A God's Twilight, An Awakening XVII

by Frau Hunter Ash

Disclaimers:  

Ownership:  Repeat after me: I don’t own Xena, Gabrielle, etc.  I’m borrowing them for entertainment purposes, please don’t bother to sue me, you wouldn’t even get court costs.

Violence:  a little more than a typical TV episode.

Subtext/Alt Fiction/Sex:  the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship between people of the same gender and of the opposite sex.  If this offends you or is illegal for you then please leave.  Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed your laws.

Feedback:  always welcome and responded to!

Storyline: Gabrielle returns to the Amazon forest demanding to see Artemis and finds Aphrodite and a very angry Ares.  Xena and Hercules must try and rescue a captive Artemis and dying Gabrielle from the inner depths of Tartarus and spoil Ares’ plans once more.

The story can stand on its own but it is part of a series and you might want to catch some of the earlier parts to know exactly who is whom.

A Visit Home, an Awakening 1
 An Awakening, Discovery, 2
 Amazon Bonding, Awakening 3
 Healing, Awakening 4
Trial of a Roman, Awakening 5
Gladiator, Bard, Warrior, Mother; Awakening 6
Reunited, Awakening 7
Ides of March, Awakening 8
Children of Gods, Awakening 9
Even with Ares, Awakening 10
Settling with Brutus, Awakening 11
Darkness Awakening, Awakening 12
Amazons North, Awakening 13
Amazon Darkness, Awakening 14
The Wild Hunt, Awakening 15
Bard Scrolls, Awakening 16

Gabrielle moved through the forest with ease but as always with caution.  She had avoided three Roman patrols of soldiers within the last three hours after entering what was once the Amazon forest of her tribe.

As she looked at the last set of soldiers tromping down the trail below she smiled grimly.  Men never seemed to look up, especially soldiers, the Amazon Queen reflected.  It was one of the main strengths of the Amazons when they had controlled this forest, when they had been alive.

Gabrielle gritted her teeth and fought back tears that threatened to cloud her eyes.  She needed to stay alert for more patrols and not lose concentration because of her emotions.  The bard planned to grieve once more for her lost family but later, for now she needed to keep out of the hands of the soldiers.

Roman soldiers were one thing Gabrielle knew about.  Over a year spent as a Roman slave and gladiator had taught the young Greek what it could mean to fall into the hands of unethical soldiers, especially Roman soldiers.

The warrior bard was deep in what was once Amazon territory and waited for twilight before moving out of the trees and down to the clearing near the waterfall.  It had been a sacred site for centuries and it hurt Gabrielle to see signs that it had been discovered by the Romans and frequently used as a resting place by patrols.

Gabrielle spent the next candle-mark clearing away the brush from a huge boulder next to the river and building a small fire.  She sat down and made a pot of tea while waiting patiently for the moon.

Tonight was the crescent moon, held by the Amazons to be sacred to Artemis, patron Goddess of the woods and Amazons.  The bard waited until the moon had risen above the tree line and approached the boulder with a torch and placed it in the ancient iron holder embedded in the rock.

The boulder had been chipped by some magnificent forces in eons past and part of the rock had been snapped away, leaving a ledge like surface and a clean wall.  Centuries before Amazons had carefully and lovingly carved the image of Artemis into the flat surface wall of the rock above the ledge.  Artemis with her bow and a hunting hound at her feet, her bow forming the shape of a crescent moon.  The ledge had become an altar to the Goddess. 

Gabrielle retrieved a pouch and the two rabbits she had killed earlier in the forest and went back to the fire. The bard quickly pulled out a bowl and placed incense in it with a charcoal from the fire.  Next came a goblet in which she poured fresh spring water.  Then she placed the rabbit on the altar in the center and raised her eyes to the moon.

“Artemis!” the bard called softly.  “I offer sacrifice to you, oh sacred Goddess!  I offer fresh water from the sacred forest, incense of pine and herbs from your forest, rabbit from that same forest.  Come to me, Artemis!  I beg you to appear to me!”

Gabrielle waited patiently and fed more incense to the coal. 

