I don't own Xena or any of the charaters of Xena but I DO own Dru since she is me! I also don't own any of the songs or spells or anything I use in the fic okie dokie?
Ok on with the fic!
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Dru hummed to her self as she started throwing things into her backpack. "Ok lets see. Water, snacks, a First Aid kit, lip balm, perfume..huh. Why'd I put that in here? Oh well might as well leave it ya never know when ya might want to smell good. Ok where was I? A book, more water, a hair holder, more snacks, a compass, water purification tablets, flashlight. Ok that should be enough to hold me for the afternoon..."
Dru had finely given in. She read tons of Wicca, Pagan, and Witchcraft sites about bonding with nature and had finely just planed a day trip in the woods getting in touch with Mother Earth, Gaea, What ever you want to call it.
She looked though her pack one last time triple checking for anything she thought she's need. "Ok. This is it. For the next few hours I'm going to walk though the woods and try to get in touch with my inner Nature Girl. And if I'm lucky I won't fall down and break anything, get bitten by something deadly, or get eaten by a bear. GO Nature!" She flipped her bangs out of her eyes and opened the door locking it behind her as she walked out heading for the woods just down the street. (A/N yes I really have a forest down the street and yes I've been in it. And NO I've never bought this much stuff with me in RL!)
Dru hummed as she stepped over the gard rail and carefully walked down the steep slope to the forest floor. "I wonder if any cars have ever even fallen down here...I've never heard about it if they have." She muttered as she started walking watching all signs of humans fade behind her. This was nature. No houses, no cars, no people. Just trees, trees, plants, and more trees.
As she walked she breathed deeply enjoying the fresh air and nice foresty smell.
She wondered how people could stand to live in city's with all the smoke, smog, and pollution. She'd lived in the country since she was 5. And it was times like this that she really enjoyed the gift she'd been given to live somewhere so clean and fresh.
She looked around her enjoying the nice not too hot not too cool July afternoon.
She stopped figuring this war far enough out and set her pack down after checking that no poison ivy was around then sat down.
She folded her legs under her and sat crossed legged closing her eyes and relaxing in the nice shady spot.
"Ok let's see...Umm I think this is the point there I get in touch with nature..." Think back to the things she's read. "No to the getting naked thing. I don't care if I'm in the middle of no where these clothes stay on. Sooo umm ok I'll try mediation." She kept her eyes closed and sat up straighter.
"Oooooom. Oooooommmm. Oooooommmmmmmm. Oooooooommmmmmmm."
She kept that up for a few minutes before switching to a spell she'd memorized from a Magick Group.
"Nerves of Steel.
As I will.
Let me be.
Calm and still." She kept quietly chanting for a few minutes feeling her self relaxing. (A/N yes that's a REAL spell. The whole thing is lighting a white candle and holding a cristal of piece of jewelry and chanting that for a few minutes)
When she was feeling really relaxed she moved her hands and rested them on the ground. She breathed deeply and pictured roots growing from her finger tips and palms and spine and rooting them selfs deep in the earth.
She'd tried this and other things before but never felt anything like she did now. A warm tingly feeling flowed all over her body. She felt a feeling of peace and love cover her from head to toe.
"Goddess..." Dru gasped.
She pulled her self back gasping still tingling all over. "Woah...that..that was NOT normal!"
Still breathing hard she pulled her self up. "Ok enough bonding with nature for one day. I'm going home." She glanced down at her watch and saw she'd only been out for half an hour and hadn't even used any of the things she bought but what just happened had freaked her out and she wanted to go back to her nice comfy computer chair.
She grabbed her pack and started back the way she came.
She rubbed at the back of her neck breathing deeply and trying to keep from freaking over what just happened. She was bonding with nature. What did she expect what going to happen?
A few minutes later she stopped looking around confused. "I've been walking for a while now. I should be back at the rail..."
She looked around. Nothing but trees and plants. "Huh...oh well. I'll keep going. I'll either end up back at the rail where I started or on the other side of the mountain and have to walk around to get home."
She kept walking but suddenly had a bad feeling. She chewed on her lip looking around trying to figure out what was wrong.
