Authors' Notes: OK, so Ch. 2 was way too short, so to make up for that, here's the long one. I expect MANY reviews! ( Also, the last chapter was different from the first one, but this one is more like the first one. Sorry for that.

Disclaimer: Xena, Ares and all the other characters from X:WP don't belong to me. The song is Celine Dion's. Isn't it the perfect song for Xena and Ares??!

Timeline: There is NO timeline for my stories.the only thing that you can tell the time by is Gabrielle's dress and hair. She has short hair in this time, and those short suede skirt and halter. -------------------------

I'd like to run away from you

But if I were to leave you I would die

I'd like to break the chains you put around me

And yet I'll never try

No matter what you do you drive me crazy

I'd rather be alone

But then I know my life would be so empty

As soon as you were gone

Impossible to live with you

But I could never live without you

For whatever you do / For whatever you do

I never, never, never

Want to be in love with anyone but you

You make me sad

You make me strong

You make me mad

You make me long for you / You make me long for you

You make me live

You make me die

You make me laugh

You make me cry for you / You make me cry for you

I hate you

Then I love you

Then I love you

Then I hate you

Then I love you more

For whatever you do

I never, never, never

Want to be in love with anyone but you

You treat me wrong

You treat me right

You let me be

You make me fight with you / I could never live without you

You make me high

You bring me down

You set me free

You hold me bound to you

I hate you

Then I love you

Then I love you

Then I hate you

Then I love you more / I love you more

For whatever you do / For whatever you do

I never, never, never

Want to be in love with anyone but you

I never, never, never

I never, never, never

I never, never, never

Want to be in love with anyone but you

But you

Rogue had known that Xena was coming. A smirked filled her face, well then, they could die together. She was getting even sicker of Xena by the minute, and Ares had irked her more that enough times. The black mist floated in the back of the cave, it's red glowing. Torches lighted the room with a dark red light, and on a shelf of stone laid the dagger and sacrificing tools. The black stuff shifted,

"Aah, she comes."

"Yes, everything is almost ready, Master." Picking up the dagger, she walked over to the middle of the cave. The God of War was hanging form chains of Hephestas. He was stripped from the waist up, and covered with a light sheen of sweat from trying to break out of the chains. His arms were aching from the metal, but his feet stood still and strong. "The mighty God of War, chained up. You know she's coming don't you?" Rogue taunted, "Good she can watch you die.after we strip you of your powers. My lord will become his ultimate self then..and he'll kill your precious love too." Ares growled, pulling at the chains.

"If you hurt her in anyway, I swear, I will hunt you down, you and your lord too." Ares said.

"Uh uh uh!" Rogue shook her head. "You're in no position to threaten me now!"

Xena crept into the cave. From the entrance went different tunnels, branching off into darkness. She swallowed nervously, and steeled herself. Cocking her ear, she turned her head to the tunnel on the right, where voices came from. A simmering light of red shined from it, around the corner. Xena stepped towards it, her boots making soft noises as she walked in the tunnel. The light grew stronger as she walked faster. Finally, the tunnel ended, and she stepped into a cave room, and her eyes widened. Rogue turned around, with a wicked smile on her face,

"So, you've finally arrived, " Xena glared at her, taking out her sword, "I wouldn't try that if I were you, " She pointed at Ares,

"I' m not that naïve, Rogue, He's a god..immortal, " Rogue balanced the dagger on the tip of her finger, a gleam in her eye.

"Yes, but with the Hind's Blood Dagger.."

"No," The warrior princess whispered, looking at Ares. Their eyes met, "Ares, " and ran toward Rogue, but an evil power stopped her, flying backwards, and hitting her head on the stone wall. Through a red haze, she saw Rogue walk toward her.

"You get to watch you god die.after we strip him off his powers of course." Xena grunted in pain. Rogue turned to her Master, "It's time, " The black stuff started to surround Ares and Rogue. The woman pressed the dagger to Ares' chest, drawing a line of blood. The fires of the torches began to burn brighter, as Rogue chanted, and the black stuff started to swirl around the god. Xena stood up as a memory filled her mind one last time: Xena stood in front of the fates once more, as they looked at her thread. The middle one nodded. "You have a hard life ahead of you, but remember, don't let your love die, or all is lost." "But.how? What?" Xena stared at them confused, "The blood, " The Fates murmured, "The blood of the Chosen, will set him free."

