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Recovery
By: Lissia
Disclaimer:
Story's mine, character's aren't. Nothing to do with my other story. Takes place immediately after Sacrifice 2. NO SUBTEXT! Let me know what you think. Thanks and enjoy!
Chapter 1. Lost friends and enemies:
Gabrielle and Hope had just fallen into Dahoks fiery pit, Xena remembered screaming and stabbing Callisto, but nothing else, at least not at the moment.
She was in shock. Then she felt a familiar shiver go down her spine, before she could say a word, she heard, "Well, thank you Xena. You once again ruined one of my fool-proof plans. I hope that you are very proud of yourself." It was Ares.
Xena rolled her eyes and replied, "Shut-up, Ares and get lost. Go back to your little palace on Olympus."
Ares looked hurt by her cruel words, "Look I can see that you are really pissed with me right now, but I want to help. Zeus took away my godhood and the only way I can get it back is if I undo some of the problems that I created. I figured I could help you get Gabrielle back and kill Hope."
Xena gave him a bewildered look, but believed his story, "Fine you can come with, but if you so much as test your luck, I'll kill you myself," she told him solidly.
He looked a little worried, but managed a thin smile.
"Xena, don't forget about me," Joxer said running over to join them.
Both Xena and Ares winced at hearing his voice, but recovering quickly, Xena said, "Well. come on, let's get a move on."
At this they left Dahoks temple and headed north-west, with only Xena knowing their destination.
Chapter 2. Travelling:
They were walking in silence, Xena in the lead, Ares next to her, and Joxer taking up the rear.
Finally Ares broke the silence, "I'd think you'd be pretty happy, Dahoks been weakened, even if Hope isn't dead, and I've been considerably weakened."
Xena snickered then turned to him, "Yah it figures you'd think that and you would be correct, except..."
Ares cut her off saying, "Yah, Yah , Yah, I know, I know, that irritating little blond sidekick's dead."
Xena glared at him, murder playing her gaze, then she mounted Argo, doubled back and got Joxer who was still far behind and decided to pick the pace up to a trot, forcing Ares to jog.
They made camp in a small clearing. The three ate and then slept without saying a word.
Early the next morning, they set out on their journey at a walk, with Joxer loligagging behind as usual.
Xena thought it was way too quite and decided to ask Ares the question that kept popping into her mind, "Why are you always messing with me? You know that I won't come back to you, especially after your little alliance with Dahak."
Ares actually winced at the mention of Dahok, then shrugged and said, "Maybe because I care about you and I know that you still care about me. And, ummm, I'm really sorry about the whole Dahok thing, I was being a major jerk."
Xena was about to reply when she thought of something better, she hopped on Argo and once again doubled back to where Joxer was, but instead of helping him on, she told him something.
After a few minutes he nodded and started heading east while Xena went to catch up with Ares. He gave her a questioning look and she answered his unasked question, still on Argo, "I sent him to Potidaea, then Amphipolis, then he has to find Hercules and Iolaus. Now get on, I want to get to Gabrielle's tribe before nightfall," she extended her hand to him, but he moved back, "You okay? You're not going to try to kill me are you?" Xena grew impatient and snapped, "No, now get up here before I change my mind," she replied extending her arm further out to him.
He took her hand and she began to haul him up on top of Argo with her. As she was doing so she realized how gorgeous his eyes were and lost her grip on the saddle, falling right on top of Ares. He smiled through the pain of the impact, "Guess I'm heavier than Gabrielle, huh?" Xena just nodded, still mesmerize by his eyes, he looked at her and his smile grew wider, "Hey Xena, are you sure that you're okay? Cause one of your hands is mysteriously under my vest and the other, well, if you think about it long enough you'll realize where it is," he replied laughing a little. Xena actually blushed and retrieved her hands, then stood, Ares also got up, laughing over her bewildered look.
Finally Xena spoke, "You think that's funny? Well, how would you like to spend the rest of the day jogging on foot? And another thing, don't you ever do that again."
Ares shot her a look of innocence and then smiled devilishly, "I didn't do a thing. That was all you. Ya know, if you wanted to get closer to me, all you had to do was say something. But, of course you had to do things the hard way, and fall on me," he said casually draping his arm over her shoulders.
She violently jerked away from him and flipped onto Argo urging the mare into a trot, deciding that Ares could either jog or get left behind. As she rode, questions raced through her mind, how did that happen, what's going on, am I falling for him again? She couldn't come up with any answers, then she heard his voice, "Oh Xena, it's pitch black out here and I believe Argo's tired, she keeps tripping over her own feet, shouldn't we stop for the night?" She stopped Argo realizing that he was right and set up camp.
