Greece - The Final Chapter
"Son of a bacchai!" yelled Joxer, as he was knocked sprawling. The element of surprise had been lost, and though Xena and company were attacking during the day, the caves were dark enough to protect Bacchus and his brood. Even sluggish bacchae were proving more than a match for four humans--or for three humans and a warrior princess. As Joxer, Autolycus and Gabrielle did battle on the floor of the cave, Xena searched frantically for Bacchus. Slashing, stabbing, and beheading, the warrior worked her way through the throng to the back of the cave, yelling to Gabrielle and the others to use fire against the crazed bacchae.
"STOP!" boomed a voice from overhead. Acting as one, the bacchae ceased their attack and turned toward the source of the command. Unlit torches suddenly flared to life, revealing Bacchus in all his glory, sitting on a throne at the back of the cave.
"Xena. You realize I'm not terribly happy to see you here." The horned god fixed his blood-red glare on the woman before him. "Haven't we been through this before? As I recall, your first visit wasn't a raging success."
"Bacchus." Xena stopped at the foot of the throne. "That depends on how you define 'success'. Seems to me I was successful in killing you."
"Hm. Think again. I'm here, aren't I? Did you come to rejoin the group?" Bacchus smiled, baring his fangs. "This time, I can recruit all four of you--though I think I'll kill the clumsy noisy one. He's a friend of Orpheus." At this last comment Joxer straightened, trying to look unaffected and almost succeeding.
Xena decided to come to the point. "We know you have the chronos stone, Bacchus. What are you going to do with it?"
"Not your concern, warrior princess, although I think you will appreciate some of the side benefits that will come of my possessing it--namely, the removal of a certain war god."
"So you *do* want the hind's blood!" cried Gabrielle, stepping forward. "But why? You're alive, you have a whole new set of acolytes........"
The god of wine growled and stood, his powerful frame dwarfing all the cave's inhabitants. "This?" He asked, gesturing to the cave. "This is nothing! Hiding from daylight, skulking about, trying to avoid mortals except to feed or kill? This is not the existence of a god!" Bacchus turned to Xena. "I suppose I have you to thank for my new outlook. Spending time with Hades allowed me to meet some people who pointed out what I was missing. They were very...persuasive...in their arguments. They helped me come back, so that I could gain my rightful position in the hierarchy. I want to be worshipped! I want to control the lives and fortunes of mankind, to let them see and fear my power! Dahok helped me see that I was deserving of respect, and he gave me the means to return to the mortal plain so that I might work toward gaining it."
Dahok. The demon whose child Gabrielle had borne and killed. The demon whose child had murdered Xena's son. The demon bent on annihilation. At the mention of Dahok's name, Gabrielle paled. Joxer stepped closer to the bard, offering silent support.
Xena's face hardened, and she spat out, "Dahok! You're an even bigger fool than you were before you died! That monster wants nothing but chaos, and you're his willing buffoon--you need the chronos stone to travel through time because your "friend" failed to restore all of your power when he helped you escape, didn't he? I wonder why he would do that? To keep you weak?"
Bacchus moved very quickly. Before Xena could react, she was thrown to the ground by the passage of the wine god. She sat up, slightly dazed, hearing Autolycus yelling, "Xena, he's got the chronos stone! Help us!"
Joxer, Gabrielle, and Autolycus were running after Bacchus, toward a pedestal located near the cave's entrance. The bacchae in the cave were still milling around aimlessly, awaiting their master's next command. Fortunately, Bacchus was either too busy or too confident to give them one, and the chase became closer. When Xena caught up to the group, Bacchus was on the pedestal,frantically trying to work with the chronos stone.
Autolycus grabbed Xena's arm. "Xena, our only chance is to go wherever he does. If he gets away, we'll never stop him."
She nodded tersely. "Joxer, stay with Gabrielle. Get as far away from these caves as you can before nightfall."
"NO, Xena!" Gabrielle shouted, her eyes wide. "I won't let you go up against Dahok--not without me. Too much has happened....." she broke off, looked at Xena, and rushed toward the pedestal.
"Oh, Hades!" cursed Xena, taking off after the bard.
"Xena, you have to have physical contact with the stone!" shouted Autolycus, right behind her.
"Gabrielle, stop!" Joxer's forward momentum as he reached the pedestal carried him into the other three, which carried them all into contact with the chronos stone. There was a flash and they disappeared, leaving a cave full of aimless bacchae staring at the now-empty pedestal.
