Subtext: In the beginning- kinda… All depends how ya look at it.
Violence: Yeah…. Nothing worse than show…
Sex: I doubt it….
Rating: PG MAYBE, PG-13
Author’s notes: This just kinda popped in my head (actually a lonnnnnnng time ago) and wouldn’t leave so I wrote it. This takes place sometime after the dreaded Norse Arc!!!
Summary: After a Gab develops an ‘issue’ Apollo and the Greek Gods put Xena and Ares' love to the test Yes, ALL of them….
Spoilers: Almost ALL of s5’s Ares eps. Not Seeds of Faith and Little to none of ‘Eve’…
Feedback: PLEASE!!!!! Ephiny4@aol.com I take good or bad… Which ever I deserve…
Dedications: To Cora for saying… I like it, I like it, post it! So honey guess what? I’m posting it!
Now for the shocker of the season… Ephiny’s shutting up!!!!
Paradise… Still Not Found
By Ephiny4
Gabrielle was mad… Not just mad I mean REALLY mad. It was late at night and she was the only one awake. After pacing around the campsite she picked a quill and a scroll and started writing.
‘It was one of those days when you aren’t sure of anything. I used to think I was the most important in Xena’s life.. Now I don’t know if I am. A while back we met up with Ares and now he’s traveling with Xena, Virgil, Eve, and myself. At first everything was fine, then I started to notice some things. Xena and Ares were always sitting so close to each other often with their arms around each other and teasing. He would play with her hair and squeeze her knee under the table. Then one night I heard her tell him she love him. She can’t love Ares! Xena’s MY soul mate… Not his… No one, least of all him is going to take her away from me. Now here’s where things get bad. If I do what I have to, to insure that I wouldn’t loose her to him.. Will I loose her anyway? Will she hate me? Is that a risk I’m willing to take?’ Gabrielle looked up to the sky then said to herself “Yup.” She picked up a dagger and walked over to where Ares was sleeping. He was lying next to Xena with one arm around her. “Figures.” Gabrielle said under her breath. Xena was EXHAUSTED. Even with her sixth sense… She wouldn’t wake up. She had just enough room. Gabrielle raised the dagger in preparation of plunging it into his heart….
“I’m sorry Xena.” Gabrielle said. Just as she was bringing the dagger down someone threw a pair of arms around her and knocked her to the ground.
“Gabrielle, NO!” Eve said, trying hard to not wake anyone. Gabrielle was confused, started crying. Eve took her in arms and held her.
“He’s taking her away from me!”
“He’s doing no such thing now, shh. Calm down, it’s ok, everything’s gonna be ok.”
Gabrielle cried herself to sleep in Eve’s arms.
The next morning Gabrielle slept in, Xena and Ares went ‘fishing’ and Eve and Virgil went to find some more wood.
“Hey, Virgil.” Eve began. “Have you noticed anything… different?”
“Did you cut your hair or something?”
“Not about me! About Mom and Ares.”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Still hanging all over each other, just like Dad said.” Eve’s eyes grew really WIDE.
“What?!”
“His words, not mine. But ya gotta admit, they HAVE been laying it on pretty thick lately. ”
“That’s what scares me.”
“Eve what’s going on?” Eve looked at him wondering if she should tell him. Finally, she did.
Meanwhile…
“Hey, watch who you’re splashing.” Xena said to Ares, both knee deep in water.
“Splashing? You mean like this?” He splashed her again and soon they were in an all out water war. It ended with them both TOTALLY soaked and their bodies pressed against each other. They just looked at each other for a while, and he kissed her. The kiss seemed to last forever until Xena finally broke it.
“You know, sooner or later, we’ve GOT to tell them.”
“Xena, come on, we haven’t been very good at keeping it secret, they probably know.”
“All the same, we should tell them.”
“It really means that much to you?”
“Yeah, it does.” Ares sighed.
“Well then, I guess we’ll have to tell them, tonight?” Xena smiled and kissed him.
It was time. The group decided to stay in a tavern that night. Everyone was in Xena’s room waiting to hear what she and Ares had to say.
