The Fall of the Gods
By Kristjan Brezovnik

Ares was not happy at all. Ever since Callisto had found that damn family and became a part of it, she had refused to even talk to him. She had completely ignored him! Him, the God of War! And things were going so well.

"Still mad about Callisto?" Discord asked.

Ares glared at her.

"You should chill out, uncle," Strife said and immediately ducked to avoid a fireball.

"He's right, Ares," Discord said. "You've been sitting here for a whole month, feeling sorry for yourself. Why the Tartarus don't you do something about it?"

"Like what?"

"Kill her family," Strife suggested and instinctively ducked, but no fireball came.

"Somebody accidentally put a brain in your head?" Discord asked and turned to Ares. "I think it's a good idea."

"So do I," Ares said thoughtfully. "But I'll have to make certain Callisto doesn't suspect I had anything to do with it. In fact, she has to blame Xena for it."

"I'll bet she's gonna freak out and go on a little rampage," Strife said, excited.

"She won't bother," Discord said. "She'll go straight to Amphipolis and burn down the village."

"Wanna bet?" Strife asked.

Discord gave him a surprised look.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Go bet somewhere else," Ares said, "I have some thinking to do."

Strife and Discord disappeared and left Ares to his plotting.

"Hello, Ares," Hera said when she appeared at his temple several hours later. "Pretty boring taste you got," she said looking around.

"What do you want, Hera?" Ares asked, annoyed.

"I heard an interesting news."

Ares rolled his eyes.

"So?"

"So, I heard you are going to kill Callisto's family and blame it on Xena."

"Who told you that?"

"Those little pests of yours. Half Olympus is betting on what Callisto's reaction will be."

Ares lifted his eyebrows.

"You're kidding."

"No."

"Okay. So, why are you here?"

"I'm prepared to help you."

Ares was surprised.

"I can handle it myself."

"True, but with my help, she won't suspect you, if you choose your words right. All you have to do is to implicate Hercules."

Ares grinned.

"Okay, you have a deal. And just how do you intend to get them killed?"

Her smiled.

"That's simple."

"Hello, Callisto," Ares greeted the ex-Warrior Queen, who was playing with her younger sisters.

Callisto ignored him

"I came to warn you," Ares continued. "Xena and Hercules have been collecting some favors with Zeus. You might want to watch out for any sudden storms. You know, the thunderbolts."

Callisto gave him a murderous look.

"If something happens to my family, I will kill you," she hissed.

"Hey, don't look at me, I have nothing to do with that," he said and disappeared.

Callisto gulped. She knew her family was in danger and she wanted to protect them, but she didn't know how. She knew Ares was lying. She might have believed that Xena was capable of killing her family again, but she knew that Hercules wasn't, he didn't have the guts. And Zeus, she was sure he would never do anything like that unless she seriously threatened him, which she didn't. But she knew Ares was quite capable of killing her family for no reason and since Hercules and Zeus were involved, that meant that Hera probably had something to do with it. She turned to her sisters.

"Girls, let's go inside. Quickly," she said and looked around. "Daddy!" she called her father and winked him to come to her.

Suddenly the sky darkened.

"No!" Callisto screamed, terrified. "Daddy!" she called and ran after the girls.

Suddenly a short shower of thunderbolts came down and wiped out Callisto's family.

Callisto stood still, in shock, staring at the spot where her family had been. Emotions were raging inside of her, fear, anger, despair, hatred, sadness, pain. Finally, all the emotions were gone, replaced by cold determination.

"You're dead," she said quietly. "All of you."

The people stared at her, curious and confused, but she ignored them and went to her house. She changed into her armor and left, ignoring the curious stares of the villagers.

Zeus was not happy.

"Are you crazy, Hera! You just killed a bunch of innocent mortals for no reason."

"Oh, give me a break, Zeus, since when are you so concerned about mortals?"

"I'm the Father of their Gods, remember?"

"A little late to show your fatherly love."

"Hera, one of these days you are going to exhaust my patience."

Hera shrugged and left.

"I don't believe that," Strife shook his head. "Did anyone bet on that reaction?" he asked Discord.

"No."

"Well, at least nobody wins."

"And we don't lose."

"Yeah."

"Have you been to Ares?"

"Are you crazy? He's pissed because his little scheme didn't work."

"He'll get over it."

Callisto approached the young woman whom she knew to be a Golden Hind. The woman curiously observed her as she rarely got to see visitors.

"I need your blood," Callisto told the Hind straight away.

The Hind stared at her, surprised and confused.

"My blood?" she asked. "Why?"

"Because it kills gods."

"What? How..." She stopped herself in time. "That's nonsense. I'm only a servant here."

"You are a Golden Hind and you will give me your blood. One way or the other."

The Hind looked around for some help.

"I can't do that," she said and started to back away.

"Then I will have to kill you," Callisto said and took her sword.

The woman changed into a hind and started to run away, but Callisto took her chakram and threw it after the Hind. The Hind collapsed and Callisto slowly approached her. The Hind stared at her, in pain and afraid, but Callisto ignored her and soaked her weapons in her blood. Then she went to the temple and left the Hind staring after her, confused.

When Callisto entered the temple, the guards tried to stop her, but she disposed of them. Then she waited.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Hello, Callisto," Ares said and grinned. "Nice to see you again."

Callisto stared at him, considering whether she should attack him with her sword or kill him with a dagger. She decided on the dagger as a direct attack would take time and Ares would probably escape. She put away the sword and approached Ares. She tried to be seductive, not wanting Ares to suspect anything.

"You're not still mad about..." Ares started, but was cut off by a dagger in his stomach. "What the..." was all he could say as he looked at his stomach with disbelief before he fell down, dead.

Callisto removed the dagger and then took Ares' sword. She lifted it and felt the divine powers surge through her. Her eyes glistened with insanity for a moment and then became stone cold again. Outside, a thunder reported Ares' death.

She was about to leave when Strife came. He immediately noticed Ares and he examined him.

"You killed him," he declared, astonished.

"Yes," Callisto confirmed and watched as he approached her.

"You will pay for..." Strife started and a fireball started to appear in his hand, but Callisto didn't wait and she threw her dagger at him.

Strife collapsed, astonished.

