Lissia's Xena/Ares Fan Fiction
Gabrielle sits on
a log, staring at a clean scroll, “The latest adventure of Xena Warrior
Princess began with a-Oh! No, that’s not it.
Um, uh, oh, okay, here we go.
Xena Warrior Princess is once again faced with a new challenge that took
us both into the past. Into the
past? Gabrielle, what is wrong with you,
today? I’ve got it! Xena’s battle began years ago when her army
faced off against the Horde in a battle that left her empty handed and alone.
Oh! So close! Ah! I
give up!” She throws down the scroll and
quill and puts her head into her hands, muttering quietly to herself. She feels the wind rush behind her, then a
hand on her shoulder, “Hello, Gabrielle.”
A light voice says. Gabrielle
jumps and spins around, collecting her staff as she goes. Before she can hit the intruder, she’s thrown
backwards, landing against a tree. The
woman walks to stand in front of her and kneels down, “I’m sorry I had to do
that. I don’t like using physical
violence against mortals, it’s not really fair and violence is such a horrible
way to fix your problems, but you left me with no choice. Now, you don’t know me, but I’ve been
watching you for some time now. I’ve
always tried to protect you, but you don’t exactly make that an easy job, what
with throwing yourself into a lava pit and all.” The woman laughs lightly. Gabrielle sits up, rubbing the back of her
head, “Protect me? Why? Who are
you?” The woman giggles, “Who am I? I’m a Goddess and a friend. Or, at least I hope we can be friends.” Gabrielle nods, “Friends, yeah, okay. But why me?
I’m a mortal and I don’t exactly respect the Gods.” The Goddess nods, “Yes, that’s all very true. Gabrielle, I used to be just like you. I started off in a small village. I was just an innocent farm girl when I
watched my family be slaughtered like cattle.
It was that day that I took a life for the first time. It sickened my soul, surely you know all
about that.” Gabrielle nods and the
Goddess continues, “In a state of shock over killing, powers entered my being
and exploded forth from me, killing all those near me. I didn’t know I was capable of such horrible
acts and it scared me. I ran. I stopped deep in the forest and vowed to
never kill again. I wanted to end the
cycle of violence, I wanted to bring about peace and love. The Olympians, however, had something else in
mind for me. They saw what I had done
and they put me under the wing of another God.
This God trained me and now I am the Goddess of War. Now, obviously, you aren’t a Goddess, but you
are facing many of the same battles that I faced. And you are friends with a dear friend of
mine. I started watching you when you
left your home to ride with Xena. Sense
that day, I have done everything in my power to keep you from killing, to keep
you safe. It wasn’t enough. Gabrielle, your heart is hurting, I can feel
it and so can Xena. You need to change
yourself, your way of living if you are to survive. You need to find peace within yourself if you
are to ever find it in the world around you.
Open your heart and let all the pain, the anger, the guilt, the violence
be swept away with the wind.” The
Goddess reaches over and strokes Gabrielle’s cheek, brushing a tear from
it. Gabrielle nods, “You’re telling me
to leave Xena, aren’t you?” The Goddess
shakes her head, “No, I’m telling you that you have two choices. One: get used to the killing. Or two: find a
way around the violence. You and I, we
aren’t like all the others. We’re
different, Gabrielle. We see life for
what it is and want to change it, no matter the amount a personal risk
involved. If there’s anyone who can find
a way around the violence, it is you.
I’ve lost my chance, don’t let yours slip away.” Gabrielle nods, “I understand, but I don’t
know what to do.” The Goddess smiles,
“Nor do I,” she says disappearing.
Gabrielle stares at the spot where the Goddess had been and her
shoulders fall, “Gods.” She huffs
lightly. She leans against the tree and
lets her head rest on it, “A way around the violence,” she whispers before
falling asleep.
Xena walks into the camp where she had left Gabrielle and smiles at the sleeping form of her friend. She moves closer and her smile turns to a frown, when she sees blood on the tree Gabrielle is leaning against. She jerks her friend awake, “Gabrielle, are you okay? What happened?” She asks as she looks over a small cut on the back of the bards head. Gabrielle smiles, “It was wonderful Xena. There’s actually a God on Olympus who cares and she thinks I can find a way around the violence. I don’t know how, but she’s filled me with a feeling of hope. And I feel pure, Xena, pure!” Xena smiles at her friend, looking strangely confused, “You were dreaming Gabrielle. You passed out. Let me clean this cut and you can eat and then you’ll see, it was just a dream.” Gabrielle looks mad, “It wasn’t a dream, Xena! She was real!” Thunder crashes above them and Xena stares at the sky, then shakes her head, “Alright, Gabrielle, then who was this Goddess?” Gabrielle shakes her head, “She said she was the Goddess of War. She was tiny, Xena, no muscle, no armor, no weapons, nothing but a simple black dress made of silk from Chin.” Xena laughs, “Gabrielle, you were dreaming. There is no Goddess of War and if there were, she wouldn’t look like that. She would look like Ares or Discord or Strife or Athena. She would have weapons, she would look like war, Gabrielle. Come on, let’s eat. Food should help your head clear up a bit.” Anger flashes across of the bards face, but as the wind blows the look vanishes, “You’ll see, Xena. You’ll see one day.” Xena nods, “Sure, Gabrielle,” she says, helping the girl to her feet. Gabrielle sways a little and grabs onto Xena’s arm for balance. Xena helps her to a log near the fire. She hands her some nutbread and cheese. Gabrielle sighs and begins to munch on them with a content smile on her lips.
Xena watches Gabrielle carefully as the young woman strolls around the campsite. Curiosity getting the best of her, she asks, “Gabrielle, how did you get that gash on the back of your head?” Gabrielle smiles and answers simply, “The Goddess threw me into the tree because I was going to attack her. She didn’t want to, but she had to.” Xena nods, “Uh-huh. So, what did this Goddess look like?” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “I told you, already. She was tiny, wearing only a black silk dress. No weapons, no armor.” Xena rolls her eyes, “Tiny? You mean short and thin?” Gabrielle nods, “Well, not short. My height, a little taller. But thin with no muscle. She had really pale skin, but it didn’t look deathly white. It had a glow to it. She had really long red hair. It was down passed her butt and her eyes were this really bright shade of blue, like yours. Oh, I think she knew you. She mentioned you and said something about me being friends with a close friend of hers. Then again, I’m friends with a lot of people, so maybe she meant someone else.” She turns to stare at Xena, whose face has gone ashen, “By the Gods, Xena, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s wrong?” Xena shakes her head, “Nothing. I’m fine. Did she tell you her name?” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “If she had, don’t you think I would have told you by now? Does this mean you believe me? Do you know her?” Xena shakes her head, “She sounds like someone I used to know. But the girl I knew can’t be the Goddess of War, it’s just not possible. Stay here, I’m going for a walk.” Xena stands and leaving her weapons behind, begins to walk into the forest. Gabrielle watches her go and shakes her head before sitting down on a log and staring into the fire.
Xena stops in a small clearing and leans against a tree, trying to look casual. Hardly above a whisper, she says, “Lissia.” She waits several moments and there’s nothing. She decides to go with another approach, “Oh Great Goddess of War,” she calls into the sky. When there’s no reply, she smiles, thinking that Gabrielle had just dreamed it all up. Her smile turns to a scowl when a chill goes up her spine, “Ares,” she spits out. He appears in front of her, smiling. “Good to see you too, Xena,” he says sarcastically. She rolls her eyes, “Which God is messing with Gabrielle?” She asks, letting her eyes rest on him in an accusing manner. He puts his hands up, “Not me. I don’t really pay much attention to the doings of the other Gods, unless they interfere with something I have an interest in.” She rolls her eyes and huffs lightly, “Fine. Is there a Goddess of War?” He smiles, “Well, there’s Athena. Technically, she’s the Goddess of Honorable Warfare, but I guess that could be the same as just plain war.” Anger surges through her and the swings an arm, trying to hit him, “I know about Athena. I meant is there any other Goddess of War?” He smiles, blocking her strike, “Well, yeah. She’s new to the job and not very good at it.” She glares at him, “Who?” He smiles wider, “Who? Come now, Xena. You know the answer to that.” Her face falls and all emotion leaves it as she allows herself to slump against the tree, “Lissia,” she breathes. He nods, “Yeah. When they found out about my alliance with Dahok, Zeus forced her to take my place and become the Goddess of War. Of course when they found out I was just trying to get the Hind’s Blood dagger so I could kill Dahok and Hope once the sacrificial offerings had given him enough blood to force his way into our realm, they gave me back my position, but forced little Lissia to remain as the Goddess of War. Poor kid, she hates it. So, how’d you find out about it?” Still in shock, Xena answers numbly, “Lissia visited Gabrielle and gave her hope and peace.” He nods, “Sounds like her style. She’s always liked the bard brat.” Xena nods, then jerks when she finds his hand resting on her shoulder, “Why didn’t she come when I called for her?” He shrugs, “How should I know? I thought she was in Rome, taking care of a problem in one of my temples.” “Rome?” Xena asks, perking up a little. He rolls his eyes, “Yes, Rome. And no, it has nothing to do with Caesar.” She nods, “Don’t you have better things to be doing than standing around talking to me?” He shrugs, “No, not really. Olympus is rather dull, warlords can take care of themselves most of the time. So, I really don’t have anything better to do right now.” He leans against the tree and attempts to put an arm around her. She jerks away, “What is wrong with you?” She shrieks. He laughs at her discomfort, “Me? Nothing. I’m fine. But, what is wrong with you? You’re jumpy, that’s a new thing.” She scowls at him, “Yes, well, you aren’t exactly acting normal and I-,” He cuts her off, “Feel something towards me still, even after all these years.” She scowls at him, “In your dreams, Ares,” she says, heading back to camp. He follows her and grabs her wrist, spinning her around to face him. Anger burns in her eyes, “Go away,” she orders. He smiles, “Only for now,” and disappears. She shakes her head in bewilderment, then walks into camp.
Gabrielle smiles as Xena sits down next to her on the log, “Did you have a nice walk?” Xena nods slowly, “Yeah sure.” Gabrielle smiles, “Do you believe me now?” Xena nods again, “Yes, the Goddess of War is named Lissia. She Ares’ younger cousin from some God and a mortal or something like that. Zeus forced her to become the Goddess of War during the whole Dahok problem. She doesn’t do her job well from what I’ve heard and she likes you, probably because you and her have a lot in common.” Gabrielle nods, “So, you talked to her?” Xena shakes her head, “Not her. I talked to Ares.” Gabrielle nods in understanding, “That explains you’re sudden bad mood. So, you know Lissia?” Xena nods, “I used to. After I gave birth to Solon, I got news of Cortese’s army which I had been attempting to track. They had just attacked a small village, but they were destroyed by a girl with amazing powers. Naturally I was interested, so I moved my army out and tried to catch up with the remnants of Cortese’s army. After a few days I reached the village only to find it deserted. Ares appeared in my tent that night and asked for my help. We had been close before I took off to be a pirate, but I hadn’t seen him sense, so I was quite surprised when he showed up asking for my help. I went with him to the Halls of War, where there was a young girl laying on a cot in a feverish sleep. He told me that she was a Demi-God with powers that could rival Zeus’. Having just given up my child, I was at an emotionally weak state and I nursed her back to health. Everything was very new to her and she was scared. She looked towards me as a mother figure, which was slightly comforting for me. When she was healthy, Ares taught her how to control her powers and I taught her how to control her emotions and get over her first kill. We were a sort of family, I guess. So, her powers grew, but she refused to use them to kill, which at the time, I thought was a sign of weakness. When I went off with Hercules, she didn’t understand why I was leaving her and Ares. She understood why I was changing sides, but she wanted me to stay with them. I couldn’t do that though, no matter how much I wanted to. So I left and I haven’t seen her or heard about her sense. Until today that is.” Gabrielle sighs, “She’s a very sweet girl. I just don’t understand how Zeus could make a sweet girl like her become the Goddess of War. War is so evil and that’s not what she is.” Xena jerks to stare at her, “War isn’t evil, Gabrielle. People are evil, not war. War is just something that happens when people don’t agree. Or it’s something people use to gain power. It’s not evil. Lissia probably wants to prove that point. She always had this crazy theory that there is no good or bad when it comes to Gods. It was the argument she used to try to get me to stay. She probably still believes in that theory and wants to prove it by showing that the Goddess of War can be a sweet, little, girl.” There’s a flash and Lissia stands on the other side of the fire, “Little? Gods above! You and Ar! You both always called me little. I’m not a child, Xena and I’m not that little. I’m not that sweet either.” She plops down on a log and smiles at Gabrielle, “You look much happier, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle smiles, “I am, thanks to you.” Lissia smiles, then turns back to Xena, “Ar said he talked to you about me. He didn’t tell me anything else though. He was too busy laughing. Tell me Xena, what did you do to make him laugh so hard?” Xena blushes, “Nothing. He was just acting weird and-.” Lissia cuts her off, smiling, “Acting weird? Like expressing emotion and stuff?” Xena nods, unsure of the girl. Lissia jumps up and fireworks shoot into the sky, “Yes!” She shouts. Seeing the odd looks the others are giving her, she calmly sits back down and explains, “It’s something we’ve been working on. I didn’t think I was getting through to him, but obviously I was. Xena, you just made my day! What did he say? Or do?” Xena shakes her head, “Nothing to get excited over. He was just a little out of character, that’s all.” Lissia eyes her, “Tell me!” Xena laughs and ignores the look Gabrielle is giving her, “He put his arm around me, or at least he tried to.” Lissia looks discouraged, then perks up, “Oh well. It’s better than nothing at all. So, he didn’t say anything about his feelings?” Xena shakes her head, “Nothing about his, just something about mine. He tried to convince me that I have feelings for him.” “You do,” the other two say together, then giggle at each other. Xena turns to Gabrielle, “What?” Gabrielle shrugs, “There’s always been something there. I thought it was just sexual tension or something, but it could be more.” “It is more,” Lissia says, smiling at the bard. “You know, Xena, she’s really smart. If I were you, I would keep her around. She might be able to teach you something.” Xena glares at the Goddess, “Don’t you have better things to be doing than standing around talking to me?” Lissia shrugs, “Not really. Olympus is rather dull. And I don’t usually deal in wars or warlords. There was this thing in Rome. Something about a baby sacrifice, but the priests took care of it before I could get there. So, I really don’t have anything better to do right now.” Xena stares at the girl with annoyance playing in her gaze. Lissia smiles sweetly, knowing that Ares had told her something similar earlier that morning, “Well, I’m going to leave you two alone. I’m sure you have a lot of explaining to do, Xena. After all, I thought there were no secrets between you and Gabrielle anymore. Of course, I could have been mistaken.” The Goddess disappears and Gabrielle turns to stare at Xena, “Are there any secrets?” Xena shakes her head, “I think everything has been revealed.” Gabrielle nods, “Xena, what went on between you and Ares? Earlier you implied that you two were close. I thought you were just a warlord.” Xena sighs heavily, “Gabrielle, do we have to go into this? You know that I don’t like talking about that part of my life.” Gabrielle gives her a pointed look and Xena nods her head slowly. “I was his Chosen, his top warrior, among other things.” She trails off and Gabrielle looks disappointed, “What kind of other things?” Xena glares at her, “Nothing, Gabrielle.” The bard nods slowly, “Alright, I can tell that you aren’t ready to tell me everything. That’s alright, I can wait. I’m going for a swim. Want to come with?” Xena shakes her head, “No thanks.” Gabrielle nods and leaves the camp site.
Gabrielle smiles and lets herself sink into the water until it rests directly under her chin. She smiles and leans back into the water, letting it rinse through her hair. “Did you ever think Xena would be completely honest with you about her past?” A male voice says from behind her. Gabrielle gasps and turns around to face the shore, letting the water cover the majority of her exposed body. “Ares, what are you doing here?” He laughs, “You used to be such a sweet little thing, Xena sure did change that. Or was it Hope that changed you?” Gabrielle remains silent, pain racking through her heart at the mention of her evil daughter. He shakes his head and sits on a log, “So, do you think Xena will ever tell you everything?” He asks. Gabrielle adopts a sure smile, “Of course she will. When she’s ready. I understand that certain topics are harder to discuss than others. Obviously you are one of those topics.” Her face brightens with a smile, “So, what was Xena like? Other than being a warlord with a lust for blood and power. I’m sure you knew her better than anyone else. What was the real Xena like?” He laughs at her, “You mentioned lust. Now that was something she had. It wasn’t just blood and power though. There was revenge, passion, love.”
abrielle buts in, “Love? For Lyceus and her people?” He nods, “Yes, for her family, for Lissia, her army, her God. Xena has always been capable of great amounts of love, she just ignores it most of the time. She told you about nursing Lissia back to health. Do you really think a blood thirsty warlord is capable of such a loving act?” Gabrielle shakes her head, “Most of the warlords I’ve met wouldn’t help a soul.” A confused expression crosses her face, “She said something about being your Chosen, what does that mean?” Clearly getting tired of talking, he replies a little harshly, “Each God has a Chosen, Gabrielle. It’s usually a mortal or Demi that the God would trust with everything. Many Gods chose their lovers or children. Some Gods, like Lissia, find someone who reminds them of themselves.” Gabrielle’s eyes widen and he laughs, “Yes, you are Lissia’s Chosen, just as Hercules is Zeus’ and Xena is mine.” She nods, digesting this new information, then she questions him, “Why are you talking to me?” He shrugs, “You wanted to know about Xena’s past, she didn’t want to know, I knew, I talked, now you know. Put one and one together, do that several times and you get like twenty or something.” Gabrielle nods, “Right. Uh, Ares, leave. I’m all pruney.” He doesn’t budge, “Nothing I haven’t already seen. After all, your daughter looked just like you.” She blushes fiercely and begins to shoot back a comment, but he’s gone. She smiles weakly and wades to shore. She sits on a rock, letting the sun dry her off until she can feel the heat of the rock burning her back. She sits up and pulls on her clothes, then walks back to camp.
Xena turns, dagger in hand when a twig breaks behind her. She relaxes when she sees it’s Gabrielle, “Have a nice bath?” Gabrielle nods, “Uh, yeah, nice.” Xena raises an eyebrow, then looks back at the fire. Gabrielle sits next to her, “Chosen, huh?” Xena looks up, slightly confused, “Not anymore.” Gabrielle nods, “Are you sure about that?” Xena gives her a dirty look, then lets the matter drop, “So, you were sitting in the lake, thinking about me being his Chosen. Gabrielle, that’s morbid.” The bard laughs, “I thought about that a little. Where you two so close that he would have trusted you with everything?” Xena nods, “Yeah, like I said, we were close.” Gabrielle looks her friend over, the words lover and child going through her mind, “Is he your father?” Xena half chokes on the water she was drinking and spits it into the fire as she laughs, “No. That was just a fitting lie to get the Furies to leave me alone. They knew it wasn’t true, but they didn’t want to press it.” Gabrielle nods, “Lover, then,” she says quietly. Xena gives her a dirty look, then looks disgusted, “You were talking to Lissia, weren’t you? She explained this whole Chosen thing to you, didn’t she?” Gabrielle shakes her head, “Not Lissia,” she says meeting her friend’s gaze. Xena snaps at her, “Then who-Oh. That bastard. He just can’t keep his damn nose in his own damn business. You know, I should have just did him in when I had the Hind’s Blood dagger. It would have saved us all a lot of trouble.” Gabrielle’s eyes go wide, “Xena! Obviously your history with Ares is a touchy subject and yeah, he does tend to stir up trouble, but do you really want to kill him?” Xena stares at her friend and rolls her eyes, “Don’t tell me that you’re going to defend him?” She asks, angrily. Gabrielle shrugs, “I wouldn’t know where to start,” she says quietly. “I would,” Lissia says appearing on the edge of camp, anger in her eyes. Xena stands up, “I’m not getting into this, Lissia. Not again. I know the argument, I know the lines, and guess what! I still don’t believe them.” She walks past the Goddess, heading towards the forest and Lissia grabs her arm gently, “Then why did you tell Gabrielle that war isn’t evil?” She asks, letting Xena go. Xena stares at her, then at Gabrielle and leaves the camp, “I’m going for a swim,” she yells back. Lissia and Gabrielle watch her go, then sigh. Lissia sits next to the bard and remains silent. Gabrielle, unsure of what to say or do, begins to scribble on the side of her scroll. Lissia watches her, then laughs, “It’s a good thing you are a bard and not an artist, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle begins to laugh, then gets defensive and hands the quill and scroll to the Goddess, “I’d like to see you do a better job,” she challenges. Lissia smiles and begins to draw a stick figure horse which causes them both to laugh all the more.
Xena stops at the lake and sits on a rock, letting her feet dangle in the cool water. She can hear laughter coming from the camp, “What is she telling Gabrielle?” She asks aloud. Not really wanting to know, she shrugs and begins to break a nearby stick into several pieces. She doesn’t notice Ares sitting next to her until he asks, “Feeling a little replaced?” She jerks and gives him a dirty look, “No,” she answers simply. He nods, “So, are you mad at me, Lissia, or Gabrielle?” She looks uncomfortable, “I’m not mad,” she lies. He laughs at her, “Yeah and mom doesn’t look like a horse,” he shoots before becoming serious, “Okay, so I should have warned you about Lissia.” She rolls her eyes, “That’s not what’s bothering me.” He shrugs, “Okay, so you’re mad at me because I explained a few things to Gabrielle and she figured out a few more things. You’re mad at Gabrielle because she figured out those things and because she actually started to defend me. And you’re mad at Lissia because she can and will defend me and because she’s in your camp with your best friend, having fun and laughing. Oh, just to let you know, she hasn’t told Gabrielle anything about us.” Xena laughs, “There is no us, Ares. Not anymore, not ever again.” He stares into the lake, “It’s not healthy to hide your emotions, Xena.” She turns to him, “Sense when are you one to lecture anyone on hiding emotions. If I’m not mistaken, when I left to join Hercules, you kept a solid expression and told me that I’d come running back, while Lissia stood there in tears begging me to stay. Am I remembering that correctly? You didn’t ask me to stay, you didn’t seem upset, mad, nothing. You didn’t even comfort your little cousin. No, you have no room to lecture me on showing emotion.” He nods slowly, “I knew that it didn’t matter what I did, you were going to leave no matter what. I wasn’t going to make myself look like a fool. And I did comfort Lissia, after you left. We sat in the Halls of War, with her curled up and crying on me while eating chocolate. You would have laughed, I’m sure it was a funny site.” Xena shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter. Not now.” Slightly irritated, he stands up, “I’m going to get Lissia and we’ll leave you alone.” He starts to disappear, then stops to say, “By the way, that argument you and Gabrielle were having, she was right.” Xena turns to question him, but he’s gone. She sighs and tosses a few pieces of stick into the water before walking back to camp.
