Summary: Xena and Gabrielle get sent back in time by Dahak. When they return to the present, they sail to Brittania with Ares and Hercules to stop the evil god.
Rated: PG-13
The Innocence of War
The once simple home of the 3 Fates now looked like war central, as
Ares and his minions worked steadily day and night, preparing for the
menacing God known as Dahok and his demon seed Hope. Since the death of
Strife, Ares had made many visits to the Fates, they being the only
Gods other than himself, with enough foresight to see the theat Dahok
brought. When Atropos had had to cut Strife's thread, they had summoned
him with their concerns. The casual death of Olympian Gods could not be
tolerated, even the death of one as insignifigant and virtually
powerless as Strife.
Ares stood imposingly over the three women, who in all outward
appearence, where performing their Godly duties, spinning, weaving, and
cutting the threads of mortals and Gods' lives. Ares let out an
exasperated sigh. For allies, these 3 were being quite difficult. "I
still don't see why you just can't find the threads of Dahok's mortal
followers and snip snip," Ares made a scissor motion in the air.
"We've explained it to you before. We can't just indescriminently kill
mortals by cutting threads. Each mortal has a certain time to die, even
the evil ones faithful. The threads must be able to weave themselves
together until it is the proper time for clipping," Lachesis, the
weaver, tried to explain calmly.
"So millenia old Gods like Strife must just lay down their lives, in
order to protect the mortal fabric! To Tartarus with the mortal fabric!
We Gods existed before mortals, and we would exist without them!" Ares
shouted angrily, the memory of Strife's slaughter still fresh in his
mind.
"And what kind of existance would that be? Gods would be poisoning
themselves with hinds blood within a century," Atropos returned,
snipping an old Roman peasant's thread.
"What, you afraid your hand would cramp up?" Ares shot back without thinking.
Clotho found one particular thread, handed it down to Lachesis, who handed it to the offended Atropos.
Atropos grabbed the War God's arm and pulled him over. "See this thread
Warmonger. This is the thread of the Warrior Princess. The two threads
that seem to intertwine it at several different junctures belong to you
and her Bard friend. If I cut it here," the Godess menacingly opened
the blade of her shears around the living fiber, as Ares stiffened at
the thought. "then not only does she die, but the bard does too, and
your thread slacks off, refusing to weave anymore. A fate far worse
than that incurred by Strife with these shears. At least that was
death," Atropos finished coldly, her voice barely a whisper.
Ares shivered despite himself, then let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"And you are not the only God with such close ties to the mortal
world," Atropos finished, dropping Xena's thread, as Ares thread weaved
itself closer with Xena's. Ares grumbled in frustration, as Lachesis
gave him a knowing look.
"What the... No!" Clotho shrieked, as the mostly blackened thread of
the War God started pulling backward, unravaling from the begining. It
had snagged on those of the Warrior Princess and the Bard, and pulled
their threads back towards the beginning of the tapestry, back through
generations, back before humans were little more than cave dwelling
apes.
Ares screamed in pain, as the thread that was his long life span so far slacked.
"It was all I could do," Clothos said to her sisters, had I continued
spinning his thread it would have snapped, and he would have died. At
least now, with the Warrior Princess and the Bard back at the
beginning, he has a chance. We must tell Zeus!" Clothos finished,
standing up.
Before the three sister Fates could reach the door to their hut, it
slammed shut, and a horned beast demon appeared in the room. "I am the
Deliverer. Whith the War God's life sacrifice, Dahok shall reign for
eternity!" the evil thing shouted.
Xena and Gabrielle awoke, and for the first few seconds, neither knew
that anything was wrong, until Xena felt something crawling on her leg.
She looked down, careful not to move the rest of the body, and saw an
odd spider crawling towards her boot. She had never seen a spider like
this before, but she didn't want to take chances. "Gabrielle," Xena
whispered urgently.
The sleepy bard turned toward her best friend. "What," Gabrielle said, not really even asking, as she was still half asleep.
"There is a strange spider of my leg. I don't want to move in case it's
poisonous. My chakram is under the bed roll, near my head. Slowly get
it, and put it in my hand," Xena said, slowly inching her hand to her
stomach, as not to threaten the spider. When Gabrielle had removed the
chakram, she handed it to Xena with a small encouraging smile.
As expected, the weapon flew from Xena's hand, even at such an awkward
angle, slicing off the offending arachnid. As she sat up, she caught
the mighty circle, as it obediently returned to her hand.
Xena looked around, and her brow furrowed. "Where are we?" she asked.
Gabrielle looked around. "I don't know," Gabrielle said, looking up at
the tall trees around her. They had made camp in a clearing near the
main road to Amphipolis. Now they were in what looked like a rain
forest. They stood up, and felt the soft, but walkable mud under their
feet.
Xena looked for the sun, rising as always, in the East. "Well, wherever
we are, we aren't going to get any answers out here. Lets get moving,
and find a town or village. I'm sure someone can tell us where we are,"
Xena said, rolling up her bedroll, and stretching.
The two women walked for a day, when finally, as the sun was descending
again, the obscuring treeline broke, and the Earth became more firm
under foot. All day long they'd walked, and not a sign of civilization.
They'd only eaten what rations they'd had, and those were running low.
The plants were mostly foreign, and Xena was worried about poisoning.
If they didn't find edible food soon, they'd have to take their chances
on the fruits and grubs around them.
They made camp, agreeing not to eat dinner, as to save food, and each
wished the other a good night. Xena had taken first watch in this new
and odd environment. She could only hope that tomorrow would prove more
fruitful.
The next morning, Gabrielle and Xena shared a small breakfast, then
started continuing their trek east. Today was going a bit better. They
had found a lake, on the now firmer ground, and they had successfully
fished for their dinner. Neither said much. There wasn't much to say.
They didn't know where they were, how they'd gotten there, or if they'd
ever get back. Still, they hadn't come across another living soul.
Gabrielle had commented, before she'd gone to sleep that night, that it
seemed like they were the only two people in the world.
On the start of third day in this strange place, Xena awoke to a blood
curdling scream, Gabrielle's scream. She jumped to her feet, only to
stand face to face with a giant mutated creature that looked like a
cross between a snake and a scorpion. The creature sized her and
Gabrielle up, and Xena was sure they were on this things breakfast
menu. She waited patiently for the thing to make a move, for the battle
to begin, when the creature slowly eased back. When it was a few feet
from the two women, it opened its mouth. "What are you?" it asked.
Xena and Gabrielle looked at each other in shock. "What are you?" Xena countered.
"I am Seeto, daughter of Gaia and Uranos. What are you?" the creature asked again, this time more insistent.
"My name is Xena, and this is Gabrielle. We're mortals, people," Xena tried to explain.
Gabrielle's mind did a back flip. She pulled Xena aside,
whispering. "Xena, Seeto was slain trying to protect her 10,000
children during the war with the Titans. Zeus went on a rampage,
killing her kids because they were so monstrously ugly, and when she
tried to stop him, he killed her too."
Xena looked at her incredulously. Then she turned back to the creature
before them. "This question may sound strange, but we really need to
know. Where exactly are we?" Xena asked.
Seeto hissed, as she seemed to mull over the question. "You are where
you are. I do not understand your question, Creature that calls itself
Xena," Seeto answered.
Xena looked towards Gabrielle, who seemed to have just had a
revelation. "I don't think the question is where we are, but when we
are, Xena," Gabrielle hypothesized, then turned towards Seeto. "Seeto,
who is the king of the Gods?" Gabrielle asked.
"You Creature Mortals are quite stupid and annoying. The King of the
Gods is Chronos, and why would you need to ask such a question?"
"Chronos is still Leading the Gods? Great!" Xena shouted. "Not only are we in the past, we're in the ancient past!"
"Well, it explains why we haven't seen any other human beings. There
aren't any yet, except us! Hey, that makes us the first people!"
Gabrielle said, teasing Xena with a smile.
"That explains why you are so stupid. There are other 'humans',
Creature known as Gabrielle. They live in the caves 3 hills away. They
are little more than smelly animals. I sometimes snack on a few to keep
then and their pointy sticks in line. You are the first to even
consider a dialogue, so I will not eat you, but I will not continue
conversing with such lowly things," Seeto stated, disgustedly, then
turned her gigantic body around and plodded back into the treeline.
"Titan Monsters!" Xena said in exasperation.
