Xena stared at him for a few moments in stunned silence, then began walking again, leading Argo behind her.

After a few minutes had passed, she said, "But I thought Zeus said he'd give you your godhood back if you helped defeat Dahak."

"He did. He can restore it to me any time he wants, even though I gave it away. But now that I've given my godhood to Gabrielle, I can't take it back. She can give it to someone else, or Zeus can take it from her, but she can't give it back to me. Or if I get my godhood back through some other means, she won't be a goddess anymore."

"Great."

In the silence that followed, Xena continued walking, while Ares anxiously watched her from atop Argo, not sure if he should expect the anger he still kind of figured was coming. He knew Xena better than to assume her silence was a good thing.

Still, Ares had almost resigned himself to having narrowly escaped the Wrath of Xena, when she stopped dead and rounded back on him - eyes flashing in a particularly dangerous way. "Ares..."

That was the evil purr. He backed away as inconspicuously as possible and tried for an innocent shrug. "Yeah?"

Sparing a glance to make sure that Joxer and Hercules were still out of immediate earshot, Xena reigned in the thoughts that she'd been sorting through for the last few minutes. She'd learned the hard way that, when time permitted, shocking news was best sorted out in small portions. "If Gabrielle's taken your place... Explain to me why we've spent the last week traipsing around Greece looking for her when I could have just called her? Answer carefully."

With the newfound respect that mortal Ares had for the look in Xena's eyes, he quickly reminded himself that keeping anything from Xena was detrimental to his health. It was kind of hopeful that she hadn't killed him yet. "Your friend was pretty out of it... like I said... but I did manage to talk to her after, before Zeus found out and sent out his armies." That whole span of three seconds ... Thanks, Dad.

Xena was tapping her foot against the ground and, seeming to sense the shift in moods, Argo was neighing irritably, but they both seemed determined to let him finish. The way his day was going, Ares figured the damn horse would probably throw him, even if Xena didn't.

"This isn't some wild goose chase, Xena." She raised one eyebrow in response. "If Blondie uses her - my powers, Zeus isn't going to be the only one to notice. Which is why I figured she'd stay in the temple, where it was safe."

Predictably, Xena caught on quickly. "So, if I were to, say, yell 'Gabrielle, Goddess of War,' really loudly..."

"Dahak would know. Well, I mean, if she responded." Ares shrugged, caught up in mental calculations of how exactly that worked, and how much of a tip-off Dahak really would need. "I imagine the Bard's status is a lot more interesting to Dahak than mine right now."

Grudgingly, a half smile quirked at Xena's lips. She had to give Ares credit, sometimes he actually kind of thought things through. If she ignored the part about her best friend suddenly being the goddess of war. "At least I can now cross off 'dead' and 'corrupted' from my list of concerns about Gabrielle."

Amazed at how this new development hadn't somehow made him further the bad guy, Ares took a moment to reply. Finally, he offered a small smirk, considering how much his head still hurt, "Yeah. Now, would you please explain all this to Argo before she throws me?"

"Nuh-uh, mister," Xena grinned at both Ares and Argo, "you're on your own there." She shrugged and picked up the pace, Argo dutifully walking a little faster. "We've gotta catch up with Joxer and Hercules and fill them in."

x x x

It was high afternoon by the time the group made their way back into Amphipolis. Most of the day had been spent finding their way out of the dense maze Seraphin had managed to stick them in.

As Xena stood staring at her hometown, yet again, she consoled herself that at least she could honestly say she now knew every inch of the area surrounding Amphipolis. And then some.

After discussing the situation with Hercules and Joxer, and waiting for Joxer to recuperate, they'd decided to go back to the original plan: Check out Ares' temple in Amphipolis and see if Gabrielle had left any clues to her whereabouts.

Besides, Xena really didn't want to have to explain all this to her mother and end up loaded down with even more food.

From his spot atop Argo, Ares didn't look any happier than Xena to be back in Amphipolis. Or maybe that was his joy at the prospect of entering one of his own temples - while mortal. Again.

Xena smirked, Hercules sighed, Joxer stepped bravely forward into the temple, and Ares rolled his eyes as he dismounted the horse.

The sole priestess in the antechamber paused in the act of lighting a rack of the drippy candles that Ares favored, and she stared, horrified, at Joxer.

"You!"

Joxer swiveled his head wildly. "What? Me? What?"

