DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Xena stuff is the legal property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. This story is the continuation of my story Mama.

The Change
By Kristjan Brezovnik

Several days after she met Mama, Callisto wandered around. She felt strange. She avoided people and thought about Mama and her own life. It felt so good hurting Xena and Gabrielle, but now that she has, everything was different.

Suddenly she saw three bandits attacking two people, a man and a woman. The man was fighting off the attackers, who were toying with him, and the woman was hiding under the cart, terrified.

Callisto observed the fight as she approached the fight scene, not really caring. The bandits finally had enough and they killed the man and moved on to the woman. Callisto stopped and observed.

"Hey, look who joined the party!" one of the bandits called when he noticed that Callisto had stopped.

The bandits stopped harassing the woman and turned to Callisto. Callisto observed them, not really caring for a fight. It surprised her because she used to enjoy a blood bath.

"Hey, pretty, glad you joined us," another bandit called and grabbed her arm.

Callisto hit him with her elbow and pushed his nose bone into his scull, killing him instantly. The remaining two bandits stared at her with disbelief and then at the corpse of their fallen comrade.

"You're gonna pay for this," one of them said and attacked.

Callisto pulled her sword, parried his strike and cut his head off. Then she moved to the last one, who couldn't believe her eyes. She kicked him in the face and he felt down. She straddled him and first cleaned her sword and resheathed it. Then she took her dagger and pressed it at the man's neck.

"Don't kill me, please," the man begged.

Callisto sneered and slowly slit his throat.

When the man finally died, she observed him for a while. For some reason it just didn't feel the same, it wasn't fun anymore.

She got up, disgusted, and started to leave.

"Wait!" the woman called on the cart with a week voice.

Callisto stopped and turned. She observed the woman for a few moments and then approached her.

"What?" she demanded.

"Thank you for helping us."

"Helping you?" Callisto laughed. "Who said I was helping you?"

The woman stared at her, confused. Callisto turned and stared to leave again.

"Wait," the woman said again and coughed.

Callisto turned.

"What?!"

The woman hesitated, unsure.

"Could you please take care of my daughter?" she asked.

"What daughter?" Callisto asked, confused.

The woman moved and a little girl crawled from behind her. Her dirty face was crowned with braided blond hair, and she had big brown eyes. She was scared and Callisto could see that she had been crying.

Callisto frowned. The girl looked just like she did when she was her age. She shuddered.

"You take care of her, she's your daughter," she said.

The woman removed her hand from her chest and Callisto saw that she was mortally wounded.

"Please," the woman begged.

"No," Callisto said and turned away.

"Please."

Callisto turned back.

"I am Callisto," she said.

The woman froze, terrified, and grabbed her daughter's hand. As Callisto turned away, the woman died. The girl started crying.

"Mama! Mama!" she called.

Callisto covered her ears so she wouldn't hear the screams. Finally, she turned back and screamed.

"Stop it!! Just stop it!"

The girl shut up, surprised and scared. She quietly sobbed, still clutching to her mother's body.

Callisto stared at her, but she didn't see the girl, she saw herself back in Cirra when her mother died, the fire… She shuddered, chasing away the memories. She approached the girl and kneeled beside her. She stared at the girls eyes. She knew that those eyes once belonged to her. So long ago.

She started playing with her dagger. She wanted to slit the kid's throat and put her out of her misery. She was surprised and annoyed that for some reason she couldn't. Not that she physically couldn't do it, that was no problem, it was her mind. She bit her teeth and clenched her fists, angry. She closed her eyes and calmed herself.

When she felt that she was calm enough, she opened her eyes and looked at the girl again. Slowly, her expression softened. She hesitatingly extended her hand and caressed the girl.

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

The girl hesitated.

"Melina," she finally said.

"Come out," Callisto said, but the girl backed off.

Callisto stared at her for a few moments and then left. The girl waited until she left and then snuggled up to her mother's corpse and cried.

Callisto went into the forest. She caught a rabbit first and then made a fire.

After the rabbit was done she ate some and then took the rest to the girl. Melina, however, was asleep. Callisto ate the rest of the rabbit. While she was eating, she observed the girl and thought.