"And to think I felt sorry for her and her 10,000 children, when I
first heard the story," Gabrielle said, shaking her head. She then
gathered her supplies as Xena stared at her.
"Where do you think you're going?" Xena asked.
"Three hills over, to were the people are. Maybe they have a map for around here, or at least supplies," Gabrielle explained.
"Gabrielle, that may not be such a good idea. These people are not what
we're used to. They may not even be able to speak; that Monstousity did
refer to them as 'smelly animals, who don't even attempt to
communicate'. We know they're armed, though I doubt they have very
advanced weapons. I say it's not worth the trouble, yet," Xena
deducted, the stress begining to get to her.
"Do you have a better idea, Xena... Xena, Xena," Gabrielle called, trying to get her friends attention.
"Gabrielle, look over there, the general shape of those mountains, in
the far distance. These slight slope of this land leading into those
hills, and then beyond, to... the main road towards Gaul! I don't think
we ever left Greece," Xena stated astonished, ideas running through her
mind.
Gabrielle got a confused look on her face, as she too stared into the distance. Then it hit her. "Same place, wrong time? Why?"
"Why any of this?" Xena asked back, as a plan began to form. She reached to the ground for her bedroll.
"You're on to something. I know that look. What have you figured out?
What's going on?" the Bard asked, stopping her friend from refastening
a loose stay on her bodice.
"I don't know, but I think I know where we can get some answers.
Remember that old temple, we past a day before all this happened?" Xena
asked, gesticulating to get her meaning across.
"Yeah, why?" Gabrielle asked.
"Well, when I was still a warlord, my army frequented that road we were
on. I once asked a frightened old peasant what God that temple was for.
My men wanted to burn the structure, and build a new one to Ares, since
we controlled the road. The man said that that temple had long ago been
dedicated to Chronos and his wife Rhea, and was on a spot sacred to the
former King and Queen of Gods since the begining of time, before any
humans existed. So I figure, if we return to where that temple will
stand, and make a little noise..."
"We might get Chronos and/or Rhea to send us home," Gabrielle concluded, smiling.
"Yep, now lets get moving, we have over four days journey to get back
there. I'm almost sure, now that I know where we are, that I can get us
back to the spot," Xena stated more confidently than she felt.
"Almost sure?" Gabrielle asked, hearing the uncertainty in her
companions voice. Xena gave her a hard look, and Gabrielle raised her
hands defencively. "Alright. I have faith in you. You'll get us home.
You always do," Gabrielle stated, truth, slipping into her words as she
said them, and by the time she was silent once more, she fully believed
them too.
The first day of their journey back towards Chronos and Rhea's sacred
ground, was uneventful, if awe inspiring. They couldn't believe how
different Greece had been in this ancient time, and while Gabrielle
found it facinating, Xena found it disturbing. She seemed tenser than
usual, if that was possible, so Gabrielle just let her be,
concentrating on the wonders of this bygone world.
Xena could only hope that the odd creatures stayed away, as they seemed
to be doing, and they didn't run into any more like Seeto, only even
less friendly. To Xena, everything posed a danger here, and she had to
be ready for it. This was not HER Greece, and she had to admit that she
was also a bit worried about her future meeting with Chronos and Rhea.
What if they wouldn't send them home? She knew very little of the Gods
ruling in this age, and too much of those to come after.
A shuffling in the bushes got her attention, and she looked around.
"Who's there?" she asked. She looked over to the battle ready
Gabrielle, holding her trusty staff. She walked towards the brush. "I
said, who's there?" she called even louder.
Suddenly there was a flurry of movement, and Xena pounced on it, barely
catching the speedy creature in her steel grip. A muffled cry escaped
from underneath, a baby's cry.
"Let me go, you insane mortal woman!" the person beneath her howled.
Xena got up slowly, keeping her sword on the woman she'd caught. The
woman was fit and tanned, and quite attractive. While she wasn't a
warrior, she looked like she knew how to give a good fight, and if she
wasn't carrying the squalling baby at her chest, she probably would
have given Xena and Gabrielle a bit of a workout.
"Hera," Gabrielle, whispered in amazement. She had seen ancient statues in her travels, and the resemblence was uncanny.
"How do you know me, girl?" the Queen she would become, shining through.
"I... I've seen statues and engravings," Gabrielle answered, breaking out of her stupor.
The woman laughed a hearty laugh. "Statues of me! Wife to the fallen
God, Zeus! You must be insane! My family and I are public enemy number
one! If you mortals, and I'm surprised you two are of those beasts, as
you are wearing clothes like we Gods do, were ever to dedicate so much
as a pebble in my name, Chronos would wipe your whole species out of
existance!" Hera laughed, bitterness filling her voice.
Suddenly there was a mild tremor, and Hera's eye's widened. "Shit! I've
stayed here too long, talking to you baboons! I've got to go!" Hera
shouted under her breath, her green eyes, pleading with Xena to let her
up.
The warrior confidently, moved the sword closer to the Godesses neck.
"What are you so afraid of?" Xena asked, as the baby started screaming,
as a second thud rattled the Earth beneath them even more forcefully.
"Look, if you don't let me up, Japetos will find me, and probably kill
you two in the process! If you run, now, you may have a chance!" Hera
pleaded in anger and fear.
"Xena, if that is Japetos, then we'd all better get out of here! He's
one BIG, MEAN Titan! Not to mention if we're in the middle of the war
between the Titans and Olympian Gods..."
"We'll be squashed like bugs," Xena concluded, removing her sword from Hera's neck.
Hera quickly sprinted away, and Xena and Gabrielle, knowing nowhere else to go or hide, ran after her, barely keeping pace.
The baby around Hera, shrieked the whole run.
Stopping suddenly, Hera, not too gently, removed the papoose from her
neck, laying the frightened infant against a tree. She then turned, as
if to set off in an opposing direction.
"What are you doing?!" Gabrielle shouted over the baby's cries.
Hera, turned around, still running in place. "He's leading Japetos
right to us! He's expendable! I can have more children! Go, now! Run!"
Hera called back, as she disappeared out of sight.
"DAMN THE GODS!" Xena swore, scooping the child into her arms, as she
and Gabrielle continued their escape, the baby's cries having ceased.
The three made it to a nearby cave, having lost the angry Titan.
Neither Xena nor Gabrielle found a trace of Hera, and they realized,
with some horror, that they were in posession of an abandoned baby God,
who seemed to have fallen asleep during the chaos.
Xena looked down at the sweet child, a slight smile forming at her
lips, despite herself, as the baby, nuzzeled his head closer to her,
greedily trying to absorb her heat in the chilly cave. "Gods," she
whispered to Gabrielle, as she rested her own head against her pal's
shoulder for a moment of comfort.
The cave they'd discovered in haste, turned out to be small enough, as
not to hide any living suprises, but large enough to give comfortable
shelter for the evening. The two women decided to make it an early
night, and set out their bedrolls, buy their fire. They'd eaten some of
the fish they'd salted the night before and some tasteless roots that
Xena had remembered eating once in desperate straights, with no side
effects.
The baby God was another problem. He needed to eat too, only Xena and
didn't have any milk on them. Xena had once been told by a midwife
about mixing water and sugar with roots similar to those that were for
dinner to feed a baby, if no milk or lactating female was available.
They had suger stored away among their supplies, and so Xena set about
preparing the stuff, which had to be softened down to a milky texture.
It took twice as long as cooking their own dinner, but luckily the baby
didn't wake. Finally the concoction was ready. Gabrielle slowly picked
up the baby, whose eyes suddenly snapped open, looked straight at her,
and began to howl.
"SHH. It's okay. It's just dinner time," Gabrielle cooed to the child, who only screamed louder.
Gabrielle somehow managed a spoon full of the sticky stuff, and held
the baby, as to get the 'food' in its mouth. It was not impressed, and
squirmed away, spitting out the goo, as it slid past his lips. After
ten minutes of trying valiently, Gabrielle had goey primative formula
all over her and none in the baby God. She let out an exasperated huff,
offering the bundle of malcontentment to Xena. "Here, you try!" was all
she could say, as she stomped off to clean herself.
The minute Xena held the baby close to her heart, its cries stopped. It
looked up at her with an adoring awefilled expression. "Obviously
Gabbrielle just doesn't have the touch, does she fella?" she whispered
to the baby who giggled. Feeding was another matter though. The baby
really didn't want to eat what he was being fed, and fussed. He did
however eat a little bit, after a stern look and word from Xena.
