I can hardly believe she's dead, he thought. And she died to save the woman she loved. Joxer held no illusions about the depth of feeling Xena and Gabby had shared, as sisters ... or something more. At times he had difficulty suppressing his jealousy of Xena, but he also had no illusions of Gabby's feelings for him. He knew that although he loved Gabrielle, his love would remain unrequited. She was too good for him.

Had been too good for him, he corrected himself. He felt the tears threaten to overwhelm him again, and he firmly pushed thoughts of Gabby from his mind.

"It's OK to cry, Joxer," Xena said softly. Joxer looked at her sadly but refused to give in. Xena smiled slightly in pity, stood and walked around behind him, putting her hands firmly on his shoulders. "I miss her too."

"Then why don't you show it?" he asked, choking out the words at hardly a whisper.

"I've lived with loss for a long time, and I've learned to keep my grief on the inside. Gabrielle wouldn't want me to spend weeks drowning my sorrow in an ale mug, hiding from the world. She'd want me to help people. That's what she died for."

Xena sat next to Joxer and pulled her arms around her as if cold, even though the night was warm. They both stared into the fire for a while in silence, taking comfort from each other's presence.

After a few minutes, Xena turned to him. "Did you know that the dead can hear the thoughts of the living?"

"No."

"Well, they can. Gabrielle knows how much you miss her, and how much you loved her."

Hearing Xena's words was too much, and Joxer gave into the sorrow, sobs racking his body. In an uncharacteristic show of caring, Xena wrapped her arms around him and pulled him against her chest. Joxer buried his head in her shoulder, so he never saw the tears stream down Xena's own face as she silently rocked him back and forth.

Joxer didn't sleep that night. He lay awake staring at the stars, listening to the soft sound of Xena's snoring a few feet away. He was trying to remember everything about Gabby -- the way she tossed her hair when she was annoyed, her fierce determination in a fight, the softness of her lips. (He scolded himself for even thinking about her lips; the only times she'd ever kissed him were when she wasn't herself.) Her storytelling could always brighten a dreary night around a campfire. He smiled, trying to recall one of her stories, to hear her voice in his mind...

"Hey, Xena. I've got a great new story. Wanna hear it?" Gabby asked excitedly. She set her staff aside and grabbed for one of the fish roasting over the fire.

"Loved to," Xena said indulgently. Joxer switched his attention from his fish, which tasted like yesterday's leftovers, to Gabby. Her stories promised to be better than her cooking.

"Well, do you remember Aeneas from Troy? He was one of their best, noblest fighters, and when the Greeks took the city he was able to slip out with his father, his son and several others. He saved a lot of lives.

"Although they escaped Troy, his father didn't live much longer. Aeneas sent his father's body to the gods and continued on his journeys, with many of the men with whom he'd escaped Troy. But Aeneas didn't know what the Fates required of him, so he found a priestess who told him to go to the underworld, and there he would learn his destiny.

"So, he did what the priestess asked. He found a certain golden branch and burned it at the entrance to a cave, and then he entered the cave and found himself in the underworld. There, he met his father in the Elysian Fields, and his father told him that his destiny was to found a city in the land of Rome. And his sons and their sons would rule over the greatest empire in the world.

"After hearing these words, Aeneas returned to the world of the living and traveled to Rome, where he married. His wife, Lavinia, is pregnant with their first son, and his Trojan companions are building a great city."

She paused. "Do you think we could visit Aeneas there someday? The story isn't finished until I find out if he achieved his destiny."

"Yeah, we'll go someday," Xena said.

"So, what happened to his son that he rescued from Troy?" Joxer asked. Both women looked at him in surprise, almost as if they had forgotten he was there.

Gabby recovered first, and her expression became thoughtful. "You know, I don't know. I'll have to ask Aeneas when I meet him"

... Joxer smiled, sighed and rubbed at his sore eyes. She never did get to meet Aeneas, but maybe she could have long conversations with his father.

Then, an idea began to form in the back of Joxer's mind. At first, it was rather indefinite, but as it worked it's way into his imagination, it gained a distinct form that made Joxer more hopeful than he had felt in days. If Aeneas could go to the underworld, so could he. And if Aeneas could talk to his father, well, then, what was stopping Joxer from strolling over to the Elysian Fields and talking to Gabby. Xena had gone to the underworld before and come back, and so had Hercules.

