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| - Xena saves a village from a warlord, Draco, as well as attracts the attention of a villager, Gabrielle. Xena decides to go home and visit her mother, Cyrene, only to discover that she is not welcome and that she was followed by a persistent Gabrielle. A friendship develops, as Xena must defend her village from an attacking Draco.
- Though she has lost her hunger for power and destruction, Xena cannot stand by when a group of warriors under the command of Hector, a vicious lieutenant of the cruel warlord Draco, threatens to slaughter the peasants of a small village. Xena single-handedly drives off the brutal attackers. Though the villagers are grateful, they are also fearful of her reputation and ask her to leave right away. All, that is, except a spirited young woman named Gabrielle who -- bored with life in the village and the prospect of a loveless marriage -- pleads with the warrior princess to take her along on her journey. Xena refuses and leaves alone on horseback, bound for her home in Amphipolis.
- A follow-up to False Child. Tatiana’s next kick caught Stray in the midsection. He collapsed against a nearby oven, gasping for breath even as his feet scrabbled for purchase on the bare kitchen floor. She didn’t wait for him to get back up. In an instant she was on top of him, raining blows down on his head. As he twisted to slip away she caught a glimpse of his eyes, wild and desperate. Like an animal. And if her hatred helped her do that, so much the better. But if I’m going out… He fixed his eyes on Tatiana. I’m taking you out with me. Stray surged forward into battle once again.
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| abstract
| - Though she has lost her hunger for power and destruction, Xena cannot stand by when a group of warriors under the command of Hector, a vicious lieutenant of the cruel warlord Draco, threatens to slaughter the peasants of a small village. Xena single-handedly drives off the brutal attackers. Though the villagers are grateful, they are also fearful of her reputation and ask her to leave right away. All, that is, except a spirited young woman named Gabrielle who -- bored with life in the village and the prospect of a loveless marriage -- pleads with the warrior princess to take her along on her journey. Xena refuses and leaves alone on horseback, bound for her home in Amphipolis. That night, Xena steals into Draco's mountain encampment to confront the savage warlord. Having spared his life in their last encounter, Xena asks him to spare the peasant village. He agrees, but when she rejects his offer to join up with him, claiming she has lost her taste for the slaughter of innocents, he makes secret plans to lay waste to Amphipolis. Meanwhile, Gabrielle sneaks away from home in the dead of night, determined to join Xena and become a warrior herself. On the road to Amphipolis, Xena meets up with a blind man-eating Cyclops, who has an old score to settle with the woman warrior. Evading him, she continues on her journey through fierce rainstorms and across rushing rivers. When she realizes she's being followed by Draco's men, she sets up an ambush and forces Hector to reveal Draco's plans to destroy her home village. Meanwhile, Gabrielle follows Xena's trail, showing considerable resourcefulness along the way. When she is trapped by the Cyclops, she outwits him, then charms an old traveler into giving her a ride. Xena's joy at reaching home turns to sorrow when she is met by a wave of hostility from the villagers. Even her mother Cyrene cannot forgive her daughter for her sinful past and is unwilling to listen to her warnings about Draco's advance. When Draco's warriors begin torching the valley, an angry mob comes after Xena, convinced that she is in league with the evil warlord. At the last moment, Gabrielle steps forward and convinces the villagers to let Xena go. The two gallop off on horseback, but when Draco arrives, Xena reappears and challenges him to a fight on the scaffolding surrounding the village meeting hall. They agree that the first to hit the floor will die. The ensuing battle is spectacular and evenly matched, spilling over the scaffolding and onto the heads and shoulders of those who have gathered to watch. Finally, with a flying somersault through the air, Xena lands squarely on Draco's chest and sends him crashing to the ground. Instead of slaying him, however, she makes Draco promise to leave without harming anyone. Though Xena has saved the village and reconciled with her mother, there is too much anger over her past for her to stay. Followed by Gabrielle, Xena leaves to continue her battle against the forces of evil.
