Realmhc

"Maddy," Angela said, looking over to her sister. "This is the best pizza I have ever had." Taking another bite and speaking with a mouth full of food, "it's friggin' exquisite."

"It suck's tonight, what are you talkin' about?" Annie said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Uhhmm, Xena," Maddy lightly backslapped her friend in the arm. "You're forgetting where she's been for the last eight or nine months. Cardboard would taste good right about now."

Angela laughed, almost choking on her food. "That'�s not completely true, but close." She took another bite of her food. "Now wait a minute... Annie slash Xena, what do you prefer to be called?"

"Ok, here's the deal. In private we can be Xena and Gabrielle. In public we have to go by our given names. You can call me whatever you want." Annie finished with a slight shoulder shrug.

"Cool. Just hope I don't screw that up. I've been calling you Xena for a long time." Angela said widening her eyes briefly and smiling.

"I hope you're not mocking me, you little twerp." Xena leaned across the table, blue eyes bore into green, her voice went low and menacing, "I still have many skills."

Angela kicked her chair back and jumped to her feet feigning horror, "BY THE GOD'S... IT'S... IT'S... THE LOOK!!! Ma... Gabrielle, save me from this wicked she-demon."

"Wicked she-demon..." Maddy said between giggles. "Sit down and finish your dinner."

"Yes mom," the ex-warrior stifled her own chuckle.

"Oh, Angela, I gotta ask you," Maddy said tossing an olive at her sister.

"Hey... what? Dammit, it went down my shirt. Thanks," she said as she stood and pulled her shirt out her jeans to retrieve the offending olive.

"Who has the Cronus Stone?"

"I do," she said throwing the olive back at her sister. "I locked it up in my safe at the studio. Why?"

"It has to be returned. You're gonna have to take it back and have someone bring you back, then go home."

"Why?" Angela asked quite puzzled.

"Because that is where it belongs. You see, you went back in time to fix a timeline screw up. This is the last thing that needs to be fixed."

"The very last? I won't be going back again?" Angie asked inquisitively.

"I don't know. I only knew about you right before you went and I didn't remember all of the details until right before you called. And I mean right before... like less than five minutes." Maddy said earnestly.

"That would probably be the minute I came back and everything was done."

"Do you mean to tell me that you waited an entire five minutes to call your sister?"

With an air of challenge to her voice, "Yeah Xena I did... what of it?"

Maddy stood, putting her hands on her hips. "Angela Melinda Covington! You promised to call me THE MINUTE that you arrived, not five minutes later."

Angela mimicked her sister perfectly. "Well, Madeline Janice Pappas!" Then meekly she finished, "I changed my clothes."

"Uhhh, how?" Xena looked back and forth between the two sisters for a moment. "You have different last names. How did that happen?"

"Ok, here's how it starts," Maddy began. "Angela, my favorite sister..."

"You only sister," Angie flatly interjected.

Maddy looked sideways at Angie for a brief moment then went on, "Uhh, yeah, anyway... she was born before our parents were married so she ended up with mom's maiden name."

"Uh huh." Annie responded with a slight nod of her head.

"Hey," Angela piped up enthusiastically. "can I bring a picture of you two with me to... show... you?"

"NO!!!!" Xena shot out.

"Holy cow! Sorry, it was just a thought," Angela said almost sarcastically.

"No, she didn't mean it that way." Maddy chimed in. "she hates her hair color."

"You can get a picture tomorrow night," Xena offered.

"Let me guess," Angie said scratching her chin. "You're dying it in the morning?"

"Yeah, I have to, I can't take it anymore." Xena said disgustedly as she fidgeted with her hair.

"Fine," Angie said in mock annoyance. "We'll get a couple of pictures tomorrow and I'll go back either tomorrow night or the following morning. Deal?"

"Sounds good to me." Xena replied.

The following evening they arrived at Angela's Kung Fu studio. Angie retrieved the stone from her safe and went out into the dojo. "Alright Maddy, I'll be right back. If you want, there's a fridge in my office... help yourself."

"Hey, no problem." she said, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of food.

Angela disappeared. Maddy noticed a rack of weapons standing against the far wall and went over to take a look. Finding a staff, she went out onto the floor and started messing around with it. Xena watched for a few minutes then grabbed another staff. "Hey Gabrielle... wanna play?" A hint of mischievousness to her voice.

"Only if you think you can handle it," she cheerfully responded. The two engaged in what started out as light sparring. As they became more comfortable with their weapons however, it turned into a full on contest.

After a short while, Gabrielle noticed a pair of sais hanging up on the wall, over the doorway that they had come in through. "Hey Xena, do you think you could reach those?"