The idea excited Joxer so much that he sat up and pulled on his helmet. No point in waiting for morning. Xena would just try to talk him out of his plan anyway, and that would mean several more hours before he could go looking for a cave.

He stood quietly, buckled his sword onto his belt, grabbed his traveling bag and tiptoed out of camp, careful not to rustle the grass. Xena would wake at the slightest sound and demand to know where he was going. Joxer was sure he had never moved so stealthily in his life as he did then, slowly walking across the small meadow toward the road, and toward his destiny!

Dawn peeked its first rays of light over the treetops as Joxer found what he'd searched for all night: a cave. He sat down on a large, flat rock near the dark entrance and rubbed at his bruised legs, which he'd bumped into countless trees during the course of the night. Xena and Gabby seemed able to sneak through any wood without stepping on a branch, but Joxer never could get the hang of the trick. Both women always gave him dirty looks when he upset the silence, but they would see him as an asset instead of a clumsy oaf soon enough.

With a clearer head, Joxer stood, looked around and wondered what he should do next. He didn't have anything like a golden branch, and just walking into the cave wouldn't send him anywhere -- except maybe into the back wall. After some thought, he decided his best course of action was simply to pray to the gods and hope one of them took pity on him.

He knelt before the cave entrance, ignored his sword hilt, which seemed intent on poking him in the butt, and tried to look humble. If there are any gods out there listening, could you please help me get to the underworld. Gabby is down there, and she shouldn't be. She died too soon, and I plan on bringing her back here one way or another, but it will be much easier if one of you could help me. So if you could open a gateway or something, I'd really appreciate it.

Without moving, he carefully listened for some sign of a god, but all he heard were the chirping of birds and wind through the leaves. He sighed and stood with his head bowed in resignation. He rubbed the sore spot on his butt where the sword had poked.

"Stupid idea anyway. Me in the underworld. Yeah, right," he muttered, turning to go. He suddenly found himself face to face with three women and yelped. The women -- young, middle-aged and old -- did not move, but the child smiled slightly in an unchildlike fashion. Then Joxer noticed a strange light that seemed to radiate from each woman, and he realized he was facing gods. All words slipped from his mind, and he stood silent.

"Hail, Joxer ..."
"... mighty warrior ..."
"... and champion of Fate."

The child spoke first, but the middle-aged woman picked up her words, and the old one finished. Joxer hardly knew where to look next. Then he realized what they had said and laughed.

"Mighty warrior? Champion of Fate? You've really got the wrong guy," he said, but the women did not speak again. Their eerie stillness sent a shiver down Joxer's back. "So, um, who are you guys, um, I mean women, anyway?"

"We ..."
"... are ..."
"... the Fates."

Now almost fully recovered from his initial shock, Joxer began to feel more confident. The Fates, huh? I'll show them what sort of great warrior I am. He strutted closer to the women with the proudest walk he could manage, puffing out his chest. Still, the Fates did not move.

"So, I'm your champion, huh?" he said as he unsheathed his sword and waved it in the air. "Who do you need me to fight? An evil warlord? A dragon? Bring 'em on!"

"A fight ..."
"... is not necessary. ..."
"... You know what you must do."

The old Fate pointed toward the cave mouth. When Joxer looked back, he saw a thick mist pouring from its entrance, lit by a cool blue light. He swallowed hard.

"Leave your weapons ..."
"... and armor behind. ..."
"... You will not need them."

Without a word, fearful that anything he might say would show the Fates how terrified he was, he set his helmet, armor and sword on the ground. He felt so naked without his armor, in only a cotton undershirt and pants. The urge to grab his gear and dash for the woods grew stronger, but memories of Gabby flooded his mind and he steeled himself for his coming ordeal. He bowed low to the Fates, preparing to leave the world of the living.

"Do not forget ..."
"... to bring your lute ..."
"... with you."

In mid-bow, the ground suddenly seem to betray him, and he stumbled forward, falling face first into his gear bag. His cheeks turned red -- from embarrassment or the pain of slapping his face against the ground, he didn't know. He scrambled to his knees and quickly began rummaging through his bag for the lute he never left behind but rarely played. He grabbed it, stood and succeeded in a giving shorter bow to the Fates.

Unsure if he was to receive anymore instructions, he turned hesitantly toward the mist and walked slowly forward, clutching the lute in a death grip. He looked back once at the Fates and waved. "Bye," he said, but they didn't respond.

