Details of Chin

General Copyright/Disclaimer:

Xena: Warrior Princess, Gabrielle, Argo and all other characters who have appeared in the syndicated series Xena: Warrior Princess, together with the names, titles, and backstory are the sole copyright property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.

NOTE: All works remain the © copyright of the original author. These may not be republished without the author’s consent.

Introduction (note from author):

A while ago I watched the Xena episodes "The Debt Part I and II" again. This gave me inspiration for a story based on these two episodes, but which mostly focuses on events that are not in the episodes, but could be imagined to be. The story is told mostly from Gabrielle’s and Ares’ point of view.

Ares reclined on his elaborately decorated throne in the Halls of War. His face bore an intense expression of contemplation which was not unusual for him in this place. His time here was often devoted to the formulation and organization of some of his more creative plans.

"What are you thinking about Unc?" said Strife, the god of Mischief, who had been throwing various items around the halls.

"Stop that annoying racket Strife. I have important plans for today. I am going to separate Xena from her annoying blonde companion and make her a warlord in my service once again."

"Oh come on, Unc. You already tried that several times before, and it’s never worked."

"Yes, but I was very close last time, when I pretended to be her father. I could see the blood lust in her eyes. She was almost on the brink of turning into the ruthless warrior she once was."

"You’ll see, Strife. I am going to win Xena back this time for sure. I am going to take advantage of the current situation, which just came up a few hours ago. I’ll be right back." With that Ares disappeared.

A few hours earlier, Gabrielle woke up feeling good as the sun shone down on her. She wanted this to be a simple day, one in which she and Xena could do a little shopping, and then maybe Gabrielle could sit by the lake with Xena and write some stories about her heroic friend. Unfortunately for her, Gabrielle’s plans for a simple day were definitely going to change dramatically.

Xena and Gabrielle got up and ate some breakfast. "How would you like to have a relaxing day today, Xena?"

Something new did come up. As soon as they were finished with breakfast, they saw a group of warriors attacking an unarmed man. Xena managed to fight the warriors off, and the man who had been attacked gave her a message as he was dying. He told her that "The Green Dragon must be made small."(quote from episode, The Debt I)

"I have to go to China to the Kingdom of Chin, and I don’t want you to come along, nor do I think you would want to. "

"What do you mean Xena? Why don’t you want me to go with you? Why would you rather travel all the way to China and back alone? We’re a team, remember? What is important enough that you need to travel so many miles?"

"I have to kill Ming T’ien, the young emperor. The message was from Lao Ma, a woman who saved my life in Chin when I was a warlord. She tried to teach me how to be at peace with myself. I did not realized the significance of her wisdom until much later. It helped me to turn my life around. Lao Ma’s message is that I must kill Ming T’ien, now the emperor."

"You’re traveling all the way to China and leaving me here in order to kill someone who lives in China just because you owe a debt to this woman?"

"Maybe you’re not quite as important to Xena as you thought," Gabrielle heard Ares voice say. She turned around and saw him as he continued. "I bet Xena would never make a sacrifice like this for you, even though you have contributed so much to her life the past few years. Lao Ma must be awfully important to Xena. Otherwise she wouldn’t be doing something like this for her. You must feel powerless now."

Gabrielle turned around. "Ares! What are you doing here. Why did you freeze everything except me?"

"Because, I wanted to tell you how sorry I felt that your warrior princess is leaving you and going to the Kingdom of Chin."

"Yes, she will be back. After she kills the emperor for Lao Ma, that is, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Unless. . ."

"I could send you there before her, of course, you would have to pay me back at some later time."

Ares saw the jealousy in Gabrielle’s eyes. Everything would work out according to plan. "Very well. I will send you as soon as Xena leaves." With that he disappeared and unfroze the scene.

"I’ll be gone for awhile. You should go back to Podedia while I’m gone and visit your parents."

"I think I will do that," said Gabrielle. "I understand that what you have to do is a personal thing, Xena, and I respect that you know what you are doing."

‘And so will you,’ thought Gabrielle. Xena left, Ares reappeared, and zapped Gabrielle over to the kingdom of Chin.

Strife was anxious to hear what Ares was up to when he finally returned to the Halls of War. "So tell me what your plan is to get Xena back, Unc."

"Well, about eight years ago or so, Xena went to China in order to try some new fighting techniques against different opponents."

"When you’re a warlord all you have to do is travel and wage war," explained Ares.

"Well, anyway, when Xena was in China, a woman named Lao Ma, the effective ruler of one of the kingdoms in Chin, rescued her, and taught her special powers."

"I’m not going to try to explain all of that. Let’s just say that she rescued her and leave it at that."

"Now, where were we? Oh, yes, Lao Ma not only taught Xena special powers to move things around, but along with this she tried to teach her to become totally at peace with herself, and to stop her warlord ways. It didn’t work at that time, though."

