InsaneJournal

Who: Xena and Callisto
What: A fight between the two breaks out, and ends with an unexpected turn of events.
When: Today
Where: Their condo
Warnings: Violence, some blood, and mention of the arsonist who killed Callisto's family



Callisto was even more on edge and angry and prickly of late. She was steadfastly avoiding the topic of her and Xena having slept together for multiple reasons, most of which was because she was trying to protect what was left of her heart from being broken by Xena. Callisto preferred to do it herself.

And she was ready to act on leaving. She’d taken to packing her clothes up, though as she pulled her armor and sword out from under her bed, she just looked at them. The woman who wore that armor had the right idea. Never get involved physically with anyone. That was something she was silently repeating to herself. It tended to be easy when she didn’t have sex much, generally speaking.

Perhaps once she was done breaking her heart the rest of the way, she’d be able to fully be her dream self. Cold and uncaring. It was just easier that way. Xena would undoubtedly try to stop her, but perhaps Xena would actually use the hind’s blood dagger on her. Then they’d both be free. Xena wouldn’t have to deal with her, and Callisto didn’t have to deal with existing.

She set the armor down, fingers trailing over it briefly, before she went back to packing her clothes. She would stoke the rage in her heart because it was easier to feel, and because it would burn her pain away. At least that’s what she believed.

It was best not to talk about the sleeping together thing. In most circumstances, Xena wouldn’t talk about it either. With Callisto’s rapidly degenerating psyche, it was a gamble. The right thing to do was talk about it. Xena was just going to have to find the right time. She hoped.

But maybe when Callisto was trying to flee wasn’t the best time. Xena folded her arms and leaned on the doorframe. “Never pegged you for running away, Callisto.”

“And I didn’t peg you for wanting to be in continuous fights with me. Bad for morale if there’s always in-fighting.” Callisto didn’t even look at Xena. She didn’t want to look until she was certain she could hold onto the rage strongly, to be more like her dream self. “I’m doing you a favor. Call it a parting gift from this world’s Callisto.”

“I’m not letting you leave.” Xena walked into the room, encroaching on Callisto’s territory. She grabbed her elbow. “Come on, we gotta talk. Grill up a cow, and talk. I’m not asking you to turn over a new leaf or nothing.”

Callisto jerked her elbow out of Xena’s grasp and gave her a harsh glare. “No, we don’t need to talk. I can’t play by your rules anymore, simple as that.” Because she wasn’t going to think about the needing to talk involving anything else other than her standing within the gang.

Xena huffed out her nose. “You’re becoming unhinged. This ain’t you.” It was a losing argument, and she knew it was, but Xena wasn’t about to give up on Callisto. Not yet, anyway. It would be easy enough to channel the rage and hatred from her dreams. She just didn’t want to.

“That’s where you’re wrong. This is me, and if you believe otherwise, then you’re a fool.” Those were potentially fighting words, but Callisto wanted a fight. If Xena wouldn’t give it to her, then she’d teleport somewhere and tear a place apart. And probably set it on fire just because it would be fun.

She grabbed for Callisto’s arm again, not caring if it came to blows. Maybe she needed some sense beat into her - in their dreams Callisto only ever listened when there was violence involved, no matter who tried to extend a gentle hand. Then she tried to twist it behind her back, snarling. “You ain’t a psycho if you don’t wanna be!”

As Xena started to twist her arm behind her back, Callisto countered, twisting her arm against the direction it was being twisted in. And then she brought her other elbow up, aiming to put a little more maneuvering distance between them. “Who says I don’t want this?”

Xena tried to catch the other elbow and shove Callisto towards the wall. If she could get her pinned she could get her to calm down. It sounded better in her head and Xena wasn’t thinking clearly as normal. Conflicting needs between her dream self and her waking self, as to what she wanted or expected out of Callisto. “I don’t believe that.”

Callisto wasn’t going to be pinned anywhere if she could help it. She planted her heel and shifted her weight, attempting to use her momentum to throw Xena against the wall. She didn’t want to calm down. Callisto wanted to rain hell down on everyone. The busier she stayed, the less time she had to think about things she didn’t want to think about. “Then I’ll make you believe it.”