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and walked into the cave.

When Xena woke, it was full daylight. She felt more groggy than Gabrielle used to be in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and slapped her cheeks in an attempt to focus. Last night's dream came back in a flash, and she chuckled softly to herself over such an absurd idea. She had dreamed that she had woke to see Joxer sneaking off by himself in the middle of the night, but then she had gotten so sleepy that she couldn't keep her eyes open and, therefore, let Joxer just wander off into who-knows-what.

She glanced over her shoulder intent on telling Joxer about the dream and instead jumped to her feet in alarm. Joxer was gone, with all his gear. A quick scan of the ground surrounding their campsite told her that no one else had been there during the night, so Joxer must have left on his own. Some dream, she thought bitterly. So Joxer had left, but why? And to where?

Xena hastily stuffed her cooking pots into Argo's saddle bags and grabbed the horse's reigns. She knelt by Joxer's sleeping place and examined the direction the bent grasses indicated he had left. The man left a trail so wide that a child could track him. In this case, that was lucky, because it meant Xena wouldn't waste time trying to find which way he went.

She followed the trail for a couple hours, watched as his path collided with several trees and bushes and then went around. But he seemed to be headed in an usually straight path through the forest -- always southeast. Xena thought Joxer had problems following roads, so when did he develop such a sense of direction at night? Just one more question to ask when I find him. He better have a good explanation for all this.

Around noon, she entered a small clearing by a cave mouth, and decided that Joxer, after some fumbling around at the entrance, had entered the cave. Then she noticed a well-hidden pile of Joxer's gear behind a long, flat rock.This is not good, she thought.

There was no way Joxer could know what this cave was, but Xena did. She'd stood only feet away from this spot and watched Hades come flying out of the wide mouth on his black chariot. This was an entrance to the underworld, which meant that Joxer was now wandering around in the land of the dead, probably lost and scared.

Xena pulled off Argo's saddle and hid it behind the rock with Joxer's gear and unsheathed her sword. She wouldn't need this where she was going, and Hades might take offense to weapons in his realm. She dropped the sword onto the pile and then reluctantly added her chakram.

A sharp chill shot up her spine, and some sixth sense told her she was not alone. Grabbing her sword, she swung to face the cave mouth and slowly pointed her weapon at the three women standing there.

"Peace, Warrior Princess..."
"...You know us,..."
"...and we mean no harm."

"No harm? Did you maybe forget that it was you, Atropos, who cut Gabrielle's thread before her time?"

"Gabrielle's death..."
"...was a mistake..."
"...brought about by..."
"...the debt to Ares. ..."
"...It has tangled..."
"...the tapestry of life. ..."
"...She must be brought back."

Xena dropped her sword back onto the pile and walked purposefully toward the unmoving Fates, who still blocked the cave mouth. They were going to let her pass, one way or another.

"Was it also part of Ares' debt that you send Joxer to his death? I've already lost Gabrielle, no matter what you say about tangled tapestries, and I won't lose Joxer, too. Move out of the way."

"It's true we brought Joxer here..."
"...but it is his destiny. ... "
"...He must fight this battle alone."

Xena sputtered. "Alone? Are you kidding? Joxer couldn't tie his own boot laces alone."

"Joxer understands the risk. ..."
"...You cannot help him, Xena. ..."
"...It is not your fate."

Xena slumped her shoulders slightly in defeat. If the Fates wanted to keep her out of the underworld, there was nothing she could do. Even if she entered the cave, she would find no gateway. The Fates smiled as if reading her thoughts.

"Be calm, Warrior Princess..."
"...and wait for the return..."
"...of the champion..."

With those words of parting, the Fates faded and vanished, leaving Xena alone by the cave. She walked back to the rock, sat and stared moodily at the forest around her. Waiting was not one of her strong points, but she didn't have a choice.

The mists cleared, and Joxer found himself standing at the top of a long staircase, the bottom cloaked in darkness. With one hand wrapped around the stem of his lute and the other flat against the rocky wall, Joxer descended the staircase. The eerie blue light he noticed at the cave was now all around him, but it only illuminated his way for a few paces in either direction. He was sure it was a gift from the Fates, and without their help, he surely would be lost in the dark.

At the base of the stairs, he dimly saw a giant river stretching out before him, the waters blacker than night. At the shore of the river, a small ferry sat docked and a short, ugly man slept in the bow of the boat. Well, if that's the only way across, than so be it.