When she was finished, she checked the cart for a blanket, picked up Melina and took her to the fire. There she laid her down and covered her with the blanket. She observed the sleeping girl for a while and then lay down beside her.

When she woke up in the morning, Callisto felt that there was something on her belly. She grabbed her dagger, ready to kill, but she quickly noticed that it was just Melina's arm. She observed the girl for a few moment. Then she resheathed the dagger and carefully got up. She went to the cart.

First, she checked for valuables and food, but there were none. She decided to take the bag with the girl's clothes. Then she checked the corpses for money and found that the man had a couple of dinars and the bandits quite a few. She took them. After that she picked up the corpses of Melina's parents one by one and took them into the forest. There she dug a grave and buried them. Then she returned to the cart and looked for two suitable boards. She used them as tombstones and carved in 'Melina's mother' and 'Melina's father'.

When she was done, she stared at the grave for a few moments. Memories came back, but she shook her head and chased them away. Then she went hunting.

Melina was just waking up when Callisto returned with another rabbit. Callisto sat down and waited. Because the girl was turned away from Callisto, she didn't notice her at first. She turned, confused, and screamed when she saw Callisto. She got up and ran away. Callisto didn't move.

Melina ran as fast as she could and tripped a couple of time, but she managed to stay on her feet. When she was about a hundred meters away from Callisto, she fell. She turned around, scared, and noticed that Callisto didn't go after her. She stopped, confused. Then she got up and looked around. She quickly noticed where the road was and went there, trying to remain hidden from Callisto's eyes.

When she got to the road, she looked both ways and saw that the cart wasn't far away. She carefully approached it.

When she reached it, she noticed that the bodies of her parents were gone, only the three bandits and the horse remained lying there. She stared at the empty spots, confused. She was scared and she felt lonely. Her eyes slowly got wet and she started to cry silently.

Callisto observed the girl from the camp and finally approached her. Melina didn't hear her come.

"They're dead," Callisto said bluntly.

The girl turned around, startled, and backed off.

"They're buried over there," Callisto continued and pointed toward the joined grave.

Melina looked, but was too afraid to move. Callisto looked at her for a few moments and then went to the grave. Melina stared after her and finally decided to follow her.

Callisto stopped at the grave. Memories came back again, but this time she didn't chase them away. She remembered the first night and the first day after her mother and her sister were murdered by Xena, she remembered how she cried until she couldn't cry anymore, she remembered how she dug the graves for her beloved and how she dragged the two corpses to the graves. It was late afternoon when she was done. She made simple tombstones. She remembered staring at them and swearing revenge. And then she passed out from exhaustion.

Melina carefully approached the grave from the side, keeping an eye on Callisto. When she got close enough, she was surprised to see tears in Callisto's eyes. Suddenly Callisto jerked and Melina backed off. But Callisto just turned away and went to the fire.

Melina waited until Callisto was far enough and then approached the grave. She stared at it for several minutes, thinking, and then she walked away.

Callisto knew that Melina left, but she hesitated. She knew how the girl felt, but she had never helped anyone in her life, because she simply didn't care. Others were just tools she could use in her revenge against Xena. This time, however, she felt the urge to help and it surprised and confused her. She actually felt concerned. She didn't want to care about the girl or anyone else ever again because caring meant being vulnerable and she didn't want to be hurt again.

Then she remembered her mother's words when they last met. I love you, Callisto. Always. She was hurt, but she still cared. Why?

She sighed. She turned around and saw the Melina was pretty far away. Just like me, she thought. Me.

She got up and ran after the girl.

When Melina heard that someone was running after her, she looked back. She saw that it was Callisto and she started to run, terrified.

Callisto easily caught her. Melina started to scream.

"Wait! I won't hurt you," Callisto said.

Melina still wanted to escape.

"Stop it!" Callisto yelled and the girl froze, terrified. "Are you hungry?"

Melina was surprised. She slowly nodded.

"You can come with me to the fire, I have some rabbit left and some water."