Xena walks into camp to see a fight breaking out between a tiny girl and the God of War. She giggles and looks at Gabrielle, who’s standing on the other side of camp. Xena walks over to her friend, “What happened?” Gabrielle jumps a little, then smiles at Xena, “Ares told her it was time to go because you were in a bi-uh, bad mood. Lissia didn’t like that idea, so she grabbed my staff and hit him in the back of the head. Next thing I knew, this was going on.” She motions at the fighting Gods. Xena laughs. Gabrielle smiles, “I thought she didn’t like violence. I thought she wanted to find a way around the violence. Guess I was wrong.” Xena shakes her head, “No, you were right. Lissia wants to stop the violence and live in peace, but she knows that the only way to get through to Ares is through brute force. She learned that from me.” Xena stops talking as Gabrielle’s staff is thrown to the other side of camp and Lissia lands on the ground. Xena rushes over, sword drawn and blocks the God’s sword before it can connect with the down Goddess. Ares roles his eyes, “Xena, this has nothing to do with you. I can’t hurt her, so move.” Xena smiles, “I don’t think so,” she says striking at him. Gabrielle rushes over and helps Lissia to her feet, “Are you alright?” She asks the stunned Goddess. Lissia nods slowly as she watches the fight between Xena and Ares. She turns to Gabrielle, looking triumphant, “They’re smiling!” Gabrielle nods, “Yeah, Xena does that when she fights.” Lissia shakes her head, “But this isn’t a fight, Gabrielle. It’s all a game.” Gabrielle looks confused, then stares at her friend and the God as they fight, “It doesn’t look like a game to me.” Lissia smiles, “You’re looking at it wrong. This exact same thing used to happen when Ares was training me. He would get me down and Xena would jump in to ‘save’ me. Watch, she’s going to back him into that tree and declare herself the winner and claim her prize.” Gabrielle raises an eyebrow, “Prize?” Lissia shrugs, “Alright, so that probably won’t happen, but he will let her win.” Lissia smiles confidently as Gabrielle watches the fight curiously. She gasps as her friend slams the God into a tree. Xena smiles, “I win,” she says quietly. Ares moves closer to her and Lissia holds her breath until Xena backs away. Ares’ and Lissia’s faces fall. Lissia comes forward and hugs the warrior, “Oh thank you Xena for saving me from the big bad God of War.” Xena rolls her eyes, “Game’s over, Lissia,” she says, going to stand next to Gabrielle. Lissia rolls her eyes and smiles at Ares, “Well, technically sense you were beaten, that means I win, which means we aren’t going anywhere.” Xena’s face falls and Gabrielle giggles. Lissia turns to Xena, “Thanks.” Xena gives her a dirty look, then smiles, “Well, if your staying, go get some food for Gabrielle to cook.” Gabrielle looks around, “Hey, there are other people here, Xena. Order one of them to cook,” she says motioning towards the two Gods. Xena laughs, “Alright Gabrielle. Let’s consider our options. Option one: you could cook, like you always do. Option two: I could cook.” Gabrielle makes a dirty face and Xena continues, “Option three: Ares could cook. After all, he is the one who taught me how to cook. Option four: Lissia could cook. Of course, she did learn from me.” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “Fine, I’ll cook. How did you three survive?” “That’s what servants and priests are for,” Ares says from the edge of camp. The bard smiles, “Here I was thinking Gods were all powerful. Just think without mortals, you would starve.” Ares laughs, “Gods don’t have to eat.” “Oh,” Gabrielle says quietly. Xena smiles and stares at the two Gods, “Hunt.” Ares gives her a look that clearly says, ‘make me’ and Lissia cringes. She moves closer to Xena, “Uh, I don’t kill little animals. I’ll eat them, but I can’t kill them. Come on Xena, you know how I am about these things.” Xena rolls her eyes and stares at Ares, then shakes her head, “Fine, I’ll hunt. You two stay here and lounge or something.” Gabrielle laughs at the offended look that crosses Ares’ face, “Lounge? The God of War does not lounge. The God of War kills.” Xena smiles, “Good, then let’s go kill a deer.” He smiles and follows her out of the camp. Lissia turns to Gabrielle, “Xena will get the deer. Ares’ will miss and hit a few trees or birds or something.” Gabrielle laughs, “Oh come on, he’s a God. Don’t tell me that he can’t hunt either.” Lissia laughs, “Oh he can hunt just fine. But he always lets Xena win.” Gabrielle is slightly taken aback, “Why?” The Goddess shrugs, “I don’t know. Ask him when they get back.” Gabrielle nods, thinking that she’ll have to do that.
Several minutes later, they hear Xena yelling as she approaches the camp, “You missed. And it’s not like you hit the tree next to the deer, no! You hit the tree next to me!” Gabrielle and Lissia look up in time to see Ares walking into camp with a deer over one shoulder and Xena leaning on the other with a branch sticking out of her leg. He shrugs, “You’re just mad because you have to depend on me right now.” She growls at him, “No, I’m mad because I have half a tree sticking out of my leg.” Lissia goes over and helps Xena walk over to a log near the fire. Gabrielle comes over and starts to examine the wound. Lissia nudges her away, “I’ll deal with it. Tell Ar how to skin the deer before he ruins it and pisses her off more.” Gabrielle looks to Xena for approval and when the warrior nods, she walks away. Xena looks up at Lissia, “I thought you fainted at the site of blood.” Lissia shakes her head, “Xena, I’ve been on the battlefield after bloodbaths. Do you really think this little wound is going to faze me?” She asks as she pushes the stick through. Xena lets out a little scream, “You’ve grown up,” she says between gasps. Lissia nods and smiles, “Hold still,” she says, placing her hands over the wound. As a bright light fills the area, all three turn to stare at Lissia, one smiling, the two women in shock. When the light fades, Xena looks down at her leg to find it completely healed. She looks up at Lissia, “Gods can’t heal without Athena’s blessing.” Lissia smiles weakly and begins to fall to the ground. Ares rushes to catch her before her head hits the ground. He sets her down gently, “She has a gift. Unfortunately it leaves her a little drained.” Gabrielle comes to stand behind Xena, “Amazing,” she breathes. Xena nods, “When did that develop?” He shrugs, “About a year ago.” Xena nods sadly, “Oh.” He looks up confused by her tone, then realization dawns on him, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that time frame.” Xena shakes her head and looks down as Lissia’s eyes open. Lissia smiles weakly, then grows sad, “I tried Xena. I really did. I just-. I just wasn’t strong enough.” Ares shushes the girl as Xena gets up and walks away. Gabrielle watches her go, then sits down next to the two Gods, “She gets like this sometimes.” The two nod. Lissia sits up, “She has every right to. After all, she lost her son. It’s almost been a year, now. I’m sure it’s still a sore subject.” Ares nods in agreement, then tosses a slab of meat at Gabrielle. It lands on Gabrielle’s lap and she gives him a dirty look as he laughs. At the sound of laughter, Xena turns around to see Gabrielle sitting on a log with a piece of meat covering her lap. She giggles lightly, then returns to the fire. As Gabrielle lifts it off her lap, Xena slices through it with her chakram, making the one large piece into two manageable ones. Xena sits down and continues to slice the meat into smaller pieces. Gabrielle stares at her disgustedly, “The chakram? Could you be any grosser?” Xena rolls her eyes, “I just cleaned it. Don’t worry so much.” She looks down at her weapon, “Of course, now it smells.” Gabrielle shakes her head and goes about cooking the deer. Xena sits next to her and grabs a rag and bar of soap. Ares rolls his eyes and waves a hand over it, “You mortals do everything the hard way.” Xena glares at him, then smiles lightly at her clean weapon. Lissia goes to sit by Gabrielle and quietly says, “He loves her.” Gabrielle drops the meat and stares over at Ares who’s staring at Xena, who’s staring at her chakram.
Gabrielle smiles over her plate of deer and looks over to Xena who’s picking at her meal. “What’s wrong? Too done for you?” She asks sarcastically. Xena jerks up and stares over at Gabrielle, “No, it’s fine.” Gabrielle nods, “Yeah, okay.” Lissia looks back and forth between the two, then shrugs and turns to Ares, “We should leave,” she says quietly. Gabrielle turns to stare at her, “You don’t have to leave. Isn’t that right, Xena?” Xena looks up momentarily, then shrugs, “Gabrielle, let them leave if they want to.” The two Gods rise and within seconds are gone. Gabrielle fumes, “Is there something bothering you?” Xena shrugs, “No, nothing at all. I just don’t like spending time with Ares. Last I checked you didn’t either.” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “He wasn’t doing anything, Xena. And what about Lissia? She hasn’t done anything at all to upset you. By the Gods what is your problem today?” Xena shakes her head and stands up, letting her plate rest near the fire, “Good night, Gabrielle.” The bard kicks some dirt into the fire in irritation, “What’s going on? Did I miss something? Did something happen when I wasn’t looking?” Xena shrugs and tosses a small leather pouch at her friend. Gabrielle stares first at Xena, then at the pouch. She gently opens the leather ties and turns it upside down, letting a small necklace fall into her hands. She folds it over in her hand a few times, then turns to stare at Xena, who’s know laying on top of her blankets. “Where did this come from?” She asks quietly. Xena rolls over and faces her, “I found it with my stuff. I’ll give you one guess who put it there.” Gabrielle smiles, “Lissia?” Xena nods, “More than likely. I can’t see Ares doing it.” The bard smiles, “It’s beautiful. It looks like your chakram only cleaner,” she jokes. Xena rolls back over, “Yeah, great.” Gabrielle jumps over her friend and sits down in front of her, letting the necklace dangle from her fingers, “Is there a story behind this?” She asks. Xena doesn’t reply, but adjusts herself, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground. Gabrielle nods, “Obviously there is. Well come on, tell me. It’s never going to stop bothering you if you don’t tell me.” When there’s no reply she tries again, “Come on Xena! You’ll feel better if you just let it out.” She adopts a pleading look and smiles when Xena sighs and sits up, snatching the necklace from her hand. “Alright, you want to know about this, huh?” The warrior asks her delighted friend. Gabrielle nods quickly and remains silent. Xena shakes her head, “It’s not much of a story and I’m no good at telling it, but I’ll tell you.” She pauses and Gabrielle smiles reassuringly. Xena rolls her eyes and tells her story, “Okay, it was about six months after we started training Lissia. Ares had given me the chakram about a month before. He said it was an old weapon, as old as the Gods and that it was created for someone like me. Someone with blood lust and passion. Dagnine was still in my army then. He and a group of my men went out to sack a village. We needed supplies and the villagers didn’t want to give them to me, so I sent Dagnine to take them. Neither he nor my men returned that night. It was a routine thing, it should have taken them two hours tops. I had been waiting for their return for four. So, I gathered a small party of my most trusted men and led them into the village. Apparently this village was one of the few that was prepared for us. My men were slaughtered, that is those who didn’t run. I watched as Dagnine led my men away from me. The coward. I was left there in the middle of a pissed off village with two men guarding my back. We fought our way out. I was injured. My two men carried me until they both collapsed from their own wounds. I knew that without me there to give orders my men would run. Or worse, they would follow Dagnine. In a nut shell, I knew I wasn’t going to survive and I knew that I had no chance of being rescued. I was wrong. A small group of my men found me and they brought me back to the camp. I was shocked. When they brought me into my tent, I saw why they had brought me back. In my absence, Lissia had taken over and ordered them to find me. With Ares backing her, my men weren’t going to argue. So, there I was, laying on a cot, gushing blood and what does she do? She hits the floor, unconscious. Yes, I made a Goddess pass out. At the time I didn’t find it funny, I was in a bit too much pain to find anything funny. It didn’t matter, Ares was soon there. He ordered my men to leave and then, with the blessing of Athena, he was able to heal me. I wasn’t exactly in tip top shape, but I could move and more importantly, I could control my army. When my men saw my miraculous recovery, they thought I was the most powerful mortal in all Greece. They were mine and I knew it. The first thing I did was order four groups of my men to surround the village and kill every living thing. That village was Cirra. I was proud of myself and Ares was proud of me. Of course Lissia was disappointed that I would chose revenge and violence over a devastating defeat. I thought she was being childish. That night, my men held a feast. I was celebrating in other ways. Anyway, the next morning, I woke up and found this necklace around my neck. Ares had left it. I never asked why. The only thought in my head was spoils of war. When I ran the gauntlet and he didn’t chose to help me, I thought he had betrayed me. I through this in a fire before going back out after Hercules. Lissia probably saved it and was waiting for the right time to give it back to me. Guess she found it, huh?” Xena closes her fist around the necklace and lays down in her bedroll pulling the blanket up around her chin, “Get some sleep, Gabrielle. I want to make Athens by tomorrow evening.” Gabrielle remains silent as she crawls into her bedroll. Before falling asleep she rolls over and faces her friend, “Thank you, Xena. You told it well.” Xena doesn’t reply and Gabrielle nods thinking that her friend had fallen asleep already.
Gabrielle awakes to the smell of eggs, bread, and pork. She rolls over and finds Xena still asleep. She stretches and yawns, then smiles and shakes Xena. Xena stirs and looks up at Gabrielle, “What are you doing up?” Gabrielle smiles, “I smelled food.” She points towards a blazing fire where two forms sit with their back facing her and Xena. Xena squints at the figures and throws her chakram. It rushes over their heads and they turn to stare at her. Gabrielle smiles, “Hi,” she says waving at the two Gods. Lissia jumps up, “Hey Gab, I thought you would want a break from cooking, so we whipped up a little something for you guys. Or, well, our priests did. Don’t worry the fruit’s fresh and the meat’s fully cooked.” She turns to Xena, “Good morning sunshine.” Xena sneers at her playfully and sets her chakram down on her bedroll. She strolls over to the fire and sits down, collecting a plate of food. She stares at Ares from across the fire, then smiles, “This isn’t your style. What’s going on?” He looks up at her and pauses before replying, “I should be asking you that,” he says pointing towards her neck. Xena reaches up and feels the necklace there. Her eyes go wide and she shoots an accusing glare at Lissia who shrugs saying, “It wasn’t me.” She turns to Gabrielle who’s smiling and trying not to giggle, “I thought it would look pretty. Look Xena, I didn’t know they were going to be serving us breakfast in bed.” Xena stands up, grabs her plate and goes into the forest, ripping the necklace from her neck, but not letting it fall from her hands. Gabrielle starts after her, but Lissia grabs her arm and shakes her head, then motions towards the fire, where Ares had been, “He’ll deal with her. You eat and don’t look so worried. Let me tell you Gabrielle, for a mortal woman, you got some big brass balls.” Gabrielle looks offended and Lissia smiles, laughing, “It’s alright. I picked it up from Strife before Callisto killed him. He liked to talk, well, different. He called it slang.” Gabrielle nods, still unsure about the slang talk.
Xena stops at the lake and sits down, letting the necklace rest next to her on a large rock as she eats her meal. She sits in silence for several moments before hearing, “Hey,” from behind her. She doesn’t turn to acknowledge Ares, “I wanted some peace, go away.” He shrugs and walks up to sit next to her, “Those two sure do like to meddle. I don’t think we should have let them meet.” Xena nods silently, still eating. He nods, “Are you going to be like this all day? If you are, I’ll have Lissia take Gabrielle with us when we leave. No one deserves to put up with you when you’re like this.” Xena flings her arm back to hit him, but he ducks under it, “Try a little lower next time. Not that it would make a difference.” Xena rolls her eyes and turns to face him, “Why are you still here?” He shrugs, “Because you haven’t killed me yet.” She shakes her head, “Unfortunately,” she mutters quietly. He stares at her offended, “That was low, Xena.” She rolls her eyes, “I’m sure you’re devastated.” He shakes his head, “You know, I get it. You’re mad and you don’t want me around. But honestly, who would you rather put up with right now? Me or one of those two?” Xena thinks it over, then sighs, “You could just leave. They think you’re pestering me and I’m sure you have better things to do. So just go.” He shakes his head, “No. I leave and Lissia first yells at you, then yells at me. I’m not putting up with her nagging me for the rest of the day.” Xena stares at him and smiles, “Have you gone soft?” Irritation and anger spread across his face, “I have not gone soft. I just don’t like putting up with cranky females who can follow me everywhere. Anyway, we’re supposed to be on vacation. Zeus wants me to teach her how to do her job. But he doesn’t want her throwing temper tantrums up on Olympus. So he told us to stay down here for awhile. And rather than sitting around in my temple lecturing her for an hour, then being lectured by her for three, I decided we’d come see you and Gabrielle. And thus far it’s kept her happy.” Xena laughs, “The all mighty God of War beaten by a little girl. Of course you always did have a soft spot for her.” “And you,” he adds in quickly. She smiles, “Yeah, lucky me.” She changes the subject quickly, “So, did you know that Lissia had this?” She asks, lifting the necklace. He nods, “Yeah, I gave it to her and told her to keep it safe.” Her eyes go wide, “You? You took it out of the fire? Why?” She questions in shock. He shrugs, “I might be the God of War, but I do have a sense of fashion and I wasn’t going to let a nice piece of jewelry burn.” She laughs, “Liar.” He looks away, “Am not. It’s beautiful, I couldn’t let it go to waste. Anyway, I knew you’d come back and regret burning it. It was going to be a welcome home present.” Xena smiles and folds her hand over the necklace, then drops it into his, “Well, you’re going to be holding onto that for a very long time because I’m not coming back.” He shakes his head and sets the necklace down between them, “Lissia was right when she gave it back to you. It belongs with you.” She shakes her head, “Why? It’s just another nasty remnant from my past.” He jerks to stare at her, then turns away, slightly hurt by her comment. She bites her lip and picks up the necklace, holding it out in front of her. She smiles at it, “I was wrong. It represents my past alright, but not everything from my past is horrible. After all there’s always Lissia and y-.” She stops quickly and looks out at the lake. He turns and smiles at her, “Lissia and I aren’t that bad, huh?” She laughs, “Lissia isn’t. I never said anything about you,” she says lightly. “Uh-huh,” he says eyeing her, “If I’m so bad why are you putting up with me?” She shrugs, then pulls her hair to one side and attaches the necklace, “I haven’t figured that out yet,” she says, standing up and heading towards camp.
Gabrielle watches the edge of the forest where Xena had gone nearly an hour before. She turns to Lissia, “Do you think they’re fighting?” Lissia shakes her head, “We’d hear it. There are other things they could be doing, Gabrielle,” she says with an evil smile. Gabrielle goes white, then shakes her head, “I don’t think so.” There’s laughter from the edge of camp and she jerks to see Xena walking in, “You okay?” She asks quickly looking her friend over. Xena nods, “I’m fine. And if you’re looking for hickeys, you aren’t going to find one.” Gabrielle blushes, “I wasn’t-. I mean- uh, it was her idea,” she says, pointing at the laughing Goddess. Gabrielle looks behind Xena, then looks up at her friend, “Where’s Ares?” Xena shrugs, “The lake maybe. That’s where I left him. Why don’t you go find him, Gabrielle.” The bard rolls her eyes, “I get it. You want me to go get Ares so that I can patch up any miss-spoken things and so you can try to kill the Goddess. Fine, I’ll leave.” Xena laughs and gives Lissia an evil glare. Lissia shrugs, “What? I didn’t do anything...This time.” Xena walks over and sits next to her, “What have you been telling Ares? He’s mentioned lectures and emotions. Now, you’re going to spill the whole story.” Lissia laughs, then seeing the glint in Xena’s eyes, gives in, “Alright look. You know how he’s been leaving you alone for awhile?” Xena nods silently. The Goddess continues, “He wants you to forgive him. Now he’ll never admit that, but it’s what he wants. He wants a fresh start with you. So, I’ve been helping him get in touch with his emotional side. I’m not talking the boo-who crying stuff, no, I’m talking love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, friendship. And it’s working Xena! It’s really working. Look at the way he’s been acting lately. It’s amazing, isn’t it? Look at the change you inspired him to commit. It took awhile for it all to sink in, but it finally has. Xena, he doesn’t want a warrior or a queen or anything of that, he wants you.” Xena stares at her, not believing half of what she’s hearing, “It’s a scheme, Lissia. And he’s got you fooled with it.” Lissia shakes her head, “It’s no scheme Xena. It isn’t and you’ll see. Eventually.” Xena shakes her head and silently contemplates the possibility that there could be a kinder, gentler God of War.
