Explosion fire destroyed all hints to all secrets of the huge power Ares wanted to possess. Only one hint of one secret remained unburned.
Two years passed since that day. During that time War god had put a lot of effort to uncover the details of the remaining power. Finally, he succeeded. All details were clear to him and the timing was perfect. The red moon will finally shine during the annual celebration of Ares' power. Just a few weeks to wait for this rare, one time in a thousand years, event.
Finally, the moment has come. The celebration of Ares' power was never easy in Greece - fierce warriors become even fiercer during that time, there were a lot of conflicts and destruction. But this year, it was much much worse than usual. It seemed that every warrior was bloodthirsty.
"Where is Xena?" – Hercules asked the blond woman before him. Gabrielle seeing his worried face and Iolaus look realized that something else was wrong.
"Xena went to the mountain road. She's going to cause a rockslide to stop Antin's army from coming to the valley. We know that he and Tron are planning to join forces before the attack. Why? And aren't you supposed to be in Trace right now?"
"We came from Trace, Gabrielle. They have a strong army and we think that they manage to hold on their own. It's Xena we are worried about."
"Xena? Why?"
"When we were in Trace, we ran into a foreteller who told us that this week the celebration of Ares power started and tonight his powers are the strongest in thousand years. That is why all warriors feel unprecedented rage and that explains the activity of attacks during the last two weeks. A legend says that if the God of War and his chosen warrior…"
Suddenly he was cut off by Gabrielle.
"Chosen warrior? Xena? She is not that person anymore, she can't be the chosen of Ares, she's …"
"Chosen thing doesn't work that way, Gabrielle. Ares doesn't have to let her go if she chooses to go. She is still his number one warrior. Anyway, the legend says that if their heir would be conceived tonight, he will be unstoppable in battles. I highly doubt that Ares would lose this chance."
"Where is that mountain road?" - Iolaus asked.
"It's west from here" - Gabrielle said.
"Iolaus, you stay here, I'll get the horse" - demigod said and run to the stables.
Meanwhile, Xena was setting a camp in the forest near the cliff path, she was planning not only to cause a rock-slide, but also bury part of Ares' army under the rocks, so there was no need to be in a hurry as they were quite far away from here. She put her stuff next to the fireplace and went hunting. Xena had no idea that during her absence the god of war would show up and pour a godly mixture into her waterskin.
It was evening when she came back with her hunt, but to her surprise she wasn't that hungry anymore, just thirsty, so she took few sips of water. Soon after that, she felt a familiar tingle down her spine and immediately drew her sword.
"You won't need that against me tonight, my sweet" – the dark-haired God spoke slowly approaching her. As he told that, Xena began to feel dizzy, everything began spinning so she leaned toward the tree nearby.
"Ares, what have you done to me?" – she asked him with a slight worry in her voice. He didn't bother to respond, just took few steps closer to her. It was strange even to herself that she was not just angry, but also a bit scared. At first, she thought that his plan was to distract her, to prevent her stopping his army, but after his soothing line, his tender voice, she realized that she was missing something, so she just stared at him her sword still in her hand.
"Relax… you know I would never hurt you" - he said looking into her blue eyes as he was inches away from her. He took her sword from her hand and dropped it on the ground. Xena was too sleepy to resist, her eyes followed the sword but soon met Ares' dark gaze again. He raised his hand to stroke her black hair. She closed her eyes and felt that everything was spinning faster and faster. Finally, darkness overcame her. War god caught her before she fell and laid her on the soft furs near the fire. Gods, how he missed her. That army of his was the last thing that could come to his mind now. He only wanted to kiss her, to cuddle her. If only his will would matter, he would never let her go.
"My beloved one…" said Ares and gently brushed his lips to hers.
Xena's sleep wasn't deep, she could feel his every touch, but was too weak to stop him. And even if she was strong enough, she wasn't sure if she would have tried something, as during the last few weeks she felt strange softness towards him.
It was early in the morning when he disappeared.
He appeared next to the narrow mountain road. Antin's army was approaching. He waited for a few more moments, Xena's chakram appeared in his hand. "Oh, well..." - he smiled as he threw it into the rocks. Huge rocks fell and screams of dying men were heard across the field.
Xena woke up when the sun was up. She instantly remembered that the last thing she had seen before she passed out was Ares.
"Ares", - she called and looked around, hoping he would still be here. There was no answer. She at herself to see that she was naked under the thick fur. Her leathers and boots were laying at her side. Chakram and sword were also close. "That bastard…" she thought. As she raised her head she saw a strange power surrounding her campsite. She did not know yet that it was protective shield Ares created just in case someone would try to hurt her while she was sleeping under the effect of his potion.
Soon she heard someone running to her, she stood up to see that it was Hercules. Hercules saw her standing inside the shield and without thinking tried to cross it just to be sent a few meters away. Meanwhile, Xena slowly walked to the shield. She hoped that it could be unlocked from inside, as Ares got what he wanted after all. She touched the shield with her fingers. The shield disappeared. Hercules stood up and walked to her, he realized what happened. They hugged and stood there for a while.
"Ares' army - we still have to stop them." - Xena said.
"It's way past the sunlight, they must have already crossed that road."
"When we have to do it the old-fashioned way."
They rushed to the village. If these two armies meet, there will be too many men against them. They needed to evacuate women and children and prepare better defenses. When they arrived they saw villagers cheering. "Thank you, Xena, thank you!" - a woman said as she rushed to greet her. "What's happening?" - Xena asked.
"Travelling salesman saw that half of Antin's army is under the rocks, it was a huge rock slide in the mountains, you saved us all!".
Something was very wrong here, she didn't cause it, these rocks were stable for years, villagers couldn't be that lucky. "Ares…, maybe it's his doing... but I don't understand why would he bury his own men?" - Xena asked.
"It's possible that he has already got what he wanted" - Hercules answered.
"What?"
"Xena, there is something you should know" - he said.