She let the girl go and went back to the fire. Melina stared after her. She was scared, because she had heard of Callisto, the older people in her village used her name to frighten children, but she was also hungry. She was surprised that she was still alive, but she understood that for some reason Callisto didn't want to kill her. The stomach demanded a tribute and so Melina slowly went after Callisto.

When she got to the fire, Melina stopped, not sure what to do. Callisto offered her the rabbit. Melina hesitated.

"Go on, I won't bite you," Callisto said.

Melina took the meat and took a few steps back.

"You can sit down," Callisto said and offered her her gourd.

Melina slowly approached her and sat down.

The rabbit was quickly gone and the gourd was quickly empty.

Callisto observed her, thinking. She wondered how her life would have turned out if someone had found her and took care of her.

When she was finished, Melina returned the gourd to Callisto. Callisto didn't move, deep in her thoughts. Melina watched her for a while and finally gathered enough courage to ask a question.

"Do you really take children and eat them?"

"What?" Callisto asked, angry that the girl had interrupted her thoughts. "What did you say?"

"Ah…"

Melina hesitated, afraid that she might anger her.

"Well?" Callisto demanded

"Do you really take children and eat them?"

Callisto stared at her, startled.

"What ever gave you that idea?" she asked.

Melina hesitated again.

"Well?"

"The older people in our village said that if we don't behave ourselves, you will come, take us away and eat us."

Callisto couldn't believe her ears. She laughed.

"They should know better than to give me any ideas," she said coldly. "Where were you going?" she asked after a pause.

"I don't know. Daddy said we have to move, because Draco was coming."

"I see. Is there any pace particular that you would like to go to? Any relatives?"

"No."

Callisto bit her teeth.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked.

Melina thought.

"I don't know," she said.

Callisto saw that she was scared. She knew the feeling even though she only felt it for a few hours, before she swore vengeance. She took the gourd and got up. She looked around, especially down the road. There was no one around. She looked at Melina, who was watching her, still a bit scared.

"Do you want to come with me?" she asked.

Melina was surprised. She got up and took a few steps toward Callisto.

"Take the blanket and the bag," Callisto said, turned and started to walk.

Melina stopped for a moment, surprised. She quickly picked up the blanket and the bag with her clothes and then followed Callisto.

Because Callisto was walking much faster than Melina, she soon left her behind. Because she was deep in her thoughts, thinking about the future, she didn't notice it for a while. When she did, she stopped and waited. When Melina reached her, she continued to walk, but much slower.

They walked most of the day and only stopped to eat. They avoided the villages where Callisto knew that she or Melina might be recognized.

In the afternoon Melina was so tired she couldn't walk anymore and she fell to her knees. Callisto stopped and observed her for a few moments. Then she approached her and picked her up.

She carried her for several hours and the girl soon fell asleep. We have to get a horse, she thought.

When they got to a town, Callisto took the blanket out of Melina's bed and wrapped it around her own head. She didn't want anyone to get any ideas.

She went to the closest inn and got them a room. It was a new experience for Callisto to actually pay for something other than food. She paid the innkeeper the sum he wanted and then went upstairs.

In the room she laid Melina on the bed and lay beside her. She didn't immediately fall asleep and she observed the girl. She felt that she cared about the girl and it made her very uncomfortable, even afraid. She usually killed anyone who got too close to her, but somehow she just couldn't kill the girl. It would be like killing me.

When Callisto woke up next morning and felt that there was something on her belly, she reached for her dagger, but then she remembered that it was only Melina. She looked at her and saw that the girl was having a nightmare. She put her arm around her and caressed her. She played with her hair and thought.

Not long after Callisto woke up, Melina also woke up. She woke up with a scream. Callisto knew that scream well, she had uttered it on many mornings ever since Xena murdered her family. Hers was also much fiercer and much more painful than that of Melina.

When Melina saw Callisto, she screamed again and wanted to run away, but then she remembered that Callisto for some reason wasn't going to harm her and she remained lying.

"A nightmare?" Callisto asked.

Melina nodded. Callisto caressed her with her free hand and dried her tears.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

Melina nodded.