"What..." was all he could say before he died.

Callisto removed her dagger and left the temple, ignoring the thuder.

Outside, she noticed that the other Hinds took care of their wounded friend and were now watching her. Callisto didn't care about them, they were not gods, and she left to find the next tool.

On Olympus, the gods were outraged.

"Silence!" Zeus finally yelled and added a thunder for emphasis.

"What happened, Zeus?" Demeter demanded. "Two of us dead within a minute!"

"I don't know what happened. I sent Discord to find out."

"Discord," Apollo said, disgusted.

"She knows Ares' temple best and the people there. She... Discord!"

"It was Callisto," Discord immediately reported. "She has the blood of a Golden Hind."

"What?!"

The gods were outraged again.

"And Ares' sword is gone!" Discord yelled over the noise.

The noise died for a moment and then started all over again, this time louder. This time Zeus didn't bother to yell, he just made two thunders and the gods shut up.

"Artemis, your Amazon Queen knows Callisto. Tell..."

"No," Artemis interrupted him.

"What?" Zeus said, surprised.

"I will not involve mortals into our affairs."

"Are you refusing my order?"

"Yes."

Zeus stared at her for a few moments.

"We will talk about this later," he finally said and turned to Hera. "Send out your killers."

Hera smiled.

"I will," she said and turned to other gods. "Tell your followers to find Callisto."

Hercules and Iolaus were on their way to a solstice festival when, as usually, a gang of dirty thugs spoiled the pleasantness of their walk. They gave each other the here-we-go-again look as they prepared for fight.

"You take the shorty and his group," Iolaus said.

Hercules glanced at him, his eyebrows raised.

"Are you sure?

"Yeah. I need to vent some of my internal pressures, like that old lady said. You remember?"

"The one with the big... thing on her nose?"

"Yep, that's the one."

"Okay, suit yourself."

The thugs got closer, wearing what they thought to be intimidating grins. Their leader obviously planned a surrender-or-be-beaten speech, but Iolaus spared him from it by kicking him in the groin and the man doubled over. His friends didn't like that and they attacked. As agreed, Hercules concentrated on the shorty and his group and Iolaus vented his internal pressures on the larger guys. The thugs, however, didn't care about Iolaus' internal pressures and mostly concentrated on Hercules, recognizing him as the more dangerous of the two. Not that Iolaus minded as he had a hard workout with his group.

Suddenly a fire appeared out of nowhere and when it dispersed, a woman stood there. The fight stopped.

"Callisto," Hercules and Iolaus said in unison, surprised.

Callisto looked at the thugs.

"Beat it."

The thugs wanted to object, but something about Callisto told them that they better leave or else.

"What do you want, Callisto?" Hercules asked when the thugs were gone.

Callisto stared at him for a few moments before responding.

"You will do for the moment," she said and approached him.

Iolaus stepped closer to Hercules, ready to fight Callisto. Callisto gave him a cold look.

"Go away," she told him, but Iolaus didn't listen, so she shot a fireball at him.

"Iolaus!"

Hercules ran to his friend, who was thrown away and was lying unconscious on the ground.

"He'll be fine," Callisto said and kept approaching Hercules.

"What do you want from me?" Hercules asked and got up.

"Just your presence."

"Why?" Hercules asked and started to back off.

"I need to talk to Zeus," Callisto said and went to Iolaus.

"About what?"

"None of your business."

"What do you mean? It must... Hey, leave him alone!"

Callisto picked Iolaus up with one hand and then turned to Hercules.

"Come here or I'll break his neck," she said.

Hercules reluctantly approached her. Callisto observed him and then, when he got close enough, zapped him with a fireball. She let go of Iolaus, letting him crash to the ground, and went to Hercules, who was trying to get up, but was too dazed. She zapped him again, sending him into the land of dreams. When she got to him, she picked him like she did Iolaus.

"Zeus!" she then called. "Zeus!"

She waited.

Finally Zeus appeared and Callisto could see fear in his eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to sound authoritative.

"Your power," Callisto said.

"What?" Zeus was outraged. "You can't..."

"Or Hercules dies," Callisto interrupted him.

Zeus gulped and considered his options. Callisto waited.

"How do I know you won't harm Hercules."

"If I wanted to harm Hercules, he would be dead now."

Zeus considered some more and then finally sighed.

"Okay," he said, his head low.

Callisto extended her hand toward him and thunders filled the air. Callisto felt Zeus' power rush through her body. She let go of Hercules, letting him fall to the ground, and slit Zeus throat. The sky darkened again and the ground shook. In the distance, a vulcano erupted. Callisto concentrated and a few long moments later, the ground calmed and the vulcano died. Then she disappeared.

In the Underworld, Persephone had just returned from Tartarus. She knew Hades didn't want her to go there, but she went there anyway and secretly tried to ease the pain of some of the souls.

"Callisto," she said, surprised. "I didn't..."

Callisto stopped her by slitting her throat and proceeded to Hades' office without a backward glance.

When she got there, Hades was about to leave his office, feeling that something was wrong.

"Callisto?" Hades said, surprised, and reached for his sword. "What are..."

Callisto quickly stabbed him. Hades fell to the ground and Callisto went into his office to get his Helm of Invisibility. Then she vanished.

This time, the gods were scared. Barely a day had passed and already five of them were dead. And not only were they dead, they were killed, murdered!

"We have to do something, Hera," Poseidon said.

"And what do you propose we do?" Hera said angrily. "I have sent out word to all my servants and so have you. The moment Callisto shows herself, we will know about it. Until then, we are helpless. The only thing we can do is stay together. She won't attack all of us."

"I have other things to do," Apollo said.

"So do I, but right now I don't care about the mortals."

"She has a point," Aphrodite said.

"By the way, where is Demeter?" Hephaistos asked.

The gods looked around, but Demeter was not there.

Callisto walked through the ruins of her first home, nothing but ashes. Suddenly she felt that there was someone hiding in the ruins. She knew it was no god, but she wanted to know who it was. She considered the village, or what was left of it, her property.

She went straight for the hiding place and removed the debris. Beneath was a young girl in shackles, staring at her, scared. Callisto stared at her, old memories coming back. Then she heard noise and looked around. She noticed a band of slavers. They were leading a group of girls and were obviously looking for someone. Callisto looked back at the girl and noticed that she was even more scared.