Ares tried to make small talk while they ate, but soon gave up when he realized that Xena was ignoring him.
The next morning Xena woke up early, before dawn, and decided to pack up what little they had before waking Ares. When she finished, she gently shook Ares until he woke up.
"Morning Already?" He asked groggily. Xena smiled and offered him a hand up, he took it cautiously and asked, "You aren't going to fall on me again, are you?" Xena laughed,
"Don't worry, I promise I'm not going to fall on you," she said, hauling him to his feet, but forgetting to step back, they ended up nose to nose. They were staring into each others' eyes and Ares decided to lean forward and kiss her, which she returned by wrapping her arms around his neck, then she pulled back slightly, stunned. She took a few steps back, grabbed Argo's reigns, and started down the road.
Ares jogged to catch up with her and not wanting to bring up what had just happened, asked, "If you were Hope right now and you were alive, where would you go?"
Xena looked at him wondering what he was getting at, "I would want revenge on Xena, so I'd go to my mothers' tribe of Amazons pretending to be her, so that when Xena arrived at the camp they would all kill her," she answered as if she had thought of it a thousand times.
Ares looked at her and nodded, then said, "I thought the same thing. So I used what was left of my powers to transport the Hinds Blood Dagger with a note attached to it to your little friend Epheny. I told them that if Gabrielle arrived that it wasn't really Gabrielle, it was Hope and that they must kill her immediately using the dagger, but they were not to burn her until Xena gave them the okay."
Xena looked a bit surprised, "You thought of that all by yourself? I'm amazed," she said jokingly. Ares looked hurt, then realized the nature of the comment and nudged her just enough to make her stumble into Argo, who was shocked by the impact and sidestepped towards the direction that Xena had come from, this time sending her into Ares, who caught her. By this time they were both laughing so hard that they couldn't walk and were soon gasping for air.
When they started walking again, they were both still laughing. Then came a voice from the edge of the woods, "I wish I knew what was so funny."
Both Xena and Ares turned, ready for a fight, but relaxed when they realized who it was. "Hi, Epheny. Did Hope come to the tribe?" Xena asked the Amazon Queen.
Epheny nodded, "Yes, and we killed her. Xena what's going on?" As they walked the remaining few miles to the tribe, Xena filled her friend in on all the details surrounding Gabrielles' death.
Chapter 3. Plans:
That night, they held an Amazon funeral fire for Hope, their princess.
"Xena, could I like go and check on Argo or something?" Ares asked while the Amazons held one of their typical funerals. Xena glared at him from the corner of her eye, "No," she said simply. "I am the only guy here and there are a bunch of half naked, man hating women dancing around," he whined.
"Tough," she said dryly, then leaned her head on his shoulder, he in turn wrapped an arm around her. As the ceremony kept going on and on, they stood there together, both wishing that they could leave this blasted funeral for Hope.
At the end of the ceremony Epheny turned around from her center platform as queen to see what she thought to be the funniest scene ever, Xena was leaning on Ares, who was leaning on a pole, both sound asleep. She went over and gently woke Ares up and asked, "Do you want to wake her, or should I?"
He glanced over at Xena and replied, "I'll take care of her."
Epheny rolled her eyes and walked away muttering, "Yah, I bet you'll take care of her." He turned to Xena, trying to decide how he was going to do this. He didn't really want to wake her up, so instead he picked her up and carried her to the hut that the Amazons were letting her stay in while she was here. He placed her on the little cot, then turned to leave when he heard, "Ares, wait." He looked over his shoulder, "Go back to sleep, Xena. We'll talk in the morning," he said gently then left the hut and headed towards his own.
Xena started after him, but decided just to let him go.
Ares was in his hut staring up at the ceiling trying to figure out what he was going to do about this little revelation between himself and Xena, when he heard a shrill scream coming from the direction he had come from only a few hours earlier. He rushed to Xena's hut and quickly entered ready for a fight, but saw no one there, except Xena who was tossing and turning in her sleep. He decided that it would be a good idea to wake her up, so he gently shook her and she popped awake, practically jumping to a sitting position on the bed. "You okay? I heard you scream and decided to come over to see if you were in trouble," said Ares putting a hand on her shoulder.
She looked at him, a painful expression in her eyes and said shakily, "Just a bad dream. I'm okay."
Ares wasn't reassured and sat next to her on the bed, "You want to tell me about?" He asked. Xena nodded, "Maybe it'll help if I got this off my chest. In the dream I saw Hope slaughter my son. I saw Gabrielle and Hope fall into the pit. I could hear Gabrielle's screams and Callisto's taunting words. That's when I realized that their deaths were on my hands. If I hadn't gone to Britannia so convinced on killing Caesar, then none of this would have happened," she said through sobs.
