Illythia glanced over towards Darphus as she changed into her sleeping shift, she could still hear harsh whispers coming from the main chamber. "What was all that about, down in the barracks? Glaber insisted that I wait outside... I was getting quite impatient." The woman asked, bringing out her long blonde hair from beneath her shift.

"It would seem the lady of the house was playing dress up with the gladiatrix while her husband was away, I wasn't sure if she was planning on attacking us or not so I acted rather than stand around waiting to find out."

"What did you do with her?"

"The punishment hasn't been dealt yet... She is to be sent to the pits, she's grown soft..." He said, his voice lowering as he came up behind his wife. Illythia's smile wavered slightly at his touch but she made sure to not let him see it.

"Would Caesar appreciate her being so... Unprotected?"

"She will not escape, she has no reason to. Her mother is here from what Quintus has told me... She would not leave the woman behind, and to disappear and then come back for her... Well, that would just be suicide." He said, nuzzling into her neck slightly.

"Be careful down there, it is not a place for men with statures such as yours..."

"We'll be well protected, I promise. Glaber and one of Batiatus' men will accompany us and the gladiatrix will be fighting under an alias to try and save us some trouble. Now enough of this talk. Let us get to bed..."

xxx

Xena leaned against the cool stone wall of her cell, she was far back away from the door. Knowing full well that Darphus would do everything within his power to make sure she didn't set foot on the sands with the others until he'd finished with his own plot. Despite her knowledge of what the rest of the day held for her she had slept well, her mind not worried or excited about her upcoming matches in the pits.

She could hear the second in command arguing with Oenomaus, the Doctore's voice was less than amused. "She needs to train, or she will fall. Regardless of where she is to fight her skills need to stay honed! I cannot keep you from fighting her in the pits but at least allow me to better her odds!"

There was silence for a moment before the Roman responded, "No, I'm sorry. Darphus has given strict orders that she is not to leave that cell until the wagon is here to take her to the pits."

The gladiatrix shook her head, she had several hours at least until she'd be leaving. And with any luck she'd be given at least a little food through the bars.

xxx

Ashur grinned as he took a seat next to the new trainees that his master had purchased, the men seemed to be sticking in a group unsure of how the more seasoned warriors would react to them.

"It's good that you got your gruel quickly..." He glanced around him before looking back to the table, "The Gladiators that have been here for several season like to pick on the lower ranking fighters... Their favorite torture being urinating in the gruel."

The blonde across from him curled his lip up in disgust as he lifted the spoon from the bowl, the thick gruel making a squelching sound as the wooden utensil pulled free of it.

"So then, what're your names?" Ashur asked, trying to keep his voice interested.

The blonde across from him spoke up first, "Names Varro, they didn't tell me when I signed up the food would be so shitty."

The blonde next to him let out a low chuckle, "Not everyone's foolish to sign up on their own!" He said prodding the other man in the ribs, "I'm Iolaus."

Ashur looked to the short stocky man beside them, the man blinked a second before responding. "Names Kerza." He spoke around a mouthful of gruel, the man on the end seemed to be completely ignoring the conversation all together.

Ashur looked to him for a second more before turning back to Iolaus and Varro, "What's with him?"

"Dunno, he hasn't said much to us either." Varro said with a shrug, breaking his small piece of bread in two as he tried to break up the taste of the bland food in his bowl.

Conversation grew silent over the next few minutes, the men scrapping their bowls clean. And just as they were finishing the thick metal doors leading into the barracks opened loudly, Doctore was following closely on Batiatus' heels.

"Oenomaus, I assure you once Xena has done her time in the pits I will give her the gladiator exam."

"What about her training? Is she really only to fight in the evening and forgo her daily training? There is no honor in this, Dominus."

Quintus slumped slightly before turning back to his Doctore, "I know and I'm sorry. You're doing your best to train her and it seems like everything is getting in the way, I don't like the idea of her in the pits either but what can I do?"

The novicius and Ashur looked on as Xena was brought out from the shadows of the villa, her head down as the midday sun beat down over the wagon.