Gabrielle stops at the trees edge and watches as a rock lands in the water. She goes up and sits next to the God of War, “Don’t hurt me, but you look like a rejected teenager,” she says in a hushed voice. He turns towards her and shrugs, “Why did she send you out to talk to me?” Gabrielle looks around casually, “I don’t know really. I think it was just because she wanted to bite Lissia’s head off and didn’t want me to sit there and defend her. You seem a little upset, what’s wrong?” He rolls his eyes at the girl, “You are just like Lissia. How does Xena do it?” Gabrielle laughs, “She learned to deal with me, just as you learned to deal with Lissia.” He laughs, “I think the word learn should be replaced with forced. You forced Xena to put up with you until you actually started growing on her. And Lissia forced me to put up with her and still is most of the time.” “You love her,” Gabrielle says simply. He shrugs, “She’s like a daughter to me.” Gabrielle stares at him, “I wasn’t talking about Lissia.” When there’s no reply, she continues, “You love Xena and you don’t know what to do about it. You can create wars and pit nation against nation, but you can’t tell a woman how you feel. You really should get your priorities straight.” “They were,” he says harshly, “Until Lissia went and meddled with things. And now you’re in on this little game of hers and all hell is breaking loose.” Gabrielle moves away a little, startled by his harsh tone, “Look, I don’t like you much. But, I’ll be the first to admit that there has always been something between you and Xena. I never knew what it was until now. I didn’t believe Lissia when she told me, but I’ve seen it for myself. And regardless of what you might be thinking right now, Xena feels it too. And she’s scared. I don’t want her to be with you because you will destroy her. She doesn’t want to be your Warrior Queen or the Destroyer of Nations, she wants to be Xena, the hero, not the villain. Lissia says there are no villains when it comes to Gods. Gods just look out for themselves and stir up trouble because it’s their job. She says that war might be you, but you aren’t it. I don’t see how that’s possible. Until yesterday, I had never seen you do anything other than stir up trouble and wars. I thought that was all you could do. Lissia tells me I’m wrong. And from a few things Xena’s told me, I’m beginning to think she’s right. Look, Xena’s fighting an internal battle right now. She’s trying to find a balance. When she talks about you and Lissia, her face lights up and I can tell that those were happy times for her. She wants a family and when she looks at Lissia, she sees a daughter. When she looks at me, she sees a sister. And when she looks at you she sees what you used to be to her and what you are now. She wants things to be how they were, but she also wants to fight for the greater good. And if she’s with you, she can’t do that, can she? You won’t let her, will you?” Ares laughs at her lightly, “You speak of things you know nothing of. She probably never told you that I once spoke of changing for her, I was mortal at the time, but I was serious. And believe it or not, I have changed to a degree. You think I want Xena as a warrior. Well, I already have her as a warrior. She fights, usually it’s against my men, but she’s still fighting. And through that, she is mine. Unfortunately, just as you are. But what I want is her. There were times years ago, when her army would be off taking a break and it would just be me, her and Lissia. Those are the times I want to see again. And I suppose I could add you into that little picture. Yes, Xena was the best at what she did and even now, she still is. Other than her leaving me and Lissia behind like we’re a damn plague, nothing has changed. She’s the best and she fights for what she believes in. When I found her she was fighting for revenge, that grew into power. Now, she is fighting for redemption for all the people she killed. She wants a better world, just like she did when I found her mourning her dead brother. And if she could see, if even you could see, that nothing had to change between us, then maybe things could progress for us all.” Gabrielle sits and digests this new piece of information, she looks up at him smiling, “Would you fight with us?” He looks startled, “To a degree. There would still be wars and a few might be pointless and all for my glory, but if I wasn’t starting wars, then you and her would be out of a job.” She laughs lightly, “She’ll never lead an army, at least not for more than a few days. But, I know that she would fight with you if it were for a good cause. If it weren’t for your constant scheming she might have led your armies against Dahok. But she couldn’t trust you to let her leave command when it was all over. You have a chance, it’s a snowballs chance in Tarturus, but it’s there. She has a soft spot for you, otherwise she would have killed you when she had the chance. I think there might be love there.” He turns to stare at her, then looks slightly disgusted, “This is that bonding thing again, isn’t it?” She laughs and stands up, “Yeah, I think it is. I won’t tell if you won’t. Let’s go see if Xena has Lissia hog tied yet.” Ares stands, laughing, knowing that Xena is perfectly capable of hog tying a Goddess.
Xena and Lissia turn at the sound of footsteps. Lissia smiles, “What do you think Gabrielle did to him?” Xena laughs, “Probably gave him a headache.” “Haha. Very funny Xena,” Gabrielle says as she enters the camp. Ares walks in behind her and shakes his head. Lissia perks up, “What’s wrong Ar? Were you out done by a mortal?” He rolls his eyes at her, “Not even close.” Gabrielle stops the conversation from going any farther, “Lissia, you’re in one piece. I thought Xena was going to lop your head off or something.” Xena gives her an evil look, “Would I do that?” “Yes,” three voices answer her. She sneers slightly, then turns back to Gabrielle, “We’re all packed up. We can leave as soon as you’re ready.” Gabrielle nods, then leans in closer to Xena and quietly asks, “Are they coming with?” Xena shrugs, “Until they get bored, yeah, I think they are.” Gabrielle nods and smiles over at the two Gods, then turns back to Xena, “Why do you want to go to Athens?” Xena shrugs, “It’s a place to go until someone comes around asking us for help and it will give you a chance to shop.” Gabrielle smiles, “Oh okay. Uh, I’ll go get Argo ready. Lissia, come with me, Argo doesn’t always like me.” Xena sees what Gabrielle is planning on doing and gives her friend a dirty look. Gabrielle smiles at her, then rushes out of camp with Lissia close behind. “They’re meddling again,” Ares says as he walks over to the remnants of the fire. Xena shrugs, “At least they’re entertained. It could be worse, it could be Aphrodite meddling in our...issues,” she finishes slowly, unsure of what word would fit best. An uncomfortable silence falls over the two and Xena gets up to make sure the packs are tied tightly together. Seeing that they are, she sits back down. Ares watches her carefully, then laughs. She turns to stare at him, “What is so funny?” He shakes his head, “You’re nervous.” She looks offended, “I am not nervous! Why would I be nervous?” He shrugs, “Isn’t it obvious?” Her expression goes cold, “You do not make me nervous. I’m just anxious to get moving that’s all. You know I don’t like staying in one place very long.” He smiles, “I can think of a few.” She shoots him a dirty look, “Shut-up.” He looks her over, “Is that a suggestion, order, or just hot air?” She smiles, “An order.” He nods, “What happens if I don’t obey?” He asks suggestively. She rolls her eyes and doesn’t reply. He smiles, “You can’t win this one, can you?” She shrugs, “Maybe I don’t want to.” He laughs and is about to reply when Argo charges into camp with Gabrielle and Lissia following her. Gabrielle smiles, “She got a little spooked. I think it had to do with a certain Goddess shrieking and throwing energy bolts at a spider.” Xena smiles and looks over at Lissia, who’s trying not to make eye contact with anyone, “I thought you didn’t kill little animals?” Lissia shrugs, “Spiders and snakes don’t count. Just for the record, they don’t scare me, I just don’t like them.” Xena shakes her head and grabs Argo’s reigns, “Hey girl, ready to go?” Argo calms and Xena attaches the bags to her saddle, then starts off in the direction of the road.
A hand lands on Xena’s shoulder. She jumps and turns to see Lissia giving her a curious look, “Why are you so nervous?” “I am not nervous,” Xena says a little louder than necessary. Lissia looks away for a moment and giggling can be heard from behind her. Lissia looks back up at Xena, “We’re going to Athens, right?” Xena nods, “Yeah, unless someone needs our help.” Lissia smiles, “Well, if we make it to Athens tonight, we can stay in my temple. Now, I know you don’t like temples, but it would give Gabrielle a break from the ground. And Argo can stay in my stables.” Xena smiles and shakes her head, “So what you’re really saying is that Hera caught Zeus cheating on her again and by tonight there’s going to be a huge storm as those two duke it out on Olympus, right?” Lissia wrinkles her nose, “Not quite. Hera hasn’t caught him yet. But she’ll find out soon and then, well, I feel sorry for any mortal caught in that storm.” Xena nods, “Alright. We’ll stay in your temple tonight if no one needs us to go elsewhere and help with some problem or another.” Lissia smiles and rushes back to tell Gabrielle who lets a heavy sigh of relief escape her lips, “I swear, if I had to sleep on this hard ground again, I might just go crazy.” “You mean you aren’t already?” Ares asks sarcastically. Lissia and Gabrielle give him identical dirty looks and he shakes his head, then goes up to walk by Xena, “Can’t even take a little joke,” he mutters. Xena turns to look at him, “Like you can?” “And what’s that supposed to mean?” He asks, getting offended. Xena laughs, “Point proven,” she says quietly. He smiles, “You’re in a better mood.” She nods, “I told you I just needed to hit the road.” He nods, “Yeah, I believe that. Of course you did just explode at Lissia for mentioning something about you being nervous. I’m sure that was just her over reacting, or you over reacting. Or something like that.” She scowls at him, “You think I’m nervous. Fine, have it your way. But, tell me, Oh Powerful One, why am I nervous?” He smiles broadly and drapes an arm around her, “You’re starting to like me.” She jerks away harshly, “No, not quite.” He looks disappointed for a minute, then shrugs it off, “That’s okay. You’ll come around, they all do,” he says self-assuredly. “They?” She asks. He nods, not looking at her, “Yeah, you know, all the other little female warriors I visit and harass.” Xena looks away from him, “Pig,” she states flatly. He bursts into laughter, “My, my, are we jealous now, Xena?” She moves a little further away from him, “Why would I be jealous? No, I just feel sorry for those other girls.” He smiles, “You’re jealous. You are jealous because I give attention to other women. You’re jealous over something I totally made up. That’s funny, Xena, real funny.” She rams her elbow into his ribs, “I wasn’t jealous. I don’t care weather you have other women or not. That’s none of my concern. Although I’ll be the first to tell you that the whole thing with Hope was just disgusting.” He laughs, “Hope, Callisto, Nemesis, you. Yeah, that covers it.” She looks him over, “Don’t forget the harem girls.” He shakes his head, “No, none of them. And the priestesses are just around to keep the warlords under control when I’m too busy to answer their pathetic pleas.” She laughs, “So, you, the God of War, the damn son of Zeus, you are telling me that sense me there’s been three others? Sorry, I can’t swallow that.” He tosses her a water bag, “That might help.” She looks at it, then tosses it back at him and changes the subject, “So, Lissia has temples now?” He laughs, then answers, “She has one. It’s in Athens and it used to be mine. She used my temples while I was on a forced vacation, then I let her have my one in Athens so I wouldn’t have to deal with Athena anymore.” Xena nods, “You and Athena still don’t get along? I mean, I can’t blame her, after all you can be very insensitive, uncaring, unhonorable, and pretty much just a jerk. I guess I always thought she’d get used to it.” He stares at her open-mouthed, “Insensitive? Uncaring? Unhonorable? Jerk? Okay, I can understand that last one, little harsh though. I can be a little unattached maybe when it comes to emotional things. Unhonorable though! Now that’s just too far-.” He stops when he hears Xena laughing and turns to glare at her. She looks up at him and stops laughing, “Sorry. That’s called sarcasm, Ares. Some people just can’t take a joke. I can’t believe you admitted to being a jerk,” she says, beginning to laugh again. He glares at her, “That was low. You wanted me to say that. Now you’re going to use that against me. You know Xena, I don’t know why I try to be up front and honest with you. Should I stick with the backdoor, would that be better?” He questions angrily. Xena stares at him, slightly shocked, “Cool off a bit. I didn’t mean anything by it. I, of all people, know that you can be sensitive and caring when you want to be. And usually you’re style has honor to it, unless it involves me, then it is a little underhanded. But I understand all of that.” He turns to her, “You do?” She nods, “Of course, how else would the God of War go about getting back his Chosen?” He nods slowly, then smiles, “You said Chosen and not warrior or anything, why?” She shrugs, “I am a warrior, in that way, weather I fight for you or not, I am yours. Of course, so is Gabrielle and Joxer, and just about anyone else who takes it upon themselves to fight. Anyway, Chosen seemed to cover everything.” He nods and remains silent. Xena turns to look at him, “Why am I still your Chosen?” He stares straight ahead, “There’s no one else who can handle that position. We might not fight for the same things anymore, but if I were to lose everything and Zeus had to find a mortal replacement for me, there’s no one I would trust more with the job than you. You understand it and you respect it. You’re strong enough to handle the power and you wouldn’t abuse it. Anyway, I still believe that we will end up on the same side, or at least close to it.” Xena rolls her eyes, “I’m not joining you...ever,” she says, then stops and thinks for a moment, “You’re not asking me to join you, are you?” She asks, staring over at him. Not looking at her, he replies, “I’ve accepted the fact that you won’t return to my way of doing things. But as Lissia says, that doesn’t mean everything has to end.” Xena raises an eyebrow, “Uh-huh. What have you been drinking? Or are you just spending too much time with Lissia?” He stares at her, offended, “Snowballs chance in Tartarus,” he mutters as he walks ahead of her. Xena stares at his back as he rushes ahead of her, then looks back to see Lissia and Gabrielle giving her dirty looks. She rolls her eyes and continues walking at her normal pace, with Argo beside her.
Gabrielle fishes around in her bags for several minutes, then pulls out some food before sitting in the clearing for a brief break. She watches as Ares sits down several feet away with Lissia near him and Xena walks towards her. Gabrielle gives her friend a dirty look as she sits down. Xena glances over at her, “What?” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “Look, I didn’t want to admit it, but Lissia is right, he loves you. Xena, I talked to him earlier and I was really surprised. He just wants you, not a Warrior Queen, not the Destroyer of Nations, none of that. He even spoke of fighting with us. You’d be surprised about the change you can inspire in a man...Or a God,” Gabrielle says carefully. Xena glares at her, “That’s not funny, Gabrielle.” The bard shrugs, “It’s true. Xena, he’s stopped all his war planning to spend time with me, you and his little cousin. Not even an order from Zeus could get him to do that. I’ve talked to him twice now and trust me, he’s changed. I can feel it. Can’t you?” Xena looks away, “It won’t last, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle glances at the two Gods and when she determines that they are too busy with their own conversation, she speaks, “There were times years ago when you would send your army off on a vacation and it would be you, him and Lissia. He told me that and he told me that’s what he wants,” she giggles and adds, “He even said he’d add me into it.” Xena stares at her, “You’ve been drinking the same thing he’s been drinking. I swear, you are all losing your minds,” she says, standing up. Gabrielle pulls her back down, “Xena, I know how he works. I’ve been the victim of his schemes before. This is for real. Xena, you taught the God of War how to love.” Xena huffs lightly, “Gabrielle, I didn’t teach him anything. He loves war, he loves blood lust and power, he loves himself, he loves Lissia, and once upon a time, he might have loved me. That’s gone.” Gabrielle shakes her head, “I don’t think so. Tell me Xena, did you love him?” Xena jumps, startled by the question, then slowly nods, “I did, until I saw that he didn’t care.” Gabrielle rolls his eyes, “Xena, just because he didn’t help you through the Gauntlet doesn’t mean that he didn’t care. And who knows, maybe he did help you and that’s why you survived it.” Xena shakes her head, “That wasn’t what I was referring to, Gabrielle. When I left, he didn’t care. Lissia cried and begged, he just sat on his thrown with a cocky smile saying that I would come crawling back. He didn’t care then and he doesn’t care now.” Gabrielle nods and gets a sarcastic look, “That explains the past few years. He doesn’t care about you so he obsesses over you. Makes perfect sense.” Seeing that her sarcasm isn’t working, she takes a different approach, “Xena, only months after you left him, he was trying to seduce you back. Doesn’t that say something?” Xena nods, “Yeah, he wanted a Warrior Queen and he was horny.” Gabrielle’s eyes go large and she looks away, “So, you’re saying that it’s all about sex and power?” She questions quietly. Xena nods, “That’s right.” Gabrielle stands up, “Then why’s he here now?” Xena watches her friend walk away and kicks dirt into the fire, “I can’t believe that she’s siding with him,” she mutters. “I can,” Lissia says coming up behind her. Xena rolls her eyes, “Great, now you’re going to lecture me.” Lissia shakes her head, “He loves you Xena, he always has. I want you to know that. And I want you to know that you hurt him.” Xena looks up at the Goddess, “How?” She asks without showing emotion. Lissia sits down, “He was hurt when you left. He was hurt each time you said no to him, each time you manipulated your way away from him. Right now he’s hurt because he was being honest and sincere and you just couldn’t take him seriously.” Xena rolls her eyes, but bites the inside of her lip, knowing that Lissia and Gabrielle are right. Lissia stands, “Come on, if we’re going to make it to Athens by tonight, we better get moving.” Xena nods and reaches to grab Argo’s reigns, then stands up, “Come on everyone. Let’s move out.” Lissia raises an eyebrow, “Are we an army now, Xena?” Xena smiles and looks over the other three, “Yeah, we are,” she says, jerking herself and Argo ahead of everyone. Lissia watches her go, then turns to Ares and Gabrielle with a questioning look. They shrug and take off after Xena. After pondering things a bit longer, Lissia runs to catch up with them.
After several hours of travel and a silent horse being her only companion, Xena stops and turns around eyeing the other three, “Alright, what’s going on?” They all shrug. She glares at each in turn. Gabrielle steps forward, “I was telling them about Hope and Destroyer and your latest fight against Caesar. Just a few stories, Xena. You’re awfully nervous, is everything okay?” Xena fumes, “I am not nervous. I’m just not used to the silence.” She turns to Lissia, “See if you can help her with her new story. She can’t get it started.” Lissia nods and turns to Gabrielle, “Alright, dish it out. Tell me the details and we’ll find a beginning.” Gabrielle nods and begins to tell the story of the Horde. Xena buts in after a few moments, “Don’t forget the marriage proposal.” Gabrielle laughs and explains Milo and his desire to destroy the Horde. Xena continues walking in silence until things grow silent behind her. She turns around and sees that they are indeed walking in silence. Looking up at the darkening sky, she gets worried. “Lissia, Gabrielle, come here,” she orders. The two rush up to her. “What’s wrong?” Gabrielle asks. Xena points at the sky and Gabrielle’s shoulders sink when she sees the storm clouds. “Alright, Gabrielle get on Argo, Lissia up behind her.” Gabrielle gives her a skeptical look and Xena explains, “This is going to hit hard. I don’t want you or Argo out in it.” She turns to Lissia, “Make sure they get to Athens. And do this the mortal way, alright?” Lissia nods, “I don’t see why, but okay. I’ll keep them both safe. What about you and Ar?” Xena shrugs, “We’ll survive. Anyway, putting up with a little storm might do him some good.” Gabrielle kicks Argo lightly and the horse takes off, then she turns to look back at Xena, “You’re enough of a storm for anyone, Xena.” Xena glares at her, “Ride hard, Argo can handle it,” she yells. Watching her friend ride out of her sight, she turns around, “Come on, if we hurry, we’ll only get hit by the beginning of the storm.” Ares rushes to catch up with her, “You know, I could just-.” “No,” she cuts him off, “We do this my way.” He rolls his eyes, “Big surprise.”
An hour later Xena glares at the sky as rain threatens to drown her, “They just couldn’t wait, could they?” She asks sarcastically. Ares looks from her to the sky and shrugs, “It’s not that bad.” She turns to glare at him and laughs, “I thought rain didn’t effect Gods.” He looks away from her and she laughs harder, “I’m sure I look just as bad,” she says lightly. He nods and smiles over at her, “So, we’re talking now?” She shrugs and jogs to stand under a tree hoping for some sort of protection, “How long will this last?” Ares looks into the sky and shrugs, “Who knows? Mom can stay pretty mad for quite some time.” He turns away from her, “Aphrodite.” Xena glares daggers at him as his sister appears giggling. “Hey Ar. Hi Xena. Wow, it’s wet down here. What’s up, bro?” Ares stares at his sister, who is of course, totally dry, “How bad is it this time?” Aphrodite sighs, “Well, I’ve been bummin in one of my temples. But I’m still getting the gossip. Apparently there were more then one of these mortal woman screwing around with Zeus. So horse face throws this huge fit. Rain starts to pour down here. Zeus yells back, she yells, he yells, yadda, yadda. I leave, Cupie leaves, Artemis leaves, Apollo leaves, Athena stuck around. Their verbal fight went to a physical one and Athena vacated Olympus. Does that give you a clue?” Aphrodite answers sarcastically. Xena laughs, “The all powerful Gods fleeing Olympus because Zeus and Hera are dishing it out.” Aphrodite glares at her, then turns to Ares, “Why are you standing in the rain with her? I mean, I understand this whole love obsession thing, but this is a little ridiculous. Why don’t you take her to Athens, grab Liss and you two can come hang with me and Cupie.” Ares smiles at his sister, “Not this time, sis. I’m doing it her way.” Aphrodite rolls her eyes, “Whatever,” she says disappearing. He turns to Xena, “She has a point though. We should at least get out of the storm and Athens would be the best place to go. Lissia and Gabrielle are there, I’m sure you want to be with your friend.” Xena shakes her head, “You’re not transporting me anywhere. There’s a cave over there, we’ll stay there until the rain lightens up a bit,” she says, heading in the direction she was pointing. Ares shrugs and follows her through the sludge that was once solid ground.
