished from sight. Not dismayed by their prey's disappearance, Discord and Hermes peppered the place where she'd vanished with assorted Godly weaponry. Callisto was still on the head of the statue, observing Apollo who was watching quite a different spot within the murky depths

"That's close enough Callie," Apollo commented, his arrow still notched and watching his ally, even if he was not.

The blonde deity narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the nickname Hermes had given her. "Not waiting for Xena?"

"They're fools – but useful fools," Apollo observed of Hermes and Discord. "But don't take me for a fool."

Callisto watched the bow, which inclined her way just enough to imply that the arrow could be fired at the merest hint of an attack. And Apollo never missed. "So trusting, aren't you?"

"Trust is a device used by Mortals," he replied scornfully, nodding to the island below.

"And dead Gods," Artemis added, appearing beside her brother.

Callisto started slightly at the Moon Goddess' appearance, particularly when it was apparent where her bow was aimed at. Settling for a glare at being outmanouvered, the blonde felt the dagger against her side and smiled a small smile. She could wait.

With everyone's paranoia and watching each other like hawks, it would take only a small distraction to put everyone off balance. But this wasn't a small distraction.

The sky exploded – or seemed to - sending debris in a cone blast centered on Rhodes. In the ensuing chaos, Callisto lunged at Apollo, Apollo and Artemis loosed arrows instinctively and Hermes and Discord decided discretion was the better part of valour. There was another sound that went unheard amongst the explosion and Godly fighting, but nonetheless significant for all that. A high-pitched hum that ended when a hand reached out at the base of the statue and caught it.

The melee around the head of the statue was still going on, with weapons now upgraded to Godfire blazing away at their respective targets. "Can I play, or is this a private party?" Ares asked, leaning on Apollo's chariot.

"Sod off Bro'!" Apollo suggested testily, ducking a fireball and sending one of his own back at his erstwhile ally.

"Now play nice, or....." Ares warned them.

"Or what?" Callisto sneered.

"APOLLO!"

"Or I'll tell Dad on you – oh wait, he's already here!"

"Oh, crap..." was the God of the Sun's only comment, the colour draining from his face somewhat. "Er, hi Dad.."

"DON'T 'HI, DAD' ME!!!! REBELLING AGAIN?"

"Xena," Ares said conversationally as he joined her at the Colossus' base. "Dad's pissed. Really pissed. Apollo, this island and the others are in front of him. Be somewhere else."

Xena looked up at Zeus, his errant offspring, Callisto and the glowing thunderbolt in the Zeus's hand. Then at her charred chakram and at Ares waiting impatiently. "Go."

As they vanished, the island was hit by a thunderbolt. It shuddered and shook under the impact, sending people scrambling for cover as another hit home. And another. It was as if an earthquake hit the island, crushing houses and its inhabitants alike. Only the Colossus stood tall, defiant and a sign of the island's tribute to Apollo. The King of the Gods looked down, his face turned red with anger. "THIS IS THE LAST WARNING APOLLO. FAVOURITE SON OR NOT!"

The mighty statue was hit by a thunderbolt at the kneecap that seemed to absorb it on impact, shimmering and wobbling, but staying put. Then the knee slowly gave way, its upper body falling after it into the ocean or on what remained of the harbour. Zeus stood upon on a handshaped cloud, still simmering with anger and surrounded by his family – Hera for once united by his side. Hera cast a suspicious look towards her No. 1 Son, but Ares only returned it with an angelic look of all innocence and an air of smugness.

Discord, Hermes, Artemis and Apollo looked guiltily up at Zeus, though Apollo was defiant still, despite being caught red-handed. They waited anxiously for the Father of the Gods' judgement and were annoyed to find themselves bound together by chains that seemed impervious to their struggles.

"Hephaestus made them, so if they work on Ares –" he gave the God of war a long hard stare - "they should certainly work on you." Ares was not the only one discomfited by the pointed comment. Aphrodite had gone quite pink, more so than usual. "And as for you ....."

Zeus turned to proclaim sentence on Callisto but she'd vanished with uncanny timing whilst he was dealing with his rebellious offspring. "Damned treacherous hellcat," he muttered and the crowd of deities departed to Olympus, leaving the islanders to cope with the chaos and destruction their sponsor had brought unto them. The land was still shaking, and those ships which were previously sailing in on calm seas, were now cast to the four winds, wrecked and driftwood as far as the eye could see. Men and women sat on the ground in shock, others were dazed or caught by falling masonry.