Suddenly it hit her. Her eyes glued to the ground in front of her. It was a road. A large dirt road. The path though the woods she'd been on. The only one IN the woods was nothing more then a small animal track. This was a well used, large road.
She was almost positive her heart had stopped.
"Oh gods. Oh my freakin' gods! What the hell is going on?!?"
She spun around looking every way. Behind her and in-front only road. No sign of the path she'd been on anywhere.
"Oh this can't be happening! I must have fallen asleep while I was meditating. That's it. I'm asleep right now. And any second I'll wake up and run back home and never try to bond with nature more then planting a new herb in a bucket again!"
She closed her eyes and chanted. "Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up!" Out loud clutching her head.
She eased an eye open and wailed when she saw she was in the same spot on the road.
She covered her face with her hands. "Oh god's what is going on here? How can I get from a small path in the woods next to my house to some strange road?!"
She screamed and jumped a foot in the air when someone touched her arm.
"Uh...miss? Are you ok?" A familiar voice asked.
She spun around and gawked. Joxer. Joxer The Mighty. The cute guy from Xena!
"Do you need help? I'm a Hero you know. I'm Joxer The Mighty! I can help you with whatevers wrong!"
"Oh sweet mother of god. I have to be dreaming!" Dru squeaks still gawking at Joxer who looks confused.
"Umm Sweet Mother of which god? There's a lot of them you know."
Dru shakes her head rubbing her temples. "Oh man. Ok ummm...where am I?" She asks looking up at Joxer.
"We're on one of the roads or Corinth. Where did you think you were?" Joxer asked.
"Umm well. I thought I was on a small path in the woods in Pennsylvania." Dru said looking around glaring at the road.
"Pennsylvania? Where's that?" Joxer asked frowning.
Dru thought for a minute. "Umm it's really, really, really far away from here."
"Oh. Well ok. But if you thought you were in Pennsylvania then how'd you get here?"
"I have no bloody clue. I was taking a walk though the woods trying to get in touch with nature and next thing I know I'm here!"
"Huh. It sounds like something to to with the gods." Joxer mused.
"What?! The gods?!" Dru gasped.
Joxer nodded. "Yeah. Normally when people find them selves somewhere they weren't and things like this it has something to to with a god."
"But-But-But I've never had anything to do with any gods!"
Joxer shrugged and gave her a small smile. "Well the gods have had things to do with you. Come on. We're almost to the city I'll take you to a temple and ask for help."
Dru rubbed her temples and walked along next to Joxer.
********************
As they entered the city Dru looked around still trying to figure out how the hell she ended up in Ancient Greece.
"Ok well we should get you to the temple so you can get home. Umm well Aphrodite is kinda nice so lets see if she'll help."
~Aphrodite? Nice? Are we think about the same Goddess of Love?~ Dru wondered to her self. ~Until the last sucky couple of seasons Aphrodite was pretty much a self centered B- err bica.~
Joxer drags her up the steps to a large Pink Temple. They walk inside and Joxer leads her up to the Statue and alter and kneels down gesturing for her to do the same.
Dru kneels down in front of the alter as Joxer starts to pray. "Oh great goddess Aphrodite. I beg your presence. We are in need of your help oh wonderful beautiful, wise, kind, loving goddess."
~Putting it on kind of thick aren't you.~ Dru thinks as she waits to see if Joxers praying will work.
She blinked in shock as Aphrodite appeared in-front of them. "Hey Joxie! Who's you're little friend?"
"Aphrodite this is...uhh..what did you say your name was?"
Dru rolled her eyes. "Dru. My name is Dru." ~Well not really but I'm not telling anyone my real name.~
"Ok Aphrodite this is Dru. She's from somewhere far, far, far away called Pennsylvania. She needs to get home. Can you help?"
Aphrodite frowned and looked closer at Dru. "What?! Ok who are you and how'd you get here?!" She snapped.
Dru blinked. "Uhh I'm Dru. And I have No clue how I got here."
Aphrodite narrowed her eyes peering at her closely.
"She is sooo not from around here! She's all out of whack! She's like out of temporal sync."
Dru moaned. "Oh man! I HATE Time Travel!! I've watched Star Trek long enough to know rarely done any good come of it!"
