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Oh my goodness! This is NOT a Star Trek: Voyager story! It's...no...can it be? Xena! and Hercules! Yeah. Same drill as the STV stories: the characters don't belong to me. Sarah and Jeannette are real people. Apologies go out to you, Gentle Reader, for the atrocius poem at the end of the story. That was done on purpose. Yes, and this story is waaaaaaaay cheesy. Whatever. Be glad you are not being subjected to the story I wrote when I was on medication after having my wisdom teeth yanked. You know the drill.The Xena and Hercules characters belong to the creators, yada yada.
"No!" gasped Jeannette. "I can’t believe it’s gone!" She rummaged through the box, disturbing neatly packed clothes. Sarah looked at her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Jeannette, by this time, was headfirst in the cavernous box. Sarah sighed. She had unpacked neatly and her clothes were all put away in drawers and in her exceedlingly small closet. Sarah picked up random pieces of rumpled clothes from the floor. She hated messes. "Jeannette." The long haired brunette got out of the packing box. "Yeah?" "What are you looking for?" Jeannette sniffled. "Something really important." Her eyes welled up with tears. Holding out a striped shirt, Sarah calmly said, "This is yours. Dry your eyes." Jeannette nodded. Sarah had never known that Jeannette could be this sentimental. Since they had become friends, Sarah had always seen Jeannette laughing or smiling, but she had never, never seen her cry. She hadn’t known it was in her. Now that they were roommates, she was beginning to see the decidedly more feminine side of the young woman. Sarah turned on her heel to take a walk outside. She couldn’t believe it. She was in Athens, Greece now! Wow, everything was really cool, and really foreign, too. A young child stopped her, tugged on her shirttail and implored in Greek pleadingly, with big simpering eyes looking up into hers. Sarah pulled her shirt out of the child’s grimy hands. She walked away quickly, holding onto her purse tightly. An olive skinned man leered at her as she walked by him briskly. She shuddered as she heard his voice, slurred, calling after her. She ducked into an antique and sundry store. The shopkeeper, an old woman wearing a black shawl, smiled toothily at Sarah. Sarah smiled at her. She looked at the dusty shelves and picked up a few things and examined them. Stopping when she saw a small pendant, Sarah felt an odd compulsion to reach out for it, though it was not very attractive. Picking out postcards of different ancient ruins to send home, Sarah tried to ignore the strange compulsion to reach out and pull the small green pendant off the wire rack on the counter. As she was paying for the postcards she had bought, the old woman wordlessly pulled down the small green stone and placed it in the paper bag with her postcards. Sarah didn’t notice. Relief flooded the old woman’s eyes as the exchange student left the store. "The pendant will be in good hands. It belongs to her." An odd feeling of safety washed over Sarah’s soul. Somehow, she felt like she was being watched and guarded from the hazards in the streets. She reached the apartment that she and Jeannette shared and walked up the stairway to the top floor. The room was chaos. But apparently, Jeannette had found whatever she was looking for because she was blissfully drinking soda through a straw while regarding the room with calm eyes. "How was your walk?" "Fine." Sarah put the paper bag on the table and began to pick up Jeannette’s belongings and dumped them in her bedroom. "I believe those are yours. You may want to put them in your closet." "Yeah, yeah." Sarah sighed theatrically and sat down at the kitchen table. Roughly, she pulled out the postcards from the bag and heard a small clink on the floor. She looked down. The green pendant was on the floor. It was dull and worn smooth. Sarah picked it up. "How...?" she wondered. "I’ll return it tomorrow." Jeannette didn’t hear her. The brunette was sifting through the stack of postcards Sarah had bought. "Jeannette," said Sarah brightly. "What do you say we go and buy some postcards tomorrow after classes are over?" "Okay," said Jeannette, slurping on her soda noisly. The young women spent the rest of the evening conjugating Greek verbs for Professor Faulkner’s class. The next day, the two roommates silently walked side by side to the Athens Center, where their classes were taught. The day seemed to pass too slowly. Finally, Faulkner stopped blathering on about the ancient ruins the class was going to visit the next day and he excused them for the remainder of the day. Jeannette and Sarah walked to the small store Sarah had visited the other day. However when they arrived at the store, it was empty. Empty except for a small piece of paper tacked to the front of the door. It was in Greek. Together they translated, their dictionaries open, "Out of business. Destinies to fulfill." "I guess the