On the outskirts of the village, there's a cave that was sealed. And for good reason..it trapped the New Goddess Callisto, the former Warrior Queen, Xena's arch-enemy. Callisto's parents died when Xena's army burned her village years ago. The young girl swore revenge, vowed to kill the warlord Xena and all she cared for. Only now, Xena had changed, forsaking her dark past and renouncing Ares, instead using her skills to do good. Callisto had joined with
Hope--daughter of the evil entity Dahak--to kill Solan, Xena's son.

   Callisto thought it would make her feel better. She was wrong. She was still empty inside. Now, she was stuck here, where she had given up all hope of escape.  Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light. A man appeared..he wore black leather, had a sword-type earing on his right ear, and had a black goatee.
   Callisto smiled in recognition. "Hmmm. Ares. Why am I not surprised to see you here? Is Xena still giving you trouble?"
   The God of War laughed. "I see you're still a direct-conflict personality. Very well, I'll get to the point. I'm offering you your freedom."
   "What's the catch?"
   "Huh?"
   "Come on..there's always a catch when you're involved. You only help if it suits your purpose for war and bloodshed."
   "True. Ah, war. It's what Xena did best, until my half-brother hero got involved."
   "Hercules. No one can kill him, I tried."
   "I know. Here's the deal..I let you out. In return, you have an opportunity to stop Xena. I believe she and her sidekick are in Amphipolis."
   "Xena's hometown. I did that before, remember?"
   "You weren't a god then. Now you are."
   "I can kill Xena?"
   "If you can. I promise I won't interfere."
   The goddess looked at him in mock surprise. "But I thought she was your woman, your warrior princess. You were trying to turn her back to her dark side so she can rule in your name."
   "That's in the past. She has refused my temptations again and again, I've had enough. I need a new warrior.
Whoever can eliminate Xena will be my next commander, the next Destroyer of Nations. If that's true, you can rule the world."
   "Interesting. I..yes. I'll kill her. Then her irritating friend, then her mother, then...everyone else in my way. Just one problem. What about Dahak?"
   "The One Great Evil. He's still a threat to all of us on Olympus. In truth, he's a problem for all gods in the world. Babylon, Egypt, Chin, and eventually the One God of the Israelites. But I have a plan: together, we'll fight to stop him. He still resides in the Void, on the border of the Spirit Realm, always plotting to enter this world."
   "Then, we'll deal with it. Alright Ares, I'll kill Xena, then we formulate a plan to stop Dahak. Do it."
   "Ok. Here goes. Remember, if you fail, you get sent back here. No exceptions." He grabbed her hand and they both disappeared.
 

   The Dark Entity walked the barren wasteland of the Spirit plane. He was very bitter, since his defeat almost a millennium ago. The young vampire Kain destroyed the necromancer Mortanius. Since the sorcerer was possessed by the Dark One, he was killed as well. Banished to this realm. Although bitter, he is also patient. Hash' Ak' Gik has had setbacks before. Known by many names, he plots for eons to enter the Material Realm. He's not without resources,
for he still has many followers among the living. The Cult of the Dark One and The New Goddess. It began as an offspring sect of the Seraphim. Very few knew of the alliance. They are linked to this Evil One telepathically. Hash learned that Kain is like a god, ruling Nosgoth in terror, as Lord of the Vampires. The entity growls, "If I am to return, Kain must die.. again. Once he is destroyed, I will rule. But his Lieutenants must be removed as well." He closed his
eyes, concentrating on his disciples. "Gather your forces. You will make another attack. Distract, then kill." He smiled and opened his eyes. "Yessss...soon, Kain. Your time will come. When you perish, I will destroy your soul. And I shall rule through you!"

   Xena was in the tavern with Gabrielle. The dark haired warrior said, "WE still have a couple days. But we must get to Athens. My friend Petrocas is expecting us."
   The blond bard asked, "What about?"
   "News about Caesar. We will go-"
   Just then, one of the townspeople burst in. "Xena! Help us!!"
   The warrior got up quickly. "What's wrong?"
   The man yelled, "It's an evil goddess! She's in black, tossing fireballs at the homes!"
   Gabrielle shook her head. "*No*. It's impossible, Xena. Not her."
   Xena unsheathed her sword. "It is. Callisto has escaped somehow. I have to deal with her, before she hurts any more." She walked to the door, closely followed by her friend.