“Artemis, I am your Chosen.  You picked me to be your Champion on earth and among the Amazons, even though I wasn’t born an Amazon and I wasn’t a warrior,” the bard continued.  “I did my best to protect your Amazons, my family.  All the tribes of the South, even sacrificing myself on a Roman cross to win their freedom and a new home.”

Gabrielle looked down at the bracers covering her wrist and covering the scars from the nails that had been driven through her flesh.  She could feel tears beginning to build in her eyes and angrily brushed them away.

“Artemis, I wasn’t able to protect them from the Romans.  Is that what you blame me for?  Is that why you won’t come to me, your Chosen?”  Gabrielle’s eyes snapped back to the moon above.  “Or is it my tainted blood?  Is it because I’ve been touched by Bacchus and carry his damned blood craving?” This time she couldn’t stop a tear from escaping her eyes.

“I’ve fought that Artemis, and I’ve won, mostly.  The craving doesn’t control me and I’ve never harmed anyone because of it.  Please, sweet Goddess, I want to see you!  I grieve for my Amazons,” the bard’s tears began to flow of their own accord.  “I miss Ephiny, Solari, Eponi, all of them so much!  Do you blame me for their deaths?”

Gabrielle pleaded to the moon and waited patiently for several minutes and then the bard’s shoulders slumped in dejection as her head dropped forward and she let the tears fall freely.

“Gabrielle!”

The bard was on her feet with sais in her hand before the voice had stopped sounding in her ears.  Gabrielle blinked several times at the figure standing in the clearing; it was not who she expected.

“Aphrodite?” the bard questioned.

The Goddess of Love wasn’t surrounded by her usual sparkle show of bright dust-like light and brightness and she looked troubled. 

“I don’t have much time, listen closely,” Aphrodite crossed the clearing quickly to the bard, her eyes darting around constantly.  “Artemis hasn’t forsaken you, she can’t come to you and you’ve got to rescue her!”

“What?” Gabrielle stammered.  “Slow down! What’s going on?”

“Ares has Artemis prisoner in Tartarus, none of the gods can interfere with whatever he has planned.  I’m not even supposed to be here,” the goddess said hurriedly.

“Why did he take Artemis and why can’t any of you do anything about it?  What about Zeus?” Gabrielle demanded.

The Goddess of Love screamed and fell forward and Gabrielle rushed forward the few remaining feet between them and caught the goddess as she fell.  The bard’s head snapped up and she saw Ares standing in the clearing, energy balls surrounding each hand and one was drawn back to throw one of them.  Gabrielle realized he must have hit Aphrodite with one. 

Gabrielle turned Aphrodite over and the Goddess of Love arched her back in pain, opened her eyes and glared at Ares.

“Damn you and your plots!” Aphrodite hissed.

“Dad told you to stay out of things!” he growled back and threw the energy ball.

The bard barely had enough time to roll with Aphrodite out of the way, taking herself to the ground along with the goddess as Ares released the other energy ball, keeping Gabrielle off balance.

“Stop it!” Gabrielle screamed.  “This is between you and me! Leave her out of it!”

Ares didn’t respond verbally.  Gabrielle was still trying to get up off the ground and Aphrodite had gotten to her knees when the God of War reached them.

The bard was shocked beyond belief and movement when he kicked Aphrodite in the ribs, lifting the goddess up.  Then he dropped her and the goddess landed heavily and Aphrodite groaned in pain, holding her ribs. 

Gabrielle scrambled to her hands and knees as another kick connected with the Goddess’s face and sent her head snapping backwards against the ground.

“Stop it!” the bard screamed as she tackled the god, taking both of them to the ground.

Gabrielle managed several good shots to his ribs before he recovered enough to throw a couple of good blows of his own to her jaw, the last one knocking the bard off of him.  Gabrielle growled and brought her foot up into his stomach and grabbed his leather vest as Ares dived for her and flipped him over onto his back.

Gabrielle quickly twisted around and scurried for her sais as Ares cursed under his breath, getting to his hands and knees.  The bard grabbed up one of her fallen sais and turned to face Ares again and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the energy balls surrounding his hands as he knelt on the ground.

