"Grandma and grandpas here" Sabrina yelled, as she ran to hug Hera and Zeus.
"There's my little angel" Zeus said, as he picked up Sabrina.
"Hello to you all" Hera said, as she then greeted Xena, Gabrielle, Eve and Solan.
Hearing the commotion Hercules turned around to find Hera and Zeus. With a not too thrilled expression he walked up next to Xena.
"Hercules it's good to see you son" Zeus said.
Hercules didn't respond.
"Hercules this is your father?" Morrigan asked.
"I'm afraid so" Hercules replied, as if the words themselves were unpleasant.
"What brings you two here?" Xena asked, trying to change the subject.
"We are here because something terrible has happened, Dahak has been released" Hera answered.
"Released but how?" Gabrielle asked.
"Discord is working with him. She completed a ceremony which enabled Dahak to enter this world in the form of a human"
"How do you propose we stop them?" Xena asked.
"Dahak has not fully gained all his powers, he is at this moment very weak. Discord will do everything in her power to protect Dahak until he is strong enough. We only have a few days until then" The Queen of the gods replied.
"If he's weak right now, why don't you two go stop him?" Hercules asked, with resentment in his voice.
"We would if we could, but Dahak has taken control over the kingdom of Avalon, and Discord has created a force field around the kingdom. If any full god enters Avalon or goes anywhere closely near the kingdom, they will lose their godly hood" Zeus answered.
"And naturally you're too scared to go in there" Hercules said.
"Of course not, it's just that there would be no point in any of the gods going seeing how we would be useless" Zeus replied, obviously insulted.
"Well it wouldn't be the first time you all were useless" Hercules said, with grin.
"Hercules" Xena whispered, in a calming voice.
Hercules nodded as to indicate that he would ease up.
"Should we count on you to do this or not?" Zeus asked, showing hints that he was still upset.
"Yes you can. But how is it that Discord could create such a powerful force field?" Xena asked.
"She is using some of Dahak's powers to control the force field, that is also why neither I nor Zeus can destroy it" Hera replied.
"Do you know how long it'll take us to get to the Kingdom of Avalon?"
"It's about a day and a half's ride from here" Zeus answered.
"What about Ares? Does he know about this?" The Warrior Princess questioned.
"Yes Ares has been told. However I doubt he'll be foolish enough to accompany you on this mission" Zeus replied.
"What will happen to the people of the Kingdom if Dahak is destroyed?" Gabrielle asked.
"Sadly the people of the Kingdom were all killed, the only ones you will find there will be the soldiers whom are now like living zombies. Do not try to save them for they are already lost" The Queen of the Gods answered.
"Alright then, I guess we probably should start packing our things" Xena said.
As everyone then started collecting their belongings Hera and Zeus departed. By nightfall they had already covered a small portion of the distance. As Xena and Morrigan tried to avoid each other, Sabrina and Adam were doing the same. Evander and Solan weren't exactly buddies, neither even tried to talk to the other. And Hercules was stuck in the middle trying to keep peace between them all. Meanwhile Gabrielle, Eve and Brigid were getting along just fine. Yes the rest of their time together would seem to be a challenge.
While Xena lie in her bedroll she couldn't help but wonder where Ares was at that moment. She expected him to show up earlier but there was no sign of him. She knew he was upset but didn't understand how upset he really was.
At that very moment Ares was lying on his bed in one of his temples. He lay there with his eyes open just thinking about Xena. Maybe he should have gone to see her before, he thought. But it was too late now, or at least that was the lie he told him self. 'Tomorrow' he said to him self, 'I'll go back tomorrow morning' He added.
By the next morning without a second to waste they were on their way. Hercules could tell something was bothering Xena, so right before they were about to leave he went to talk to her.
"Xena, is everything alright" He asked.
"Yeah, everything's just fine" She answered, clearly not telling the truth.
"You're worried about Ares aren't you?"
"A little. It's just that I know he's hurting and there's nothing I can do about it"
"If he's mad about me being here, then I think he still has some more growing up to do"
"It's not just that, it's a whole other thing too"
"What do you mean?"
"Before Ares left he went to talk to Evander, and I'm guessing it didn't go too well"
"So Ares is trying to makeup for his past mistakes" Hercules said, coming to a realization.
"Something like that" Xena replied, then paused and took a deep breath. "We should probably be on our way" She added.