"Of course I can," she said, almost annoyed at the question. She somersaulted up, ululating her battle cry. As her feet touched the wall next to the weapons she grabbed them and vaulted back to the mat, next to her friend. "Here."

"Thanks." It was all she got out. Xena attacked hard with her staff. Gabrielle parried quickly, but with some trepidation at first. As her body began to remember the movements involved, her attack became almost effortless. Almost. She was still up against the ex-Warrior Princess.

"Well, I see that you two are enjoying yourselves," Angela said with a smile.

Xena stopped as soon as she heard the voice, it was too soon. The butt end of a sai crashed into her stomach, effectively doubling her over for a brief moment. "OH MY GOD! Xena, I am so sorry. Are you alright?" Maddy said as she dropped the sais and propped up her friend to keep her from falling.

"Fine," she stated flatly.

"Well, I guess some things never change."

Gabrielle looked up at the new voice and took a slow step forward. "Varia?"

The Amazon Queen merely smiled.

Xena stood up straight and walked over. "It has been a very, very long time."

"Not for me, I just left you. And I can see that you haven't changed a bit. Gabrielle looks a little different though." she walked over to Maddy. "Long brown hair, huh? I'm almost surprised." She pointed back towards Xena. "Her hair is still black."

Angela put her hand to her mouth and coughed out, "bullshit." Xena punched her in the arm and shot her a look.

Not skipping a beat, Varia pointed at Annie, "and what was that all about?"

"That's not her real hair color," Maddy informed her.

"Thanks," Xena said with a sigh, rolling her eyes.

"So what color is it?" Varia asked with a huge grin.

"I'm a natural blond." Xena attempted a convincing tone.

Angela coughed again, "bullshit." Xena turned to hit her again, but Angie leapt forward, executing a flawless tuck and roll while grabbing Maddy's discarded staff and spun to face Xena.

A wicked, evil grin crept across Xena�s features. She attacked. Gabrielle pushed Varia over to the nearest wall where they watched the two combatants. Angela smiled and laughed as they fought. Xena however, seemed hell bent on a mission. "I'm gonna wipe that smile off of your face," she growled.

"It's mousy brown..." She parried Xena's attack and side stepped her. "With some blonde streaks that looked..." Xena was on top of her, staff twirling and kicks flying. Angela ducked under a crescent kick and swept the Warrior Princess with her leg. Xena compensated and as she fell, did a backwards roll and was on her feet. This gave Angela plenty of time. "That made it look almost gray."

Xena was livid, she held the staff by the end and swung it across towards Angie's thigh. Angela jumped forward and over the staff shooting out a flying side kick that caught Xena full in the chest, knocking her back a number of feet. "Nice kick," she said, brushing the footprint off of her t-shirt.

"Thanks."

"Wanna keep going?"

"I was hoping you'd say that," Angela replied with a smile as the Warrior Princess charged at her.

Sometime later, Maddy found the instant ice packs in Angela's office and doled out a few to her sister and Xena. They each had black eyes and a series of bumps and bruises across their bodies, but were none the worse for the wear as they had made sure it didn't get too out of hand. They had had a lot of fun.

That evening, they all spent the night at Angela's as it was near the studio and she had no neighbors. Her property line met up with state land. They didn't have to worry about anyone seeing their guest in full Amazon garb.

The following morning...

Maddy awoke late, as usual, and headed straight for the kitchen. She found Xena rummaging around in the cabinets. "What are you looking for?"

"Food," Xena stated flatly.

"Where's Angela?"

"I don't know. She left early. As a matter of fact, she took Varia with her."

"Oh. She probably wanted to take her out in that tank of hers. I have no idea what possessed her to buy something so big." Maddy said offhandedly.

"She likes trucks," Xena said with a shrug, moving to the refrigerator.

"Yeah, but a Suburban?"

Xena shrugged an "I don't know" look at her friend. "She's your sister."

They heard the truck pull up in the driveway and two doors slam. Angela and Varia entered the house and headed straight for the kitchen. "So where have you two been?" Maddy asked.

"Uhmm, we got breakfast... for everyone," Angela stammered.

"It took you four hours to get breakfast?" Xena questioned. "There is a deli maybe a mile up the road. Where did you guys go?"

"Well, we went riding around for a while, checking out the sights... and lost track of time. Then I realized that we had been gone for a while and remembered that I had no food in the house. So... here we are." She finished as she pointed at Varia who had a large paper bag in her arm filled with egg sandwiches and coffee.

Pure, unadulterated hunger took over and Maddy snatched the bag from Varia and quickly handed out the food. The women ate in general silence. Around midday Maddy sat everyone down in front of the television. "Hey Angie... how come I can't get any channels?"