After dying on the Roman cross Gabrielle had been brought back to life by her father, the Sun and Healing God Apollo, one of the advantages the god had given her was that she could hurt any god with any weapon or fist.  Almost demi-god status like Hercules.  What she didn’t have was the energy bolts or energy ball thing.

She also knew that she couldn’t beat Ares, God of War, in a fight.  The first time she had nearly killed him and she had also nearly been killed but she had managed to hurt him badly because of surprise.  He hadn’t been aware of her equal status with him.  Now he was and ready for it.

“I was hoping to get you out of the way without Xena knowing I was behind it,” he snarled and released one of the balls which caught Gabrielle in the ribs and sent her flying backwards to land heavily on the ground several feet beyond where she had been.  “Now I don’t care anymore, either way she’ll be mine.  If she won’t come back to me as my Chosen Warrior then she can come back to me when the lust for revenge grabs her!”

“Never!” Gabrielle muttered, wiping away blood from her mouth and braced herself for another energy bolt.

Aphrodite threw herself at her fellow god, knocking him over and sending the energy ball flying into the trees, startling a family of squirrels into fleeing their sanctuary and two ravens to take to the sky.  Everyone began protesting by cawing and chattering at the human and gods.

Ares cursed again as Aphrodite racked her fingernails across his face and then he backhanded her, sending her to the ground once again.  Gabrielle got to her knees and threw her sai as Ares turned to face her and felt some satisfaction when it embedded itself in the War God’s shoulder.

The bard rushed to grab the other sai as Ares cursed and pulled the other one out of his body and glared at her.  Gabrielle grabbed up her other sai and rolled out of the way of Ares throwing the other one at her.  As he rushed her, the bard kept the one in her hand this time and parried his sword strike at her head.

“What does Artemis have to do with this?” she demanded.

“I’m going to use her to force Zeus to undo what the Fates have done to me!” he snapped and backhanded the bard, getting around her defenses and he quickly followed up with a sword strike that knocked the sai out of her hand.

Gabrielle barely saw the boot that caught her in the chest and knocked her to the ground.  When her eyes cleared a moment later Ares was standing over her with his sword at her throat.

“What are you waiting for?  You’ve been wanting to do this since we met!” she hissed.

“No, not yet,” he muttered.  “I’m going to make Xena suffer with your disappearance!”

“Not again, you bastard!” Gabrielle snapped, taking advantage of his momentary distraction to kick him between the legs and knock the sword away from her neck.  The sword left a thin cut along her neck and left palm but the God of War was left clutching his groin after dropping his sword.

Gabrielle never saw the energy bolt leaving his hand as she reached for his sword.

 

&&&&&&&&&&&

 

“Xena!”

The warrior looked up from the blacksmith forge and frowned.  She was out from behind the work area in a flash and began pushing her way through the small crowd that was beginning to form around the figure standing at the town well.

When she got through to the owner of the voice, Xena was shaken to see Cupid standing next to the well with Aphrodite in his arms.  The God of Love was dusty, tear streaked and had smears of blood on his arms and chest. 

Aphrodite’s condition shocked Xena and the rest of the villagers, most of whom had never seen Gods before and certainly didn’t expect to see them in this condition. The Goddess of Love’s usual pink outfit was dirty and torn and the top, what little of it there was, was blood streaked.  Her hair was also filled with dust and matted and Xena couldn’t get a good look at the goddess’s face.

The warrior moved forward quickly as Cupid knelt at the well, lowering his mother to the ground gently.  Xena tried not to gasp at the sight of Aphrodite’s face.  The most beautiful face in all of existence was ravaged.  Dite’s right eye was swollen closed with a cut along the eyebrow and Xena thought might need a few stitches, her right cheek was obviously broken with another cut on it.  The goddess’s nose had been bloodied but a quick examination told the experienced warrior that Dite had probably escaped a broken nose but her lips were cut, bruised and bloody and it looked like she might loose a tooth.  A massive welt was forming along the goddess’ jaw-line as well.

Xena’s quick hands found the rising welt along the goddess’s ribs and Aphrodite moaned as Xena touched the area.  Cupid groaned in response to his mother’s pain, his eyes searching Xena’s face for answers.

