Night had rushed the day away. The air was stale and the heat was a bit annoying, but that wasn't Ares biggest problem. Xena had refused to speak to him, much less look him in the eye after they left the temple. He couldn't make heads or tails of her reaction to Hope's words. Ares grabbed a knife out of Argo's saddlebag and began to skin the small animal Xena had caught early. He glanced around the campsite.

No one was around. Xena had gone to the stream to fill the water bags. She had told the Hercules not to worry – she was going to take her time. Hercules decided not to listen.

He gave Ares a nasty look, "You better not do anything while I'm gone." He stood up and left to go after Xena.

Ares returned the look to Hercules backside. And you'd better not do anything to upset her. Who was he kidding? She was mad at him. The only thing that he couldn't figure out was why she didn't just leave him back there at the temple. If he remembered right she had a temper, a big one.

Hercules' returning footsteps pulled Ares out of his thoughts. He looked up to meet his half-brother's gaze. Neither said a thing. Hercules looked to the rabbit and went over to Argo's side. He pulled out a small sack. Ares took the skinned rabbit and put it in a frying pan over the fire. Hercules came to the fire and added spices from the bag to the rabbit. Ares looked at the demi-god, "Is she ok?"

Hercules simply stated, "Yes."

Ares rolled his eyes. "Well?"

Hercules poked the rabbit with a stick, refusing to meet Ares' eyes. "Well what?"

Ares stood up, "What is your problem? It's not like I'm going to go over there and purposely make her feel bad or anything."

Hercules dropped the bag and dusted his hands off. "Really?"

"Don't start with me, Hercules. I haven't done anything to her, in fact I just saved her from that thing in that temple."

"Oh, yes. And that totally erases everything you've done to her. I mean it's really your fault to begin with that Gabrielle is gone. Isn't it? You helped Hope and Dahak. In fact you MARRIED Hope. And to think Xena had tried to trust you. Frankly I think you deserve whatever Dahak might do to you once he figures out you had a hand in killing Hope."

Ares wanted to tear Hercules to pieces. "It's really none of your business, now, is it? Xena can take care of herself. She doesn't need you to watch her every move."

"Yes, well, with the God of War, excuse me, FORMER God of War, you don't know what to expect. Now do you? For all I know you could already have your powers back and could just be messing with our heads."

"Oh! Yes, Hercules. You've figured me out, because of course I want to spend all my time with YOU, of all people."

"Shut up."

"Make me. Idiot."

"You…"

"HEY!" Xena stood next to Argo with a aggravated expression on her face. "What are you two doing? I could hear you all the way by the stream. You sounded like five year olds."

Hercules glared at Ares, "He's the one you started it."

Ares looked offended, "Excuse me. I just asked you a question."

"Alright, just stop it. I'm in no mood for this. Just shut up." Hercules smiled and Xena turned to look at him, "The both of you!" She grabbed the spice bag off the ground and put it back into Argo's saddlebag. "We need to get our rest. If we get an early start we can be in Amphipolis before nightfall." Xena's expression changed and she sniffed the air. She turned to look at the fire. "Damn it."

Ares and Hercules looked to the now burning rabbit. Ares grabbed the pan and set it on the grass. "Great."

The three sat around the fire picking at their semi-burnt rabbit piece. Xena tossed what was left on her plate into the fire. "I'm going to bed."

Hercules followed Xena's actions and dumped his leftovers into the fire. "Goodnight."

Ares gaze meet Xena's, "Goodnight."

She turned away. Something had been hidden there in her eyes, but Ares couldn't figure out what it was. It definitely wasn't anger, which he would have expected. It had been more of a hurt look.

Xena crawled into her bedroll. She turned away from the fire to face Argo. Ares and Hercules were on the other side of the fire, so no one saw the look of pain and betrayal that was on her face before she closed her eyes.

x x x

Xena's eyes remained closed. She could hear the footsteps. They sounded too light to be either Ares' or Hercules' and they were too far apart. It sounded like whoever it was was trying to be very quiet. She thought she heard the tapping of a pan, but who would be…"Oww!" She flew up at the sound of an object, or in this case, person, falling to the ground. Ares' stood, sword drawn, over the bumbling fool himself.

