Painful Sense (Ch. 2) A Chosen Power Disclaimer: The characters of Xena don't belong to me, yadda, yadda, yadda, you know the drill. Authors' Notes: I hope you enjoy this installment of the story! I enjoyed writing it at 11 o'clock at night, that's for sure. This doesn't really have a time line, so don't mess your pretty little head about the time, guys. So...ENJOY!





The night was dark. The fast moving storm clouds blocked out the stars and any light, that could ever fall to the ground form the sliver of moon. Not Xena needed light. She quietly dipped through the cover of darkness, making her way around trees and bushes. She didn't know where she was going..only a sense was guiding her. A very strong sense. When she had woken up in the temple, she was alone. Nobody had seen Ares, nor could she sense him anywhere near by. So, being the impulsive person that she is, she went outside, not even taking Argo with her, thinking it would be too loud. All at once, as soon as she stepped out side, the sense enveloped her. The black mist hovered in front of her, for a second, then disappeared, but the pull was still there. She knew that the black stuff had something to do with Ares, she just didn't know what. But she knew it was evil, and she also knew that that girl, Rogue, or whatever her name was, had something to do with it. Xena also had the need to follow this.thing.to Ares. She didn't know why she was doing this, but it felt like she couldn't resist it. Somewhere, Ares was in big trouble, and she had to find him. The tall woman stumbled, over something and fell, skinning her knee. The sense left her for a split second then came back, stronger than before. She had to go on. After walking, and stumbling some more, she finally reached a clearing, and the storm clouds pushed back at this time, revealing the moon. It illuminated the clearing, making it seem pearly- green. (AN: Don't ask me how a sliver of moonlight can have such a big affect.it just does.) In front of her, a cave yawned, the entrance somewhat hidden by tall grass. She started to edge near it, ever so cautiously, but then the black stuff appeared in front of her, and in it, two red eyes seem to right stare at her. Then, suddenly, it enveloped her. Xena gasped, her body becoming frigid and stiff as the black stuff seeped all around her. Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion, black thoughts blocking out everything else. It was hard for her to breath, and she collapsed, to the ground, half sitting on her knees. Her eyes took on a glassy look as an image of something that obviously didn't happen, but was believable to her pushed it's way through her mind.

"Ares? Ares?" Xena was shaking the still form of the God of War. He was lying on the floor of his temple, and had been for some time. Xena's face was covered in tears, from hours upon endless hours. She was still crying his name, refusing to believe it. "Ares!" She put her head down on his chest, wrapping her arms around him, "You can't leave me! You can't! How can you go? What am I supposed to do without you?" Keening filled the room, as Xena felt her heart breaking into a million pieces that could never be put back again.

Xena's body had indeed become weak, her mind accepting the image as real. Something stirred in her mind; something good, pushing the depressing image away. No, this didn't happen, she reached for the bond in her mind. See? He's still alive. Another image, this time a real one, of the past gently glided into her mind.

Laughter filled the air. Xena.much younger, twirled on the grass behind a temple. She had on a simple loose white dress, with breezy bell sleeves. She ran up to Ares, flinging her arms across his neck, "Ares, you will never leave me will you?" Ares smiled at his young Chosen and shook his head his head. "Never, I'll always be with you." "We'll always help you." A murmur in the breeze caught her ear. The fates, they helped her out again. Xena looked around, realizing the black stuff had gone, and stood up. The painful first image was still on the edge of her mind, lingering, waiting to snap her back to that black hole the moment she let it, but she pushed it away. She walked to the cave cautiously, but this time, nothing stopped her. She knew Ares was in there, and it was time to get him back.

To be continued. Well, what do you think? I was planning on not putting this up, and to put it up in one big Ch. 2, but I don't have an idea what to do after this, and it would take me to long to type up the whole of it, so I decided to do it in smaller pieces. PLEASE REVIEW!