36. Psychological pain

She felt dizzy for some seconds and then she heard the voice:

"Finally…it's just you and me left…" Athena said smirking and charging forward not letting Xena any time to recover.

"I've been waiting for this moment for soooo long…" the Goddess of Wisdom brought her sword down to strike but as a last resort, Xena protected herself with her chackarm, winning a bit of time to be able and get up from the ground.

"I couldn't agree more…" the Warrior Princess said, sending her chakarm flying towards the cages, with the hope to open them but just as she feared, they were made from the metal of Hephaestus, it was impossible to break the doors to the cells.

"Stupid move…are you so tired already that you made such a huge mistake? You are now weaponless…here, before me, at my mercy…But I won't have that, not for my brother and surely not for his slut." Athena took all her liberty and without taking any more precautions seeing that she was going to win this, she plunged her sword forward; but Xena's chakarm flew back at its owner and the warrior could parry Athena's sword once more just in time before her skin could be scratched.

Seeing the open end Xena took her breast dagger out and jabbed the goddesses' midsection. Athena screamed right away, her sword falling nosily to the ground, staring in awe at where the pain was coming from, horror creeping into her eyes when seeing crimson red gushing out of the wound inflicted there.

"No…no…It can't be." the Goddess said.

"It sure can. It's Hind's blood." Xena uttered victoriously, catching her breath.

Those were the last words that Athena heard before her body fell lifeless on the ground that started instantly to shook as if during a massive earthquake.

The Warrior princess took one last look at Athena before she raised her eyes to take in her surroundings and what was happening in that room while she had been occupied battling the now dead Goddess.

Her glance fell on the fierce battle before her: Ares was still trying to keep his ground against Dahak but she could tell it was a losing battle with every second that passed. How would they all survive this, her daughter, his son, her friend, and all the gods trapped in their cages and them also? She tried to think quickly about a plan but there was no time anymore…Dahak was making his way towards the now barely standing God of War…

"Oh don't worry! I don't plan killing you just yet…first, you will suffer a bit…" And with those hateful words, he brought a sphere of invisible energy around Ares making it impossible for the God of War to use his powers against him or to move from where he stood.

"And now…" Dahak's cruel eyes redirected themselves on the Warrior Princess.

For a moment Xena locked eyes with the Dark One but she was distracted when two thin arms came around her legs. She looked down to see Adam clutching himself around her. Her heart broke seeing the fear on his sweet face. No child should witness such things.

"You leave them alone!" Ares raged while trying with all his powers to break the barrier around him. He couldn't let anything happen to them, simply standing there and watch without being able to lift a finger to help them, he refused to do that.

"You can't really do anything from there Ares…not that you could have if you had been able to throw those fireballs directly at my person. This is my vengeance, this is my time. After I kill these two…I will tear all your remaining family apart and at last I will kill you. You can feel that desperation, eating at your soul can't you?" Dahak asked the God of War but he was fully focused at what he had in front of him: the little boy and his mother.

"Watching but unable to do anything to save them." he laughed sardonically approaching Xena even more.

She took her chakarm and sword out, knowing that she would protect that little life near her until her last breath.

"Those can't do anything to me…Xena." His eyes descended, looking at the boy.

"Let him alone." Xena warned.

"So blissfully unaware but still…I guess a mother is a mother till the very end, the instinct to protect is there isn't it?"

"He's just a little boy." the Warrior added with disgust.

"Oh Xena…that's not why he's a target…you see, through him I manage to hurt both his father…and…you."

"Me?" Xena couldn't understand. Of course she would do anything to help and protect an innocent child but there was nothing that would hurt her more than Eve…her weakness was Eve, she was perfectly sure that he knew.

"Your daughter…her turn will come too." Dahak added as if reading her mind.

Xena sneered.

"But first your boy…"

"My son is dead…your demented daughter killed him."

"Solan…" Dahak uttered in sole purpose to hurt her of course.

A pang of pain touched Xena's heart.

"Only hearing his name is a great source of pain for you isn't it?" Dahak only smirked, knowing that his words touched a deep chord inside the warrior's heart.

"Of course it is…" he looked intensively into Xena's eyes and images came flooding her mind, moments when her son was killed, when she found him dead and tears started forming in her eyes.

"You sick bastard. Stop it!" Ares yelled.