"Over this time period, Lao Ma became important to Xena. Lao Ma even offered to allow Xena to rule with her as her warrior princess, but she refused."

"Lao Ma was just executed a few months ago by Ming T’ien, although Xena doesn’t know that yet. Her last request was that a messenger be sent to Xena to tell her to kill the young emperor. She just got that message today. Xena told Gabrielle this morning she was going to China for Lao Ma in order to kill Ming T’ien."

"I took the opportunity to freeze the scene, and talked Gabrielle into letting me send her to China in advance. I made her jealous of Xena’s sacrifice for Lao Ma, and made sure Gabrielle knew that Xena would never sacrifice that much for her.

"Xena will be so weak and upset by Gabrielle’s betrayal, as well as feeling hatred toward her, I will easily be able to talk her into coming back to me. I can give her very persuasive arguments about why the real Xena is the one that was known as the ‘Destroyer of Nations.’ I will tell her plans that would help make her a glorious warrior once again."

The God of war laughed. "A true servant of the God of War must want to voluntarily work for me to become a true warrior of destruction. Xena always had that fire in her eyes, her evil side just needs to be brought out again. Once this happens, she and her army will someday rule all of Greece."

"Yes, Strife. Let us celebrate my brilliance." With that Ares used his powers to create a huge feast of food and drink for them to enjoy.

A moment after Ares zapped Gabrielle over the Chin, she was inside an incredible castle. The castle contained lavish furnishings and various examples of the some of the finest Oriental art. Gabrielle was fascinated. It was just as she would imagine such a castle to be.

"Stop!" yelled a guard, "What are you doing here and how did you get into the castle?"

"Never mind how I got into the castle," answered Gabrielle, "I am here to warn Ming T’ien that there is a threat on his life."

"I can tell you are not from here, young woman. You must have a reason to come from such a distant land. I will lead you to him so you can tell him personally," said the guard, who brought her to the former prince, now emperor.

"My name is Gabrielle, and I come from a distant land called Greece. I have come to warn you that my best friend Xena is coming to Chin to murder you."

"Xena!" exclaimed the emperor, "The one that kidnapped me when I was a boy? Ah, yes, I remember Xena."

"Yes. She will be here in awhile, and knowing her ways, she will try to murder you when it is dark."

"Thank you for your warning Gabrielle. You can have anything you want in this castle." He pointed to the various items of value in the castle.

"I know how much you are upset with Xena about what she did to you when you were a child, but I implore you to please not harm her when you capture her."

"You have my word," said the emperor, although what good is the word of a vicious tyrant?

Gabrielle went to bed that night in the guest room which had been prepared for her. She lied down on the comfortable bed and thought about what she was going to do when Xena arrived. On the surface she justified what she was going to do by thinking that by stopping Xena from murdering Ming T’ien she was protecting Xena from herself by preventing her from once again reentering a cycle of violence. She also did believe the emperor when he said that no harm would come to Xena, because she felt that he would not have anything to gain by killing Xena.

But on another level, an emotional one, Gabrielle had very different reasons for wanting to prevent Xena from killing Ming T’ien. Gabrielle had already been jealous that Xena would travel all that way and kill someone for Lao Ma, a woman Xena had not seen for several years. This was a sacrifice she felt Xena would never make for her. This was made even worse by Ares’ taunts. This really made Gabrielle angry and increased her jealousy which finally pushed her over the brink and led her to where she was today.

Gabrielle and the emperor had formulated a plan in which the guards would watch for Xena outside the castle but not stop her from entering. They would notify Gabrielle and the emperor, and Gabrielle would be in the emperor’s room instead of him. When Xena discovered her, the guards would take Xena away. This would work out well. After Xena would promise not to hurt the emperor, he would release her and they could return together to Greece to continue on with their everyday life together.

A period of time went by in which Gabrielle stayed at the castle where she was constantly tense about Xena’s arrival. Then one day, the guards, who had been keeping watch for her every night, noticed Xena approaching the castle. They alerted Gabrielle and the emperor, and they took their positions. The guards were located all around the area, ready to capture Xena.

Xena entered the castle carrying a knife in her hand. She wondered why she had gotten into the castle so easily and had not been stopped by any guards. She made her way through the castle until she arrived at the room of the emperor. Now was the time to put the plan in action. The guards turned on the lights and Xena saw Gabrielle, and not the emperor. Xena was shocked. She looked into Gabrielle’s eyes and saw betrayal.

"Take her away to the dungeon!" yelled Ming T’ien. "She is to be executed in the morning."

"I cannot forgive an attempt on my life," said the emperor. "Besides, how would I know she would not just come back here and try to kill me again?"

"I knew that if I did not, you would not help me capture her," said the emperor.

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