   Callisto pointed at a stable..a fireball flew out of her palm and toasted the wall.
   Gabrielle said, "You have to beat her. Before someone gets killed."
   Xena yelled, "Callisto, stop it!!"
   The Fire Goddess turned around. "Oh..Xena. Been  waiting for you.  Tell me, is your irritating friend here with you?"
   "Yes. Leave here..or I'll make you pay."
   "Can't do that. I'm a god, remember? Fight me. Or I burn this village!"
   "Fine. How did you get out? You must have had help."
   "An aquaintance. We got a deal. I kill you, I rule for him."
   Xena smirked. "Let me guess..Ares."
   The God of War appeared. "Very good, Xena. How'd you guess?"
   Xena replied, "I knew you couldn't resist the opportunity. You know I'd never join you. So you want *her*."
   "Right. She will be my queen. Here's the stakes: you two fight to the death. Since Callisto is a god, you just have to survive long enough to trap her. I won't step in."
   "Oh..that's a first-"
   Callisto yelled, "Enough talk. Die, Xena!!" She ran at her, swinging her sword.
    Xena blocked several swipes, then countered..those were blocked as well. She ran to the end of the street. She somersaulted in the air, landing on top of a house. Then, she removed her chakram and threw it.
    Callisto vanished and reappeared in front of her enemy. "Can't beat me. I just got to weaken you enough to where I can strike a death blow."
   The disc flew through the air, hitting objects and rebounding. Walls, a wagon, tables, rocks..and a leg on the water tower. It flew back to Xena's hand.  The tower tumbled down, broken open by the impact. The water gushed forth.
    "This is where you get off, bitch!" Xena swiped her chakram at Callisto's chest, threw two palm strikes, followed by a side kick to the ribs.
    Callisto fell off the roof. As she fell to the ground, the mighty torrent of water hit her like a mule-kick, knocking her into a wall. She slumped down, weakened.
    Ares grimaced in anger. "You..you!" He pointed at his former protege. "This is FAR from over, Xena!!"
    Callisto slowly got up. She walked towards Xena.  "You'll die for that."
    Xena vaulted down and ran to Gabrielle. "I must leave now."
    Her friend said cautiously, "But she'll hurt these people, even Cyrene."
    Xena shook her head. "No. It's me she wants. I have to lure her away from the town. I want you to stay and help the villagers fix any damage. Look after Argo."
    "Okay. I'll wait for you."
    Xena put her sword on her back. She ran from the scene.
    Ares bellowed, "Go! What are you waiting for, Callisto?! It ain't over."
    Callisto ran after her.
    Ares followed.

    Xena was now in a country landscape. Her enemy was gaining. "Not much farther.." As she ran, she noticed
a round object in the dirt.  It was a red octagon, engraved with a yellow rune symbol.
    Callisto and Ares were almost near. The War God said, "Kill her now. Then we start conquering nations."
    Xena didn't have time to investigate. She ran over the stone. Suddenly, she could go no farther. She felt as if she was stuck in mire. Then, in about three seconds, she disappeared.
    Callisto screamed, "NOOO!!!! NO!!"
    Ares looked down at the slab, "This thing. It took her."
    Callisto bent down, looking at it. "Old markings.  Like magic hieroglyphs. What is it?"
    "I don't know. I can't decipher it without some help. But Xena vanished the moment she touched it.  This is a wild guess, but I think it's a transporter."
    "What?! To *where*?"
    "Don't know...one way to find out. Let's go follow her."
    But before he could step on it, lightning immediately flashed. The sky darkened, as black clouds covered the area. Then, two huge eyes appeared..the pupils looked like peacock feathers. "FOOL!! I'm very  disappointed, Ares!"
     Ares bowed. "Hera. I can explain, Xena walked onto this thing-"
     The voice barked, "Silence! I do not tolerate feeble excuses. I told you to free Callisto so you could kill Xena together..then you'll be free to destroy Hercules. You *disobeyed*."
     "I know. But I thought it more feasible if she killed Xena herself."
     Callisto said, "Right. I would have."
     Hera replied angrily, "Yet you failed. As you did when I released you from Tartarus. Foolish girl!! Both of you, come to Olympus, where I can decide your punishment." Then, the image disappeared.
     Callisto whispered, "Hmm...what a total bitch."
     Lightning struck a tree, splitting it in half. 
     Ares smiled. "I'd watch my mouth if I was you.. come. Let's go get this over with." He grabbed her hand and they vanished in a flash of fire and blue sparks.