Once dinner was done, the two women put the baby down to sleep, and lay down themselves into their own beds.
Gabrielle's mind wandered. "Which one do you think he is?" she asked.
"Huh?" Xena asked.
"Which God? Which God do you think he is? I mean, we know he's Zeus and
Hera's child, and we know he's not Hephestus, since his legs are well
formed and strong, so who do you think he is? We can't just keep
calling him 'Little Guy' and 'Fella'," Gabrielle explained.
"Perhaps he's Apollo," Xena said, running through the list of male offspring of Zeus and Hera.
"Yeah, but Apollo had a twin, Artemis. Where's she?" Gabrielle countered.
"Maybe she's with Zeus. I don't know. Maybe it's Ares for all we know!"
Xena said, a laugh escaping her. The thought of the War God as a
helpless infant tickled her.
Gabrielle laughed too. Then thought about it. "Xena, maybe it is Ares.
I mean, it would explain a lot. His hair is black, and he seems to
adore you; hates me. He kicks and squirms like a real champ, and he
does have an uncanny facination with you breast dagger, the way he
keeps trying to remove it," Gabrielle said, falling into a fit of
giggles.
"I don't know. He is an awfully sweet baby, sleeps well," Xena countered.
"Sweet? That kid is a tornado with me!" Gabrielle shot back.
"Gabrielle, go to sleep. We'll ask him in the morning who he is," Xena
said, sighing, as she settled herself. She hoped it wasn't Ares. It
would be harder to hate him, having seen him as such an adorable baby.
Xena decided not to worry about that now.
They had enough to worry about with baby in tow. With a child of Zeus
and Hera in their keep, the chances of Chronos helping them get back to
their own time was slim. Rhea had eventually sided with Zeus in this
war, so she was a possibility still, but if she was still under her
husband's eye, she probably wouldn't risk it for a couple of wayward
mortals. The Gods here had even less faith in mortal kind, than those
she knew. Perhaps, and this was risky, she had to make them believe in
mortal danger. Well, taking on Gods was her specialty, she jested to
herself, as her mind slowly silenced, and she fell asleep.
The baby gurgled and cooed at Xena, and she couldn't help but laugh and
play with his feet, as Gabrielle filled their water skins by the lake.
They had been on the move for a little over five hours, and the noon
day sun was high overhead. The small clearing they were resting in for
lunch was lush with full green grass, and the trees were brimming with
leaves. Obviously they had lucked out, and had been dragged out into
the end of springtime, whenever this was.
As Gabrielle returned to her friend and their ward, her bright smile
dimmed a bit. "Xena, I'm worried about you. You seem to be becoming
very... attached to that baby. You do remember he is a God, and that he
does have parents, as dysfunctional as they may be," Gabrielle said
firmly, catching Xena's eyes.
Xena sighed, though in her heart she had to admit Gabrielle had a
point. For all they knew their assumption that this was Ares could be
true, and she could be falling into a trap similar to that Gabrielle
had fallen into with Hope, loving and protecting a monster, just
because it took the form of a baby. She already knew that she wasn't
willing to sacrifice this child's life to Chronos, as he would probably
demand, in order to get home, and she wondered if that was the right
decision. This baby was a God, and therefore should have his fate
determined by other Gods, not two out of place mortals with a soft
spot. But he was also a baby, and Ares was instrument to the future
that she and Gabrielle called home, as bad as he was.
She was torn, but a small hand reaching up and smacking her on the chin
brought her out of it. "Someone's upset that he's not the center of
attention, isn't he?" Xena said, making a face at the baby, who just
wiggled and laughed heartily.
Gabrielle shook her head. Xena saw it.
"Look, I know I'm getting all wound up with this baby, and I'm sure I'm
going to hurt when I have to give him up, but I do know I have to give
him up. And I will give him up, when the time comes," Xena stated
sadly, staring longingly at the child before her who let out a big
yawn, before looking back up at her and smiling. She smiled back, and
gave the baby a gentle hug. She then rewrapped the baby in his papoose,
and stood up, as the child slipped into slumber against her. "Ready to
go?" she asked Gabrielle, trying to push away her emotions.
"Yeah," Gabrielle said, feeling a small amount of sorrow for her beloved friend, at what she knew she would soon face.
An hour later, as they walked along the stream, the baby God began to
cry. Xena tried to feed him some fresh formula she'd made that morning,
but he wasn't hungry. She tried burping him and checked his diaper, and
still she could not figure out what was wrong. As they continued along,
Xena saw some vultures flying overhead, near the spot where the baby
had started to cry. SHe decided to investigate, and sure enough, as
they grew closer, the child's screams became louder. Finally, she smelt
the blood, and handed the child over to Gabrielle, who stood perfectly
still, despite the squirming baby.
Xena inched closer to see a small group of wolves, picking at a
carcass. As she got a closer look, she noticed it was a child, a small
centaur child's body, which she realized could not be. Centaurs were
created during Zeus's reign as king. She hastily chased the wolves and
vultures away, her chakram and sword working as a team to take down
three of the beast, before sending the others running for their lives.
As she neared the lifeless body, she realized what it was she was
looking at, and her heart jumped. A young hind's corpse lay at her
feet. From the looks of it, she'd somehow must have been separated from
her group and mother and been hunted down by the wolves. Being only
about five or so years old had made her easy prey to those hungry
predators. She would give the small body a proper funeral pyre, but she
also couldn't pass up this opportunity no matter what.
She knelt down by the corpse, and whispered an apology to the girl.
Taking the dagger from her breastplate, she sliced open the child's
arm, which was already partly gnawed by the wolves. The already half
congealed blood, oozed slightly from the new wound, and Xena dipped her
beast dagger and her boot dagger into the blood. She then did the same
to the end of her sword, re-sheathing it quickly, as if to ward off the
knowledge of the desecration she was committing, but really had little
choice. Fighting a God was tough. She had done it before. But fighting
would not be enough. She'd need to induce respect, and Xena knew from
experience, Gods only respected mortals out of fear. Of hind's blood,
they had good reason to fear.
She returned to Gabrielle and the squealing baby and told them what she
had found, handing over her breast dagger to Gabrielle, both for the
bard's protection and to keep it from the sneaky hands of the young God
of War.
Xena no longer had any doubt as to this baby being Ares. She knew from
experience that he could smell bloodshed a mile away, literally. He had
probably picked up the scent of the girl child dying, rather than the
blood after her death. As a warlord, she'd seen ample evidence of the
God's dark craft, and she knew Ares. Had this been a human child dying,
he probably wouldn't have let out a peep, but it had been a hind's
blood being spilt, and instinctively, he'd recognize the danger to
himself and gone beserk in her arms. At least he'd given them a
potential weapon in the process.
"I'll take the baby, and search for more wood. You shouldn't have any
problem lifting the small body, and bringing it here. Then we'll start
on clearing enough space for the pyre," Xena instructed Gabrielle, as
she walked off again, past the edge of the clearing, into the woods.
"I'm not used to being this so indecisive, Gabrielle. It's
frightening," Xena confessed, as Gabrielle continued to massage her
sore back. It was rare that Xena opened up, and Gabrielle wasn't going
to stop her. "Everytime I look at him... It's like, when you look at a
baby, you're supposed to see potential, goodness. And I swear I saw
that, but then we found that body, and now all I can see..."
"Is his potential for evil," Gabrielle finished, her words a bit close
to home. She could still feel Hope's small arms around her neck,
hearing her tell of Solon's death, knowing with certainty, when the
creature had said his name, that she was holding the heartless murderer
of her best friend's son, and yet still her own child.
She shook off the memory, shaking her head, and the action was felt by
Xena, who turned around, staring deep into green pools of sadness.
"No. What I see is not his potential, but acts already completed.
Horrors I saw, helped commit, which my father helped commit, and his
father before him, and even those commited before my family began. But
yet I know I can't prevent any of it, and for the greater good, must
allow the horrors to happen, make sure they happen," Xena said, her
soul trying to find logic in her words, knowing it was there, but
unable to pin it down. She hugged Gabrielle tightly, hoping her friend
could hear what she was saying.
"I know what you mean," Gabrielle said, guilt bringing tears to her eyes.
Xena took her chin in her hands, staring Gabrielle down. "I wish you
didn't. But it is not the same here. For however wonderful Solon was,
he was still one person, one life. Ares will destroy millions," Xena
explained, hoping to ease her friends suffering and guilt.
