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It followed the Season 4 pattern of trying to seperate herself from Gabrielle - which was motivated by Xena's fear of the vision. But the original reason was a bit different, Xena's feeling that she deserved to be punished for her guilt seemed to eclipse any thought of Gabrielle's own safety. The focus was not on finding someone/some place where Gabrielle would be safe and happy, as the later occasions were, but on where Xena was going to go. She also didn't seem particulary unhappy when Gabrielle showed up there. (Although she already had her doubts about the prision by then).

There may have been an underlying thought may have been in Xena's mind though that she wasn't good for Gabrielle, which made it easier for her to let herself be separated from her. If it wasn't for the vision, she may not have seen the prospect of her getting her supposedly justified punishment as outweighing the need to stay together. At the end of AFA that seemed to be the most important thing to Xena, but obviously as her concern for the vision grows, this changes. So it may well have influenced Xena's decision in LUATD in this aspect. Otherwise she would have found it too hard to consent to leaving Gabrielle behind, just as Gabrielle's first instinct is to go and be reunited with Xena (since Gabrielle had none of the same concerns about whether it's right for her to live Xena's life).