"There she is!" someone suddenly called.

Callisto looked at the man and then back at the main group.

"Shall we get her too?!" another slaver asked and Callisto looked at him.

"Yes!" the leader called.

Callisto watched as a small group of slavers came closer. They were grinning at her and at each other, thinking she would be an easy prey. Callisto waited until they were close enough and then shot off a couple of fireballs, killing them all. She hated slavers. Then she went to the main group.

"Get her!" their leader ordered angrily and Callisto saw that he was terrified.

Another group of slavers came and Callisto fired another round of fireballs. When the leader saw that, he realized that it was time to retreat. Unfortunately for him, it was already too late. Callisto fired another round of fireballs and killed the rest of the slavers, except their leader. The leader wanted to run away, but he was too terrified to move.

"I hate slavers," Callisto told him matter-of-factly and then stabbed him.

The man doubled over and Callisto quickly took his keys before he collapsed on the ground.

"Go home," she told the girls and threw them the keys.

The girls quickly started to unlock their shackles.

"My, how noble."

Callisto turned.

"Demeter," she said.

"You bitch. You killed my daughter!"

"Yes," Callisto admitted.

"You'll pay for it!" Demeter screamed and attacked with a volley of fireballs, which Callisto avoided.

The freed girls saw that there was going to be a fight and they quickly started to run away, unlocking their shackles as they ran.

Callisto didn't bother to return the fire, she merely avoided being hit, waiting for Demeter to exhaust herself. She didn't have to wait long as Demeter was blinded by her anger. When Demeter finally stopped for a moment to regain her strength, Callisto teleported herself behind Demeter and stabbed her with her dagger. Demeter turned around, surprised, and then fell down as thunder announced the death of another god. The sky darkened as Demeter no longer controlled the seasons and the clouds became heavy. Callisto concentrated and just as the first snowflakes reached the ground, the clouds started to disperse.

When the seasons were back in order, Callisto stared at the dead goddess for a few moments and then looked around. The girls were already gone, all except one. She returned to the girl she had discovered earlier.

"Go home," she told her.

"I... I don't have a home," the girl said, scared.

Callisto stared at her for a few moments.

"Come with me," she finally said and kneeled beside the girl to pick her up, but the girl backed off, scared. "I won't hurt you," she said. "I promise. Do you want a new home?"

The girl slowly nodded.

"Then come."

Callisto opened her arms and the girl slowly came closer. Callisto took her into her arms, touched the shackles, which fell off, and then they disappeared.

Just as they did, one of the minor gods appeared, looked around and then vanished again.

"Who are you?" Hecuba demanded when a strange blond woman with a ragged girl walked into her kitchen.

Callisto put the girl down.

"Take care of her," she said.

"What?" Hecuba was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Take care of her," Callisto repeated.

Hecuba looked at the girl and smiled. Then she looked back at Callisto.

"Why don't you take care of her?" she asked.

"I can't."

"Are you her mother?"

"No."

"Doesn't she have a family?"

"No."

Hecuba sighed.

"Why me?" she asked. "I can't..."

"You did a good job with Gabrielle."

Hecuba was surprised.

"How do you know Gabrielle?" she asked.

"I killed her husband."

Hecuba stared at her, astonished.

"Callisto."

"Yes," Callisto confirmed. "Take care of her," she said again. "Please."

Then she vanished.

Hecuba stared at the empty air where Callisto had stood a moment ago, confused. Then she looked at the girl, who was staring at her, scared and confused. Hecuba kneeled and smiled.

"Hi, my name is Hecuba," she introduced herself. "What's yours?"

"Aegle," the girl said.

"Well, Aegle, welcome to my house. Do you want to live here?"

The girl was confused.

"Tell you what," Hecuba said, "you will stay here for a while and then you will decide of you want us to be your family. Okay?"

Aegle nodded and Hecuba smiled.

"Come, let's get you washed first and then you'll meet my husband and my younger daughter. Okay?

Aegle nodded and Hecuba took her hand.

"Come."

The sea was usually a blur of activities, especially Poseidon's palace, although mortals were not usually aware of that fact. Now, however, all activities seemed to have ceased as all the see inhabitants felt that something was seriously wrong.

Callisto entered Poseidon's palace and was surprised by the lack of security. She thought that by now all gods would be heavily guarded.

"Stop! Who are you?!" someone suddenly demanded.

Callisto looked at the newcomer, who was obviously a god.

"And who is that?" she asked and pointed behind him.

The god turned and Callisto threw her dagger at him.

"There..." the god started but was stopped by the dagger in the heart. "What..." was all he could say before crashing to the ground, accompanied by a thunder.

Callisto then turned, feeling the presence of another god.

"Triton!" he exclaimed when he saw Triton dead on the ground.

Callisto vanished and reappeared behind his back. Poseidon quickly pulled himself together and managed to deflect Callisto's dagger. Callisto took her sword and put away her dagger. She then threw her chakram away from Poseidon, confusing him. She took her dagger again and attacked Poseidon again. Poseidon barely avoided the initial attack, still confused by the chakram. He defended himself with his trident and forgot about the chakram. Callisto counted on that and got him into position where the chakram wounded Poseidon in his left arm. Poseidon grabbed his wound and felt his powers leave him. Callisto caught the chakram and then went to Poseidon and took away his trident and his seashell horn and was gone before Poseidon died.

She reapeared on a cliff overlooking the sea. She saw that the winds began to blow and in the distance a tsunami was approaching the shore. She concentrated and the tsunami started to lose its height until it was nothing more than a little wave. The winds also calmed down and Callisto disappeared again.

In the Underworld, in Tartarus to be exact, the bad guys felt that something was wrong and they decided to check out if there might be a way out of there. Sisyphus was the boldest and when he saw no guards, he went straight to Hades' office while Toxeus decided to go play in the Elysian Fields.

Callisto felt that there was something wrong in the Underworld and decided to take the time to check it out. She knew that some of the bandits had gone to the Elysian Fields, but she also knew that someone had gone to Hades' office, probably looking for the Helm of Invisibility. She kicked the door open and saw Sisyphus jerk at the sound, surprised.