Joxer approached the boat, but the man didn't move, so Joxer pushed on the boat lightly and set it rocking. The man snapped awake and looked up at him in panic.

"Hey! Stop that! Do you know what happens if this boat capsizes and I fall in the river? It's bye-bye Charon -- and no more rides to the other side. That's what."

"Sorry. I only meant to wake you up."

"Wake me up? Humph! You've got some way of waking people up," Charon said as he climbed off the boat and onto the dock. "So, what can I do for you."

The man's abrupt manner confused Joxer slightly, and he had to concentrate hard to keep up with his fast speech. He looked down at the shorter man with a dull expression on his face.

Charon rolled his eyes dramatically. "Geez. Not too bright are you," he said. Then he leaned forward and spoke loudly and slowly. "What do you want?"

"Um, I need to go to Hades' castle."

"Oi! Hades' castle! Are you crazy? You're not even dead!"

"Well, I have to go anyway. Are you going to take me, or not?"

"Not." Charon walked over to a small campsite that Joxer hadn't noticed before. The strange man scooped a spoonful of something from a kettle and sipped appreciatively. "Want to try my soup?"

Joxer was getting annoyed. "What do you mean you won't take me? Aren't you the ferryman?"

"Yeah, but you're not dead." Charon paused. "But if you have a coin, I might consider taking you across."

"I left my money with my gear."

Charon shrugged. "Well, tough luck," he said.

Joxer remembered Gabby's retelling of Xena's trip to the underworld and how stubborn the ferryman was. She had finally bullied him into taking her across, but Joxer knew he wasn't scary enough to force Charon to do anything. He'd have to try a different approach.

"Well, then I guess I'll have to swim," he said. He made a show of unlacing his boots to set them on the riverbank.

That got Charon's attention. He dropped his spoon and ran toward Joxer with an uneven gait. "Swim? You are crazy! Don't you know that this is the River Lythe? If you so much as touch the water, you lose your memory forever!"

Joxer inwardly smiled. It was working. "You don't leave me any choice. I have to get across."

Charon let loose a big sigh, climbed into his boat and gestured for Joxer to follow. "Hades would kill me if he found out I was letting mortals swim across the river. Get in, get in."

Joxer relaced his boots and stepped into the ferry, careful not to rock the boat or touch the water. He sat down and looked up at Charon, who already had started to pole them across the water. Joxer looked at the river and was surprised to see frogs jumping in and out, landing on lillypads and croaking joyously. Frogs, in the river of forgetfulness. I wonder if they all came here for a reason, forgot what it was and just stayed.

The boat ride didn't take too long, especially with Charon playing tour guide and pointing out all the sites of interest. When they docked on the other bank, the ferry rocked slightly and Joxer prayed they wouldn't tip over.

"Well, here we are. If you follow that road," Charon pointed, "it will take you directly to the gates of Hades' castle. I don't know what you want there, but it better be a good reason. Prosephone just got back from topside a few days ago, and neither of them has been seen since. You'll be busting in on a private reunion, that's what you'll be doing."

Without a word, Joxer climbed out of the boat and gripped at his lute for comfort. The castle sat on a high cliff, barren and brown. It saddened him to see a place so devoid of life, but he supposed he should expect no less from the god of death.

He tore his eyes from the castle and looked to Charon one last time. "Thank you," he said.

Charon waved his hand as if dismissing the thanks. "Don't mention it. Just, next time you come, bring a coin."

Joxer nodded, turned toward the road and began hiking up the cliff toward the house of death.

Prosephone woke to find Hades had left their bed and was looking steadily out their high tower window. His pale, naked body excited her, and she wanted him to come back to bed.

"Hades, what is it?" she asked. She sat up, letting the sheets fall to her waste, revealing her breasts, but Hades didn't turn around.

"There's someone coming up the road," he said, "and I know him. His name is Joxer. I had to take his mother when he was a child, and he saw me."

"You don't usually show yourself to mortals, especially during work," she said.

"I wasn't showing myself. I made myself invisible, but he saw me anyway. Sometimes one is born who can see the gods; it's rare, but not completely unheard of," he said, turning to face his sometime-wife. "But that's not what interests me now. Joxer isn't dead."

Prosephone slipped out of bed and joined Hades at the window, looking down on the mortal approaching the gates. He carried something, but she couldn't make out what it was.

