Xena, Gabrielle and Eve travel along a beach when they are visited by Emma, Lord of the (Japa) Spirit world, proclaiming that Xena's resurrection has had consequences. When she was released, the doors to the spirit world were opened for a brief time and chaos has broken loose--spirits have returned to the living as ghosts, humans have fallen into the land of the dead, and demons have been released to reek havoc on the world. Emma has come make sure that Xena fixes things and brings back the most dangerous of demons, the kistune, or he will be forced to bring Xena back with him. To keep from dying--again--she agrees to help.
While traveling, they find the destruction that the kistune has left in a village, where every man, woman and child has been killed. Xena and Gabrielle have an argument about staying there and helping them. Finally, after getting a night's sleep, Gabrielle and Eve choose to stay behind and burry the people there while Xena rides off after the kistune. She doesn't want Gabrielle getting in the kistune's way, anyway, because he is very dangerous.
Xena tracks the kistune and the fox, which she gathers is traveling in his "fox" form. And meanwhile, the kistune, named Ibu, is tracking Xena as well.
Gabrielle and Eve burry the people, and find a mother and a baby dying amongst the destruction. Eve recalls a hard time in her life when people loose faith in her god because they lose the ones they love, and Gabrielle recalls, too, that the world cannot be changed by people like them--they can only work to make it better.
Xena discovers the kistune in fox form and chases him through the woods until she realizes that chasing the fox is only a distraction.
At the destroyed village, Gabrielle and Eve are visited by Ibu and he tries to have them killed, then chooses to use them as bate for Xena instead. Xena arrives at the village to find Ibu there. They face off and Xena kills him but cutting his throat, then rescues Eve from the buril mound that Ibu had put her in. Gabrielle comes running and Ibu, who really isn't dead, grabs her and tries to have her killed but Xena and Gabrielle work together to stop him. She frees herself from his grasp when Xena throws her chakram toward him, and then she attacks him and kills him--this time, for good.
Emma, Lord of the Spirit world returns and takes hold of the nine tailed fox that rises from the body of the dead Ibu, and then thanks Xena for helping him. She is released from her obligation and he will not take her back to the underworld with him.
Xena, Gabrielle and Eve are relived that the kistune is found but are unsure about the kistune's method of violence. But that's a thought for another day.
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