"Time to go back, Sisyphus," she said and sent a fireball at him, which transported him back to Tartarus.

Then she went to the Elysian Fields and also sent the bandits back. When all were back in Tartarus, she closed the gates and made herself visible to all of the inmates.

"One of you tries to escape again," she said in icy voice, "your current pain will seem like sheer ecstasy compared to what I will do to you."

She made sure each and every one of the inmates felt her gaze. It was emotionless, but it still made even the most evil demons in the deepest part of Tartarus shiver. Then she vanished.

The Amazons and Xena were gathered in council with Gabrielle presiding when their patron goddess appeared. They all immediately went to their knees.

"Gabrielle," Artemis said and Gabrielle looked up.

"Goddess. How may we serve you?"

"Simple, by not getting yourselves involved in our fight," Artemis said and Xena could feel that Artemis was scared.

"What is going on, Artemis?" she asked.

"Callisto," Artemis said.

"Callisto?" Xena and Gabrielle asked in unison.

"Yes. It's a long story, but right now her goal in life is apparently to exterminate all gods. She already killed fifteen of us."

"What?!"

"So that's why the weather has been so weird lately?" Xena asked.

"Yes," Artemis confirmed and looked at Gabrielle. "When she comes after me, I want you to stay out of the fight. So far she has only killed gods and those who had attacked her. She even left Hercules alive."

"Hercules?" Xena asked.

"She used him as a bait for Zeus."

"Zeus is dead?" Gabrielle asked in awe.

"And Ares and Hades and Poseidon and so on. When..." She paused when another thunder announced the death of another go. "Sixteen," Artemis commented. "Seventeen," she corrected herself as another thunder followed the first. "Gabrielle, my last order to you and the Amazons is to stay out of the fight, no matter what happens."

"What do you mean, your last order?"

"I will not survive this fight."

"We can help you, distract her."

"No," Artemis said firmly. "I don't..." She stopped and looked around. "She's here," she said and looked back at Gabrielle. "Get out of here. Now."

"But..."

"Go!" Artemis ordered and took her bow and arrows.

"Go, Gabrielle," Xena said, "I'll..."

"No, Xena," Artemis interrupted her.

"You can't order me," Xena pointed out.

"I know," Artemis said. "But I'm asking you. Gabrielle and the Amazons will need help after I'm gone. Please."

Xena sighed and finally nodded.

"Come, Gabrielle."

"Amazons, leave!" Gabrielle ordered and the Amazons immediately obeyed.

Xena and Gabrielle followed them, but Gabrielle stopped at the edge of the village.

"Gabrielle..."

"I want to watch," she said.

"Okay," Xena agreed and together they watched as Artemis attacked Callisto with her arrows, but Callisto avoided them by teleporting herself out of their way and using Artemis as a shield. Artemis stopped shooting, having to avoid being hit by her own arrows, and took a sword. She didn't normally use sword, but she put it on for the occasion and hoped that she wasn't out of practice.

But she was and Callisto easily pushed her around, sending her straight into the path of her own arrows. Artemis staggered when the first arrows hit her and Callisto grabbed her and held her until all arrows hit home.

Gabrielle wanted to go and help Artemis, but Xena grabbed her and held her.

Callisto was about to stab Artemis when she suddenly felt the presence of another god. She let go of Artemis and turned around just in time to catch an arrow from Eros. She cut it in two and the threw her chakram at him. Eros managed to fire off one more arrow before he was forced to move out of the way of Callisto's chakram.

Callisto stepped aside and let Eros' arrow hit Artemis in the head. She then quickly slit Artemis' throat and teleported herself behind Eros. Eros was lucky enough to have turned around while avoiding the chakram and he managed to avoid being stabbed. He quickly teleported himself out of the way.

"After I kill you, I will kill your wife and your baby!" Callisto called after him and watched him as he fiercely tried to calm himself down, so he wouldn't change into the green-eyed monster. "They will die slowly and in pain!"

Callisto caught the chakram, teleported herself to Artemis' corpse, took her bow and shot a couple of arrows at Eros, who was trying not to transform into the monster.

"No!" Eros screamed as he avoided the first arrow, but was hit by the rest.

Callisto quickly teleported herself to him and stabbed him.

"No!!" Aphrodite screamed furiously and attacked her with some powder.

Callisto exhaled forcefully, sending the powder back to Aphrodite, who did not expect such a quick response. Callisto then quickly threw her dagger at Aphrodite, who was dazed by her own powder.

Xena and Gabrielle stared at Callisto and the three dead gods. They were both shocked, even Xena, after all, you don't get to see three gods die every day.

Callisto then retrieved her dagger and took Aphrodite's belt. Then she took Artemis' and Eros' bows and arrows and vanished. Only thunders reported the deaths.

Nothing moved for a while and then Xena and Gabrielle slowly returned to the village, both ready to fight. But there was no need for caution as the three gods were dead and Callisto had no interest in the Amazons.

Gabrielle went to Artemis' corpse and stared at it for a while. Then she looked at the corpses of Eros and Aphrodite.

"Make three funeral pyres," she told no one in particular, but she knew that the Amazons were near and that they heard her.

Then she went slowly to her throne, sat down and contemplated. Xena considered talking to her, but she decided to leave her alone for the moment.

Psyche knew that Eros was dead and she also knew that she was next. But unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about and so she waited.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Callisto," she said, terrified.

"I'm sorry," Callisto said as she slowly approached her, her sword drawn.

Psyche's eyes went wide open and she turned away, trying to protect Bliss, but Callisto pushed her sword through her back, piercing both Psyche and Bliss. She stared at Psyche for a few moments and then left.

After the funeral ceremony, after the pyres burned out and only ashes remained of the three gods, Xena decided to talk to Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle?"

"Hm?" Gabrielle said, still staring at the ashes.

"Come, we need to talk."

Gabrielle absentmindedly followed Xena to her hut.

"Gabrielle, I will go to Cirra tomorrow."

Gabrielle snapped out of her thoughts.

"What? Why?"

"I want to talk to Callisto. I need to know what is going on."

"But she hates you."

"I know. Still, I have to talk to her."

