Ares awoke the next morning to the sound of a female voice singing and of gently splashing water. He looked over his shoulder, but couldn't see Xena from the ground, so he got up from the petite-sized bedroll he had to make do with, and went to see where she was. Feeling a bit apprehensive without really knowing why, Ares pulled his sword from its scabbard and moved slowly toward the sound coming from behind the curtain of foliage.

Peering through the bushes that concealed a gurgling stream, he saw Xena, her back to him, taking her morning bath. He gazed at her for a few seconds, letting a soft expression slip over his face that would have seemed unaccustomed there, had anyone been watching him. After a moment, he realized that something about this wasn't right. I shouldn't be watching her bathe like this – it's different now that I'm mortal, he thought. Then he realized that that wasn't what was bothering him. It was that she hadn't turned around at all. She hadn't sensed his approach, not the way she used to.

Suddenly something gripped Ares' shoulder from behind, whirled him around, and knocked him face-first onto the ground. He felt a sharp kick at his back, then felt the weight of the kick stay in place at the bottom of his rib cage.

"Hold it right there, Ares. You're not going to hurt Xena or anyone else. Not anymore." Great. He recognized his half-brother's voice and cringed, at the same time realizing what it had looked like, his sneaking up on Xena with sword drawn – while she was bathing, no less. This is not going to be a good day. I knew it.

"Hercules. Thanks for coming. But it's all right, he's on our side – for the moment." Ares twisted his head around to look at Xena, who by this time was fully dressed, except for her armor. Damn him!

Hercules gave Xena a quizzical glance, then removed his foot from Ares' back. He looked down at him critically. "I heard you were mortal, but this is just pathetic." Hercules flashed Xena a complacent grin; Ares was strangely pleased to see that she only half-smiled sardonically in response. He picked himself up off the ground and took a few steps to stand between Hercules and Xena; with his arms folded he faced his half-brother and glared black daggers at him. Hercules turned his attention to Xena.

She briefly explained the situation and their plans to find Gabrielle, then kill Hope, her spawn, and Dahak. Hercules had already had a taste of Hope's powers, which had almost killed him and his mother, so it took very little convincing for him to offer his services to help stop Dahak and his daughter – and his grandson.

Ares, still feeling the pangs of wounded pride from Hercules' earlier insult, couldn't resist the chance of taking him down a notch or two. "Just how do you think you're going to help, hero? I mean, you're good for slaying a few measly monsters, but come on! What do you think, that Dahak is just some kind of giant bug with enormous teeth and claws, and that you and your little buddy Iolaus are going to be able to throw him off a cliff into a pit full of fire from which he can never escape? Puh-lease."

Xena jabbed Ares in the ribs. "Ares, we need all the help we can get. And I need someone I can trust."

The pleased chuckle that was still on Ares lips died instantly, and he glanced quickly over at Xena before he turned away. She caught his look in the instant that it was there. Surely he doesn't expect me to trust him? It looked like I hurt his feelings, but why on earth should he be surprised? Suddenly, she thought of Gabrielle, of the day they first met, looking up at her with that innocent, trusting face. She trusted me. She pushed the thought out of her mind.

Ares walked some distance away, pretending to admire the beauty of the forest, and all the while listening intently to what Xena and Hercules were saying.

Once Ares had left the conversation, Hercules stepped toward Xena and looked at her for a moment. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Xena? You know Ares is a snake. You can't count on him to help us. Look at the way he betrayed you before. Now we're supposed to let him in on everything just so he can do it again? What if he's still working for Dahak?"

Xena admitted to herself that similar thoughts had been going through her mind for the past few days, but when Hercules vocalized them, they seemed . . . slightly ridiculous, somehow. Ares was a rat, to be sure, and he'd do anything to save his own skin, but . . . Xena realized that his view of Ares was different from hers – and that perhaps she knew him better than Hercules did.

"Look, he doesn't have his powers anymore. And he did save my friend, even if he was the reason she almost died in the first place. Besides, I . . . well, he needs us to defeat Dahak to get his godhood back, so his best bet is to work with us, not against us."

Is she actually defending me? To Hercules? Ohh, he's gotta love that! Ares couldn't hold back a spiteful grin.

"Woah, woah, woah. Get his godhood back? Xena, have you lost your mind? Ares is nothing but a cold-blooded killer! Why would you want to restore him to Mount Olympus?" Hercules looked at Xena with concern.