“She’s got a couple of broken ribs, a dislocated jaw, a broken cheekbone and a cut along the eye that would need stitching if she wasn’t a goddess,” Xena answered.

“We can’t go to the other gods or goddesses, Xena,” Cupid answered, gently stroking his mother’s hair.

“Bring her inside, gently,” the warrior instructed.  She watched with a worried expression and winced at her moan of pain as the god lifted his mother into his strong arms.

Xena turned to the crowd.  “Okay, I know you haven’t seen this before but give us some room.  I’m taking them to my mother’s inn.  Silvus, could you please get the healer?”

The man nodded and moved off quickly towards the far end of town.

Xena led the god and goddess to her mother’s inn.

A candle-mark later Xena led a weary Cupid down the stairs to the tables while the healer finished stitching Dite’s broken cheek.

Cyrene, Xena’s mom and tavern owner, didn’t say a word about having the Greek God of Love sitting at one of her tables, his wings discretely tucked in behind him in the booth, although the muscular chest and arms were hard to ignore and he was extremely handsome.  Cyrene shook her head with a grin and sat down two mugs of port, understanding why the god had no problem in the love department nor the sex one either.

“What happened, Cupid?” Xena finally asked.

“I need your help and you need mine, Xena,” he said cryptically.

“What in Tartarus is going on!” she demanded again.

“Tartarus is exactly what is going on!” he growled, his eyes taking on a faraway and angry look.  “Let me start somewhere near the recent beginning of this mess.  Ares got Zeus drunk and in a good mood.  Ares got Zeus to promise that no Olympians could interfere with a plan of revenge he had against Gabrielle.”

He held up his hand to hold off the warrior’s anxious questions when Gabrielle’s name came up.  “Just let me explain, the time it takes to explain isn’t going to make any difference, okay?”

Xena’s eyes narrowed but she nodded slowly.

“The Fates got angry at Ares messing with Gabrielle’s fate and punished him.  He won’t say how but it must be major because he is one pissed off god.  He captured Artemis and is holding her in Tartarus.”

“Tartarus?” Xena questioned.

“Yes, none of us have any powers in Tartarus nor the Elysian Fields except Hades and his minions.  Since none of us can interfere and Artemis can’t escape, she’s stuck there,” he explained.

“Okay, how does that explain Aphrodite’s condition and why you can’t go to the other gods or goddesses to heal her.”

“Mom interfered,” he answered simply.

“With his plan against Gabrielle?  What’s happened to Gabrielle?”

“Mom and I have always had a soft spot for the two of you and she went to warn Gabrielle as to what Ares was up to and to say that Artemis hadn’t abandoned her.  Ares showed up and attacked them.  He beat up Mom and took Gabrielle,” the god said unhappily.

“Where is Gabrielle,” Xena growled.

“In Tartarus with Artemis, being held by Ares.”

“She’s not dead! I’d know if she was dead!” Xena snapped and Cyrene looked up from her position behind the bar with a concerned look.  Xena lowered her voice. 

"No, she's not dead.  Ares has bragged about that much.  He intends to kill Artemis unless Zeus reverses whatever the Fates did to him," Cupid explained.

"And Gabrielle?" Xena asked in a growl.

"He wants her dead or out of your life forever or both."

"Okay, I go in get her out and then we'll settle with him!" Xena stated firmly.

"It's not that simple," Cupid argued.  "I've already tried."

He shrugged and blushed slightly at the warrior's raised eyebrows.

"Hey, I may be the God of Love but I'm not a helpless wimp!" he protested.  "Mom and Artemis are... uh, they're very close and Mom is very fond of Artemis."

Xena's years of training as a war leader kept the surprised look off of her face but it wasn't easy.  This was one development between the gods that she was not aware of and hadn't suspected.  Could be interesting in the future.  Was that why the Goddess of Love had a "soft spot" for her and Gabrielle, as Cupid put it?

