Title:
Dragons of Retribution
Author:
Smenzer
Rating: PG
Pairing:
Ares/Gabrielle
Archive:
Yes, please. Let me know if you take it, OK?
Teaser:
This is Part 2 of Dragons of Despair
Disclaimer:
The characters are not mine. They belong to Studios USA or
whoever
owns the Rights to Xena: Warrior Princess. This is just for fun.
Ares paced
up and back in his temple. He didn't understand this odd tightness
in his
chest and throat. It was a totally new feeling for him. He was
surprised
that the little blonde bard had effected him to such a degree. Of
course, he
had seen how she had wrapped Xena around her little finger.
Instead of
leading his armies, Gabrielle had turned Xena into a do-gooder.
Well,
Hercules had had his finger in there, but it was Gabrielle that kept
Xena good.
He had thought he was immune to her effects. But it was obvious
now he
wasn't. She had gotten into his head somehow, doing to him whatever
she did to
Xena. In fact, he had no idea how Gabrielle did it. He was pretty
sure that
she didn't even know she was doing it, yet she kept on changing
people
wherever she went.
Well, no
more. There wouldn't even be any ashes left.
Ares froze
in his tracks as a cold presence entered his temple. He could
sense it
hovering in the air like a snake ready to strike. Then it did just
that. It
wrapped itself in a vice-like grip around his chest. His bare flesh
burned
where the invisible sub-zero thing touched him. He gasped through his
mouth,
struggling to breath as he was yanked through the ether.
Unceremoniously
he was dumped onto a rough stone floor. He landed on his
hands and
knees in front of a circular stone base. The base was about
knee-high
and a tall column of flickering flame leaped from it into the air.
Ares raised
his head to look at the flame, his wavy dark hair hanging in his
eyes.
"What do you want?"
The fire
twisted angrily as Dahok spoke. "You were supposed to protect my
daughter!
You have failed and now Hope is dead."
"Yeah,
well, there was nothing I could do about it." Ares climbed to his feet
and
smoothed back his hair. He saw he was in a dark cavern. Except for the
flickering
flame and the dark stone walls, the cave was featureless. "I was
pinned
against a wall by that crazy, Callisto. I real wacko if you ever saw
one."
"But
the Betrayer lives. She will take on Hope's duties and bring forth the
Destroyers.
And you will do your job. This time I will make certain no one
interferes."
"What?"
Ares stared at Dahok, totally confused. "Are you saying Gabrielle is
alive?"
The column
of flame took on a bluish cast and the floor trembled under Ares'
feet. The
shaking grew worse. Pebbles jumped and rattled across the cavern.
Cracks
zigzagged across the ceiling and large chunks began to rain down. The
air filled
with dust and dirt, causing Ares to cough. He pinwheeled his arms,
trying to
keep his balance. He stumbled around like a drunk and tripped over
a large
boulder he had not seen in the gloom.
"I
SAID THE BETRAYER LIVES!" Dahok screamed.
"Ok,
so she's alive." Ares heart leaped with joy. He couldn't believe she was
alive! How
could she have survived when Hope, who was a Goddess, had died?
Then a
chill traveled down his spine. What shape was Gabrielle in? Was her
body all
burnt, her flesh blackened? How much of her body had the magma
melted
away? His stomach twisted as he thought about it. He realized he
didn't want
to think about it. It was too horrible to imagine. And he had
seen a lot
of horrible deaths on the battle fields of War. He was used to
gruesome
sights. He had seen so many different types over the centuries that
he had
grown somewhat numb to it all. But this made him want to retch all
over the
floor. "What do you want me to do about it?"
The cave
became still again and the air cleared. Dahok spoke in a low,
menacing
voice. "I told you. Since she killed Hope, she will take Hope's
place and
bear the Destroyers. And you will keep your end of the deal."
Ares rolled
his eyes and climbed to his feet. Had Dahok lost all his marbles?
"Hello!
This is Gabrielle we're talking about, remember? She's a goody-goody.
She's not
going to agree to this. Besides, she's a mortal. How can she
produce the
Destroyers?"
"Do
not be concerned about how she will produce Destroyers. Trust my word.
Keep your
end of the bargain."
"And I
said she's not going to cooperate!" Ares was beginning to get annoyed.
He swatted
some of the dirt off his clothes angrily. He didn't like the way
this
conversation was heading. Gabrielle had already been through so much
because of
Dahok. He had wanted to kill Dahok when he had heard what had
happened to
her in Britainia, what the evil demon had done. He had dreamed of
chopping
Dahok into thousands of little pieces.
"Force
her." The demon stated.
"Like
you did?" Ares stood straight in front of Dahok in defiance. "I don't
do rape.
It's against my principles. Hope was different. She had agreed to
the deal. Gabrielle
has no choice. You're forcing her to do things against
her
will."
The flame
took on a bluish tint again and Ares braced his legs for more
trembling.
But the room stayed quiet. Instead, the demon just spoke. Its
voice was
icy cold and Ares felt wind off a glacier touch his face. Red marks
were still
on his skin from when Dahok had first brought him here. "You will
keep your
end of the deal."
"All
right." Ares agreed. A plan was already forming in the back of his mind.
He'd agree
and then find out where Dahok had the bard. Then he'd rescue her
and, well,
he didn't know what he was going to do after that. He supposed it
depended on
what shape she was in. But he certainly wasn't going to force her
to do
anything. He probably would take her back to Xena. He knew Gabrielle
would want
that anyway. But Dahok would be really pissed.
"Good."
Dahok said as a tentacle of cold fire reached out toward Ares. "You
will be in
charge of the Betrayer. Use your powers to feed her and stuff. See
nothing
happens to her. And don't forget what you're supposed to do."
"Yeah,
yeah, I know." Ares watched as the tentacle came closer. It suddenly
leaped at
him, wrapping itself around his body once more. Like before, he was
pulled
through the ether. He reappeared in midair and landed in a tangled
heap of
arms and legs on a cold stone floor. He rubbed at his burning skin to
get blood
circulating again to the frozen areas. Dahok's fire was so cold it
actually
burned.
"Ares."
Ares lifted
his head as the voice called his name. Gabrielle stood before
him,
silhouetted in front of a large lake of bubbling magma.
To be
continued....