"If he's not dead, what is he doing here? How did he get past Charon?"

Hades snorted unattractively. "Charon isn't that selective of whom he lets across just as long as they pay him. I'd like to know how he found a gateway to get down here in the first place. I hide them well."

Prosphone looked to her lover's face, knitted with intense confusion and concern. Then again, everything was always intense with Hades, and that passion was one of the reasons she loved him.

"Well, maybe he had help," she said, not taking her eyes from his face. "One of the other gods, perhaps."

Hades nodded. "You're probably right, and that can only mean trouble." He crossed the room, grabbed a robe and began dressing. "I suppose we ought to greet our guest and find out exactly what's going on."

Joxer stopped at the castle gates and looked up. The only light he saw came from a high tower window, which glowed an unearthly, dull gray. He had glanced up at that window several times while traveling the road, almost certain that he had seen someone watching him. But he tossed the idea away as stupid. What god of death would watch a mere mortal as he walked toward the castle?

Joxer lifted his fist, intending to knock on the heavy metal gates, but as his hand neared, the gates swung open. He jumped back in surprise but decided that if the gates opened that easily, he must be invited to enter. He slowly walked through, looking in all directions at once, hoping that some legion of the dead wasn't about to appear and drag him to a dungeon, or something worse. But the courtyard was empty. His steps against the stone floor echoed back cold and hollow to his ears, a violation against the absolute silence of this house.

He crossed the courtyard to a set of tall wooden doors, what he supposed was the entrance to the castle. Again, when he raised his hand to knock, the doors swung open, but this time he expected it. He entered with even slower steps, and the moment he cleared the doorway, the doors slamed shut behind him with a terrible finality.

He had come to a long, wide hallway with giant torches lighting both sides of the room, barren of other decoration. At the far end of the hall were two thrones, set side by side, and Joxer somehow knew that Hades would be sitting in one and his wife in the other.

His lute forgotten in one hand, he marched down the hall with more confidence than he felt. The thrones and the two figures seated in them became more distinct the closer Joxer got, but he still felt as though he were almost looking through the god of death and his consort. They were there, but not quite. Then again, Joxer had no experience with meeting a god on his own turf, so maybe it was normal.

He bowed low before the gods, managing to keep his balance. "Greetings, Hades, god of death, and Prosephone, daughter of Demeter. I am Joxer... the Mighty," he said. He hoped that his words weren't to presumptuous.

Hades nodded toward him, but Prosephone looked at her husband in surprise. "You see, my dear," Hades said, "I told you he would be able to see us."

Suddenly, the pair became more solid and Joxer just stared at them in confusion. He didn't know what to do next, so he knelt and waited for Hades to speak again.

"Greetings, Joxer. What brings you to my house?"

"I've come because someone important died recently, by mistake, and the Fates instructed me to bring her back to the world of the living."

Hades' eyebrows shot up in surprise and he smiled slightly. Prosephone seemed content to sit silent at his side. "You refer to Gabrielle. You know very well that she cannot rejoin the living. She is in the Elysian Fields and quite content, I assure you."

Joxer furrowed his brow in determination and stood, not ready to give up that easily. He'd come too far to walk away now. "But you have to let her go. The Fates demand it."

Hades laughed. "The Fates demand nothing of me. But what of you, Joxer? You say you come from the Fates, but there must be another reason, a more personal reason, you are here."

Joxer looked down at his feet, embarrassed to meet the god's eyes. Hades had seen through him as if through a sheet of glass. "I love her," he said quietly.

"That wasn't so hard, was it," Hades said. Joxer look up with hope written unmistakably across his face, and Hades only pitied him the more.

"You mean you'll let her go?" he asked.

"No. Joxer, the rules are firm. The dead cannot rejoin the living, and they wouldn't want to even if they could," Hades said, leaning forward out of his throne. "The land of the living is full of pain and suffering, but those who go to the Elysian Fields no longer feel those things. Gabrielle sits quietly by the river enjoys the peace all around her. It's a world she's dreamed of her whole life -- one without grief or death or evil. She is content and would not appreciate a return to the chaos of the world above."