"Mom tried to use her talents to get Ares to release Artemis but that seemed to make him madder.  She tried distracting him while I went to Tartarus to try and get Artemis out.  She's being held in a specially built cell with no door.  The bars on three sides go into the mountain five feet deep and the back wall is the earth.  The bars were made by Haepestus."

"No normal tool or weapon can break or cut them," Xena muttered.

"Right, and we don't have any powers in Tartarus, only Hades and his minions.  He's the only one that can get in and out of that cell. Not even Ares can get in or out," Cupid complained.

"Why is Hades helping him?  I thought the deal was no interference from any of you,”  Xena demanded.

"We don't know.  Ares has something over him," Cupid shrugged.

"My chakram will cut through the bars," Xena assured him.

"Why would your chakram be any different than my sword?” he asked.

“I don’t know but it is.  I’ve gone up against weapons forged by Haepestus and my chakram was able to slice them in half.  I’m betting that it’ll cut those bars.”

“Then the trick is getting you in there and out without Ares and Hades stopping you, not easy for a mortal," Cupid commented.

"I have many skills." 

 

&&&&&&&&&

 

“Ares, damn you! Have you lost your mind?”

Gabrielle opened her eyes and groaned in pain as she took in a deep breath and quickly closed her eyes.

“Shhh, don’t move, Gabrielle,” the voice instructed.

The bard opened her eyes slowly this time and was careful not to move or breathe too deeply. 

“Artemis?” she whispered, realizing that she was lying in the Goddess’ arms.  Gabrielle glanced around and frowned.  “A cell?  Where are we?”

“Tartarus, deep below the Underworld,” the Goddess answered.

“What’s going on?” the bard whispered.

“I think my brother has gone mad.  He’s threatening to kill me unless Zeus makes the Fates reverse something they did to Ares.  You he just wants dead.”

“Terrific, what else is new?” Gabrielle complained and then groaned again as Artemis carefully lowered the bard to the hay covered cell floor.

A moment later Artemis held a wooden cup of water to the bard’s lips and Gabrielle drank gratefully.

“How bad am I?” she asked.

“A few good bruises and several broken ribs, that’s why you can’t move,” Artemis informed the young woman.  “If you move you could rip open the wounds to your lungs and collapse both of them and die.”

“They’ll heal quickly,” Gabrielle muttered.

“No, not down here they won’t,” Artemis responded.  “None of the gods have any powers in Tartarus nor the Elysian Fields except Hades and his guards.  Your god given healing powers won’t work down here.  Those broken ribs could easily kill you.”

“Can you bind them and keep them in place?”

“Of course, I was waiting for you to wake up.”

“Gods, this is gonna hurt,” Gabrielle complained.

“Yes,” the Goddess agreed.

 

&&&&&&&&&&

 

“Cupid?”

The God of Love looked up from his folded arms at the warrior, his face and eyes reflecting his weariness.  He sat up from Aphrodite’s bedside and quickly checked his mother and sighed with relief as the goddess slept on.

“She’s doing better,” the healer said softly as the young god stood and stretched.  He nodded and followed Xena out of the room and down the stairs to the common room of the inn.

“Thank you, Xena,” he said simply as Torris , Xena’s brother, set a goblet in front of the god and one in front of his sister.

“For what, Cupid?”

“Helping my mom.”

“Sure,” she shrugged.

“How long was I asleep?”

“A couple of candlemarks,” the warrior replied.

“And you’ve planned what while I was with mom?”

“I know of two entrances to Hades, one through a bottomless lake and the other is guarded by Cerebus, Hades’ hound.  I’m going to go through the hound.”

“Because you’ve used the lake before and Hades will be expecting you there,” Cupid reasoned and Xena nodded.

“You have to move fast, you know.  If Gabrielle eats anything while in Tartarus she’s doomed to stay there,” Cupid reminded the warrior.

“I remember the story of Persephone, so will Gabrielle, it’s one of her favorites.”

“That gives you three maybe four days before hunger drives her crazy,” Cupid frowned.  “Tell me something, Xena, why weren’t you with Gabrielle?  You now have the ability to hurt gods, Ares probably couldn’t have taken both of you on.”

Xena’s face looked pained and the warrior blushed.