Ares was worried, he had never seen her cry, sure he'd seen her upset before, but not in tears. Wanting to comfort her, he put his arms around her and just held her. She put her head against his chest and cried herself into an exhausted sleep. He laid her back down on the cot and went to his hut where he finally fell asleep.
Xena awoke the next morning and after remembering what had happened the night before, she looked around the small hut for Ares. After realizing that he wasn't there, she got dressed and went to his hut. She walked in to find that he was still asleep, she gently shook him and he gradually woke up.
"What's wrong?" He asked sleepily. Xena smiled, "Nothing's wrong, it's time to get up," she replied. "Oh," he said sitting up on the bed.
Xena handed him his vest indicating that he needed to get dressed, then sat down next to him. "I want to thank you. Ya know, last night. I was upset and hysterical and you comforted me, you didn't take advantage of me although you knew you could have. Thank you," she said sincerely.
By now his vest was on and he was looking at her, she leaned over and gently kissed him. Xena pulled back, "You better get your boots on, we need to go tell Epheny we're leaving," she stated coolly.
"What?!? I thought that going to the Amazons was part of your plan to get Gabrielle back," he exclaimed.
Xena looked at him as if he were possessed and said, "Relax! This was just a stopping point. We're going to the Gateway to the Underworld. I'll pass through, while you wait on the shore. But, first we need to get the dagger from Epheny."
Ares was a little angered by the plan, "First of all I have the dagger, Epheny gave it to me last night. And second, you're not going down to the Underworld by yourself. I have the dagger, I'm coming with you," he stated.
Xena looked at him, the anger building inside her, "Fine," she said coolly.
In a matter of minutes they were on their way to see Epheny. They entered the queens hut and said their goodbyes. As they left they heard Epheny yell, "You're crazy Xena! Do you actually think that Hades is just going to let you waltz down there and take Gabrielle back? You are crazy! Here me Xena? Crazy!"
Xena just smiled and kept walking, then turned around, " I'll be back for Argo. Don't worry," she yelled to her friend. Epheny only rolled her eyes.
Chapter 4. Confessions:
They were walking down the road in silence, on their way to the Underworld. Ares finally broke the silence, "Xena, a few days ago you asked me why I was always messing with you. Now I want to tall you the real reason. Yes, I do care about you, but it is more than that. You're my life, my light. I love you."
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him, she could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't lying to her. She didn't say anything, instead she started walking again.
"Xena, Xena! Say something?" Ares yelled to her back.
She glanced at him, turned around, slapped him, then started walking again.
"Well, that went well," he said to himself, then started after her. When they made camp that night Xena still wouldn't talk to him, though he tried several times, all failed miserably.
That night she laid awake, she knew that she had hurt him really badly, but she also knew that he'd be off once he got his godhood back. It was better not to get attached, she concluded.
The next morning Xena gently woke Ares up. "Hi," he said. Xena returned the greeting, then added, "Umm, about yesterday, I'm sorry I was so harsh. I'm glad you told me, but we both know that when you get your godhood back, you'll have to go back to Olympus. We can't get involved with each other, it'll only end in heartbreak."
He looked at her gratefully, then asked, "Does this mean that you love me?"
Xena laughed a little, "You never give up, do you? But, yes, it does mean that I love you," she replied, laughter still in her voice.
Ares also laughed, then got a serious look on his face and replied, "When and if they give me back my godhood, I'm not going to leave you and forget about all of this."
Xena smiled and said matter-a-factly, "Yes, you will."
Ares raised his voice a couple of notches and said, "Look, Xena, I don't think you understand. I love you and nothing's going to take me away from you. Not my godhood, not Zeus, not even death."
Xena's face brightened, she ran over and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately.
Chapter 5. Traveling to the Gateway:
Xena pulled out of the embrace and Ares looked at her oddly, "What?!?" She yelled.
"I thought you said we couldn't get involved. If we can't get involved, then what was that all about?" He asked as her face fell into a disbelieving glare.
"I can't believe this! I kiss you and you complain! Look you convinced me that I was wrong." She explained, still not believing what she had heard.
"Okay , okay, okay, cool down my warrior princess." Ares said laughing.
Xena rolled her eyes and they continued walking.
That night they set camp as always, only this time, they were talking about whatever came up.
The next morning they set out on what was hopefully going to be their last day before reaching the gateway. Xena was silent and secluded, which Ares found strange considering that the night before she was talking more than the bard ever did. He decided to pry a bit and find out what was wrong, "Hey Xena, is everything okay? You're awfully quiet."