"Yeah, I'll be right there" Hercules replied, as Xena walked away. " A new Ares" Hercules said to himself, with a hint of both disbelief and hope.
Later on in the late afternoon as they were on their way to the Kingdom of Avalon, a small army of Dahak's soldiers attacked Xena and the others. Xena instructed Eve and Brigid to take Sabrina and Adam to safety. Then Xena drew her sword and began to fight. It was 70 against 6; the odds weren't exactly in their favor.
Using his powers Evander conjured up a giant, which destroyed nearly half the army. But one of the soldiers caught Evander from behind, with a hard blow to the head Evander was down and the giant vanished.
As Xena was fighting she turned to see Morrigan in trouble. She swiftly pounced on the soldier; whose blade was inches away from striking Morrigan. With a lunge of her sword Xena brought the soldier down to his knees, then delivered a fatal blow. With a nod to Morrigan Xena then turned her attention to the leader of the army.
Knowing that something needed to be done, Xena's only option was to go after the leader, the dark warrior. Who was covered in black armor with spikes coming from every direction.
With her famous war cry Xena charged the dark warrior. Their swords clashed and in the heat of the battle, to them it seemed as if they were the only two there. Xena repeatedly swung her sword at him, but it seemed as if nothing she threw at him could damage the dark warrior's armor. But Xena's armor on the other hand was not holding up as well, she had cuts and bruises all over her body, but Xena wasn't about to give up.
Everyone else wasn't doing any better. The army proved to be more than they could handle. They needed help, and they needed it now.
Fortunately someone was still watching over them. Lena stood there with an expression of shock on her face, as she looked into the silver bowl, which held an image of the battle pictured over the water.
"SAVANNAH, APRIL, ANGEL COME QUICKLY!" Lena yelled, as her golden curls shook with urgency.
"What is it?" Savannah asked, as she appeared in a flash of red light with April and Angel by her side.
"There's a major problem here. Xena, Hercules and the others are in a fight against some of Dahak's soldiers. And it's not looking good" The thunder dominating beauty answered.
"Don't worry we got this" The raven haired aquatic Element said, pointing to herself and April.
"No, no, no the last thing we need is you two making things worst than what they already are" Savannah quickly replied, her crimson eyes glowing red.
"We resent that. What makes you think that we would screw things up, again?" April asked, crossing her arms causing her dark pink toga to sway briefly.
"Listen we don't have time for this, we need to do something now" Lena yelled over the bickering.
"Fine then if we can't go down there and help, what can we do?" Angel asked.
"Where's Ares?" The fiery maiden questioned.
"Probably at one of his temples" Lena answered.
"Good, then you should go down there and tell him what's happening, maybe he'll be able to even up the score" Savannah said to Lena.
"I'll be back in a flash" The fair-haired divinity replied, before disappearing in a flash of golden light.
"Hey if Ares doesn't get there in the next 5 minutes can I go down there?" April asked, as a huge crossbow appeared in her hands.
"NO" Savannah yelled, then sighed as she rubbed her temples from frustration.
"You never let me have any fun" The wind deity said, pouting.
The next second Lena appeared in Ares' chamber, and found the war god seated wearily upon his scarlet couch with a look of despair in his features. His haired appeared a bit unkempt compared to its usual form, and his skin no longer exuded the essence of his godly powers.
"Ares, Xena needs your help. You have to get down there right now" Lena said, right after emerging before Ares, wasting no time.
"Wait, what happened?" The god asked, frantically jumping to his feet.
"They're in a battle against some of Dahak's soldiers. The faster you get down there, the better"
"I can't" Ares said, with his head tilted downward.
"What do you mean you CAN'T? Maybe you didn't hear me, the woman you LOVE is in big trouble, or don't you care?" Lena asked, with anger ringing through her voice.
"I mean I can't" Ares said again, balling his hands into a fist.
"It's one those days isn't it?" Lena asked, now fully understanding what Ares meant.
"Yeah" Ares replied, angry with himself.
"Great, just great" Lena said, as she began getting frustrated.
"Wait can't you just go and help them?"
"We're not supposed to physically interfere"
"You're going to just let them die?" The War God asked, infuriated.
"No I'm not. Look I can bring you close to the battle, but you'll have to ride horse back the rest of the way. Deal?" Lena asked.
"Yes whatever it takes"
With that said they disappeared.