Ares looks around the cave, “Didn’t your army use this as a fall back position a few years ago?” Xena nods and snaps a few spears in half, removing the points. She tosses them into a pile and tries to light them. Ares shakes his head and pulls her away from the wood before catching it on fire. Xena smiles, “Uh. Thanks.” She says uncomfortably. Ares nods and begins to look over the old weapons. He pulls out a sword and glares at the rust on it’s blade, “This is pathetic,” he says, indicating the weapon. Xena laughs, “Well, what do you expect? They’ve been exposed to the elements for quite some time.” He nods, “Yeah, too bad about that. I should have informed one of my generals about this place when you refused to come back.” Xena nods and pulls out a bow, then laughs when the string snaps in half, “Yeah, you should have. But you thought I’d come back, right?” He nods, still looking at a few of the weapons, trying to find any that are salvageable, “I hoped you would. But after that first year, I figured you wouldn’t. Didn’t change things of course. I wasn’t about to lose face and just stop trying.” “I’d expect nothing less,” Xena says, throwing the broken bow into the fire. Ares smiles at her, then glares at the fire, “You know, that bow and those spears, they might have been okay. You know, they could have been used.” Xena nods, “They are being used.” He rolls his eyes and tosses a random handle to some axe or spear into the fire. Xena gasps, “Destroying weapons now?” She asks playfully. He smiles over at her, then leans against the cave wall, “Okay, so how long is this good mood going to last? One hour? Maybe two?” Xena tosses a scabbard at him, “Longer if you don’t piss me off.” He looks the scabbard over, “Good leather,” he mutters, setting it down next to a few daggers that were rust free. Xena smiles, “See, I’m not destroying the important things.” “Uh-huh,” he says, snatching an axe from her before she can lop off the handle, “This is in good shape still. It stays.” Xena rolls her eyes, “Fine. What are you going to do with all that? Carry it around until we get to Athens?” He shrugs and waves a hand over the small pile, making it disappear, “No, I’m going to send it to the Halls of War.” She laughs lightly, then sits down close to the fire. He sits next to her and she visibly stiffens. “Nervous,” he whispers, looking in the other direction. She glares at him, “I’m not nervous. Even if I were, I’m not saying I am, but if I were, it wouldn’t be because of you.” He smiles at her and laughs quietly, “Sure,” he says, draping an arm around her. Xena resists the urge to jerk away, “See? You don’t bother me.” He looks her over and smiles at her balled up hands, “So, are you going to punch me or what?” She turns an icy smile towards him and moves a little closer. He watches her movements and moves away a little. Xena smiles in triumph, “Who’s nervous now?” He smiles at her game, “I was uncomfortable.” She laughs, “You’re a God, Ares. Gods don’t get physically uncomfortable. At least not last time I checked.” “And when was that?” Ares questions her sharply. She turns away a little color caressing her cheeks, then changes the subject, “So, the mortal plane hasn’t seen too many wars lately. What’s up with that?” Ares accepts the change in conversation, “There have been wars. Look at Caesar and Pompeii.” Xena raises an eyebrow, “You didn’t have anything to do with that.” He shrugs, “It was still a nice bloodbath. Two of Rome’s largest armies destroyed an a small village army almost wiped out. It was amazing.” Xena glares at him, “People died in that fight. People who had families, people who didn’t want to be there. Some killed for the first time that day. Don’t you understand that?” He looks over and notices her pained expression, “You sound like Lissia. She pulls that same little speech on me after every single fight, battle, skirmish. I know people lost their lives, their fathers, brothers, husbands, friends. But that’s what war is and without it, no one in this world would get anywhere.” Xena nods and looks him over, “I know. I understand war, Ares. I know why it’s needed and I’ve accepted that. But people die and to have their sacrifice spoken off as a nice bloodbath, well, it’s a little demeaning.” “They’re just mortals,” he snaps back. “So am I,” Xena says sharply. He inhales, “Yeah, I forget that sometimes. Look, most mortals come into this world and when they die, they’re replaced by some other mortal. Then there are ones like you, and those will leave an empty spot when they die. Needless to say, there aren’t very many of those.” Xena looks down, “So, my son was just replaced by some other mortal?” Anger and hurt travel across the cave in her voice. Ares turns to stare at her, but doesn’t reply. She nods and turns away from him, silent tears going down her face. He watches her, knowing very well that she is crying, “Xena, Solon was an amazing boy as far as mortal children are concerned. But, Gods view that differently. He was just a mortal to us, most of us, anyway,” he says the last part quietly. Viscously swiping at her tears, she turns a questioning look towards him, “Most?” Ares smiles, then looks away, “He was important to you. He will be remembered by Lissia and myself.” He sits down next to her as he speaks. Xena nods, “Thank you,” she says quietly. She shivers slightly and Ares takes notice of this, “Let me take us to Athens. You’re going to get sick,” he says, placing an arm around her. Xena turns and gives him an amused glare, “I will not get sick. I’ve dealt with worse than this.” Unconsciously, she shifts closer to him and he smiles waving a hand over her silently. She shoots him a dirty look when her leathers are suddenly dry, then notices how close she is to him and stands up, “Let’s go,” she says, starting off into the rain. He grabs her arm and drags her back into the cave, “Stay close and you won’t get wet.” She jerks out of his grasp, “I can handle a little rain,” she says motioning towards the pelting rain. Ares laughs, “No. You see, that’s not a little rain, that’s flash flood rain. If you get sick, Lissia will scalp me or lecture me. Personally I think lecturing would be worse.” Xena shakes her head and laughs quietly, “Fine. I’ll allow you to shield me from the rain. Don’t try anything,” she says starting out of the cave. Ares hurries to catch up with her, “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he mutters as the rain pelts down around them.
Xena smiles, seeing that Athens is now in sight, then frowns at the closed gates, “Son of a Bacchae,” she curses. Ares follows her gaze, then laughs, “Now can I transport us?” Xena rolls her eyes, “Fine, but only because my only other option is to double back and spend the night in that cave.” He smiles, then wrinkles his brow, “I think I like that idea a bit better. Forget I ever mentioned transporting.” Xena shoves him lightly, “We stay in that cave and you will be the one dealing with Gabrielle and her millions of questions tomorrow morning.” He frowns, “Alright, we go to Lissia’s temple then.” He places a hand on her shoulder and she moves a little closer to him. In seconds they are gone.
Lissia and Gabrielle jerk when they hear something crashing in the other room. Gabrielle looks in the direction of the noise, “What’s in there?” Lissia answers quietly, “My bedroom.” They walk towards the door and jump back when it opens on it’s own. Xena and Ares walk out, Xena angry, Ares looking quite happy with himself. “Rough landing,” he explains. Xena pushes him, “You did that on purpose.” He shrugs. Lissia smiles, “I thought there was no transporting allowed.” Xena glares at her, “Athens is locked up, we couldn’t get in and I didn’t want to spend the night in a cave with him. It’s called lack of options.” Lissia nods and glances in the room, then back at Ares, “There was a crash, what broke?” He shrugs, “Nothing, we didn’t land that hard. Oh, there was the vase she threw at me,” he says motioning towards a pile of broken pieces. Lissia smiles at them and they move to reform the vase. She smiles and places it on the table, “Unlike some, I don’t like making Athena angry.” Ares glares at her, “What a pity.” Gabrielle steps between them, making her way to Xena, “So, we’re stuck here until this ends, right?” Xena nods, “Yeah,” she says, then turns towards Lissia, “Any clue on how long this will last?” Lissia shrugs, “The longest was a week, but that had to do with Hercules. Usually it’s only a few hours, but I’m guessing this one will last till morning maybe even into tomorrow night.” Xena sighs defeated and sits down on the floor, letting her head rest against the wall. Gabrielle sits next to her, concerned. She leans in close and asks quietly, “Are you alright?” Xena opens her eyes and smiles, “I’m fine, just a little tired.” Gabrielle nods, “Why aren’t you wet?” Xena laughs and nods towards Ares. He shrugs, “You know how she is when she’s sick. And wet leather is not comfortable.” Xena laughs, “He was afraid that Lissia would lecture him if I got sick. Of course, I wasn’t going to get sick from a little rain, but he wouldn’t listen to that, so I humored him.” Gabrielle laughs at the two different stories, knowing that both make perfect sense.
Lissia sits down in front of Xena, “So, what do you usually do when it rains?” Xena shrugs, “Sleep.” Gabrielle laughs, “Usually we’re stuck running in the rain, in a cave, or standing under some huge, smelly tree.” Lissia nods, disappointed, then yanks on her cousin’s pant leg until he sits next to her, “What?” He asks, irritated. She wrinkles her nose, “I’m bored.” Gabrielle’s eyes light up, “How about a game?” Lissia smiles happily and turns to Ares, who looks unimpressed, but game, then turns to Xena who looks like she’s about to bolt. “What game?” Xena asks. Gabrielle shrugs, “We could take turns acting something out while the others guess.” Xena glares at her and shakes her head, “Not with you and not with him,” she says tossing her head in Ares’ general direction. Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “And why not?” Xena gives an obvious look, then answers the question, “You find the most minute things to act out that no one ever guesses correctly and he has a dirty mind.” She nods slowly, then smiles, “Fine,” before turning to Lissia, “Truth or dare?” She asks. Lissia smiles, “Dare.” Xena rolls her eyes as Gabrielle thinks for a minute. Gabrielle smiles and leans over to whisper something in Lissia’s ear. Lissia laughs, then shrugs and snaps her fingers. Xena looks around, waiting to see something appear, then stops and laughs out loud and points at Ares, “Into farming?” She questions. He laughs for a minute, “Just as much as you are, obviously. Although I don’t think any farm girl would wear a skirt that short, not that I’m complaining.” Xena’s face falls and she stares at Gabrielle, then at Lissia, with a threat playing in her eyes. Lissia sighs and snaps her fingers. Xena looks at herself, then over at Ares and smiles. Lissia brightens up, “My turn,” she turns to her cousin with an evil smile, “Truth or dare?” He shrugs, not liking this game at all, “Dare.” Lissia smiles, “You know you’re stuck either way, huh?” He shrugs, trying to act like he doesn’t care. She leans over and whispers something into his ear. His face brightens and he looks over at Xena, who’s staring at the two, very unsure of her own situation. He adopts an unsure look and motions for her to scoot closer. She doesn’t budge. He stares at her, “I’m supposed to say something.” Lissia huffs slightly and he turns to glare at her, “You said nothing about Gabrielle having to hear anything, just as long as she sees it, right?” Lissia nods, catching his game. Xena sighs and moves closer. He smiles and goes towards her ear, then captures her lips with his own, pulling her close. Gabrielle gasps and turns to Lissia, “What was that slang thing you said before?” Lissia smiles, “Big brass balls,” she supplies. Gabrielle nods, “Yeah,” then scoots back as Xena pulls away and gives him a murderous glare. He shrugs, “It was a dare, I wasn’t about to back down. Don’t worry you won’t be a target on this next one,” he turns to Gabrielle and asks, “Truth or dare?” She looks away and thinks carefully, “Truth.” He laughs, “Alright, fine, were you a virgin when you got married?” Lissia and Xena giggle softly and Gabrielle turns away embarrassed. She turns back to the group, blushing and stutters over her words, “Uh, well, technically, well, yeah,” she finally lets out. This causes an eruption of laughter from her friends. They settle quickly and she turns to Xena, “Truth or Dare?” Xena doesn’t hesitate, “Truth.” Gabrielle smiles happily, “Sense we’re on the topic, how old were you when you lost your virginity and to who?” Xena stares back at her, “That’s a loaded question, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle looks at the other two and they nod in approval, then she turns back to her friend, “It’s been approved.” Xena sighs, “Sixteen,” she says flatly. “And,” Gabrielle prompts. Xena looks irritated, then motions her head towards Ares, who’s sitting there looking very proud of himself. Gabrielle’s eyes go wide and Lissia giggles. Xena leans against the wall, “Ares, truth or dare?” He stares over at her, “Truth,” he says slowly. She rolls her eyes, “Afraid to take a dare from me?” He nods, “Yeah, you have a sick sense of humor.” She smiles and thinks for a minute, “Alright, why are you still here? And no crap answers this time.” He looks offended, then smiles, “I missed you.” Before she can say anything, he turns to Lissia, “Truth or dare?” She smiles, “Dare.” He laughs, “Are you sure?” She nods. He leans over and whispers something to her and her face falls, “You are such a jerk,” she says, disappearing. Before anyone can ask about the dare, she’s back with Aphrodite next to her smiling. Aphrodite looks around and smiles, “I love this game. Of course spin the bottle is better, but that would be a little one sided,” she says, eyeing her brother. He scoots away from the circle a little. Lissia speaks up, “Gab, truth or dare?” The bard smiles, “Dare.” Lissia laughs and whispers something to the bard. Gabrielle jerks away, “No,” she shrieks. Aphrodite buts in, “If you don’t accept, then you have to take a dare from each of us.” Gabrielle huffs lightly and Xena laughs at how tense she’s getting. The bard grumbles something and moves over to Ares. He looks at her confused, then shock registers on his face when she kisses him fully. He pushes her away and gives Lissia a dirty look. Lissia smiles and laughs as Gabrielle sits back down wiping her mouth. Xena nudges her gently and whispers, “I think he enjoyed that.” Gabrielle growls, then turns to Aphrodite, “Truth or dare?” Aphrodite smiles and giggles, “Dare!” Gabrielle smiles and whispers something in her ear. Aphrodite moves away, “How long?” Gabrielle thinks for a minute, “All night.” Aphrodite looks disgusted, then waves a hand over herself. A full black outfit covers the majority of her body. Everyone stares in shock. Aphrodite smiles, “Xena, truth or dare?” She asks evilly. Xena looks the Goddess over, “Dare.” Aphrodite smiles and leans over to whisper something. Xena jerks away, murder in her gaze. Aphrodite smiles as she moves back into the circle. Xena shakes her head and puts her weapons on the floor in front of her, then takes a deep breath, “With the offering of these most precious of weapons, I do profess my undying loyalty in all matters to my patron deity, the God of War.” Ares smiles, “Too bad it’s just your loyalty you’re offering me,” he says, pushing her weapons back to her. She sneers, “Truth or dare?” The words escape her lips with anger dripping off of each. “Dare.” She smiles and leans over to whisper something, biting his ear before moving away. He jerks to stare at her, then smiles, “Done.” Everyone looks around and Lissia speaks up, “What happened?” Ares shrugs, “Every war I have going on has just ended and none will begin for two weeks.” Xena looks satisfied and Lissia smiles, but the other two seem purely shocked. “Blondie, truth or dare?” He asks. “Truth,” she states, remembering the last question. He smiles, “Were you jealous when I was banging your daughter?” Her eyes go wide and everyone else looks away for a minute. She clears her throat and shakes her head. He raises an eyebrow and she looks irritated. “Maybe a little,” she says quietly, then turns to Lissia, “Truth or Dare?” “Truth,” the Goddess says. Gabrielle shrugs, “Are you a virgin?” She gives the bard a dirty look, “Yes.” Stifled giggles go around the room. She shakes it off, “Ar, truth or dare?” He looks uncertain, “Dare.” She smiles and whispers something at him. He looks irritated, then stands up and walks around the circle until he’s standing behind Gabrielle. He kneels down behind her and reaches an arm around her, letting his hand fall on her chest, then gives it a tight squeeze. She jerks violently and turns to slap him, but he was already back at his seat. Lissia stares over at him, “And.” He smiles, “Firm, a little on the small side though.” Xena laughs at her friend’s discomfort. Ares stares at her and she gives him a deadly look. He shrugs and turns to Aphrodite, “Truth or dare, sis?” “Truth,” she says happily. He thinks for a moment, a little disappointed, then smiles, “Me or Hephestous, who’s better?” She huffs a little, then smiles, her face a little red, “Hephy. He’s there the next morning and he doesn’t mess up my hair or leave marks,” she quickly turns to Xena, “Truth or dare?” “Truth,” Xena says giving her a threatening look. Aphrodite smiles, “You’ve heard my complaints against Ar, let me ask, how did you put up with it?” Xena laughs, in relief, “I had to organize an army in the morning.” “And,” Aphrodite says impatiently. Xena shrugs, “I like it rough. Gabrielle, truth or dare?” Still reeling from Xena’s confession, she says, “Dare.” Xena smiles and whispers something in her ear. Gabrielle smiles and reaches over to Aphrodite and twists her nipple hard. The Goddess shrieks, “Hey! No touchy!” Gabrielle and the rest laugh, then the bard turns to Ares, “Truth or Dare?” “Truth,” he says shortly, getting tired of the game and wary of both the dares and the questions. She smiles and shoots at him, “Do you love Xena?” Everyone turns to stare at him expectantly and he smiles, “Yes, I do.” There’s silence around the circle and he turns to his cousin, “Truth or dare?” “Dare,” she answers smiling. He whispers his dare and she gets up and walks over to Xena. A quiet, yet heated debate begins and lasts for several minutes. Finally Xena gives in and forgetting the company shouts, “Yes, I love him, shut up already. Gods above, you are such a nag.” Lissia smiles and sits down as the room falls deadly silent, “I think this is over,” she says quietly. Aphrodite nods and disappears, while Lissia and Gabrielle move to the back of the temple where there are bedrooms.
Silence fills the front of the temple. The tension in the air is almost tangible when Xena says, “That was low, even for you.” He shrugs, “I didn’t exactly think you were going to yell. I wasn’t expecting it.” She turns to glare at him, “You had it planned ever sense this little game began.” He laughs loudly, “No, I planned on leaving. Then it got interesting, until Gabrielle kissed me. That was wrong.” She laughs quietly, “Alright, maybe you didn’t have it planned.” She thinks over the situation for a minute, “Lissia did though. She played us all perfectly.” He laughs, “And what else is new? She has a talent for dragging information out of people.” Xena looks around the room, “I’m going to bed, were did Gabrielle and Lissia go?” He points towards the back of the temple, “I’ll take you. Trust me, you don’t want to get lost in her temple. Who knows what you might find.” She follows him and mutters a crude comment that he ignores.
Lissia and Gabrielle look up as Xena walks into the room with Ares trailing close behind her. “I’ll be across the hall,” he says, turning to leave. Lissia nods, then turns back to Gabrielle, “So anyway, here I was, crying like a baby and it’s the middle of the night in one of Ar’s dark, creepy temples. I walk around, balling and scaring myself at every turn. You see, I hadn’t been around him much at that point, it was only a few weeks after he found me. I wasn’t very comfortable around him or any other God. So naturally, I’m looking for a priestess or priest or anything mortal. And no one was around. So, I start opening doors. Most have weapons, but one is furnished and I see Xena’s armor sitting on a chair in the corner, so I go in and sit on the bed, still crying and hoping that she arrives soon. Not ten minutes later, the door swings open and there they are, all over-Oh. Hi Xena,” she finishes innocently. Gabrielle looks up at her friend, “Feisty, huh?” Xena smiles, “I was young and foolish. Let me finish the story. So, here we are, not at all used to having someone else around. We don’t notice her until there’s this horrid scream. I jerk away and turn to the bed and here’s Lissia, crying and looking horrified. Apparently, she thought she was going to see something she didn’t want to see, so she screamed. I go and sit next to her and she looks first at me, then at Ares and throws herself onto my chest, balling like nothing I had ever seen before. My eyes go wide and my heart’s racing, I have no clue what to do. So, I sit there, letting her cry. And Ares stands in the doorway, silent and staring at us. Eventually, after about an hour, Lissia falls asleep. I’m relieved to say the least. But, she’s still draped over me and I’m lost. The last thing I wanted was for her to wake back up. And Ares is still just staring. After a few minutes of me jerking my head towards her, he picks her up and lays on the bed. I immediately change out of my soaked leathers and start to follow him out of the room. And what does he do? He blocks my way. He didn’t want her to wake up alone. So I laid down next to her, cursing like a soldier. The next morning, I wake up and they’re sitting on my bed, tossing a fire bolt back and forth like nothing had happened. I sat there like what the hell?” Gabrielle laughs, “It sounds like you had some good times with them, Xena.” Xena nods and flops onto the bed, “Good night.” Lissia laughs and crawls into the over sized bed with Gabrielle following her seconds later.
Xena wakes up and looks at her two friends, still sound asleep. She carefully moves out of the bed and walks out of the room. She walks into the main room and is shocked to find a woman sprawled on the floor in tears, mumbling, “Oh Great Goddess, please hear me and help me.” Xena walks over, slightly uncomfortable and taps the woman on the shoulder, “What’s wrong?” The woman looks up, her eyes sparkling with hope, “Goddess?” Xena shakes her head, “Tell me what’s wrong, I’m sure I can help.” The woman collapses to the floor, “The storm last night, it washed out my house. We all got out accept for my youngest. She’s trapped on the top floor, alone. My husband tried to go in after her, but he couldn’t. The storm was so strong and the water was poring through the roads. I can’t lose my little one.” Xena nods, “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” The woman nods and watches as Xena runs into the back of the temple.
Xena rushes to the door of the room she had slept in and stops, not really wanting to wake the other two. She looks at the door across the hall and smiles before swinging it open. Ares turns from his seat on the balcony and smiles, “I didn’t expect you to be coming in here. I figured Lissia would get me when you all were awake.” Xena shakes her head, frantic, “They’re not awake and I need your help.” He perks up again, “Help with what?” He asks, eyeing her. Furious, she slaps him, “Stop that. I’m serious. There’s a woman out front and her kid is stuck in their flooded house. I don’t want to wake up Lissia, but I can’t get in there without a little divine intervention.” His face drops, “You want me, the God of War, to not only do my cousins job, but to help some woman with her child?” She nods, “Yes, and find my armor.” He shakes his head and her armor appears on the bed, “Hurry up.” She pulls on the armor and rushes from the room. Ares stops her, “Are you posing as Lissia?” Xena shakes her head, “Not that I know of, but that poor woman my think I am.” He nods, “We do this the God way then,” he says before they disappear.
Xena jerks as her feet hit solid ground, then she rushes over to the woman, “Where’s your house?” The woman smiles, then looks passed Xena to Ares, “Oh Great One, why is he here?” Xena closes her eyes for a minute, “Zeus is mad at me, I’m not allowed off Olympus without him, unless I’m in one of my temples.” The woman nods, “I see. Follow me,” she says, running from the house. Xena follows a bit slower and turns to Ares, “What was that about?” He shrugs, “Anyone who follows Lissia knows that I give her hell any chance I get. They don’t like me much.” She laughs and starts to run after the woman, then stops and stares at the flooded roads. She rushes into the water and it rises to her knees. The woman points towards a house that is about to fall apart. Xena nods and turns to Ares, who in turn puts a hand on her shoulder. They disappear and reappear inside the house, near the child. Xena rushes over and picks up the child who starts to scream. “Shh, little one. I’m a friend, your mom sent me to get you. I’m going to take you to her. But I need you to stop screaming.” The child quivers a little and snuggles into Xena’s chest. In seconds they are next to the mother and the child is jumping from Xena’s arms to the mother’s. “Oh Thank you, Great One and uh, you, God of War,” she says before rushing into a house that wasn’t damaged. Xena smiles, “Doing a good deed isn’t so bad, is it?” She asks Ares as they begin to trudge back to the temple. He shrugs, “I guess not. I mean, you aren’t yelling and cursing me. And one of Lissia’s followers addressed me by my proper title. Don’t get used to this though, I only helped to make you happy.” Xena smiles, “Thank you. I would kind of like to be someplace dry, if you don’t mind,” she says, extending her hand towards him. He smiles and they disappear in a rush of color, leaving the water swirling where they had stood moments before.