The engraved stone at the foot of the Colossus now stood alone, a sign of irony to the Rhodians' tribute. 'To you, O Sun, the people of Dorian Rhodes set up this bronze statue reaching to Olympus when they had pacified the waves of war and crowned their city with the spoils taken from the enemy. Not only over the seas but also on land did they kindle the lovely torch of freedom.'

Epilogue

Leaving the trail of mayhem behind, Xena returned to Cirra and jumped on seeing Gabrielle, Joxer and Argo waiting for her. Now it was her turn to look guilty, especially as Ares hadn't come with her and was presumably facing the music back on Rhodes. So now she, Xena, was going to face her friends' ire.

A cheesy smile met Gabrielle and Joxer's frosty stares, but the sound of fingers drumming against a staff and a heavy leather boot tapping against the ground made it clear who was going to win this argument. "Warlord from your past, eh?!" Gabrielle snorted.

"In Cirra," Joxer said shortly.

"Let's think now," Gabrielle commented rhetorically. "Who is it you ran into here? Name begins with a 'C'."

Xena sighed aloud. "Fine, you got me. But – if you'd known all the facts, would you have done anything differently from me?"

"So tell us now," the bard said coldly. "With nothing left out. Or forgotten"

Xena beckoned them to sit and took a deep breath. "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...."

And having a captive audience, she did so, from start to the end. And this time Xena included all the little details that she'd neglected to relate the previous night, including a few details she'd only worked out herself on the journey back from Rhodes.

"So just whose side was Ares on?" Joxer asked. "And how did you know you could trust him?"

"Ares was on Ares' side," the raven-haired warrioress replied. "He was playing both sides and planning to come on the side of the winner. If that was unclear, he would play safe and make sure his family knew about the rebellion. So whatever the outcome, Ares would as ever smell of roses."

"No change there then," Gabrielle reflected ruefully, mentally flicking through her scrolls of all their encounters with the God.

"And as for how I could trust him?" Xena continued. "Only to be true to himself and what was in his best interest. And as far as that went, he needed me as a back-up plan in case things went awry, or if he changed sides."

"Bet he didn't tell you about that," Joxer observed wryly.

Gabrielle was taking a few notes on a scroll to later write this tale in full. She was tapping the scroll thoughtfully with her quill as something struck her. "How did you survive Callisto's onslaught here in Cirra? From what you said, there's no way you could have survived the cart being hit by those fireballs. There was no cover close by and she made certain you weren't hiding in the well. So how did you live?"

Xena smiled as she leafed in Gabrielle's rucksack and tossed her a scroll. Surprised, the bard opened it and started reading it. "Why 'Beware Greeks bearing gifts'?"

"Do you remember Cassandra, the daughter of Priam?"

Gabrielle nodded. "She swore blind that the Wooden Horse was a trap, and that all Trojans were doomed once Paris had brought Helen to the city. As you know, the Gods – or at least a lot of them – were evenly split between supporting the Greeks and the Trojans. Apollo was nominally on the side of the Trojans, and was reputed to have cursed the Greeks with plagues. Thing is, Cassandra was a Seer and was one of Apollo's favourites..."

"But?" Joxer prompted.

"But Apollo had a thing for her. Holding a torch for her, you might say."

Joxer and Gabrielle both rolled their eyes at the play on words and Xena continued hurriedly. "Anyway, Apollo made his affection/love for her clear. And she didn't want to know."

"Oh dear," Gabrielle grimaced.

"Oh dear is right," Xena answered. "He didn't take rejection well. So he cursed her on the spot. She could still prophesize but no-one would ever believe her. So the fall of Troy, the wooden Horse, or even her own death, all fell on deaf ears. Ares told me once years back. If there's one thing the Gods like to talk about, its where their brothers and sisters have bad love affairs, or just bad anything really."

"So what has this got to do with your battle with Callisto?" Joxer asked.

"When I was in the Symposium, that 'Cassandra' - Ares in disguise presumably - who was telling tales of woe. Her final warning was not to trust water or fire, but to trust in Poseidon. Seems an odd warning, doesn't it?"

Gabrielle looked puzzled, then brightened. "You always associate Poseidon with water. But – he is also God of Horses."