pendant is mine now," Sarah mused. "Hmm." They walked back to the apartment, wondering why the old woman had closed the store without warning. Musing over the cryptic words on the sign, Sarah and Jeannette looked at the dull green stone. And wondered why Sarah had the pendant that she had never paid for. Back at their flat, Sarah tied the pendant to a long piece of thick black string and she wore it around her neck. They worked hard on Greek history and Modern Greek that night, trying to do as much work as possible because they knew that they would have a big day ahead of them. That morning, Sarah woke up earlier than usual. Sarah’s stomach did flip flops, and she went to the kitchen to have a glass of milk. Jeannette was already there, dressed and eating a bowl of oatmeal. "I couldn’t sleep," she told Sarah. "I am really excited about this trip to the Acropolis. I can’t wait! I’ve always wanted to see it." "Me too." They packed in their small rucksacks, sandwiches and juice boxes, cameras, and Sarah brought her sketchbook. As they were about to leave the room, Jeannette stopped. "Sunscreen!" She ran back to her room to grab sunscreen. She came out again, suncreeen in hand, then went back to her room to grab a sweatshirt. Sarah raced back to her room to grab her sweatshirt. They left about fifteen minutes later, having gotten everything they had nearly forgotten. They met their class at the Athens school. After Faulkner counted heads, they went to take a bus to the Acropolis. The bus bumped, squeaked, and growled on winding roads, nearly running over teeny cars and motorbikes. "How," said Sarah with a mischievous grin, "bruised would Jill be if she were on this bus?" Jeannette laughed. The image was too much for her. Finally, they arrived at the Acropolis. They filed out in a not-so-straight line to the steps of the majestic building. A feeling of expectation washed over Sarah. She knew that Jeannette had felt the same rushing wave, because she silently stopped and looked at Sarah. Gripping the small green stone around her neck, Sarah closed her eyes. Jeannette stood at her side and closed her eyes too. Slowly Sarah opened her eyes. She gasped. Where was Faulkner? Where were the ruined columns, worn down from years of erosion? They were standing in the same spot, only it looked totally different. Jeannette looked around in wonder and awe. A bearded man in a purple robe and tons of gold jewelry that rivaled Mr.T’s accessories approached the two young women. He bowed his head at them. "Ladies?" he took them by the elbows. "I haven’t seen you here before. I think you may like to see this Doric column. See the graceful lines going upwards? Oh, by the way, my name is Salmoneus." Sarah and Jeannette just looked at each other wordlessly. He chattered on about the architectural style and marble in the building. Slowly, he had led them to the entrance of the Acropolis, and down the steps. He released their elbows, bowed his head at them, and walked back into the Acropolis. When he was out of earshot, Jeannette just laughed. "Get the feeling that he didn’t want us in there? I don’t think that is one bearded man you-know-who would like." They walked away from the building onto a worn dirt path. Sarah turned back, her camera in hand and she took a photograph of the building. She smiled. Jeannette ambled ahead of her and picked a pick flower to put in her long curly hair. They admired the lush greenery around them and before long, they were exhausted and hungry. They ate a small portion of the lunch they had packed for their excursion. After that, they rested and wondered what had happened to them. The two girls still didn’t know what happened, but knew that they were going to travel as far as they could and they planned on trying to find lodging and food. They spent that night under the stars. They woke up and saw a tall, black haired man looking at them. Evidently, they had surprised him because he was rummaging through Sarah’s rucksack. The owner in question leapt up and tackled the thief. "Get your filthy hands off my bag!" Startled, Autolycus looked up at Sarah in surprise. "What have we here? A wannabe Xena?" "No. An athlete. Who is Xena?" Sarah, by now, was gripping the collar of Autolycus’ shirt and his nose nearly touched hers. "Y-y-you’ll see," he said. "Miss. She’s behind you." Sarah and Jeannette looked at the warrior who was holding Autolycus in her grip. She was tall and black haired. Jeannette wondered what brand of hair dye this woman used. She had never seen real black hair that was all one shade. She also had piercing blue eyes and weapons that meant business. Xena was accompanied by a petite blonde woman who had the flattest midriff they had seen, and a short skirt and tight halter top. They both looked athletic. Xena looked nasty and the two American women felt like bolting, but then the small woman smiled kindly at them. "Maybe she can help us," whispered Jeannette to Sarah, as she looked at the blonde woman. "Yeah." The petite warrior