Lissia jerks awake as the bed moves under her. She sits up and looks to see Xena and Ares sitting at the end of the bed, staring at her. “What?” She asks, groggily. Xena shrugs, “You’ve been neglecting your duties as a Goddess. Ares and I had to save a child for one of your followers.” Seeing the laughter playing in the girl’s eyes, Xena becomes serious, “Lissia, you have to pay attention to these things. You aren’t a child anymore.” Lissia glares at Ares, “This is your doing, isn’t it?” He shrugs, “Not my fault Xena likes to wander around strange temples at hours of the morning.” Gabrielle sits up, half asleep, “What did Xena do at a strange temple?” Xena laughs, “Nevermind Gabrielle. Athens is flooded. I thought we could stick around and help these two fix it up.” Gabrielle and Lissia turn to Ares, questioningly. He shrugs, “Lissia, we’re stuck in the mortal plane until Zeus thinks you’re ready to come back. We have to do something so that he knows that you truly are capable of being a Goddess.” Lissia raises an eyebrow, “And this has nothing to do with Xena, right?” He smiles, “Of course not. Now, get ready and don’t wear a dress for once.” Xena smiles, “Or leather,” she says, twitching uncomfortably. They all laugh for a minute, then begin to get ready for the day of repairing what Zeus and Hera had destroyed.
Up on Olympus, Zeus and Hera smile down at the mortal plane. “Not bad for an old God, huh, my darling?” Zeus asks his wife. Hera smiles back at him, “Not bad at all. Lissia is learning responsibility, the bard has her story, our son is happy, and Xena is back where she belongs. Maybe we should kick them out of Olympus more often, they’re very productive when they can’t lounge around up here.” Zeus smiles wickedly, “Maybe we should kick everyone out of Olympus. Then we can be a bit more productive ourselves.” Hera shakes her head, “Maybe, but I don’t think Athena would go along with it. After all, she’s very attached to her Daddy. And she doesn’t exactly trust me with you.” He wraps an arm around her, “I wonder why not?” They both laugh and continue to watch as Athens is repaired.
Xena walks into the camp where she had left Gabrielle and smiles at the sleeping form of her friend. She moves closer and her smile turns to a frown, when she sees blood on the tree Gabrielle is leaning against. She jerks her friend awake, “Gabrielle, are you okay? What happened?” She asks as she looks over a small cut on the back of the bards head. Gabrielle smiles, “It was wonderful Xena. There’s actually a God on Olympus who cares and she thinks I can find a way around the violence. I don’t know how, but she’s filled me with a feeling of hope. And I feel pure, Xena, pure!” Xena smiles at her friend, looking strangely confused, “You were dreaming Gabrielle. You passed out. Let me clean this cut and you can eat and then you’ll see, it was just a dream.” Gabrielle looks mad, “It wasn’t a dream, Xena! She was real!” Thunder crashes above them and Xena stares at the sky, then shakes her head, “Alright, Gabrielle, then who was this Goddess?” Gabrielle shakes her head, “She said she was the Goddess of War. She was tiny, Xena, no muscle, no armor, no weapons, nothing but a simple black dress made of silk from Chin.” Xena laughs, “Gabrielle, you were dreaming. There is no Goddess of War and if there were, she wouldn’t look like that. She would look like Ares or Discord or Strife or Athena. She would have weapons, she would look like war, Gabrielle. Come on, let’s eat. Food should help your head clear up a bit.” Anger flashes across of the bards face, but as the wind blows the look vanishes, “You’ll see, Xena. You’ll see one day.” Xena nods, “Sure, Gabrielle,” she says, helping the girl to her feet. Gabrielle sways a little and grabs onto Xena’s arm for balance. Xena helps her to a log near the fire. She hands her some nutbread and cheese. Gabrielle sighs and begins to munch on them with a content smile on her lips.
Xena watches Gabrielle carefully as the young woman strolls around the campsite. Curiosity getting the best of her, she asks, “Gabrielle, how did you get that gash on the back of your head?” Gabrielle smiles and answers simply, “The Goddess threw me into the tree because I was going to attack her. She didn’t want to, but she had to.” Xena nods, “Uh-huh. So, what did this Goddess look like?” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “I told you, already. She was tiny, wearing only a black silk dress. No weapons, no armor.” Xena rolls her eyes, “Tiny? You mean short and thin?” Gabrielle nods, “Well, not short. My height, a little taller. But thin with no muscle. She had really pale skin, but it didn’t look deathly white. It had a glow to it. She had really long red hair. It was down passed her butt and her eyes were this really bright shade of blue, like yours. Oh, I think she knew you. She mentioned you and said something about me being friends with a close friend of hers. Then again, I’m friends with a lot of people, so maybe she meant someone else.” She turns to stare at Xena, whose face has gone ashen, “By the Gods, Xena, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s wrong?” Xena shakes her head, “Nothing. I’m fine. Did she tell you her name?” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “If she had, don’t you think I would have told you by now? Does this mean you believe me? Do you know her?” Xena shakes her head, “She sounds like someone I used to know. But the girl I knew can’t be the Goddess of War, it’s just not possible. Stay here, I’m going for a walk.” Xena stands and leaving her weapons behind, begins to walk into the forest. Gabrielle watches her go and shakes her head before sitting down on a log and staring into the fire.
Xena stops in a small clearing and leans against a tree, trying to look casual. Hardly above a whisper, she says, “Lissia.” She waits several moments and there’s nothing. She decides to go with another approach, “Oh Great Goddess of War,” she calls into the sky. When there’s no reply, she smiles, thinking that Gabrielle had just dreamed it all up. Her smile turns to a scowl when a chill goes up her spine, “Ares,” she spits out. He appears in front of her, smiling. “Good to see you too, Xena,” he says sarcastically. She rolls her eyes, “Which God is messing with Gabrielle?” She asks, letting her eyes rest on him in an accusing manner. He puts his hands up, “Not me. I don’t really pay much attention to the doings of the other Gods, unless they interfere with something I have an interest in.” She rolls her eyes and huffs lightly, “Fine. Is there a Goddess of War?” He smiles, “Well, there’s Athena. Technically, she’s the Goddess of Honorable Warfare, but I guess that could be the same as just plain war.” Anger surges through her and the swings an arm, trying to hit him, “I know about Athena. I meant is there any other Goddess of War?” He smiles, blocking her strike, “Well, yeah. She’s new to the job and not very good at it.” She glares at him, “Who?” He smiles wider, “Who? Come now, Xena. You know the answer to that.” Her face falls and all emotion leaves it as she allows herself to slump against the tree, “Lissia,” she breathes. He nods, “Yeah. When they found out about my alliance with Dahok, Zeus forced her to take my place and become the Goddess of War. Of course when they found out I was just trying to get the Hind’s Blood dagger so I could kill Dahok and Hope once the sacrificial offerings had given him enough blood to force his way into our realm, they gave me back my position, but forced little Lissia to remain as the Goddess of War. Poor kid, she hates it. So, how’d you find out about it?” Still in shock, Xena answers numbly, “Lissia visited Gabrielle and gave her hope and peace.” He nods, “Sounds like her style. She’s always liked the bard brat.” Xena nods, then jerks when she finds his hand resting on her shoulder, “Why didn’t she come when I called for her?” He shrugs, “How should I know? I thought she was in Rome, taking care of a problem in one of my temples.” “Rome?” Xena asks, perking up a little. He rolls his eyes, “Yes, Rome. And no, it has nothing to do with Caesar.” She nods, “Don’t you have better things to be doing than standing around talking to me?” He shrugs, “No, not really. Olympus is rather dull, warlords can take care of themselves most of the time. So, I really don’t have anything better to do right now.” He leans against the tree and attempts to put an arm around her. She jerks away, “What is wrong with you?” She shrieks. He laughs at her discomfort, “Me? Nothing. I’m fine. But, what is wrong with you? You’re jumpy, that’s a new thing.” She scowls at him, “Yes, well, you aren’t exactly acting normal and I-,” He cuts her off, “Feel something towards me still, even after all these years.” She scowls at him, “In your dreams, Ares,” she says, heading back to camp. He follows her and grabs her wrist, spinning her around to face him. Anger burns in her eyes, “Go away,” she orders. He smiles, “Only for now,” and disappears. She shakes her head in bewilderment, then walks into camp.
Gabrielle smiles as Xena sits down next to her on the log, “Did you have a nice walk?” Xena nods slowly, “Yeah sure.” Gabrielle smiles, “Do you believe me now?” Xena nods again, “Yes, the Goddess of War is named Lissia. She Ares’ younger cousin from some God and a mortal or something like that. Zeus forced her to become the Goddess of War during the whole Dahok problem. She doesn’t do her job well from what I’ve heard and she likes you, probably because you and her have a lot in common.” Gabrielle nods, “So, you talked to her?” Xena shakes her head, “Not her. I talked to Ares.” Gabrielle nods in understanding, “That explains you’re sudden bad mood. So, you know Lissia?” Xena nods, “I used to. After I gave birth to Solon, I got news of Cortese’s army which I had been attempting to track. They had just attacked a small village, but they were destroyed by a girl with amazing powers. Naturally I was interested, so I moved my army out and tried to catch up with the remnants of Cortese’s army. After a few days I reached the village only to find it deserted. Ares appeared in my tent that night and asked for my help. We had been close before I took off to be a pirate, but I hadn’t seen him sense, so I was quite surprised when he showed up asking for my help. I went with him to the Halls of War, where there was a young girl laying on a cot in a feverish sleep. He told me that she was a Demi-God with powers that could rival Zeus’. Having just given up my child, I was at an emotionally weak state and I nursed her back to health. Everything was very new to her and she was scared. She looked towards me as a mother figure, which was slightly comforting for me. When she was healthy, Ares taught her how to control her powers and I taught her how to control her emotions and get over her first kill. We were a sort of family, I guess. So, her powers grew, but she refused to use them to kill, which at the time, I thought was a sign of weakness. When I went off with Hercules, she didn’t understand why I was leaving her and Ares. She understood why I was changing sides, but she wanted me to stay with them. I couldn’t do that though, no matter how much I wanted to. So I left and I haven’t seen her or heard about her sense. Until today that is.” Gabrielle sighs, “She’s a very sweet girl. I just don’t understand how Zeus could make a sweet girl like her become the Goddess of War. War is so evil and that’s not what she is.” Xena jerks to stare at her, “War isn’t evil, Gabrielle. People are evil, not war. War is just something that happens when people don’t agree. Or it’s something people use to gain power. It’s not evil. Lissia probably wants to prove that point. She always had this crazy theory that there is no good or bad when it comes to Gods. It was the argument she used to try to get me to stay. She probably still believes in that theory and wants to prove it by showing that the Goddess of War can be a sweet, little, girl.” There’s a flash and Lissia stands on the other side of the fire, “Little? Gods above! You and Ar! You both always called me little. I’m not a child, Xena and I’m not that little. I’m not that sweet either.” She plops down on a log and smiles at Gabrielle, “You look much happier, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle smiles, “I am, thanks to you.” Lissia smiles, then turns back to Xena, “Ar said he talked to you about me. He didn’t tell me anything else though. He was too busy laughing. Tell me Xena, what did you do to make him laugh so hard?” Xena blushes, “Nothing. He was just acting weird and-.” Lissia cuts her off, smiling, “Acting weird? Like expressing emotion and stuff?” Xena nods, unsure of the girl. Lissia jumps up and fireworks shoot into the sky, “Yes!” She shouts. Seeing the odd looks the others are giving her, she calmly sits back down and explains, “It’s something we’ve been working on. I didn’t think I was getting through to him, but obviously I was. Xena, you just made my day! What did he say? Or do?” Xena shakes her head, “Nothing to get excited over. He was just a little out of character, that’s all.” Lissia eyes her, “Tell me!” Xena laughs and ignores the look Gabrielle is giving her, “He put his arm around me, or at least he tried to.” Lissia looks discouraged, then perks up, “Oh well. It’s better than nothing at all. So, he didn’t say anything about his feelings?” Xena shakes her head, “Nothing about his, just something about mine. He tried to convince me that I have feelings for him.” “You do,” the other two say together, then giggle at each other. Xena turns to Gabrielle, “What?” Gabrielle shrugs, “There’s always been something there. I thought it was just sexual tension or something, but it could be more.” “It is more,” Lissia says, smiling at the bard. “You know, Xena, she’s really smart. If I were you, I would keep her around. She might be able to teach you something.” Xena glares at the Goddess, “Don’t you have better things to be doing than standing around talking to me?” Lissia shrugs, “Not really. Olympus is rather dull. And I don’t usually deal in wars or warlords. There was this thing in Rome. Something about a baby sacrifice, but the priests took care of it before I could get there. So, I really don’t have anything better to do right now.” Xena stares at the girl with annoyance playing in her gaze. Lissia smiles sweetly, knowing that Ares had told her something similar earlier that morning, “Well, I’m going to leave you two alone. I’m sure you have a lot of explaining to do, Xena. After all, I thought there were no secrets between you and Gabrielle anymore. Of course, I could have been mistaken.” The Goddess disappears and Gabrielle turns to stare at Xena, “Are there any secrets?” Xena shakes her head, “I think everything has been revealed.” Gabrielle nods, “Xena, what went on between you and Ares? Earlier you implied that you two were close. I thought you were just a warlord.” Xena sighs heavily, “Gabrielle, do we have to go into this? You know that I don’t like talking about that part of my life.” Gabrielle gives her a pointed look and Xena nods her head slowly. “I was his Chosen, his top warrior, among other things.” She trails off and Gabrielle looks disappointed, “What kind of other things?” Xena glares at her, “Nothing, Gabrielle.” The bard nods slowly, “Alright, I can tell that you aren’t ready to tell me everything. That’s alright, I can wait. I’m going for a swim. Want to come with?” Xena shakes her head, “No thanks.” Gabrielle nods and leaves the camp site.
Gabrielle smiles and lets herself sink into the water until it rests directly under her chin. She smiles and leans back into the water, letting it rinse through her hair. “Did you ever think Xena would be completely honest with you about her past?” A male voice says from behind her. Gabrielle gasps and turns around to face the shore, letting the water cover the majority of her exposed body. “Ares, what are you doing here?” He laughs, “You used to be such a sweet little thing, Xena sure did change that. Or was it Hope that changed you?” Gabrielle remains silent, pain racking through her heart at the mention of her evil daughter. He shakes his head and sits on a log, “So, do you think Xena will ever tell you everything?” He asks. Gabrielle adopts a sure smile, “Of course she will. When she’s ready. I understand that certain topics are harder to discuss than others. Obviously you are one of those topics.” Her face brightens with a smile, “So, what was Xena like? Other than being a warlord with a lust for blood and power. I’m sure you knew her better than anyone else. What was the real Xena like?” He laughs at her, “You mentioned lust. Now that was something she had. It wasn’t just blood and power though. There was revenge, passion, love.”
abrielle buts in, “Love? For Lyceus and her people?” He nods, “Yes, for her family, for Lissia, her army, her God. Xena has always been capable of great amounts of love, she just ignores it most of the time. She told you about nursing Lissia back to health. Do you really think a blood thirsty warlord is capable of such a loving act?” Gabrielle shakes her head, “Most of the warlords I’ve met wouldn’t help a soul.” A confused expression crosses her face, “She said something about being your Chosen, what does that mean?” Clearly getting tired of talking, he replies a little harshly, “Each God has a Chosen, Gabrielle. It’s usually a mortal or Demi that the God would trust with everything. Many Gods chose their lovers or children. Some Gods, like Lissia, find someone who reminds them of themselves.” Gabrielle’s eyes widen and he laughs, “Yes, you are Lissia’s Chosen, just as Hercules is Zeus’ and Xena is mine.” She nods, digesting this new information, then she questions him, “Why are you talking to me?” He shrugs, “You wanted to know about Xena’s past, she didn’t want to know, I knew, I talked, now you know. Put one and one together, do that several times and you get like twenty or something.” Gabrielle nods, “Right. Uh, Ares, leave. I’m all pruney.” He doesn’t budge, “Nothing I haven’t already seen. After all, your daughter looked just like you.” She blushes fiercely and begins to shoot back a comment, but he’s gone. She smiles weakly and wades to shore. She sits on a rock, letting the sun dry her off until she can feel the heat of the rock burning her back. She sits up and pulls on her clothes, then walks back to camp.
Xena turns, dagger in hand when a twig breaks behind her. She relaxes when she sees it’s Gabrielle, “Have a nice bath?” Gabrielle nods, “Uh, yeah, nice.” Xena raises an eyebrow, then looks back at the fire. Gabrielle sits next to her, “Chosen, huh?” Xena looks up, slightly confused, “Not anymore.” Gabrielle nods, “Are you sure about that?” Xena gives her a dirty look, then lets the matter drop, “So, you were sitting in the lake, thinking about me being his Chosen. Gabrielle, that’s morbid.” The bard laughs, “I thought about that a little. Where you two so close that he would have trusted you with everything?” Xena nods, “Yeah, like I said, we were close.” Gabrielle looks her friend over, the words lover and child going through her mind, “Is he your father?” Xena half chokes on the water she was drinking and spits it into the fire as she laughs, “No. That was just a fitting lie to get the Furies to leave me alone. They knew it wasn’t true, but they didn’t want to press it.” Gabrielle nods, “Lover, then,” she says quietly. Xena gives her a dirty look, then looks disgusted, “You were talking to Lissia, weren’t you? She explained this whole Chosen thing to you, didn’t she?” Gabrielle shakes her head, “Not Lissia,” she says meeting her friend’s gaze. Xena snaps at her, “Then who-Oh. That bastard. He just can’t keep his damn nose in his own damn business. You know, I should have just did him in when I had the Hind’s Blood dagger. It would have saved us all a lot of trouble.” Gabrielle’s eyes go wide, “Xena! Obviously your history with Ares is a touchy subject and yeah, he does tend to stir up trouble, but do you really want to kill him?” Xena stares at her friend and rolls her eyes, “Don’t tell me that you’re going to defend him?” She asks, angrily. Gabrielle shrugs, “I wouldn’t know where to start,” she says quietly. “I would,” Lissia says appearing on the edge of camp, anger in her eyes. Xena stands up, “I’m not getting into this, Lissia. Not again. I know the argument, I know the lines, and guess what! I still don’t believe them.” She walks past the Goddess, heading towards the forest and Lissia grabs her arm gently, “Then why did you tell Gabrielle that war isn’t evil?” She asks, letting Xena go. Xena stares at her, then at Gabrielle and leaves the camp, “I’m going for a swim,” she yells back. Lissia and Gabrielle watch her go, then sigh. Lissia sits next to the bard and remains silent. Gabrielle, unsure of what to say or do, begins to scribble on the side of her scroll. Lissia watches her, then laughs, “It’s a good thing you are a bard and not an artist, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle begins to laugh, then gets defensive and hands the quill and scroll to the Goddess, “I’d like to see you do a better job,” she challenges. Lissia smiles and begins to draw a stick figure horse which causes them both to laugh all the more.
Xena stops at the lake and sits on a rock, letting her feet dangle in the cool water. She can hear laughter coming from the camp, “What is she telling Gabrielle?” She asks aloud. Not really wanting to know, she shrugs and begins to break a nearby stick into several pieces. She doesn’t notice Ares sitting next to her until he asks, “Feeling a little replaced?” She jerks and gives him a dirty look, “No,” she answers simply. He nods, “So, are you mad at me, Lissia, or Gabrielle?” She looks uncomfortable, “I’m not mad,” she lies. He laughs at her, “Yeah and mom doesn’t look like a horse,” he shoots before becoming serious, “Okay, so I should have warned you about Lissia.” She rolls her eyes, “That’s not what’s bothering me.” He shrugs, “Okay, so you’re mad at me because I explained a few things to Gabrielle and she figured out a few more things. You’re mad at Gabrielle because she figured out those things and because she actually started to defend me. And you’re mad at Lissia because she can and will defend me and because she’s in your camp with your best friend, having fun and laughing. Oh, just to let you know, she hasn’t told Gabrielle anything about us.” Xena laughs, “There is no us, Ares. Not anymore, not ever again.” He stares into the lake, “It’s not healthy to hide your emotions, Xena.” She turns to him, “Sense when are you one to lecture anyone on hiding emotions. If I’m not mistaken, when I left to join Hercules, you kept a solid expression and told me that I’d come running back, while Lissia stood there in tears begging me to stay. Am I remembering that correctly? You didn’t ask me to stay, you didn’t seem upset, mad, nothing. You didn’t even comfort your little cousin. No, you have no room to lecture me on showing emotion.” He nods slowly, “I knew that it didn’t matter what I did, you were going to leave no matter what. I wasn’t going to make myself look like a fool. And I did comfort Lissia, after you left. We sat in the Halls of War, with her curled up and crying on me while eating chocolate. You would have laughed, I’m sure it was a funny site.” Xena shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter. Not now.” Slightly irritated, he stands up, “I’m going to get Lissia and we’ll leave you alone.” He starts to disappear, then stops to say, “By the way, that argument you and Gabrielle were having, she was right.” Xena turns to question him, but he’s gone. She sighs and tosses a few pieces of stick into the water before walking back to camp.