“Gabrielle wanted to make the trip alone.  She knows how I feel about reaching out to the gods,” she muttered.

“You didn’t approve of her reaching out for Artemis?”

“I did approve but Gabrielle knows I’m not much for making sacrifices and chanting to the gods and she wanted to face her fears of Artemis having reject her.”

“With all the Romans around in that area?” Cupid demanded and Xena’s eyes narrowed.

“That was one of the fears she wanted to face,” Xena growled.

“Never mind, when do you leave?”

“Immediately, that’s why I woke you.  Is there anything you can tell me about where they’re being held or anything that might help get me in?”

Cupid sat with a thoughtful look on his face for a few moments and then shook his head.  “No, just that they are in the deepest level of Tartarus and you’ll have to get through Cerebus, Hades and then Hades’ guards to reach them and back out again.”

“I don’t have a choice, if she’s not coming back then neither am I!” Xena growled.

“And your daughter?  Who will keep Ares from getting her?” Cupid demanded.

“Hercules and Iolaus are her godparents and I’ve already sent Joxer to find them.  I know they’re visiting Iolaus’ family three villages over,” Xena stated simply.  “How does Ares plan on killing Artemis?”

“He found the Dagger of Helios,” Cupid whispered.

“Oh gods, what in the name of the gods did the Fates do to him?  He’s gone insane!” Xena exclaimed.

“I don’t know.  No one does and the Fates won’t say.  Whatever it is he thinks it’s worth taking on all of the Olympians when this is over,” Cupid frowned.

“He’s going to answer to me first,” Xena growled.

 

&&&&&&&&&&

 

“Here, Gabrielle, drink some water,” Artemis said softly, helping lift the bard up slightly to drink but the bard shook her head. 

“If I eat or drink anything I’ll be stuck here, like Persephone,” she protested.

“I have Hades word that the water won’t condemn you to Tartarus, only the food will. Besides you drank earlier.” 

“You trust him after he’s helped Ares in all of this?”

“We have to, without water you’ll be dead in two days.”

“What is going on?” the bard asked between sips of the water, praying to Apollo that she wasn’t condemning herself to eternity in Tartarus.

“The Fates punished Ares for meddling in your fate one too many times and now he wants to use me as a hostage to force them to take back their punishment,” Artemis explained.

“What did they do to him?”

“They took away his manhood,” Artemis grinned and Gabrielle grabbed her ribs and bit her lip.

“Oh gods, don’t make me laugh, damnit!” she growled.  “Ares? The God of War?”

“Yes, he can’t get it up,” Artemis grinned even wider.

“You said the Fates got tired of him interfering with me and Xena, I know about setting me up to be captured and sold into slavery by the Romans, is there more?” Gabrielle asked.

“Besides crashing your wedding, tricking Xena back into his bed, and the incident of trying to kidnap Sasha when you nearly killed him?”

“Yeah, besides those.”

“Yes, a lot more,” Artemis answered.

“Hello, Dancer.”

Gabrielle felt her heart skip a beat and moved her head enough to see into the main area outside the cell and felt herself go pale.

“Caesar,” she whispered and felt Artemis stiffen beside her.

“Glad you remember me!” the conqueror said cheerfully.  The would-be Emperor was dressed in Roman General finery of gold armor and purple cloak.  A richly designed and jewel encrusted sword hung at his side and a matching Roman dagger hung from his belt.  The handsome Roman held a bunch of grapes in one hand and with the other he began tossing grapes in the air and catching them easily in his mouth.

Gabrielle felt her body responding to the visual sight of food.

“Shouldn’t you be off somewhere being tortured?” Artemis demanded.

“Nah, I thought it’d be more fun to see my old friend Dancer,” he grinned, chewing on a grape.  He held out the bunch towards the bars.  “Would you like some, gladiator?  Champion of Rome and the Arena?”

Gabrielle clenched her jaw as her eyes blazed at the Roman.

Caesar, seeing the rage in the Greek’s eyes, threw back his head and laughed heartily.  “I must say it is good to see you, Queen of the Amazons,” he grinned.  “I never thought I’d beat you here.  That attack in the Senate was a surprise and then, just imagine my shock when I got here and discovered that you had actually survived the crucifixion!”

