"Oh, joy! It was about time….I kinda felt the need for a family reunion…" Ares muttered to himself, acknowledging the presence of the two Gods way before they materialized before them, the muscles in his jaw tensing as soon as he laid eyes on them. Before any of them got the chance to even open their mouth, a fireball was already flying straight in their direction with the speed of Zeus' lightening bolts.

" Hey! Where are your manners, tall, dark and handsome? " Discord spat after elegantly dodging the attack, obviously displeased with the cold reception she got. .

"Yeah, Unc….what happened to the 'never mistreat a guest' old theory?There is no need for violence here…." Strife joined the conversation, flashing the party his widest and brightest grin.

" I guess I lost them somewhere down the road, right after Callisto here joined the ride. Plus, wiping the floor with you has always been fun! " the War God casually answered Discord, while making another fireball- larger this time- appear in his palm, ready to try his hand again at sending her back from where she came from, completely ignoring the weasel's comment.

Once again, for the overly agile Goddess of Retribution, his attack posed no problems. Strife on the other hand got hit by an energy ball straight in the chest, by none other than Callisto.

"Hey! Play fair! I wasn't expecting that!" he protested, irritated by her intrusion.

" Good! " the blonde Goddess sneered, gently blowing the smoke coming from her hand.

" I must say, Ares…I'm surprised. I would have never thought you this desperate as to bring this Maniac back to life…" Discord remarked, casting him a patronizing once over before focusing her attention on Xena's daughter. "So this is the killing machine everyone's been talking about….." she mused, a stern look on her face.

" She looks hardly dangerous to me…" Strife pointed out, narrowing his eyes at the child. " She should be easy to kill… " he said, just to finish his line in a slightly different manner when the Warrior Princes pulled out her sword. "…Not that we have ever considered it….I mean the mere idea of slaughtering an innocent little baby…." he theatrically whined, chuckling nervously at the dangerous situation he was in.

" Like right! And I'm still a virgin!" Aphrodite laughed, rolling her eyes at the crazy duo.

"Why are you here, again?" Xena finally asked, in the steeliest voice she could come up with, taking one more threatening step their way. She was starting to lose her patience with those two.

" Chill down, Chakram girl, we're only here to deliver the Bard a message from Zeus. "

"To Gabrielle?" the Warrior Princess anxiously asked in a low, hoarse voice, arching an inquisitive eyebrow at them. " What message could that old buck possibly have for my friend?"

" This is getting more and more interesting….I sense drama…" Callisto sighed, her gaze now glued not on the two ridiculously dumb messengers, but rather on Gabrielle's visibly nervous face.

"He wants her to keep in mind that they still have a deal….." Strife quickly ripped Discored from the joy of delivering the news herself…

" You moron! I was supposed to say that! It was my line. !" she barked angrily at him just a second later.

"Not any more!" he answered, only to get a punch in the guts in return.

" A deal?" Ares inquired suspiciously as all eyes turned to the Battling Bard. " And what deal might that be?"

" Yeah Gabby…what deal are they talking about?" Aphrodite herself asked, her own moons widened in surprise.