Title: Dragons of Retribution

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....