Philomon had one more chance and he blew it. 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. If you don't agree or disapprove, please go read something else.
Blood and Gore Alert: Actually there's not more, but some folks get squicked, so I thought I'd warn. This is a story about warlords after all.
Philomon had one more chance and he blew it.
Xena followed protocol by sending a messenger with the requisite, "thou shalt surrender or else," declaration. The bitter warlord, also following protocol (mostly), sent the messenger (mostly) back with a statement that was the equivalent of, "thhhpppt," except nastier. The Warrior Princess's expression turned serenely evil and she promptly sent the messenger on his way to the healers.
Philomon, having deliberately worded his return message to be as incendiary as possible, fully expected Xena and her troops to come swooping down full of ire. Earlier He'd laid out a cunning plan for a good portion of his forces to sneak up behind the Warrior Princess and her troops while they were battling the "main" body. Ordinarily, it would have been a perfectly sensible plan.
What Philomon didn't know was that Xena had motivation, very compelling motivation, to get "home" alive and well. Her intent was to kick Philomon's furry ass from Greece to the Far Ends quickly, so she could get back to Gabrielle as soon as possible. That was why her smile was such an odd mix.
Besides, it was her habit to make a study the other warlords, military leaders, tigers, philosophers, cultures, flowers, a certain red headed bard (although that one had been surprising her lately, much to Xena's delight) and anything else that interested her facile mind. It wasn't that she knew it all (the warrior had no wish for omnipotence and didn't pretend to), but she knew how to learn it if she needed it and she knew how to use it, if she learned it. In this case, she used her knowledge of Philomon's methodology (which was quite predictable) to undo him.
The first thing she did, before even sending out the messenger, was to split the body of her troops into three parts. Two parts, one of which was led by Aedal, would spread out and try to find and capture (or battle) Philomon's "hidden" troops. The other would play the warlord's game. Xena was in charge of that one, simply because she loved the energy of a good battle. Besides, she knew Philomon knew he *had* to be in the "main" group for appearances sake, or else his plan wouldn't work. So, there was an opportunity to trounce the man and either get him to cooperate through force or make sure he wouldn't be able to interfere in her plans one way or another.
The Warrior Princess held the message in her hand and crumpled it meaningfully. Her eyes narrowed and her smile disappeared, but her expression turned even more feral as she took on her battle aspect. She called out the commands she expected her troops to follow as she kicked Argo into action. Then she and her army did as Philomon expected and swooped raucously down on his troops.
It was glorious. Argo practically flew onto the ground and Xena's hair whipped back in the breeze while she pulled out her sword. She looked magnificent and scary. Her first opponent, a blocky muscular fellow who was paying more attention to how she looked than the fact that she held a sword, went flying to the ground with the power of her swing. Her battle cry echoed in his ears as he tried to figure out what went wrong. Xena left him for one of her troops to take care of. She'd spotted Philomon before starting the charge and was heading purposefully in his direction.
Philomon hadn't planned on that. He'd expected the rest of his army to show up sooner. At the moment though, he couldn't pay attention to the worry that was niggling in the back of his mind. He was too busy.
The Warrior Princess was thorough. She didn't set out to kill necessarily, because she intended to take over the army and she needed as many able bodies as possible (and she was a different person than she used to be), but she didn't *not* kill if the situation required it. There were several sent to Hades' realm through her efforts and her sword and armor became quite bloody. She managed to keep her focus: get to Philomon, finish it, then get to Gabrielle. By then, however, the bloodlust was beginning to run full tilt in her, which was evidenced by the almost sensual smile on her face. She was starting to enjoy herself.
Eventually, once things were thick, she ended up jumping off of Argo, issuing her signature cry and landing on some poor mercenary, who should have gone home to mother when he had the chance. Philomon was just on the edge of her peripheral vision, holding his own against one of her men. She shouted, "Dlynn! He's Mine!! Take this one." She punched the one she wanted to trade so he'd be out of it a second. The soldier kicked at Philomon and ducked away as Xena vaulted overhead. She landed right in front of the warlord.
He sneered a greeting. "Xena." He poked at her with his sword, "Aren't you Dead Yet!"
Xena grinned and laughed, "Philo." Her greeting was sweetly venomous. "Been gettin' any lately?"
He roared in anger and came at her with a wild swing. He got a face full of fist and whirled back, staggered by the blow. He shook his head to clear it and she waited, circling warily, holding her sword in front of her.
