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The Decision

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Xena was sitting there for a few moments after Gabrielle had left her side. The warrior was deeply worried about her, she didn't know what was wrong exactly but this was the worst she'd seen Gabrielle since the death of Perdicus. Xena bowed her head; there wasn't anything she could do at the moment, too many other things to take care of.

Xena turned to see Ares leaning against a tree. Xena shot him a cold look, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long… though it took you longer than usual to notice me. Trouble with your girlfriend?"

"It's not your concern Ares."

Ares pushed himself off the tree, "Sure it is… anything about you is my concern. You know, you really should be careful with her. She needs to know you care."

Xena scoffed, "Since when does someone's feelings matter to you?"

"Her feelings matter to you, your feelings matter to me, so what concerns you, concerns me."

Xena rolled her eyes, "I think I've had enough of you. Stay out of my life."

Ares smiled approaching the warrior, "I can't, I'm as much a part of it as the irritating blonde. I'm just trying to give you friendly advice Xena, you see, I know these things. She's struggling, and that makes her vulnerable to someone like me… you know that"

Xena bowed her head, "I can't do anything about that right now."

"Ah yes, the war, too busy fighting the war to do anything else. Now that's the Xena I came to admire over the years. The focus, the planning, the very lifestyle of war, course… you've been down this road before."

Xena shot him a cold look, "Enough of this, I've got a mission to carry out."

Ares shot his hands up in resignation, and yet couldn't hide his smile at the focus Xena was exhibiting with her role in this war as he said, "By all means Xena, get to it." Then he walked his way back to camp.

Xena mounted Argo and started off towards Callisto.

8

Callisto caught a glimpse of the bard off in the distance apparently weeping in the bushes. Callisto was about to ride up to her but behind her Xena appeared.

Callisto asked, "Are your men ready?"

"We'll be leaving the camp shortly."

"Good, we can't afford to lose the Centaurs and this action of Hercules presents a great opportunity to do some damage to Hercules as well. His Reinforcements are limited, that is our advantage."

Xena was quick to add, "Not as limited as you think. While you were in battle, I saw the banners of warlords in his rear. He's got some reinforcements."

"Is every armed man in Greece going to be in the upcoming battle?" wondered Callisto.

Xena nodded, "We're fortunate in a way that this war is playing out like this. A series of quick battles, if we're lucky this war will end as quickly as it begun. We could have been facing years of static combat with little overt battles and hundreds or thousands of skirmishes, like the Thessaly-Mitoan War in the north."

Callisto sighed, "Perhaps…" Callisto continued as she turned her head and pointed, "Did you notice…" she stopped herself, Gabrielle was no longer insight in the distance. Maybe she was seeing things.

"Did I notice what?"

Callisto lowered her arm, "Never mind, it was nothing."

Xena stated, "If that is all… I'd like to get going with the mission."

"I'm a little worried about the Centaurs and their feelings towards you. I'm sending Borias to join you. That should help with any troubles the Centaurs might try to give you."

Xena nodded, "Very well."

"Good luck."

"I make my own luck."

Callisto smiled at the reply.

8

Gabrielle had just managed to dry her face when a voice said, "Aww… are you sad? Big bad Xena doesn't understand does she?"

Gabrielle shot, "Ares… I don't have time for you, go away."

Ares sighed, "I would, but I've got business, you know, discovering who is behind Hercules, getting my place back on Olympus, that sort of thing. Not all that important really…. Stopping the war and all."

Gabrielle's eyes rose up, "And how are we going to do that?"

"Hercules power is the power of a god, and I don't mean his strength, I mean the one guiding him and driving him forward. You know and I know that what he is doing is not what someone like my brother does. Now tell me… has any former love goddesses come to speak to you recently?"

Gabrielle stared down at the ground, "I'd rather not talk about that…"

"She's right you know…"

Gabrielle shot a look of surprise.

Ares continued, "In a way that is. What happened to you in the world of Chaos and later with Brutus has changed you, you're not the same person Gabrielle, I know that, you know that, and maybe just maybe Xena might know that. If she paid attention of course…"

Gabrielle scoffed, "Are you going to try to talk me into becoming the head of an army too?"

"Far from it Gabrielle, I think that you need to get away from this, but you can't get away from it when it keeps coming for you, so you need to do something about it."

Gabrielle paused, "And that would be?"

"Take Aphrodite's offer…"

"You must be smoking opium."

Ares smiled as he took the bard's hand into his own, "I'm dead serious Gabrielle, but I don't mean become her servant, I don't want that and neither do you. That's counterproductive to your goal of getting away from all this war, and maybe finding some peace for you."

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, "But you want me to help her?"

"Not exactly, just join her camp. Think about it. That puts you right there in the middle of it all, you're with Hercules, and Selenta, you're in the inside of their camp, and you'll know what we all want to know. Who's the god pulling Hercules and Aphrodite's strings, and with that… one word to Zeus, a couple lightning bolts, some drinks, a couple ladies for me, and it's all over and you can go home… or wherever you want to go, so long as it's far away from the life of violence you've so recently led."

For Gabrielle, the most disturbing fact in all this was that Ares was starting to make sense. She tried to shake his words from out of head, but she couldn't. To get away from it all, an escape, one little task and she could be home free. It sounded too good to be true, "What of Xena and Callisto?"

Ares smiled as he leaned in, "If they knew what you wanted to do… they'd stop you, put you back to the medical tent, maybe even assign a guard for you own protection, just in case you might hurt yourself…"

"You intend for me to do this without informing anyone and thereby make it look like I've defected, that would hurt Xena and Callisto…"

Ares shook his head, "You're so worried about hurting them, that's commendable, and too bad they don't show the same concern. It would be nice if Xena thought about your feelings once in a while instead of the war. Can't help that she loves battle more than bards I guess.

"If you did this Gabrielle, it would be you who ended the war, and to think with all that guilt you're feeling for your actions in the land of Chaos, what a better way to cleanse that darkness by doing something that would save thousands… Gabrielle, the woman who saved a nation, nice ring huh?"

Gabrielle paused, "I… I…"

Ares stated, "I wonder how many children would get to see their fathers again that might have otherwise not? I wonder how many cities would be spared the fate of Athens."

Gabrielle gulped, finally she hand her head in resignation, "I'll… do it."