"Then let's get something to eat," Callisto said and got up.

Melina also got up.

"But first, let's get you cleaned up."

Callisto took her dagger and cut off a piece of sheet. She soaked it in the basin and started to clean Melina's face.

"Now that's much better. Wash your hands."

Melina did so and the dried her hands in the dry part of the sheet. Callisto then put that piece under the mattress and they left.

Downstairs Callisto ordered two breakfasts.

"Anything else?" the innkeeper asked.

"Do you know where I can get a horse?"

"Sure. I have three for sale."

"I'll checked them out after the breakfast."

"Good."

Callisto returned to the table and the innkeeper went to the kitchen.

After the breakfast, Callisto paid and the innkeeper showed her his horses. Callisto noticed that they were pretty good. She picked the best and paid for it and the saddle without even bargaining. The innkeeper eyed her suspiciously.

"I'm in a good mood," she said, smiling, and saddled the horse.

"Well, be careful, I heard that Callisto is in the neighborhood."

Callisto jerked.

"Callisto?"

"Yes."

"We'll be careful."

Outside the village Callisto stopped.

"Do you know how to ride?" she asked.

Melina shook her head.

"Well, then it's time you learn. Come, I'll help you up."

Callisto helped Melina get on the horse and showed her the basics.

"You'll get used to it," she told Melina, who felt a bit uncomfortable and a bit scared because she was so high from the ground.

When they got to a lake, Callisto decided it was time for a lunch break and a bath. They dismounted and undressed themselves. Callisto jumped into the lake and dived for a few seconds. When she got out she noticed that Melina was still on the shore.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I can't swim."

Callisto swam to her.

"Come, I'll hold you," she said and offered her her hand.

Melina took it hesitantly and Callisto swam away from the shore. Melina was scared at first, but she slowly calmed down as got the feeling that Callisto would never hurt her.

After the bath, Callisto prepared some food.

"Where are we going?" Melina asked after a while.

Callisto was startled. She hadn't really thought about that.

"I don't know," she said. "Away from here. North."

They ate silently, but Callisto noticed that there was something on Melina's mind.

"What's troubling you?" she asked.

Melina jerked, startled. She hesitated.

"Don't worry, I don't bite," Callisto encouraged her.

"Am I your prisoner?" Melina asked and prepared herself to get hit or something.

Callisto was surprised.

"No," she said, "you're free to go. I can give you some money and you can keep the horse." She paused. "You can also stay with me if you want."

"May I?" Melina asked hopefully.

"Of course," Callisto said and smiled.

Melina smiled back.

"Will you…" Melina started.

"Shh," Callisto interrupted her and listened.

Several people were approaching and she heard their weapons. There was going to be a fight.

"Hide in those bushes and don't move," Callisto ordered and took her sword.

Melina obeyed, scared.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" one of the bandits said as he and his comrades surrounded Callisto.

"Hey, this is Callisto!" one of them recognized her.

"How nice, you remember me," Callisto said vexingly. "Tell me, did I kill someone you knew or are you just after the money?"

"Just the money and we're gonna get it."

"I don't think so," Callisto said and the man dropped dead as her dagger hit him in the heart.

While his comrades watched his body collapse, astonished, Callisto took her dagger and killed the nearest and wounded another.

Xena and Gabrielle were back together again. They were both quieter than usual, because the memories of the loss of their loved ones were still very strong. Xena felt bad, because Solan was dead and she hated Callisto more than ever. She wondered what will happen when they meet again. She glanced at her friend, the bard. She knew that Gabrielle had to suffer even more, because she had killed her own daughter. The blood innocence was gone. Xena recalled how she felt when she first killed. It was pretty bad, but she had wanted to kill while Gabrielle absolutely refused to.

"Look, Xena, a fight," Gabrielle interrupted her thoughts.

Xena looked and followed her friend who had already changed direction.

When they got close enough to recognize the faces, they both stopped, surprised.

"It's Callisto," Gabrielle said.