And in Sunnydale, CA, a couple thousand years into the future, a vampiress named Drusilla smiled.
* * *
The Graveyard - Midnight
A flash of light, and five very dazed travellers appeared in the center of the Sunnydale cemetery. Bacchus was the first to recover, and he disentangled himself from the group, pulling the chronos stone away from the other four.
"Fools!" said the god, drawing himself up to his full height. As he braced for the coming attack, his attention was caught by several figures moving from behind tombstones into the dim moonlight.
"MASTER!" cried the vampires in unison, dropping to their knees.
Xena snarled at the interlopers, drawing her sword. "More bacchae. Get ready for a fight." The thief, the bard, and Joxer readied their weapons as Bacchus seized this new opportunity.
"Kill them," said Bacchus, backing away from the battle scene. Xena raised her sword at the nearest vampire and swung at its neck with all her might, but her sword met only air. Xena's own momentum carried her full circle, and she found herself staring at a small girl--about Gabrielle's height--who could be no more than 17. The girl held what looked to be a piece of wood in her hand, and showed no fear of the woman towering over her.
"Looks like we're on the same side," said Buffy. "Either cut their heads off or put one of these" she indicated her stake, "through their heart." The Slayer turned back towards the remaining vampires. Xena recovered her composure and joined the fight, only to discover that the other vampires were fleeing the scene.
"Cowards," said Buffy, disgusted. "They always *act* like they want to play, but as soon as they start losing they take their toys and go home." She turned toward the travellers, noticing their attire for the first time. "Woah, call the wardrobe police. Are you in a band?"
Xena ignored the blonde--a habit she had acquired over time--and surveyed the landscape.
"He's gone, Xena," said Gabrielle.
"I know," she replied.
"Now what?" Joxer asked. When no one answered, Joxer began examining his surroundings. He wandered over to the nearest tombstone and inspected the lettering. "Hey, look at this! This writing isn't Greek, but I can read it! Where are we, anyway?" he finished, looking at Xena and Buffy.
"You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto," said the Slayer. "And who speaks greek, anyway?"
"Greek's our language--we're from Greece. But we're not *in* Greece; Xena, what's going on?" Gabrielle looked confused. The warrior princess' shrug didn't help. "And what is a 'Kansas'?" Xena shrugged again.
"Greece, huh? That explains the clothing--not." Buffy was just as puzzled as Gabrielle, and the conversation they were having wasn't helping. "Look, where there's one or two vamps, there are always more. Let's go somewhere--private. You guys look like you need to regroup. And I need to make a couple of phone calls." As the Slayer looked back at the band following her, she said to herself, "Yeah, private is definitely in order here."
* * *
The Library
Willow Rosenburg dashed through the library doors, carrying her trusty laptop and bookbag. "Buffy, I came as soon as I....gosh!" The hacker was shocked into silence at the sight which greeted her.
A short blonde woman was staring at the bookstacks as though she'd never seen anything like them before. Her clothing made Cordelia's dating garb seem modest by comparison. A man who reminded Willow of an overgrown Peter Pan--dressed all in green--was skulking around the edges of the room, examining statues and artifacts. Another man, who seemed to be wearing Italian cookware for clothing, was sitting at a table, looking bewildered. But it was the giant blue-eyed dominatrix, hovering menacingly over Giles, that caused Willow to sink weakly into the nearest chair as she repeated, "Gosh."
With a supreme effort, Giles stood up straight and spoke with only a hint of a quaver in his voice, "Willow, perhaps you would like some introductions? May I present Gabrielle..."
The blonde girl turned and waved, saying, "Is it true that these are only a few of the scrolls in your time? There are more? Anyone can buy or borrow these to read? Oh, bliss!" Willow nodded at Gabrielle, who wandered off toward the stacks, still talking to herself.
Giles continued, indicating the Peter Pan wannabe, "This is..."
"Autolycus, King of Thieves," said the man, stepping over to Willow and kissing her hand gallantly. "Perhaps you've read about me in your histories?" When Willow shook her head no, the thief looked disappointed, but merely shrugged and went back to casing the library for valuables.
There was a great clanging noise to Willow's left, and she looked up, startled, at "cookware guy," as she had dubbed him.
"I'm Joxer the Mighty, at your service," he proclaimed proudly, effecting a clumsy salute. "Slayer of bacchae, companion to Xena.."
"Did you say 'Slayer?'" Willow interrupted. Joxer opened his mouth to continue, but stopped as the stern looking leather clad woman stepped toward them.