Inside the black stuff, Ares screamed as a blue light was drawn out of him. It was his essence, and it hurt so much as it left its body. Xena gasped as she realized that the bond between them was fraying as his life was fading.

*Xena? * A weak voice sounded in her head. She grasped at the weak link,

*Ares? *

*Princess, I'm dying.*

*No, don't say that! You won't die, you hear that? I won't let you! * Even in his weakened state, she could still sense his smirk,

*So, looks like you do care for me, don't you? * Ares said. She snapped,

*Gods, you won't rest for a minute can you? * He didn't answer her, because a scream erupted from his throat and mind. She stared. He was dying, and she wasn't doing anything. She stared as he writhed in the chains, as his life and powers flowed out of him. The black stuff was getting stronger as it sucked out his essence. Xena racked her mind, pushing herself to save her god.

"The blood will set him free.the blood." The voice whispered in her head again. She took the chakram from her hip, looking at it, her face flooded with knowledge now. The voice whispered in her head again:



"The blood." Quietly, she stood up, though she knew noone could here her over the screaming. She staggered a bit before her legs steadied her. She knew what she had to do.

"With blood that I am bound with, " she whispered, " I free him." She cut her wrist with her chakram, and a small trickle of blood cam out onto her white skin. A small breeze picked up.

"Once," Rogue looked over her shoulder at Xena, and her eyes widened. Her mouth moved,

"No! Stop!" Rogue yelled at her, but Xena wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on her chakram.

"Twice, " she said louder, and slashed again. The blood fell toward the floor. One, two. A bigger wind picked up, swirling around Ares and the black stuff. Rogue yelled again.

"Stop! You warrior bitch, stop!" "Thrice!" Xena screamed over the roaring wind. The wind became a maelstrom, picking up power as it raged around them. It picked up the blood droplets, and they swirled with the wind. The red color of the blood became blue, glowing like the life force of the god which now hung in the middle of the wind pulsating. Ares groaned as he blearily watched it. Screams of Rogue's master filled the air. The wind became a twister around him.and finally, a deafening blast it everyone in the room. It was so loud, that for a minute, they weren't sure if it was real or not. The shock of it blasted them to the ground. Ares swung on his chain, and roared as his life force blasted into him. The wound had broken the chains with its force, and he jumped to the ground, landing on his feet. The wound quieted with a whoosh, and Rogue and Xena stood up, being able to see again. The room was empty of the black mist, and quiet. Rogue stared around in disbelief,

"No, " she whispered, and dropped to the ground on her knees.and fainted. Xena and Ares stared at each other, and then.Ares collapsed to the ground, weak now. Xena ran over to him,

"Ares? Ares, are you all right?" She ran her hands over his body, checking his injuries. He groaned, "Xena, you saved.my life. " he whispered. She looked at him, wiping a bang away from his face, "I don't think I could've lived without you." Ares grinned, and she leaned over, brushing her hand over his cheek, and lightly pressed her lips to his. She was about to come away, when Ares wrapped an arm about her, pressing her closer to him. Xena finally came away, her eyes twinkling. "See, " Ares smirked, " You do care about me." "Of course I care about you, now you have to heal yourself, or your wounds will get worse." Ares was quiet for a moment, concentrating. Then he looked at Xena. "I can't. I'm mortal." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------

They stumbled back to the temple just before dawn, collapsing onto the big bed. The temple maids and priestess scattered out of their way, a couple of them bringing a silver basin with warm water and a small towel. "Come on Ares, you need to sleep."