"And I, billions," a cold, inhuman voice said, standing at the cave's
enterance. The sound sent shivers through Xena and Gabrielle, and Baby
Ares started to howl. "That one is a nuisance, isn't he? He just won't
seem to die," Hope said, looking at the baby. The swaddled infant
started to rise, as if being pulled by the evil force before him.
"Those Fates thought they could trick Dahok, but they failed. Your
thread is still intact, little one. I intend to cut it,"
Xena felt her instincts take over. She threw her chakram, and somehow,
the force holding the baby was snapped, as if it was been cut by the
metal ring. Gabrielle lept out, catching Ares before he hit the floor
of the cave.
Hope stepped back, and Xena saw it, enlightenment filling her. "I was
protecting him. Is that it Hope? Dahok likes rage. Dahok likes hatred.
But those are artificial, human made. Hatred takes a knowledge of the
past, while rage takes a capacity to remember past wrongs. I remember
all the past wrongs Dahok has done me and Gabrielle, but I wasn't
acting on those, was I? That would have only sharped your abilities. I
was acting on instincts to protect a child I have grown attached to. I
didn't even think about it. My aggression just happened. What's wrong
Hope? Doesn't Dahok appreciate aggression?" Xena asked, her chakram
remaining at her side.
Hope's buttons were sufficiantly pushed, and electicity ran from her
fingertips, towards the Warrior Princess. Xena dodged the attack,
dashing behind a boulder. Hope then proceeded to desintigrate the
boulder, only this time, the effect took longer.
Xena rushed towards the little demon, knocking her off her feet. Hope
stood up, and looked at a smiling Xena. It was then that she realized
why the woman was smiling. Her hands refused to push out energy, and
she suddenly felt drained.
"Takes a lot of hatred to fuel a kid like you, don't it, a bit more
than two mortal women can generate, even if we were trying," Xena
stated matter of factly. "And Ares, even as an adult, he's still not
human. He's older. He feeds on more primal passions. It'd leave a nasty
taste in your mouth," Xena surmised.
"He must be sacreficed to Dahok," Hope insisted before, slowly, and with great effort, fading away.
"Well that explained a lot," Gabrielle said, taking a deep, steadying breath.
"At least we now know how we got here?" was all Xena said, her mind
working, stategizing, against her enemy. "We'll get up early tomorrow
morning. If we hurry, we can get to the sacred ground by nightfall.
After that, I may now have a plan," Xena said, cryptically, and
finally, as she settled back on her bedroll, her mind churning with the
possibilities.
The sun was barely beginning to rise, as the two women and the baby God
left the cave. Xena really hoped tonight had been the last night in a
cave. She much prefered sleeping out under the stars, but in this
exotic world with creatures like Seeto, a cave, being easier to defend,
once cleared of any current occupants, was the most prudent choice.
Plus, not being exposed to the elements was better for a baby. Gods,
getting Ares the infant out of her mind was going to be tough. Why
couldn't he just be the callous, pompous, no good, jerk that he usually
was? Or would become? Or... Xena broke off those thoughts, as time
travel had never been her strong suit. Just keep walking. That was
good.
As the sun began its decent, two very weary and one very cranky
travelers arrived at their destination. It didn't look much different,
except for the lack of the road and the temple. Otherwise, Xena knew
the landscape well, and she let out a sigh. It was now or never.
"Chronos, Rhea, King and Queen of the Gods! I am Xena, and I wish to
speak with you!" Xena shouted. She repeated the same two sentences four
more times, and nothing happened.
"Now what?" Gabrielle asked nervously, checking her boot, making sure Xena's breast dagger was still there.
Xena looked at the baby, and seemed torn as to what to do. Baby Ares
eyes met hers, and it seemed as if he could read her thoughts, as just
then, thunder erupted, and all of a sudden, Chronos, king of the Gods
stood before them. "Give me that child," he demanded gruffly.
"Nice to know something gets your attention. Now, we need to get back..."
"Give me the son of Zeus! He has no right to exist!" Chronos hissed in a threatening tone, the sky echoing his mood.
"Sorry, I can't do that. I have a future to protect," Xena replied.
Chronos was not happy, and he raised his mighty hand. Xena tensed, ready for a fight.
Suddenly another light flashed, and an almost identical man stood in
front of Xena, as if to shield her. "It's me you want! Leave my son
alone!" Zeus shouted at his father.
"I will destroy you both!" Chronos shrieked, grabbing Zeus in a painful grip, his hand glowing.
Realizing what was happening, Xena handed baby Ares over to Gabrielle,
and lept high into the air, her war cry piercing the approaching night.
As she landed, she planted a sharp kick to Chronos's midsection. The
God stumbled backwards, releasing his weakened son, who fell against
the soft earth.
Xena unsheathed her sword, as Chronos charged her. Their blades met,
and Xena whispered a prayer to Hephestus for making her sword. Had it
been mere metal, it would have broken in half on contact with the
divine blade Chronos wielded. Still, the current King of the Gods had
the strenth his grandson Hercules would one day posess, and Xena knew
that she had to rely on her agility and advanced skill, in order to
stay alive She sacreficed her sword, letting Chronos disarm her, as she
lept again into the air, keeping her distance from the furious God.
Chronos charged again, and she quickly parried his attack. He threw a
lightning bolt, and though he set a nearby tree ablaze, Xena managed to
avoid the assault.
Xena unclipped her chakram, and threw it, missing the King of the Gods.
It richoced off a boulder, and headed back towards the God who had
dodged it in the first place. Chronos knew he'd been set up, and hit
the groud to avoid the flying blade. Xena caught it, then landed
several kicks to the defending God.
But like an electric eel, Chronos charged his body on the last blow,
shocking the Warrior Princess, sending her smashing into the boulder.
Gabrielle dashed to her side, finding her still alive, barely, but
unconscious. "Please, don't kill her! Please!" the Bard begged, as she
kept trying to wake her unconscious best friend. She placed the baby,
down by Xena's side, and stood, shielding the fallen warrior and their
charge, holding her staff at the ready.
Chronos sneered, and moved towards the two women. No one noticed the tiny hand, reaching into Gabrielle's boot.
There was a flying flash. Then Chronos felt pain, sharp, breathtaking
pain, as he looked down at his stomache, and saw the breast dagger
handle that stuck out of him.
He looked at Gabrielle, who was as shocked as he was.
Then he looked at her feet, and the baby boy, whom he realized had
killed him. It seemed impossible. He was a God, the King of Gods. Even
when he'd dethrowned his father Uranos, he hadn't killed him. No God
had ever died. A dagger should barely annoy him, and yet he felt the
life quickly seeping out of him. He fell to his knees, as his vision
began to blur. The last thing he saw was his youngest son Zeus, the
woman Warrior's sword in his hands, coming towards him.
Zeus swung the borrowed blade, decapitating Chronos, and thus winning the War of the Titans.
It was as if time had stopped, as Gabrielle and Zeus just stared at the
headless body of Chronos. Gabrielle looked up at Zeus, then curtsied
with respect towards the new King of The Gods. Gabrielle knew it was
not all over, but without Chronos, the other Titans would fall within a
century, to be condemned to Tartarus for eternity. Right now, Zeus was
the most powerful God, thus the king.
Xena awoke to the feeling of a small hand tangled in her hair, yanking
happily and heartily. Her whole body felt loose, and her head seemed to
spin a bit, as she sat up. She disentangled the baby's hand. "Thanks
for the wake up call Ares," she replied, patting his own curly black
locks affectionately. She guessed she'd never get him out of her blood,
but she had to give him back to his family. At least she knew he'd be
okay, even if because of him, humanity would be anything but.
She stood up, picked up the baby Ares, and walked towards Gabrielle and
Zeus. Zeus opened his arms, and Xena placed Ares in them. He fussed,
looking towards Xena and reaching out a grasping hand. "No Ares, you
don't belong with me," Xena said firmly.
Zeus looked at the Warrior Princess closely. She was obviously feeling,
very deep feelings right now, and was reluctant to hand over his son,
but Zeus suspected an additional meaning behind her words. He chose his
words carefully. "My wife, Hera, said that you had told her that you
had seen statues of her. And you seem to know my son's name, even
though he has yet to receive it, as his naming ceremony was postponed
when Chronos last attacked my family's encampment. Who are you?" Zeus
asked, trying to be able grasp what was going on. He was usually
quicker. Perhaps Chronos had succeeded in doing some serious damage,
before his execution.