Xena was getting tired of arguing. "Look, we're gonna find Gabrielle, destroy Dahak, and get Ares' godhood back. If you don't like it, you can go fight Dahak on your own!" she nearly yelled at him, then realized what she had done. "Uh, sorry. I just . . ."

Hercules looked slightly hurt, but waved away her apology. "It's all right. I'm going to help you, you know that," and glancing over at the brother he despised, he spoke determinedly, "no matter what." He turned back to the warrior woman then and spoke softly, "Just remember who your friends are, Xena. Ares would never risk his life to save you. I would." And I'm going to be there to protect you when you figure out what he's really up to, he wanted to add.

Xena was completely unaware of the fact, but at that moment, Hercules came very near to losing all his teeth. Ares, mortal or no, was about a hairsbreadth away from charging at him full force and wailing on him until one or the other of them lost consciousness. Seething with anger, he almost shouted, "That's not true, you bastard! If you knew –" but no, he couldn't say anything. She couldn't know about that. And Hercules definitely couldn't.

x x x

Breakfast that morning was uncomfortably quiet. With the jerky, bread and cheese that she'd bought from town the day before they had enough to sustain them through lunch if they had to.

Ares took his portions and sat on a rock a distance from Hercules and Xena, who were gathered around the fire. He didn't really feel welcome around them since Hercules had joined the group. He was still not fond of the idea of Hercules tagging along, though he knew that Xena was set on the idea, and of course, there was no talking her out of that. He knew that she believed that Hercules could help them and though he wouldn't admit it, maybe she was right—but still, the idea of his mongrel half-brother sticking his nose in everything they did didn't sit too well with him. He just had to live with it. Unfortunately.

Ares pulled a piece of fish off the bone and popped it in his mouth. He sat in silence and glanced over at Xena and Hercules, who had already finished their food, their empty plates sitting in their laps. Xena smiled a little at Hercules and he smiled back — and Ares could tell that they were catching up as good friends do after they haven't seen each other for a long time. Maybe they had come together during unfortunate circumstances, but this quiet time around the campfire allowed them to enjoy themselves, if only for a little while. And at this moment, Ares felt like an outsider.

He directed his eyes away from them as something inside of him began to sting, a feeling triggered by the sight of Xena and Hercules together, sharing each others company. What am I, jealous? Jealous of Hercules? Please! But the thought still lingered in his mind. Hercules had had a relationship with Xena once before, when she was young and vulnerable after her sudden change of heart, switching to the side of good. He'd only made her feel that way because he'd changed her and something inside her made her weak for him. Ares had no idea why and didn't like to think about it because it made him cringe. No, Xena didn't feel that way about him anymore, he thought, convincing himself. He shook his head and that was the end of those thoughts.

But one thought drifted into another. Something inside him suddenly stung and the memory of what Xena said earlier that day flashed through his mind: "Ares, we need all the help we can get. And I need someone I can trust." Ares wasn't sure why it bothered him so much — the thought of Xena not trusting him. It's not like he ever really gave her any reason to trust him. But for some reason, her words had really gotten to him. Was he hurt because of it? He wasn't sure what exactly it was that made him uneasy when he'd heard her say it. Maybe he'd expected too much of her; that now that they were on the same side, she'd be able to trust him with the drop of a hat. He should have known better. Xena had never been that trusting, especially of someone who was her enemy. Ares knew they'd certainly not had the happiest of histories ... Still, she was able to deal with him for this long already and if she could do that, maybe in time, she could trust him.

Ares sighed and set his plate down and stood up. Xena looked at him.

"Done? Good. We need to be going."

Xena and Hercules stood up and they began to pack up camp. Ares stood back but said nothing.

Xena strapped the rolled up bedrolls to Argo's saddle and unhooked her reigns from the tree. Then she stopped short, her eyes darting around, warily.

"What is it?" Hercules asked.

Xena didn't answer as she scanned the forest. Across from her, Ares had begun to look nervous and he slowly moved his hand toward the hilt of his sword at his side. There was a long moment of silence before the leaves in front of them, at the edge of camp near the lake, began to rustle. They started silent, then grew louder. A low growling began to emanate from behind them.

On the other side of the clearing, two eyes could be seen peering through the foliage, looking at Xena, Hercules and Ares.

