Moonlight Dwelling

A New World

Gabrielle throws a torch at the Fates Loom which destroys the world. A new world comes into place. She is in the woods and hears a horse coming. Xena arrives on Argo and Gabrielle hops on. As they ride off for parts unknown they are both flooded with memories of this world.

At the same time they both say, “Joxer’s alive.”

They head towards Athens but stop to make camp by a waterfall. There they find Virgil cooking fish. They all catch up around the campfire. In the morning Xena takes her morning bath. She hears something so she emerges from the water.

“Ares” Xena calls and he pops into view.

“Xena how lovely you look. That’s a great look for you.”

She makes a fist to punch him but instead pulls him in for a kiss. Gabrielle and Virgil awake to the sound of voices and realizes that one of them is Ares. Gabrielle is confused so she rubs her eyes in case she wasn’t completely awake yet.

“No he’s still there and they look quite cozy,” whispers Gabrielle.

“Virgil do you see what I’m seeing?”

“Well duh Gabby you know full well that Xena and Ares are married.”

“What?” shouts Gabrielle. She runs over to Ares and punches him in the nose.

“What did you do to her?” she snarls.

Wait a second she thinks to herself this is a new world and things weren’t quite the same.

Talk about an understatement she says under her breath. It was confusing because she remembered everything including waking up in the ice cave to discover that twenty-five years had passed.

“What is going on here?”

Gabrielle is baffled by all these changes. Virgil is still around but he’s Joxer’s little brother instead of his son.

“I seriously need my head read,” Gabrielle mutters as she is overwhelmed by this flood of memories and passes out. Gabrielle wakes up to find Joxer above her with a goofy grin on his face.

“Joxer what’s going on? I had the strangest dream. I dreamed that Ares and Xena were married but that’s impossible right? Xena would never marry Ares.”

“Sweetie my darling you know very well that their wedding was just last week just like ours since it was a double ceremony.”

“Married?”

Gabrielle got up unable to believe her ears. Joxer and her married and a double wedding with Xena and Ares it was just too funny. She doubles over in laughter laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes.

“What’s wrong? Why are you laughing my dearest? Lie back down you must have been hurt worse than we thought.”

“Joxer what are you talking about? I’m fine if anyone’s nuts around here it’s you thinking that we are married. Ha us married what a joke. I need to get some fresh air and think over things. Something is seriously wrong here.”

She walks outside and is struck by a fresh flood of memories and recalls the wedding just like Joxer said. Everything turned strange after she destroyed the loom. Something must have gone seriously wrong when the loom was destroyed. She walked to one of Aphrodite’s temples to ask her if she knew anything.

“Aphrodite it’s Gabrielle I really need to talk to you. Something is really wrong here.”

“Hi Gabby congrats on your marriage. That boy does grow on a girl after a while doesn’t he?”

“Aphrodite don’t you sense that something is off? It’s subtle but things keep changing like Ares and Xena being married and me and Joxer what a laugh like I’d ever marry him.”

“Sweet pea what are you talking about? You changed the world from that cesspool that Caesar created.”

“I keep getting memories of changes like Virgil being Joxer’s brother when I know that he’s really his son and that Joxer is supposed to be dead.”

“Xena and Ares are married. Get out! No they aren’t married but you of all people should know that. She’s a fellow Goddess and they aren’t even on speaking terms."

Gabrielle is bewildered by yet another change in this strange world.

“Aphrodite come on you’re a Goddess think about it.”

“Whoa major head rush you’re right things are out of whack. But honey I have no idea how to fix things but the Fates might.”

“Gabrielle. We are the Fates. And yes things are wrong in this world. You must go back since a few strands weren’t destroyed when you set the loom on fire. We can send you back but it’s up to you to finish the job. Now close your eyes and prepare to be sent back. Be careful and good luck for time is running out.”

Gabrielle closed her eyes and gets hit with memories of the worlds new and old rushing by as she falls back in time. When it stops she opens her eyes and finds herself alone in the woods not far from the temple.

“Remember Gabrielle that you only have till sundown to set the world right or this world will come bleeding through to the new one and chaos will ensue.”

Gabrielle hears something so she runs and hides. She sees a person coming and a familiar one at that but something inside her tells her to wait since she has a tendency of jumping into action before thinking. It looks like Ephiny but that can’t be because she’s dead unless she isn’t in this world thinks Gabrielle.

“Gabrielle I know you’re there so come out and I will help you make things right. I was sent here to help you so come on out and take my hand so I can guide you to the temple.”

The voice sounds wrong but she goes out and starts walking slowly towards Ephiny.

“Gabrielle don’t it’s a trick. It’s Alti she wants to trick you so she can regain the power she had here.”

Gabrielle turns around and sees Xena standing there.

“Gabrielle what are you looking at we don’t have much time. Take my hand so we can do this.”

Gabrielle looks again and sees Xena and Xena tells her to will Alti’s spirit away by closing her eyes. She does this and when she opens them Alti is gone so she turns around and finds herself alone. The temple is in front of her so she walks inside and sees something on the floor which she picks up and puts down her boot after holding it for a little while.

She finds the threads that weren’t destroyed and sets them on fire and she falls to the ground. When she wakes up she finds herself at the waterfall lying by Xena and there is a third very familiar figure lying on Xena’s other side. In the moonlight there is something glimmering in Gabrielle’s hand.

“Welcome home,” Gabrielle whispers and falls asleep.

Translated by Barbara Desmond

During the production of this scroll many strange things happened and Gabrielle saved the world from begin strange and weird not to mention eventually ending since it was getting stranger by the minute like her being married to Joxer. As if that would ever happen.