Xena thought about how to answer. "I am Xena, and this is my friend
Gabrielle. We are from the future. Somehow we were sent back to this
time. We know it had something to do with the Fates, and we were
approaching Chronos in order to get us back, since in this time he
is... I mean was the head God. Now you are the King of the Gods, and
Hera, your wife is Queen. In the future, mortals will build temples and
shrines to you and her... and the rest of your family, including
Ares..."
"The God of Massacre," Zeus deducted, looking to the baby with some disgust.
"The God of War," Xena corrected. She felt her hackles rising at the
nasty look, Zeus was throwing at his son, whom he now held rigidly. "If
you hate him so much, why did you come after him? Why not have let
Chronos turn him into a falafel?" Xena asked, not knowing she was going
to ask that, till it was past her lips, and she couldn't take it back.
The Gods really got her goat sometimes.
"Because he is my son. I have a duty to him, as he has a duty to our
family. He is a necesary evil. He draws blood, as he has done here, and
he will defend us, from those forces that would seek our own to be
spilt. I do not know how, but he has killed a God. He has far exceeded
the job he was designed to do," Zeus explained calmly.
Gabrielle was, for once, speechless at Zeus's statement. She almost
felt sorry for Ares. And she'd thought him to be callous, uncaring, and
insensitive. Seems the apple didn't fall far from the tree. How
Hercules could be related to these two...
"Designed? You speak as if he were a chunk of metal fashioned on
Hephestus's anvil; Just a weapon to be used against your enemies and to
keep mortals in line!" Xena shouted.
"That is exactly what he is, and I will not argue it further, Woman!"
Zeus stated with finality. Zeus handed her back her sword. "Now, I will
return you to your own time."
Before Xena could say another word, she and Gabrielle were already on their way back, to the world they knew.
When they arrived in their own time, they stood, just where Xena knew
they'd be. Right on the road that eventually led to Amphipolis. But now
they had no time for visiting.
Xena knew this was not over. Hope had gone away too easily, still
claiming her intent on sacrificing Ares. Whatever it was about him,
Dahok wanted it dead, and therefore, despite her own feelings of anger
towards the God of War, she knew she had to protect him.
Unlike the Greek Gods, Dahok was not capricious. There had to be a
reason why he wanted Ares in particular. Hope had said that the Fates
had tried to trick Dahok to save the Ares of the past. She would start
with them first.
She turned towards the waiting Gabrielle. "Come on. We're going to see the Fates."
They traveled for three days, non-stop, and still they were only
halfway to the cavern that led to the home of the Fates. At least they
had Argo, having retrieved her once returning to the present day, and
according to a traveller they had met on the road, they had been
returned to the very time in which they had left.
The Fates were not easy to get to. There were traps and rough terrain, but Xena and Gabrielle knew they had to make it.
On the fourth day, as they inched their way up a tedious mountain, they
were met by a warrior woman dressed in perfect armor. "Greetings, Xena,
Gabrielle, I was told to wait for you," the woman announced.
"Wait a second. You're Athena!" Gabrielle replied in pleasant surprise. She had always wanted to meet the Goddess of Wisdom.
"Great, more Gods," Xena responded dryly.
"Xena, I was sent by Father to assist you in your journey. I am meeting
you here, since here is where you must make a detour. The Fates can not
help you, as they can not even help themselves. Some demon, calls
himself 'The Deliverer' is holding them within their home," Athena
explained. She did not like this Xena. Best give her message then go.
"He's a tough one alright, although not invincable. He can bleed, and
he can be defeated," Xena informed the Goddess of Honorable Battles.
"The Fates are not the warriors we are Xena. They were brave in saving
my brother's thread and telling the demon it had been snapped by their
spinner, but they can not fight back. In addition Ares is not well.
Zeus is having to hold him captive on Olympus to keep him from ripping
Britainia apart tree by tree, village by village, to get to the
followers of this one evil God, Dahok. He's gone beserker. This thing
tried to kill him, and now he doesn't care what he has to destroy, in
order to destroy Dahok. My brother has gone truly mad," Athena
explained, annoyance crossing her face.
Great, Ares had gone nuts. Well, the first thing to do was to get him
rational again. As much as she hated it, if her plan to bring down
Dahok was to work, she needed his assistance. "Can you take me to him,
Athena? I think I have news that may restore his sanity," Xena
explained to the Goddess.
Athena's brows knitted. "What are you planning?" she asked the mortal
warrioress. She never trusted anyone who had ever worked for her
demented brother. No matter what Xena or even her own half brother
Hercules said, once Ares lack, always his lacky.
"That's between me and your brother, Goddess. However, if you're into
watching..." Xena winked provacatively at Athena, and the Goddess gave
a disgusted snort. His brother was always one with the mortal whores.
"No thank you. However, against my better judgement, and under orders
from my father, I will take you to my brother's cell," Athena explained
curtly. Then with a flick of her wrist, she and Xena were gone.
Gabrielle just stood there, staring at the spot where Xena had been.
"Great, ditched again!" she wispered under her breath. A nearby
mountain goat baa'ed back at her in reply.
Xena eyed the fortress of Ares exterior with trepidation. The traps
that surrounded and were inside the fortress were legendary. Supposedly
only Zeus had the power to make it inside unscathed, without Ares
turning off the security system.
She blinked, as the light before her hurt her eyes, and when she opened
them again, she was inside the fortress, what she knew to me the center
room, the dugeon, where Ares could conjure and contain any beast he
wished to use in his service. She had been here once, and this was the
kind of room you never forgot. In the center was the largest cage she'd
ever scene, forged by Hephestus himself, and inside, sat Ares,
catatonic by the looks of him. This was not good.
She'd seen that look on warriors' faces often enough. It was the only
way one could hold back the flood of bloodlust and vengence, when all
they wanted to do was fight, kill, rip out the hearts of their enemy.
She'd seen it in the mirror enough, whenever Ceaser was involved.
Xena ran her chakram over the bars of the cage, to get the War God's
attention. He barely lifted his eyes. "I've heard of a man's home being
his prison, but this..."
Suddenly Ares bolted to the cage bars like a gorilla rushing towards a
rival. "You know the danger! How can you make jokes?" Ares spat out.
"How can you be so obstinent that you let your desire for bloodshed and
revenge overcloud your judgement! You should have known Zeus would
never have allowed you to kill everyone in Britainia! That's insanity!
Most Britainians are not followers of Dahok! But they could be very
useful in finding out who is and where we can find them! You go on a
rampage, and your hatred and rage will only give Dahok what he wants! A
mass sacrefice like you could only dream of!" Xena shouted back. Ares
could really piss her off sometimes. And he had been such a good baby.
Ares smiled one of his most infuriating smiles at her, and a small
laugh escaped his sealed lips. "I bow to your brilliance, but what do
you suppose we do?" he responded, mockery in his voice.
"We go to Britainia. We fight Dahok, Gods and mortals. We destroy his
followers, And only his followers, then Hope. Once they're gone, we go
after the one true evil itself," Xena purred emotionlessly, though Ares
saw beyond that facade.
He felt how her blood called to his, its need to destroy that which
destroyed her son, her friends, and that inciped bard's innocence. It
was a fabulous feeling, and Ares absorbed it greedily.
"Well?" she impaciently asked the God behind the bars. She could feel
him nursing off her emotions, and she did not like how natural it felt.
It was like coming home, the completion of a circle, bloodlust feeding
bloodlust, power being shared. "Alright, but Dahok's mortal
followers..."
"Are fair game. Just don't get in MY way," Xena said menacingly.
"Never," Ares wispered, taken in by the wild look in the Warrior
Princess's eyes. It was going to be like old times again, this mission,
and he couldn't wait to see her massacre Dahok's people. He wanted out
of his cage NOW!
Xena looked over her shoulder, and saw Zeus conversing with Athena. She
cleared her throat. No responce. "Oh Jailer," she called, again
rattling her chakram against the bars. Ares covered his mouth to keep a
laugh from escaping from him.
"Yes," Zeus said, his slightly wrinkled brow furrowing. For the other
Gods on Olympus, just his scowl would have struck fear, but this mortal
woman seemed unmoved, and his son seemed equally defiant now, as if
drawing confidence from the Lovely Warrior. This was something that
could not go unwatched, and The King of the Gods made a mental note to
pay more attention to this Xena woman in the future.