Xena reached for her sword and chakram, which were sitting on the ground by the fire. She gave the sword a brief twirl, pointing it out in front of her and held out her chakram in her other hand. Hercules braced himself for whatever was making its way toward them.

The two of them began to move toward the rustling leaves, cautiously. Ares watched from a distance away. As a mortal, fear seemed to paralyze his body, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he wasn't scared and that he wasn't a coward. He had no power over what his body was feeling so he gave in to it and stayed back as Xena and Hercules prepared themselves for the danger.

Xena and Hercules stopped in front of a large cluster of bushes. Xena glanced at Hercules and nodded, getting him prepared for whatever it was that was behind the leaves. Hercules nodded in understanding. They reached for the bushes, prepared to move the branches aside to see what was behind them, but just as they did, the rustling and growling stopped and everything became silent. Xena glanced at Hercules and they both looked bewildered. Across from them, Ares looked relieved.

"Maybe it was just a squirrel," Ares said.

"No. No squirrel I've ever heard has sounded like that..."

Just then, there was a loud, ominous growling—but it wasn't coming from in front of them. It was coming from behind them.

"Xena!" Ares' voice rang out, filled with fear.

Xena and Hercules whirled around. Xena gasped at the sight.

There was a large beast that stood twice as tall as Hercules, standing on big frog-like feet, with spikes growing out of its skin. The beast had wrapped its hand around Ares' body and Ares was struggling to free himself.

"That must be Hope's child, the Destroyer..." Xena whispered.

"Ugly thing, isn't it?"

Xena ignored Hercules' comment and charged toward the Destroyer. She swung her sword at the monster, screaming at the top of her lungs. But the Destroyer took his free hand and hit it against her sword, knocking Xena back. She landed on the ground beside Hercules and quickly got to her feet. The Destroyer tried to slash Xena with his long claw, but Hercules kicked his hand and the Destroyer stepped back.

"Xena, get me away from this thing!" Ares pleaded.

Hercules smirked and was clearly enjoying this sight of the helpless and pathetic ex-god. "What's wrong, bro? Too much for you?"

Ares would have glared at him but he was a little preoccupied. The Destroyer tightened his grip around Ares' waist and Ares began to cough. It was very difficult to breathe.

The Destroyer turned around and began to walk out of the clearing, with Ares still in his hand.

"Xe-ena..." Ares did not have enough strength to free himself.

Xena charged toward the monster again. She slashed her sword at the Destroyer's back and was able to cut into the Destroyer's leg. The Destroyer reared back in pain and turned around, growling at Xena.

"You want some more of this," Xena grinned. "Okay."

Xena swung again and sliced the Destroyer's other leg. He reared back and let go of Ares, tossing him across the forest and hitting a tree on the other side. The Destroyer began to whimper and ran back into the forest.

When the dust had cleared and all was calm once more, Xena ran to Ares' side. Hercules followed, but he wasn't as eager to see if Ares was okay as Xena was.

Xena knelt down next to Ares. He was leaning against the tree, his hand rubbing at his head.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah ... As all right as a mortal can be, anyway."

"Come on."

Xena stood up and extended her hand toward him. Ares looked at it for a moment, then grasped it and she helped him to his feet.

"No visible damage, I see." Xena said, looking him over.

Hercules walked up, with an almost taunting grin on his face. "Your offspring packs quite a punch, huh?"

Ares glared at him, but said nothing. Xena turned around to look at Hercules.

"You could have been a little less preoccupied with taunting Ares."

"Hey," Hercules held up his hands, looking rather hurt, "he wasn't in any real danger. That monster ... wasn't even that scary. He just fled after you wounded him." He paused. "Besides ..." he glanced at Ares "... he deserved it."

"Deserved it..." Xena repeated his words.

"He did play a part in creating that thing..." Hercules' words were harsh.

Ares snarled and charged at Hercules, slamming him against a tree.

"You know nothing of it, little brother!"

Ares was boiling with anger and he had half a mind to punch the stuffing out of the half-god. His face was only inches away from Hercules' and both of them stared at each other; both of them could explode into a fight at any moment.

"All right. Break it up." Xena took Ares' shoulder and pulled him away from Hercules. She looked at the two of them. "We're in this together, okay? We have to get along."