picked up the rucksacks and gave them to Jeannette and Sarah. "I’m Gabrielle. That’s Xena," she said as she motioned to the woman clad in leather and metal. "She’ll help you get your things back from Autolycus. If not, she’ll make sure he pays you back for what he’s taken." Looking at their jeans and T-shirts, Gabrielle pleasantly inquired, "You must have traveled far. Where did you come from? Corsica? Or...?" "Where are we?" asked Jeannette. "Greece. We’re not far from the Acropolis." "I think we may be in the past," Sarah observed. "So...you’re from the future?" Gabrielle said, surprised. "How did that happen?" "I don’t know," said Sarah, "but we were standing in the Acropolis with our class, and we closed our eyes, and the next thing we knew, we were talking to a guy named Salmoneus. I think it had to do with this stone I got yesterday." She showed Gabrielle the pendant. Xena walked toward Gabrielle. The warrior princess had already given Autolycus a good shaking down and had gotten back the food and papers he had taken from the backpacks, as well as a few gold pieces, which he swore were gained honestly. Xena, however, didn’t believe that Autolycus had been a cook for an inn in a city outside of Athens. Sarah and Jeannette, quaking, told their story to Xena. "I’ll help you. Come," she said as she did a huge leap to the top of her horse, Argo. Gabrielle took Argo’s reins and walked along. "We’ll help you find your way back home. I think I know someone who would be of a good help. His name is Hercules." Sarah and Jeannette looked at each other in surprise. THE Hercules that Disney made a movie about? They couldn’t wait to meet a real Greek god, although they did come across a few Greek men who could pass for one the other evening at a bar. Gabrielle turned to the young women. "Hercules is nice and so is his partner, Iolaus. You’ll like them. Hercules is an extremely altruistic man, and Iolaus is along for the ride. They’ve done a lot of wonderful work in the country and have helped many people." Along the way, they stopped several times and had a few meals. Xena hunted small animals to roast and eat. Gabrielle, Sarah, and Jeannette gathered a few greens and water for that evening. During that time, Gabrielle had told the girls more about Xena, their pursuits, and about the poetry that she wrote when Xena was not around or awake. She promised to share some of her writings with them. They ate dinner and rested that night under the stars again. In the morning, the fire was reduced to ashes and Xena was already up. They began to walk on the path again. "I wouldn’t be surprised if we met Hercules on this path. He comes this way once in a while. But Xena always knows where to find him. I don’t know how she knows." They heard the bushes rustle. "Xena!" said a male voice. Expecting to see Hercules or Iolaus, Jeannette and Sarah turned in the direction of the voice. Jeannette choked back a laugh and Sarah tried to mask her laughter in a coughing fit. The man was not extremely tall, and he wore a helmet which looked like it had wings and would fly off his head at any moment. "Xena, I can fight, I love blood." Xena snorted. She prodded Argo to walk faster. "Please let me come with you...please please please! Oh, by the way," said the warrior as he turned to Jeannette and Sarah, "I’m Joxer the Mighty at your service." He bowed. Then he saw Gabrielle. "Gabrielle, I swear, I am a really good fighter. I bet I can take you." He put his fists up in the air. She pushed him lightly and he fell to the ground. She kept walking. Sarah followed. Jeannette felt bad and offered a hand to the fallen Joxer. He said to her softly, "I know we’ll meet again. We’re meant for each other. I loved no one but Gabrielle, but now that you are here..." He let go of her hand and watched her walk off. Jeannette looked back several times and waved good-bye. Jeannette was silent for the rest of the day, only speaking when spoken to. She couldn’t get Joxer out of her mind. Although he was a poor excuse for a warrior and was idiotic, there was just something about him that she really liked. The rest of the day was uneventful. The next day, however, showed how good Gabrielle and Xena were at fighting. They were in a small clearing in the woods and a tall blonde woman leapt out of a tree. Like Xena, she was dressed in black leather and tall black boots. She also looked like a walking armory. "So," said the blonde woman, "we meet again." "Callisto." "I will kill you like you killed everyone. And I will laugh at your dying breath." Callisto drew her sword and so did Xena. The metal clashed against each other and they fought, strength against strength. A small army began to drop out of the trees. Jeannette screamed. Sarah pounced on one black-clad soldier. She punched him. "Jeannette! Try shadowboxing for real!" Jeannette swung her rucksack into a soldier’s face, knocking him to the ground. Gabrielle was fending off three warriors at once. In addition to Callisto, Xena was kicking, punching, and