“Ok, this is gonna sound REALLY stupid, cause you probably already know but… uh… uh” Xena TRIED to explain.
“What Xena isn’t quite saying is… uh… uh...” Ares couldn’t get it right either. They gave each other these ‘we are so pathetic looks’ and Xena stepped closer to him as he put his arm around her as if saying ‘we’re together.’
Gabrielle wasn’t sure if she was happy for Xena or not. She was on a MAJOR guilt trip over last night. Tears filled her eyes as the quickly left the room. Xena was going to go after her when Eve caught her arm. She looked at Virgil as if asking if she was doing the right thing.
“ Yeah.” He said. Xena and Ares were confused.
“Mother, there’s something I NEED to tell you. Both of you.”
Gabrielle was in her room thinking about what she just did, she shouldn’t have left. Just then there was a knock on the door.
“Can I come in?” Ares poked his head in.
“Yeah.”
“Look, Gabrielle.” He said sitting next to her on the bed. “I know we don’t have a GREAT past but…”
“It’s got NOTHING to with that.” She got up and walked around the room a bit, finally she spun around, facing. “I’ve been competing with you since the DAY I met Xena.” Ares looked confused. “Oh, Ares she ALWAYS loved you! It would make me SO mad when you would pull one of your little schemes and the next day, THE VERY NEXT DAY, she would smile and blush JUST because she heard your name. Drove Hercules crazy, I can tell you that! WHENEVER I got her to talk about her past and you were in it she’d get this sparkle in her eye. I KNEW that one day she’d realize it and you have NO IDEA how much that scared me! I KNEW that if I ever lost her to ANYONE it would be you. Last night, I, I freaked… I’m sorry.”
“You know what, if thought I was gonna loose her to someone I hate then I think I’d freak too… The old Xena, she was fun but she’s not the one I love. She will never be that again, cause you, me, Eve, and Virgil aren’t going to let that happen.”
“Thank you.”
Later that evening everyone was asleep. Ares was looking at Xena, sleeping beautifully. Then Apollo made his GRAND ENTRANCE.
“Well, well, well, looks you’ve been keeping yourself busy.”
“Go away Apollo!”
“Hey, be nice, I’m your brother after all. Maybe being mortal does have its advantages.” He said eyeing Xena, Ares quickly covered her with more of the sheet.
“Ok, I’m gonna cut the chase.” The God continued, “Being top God is, well, HARDER then I thought, so here.” A cup filled with Ambrosia appeared in Ares’ hand.
“No thanks.” Ares said.
“Well, if you change your mind… Oh and Ares.” He looked at Xena again. “You’ve got good taste.”
Ares and Xena talked about what happened the night before. Xena HATED to admit it, but he was MADE to be a God. They were alone in the middle of the woods as Ares drank the ambrosia. Everything would fine, they’d still be together… Or so they thought. After Ares drank it he looked around and gave Xena a look.
“What do you want?”
“What?”
“You heard me! And what are we doing here? Where is here?”
“Honey, are you feeling ok?”
“Honey?! Since when do you call me that?”
“In the name of Eli!”
“Who? For crying out loud Xena, speak Greek.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“You killing Callisto in Dahak’s temple…”
“What? So you don’t remember ANYTHING about the twilight or the siege?”
“The twilight is a MYTH Xena!” ‘Boy she’s taking the bard’s death harder than I thought!’
“The furies?”
“How long are you gonna hold that one against me?” Xena walked up to him and stroked his cheek. A silent tear went down face, which did NOT go unnoticed by Ares, and she ran away, leaving a very confused God of War.
“Hey Xe.” Gabrielle said as Xena entered the camp. “Eve and Virgil went for a walk, those two are getting pretty cozy, huh? Where’s Ares.” She stood and faced her friend seeing the tears in her eyes.
“Gabrielle!” Xena walked over and hugged her friend crying and started to tell her everything as Gabrielle held Xena the way she held HER when she lost Perdicus all those years ago.