"Philomon, I'm going to give you one more chance." She kept her voice even, tempered, even as she swirled her sword in his direction. "Hercules is amassing power in the north and poses a real threat to all of Greece. Join me. We'll beat him. No more threat. You can go on your way and have nothing to do with me. Why don't we save this for later."
He wiped his nose with his forearm and narrowed his eyes. He spat out the side of his mouth and snarled, "Fuck you." He ran at her and swung wildly again. Their swords clanged together.
Xena pushed him back, "Damn it, Philo, I'm not asking you to kiss and make up!" He swung. She swung. Their swords rang out on contact. "Just a truce, by Zeus, a temporary truce, till Hercules is taken care of."
Swing, Clang, Swing, Clang. "I don't want Your truce! You and Hercules can go to Hades' for all I care." Swing, Clang, Swing, Clang.
He pressed hard, pushing his whole body into the effort and she fought, not quite sure why she was feeling so reluctant to finish him off, but feeling a strong impulse to wait. She held him off, relaxing into the rhythm of his swings, enjoying it almost on a mental level; seeing and letting go of those points where she could have had him. He was swearing now, calling her names with each swing; the main one being "bitch." She shrugged it off. She'd heard worse.
It wasn't until a few moments later, that Xena heard what he was saying, or rather heard the tone of voice he was using as he swung his blade, almost carelessly. His eyes weren't even focused on her. "You bitch, you bitch, you bitch." He would have done more damage to a tree than to her.
Xena had a vivid memory at that moment, one of Gabrielle holding a sword, with that same desperately angry look. *Gabrielle* had been that upset. Her focus had been on Callisto, but she'd been just as angry at Perdicus. Funny what the loss of a loved one can do to you, where it can drive you. Xena could hardly imagine life without Gabrielle now.
The raven haired warrior was almost in a meditative state. The battle lust had been soothed, seduced by the rhythm of their dance. So her next actions flowed from something so deep inside of her that if someone had asked, she wouldn't have been able to say where it came from, only that she knew it was the thing to do. That happened a lot to her.
On the next swing she flung his sword away. The ring still echoed in the air, though there was fighting all around them. He stood staring dumbly at her. Then, his eyes took on a glint of desperation and he made a dive for his weapon.
She made a dive for Philomon, capturing him in powerful arms before he could totally reach the sword. She grabbed his arms and bent them back and locked him tight in her embrace. She knelt over him as he struggled, using her body's momentum to take him all the way down. Then, she said words she never thought would come from her mouth.
"I'm sorry Philo. He attacked me. I had to. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry." He still fought, but it was weaker somehow. Xena said it over and over, her voice changing to true sincerity. The guy had been an idiot. Truly. But he had been loved by this man. And she had made an enemy. Back in her bad days, there'd been no room for apologies, (even if they were never heard) even if they were needed. That would have been weakness. Xena had learned something with Gabrielle, though. Sometimes your weakness was your strength.
It probably looked like they were wrestling, though all Xena did was whisper the words into his ears until she felt the sobs coming from his body. She gently rolled him over. There in the dust and the bloody mud she cradled a weeping man in her arms, not caring if a sword fell on her at that moment.
Once the leader is down, a battle tends to lose its impetus. Philomon's second saw Xena cradling the warlord in her arms and assumed he was dead. The second troop never showed. They were being rousted. Justin had the bugle sound.
They heard the sweet notes of retreat and knew what it meant. Xena whispered into Philo's ears, "We'll work something out. You've got to get it together. Your man's coming." She thought quick. "Pretend you're injured." His face was still wet. She covered his body with her own and wiped his face quick. Her hand was bloody and left a trail. "Damn."
He pulled in a shuddering breath, trying to get control. Xena made one of those decisions she's so good at. She used some pressure points. Philomon started moaning in real pain. She whispered in his ear, "Sorry again Philo, but I figured you didn't want your man seeing you this way. Gotta keep up those appearances." He nodded helplessly, groaning. He felt like his innards were going to explode (and they would have if Xena hadn't fixed it several candlemarks later. As it was, he was sick, but mobile, for a couple of days). At least the tears were gone. She spoke quickly, "I'll fix it later." Then she settled him on the ground and stood up to meet the second.
Her expression is unemotional. "This army is mine. Get the dead picked up, get your wounded to the healers and meet me in the command tent." Justin looked down at the huddled body and she saw a flash of something in his eyes. She'd have to watch this one. "Take him and get on with it." She strode away and into the cheers of her winning troops.
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