Ares stepped back and looked at Xena, then glanced at Hercules, then back at Xena. "We stay together, one of us is going to be in for some serious pain," he glared at Hercules, "and it definitely isn't going to be me. I can't stand up to the Destroyer—you just saw that—let alone Hope and Dahak." Xena looked at him with a questioning look. He looked at her. "You and Hercules can do a better job of this than I can. Why don't you ... go on by yourselves."

"Ares, you know we can't do that. You're supposed to participate in bringing them down in order to get your godhood back. And as I said before, we need all the help we can get."

Ares looked at Xena for a long moment. Her face was almost kind and hopeful, as if she didn't want him to leave. He glanced over at Hercules, who was quietly watching them, but wasn't about to say anything.

Ares nodded. "Fine. If you think it's best."

Xena managed a small smile and without thinking, put her hand on his in a friendly gesture. "It's for the best."

In the next moment, she realized what she had done and removed her hand, embarrassed by her show of affection toward Ares.

"So, what's next?" Hercules said, stepping up to them.

"Don't know. But if the Destroyer is here, then Hope must be nearby. And I'm sure we'll see more of her before we reach Amphipolis." Xena replied. "One thing's for sure, though—I don't think Hope wants to kill Ares."

"She doesn't?" Ares was surprised.

Xena shook her head. "No. The Destroyer could have ripped you apart when he caught you, but he didn't. He was going to take you away, back to wherever Hope is hiding. I think she wants you alive ... "

"So, she's got plans for him?" Hercules asked.

"Maybe. But whatever she has in mind, it cannot be good."

x x x

Xena was starting to hate them both. They'd been traveling together for two whole days, and already they were treading on her last nerve. I'm gonna kill 'im, she thought, not sure which one she meant. Maybe both of them. She shook her head, trying to lighten her thoughts. She realized that the landscape was getting more familiar – Potedeia wasn't far off.

She remembered the time that she and her companion had traveled here before – Gabrielle's sister Lila had been very ill, and her parents had been lucky enough to get word to them to get them to come. Lila had recovered fully, but she had still felt guilty for keeping Gabrielle away from her family. She's with them now, at least, Xena thought. Am I right to go to her now? Maybe she'd be better off without me. But I have to know that she's all right, anyway. We can sort the rest out later.

Hercules interrupted her reverie by pointing out a nearby temple. "Maybe we should stop in there and see if there's any news about Hope or the Destroyer."

"Good idea," Xena answered. "They may have already had some trouble with them."

They turned off the path and entered the temple. At once all three of them could sense that something was not right. The temple, once dedicated to Hestia, was abandoned. Cobwebs covered the hearth, which was made out of smooth brown stones.

"No one's been in this place for months," Ares said, trying to retain his cockiness despite his feeling of uneasiness. "So much for your brilliant idea, Bro."

Xena turned to him before Hercules could reply, ending up with her face a little closer to his than she'd intended. "No, something's not right here – I . . . it's the smell! What does that smell like to you?"

Ares took a slight step closer to her. "Xena, I thought you'd be used to traveling with Jerkules by now."

"Very funny, Ares." Hercules merely rolled his eyes – he wasn't going to get on Xena's bad side again by stooping to his level.

"No, I'm serious – that smell isn't . . . right. I'd expect it in one of your temples, Ares," she gave him a wry look, "but the odor of rotting flesh is not something I'd think to find in a temple of Hestia."

Ares and Hercules both looked at each other, then at Xena. Hercules spoke first. "You think . . ."

"Hope. She's got to have fresh meat to feed her precious baby." She spoke the words disgustedly, through clenched teeth, giving a sideways glance at Ares.

"Xena. It's so nice of you to come and see me," a gravelly female voice spoke poisonously, as Xena, Ares and Hercules whirled around to face the demonic half-goddess.

"Hope." Xena pulled her chakram loose from her belt and clenched it tightly, remembering the wicked thing's ability to move things with her mind. "Haven't you had enough of me yet?" Xena snarled as she spat out the words, drawing her sword out of its sheath.

"Not yet, Xena. You're not dead." She smirked, looking like a snake as she stared soullessly into Xena's eyes. Suddenly, Xena's chakram flew from her hand and lodged itself into a crevice in the wall. Her sword began moving toward her face; Xena cut her hand trying to push it away from her.

"Hope! You've got to stop this, right now!" Ares growled angrily at the mother of his spiky offspring.