Xena let her go, taking a step back. Giving them room to do exactly what Callisto seemed to want. She held her arms out, in the classic ‘come at me bro’ type pose.

Once she was free, Callisto turned around to face Xena. Yes, this was what she wanted. A fight. Something to focus on that wasn’t weak and pathetic emotions. She let out that trademark scream and she charged Xena. They both knew that Callisto could end matters in a heartbeat with one fireball, and they also knew she was the one who would last longest in a physical fight. But she wanted to trade blows, even if she couldn’t feel much physical pain. She balled up her fists and aimed one for Xena’s jaw, then aimed her other one and let it fly.

And Xena let her hit her. Blood burst from her nose and dribbled out of her mouth as she stumbled back from the force of the blow. She didn’t swing back, just looked at Callisto and grinned maddeningly. “That all you got? I barely felt a thing. Being a god has made you soft. You remind me of Ares.”

Callisto didn’t know what made her angrier, the fact that Xena compared her Ares or the fact that Xena didn’t fight back. At any rate, she screamed again and punched harder, giving a left and a right, before she spun and kicked Xena. If Xena didn’t do anything to defend herself, the kick would land dead center of her chest and send her flying backwards. And if Xena didn’t watch it, Callisto was going to throw a fireball and start the condo on fire.

And she wouldn’t even flinch at the fire any longer.

That got Callisto going, just like Xena thought it would. She grabbed at the foot, twisting her body as she did so. Xena hoped to use Callisto’s momentum to her advantage and close-line her as she skidded part. She couldn’t beat a god- but maybe she could make the god beat herself.

Despite the fact that, as a human, she’d been able to match Xena blow for blow, Callisto’s emotions got the best of her, and she’d make mistakes during fights that could be taken advantage of. As such, her own momentum continued to carry her forward, and right into Xena’s plan to close-line her.

The impact was jarring, sending a shock up Xena’s arm. She whirled, following up by slamming her foot towards Callisto on the ground with all the force in her muscular body. She wasn’t playing around, if Callisto wasn’t a god there was a serious chance of actual injury.

Callisto’s back hit the floor hard, but it didn’t phase her overly much. And she was glad that Xena wasn’t playing around because she wasn’t either. She wanted a knock-out, drag-out fight. She rolled out of the way of Xena’s foot, then quickly spun, attempting to swipe that leg out from under Xena.

Xena lept over the leg swipe, but she wasn’t quick enough. Her back stung as she hit the ground. She kicked her feet up, spinning on her back as she flipped back to her feet. Xena spun through the air, landing on two feet and a hand and squinting her eyes at Callisto. “Not bad.”

Once Xena went down, Callisto sprung back up onto her feet, ready to fight more. She shifted her weight on her feet slightly as she watched Xena land on her feet. “I’m just getting started,” she countered, then she charged at Xena, aiming a foot for Xena’s head. But, of course, she expected Xena to counter the move and she was ready for that.

And Xena countered the move. This could go on for minutes. Hours. Until one of them wore out and they both knew which of them was not capable of wearing out. “Good thing, because your form is terrible.”

Letting out a warcry, Xena flipped through the air, bringing her feet down towards Callisto’s face for a classic extended bicycle kick.

The bicycle kick connected and knocked Callisto back. Though as expected, it didn’t leave a mark nor did it phase her for very long. She launched her own attack, letting out another scream as she flipped through the air, landing in front of Xena, and lashed out with a fierce storm of punches. She then accentuated the punches with a headbutt.

Though Xena parried and blocked, many of the punches still landed and the headbutt had her staggering. She recovered, using her best round house kicks and not holding back her punches. A bookshelf collapsed, and she picked up a huge piece of it and threw it at Callisto. She followed up with the glass coffee table.

A couple of Xena’s attacks got through Callisto’s efforts to block. She easily knocked the piece of the bookshelf aside with a kick. However, as the glass coffee table came at her, she decided to do something different. She lifted a hand, palm out and fingers pointed towards the ceiling and she blasted it with fire.