- Xena saves a village from a warlord, Draco, as well as attracts the attention of a villager, Gabrielle. Xena decides to go home and visit her mother, Cyrene, only to discover that she is not welcome and that she was followed by a persistent Gabrielle. A friendship develops, as Xena must defend her village from an attacking Draco.
- A follow-up to False Child. Tatiana’s next kick caught Stray in the midsection. He collapsed against a nearby oven, gasping for breath even as his feet scrabbled for purchase on the bare kitchen floor. She didn’t wait for him to get back up. In an instant she was on top of him, raining blows down on his head. As he twisted to slip away she caught a glimpse of his eyes, wild and desperate. Like an animal. But of course. Lensky’s abomination—the creature he’d forced her to give birth to—had never been human. Just another one of Lensky’s damnable experiments. Another burden she’d been forced to endure. He came at her now, pummeling at her with his fists. The blows hammered against the body armor beneath her coat, forcing her to give ground. Her fighting instincts urged her to fall back rather than keep fighting in close quarters like this. But those tactics had been honed for a different woman, a different body. With the Syndicate’s augmentations she could match Stray blow for blow. He’s sick. Dying. Just like all the clones who’d come after him, Stray had an expiration date. And if he wanted to go out before that time was up, then Tatiana was happy to oblige. I won’t let you reach Arthur. I won’t let you reach Helen. You won’t hurt anyone ever again. The thought filled her with strength. She pushed back, braving his strikes to plant a knee in his chest. The impact ached even through her knee-guard, but Stray reeled back all the same. His armor was in tatters. The effort to just fight his way this far was enough to leave him on the brink of death. All Tatiana had to do was finish the job. They clashed again, exchanging blows, slamming each other into counters, ovens, anything to throw the other off balance, to break their focus. A kitchen knife appeared in Stray’s hand, slashing a shallow cut across Tatiana’s cheek. In the next instant she had his wrist in an iron grip, flipping the knife around and driving it back towards Stray’s throat. The creature snarled and writhed, twisting away just in time to avoid the oncoming blade. In the next instant he was up again, punching and kicking with reckless abandon. Why was he coming back to haunt them all now? Why couldn’t he just lie down and die? After everything she’d done to make the Created victory a reality, why couldn’t this monster just fade away like all the others and let her be? Hatred stirred in her heart, hatred she’d thought she’d let go. Even after everything, Lensky and his creatures did everything they could to drag her down with them. Don’t let personal feelings get in the way, David Kahn had taught her. But Kahn was dead. Venter was dead. All those who’d ever thought to oppose the Syndicate and the Created were gone thanks to her. All she had left to do was erase Lensky and all the evil he’d wrought and then she could rest. And if her hatred helped her do that, so much the better. Pain echoed through every muscle in Stray’s body. His arms, his legs, his chest, everything was on fire, begging him to simply let go. To give up. To let Tatiana win. Let her kill him and put an end to all of this suffering. Instead he gritted his teeth, throat pulsing with an inhuman snarl as he fought on. No matter the pain, he had to keep fighting. Fight on. Kill the woman in front of him. Win. A fist caught him square in the face. He tasted blood but he pushed forward, smashing his own fist into Tatiana’s gut. They staggered away from each other, panting and bleeding from dozens of wounds. He felt her hateful gaze upon him. How long since this woman had looked at him with those burning eyes? He remembered a different kitchen, smaller and dirtier. Huddled in the corner, barely more than an infant, pleading for mercy. A sharp pain as this same woman shoved a shard of broken plate into his shoulder. Funny, he realized dimly, struggling to stay conscious. After everything he’d been through now, that he still remembered that day. And out of a lifetime of grudges and resentments, he found himself unable to hate the person in front of him now. Out of all his enemies, he felt a strange bond with this tormentor. Sympathy. It wasn’t like him. Wasn’t like him at all. I really am dying. But if I’m going out… He fixed his eyes on Tatiana. I’m taking you out with me. A monster, right to the end. But his own monster. Not Lensky’s, and certainly not hers. I should never have been born. But that, at least, wasn’t his fault. He wouldn’t let her hang him with it. Stray surged forward into battle once again.
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