Xena's voice hinted cheer, "Hello, Joxer."

Joxer scrambled to Xena's feet and stood up, "H-h-hi, Xena." He dusted himself off.

Xena looked to Ares and he just shrugged, "How was I supposed to know it was the bumbling idiot?"

Xena shook her head, "Joxer, what are you doing here?"

Joxer stood tall, or at least as tall as he could get and straightened his 'armor.' "Well, I heard that you were nearby and I thought that I could help. Plus, I had this letter for you." He started to dig around his 'armor'. "I know it's around here somewhere." He dug through his bag, "That's weird, I had a letter from someone for you."

"Well," Xena rose her eyebrow, "Where is it?"

"I think I lost it."

"Do you know who it was from?"

"Sorry. I do know it was on some sort of temple stationery. Not your ordinary scroll. It had this weird seal imprint on it."

"Great." Xena rolled her eyes. She looked around, then turned to Ares. "Where's Hercules?"

Ares laughed, "Over by the stream. Some animal seemed to have found its way to his bag. And I think it wanted to add a bit of perfume to his clothes."

Xena looked back at Joxer, "Are you ok? You seem a bit jumpy."

Joxer didn't let his eyes leave Ares. "I...I..I…I'm fine." He whispered, "Why's he here?"

"Don't worry, Joxer, he's here to help. He's been turned mortal."

"Ohh…O.oo…ok."

Xena grabbed her chakram from beside her bedroll, "I'm going to see if I can get us some breakfast. You two play nice."

"Wait, Xena!" He pulled a small sack out of his bag, "I brought some fruit and nuts."

"Thank you, Joxer." She took the sack from his hand. "Since we don't have to cook, we can eat on the road. There's a stream over there. Can you get Hercules?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Joxer smiled and turned around. He stumbled to get around Ares, "Sss…sorry."

"Ares, pack up the bedrolls." Xena grabbed a water bag and tied it to Argo's saddle.

Ares stood for a second then decided this was as good a time as any, "Xena, I…"

Xena turned to face him, "Ares, I really don't want to hear any excuses from you. We are going to get Gabrielle and then we are going to kill Dahak. After that you will get your godhood back and we can go our different ways." With that said, she turned back to Argo and gave the animal a piece of a fruit.

He should have stopped her, should have told her what he needed to, but the coldness of her earlier voice stopped him in his tracks.

We can go our different ways. He knew she didn't mean it in the bitterly literal sense, or did she? After this whole mess, would Xena really turn her back on him, cut him off in all ways, because of his role in the recent events? After all, it wasn't like he had meant for anything catastrophic to happen. He had only sided with Dahak because he had feared for his life. He was the God of War, meant to be a survivor. He knew all too well that rebels against the stronger warrior often got crushed in the end, so when he had been faced with a decision to join Dahak or fight against him, he had played what he had thought was the safer bet. It had been humiliating for him to submit to another, to be sure, but he had always thought that he could find a nice safe position and if need be, take down Dahak later on down the road. He had never intended for things to get so complicated.

"Ares?" Xena asked, turning around to check on his progress. "The bedrolls...now."

He weakly nodded his head in compliance. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Xena even more. He had done enough of that in the last few days (or was it weeks?) to last a life time. He packed the camp without so much as another word, only looking up when Hercules and Joxer reentered the camp. Hercules was still wringing water out of one of his spare shirts, gaining a pleased smirk from Ares.

Hercules ignored the former god. "Ready to go?"

Xena nodded. "Yeah, all set. We'll eat on the road. I want to get to Amphipolis as soon as we can."

"Xena," Ares began tentatively. When she said nothing to stop him, he swallowed hard and continued on. "I know you're anxious to get there, but you have to understand something. There's no guarantee that your friend is even still there." He spoke gently and without even the faintest hint of malice.

Xena's heart softened a little at the effort Ares was making to be gentle. "I know," she said, just as softly, "but I'm not giving up, either."

