So, tell me… did you guess who it could have possibly been? :)

Chapter 75

The vortex opened, the vines gliding out with their still struggling but otherwise successfully captured prize and ruthlessly sent the God of War skidding across the room. He grunted out from the less than gentle impact, coming to a hard stop against the unforgiving marble floor after rolling to a halt several feet away from the portal. He groaned out his displeasure with having been so callously handled in such a way, a menacing growl that would have sent anyone in their right mind running in the opposite direction from the threat that grew deep in his chest.

His angry eyes immediately glanced around the area, taking in his surroundings as the portal snapped shut and an irritated sigh of disgust escaped his lips when he realized where he was. This was the last place he wanted to be at the moment, his thoughts instantly drifting to Xena and what happened to her after he was pulled into the portal, and he hastily brushed himself off as he got to his feet.

Olympus…. Even the thought of it had him subtly rolling his eyes as he huffed out another annoyed breath as he came face to face with none other than the King of the Gods himself… Zeus.

"To what do I owe this pleasant bonding experience?", he sarcastically said to his father, a saccharine sweet smirk playing across his lips.

The King of the Gods did not answer him right away though, instead he just stared with distaste at the God he had the unfortunate punishment of calling an offspring. All these years and still just as much a screw up as ever. Instead of gracing the God of War with any sort of answer, he leisurely inclined his hand in a beckoning motion. Ares followed the gesture with vague interest and a few seconds later Athena stepped out of the ether, her auburn shimmering lights gently fading around her. At the mere sight of that treacherous little harpy, the War Gods eyes instantly darkened, and he took a step in her direction.

"There will be none of that.", Zeus' commanding voice promptly said as a pair of chains quickly halted the War Gods advances as they wrapped around each of his wrists and swiftly brought him to his knees.

He thrashed against his new imprisonment, his temper rising even more as he felt his power being contained and he looked more closely at his binds. That son of a bitch…. Hephaestus' chains…. He pulled against them more violently knowing that his efforts were rather useless against his brother's shackles. He was not going to get free from them unless Zeus allowed it and given their most delicate relationship that they had had for these eons, he did not see that happening anytime soon. At least not until they got what they wanted out of him. And if the God of War was as wise as he was cunning, then he knew exactly what that might be, and he would be damned if he ever did that.

"Nice touch…", he said towards Athena, gesturing to his chains, "… but if it's bondage you're into, I can recommend a few decent brothels for you.", he impishly told her, his shoulders shrugging nonchalantly at his humble offer.

He was completely scandalized by his sister's revelation, an annoying all-knowing grin playing across his face that caused the Goddess to roll her eyes at him in disgust. It always seemed to him that she needed some type of release. So tightly wound that one and he was more than happy to guide her in the right direction. Whether she would accept his modest bargain was another thing all together.

"Cut the charade Ares, where is it?", she demanded of him, already annoyed at his constant childish behavior.

"What ever do you mean?", he slyly asked, pretending to be uninterested in the matter as he lightly cleaned his nails from a bit of dirt.

"The dagger.", she angrily bit back, her eyes filling with revulsion for his lack of condemnation.

There was no doubt in the Goddess of Wisdom's mind that he was behind it. His thirst for power and his new unhealthy obsession with that woman, even more cause for him to try and take it. Some ungodly reason as a means to impress the insignificant mortal, that she was sure of. Despite her brother's lesser judgement, undeniably thinking with his codpiece yet again, no mortal should hold such a power over a God. Such a weapon was not allowed to be in human hands, least of all that warrior's hands.

"What dagger?", he framed innocence, not showing the slightest idea that he knew what she was talking about as he continued to clean his nails.

"Quit playing coy boy!", Zeus scolded him, a boom of thunder shaking the foundation slightly from his anger, "The Dagger of Helios."

"Shouldn't you be asking him that?", Ares defiantly asked, "I mean, his name is in the title after all.", he skillfully deduced for them, letting out a whimsical breath for his ability to comprehend the obvious.