"Just a figure of speech," she said, her blue eyes softening at Willow's panicked expression. She extended her hand, and Willow took it. "I'm Xena. And according to Giles here, I'm the Slayer--the first one."
Willow let out a squeal of excitement and leapt to her feet, nearly pulling Xena off balance as she tightened her grip on the warrior's hand. "You're the one I've been reading about! Buffy! She's the Slayer that I was researching! Giles! Oh! Wow!" Registering the shocked looks that surrounded her, Willow recovered herself, releasing Xena. "Or, maybe I could talk about that later, when we've figured out some other stuff. Like, what's going on." Willow sat back down, then addressed Giles. "Where's Buffy?"
"Right here, Will," said the Slayer, coming out of Giles' office with aspirin and a glass of water.
"Oh, Buffy, are you okay?"
"Actually, those are for me." said Giles, taking the water and medication from Buffy with slightly trembling hands. "Willow, I need you to........." Giles was interrupted as Xander burst into the library.
"Have no fear, Xand-man's-----woah!" Xander stopped dead as he spied Xena. "Xandman's hallucinating. Or possibly having a really good dream."
"Or, Xandman's going to sit down and listen to Giles," said Buffy, steering the ogling boy to a chair.
"I am not," stated Giles, going into Watcher mode, "going to repeat those introductions again. Xander, that's Xena, Gabrielle, Autolycus, and Joxer. Now listen up."
"Is that Xena with a Z?" began Xander, but he was silenced by a rib poke from Willow.
"Now, if we're all here and ready to listen--" Giles paused and glared at the room's occupants, "I'll explain the situation and our strategy." Giles drew a deep breath, and recited:
"Apparently, Xena and her companions were transported here in a botched attempt to stop the wine god Bacchus from acquiring hind's blood, with which he planned to kill any other god who stood between him and world domination. The device they used to get here, the chronos stone, is still in the possession of Bacchus, who disappeared when Buffy destroyed one of the vampires in the cemetery. Oh, and Bacchus is a vampire. We have to stop him, get the chronos stone, and return our travellers to their own time, or else vampiric history will change, resulting in who knows what sort of hellmouth disaster." Giles finished his summary with the last of his breath, looked satisfied, and adjusted his glasses. "Are there any questions?"
"That's our Giles," said Buffy, shaking her head. "Nothing gets his blood moving like impending world annihilation."
"I have a question," said Xander. "Is there more aspirin? I think you broke my brain."
Willow spoke up. "Giles, the history book I've been reading is really vague on the origin of vampires. Could Bacchus be the first Master? And how could that happen? Isn't vampirism demonic possession? I've never read anything about the god of wine being a demon....."
"Dahok is a demon," said a now-serious Gabrielle, reappearing from the stacks.
"Who's Dahok?" asked the Slayerettes in unison.
"It's a long story, but," replied the bard, "Xena had to kill Bacchus to save me. I had been turned into a bacchai, and the only way to reverse the process was to destroy Bacchus. Xena killed him, but apparently he met up with Dahok while he was wandering around Tartarus. Dahok cannot free himself right now--he had tried to prepare for his coming by siring a demon child, but since that child was killed..." Gabrielle trailed off, tears in her eyes.
Xena put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, and continued for her, "That child was killed. Perhaps Bacchus is Dahok's only hope. Dahok has prophesied the deaths of the gods, and hind's blood is the only thing that can kill them. By releasing Bacchus to retrieve the blood, Dahok has a means to his ends. Perhaps Bacchus' new traits--drinking blood, being vulnerable to sunlight--are a byproduct of being resurrected by Dahok."
Giles looked excited. "Do you realize we may have stumbled on the missing link of vampire lore? Do you know how many Watchers have spent their lives looking for this information?"
"Giles, you're getting 'Watcher Haze' again. Focus on the now, please." Buffy's voice snapped Giles' attention back to the group.
"Yes, well. The solution is deceptively straightforward. Go get the chronos stone, and destroy Bacchus for once and for all."
"Sounds like a plan," said Buffy. "Let's go gear up!"
"Umm, Buffy," said Xander, "you realize that if Bacchus is a vamp, that he's probably hooked up with some other vamps by now...."
Buffy's look spoke volumes. "We have to get the chronos stone. If Angel gets in our way, I'll take him out." The Slayer grabbed a canvas bag from the library table, and began stocking it with supplies.
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