"Right there with you, Xena," Joxer said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The warrioress flashed the man a soft smile. "Thanks. Alright, standing around here isn't getting us anywhere. Let's put some miles behind us. Joxer, you find that scroll yet?"

"Uh...not yet," he said, standing awkwardly and using the toe of one boot to scratch an itch on the other leg. A sudden realization came over his face. "Wait a second," he said as he reached down to pull out a rolled up piece of parchment.
Joxer's face clouded as he held up the parchment. Noticing that it was rather crinkled, he, oblivious to Xena's impatient look, fumbled to smooth it out before presenting it. Just one stubborn crease eluded him...

"Joxer," cut Xena's impatient, if not kind, voice. It was actually kind of comforting to see Joxer bumbling around - and certainly less irritating than the constant bickering of her other two male companions.

Offering an apologetic smile, Joxer dutifully handed over the still-slightly-crinkled parchment.

The instant it touched Xena's hand - and she got a good look at the seal - she whirled around, brandishing the parchment like a makeshift weapon and fixing a cool gaze on Ares. "Any other surprises you want to enlighten me about?"

Her face wasn't giving anything away and Ares was already nervously denying any involvement - now wasn't the time to further anger Xena - when he caught sight of the seal. And burst out in laughter.

Hercules was watching this exchange silently, more than happy to watch Ares get yelled at. His laughter was confusing. And it appeared that he wasn't the only one who thought so.

Eyes widening at the unexpected shift in mood, Xena took a moment to re-evaluate her bearings and growled, "Ares-"

Caught up in one of the first pleasant feelings of this time around the mortal misery-loop, Ares held up one hand to wave Xena back. "Just a minute-" she was astonished enough to actually wait for a reply.

"Xena," he began, when it became clear that Xena and his idiotic half brother were growing tired of waiting, "Xena, do you really think I'd write you a letter? Or that I'd give it to that bumbling idiot?"

Startled, Xena had to admit that his points were valid. "Then..." Ares wasn't exactly the only person with access to his temples, and she could think of only one person who was crazy enough to entrust Joxer with a message.

Unrolling the parchment hastily, an unbidden exclamation left Xena's lips, "Gab-" then died as she read further. Slowly, her look hardened until she finished reading and threw down the parchment in disgust. "We're leaving."

Not sparing a look for the others present, Xena stalked towards Argo.

Feeling completely out of the loop, it was Hercules who reached for the discarded parchment, and, with Ares looking over his shoulder, read the contents.

Xena,
We have been requested to inform you that the bard, Gabrielle, is no longer in our care at the temple to the god of war in Amphipolis.

Hercules glared at Ares, as though it could somehow still be all his fault. Ares simply shrugged and turned to follow Xena, "Uh..." he winced under her suddenly sharp gaze, "Where're we going?"

"To Amphipolis. For answers." Swinging onto the saddle, her gaze dared the others to question her.

x x x

The rain had started around noon. By the time they had made it to Amphipolis they were not only soaked but starving. "Why don't you three just go into the tavern? I'm going to put Argo in the stables." Xena started to pull Argo toward the stables.

Ares' voice stopped her, "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, the temple's only on the other side of town. We're already soaked. What's the difference?"
Xena rolled her eyes, "I know Gabrielle. She would have stopped by my mother's inn if she was here. Now go inside and don't cause any trouble." Xena continued down the deserted road.

"Great." Ares voice was filled with sarcasm.

Hercules smirked, "What's the matter? The god of war afraid of Xena's mommy?"

Ares just kept walking toward the inn, "Excuse me. I mean it's not like she chopped her husband into little pieces with an ax. Or like I tried to have her daughter kill her. I don't know about you but I've met Xena's mother. The fact that she gave birth to Xena should be enough to tell you that you shouldn't underestimate her."

Joxer was the first to enter the inn. He quickly seated himself at the corner table. Hercules and Ares followed him. "I'm Tilly. So what will the three of you have?" She smiled at the men.

Hercules answered, "We'll take three ale."

