Chapter 2

It had been four months since the tragic accident. Why now? Why was Ares suddenly offering her the chance to get her daughter back? It wasn't as if she hadn't thought of going to Hades herself, but considering Hades was one of the many gods after her daughter, she hadn't figured he'd ever be persuaded. Ares' sudden interest in helping her get her daughter back had only fanned the flame and sparked a raging fire in Xena. She wanted her daughter back, but she still questioned it. Was it right? Maybe Eve would be happier without her? She'd never have to know suffering. She'd never know the pain her mother knew. But what she wouldn't give to hold that precious baby in her arms again…

"Xena, I'm going with you," Gabrielle demanded. "If Hades calls his guards..."

"I can handle it, Gabrielle."

"I know you can, but I want to go with you," Gabrielle insisted. "Xena, you may have given birth to her, but Eve was my daughter too, alright? I loved that little girl as if she were my own, and I want to do whatever's possible to bring her back." Xena stopped and turned to her friend.

"Thank you," Xena whispered. "But I have to do this on my own. Please…try to understand." Gabrielle sighed, knowing this was hard enough for Xena.

"Alright. I'll make a camp…I'll wait for you."

"Thank you," Xena replied.

"Be careful, Xena." The two embraced, and Xena closed her eyes. "Please, just bring the both of you back safely."

"I'm going to do everything in my power to…"

"Xena, I know Ares and I aren't exactly the best of friends, but if he steps in to help you, don't be too quick to tell him to get lost. If he can help you get Eve back…"

"Don't worry, Gabrielle." Xena gave her a half-smile and another hug before turning and heading off toward the lake.

"Well, look who's decided to take my advice. Doing this your way, of course, Xena?"

"Leave me alone, Ares."

"Ouch," the God of War said a little sarcastically, before realizing what Xena was doing and why she was doing it. He backed off a little. "You're going to try to talk Hades into giving you Eve." She only stared at him. "Let me talk to him. Save yourself the trip."

"Oh no, if anybody's going to go after Eve, it's going to be me."

"Then let me come with you."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust you, that's why not." Ares flinched, and he heaved a heavy sigh.

"I can get you there faster. Save yourself the time at least, and let me take you." She glared at him. "That's right, you don't trust me. Well, if you want to swim all that way yourself and then deal with Charon, by all means…I'll just pop in on some old friends that might actually care for my help…"

"Wait," Xena said, exasperated. "Fine, take me there, but I'm doing the talking when we find Hades." Ares nodded, happy she was at least giving him a little room to get closer to her.

"And you still don't trust me?"

"Why don't you try to change my mind?" Xena asked. "Prove to me that your only goal is to get my daughter back and not some shameless attempt to get me into bed to give you a child of your own, and I might re-think trusting you." Ares seemed taken aback by Xena's words, but he said nothing. He only reached out for her hand. She eyed him cautiously before reaching out, placing her hand in his. She closed her eyes as she felt a surge of heat race through her body, and then she felt as if she were falling. She felt his hand tighten against hers. The ground was no longer under her feet, but in only moments, she felt hard stone beneath her boots. She opened her eyes to find herself standing in the foyer of Hades' castle.

"We might have to take the long way home. I don't have powers in Hades' domain, remember?" Xena nodded.

"Ah, Xena," came a voice from seemingly nowhere. Hades appeared before her before she could blink. "Ares, good to see you."

"I'd rather not even attempt pleasantries, Hades. We both know I'd kill you in a minute if you were mortal."

"It's nice to see you've still got some fire in you. I thought perhaps your daughter's death might make you a little lackluster in spirits…" Xena drew her sword and held it to Hades' throat, knowing it wouldn't even scare him.

"Alright, I guess you do mean business," Hades' pointed out. "What'll it be? Marcus? Solan?"

"Eve," Xena pointed out. "I want my daughter back, Hades." Hades looked at Ares.

"You put this in her head, didn't you?"

"Oh, it's been on my mind since the moment you and Athena took her from me." Xena sheathed her sword, and Hades turned his back, thinking.

"So you thought you would come to me, ask me to give your daughter a second chance, and risk the prophecy…"

"Don't bother. I know the prophecy was shattered when Eve died. She's of no harm to you, whatsoever. That's why she's in the Elysian Fields. If you feared her, she wouldn't be in your domain, or at least not where you've put her." Hades glanced at his nephew with a smirk upon his face.

"Too bad you aren't mortal, or I'd cut out your loose tongue," Hades pointed out. Ares just feigned offense but stood at Xena's side.

"You owe me, Hades."

"I don't owe you anything."

