Chapter 7: Becoming Unhinged, A Shocking Situation and A Heavenly Rescue

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The following week, Xena and Joxer are out on the shooting range. Joxer is practicing with his rifle, while Xena is practicing with the gun that Agent Shaw gave to her.

"So, does this mean you're hanging up the Chakram?" Joxer asks Xena as she fires her gun, hitting the bullseye.

She takes another shot, looks at Joxer, and says, "Never! The Chakram always stays with me! I'm only going to use this if Agents McBain and Shaw need Gabrielle and my help in the future."

Joxer takes a shot and hits it just above the bullseye. Xena smirks at him, and he says, "I could have made the shot perfectly." He reloads his rifle, takes another shot, and makes the bullseye. He smiles at Xena and says, "Top that, Xena!"

Xena gets in position, aims her gun, and takes five shots, hitting the bullseye on every shot. Xena smirks at Joxer and puts her gun back in her holster that is strapped to her side. Joxer looks in disbelief and says, "Lucky shots!" He then looks at her and says, "That cleansing session really helped Gabrielle! She's back to herself again!"

Xena looks at Joxer, smirks a little, and says, "Yeah, it did."

Joxer sensing the hesitation, asks, "Ok, what's wrong, Xena? You can tell me."

"Something isn't right," Xena says. "I still think Ares is involved with Gabrielle's emotional change."

"Aphrodite said that he wasn't involved in it," Joxer says.

"I don't believe it, Joxer!" Xena says. "The cleansing ritual did help, but for how long. I think he's working with someone."

"Who?" Joxer asks. "Athena and Artemis are on our side. Who would he be working with?"

"Maybe, Discord?" Xena says.

"I don't know," Joxer says. Playing with people's emotions isn't her thing."

Xena paces back and forth, then says, "That is true." Xena glances into the air then says, "I have a bad feeling, Joxer. Someone is helping Ares. Who, I don't know. But whoever it is, I'm afraid for Gabrielle.

———-

Gabrielle sits on a yoga mat in the middle of the living room of the cabin. Her left hand is now in just an ACE bandage, and she is in the meditation position. She reaches for the bottle of essential oils that Kendal gave to her and rubs the lavender, peppermint, and lime mixture on her temples, letting it soak in. She then grabs her phone, opens her music app, and selects Zen music. The phone links to a couple of speakers, and Zen music starts to play. She smiles, takes a couple of deep breaths then gets into meditation mode. She breathes deeply, letting the oils and music soak into her soul.

She then opens her eyes, looks at her bandaged hand, and wiggles her fingers. "Hand still is sore, but not as much as it has been," Gabrielle says to herself. She looks over at the bottle of pain pills and thinks to herself, "No, you need to focus. Meditation will help." Gabrielle closes her eyes, takes a couple of deep breaths, and starts to meditate. As she concentrates on the music, she focuses on clearing her mind, feeling calm and relaxed.

Suddenly she has a vision; she is back at the nightclub, alone and sitting at a table; she looks around and says, "Hello."

Suddenly the voice of Alecto says to her, "Your father should be alive right now, Gabrielle. Deep down, you know this."

Gabrielle gets up and starts to look around. She starts to walk around the club, and with a serious look on her face, she asks, "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"You must now live with yourself." says the voice of Tisphone.

"Live with myself!?! What do you mean? Who are you?" Gabrielle angrily yells.

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