"Oh, I bet it was that Discord!" Aphrodite said as she thought of their other sister. "She just loves causing all sorts of problems, for both mortals and other Gods!"

"Tell me about it! I keep blasting her but it doesn't do any good. She never learns." Ares lifted Gabrielle's chin and stared into her blue eyes. "But looks like she goofed this time. Apparently all I got to do in order to remove the curse is kiss her in your temple."

"Ar, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Aphrodite said quickly as she reached in between them to stop the kiss. She quickly pulled Gabrielle away from Ares. "It's a very serious thing for two mortals to kiss here. It's even more serious if one of them is a God!"

"How serious?" Gabrielle asked, confused.

"Very serious!" Aphrodite explained. "People who are deeply, truly in love come here for that something extra only magic can provide: a connection between their souls. Only a very few brave couples dare do it. It's permanent. Sometimes unknowing couples come in here to neck and get the shock of their lives! Its sad, too, because their not meant for each other at all! And with one of you a full God, who knows what would happen? You both better consider this very seriously!"

Aphrodite stood there for a moment, one long fingered hand by her pink lips. She carefully studied both her brother and her friend. They made a cute couple and that they were right for each other. She knew she could have kept her mouth shut and let them kiss, but then both of them would have been angry at her for not telling them. No, it was better to tell them and let them discover each other at their own pace. The trouble is, both of them could be so...blind!

The Goddess of Love knew *everyone* thought she was a real airhead. The truth was, she *wanted* everyone to think she was an airhead! It was a persona she had created for herself a long time ago. In fact, she actually was very shrewd and clever. Ares still thought that scroll incident was a clumsy accident caused by his ditzy sister. In truth, Aphrodite had carefully planned it that way to get Ares together with Gabrielle. She had even mentally suggested to Gabrielle to write that famous line "And War lost all its Powers" to make Ares mortal. The Love Goddess knew as long as Ares was a God he would continue to ignore Gabrielle and lust after Xena.

The problem was, Xena was all wrong for him! The blue-eyed woman was a great warrior but she just wasn't right for her bro! Being the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite just knew these things. And Xena knew it, too. But her brother just couldn't see it and it broke Aphrodite's heart seeing him alone and unloved. Chasing Xena would only cause Ares more pain, as the two would do nothing but fight most of the time they were together. That's because Ares just rubbed Xena's nerves the wrong way and she would loose her temper every time, striking out at her annoyance.

Then there was Gabrielle. The blonde bard was happy traveling with Xena, or so she thought. She didn't realize it had became a habit with her and she was just blindly following Xena wherever the warrior led her. This in the long run was not good for Gabrielle. She would get killed. And her spirit would get bogged down with all the horrible things she witnessed, things that Xena didn't even bat an eyelash at. Aphrodite dreaded the day the sensitive bard would become as hard as Xena!

So Aphrodite had hoped that during the enchanted scroll incident the two would see the light. And it *had* seemed to be working, for a short time anyway. The two had really warmed up to each other and started to realize they would be good together. They had been thinking with their hearts. Of course, their thick skulls had interfered! They both thought the whole thing was too weird!

Oh, if only I have had my powers on that day! Aphrodite thought as she watched the two of them now. According to her plan, only Ares was supposed to become mortal. She never dreamed that Gabrielle would take her powers, too!

"Well, Gabrielle, I really wanted to help you but I'm not ready to become your soulmate." Ares told her. "Besides, Dite said she doesn't know what might happen since I'm a God. What if I loose my powers again?"

Gabrielle bit her lip. It had seemed so simple! Just kissing Ares and now this new surprise popped up. But maybe there was still a chance, if only she could just convince him! "Look, Ares. I really don't understand everything Aphrodite said, about this connection between souls. I'm sure you know more than I do, but I know I can't ask you to do that. It wouldn't be fair. But maybe there's something else you could help me with?"

Ares raised one eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"See, this curse had two parts." Gabrielle started to explain. "The kissing was the first part. The second part is....."

"Exactly how many parts are there?" Ares interrupted, getting a bit annoyed.

"Just the two!" Gabrielle quickly assured him. "The second part is I have to walk your dog? Do you have a dog?"

Ares started to laugh.

Aphrodite gasped, her hands flying to cover her open mouth. The Love Goddess quickly went over to Gabrielle and gripped her by the shoulders. "Trust me, you don't want to go anywhere near that horrid thing! It's an evil beast that would eat you in a second! Ohhhhhh, I get stressed just thinking of it! I'm glad it's gone off Olympus!"

Ares snarled at his sister. "Hey, that's my dog you're talking about! I don't make remarks about that....that...fluffy thing you got!"

"Ohhh! You leave my Poochkums out of this!" Aphrodite wailed and she weakly hit Ares on his chest.

"Wait!" Gabrielle quickly stepped between the two Gods. "Can we get back to my problem here? Do you have a dog? Because Xena said it was dead, that Hercules had killed it."

"Graegus is immortal. He can't really die, as mortals do. He was just...indisposed for a few years. He's down in Hades right now, resting." Ares explained to her. His dark eyes examined her from head to boots and back up again. "Don't tell me you're actually thinking of trying this, are you?"