The priestess had already rushed from the room, screeching, "Sir! Sir! He's back, sir!"

There was an answering scream. "He's back?"

"He's back!"

"Hide the breakables!"

Dull thuds and flurried footsteps filtered out from the altar room, and Ares turned to Joxer. "Care to explain?" he growled.

"Well-- I-- uh--" Joxer stammered, inching back under Ares' glare. "I was getting the message, right? And I-- well..."

"You what?"

"I knocked over some things. Tiny things. Practically unnoticeable. An urn. Um, some ashes."

"You spilled Achilles' ashes?"

Joxer stuttered frantically, but to his relief, Xena stepped between the two and restrained the ex-god. "Ares! We don't have time for this."

Ares stalked sullenly into the next room, only to have his way barred yet again, this time by the high priest and a row of black-haired, blue-eyed priestesses.

Hercules shook his head disdainfully. "I'm sensing some sort of pattern, here."

"What?"

Hercules pointed to priestesses. "Ares, they all look like Xena."

"Well excuse me for having preferences."

"Who are you?" the priest demanded, "and how dare you bring that-- that natural disaster in here?"

"We're not looking for trouble," Xena said hastily. "We just want some infor--"

"Leave now or suffer the wrath of Ares!" the priest interjected.

Ares had had enough. He drew his sword. Just then, a spark of recognition flickered into the priest's eyes as they fell upon Ares' silver ring.

"Lord Ares?" the priest breathed, awe breaking over his face like a sunrise. "Welcome to this humble house, my lord. Please punish your servant for his inability to recog--"

"Oh, shut up."

Xena laid a calming hand on Ares' arm before addressing the priest. "We're looking for any information about a young woman who was in the care of this temple recently. Her name's Gabrielle."

"Gabrielle? We cared diligently for her, night and day. When the young lady contracted a fever, this servant stayed--"

"Just tell us what happened to her. Please."

"The goddess Athena appeared and took the young lady to a safe place. She'd healed by then. Miraculously, it appeared."

Xena nodded gratefully, already turning to the door before the priest finished speaking. As the group left the gloom of the temple, she looked towards the still-fuming Ares. "Why would Athena take Gabrielle?"

He shrugged. "She probably wanted to help. She's always said that you should have gone to her instead of me, but that's just Athena and her over-sized ego. She knows you belong to me."

"Ares, I don't belong to anyone." She sounded resigned. "How's your head?"

"That little blonde witch left me with a wonderful headache. Oh, I'm loving it."

"Xena," Joxer clanged as he stumbled, "where are we going now?"

"Where else? To see Athena."

The four of them left the temple in silence. Ares suddenly encountered a strange feeling…more of a thought, really. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something… He thought back of the time they had spend in the inn and suddenly remembered something. He only prayed that wasn't the headache playing tricks on him…

Clearing his throat, he hurried his pace to catch up with Xena. "Xena?"

He got no answer as Xena was obviously lost in her own world of thoughts again. "Xena…" For a minute, Ares considered touching her shoulder or grabbing her arm or something…but he didn't want to risk a sudden thrashing as she was too deep in her thoughts and might be caught off guard for a second. "XE…"

"I heard you, Ares…the first time." Xena said, calmly. "What is it?"

"Your mother."

"Come again?" Xena turned to face the ex-war god. She stared at him with a look that somehow mixed 'what about her?' and 'I swear if you mess with me…'

Ares swallowed, then spoke. "When we were at the inn, a couple of days ago, your mother said she had seen Gabrielle. She said something about a dream…and the fact that the bard had some things to do."

"So?"

"Then why would she go follow Athena?"

Joxer took a step closer to the two warriors. "I…maybe Athena offered to help her…with whatever that is…you know?"

Ares sighed at the wannabe warrior's interruption. "Shouldn't you go ruin another temple or something?"

"Ares!" yelled Hercules. But Ares only rolled his eyes and focused his attention back to his Warrior Princess.

"Look…all that I'm saying is, ever since you came on to me and you didn't turn out to be you…I don't trust things anymore."

Xena thought for a moment. She never thought she'd say this…but Ares could have a point there. "You're trying to tell me things aren't the way they seem?"

Ares shrugged. "Yes. Could be." Very calmly, almost…lovingly. Well, as lovingly as an ex-war god could muster in a situation like this. Actually, it was a tone he used to use around her a lot in the old days, indicating her that he meant no harm, that he wasn't in the mood for games or tricks…that he was serious and truly meant what he was saying.