"That all? Ok, I'll be back in a minute." She hurried away to the bar.

Xena entered the tavern, her right side caked in mud. Ares couldn't help but chuckle. Xena glared at him and he shut up, quickly. She made her way to the table. Hercules tried to suppress a smile, "What happened to you?"

She avoided her companions' eyes. "I tripped."

Ares burst out laughing again while Joxer couldn't help but chuckle.

Tilly came to the table carrying the three ale Hercules had ordered. "Sorry for the wait, boys." She set the drinks down and looked to Xena. "Hello."

Xena looked at the girl. Not recognizing her, she figured she was new, "Hi. Is Cyrene here?"

The girl looked Xena up and down, then answered, "Yes, she is. I'll be right back." She made her way to the back of tavern, being sure to avoid the already drunk villagers.

Moments later Cyrene made her way out of the back room only to hurry to the table after spotting Xena. She went to engulf her daughter in a hug but stopped when she realized she was covered in mud. "Xena! Honey, what happened to you? I didn't know you were coming. Look at you! You're covered in mud. Why don't you go right upstairs and take a bath and I'll send some soup up to your room. I don't want you to get a cold." Joxer and Hercules chuckled at Cyrene's motherly instincts.

"Hi, Mom, it's nice to see you, too." Xena smiled at her mother.

Cyrene turned to Hercules and Joxer, "And who are your friends?"

Hercules stood, "Hello, Cyrene. I'm Hercules, this is…"

"Joxer…Joxer, the mighty, at your service." Joxer stood up, only to trip and land face first.

Ares chuckled, which only gained Cyrene's attention. And with her attention came a look to rival that of one of Xena's deadly glares. "What are you doing here?"

Ares cleared his throat, "Um…look, about that thing...um…"

"He's mortal, Mom. He has to help us defeat Dahak in order to get his godhood back."

Cyrene broke her stare and looked to Xena. "Wait, you're helping him get his godhood back? Exactly why?"

"That's what I said," Hercules interrupted.

"Because…Mom, it really doesn't matter." Xena's eyes pleaded with her to drop it.

Cyrene nodded. "You said Dahak. Gabrielle was here a couple of days ago and mentioned him. I told her she should stay but she said she needed to get some stuff done."

Xena smiled, "What else did she tell you, Mom?"

"Just some stuff about a dream she had. I'll tell you but first you have to get upstairs, take a bath and change into some warm clothes before you catch a cold." She pushed Xena toward the stairs. "I'll get your friends into some rooms." Xena started to protest, but Cyrene looked her in the eyes. "Now, young lady." Xena started up the stairs.

Cyrene turned to her three male guests. "Now, I only have two rooms left, so two of you will have to share." She turned to Joxer. "Joxer, is it? I'll get you something for your nose and have Tilly bring the three of you some soup. After that you can go up to your rooms, the one at the end of the hall on the right and the forth one on the left. Xena's room is the forth on the right, but if you need anything, ask me." She smiled, turned, and made her way back to the kitchen.

Joxer looked down at his drink. "Gods, she is a bit scary. Anyway I'll take the room across from Xena."

Hercules and Ares looked at Joxer. Ares decided to speak. "What makes you think you get the room by yourself?" Ares' voice was smug. Hercules nodded.

Joxer looked from one to the other, "I…I'm injured." He smiled weakly, "Plus, you two are brothers."

Ares growled, "Half-brothers."

"It doesn't matter. This way you can keep an eye on each other. Right?" Joxer let out a breath, relieved he didn't have to spend the night with either one of them. He was starting to think Ares wasn't the only one who didn't like him.

Hercules finished his drink, "Then that's settled."

Tilly made her way back to the table with four bowls. "Hey, boys. Here's your soup and some homemade banana bread."

"Thank you." Tilly nodded at Hercules and made her way to another table.

Ares looked at the soup and banana bread. "Are you sure she didn't poison it?"

Hercules and Joxer exchanged glances. The three just stared at the food.

x x x

Xena forced herself to down the last of the thick stew. It was as delicious as ever, but its flavor was lost to Xena as she paused with the spoon halfway back to the bowl.