"Well, I do want this curse off me." Gabrielle glanced from Ares to Aphrodite. She knew Xena said it was some lizard thing, but how bad could it be? "Maybe doing half of it will be good enough. I'm willing to try, at least."

"Sweet Pea, Graegus is not the kind of dog that one takes for walks!" Aphrodite shivered, wrapping her arms over her ample bosum. Her eyes were large with fear. "He is the Dog of War. He is bloodthirsty. He is a killer! Cows are just snacks to him. Now, if it was my Poochkums..."

"That Poochkums is a menace!" Ares growled. "It left white fur all over my black leather last time I saw it. And it drools!"

Gabrielle snickered, picturing Ares covered in slobber and white fur. She tried to hide her laughter, but her body quivered with each stifled laugh.

"So, you think that's funny, huh? Well, I'll show you Graegus and then we'll see how much laughing you'll be doing!" Ares reached out and grabbed Gabrielle by her wrist and yanked her over to to him. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist, pressing her body against his chest. The thrill that raced through him at the close contact both surprised and annoyed him at the same time. His heart raced and he even felt the urge to kiss her. He just managed to stop himself in time before he did anything stupid. Gabrielle was always doing funny things to him that he didn't understand.

"Ar, wait!" Aphrodite pleaded to her brother. She was all for the two being together, but Graegus was another matter! "If we can just find out who placed the curse on her, like if Discord really did it."

"And you know Discord would never admit it." Ares glanced down at Gabrielle. "I'm just going to show her Graegus. No harm in that. Trust me, Sis, I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so, Ar." Aphrodite watched the two pop out as they headed down to the Underworld to see Graegus. "Be safe, Sweet Pea!"

Outside Ares temple, Xena was getting very annoyed. It seemed as if she sat on this stone railing for hours. In fact, her butt and thighs were getting numb. Grumbling, Xena jumped down and almost fell over. Her feet were asleep from dangling in the air too long. "Great! Just great. Here I'm the Warrior Princess and my lower body went to sleep. How does that look?"

After walking up and back a bit, Xena yanked open the temple door and stalked in. She let her eyes grow adjusted to the dark and soon saw the temple was empty. "I knew I couldn't trust that rat! I bet he's got her in a back room, doing who knows what."

Xena ran past the empty throne and quickly searched every room in the temple. Nothing. She was about to call Ares, demanding to know what he had done with Gabrielle when it dawned on her. "Aphrodite! They were supposed to kiss in Dite's temple! I bet that's where they went!"

Running outside, Xena jumped on Argo and took off towards Aphrodite's nearest temple. There just happened to be one close by. If she hurried, she might be able to catch up with them. Ares just couldn't be trusted and Gabrielle needed a chaperone when she was with him. The thought of Aphrodite being the chaperone made Xena sick and she urged Argo into an even faster gallop. Sad to say, the Love Goddess' morals were just not that high, not from some of the more wilder stories Xena had heard anyway.

Reaching the temple in record time, Xena leaped from her horse's back and did a triple somersault, landing right in front of the temple doors. She kicked them open and raced inside. Bright pink assaulted her eyes and Xena winced. "Aphrodite!"

Spotting the Love Goddess moping on her curved armless sofa, Xena hurried over. She knelt in front of Aphrodite. "Aphrodite, what's wrong?"

Aphrodite sat bent forward, her face resting in the palms of her hands. Her hair hung limply around her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she had been crying. She sniffled loudly. "He took her to see Graegus and I'm worried she might get hurt!"

"But Graegus is dead. I saw it die." Xena said to Aphrodite, confused.

"Yes, but Graegus is down in the Underworld, with Hades." Aphrodite pulled a soft pink tissue from a box next to her and loudly blew her nose. "It's immortal, just like us."

Xena frowned. She had thought that Gabrielle had been safe from the second part of the curse so she never gave it any serious thought. "You're saying that Graegus could be brought here, to the surface? And Gabrielle might try to walk it?"

Wiping her wet eyes with a second pink tissue, Aphrodite only nodded. "Oh, I really hope that she doesn't try it! She really wants that awful curse off and since the kissing part didn't go through."

"What do you mean?" Xena asked, surprised. "I thought Ares would be glad to kiss her. He likes anything in a skirt!"

"My brother isn't a pig!" Aphrodite exclaimed loudly. "I know that's what you probably think of him, but it's not true. Yes, he likes woman. He is a man you know. But he doesn't sleep around like Zeus does. And as for not kissing her, that's because of what would happen if they did that in my temple. Their souls would get connected. Only people in love are supposed to kiss here."

"WHAT?!" Xena screamed. "I got to find Gabrielle! I got to stop her before she does something really stupid!"

Xena paced up and back, her boots striking the floor loudly. All the pink was beginning to give her a headache. The bright colors seemed to stab her right in the eyes. She thought of how Gabrielle had acted when she had told her about the first condition of the curse, how she had blushed. "Oh my Zeus! She's attracted to him, isn't she?"

The Warrior Princess spun around and grabbed a startled Aphrodite by her upper arms, stared into her eyes. "Is Gabrielle attracted to Ares? Tell me!"