This had Xena plastered for about…a third of a second. "We're still going to Athena. If you're right, Ares, and it wasn't Athena that took Gabrielle along…we'll know soon enough."

Ares nodded. Fair enough. At least she'd listened to him and treated him as a partner in this conversation. When he started this, he had expected 'shut up' as an answer…maybe even delivered in choir…

x x x

Shortly thereafter, they reached the temple of Athena in Amphipolis. Taking a deep breath and with only the though of Gabrielle's safety in her heart, Xena climbed the big stairs leading toward the temple gate…followed closely by Ares…followed by Hercules…and, last but not least, followed by Joxer.

Xena had high hopes now. But as soon as she touched the handle to open the gate, an electric current shot through her and she was thrown half way across the village square.

"What in Tartarus?!" Xena rubbed the back of her head as she tried to peel herself from the ground. Hercules quickly came to her aid. She graciously took his hand and pulled herself up, noticing the slight blur in her vision.

Ares looked from Xena to the gates. After seeing that 'Jerkules' helped Xena to her feet, he approached them. He slowly reached towards to handle, only to see a spark extend to his hand. He quickly pulled his hand to his chest, feeling the shock run up his arms. Xena and Hercules were now standing behind him as Joxer stumbled up the staircase. Hercules extended his hand to the handle only to see another spark. "What is going on here?" Hercules' voice questioned.

Ares glanced back at his half-brother. "I guess my dear sis doesn't want visitors." He started to make his way down the stairs, only to be pulled back by the collar of his vest. He was now mere inches from Xena's face. "Oh, no you don't Ares. Call Athena. Now!"

Joxer hesitated before he spoke, "Um, Xena, Athena and Ares aren't the 'best' of friends. Why would she even bother to come?"

Ares shook his head, "The fool is right. What makes you think she'd come if I called? You'd have better chances with Jerkules over there."

"Oh, she'll come!! Trust me." Xena's face twisted into a very menacing look that frightened the former god. "Mostly due to the fact that you will be begging her to get down here."

Ares' face was full of shock, "You wouldn't." Xena smiled sweetly back at him.

"You would? Xena I happen to be the one that saved your friend from a pit of lava."

Xena's face showed no emotion. "It's your fault she even jumped into the pit!" The volume of her voice slightly rose towards the end of the sentence.

Ares had no intent of moving or saying anything. "Ares." Xena growled. Her face grew dark.

"Fine!" He really didn't feel like possibly having any of his anatomy removed by her chakram. Ares moved out of Xena's grasp and looked around to make sure no other mortals were in sight. "Oh…Great…" He bit his tongue and the word came out through clenched teeth: "Athena." Nothing. "Please grace us with your presence." Still…nothing. He tasted a sticky substance in his mouth, knowing he had bitten too hard on his inner cheek, causing it to bleed. "Even as I am not..not…wor..thy of your…divine…presence."

Gold sparks signaled the appearance of the goddess at the bottom of the steps. Her smile showed that she gloried in her victory. "Why, Brother, I never knew you felt that way." Ares rolled his eyes.

"Cut the crap, Athena! I want Gabrielle now." Xena's voice was low and demanding. She wasn't about to let some supposed goddess of wisdom take her friend without a fight.

Athena's expression was blank. "She's in there." Xena followed her gaze to the temple.

Hercules finally spoke up, "Well, then, why don't you go and get her for us? Then we can just be on our way."

Athena's look held some dismay in it. "I can't."

Xena rose an eyebrow and insisted on an answer, "What in Hades do you mean, you can't get her out? You're a goddess, for Zeus' sake. Get her out of there. NOW!"

"I CAN'T!! Don't you get it? Don't you think I would normally appear in front of my temple rather than in it? Who do you think I am? Gabrielle isn't the only one in there. Trust me, if I could, I'd get them both out."

Ares' attention peaked, "Who else is in there?"

Athena's eyelids fell as she spoke, "Nike." She opened her eyes to bore into Xena's. "When I originally talked to Gabrielle, she told me she had to do something and that she would meet me here." Athena gestured up to the structure. "I figured she could take care of herself, considering Ares' predicament." Her eyes made their way to her brother. "When she arrived in the temple I sent Nike to greet her. I had an important matter to attend to, but it wouldn't take me long so I didn't find it necessary to put it off. To my surprise, when I tried to ether inside, something was blocking me. I've been searching my scrolls ever since, trying to get through that barrier."

