Rating: R
Continuity: Mid-season four
Summary: A man who rapes Gabrielle is found dead soon after, and Xena must find out whodunit.
Author's Notes: This story is intended for more MATURE readers, because of quite a few objectionable scenes. This story includes some rough language, nonconsentual sex, semi-descriptive violence, and minor subtext. It's pretty atypical of me, but I needed it to make the story more believeable. Don't be fooled by the innocent-looking beginning that's like something I normally write; believe me, it turns pretty serious fast.
Also, the title of this story comes from a line from season three's "Vanishing Act" (one of my favorite episodes), where Xena says that Autolycus could be a great killer, but only if he "crosses the line". Now, Autolycus is not in this story, he's not even mentioned, but I borrowed the idea.

"Gabrielle, don't tell me you're trying to write fiction again," said Xena one day on their journey. "I thought you were discouraged after Aphrodite enchanted your scroll."

"Well, nothing interesting has happened recently," said Gabrielle. "I thought I'd give it a second try. I'm just stuck on ideas."

"Hey, I know," said Joxer, coming up to them. He'd been with them the past two days, and probably couldn't find anything else to do. "Why don't you write a story starring me?"

"No thanks, Joxer, I'd have a hard time writing you as the hero," said Gabrielle.

"How about as the villain?" asked Xena with an amused smile.

Gabrielle chuckled. "There's a thought."

Joxer pouted. "Well, it's just an idea."

Suddenly Xena stopped in her tracks.

"What is it, Xena?" asked Gabrielle. Then she heard the sound of a group of men on horseback approaching.

"Trouble," said Xena simply.

All three pulled their weapons out, but Joxer backed up at least fifty feet. The men appeared, and Xena and Gabrielle saw that the group was small in number, but all pretty large in size.

The leader, a man named Balderon, brought the others to a halt. He turned to his men. "Well, look what we have here, easy pickings."

"Don't count on it," said Xena with a knowing smile. Joxer didn't look so sure.

Balderon eased off his horse, and walked toward them with his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Ladies, I'll offer a deal Satisfy us, and we won't kill your friend."

"You must not know me well," said Xena. "You see, it's my body and my choice." She then kicked him in the solar plexus.

The others, realizing that these women weren't going down so easily, drew their weapons and charged. All three found themselves fighting in their own groups, with Joxer doing the best he could

Gabrielle was isolated by Balderon, who decided not to try Xena again. He assumed that Gabrielle's more lithe figure made her weaker. He certainly didn't expect her to put up a terrific fight. She parried him well, but then another man, seeing that his leader was having a tough time, grabbed Gabrielle's staff when she raised it at one point.

Gabrielle was taken off guard, and the distraction cost her. The leader delivered a blow to her head, and Gabrielle fell down unconscious.

Smiling and licking his lips, the leader sank to his knees and proceeded with cutting open Gabrielle's skirt.

Joxer, who's been backing up as best he could, saw Balderon about to rape Gabrielle, and Xena wasn't close enough. "Gabrielle!" he shouted, and tried to get to her, but another man knocked him out.

Xena heard Joxer's yell and ran in that direction. She found Balderon on top of Gabrielle, but couldn't see Joxer. "You bastard!" she said to Balderon. She grabbed him around the throat, hauling him back. He forced her arms off and got up to fight her, after readjusting his pants.

Xena easily fought him off, and when he realized Xena would defeat him easily, he called for retreat.

"This isn't over yet," said Balderon as he took off.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Xena. then she turned around and ran to Gabrielle. There was some bleeding between her legs, but Xena had stopped Balderon in enough time to prevent serious damage. A large bruise on Gabrielle's forehead was equally troublesome, which could leave her unconscious for a few hours.

Xena saw a recovered Joxer heading towards her, and she saw the aghast look on his face. "Joxer, there's a town a few miles from here," said Xena. "I need you to go there and let the local doctor know he has a patient coming."

Joxer nodded, his face white. "Okay. Um, which way?"

Xena pointed it out to him, and Joxer took off through the woods.

"Don't worry, Gabrielle," said Xena soothingly as she stroked her friend's face. "I'll take care of that bastard for you." She then went to Argo to assemble a pulley.

Back at camp, Balderon congratulated his men on doing a fine job despite the hasty retreat. "We still have proved ourselves superior to women. They refuse to give, we force them to." The men cheered in response.

"So was she any good?" asked second-in-command Latrius.

"No, she had to be knocked out," said Balderon. "Now if I can just get the leather broad, I bet we'd have a lot of fun."

Latrius laughed. "Good luck, she's a tough one." Then his smile faded. "Hey, next time, can I lead everyone? I want some experience too, and you get all the good women."

"Always trying to get on top, eh, Latrius?" asked Balderon with an amused laugh. "Sorry, but I get first pick. You'll get your chance someday."

"Fine," said Latrius with a sigh. "Come on, guys, let's find something for the celebration." A small group of men followed him with weapons at the ready.

Satisfied, Balderon returned to his tent to change his armor for the celebration. As he sat down to sharpen his sword, he heard a noise behind him. He turned around and only got a brief look at the intruder before a sword went through his gut.