Xena walks into camp to see a fight breaking out between a tiny girl and the God of War. She giggles and looks at Gabrielle, who’s standing on the other side of camp. Xena walks over to her friend, “What happened?” Gabrielle jumps a little, then smiles at Xena, “Ares told her it was time to go because you were in a bi-uh, bad mood. Lissia didn’t like that idea, so she grabbed my staff and hit him in the back of the head. Next thing I knew, this was going on.” She motions at the fighting Gods. Xena laughs. Gabrielle smiles, “I thought she didn’t like violence. I thought she wanted to find a way around the violence. Guess I was wrong.” Xena shakes her head, “No, you were right. Lissia wants to stop the violence and live in peace, but she knows that the only way to get through to Ares is through brute force. She learned that from me.” Xena stops talking as Gabrielle’s staff is thrown to the other side of camp and Lissia lands on the ground. Xena rushes over, sword drawn and blocks the God’s sword before it can connect with the down Goddess. Ares roles his eyes, “Xena, this has nothing to do with you. I can’t hurt her, so move.” Xena smiles, “I don’t think so,” she says striking at him. Gabrielle rushes over and helps Lissia to her feet, “Are you alright?” She asks the stunned Goddess. Lissia nods slowly as she watches the fight between Xena and Ares. She turns to Gabrielle, looking triumphant, “They’re smiling!” Gabrielle nods, “Yeah, Xena does that when she fights.” Lissia shakes her head, “But this isn’t a fight, Gabrielle. It’s all a game.” Gabrielle looks confused, then stares at her friend and the God as they fight, “It doesn’t look like a game to me.” Lissia smiles, “You’re looking at it wrong. This exact same thing used to happen when Ares was training me. He would get me down and Xena would jump in to ‘save’ me. Watch, she’s going to back him into that tree and declare herself the winner and claim her prize.” Gabrielle raises an eyebrow, “Prize?” Lissia shrugs, “Alright, so that probably won’t happen, but he will let her win.” Lissia smiles confidently as Gabrielle watches the fight curiously. She gasps as her friend slams the God into a tree. Xena smiles, “I win,” she says quietly. Ares moves closer to her and Lissia holds her breath until Xena backs away. Ares’ and Lissia’s faces fall. Lissia comes forward and hugs the warrior, “Oh thank you Xena for saving me from the big bad God of War.” Xena rolls her eyes, “Game’s over, Lissia,” she says, going to stand next to Gabrielle. Lissia rolls her eyes and smiles at Ares, “Well, technically sense you were beaten, that means I win, which means we aren’t going anywhere.” Xena’s face falls and Gabrielle giggles. Lissia turns to Xena, “Thanks.” Xena gives her a dirty look, then smiles, “Well, if your staying, go get some food for Gabrielle to cook.” Gabrielle looks around, “Hey, there are other people here, Xena. Order one of them to cook,” she says motioning towards the two Gods. Xena laughs, “Alright Gabrielle. Let’s consider our options. Option one: you could cook, like you always do. Option two: I could cook.” Gabrielle makes a dirty face and Xena continues, “Option three: Ares could cook. After all, he is the one who taught me how to cook. Option four: Lissia could cook. Of course, she did learn from me.” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “Fine, I’ll cook. How did you three survive?” “That’s what servants and priests are for,” Ares says from the edge of camp. The bard smiles, “Here I was thinking Gods were all powerful. Just think without mortals, you would starve.” Ares laughs, “Gods don’t have to eat.” “Oh,” Gabrielle says quietly. Xena smiles and stares at the two Gods, “Hunt.” Ares gives her a look that clearly says, ‘make me’ and Lissia cringes. She moves closer to Xena, “Uh, I don’t kill little animals. I’ll eat them, but I can’t kill them. Come on Xena, you know how I am about these things.” Xena rolls her eyes and stares at Ares, then shakes her head, “Fine, I’ll hunt. You two stay here and lounge or something.” Gabrielle laughs at the offended look that crosses Ares’ face, “Lounge? The God of War does not lounge. The God of War kills.” Xena smiles, “Good, then let’s go kill a deer.” He smiles and follows her out of the camp. Lissia turns to Gabrielle, “Xena will get the deer. Ares’ will miss and hit a few trees or birds or something.” Gabrielle laughs, “Oh come on, he’s a God. Don’t tell me that he can’t hunt either.” Lissia laughs, “Oh he can hunt just fine. But he always lets Xena win.” Gabrielle is slightly taken aback, “Why?” The Goddess shrugs, “I don’t know. Ask him when they get back.” Gabrielle nods, thinking that she’ll have to do that.
Several minutes later, they hear Xena yelling as she approaches the camp, “You missed. And it’s not like you hit the tree next to the deer, no! You hit the tree next to me!” Gabrielle and Lissia look up in time to see Ares walking into camp with a deer over one shoulder and Xena leaning on the other with a branch sticking out of her leg. He shrugs, “You’re just mad because you have to depend on me right now.” She growls at him, “No, I’m mad because I have half a tree sticking out of my leg.” Lissia goes over and helps Xena walk over to a log near the fire. Gabrielle comes over and starts to examine the wound. Lissia nudges her away, “I’ll deal with it. Tell Ar how to skin the deer before he ruins it and pisses her off more.” Gabrielle looks to Xena for approval and when the warrior nods, she walks away. Xena looks up at Lissia, “I thought you fainted at the site of blood.” Lissia shakes her head, “Xena, I’ve been on the battlefield after bloodbaths. Do you really think this little wound is going to faze me?” She asks as she pushes the stick through. Xena lets out a little scream, “You’ve grown up,” she says between gasps. Lissia nods and smiles, “Hold still,” she says, placing her hands over the wound. As a bright light fills the area, all three turn to stare at Lissia, one smiling, the two women in shock. When the light fades, Xena looks down at her leg to find it completely healed. She looks up at Lissia, “Gods can’t heal without Athena’s blessing.” Lissia smiles weakly and begins to fall to the ground. Ares rushes to catch her before her head hits the ground. He sets her down gently, “She has a gift. Unfortunately it leaves her a little drained.” Gabrielle comes to stand behind Xena, “Amazing,” she breathes. Xena nods, “When did that develop?” He shrugs, “About a year ago.” Xena nods sadly, “Oh.” He looks up confused by her tone, then realization dawns on him, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that time frame.” Xena shakes her head and looks down as Lissia’s eyes open. Lissia smiles weakly, then grows sad, “I tried Xena. I really did. I just-. I just wasn’t strong enough.” Ares shushes the girl as Xena gets up and walks away. Gabrielle watches her go, then sits down next to the two Gods, “She gets like this sometimes.” The two nod. Lissia sits up, “She has every right to. After all, she lost her son. It’s almost been a year, now. I’m sure it’s still a sore subject.” Ares nods in agreement, then tosses a slab of meat at Gabrielle. It lands on Gabrielle’s lap and she gives him a dirty look as he laughs. At the sound of laughter, Xena turns around to see Gabrielle sitting on a log with a piece of meat covering her lap. She giggles lightly, then returns to the fire. As Gabrielle lifts it off her lap, Xena slices through it with her chakram, making the one large piece into two manageable ones. Xena sits down and continues to slice the meat into smaller pieces. Gabrielle stares at her disgustedly, “The chakram? Could you be any grosser?” Xena rolls her eyes, “I just cleaned it. Don’t worry so much.” She looks down at her weapon, “Of course, now it smells.” Gabrielle shakes her head and goes about cooking the deer. Xena sits next to her and grabs a rag and bar of soap. Ares rolls his eyes and waves a hand over it, “You mortals do everything the hard way.” Xena glares at him, then smiles lightly at her clean weapon. Lissia goes to sit by Gabrielle and quietly says, “He loves her.” Gabrielle drops the meat and stares over at Ares who’s staring at Xena, who’s staring at her chakram.
Gabrielle smiles over her plate of deer and looks over to Xena who’s picking at her meal. “What’s wrong? Too done for you?” She asks sarcastically. Xena jerks up and stares over at Gabrielle, “No, it’s fine.” Gabrielle nods, “Yeah, okay.” Lissia looks back and forth between the two, then shrugs and turns to Ares, “We should leave,” she says quietly. Gabrielle turns to stare at her, “You don’t have to leave. Isn’t that right, Xena?” Xena looks up momentarily, then shrugs, “Gabrielle, let them leave if they want to.” The two Gods rise and within seconds are gone. Gabrielle fumes, “Is there something bothering you?” Xena shrugs, “No, nothing at all. I just don’t like spending time with Ares. Last I checked you didn’t either.” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “He wasn’t doing anything, Xena. And what about Lissia? She hasn’t done anything at all to upset you. By the Gods what is your problem today?” Xena shakes her head and stands up, letting her plate rest near the fire, “Good night, Gabrielle.” The bard kicks some dirt into the fire in irritation, “What’s going on? Did I miss something? Did something happen when I wasn’t looking?” Xena shrugs and tosses a small leather pouch at her friend. Gabrielle stares first at Xena, then at the pouch. She gently opens the leather ties and turns it upside down, letting a small necklace fall into her hands. She folds it over in her hand a few times, then turns to stare at Xena, who’s know laying on top of her blankets. “Where did this come from?” She asks quietly. Xena rolls over and faces her, “I found it with my stuff. I’ll give you one guess who put it there.” Gabrielle smiles, “Lissia?” Xena nods, “More than likely. I can’t see Ares doing it.” The bard smiles, “It’s beautiful. It looks like your chakram only cleaner,” she jokes. Xena rolls back over, “Yeah, great.” Gabrielle jumps over her friend and sits down in front of her, letting the necklace dangle from her fingers, “Is there a story behind this?” She asks. Xena doesn’t reply, but adjusts herself, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground. Gabrielle nods, “Obviously there is. Well come on, tell me. It’s never going to stop bothering you if you don’t tell me.” When there’s no reply she tries again, “Come on Xena! You’ll feel better if you just let it out.” She adopts a pleading look and smiles when Xena sighs and sits up, snatching the necklace from her hand. “Alright, you want to know about this, huh?” The warrior asks her delighted friend. Gabrielle nods quickly and remains silent. Xena shakes her head, “It’s not much of a story and I’m no good at telling it, but I’ll tell you.” She pauses and Gabrielle smiles reassuringly. Xena rolls her eyes and tells her story, “Okay, it was about six months after we started training Lissia. Ares had given me the chakram about a month before. He said it was an old weapon, as old as the Gods and that it was created for someone like me. Someone with blood lust and passion. Dagnine was still in my army then. He and a group of my men went out to sack a village. We needed supplies and the villagers didn’t want to give them to me, so I sent Dagnine to take them. Neither he nor my men returned that night. It was a routine thing, it should have taken them two hours tops. I had been waiting for their return for four. So, I gathered a small party of my most trusted men and led them into the village. Apparently this village was one of the few that was prepared for us. My men were slaughtered, that is those who didn’t run. I watched as Dagnine led my men away from me. The coward. I was left there in the middle of a pissed off village with two men guarding my back. We fought our way out. I was injured. My two men carried me until they both collapsed from their own wounds. I knew that without me there to give orders my men would run. Or worse, they would follow Dagnine. In a nut shell, I knew I wasn’t going to survive and I knew that I had no chance of being rescued. I was wrong. A small group of my men found me and they brought me back to the camp. I was shocked. When they brought me into my tent, I saw why they had brought me back. In my absence, Lissia had taken over and ordered them to find me. With Ares backing her, my men weren’t going to argue. So, there I was, laying on a cot, gushing blood and what does she do? She hits the floor, unconscious. Yes, I made a Goddess pass out. At the time I didn’t find it funny, I was in a bit too much pain to find anything funny. It didn’t matter, Ares was soon there. He ordered my men to leave and then, with the blessing of Athena, he was able to heal me. I wasn’t exactly in tip top shape, but I could move and more importantly, I could control my army. When my men saw my miraculous recovery, they thought I was the most powerful mortal in all Greece. They were mine and I knew it. The first thing I did was order four groups of my men to surround the village and kill every living thing. That village was Cirra. I was proud of myself and Ares was proud of me. Of course Lissia was disappointed that I would chose revenge and violence over a devastating defeat. I thought she was being childish. That night, my men held a feast. I was celebrating in other ways. Anyway, the next morning, I woke up and found this necklace around my neck. Ares had left it. I never asked why. The only thought in my head was spoils of war. When I ran the gauntlet and he didn’t chose to help me, I thought he had betrayed me. I through this in a fire before going back out after Hercules. Lissia probably saved it and was waiting for the right time to give it back to me. Guess she found it, huh?” Xena closes her fist around the necklace and lays down in her bedroll pulling the blanket up around her chin, “Get some sleep, Gabrielle. I want to make Athens by tomorrow evening.” Gabrielle remains silent as she crawls into her bedroll. Before falling asleep she rolls over and faces her friend, “Thank you, Xena. You told it well.” Xena doesn’t reply and Gabrielle nods thinking that her friend had fallen asleep already.
Gabrielle awakes to the smell of eggs, bread, and pork. She rolls over and finds Xena still asleep. She stretches and yawns, then smiles and shakes Xena. Xena stirs and looks up at Gabrielle, “What are you doing up?” Gabrielle smiles, “I smelled food.” She points towards a blazing fire where two forms sit with their back facing her and Xena. Xena squints at the figures and throws her chakram. It rushes over their heads and they turn to stare at her. Gabrielle smiles, “Hi,” she says waving at the two Gods. Lissia jumps up, “Hey Gab, I thought you would want a break from cooking, so we whipped up a little something for you guys. Or, well, our priests did. Don’t worry the fruit’s fresh and the meat’s fully cooked.” She turns to Xena, “Good morning sunshine.” Xena sneers at her playfully and sets her chakram down on her bedroll. She strolls over to the fire and sits down, collecting a plate of food. She stares at Ares from across the fire, then smiles, “This isn’t your style. What’s going on?” He looks up at her and pauses before replying, “I should be asking you that,” he says pointing towards her neck. Xena reaches up and feels the necklace there. Her eyes go wide and she shoots an accusing glare at Lissia who shrugs saying, “It wasn’t me.” She turns to Gabrielle who’s smiling and trying not to giggle, “I thought it would look pretty. Look Xena, I didn’t know they were going to be serving us breakfast in bed.” Xena stands up, grabs her plate and goes into the forest, ripping the necklace from her neck, but not letting it fall from her hands. Gabrielle starts after her, but Lissia grabs her arm and shakes her head, then motions towards the fire, where Ares had been, “He’ll deal with her. You eat and don’t look so worried. Let me tell you Gabrielle, for a mortal woman, you got some big brass balls.” Gabrielle looks offended and Lissia smiles, laughing, “It’s alright. I picked it up from Strife before Callisto killed him. He liked to talk, well, different. He called it slang.” Gabrielle nods, still unsure about the slang talk.
Xena stops at the lake and sits down, letting the necklace rest next to her on a large rock as she eats her meal. She sits in silence for several moments before hearing, “Hey,” from behind her. She doesn’t turn to acknowledge Ares, “I wanted some peace, go away.” He shrugs and walks up to sit next to her, “Those two sure do like to meddle. I don’t think we should have let them meet.” Xena nods silently, still eating. He nods, “Are you going to be like this all day? If you are, I’ll have Lissia take Gabrielle with us when we leave. No one deserves to put up with you when you’re like this.” Xena flings her arm back to hit him, but he ducks under it, “Try a little lower next time. Not that it would make a difference.” Xena rolls her eyes and turns to face him, “Why are you still here?” He shrugs, “Because you haven’t killed me yet.” She shakes her head, “Unfortunately,” she mutters quietly. He stares at her offended, “That was low, Xena.” She rolls her eyes, “I’m sure you’re devastated.” He shakes his head, “You know, I get it. You’re mad and you don’t want me around. But honestly, who would you rather put up with right now? Me or one of those two?” Xena thinks it over, then sighs, “You could just leave. They think you’re pestering me and I’m sure you have better things to do. So just go.” He shakes his head, “No. I leave and Lissia first yells at you, then yells at me. I’m not putting up with her nagging me for the rest of the day.” Xena stares at him and smiles, “Have you gone soft?” Irritation and anger spread across his face, “I have not gone soft. I just don’t like putting up with cranky females who can follow me everywhere. Anyway, we’re supposed to be on vacation. Zeus wants me to teach her how to do her job. But he doesn’t want her throwing temper tantrums up on Olympus. So he told us to stay down here for awhile. And rather than sitting around in my temple lecturing her for an hour, then being lectured by her for three, I decided we’d come see you and Gabrielle. And thus far it’s kept her happy.” Xena laughs, “The all mighty God of War beaten by a little girl. Of course you always did have a soft spot for her.” “And you,” he adds in quickly. She smiles, “Yeah, lucky me.” She changes the subject quickly, “So, did you know that Lissia had this?” She asks, lifting the necklace. He nods, “Yeah, I gave it to her and told her to keep it safe.” Her eyes go wide, “You? You took it out of the fire? Why?” She questions in shock. He shrugs, “I might be the God of War, but I do have a sense of fashion and I wasn’t going to let a nice piece of jewelry burn.” She laughs, “Liar.” He looks away, “Am not. It’s beautiful, I couldn’t let it go to waste. Anyway, I knew you’d come back and regret burning it. It was going to be a welcome home present.” Xena smiles and folds her hand over the necklace, then drops it into his, “Well, you’re going to be holding onto that for a very long time because I’m not coming back.” He shakes his head and sets the necklace down between them, “Lissia was right when she gave it back to you. It belongs with you.” She shakes her head, “Why? It’s just another nasty remnant from my past.” He jerks to stare at her, then turns away, slightly hurt by her comment. She bites her lip and picks up the necklace, holding it out in front of her. She smiles at it, “I was wrong. It represents my past alright, but not everything from my past is horrible. After all there’s always Lissia and y-.” She stops quickly and looks out at the lake. He turns and smiles at her, “Lissia and I aren’t that bad, huh?” She laughs, “Lissia isn’t. I never said anything about you,” she says lightly. “Uh-huh,” he says eyeing her, “If I’m so bad why are you putting up with me?” She shrugs, then pulls her hair to one side and attaches the necklace, “I haven’t figured that out yet,” she says, standing up and heading towards camp.
Gabrielle watches the edge of the forest where Xena had gone nearly an hour before. She turns to Lissia, “Do you think they’re fighting?” Lissia shakes her head, “We’d hear it. There are other things they could be doing, Gabrielle,” she says with an evil smile. Gabrielle goes white, then shakes her head, “I don’t think so.” There’s laughter from the edge of camp and she jerks to see Xena walking in, “You okay?” She asks quickly looking her friend over. Xena nods, “I’m fine. And if you’re looking for hickeys, you aren’t going to find one.” Gabrielle blushes, “I wasn’t-. I mean- uh, it was her idea,” she says, pointing at the laughing Goddess. Gabrielle looks behind Xena, then looks up at her friend, “Where’s Ares?” Xena shrugs, “The lake maybe. That’s where I left him. Why don’t you go find him, Gabrielle.” The bard rolls her eyes, “I get it. You want me to go get Ares so that I can patch up any miss-spoken things and so you can try to kill the Goddess. Fine, I’ll leave.” Xena laughs and gives Lissia an evil glare. Lissia shrugs, “What? I didn’t do anything...This time.” Xena walks over and sits next to her, “What have you been telling Ares? He’s mentioned lectures and emotions. Now, you’re going to spill the whole story.” Lissia laughs, then seeing the glint in Xena’s eyes, gives in, “Alright look. You know how he’s been leaving you alone for awhile?” Xena nods silently. The Goddess continues, “He wants you to forgive him. Now he’ll never admit that, but it’s what he wants. He wants a fresh start with you. So, I’ve been helping him get in touch with his emotional side. I’m not talking the boo-who crying stuff, no, I’m talking love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, friendship. And it’s working Xena! It’s really working. Look at the way he’s been acting lately. It’s amazing, isn’t it? Look at the change you inspired him to commit. It took awhile for it all to sink in, but it finally has. Xena, he doesn’t want a warrior or a queen or anything of that, he wants you.” Xena stares at her, not believing half of what she’s hearing, “It’s a scheme, Lissia. And he’s got you fooled with it.” Lissia shakes her head, “It’s no scheme Xena. It isn’t and you’ll see. Eventually.” Xena shakes her head and silently contemplates the possibility that there could be a kinder, gentler God of War.
Gabrielle stops at the trees edge and watches as a rock lands in the water. She goes up and sits next to the God of War, “Don’t hurt me, but you look like a rejected teenager,” she says in a hushed voice. He turns towards her and shrugs, “Why did she send you out to talk to me?” Gabrielle looks around casually, “I don’t know really. I think it was just because she wanted to bite Lissia’s head off and didn’t want me to sit there and defend her. You seem a little upset, what’s wrong?” He rolls his eyes at the girl, “You are just like Lissia. How does Xena do it?” Gabrielle laughs, “She learned to deal with me, just as you learned to deal with Lissia.” He laughs, “I think the word learn should be replaced with forced. You forced Xena to put up with you until you actually started growing on her. And Lissia forced me to put up with her and still is most of the time.” “You love her,” Gabrielle says simply. He shrugs, “She’s like a daughter to me.” Gabrielle stares at him, “I wasn’t talking about Lissia.” When there’s no reply, she continues, “You love Xena and you don’t know what to do about it. You can create wars and pit nation against nation, but you can’t tell a woman how you feel. You really should get your priorities straight.” “They were,” he says harshly, “Until Lissia went and meddled with things. And now you’re in on this little game of hers and all hell is breaking loose.” Gabrielle moves away a little, startled by his harsh tone, “Look, I don’t like you much. But, I’ll be the first to admit that there has always been something between you and Xena. I never knew what it was until now. I didn’t believe Lissia when she told me, but I’ve seen it for myself. And regardless of what you might be thinking right now, Xena feels it too. And she’s scared. I don’t want her to be with you because you will destroy her. She doesn’t want to be your Warrior Queen or the Destroyer of Nations, she wants to be Xena, the hero, not the villain. Lissia says there are no villains when it comes to Gods. Gods just look out for themselves and stir up trouble because it’s their job. She says that war might be you, but you aren’t it. I don’t see how that’s possible. Until yesterday, I had never seen you do anything other than stir up trouble and wars. I thought that was all you could do. Lissia tells me I’m wrong. And from a few things Xena’s told me, I’m beginning to think she’s right. Look, Xena’s fighting an internal battle right now. She’s trying to find a balance. When she talks about you and Lissia, her face lights up and I can tell that those were happy times for her. She wants a family and when she looks at Lissia, she sees a daughter. When she looks at me, she sees a sister. And when she looks at you she sees what you used to be to her and what you are now. She wants things to be how they were, but she also wants to fight for the greater good. And if she’s with you, she can’t do that, can she? You won’t let her, will you?” Ares laughs at her lightly, “You speak of things you know nothing of. She probably never told you that I once spoke of changing for her, I was mortal at the time, but I was serious. And believe it or not, I have changed to a degree. You think I want Xena as a warrior. Well, I already have her as a warrior. She fights, usually it’s against my men, but she’s still fighting. And through that, she is mine. Unfortunately, just as you are. But what I want is her. There were times years ago, when her army would be off taking a break and it would just be me, her and Lissia. Those are the times I want to see again. And I suppose I could add you into that little picture. Yes, Xena was the best at what she did and even now, she still is. Other than her leaving me and Lissia behind like we’re a damn plague, nothing has changed. She’s the best and she fights for what she believes in. When I found her she was fighting for revenge, that grew into power. Now, she is fighting for redemption for all the people she killed. She wants a better world, just like she did when I found her mourning her dead brother. And if she could see, if even you could see, that nothing had to change between us, then maybe things could progress for us all.” Gabrielle sits and digests this new piece of information, she looks up at him smiling, “Would you fight with us?” He looks startled, “To a degree. There would still be wars and a few might be pointless and all for my glory, but if I wasn’t starting wars, then you and her would be out of a job.” She laughs lightly, “She’ll never lead an army, at least not for more than a few days. But, I know that she would fight with you if it were for a good cause. If it weren’t for your constant scheming she might have led your armies against Dahok. But she couldn’t trust you to let her leave command when it was all over. You have a chance, it’s a snowballs chance in Tarturus, but it’s there. She has a soft spot for you, otherwise she would have killed you when she had the chance. I think there might be love there.” He turns to stare at her, then looks slightly disgusted, “This is that bonding thing again, isn’t it?” She laughs and stands up, “Yeah, I think it is. I won’t tell if you won’t. Let’s go see if Xena has Lissia hog tied yet.” Ares stands, laughing, knowing that Xena is perfectly capable of hog tying a Goddess.
