Rating: PG (there's a little violence)
Spoilers: I don't think there are any.
Time: Early 4th season, I'd say.
Summary: Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer go up against two immortal Gorgon sisters.

The war cries of a thousand men filled the southern-Peloponnesian land. Spartan soldiers were formed in tight ranks, marching quickly toward two winged women, whose heads were concealed by helmets. As they neared, clouds passed in front of the noon-time sun, symbolizing the dark events that were to follow. The Spartan advancement stopped quite a distance from the women, and the place become eerily quiet and still, before the commander ordered, "Archers, fire!"

Emerging from the central rank, 20 archers lifted their bows and fired a deadly volley of arrows upon their two enemies. But the two simply lifted their shields, blocking all the arrows, except for one, which plunged into a woman's shoulder. She acted surprised, but showed no pain and ripped the projectile from her body, then threw it to the ground.

Both female fighters lifted their helmets and revealed their gorgeous faces, but instead of hair, they both had green serpents atop their heads! The snakes slithered violently, and the 'women' spread their golden wings proudly, before giving a high-pitched shriek, which made the Spartans' ears explode with pain.

The soldiers were terrified to see before them two gorgon, but the commander shouted, "Attack!" and they all rushed forward, swords ready.

The gorgon drew their swords and eagerly looked into the eyes of the oncoming men. Whenever one returned the dangerous gaze, he was instantly turned into stone, a grimaced look of pain upon his face. Continuing to scan the soldiers' eyes, the gorgon were able to turn several rows of soldiers into lifeless statues.

Without warning, the hair-like snakes upon their heads shot out, flying into the ranks, and the serpents sank their fangs into their victims, making them, too, stone. The gorgon were bald for just a second, for snakes instantly sprang from their heads, ready to be fired.

The Spartans, having to stumble over rock comrades, finally approached the monsters, and violent swordplay erupted. Although the odds were astounding, wave after wave of soldiers fell from the gorgon blades. The snakes were still being shot into the enemy, and because of this and endless horrific combat, the Spartans were reduced to but a few living men, who fled quickly from the scene.

The two gorgon laughed evilly, mocking the weakness of their foes. Their eyes had a certain fire, almost as if the flames of Hades were contained in them.

A dull roar filled the bar-room, and Gabrielle sat at a table, mindlessly running a fork through the mush on her plate. Joxer was beside her quietly drinking a glass of ale, as was Xena. The drunks around them were surprisingly respectful, and no one gave them a dirty look or remark. They sat there awhile longer in silence, until Gabrielle pounded her fists on the table, saying "We haven't had an adventure in 5 days. 5 DAYS!!! And here we are in a bar notorious for its violent customers, and not one fight has broken out. Xena, I don't know if you've realized it, but our lives are becoming boring!"

"I wouldn't count on it," Xena said, eyeing the door suspiciously.

A soldier suddenly rushed into the bar, and Xena rose, ready for some butt-kicking, but unfortunately for her, the man already had blood running down the sides of his face, and he stumbled achingly across the floor, yelling "Somebody, please help me!" before collapsing on the ground.

The room of drunks ignored his pleas for help, except for Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer, who went to the soldier and lifted him into a chair. Xena observed that he had a nasty head wound, and his leg was also badly injured.

"No, no..." the man started. "Stheno.... Euryale, they must be stopped.... coming north..... do not fail." Although his mumbling continued, he slipped into a state of unconsciousness and became limp in his chair.

"What's Stheno and Euryale?" Joxer asked, thinking that the names sounded familiar, as if they were from a story told to him long ago.

Gabrielle, being familiar with the two, explained, "Stheno and Euryale are two immortal gorgon, sisters of the mortal Medusa, who was slain by Perseus. No one other than Perseus has met the Gorgon sisters and lived to tell the tale."

Joxer gulped loudly and became a little pale. "You mean Gorgons, like the ones with the snake hair and eyes that can turn people into stone? Those Gorgons?"

