It was dawn when Xena awoke. Ares was gone and Xena felt herself changed. She went on, going from town to town, raising an army. With her formidable army she began her crusade, attacking the enemies of her hometown. Never once did she look back. Never once did she allow herself to lose sight of her goal. And everyday, she made time to be with Ares. Xena had made a point to stay around the surrounding area while she got her army together and trained, so at first the cave had been their meeting spot. Xena always came to him. But once Xena began to move around, Ares always found her and her warrior's tent became their meeting place.
The years passed quickly and Xena soon grew bored of her life. She turned to a life of piracy, attacking her enemies on a new front, the sea. Thanks to M'Lila, a runaway slave girl who had stowed away on her ship, she soon mastered pressure points, learning how to make them fatal. She came into contact with Caesar and was betrayed and crucified. Legs shattered and having barely escaped with her life, she'd met up with a rising warlord named Borias. Together they had traveled to the land of Chin, growing ever closer together. Xena had high ambitions to become the Destroyer of Nations, as promised to her by the shamaness Alti. But things never go according to plan. Xena grew apart from Ares while she grew closer to Borias. In their passion, Xena soon came to be expecting.
After Borias died and Xena gave up her son Solan to the Centaurs, she continued to look ahead to the prospect of world conquest. She never looked back to Ares. Under normal circumstances, Ares would have killed such a traitor, but during the years spent with her, he had fallen more and more under her spell. As much as he tried to deny it, he had fallen in love with her. Rather, he concocted a plan to reclaim Xena to his side. One night after she had fallen asleep, Ares entered her dreams. Placing visions of his despised half-brother Hercules in her mind, Ares assumed the form of Alti.
"Xena," he said. "Look well upon this man. This is Hercules. He is the greatest opposition you must face. Kill him Xena. Kill him and no one shall stand in your way. With his death, the road will be clear for you to become the Destroyer of Nations!"
Xena awoke the next morning with a terrible hatred for Hercules. She knew that he had to die. But how would she achieve her goal? She knew that fastest way to find Hercules' weak spot was to ask a certain god of war. But no, she couldn't turn back and ask Ares' help after all those years. So Xena took her army and headed to Corinth, Hercules' hometown. From there, she sent out scouts and learned that Hercules did indeed have a weak spot. He had a best friend. All Xena would have to do was lure Iolaus to her side and drive a wedge between the friends. She would stage a battle where, with any luck, they would kill each other, and if they didn't, Xena would still be able to take Hercules out of the picture.
But once again, things went horribly wrong for Xena. Hercules and Iolaus did not kill each other. They banded together instead. Darfus, her trusted lieutenant for several years, betrayed her. She was forced to run the gauntlet, and soon found herself fighting with Hercules to stop Darfus. Little did could either she or Ares know, that her life was about to take on a whole new turn.
Disclaimer - Xena introduced Ares to the concept of falling in love during the production of this fan fiction. As a result, many Y.A.X.I.s were born.