“Glad I surprised you,” Gabrielle snapped.

“Go find some Goths to torment or something,” Artemis growled, sitting down on the floor of the cell and laying Gabrielle’s head in her lap.

“But I like Gabrielle so much better!” he taunted, continuing to munch on the grapes.  “Just think of the fun we’ll have when these bars come down and you’re here forever!”

“Not likely!” the bard muttered. 

“Hey, you’ll have to share, Caesar!”

Gabrielle’s eyes widened at the sight of Brutus stepping out of the darkness.  Unlike Caesar, Brutus looked like he had in the last moments of his life.  Gabrielle could see where the sword had entered upwards from falling on his sword and the Roman General was still covered with battle grime of dust and blood.  The bard could also see where he had been spitting up blood in his final moments.

“Artemis,” the bard whispered.

“I’m right here, Gabrielle, and they can’t get in,” the goddess said softly, her eyes blazing at the Romans.

The bard coughed and Artemis wiped at the bard’s lips with a frown.  Seeing Gabrielle’s questioning look the goddess held up her finger and showed the bard blood.

“Guess I’m still bleeding into the lungs,” Gabrielle commented softly.

“Yes,” Artemis agreed with a frown.

“Hey, Artemis,” Brutus called through the bars.  “Come out here and you won’t be a ‘virgin’ goddess anymore!”

Both Romans laughed until Gabrielle thought they might throw up.

“Why don’t you two go fight each other or something,” she growled.

“No point of it now,” Caesar shrugged.  “We’re no longer fighting for Rome so there’s no reason to fight.”

“Well, he did stab you in the back, literally,” Gabrielle reminded the would-be Emperor.

Caesar shrugged and grinned at the bard and Goddess.  “That I can understand and applaud!”

Another coughing fit seized the bard and with it racking pain and then darkness.

 

&&&&&&&&&&

 

“Xena!”

The warrior rose up from behind the rocks and looked down at the clearing below.  She sighed with relief and pulled herself up further.

“Hercules!” she called and waved to catch his attention when he looked for the source of the shout.  He grinned and quickly scrambled up the rocks to her.

As he rounded the last boulder blocking his view he frowned and moved quickly to his friend’s side.  Xena was leaning against a large boulder and looked worse for wear with her armor dusty and dented and a large cloth wrapped around her thigh with blood soaking through.

The demi-god knelt beside the warrior and handed her his water flask.  Xena drank gratefully as the son of Zeus pulled the bandage aside and grimaced at the sight of the wound.

“What happened to your rapid healing abilities?” he asked.

“That is my rapid healing,” she responded with a grimace of her own.

“If you weren’t the daughter of gods you would have lost that leg already,” he commented, rummaging through his travel pack until he came upon a small leather pouch.  With practiced ease Hercules began cleaning the wound and dressing it properly.

“And I’d be dead,” Xena agreed. 

“What happened?”

“Goddamn hound of Hades.  He bit my sword in two, tried to munch on my chakram and took a couple of good chunks out of me,” Xena answered, revealing several bite wounds on her arms and one on her other calf.  “Dog has three heads and all of them are in a bad mood.”

“I don’t know of anyone that’s gotten past him, in or out,” Hercules commented. “Why didn’t you treat the wounds?”

“I dropped my pack down there and anytime I get near the ground the mutt comes roaring out of that cave after me.  With my leg like this I couldn’t move from up here,” she responded.

“Well, let’s get you on your feet and get past that overgrown monster down there.  Joxer told me what is going on.”

“We don’t have very long, she’s been down there a full day and night now.  If she gives into hunger and eats anything down there then she’ll be trapped forever!” Xena growled as the demi-god tightened the bandage on her leg.

“I know.  We’ve got to get in, get past Hades and his guards, break open the cell, get Gabrielle and Artemis back out through Hades and his guards and probably face Ares when we get back on the surface, that about it?” he grinned.

Xena grinned back at him.  “Yup, that’s about it.”

“Sounds like a typical day with our half-brother involved,” he complained and helped the warrior to her feet.  Together they leaned over the boulders and looked down at the entrance to one of the entrances to the Underworld where Cerebus waited.