knocking out the remaining twenty-five men. Bruised, they crawled or ran away. The man Jeannette hit with her heavy bckpack was up again, ready for more. "Oh, I should have brought Mace!" She rummaged in her back as quickly as possible and grabbed a container. She tore off the day-glo orange cap and sprayed the foul-smelling stuff at him. He ran away, coughing. Sarah had chased and pummeled a few other soldiers who were dumb enough to mess with her. She grabbed a big stick and swung it as if she were hitting a home run in a softball game. Finally, all the soldiers had left or were knocked out. Only Callisto remained. Jeannette and Sarah looked at each other and nodded. Still holding her branch, Sarah swung at Callisto. Jeannette yelled as she squirted the contents of the container in Callisto’s direction. Callisto yelled and ran off. Xena, coughing, said, "Good work, Jeannette and Sarah. Callisto has never given up a fight that easily. What was that foul smelling stuff?" "Mosquito repellent." Jeannette grinned. "I wonder if I should have wasted all that on the bad guys because the mosquitoes won’t touch them until they bathe." Sarah and Jeannette laughed. The four women and the horse continued on their way. They were walking at a fast pace and stopped only a few times to rest. They stopped at the Amazon village, where Gabrielle introduced Jeannette and Sarah to the women warriors. Epiphany gave Sarah a smooth stick so she could fight enemies. "Intruder!" called the woman on watch. The women in the village hurriedly took up their posts. Jeannette blanched. What if it was Callisto? She didn’t think she could handle fighting again. Sarah held the stick in her hand and prepared herself for a fight. The Amazons released a net which trapped the intuder. The figure flailed his arms, trying to get out. The voice of the intruder cried, "Let me out, let me out!" Xena sighed when she heard his words. "Let him out. He’s harmless." As two Amazon women untangled the man from the net, he cried out indignantly, "How dare you do this to Joxer the Mighty? And I am NOT harmless! I can inflict pain on others!" After Joxer was being released from his trap, Jeannette was torn between wanting to go to him or pretend that she still thought he was an idiot. She decided to go and help untangle his foot from the ropes that were caught around his ankles. "How’d you find us?" she asked as she pulled the rope from his ankle. Joxer grinned. "I followed you. I wasn’t going to let you go that easily." Jeannette blushed. The man whispered, "Meet me later tonight." Jeannette nodded. "There," she said, "You’re untangled." "Thanks." Jeannette smiled at him before turning to rejoin her warrior friends. Epiphany led Joxer to a space where he could make camp for the night. Calmly, Jeannette made a suggestion to Xena. "Umm. Xena, do you think Joxer could tag along? I have a feeling that if he doesn’t, he will just follow us." "What, Jeannette, you like him?" Jeannette reddened. "Say no more. Joxer!" The man looked at Xena in surprise. "Come here," ordered Xena. Joxer walked to the four women nervously. He threw a helpless look at Jeannette. She smiled reassuringly at him. "Joxer. Here is your chance to redeem yourself. We’re helping Jeannette and Sarah find their way home. We need to find Hercules. He can help us.You can come with us on this condidtion. Don’t annoy me." He nodded madly. Relief and joy flooded his eyes. He went back to his temporary camp, humming a tune under his breath. That night, Jeannette went to Joxer’s camp where they spent several blissful hours together. The next morning, the small band set off to find Hercules. It took several days before they reached the city where Hercules was staying. Sarah’s heart fluttered when she saw the two men who were wearing tight leather pants and shirts that were open to the waist. After talking with the two men for a few hours, she thought Hercules would be a great model. However, Iolaus had a better sense of humor. Hercules and Iolaus heard the two girls’ precdicament and agreed to help. Hercules thought that maybe he should try to take them to Mt. Olympus and see Zeus. That day, they decided to rest at the village. Joxer and Jeannette spent the whole day together. Sarah taught Iolaus and the village children how to play softball. Gabrielle wandered off to write poetry and Xena and Hercules went to a tavern to plan their journey to Mt. Olympus. They set off at dawn. They walked the whole day, only taking breaks for meals. Sarah was talking to Hercules about the pendant, trying to figure out what it was and why it brought her to ancient Greece (though she didn’t use that description of Greece.) Jeannette was lagging behind and Iolaus and Joxer were encourging her. Xena and Gabrielle were talking to each other quietly. After about a week, they reached the foot of Mt. Olympus. Jeannette felt faint when she looked up. Sarah was exhilerated. Here was her chance to scale the mountain! Joxer set his lips in a tight line and told