The following is a bit of alternative fiction based on certain characters from the Xenaverse. It is not meant to infringe on anyone else's rights.
Now why I should attribute her anger to myself, I don't know, but that was my first thought. I thought maybe she was hacked because the VR was going wacky. I didn't question the leathers. I figured if I could show up as Brigid naked, and a certain virile (I wasn't the only one getting turned on by this!) Warrior God could show up at all, then the goddess Callisto could show up in the room as anything she wanted to be.
Pissed is what she was. Though apparently, it wasn't at me. Thank the Gods. (I only want the appearance of anger, not the real thing. Dominance yes, hatred no...)
"Ares!!!" was her constant cry, no doubt of the consequences should he her demand not be met.
I could not for the life of me figure out why she was hacked at our husband. I mean, *WE* were the ones whold gotten lost. It was fairly obvious to me that Ares had managed, somehow, to find us. It would make for a some questioning (with the requisite ...torture..heh) later. A good thing, I would have thought. (And O I was having visions of him between my legs and her above my face. The thought made me quiver with small jolts of happy anticipation) But she was in her most righteous anger mode, challenging the warrior god to come out and face his doom like a man. The question was, what was she mad about?
"ARES!!! Show yourself!!!" The hostile growl sent chills down my spine. I don't think I'd ever heard Callisto use that tone of voice before. Had she been taking lessons from Xena? Well, they had shared their personalities...oh, but that hadn't happened.
In a slightly lower tone, still intense enough that glass would have cracked beneath it, she hissed "I can *smell* you, you bastard! Face me!!"
Ares pushed me back against the tree and said, as if he could order me around, "Stay Here!" Ares just left me to stew in my confusion, and waltzed out into Callisto's view. "You got a problem with me?" the God asked.
There was a sound, almost like a roar, but more like a growl, that came out of Callisto's body. Another noise I didn't recognize. She charged him, full stride and kicked him with a back flip.
My husband fell back, shaking his head. He hold his palms out, not supplicating, but to show her that he wasn't going to fight. He didn't have his sword, anyway, but I don't think she noticed, or even cared. "Now, we can work this out, whatever it ..."
She screamed and charged again. This time the blade, which looked awfully familiar, struck down. Fortunately Ares rolled away and back. She swung again. This time Ares just barely caught the blade between his palms. Callisto grunted with effort as she pushed until the sword, impossibly, was pressing against his handsome chest.
Now I love my wife and I totally respect that Gods and mortals must have their spaces to work out their conflicts and normally I try to stay out of my spouses' spats... and I can't say that I'm all that sane myself, but..I moved quickly from behind the tree, not even hiding. True, we were both his wives, and so it was our sacred and solemn duty to deliver the occasional round of butt-kicking to keep our loves in line. *This* however was a tad too extreme, even for her.
This situation both irked me and turned me on. I did *love* it when Callisto got all fiery like this, but...she was being totally irrational and that was only sometimes fun. Like when I was being irrational too....
The blonde hellcat didn't even bother to look in my direction. I delivered a solid roundhouse kick to her back, only to stumble back. I knew it wouldn't hurt her, but my foot practically rung with the strike. It felt like I'd just kicked a mountain.
It did have the desired effect in getting her attention. She gave me a nice backhand that damn near took my head off. My ears sang from that one. She didn't even turn around to do it either, and that sword (that very, *very* familiar black sword) didn't waver so much a hair from Ares' chest. Our husband actually seemed to be...straining...just to keep the blade stationary. I hopped up and down a bit and shook my head to clear the nasal passages, then I tried again. I found a handy, sizable sharp and pointy rock. I hefted it with both hands (and I was groaning) and gave it a toss at her golden noggin.
She must have really felt that one, given the snarl that issued as she spun and tried to decapitate me. Whoops! I hadn't expected that. I bounced back. "Now Joni, love..." She gave me a confused look. I tried to reason, "I don't know what you're so upset about,Callisto, it's not like we..."
Her scream was one of rage, anguish, hate, and murder. She rushed at me with abandon, massive sword held high. I heard Ares scream "No!" as he struggled to his feet, ready to shield me with himself. But I was already moving, racing forward towards my would-be attacker. It just seemed like the thing to do.