Gabrielle nodded.

"And what will you do?" Xena asked her.

"I don't know," Gabrielle said. "Probably mourn."

"You promise you won't go on some suicidal revenge hunt?"

Gabrielle smiled.

"I promise. I just hope the Amazons won't demand revenge."

Xena smiled encouragingly.

"I'm sure you can talk them out of it."

Gabrielle smiled.

"I hope so."

"And send your mother a message that you won't come back so soon."

"Yes, that's a good idea."

"Where is Apollo?" Hera asked when the god in question didn't show up at the meeting.

No one knew.

"He's probably looking for Callisto," Discord said. "He's been pretty pissed off after she killed Artemis."

"Damn fool," Hera said angrily. "We all want her dead."

"Does anyone have any idea where she'll strike next?" Celesta asked.

"No," Athena said. "I've tried to analyze her pattern of attack, but there isn't one, except that so far she had mostly killed gods in their own domains."

"Cirra," Proteus said and everybody looked at him, surprised, which made him wrap his cloak around him even tighter.

"What do you mean?" Celesta asked encouragingly.

"She will be in Cirra tomorrow."

"How do you know?" Hera asked.

"I changed into an Amazon and found out that Xena is going to Cirra to talk to Callisto. Xena will get to Cirra tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"The question is, will Callisto want to talk to Xena?" Athena said.

"Let's hope so," Discord said. "I'm getting tired of this shit."

Hera looked at her angrily.

"We all..." she started, but stopped when another thunder reported the death of another god.

"Twenty-seven," Athena said absentmindedly and everybody shot angry looks at her. "Sorry."

"Hephaistos, how are you proceeding with the traps?" Hera asked.

"I have six so far and I will have another one, maybe two, by tomorrow. But I will need some help setting them up, so Callisto won't notice them."

"You will get it." She turned to Hermes. "Hermes, go find Apollo."

Callisto knew that Apollo was ripe for the taking as he wanted to avenge his sister's death. Callisto decided to use that and finish him off. She went to his temple and when his party friends saw her, they ran away.

"You!" Apollo said angrily. "You'll pay, bitch!"

He summoned his hover-board and a sword and flew toward her. Callisto calmly stood her ground as she slowly took her sword. She knew he was no match for her, especially because he was a bit tipsy at the moment. Then, when he got close enough, she side-stepped, kicked his board and tried to wound him, but he was lucky enough to just barely avoid being wounded. He flew through the air and crashed on the other side of the temple.

Callisto teleported herself to him and attacked him. Apollo managed to deflect two strikes before the third left a deadly scar on his cheek. Apollo put his hand over it. Callisto wanted to leave, but she felt that another god was approaching, by the sound of it, she figured it was Hermes.

And it was. The messenger god arrived only a few moments after she hid herself.

"Apollo!" he called. "Apollo, where are... Oh, no. Apollo!" Hermes ran to Apollo to help him, but Apollo was dead. "No. Damn."

Then he suddenly felt a presence of another god behind him and realized that the thunder he had heard less than a minute ago reported Apollo's death and so Callisto could well still be around. He quickly turned around and ran straight into Callisto's dagger.

"Oops," he said and looked at his wound.

When he fell down, Callisto removed his shoes and left.

"Twenty-nine," Athena quietly told no one as she prepared her armor.

"Callisto!" Xena called when she got to Cirra. "Callisto, I need to talk to you!"

She walked around and saw the burn marks of fireballs and scorched bodies of slavers. Demeter's body was long gone.

"Callisto!" she called and turned as she felt the presence of a god. "Callisto."

"What do you want?"

Xena stared at Callisto for a few moments before responding. There was something disturbing about her, even more unsettling than her insanity and it made Xena feel very uneasy.

"What is going on?" she finally asked. "Why are you killing the gods?"

"They need to pay for their sins."

"What do you mean?" Xena asked, confused.

"It's time they accept responsibility for what they did," Callisto said. "And what they didn't do," she added.

"I don't understand."

"They killed my family," Callisto explained and for a moment Xena could see pain and insanity in Callisto's eyes.

She gulped, knowing that Callisto was very touchy about the subject of her family.

"Eh, I thought I killed you family," she said carefully.

Callisto stared at her for a few moments before responding.

"Not that family."

Xena was confused.

"I don't understand."

"I found another family and they murdered them for their own amusement," Callisto explained and this time the pain and insanity lingered in Callisto's eyes longer than before.

"I'm sorry," Xena said.

Callisto just stared at her.

"And what will you do after you kill all gods?"

Callisto thought about it.

"I haven't decided yet."

"And the mortals?"

"I don't care about the mortals."

"I see," Xena said and considered whether she should ask the next question or not. "And me?" she decided to ask.

Callisto stared at her for a few moments.

"I won't bother you if you won't bother me," she then said.

"Bother as in talk or bother as in attack?"

Callisto started at her again, not sure what she and Xena could talk about, but she decided to leave that option open.

"As in attack."

"I see. And what..."

Suddenly Callisto looked up.

"Go. Now!"

"What is it?"

"The gods are coming. Go."

Callisto took her sword and prepared for the fight. She looked at Xena, who was obviously considering whether she should help her.

"Go, Xena," she said.

Xena stared at her for a few moments and then nodded.

"Good luck," she said and left.

Callisto stared after her for a while, not sure how she felt, and then turned to the first god who dared to attack her. It was a minor got and she killed him easily.

"Callisto," suddenly someone said.

Callisto turned, surprised to hear the voice.

"Mama," she whispered.

"Come here, Callisto," Arleia invited her with her arms wide open.

Callisto slowly approached her. She was shocked by her mother's appearance at first, but then she realized that it couldn't be her mother since she was in the Elysian Fields. She realized it must be one of the gods. She faked her happiness and when she got closer, she stabbed the god.

"Proteus," she said as the god assumed his original form.

"Get her!" Hera ordered and a group of minor gods led by Athena attacked Callisto.

Xena watched from afar as fireballs exploded all over the place and thunders reported deaths of gods. She watched the weather change violently as the forces of nature became misaligned when the gods died and Callisto took over. She was surprised when she realized that she was on Callisto's side.