Quintus glanced over towards where his new men were seated, his eyes focused on Ashur. "Go and grab your cloak, you will be accompanying us. And make it quick, we're leaving shortly." The man nodded at his master before standing and limping hurriedly into the barracks.

xxx

Gabrielle smiled at her mother as she came into the main room but the older woman did not return the expression. She noticed that Gaia was also in a somber mood. Although she'd heard her parent's arguing a bit the night before she couldn't imagine what would still have left such a lingering affect by this time the following day. Moving over to the other two women, Gabrielle sat opposite of them. The worry evident in her expression, "Mother, what's happened?"

Lucretia looked towards Gaia for a moment before turning her attention back to her daughter, "Your father and Darphus encountered Naevia and Xena as the two of them were moving through the barracks last night... She was found out."

Gabrielle's eyes widened but her mother continued before she could get a word in, "Darphus thinks that Xena has grown soft, as both a form of punishment and a form of training he is... Having her sent to the pits."

Gabrielle covered her mouth with shaking hands, gladiators often did not last long in the arena. Those who won special fights or lasted a certain amount of years to pay back the debt owed to their Dominus for purchasing them were granted freedom. This tradition was not used in the pits for it was unnecessary. Few gladiators made it past even two or three matches, the harsh conditions and random draw of weapons often even making skilled fighters lose to less skilled combatants.

Gabrielle turned towards the balcony, she could hear the gladiators had stopped their training for their midday meal. Rushing over to the railing and looking down below. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized her father was already down below, loading the wagon with the prisoner.

"Xena..." She whispered, her eyes stinging as she watched the dark haired warrior disappear into the shadows of the wagon.

xxx

Many hours had passed since she'd left the home of Batiatus, as soon as the wagon had pulled roughly to a stop the two guards escorting Darphus and Quintus had shoved a rough barrier over her head.

She was dragged down into the underground streets that led to the pits, even through the thick canvas she could smell the scent of decay and death. The smell wasn't foreign to her, in fact she knew it quite well. She could hear talking ahead of her, the two men leading her along slowing to a stop. Darphus and Quintus brushed passed them, a few words were exchanged and then Xena found herself being led to a small cell.

The canvas sack was quickly removed, "We're here. Now, it is frowned upon to fight a esteemed fighter such as yourself down in the pits. You have the crowds favor and Caesar also shows interest in you..."

Xena arched a brow at her Dominus, her natural attitude beginning to perk up with her adrenaline. "So?"

"You will be fighting under an alias, Xena. Figure one out before you're up, you'll need a name and we're going to play with your appearance."

The gladiatrix narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing in response, within minutes the two guards that had escorted her entered the cell and brushed back their hoods. Barca knelt down and handed her two strips of leather, and Ashur remained standing his arms crossed.

"Here, these are for your hair, I would suggest tying it back as tightly as possible. You will not be given a helmet or any armor, only a weapon."

Xena nodded, accepting the strips with a small thanks before she began tying back her long hair. She eyed Ashur suspiciously, her blue eyes narrowing.

"And why are you here?" She asked, her voice cold.

"To assist with your outfit." He said, his lips pulling into a mockingly charming smile.

Barca shook his head as he moved back out into the hallway to stand by his two masters for the evening, he held back a smile as he heard a yelp from Ashur.

xxx

Xena's eyes were everywhere as she was lead out towards the fighting pit, she could hear the jeering of the significantly smaller crowd as the remains of the last slain gladiator were tugged over the wooden barrier before being hung as decoration.

There was a man standing tall along the far corner of the ring, his dark skin highlighted by the many lit torches in the high ceiling chamber. Gold ornaments and armor glinted off of his body as he announced her opponent, she could feel all of her muscles tightening and releasing with anticipation. Not even the smell of blood and urine could mess with the high she was feeling, if anything the assault on her senses was only heightening her mood.

"Our three round in a row winner, Manus returns to the ring! What weapon will aid him in his endeavor to send his next victim to Tartarus?" The man belted out loudly, Xena looked towards Barca just before they reached the spot where she'd be unchained to fight.

"Who is that?" She asked quickly, the man looked to where she was looking.

"They call him Anubis." The Beast of Carthage responded before unchaining her shackles and pushing her forward towards the announcer.

"And a newcomer to the ring! Are you all sure you have your bets in properly? Manus is going to eat this she-beast alive!" Anubis cried out, the cheering intensified at the idea.

An amused smirk had crossed Xena's features, she looked up at the man, her head cocked to the side. He looked down at her, a bit taken back by her cool demeanor. "Your name?"