"But, you're hurt!" It was true, Xena had numerous cuts and bruises, but Ares' hurts were worse, and he needed to rest. Ares and Xena had a battle of stares, and eventually, Xena won. Ares curled up on the big bed, exhausted with the tiredness only mortals can have. Xena lighted the big fireplace, and grabbed a throw blanket to cover her and Ares with, and then curled up next to Ares, wrapping her arms around him. It was funny; she never realized how much she cared for him, until she almost lost him. Through all the things he's done to her, and all the things they've been through, she was always afraid that she would lose him somehow, that he would disappear, get sick of her, and never come back. And last night, when she saw he was dying, she snapped back to the image she had seen, of Ares dying, her worst fear come true. But..she couldn't admit to herself that maybe.just maybe she was in love with him. Her hectic thoughts finally relaxed, letting her fall into a deep slumber. When she woke up, Ares was still sleeping, snoring slightly. The sun shone softly through the windows, and Xena quietly stood up, and yawned. She snacked on some food left over from a day ago, and then started looking for bandages. Ares was sleeping on his back, and it was easy for her to fix him up. She wiped his chest with a warm, wet cloth, wiping all the dry blood. Taking a needle and thread, she sewed up the major wound on his stomach, and bandaged it up, wrapping the cloth over his stomach around to his back. She smiled, running her hand over his chest, thinking how beautiful he was. She couldn't help it, she brushed her lips softly over his, and he woke up, smiling up at her.

"Hey Princess, " he said, trying to sit up, and groaned.

"Hey, you're still hurt, don't move too much." He sighed. A knock sounded at the door, and Gabrielle walked in. "Oh my gods! Xena what happened?" Then she looked at Ares, "Ares, what did you do to her?" Xena stood up and put a hand on Gabrielle's arm.

"Gabrielle, he didn't do anything. He's hurt just as much as me, more, actually." Xena recalled the events of the night to her and Gabrielle's eyes widened by the minute.

"What happened with Rogue?"

"While Ares was asleep, I told a guard to fetch her. She's chained and locked up in an underground storage room right now. I don't think she's going to go anywhere for a while."

"Oh. Does anyone else know that Ares is mortal?" Xena shook her head.

"Not that I know of, well, Zeus probably knows..but I don't think anyone else does." Gabrielle looked thoughtful.

"Speaking of mortality, " Gabrielle began slowly, " How is Ares going to get his godhood back?" Both of them turned to the god-made-mortal, who was sitting up on his elbows in the bed,

"Well, I know one thing," answered Ares, "First, don't worry, we won't have to go after the golden apples. Daddy dearest said that he'll give me back my godhood if the reason that I lost it was.reasonable, not because of my lack of brains, as he puts it." The two women breathed a sigh of relief. "BUT, he'll only give it back to me after 45 days." The two women were groaning now. "So, I was thinking I could travel with you for a month and a half, you know, we could spend the time to get to know each other a little better," He grinned at Xena. She rolled her eyes and turned to her companion once more.

"What do you think, Gabrielle?"

"Well, I guess we could. I don't suppose we could just leave him to the dogs and other enemies of his can we?" Xena gave Gabrielle a look. "Thought not."

"But we're gonna have to stay here for a couple of days. Ares isn't well enough yet."

"Yeah, just make sure the priestesses and servants don't figure it out, or they'll stop coming at my every beck and call." Ares piped in, grinning, happy at the thought that he'd get to travel with Xena again.

"Right." ---------------------------------- They ended up staying at the temple for the next three days, and in those three days, Gabrielle and Xena talked. A lot. They were sitting in her room, Ares had gone into the garden for fresh air, and Xena sat on the window seat, looking out of the window, with Gabrielle leaning on the frame of the large window.

"You're falling in love with him again, aren't you?" Gabrielle asked softly. Xena's head spun away from the window and met Gabrielle's face.

"No!" she said sharply and quickly. Then she let out a breath of air, and seeming to give up, turned back to the window, then turned around and looked at her hands. The sun warmed her back as she started to speak. "I don't know, it's just.he almost died, Gabrielle, and I never had to worry about that, I never that he would ever leave me like that," she finished softly, "I've realized that I care for him more than I thought, but.I'm too afraid to fall in love with him again. I don't want to be hurt." Gabrielle hugged Xena tightly,

"Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt." Xena hugged her back.