Hope's attention was drawn away from Xena, as if she hadn't noticed Ares' presence before. "Ah, Ares, my dear. Your son will be happy that you've finally come home. And I've got plans for you as well."

Ares stepped forward in front of Xena. "This doesn't concern Xena. Let her go."

Xena yelled from behind him, "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving before we kill her and her demon-spawn!"

"Xena, Xena, Xena. Oh, dear. I suppose Ares hasn't told you the happy news yet."

Xena looked at Hope with an expression of pure hatred. "Told me what?"

"He's bound to protect me and my son. We're married, you see." Hope smiled evilly at Xena, and then at Ares. "So you see, in order to kill me, you'll have to go through him first." Hope turned on her heel then and left, running into one of the back chambers of the temple, no doubt to go and fetch her son for the awaited feeding.

By that time, Hercules' hand was around Ares' throat, and this time Xena did nothing to restrain him. "What is she talking about, you coward? I knew it! You've been working for Dahak all this time. Our father should have killed you instead of just taking your godhood!" Xena merely stood by and watched them, as if in disbelief.

Ares gasped for breath as he tried in vain to pry away his half-brother's solid fingers from his neck. "He didn't!" he finally managed to say, raggedly.

Xena pulled Hercules back, getting him to relax his grip on Ares' neck somewhat. "He didn't what? Answer me, you bastard!"

Just then, Hope returned, followed by a hulking shadow that the three of them recognized as the Destroyer.

Xena ran full-force at the Destroyer, intending to inflict more damage on it and distract Hope at the same time. She swung her sword at the monster's legs while avoiding its dagger-lined arms.

At the same time, Hercules pulled a weapon out of his boot and charged into the fray. Hope saw him coming and used her powers to fling him into a wall. Then she refocused her efforts on Xena, who was having only minimal success with the Destroyer, despite its slowness in close-range combat – it swung madly about with its long limbs, preventing her from reaching anything vital with her sword.

Ares, unable to do anything to harm Hope and the Destroyer, stood helplessly off to the side. Hope looked at him expectantly. "You know what you have to do, don't you, Ares?" He pulled his sword, looked at her, then at Xena, and then stepped closer to Xena, as if prepared to fight her and take some of the heat off the Destroyer. Hope smiled wickedly, knowing that the former god of war was bound to her and their son.

Ares looked back at Hope, making sure that her eyes were on him. He raised his sword over Xena's head while she was still busy fighting his monstrous child.

Hope used her powers to pull a sword from the wall, prepared to take out Xena should Ares falter or be struck down.

Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. Xena and the Destroyer both looked in her direction as she screamed hoarsely, her eyes bulging in shock. They saw Hercules towering over her, holding the bloodied weapon he had used to stab her in the chest. The half-goddess looked accusingly at the hero before she crumpled to the ground.

Thinking quickly, Hercules tossed the dagger he had been holding to Xena, who was still standing next to the Destroyer, who by that time was really pissed off. The creature, moaning in agony over the loss of his mother, took an angry swing at Xena with his sharp arm-extensions. Xena caught the dagger and rolled away from the Destroyer, ending up slightly behind him and to his left. Ares took a step closer, now holding his sword at arm's length in front him. The Destroyer, apparently not afraid of Ares, turned to slash at Xena again with his left arm, then stood facing her.

Hercules, who was about to tackle Ares, was stunned to see him suddenly run at the hideous creature with the sword pointed outward. The weapon plunged into the Destroyer's back; the monster quickly hurled its body backward in pain. Xena, surprised, but taking no chances, deftly stuck the Hind's Blood Dagger into the Destroyer's abdomen. It shrieked in pain, lashing out blindly in all directions.

Xena, Hercules and Ares scattered away from the beast as it flailed about angrily. Then, after exhausting its remaining life force, it slowly stalked over to where Hope lay, and cradled its mother's body in his arms, stroking her hair while cutting her cheek with its razor-sharp spikes. The thing wailed pitifully in a way that was frighteningly human, and then, still holding Hope's corpse, he slumped over on his side, and died.

Ares, Xena and Hercules walked wordlessly out of the temple.

They didn't notice the girl Seraphin, who watched them go from behind a curtain. After they left, she stepped out into the open temple, crouched beside the bodies lying on the floor, touched them, and then stood up slowly. Her eyes danced feverishly, then suddenly glowed with something that was more darkness than light. She walked out into the night, allowing its black velvety cloak to embrace her.