Aphrodite and Joxer looked confused. "What's Star Trek?"
"Uh...Never mind. Future thing. Ok how do we go about getting me home? As lovely as it is to be here I'll probably end up screwing up the time line and stopping my self from being born with my luck."
"Hmm. I dunno. This is all like totally not my deal. I'm Love you know? Time junk? Umm I think Zeus outlawed it anyway..."
Dru covered her face with her hands and sighed. "So we have to go to Zeus?"
"Umm maybe 'Pol could help. He's god of the brainy stuff."
"'Pol? As in Apollo? The horny god? No thanks. With my luck and knowing with I know from reading Mary Sues he'd just try to get into my pants. Then if he got me he'd get bored in no time and probably leave me pregnant and alone carrying a Demi god and that's never good. They're always snotty pains in the ass."
Joxer frowned at her. "You shouldn't say mean things like that. I'm sure Lord Apollo wouldn't do that to you and Demi gods aren't Snotty."
Dru turns to Joxer and raises an eyebrow. "No? No offence to Aphrodite but all the gods have dozens of mortal kids running around. Including Aphrodite. I saw that ep with your son, 'Dite. Look at Zeus alone! And Hercules and Xena as examples of snotty Demi gods. Both of them think their better then everyone. Look at how Xena and Gabby treat you! Nothing but abuse! And every time Xena or Hercules wants to talk to a god what do they do? Start yelling and screaming and breaking things. As much as I don't want to be a god sex toy or have one of their kids They ARE gods and better then Xena or Hercules. Without them the world would end."
"Hey! Don't talk about my bro that way! Hercie can be a Royal pain but he's family! Oh but thanks for realising how important we are. No one really knows all we do. They think we just sit around trying to ruin their lives when really we're like way to busy doing our jobs!"
Joxer looked back and forth between Aphrodite and Dru. "Umm Dru? How do you know all of this?"
"Huh? Oh well all this is a...umm...play where I come from."
Joxer nodded at that. "Ok well we still have to find a way to help you back home.
Aphrodite chewed on her lip thinking. "Umm well I guess we should talk to Zeus... Come on. Up to Olympus." She snapped her fingers and in a flash All three of them were gone.
********************
Dru and Joxer both gasped and nearly fell over as they appeared on Olympus. "Jesus Christ! Warn a person before you do that!" Dru yelled glaring at the Love Goddess and batting rose petals out of her face.
Aphrodite waved a hand. "Oh stop. It's not that bad! And who's Jesus Christ?"
Dru rolled her eyes. "He hasn't been born yet. Err at least I don't think so...I'd have to go to Israel to find out."
Aphrodite frowned at her for a minute then seemed to forget it. "Whatever. Come on time to see Daddy Dearest."
Dru and Joxer followed Aphrodite as they walked though the long halls. "So I've always wanted to ask about that. Is Zeus you're dad or not? I mean one place it says You rose from the sea foam, another said you were made from the cut off bits of Uranus, But then you call Zeus dad? So what is it?"
Aphrodite stopped. "What the Tartarus are you talking about?" She asked.
"I read stuff. So what is it? Is Zeus your dad, are you made from foam, is Uranus your dad, or none of the above?"
Aphrodite sighed sounding very put upon. "If you MUST know Zeus and Hera are my parents. I really have no clue where all the other stories came from but it's as simple as Dad and mom having sex. Then came me. The end."
"Oh...well that's rather anti-climatic. I was expecting something like you were formed from Uranus's sperm in the sea and rose fully formed but with the mind of a child and Zeus and Hera took you in so you think of them as mom and dad..."
Aphrodite looks at me strangely. "Where do mortals get these weird ideas....?"
Dru shrugged. "I dunno...."
Aphrodite shook her head and waved her hand. "Never mind lets go." She started walking again.
Dru and Joxer start following her again.
********************
"Ok now both of you. be quiet and behave. Daddy's gonna blow when he finds out that someone pulled a mortal from the future so be ready to duck." Aphrodite warned them as the stood out side the door to Zeus's office.
They both nodded and Aphrodite knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
Aphrodite opened the door and peeked her head around. "Daddy? I....umm well I gotta tell you something."
Zeus looked up from the scroll he was reading. "Yes? What is it?"