Gabrielle nodded gravely and then looked to Xena for what she had to say on the matter.

"If what this man says is true, we can't possibly let them ravage all of Greece. Tomorrow we'll head out and travel south. This soldier looks like a Spartan, so we'll search the villages around Sparta first for any trace of the gorgon."

"One question," Joxer said, becoming slightly light-headed, "how are we gonna kill immortal Gorgons?"

Xena rose from her stool and took a last drink of ale before answering, "I'm working on it."

The next morning they began on foot southward, and all the towns they passed through had the same news: a village near Sparta was being destroyed by a great evil. The weather cooperated for the most part as they went across gently rolling hills and green pastures, but occasionally a small group of people hurried by in the opposite direction, fearfully warning, "Don't go near there! If you value your life, run!"

Joxer thought their advice sounded reasonable, but before he could suggest it to his comrades, they emerged from a thick forest and noticed a village ahead. Amazingly life-like statues were everywhere, some portraying the young and some the old, but all looked completely mortified.

Everything was quiet; the birds were gone along with all livestock, so the common sounds of the bustling village were absent. The day was approaching its end, and a light mist was seeping into the streets. A sense of dread filled this place, and all who walked near could feel it.

They walked cautiously into town, knowing that the gorgon were near. Because of the great silence, their footsteps sounded to them like they were from an enormous giant, crumbling the earth with every step, but in reality they were being nearly soundless, except for Joxer, whose armor never stopped creaking. The silence was broken by two atrocious hisses filling the air, and then the sound of rock breaking apart. Xena pushed Gabrielle and Joxer behind a house to hide, while she sneaked behind another.

She peered discreetly around the village, as the two gorgon sisters began to walk across town towards them, one holding a large mace in hand. They reached a statue, and taking the mace, one shattered it into a million pieces.

Gabrielle sadly whispered, "Those statues.... they're actually people, and they're destroying them!"

The gorgon, with their excellent sense of hearing, realized that they were not alone and craned their necks to listen for the voice. Euryale and Stheno spotted their visitors and smiled, both running towards them and simultaneously grabbing their longbows. They then stopped and took a snake from their heads, firing them as arrows.

Xena caught a snake inches from Joxer's face, and she threw the squirming reptile to the ground and crushed it with her boot. "Don't look into their eyes!" she yelled, casting her chakram to the gorgon, splitting a bow in half, but Stheno grabbed another snake and threw it directly at Xena. She dodged it, but decided that it would be wise to escape while they could from these skilled beasts. The three friends ran quickly through town, being sure that they were not followed, before getting into a barn and closing the doors firmly shut behind them.

"So those are Gorgons," Joxer said loudly, panting for breath.

"Be quiet!" Xena ordered, trying to keep her voice low. "Those things can hear very well, so if we're going to talk at all, we have to whisper."

Joxer asked in a much softer voice, "What are we gonna do?"

"I have a plan, but...."

"What is it?" asked Gabrielle, although she knew why Xena had stopped mid-sentence.

Xena uttered three fatal words: "They heard us."

Just then, a snake broke through the wall and flew straight into Joxer's arm, before sinking its gigantic fangs into his flesh. He had barely any time to react, and for that reason, his face wasn't too troubled, as his entire body turned into stone!

Xena and Gabrielle yelled his name, and Xena, in frustration, hurled the chakram through the wall's hole created by the serpent and managed to sever Euryale's left arm in half. The gorgon hid themselves from any more potential harm, swearing that whoever did this would feel her wrath.

Gabrielle, tears rolling down her cheeks, sobbed, " I can't believe it. He's..... he's dead." She reached a hand up to his cold face, and she cried even more.

"He's as good as dead," Xena corrected, "unless we defeat Euryale and Stheno. And I think I know how."

"Shouldn't we take him to a safer location?" Gabrielle asked, struggling to get the words out.