They'd only been traveling together for a fortnight when Gabrielle had asked her what her favorite food was. Xena, worrying about the giant's tracks they'd passed in the woods, thought nothing of the question, and she'd in fact forgotten about it until Gabrielle, looking pleased despite the spots of grease on her clothing, set down an enormous, steaming bowl of beef stew in front of her.

Xena frowned. Where was Gabrielle?

A knock at the door startled her, and the spoon dropped into the bowl.

"Xena?" Cyrene said, pushing open the door.

"Mom? Is something wrong?" She glanced out the window. "It's past midnight."

"I don't like to pry, but your friend is downstairs, steadily drinking himself into the ground."

With a sigh, Xena picked up her bowl and headed for the door. "Who? Joxer?" It had long been obvious that the poor man was in love with Gabrielle. She couldn't blame him for wanting to drown his sorrows.

"No, Ares."

Xena blinked, and hurried down to the common room. Ares sat at the bar, a tankard of cheap beer in front of him as he swiveled around to regard Xena blearily.

She put the bowl down. "Ares, what did I tell you about hangovers?" she said in the gentle, slow voice reserved for those teetering on the edge of alcohol poisoning.

"Go 'way," he grunted. "You hate me an'way. Leave me 'lone."

She took the tankard out of his hand, her eyes steady on his. "I don't hate you. I'm disappointed that you kept something as big as your marriage to Hope from me, but I don't hate you."

To her surprise, Ares' eyes filled with something like self-loathing. "Afraid," he spat out, "I was 'fraid."

"Of Dahak?"

"You don' know wha it's like; like fire crushin' and burnin' your brain. Like... death, in your face."

Xena managed to coax him off of the stool.

"I didn't want... I didn't mean to..."

Helping him up the stairs, she realized that he was trying to apologize. Of all the times to have a drunken, half-conscious, ex-god of war feeling sorry for himself. Maybe she ought to ask Hercules for help.

"Xena?"

"Hmm?"

"Sometimes, I watch you, an' I wanna come up behin you an' hold you an' never let go..."

Xena stumbled but managed to prop him against the wall outside her room. "What?" she asked, bewildered.

She could feel his mouth moving when Ares mumbled something into her hair, but she could make nothing of it beyond what sounded like her name. "What?" she asked again. "Ares?" He slumped against her shoulder, already snoring.

As Xena looked down the deserted hall, the door to the room Hercules and Ares were sharing appeared to recede into the distance before her eyes. With a tired grumble, she shoved open her door and staggered in. She deposited the ex-god onto her bed, across which he promptly splayed himself, knocking off several sheets. Fighting the smile that threatened to cover her mouth, she tugged off his boots and spread one of the sheets over his slumbering form. With the rest of the bedding in hand, she settled in a chair by the door and arranged the blankets around her. A breeze ran through the room, ruffling the curls over his forehead.
He looked... normal. Annoyingly good, but normal.

Xena shook her head furiously. Bad thoughts, she thought. Not going down that road.

x x x

When Ares woke up, he felt as if he had been arm-wrestling with a Centaur (and lost). Even lifting his head off the pillow took an effort, and a painful one.

Closing his eyes against the daylight, Ares remembered with a shudder that he was supposed to be rooming with Hercules. He tried to remember whose bright idea that was, but it hurt too much to think and he gave up.

A voice reached him through the haze, the splitting pain and the jumble of his thoughts. "Ares? Are you awake?"

That definitely wasn't Hercules.

With an effort, Ares opened one eye and saw Xena's breastplate, gauntlets and boots lying on the floor. In his current state, this sight was more unnerving than encouraging.

He opened both eyes and cautiously sat up. The motion made the room lurch for a moment, but then, mercifully, it stood still again.

Xena was sitting on a chair across from the bed, but she was fully dressed in her leathers except for the armor. She leaned down, picked up her boots and started putting them on. She clearly had no intention of joining him in bed. Ares felt both disappointed and a bit relieved, and unfortunately also quite sick. With a groan, he sank back on the pillow.