"I don't watch TV," Angela stated matter-of-factly. "I don't have cable."

"That's right I forgot. Shit! There was something I wanted you to watch," Maddy said in a defeated tone.

"What channel is it on?" Angie asked.

"Five."

"Well that one is pretty local. It doesn't come in at all?"

"I'm getting a little sound, a slight picture and mostly snow."

Angela scratched her head for a moment. "Maybe we can rig up an antenna."

Xena sauntered over. "And how exactly do you expect to 'rig up; an antenna in less than ten minutes?"

"Watch me. You're not the only one with many skills." Angie said with a sly grin. She went out to her garage and came back a few minutes later with a small roll of speaker wire, wire cutters, a screwdriver and a staple gun. She pulled the wire apart into two separate pieces then stripped one end of each and attached them to the allotted screws on the TV for the Antenna. She then ran each wire into two separate directions high along the wall behind it, using the staples to hold them in place. "Try it now," she half ordered.

Maddy turned on the TV and stepped back with a knowing grin.

"Well I'll be dammed. She did it," Xena said in a surprised tone.

"That's my sister," she said looking over at Angela smiling. "Now you and Varia have a seat. I think you're gonna like this."

It was Sunday afternoon and there was a rerun playing... "Old Ares Had a Farm." Varia watched this modern marvel called television with the giddiness of a child.

"Maddy," Angela began, not taking her eyes off the screen. "It's true, isn't it. The scrolls our grandmothers found really were your scrolls," she said in shocked amazement.

"Yes they were," she said putting an arm around her sister. "They have taken a few... LIBERTIES with my scrolls, but..." She shrugged her shoulders. "The basic storylines are there. I have the entire series at home. When we get back to my place, we'll sit down with a couple of bowls of popcorn and watch 'em."

"Sounds good." Angie stopped for a moment and turned to her sister, "you're the author of those scrolls, why did you buy the series?"

"I wanted to see what they did with them. Most of it is chopsocky crap, but you can get a pretty decent idea of what went on. And I can fill in the gaps." She gave her sister a small squeeze. Laughter and a choked up spray of water from Varia caught their attention. Maddy looked up at the TV to see Ares face down on the ground covered with chicken feathers.

After the show was over, Angela directed everyone through the kitchen and out onto the back deck. "I'll be right back," she said and headed around to the front of the house.

"Hey Gabrielle?" Varia asked as she looked down at the clothes that Angela had made her put on for her first foray into the modern world.

"Yeah? Is something wrong?" Maddy turned to see Varia plucking at her shirt with an odd look on her face.

"Well... do I really have to wear all of this?" the Amazon queen looked at Maddy with a pleading look.

"Jeans and a t-shirt aren't a whole lot of clothing." Maddy put on her large round hippie sunglasses, "especially for early spring."

"If you say so Gabrielle," Varia said with a sigh.

They heard the sound of an engine starting in the distance. Xena stood up off of the lounge chair she had only recently laid down on. "What is that?"

"Oh, that must be one of the new toys that Angela bought this morning," Varia stated enthusiastically.

Maddy lowered her sunglasses and peered over them at Varia, "what 'toys' did she buy this morning?"

"I think she called them..."

"She bought a quad." Xena said flatly as Angie turned the corner and putted straight for the stairs to the deck with a large cooler resting on the front cargo rack and two cases of beer on the rear rack.

Angie turned off the motor. "Listen, you guys unload this and I'll be right back. And be careful lifting that cooler, it's heavy," she said getting off of the bike.

"Angela," Maddy began. "You took her out to go buy a quad? What were you thinking? What if..."

"Stop!" Angela held up a hand to halt her sister's tirade. "I told everyone that she was a cousin from overseas and couldn't speak much English. She played dumb and fooled everyone. Besides... I didn't buy 'A' quad." She smiled and ran around the house.

"Wait..." Maddy turned her attention to Varia and spoke as sweetly as she could, "Varia... honey... what did she mean by that?"

"I no speaken inny Englaish." Varia feigned a heavy foreign accent.

"That's not what I meant." she dripped 'nice' with her words. After straightening her headband and fixing her glasses she went on, "I meant about the 'A quad'� thing."

"Oh that...she bought four." Through pure self preservation, Varia began backing away from Maddy. She could see the change in facial features to a very pissed off Gabrielle.

"What did she need to buy four of them for?" she said raising her voice as she went on.

"She said that... there were a lot of trails... for riding... in those woods over there," she stammered out pointing at the far tree line.

Xena put her hand on Maddy's shoulder. "What are you getting all uppity about? It's not her fault and your sister can buy anything she wants."