Xena tried to lift Joxer from the ground, but found it nearly impossible. "He's too heavy, and even if we did manage to get him outside, the Gorgon would see us in a matter of seconds. It would be best to leave him here."

"Then I will stay to protect him, "Gabrielle said, beginning to regain some of her composure. "Good luck, Xena."

The Warrior Princess smiled, and then walked outside to face the two immortals, sword in hand. She knew that Gabrielle would have no chance against the Gorgon, if they did return to the barn, but the Gorgon would only return, if they defeated her. And she was not going to let that happen, at any cost.

Gabrielle stood in front of Joxer, looking into his lifeless eyes and remembering his personality: his cocky, over confident, blundering, yet caring self. "One thing stands out in my mind about you, Joxer. You could always be relied on. You didn't tell the truth all the time, but you always came clean afterwards. You were always there, being your goofy self and trying to impress us with your noble deeds. With dependability in such short supply in my world, I'm glad you could always be counted on." She wondered if he could actually hear anything that she was saying, but she didn't really care. If Xena did accomplish her goal, and Joxer was brought back to life, Gabrielle at least had a different view on him than she did before.

She continued looking at his soft features, noticing every line and detail on his face. "You know, I can see you being a country boy, working on an old farm somewhere. Why did you choose the way of a warrior, when it is so obviously not your calling? And why do you always travel with us, since you only get ridiculed, beat up, and...... and turned into stone?" Gabrielle broke down after asking those questions. She looked into the direction Xena headed, and said, "Please, Xena, bring him back. I don't want to live in a world without Joxer the Mighty." She lightly kissed his cold forehead, then lay her head on his shoulder, sobbing quietly.

Xena stood behind a house, breathing slowly as to try to gain focus. She knew Stheno and Euryale were two of the greatest foes she would ever face, and if her plan failed, she would probably have the same fate as Joxer, or be killed outright. She walked out from behind her shelter, the evil sisters viewing her and screaming wildly. Xena said, "You want it? Come and get it."

The Gorgon ran towards her, both with fearful two-handed swords, but Euryale was now at a disadvantage, since she had only one hand to hold the sword, thanks to Xena and her chakram. The Warrior Princess and Gorgon met in an open courtyard, perfect for a long duel.

Stheno and Euryale brought their swords down onto Xena's with a loud clash, and Xena was being overpowered by the powerful beasts. She thought quickly, however, and tripped Stheno, then was able to force Euryale away. Euryale lunged at Xena from the left, as Stheno swung her sword at her feet, but Xena simply jumped and avoided their thrusts. Xena slowly drew the Gorgon to be fighting on either side of her, matching each of their drives with a parry and counterattack of her own. When the Gorgon were planning on attacking at the same time, Xena jumped high into the air and did a side-to-side kick, sending both Euryale and Stheno flying in opposite directions.

Infuriated, the Gorgon sisters took their bows and a snake from their heads, then fired at Xena. However, the Warrior Princess flipped out of the way, as the snakes soared past, and the two Gorgon each got their sister's serpent in the neck. The snakes bit their prey, thinking it was Xena, and Stheno and Euryale both turned into rock.

Xena, in a last act of defiance, took a mace that lay on the ground and shattered the Gorgon statues. Immediately, all the stone figures around the village changed into their human forms, shouting and singing their thankfulness for being released.

In the barn, Gabrielle was still sobbing into Joxer's shoulder and didn't notice when life and warmth entered his body. "Gabrielle?" he said, in a gentle, tender voice.

She looked up, and when she saw that he was back, smiled excitedly and hugged him, nearly knocking him to the ground by her force of impact.

Smiling, they walked out of the barn and met Xena outside. Joxer was speechless about everything that had just happened, managing to say only, "Thanks, Xena, for saving my life -- again."

And Xena simply replied, "All in a day's work."

Please take the time to write to Kirsten at mightyjox@yahoo.com and let her know how you liked the story!

COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
"Xena: Warrior Princess," Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, 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. This story is © 2002 by Kirsten Carrao and is her 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.