Callisto fought with cold determination. She saw that the gods were no fighters and that as soon as Hera and Athena and maybe Discord were out of the way, the rest would be a piece of cake. Then she noticed Hephaistos in the distance, hiding among the ruins, and she knew that all things were not the way they seemed. She teleported herself over to him and noticed that he was setting up a trap. She quickly killed him and then the two minor gods who were trying to protect him. Then she felt a stab in the back and quickly turned, slicing her attacker's neck. It was Discord and her sword remained stuck in Callisto's body because she had turned so fast that Discord didn't even manage to pull it out yet.

Callisto quickly teleported herself on the other side of the village and pushed the sword back and then pulled it out. She quickly beheaded a minor goddess who was stupid enough to attack her by herself and then threw Discord's sword at Athena, who deflected it with her shield.

Suddenly Callisto felt that she had fallen into a trap. Although it looked like an ordinary animal trap, it could hold a god captured and supposedly only Hephaistos could open it.

"Attack!" Athena ordered.

Callisto fired several volleys of fireballs and then another couple at the trap. When it did nothing to free her, she fired another couple of volleys at the gods and then cut her foot from her leg. She quickly grabbed the foot and vanished just as several swords pierced her body.

Hera screamed furiously.

Callisto reappeared far away, still holding her foot. She ignored the pain, sat down and reattached her foot. She had to wait for a couple of moments for her divine powers to kick in. When the foot was reattached, she got up and looked at herself. She was a mess. She concentrated and fire engulfed her. When it was gone, she looked as good as new.

She looked around and saw that a vulcano had erupted. She concentrated and calmed it. Then she looked around again. It was time to move on.

After the thunders had ceased, Xena waited for a while and then headed back to Cirra. When she got there, the ruins were almost gone and there were new bodies lying on the ground, dead gods. There was a single person walking among the dead and Xena recognized her to be Celesta. She approached.

"Xena," Celesta greeted her and Xena could see that she was tired and scared.

"Hello, Celesta. How did it go?"

"Not good. Callisto escaped and many gods have died."

Xena looked around.

"Is that Discord?

Celesta nodded.

"And there is Hephaistos over there. Callisto caught him as he was setting up his last trap."

"Trap?"

"Yes, he made eight of them. Fortunately for us, Callisto fell into one of them and barely managed to escape."

"I see," Xena said, looking around. "How did you know Callisto was going to be here?"

"Proteus changed into an Amazon and went to their village. He found out that you were coming here and that you wanted to talk to Callisto."

"I see. And what's the score?"

"Score? Oh. I don't know. I think Athena said something around forty. Forty-four, I think."

"I see. Well, good luck."

Celesta smiled bitterly.

"Thanks."

Xena left.

Just when she left the village, Callisto came. Celesta stared at her, terrified. She knew she was no fighter. Callisto teleported herself closer to Celesta and stabbed her with her dagger. She took Celesta's candle before Celesta started to collapse. Then she left.

Gabrielle was relieved when she saw that Xena was okay.

"How did it go?" she asked after they broke the hug.

"Okay," Xena said.

"Have you any idea about what was going on yesterday? We heard so many thunders."

"The gods attacked Callisto at Cirra."

"What? And how did it go?"

"She killed a few gods and then had to escape."

"Oh. Did you talk to her?"

"Yes. She had found another family, but the gods killed them, so now she's making them pay."

"All of them?"

"She feels that they are all responsible, including those who didn't do anything about it."

"Oh."

"How are the Amazons doing?"

"Fine, I guess. They were pretty upset about Callisto killing Artemis and some of them wanted revenge, but I talked them out of it."

Xena smiled.

"I knew you could."

"For now."

After killing Celesta, Callisto rested for a couple of days and only killed minor gods from time to time and removed Hephaistos' traps from Cirra. Now, however, it was time to kill some of the more powerful gods. She slowly got up, no emotions visible on her face. She looked around and then vanished.

Hera was holding another meeting on Olympus when thunders started to report that more gods were dying. The gods shut up, discouraged by the very sound of thunders. They were being exterminated and they knew that there was probably nothing they could do about it. For the first time in their long lives they were terrified and Athena's absentminded counting made the things even worse.

"Shut up, Athena!" Hera ordered.

Athena jerked and shut up, but in her mind she continued to count.

Suddenly a goddess appeared and all the gods backed off, afraid it might be Callisto.

"Apate! What happened?"

"Hera," Apate said and tried to calm down. "Nyx, Themis and Astarea are dead. And I think Morpheus and Nemesis too."

"Damn," Hera said and clenched her fists helplessly.

Another thunder announced the death of another god, which made the gods even more depressed. Suddenly Callisto appeared, stabbed Apate and a minor goddess who was standing near her and disappeared. The gods didn't even move, they were so astonished.

"Gabrielle, your messenger is back," Xena told her friend when she entered the hut.

Gabrielle looked up from her writing.

"Send her in."

Xena stepped aside and let the messenger in.

"I have delivered the message, my Queen. Here is a message for you."

"From my family?" Gabrielle asked, excited, as she took the letter from the Amazon.

"Yes, my Queen."

"Thank you. You may leave."

"Yes, my Queen."

Gabrielle waited until the Amazon was gone and then looked at Xena.

"Did your soldiers call you Princess all the time?" she asked.

Xena smiled.

"No."

"Lucky you. They keep throwing the Queen at my face."

Xena laughed.

"Then do something about it."

"Like what?"

Xena smiled cunningly.

"That's what you have to find out by yourself."

Gabrielle pouted and then opened the letter.

"It's from Lila," she reported and read it.

As she read it, her expression turned from expectation to surprise.

"What is it?" Xena asked, concerned.

Gabrielle didn't immediately respond and she read the letter to the end first.

"Looks like I have a new sister," she then said.

Xena was confused.

"A new sister?"

"Yes," Gabrielle said, rereading the letter. "Apparently Callisto brought her to my mother and told her to take care of her."

"Callisto?" Xena asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"But why? And why to your mother?"

"I don't know, it doesn't say." She looked at Xena. "Can you imagine that?"

"Well, this is Callisto we're talking about."

"Yeah," Gabrielle said and looked up as another thunder reported the death of another good. "Speaking of Callisto."