himself over and over again that he was Joxer the Mighty. They went up the mountain. Sometimes it was easy going, and other times, they had to rest to regain their strength. Sometimes, Hercules and Xena had to help Joxer and Jeannette up the rocky slope. After a few days, they were finally at the gates of the gods’ habitat. Hercules steeled his resolve and soul and entered. His companions followed. "Father," he said to Zeus. "We need your help." "Yes?" "These women," he gestured to Jeannette and Sarah, "were called to this time from theirs, which they say is far in the future. They do not know how they came here. The only thing we can think of is that it had to do with a stone that Sarah was wearing at the time she went to Acropolis." Zeus nodded. Sarah took the necklace off and handed it to Zeus. Now the stone was not worn. It shimmered as if it were new. Zeus smiled, his arms outstretched. "My child," he said to Sarah. "Child." Everyone just stared. "Sarah, I sent this stone out to find you. You may not know or remember, but you once lived here on Olympus and you were brought to earth and assumed a mortal form." "Like the Disney movie?" asked Jeannette. Zeus was taken aback. "Movie? What’s a movie?" "Never mind." "Sarah, I have tried to find you. I could not. I will send you back to your time because I know those who know you will miss you greatly. But child, you are welcome here anytime." Hercules hugged Sarah. "My sister." That solved one dilemma for Sarah. She grinned at Iolaus once she was released from Hercules’ embrace. They all decided to stay at Olympus for a few days to rest before they journeyed back home. Surprisingly, Hera was civil to Hercules, but he supposed she wanted Sarah to remember her fondly. Zeus gave Sarah the pendant back, as it was "a talisman that would help her find her way home. To either home." Sarah enjoyed her stay with Zeus. She also enjoyed the company of Hercules, not to mention Iolaus. The gods and goddesses threw a feast for the small band of visitors to Olympus. Someone began to make a sculpture of Sarah. Then it was time to go home. Jeannette sniffled and promised Joxer that she would never forget him. She took a picture of him for her photo album. She gave him a lock of her hair. Jeannette also gave Xena her can of mosquito repellant. Sarah promised to come back to Mt. Olympus someday, and she said goodbye to Zeus and Hera. Jeannette and Sarah said goodbye to Xena and Gabrielle who thanked them for their help in fighting Callisto. Thunder crashed. It was raining hard now, and they could no longer see the faces wishing them well. Voices wafted to their ears, fuzzy at first, then clearer. They recognized Faulkner’s voice, and the haze in front of them began to clear. Faulkner was speaking now, his voice droning on. Jeannette sighed. Sarah rolled her eyes. History was, well, dull now. They finished the tour of Acropolis and went to a small museum. "There are some really great sculptures there," said Faulkner. Sarah got out her notebook and sketchbook. He let them loose in the museum, making them vow to meet back in two hours for dinner. Finally relased, each student went off to explore the museum exhibits. Sarah stopped at a stone bust that looked really familiar. A young man, about twenty years old, stopped and looked at Sarah. "You know, that person looks a lot like you. Sure you aren’t a goddess or a reincarnation?" Sarah smiled. How could she ever explain--not that she would want to. But she and this guy, who said he was an art history major from Washington D.C. studing Ancient Greek art, spent much of their time talking. His name was Kevin. They exchanged phone numbers and planned to meet at a park for a walk. Jeannette, however, was in some other art room, looking at different artifacts and taking photographs under the watchful eyes of museum guards. She adjusted the viewfinder and saw someone who looked really familiar. It couldn’t be! She approached the person, who was examining a vase. "Hello?" she said nervously. Surprised, the young man looked at her. "Hi." He narrowed his eyes. "Have I met you before? You look really, really familiar." "I don’t know. I’m Jeannette." She extended her hand. "Ted." They talked for a while, but Jeannette managed to weasel Ted’s phone number from him. Somehow, she had a really good feeling about this guy. They met their group on time, and Faulkner counted heads again. "Oh, by the way," he said to the group, "there was an ancient Greek story that has recently been discovered. It goes something like this--I have the copy of the poem--but the story goes like this: a young woman from the future gets caught back in ancient Greece. She’s Zeus’ daughter, but was lost and became mortal. Anyway, she supposedly made it back to her time period, whenever that was. There was a lot of fighting stuff in it too, and it’s an interesting story. I think I’ll give you all copies to translate for class Friday. The writer’s name is Gabrielle."
Out of the future like a centaur racing, |
