Her casual words broke the spell that held the group immobile, and they all raced to her side. Allowing a minute of careful inspection, Xena finally stepped out of reach.
"Enough. I'm fine. But at least I'm not in the dark about this being any longer. It's easier to fight something known instead of unknown."
Simultaneously, Kat and Mitch stepped aside for a quick discussion, then returned a moment later. Kat was sheathing her swords as she said, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
Xena narrowed her eyes and looked at the two suspiciously.
"She's right, Xena. We didn't bring you into this to get you killed."
Xena understood their concern, but would have none of it.
"No, don't even think it. I will not leave you here to that beasts mercy. And I was in little to no danger from it harming me moments ago. You should know by now that I don't let myself get dragged away easily."
Gabrielle concurred with her friend and stood by her side faithfully.
"Xena's right. You can't force us away now. We would feel more guilt over leaving than remorse if we stayed."
"Better guilt than death!" Mitch cried back, disturbed by the notion of any further loss of life.
"This is a pointless arguement. Gabrielle and I are not leaving, and that's the end of it. I suggest we concentrate on how to get rid of it instead of anything more unacceptable."
Xena's words put a halt to the arguement. The four of them walked back into camp, with Gabrielle collecting the pans for thier morning breakfast.
As she worked, she wondered aloud, "Do you think that thing has a name?"
Mitch looked up from folding her blankets.
"If it does, it's not telling. But we've been calling it the Gorgastor."
Xena began helping Gabrielle when she heard the word.
"That means nightmare from the river, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Kat answered. "Once Mitch and I looked into the river Styxx. What we saw was every person's nightmare reflected back to us. This thing reminded the both of us of that day. It wasn't something we could easily forget."
Gabrielle shuddered as she visualized the image, but straightened her back with determination.
"Well, that's just one nightmare we'll have to send back to Tartarus, isn't it?"
Xena was very proud of her friend in that moment.
"I couldn't agree more."