Xena was startled, "I'm fine. It's just after all that me and Gabrielle have been through this past year and then her sacrificing herself for me, I wonder if things are going to be different. I wonder if bringing her back is the right thing to do," she said sadly.
Ares put an arm around her as they walked and comfortingly said, "Things will be fine. Everything will work out just fine. You two are the closest of friends, I can't even break you two apart."
Xena smiled then continued, "You know, she is not going to be happy about you and me being in love."
Ares nodded, "Yah, I know. Look, once we get her back, I'll leave and I'll come when you call me, like, well, a puppy," he said smart-alecky.
Xena looked at him as if the furies had just driven him mad, "Uh-uh, not in this life time. You just said that you weren't going to leave me. Gabrielle will have to learn to deal with it, cause you aren't going anywhere," she said making herself as clear as possible.
He looked at her, smiled, shook his head, and then kept walking.
They stopped at a small stream to get lunch and some extra food for the rest of their journey, considering nothing grew any closer to the Gateway leading to the Underworld. After they ate and stored the food in their packs, they were off again.
"We'll be there by tonight," Xena stated.
"Oh, goody, I get to see Uncle Hades tonight," Ares replied.
Xena laughed, "No, we'll wait until morning, we'll need our strength to get down there, alive," she stated knowingly.
Ares nodded.
That night, sure enough, there they were at the lake, the Gateway to Hades' domain. After they ate, Ares turned in, but Xena decided to do a short work out. Finally after an hour she went to bed, laying her bedroll next to Ares and curling up in his strong arms.
Chapter 6. To the Underworld and Back:
The next morning, they got up and ate. "Time to go visit your dear, sweet, uncle," Xena said sarcastically.
Ares glared at her, "Let's get this over with," he stated dryly.
They plunged into the lake and emerged on the other side a few minutes later. "You two aren't dead," Charon said from his little boat.
Xena pulled out the dagger and pointed it at him, coldly saying, "Take us to Hades or die."
Charon blinked and in fear said,"All right, let's go people. I don't get paid per hour here, only by how many dead people I help get across the river Styx." They got in the boat and were off. "Okay this is your stop. Just walk up the stairway, he's in the first door on the right," Charon said instructively.
"Thanks," Xena and Ares said simultaneously. They walked into the palace and into the door that Charon told them he was in.
"Hi, Hades. What's up?" Xena said cheerfully.”
Hades said startled, "How did you and you get here?"
Ares smiled, "Charon wanted to keep his life, do you?" He said calmly.
"What--." Hades started, then stopped when he saw the dagger in Xena's hand.
"How 'bout it Hades, all I want is Gabrielle back, but if I have to kill you to get to her, so be it," Xena said, a bit of anger in her voice.
Hades was scared, "Now, now, no need to go and kill anyone, especially me. Bring me your friend from the fields and I'll restore her life. I give you my word as a god," he said shakily.
"Glad we see eye to eye," she said sweetly as they left his palace.
"That wasn't so hard," Ares stated. "No he wants to keep his pathetic hide alive, he'll do almost anything, as long as it keeps him alive," Xena replied.
They went through the gate that separated the Elysian Fields from the Palace and started searching for Gabrielle. They found her sitting underneath a large tree, writing a story.
"Hey, Gab, ready to go back to the land of the living?" Xena asked from behind her.
Gabrielle looked around at the sound of her friends' voice and exclaimed, "Xena! I knew you would come for me. Let's go, I want to live again."
Xena smiled, but Gabrielle's face fell as she saw Ares, "You! What are you doing here? Xena, what is he doing here?!?" She asked hysterically.
"I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes," Ares said, wanting to get away from the bard, until after Xena told her what was going on.
"Thanks," she said sarcastically, then turned to Gabrielle, "He's mortal and we're in love. So get used to it Gabby, because he's going to be travelling with us," she said roughly.
Gabrielle's eyes grew wide at her friends rage, then smiled shakily, "You can explain this in detail after we get back to the living realm," she replied. They ran to catch up with Ares, then the three walked back to Hades' palace.
"Okay Hades, time to deliver," Xena said, pulling out the dagger again.
He nodded, then moved his hand over Gabrielle's head, "Okay, there you go and I'll even transport you back to the living realm," he stated happily.
Just as he was about to transport them, Ares said, "Wait! Uncle, get dad to permanently suspend my godhood. My place is with Xena in the mortal realm."
Hades nodded then transported them back to the living world. When they arrived Xena through her arms around Ares and passionately kissed him, Gabrielle looked on in disgust.
Epilogue:
The next few days were spent explaining to Gabrielle what had happened after her death. It, took time, but she finally excepted that they were in love and there was nothing she could do about it.
THE END
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