"You know you
can't survive without me," replied the voice. "Without me you would
have ended up enslaved or dead after Cirra. Without me you don't
have... the passion to beat Xee-nah. You need to commit yourself body
and soul to our quest. But you don't. You're weak. I'm your strength."
"No, you're wrong," claimed Callisto. "I don't need you. I don't need
the looting, the pillaging, the wanton destruction. And I don't need
the blood of all my victims on my hands. I won't be the monster that
you are."
"Oh, come now little one," patronized the voice. "What I do is for our
best interests. You want to destroy Xee-nah. That's not enough...
satisfaction. Xee-nah must suffer like we suffered. Her soul must be
tortured like ours was. If some people must die then that is...
unfortunate. If good people must suffer then that is also unfortunate."
"But that's wrong, evil," countered Callisto. "How can murdering
innocents be justifiable? How many women and children must die? How
many children must we rob of their parents?"
"My Vengeance is reason enough!" asserted the voice. "What I mete out
is justifiable because she created me! Nothing, NOTHING, else matters
but our Vengeance. I will not be denied by anyone, especially by you,
dear Callisto. I'm the stronger one. I know what's best. Don't ever
forget that."
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With that,
the voice faded away and Callisto was alone once again, her thoughts
uninterrupted by the Other. The youthful blonde pondered the web that
the Fates had spun for her. With a sigh, she concluded that it was too
soon to depend on Joxer for help. She hadn't known how close Xena was
when she started following him two days ago. With the anticipated
meeting with Xena getting closer, she would soon lose all control to
the Other.
She yearned to kill Xena, but not at the price the Other would incur.
There was another course of action. With the decision made, she
finished packing first her gear and then her sidekick's. She had just
finished when Joxer returned.
"Sorry I took so long," apologized Joxer. "I fell into the stream and
it took me a while to get everything back. The rocks are very
slippery..."
Callisto interrupted before he had a chance to start rambling for who
knew how long. "Time to go. Change of plans. We're not going to
Patras," she declared.
"What, I thought you wanted to find Xena?" asked Joxer.
"We're not ready," she explained curtly.
The voice in her mind joined in: "I'm ready, and I'll be waiting..."
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