Aphrodite cringed slightly and stepped into the room Dru and Joxer following her. "Her. The girl. she...some how got pulled here from the future...Joxie found her."
Zeus looked shocked then outraged. "Who?! Who bought her here and for what?!" He bellowed.
Aphrodite, Joxer and Dru all hit the floor at the same time when he yelled. Aphrodite was the only one brave enough to peek over the desk. "Umm we don't know. She said she was just walking though the woods near her home then suddenly she was in the woods just outside of Corinth. She has no idea how it happened."
Zeus leaned over his desk looking at the cringing waiting to be smiten (A/N Smited? Smote?) Goddess and mortals.
"Young lady. Is what Aphrodite said true? You don't know how you came to be here?" He asked gravely.
Dru nodded wildly. "Yes! Yes! I was in the woods just down the road from my house taking a walk and bonding with nature and doing some mediation then umm well this freaky thing happened I sorta wigged and bolted and then I noticed I wasn't on the path that I'd been on and that it was a big road then Joxer touched my arm and scared a year off my life and I found out I'm in Ancient Greece instead of 2003 USA." She babbled out in a single breath.
Zeus took a moment to translate what she just said then looked at her. "What...'Freaky' thing happened that frightened you?"
"Umm well you see I was meditating and then I felt this...sorta tingling feeling all over my body and like feelings. but they weren't MY feelings. It was like I was feeling what someone else was feeling. Warmth and love and peace and well nothing like that ever happened before and I wigged and grabbed my bag," She gestured to bag by her feet. "and pretty much ran for the path. It wasn't until I noticed that it wasn't a tiny little barely there path but a big road and Joxer touched me that I really realised something was wrong then Jox took me to Aphrodite's temple and she bought us here and that's everything I swear!" Dru was close to hyperventilating from that long speech.
Zeus, Aphrodite, and Joxer all blinked rapidly trying to figure out even half of what she said. "Umm Dru babe You ok? You CAN breath between words ya know." Aphrodite told her.
Dru blushed. "Umm yeah...k."
Zeus sighed and shook his head. This young woman was almost as bad as his grandson Strife. "Alright. We know what happened before she came here but we don't know how or why. And until we find out we can't risk trying to send her back. I'll talk to the Fates see if they had anything to to with this or know anything for know find somewhere to keeps her safe till we know what going on." With that said Zeus disappeared with a bright flash of light.
Aphrodite sagged in relief that no one got killed then straightened. "Ok well you heard the Big Guy. We gotta find some place to keep you till we find a way to get you home. Hmm well I guess you can stay with me and Heph."
Dru thought about that. ~Ok let's see. In just about every fic Aphrodite's temple is all pink, she and Heph and sex manics, and she baby sits Bliss a lot. So do I want to live god knows how long in pink temple with sex manics and a baby? Ummm no.~ "Uhh Well I wouldn't want to put you out. I mean you're a busy goddess! One of the main ones. You must like have no free time as it is let alone have a guest....I-I'll just go back to earth and um do the Hercules, Xena thing of traveling around and junk."
Aphrodite laughed. "Oh don't worry it'll be no problem! The temple has tons of rooms and if somehow I ever run our with a wave of my hand it's bigger. One of the perks of being a Goddess. And Suuuure riiight. Like Daddy wouldn't make my life a living Tartarus if I let you go wandering around done there? It's dangerous and you're not from here. You don't know how to deal with things from here and you'd be killed in no time flat! So NO. You're staying on Olympus. If not with me then with someone else."
Dru pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not gonna get out of this am I?"
Aphrodite shook her head. "Nope."
"Oh alright. I'll stay up here...." Dru sighed.
"Goody! Ooh! I know who you can stay with! Cupie! He's always brooding over that nasty Psyche. It'd be good for him to have another person in the temple! And Bliss just love's company! So it'll work for everyone! Yay!" Aphrodite squealed excitedly.
Dru blinked. "Cupie? As in Cupid? God of Love? THAT Cupid?"
"Well duh! What other Cupid is there? He'll just love having you! I raised him right so he'll be too busy being a good host to sulk! So you get a safe home, he gets out of his funk, and Blissy gets a new friend! Ooooh I am soooo good!" She crowed bouncing in a way that majorly distracted Joxer.
