It's dark now, the sky black with gray clouds helping the surrounding look bleak. Xena rode forward, it's been a mile now. At first following a rode, but she soon started trailing off it. There was a forest to the left of her. She rode on through the dark trees, that stood over her. She came to a clearing in the forest and got off Argo, she let the horse ride away, fore she knew she'd come back.
She took out her sword putting the tip of it on the ground. She looked up putting both hands on the knob of her sword and got on one knee. "Eli, you know I'm not much for praying, but I don't know what else to do. The one man in the world I love is telling me to kill him to save the world. My mind tells me yes for the sake of mankind, but my heart tells me no for the sake of the one man I'll ever love. I know the right answer, but I can't do that, I can't kill Ares. Please, find me another way." She put her head down to her hands.
The ground barely shook beneath her, though she felt it.
She looked at the ground trying to figure out what just happened. It shook again but more rapidly. She stood up. A crack opened in the earth with a red glow coming from inside. A hand appeared from inside. It was a demon hand once it hit the atmosphere of the earth, the hand formed into a human hand. It grabbed Xena's ankle tightly. It put all it's body weight on her ankle pulling it's body up. Xena pulled her ankle away from its grasp. It slipped, but held on to the soil. Once it was fully out of the crack, the crack closed. The body stood up. Because of the crack a fire appeared behind her. "Xena, Xena, Xena. You should know by now, you can never fully get rid of me. Not even with the Hinds Blood Dagger." A fire ball appeared in her hand. "What happened to you? You were an angle when I saw you last." "Well when you die as a God, you come back as a God. The Archangel, Michael forced me out of heaven and into hell after your child was born. I met the dark one and he brought me back on earth to find you." She threw the fire ball at Xena. She flipped over it, dodging it. "Callisto, don't do this. I saw the good in you once.
Try to overcome the evil that I caused you." "Stay evil and become an unstoppable minion to the Dark one, or side with Xena and most likely die in battle. I'll stick with being evil." Callisto threw another fireball. Again, Xena dodged it. "Stay still!" Callisto took out her sword. "Let's do this the old fashion way shall we." She took out her sword. They clashed. Xena knocked Callisto down, but Callisto tripped Xena in the process. Callisto started laughing. Just before Xena hit the ground, a huge hole with the red glow appeared in the ground under her. She fell in, but grabbed onto the mouth of the hole. She looked up trying to see where Callisto was. Callisto walked up to the edge laughing. Callisto stomped her foot on the fingers of Xena's right hand. She winced, but clung on. Then Callisto started twisting her foot on Xena's fingers. Her fingers came off one by one, bleeding because of her will to stay alive on earth. "Bye, Xena." Callisto said holding a fireball in her hand. Xena looked up at her, hurt in her eyes.
Callisto threw the fireball. Xena screamed and slipped. Her screams were loud, and agonizingly painful. "No!" Xena, still in pain, looked up and saw a man jump on Callisto. Callisto grunted in a scream like way while being knocked on the floor. Ares got on top of an enraged Callisto. "Ares, I hate you!" "I don't care!" Ares punched Callisto in the face heard knocking her out. "Xena!" He ran over to the mouth of the whole. Xena used all her strength screaming in pain. She slipped and let her hands go. "Xena!" Ares grabbed Xena's arm before she was out of reach. She clung on to Ares bringing her other arm up to his. "Xena, I got you." He pulled her up and out of the red hole in the earth. Ares and Xena looked at the hole, which closed up.
She sat down on the ground and put her face in her hands. "I have to tell you something, Xena," Ares said looking at her. She perked her head up, but kept her head in her hands. "Remember when you killed Discord the first time around, when Eve was baptized?" "Xena looked up, "Then I killed her again, now." "The Gods you killed are back. Don't ask me how, all I know is that it's all because of the prophecy. When you killed Discord, I made sure you were touching her." "Why?" "So her powers would transfer to you." She looked up at him. "Ares, I don't have powers." "No, they will come with time. Just try to avoid getting into trouble." "I can take care of myself, thank you very much." "I'm serious, I not going to be there every time, Xena. Especially without my powers." Her face is down, but her eyes are eyeing his.
Xena whistles to call Argo. Minutes later, Argo comes out from the distance. Xena walks over to Argo, taking a rope out from the saddlebag. She went over to a thick tree, and threw her chakram into it. She went back in the saddlebag and took out a ring, "I hand my hands on the reigned once long ago. I crafted two rings, not one. I gave one back to the reign maidens and I kept the other. It says that only one that has forsaken love can hold the power of the ring." She looked at Ares, "It can also restore the power of a god." She through it to Ares. "But only for a certain time. I need you to use it now. Can you turn this rope into one made of Hephaestus metal?" Ares put on the ring. He felt the power he had before surge through him like electricity. He nodded and turned the rope into a rope of Hephaestus metal. "Thank you." She hung the metal rope around her neck, then walked over to the unconscious Callisto. Xena picked her up and hung her body over her shoulder. She then set her down by the tree with the chakram lodged on the other side. She tied one end of the rope to the chakram and walked around, looping the rope around the tree twice. Then she put a cloth around Callisto's wrist and looped the rope four times around the cloth on her wrist. Then she looped around the tree one time and did the same to her other wrist. Xena looped around the tree two more times, tying the end of the rope to the Chakram. Xena then took out her chakram and twisted it twice to the right and flipped the chakram horizontally. She did that 10 times then split the chakram having the roped now tied together, come off.
She walked over and held a hand out to Ares. Ho took the ring off and grabbed her hand. She helped him up. They stood face to face. "Ares, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. I was wrong to.." Ares put a figure over Xena's lips to silent her. "I forgive you," Ares said calming all Xena senses. He leaned in to kiss her lips. She responded passionately, cradling the back of his head. He held her waist, bringing her closer.