They later reappeared just yards away from where the battle was taking place. With his sword in hand the war god rode into the battle slicing any soldier in his way. As his blood raced rapidly through his body, Ares could feel the thrill of the fight inside him. With his sword covered in blood and his heart beating fast he began looking for Xena.
To the right of him Ares spotted Evander struggling to beat two soldiers. Ares lapped off his horse and without breaking a sweat he easily defeated the two opponents. Ares turned to Evander and could tell by the look on the young man's face that he wasn't the least bit thankful. Without so much as a word to Evander Ares turned his attention back to looking for his Warrior Princess.
Xena was still fighting the leader of the army. She swung her sword against his chest then with a flip she kicked him across his face, but he didn't budge. She was now out of breath, and out of ideas. With one solid kick the dark warrior knocked Xena to the ground.
"This sword was specially made for you only" The dark warrior said, then dropped his sword and pulled out a second one, which was covered in dark red blood.
As he thrusted his sword down towards Xena, he let out an evil cry. Suddenly Ares arrived and without a moments notice deflected the sword from its course.
"I'll kill you for that" The dark warrior roared, as he swung at Ares.
Their swords clashed twice before the sinister creature smacked Ares in the face with his spiked glove. Resulting in a large gash on Ares' forehead.
The god of war stumbled to the ground, and then slowly got up. The dark warrior then shoved his sword into Ares' side. As his blood began dripping down, Ares swung one last time, and ran his sword into the Dark warrior.
As the Dark warrior crumbled to the ground, Xena got up and staggered to Ares. Her expression turned into one of horror as she saw the blood oozing from him. When she had finally got to him Ares practically collapsed in her arms.
At which time the soldiers realized their leader had been beaten, and they then retreated. Hercules and the others started rejoicing at their victory, while Xena sat there on the ground with Ares in her arms.
"I-I…I don't understand how? How could you be… no you can't be" Xena could barely say, as the tears started pouring down her face.
"Xena" Ares said, in barely a whisper. "I'm sorry"
"Sorry for what?" Xena asked, confused.
But before Ares could answer he blacked out.
"Ares… ARES" Xena said, but no answer. "GABRIELLE, HERCULES " Xena yelled.
The others then saw Xena with what seemed to be the lifeless body of Ares in her arms.
"Xena, what happened? Is he…?" Gabrielle asked, in disbelief.
"No he just blacked out. We need to move him to somewhere safe" Xena replied, trying to pull herself together.
Hercules lifted Ares and moved him to a place hidden between the trees. Gabrielle and the others built a fire and camp around the wounded god, as Xena badge Ares' wounds. Xena sat down beside him as the others all except for Gabrielle, left.
"How is this all possible?" Gabrielle asked, still in disbelief, sitting a small distance from Xena.
"I don't know" Xena replied in a distant voice.
Sudden sounds of footsteps could be heard as Solan made his way to them.
"Mom" Solan said softly, his face covered with guilt.
"Yes Solan"
"There's something I need to tell you"
"Maybe I should go" Gabrielle said, as she was about to stand up.
"No you should hear this too" Solan replied.
"Okay what is it Solan?" Xena asked, as worry again filled her features.
"Remember when Ares told you that he made a deal with Hades to get me out of the underworld?"
"Yeah, Hades said that as long as you could defeat ten of his best warriors, he would allow you to return to this world" Xena replied.
"That was just part of it"
"Part of it, what do you mean?" The Gabrielle asked.
"There was another half of the deal. In order for Hades to let me go Ares had to agree to something else. For twenty days Ares would lose his immortality. But it wouldn't be twenty consecutive days, it would vary. One day he'll be a god and the next he'll be mortal and back again. Ares had no idea which days it would be" Solan replied, looking ashamed.
"That explains why at times we didn't see him for days" Gabrielle stated.
"He told me not to tell you two. He didn't want anyone worrying about him" Solan said.
"By the gods" Xena whispered, as her eyes became watery.
"I'm sorry mom, I should have told you sooner" The golden haired young man said, with sadness in his eyes as he kneeled down beside his mother.
"It wasn't your fault" Xena replied, placing a comforting hand against her son's face.
Solan then got up and left. Xena turned to Ares and was still for a moment.
"Xena are you okay?" Gabrielle asked, concerned.
The raven-haired warrior merely nodded.