"Meg." Xena responded simply, her voice rising from it's much deeper tone to fit the new persona.

Anubis chuckled slightly at the woman below him, he didn't really know what to think of her. She was either extremely confident or extremely crazy, he nodded towards a woman in the crowd across the room.

She moved forward as if pulled towards him, her body ornaments jingling with each step. Xena watched her as she moved, a bit surprised to find that the woman was lacking both of her hands. They seem to have either been lost from disease or possibly punishment for theft. But held tightly in the ends of both forearms was a rather deep looking bowl, the woman dipped her head as she stopped before the announcer.

He looked down to the fighters, nodding towards Manus first. The tall man across from Xena raised his eyes to meet hers finally, his dark orbs seemed to dance in the torch light. She was a bit put off by his expression, it was as if he could see into her. As if he knew her.

She watched as her opponent reached into the deep bowl and pulled out what appeared to be a human bone, or part of one at least. He offered it to Anubis wordlessly.

"Manus has drawn Malleus!" Anubis cried out, a rather large man in bits of leather and chain made his way over to them. He handed Manus the two mallets before returning to where he had been standing.

Anubis nodded towards Xena and the gladiatrix reached into the bowl, her eyes locking with his as she handed him the bone she'd drawn.

"Meg has drawn Vinculum!"

Xena's mind raced as she considered the pros and cons of her weapon, the pros definitely increased once the length of heavy chain reached her wrapped hands. The outfit that Ashur had so graciously assisted her with was a rather rustic looking assortment of leather, furs and poor stitching. She looked like a mad woman who'd just come from the woods claiming to be an Amazon.

To make matters worse, the gladiator had taken the mud from beneath their feet and left four stripes with his fingers across her ribs and two underneath of each eye.

She could tell that the crowd did not favor her, she and Manus had now entered the ring and were circling one another. The three wins the man had landed himself in this arena were certainly giving him a lot of power.

Xena smirked at the thought, she would take that power.

"BEGIN!" Anubis cried, the sound barely heard over the cries of the crowd.

Xena lurched forward immediately in an attempt to throw her opponent off balance but the man merely stepped out of the way. As he moved he brought the blunt end of the back of his right mallet down heavily on the gladiatrix' leather clad back. The gladiatrix let out a low hiss as the pain blossomed across her muscle, the whirled on him fueled by rage.

Maniacal laughter erupting forth from her lips as she wrapped her thick chain around the Malleus in his left hand, the man tightened his grip in vain. The weapon was quickly pulled from his grasp and tossed across the room, a man standing in the crowd let out a howl as the heavy mallet collided with his shin.

"Here piggy, piggy, piggy... Whatcha gonna do without your other mallet, eh?" Xena asked, not needing much to shift into her alternate persona. She circled her opponent, annoyance beginning to build as the man remained stoic. After a minute or two a shout rang out from the crowd and the mallet was tossed back into the ring, Xena narrowed her eyes at the man who'd thrown it.

Once Manus had the mallet back in his hand, a wide smile pulled at his lips. He came at her suddenly, throwing her off guard with the sudden show of speed and skill. Xena through the chain around haphazardly in an attempt to either strike her opponent or keep his weapons from making their mark. She let out a soft cry as the spike in the Malleus skimmed her neck, her eyes narrowed as she felt the telltale sign of warm blood flowing from the wound.

Swinging the weighted end of the chain, Xena began to stalk the man across from her once more. Her expression dark as she let out a screeching cry, the heavy end collided solidly with the one Malleus. She tugged it but this time Manus had made sure to have a proper grip on his weapon, he lurched forward swinging the free Malleus in a downward arc.

Xena's eyes widened as she saw the blow coming, she loosened her grip on the chain and fell backwards in an attempt to dodge at least most of the blow. Seeing the woman's attempt Manus adjusted his attack, stepping forward and aiming more towards the ground.

Xena grit her teeth, clutching the middle of the chain and pulling it taunt just as the Malleus came down towards her face. The metal sparked slightly as the spike of the Malleus met the Vinculum, the man above her moved to bring the second weapon down but she was too quick for him.

With another screeching cry she sent the Malleus flying with a well aimed kick, Manus grunted as he watched his weapon fly towards the end of the ring, several feet away.