Xena looked skeptical. "Why not just ask Zeus?"

Hercules answered her when both his siblings rolled their eyes. "You don't just ask Zeus to help you do something. He has made it very clear that if he does you a favor then you owe him one."

"So?" She lifted one eyebrow in irritation.

"You really don't want to get in Hera's way when she's mad." Ares smirked.

"Great! So basically we have no way of getting in. And let me guess," she turned to Athena, "You know nothing about this barrier. Right?"

Athena looked insulted, "For your information, I do know a little, just from tests. We can't get in, right? But neither can anyone else. And I have been able to get a sort of connection with Nike through one of the mirrors in my private chambers inside."

"What did she say when you asked her about the barrier?"

"That was the only problem – I could hear her, but she couldn't seem to hear me. She did tell me that the priest inside had been murdered and she was keeping an eye on Gabrielle."

"Well, it's better than nothing, Xena." Hercules tone was hopeful, "At least we know Gabrielle will have Nike to help her."

Athena started to speak again, only to be cut off by Ares. "Um.. How do we know that this is not just some joke by another god on Olympus? I mean, it's perfectly explainable. You know, Athena, you aren't the most popular person on Olympus."

Athena interrupted, annoyed by Ares' remark. "This thing wasn't conjured by any of the gods on Olympus. I know that. It would have been possible to break it by now. Not to mention whatever this is that's blocking us is moving." As soon as the rock appeared in her hand it went flying into the air towards the temple. As it hit the invisible force, the ground showed a thin yellow spark that went along a line that moved back and forth. She focused on Xena again. "It seems to be somehow alive."

Xena looked at the rock for a while and finally looked at the goddess again. "Athena…Gabrielle and I have a very strong bond. Maybe I can reach her through that mirror." "I…" The Goddess hesitated for a moment, but mostly out of respect for the warrior princess and - even though she'd rather die than admit it - because Xena was currently watching her now-mortal brother's back, she nodded her head. "Follow me."

Xena, Joxer, Hercules and Ares followed Athena towards another large temple. "Demeter's temple?" Ares asked.

Athena cast him a wry glance. "Yes, something the matter with that? It was here I had some business to conduct when…well, when that thing took over my temple. Demeter was so kind as to lend me one of her mirrors to see inside my temple."

A shy Joxer took a step forward. "I…are these regular mirrors? I mean…could you use just any mirror to do that?"

Ares rolled his eyes, but at Athena's – and not to mention, Xena's – stare, he kept quiet. "No." The Goddess explained. "They're not. But the explanation will take too much time and I'm afraid time is not what we have…"

Finally, the five of them reached the mirror and saw Gabrielle and Nike sitting on the bed, the bard happily chatting away about one of the many adventures she had shared with the warrior princess. A small smile crossed Xena's lips as she noticed the enthusiasm with which Gabrielle told the story about the three titans she had set lose and how they thought she was a goddess. Chuckling, the bard added that it was ironical, seeing she now indeed was a goddess.

"Can I just speak into that mirror?" Xena asked.

Athena nodded her head. "Yes. Normally. But I told you, I tried…to no avail."

"Hmm. Thanks." Xena took a deep breath and tried to clear her thoughts. The only thing she focused on was Gabrielle. They had gone through a lot of things together and if there was one time Xena needed their almost psychic bond, it was now. Very quietly, she whispered Gabrielle's name. "Gabrielle…Gabrielle." But there was no answer. The bard just kept on talking and Nike sat there with a small smile, gasping from time to time when the story turned exciting. Not wanting to give up yet, Xena tried again, a little harder this time.

"Gabrielle…Gabrielle!" A hand touched Xena's shoulder. Ares.

"Xena…she can't hear you. At least now you've seen with your own eyes she's safe."

"No!" Xena pulled away from his touch. "No, damn you, Gabrielle! Answer or I'll…" Then suddenly...

"Shh. Nike...I heard something, didn't you? Xena? Xena, are you…are you there?"

5 pairs of startled eyes looked at the mirror and saw Gabrielle standing up, gently touching the mirror's surface as if it was somehow alive and going to bite her.

"Gabrielle?" Xena said hopefully.