"I swear by my Godhood that I will not destroy Brinainia, only those
directly connected with Dahok. I've come to my senses. Now, please let
me out," Ares stated pedantically, like a child reciting rules he knew
by heart, and paid little heed to.
However, the oath was enough to bind him, and Zeus knew his tone and
attitude were just meant to agitate him. However he wasn't letting
these two troublemakers run loose just yet. He had to keep control.
"Very well, however, there is one stipulation to your release. Xena,
Warrior Princess, you seem to have helped my son to regain his control,
however, if I am to release him, it will be into your custody, until
this matter of this evil foreign god is resolved. If he looses himself,
and massacres the people of Britainia, it will be on your soul, and I
will have Hades create a especially nasty place in Tartarus for you to
suffer eternity. Do you accept my condition, both of you?" Zeus asked.
Now he'd see how strong their solidarity was. Considering the stories
he'd heardfrom the other Gods, he seriously doubted they could work
together.
"I agree," Xena stated, nodding her head. She didn't stutter or hesitate, and that impressed and worried Zeus.
"Fine by me," Ares stated, just as firmly, but with a leering lilt in his eyes, directed at Xena.
Zeus shrugged and opened the cage, setting Ares free.
"So, Princess, how should we travel to Britainia? Should I just wisk us away, or..."
"First we find Gabrielle. Then we gather an army. Then we sail to
Britainia, and end Dahok's reign once and for all!" Xena said, a smile
crossing her face, as the plan rewound itself in her head.
Ares waved goodbye to his uncle Posidon, as he sunk beneath the ocean
waves and away from the drifting ship, which suddenly started to move
again. Well, it would cost him a favor, but Dahok wouldn't be messing
with the armada he and Xena had strung together. Ares could only hope
and trust that Dahok wasn't strong enough to challenge his uncle in his
own domain.
He looked across the deck at the sailors around him, and sneered with
disgust. He needed to be amongst his own ilk, and headed towards the
door leading to the hold, where the battle hungry warriors he'd
enlisted to fight the one true evil were being housed. He needed to
test steel to steel, he was in a foul mood, made fouler by the
traveling arrangements he'd discovered had been made only once he had
boarded the ship.
Xena had insisted she did not want to sail with him and that it would
be better anyway if they each took charge of one group of warriors, so
they would not terrorize the sailors in boredom and bloodlust. She'd
always had a head for that kind of organization in an army, rare in
most warlords, and it had always been a point in her favor. That was
not the problem however. The problem was whom she WAS currently
traveling with on one of the other twenty ships, run by some woman
pirate named Nebula. His damn halfbreed halfbrother halfwitt!
Ares knew he shouldn't care but he did. It shouldn't matter whom on
Earth or in Tartarus, this mortal warrioress chose to bed down with,
but it most definitely did right now, and right now Ares needed the one
thing that could surpass Xena in his consciousness, blood.
He stormed down into the hold, only to find his warriors not sparing,
preparing for battle, but pushing each other out of the way in order to
get closer to one obscured figure in the center. A high pitched female
laugh struck him from the center of th crowd, and Ares sighed. He
didn't need this right now, although, then agian, she could be just the
person to release his anger upon. "Discord! What are you doing here?!"
"Waiting for you, but these men seem to know how to show a lady a
better time," the young Godess said, making eyes with one particularly
handsome buck.
Ares growled in responce.
"Alright, alright, Zeus sent me. Said he wanted to make sure you and
the lady warrior kept your end of the bargin. If you go nuts, not only
does Xena get Tartarus, but I get your Godhood. I like it. Discord,
Godess of Massacre. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think Ares?"
"What, a big hole where Britainia used to be wouldn't be noticed by the
King of the Gods?" Xena asked, trying to avert Ares attention a bit.
Discord was baiting an already tense Ares, and Xena didn't want to
spend eternity in torment, should he explode.
"Xena, nice to see you again," Discord said ingenuously.
"I doubt it, now why are you here? I doubt you'd be Zeus's first choice
of chaperone, being a chronic liar and all," Xena asked, just as
stand-offish as the two Gods in her company.
"Actually, you're right. None of the other Gods were interested, and I
volunteered, so here I am. You didn't think I was going to let you and
Miss Warrior Princess take a romantic little cruise together, did you
Ares?" Discord teased.
Ares looked like he wanted to pounce, as most of the soldiers in
attendence fought back a laugh at that remark. "This is hardly a
'romantic cruise', we're off to fight a viscious war against a God that
wants you and your entire family dead and the entire earth subjegated
in terror," Xena explained, striking fear in the hearts of the jovial
warriors.
"Same difference, at least in Ares book," Discord harped. This time, no
one was laughing, and Discord realized she was looking bad here.
"Anyway, I'm going to pop on ahead to Britainia. See if I can stir up
descention in the ranks of Dahok's followers,"
"At least you can do something useful," Ares commented.
"Oh, I can do many useful things, including keeping an eye on you two.
See you around!" Discord said, flashing away. The warriors groaned at
the loss of the only eligible woman on board, and Ares and Xena left
the hold in annoyance.
"Damn her!" Ares shouted, once he had stomped all the way to the bow of the ship, Xena right behind him.
"Calm down!" Xena ordered, grabbing Ares chin, and forcing his eyes to meet hers.
Ares clenched his fists at his side, and took a deep breath. "If it was
anyone but you, Xena..." he growled, forcing her hand off his beard.
Xena held his eyes, challenging him to forget who she was and cuff her.
The two stayed that way, each holding their ground.
Suddenly Ares felt himself knocked off his feet, a force ramming into
him from behind. He quickly caught himself as he hit the floor,
twisting in one movement to grab his sword and face his attacker.
Ares smiled a dark and eager smile before throughing his entire weight
and force into his attacker, sending the two rolling over five times,
with Ares getting the upper hand. "Sorry you chose to come along, but
we don't really need you here Brother!" Ares said, removing a dagger
from his belt. This time it wouldn't be on his head, if he killed...
Suddenly pain shot through his head, as Xena's boot connected with his
ear, and he fell off his opponent as for a split second, he lost his
barings.
"I AM NOT SPENDING ETERNITY IN TARTARUS SO YOU CAN KILL HERCULES!" Xena
shouted at the recovering God. She then put her boot into the side of
her demigod mentor. "AND YOU, What in the name of Zeus where you trying
to do?!" she hissed and kicked three times.
"Ow! Stop Xena! I saw him threatening you! I thought you needed help!"
Hercules said, shielding himself with his muscular forearms. He could
easily deflect her kicks, but he didn't want to hurt her. She was
obviously upset, and perhaps he had interfered and been in the wrong.
"I can't believe this! Is it some sick family trait you share that you
can't believe I can take care of myself!" Xena said, her anger
building, and her eyes turned to Ares, who had gotten up and
replenished himself, looking a regal and supreem as ever. He smiled a
dangerous smile at Xena, daring her. He loved to fight her. They each
slowly started to circle each other, waiting for an opening, and
Hercules, knowing he could do nothing but try to keep everyone else
safe during the battle to come stepped back.
"Xena! There's a group of ships just approaching the horizon! They're
not ours! Xena!" Gabrielle shouted from the perch uptop where she stood
watch.
Xena's war cry hit the air, as she flipped backwards out of Ares reach
and right infront of the ladder leading to the lookout. Swiftly she
ascended the distance and grabbed the primative telescope from her
friends hand. She looked in the direction Gabrielle pointed and saw the
large Britanian vessels approaching. "Damn! They're making a premptive
strike, and this army has never even fought together as a unit,
muchless a sea battle! They're soldiers not pirates!" Xena swore,
pounding her fist into the post. She took another look through the
scope, and plan came into her mind. She flipped down all the way from
the outlook post, confronting the startled captain. "This Armada is
going to be getting extremely close. Smaller ships towards the center.
Ares, make contact with your uncle, Posiden, see if he can give us some
large waves oin twenty minutes exactly.
For a second Ares was stunned. A mortal was giving HIM orders, but Xena
had her no nonscence or I'll skin you alive personally look, and he ran
towards the bow of the ship to get his Uncle's attention.
The older God rose to the sea surface, and eyed his perniscious nephew
with weary eyes. "What do you want now?" he asked, rolling his eyes
slightly.