Weighing his options quickly the man decided it was time for a shift in tactic, he released his second Malleus and reached passed the chain before Xena could respond. The gladiatrix gasped in her last breath of air as she felt the man's large hands wrap tightly around her throat, her hands releasing her weapon to cover his.

She felt herself struggling against his tight grip but the chamber and crowd around them was slowly slipping from view. The man above her merely smirked as he watched her respond to the strange power he possessed. Xena tried to cry out as she felt the grip on her throat tighten, her right eye opened slowly and she was shocked by who she saw above her.

The hands gripped tightly around her neck were no longer those of Manus, her opponent. They belonged to her, or the mirror image of herself. She stared in disbelief at the dark eyes that would otherwise mirror her own, the woman's grin widened at her confusion.

The grip on her neck loosened tightly, the gladiatrix gulped in as much air as she could. "Who are you?" She asked, her voice low.

"Oh, you don't know?" The voice purred in response, "I'm you but better."

The grip returned to the warrior's neck without warning, her eyes slammed shut in response. She could see glittering lights erupting behind her eye lids, "You're nothing, not anymore." The voice said again, her voice followed by chuckling.

Xena could feel her eyes beginning to sting, she could feel and hear her past filling her. She was dying. The images continued to fly across the back of her eyelids, her stream of thought growing closer and closer to her current situation.

Then suddenly things slowed, she was back in the larger arena. The sun was bright, her view was partially obstructed by her helmet. She could hear the crowd roar around her and felt her body moving forward without command. Her twin swords coming over her head in two downward arcs towards her opponent. The warrior felt her body stiffen in response to the images, 'No, no! Lyceus!' She thought, tears finally spilling from her tightly closed eyes.

Manus watched in shock as the gladiatrix's body suddenly came back to life, her legs shooting out towards his abdomen. Both feet connected solidly with his stomach, knocking the wind from him and sending him flying back. Xena's eyes flew open as the man's grip was broken, her lungs burning as she attempted to breath in as deeply as possible. She could see the fear in Manus' eyes as he turned to crawl towards his weapon, made closer by the shift in position. Grabbing her Vinculum the warrior started after him, her face mirroring that of the Xena who had just been strangling her a moment ago. She rotated the weighted end three rotations before throwing it with deadly accuracy.

Manus gasped as the end of the chain wound tightly around his neck, cutting off his air flow. The gladiatrix then closed the distance between them, the crowd who had gone quiet out of shock was finally able to grasp the shift in the fight. They began to slowly chant, 'kill.' Xena raised her pale eyes to look over the eager faces, a grin pulling across her features as she stopped two steps away from the man. She stuck out her thumb, turning it down in a sharp arc before stepping forward with her left leg. Her right leg came up quickly before moving forward to meet Manus' wide back, the man's body moved forward but his neck and head moved back as Xena jerked the chain. A sickening crack was the only sound made by Manus' limp form. The crowd became deafening as Xena raised her hands, the chain and the body falling to the ground.

She moved over to the prone form, knowing full well that while she'd severed the man's spine, she hadn't killed him.
She knelt next to him, his eyes moving frantically to meet her own. It was at this point she realized why he hadn't spoken, his tongue had been cut out. He lay still, desperate and throaty sounds escaping him. Shaking her head the Gladiatrix grabbed the Malleus that lay just out of reach of the man's fingertips.

"I don't know what you did to me... But I didn't like it." She leaned in a little closer, her smile never wavering. "I'm pretty sure you gathered that much though, so I won't draw this out any longer!" With a loud cry Xena brought the spiked end of the Malleus into the forehead.

"Meg is the victor! The new combatant wins a shocking victory, ending Manus' three win streak!"

Xena turned towards her master, her features returning to a more serious expression as she approached. Barca quickly re-shackled her before leading her back towards the cell, she was to wait there until it was decided whether or not she would fight again.

After some time and consideration Batiatus and Darphus concluded that it would be better to fight on another night. They'd already more than doubled the money they brought just from the first fight. They had lingered by the ring in order to get a glimpse of some of the competition they would encounter in the next match, one man stood out amongst the many fights that followed Xena's. He was tall and very muscular. A bloodied face of his last victim was worn and replaced after each match, he was currently the longest lasting combatant in the pits. With a win total of seven consecutive fights.