"Well, like yeah!" Aphrodite giggled. She was surprised that Xena hadn't noticed. She seemed to see everything else. "They make a cute couple!"

Xena shook Aphrodite roughly, pulling her from her sofa to standing. The Goddess' blond waves flew around her face wildly. "And Ares? How does he feel about Gabrielle?"

"Hey! Stop that!" Aphrodite wailed. "My brother loves her and he'll realize that if you ever stop interfering! They belong together!"

"I can't let Gabrielle ruin her life with that cold hearted rat!" Xena grip on the Love Goddess got tighter. Her fingers dug into soft skin. "Take me to the Underworld! I got to stop them!"

"Heck, I'm not going down there! That nasty thing is down there!" Dite thought of Gabrielle but trusted her brother to do the right thing. Maybe just seeing Graegus would be enough to drive the crazy idea from the bard's brain. It would have to be, for walking Graegus would be a suicide mission.

Xena pushed Aphrodite back onto her sofa and the Love Goddess landed with a loud plop, falling off the back onto the floor. It was a backless, armless sofa. Turning around, Xena stalked out of the temple. She needed to plan her next move and quickly, before Gabrielle was lost from her forever.

Ares appeared in the Underworld with Gabrielle still clutched to his broad chest. She swayed for a second on her feet and then caught her balance. She was thankful for his strong arms around her or she might have fell on the rough uneven ground under her feet. She looked up at him, smiling. "I guess I'm still not used to this popping travel yet."

"I wouldn't expect you to be. It can be unsettling to most mortals." Ares slowly let go of her and glanced around at their surroundings. He pointed towards one of the tunnels and started to walk that way. "Here in the Underworld I don't have most of my powers, you know. Its a courtesy to my Uncle Hades. He generally doesn't like letting live mortals into his realm, so don't be surprised if he's a bit rude. He doesn't like visitors, especially me."

Gabrielle followed closely behind Ares. After a few minutes, she realized there was nothing to see down here. It was just one dark stone tunnel after another. In fact, it could have been any of the dozens of caves she had been in during her life. She was a bit disappointed. Yet Ares revelation about himself surprised her. "Don't you and your Uncle get along?"

"Not really. Hades is always saying my wars keep him too busy, that he falls way behind schedule." Ares explained as they rounded a corner. "But war is my job. I do my job right. It's up to him to do his."

"Do we really need wars?" Gabrielle asked.

"It's human aggression that causes war. Even without me, war would still continue, except it would be worse. Without a sitting War God, you'd have more murders and other wild violent crimes. I help channel those aggressive feelings into organized combat." Ares spotted Hades office and led Gabrielle inside with him.

Hades, the God of the Underworld, sat behind a huge desk piled with paperwork. He had short brown hair and wore a golden crown on his head. He looked up when he noticed someone in his office. "Ares, why did you bring this mortal into my realm?"

"I have come to show her Graegus." Ares told his uncle.

"I have been meaning to talk to you about Graegus, Ares, so I am glad you have come." Hades rose from his chair and led the two of them down another rock hallway. "Your War Dog is healed of his wounds and ready to return to the surface world. He has been causing problems of late, getting into fights with my dog. I'm afraid Cyberus doesn't like him at all."

They stopped before a huge door and Hades used his magic to open it. They went inside and Gabrielle saw it was a giant cavern. Torches hung from the walls, throwing flickering shadows everywhere. Then she heard a sound, like nails scraping on the rock floor, only much louder. Then a second sound, the snuffling of a great beast. The floor trembled under her feet and she moved closer to Ares. The dark shadows before them wavered and a giant head appeared.

Gabrielle gasped when she saw it and locked her fingers around Ares' bulging arm. Her fingers dug into his flesh until she was certain she would draw blood. All the color faded from her face and her heart pounded in her chest. She was certain the beast could hear it!

She knew Xena had said that Graegus was big, but this! So far all she could see was its giant head but even that was too much! Its head was the biggest thing she had ever seen. It was like some giant boulder come to life! In structure, it was similar to a lizard, with a jaw that stuck outward. It was covered in green scales that provided protection from most weapons. Its mouth was huge, big enough to easily swallow a grown man without problem. And the teeth! Gabrielle didn't want to think too much about those teeth. As she watched, horrified and unable to move, it came closer. Hot fetid breath moved over her and she could smell the most foul rotten stench unimaginable. It twisted her stomach and she felt like being sick. She breathed through her mouth and gulped, hoping to stave it off. Now she could see icor dripping from between its open jaws, its horrible eyes. One giant foot moved into sight and she saw the giant claws that scraped the ground, leaving deep grooves.

Ares actually smiled at Graegus. She didn't think anyone could smile at such a terrible beast!

"Hello, boy! Are you ready to go home?" Ares asked his Dog of War.

Graegus growled loudly, the sound vibrating around the cavern until Gabrielle thought she would surely go deaf!

Ares turned his head to look at Gabrielle. "Well, this is my dog. You still want to take him for a walk? Looks like Hades is kicking him out."

Gabrielle just stared at Graegus. "How do you take something like that for a walk?"