"Waves, we need waves, big one in twenty minutes precisely. It seems
Dahok knows not to attack directly, so he's using his mortals and an
Armada of their ships to meet and destroy our main forces before we can
get to Britainia. We need these soldiers, if we are to win!" Ares
explained emphatically.
"Why don't you just... Oh, right, this Dahok would block you from just
landing your men on Britainia," Posiden mimiced, rolling his eyes
again. Godlings. Always so concerned about things of relatively
insignifigant proportions. This Dahok wasn't even a century old, hadn't
even escaped his celestial plane to enter the world, and Ares was
fighting a full blown war with him. Whatever made the kid happy as long
as it left him alone. "Alright. You want waves in twenty minutes you
got waves, Happy?"
"Thank you." Ares responded, holding back a snide comment.
"Good, now leave me in peace!" The Lord of the Seas huffed, plunging below.
The ships, now tethered together like a great barge rocked violently.
Everyone grabbed onto whatever they could find, as waves seemed to
swamp the decks again and again, forcing the sailors and soldiers
alike, into the hold. They could do little, but hope that the Britannia
ships sent by Dahak would fair far worse being smaller, less
sophisticated, and without the support provided by the anchoring of the
ships together.
Ares insisted on standing on the deck, watching the carnage of Dahak's
men, sinking beneath the waves. Xena had declined his offer to stay,
and was within the hold, huddling together with Gabrielle and Hercules.
Using his powers, Ares was also keeping kept an eye on his brother. He
didn't want the upstart mongrel trying to rekindle anything in Xena. He
wanted her rough and focused, as she had been on Olympus when she won
him his freedom. He wanted her to be his Warrior Princess, and this
time Hercules would not get in the way.
As the last of Dahak's armada fell victim, succumbing to the vast
ocean, Ares smiled, then waded across the deck towards the steps that
lead to the soppy hold.
As he was about to descend the short staircase, Ares looked out across
the makeshift barge, and laughed at the sinking ship his idiot
brother's best friend was on. The pirates, warriors, and that Iolaus
pest had emerged from their hold, having felt the large piece of
driftwood that had rammed them, piercing the keel. Now they were all
bailing out water and screaming to the gods to save them.
He fully intended to save the warriors and the pirates, but his
brother's little friend would be meeting their uncle Hades soon. Ares
smiled evilly, imagining the devastation on Hercules face when he
discovers that while he was sitting on his ass down in the hold, his
buddy was drowning to death.
Or perhaps he could use this situation to his own advantage. Throw his
do-gooder brother off kilter and endear himself to the lovely Xena. He
wasn't stupid enough to believe that one act of rescue would make her
swoon, but to know that he had done something she deemed good, might be
just what he needed to find that chink in her armor of hatred for him,
and it was hate she felt for him. He knew that for sure. He felt it in
her. It was pure and divine, and it only served to endear him more to
her.
With a wave of his hand the crew of the dying vessel were spread out
between the remaining twenty odd ships. Two other ships had also taken
major damage, and he saved their crews and warrior cargo as well.
However, the only person Ares added to this ship was Iolaus. He wanted
to make a point.
When the waves had ceased twenty minutes later, and the ocean calmed,
Xena, Hercules, and the sailors left the hold. Upon reaching the deck,
Hercules let out a sigh of relief to see Iolaus in one piece. Iolaus
looked stunned, just sitting on the deck, braced for the seas further
fury.
Hercules and Xena rushed to their friend's side.
"Are you okay?" Xena asked first. She looked towards Ares for a moment,
thinking he must have done something sinister to the fair haired man,
something not obvious. Perhaps something internal. She kneeled down by
Iolaus, and started feeling ribs and limbs.
Iolaus pushed her hands away. "I'm fine Xena. Herc, we were going down, and... Ares, what happened to the other, Nebula and..."
"They're all taken care of. They're scattered about the remaining
ships. No one on our side was killed," Ares said, rolling his eyes at
such a petty concern as a few dozen human lives. He however, turned his
attention to Xena to see what type of reaction she was having to his
current benevolence. He almost wanted to laugh, as she calmly rose, and
began climbing the rope ladder to the lookout. Any mortal would have
believed she was back to business as usual and had disregarded
contemplating his saving the drowned ships crew and passengers, but not
only could he read her mind, but he knew her well enough to know the
questions were eating at her and this was just her pride and
professionalism surfacing. A good commander always gave the impression
that they always knew exactly what was going on and was on top of every
contingency. From his perspective, it was quite a show.
He continued to watched her, transfixed to the point that he completely
forgot about his half brother and his companion. He saw her brows
furrow, and a scowl cross her face. He looked out onto the ocean, and
with his superior vision, saw what mortals on deck would have missed.
He smiled a wicked smile and felt like a kid who just got away with
something naughty.
Hercules noticed his tormenting brother's gaze, and followed it out. He
two saw the almost endless army of ships approaching. "Why are they
here?" Hercules asked. Ares obviously had this planned.
"Don't worry. They're on our side, brother. Mars made a special
request," Ares responded smugly, his eyes still fixed on Xena, who was
absently stroking her chakram in a predatory manor. Ares was in
ecstasy, with the thoughts running through her head.
Hercules and Iolaus were less thrilled at the sight Xena presented.
Even without telepathy, they could see the dangerous bloodlust she was
experiencing. It was like facing the warlord once again.
Iolaus leaned in towards Hercules to whisper. "What's wrong with her?"
Hercules pointed to the ships which were now coming over the horizon.
"They're Roman, and that flag on the lead ship signifies that she
carries their Caesar."
Xena jumped down from the lookout, charging Ares. She grabbed him by
the neck, ramming him hard into the lookout post. "Why, you deceitfull
sack of sh..."
"Xena, please," Hercules requested, cringing at the ferocity she
displayed. He knew he'd been that way himself many times where his
brother was involved, but Xena seemed posessed by this rage.
"Sack of SHIT!" she punctuated. She was way gone now.
"Now, Xena, he brings with him over 16,000 of the most highly trained
soldiers on Earth, all at your disposal. I would think that you could
put aside your feud with Ceaser for a minute and think of the future of
humanity a moment," Ares teased with a straight face.
"My disposal?" Xena asked. This didn't seem right. Ceaser would never
give up potential glory, or the chance to command his own army from the
safety of a tent. And he'd NEVER give a woman command of anything
besides cooking his supper.
"Yes, although he doesn't know it yet, Ceaser will be sitting this one
out. The man is an excellent politician, and on the corpses of his
soldiers, he has been sucesssfull in expanding his empire. But this is
not the kind of battle shear numbers can win. I need a charasmatic
general who can whip her men's bodies, minds, and souls into a singular
purpose. Otherwise Dahok will crush us from the inside out. Under
Ceaser's command, those men could easily become Dahok's. The general of
this army has to be able to so fill these men with will and
determination that there is no room for doubt or second guessing within
their hearts. As you have already acknowledged, Dahok's power comes
from the human heart. Ceaser's only passion is his own ambitions, and
possibly in possessing and destroying you. A good trait in mortal
warfare, disasterous in a war between gods, which is why I am turning
over his forces to your command," Ares explained.
Xena laughed. "You may be his most favored god, but Ceaser will never go for that."
"Let's just say, he has no choice, and he knows it," Ares replied, vanishing away to the lead Roman ship.
Xena wondered what Ares had meant by that, but knew now was not the
time to ponder the question. Now she had to reorganize her army. 16,000
additional troops made a big difference. Still, the anticipation of
watching a humbled and humiliated Ceaser turn over command to her, sent
a sadistic chill through her.
After assuring Hercules and Iolas that she was all right, she called
over the ship's captain, ordering him to head for the main port in
northern Gaul, and to send the other ships the same order. With three
ships down in the waves, they needed to purchase supplies and arms to
replace those lost. Two of the ships that had been sunk had been pirate
ships, and Xena tried not to think of how these crews planned to remake
their lost homes. She hated to admit it, but she couldn't allow herself
to worry about that now. They needed the ships and the crews in this
war and they needed them now. She couldn't afford to enforce ethics and
morality right now. Part of her didn't want to. That part wanted to
keep her forces fully supplied and damn everyone else, and that
frightened her. It felt too natural, too easy, to let this happen, but
she had no choice. This was war. She'd give them all three hours to
restock, and then they were off to Britainia.
This decision made, she headed back down to the hold, to her best
friend, and better half. She shut out all doubts, and assigned herself
to the job at hand, but still, she needed comfort and assurance that
she was not a monster.