Xena and Lissia turn at the sound of footsteps. Lissia smiles, “What do you think Gabrielle did to him?” Xena laughs, “Probably gave him a headache.” “Haha. Very funny Xena,” Gabrielle says as she enters the camp. Ares walks in behind her and shakes his head. Lissia perks up, “What’s wrong Ar? Were you out done by a mortal?” He rolls his eyes at her, “Not even close.” Gabrielle stops the conversation from going any farther, “Lissia, you’re in one piece. I thought Xena was going to lop your head off or something.” Xena gives her an evil look, “Would I do that?” “Yes,” three voices answer her. She sneers slightly, then turns back to Gabrielle, “We’re all packed up. We can leave as soon as you’re ready.” Gabrielle nods, then leans in closer to Xena and quietly asks, “Are they coming with?” Xena shrugs, “Until they get bored, yeah, I think they are.” Gabrielle nods and smiles over at the two Gods, then turns back to Xena, “Why do you want to go to Athens?” Xena shrugs, “It’s a place to go until someone comes around asking us for help and it will give you a chance to shop.” Gabrielle smiles, “Oh okay. Uh, I’ll go get Argo ready. Lissia, come with me, Argo doesn’t always like me.” Xena sees what Gabrielle is planning on doing and gives her friend a dirty look. Gabrielle smiles at her, then rushes out of camp with Lissia close behind. “They’re meddling again,” Ares says as he walks over to the remnants of the fire. Xena shrugs, “At least they’re entertained. It could be worse, it could be Aphrodite meddling in our...issues,” she finishes slowly, unsure of what word would fit best. An uncomfortable silence falls over the two and Xena gets up to make sure the packs are tied tightly together. Seeing that they are, she sits back down. Ares watches her carefully, then laughs. She turns to stare at him, “What is so funny?” He shakes his head, “You’re nervous.” She looks offended, “I am not nervous! Why would I be nervous?” He shrugs, “Isn’t it obvious?” Her expression goes cold, “You do not make me nervous. I’m just anxious to get moving that’s all. You know I don’t like staying in one place very long.” He smiles, “I can think of a few.” She shoots him a dirty look, “Shut-up.” He looks her over, “Is that a suggestion, order, or just hot air?” She smiles, “An order.” He nods, “What happens if I don’t obey?” He asks suggestively. She rolls her eyes and doesn’t reply. He smiles, “You can’t win this one, can you?” She shrugs, “Maybe I don’t want to.” He laughs and is about to reply when Argo charges into camp with Gabrielle and Lissia following her. Gabrielle smiles, “She got a little spooked. I think it had to do with a certain Goddess shrieking and throwing energy bolts at a spider.” Xena smiles and looks over at Lissia, who’s trying not to make eye contact with anyone, “I thought you didn’t kill little animals?” Lissia shrugs, “Spiders and snakes don’t count. Just for the record, they don’t scare me, I just don’t like them.” Xena shakes her head and grabs Argo’s reigns, “Hey girl, ready to go?” Argo calms and Xena attaches the bags to her saddle, then starts off in the direction of the road.
A hand lands on Xena’s shoulder. She jumps and turns to see Lissia giving her a curious look, “Why are you so nervous?” “I am not nervous,” Xena says a little louder than necessary. Lissia looks away for a moment and giggling can be heard from behind her. Lissia looks back up at Xena, “We’re going to Athens, right?” Xena nods, “Yeah, unless someone needs our help.” Lissia smiles, “Well, if we make it to Athens tonight, we can stay in my temple. Now, I know you don’t like temples, but it would give Gabrielle a break from the ground. And Argo can stay in my stables.” Xena smiles and shakes her head, “So what you’re really saying is that Hera caught Zeus cheating on her again and by tonight there’s going to be a huge storm as those two duke it out on Olympus, right?” Lissia wrinkles her nose, “Not quite. Hera hasn’t caught him yet. But she’ll find out soon and then, well, I feel sorry for any mortal caught in that storm.” Xena nods, “Alright. We’ll stay in your temple tonight if no one needs us to go elsewhere and help with some problem or another.” Lissia smiles and rushes back to tell Gabrielle who lets a heavy sigh of relief escape her lips, “I swear, if I had to sleep on this hard ground again, I might just go crazy.” “You mean you aren’t already?” Ares asks sarcastically. Lissia and Gabrielle give him identical dirty looks and he shakes his head, then goes up to walk by Xena, “Can’t even take a little joke,” he mutters. Xena turns to look at him, “Like you can?” “And what’s that supposed to mean?” He asks, getting offended. Xena laughs, “Point proven,” she says quietly. He smiles, “You’re in a better mood.” She nods, “I told you I just needed to hit the road.” He nods, “Yeah, I believe that. Of course you did just explode at Lissia for mentioning something about you being nervous. I’m sure that was just her over reacting, or you over reacting. Or something like that.” She scowls at him, “You think I’m nervous. Fine, have it your way. But, tell me, Oh Powerful One, why am I nervous?” He smiles broadly and drapes an arm around her, “You’re starting to like me.” She jerks away harshly, “No, not quite.” He looks disappointed for a minute, then shrugs it off, “That’s okay. You’ll come around, they all do,” he says self-assuredly. “They?” She asks. He nods, not looking at her, “Yeah, you know, all the other little female warriors I visit and harass.” Xena looks away from him, “Pig,” she states flatly. He bursts into laughter, “My, my, are we jealous now, Xena?” She moves a little further away from him, “Why would I be jealous? No, I just feel sorry for those other girls.” He smiles, “You’re jealous. You are jealous because I give attention to other women. You’re jealous over something I totally made up. That’s funny, Xena, real funny.” She rams her elbow into his ribs, “I wasn’t jealous. I don’t care weather you have other women or not. That’s none of my concern. Although I’ll be the first to tell you that the whole thing with Hope was just disgusting.” He laughs, “Hope, Callisto, Nemesis, you. Yeah, that covers it.” She looks him over, “Don’t forget the harem girls.” He shakes his head, “No, none of them. And the priestesses are just around to keep the warlords under control when I’m too busy to answer their pathetic pleas.” She laughs, “So, you, the God of War, the damn son of Zeus, you are telling me that sense me there’s been three others? Sorry, I can’t swallow that.” He tosses her a water bag, “That might help.” She looks at it, then tosses it back at him and changes the subject, “So, Lissia has temples now?” He laughs, then answers, “She has one. It’s in Athens and it used to be mine. She used my temples while I was on a forced vacation, then I let her have my one in Athens so I wouldn’t have to deal with Athena anymore.” Xena nods, “You and Athena still don’t get along? I mean, I can’t blame her, after all you can be very insensitive, uncaring, unhonorable, and pretty much just a jerk. I guess I always thought she’d get used to it.” He stares at her open-mouthed, “Insensitive? Uncaring? Unhonorable? Jerk? Okay, I can understand that last one, little harsh though. I can be a little unattached maybe when it comes to emotional things. Unhonorable though! Now that’s just too far-.” He stops when he hears Xena laughing and turns to glare at her. She looks up at him and stops laughing, “Sorry. That’s called sarcasm, Ares. Some people just can’t take a joke. I can’t believe you admitted to being a jerk,” she says, beginning to laugh again. He glares at her, “That was low. You wanted me to say that. Now you’re going to use that against me. You know Xena, I don’t know why I try to be up front and honest with you. Should I stick with the backdoor, would that be better?” He questions angrily. Xena stares at him, slightly shocked, “Cool off a bit. I didn’t mean anything by it. I, of all people, know that you can be sensitive and caring when you want to be. And usually you’re style has honor to it, unless it involves me, then it is a little underhanded. But I understand all of that.” He turns to her, “You do?” She nods, “Of course, how else would the God of War go about getting back his Chosen?” He nods slowly, then smiles, “You said Chosen and not warrior or anything, why?” She shrugs, “I am a warrior, in that way, weather I fight for you or not, I am yours. Of course, so is Gabrielle and Joxer, and just about anyone else who takes it upon themselves to fight. Anyway, Chosen seemed to cover everything.” He nods and remains silent. Xena turns to look at him, “Why am I still your Chosen?” He stares straight ahead, “There’s no one else who can handle that position. We might not fight for the same things anymore, but if I were to lose everything and Zeus had to find a mortal replacement for me, there’s no one I would trust more with the job than you. You understand it and you respect it. You’re strong enough to handle the power and you wouldn’t abuse it. Anyway, I still believe that we will end up on the same side, or at least close to it.” Xena rolls her eyes, “I’m not joining you...ever,” she says, then stops and thinks for a moment, “You’re not asking me to join you, are you?” She asks, staring over at him. Not looking at her, he replies, “I’ve accepted the fact that you won’t return to my way of doing things. But as Lissia says, that doesn’t mean everything has to end.” Xena raises an eyebrow, “Uh-huh. What have you been drinking? Or are you just spending too much time with Lissia?” He stares at her, offended, “Snowballs chance in Tartarus,” he mutters as he walks ahead of her. Xena stares at his back as he rushes ahead of her, then looks back to see Lissia and Gabrielle giving her dirty looks. She rolls her eyes and continues walking at her normal pace, with Argo beside her.
Gabrielle fishes around in her bags for several minutes, then pulls out some food before sitting in the clearing for a brief break. She watches as Ares sits down several feet away with Lissia near him and Xena walks towards her. Gabrielle gives her friend a dirty look as she sits down. Xena glances over at her, “What?” Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “Look, I didn’t want to admit it, but Lissia is right, he loves you. Xena, I talked to him earlier and I was really surprised. He just wants you, not a Warrior Queen, not the Destroyer of Nations, none of that. He even spoke of fighting with us. You’d be surprised about the change you can inspire in a man...Or a God,” Gabrielle says carefully. Xena glares at her, “That’s not funny, Gabrielle.” The bard shrugs, “It’s true. Xena, he’s stopped all his war planning to spend time with me, you and his little cousin. Not even an order from Zeus could get him to do that. I’ve talked to him twice now and trust me, he’s changed. I can feel it. Can’t you?” Xena looks away, “It won’t last, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle glances at the two Gods and when she determines that they are too busy with their own conversation, she speaks, “There were times years ago when you would send your army off on a vacation and it would be you, him and Lissia. He told me that and he told me that’s what he wants,” she giggles and adds, “He even said he’d add me into it.” Xena stares at her, “You’ve been drinking the same thing he’s been drinking. I swear, you are all losing your minds,” she says, standing up. Gabrielle pulls her back down, “Xena, I know how he works. I’ve been the victim of his schemes before. This is for real. Xena, you taught the God of War how to love.” Xena huffs lightly, “Gabrielle, I didn’t teach him anything. He loves war, he loves blood lust and power, he loves himself, he loves Lissia, and once upon a time, he might have loved me. That’s gone.” Gabrielle shakes her head, “I don’t think so. Tell me Xena, did you love him?” Xena jumps, startled by the question, then slowly nods, “I did, until I saw that he didn’t care.” Gabrielle rolls his eyes, “Xena, just because he didn’t help you through the Gauntlet doesn’t mean that he didn’t care. And who knows, maybe he did help you and that’s why you survived it.” Xena shakes her head, “That wasn’t what I was referring to, Gabrielle. When I left, he didn’t care. Lissia cried and begged, he just sat on his thrown with a cocky smile saying that I would come crawling back. He didn’t care then and he doesn’t care now.” Gabrielle nods and gets a sarcastic look, “That explains the past few years. He doesn’t care about you so he obsesses over you. Makes perfect sense.” Seeing that her sarcasm isn’t working, she takes a different approach, “Xena, only months after you left him, he was trying to seduce you back. Doesn’t that say something?” Xena nods, “Yeah, he wanted a Warrior Queen and he was horny.” Gabrielle’s eyes go large and she looks away, “So, you’re saying that it’s all about sex and power?” She questions quietly. Xena nods, “That’s right.” Gabrielle stands up, “Then why’s he here now?” Xena watches her friend walk away and kicks dirt into the fire, “I can’t believe that she’s siding with him,” she mutters. “I can,” Lissia says coming up behind her. Xena rolls her eyes, “Great, now you’re going to lecture me.” Lissia shakes her head, “He loves you Xena, he always has. I want you to know that. And I want you to know that you hurt him.” Xena looks up at the Goddess, “How?” She asks without showing emotion. Lissia sits down, “He was hurt when you left. He was hurt each time you said no to him, each time you manipulated your way away from him. Right now he’s hurt because he was being honest and sincere and you just couldn’t take him seriously.” Xena rolls her eyes, but bites the inside of her lip, knowing that Lissia and Gabrielle are right. Lissia stands, “Come on, if we’re going to make it to Athens by tonight, we better get moving.” Xena nods and reaches to grab Argo’s reigns, then stands up, “Come on everyone. Let’s move out.” Lissia raises an eyebrow, “Are we an army now, Xena?” Xena smiles and looks over the other three, “Yeah, we are,” she says, jerking herself and Argo ahead of everyone. Lissia watches her go, then turns to Ares and Gabrielle with a questioning look. They shrug and take off after Xena. After pondering things a bit longer, Lissia runs to catch up with them.
After several hours of travel and a silent horse being her only companion, Xena stops and turns around eyeing the other three, “Alright, what’s going on?” They all shrug. She glares at each in turn. Gabrielle steps forward, “I was telling them about Hope and Destroyer and your latest fight against Caesar. Just a few stories, Xena. You’re awfully nervous, is everything okay?” Xena fumes, “I am not nervous. I’m just not used to the silence.” She turns to Lissia, “See if you can help her with her new story. She can’t get it started.” Lissia nods and turns to Gabrielle, “Alright, dish it out. Tell me the details and we’ll find a beginning.” Gabrielle nods and begins to tell the story of the Horde. Xena buts in after a few moments, “Don’t forget the marriage proposal.” Gabrielle laughs and explains Milo and his desire to destroy the Horde. Xena continues walking in silence until things grow silent behind her. She turns around and sees that they are indeed walking in silence. Looking up at the darkening sky, she gets worried. “Lissia, Gabrielle, come here,” she orders. The two rush up to her. “What’s wrong?” Gabrielle asks. Xena points at the sky and Gabrielle’s shoulders sink when she sees the storm clouds. “Alright, Gabrielle get on Argo, Lissia up behind her.” Gabrielle gives her a skeptical look and Xena explains, “This is going to hit hard. I don’t want you or Argo out in it.” She turns to Lissia, “Make sure they get to Athens. And do this the mortal way, alright?” Lissia nods, “I don’t see why, but okay. I’ll keep them both safe. What about you and Ar?” Xena shrugs, “We’ll survive. Anyway, putting up with a little storm might do him some good.” Gabrielle kicks Argo lightly and the horse takes off, then she turns to look back at Xena, “You’re enough of a storm for anyone, Xena.” Xena glares at her, “Ride hard, Argo can handle it,” she yells. Watching her friend ride out of her sight, she turns around, “Come on, if we hurry, we’ll only get hit by the beginning of the storm.” Ares rushes to catch up with her, “You know, I could just-.” “No,” she cuts him off, “We do this my way.” He rolls his eyes, “Big surprise.”
An hour later Xena glares at the sky as rain threatens to drown her, “They just couldn’t wait, could they?” She asks sarcastically. Ares looks from her to the sky and shrugs, “It’s not that bad.” She turns to glare at him and laughs, “I thought rain didn’t effect Gods.” He looks away from her and she laughs harder, “I’m sure I look just as bad,” she says lightly. He nods and smiles over at her, “So, we’re talking now?” She shrugs and jogs to stand under a tree hoping for some sort of protection, “How long will this last?” Ares looks into the sky and shrugs, “Who knows? Mom can stay pretty mad for quite some time.” He turns away from her, “Aphrodite.” Xena glares daggers at him as his sister appears giggling. “Hey Ar. Hi Xena. Wow, it’s wet down here. What’s up, bro?” Ares stares at his sister, who is of course, totally dry, “How bad is it this time?” Aphrodite sighs, “Well, I’ve been bummin in one of my temples. But I’m still getting the gossip. Apparently there were more then one of these mortal woman screwing around with Zeus. So horse face throws this huge fit. Rain starts to pour down here. Zeus yells back, she yells, he yells, yadda, yadda. I leave, Cupie leaves, Artemis leaves, Apollo leaves, Athena stuck around. Their verbal fight went to a physical one and Athena vacated Olympus. Does that give you a clue?” Aphrodite answers sarcastically. Xena laughs, “The all powerful Gods fleeing Olympus because Zeus and Hera are dishing it out.” Aphrodite glares at her, then turns to Ares, “Why are you standing in the rain with her? I mean, I understand this whole love obsession thing, but this is a little ridiculous. Why don’t you take her to Athens, grab Liss and you two can come hang with me and Cupie.” Ares smiles at his sister, “Not this time, sis. I’m doing it her way.” Aphrodite rolls her eyes, “Whatever,” she says disappearing. He turns to Xena, “She has a point though. We should at least get out of the storm and Athens would be the best place to go. Lissia and Gabrielle are there, I’m sure you want to be with your friend.” Xena shakes her head, “You’re not transporting me anywhere. There’s a cave over there, we’ll stay there until the rain lightens up a bit,” she says, heading in the direction she was pointing. Ares shrugs and follows her through the sludge that was once solid ground.
Ares looks around the cave, “Didn’t your army use this as a fall back position a few years ago?” Xena nods and snaps a few spears in half, removing the points. She tosses them into a pile and tries to light them. Ares shakes his head and pulls her away from the wood before catching it on fire. Xena smiles, “Uh. Thanks.” She says uncomfortably. Ares nods and begins to look over the old weapons. He pulls out a sword and glares at the rust on it’s blade, “This is pathetic,” he says, indicating the weapon. Xena laughs, “Well, what do you expect? They’ve been exposed to the elements for quite some time.” He nods, “Yeah, too bad about that. I should have informed one of my generals about this place when you refused to come back.” Xena nods and pulls out a bow, then laughs when the string snaps in half, “Yeah, you should have. But you thought I’d come back, right?” He nods, still looking at a few of the weapons, trying to find any that are salvageable, “I hoped you would. But after that first year, I figured you wouldn’t. Didn’t change things of course. I wasn’t about to lose face and just stop trying.” “I’d expect nothing less,” Xena says, throwing the broken bow into the fire. Ares smiles at her, then glares at the fire, “You know, that bow and those spears, they might have been okay. You know, they could have been used.” Xena nods, “They are being used.” He rolls his eyes and tosses a random handle to some axe or spear into the fire. Xena gasps, “Destroying weapons now?” She asks playfully. He smiles over at her, then leans against the cave wall, “Okay, so how long is this good mood going to last? One hour? Maybe two?” Xena tosses a scabbard at him, “Longer if you don’t piss me off.” He looks the scabbard over, “Good leather,” he mutters, setting it down next to a few daggers that were rust free. Xena smiles, “See, I’m not destroying the important things.” “Uh-huh,” he says, snatching an axe from her before she can lop off the handle, “This is in good shape still. It stays.” Xena rolls her eyes, “Fine. What are you going to do with all that? Carry it around until we get to Athens?” He shrugs and waves a hand over the small pile, making it disappear, “No, I’m going to send it to the Halls of War.” She laughs lightly, then sits down close to the fire. He sits next to her and she visibly stiffens. “Nervous,” he whispers, looking in the other direction. She glares at him, “I’m not nervous. Even if I were, I’m not saying I am, but if I were, it wouldn’t be because of you.” He smiles at her and laughs quietly, “Sure,” he says, draping an arm around her. Xena resists the urge to jerk away, “See? You don’t bother me.” He looks her over and smiles at her balled up hands, “So, are you going to punch me or what?” She turns an icy smile towards him and moves a little closer. He watches her movements and moves away a little. Xena smiles in triumph, “Who’s nervous now?” He smiles at her game, “I was uncomfortable.” She laughs, “You’re a God, Ares. Gods don’t get physically uncomfortable. At least not last time I checked.” “And when was that?” Ares questions her sharply. She turns away a little color caressing her cheeks, then changes the subject, “So, the mortal plane hasn’t seen too many wars lately. What’s up with that?” Ares accepts the change in conversation, “There have been wars. Look at Caesar and Pompeii.” Xena raises an eyebrow, “You didn’t have anything to do with that.” He shrugs, “It was still a nice bloodbath. Two of Rome’s largest armies destroyed an a small village army almost wiped out. It was amazing.” Xena glares at him, “People died in that fight. People who had families, people who didn’t want to be there. Some killed for the first time that day. Don’t you understand that?” He looks over and notices her pained expression, “You sound like Lissia. She pulls that same little speech on me after every single fight, battle, skirmish. I know people lost their lives, their fathers, brothers, husbands, friends. But that’s what war is and without it, no one in this world would get anywhere.” Xena nods and looks him over, “I know. I understand war, Ares. I know why it’s needed and I’ve accepted that. But people die and to have their sacrifice spoken off as a nice bloodbath, well, it’s a little demeaning.” “They’re just mortals,” he snaps back. “So am I,” Xena says sharply. He inhales, “Yeah, I forget that sometimes. Look, most mortals come into this world and when they die, they’re replaced by some other mortal. Then there are ones like you, and those will leave an empty spot when they die. Needless to say, there aren’t very many of those.” Xena looks down, “So, my son was just replaced by some other mortal?” Anger and hurt travel across the cave in her voice. Ares turns to stare at her, but doesn’t reply. She nods and turns away from him, silent tears going down her face. He watches her, knowing very well that she is crying, “Xena, Solon was an amazing boy as far as mortal children are concerned. But, Gods view that differently. He was just a mortal to us, most of us, anyway,” he says the last part quietly. Viscously swiping at her tears, she turns a questioning look towards him, “Most?” Ares smiles, then looks away, “He was important to you. He will be remembered by Lissia and myself.” He sits down next to her as he speaks. Xena nods, “Thank you,” she says quietly. She shivers slightly and Ares takes notice of this, “Let me take us to Athens. You’re going to get sick,” he says, placing an arm around her. Xena turns and gives him an amused glare, “I will not get sick. I’ve dealt with worse than this.” Unconsciously, she shifts closer to him and he smiles waving a hand over her silently. She shoots him a dirty look when her leathers are suddenly dry, then notices how close she is to him and stands up, “Let’s go,” she says, starting off into the rain. He grabs her arm and drags her back into the cave, “Stay close and you won’t get wet.” She jerks out of his grasp, “I can handle a little rain,” she says motioning towards the pelting rain. Ares laughs, “No. You see, that’s not a little rain, that’s flash flood rain. If you get sick, Lissia will scalp me or lecture me. Personally I think lecturing would be worse.” Xena shakes her head and laughs quietly, “Fine. I’ll allow you to shield me from the rain. Don’t try anything,” she says starting out of the cave. Ares hurries to catch up with her, “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he mutters as the rain pelts down around them.