Meanwhile, Callisto fought the bandits. They were pretty good and they managed to wound her a few times. Callisto ignored the wounds and fought on. Suddenly they heard a scream. Everybody looked. It was Melina, who screamed when a body fell down right in front of her.

"What have we here? Get the kid!"

The bandit nearest to Melina took his dagger and threw it. Callisto threw her sword at him and ran to Melina.

Just as the bandit threw the dagger Callisto's sword hit him and killed him. Callisto threw herself onto the bushes and covered Melina just before the dagger reached her. Instead the dagger hit her. Callisto bit her teeth and reached for it. She barely managed to pull it out.

Then she got up, just in time to avoid a sword. She grabbed the man's arm, turned him around and slit his throat with his own sword while throwing the dagger at the nearest bandit. Then she took the sword and continued to fight. There were only five of the original fifteen bandits left, but now they also knew about Melina.

Xena and Gabrielle observed the fight and were surprised when they saw Callisto take the dagger. Gabrielle ran to help.

"Gabrielle!" Xena called, but Gabrielle didn't listen.

Xena slowly followed her.

When the bandits noticed Gabrielle, one of them left to attack her, but Gabrielle quickly dispatched him to the land of dreams. When the bandits noticed that their comrade was down, two more attacked her. Now that there were only two left Callisto soon killed another.

Suddenly one of the bandits who were fighting Gabrielle noticed Xena.

"Hey, it's Xena!" he warned the others and they immediately left.

Gabrielle approached Callisto, but she stopped at a safe distance and waited for Xena.

Callisto was barely standing and she backed off to the bush. Xena slowly approached her and she noticed the girl.

"Let her go, Callisto," she said.

Callisto lifted her sword.

"You took one family away from me, Xena, I won't let you take this one too," she said.

Xena and Gabrielle were both surprised. Xena saw the fire in Callisto's eyes, but she also saw fear and that surprised her. She knew that Callisto wasn't afraid for herself, so she had to be afraid for the girl. She never thought that Callisto could care for anyone, but somehow she did for that girl. Xena noticed that the girl looked a lot like Callisto. Her daughter? She sneered as the thought of hurting Callisto and revenging Solan's death entered her mind.

Callisto knew why Xena sneered and it frightened her even more.

"Run, Melina," she called and threw her the pouch with the money. "Run!"

Melina picked up the pouch and started to run away.

"Wait!" Gabrielle called and wanted to go after the girl, but Callisto stopped her.

When Xena saw that her friend might be in danger, she took her sword and approached Callisto.

"No," Gabrielle said.

Xena pushed her away and was about to attack Callisto, who was barely still standing. Gabrielle suspected what Xena was about to do and she stepped between the two enemies.

"No, Xena, that's enough," she said and turned as Callisto collapsed, unconscious. "You killed her family and she killed your son in return. You are even now. You changed, maybe Callisto is changing too."

"No, she can never change."

"You don't know that. Would the old Callisto care what happened to some child? She'd rather kill anyone than care about them. The old Callisto would never give her life for someone, the new one almost did. Let it go, Xena. Please."

Xena stared at her friend, surprised. She knew that Gabrielle was right, but she hated Callisto and she wanted to hurt her so much. Then she realized that that's how Callisto must have felt when her family died. She bit her teeth and resheathed her sword.

"I'll check her wound," Gabrielle said, knowing that Xena might still kill her, "you get the girl."

Xena went to Argo and mounted her.

"And Xena," Gabrielle said.

Xena looked.

"Don't kill the girl."

Xena bit her teeth.

"I won't."

"You promise?"

"I promise," Xena said and rode after Melina

Gabrielle then went to Callisto. She took off her armor and turned her on her belly. She took some herbs from her bag and the gourd. She cleaned the wound, put on the herbs and dressed it.

Xena soon returned with the frightened Melina. She lowered her down and then dismounted. Melina immediately ran to Callisto and took her hand. She observed the two strangers, scared. The initial fear passed, but she was still worried about Callisto.

"Don't worry," Gabrielle said and smiled, "she'll live." Then she got up and went to Xena. "Help me drag the bodies away," she said.