"Exactly," Xena nodded. "The significance of that occurred to me when I brought the chariot out of the barn. As soon as Callisto launched those fireballs big enough to destroy the chariot into ashes, I slid from the halter onto the stomach of one of the horses. And held on for my life. Literally."

"That clears that up, but what about the torch? How did your chakram miss yet the torch was still destroyed?" Gabrielle pressed.

"Hmm, the shot in a million," Xena mused. "It missed - and I actually meant it to miss – for two reasons. One, it wasn't aimed at the Torch because the chances of it striking a spark enough to light the black powder weren't the kind of odds I liked. And secondly, it distracted Apollo and the others from the Torch and concentrated on me and themselves."

"So what were you aiming at, if not the Torch?" Joxer wanted to know.

"Mount Olympus."

There was a moment whilst Gabrielle and Joxer took this in. She sucked her teeth whilst he whistled long and hard. Xena looked a little smug as what she referred to as the shot in a million had indeed, come off. "All I had to was watch the trajectory of the torch and aim the chakram the same direction. Being faster and lighter, it would hit Olympus long before the black powder would. And as soon as it hit, the Gods would realize that something far bigger and dangerous was coming their way. Oh, I know, anything could have gone wrong with it, but! It paid off."

"You know you're going to be unbearable to live with now," Gabrielle sighed. "The woman that saved Olympus with a million-to-one shot Chakram throw."

"Really?" Xena said innocently, her broadening smile belying her voice.

"There is one thing I'd like to know about," Joxer said calmly, cutting in simultaneously on Gabrielle's despair and Xena's smugness. "What happened to the Hind's blood dagger?"

"It's in a safe place," the warrior princess said mysteriously and refused to say anything more about it, despite their entreaties.

Gabrielle and Joxer exchanged glances. So Callisto didn't have it, Ares didn't have it and none of the Gods had it. Either Xena had it and wasn't telling or had buried it, or had given it to a third party to hold onto. Clearly she didn't want them to know what had happened to it, for fear of it being used against them. What they didn't know, couldn't hurt them. Not a very satisfactory way to end affairs, but perhaps the safest.

"I think you know where the camp is," Gabrielle said finally, bringing the question and answer session to an end. "We can take at least one day off from saving the world. I can write up the adventure, you can get your weapons retrieved or repaired and Joxer can draw me so more. Or whatever else ...."

Her voice tailed off as her eyes searched Joxer's and met them full on. Before now, he would have reacted like a startled rabbit at such a look. Now? Now, She could be a dream but - oh boy - is she real. And he meant to make that dream a reality. It might take a long time, but she was worth it. "Maybe we could head up Mount Cyllene again whilst Xena rests. Even Warrior Princesses need a rest occasionally."

Xena took the hint as they reached the ferry and nodded in acquiescence. "For one thing, I need to call in a favour from Hepheastus and get my Chakram repaired. And by fair or foul means, get my sword returned from Hermes."

Xena held her chakram up for inspection and indeed it had seen better days. But for now, she needed rest. A battle with Callisto and then with the Gods, took their toll from even the hardiest of warriors. And that after the last few days of non-stop fighting. But only a nap for an hour or two though. She fed Argo and watered her, before settling down on her bedroll. Gabrielle and Joxer were barely out of sight to walk up the mountain, when her head lowered and she was gone to the world.

True to her word, Xena woke up two hours later and from the corner of her eye could see her repaired Chakram and sword returned to her. Perhaps there were some benefits to doing favours for the Gods now and again....

However, on reflection, a couple of things were bothering her. One was that she couldn't move her arms. At all. Possibly something to do with the ropes she could feel binding her to the bedroll. She could give them that. After all, they were only returning the favour.

The other thing that was bothering her right now was Joxer's helmet. Which was covering her eyes. It was heavy. And smelt sweaty. Not the most pleasurable experience to wake up to. Yep. She'd dropped her guard and got played. And now there was going to be retribution and pain. Mostly just pain. Someone had had the final word. But this time it wasn't her.......

Please take the time to write to Jerry at studmuffin_jer@yahoo.com and let him know how you liked the story!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, Callisto, and all other characters who have appeared in the series, together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of StudiosUSA and Renaissance Pictures. The lyrics to "Torch" are owned by the appropriate copyright holders. No infringement of copyrights or trademarks is intended in the writing of this fan fiction. This story is copyright © 2005 by Jerry Hendy and is his sole property along with the story idea. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.