Ares was sitting on his throne watching his princess. She was crying! Over him! And the bard… It’s alive! What was going on? Time to pay a visit to the Fates.
“What can we do for you Ares?”
“What’s going on? Xena doesn’t hate me, that THING is alive, my hair is short...”
“We shall show you all but beware War God, for this will mean trouble for you and your princess.” Suddenly Ares was consumed by memories. Memories he wasn’t allowed to remember.
“It’s all about you and me Xena.”
The backrub.
“I don’t get it all this to watch your new girlfriend fight?”
“No, watch my OLD girlfriend fight.”
“If I’m gonna be mortal I could live out my life with you.”
“I love you Xena.”
Ares kissing her (in all places) in the DREAM.
“I wanna be with you Xena.”
“I would sooner die in your arms, then live without you in mine.”
“I have desired you from the moment I saw you in battle.”
“I just wanted be certain there wasn’t any confusion.”
“Nope, I side with you, against gods, save Eve got ya.”
The ‘couch events.’
“I felt something.”
“When you sacrificed yourself for others, you were hers, but when you kicked ass, you were mine.”
“I mourned you, for years, I mourned you!”
“I gave up my immoratlity to save them… I gotta thing for her.”
“Maybe as a mortal I can experience something I couldn’t as a God… Like you.”
“You ALWAYS got to me.”
“The old Xena, yeah she was fun, but she’s not the one I love. She’ll never be that again, cause you, me, Eve and Virgil, aren’t going to let that happen.”
Ares was pulled out when he heard a scream, Xena was in trouble. He appeared in their campsite to find Gabrielle in shock, Xena missing, and Eve sitting next to Virgil, who was unconiusus, covered I blood.
“Where’s Xena?”
“Apollo took her.”
For fear of Xena’s life Ares quickly left for Mt. Olympus. He saw Xena in a cage and quickly ran towards her.
“Ares! Don’t it’s a trap.” Too late, a cage made with Hephetsis’s metal came crashing around him. The cages were side to side, the bars touching each other.
“Oh, this is almost too easy.” Apollo appeared next to the cages.
“Apollo this makes NO SENSE! What do you possibly have to gain from all of this?” Xena asked.
“Vengence! You see Xena, my brother needs to pay for Athena. I took away the thing he valued most… The memory of your love! Then the Fates went ahead and opened their big mouths! Now, I need to decide what your new punishment shall be, death or worse.”
“Death?” Ares asked. “YOU MADE ME A GOD!”
“Yes well, when you have connections,” pulling out a dagger with Hinds Blood on it. “Anything is possible. And on that happy note, I’ll leave you two love birds alone.” He disappeared.
“You remember?” Xena asked.
“I came after you didn’t I? Any ideas?”
“No, not, yet.”
“How’d he get a hold of you anyway?”
“Gabrielle, Eve, and I went for a walk, when we got back to camp he was beating Virgil and…” Ares put up his hand, he knew it would be hard for Xena to go on. “Where the hell did he get hind’s blood?” Xena asked.
“I don’t know. That could be anyone’s guess.” They sat as close to each other as they could. Holding hands and leaning their heads against each other. Trying to think… They stayed like that all day.
It was night and Aphrodite appeared in the room.
“Sorry I didn’t get here sooner! I just heard from Gabby… OOOH! You two look so cute!” She added when she saw how they were sitting. “Boy it was HARD getting in here! Apollo has MAJOR security, here you go.” Aphrodite handed Xena a chain that could cut he bars and soon they were out. The left the room little did they know what was happening in the Fates’ Lair.
“Death doesn’t always mean the end…”
“It can mean the beginning…”
“As it did for Xena, as it will…”
“For the Gods of Olympus…”
“The untold part of the prophecy is about to come true…”
“The once defeated Olympians will rise once again…”
“And claim what is there’s…”
“Unless it can be prevented by Xena, Slayer of Gods…”
“Her, her love, and her child…”
“Are doomed…”
Please e-mail the author of this story with your comments. ephiny4@aol.com
bleeding-heart[dot]net