"Don't worry he'll be all right, he's strong and besides he's really stubborn" Gabrielle said, trying lighten up the mood.
"Yeah" Xena replied, with a soft chuckle.
Gabrielle placed a reassuring hand on her best friend's shoulder, before leaving as she saw Hercules heading their way. Gabrielle walked to Hercules and briefly informed him of what Solan had just told them. The Bard walked away as Hercules went to Xena.
"How's he holding up?" Hercules asked, standing behind Xena.
"Not so good, I don't think there's anything much I can do" Xena replied, staring at Ares.
"And how about you Xena. Are you doing okay?" The demi-god asked, in a worried voice as he noticed the cuts and bruises on Xena.
"I'm fine, but right now I need to focus on Ares…I can't lose him" She replied, turning to Hercules.
"You love him don't you?" He asked, fearing the answer.
"With all my heart" She replied, looking back at Ares and caressing his face.
Hercules then began to accept the fact that maybe Ares did love Xena, and it was obvious that she loved him back. The golden haired half god took a deep breath, as he knew he would dread the words he was about to say.
"Maybe we should call Zeus. There might be a chance he could save him" He said, almost having to force it out.
"Alright"
"ZEUS, ZEUS" The golden brown haired demi-god shouted.
Suddenly The King of the Gods appeared in a flash of gold light.
"Did you want to talk to me or insult me again?" Zeus asked, with an aggravated expression.
"Neither, look Ares needs your help, he's been wounded" Hercules replied.
"How could this have happened?" Zeus asked, kneeling down beside the fallen god.
"Long story short, he lost his immortal, and was stabbed by one of Dahak's warriors in a fight" Hercules answered.
Zeus raised his hands over Ares and a gold light appeared around them. After a few seconds the light vanished, and he lowered his hands.
"I am sorry but there is nothing I can do to help him" Zeus said, in sadden voice.
"What do you mean, there's nothing you can do? You are the King of Gods aren't you?" The Warrior Princess asked, enraged.
"The sword Ares was stabbed with was covered in the blood of Dahak. The only way to save Ares would be to destroy Dahak's human form" The god replied.
"What will happen to Ares until then?" Xena questioned.
"Dahak's blood will flow through Ares like poison. His condition will only worsen as time goes by…then he'll die" Zeus answered, with what seemed to be tears in his eyes.
"How long does he have?" Hercules asked.
"A little more than a day maybe less, I can't be exactly sure"
Xena suddenly got up and quickly walked away.
"Xena" Hercules said, calling after her. But Xena kept walking.
"Go after her, I'll stay with Ares" Zeus said.
Hercules followed Xena.
"Xena, Xena. What's wrong?" Hercules yelled, trying to catch up with her.
Xena slowed down to a stop.
"It should have been me" She said, with her back turned to Hercules.
"What are you talking about?" Hercules asked, confused.
"The sword Ares was stabbed with was meant for me" Xena answered, turning to him.
"How can you be sure about that?"
"When the leader of the army pulled out the sword he said it was made for me, and me only" Xena replied, with anger in her eyes.
"Xena you can't blame your self for what happened to Ares" Hercules said, walking closer to her.
Xena said nothing as her eyes saddened and wondered to the ground.
"It wasn't your fault, it wasn't your fault" Hercules said, as he placed his hands on Xena's arms in a comforting manor.
"You're right. Beating myself up over this isn't help anyone" She replied, then for a brief her eyes became as cold as ice.
"We should probably go back to Ares"
Xena nodded. They returned to find Zeus still kneeling down beside his son. Xena stared at Ares for a moment before speaking to Hercules and Zeus.
"If you both wouldn't mind, I'd like a minute alone with Ares"
"Of course we wouldn't, besides I should probably go and tell Hera what has happened. Take care Xena, goodbye Hercules" Zeus replied, then disappeared.
"I'll be with the others if you need me" Hercules said, with a caring expression.
"Thanks" Xena replied, as Hercules left.
She then kneeled down beside Ares.
"Ares" Xena whispered, "There's something I need to do. Dahak needs to be stopped… If something happens I need you to look after the children, and watch over Gabrielle for me" She then paused. "I love you, Good bye" She added before meeting his lips with hers.