********************
"CUPID! Come here! You have company!" Aphrodite bellowed out before the rose petals even began to settle.
Cupid stalked out from a back room shooting death glares at his mother. "What?! Mom! You don't just come barging into a gods temple with people! That's like totally rude!"
Aphrodite smiled sweetly at her son. "Cupie this is Dru. She was some how sucked here from the future and Zeus is trying to figure out how and why so we can get her home. Till then I need you to watch her for me. 'Kay?"
"WHAT?! You bring a mortal here and just expect me to baby sit?! I have a kid already you know, mom! And I'm a very busy god!"
Both Dru and Joxer were attempting to melt into the wall to avoid the cranky Deity's.
"Oh Cupid relax! She's a wonderful girl and it's not her fault she got pulled here. Think about the poor thing! Yanked a way from her home, her friends, her family! And all I'm asking is that you provide her a safe place to stay till Zeus can find a way to send her home! Look at the poor terrified thing!" Aphrodite cried dramatically pointing at Dru.
Cupid looked over at the young woman who looked like a deer caught in a hunters view. He suddenly felt horribly guilty for not wanting to take the poor thing in. "Look Miss..Ummm what was you name again..Dru? I've been. Umm moody since my wife...well never mind I'm sorry for being so totally rude. Of course you can stay here. We got lots of room."
~I'm never gonna make it. Nope. No way. I'll never get home before one of these guys either frys me or gives me heart failure from fright.~
Aphrodite frowned at her. "Dru sweetie come here. Say Hello to my son Cupid."
She very slowly stepped away from the wall. "Um...Uh....hi."
Cupid grinned at his Mom. "You're right she is a cute kid."
"HEY! I'm not a kid! I'm 18! 18!" Dru yelled her annoyance pushing the fear back for now.
Cupid tried. He really did but he couldn't stop him self from laughing. Aphrodite gave him a glare and a light slap on the back of the head. "Dru we're gods. Cupid here is 300 years old. I'm 1000. Gods are adults at 100. To us you're...well like a baby."
Dru sighed. ~I hate people being older then me. I just hate it.~ "Ok well not that all this fighting isn't fun but do you think Zeus has found a way to get me home yet?"
Aphrodite patted her shoulder. "He'll let us know when he does. Just be patient. It'll happen. If there's a way Zeus will find it."
Cupid smiled. "I'm sure He'll find something soon. Till then you can stay here. I'm sure you'll like it here. I swear I'm really nicer then I've seemed."
"Umm yeah. I know. You're one of the nicer gods. You were even nice to the Harpy."
"The who?" Cupid asked frowning.
"Gabrielle. You know. Short, blond, annoying." Dru said ignoring the glares Joxer was shooting her.
"Oh her! Oh she wasn't so bad...She was kinda nice. Talking about how love is supposed to be soft and gentle and like totally annoying mom." Cupid said remembering.
~How can a 300 year old GOD be no naive?!~
"Well ok since Dru's staying we better find her a room! Hmm And clothes. Like what is up with that weird outfit you're wearing?!" Aphrodite asked with a wrinkled noses and she looked at Dru's black jeans, purple t-shirt, hiking boots, and jewelery.
Dru looked down at her self. "What's wrong with my outfit? It's comfortable, looks nice, and is easy to walk in since I was walking though the woods."
"It's...like grody! And you're a girl! You shouldn't be wearing pants! It's like sooo wrong!"
Dru rolled her eyes. ~Oh gods I've fallen into the time before woman lib. Great. Just great.~
Cupid stepped in before a huge fight could break out. "Umm Ok lets get you settled in and we'll get you some stuff to wear that you like." He said grabbing Dru's arm and half dragging her towards the back.
Aphrodite followed still grumbling about Dru's lack of fashion sense and Joxer followed since everyone had forgotten him and he didn't want to stay there all alone.
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"Ok this one should be good. It's right next to me and Bliss so you won't like be in the middle of no where and you can just ask if you need something." Cupid said as she pushed the door open to show a HUGE room.
Dru's mouth dropped open as she looked at the room. "My god this is bigger then my living room and dining room together!"