Xena smiles, seeing that Athens is now in sight, then frowns at the closed gates, “Son of a Bacchae,” she curses. Ares follows her gaze, then laughs, “Now can I transport us?” Xena rolls her eyes, “Fine, but only because my only other option is to double back and spend the night in that cave.” He smiles, then wrinkles his brow, “I think I like that idea a bit better. Forget I ever mentioned transporting.” Xena shoves him lightly, “We stay in that cave and you will be the one dealing with Gabrielle and her millions of questions tomorrow morning.” He frowns, “Alright, we go to Lissia’s temple then.” He places a hand on her shoulder and she moves a little closer to him. In seconds they are gone.
Lissia and Gabrielle jerk when they hear something crashing in the other room. Gabrielle looks in the direction of the noise, “What’s in there?” Lissia answers quietly, “My bedroom.” They walk towards the door and jump back when it opens on it’s own. Xena and Ares walk out, Xena angry, Ares looking quite happy with himself. “Rough landing,” he explains. Xena pushes him, “You did that on purpose.” He shrugs. Lissia smiles, “I thought there was no transporting allowed.” Xena glares at her, “Athens is locked up, we couldn’t get in and I didn’t want to spend the night in a cave with him. It’s called lack of options.” Lissia nods and glances in the room, then back at Ares, “There was a crash, what broke?” He shrugs, “Nothing, we didn’t land that hard. Oh, there was the vase she threw at me,” he says motioning towards a pile of broken pieces. Lissia smiles at them and they move to reform the vase. She smiles and places it on the table, “Unlike some, I don’t like making Athena angry.” Ares glares at her, “What a pity.” Gabrielle steps between them, making her way to Xena, “So, we’re stuck here until this ends, right?” Xena nods, “Yeah,” she says, then turns towards Lissia, “Any clue on how long this will last?” Lissia shrugs, “The longest was a week, but that had to do with Hercules. Usually it’s only a few hours, but I’m guessing this one will last till morning maybe even into tomorrow night.” Xena sighs defeated and sits down on the floor, letting her head rest against the wall. Gabrielle sits next to her, concerned. She leans in close and asks quietly, “Are you alright?” Xena opens her eyes and smiles, “I’m fine, just a little tired.” Gabrielle nods, “Why aren’t you wet?” Xena laughs and nods towards Ares. He shrugs, “You know how she is when she’s sick. And wet leather is not comfortable.” Xena laughs, “He was afraid that Lissia would lecture him if I got sick. Of course, I wasn’t going to get sick from a little rain, but he wouldn’t listen to that, so I humored him.” Gabrielle laughs at the two different stories, knowing that both make perfect sense.
Lissia sits down in front of Xena, “So, what do you usually do when it rains?” Xena shrugs, “Sleep.” Gabrielle laughs, “Usually we’re stuck running in the rain, in a cave, or standing under some huge, smelly tree.” Lissia nods, disappointed, then yanks on her cousin’s pant leg until he sits next to her, “What?” He asks, irritated. She wrinkles her nose, “I’m bored.” Gabrielle’s eyes light up, “How about a game?” Lissia smiles happily and turns to Ares, who looks unimpressed, but game, then turns to Xena who looks like she’s about to bolt. “What game?” Xena asks. Gabrielle shrugs, “We could take turns acting something out while the others guess.” Xena glares at her and shakes her head, “Not with you and not with him,” she says tossing her head in Ares’ general direction. Gabrielle rolls her eyes, “And why not?” Xena gives an obvious look, then answers the question, “You find the most minute things to act out that no one ever guesses correctly and he has a dirty mind.” She nods slowly, then smiles, “Fine,” before turning to Lissia, “Truth or dare?” She asks. Lissia smiles, “Dare.” Xena rolls her eyes as Gabrielle thinks for a minute. Gabrielle smiles and leans over to whisper something in Lissia’s ear. Lissia laughs, then shrugs and snaps her fingers. Xena looks around, waiting to see something appear, then stops and laughs out loud and points at Ares, “Into farming?” She questions. He laughs for a minute, “Just as much as you are, obviously. Although I don’t think any farm girl would wear a skirt that short, not that I’m complaining.” Xena’s face falls and she stares at Gabrielle, then at Lissia, with a threat playing in her eyes. Lissia sighs and snaps her fingers. Xena looks at herself, then over at Ares and smiles. Lissia brightens up, “My turn,” she turns to her cousin with an evil smile, “Truth or dare?” He shrugs, not liking this game at all, “Dare.” Lissia smiles, “You know you’re stuck either way, huh?” He shrugs, trying to act like he doesn’t care. She leans over and whispers something into his ear. His face brightens and he looks over at Xena, who’s staring at the two, very unsure of her own situation. He adopts an unsure look and motions for her to scoot closer. She doesn’t budge. He stares at her, “I’m supposed to say something.” Lissia huffs slightly and he turns to glare at her, “You said nothing about Gabrielle having to hear anything, just as long as she sees it, right?” Lissia nods, catching his game. Xena sighs and moves closer. He smiles and goes towards her ear, then captures her lips with his own, pulling her close. Gabrielle gasps and turns to Lissia, “What was that slang thing you said before?” Lissia smiles, “Big brass balls,” she supplies. Gabrielle nods, “Yeah,” then scoots back as Xena pulls away and gives him a murderous glare. He shrugs, “It was a dare, I wasn’t about to back down. Don’t worry you won’t be a target on this next one,” he turns to Gabrielle and asks, “Truth or dare?” She looks away and thinks carefully, “Truth.” He laughs, “Alright, fine, were you a virgin when you got married?” Lissia and Xena giggle softly and Gabrielle turns away embarrassed. She turns back to the group, blushing and stutters over her words, “Uh, well, technically, well, yeah,” she finally lets out. This causes an eruption of laughter from her friends. They settle quickly and she turns to Xena, “Truth or Dare?” Xena doesn’t hesitate, “Truth.” Gabrielle smiles happily, “Sense we’re on the topic, how old were you when you lost your virginity and to who?” Xena stares back at her, “That’s a loaded question, Gabrielle.” Gabrielle looks at the other two and they nod in approval, then she turns back to her friend, “It’s been approved.” Xena sighs, “Sixteen,” she says flatly. “And,” Gabrielle prompts. Xena looks irritated, then motions her head towards Ares, who’s sitting there looking very proud of himself. Gabrielle’s eyes go wide and Lissia giggles. Xena leans against the wall, “Ares, truth or dare?” He stares over at her, “Truth,” he says slowly. She rolls her eyes, “Afraid to take a dare from me?” He nods, “Yeah, you have a sick sense of humor.” She smiles and thinks for a minute, “Alright, why are you still here? And no crap answers this time.” He looks offended, then smiles, “I missed you.” Before she can say anything, he turns to Lissia, “Truth or dare?” She smiles, “Dare.” He laughs, “Are you sure?” She nods. He leans over and whispers something to her and her face falls, “You are such a jerk,” she says, disappearing. Before anyone can ask about the dare, she’s back with Aphrodite next to her smiling. Aphrodite looks around and smiles, “I love this game. Of course spin the bottle is better, but that would be a little one sided,” she says, eyeing her brother. He scoots away from the circle a little. Lissia speaks up, “Gab, truth or dare?” The bard smiles, “Dare.” Lissia laughs and whispers something to the bard. Gabrielle jerks away, “No,” she shrieks. Aphrodite buts in, “If you don’t accept, then you have to take a dare from each of us.” Gabrielle huffs lightly and Xena laughs at how tense she’s getting. The bard grumbles something and moves over to Ares. He looks at her confused, then shock registers on his face when she kisses him fully. He pushes her away and gives Lissia a dirty look. Lissia smiles and laughs as Gabrielle sits back down wiping her mouth. Xena nudges her gently and whispers, “I think he enjoyed that.” Gabrielle growls, then turns to Aphrodite, “Truth or dare?” Aphrodite smiles and giggles, “Dare!” Gabrielle smiles and whispers something in her ear. Aphrodite moves away, “How long?” Gabrielle thinks for a minute, “All night.” Aphrodite looks disgusted, then waves a hand over herself. A full black outfit covers the majority of her body. Everyone stares in shock. Aphrodite smiles, “Xena, truth or dare?” She asks evilly. Xena looks the Goddess over, “Dare.” Aphrodite smiles and leans over to whisper something. Xena jerks away, murder in her gaze. Aphrodite smiles as she moves back into the circle. Xena shakes her head and puts her weapons on the floor in front of her, then takes a deep breath, “With the offering of these most precious of weapons, I do profess my undying loyalty in all matters to my patron deity, the God of War.” Ares smiles, “Too bad it’s just your loyalty you’re offering me,” he says, pushing her weapons back to her. She sneers, “Truth or dare?” The words escape her lips with anger dripping off of each. “Dare.” She smiles and leans over to whisper something, biting his ear before moving away. He jerks to stare at her, then smiles, “Done.” Everyone looks around and Lissia speaks up, “What happened?” Ares shrugs, “Every war I have going on has just ended and none will begin for two weeks.” Xena looks satisfied and Lissia smiles, but the other two seem purely shocked. “Blondie, truth or dare?” He asks. “Truth,” she states, remembering the last question. He smiles, “Were you jealous when I was banging your daughter?” Her eyes go wide and everyone else looks away for a minute. She clears her throat and shakes her head. He raises an eyebrow and she looks irritated. “Maybe a little,” she says quietly, then turns to Lissia, “Truth or Dare?” “Truth,” the Goddess says. Gabrielle shrugs, “Are you a virgin?” She gives the bard a dirty look, “Yes.” Stifled giggles go around the room. She shakes it off, “Ar, truth or dare?” He looks uncertain, “Dare.” She smiles and whispers something at him. He looks irritated, then stands up and walks around the circle until he’s standing behind Gabrielle. He kneels down behind her and reaches an arm around her, letting his hand fall on her chest, then gives it a tight squeeze. She jerks violently and turns to slap him, but he was already back at his seat. Lissia stares over at him, “And.” He smiles, “Firm, a little on the small side though.” Xena laughs at her friend’s discomfort. Ares stares at her and she gives him a deadly look. He shrugs and turns to Aphrodite, “Truth or dare, sis?” “Truth,” she says happily. He thinks for a moment, a little disappointed, then smiles, “Me or Hephestous, who’s better?” She huffs a little, then smiles, her face a little red, “Hephy. He’s there the next morning and he doesn’t mess up my hair or leave marks,” she quickly turns to Xena, “Truth or dare?” “Truth,” Xena says giving her a threatening look. Aphrodite smiles, “You’ve heard my complaints against Ar, let me ask, how did you put up with it?” Xena laughs, in relief, “I had to organize an army in the morning.” “And,” Aphrodite says impatiently. Xena shrugs, “I like it rough. Gabrielle, truth or dare?” Still reeling from Xena’s confession, she says, “Dare.” Xena smiles and whispers something in her ear. Gabrielle smiles and reaches over to Aphrodite and twists her nipple hard. The Goddess shrieks, “Hey! No touchy!” Gabrielle and the rest laugh, then the bard turns to Ares, “Truth or Dare?” “Truth,” he says shortly, getting tired of the game and wary of both the dares and the questions. She smiles and shoots at him, “Do you love Xena?” Everyone turns to stare at him expectantly and he smiles, “Yes, I do.” There’s silence around the circle and he turns to his cousin, “Truth or dare?” “Dare,” she answers smiling. He whispers his dare and she gets up and walks over to Xena. A quiet, yet heated debate begins and lasts for several minutes. Finally Xena gives in and forgetting the company shouts, “Yes, I love him, shut up already. Gods above, you are such a nag.” Lissia smiles and sits down as the room falls deadly silent, “I think this is over,” she says quietly. Aphrodite nods and disappears, while Lissia and Gabrielle move to the back of the temple where there are bedrooms.
Silence fills the front of the temple. The tension in the air is almost tangible when Xena says, “That was low, even for you.” He shrugs, “I didn’t exactly think you were going to yell. I wasn’t expecting it.” She turns to glare at him, “You had it planned ever sense this little game began.” He laughs loudly, “No, I planned on leaving. Then it got interesting, until Gabrielle kissed me. That was wrong.” She laughs quietly, “Alright, maybe you didn’t have it planned.” She thinks over the situation for a minute, “Lissia did though. She played us all perfectly.” He laughs, “And what else is new? She has a talent for dragging information out of people.” Xena looks around the room, “I’m going to bed, were did Gabrielle and Lissia go?” He points towards the back of the temple, “I’ll take you. Trust me, you don’t want to get lost in her temple. Who knows what you might find.” She follows him and mutters a crude comment that he ignores.
Lissia and Gabrielle look up as Xena walks into the room with Ares trailing close behind her. “I’ll be across the hall,” he says, turning to leave. Lissia nods, then turns back to Gabrielle, “So anyway, here I was, crying like a baby and it’s the middle of the night in one of Ar’s dark, creepy temples. I walk around, balling and scaring myself at every turn. You see, I hadn’t been around him much at that point, it was only a few weeks after he found me. I wasn’t very comfortable around him or any other God. So naturally, I’m looking for a priestess or priest or anything mortal. And no one was around. So, I start opening doors. Most have weapons, but one is furnished and I see Xena’s armor sitting on a chair in the corner, so I go in and sit on the bed, still crying and hoping that she arrives soon. Not ten minutes later, the door swings open and there they are, all over-Oh. Hi Xena,” she finishes innocently. Gabrielle looks up at her friend, “Feisty, huh?” Xena smiles, “I was young and foolish. Let me finish the story. So, here we are, not at all used to having someone else around. We don’t notice her until there’s this horrid scream. I jerk away and turn to the bed and here’s Lissia, crying and looking horrified. Apparently, she thought she was going to see something she didn’t want to see, so she screamed. I go and sit next to her and she looks first at me, then at Ares and throws herself onto my chest, balling like nothing I had ever seen before. My eyes go wide and my heart’s racing, I have no clue what to do. So, I sit there, letting her cry. And Ares stands in the doorway, silent and staring at us. Eventually, after about an hour, Lissia falls asleep. I’m relieved to say the least. But, she’s still draped over me and I’m lost. The last thing I wanted was for her to wake back up. And Ares is still just staring. After a few minutes of me jerking my head towards her, he picks her up and lays on the bed. I immediately change out of my soaked leathers and start to follow him out of the room. And what does he do? He blocks my way. He didn’t want her to wake up alone. So I laid down next to her, cursing like a soldier. The next morning, I wake up and they’re sitting on my bed, tossing a fire bolt back and forth like nothing had happened. I sat there like what the hell?” Gabrielle laughs, “It sounds like you had some good times with them, Xena.” Xena nods and flops onto the bed, “Good night.” Lissia laughs and crawls into the over sized bed with Gabrielle following her seconds later.
Xena wakes up and looks at her two friends, still sound asleep. She carefully moves out of the bed and walks out of the room. She walks into the main room and is shocked to find a woman sprawled on the floor in tears, mumbling, “Oh Great Goddess, please hear me and help me.” Xena walks over, slightly uncomfortable and taps the woman on the shoulder, “What’s wrong?” The woman looks up, her eyes sparkling with hope, “Goddess?” Xena shakes her head, “Tell me what’s wrong, I’m sure I can help.” The woman collapses to the floor, “The storm last night, it washed out my house. We all got out accept for my youngest. She’s trapped on the top floor, alone. My husband tried to go in after her, but he couldn’t. The storm was so strong and the water was poring through the roads. I can’t lose my little one.” Xena nods, “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” The woman nods and watches as Xena runs into the back of the temple.
Xena rushes to the door of the room she had slept in and stops, not really wanting to wake the other two. She looks at the door across the hall and smiles before swinging it open. Ares turns from his seat on the balcony and smiles, “I didn’t expect you to be coming in here. I figured Lissia would get me when you all were awake.” Xena shakes her head, frantic, “They’re not awake and I need your help.” He perks up again, “Help with what?” He asks, eyeing her. Furious, she slaps him, “Stop that. I’m serious. There’s a woman out front and her kid is stuck in their flooded house. I don’t want to wake up Lissia, but I can’t get in there without a little divine intervention.” His face drops, “You want me, the God of War, to not only do my cousins job, but to help some woman with her child?” She nods, “Yes, and find my armor.” He shakes his head and her armor appears on the bed, “Hurry up.” She pulls on the armor and rushes from the room. Ares stops her, “Are you posing as Lissia?” Xena shakes her head, “Not that I know of, but that poor woman my think I am.” He nods, “We do this the God way then,” he says before they disappear.
Xena jerks as her feet hit solid ground, then she rushes over to the woman, “Where’s your house?” The woman smiles, then looks passed Xena to Ares, “Oh Great One, why is he here?” Xena closes her eyes for a minute, “Zeus is mad at me, I’m not allowed off Olympus without him, unless I’m in one of my temples.” The woman nods, “I see. Follow me,” she says, running from the house. Xena follows a bit slower and turns to Ares, “What was that about?” He shrugs, “Anyone who follows Lissia knows that I give her hell any chance I get. They don’t like me much.” She laughs and starts to run after the woman, then stops and stares at the flooded roads. She rushes into the water and it rises to her knees. The woman points towards a house that is about to fall apart. Xena nods and turns to Ares, who in turn puts a hand on her shoulder. They disappear and reappear inside the house, near the child. Xena rushes over and picks up the child who starts to scream. “Shh, little one. I’m a friend, your mom sent me to get you. I’m going to take you to her. But I need you to stop screaming.” The child quivers a little and snuggles into Xena’s chest. In seconds they are next to the mother and the child is jumping from Xena’s arms to the mother’s. “Oh Thank you, Great One and uh, you, God of War,” she says before rushing into a house that wasn’t damaged. Xena smiles, “Doing a good deed isn’t so bad, is it?” She asks Ares as they begin to trudge back to the temple. He shrugs, “I guess not. I mean, you aren’t yelling and cursing me. And one of Lissia’s followers addressed me by my proper title. Don’t get used to this though, I only helped to make you happy.” Xena smiles, “Thank you. I would kind of like to be someplace dry, if you don’t mind,” she says, extending her hand towards him. He smiles and they disappear in a rush of color, leaving the water swirling where they had stood moments before.
Lissia jerks awake as the bed moves under her. She sits up and looks to see Xena and Ares sitting at the end of the bed, staring at her. “What?” She asks, groggily. Xena shrugs, “You’ve been neglecting your duties as a Goddess. Ares and I had to save a child for one of your followers.” Seeing the laughter playing in the girl’s eyes, Xena becomes serious, “Lissia, you have to pay attention to these things. You aren’t a child anymore.” Lissia glares at Ares, “This is your doing, isn’t it?” He shrugs, “Not my fault Xena likes to wander around strange temples at hours of the morning.” Gabrielle sits up, half asleep, “What did Xena do at a strange temple?” Xena laughs, “Nevermind Gabrielle. Athens is flooded. I thought we could stick around and help these two fix it up.” Gabrielle and Lissia turn to Ares, questioningly. He shrugs, “Lissia, we’re stuck in the mortal plane until Zeus thinks you’re ready to come back. We have to do something so that he knows that you truly are capable of being a Goddess.” Lissia raises an eyebrow, “And this has nothing to do with Xena, right?” He smiles, “Of course not. Now, get ready and don’t wear a dress for once.” Xena smiles, “Or leather,” she says, twitching uncomfortably. They all laugh for a minute, then begin to get ready for the day of repairing what Zeus and Hera had destroyed.
Up on Olympus, Zeus and Hera smile down at the mortal plane. “Not bad for an old God, huh, my darling?” Zeus asks his wife. Hera smiles back at him, “Not bad at all. Lissia is learning responsibility, the bard has her story, our son is happy, and Xena is back where she belongs. Maybe we should kick them out of Olympus more often, they’re very productive when they can’t lounge around up here.” Zeus smiles wickedly, “Maybe we should kick everyone out of Olympus. Then we can be a bit more productive ourselves.” Hera shakes her head, “Maybe, but I don’t think Athena would go along with it. After all, she’s very attached to her Daddy. And she doesn’t exactly trust me with you.” He wraps an arm around her, “I wonder why not?” They both laugh and continue to watch as Athens is repaired.