with grief, journeys to stay with the Amazons. Xena, in turn, locates her and tries to take Gabrielle's life by throwing her over a cliff while she is in a weakened state. Xena fails in doing this, and subsequently, both women reconcile with the help of the spirit of Xena's son Solan. Specifically, Solan creates the land of Illusia wherein, through music, both women express their grief and anger, not so much with each other, but with the traumas they have each endured. It is here that Xena confesses that she did indeed kill Ming Tien because he turned evil and killed his mother Lao Ma. Xena admits to Solan that she is his mother and sings to him, asking forgiveness. After this, they travel together again. Enemies Soon after the start of her journeys with Gabrielle, Xena runs into Ares, who has evidently known her since her warlord days and he tries to seduce her into joining him as his Warrior Queen, efforts that she repeatedly thwarts. She also encounters a formidable warrior woman named Callisto, whose family was killed by Xena's army years ago. The path to redemption continues Marcus, a warrior, close friend and lover from her warlord days, whom she persuades to follow her in choosing good, is killed while doing his first good deed. Later, he is allowed to briefly return to the world of the living to help thwart a vicious killer who has escaped from the underworld. He and Xena spend a night together before Marcus has to return to the other side. Several years after her first meeting with Lao Ma, a messenger is sent by Lao Ma to ask Xena to travel to China to aid in stopping a great evil from taking hold. She sets out without delay to help her dear friend but insists that she must deal with this alone and that Gabrielle stay behind. In spite of her best efforts, she is too late to save her mentor and friend Lao Ma from being tortured to death by her own son, the emperor Ming T'ien and is crushed with the loss. Finally, she and Gabrielle are crucified by the Romans on the Ides of March by Caesar, previously an ally and former lover of Xena's with whom she had planned to take over known civilization until he betrayed her. Caesar, himself, is betrayed and killed by Brutus.