"Have you forgotten about the time I returned the Helmet of Invisibility to your hands?"

"I've been around for centuries, Xena. Do you think that one little moment could possibly make up for all of the scum you've sent to me since you've gone on your greater good campaign?" Xena glanced at Ares. It definitely must run in the family, she thought. She focused her attention back on the god of the underworld.

"She's one innocent child, Hades. She can't hurt you. She was too innocent to even know what was going on, and you murdered her."

"Murder's a very strong word, Xena. I was saving the Fate of the Olympian gods, as well as the fate of mankind!"

"You know, I really don't care, because all I hear is that you killed my daughter while she was sleeping in the same room as my mother. The prophecy is no more, Hades. Give me my daughter back." Hades was silent a moment, and Xena watched his every move. She was surprised at how silent Ares was being. Normally he'd have stepped in with some snarky comment, either to Hades or to her. She still wasn't quite sure exactly whose side he was on.

"I could let you have your daughter back, Xena," Hades finally said, "but considering all of the people you sent to me during your quest to save her, it's not going to be easy."

"I don't care about easy. I just want her back, Hades. She's my daughter, and I can't leave her here. She deserves to have a full life."

"What makes you think she's not happier in the Elysian Fields? She has family here, remember?" Xena's throat tightened up a little. She glanced at Ares.

"He's talking about Solan."

"Yes, Solan, the child you cannot save. How will you feel when you carry his little sister out of there and leave him behind?"

"Don't do this, Hades," Xena said angrily.

"You should have known your children would be together. After all, didn't you promise her that on the day of her birth?" Xena closed her eyes, her mind flashing back to holding Eve after her birth, promising her that they and Solan would be together forever. She opened her eyes and a tear slipped out.

"You know I'd do anything to have my son back. But you said yourself that if there was anything you could do…"

"And I still hold true to that. Solan was a good child, but sadly, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Xena felt her blood starting to boil. "You may see your daughter, Xena. But if you wish to have her back, it won't be as easy as you think."

"Of course not. It never is," Xena smirked. She looked at Ares.

"You go. I'll wait here and have a little chat with my uncle." Xena nodded, and she walked out of Hades' castle, trusting she would be pointed in the right direction. Ares and Hades, however, remained standing face-to-face.

"What's up your sleeve, Ares? Why do you care about some child that Xena's never going to let you near?"

"Maybe I want Eve back because I love Xena, and I know she isn't the same without her child."

"Oh come on," Hades laughed. "You? The God of War? In love with some do-gooder? There has to be an ulterior motive." Ares said nothing. He only looked right into his uncle's eyes. "You're telling the truth." Hades eyes' widened. "We knew you had a thing for her, but in love? Ares you don't know what you're doing. She's a mortal."

"With excellent survival skills," Ares winked. "Excellent fighting skills. Incredibly sensual…" Hades shook his head.

"Did you ever stop to think, Ares, that maybe Xena wasn't supposed to have a child? The son she has, she gives up, and then he's killed because of a child she should have killed from the moment it was born! And then she leaves her daughter at the wrong time to go on some little vacation with that bard friend of hers, and then she's…"

"Xena loved her children. Alright? You didn't see her after her son's death. She was so torn that I…" He actually stepped down a bit, his face fallen. "I was able to turn her back to my side."

"And this time?"

"This time she was empty," Ares replied. "No fire. No energy. Just a shell of a woman. I thought maybe she would come out of it in time, but she hasn't, and she won't. You never saw her with that kid. She was a fierce warrior, but mess with her kid and see it all come out. She had that fire in her again." He paused. "Alright. Maybe I am selfish. Maybe I wanted the old Xena back once, but now, any Xena will do. This woman is not the same Xena, and it's because of you." Ares glared at the other god. "Besides, I remember having a conversation with you long before Eve was ever born. You vowed not to hurt the child until you knew she was going to be a threat."

"Zeus and Hera are dead! I would call that a very big threat!"

"My father killed his wife, and my brother killed my father," Ares pointed out.

"Because of that child. If Xena had never brought her into the world, it wouldn't have…"

"Zeus was afraid of losing his control," Ares pointed out. "Hercules stopped him."

"You're not actually taking your brother's side, are you?"

"Half-brother," Ares cringed, "and no, I'm not. I'm just saying that if he hadn't stopped Zeus, Xena would probably have been killed. And I take that personally. I'm sure you'd feel the same if someone took Persephone away from you and never let her return." It was then that Ares knew he had struck a chord with the other god.

"Xena can have her daughter back," he remarked, "but she must first make a choice."