Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. They belong to whoever owns the rights to Xena:Warrior Princess.

-For my kind friend Milou -

WHERE IS IT?!

Chapter 1

One breezy day, Gabrielle was hiking in the woods by herself. Xena was away on a trip with her fiancé Hercules, and Joxer was attending his family reunion.

Gabrielle was enjoying her walk very much. There wasn't really very much wind. It was just enough to make the leaves flutter, and to make her hair fly behind her as she walked. It made her feel a bit like she was flying... Her favorite kind of day.

Gabrielle continued on through the woods until she came to a pretty little stream. It looked like such a nice place to rest, that she decided to do just that. She cupped her hands and drank some water from the stream. Next, she pulled an apple from her pocket and started to crunch at its juicy center. 'Uum,' she thought, 'What a nice day.'

Gabrielle was thinking about a story she wanted to write, when she caught sight of something floating in the water. She fished it out with a stick and studied it. It was shiny and black, and not very big. 'Gee,' she thought, 'somebody's gonna miss this. I wonder what I should do with it.' She thought some more, and decided to put up an advertisement in town.

Meanwhile, in the Halls of War, another scene was taking place.

"STRIFE!" roared the God of War. "COME HERE, NOW!" Strife popped into Ares' throne room immediately, and stammered out, "H-here, sir!" He saluted, poking himself in the eye. He bit his lip from the pain but didn't say 'Ouch' out loud. He could see Ares had no patience today.

"Strife," growled Ares, stalking closer. Strife felt as if a tiger was about to pounce on him but didn't dare move. Ares continued, "Where is it?"

"Wh-what, sir?"

"You know what I mean, Strife. It was in my room, and now it isn't. WHERE IS IT?!" roared Ares, the thunder in his voice rattling the building.

Strife's eyes grew wide, and he began to cry. Tears ran down his pale cheeks. He tried to wipe them off with his hands, but could not contain them. Suddenly, a black handkerchief was wiping his face and strong, fatherly arms were wrapped around him. "Little Strife," said Ares gently. "When will you learn to ask first?"

"I don't know," Strife blubbered. "I had it...and I lost it in the water... and it floated away..."

"Shhh... shhh... What am I going to do with you?" said Ares, fondly.

"I don't know, Unc. Do you... still love me?"

Ares smiled down at his nephew and tweaked his nose. "Of course I do, pipsqueak. But you'll have to help me find it. It is my favorite, after all. I really miss it. Come on, let's go tell your mother about this."

"Yes, Unc," mumbled Strife, as they blinked out of Ares' throne room.

-TBC-