"A few days ago, someone ransacked Helios' temple, burned it to the ground…", the King of the Gods clarified for him, growing more irritated with his disrespectful child, "… the dagger was taken in the process."

"Sounds to me like he needs to keep better track of his things.", the War God insolently retorted, an unconcerned grin slightly pulling at the corners of his mouth before being met with instant pain as electricity zapped around his body, making him double over, groaning out from the intensity of it.

"Where did you hide it Ares? This has your scent written all over it.", the Goddess of Wisdom questioned as her brother continued to be tortured by the electrical energy that was swirling around his body.

Surely, he wasn't that stupid as to actually give the dagger to that mortal whore. But the more she thought about it, the more likely that scenario seemed possible. Clearly, he didn't even have self-preservation when it came to Xena, it was only a matter of time before she turned that dagger on him too. It was what she did, what a complete fool!

The God of War just grimaced through the pain, his arms pulling tight against his restraints, refusing to give up a single piece of information to this three-headed hydra. He would sooner rot in Tartarus than tell her anything. With each refusal of an answer though, the current strengthened and with it a pain Ares had never known before. With the way Hephaestus' chains were keeping a damper on his powers he felt each shock on a scale ten times the magnitude than he normally would have, it was rendering him almost human. His immortal lifeforce being the only thing that kept him hanging on for so long as the minutes ticked away. That and his stubborn defiance to let them know that they were not succeeding in any way, he would tell them nothing. He sneered through his torture, his rebellious eyes shining brightly with anger towards his father, but it was the King of the Gods next words that had the biggest influence on Ares and caused him to slip just the tiniest fraction in his façade. A slip that did not go unnoticed by his father.

"Perhaps your mortal whore might know.", Zeus suggested to the continuous defiant War God, sensing that his son simply lacked the proper motivation and a light gleam formed on his face with the way he slightly reacted to his words.

Perfect, now they were getting somewhere, and the King of the Gods temporarily stopped the pain he was causing the God of War. Ares relaxed his grip on his binds as those powerful shocks subsided, but his eyes tracked his father closely, his words echoing in his head a warning. He was not sure what else had happened after he got pulled into the portal and he was heavily relying on the fact that he did not feel his Princess in distress as a sign that she was ok but the not knowing for certain, especially well aware with how his father worked was starting to agitate him. A million possibilities ran through his head, several of them ending in the fact that she could be… no, no, he could still feel her, and he quickly banished that Gods awful notion from his head. They would not dare!

"Clever of you to hide her essence by the way…", his praise was not one of pride but rather of shock that his son even thought to do that, "… if it weren't for that then none of this would have been necessary."

Ares' eyes darkened at his statement, his hands tightening once more against his chains not out of pain but out of rage at the thought that these two conniving bastards had been trying to snatch Xena out from under him even though he had already established that she was his! Luckily for the God of War though, he was always ten steps ahead where his lovely Warrior Princess was concerned and even though his binds were severely limiting his powers, they still would not be able to find her, not by any divine method anyway.

"Shall we see how the harlot is doing?", Zeus graciously offered, but the underlying tone of repugnance was clearly heard in his voice towards the woman, feeding the fire in Ares' belly more.

The God of War stared at him, his gaze not faltering for a second as he watched as Zeus simply waved his hand and a portal appeared next to him and in the next instant, his darling Princess' face was filling it. His menacing stare drifted to the image for a moment, taking in the delicious sight of her and a small wave of relief went through him, one that he made sure to hide from the two overly prying eyes before him. Given how the last image he had of the Warrior Princess was of her blood spilling onto the ground of her tent, he was immensely relieved that she was indeed all right. More than ok it would seem as she appeared to be rallying her men, a glorious scheme no doubt wickedly concocted inside that beautiful mind of hers and a grin of approval tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The King of the Gods watched the way the War God drunk in the sight of this mortal woman, as if the simple image of her alone was enough to bring him to his knees. It was quite pathetic really, watching the way his immortal blood yearned for something that was beneath them. An insignificant bug that could so easily be squashed beneath the heel of his boot.