"How are you?" Xena asked.

"Like the entire Athenian army walked over my head last night?"

Xena looked down on him with a wry but sympathetic smile, and Ares thought that he would never see anything so beautiful. He cursed himself for getting drunk.

Xena sighed. "Hold on, I'll bring you some potion … you'll feel better."

By the time she came back with a clay mug in her hands, he had managed to sit up on the edge of the bed, and the floor and the walls were almost steady. The potion was a bitter, blackish liquid so disgusting that the mere thought of it should have been enough to make mortals swear off the booze for life. However, it did help clear Ares' head -- enough to make him wince at his vague memories of the night before.

"Wait… is this your room?"

"It is."

He groaned again. "How did I get here?"

He thought there was a touch of warmth in her look, but maybe it was just the light and shadows playing tricks on his eyes. She said nothing, obviously at a loss for words, and he asked, wallowing in his own humiliation, "You brought me here, didn't you?"

She nodded slightly and he closed his eyes. "Tartarus… So you put me to bed. Great."

"Ares," she said gently. "You weren't well."

"Of course I wasn't well. I was dead drunk," he spat out. "You can't stand to be around me, can you?"

She took the mug from him, and he felt the touch of her fingers on his.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," she said. "We've got work to do. A lot of work."

"Oh yeah. Find Dahak. Kill Gabrielle. Or is it the other way around? Anyway, piece of cake," he snorted.

Her face hardened and it occurred to Ares, belatedly, that he shouldn't have joked about killing Gabrielle -- particularly so soon after he'd nearly gotten her killed.

"Let's go," she said.

Ares pulled on his boots and followed Xena downstairs. In the dining hall of the tavern, Hercules and Joxer were seated at a table having breakfast. With them was some cloaked figure whose back was turned to the staircase.

"Who in blazes is that?" Ares whispered.

Xena frowned. "I don't know, but we're about to find out."

As they approached, Hercules and Joxer looked up simultaneously. At the sight of his brother, annoyance flitted across the demigod's face only to settle into the benevolently smug expression that always made Ares want to smash his half-brother's face in. (At the moment, that impulse was best resisted.)

"Hey, Xena!" Joxer said excitedly. "And, um -- Ares. Look who just showed up! She wants to help us find Gabrielle!"

The cloaked figure turned. It was that blonde ex-Dahakette whose name Ares could barely remember -- Saracen? Saralyn? oh yeah, Seraphin -- and she gave them a sweet smile that, for some reason, left Ares seriously freaked out.
"Hello, Xena."

"Seraphin." Xena eyed the petite young woman suspiciously.

"Don't worry. I've come to my senses now, and thank the many gods that I did. When I realized how blind I'd been to follow Dahak, I saw just what a good friend Gabrielle was for trying to save me. I want to help her." Seraphin smiled enthusiastically.

"Oh? What makes you think you can help her now?"

"I know where she is. I can take you to her! We can leave right this minute and–"

Xena cut her off: "What makes you think we're gonna trust you? Not two weeks ago you were just dying to bring Dahak into the world . . . literally."

Seraphin gazed back at her without the slightest hint of discomposure. "I have something for you. It's from Gabrielle." She held out a quill with a long, brown feather striped with black. "She told me to give this to you – that you'd know it was from her and that you would know you could trust me."

Xena snatched the thing out of Seraphin's hand, looking uncertain.

Ares continued to feel incredibly uncomfortable. It was as if this young girl knew him . . . but he didn't know her. Or did he? He remembered their encounter on the road the other day. She hadn't looked at him like this then.

Hercules cleared his throat before speaking. "Xena, don't you think we ought to give this young woman a chance? If she's telling the truth, then she can help us, and it'll be a way for her to atone for her involvement with Dahak. You know how important just one good deed can be." He looked pointedly at Xena, who couldn't quite meet his gaze.

Ares, not one to avoid contradicting his half-brother when the opportunity arose (and definitely not wanting to go anywhere with Seraphin) broke in: "Xena, I've got a bad feeling about this. We can find Blondie on our own, don't you think?"