"Xena! So it is you!"

Xena gulped back the tears that were forming – Gabrielle was really alive, talking to her this very minute.

"Xena, you're all right? What is happening? I'm stuck here in this temple, and –"

"I love you, Gabrielle."

There was a brief pause, and then, "I love you, too, Xena."

Athena, never one for mushy exchanges of affection, coughed. She whispered discreetly, "Xena, we haven't got much time. The connection could break off any minute –"

Xena raised her arm to silence the goddess, and then, sighing, spoke again, into the mirror: "Gabrielle, are you all right?"

"Yes, Nike and I are fine."

"Do you have any idea what's blocking the temple?"

"No. We were in here and there was a flash of light, and then we tried to go outside to see what it was, and – we couldn't. When Nike touched the door handle, it was as if she had been struck by lightning. She was injured a little bit, but she's okay now."

Xena's eyes widened in horror. "Gabrielle, you didn't –" realizing this was the first time she had mentioned her new powers to Gabrielle, "you didn't heal her, did you?"

Gabrielle spoke, a trifle indignantly, "No, Xena, of course not. I haven't used my powers at all." And after a pause: "So you already know about that?"

"Yes, Ares told me. Listen to me. We are going to get you out of there. Just sit tight and we'll think of something. You've got another goddess of war, a half-god, an ex-god, and me on your side."

Joxer, never one to be overlooked, piped up, "And Joxer the Mighty!"

Gabrielle couldn't hear him, but she chuckled at Xena's words. Suddenly, the light in the mirror began to shift, and then all went dark. Suddenly afraid, she grabbed Nike's hand and fled the room quickly.

Still in Demeter's temple, Xena cried out, "Gabrielle? Gabrielle!" She paused for a moment, attempting to listen, and then muttered, "Damn! She's gone."

x x x

Half an hour later, the group was assembled again in front of Athena's temple.

Athena and one of her captains were deep in conversation, no doubt drawing up contingency plans in case Dahak should somehow enter the mortal realm or Olympus. Even if Zeus was Tartarus-bent on wasting his efforts chasing down his useless and so-not-worth-bothering-about son, she would be prepared for a full-on invasion. She wasn't going to take any crap from Dahak.

Joxer, in the meantime, was practicing looking "menacing" by repeatedly removing his sword from his scabbard (always somehow narrowly escaping slicing off his fingers in the process) and waving it in the air at some (mercifully) imaginary opponent.

Ares was alternating among looking askance at him, glaring daggers at Hercules, and making what can only be described as puppy eyes at Xena, but only when she wasn't looking.

Hercules and Xena were speaking privately, discussing their best options. Hercules clearly couldn't keep his eyes off Xena, and once or twice he touched her shoulder almost caressingly. If Ares had still been a god – suffice it to say

it's a good thing he wasn't.

When they had returned to the temple earlier, Xena had flung her chakram not once, but eleven times at the invisible moving barrier in front of the temple, but to no avail. There was just something creepy about the whole thing. Something creepily familiar, in fact, if only Ares could remember what it was.

Then he realized that something was missing – his medallion. It had been given to him, oh, eons ago by Zeus, back before he started treating him like an outcast. Ares still wore the medallion, mostly because it went with his look, but also out of habit, because he'd had it for so long – he could barely remember the story behind the silly thing.

But he wondered where it had gone. He hadn't taken it off, not even to bathe. Come to think of it, he didn't remember having it on that morning. He had been so bowled over by the events of the previous night that – Oh, shit. Just then, he knew that Seraphin had taken in from him while she . . . well, anyway, it was gone, and nobody else had had any reason or opportunity to take it.

He struggled in vain to remember the whole story behind the medallion. There was some secret magic in it that only someone with godly powers could wield. He wasn't much into big, elaborate spells – fireballs and the occasional changing his appearance to look like someone else – that was about the extent of his repertoire. It hadn't been much use to him since he had been mortal, not that he had ever really used it, anyway. Except. Except that one time.

He and his cousin Apollo, the annoyingly shiny one, had been teenagers at the time. They liked to occasionally venture outside of Greece and whoop it up and party with foreign gods. Zeus never got mad when they trashed their temples, and sometimes Olympus could be a bit stifling for two young gods just looking to have a good time.