"Ah, yes… I see the appeal…", Zeus mocked, reaching out and lightly caressing the image before him, making the War God rattle against his chains a bit, "… she is a beauty."

"She has the dagger.", Athena stated as soon as the image in the portal panned out on the Warrior Princess as she viciously slit the throat of her enemy, the Dagger of Helios glinting brightly in her hands.

"Father, we need to move now. She cannot be allowed to wield such a weapon.", the Goddess of Wisdom articulated to Zeus. With Ares out of the way, it would be but a matter of time before Xena was caught.

Despite the Goddess' new distaste for the woman, she knew just how lethal the Warrior Princess could be and the longer Xena had time to plan, the more deadly she could become. That was something they could not allow Xena to have, time was their enemy. She had witnessed it on countless occasions with her own troops and the more she thought about it, she soon realized just how alike the Warrior Princess and the God of War really were. The warrior's insatiable feral desire during battle, the keen blood lust that would sometimes form in her eyes as she raged on in the fight, something she had seen only in her brother's actions throughout the years. Still, regardless of their, may she even dare say it… perfect fit, she could not let go of the fact that she still chose the God of War over her. One of her own warriors led a mutiny against her and that was a betrayal that she could not overlook.

"You'll never find her.", the War God simply stated, relishing in the fact of the one thing that he was most certain of more than anything else and that was his darling Princess.

She was a force to be reckoned with, for neither man nor even a God for that matter stood a chance against her when she set that devious mind of hers to something. That fire, the desire, it burned within her passionately and he pitied the poor soul that got in her way. He looked at the image of his breathtakingly gorgeous Goddess for a moment longer before slightly turning his eyes to Athena. He was going to enjoy watching her fade from existence the moment Xena got her hands on her.

"I don't have to.", the King of the Gods softly mused out, breaking the War God from his thoughts and cutting off any retort he was about to say, "She'll come to me.", he said with absolutely no doubt in his words, as if there was no other way for things to possible play out.

"How can you be so sure father?", Athena hastily asked, "The time to strike is now. Giving her a chance…", her words were quickly cut off by Zeus' commanding voice.

"Because child…", he bellowed at her, his annoyance clearly heard as he chastised her for doubting him as if he were not all knowing, "… she is but a mere mortal…. And her mortal desires will make her come to us."

"How can you be certain?", the Goddess of Wisdom could not help but ask again, almost regretting the question instantly once her father's scornful gaze turned to her as she yet again questioned him before he looked away.

His eyes landed on his shackled son and the War God once again pulled at his constraints not liking one bit where his father was going with this. Ares raged against the chains, knowing how fruitless his efforts really were against Hephaestus' steel, but he pulled tight any way, hoping to dislodge his restraints from the floor nonetheless, with truly little success. His wrath filled eyes bore deep into the King of the Gods ever judgmental ones and Zeus just smirked from his son's reaction. If things were as Athena said they were, then the raven-haired whore would come without him having to even lift a finger.

"We have something she desires.", he ultimately said, finally gracing his daughter with an answer as the War God stared back at him defiantly, the malice in his brown eyes growing and Zeus once again sent the electrical shocks around his body.

The God of War grimaced out from the pain, his teeth grinding together as he growled out from the force of it, but he did not take his eyes off of his father. That son of a two-faced harpy! He would sooner lodge that dagger into his own chest before he let that bastard touch one hair on his Princess' head. His eyes shifted to the portal, those dazzling sapphire eyes almost seeming to seek him out as they connected for a moment and then the portal vanished, swiftly cutting off those gorgeous blues and he adjusted back to the unforgiving ones of his father.

In response, the King of the Gods only intensified his son's pain, not stopping until it finally became too much for the War God to take and he collapsed from exhaustion, the last thing filling his thoughts before his world turned to black were those mesmerizing baby blues.