"Thanks." ---------------------------- The morning they set out was bright and clear. Xena, Gabrielle and Ares had taken their horses out of the stable at the break of dawn, and they let their horses take the lead for the better part of the morning. Ares' horse was an old one; he had had it from the time he was little, and he had made it immortal as soon as he saw a gray hair forming on the horse's black muzzle. Her name was Charm, given by Aphrodite when she still had a thing for mortal magick, a long time ago. She was pure black, except for the three white spots on her right flank and a white diamond between her eyes. Xena was fond of the horse since she had known it for along time, and it had often gone in to battle with Ares and her. The day passed by quickly as they talked about random things and rested once before going on to the next town called Aphora. It was dark when they reached it, and they went to search for a tavern they could stay overnight at. The only tavern in Aphora was called the Dragon's Hook, and it was loud inside. Ares, Gabrielle and Xena had to yell over the din of a room packed with people and singing to boot. The tavern-keeper was a nice, plump woman, who quickly gave them rooms on the second floor. After they had dropped their things off, they went back to the loud downstairs. Xena picked a table on the side of the room, and they were soon served with hot, steaming food. Ares lunged into it. Between a mouthful of meat, he said:

"It's unbelievable how hungry you mortals get! How do you get anything done between sleeping and eating?" Xena chuckled as she watched Ares eat. He yawned,

"Tired?" she asked.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night.not used to sleeping." He finished sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired too. When you finish up, I need to rebandage your bandages."

"All right," Ares answered as he fell to his food again.

After a half an hour, Xena and Ares went upstairs to change the bandages, and Gabrielle stretched and went to the bar to get another drink. As she waited for the bartender, she heard a familiar voice shout her name. She searched the crowd. "Hercules?!" She waved towards him, and he made his way through the crowd to her.

"Gabrielle!" They hugged warmly,

"What are you doing here?" She asked the big man before her,

"I could ask you the same thing. I'm here to visit a friend for a little while." The bard nodded,

"We're just passing through, and we're staying here for the night." She neglected to say that Ares was with them, thinking that it wouldn't be the best idea for Hercules to know what happened.

"Where's Xena,"

"Umm.she's upstairs, but-"

"Great," Hercules said before Gabrielle could say anything else. "I think I'll go up and say hi then." With a pat on her shoulder, Hercules took to the stairs. Gabrielle grimaced. This would not be a pretty meeting, and she decided to follow him. ----------------------------- Ares was lying on the bed in his room, naked from the waist up except for the bloody bandages Xena was unwrapping. He watched her as she carefully peeled away each one, and dropped it in the bag on the floor. When the bandages were all off, she rubbed her hands with a minty green salve, and spread them on his wounds. Ares winced as the salve made contact with a cut. "Oh stop, you big baby, you've had worse things then this,"

"Yeah, I know, it's not that bad.especially with you taking care of me." Xena smiled at him. The door suddenly opened with a knock, and Xena turned around, expecting to see Gabrielle, and met the face of.Hercules. Hercules' eyes fell on Xena, then on Ares, then back to Xena.

"Hercules!" Xena exclaimed as Ares sat up on his elbows, and Hercules walked into the room.

"Xena! Gabrielle told me I'd find you upstairs," his eyes drifted towards Ares and Xena quickly took her hands away from his chest. "Xena, what is HE doing here?" She stood up, wiping her hands off on a towel. "He.um, well, it's a long story," Hercules crossed his arms, as if waiting for an explanation. Ares gingerly stood up, hissing through his teeth at the pain, "Oh come on, you don't have to explain anything to him." Xena looked helplessly as the two men glared at each other. Hercules took a menacing step towards his half brother, but Xena stepped in front of him. "Hercules, no. He's hurt, just leave now, I'll explain everything tomorrow. Please." Hercules looked at Xena's pleading face, glared once more at Ares and spun around, slamming the door behind him. When he was gone, Xena looked at Ares,

"What? What? I didn't do anything to him! It's not my fault he's so jealous of me!" Xena just shook her head, making Ares lay down again, and started rebandaging his wounds, thinking of how she would explain this to Hercules, and if Ares was right and she didn't need to explain anything to him.

Well, that's that folks. Review, review, review please. And I will start working on the next chapter as soon as I can. Sorry to keep you hanging like that.