Once, though, the pair had gotten into more trouble than they had bargained for. They were visiting Sumeria, and had accidentally offended one of the major gods there. Normally, there would've been an exchange of energy-filled balls of radiation, a village would be blown to bits, and then the whole thing would just die down. But this god had taken the insult personally, and refused to let it go, so he imprisoned Ares and Apollo in his hall of mirrors. For all eternity. Some gods just didn't know how to take a joke.

They had wandered around for about two months in the ridiculously elaborate and reflective maze, and had made many vain attempts to smash the mirrors and break through into the outside world. Ares, getting fed up with his companion and his white-and-gold-lamé outfit, took off his medallion (as it was the only projectile he could find) and threw it at him – or what he thought was him. Suddenly, the image of the Sun God before him shattered, and he was facing broad daylight. The two of them wasted no time in getting out of there after that, except that Ares stooped to pick up his medallion on the way.

After that, he had kind of forgotten about it – he rarely needed such things, being a god, and he and Apollo were much more cautious about traveling outside of Greece after that for quite a long time. In fact, they didn't speak to each other for a century.

Clearly, the medallion held some special power that Hope . . . or Seraphin . . . had been eager to get her nasty little claws into. Could it be that she had taken the medallion in order to prevent him from getting into the temple? Or did she have some other, even more sinister purpose in mind? Either way, he knew he had to tell Xena about it.

Xena and Hercules were still assessing the situation, when Ares hesitatingly stepped up to them. Xena looked at him inquiringly; Hercules, with thinly-veiled annoyance. Xena could tell that something was troubling him, but he was frightened of something, as well. Did he still know something about this that he wasn't telling her?

Ares cleared his throat, then spoke: "Xena, I just realized that . . . my medallion is missing."

"Yeah?" She instantly looked less interested. Surely he wasn't going to ask her to help him find his necklace when Gabrielle was trapped in the temple . . . ? Still, there seemed to be something important on his mind.

"My medallion . . . It has some kind of magic powers. I think Seraphin took it last night when she . . . you know." Xena waited for him to go on, with slightly more interest now.

"I think she might be planning on using it against us. Or maybe she took it to keep us from getting to Gabrielle."

Xena grabbed Ares by the inside of his vest and pulled him within an inch of her face. "So this medallion of yours has the power to get through that barrier into the temple?"

Ares now looked into her eyes and realized that she wasn't angry with him, just excited. "I don't know, Xena – I only used it once. But it had the power to break through the spell of a foreign god then. It might work against Dahak."

After a moment, Xena released him, as if only just realizing how close they were. She turned around, called over to Joxer, Hercules, and Athena. "Come on."

"Where exactly are we going?" Joxer asked.

"To find Seraphin. We're gonna hunt that bitch down."

x x x

Gabrielle poked at the elegant furnishings in Athena's temple irritably. Every so often, she'd sigh, walk to the mirror through which she had last spoken to Xena, and touch the surface, as if she hoped it would let her through. Finally, Nike was fed up.

"Just let your friends figure out a way to get us out of here, Gabrielle. Fidgeting won't get you anywhere. Just be patient and trust in the great goddess Athena."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Gabrielle said darkly, and gave the mirror's guilded frame a light kick. "I just wish I could see what's happening."

Nike peered at the mirror. "I think you can. If we can receive messages, we can probably receive images, too. Here, I'll try." She stared into the surface, her face furrowed in concentration.

"I see a ripple!" Gabrielle leaned forward eagerly when the mirror's surface dissolved into an image. A very close, very vivid image of a body that was very male and very naked. Letting out a shriek, Gabrielle knocked the mirror over backwards, and it shattered into thousands of pieces.

Sheepishly, Gabrielle glanced at Nike. "Sorry."

"Good thing it's magical. Come on, help me reassemble it."

"Oh. Fun," Gabrielle said wearily.

"I wonder who that man was."

x x x

That man glowered at a smirking Xena. "I don't see why I have to be bait."

"Because Seraphin was obviously interested in you, though the gods know why. Now take your hands away from there and get into the water."

"Why do I have to be naked?"

"You're pretending to be taking a bath, aren't you? Besides, it's a good look on you."

"What?"

"Nothing." Belying her words, Xena's eyes slid down Ares' chest.

He moved quickly. Before Xena could flinch, he was right in front of her, a hand on the back of her neck, another at her waist. "You like what you see." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.