"Mhm."

"What's the score?

"I think about 80. I lost count at 68."

"Wow." More thunders reported the death of more gods. "Here we go again."

Hera remained on Olympus. When Callisto started to appear and kill gods right at the seat of their power, most of them ran away, only a few remained. Those few, including Athena, were soon killed and she remained alone. She called her creatures and servants, so they would keep her company and distract Callisto when she came to kill her. She heard the thunders as they reported death of one god after another. She and the Fates were the only ones left of the elder gods, others were dead. There were only a few minor gods left, hiding all around the realm, and when they were gone, she would be next.

The longer she listened to the thunders, the more depressed she felt. Finally the thunders ceased and Hera knew that Callisto would soon come.

"Silence!" she ordered and everybody shut up. "Callisto is coming, so be ready."

Everyone took their weapons and they waited.

But, Callisto took her time. She figured that Hera would be scared and would have help, so she decided to wait a while for the guards and servants to get tired and insecure. When she finally decided that it was time to kill Hera, she teleported herself to Olympus.

"Get her!" she heard Hera order.

Callisto didn't even bother to look around. She knew that they were not gods and that she could kill them easily. She spinned on her toes, firing fireballs. Waves of fire appeared from her body and engulfed her attackers.

When most of them were dead, dying or recovering from wounds, she stopped. Suddenly she felt danger and sidestepped, just barely avoiding being stabbed by Hera. She grabbed her arm and broke it. Then she took her dagger and turned around, trying to slit Hera's throat, but Hera stepped back and fired a fireball at her. Callisto jumped aside, but was still singed.

"You're not the only one with Hind's Blood, Callisto," Hera said as she nursed her arm. "You're going to pay."

Callisto calmly stared at her. Then she slowly raised her arms. Nothing happened for a moment as Callisto concentrated, but then a huge fireball shot out. Hera tried to avoid it, but was too slow and fire engulfed her. She screamed in pain as her body was reduced to ashes. Callisto slowly approached her and waited for the ashes to form a body again.

When Hera's ashes finally became a body again, Callisto stabbed it and a thunder announced the death of the Queen of the Gods. Only the Fates were left now.

The three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, were weaving life threads as usually when Callisto came.

"Callisto..." Clotho started.

"...you cannot..." Lachesis continued.

"...kill us," Atropos finished.

"If you do..."

"...no one..."

"...will be able to die."

"Fools. This world can run itself, without gods." She looked at the thread they were holding. "You're holding my thread," she observed. "Good."

She took her sword and approached the Fates.

"No..."

"...you cannot..."

"...do this!"

Callisto ignored them and cut her own thread. She flinched, but her divine powers saved her from death.

"Now it's your turn," she said and swung her sword at the Fates, slitting Clotho's neck and making two slits across the chests of Lachesis and Atropos.

Three thunders announced the death of the three Fates, the last of the original gods. The weather was extremely violent as the forces of nature were now completely out of balance. Callisto returned to Olympus and concentrated. Slowly, the weather calmed down.

But, there was one other god still in existence beside Callisto and Callisto decided to pay her a visit.

Velasca fought the lava, trying to find a way out, but there didn't seem to be one. It was boring and it infuriated her. At first, she had Callisto for company, but then Callisto mysteriously disappeared and she was left alone. She heard the thunders and felt that something serious was going on, but she was too busy to care.

Suddenly she saw light and she knew it was a way out.

When she materialized on the edge of the lava pit, she wanted to stretch, but when she noticed Callisto, her eyes glistened with anger and she wanted to attack her. However, with her powers returning and because she didn't have to worry about the lava anymore, she noticed that there was something seriously wrong, everything seemed so quiet. She quickly looked around and then back at Callisto. She noticed that there was something different about Callisto and she shivered.

"What is going on?" she carefully asked.

"I set you free."

"Why?"

"To decide your fate."

Velasca was confused.

"My fate? What do you mean?"

"Whether you live or die."

Velasca gulped. She was surprised that she did that, but there was something about Callisto that made her seriously worry. And then there was the unusual feeling that something was not right. Something about the gods.

"What's with the gods?" she asked.

"They are dead," Callisto reported.

"Dead?" Velasca asked, shocked, and stared at her. "What happened?"

"I killed them."

"You?" Velasca was confused. "How? Why?"

"That is none of your business. You and I are the last."

"So you're going to kill me too?"

"Perhaps. That depends on you."

Velasca was confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There are several conditions you have to obey if you want to live."

"And if I don't?" Velasca asked defiantly.

"Then I will kill you," Callisto said matter-of-factly.

Velasca shivered. She had a feeling that Callisto could easily kill her. After all, she killed all other gods.

"Okay, what are the conditions?"

"You may not impose your will on anyone."

Velasca was confused.

"What do you mean?"

"The Amazons for example. I don't care if you become their patron goddess or not, but if they don't want you as their patron, you may not force them to accept you."

"Why not?"

"You were a mortal once. Remember how helpless you felt?"

"Well now I'm a goddes."

"You will not abuse that power."

"Who are you to tell me that? We're both killers, but I'm a beginner compared to you. You're the last person who can tell me about right and wrong."

"I'm the more powerful goddess and you will do as I tell you. We are gods, they are mortals," Callisto said calmly.

Velasca wanted to object, but Callisto's emotionless gaze stopped her.

"You may kill only when attacked or if you have a good reason," Callisto continued.

"So what am I going to do? Get bored?"

"You have a choice. You can remain a goddes or I can turn you into a mortal again."

"Mortal! And what will I do then?"

"I'm sure the Amazons can use a good warrior."

Velasca frowned.

"The Amazons won't take me back, not after what I did to them."

"Perhaps. You were responsible for what happened to you. The Amazons don't need bandits, they need warriors."

"What do you care about the Amazons?"

"I don't, I'm just telling you their point of view. You can always talk to Gabrielle."

"Huh," Velasca said, disgusted. "She hates my guts."

"The choice is yours. If you decide to become a mortal again, then I will not interfere with what you do."

"Even if I kill people for no reason?"

"Yes. But if you decide to remain a goddess and break the rules, I will kill you."

Velasca stared at Callisto for a while.