And she didn’t even flinch at the fire that burst out of her hand.

That gave Xena pause. The lack of reaction, not the fire. The fire didn’t even phase her, really. She kicked at the wall unit, cracking it, and ripped out a piece of wood. One end was bigger and heavier, a nice blunt object, the other end was sharp and pointed.

Xena went with the pointy end first.

Whether it was because of Callisto’s dream self that she didn’t react to the fire or the fact that Callisto had been practicing with said fire abilities that she didn’t react was unclear. What was clear, however, was that Callisto had been practicing with it.

When Xena came at her with the pointy end of the piece of wood, Callisto grabbed onto it. “Really, Xena? Where’s your creativity?” She tried to tug the piece of wood out of Xena’s hands. While Callisto didn’t have to worry about splinters, Xena did.

Xena let it go, and aimed her knee right for Callisto’s stomach. She might be a god but Xena was hoping that old human reflexes would kick in. Give her a few moments to adjust her plan of attack. Even if her plan was to mostly let Callisto wail on her, but fight back enough to not die.

The knee connected with Callisto’s stomach, causing her to double over momentarily. But when she straightened, she came up swinging. The broader end of the piece of wood swung in an upwards arc, aiming for Xena’s head. Callisto was definitely more than happy to wail on Xena. Whether she’d stop short of killing Xena remained to be seen.

It was enough to send Xena crashing into the wall, knocking down a row of shelves. She picked herself up out of the wreckage, and wiped blood from her eyes. She beckoned. “Come at me. That the best ya got? That ain’t nothin’ I’ve been hit by third graders stronger than you!”

Callisto’s eyes narrowed and she threw the piece of wood to the floor with a pointed thunk. She then charged at Xena. However, she wasn’t going to punch or kick Xena. Oh no, she launched herself at her and both of them were going to go through the wall.

Someone screamed. It wasn’t Xena and it probably wasn’t Callisto. Xena grappled with the blonde, wrestling with her and trying to get her into a headlock. All the while punching and kicking and headbutting and biting. She spun, throwing them both through another wall, sending them spiraling down towards the pool.

The scream didn’t even register with Callisto. All that she was focused on was fighting Xena. She gave Xena back everything that she dealt out to her. Punches, kicks, head butts. She didn’t even really notice that they were falling through air, not until she hit the water. The water served to break the frenzy of battle as it shocked her system a bit, but she quickly recovered, swimming around until she finally hit the surface. At least she wasn’t wearing her armor. Not that it would matter since she couldn’t drown anyway.

Xena crawled out of the water, clearing her eyes with one hand before turning to scan the pool for Callisto. The chlorine stung her wounds, but it gave her a second wind. As soon as she saw Callisto, she grabbed onto her to haul her out of the water, then promptly straddled her and lifted her fists above her head.

She didn’t have much time to react as Xena hauled her out of the water and straddled her. As Xena lifted her fists over her head, Callisto struck first, ramming a fist into Xena’s diaphragm. She followed it up with a right hook to Xena’s cheek, hoping to unseat her and turn the tables.

The blow was hard enough to knock Xena off of Callisto. She splashed back into the water, and didn’t resurface.

Once Xena was off of her, Callisto spun around and got back to her feet, ready for the fight to continue. However, when Xena didn’t resurface, Callisto frowned. And without thinking much about it, she dove into the water, swimming over to Xena, grabbed ahold of her and hauled her up to the surface and into the shallow end so she could more easily pull her out of the pool.

The blow to her diaphragm had knocked the wind from her and it almost seemed like Xena had stopped breathing. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d nearly drowned. Or actually drowned.

Callisto pulled Xena out of the pool and laid her on her back. “Xena, wake up.” Callisto said. But it seemed like Xena wasn’t breathing, so she did the only thing she could think of, start attempting CPR. She leaned down and breathed into Xena’s mouth.

It didn’t take long. Xena coughed, trying to sit up as she took in great lungfulls of air. Once she regained control of herself, she looked at Callisto. “Ya know if you wanted to kiss me again there are easier ways to do it.”