Gods, the man was seduction incarnate. She willed herself not to sway as she was hit by the heady scent and heat of his body and escaped his grasp when he leaned forward. "You really do need that bath," she said, waving a hand through the air between them. She grinned, but she knew it looked fake.

Turning, she vanished into the trees. Stupid, stupid, she berated herself. Of course she knew that she was attracted to Ares, but that didn't mean anything. Plenty of attractive men in Greece. Granted, none of them had Ares' intensity and—she growled. She shouldn't even have time to be considering this. Freeing Gabrielle came first. She just had to concentrate and, once she had Seraphin, make sure he never took his clothes off again.

In control. Yeah. That's her.

"Xena!" Hercules' voice cut through her jumbled thoughts. "We got her!"

Roused, she realized that she was much farther away from the river than she was supposed to be and, cursing a blue streak, whipped off back towards Hercules' voice.

"She just walked in!" Joxer reported when Xena returned, "like she knew we were here!"

"Seraphin," Xena said calmly, "where's Ares' medallion?"

The petite blonde only smiled a smug, unconcerned smile.

"Don't make me do this the hard way," Xena warned, unhooking her chakram with a hand. Then, she hissed with pain as it was yanked from her hand, slicing her palm and embedding itself into a tree when Seraphin narrowed her eyes pointedly.

Xena glanced between the still-quivering chakram and Seraphin, wide-eyed, and Ares scrambled for his weapons.

"Hope," Xena breathed.

At Xena's glare, Hope smirked, "What, Xena, didn't you miss me?" Her eyes focused on the blood dripping from Xena's wounded hand, as Hope took a confident, relaxed step forward.

And was met by Ares' stony gaze, sharp sword, and now clothed body. If anything, he looked less thrilled than Xena. "Hope," his tone made it clear that all bets were off. Resurrections tended to constitute loopholes in any contract, in his book.

Laughing, Hope stepped forward, "Don't fool yourself, Ares. Mortality isn't a good look for you. Neither is dead." Xena's eyes darted between the two, uninjured hand clenched around her sword hilt, but Ares didn't take the expected step back.

Her reappearance, brazenly donning his medallion, had given him a solid push to action. "Really? Because I'm thinking that dead is just so much more your color."

Frustrated by his firm stance and harder look, Hope paused mid-step, letting out an odd noise, reminiscent of the child she had once been, "Urghhh," her eyes narrowed, but she paused a minute.

Enough time for Ares to step to one side, and Xena to run at her from the other, kicking her feet out low and knocking Hope to the ground.

Not giving the girl-goddess-monster time to recover, they kept moving, trying to limit the chances of her getting a firm lock on either of their weapons, while Xena let out a sharp whistle to signal Hercules into the fray.

Hope recovered, eyes focusing on something other than the two mortals, and Xena's chakram retracted itself from the tree, and into Hope's waiting hand.

Now wearing one opponents literal medallion, and the other's symbolic one, Hope smirked.

Xena's eyes narrowed.

Ares lunged forward, his sword just nicking Hope before she threw him back, spinning, only to face Xena's high kick on the other side. And then... Hercules came barreling into the fight.

Glaring cross-eyed at two pieces that should have fit, but simply didn't, Gabrielle was beginning to weigh the pros and cons of using her newly acquired powers.

Con: Imminent death when her powers set off the radar for Dahak's spawn. Another con: potential lingering sense of Ares in using his powers.

On the upside, however, with the creepy mystical force that held her trapped in Athena's temple, with Nike, it was possible that the imminent death might take some time.

And the mirror would be reassembled.

Nike shot her a look, as if the goddess could sense her thoughts. Which, maybe she could. Gabrielle wasn't sure how all that worked anymore. "What?"

Sliding a piece of mirror together, and carefully sorting through the remaining pile for the next, Nike needlessly pointed out, "Focus on the mirror."

Gabrielle sighed, "I bet Xena's doing something a lot more exciting than this..."

x x x

Caught off-guard by the appearance of the third player, Hope turned to meet his body check, leaving her back exposed.

Back on his feet, Ares swept forward, hands moving to cover Hope's eyes while she was out of breath from Hercules' attack, betting on a vague idea that her new body might not be as powerful as the old.

Seeing their opportunities, Hercules struck out, catching Hope with a firm punch to the side, then ducking to avoid the loosed chakram in his direction.

The whizzing stopped.

