"I would prefer not to."

"I can order you to."

"My Lord, this is not a game. It was designed to kill. And just because I have adapted it to suit my own, less deadly purposes doesn't change the fact that it can be lethal."

"All the more reason I should experience it for myself. My father, King Osiris, once told me 'Know your enemy and you can defeat him.' And while you are no longer my enemy, I feel I should know as much about you, and your many skills, as I can."

"And you trust me not to let you die?"

Smiling, the king answered, "Could you let me die in front of your beloved Queen?"

"Of course not. But let me warn you – it is painful, and the longer it is applied, the worse it gets. You can feel yourself dying, or that's the way it will seem."

"You sound as if this had been done to you."

"In the beginning, as a lesson before it was taught to me. It's something you never forget."

"So what do I do?" the King asked.

"Sit back on the throne and tilt your head back a little. A little more."

Suddenly Xena's two hands shot out, the first two fingers of each hand spearing the king on the sides of his neck.

Immediately, his eyes began to bulge as the pressure began to build. For not only were the two carotid arteries constricted, but the two jugular veins, closer to the surface of the neck were also closed down.

As Gabrielle watched in horrified fascination, blood began to seep from the king's nose.

"So tell me," Xena said calmly, "How much do you really love Gabrielle?"

Struggling to speak, the king managed to say, "With all my heart. I would renounce my kingdom for her."

"Xena!" Gabrielle shouted. "You've got to stop this! NOW!"

"Come here," Xena said to Gabrielle. And getting behind her, Xena put her arms around Gabrielle, holding her hands with her own, and extended the first two fingers of each hand. She then used Gabrielle's fingers to remove the Pinch.

As King Belos coughed and began to recover, Gabrielle looked at Xena with shock and dismay. "Xena! How could you have done such a thing? My husband could have died!"

"There was no chance of that. I told you it was easier to remove than to apply. Now you know what to do, just in case."

"In case of what?" Gabrielle asked, still appalled that Xena was so unaffected by the possible tragic outcome.

"Just in case I decide to show you how to apply it."

"Xena, why would I EVER want to know how to do that?"

"You never know," was all Xena would say.

As King Belos recovered enough to speak, he asked, "Why did you ask me if I loved Gabrielle? Don't you think I do?"

"Oh, I know you do. I just wanted you to know how hard it was to speak, but still felt like you had better say something."

"I can see why it works. I felt like I was being choked, and my eyes were being pushed out of their sockets, and my head being crushed in a vise, all at the same time. I felt as if I were dying."

"So you understand the reason why the men need to be questioned separately, and not know in advance what is going to happen to them. Also, with your permission, I'd rather you not be present. If they see you, they may think you wouldn't let them die. Something I'd rather they didn't believe."

"Very well. I will have the guards round them up and you can begin this afternoon."

"Have them rounded up, but let them spend the night in a cell, just to further loosen their tongues when tomorrow comes."

"If you think it will help, then it will be done."