Xena looked at her for a few moments and then started to drag the bodies away. Gabrielle noticed Callisto's sword and dagger and fetched them. Then she also started to drag the bodies away.

When they were done, Xena went hunting. Gabrielle knew that her friend had to sort things out in her head. She approached the girl, who froze. Gabrielle smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she said softly.

Melina didn't respond.

"My name is Gabrielle," Gabrielle introduced herself. "And what is yours?"

"Melina," Melina said, not so frightened anymore.

"Do you know who she is?" Gabrielle asked and pointed at Callisto.

Melina nodded.

"How long have you two been together?" Gabrielle asked.

"Two days."

"What happened then?"

Melina's eyes became wet.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Gabrielle said and smiled.

It was already dark when Xena returned with a couple of rabbits. She gave them to Gabrielle, who prepared them. While Gabrielle was busy with the rabbits, Xena observed the girl and Callisto. She wondered why Callisto cared for the girl and why the girl cared for Callisto.

When Gabrielle thought that the rabbits were done, she cut off some of the meat and gave it to Xena. Then she cut off another piece and offered it to Melina. Melina carefully reached for it and then quickly withdrew her hand with the meat. Gabrielle finally cut off a piece for herself.

The three women ate the diner silently. When Melina was finished, she lay down beside Callisto and fell asleep. Gabrielle and Xena observed her, thinking.

Callisto didn't wake up until noon next day. Melina sat beside her all the time. Xena was not there, because she went shopping instead of Gabrielle, who changed the bandages.

Callisto slowly regained consciousness. She felt that someone was holding her hand and she opened her eyes. When she saw that it was Melina, she quickly turned around to see where Xena was. She moaned when she pressed on the wound.

"Carefully," Gabrielle said and went closer.

Callisto looked at her and then around.

"Where is Xena?" she asked.

"Shopping."

Callisto relaxed and looked at her body. She noticed that her wound was dressed. Then she looked around and saw that her armor and her weapons lay beside her.

"Did you dress my wound?" she asked Gabrielle.

"Yes."

"Thank you," Callisto said after a pause.

Gabrielle was surprised. As far as she knew Callisto never thanked anyone.

"Are you okay?" Callisto asked Melina.

Melina nodded. Callisto smiled and caressed the girl.

"Good," she said and looked toward the road.

Xena was returning from shopping. When she saw that Callisto was awake, she slowed down. She gave the bag to Gabrielle and sat down. She stared at Callisto and Callisto stared back at her.

"Melina, why don't you help me prepare the food," Gabrielle said, trying to break the silence.

Melina looked at Callisto. Callisto looked at Gabrielle and at Xena and finally nodded. Melina went to Gabrielle and Gabrielle showed her what to do. Callisto lay back on her belly and observed Melina, but every time Xena moved she glanced at her, making sure there was no threat.

When the food was ready, the four women ate it. Gabrielle noticed that Xena was restless and uncomfortable.

"We'll be leaving now," she said when they finished eating. She took some herbs and bandages from her bag and gave them to Callisto. "Here, you'll have to change your bandages tomorrow."

Callisto nodded and put the herbs and bandages into her bag.

"Thank you, Gabrielle," she said.

Gabrielle was surprised. She nodded.

"You're welcome." Then she turned to Xena. "Come, Xena, let's go."

Xena got up and went to Argo.

Callisto watched them as they were leaving. She knew how Xena felt, but somehow she didn't care anymore.

"Mama?"

Callisto jerked and looked at Melina.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Why does that woman hate you?"

Callisto sighed.

"It's a long story," she said. "I'll tell you someday, when you're older. Okay?"

Melina nodded.

"Come here."

Melina went to Callisto and Callisto hugged her. Then she kissed her on the head and caressed her.

Down in the Underworld everything was okay again, even Callisto's mother was happy. Persephone and Hades observed Callisto and Melina.

"I told you it might work," Persephone said.

"Well, I'm glad it did."

"Good. Now that that is settled, how about taking a day off, hm? I know a great place where we can spend it."

Hades looked at his wife, who was looking at him and smiling naughtily.

"Why not," he said and kissed her.

The End