It was a balmy night in Gaul, and the new arrivals from the Greek and
Roman armada were being eaten alive by local insects. Still, it was the
kind of night where the sea air was fresh and tangy and noone could
resist being out and around after such a long and arduous day.
As Xena strolled around the little village, that had accepted the
armies among them, she realized that she hadn't eaten all day, and knew
she should. She located the small local resteraunt, and took the only
available seat, under the canopy outdoors. Gabrielle soon joined her,
making eyes with the waiter, till he lept to get her an extra chair.
As they talked about the coming days, then moved on to less weighty,
even silly matters, Xena let her emotional gaurd down, slowly sinking
into the easy commradery she and Gabrielle shared.
Until Hercules arrived, dragging two angry men with him. "Where's Nebula?" the demi-god demanded.
"We don't betray our captain, man!" One of the prisoners spat back.
"Well, then maybe you'd like to explain it to her!" Hercules replied,
pointing to Xena who had now stood up, and assumed her, 'I'm in
command; spillit or die!' pose.
The fire of defiance went out of the two men's eyes, under the Warrior
Princesses steely blue gaze, and they fell at her feet. "We need those
ships, Me Lady! You need those ships, to defeat the enemy god in
Britainia! We's only doin it for the mission!"
"And to haul back whatever loot can be found," Hercules commented disgustedly under his breath.
Xena took a deep breath. She gave Hercules a quick, pleading look for
understanding and acceptance, and his jaw dropped as he realized what
she was about to do. "Alright, but the second we return, those ships
are returned, and anything, you all happened to 'find', along the way
goes to the families of anyone you've harmed in aquiring these vessels.
Do I make myself clear?!" Xena demanded an answer.
"Yes, Princess Xena! Yes, yes!" the two syncophantic pirates, replied earnestly.
"And rememember, you are coming along to fight a war, not scavange
after this army, Understood?", Xena asked, not waiting for a reply.
They'd better understand or she'd deal with them herself, once this
mission was complete. "Now go tell your Captain I need a word with her
before we set out tomorrow, and also tell her I'd advise against
showing her face around here till dawns early light," Xena commanded.
"Yes ma'am!' both sailors replied in unison, scurring off to deliver their precious message.
As everyone around them, started back to what they were doing,
Hercules, stormed right up to the two women's table. "What the heck was
that?" he demanded Xena, looking hard into her eyes.
"That was problem management for an army of over 23,000 men," Xena
responded cooly, shutting her feelings away. She had to maintain a
posture of self confidence, despite her own doubts at her dubious
actions.
"As much as I like Nebula, she's a criminal, a pirate, those men are
pirates, and you just gave them flat out permission to hijack three
vessels!" Hercules stated unbelievingly, anger coursing through him.
"I gave them flat out permission to increase the tactical strenth of
this army! Dahok is strong, Hercules! We have got to be stronger, or
everything and everyone in the world is detroyed and dead! A few
harrassed sailor's is a small price to pay! And I don't take kindly to
being openly questioned in front of my men!" Xena spat back, fire in
her eyes. How dare he. She stormed out of the resteraunt, making her
way back to the command tent.
"Well, well, well, nicely done, Hercules. Although, on some level, this
is sort of a conflict of interest. Then again, they do say that
politics makes strange bedfellows. I didn't think you had any
inclination towards my talents. Maybe there is hope for you yet," The
petite, leather clad Godess stated, running an index finger down
Hercules's chest.
"Discord. Great, just what I need," Hercules said, sighing and moving away from her straying hands.
"Okay, look. Though it really goes against my better judgement, I'm
going to explain things to you. Xena commands this army. You follow her
orders, and you don't go making her look weak. Else, the rest of the
men will start questioning her, and this army does need a strong
leader. As much as I personally hate her, Xena is exceptional at just
that!" Discord spat out coldly.
"What do you care? Shouldn't you be off running errands for Ares?" Hercules replied.
"Look Muscel for Brains, I have as much at stake here as you or your
helpless little mortals. We're on the same side. I'm trying to avert
problems in this army, and start them accross the channel, so
appologize, and make nice nice with our fair Commander!" Discord
shouted, ramming Hercules down to the ground with a wave of power.
Discord then disappeared, as Hercules pulled himself to his feet.
"She's right you know, Herc. We both know that sometimes in war, you
have to follow orders, nowmatter whether you agree with them or not. I
have faith that Xena has this all under control," Iolas commented to
his friend, as he helped his friend brush the dirt off of him.
Hercules looked out upon the sea of soldiers, looking for the command
tent. Once his eyes had fixed on it, he also noticed the dark figure,
entering it. "Yeah, but possibly not for long. Come on," the Demi-god
called back, his blond friend following quickly behind him, as not to
get loss in the mass of men.
The candles gave the tent's interior and it's sole occupant a soft
ethereal glow, making her look even more beautiful, radiant, even
divine, as she observed the map before her. A finger traversed its way
down the map, and her eyes flashed as she grabbed the quill beside her,
taking notes on her new discovery.
Ares rolled his own eyes at himself. He was being stupid, him The God
of War, hiding behind a tent flap, gawking at a warrioress like some
lovestruck farmhand. He took three more steps into the tent to come up
behind the working woman.
"Wench, I told you I'll take my bath when I'm good and ready!" Xena
barked out, a smirk on her face, as she imagined the look on her
visitor's handsome, swarthy features.
"Oh, but me' lady, I only hoped to help with the task," Ares cooed
seductively, his hands coming to rest on either side of her shoulders,
as his speaking lips dappled with her left earlobe, sending warm
flutters through her system.
No doubt about it. Say what you will about him, Ares was sexy, and she
had to admit, she'd walked straight into that one. Xena cleared her
throat, in an attempt to also clear her thoughts. "What do you need
Ares?" she asked diplomatically.
"I just came to see how you were doing. Being this close to Dahok's
domain, I don't want to take my chances on getting back to Olympus, so
like you, I'm stuck hear waiting out the morning with no entertaining
prospects," Ares explained, righting himself again, and starting to
pace.
"Well, I'm just finishing up here, before I bathe and go back to my
tent to sleep, but I'm sure a handsome God like yourself could find
some 'entertaining prospects' somewhere in the villiage," Xena
rebutted.
"How can you say that? I'm not looking for just any mortal beauty to dally with!" Ares stated in mock astonishment.
"Why not? From what I hear, that seems to be your usual strategy," Hercules said, as he entered the tent.
"Why dear brother, I didn't know you were so concerned for my love
life. We'll have to go 'window shopping' together sometime," Ares
retorted, smiling at Hercules's annoyed frown.
Xena just sighed. "Can I help you Hercules?"
"Yeah, well, I came to appologize for questioning you like that out in
front of your army. I've been a free agent so long, I guess I forgot
about command structure. I was out of line, and I'm truly sorry,"
Hercules said, his head bowing just slightly, always keeping his eyes
on his evil brother.
Xena fought her instincts to hug him. She was his commanding officer
after all. "Apology accepted, just don't let it happen again, okay?"
"Okay," Hercules responded, getting the total message. Hercules
couldn't bring himself to leave, yet he couldn't justify staying. Xena
was a big girl. She could definitely take care of herself. But Ares was
tricky and smart, and Xena wasn't acting like herself. He hated to
admit it, but she seemed to be regressing into what she was when they'd
first met on opposing sides. The fear of her returning to her warlord
ways sent his heart cold.
For her part, Xena said nothing more, returning to her work. She knew
him so well, she could almost hear the concerns whirling about inside
Hercules's head. When he figured out that she considered their
discussion over, he'd leave. And five minutes of silence later, he did.
"So now that he's gone, what do you say to me bringing you a light
snack, having your bath drawn, and then maybe..." Ares purred, letting
the sentence drop off.
"I'm going to bed," Xena finished for him, with a smirk. Even if she
couldn't really trust either of them to become lovers, it was
definitely flattering to know that he still wanted to.
Ares laughed deeply. She'd got him again. He could expect no less from
his Warrior Princess. Still, as he left the command tent, he used his
powers to create a small bowl of strawberries on the map table. She
needed to eat, didn't she?
He heard a soft "Thanks" from behind him, as he walked away, and he couldn't help but smile.
To Be Continued
Please e-mail the author of this story with your comments. aeverett[at]angelfire.com
...h.o.m.e...
