Status: Complete.

Last updated: June 23, 2001

Genre: Xena fanfic

Warnings: Contains spoilers for the series and the death of a major character in one of the alternate endings. Spoilers are from the following episodes, in ascending order (beginning to last):

King of Assassins
Sacrifice, Part II
Between the Lines
Fallen Angel
Them Bones, Them Bones
Lifeblood
Kindred Spirits
Antony & Cleopatra
Looking Death in the Eye
Livia
To Helicon and Back
A Friend In Need, Part I and II

Synopsis: This story picks up immediately where the series finale A Friend In Need, Part II left off. In order to cope with what TPTB decided to do with the show, I've decided that they only aired the first two hours of a three-hour episode and they cut it off at a really bad spot. So I've tried to provide a fairly adequate telling of that last hour of the story to finish what they started.

This story has two endings and it's up to you to decide which one you prefer, that is, if you like either of them at all (I'm betting there will be plenty of "alternative" endings offered by other bards, so feel free to read other people's versions).

Author's Notes: This story was posted at 11pm, Saturday the 23rd of June, 2001. Since I think we all had enough "surprises" where the end of the show was concerned, regardless of whether they "entertained" or not, I'm going to tell you what those two endings are (skip to the bottom for the link to the story if you want to be surprised).

The first is being called "The Series Ender." Gabrielle is unable to bring Xena back from the dead, so she decides to join her and they move on to their next lives, i.e., no more adventures. Read an uber story after this ending, or watch The Xena Scrolls or Soul Possession, to visit one of their many reincarnations.

The second is what I'm calling "The Series Finale." Gabrielle manages to bring Xena back from the dead and they continue on their merry way to have an infinite number of adventures until their ultimate demise some time in the distant future.

The closure I'm trying to create with both of these endings is that they end up together. No ifs, ands, or buts. Whether in death or in life, there will be no pining away for their other half. That shit happens enough in real life, I don't need to deal with it in fiction. That's why all my stories have happy endings (maybe not deliriously happy endings, but at least my main characters always eventually end up together; and that's a promise).

Just remember that this is an angst-filled ride and there was no way around that, in my opinion. I hope that this helps people through the emotional betrayal and/or grief that I believe a lot of people feel about the way the show ended (I don't care if it is just a TV show, these characters have had a profound effect on millions of lives, my own included, and I can't abandon them or the fans in their hour of need; this is just my way of coping and trying to give something back to the community).

I've also read one post in which a fan said they intended to consider the episodes aired out of order and will watch A Friend In Need (I and II), When Fates Collide, and then Many Happy Returns will be the series finale (I think Soul Possession should be moved to right after Adventures in the Sin Trade II to fill in the time before A Family Affair takes place, since that's when the events occurred).

Well, on with the show. Let me know if you liked it, or if it helped.

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