Xena shook her head in a failing attempt to make those painful memories vanish but it was impossible, they were there, still repeating themselves in her mind over and over again.

"You are feeding me Xena…that pain…it's so invigorating…what do you think about this memory?" he asked and just after Solan's image disappeared, everything that happened after that, her thirst to kill Gabrielle and afterwards her friend's betrayal were invading her brain now.

"Just please stop!" Gabrielle pleaded.

"Oh…my sweet Gabrielle…this will be over soon."

He stopped for a moment, allowing Xena a few moments to rest, one could tell. There was a deadly silence in the room apart from the sound that came of course from Ares and his futile attempts to break the sphere around him. Dahak smiled at those sounds that he was hearing, he was enjoying this so much and he wasn't even really trying too much.

"I hate silence so much…" Dahak added and then thought that this was for sure the time to get rid of that boy, the only inconvenience that he had at the moment because in rest he could just move his fingers and everyone in that room would be dead but where was the fun in that? He took a quick glance at the child that was still strongly gripping his mother's legs and came closer to him.

Xena put a protective hand around Adam's shoulders.

"I promised you a living hell before I kill you Ares, I intend to deliver just that to you…how would it be watching your son die at my hands?"

"No…" both Ares and Xena muttered but they both knew very well that they were incapable to do anything, Ares for once was trapped and Xena was the perfect warrior but just a mortal.

The Dark One raised his hand and slashed Xena's body across the wall letting the child all alone, vulnerable and at his mercy.

"Mommy!" Adam cried.

"He can't do anything to you, he's just a little boy!" Ares pleaded with Dahak.

The Dark One stopped for a moment, redirecting his gaze upon the God of War.

"Are you so desperate that you are begging me?" Dahak laughed manically.

"I will do anything."

"That isn't good enough." The Dark One only said coldly before releasing a sphere of pure dark energy towards the frightened child.

"Noooooo…." Ares yelled and time itself stopped for a moment, but nothing happened. His son hadn't moved, not even one bit from his place and yet, the energy never landed on him. Dahak tried again of course but it was in vain, it didn't work. Ares was sure that that blow was meant to be deadly, to kill his son but Adam's powers appeared to have saved him, if not those then what? He was so relieved that it was hard to even begin to explain.

Dahak's anger though was growing higher and higher with every blow and every fail, so high that he thought that he will explode. He couldn't kill the child, the child that was said to be his doom. Athena was dead, killed by Xena so at the moment nobody could skin that boy alive, he wanted to do it the old fashion way but truth was that he was too afraid to touch him so he let the thought aside for the moment. He had other ways to make Ares suffer.

Xena moaned coming back to her senses, making Ares's gaze slip to his beautiful princess. A fine line of blood was making its way down her visage but she was alright for the moment which brought a tiny smile on his face.

"Good to have you back!" Dahak spoke and the mischief could be heard in his voice. He materialized next to her, putting his hands forcefully around her temples, making her look into his eyes.

Xena tried to escape his powerful hold but she just couldn't.

"Look into my eyes!"

"Don't Xena!" Both Ares and Gabrielle yelled.

"Look into my eyes!" Dahak repeated hypnotically.

She did try not too but the pressure on her head and Dahak's alluring words, just like a spell, were impossible to ignore.

Her eyes meet his red ones.

"Good girl!"

Dahak congratulated himself knowing that this experience will be painful for both Xena and Ares. Right after that, he started to recite something in a very bizarre language, that only he could understand.

"What are you doing?" Ares asked desperately but no answer came until Dahak was done with his chant. Then he released Xena and she fell weak on her knees.

"Xena!"

"That stupid brother of yours took her memories away."

"What did you do?"

Dahak ignored Ares violent question and ended his line of thoughts.

"That was never my command. I wanted her aware, to suffer along with you when I kill her child for the third time on the row. But I guess for something I must thank him…he did betray you after all."

"You sick demented son of a bitch!"

In his furious state Ares missed those last lines that Dahak said.

"Now she will be able to do just that…she will know everything Ares…every pain, every manipulation, every lie, agony and betrayal that you cost her…the death of her obliterated daughter too."

Ares launched himself at Dahak but he just couldn't reach him.

"I will kill you with my bare hands!" Ares screeched.

"Yeah, yeah…heard that one before!"