Hades rotated his hand while speaking and created a window to the Elysian Fields, where Joxer could see Gabby sitting under a tree by a sparkling blue river. She was so beautiful, dressed in a flowing white robes, her hair loose around her shoulders. She turned her head as if looking back through the window at him, but Joxer knew she couldn't see him. His joy at seeing her face turned to sorrow as he saw the suffering deep in her eyes. He knew that although Gabby seemed happy on the outside, her soul was dying on the inside from the loss of Xena and all she had ever loved.

A tear escaped unnoticed and dripped down Joxer's cheek as Hades closed the window. Joxer knew now more than ever that he had to help Gabby escape her prison. He looked around him for something that might help plead his case, and he remembered his lute. A idea formed in his imagination.

"So you see," Hades said, "your Gabrielle is content. Let it be."

Joxer walked closer to the thrones, until he was almost at their base, and he lifted his lute. "I want to play you a song, if I may. I wrote it about Gabrielle before she died."

When Hades nodded, Joxer lifted his instrument and tuned it softly. Then, he began to play. His song had no words because no words could ever describe what he felt for Gabby, but the tune was heartbreaking, and Joxer was sure he'd never played it with more passion as he did now. Memories of Gabby filled his heart and warmed him from within as he let the notes flow over him. He closed his eyes and saw her face in his mind.

As the final notes faded away and echoed throughout the hall, Joxer opened his eyes and was surprised to see tears flowing freely down the face of Prosephone. She turned to Hades and grabbed at his hand.

"Please, Hades. This man is dying without her. I know you have the power to let her go. Break the rules, just this once, and let Gabrielle return with him to the world above. Please, Hades, I know your heart must want to take pity on Joxer."

Hades was silent, watching Joxer throughout his wife's passionate speech. He lowered his eyes for a moment and then spoke softly, hardly above a whisper. "Very well. As a gift to you, my love, I will grant Joxer's request."

Joxer felt overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement all at once. He tried to speak his thanks but found he couldn't say a word. Gabrielle would return with him! He had succeeded in his quest!

"But," Hades continued, "there is more. Gabrielle's spirit will follow you as you leave the underworld, but you cannot look back to see her until you hear her voice in the outer world. Do you understand? Once you turn from these thrones, if you look back once before reaching the outer world, Gabrielle's spirit will return to the underworld, and I will not release her again."

Joxer nodded vigorously. "Yes, I understand."

"Good, then turn and leave my realm. I wish you luck, Joxer, and I hope not to see you again for many years."

Joxer nodded and smiled. He looked toward the great wooden doors and began his march forward.

"And, Joxer," Hades said behind him. Joxer almost turned back to the voice but stopped himself at the last second. After a moment, a small coin appeared before him, and he plucked it from the air. "For Charon."

Hades laughed at his own joke as Joxer left the house of the dead, not to return for a long time.

Joxer walked back down the hill toward the River Lythe whistling the tune to his song, "Joxer the Mighty," because that's how he felt at that moment. Only a mighty warrior could have braved Hades' castle and return to the land of the living. Only a mighty warrior could have succeeded as he had. He hoped Gabby was enjoying his tune as much as he was -- after all, she had her own line, right there in the first verse.

As he approached the river, though, he began to feel uneasy. Gabby hadn't made a sound behind him. She hadn't spoken or even stepped heavily enough on the road for Joxer to hear her. He began to wonder if maybe Hades had played a trick on him and Gabby wasn't there at all. He would leave the cave, and there would be no one behind him. He wanted so much to turn around and look, but he resisted the urge and strode forward. He just had to trust Hades, but who knew if the god of death was a god of his word?

Charon was still sitting in his boat by the river, and as Joxer approached, he sat up and smiled triumphantly. "Hey! I knew you would get out of there in one piece."

Joxer pulled the coin from his pocket and handed it to Charon. The ferryman took one look at it before slipping it somewhere beneath his rags and jumping in the boat. "Now that is more like it," he said. "Where to now?"

"Back to the dock where we started," Joxer said. "And make sure we don't leave until she gets in the boat."

Charon looked back over Joxer's shoulder as Joxer climbed into the ferry. "Until who gets in the boat? Maybe you didn't come out of there in one piece after all."

Joxer once again resisted the urge to turn around and look for himself. The feeling of betrayal grew stronger, but he refused to give up his one chance at saving Gabby. Maybe that coin was really a secret message between Hades and Charon, and Charon had been instructed to trick Joxer into looking. It won't work. I will not look back. Gabby is there; I know she is.