I caught her arm the instant before she would have brought the blade down on me, and with a smooth economy of motion flipped her onto her back, wrenching the sword from her with my other hand. I felt positively macho. Normally that doesn't work with her.
I swung the blade so it was buried deep in the ground immediately beside her head and knelt, one knee on that lovely abdomen that I loved to lick. The blade caught a few stands of her thick, golden hair, adding to her immobilization. Ares came up beside me, the tension in him warming my back, the righteous anger he directed at our attacker igniting the air between them.
This was nothing compared to the pure rage with which she glared at us now. "Well? Do it!" she screamed.
I stared at her, not quite understanding, "Do what?"
She growled angrily and writhed under my knee. Normally that would have been exciting. "Don't play games!" she accused, "Get it over with."
"Now, Cal..." I stopped myself at the look of pure wretchedness that overtook her features. I risked a glance over my shoulder at Ares, thinking maybe he would have some answers. But his gaze was now riveted on an object at her belt. I followed his line of sight and gasped.
The chakrum hung there, its silver and gold glinting brightly in the surreal light.
I lifted my gaze and looked hard into her brown eyes, which I could now see had rings of sapphire blue within them. I took in the rest of her, shock mounting at seeing the subtle differences. Her armor was still a two-piece set that left her midriff bare, and small studs still adorned the breastplate and belt. But the chainmail of the skirt was gone, and there was a swirling brass design overlaid across her breasts. And those *eyes*, totally absent any emotion, save murder and despair.
My blood chilled as I asked "*Who* are you?"
I should have realized. I should have realized....the feel of her..oh gods...
She sneered and spat "Ask him!" We both looked upon my husband, who only looked only slightly more confused than I felt. Her next words only added to this. "What's wrong, Ares? Don't you want your sword back? Or oblivion left you too soft to fight your own battles?"
The contempt dripping from her voice convinced me this wasn't our wife...at least, not exactly. Oh, it was Callisto's body, make no mistake. My own reactions (the dampness between my legs at her every word, the tingling of my hands and the desire to touch and fondle and love this body I held immobile were sufficient evidence..though the other sense rang differently, now that I was close enough to feel her) convinced me of that. It was Callisto's voice. But it wasn't our Callisto.
OUR Callisto was probably upstairs watching this whole charade! Who knew what sort of havoc she was putting the boys through..and what she would do once she got things settled up there..her way...
Looking in the blonde's eyes again, then at the armor she wore, then the chakrum at her waist...I realized that it wasn't even *a* Callisto...
I pulled the sword out of the ground and removed myself from her lithe, luscious body. "Get up," I ordered, my eyes on the sword I held. I sounded harsher than I felt. Now I recognized its familiar contours. OH gods....
Rather..Goddess...of this world perhaps. Goddess of War. That would mean that the Ares of this world...I felt a clench in my gut at the loss, even if only symbolic for me...My Ares was just behind me.
Ares divided himself between giving warning glares at the not-Callisto and worried ones at me. The non-Callisto simply looked at us as though we were utterly mad. "Ares?" I finally managed to say, bringing the blade about for him to have a clear look. "Recognize this?"
His eyes immediately became like saucers, turned on our blond companion with a mixture of incredulity and anger. "Where did you get this?" he demanded. He reached to grab her, thought better of it, and clenched his fist at her instead. She narrowed her gaze at the Warrior God, not quite stepping back, not quite believing that he'd restrained himself.
"You gave it to me," the blond spat once more. "You begged me with your dying breath to take it, to take your place. And Gods help me, I DID!"
There was no venom or rage to her voice now, just heart-rending despair. Her lips quivered, eyes pooling with tears. "I took it, and its taken everything from me. *Everything* I...had... I was...I...."
Her knees started to give way. Without hesitation, I dropped the sword and caught her in my arms. I grasped her precious muscular form, pressing her close to me. The studs and brass of her armor scraped my naked flesh, but I ignored this and simply held her shaking body tighter, burying my face in her hair as she did my neck.
"Shh, shh," I crooned, letting her sobs shake us both. "Let it go, my love. Let it go." This made her cry all the harder, her grip tightening. I kept soothing as best I could. "Let it go, Xena. Shh. Let it go."
Katrina's Fan Fiction | Fan Fiction Site | Home Page
This page was last updated: September 16, 1998
©September 1998
URL: ../../STO/sog/sog2summer25.html