"Why me? Why did you let me live?" she asked.

"Because you were a mortal before."

"That's why?" Velasca thought. "Wasn't there another goddess who was a mortal before?" she asked.

"Psyche."

"Yes. What about her?"

"She was the mother of Bliss, so I put her out of her misery."

Velasca tried to decide her future and Callisto paitently waited.

"Okay," she finally said. "I'll remain a goddess. For now."

Callisto nodded and disappeared. Velasca was a bit surprised and she stared at the empty spot for a few moments. Then she too vanished.

Xena and Gabrielle walked through the Amazon village where things had settled down. Gabrielle planned to return home and she and Xena talked about what she would buy for Lila's birthday. The birthday was already over, but she wanted to buy her a present anyway.

Suddenly Xena stopped and looked around, alert.

"What is it?" Gabrielle asked.

"There is a god here."

"Where?" Gabrielle asked and looked around. "I don't see anyone, "she said and looked back at Xena. "Do you think it's Callisto?"

Xena shook her head.

"No, I don't think so."

"Then who..."

Suddenly the mysterious god decided to end the debate and appeared.

"Velasca!" Gabrielle said and she and Xena prepared for a fight.

"I'm not here to fight you," Velasca said and looked at the Amazons, who were approaching, ready to protect their queen.

"Then why are you here?" Gabrielle asked. "And how did you get out?"

"Callisto freed me."

"Callisto?" Gabrielle said, surprised, and glanced at Xena.

"Why?" Xena asked.

"I don't know. She said she was giving me a choice."

"What kind of choice?"

"None of your business.

"She let you live?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I used to be a mortal."

"What about Psyche?" Xena asked. "She used to be a mortal too."

"She was the mother of Bliss, so she put her ot of her misery."

"How many gods are still alive?"

"Just me and Callisto."

"All others are dead?" Gabrielle asked in awe. "Hera, Athena, the Fates?"

"Yes."

"And why have you come here?" Xena asked.

Velasca looked from Xena to Gabrielle and back, trying to calm herself. She hated this conversation, but Callisto's words were still in her mind and she was afraid of Callisto.

"To see whether you need a patron goddess," she said, feeling humiliated.

"What?"

Everyone in the village was surprised and the Amazons started to talk to each other.

"You are offering to be our patron goddess?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yes," Velasca said, wanting to be somewhere else, but determined to finish the conversation.

Gabrielle wanted to say no right away, but she knew she couldn't, this concerned the future of the Amazons.

"Make a circle!" she ordered and went to her throne.

The Amazons obeyed while Xena kept an eye on Velasca.

"This is a very serious matter and I can't decide it on my own. It concerns all of us, therefore you will decide," Gabrielle started when the Amazons were ready. "You all know how things were before, when we had a parton goddess, and how things are now that we don't. Before you say no to Velasca's offer just because it's coming from her, I want you to think about whether we need a patron goddess or do we make our future without one." She paused. "With a patron goddess, we may have someone to protect us, to ask for help, but without one, we get to decide our future and we have no one to blame for the mistakes we make. The choice is yours."

The Amazons conferred.

Xena was proud of Gabrielle, but she also noticed that Velasca felt humiliated. She was surprised that Velasca even bothered to endure all the humiliation, being a goddess.

"All those in favor of a patron goddess, raise hands," Gabrielle finally said.

Only a couple of hands went up, not all of them belonging to Velasca's former followers.

"All those against a patron goddes, raise hands."

Almost all hands went up, some of them belonging to Velasca's former followers. Gabrielle looked at Velasca.

"The Amazons have decided," she said. "We don't want a patron goddess, Velasca."

Xena noticed that Velasca trembled slightly.

"I see," Velasca said.

Xena knew that it hurt Velasca, but she didn't know why Velasca didn't freak out like she did before.

Nothing happened for a few moments and then Velasca asked the question which, in Xena's oppinion, hurt Velasca the most.

"May I return to the village?"

Gabrielle and the Amazons were surprised.

"As a mortal?" Gabrielle asked.

Velasca nodded.

"Only if you are prepared to face the consequences of your actions."

"What kind of counsequences?" Velasca asked and Xena noticed that she started to tremble again.

"You will find out when you return."

Velasca didn't respond and Xena saw that she was desperately trying to calm herself.

"I need to think about it," Velasca finally said and vanished.

The tension in the village imediately decreased and Xena, not having Velasca to watch anymore, walked to Gabrielle.

"I'm confused," Gabrielle said.

"Me too," Xena admitted.

"Do you think she'll return?"

"Perhaps."

"As a mortal?"

"Perhaps."

Gabrielle sighed.

"Then we need to discuss her punishment."

Xena nodded.

Callisto sat on Zeus' throne on Olympus and contemplated her existence when Velasca came to her several days later. She looked at her without interest and waited for Velasca to state her business.

"I want to become a mortal," Velasca said after a few moments of hesitation.

"Are you sure?" Callisto asked and got up.

"Yes," Velasca said and bit her teeth.

Callisto extended her hand and Velasca felt her divine powers leave her.

Callisto stared at the mortal before her, feeling strange. Now she was the only goddess.

"Where do you want me to take you?"

"To the Amazon village."

Callisto was surprised, but she didn't show.

"They will kill you," she said matter-of-factly.

Velasca sighed.

"Perhaps. I am prepared to face the consequences, whatever they might be."

Callisto nodded, not quite sure how she felt about it, but she knew that the feelings were positive.

"So be it," she said and waved her hand.

When Velasca disappeared, on her way to face the Amazons, Callisto stared at the empty spot for a few moments and then started to contemplate again.

She was the last goddess, but she didn't care about it. In fact, she didn't care about anything anymore, not even her own existence. She sort of envied Velasca for having the courage to face the Amazons, who were more than justified to kill her.

She thought about her family, whom she had visited after she had freed Velasca. She thought about going to live with them in the Elysian Fields or maybe bringing them back, but something was holding her back. She realized it was fear and the fact confused her. She was the most powerful being in the whole realm and she was afraid? She didn't understand that.

She also considered joining the other gods in oblivion, but she didn't feel like dying, at least not at the moment. She sighed. Questions, questions, so many questions and options and she had eternity to answer them.

The End