As Charon poled into the river, Joxer was sad to see the frogs were gone. Charon was silent as he slowly pulled them across the river, and without the croaking of the frogs, the River Lythe had become as eery as Hades' castle. No sound; no life. Joxer couldn't wait to leave this dreadful place.

Charon docked on the other bank and waited for Joxer to get off before jumping to dry land himself. The strange little man already was moving toward his kettle, singing under his breath.

"Well, bye," Joxer said, waving at Charon's back.

"Bye," Charon said absently, just before taking a sip of soup and sighing contendly. Joxer, deciding to leave Charon with his true love, mounted the stairs and began the last assent.

As he climbed, blue light surrounding him, all he could hear was his own steps and heavy breathing. Gabby still had not made a sound, and now Joxer was only half sure that she was still there. After all, Hades had not allowed him see Gabby in the hall before he turned away. He really had no proof that she was there.

"Um, Gabby?" he said quietly, and then louder when he got no response. "Gabby, are you still back there?"

Silence.

Joxer didn't know how much more he could take of this, so he began climbing faster. The staircase seemed to have doubled in length since his climb down, or maybe even tripled. There seemed no end. He began running, his breath coming in labored gasps.

And then he saw it: a faint light up ahead that could only be sunlight. He shifted his grip on the lute and ran faster toward the light, which grew stronger and began to outshine the blue light that still surrounded him.

He reached the top of the staircase and ran out of the cave, collapsing on the ground outside. As he caught his breath, he noticed a pair of leather boots almost at his nose. Wait. I know those boots. That could only be...

"Xena!" Joxer said as he struggled to his feet. "Is she there, Xena? Behind me, is she there?"

She looked at him with concern and felt at his forehead to check for fever. "Is who there? Really, Joxer, I think the underworld wasn't good for your mental health."

Joxer sobbed and pushed Xena's hand away, stumbling toward the rock. All that work and wondering, and Gabby wasn't there. Xena followed him and put an arm around his shoulders as he looked toward the sky.

"I did everything right, Hades!" he yelled. "I didn't look back, not once! And I gave Charon the coin! Why did you lie to me?"

"Hey! What are you two so upset about?"

They both turned at the familiar voice at the cave's mouth, and Joxer could hardly believe his eyes. There she was, in flowing white robes with her strawberry-blond hair hanging loose around her shoulders. She was like a vision...a goddess.

Joxer stood and stumbled toward her, tripping over a rock and falling at her feet. He didn't care. He just reached out and touched her bare toes to make sure they were real, and she giggled.

"Joxer, what are you doing? That tickles." She reached down and pulled him to his feet. She looked into his eyes, and he thought he would drown in that gaze. "Thank you," she said, and reached up to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

He trembled slightly before regaining his composure. He cleared his throat and tried to look as heroic as possible. "Your welcome. I mean, really, it was nothing."

Gabby smiled. "If it was nothing, I wouldn't be here."

She moved around Joxer and slowly walked toward Xena, who sat stunned on the rock. Her robes blew slightly in the wind, making it look like she was floating across the ground. Joxer watched as Gabby sat down next to Xena and wrapped her arms around Xena's neck. Xena returned the hug and stroked Gabby's hair, still hardly believing the truth.

As Joxer watched, he knew that even though Gabby was back, nothing had really changed. Gabby knew the truth now about Joxer's feelings for her, but unless a miracle occurred, she would never return those feelings. She was fond of him, but she did not love him. She loved Xena, and nothing would ever change that.

Joxer sighed and walked away from the two women and their private reunion. Near the trees, he saw three women watching in silence. He noticed their transparency as he got closer.

"Hail, Joxer..."
"...and congratulations..."
"...on your success."

"I suppose that I was fated to go to the underworld. You knew it was my destiny."

"Of course," the child said.

"Then you know Gabrielle's destiny, too. And Xena's."

"Yes," the old woman answered.

"Then tell me, will Gabrielle ever return my love?"

"Fear not, Joxer..."
"...your love will not always..."
"...remain unrequited."

The Fates smiled and vanished, silently as the wind. Joxer watched as Xena and Gabby sat talking quietly, Gabby gesturing wildly with her hands. He smiled. She was probably already relating the story of her adventure to the underworld, and they would want to hear his side of the story, as well. He rejoined his friends in the clearing, the Fates' words giving him new hope. Maybe someday, he could call Gabby more than a friend. Someday.

The End

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