Hand closing around her weapon, uncaring of the blood that was staining it crimson in the light, Xena advanced.

Struggling wildly, Hope finally threw Ares off and sent him hurtling into the trees, only to find the bloody edge of Xena's chakram against her throat. She stilled when a tentative push with her powers caused the chakram to wobble disturbingly closely to her throat, but not budge beyond that.

"Well?" Hope glared up at Xena. "Kill me. Kill me like you wanted to ever since I was born. See how you'll explain this one to mother."

A flicker of doubt appeared in Xena's eyes, and Joxer cried hurriedly, "Gabrielle knows that you have to be stopped! She knows what's right more than anyone I know!"

Hope smiled nastily. "But can I be stopped? You know what happens, Xena. Kill this body, I take another one; kill that body, I move to another... You can't win against me. I'll always be one step ahead. And you know what? I just had the most brilliant idea. I know where I can get my face back." She paused to let her meaning sink in. "So kill me. See who gets to the temple first. You can't get in. Only I can break my magical shield---Ugh!"

Hope had plunged her own dagger into her chest. She withdrew it, smirking triumphantly, and whispered, "See you soon, Auntie Xena."

Xena reached forward with a growl of frustration and ripped the medallion they had been seeking from Hope's neck. Tossing it to Ares, she launched herself onto Argo's back, her cry of "Let's go!" ringing through the clearing.

x x x

"Yes!" Gabrielle crowed in triumph and stood back to let Nike lift the reassembled mirror back into its stand. "Ok, let's see what Xena's up to."

Her last words were drowned out by a thunderous banging outside the temple. Gabrielle and Nike exchanged a worried look, and the banging morphed into a sound more like splintering and shattering. Finally, the cacophony subsided, and as Gabrielle watched, the temple doors shuddered and toppled inwards in a cloud of dust.

"Mommy?" said a young voice.

Gabrielle blanched. The last time she heard that voice...

"Mommy, she hurt me!" A little figure ran towards Gabrielle and wrapped its arms around her waist, burying its blonde head in her stomach.

"Who did? Xena?"

"Yeah. She ran towards me with her chakram, and..." Hope raised her head, the transparent flesh shrinking from her face until all that was left was a blood-soaked skull.

"She killed me," she whispered.

Gabrielle pushed Hope's arms off and backed away, her face a mask of horror. "Hope? What...?"

"She killed me, Mommy." Hope stared from her hollow eyesockets and advanced, her mouth frozen in a permanent grin. "She killed me, and now..." Her voice rose into a banshee's scream. "I'm taking you!"

The figure leapt for Gabrielle's throat, and Gabrielle brought her hands up instinctively.

"Noooo!" Gabrielle's yell was drowned out by Hope's scream as she was pinned in midair by an unseen force, and her feet began disintegrating into a fine red powder that was then sucked into the space between Gabrielle's hands. The disintegration process sped up until all that was left was the bloody skull, its mouth open in a scream that was cut off when the skull shattered and degraded further into red powder. The powder spun and swirled between Gabrielle's hands, faster and faster until it was drawn in on itself into a tiny point. It fused into a glittering, blood-red gem that spun slowly in the air.

Xena sprinted through the temple door, followed by Ares, Hercules, and Athena. Joxer appeared close on their heels, and tripped over the fallen doors in a crash like the tumbling of a wall of pots.

"Gabrielle!" Xena enveloped her friend in a tight hug. "I missed you so much," she said.

Tears appeared in the corners of Gabrielle's eyes as she hugged Xena just as tightly. "Not as much as I missed you."

Loosening her grip slightly, Xena said, "Hope was coming. She—" Xena sprang back warily. "She was going to possess you."

"She came," Nike said hurriedly. "She looked like a monster, and Gabrielle trapped her."

"Trapped her?" Xena's gaze fell on the still-rotating gem, floating before Gabrielle. "Gabrielle, what did you do?"

"I'm sorry, Xena, but she had to be stopped. I had to—"

A thunderous boom swept the ground, shaking the entire temple. Tapestries and weapons dropped from their places on the walls. Pottery shattered. Finally, the tremors subsided, and Xena picked herself off the ground, shaking off Ares' helping hand. "Gabrielle..." she whispered hoarsely.

Gabrielle remained seated on the ground, staring at the scintillating gem lying before her. "Dahak knows," she said, her voice as hollow as death.