They turned away from the ring and started back towards the cell, Ashur and Glabur following closely behind them. "Well, tonight went better than expected."

Batiatus nodded in agreement, despite his initial dislike of the arrangement he had to agree that Xena seemed to be acting much more like her old self. "How did you know this would be the trick to bring her back?" He asked, the man beside him laughed.

"I used to be her soldier, I served her for several years actually. Despite my best efforts to distance myself from her then and now, I grew to know her quite well. Besides, I also knew of the man she fought, Manus. He had quite the reputation. She probably wouldn't remember him, he wasn't really on her radar. The man was a Priest of a cult at one time, would capture and sacrifice young girls to the God Morpheus. It's rumored he possessed the ability to make his victims have very realistic hallucinations, often of what they feared most. Using those fears against them, he used to use his powers through both speech and touch..."

"Is that what happened when he was choking her?" The lanista asked, his eyes moving ahead towards the cell that Barca was leaning against, Darphus nodded.

"I think so, we owe the man a debt, I say we drink in his honor tonight. Come, bring her out. We're heading back to the villa."

Barca nodded, he opened the heavy door and nodded towards Xena who rose slowly.

"Good job tonight, the crowd seemed pleased." Batiatus started, "I would like to reward your efforts with some mead tonight, if you continue to win the crowd and fill our pockets with coin...Your rewards shall increase with each win."

The gladiatrix grinned widely at this, she gave the short man a nod before the canvas sack was once again pulled over her head and she was lead out of the pits.

xxx

Gabrielle's eyes opened slowly, she straightened up and narrowed her eyes as she attempted to see down to the dark road below. She could hear the creak of an approaching wagon and the sound of horses. Excitement began to build in her chest as she rose and ran towards the steps that lead down into the barracks.

Her father was home, Xena was back. She felt a little unease mix in with her excitement as she thought about where the other woman had been. What if she were injured, or worse... What if she hadn't returned at all? Trying to push those thoughts to the back of her mind the woman pressed herself against the bars of the door leading into the barracks.

"I need to get through!" She said, her voice urgent. The two guards looked at her for a moment before the man on the left spoke. "No one is to enter the barracks without Darphus or Batiatus' permission."

"I am Gabrielle Batiatus, my father will be inside in a moment. Please let me through!"

The two guards exchanged looks before the man on the right nodded, with a sigh the man who'd spoken to Gabrielle unlocked the door.

"Come with us and do not leave our side." He said, his voice serious. The blonde nodded and thanked the two of them as they led her down towards the entrance door.

Within a few moments Quintus and Darphus entered from outside, the Roman commander raised a brow when he noticed the blonde.

"Gabrielle, what're you doing down here?" Quintus asked, his eyes nervously shifting over towards Darphus.

"I came to see how the fights went... Is she okay?"

"She is fine, although I don't see why it's of any concern to you. A sweet girl such as yourself shouldn't worry herself with the fate of a beast." Darphus said with a smile as he took the girl's chin in his hand gently. Gabrielle frowned slightly at the man's expression but said nothing in return.

Her eyes moved over towards the door as it opened again, this time revealing Ashur, Barca and Xena. The woman was dirty, her strange clothing marred with small splotches of blood and covered with half dried mud. Pulling her face away from Darphus Gabrielle turned to face Xena, her face filled with worry.

"Are you alright?" The blonde asked in a small voice, pale eyes moved over to meet her own but the warrior did not answer. She instead moved passed the smaller woman without a word and headed towards her cell.

Xena's first match was against the same Manus that was in the Dreamworker episode of XWP, I doubt Alti will really make her way into this story. I plan on using her in others so I figured I might give her a break in this one. I wanted a character that could kind of bring out Xena's dark side, in the actual episode Xena has to fight that darker side of herself... What if her good side had lost that battle? I also thought it might be fun to show some of the other "smaller" villains from the Xena show. More to come and I expect this story will be fairly long, definitely passed 15 chapters.

Oh, and I wanted to thank everyone who has been reviewing. I may not respond to all of them but I do read them and they're all appreciated. I'm really glad that you guys are enjoying the story. I'm hoping to have some more time soon to work on it, for now I can only at bits and pieces every so often... I pretty much just use writing to cheer myself up anymore. But I don't have a lot of time between commission artwork and my day job.