Xena arrived in the town of Beltrane leading Argo, who was dragging the pulley with Gabrielle on it. It had been an hour and a half since the attack, and Gabrielle still hadn't regained consciousness. Xena found the physician's hut easily enough with the help of signs. Xena stopped Argo and knocked on the door.

The physician, Letnos, answered the door. "Yes, what can I do for you?" he said in a cheery tone. The smile faded when he saw the concern on Xena's face.

"My friend was raped by a warlord," said Xena. "She hasn't been conscious for almost two hours, and has some internal injuries."

"By the gods, bring her immediately," said Letnos. Xena unhitched the pulley form Argo, and she and Letnos carried the stretcher inside. They sit it down carefully on a table.

The movement caused Gabrielle to finally stir. "Xena?" she said hoarsely.

Xena let out a sigh of relief. "I'm here, Gabrielle. I have someone who can take care of you."

Gabrielle put a hand to her head. "Everything hurts so much."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the man who did this to you," said Xena in a voice mixed with anger and consolation. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Okay," said Gabrielle weakly, and she let out a moan. Xena rushed out of the hut.

When Xena arrived at the camp after carefully following the trails, she was prepared to fight off armed warriors. Instead they only looked at her in contempt and disinterest.

Xena drew her sword. "All right, tell me where your leader is," she said in a voice cold as steel.

One man scoffed. "You mean Balderon? Well, here he is," he said, pointing to a covered body.

Xena was incredulous. "When did this happen?"

"Someone killed him in his tent a few hours ago," said another man. He shook his head. "We've lost a great leader."

"A man doesn't become great by forcing his will on others," said Xena pointedly.

"Save your speeches, lady," said the first man. "We have a killer to track."

Then Latrius and his group returned with a large pig tied to a rope. "Men, we have the feast of honor," said Latrius, holding the pig up. Then he noticed Xena. "What is she doing here?"

"It looks like your leader has been murdered," said Xena matter-of-factly.

Latrius's smile fell into an statement of shock. "What?"

"Someone murdered Balderon," explained one of the men.

"Do you have any suspects?" asked Latrius.

"No, it could be anyone," said the man. Then he looked straight at Latrius. "Including you."

Latrius chuckled. "Me? Now why would I kill Balderon?"

"Well, you did want to be leader, and you said so before you left to hunt," the man responded.

"I was with these men the whole time," Latrius countered.

One in his group cleared his throat. "Well, you did go back for your spear."

"And I got it," insisted Latrius.

"Your tent is next to his," said another man.

Latrius opened his mouth, but couldn't find another line of defense.

"Enough of this," said one man, exasperated. "Latrius is guilty as Tartarus. Get him."

The largest men ran up and took a fierce hold on Latrius. "Wait! I swear, I didn't do it!" said Latrius, panicking.

"Yeah right, and I'm a centaur," said the other man.

"Now hold on just a minute," Xena finally chimed in. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn't gotten a word in edgewise. "You can't convict someone without absolute proof."

"How much more proof do we need?" asked one man.

"He sounds truthful," said Xena. The men groaned. "Tell you what, just leave him in a prison for now. I'll investigate the matter and see if he's guilty."

The others seemed to accept this, and Latrius was led off. "Okay, everyone, prepare the torches," said the third-in-command, Petras.

"Wait, don't burn the body yet," said Xena.

Petras was getting exasperated. "What? We can't leave the body laying around. People will start complaining."

"Leave it out until I say," said Xena. "I'll examine him to see if I can't get any extra information."

Petras seemed to be mulling it over. "All right, but you have three days," he said. "Any more we can't tolerate."

Xena nodded. "I'll be back in the morning to talk to Latrius," she said as she headed off.

When Xena returned to Latrius's office, she found Gabrielle more alert and more lucent. Gabrielle turned her head and smiled weakly. "Hi, Xena."

"Hi, how are you doing?" asked Xena soothingly.

"I've been better," said Gabrielle. "It hurts to walk and my head feels like Titans are stomping on it."

"Well, I have good news and bad news," said Xena. Gabrielle sat up as best she could, intrigued. "The good news is you don't have to worry about your attacker anymore."

Gabrielle gave a half-hearted smile. "What's the bad news?"

"Someone killed him and I have to investigate," said Xena.

"They made you investigate?" said Gabrielle, her voice rising in protest. She winced.

"No, I had to volunteer because they could have executed an innocent man," explained Xena. "This man seems genuinely innocent."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Gabrielle, lying back down.

"I'm spending the next three days between this village and their camp," said Xena. "I'm observing the body and asking questions."

Gabrielle shuddered. "You coldn't get me to do that for a million dinars."

"I can handle it," said Xena reassuringly. She decided to change the subject. "Has Joxer come to visit you?"

Gabrielle laughed. "No, I think he'd be too upset about blood and guts to visit."

"That's strange," said Xena quietly. "I thought this would be the first place he'd go. Maybe he hasn't found the town yet."

"You'd trust Joxer to follow directions?" said Gabrielle, amused.

"I wanted him to alert the doctor that we were coming," said Xena. "I'll look for him, and I promise to get back as soon as possible."

"Okay. Good luck, Xena," said Gabrielle, and she fell asleep as Xena left the hut.

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