Aphrodite and Cupid frowned and looked at the room. "Really? This is a fairly normal sized guest room."
Dru managed to stop gawking and stepped in to he room. "So..umm this is where I'm going to be staying?"
"Yep. So how do you want is decorated? I'll have to do it since you're not a god and can't do it your self."
Dru glanced around and tried not to cringe at all the white. "Umm anything less....bright."
Aphrodite looked shocked and horrified and Cupid wasn't much happier. "You don't like bright?"
"I-I well I'm sortta...gothic. I'm more fond of darker colors. Black, dark green, dark purple, dark red, colors like that. Nothing...cheerful. Cheerful makes my head hurt."
Cupid frowned but snapped his fingers turning the walls dark purple, the ceiling black, with blood red trimming around the room. "How's that?"
Dru's eyes widened. "Wow! Oh my god it's perfect! It's just what i've always wanted and could never talk my mom into!"
Aphrodite looked queasy as she looked around the dark room. "This is what you really like?" She asked sounding disbelieving.
Dru nodded happily grinning walking around looking at the dark walls and trimming. Cupid chucked at the weird girl that was living with him and waved his hand again this time adding a queen sized bed covered in black silk sheets and a blood red blanket. He also made a dresser, a night table, a vanity, and a bookcase all painted black.
Dru grinned happily. "Oh wow this is all totally awesome! I love it!"
Cupid smiled. "Well I'm glad you like it. Let's see what else will you need? Clothes for one. And mom don't even start you've seen how she likes her room she's not gonna want pink clothes!"
Aphrodite closed her mouth but pouted.
Cupid walked over to the dresser and frowned for a minute. He looked at Dru closely and just as she was starting to get freaked out he waved a hand. "That should do it."
"What? What did you do?" Dru asks looking around not seeing any thing happen.
Cupid pulled a draw out. In it was jeans like she was wearing and t-shirts in different colors all dark.
"Ooooh thanks! I was getting scared with Aphrodite there for a minute..."
Aphrodite threw Dru a glare. "Oh like it would hurt you to dress like a girl? You're worse then Artemis or Discord! At least They wear skirts!"
"Aphrodite. I haven't worn a skirt or dress since I was like 12. I'm NOT a girly girl. I like pants. No nasty drafts or risks of flashing people if you get caught by the wind or sit wrong. Plus they're just comfortable. I'm not a skirt person. So give it a rest. You've never going to get me willingly into a dress. I can be feminine and a woman without having to be uncomfortable and annoyed."
Aphrodite looked annoyed and Cupid was trying to keep from laughing at the confrontation between his mother and his new guest.
"Whatever. I gotta jet. Waves to surf, love to make. You know the same old, same old. See ya later!" And with that she disappeared leaving a cloud of rose petals floating to the ground.
Cupid didn't even blink being used to this after 300 years. "Ok Well you much be like totally wiped out so why don't you take a nap or something and rest up and then you can meet Bliss when he wakes up from his nap."
Dru nodded. "Ok. I'll nap then meet Bliss. Good plan."
Joxer slowly raised a hand. "Umm I hate to be a bother but what about me?"
Both Dru and Cupid jumped and looked guilty having forgotten about Joxer. "Jox! Sorry man! I totally forgot!"
Joxer smiled and shrugged. "It's ok. I'm used to it. Xena and Gabby and other people do it all the time."
Dru cringed. ~Oh I'm a bad, bad, bad, bad person. And I SO have to get Joxer more self esteem!~
Cupid was cringing slightly too. "Um ok man where do you want me to send you?"
"Back to Corinth would be nice if it's not too much trouble."
"Sure no prob." Cupid said smiling.
"Bye Jox. Thanks for getting me to Corinth and Aphrodite's temple. I don't know what I would have done with out you." Dru thanked him giving her a hug.
Joxer blushed. "Oh it was no problem. I'm a hero. It's what I do!"
"Well thank you any way."
Cupid smiled. "Ok well lets get you going and let Dru rest. See ya later Jox." Then he snapped his fingers and Joxer was gone leaving small hearts floating in the air.
"See ya later Dru." Cupid said as he walked out of the room closing the door behind him.
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