Xena glanced sideways at him, then looked at Joxer, whose heart was obviously being bandied around like a child's ball at the prospect of possibly finding Gabrielle. She had to decide one way or the other. She fixed Seraphin with a gaze that was both acquiescent and threatening. "All right. You can show us where she is. But the first hint of a trick, and – "

"Xena, I told you, you have nothing to worry about! I just want to help."

x x x

"Mother, please. That's enough."

"Xena! I just want to make sure you and your friends will have plenty to eat on the road. You've gotten much too thin, anyway!"

"Mother, I'm not feeding the entire Athenian army. Please, stop!" Xena protested vainly as Cyrene loaded another parcel of nutbread into Argo's saddlebag.

"All right, all right, dear. Just send word when you find Gabrielle, will you? I'm worried about her, too." She gave her daughter a warm smile and squeezed her shoulder.

Xena's expression softened. "Thanks, Mom. I will."

Hercules' tall frame suddenly filled the doorway. "Ares, Joxer, and Seraphin say they're all ready to move out when you are. Need help with anything?" His smile was friendly. Xena could tell he really meant it when he offered to help; that was something she had always admired in Hercules.

"No, thanks. I'm afraid if you offer to help Mom'll load us down with enough food that we'll be able to choke Dahak to death."

x x x

Seraphin had led them out of the village, through a neighboring forest, and was now taking them through a ravine that was strangely unfamiliar to Xena. Finally, they ended up on a path that wound around some rocky cliffs, with a rather large patch of trees to the west. Night was on the verge of falling, and Hercules, seeing that Joxer was beginning to get tired, suggested that they make camp.

Xena asked Hercules and Joxer to secure the clearing they had found near the mouth of a shallow cave in the rocks, and to prepare the bedrolls. She would catch supper, and Ares would gather firewood. Seraphin was to stay with Hercules and Joxer, and was told not to go wandering around by herself.

Ares had been gathering wood for about ten minutes when he heard someone approaching from behind. He drew his sword silently, then quickly turned around to face – Xena. "Zeus! You startled me!"

"Oh? You ain't seen nothin' yet!" She smiled wickedly at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be killing something small, brown, and furry for dinner?" he asked, a little unsure of just what Xena was up to.

"I already did. See?" She held up a cord with three dead rabbits strung together.

"Then . . . what are you doing here? Why aren't you back at the camp?"

"I just wanted to talk to you alone, that's all. We have a lot to discuss, don't we?" Ares wasn't sure if she was going to talk to him or kick his ass. He gulped nervously.

"Y-yeah. I guess we do." He willed himself to look her in the eyes, but just then, she turned away. Before he could realize what was happening, all her armor was lying on the wet grass of the forest. She turned back to face him, now wearing only her leathers.

"Or maybe we've done enough talking," she cooed. She walked up to him and put her hand on the back of his neck, causing goose bumps to rise on his skin. Now she was looking into his eyes, now she was whispering something to him, now she was – what WAS she doing??

"Xena! What – " He grabbed her shoulders, trying to stop her from . . . whatever she was doing to him.

"Shhh. I've been wanting to do this for a long time." She wriggled free from his grasp and stroked his cheek with her hand. She started kissing his neck, his chest, his face.

Suddenly Ares felt ill. Something was definitely wrong here, although he thought that it should feel right, only . . ." He felt groggy, though he had had nothing to drink that night.

"Stop it, Xena! Stop it. I don't know what you think you're doing, but I want . . . you . . . to . . . stop." His words came out slowly, as if he were losing control of his senses and had to force himself to speak very carefully. Xena did not react to his cries, but only kept on with her apparent seduction attempts.

Suddenly, he knew why everything felt wrong. That touch against his neck – the way that she was trying to kiss his chest – it wasn't Xena at all. It was – no, she was dead. It couldn't be her. Then his struggling consciousness brought to mind one single name, which made perfect sense to him in his last moment of clarity before his mind went dark. Seraphin.