"Where is she going to get the money to pay for all of that? There isn't much money teaching Martial Arts. She said so herself a long time ago."

"Maybe she was wrong," Xena replied.

Angela drove the next quad around the house with a large trailer hitched to the back and two more quads perched atop. After shutting down the motor she saw the look on her sisters face. "Don't give me that look Maddy. You're going riding whether you like it or not." She hopped off of the quad and began taking the other two off of the trailer.

"That's not what I'm mad about," the younger sister said folding her arms across her chest.

"Then what?" the raven haired sibling called out from behind the trailer.

"Where are you going to get the money..."

"Oh don't even hand me that crap. I have money, believe me. Master Lao left me with a SIZEABLE inheritance... and the name of an excellent investor." She finished with a big smile.

Maddy looked defeated as she turned to see Xena and Varia standing behind her with smirks on their faces. She threw her hands up in defeat, "fine." Then she stopped and turned back to her sister, "So when are you going to spread the wealth?"

"I just did. I bought you a case of beer and a quad." Angela had the last quad unloaded. "I have to go get the helmets out of my truck," she said as she trotted out of sight.

"I guess we're going riding," Maddy said with a sigh.

"Uhmm, well actually no," Varia began. "Angela said that we would go riding in the woods tomorrow. She said that we would stay in the yard today and make sure that everyone knew how to ride, especially me."

"Sounds good to me," Maddy said with a grin, then turned to Xena who had just popped open a can of beer. "It's cold already?"

"She had two cases already in the cooler. Do you want one?" Xena asked already opening the cooler.

"Yeah, why not. Get one for Varia too."

"Alright, but just one. We gotta keep Varia sober while she's learning to ride. She'�s never been around anything like it before and it could be dangerous."

"Xena..." Maddy sighed. "You don't have to preach to me. I know about the dangers."

Angela came up the stairs with the helmets and placed them on the hand rail of the deck. "Ok Varia, you ready?"

"Hades yes!" She put down her unopened beer and briskly followed Angie to the group of quads.

Over the next half hour Angela had Varia buzzing around the yard with few problems. The rest of the day was spent in light conversation.

The following morning, just after breakfast, they went out riding. Angela led everyone through the fire access roads that criss crossed the many acres of state land that bordered her property. It was an easy ride that they all enjoyed. Upon returning, they cleaned up, ate lunch and made their way back to Angela's studio.

Angela retrieved the Cronus Stone from her safe and went out into the dojo. "Ok Varia, here it is."

Varia took the offered stone and whispered, "thanks."

"If you ever need my help," Angie began quietly. "You know how to find me. Just tell the stone where you need to go, and it'll bring you there. Take care of yourself."

"I will. Besides, I have those two back home waiting for me." She gave a smile to Xena and Gabrielle. "I have had a lot of fun, and part of me doesn't want to return. But I have to..."

Maddy put her hand on the queen's arm. "It's your sense of duty and honor that keeps the Amazons alive. You will go on to be one of the greatest queens that the Amazons will ever know."

Varia gave a lopsided grin, "thanks."

"Oh, and one other thing..." Maddy began...

Varia appeared in the Amazon village less than a candle mark from the time that she had left. "Gabrielle," she called out to the bard who was making her way over with the Warrior Princess in tow.

"Varia, you were gone for a while, what happened?" the bard asked.

Varia related her stay to the bard and warrior. They took everything as best as could be expected.

"Oh, and Gabrielle... one other thing." Varia stated.

"Yes?"

"The future YOU asked me to tell you that she remembers this life as if she just lived it. All of your memories are hers. It's the same for Xena. She said that every couple of lifetimes you'll remember everything... and that is one of them."

The bard thought on this for a moment then asked with slight trepidation, "And how is Angela getting along with her sister?"

"Like sisters that have never been parted. They are happy to have found each other again. Oh, and Xena?" Varia turned to the warrior.

"Yes?" The warrior's voice was like velvet.

"You were truly happy. Maybe you should start being that way now?" The queen finished with a lopsided grin.

"Did I give myself any messages?" the warrior queried.

"You will forgive yourself, just make it sooner than later." Varia said. She smiled inwardly, she had made it up. She hoped that the Warrior Princess would not see through her little ruse. Listening to that little piece of advice could change Xena's life for the better. The Amazon queen watched as Xena seemed to mull this over for a minute.

"Ok. I'll think on your advice Varia," the warrior said with a raised eyebrow and small grin.

"Uhh, Xena?" The bard turned to the warrior. "How do you know you didn't say that?"

The Warrior Princess turned to her friend and looked her in the eye. Quietly she spoke, "because I already have."

The End