Xena knew that Ares was unconscious, but had hoped that he some how still heard her. She then gathered her weapons and headed for Argo. The next second Gabrielle went to check on Ares, when she got there Xena was nowhere in sight and Gabrielle wondered where she had gone to. While Gabrielle started changing the badge on Ares' forehead he began moving and mumbling.
"Ares are you all right?" Gabrielle asked.
"You have to stop her" Ares said, in barely a murmur.
"Stop who?" Gabrielle asked, baffled.
"Xena, she's going to fight Dahak alone, you have to stop her" Ares replied, before again losing consciousness.
"Ares, Can you hear me? Ares" Gabrielle said, but no answered.
Gabrielle ran to where Argo was and found Xena packing Argo's saddlebag.
"Xena where are you going?" Gabrielle asked, with suspicion in her voice.
"Nowhere I'm just going to scout ahead" Xena answered, while still packing the saddlebag.
"No you're not. Xena I know what you're up to. Do you really think that you could stand a chance alone against Dahak?"
Xena didn't respond, she merely continued packing the saddlebag.
"Xena are you listening to me? What you're planning on doing is crazy. You're in no condition to fight. Xena please just think this over" Gabrielle said trying to plead with her.
"By the time we get there it'll be too late and Ares would be dead. I can't just sit back and let that happen" Xena replied, turning to Gabrielle.
"It wont happen Xena, I promise. We'll get there in time to stop Dahak. But right now you need your rest" Gabrielle said, in a reassuring voice.
The anger that had been boiling inside of her threatened to erupt, but Xena had no desire to release it upon Gabrielle; Gabrielle was not the one for whom her fury was directed to. Taking a second to clear her mind Xena finally realized how irrationally she was thinking. Her anger had blinded her and would have sealed her doom. If it were not for Gabrielle she would've been on her way to Avalon alone and in trouble shape.
Xena sighed and looked her best friend in the eye then simply nodded.
"Gabrielle I want you to know that no matter what happens in me life I will always be grateful for having you as a friend"
"Yeah I know, what would you do without me" Gabrielle replied, smiling.
"Now I wouldn't say all that" Xena said, with a chuckle.
As the two best friends made their way back to camp, Gabrielle later told Xena of how she knew, about her plan to leave and try to fight Dahak alone.
Meanwhile Solan found Evander sitting beside the river staring blankly into the water. Solan could tell by the look on Evander's face that something was bothering. And so he walked up to Evander, and sat down beside him.
"What are you doing so far away from the camp?" Solan asked.
"I should ask you the same thing" Evander replied, with an irritated look in his face.
"So what's the matter?"
"What are you talking about?" Evander asked, puzzled.
"I just figure you wouldn't be way out here staring into space, if something wasn't bothering you"
"You mean other than you"
"Ha, very funny, but seriously what is it?"
"None of your business, that's what it is"
"Fine whatever"
"Why do you care anyway?" Evander asked, with suspicion in his tone as he turned to Solan.
"I don't, I guess I thought that if something was troubling me, I'd want somebody to talk to"
"See that's the difference between you and me, you rely on people and I don't. Never have and never will"
"Well it's better than not knowing when to ask for help. You think you can handle everything on your own, when the truth is you can't"
"First of all you don't know anything about me. You don't know where I came from, who I am, or how I grew up. And second of all who in Tartarus asked you anyway" Evander said, with anger in his voice.
"Take it easy, you didn't need to get all defensive"
"Just leave me alone" Evander said, turning back to the water.
"Look he's not that bad"
"What?" Evander asked, confused as he turned back to Solan.
"Ares, he's not that bad"
"What do I care?"
"That's it, isn't it? That's what's bothering you"
Evander said nothing; he merely turned back to the water.
"I can understand why you're mad, but give him a shoot"
"Why should I?"
"Cause he's your father"
"I have no father"
"Sure keep on telling your self that, maybe one day it'll come true" Solan said, as he got up and began walking away.
"Wait…how do I know he even cares?" Evander asked, getting up and turning to Solan.
"Trust me, he cares" Solan answered turning back to Evander.
Evander replied by nodding his head.
"You know what I realized?"
"What?"
"If you think about it we're kind of like brothers"
"I guess"
"So now you have a big brother to look up to" Solan said, with smirk.
"Hey if anyone's going to be looking up to anyone else, it'll be you looking up to me" Evander replied, with a chuckle as he padded Solan on the head.
"Yeah right, I'll see you back at the camp"
"Sure whatever"