At the comment, Callisto felt some emotions run through her, pain the most prominent one. “Yeah, I know,” she responded as she shoved her emotions aside and stood up. Xena was breathing again, and the fight had come to an end. All Callisto had to show for it was being wet. She could dry herself off instantly, but not in public. So she turned to head back inside to dry off.

Xena pulled herself to her feet, and stumbled after Callisto. She wasn’t sure what she’d accomplished. Letting Callisto beat her to death wouldn’t really accomplish anything. Except maybe make Xena feel better. She limped back into the apartment, surveying the damage. She was going to have to cover this up. And then move. But honestly she didn’t care. “Feel better? Feel anything?”

Once inside the condo, Callisto looked at herself and used one of her god powers to instantly dry herself off. She turned and looked at Xena. “Why?” She refused to divulge what was left of her heart, to admit to being in pain. So she’d continue to keep it to herself.

“Because I want to know? Because I care? Because I’m tryin’ to listen. To help in whatever fucked up way you need.” Callisto was fucked up. So was Xena. She didn’t even think she deserved Gabrielle at the moment.

Callisto looked at Xena, giving some thought to her response. She wasn’t about to reveal her broken heart, but there was a bit of a war within her for talking. “I feel conflicted, I guess.” That was the best way to put it. She didn’t really feel better after the fight. She didn’t really know how she felt, over all.

“I wish we could go back. To the way things used to be, but we can’t. That don’t mean we have to let it all collapse.” She gestured around her, at the mess, and the destruction, and the world in general. “Neither of us are saints, Callisto. Never have been, never will be. But you always had something to guide you, something to keep you focused. A goal.”

Xena’s cell phone chirped and she pushed through some wreckage to find it. She recognized the number immediately, and stared at the text. “....and I think I know what might help you.”

“Sometimes I wonder what that even was.” Callisto had lost her way, and possibly just given up, since the dreams had started. She was embracing her dream self more than she probably should, but she felt her dream self was too strong to resist. Plus, she rather liked some of her beliefs, of distancing herself from pleasures of the flesh since those never went anywhere good.

“And what could possibly help me?” She practically spat those words as she brushed a hand through her hair.

They were so divorced from the way things used to be that Xena couldn’t quite remember it, herself. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Many lifetimes ago. But she could at least give Callisto a new goal. She waggled her phone. “I have a lead on the man who killed your parents.”

That sentence was so simple, but it was one that flipped a switch in Callisto’s head. Her expression drew tight, her eyes grew cold and hard. “Give it to me.” She wanted to know where the asshole was so she could kill him. Because she was going to kill him. There was no way he was going to come out of it alive.

Xena held up her hand. “No, not yet. We’re gonna get on our bikes, and we’re going to do it like human beings. I told you I wouldn’t stop you. I’m not going to. But I’m going to make sure you don’t do any collateral damage in the process.”

Besides, based on who it was she was already pissed.

Callisto just rolled her eyes, and she went into her room to arm herself. Knife in her boot. Knife in her other boot. She looked at her sword for a moment or two before she came back out and headed down to her bike and waited for Xena. If she knew where they were going, she would’ve just teleported there. But no, Xena was making her do this the hard way. And it only made her angrier and fueled the rage in her heart.

Xena followed her down, making a phone call for some people to take care of the mess. No one would believe any witnesses anyway, and she could afford it. Past that, no one else had been hurt and she didn’t care. Even if her body was a little sore. She got onto her bike and fastened her helmet. “Fancy a little gambling? We’re going to Vegas.”

Best that no one would believe witnesses considering Callisto had walked away without even a bruise or a cut. If any questions were asked, it could also be easy to pass it off as filming for some movie or something. This was California, after all. People made movies and television shows here all the time. “Vegas it is.” Callisto revved her bike into life before she took off, heading for Vegas with vengeance in her eyes. The only downside she saw to this was that she couldn’t take herself out in a blaze of fire along with the asshole that had killed her family.