“Any suggestions?” she asked.

“Well, drugs and poison won’t work against him.  You can’t distract him away from the entrance and he can bite through steel easily.  He’s not afraid of fire or loud noises like some dogs and the three heads think and act independently.  I can’t think of anything.  If we drop rocks on him then we’ll block the cave and it won’t kill him,” Hercules said thoughtfully.

“My thoughts as well,” Xena replied.

“I could handle one, maybe two heads.  I can’t grab three at once for you to slip by,” the demi-god frowned.

“What about lassoing one of the heads and pulling him up, that might give me enough time to get by him before one of the other heads bites through the rope?” Xena suggested.

“Might work, maybe even long enough for me to follow, you’re going to need help in there. Hang on, let me find a branch or something for you to lean on until you can put weight on that leg,” Hercules suggested.

“Okay, it’ll take a while to heal,” Xena agreed.

“And you’ll lose that quick healing thing of yours when you enter Tartarus,” the demi-god said as he pulled a fallen tree branch out from two rocks where it had wedged when it fell from a lightning struck tree.

“What do you mean?”

“All god powers are lost in the Underworld except for Hades and his guards.  That’s why Ares chose it to hold Artemis,” he informed Xena as he began stripping old twigs off the branch.

“Aphrodite thought Gabrielle might have been hurt when Ares attacked them,” Xena frowned.

“Then her god healing gifts won’t work either and she won’t heal until she’s out of there.”

“Damn!”

 

&&&&&&&&&

 

When Gabrielle opened her eyes again Artemis was wiping the blood from the bard's lips and offering Gabrielle water.

            Laughter and raucous suggestions caught Gabrielle's attention finally and she looked past the Goddess of the Amazons and saw several figures outside the cell.

            "What is this? Every single person I've ever pissed off?" she complained, looking over at the grinning faces.  Some sent chills down her spine.

            Rajal, the Arab sorcerer who had been had planned on turning her into a full bacchae and sacrificing several pregnant women in his dark spells. 

            Brutus, Casear, un-named bandits and gladiator opponents.

            "Menstratus?" she said softly, looking into the manic eyes of her brother-in-law.  The same relative that had almost killed Xena for some twisted idea of revenge against Perdicus' marriage to Gabrielle and his death at the hands of Callisto.

            "Yeah, I finally get you down here, bitch," he growled.

“I still don’t understand why you want me dead, you’re the one who helped Xena kill Callisto’s family and Callisto is the one that killed your brother Perdicus.”

“Because of you he was unarmed and weak,” Menstratus countered.  “I can’t wait to get my hands around your throat!”

            The bard's stomach rumbled as she took in a new addition to the cell she was sharing with Artemis.  A long table piled high with food of all kinds.

            "Can you get rid of that stuff since I can't eat it?" she asked as Artemis sat down with her back against the wall, next to the bard.

            "Can't, every time I throw it out it just reappears," Artemis said simply, glaring at the men and women on the other side of the bars.

            "Terrific, guess that's why people want to stay out of this place," the bard muttered, ignoring the yells and taunts from her enemies.

            "That's one of the reasons," Artemis agreed, moving to put Gabrielle's head in her lap. 

            "You didn't reject me?" Gabrielle asked softly, suddenly looking very young.

            Artemis smiled a sad and gentle smile at her Chosen.

            "No, my young one, I never rejected you," the goddess said softly.  "Not even with your Bacchae blood.  I never had a problem with that and I've admired your struggle against the darkness.  You are still my champion."

The goddess gently wiped a tear from Gabrielle's face and then more of the blood that the bard coughed up.

“Why did Ares kidnap you?” Gabrielle asked, trying to ignore the food and the men and women taunting them.

“I was going to challenge him over his involvement with the slaughter of our Amazons and demand Zeus do something about him,” Artemis explained, watching Gabrielle’s enemies closely in case any of them decided to try a knife or sword throw through the bars.

“He was involved with that?” Gabrielle’s eyebrows furrowed.

“And more.”

“How did he capture you and get you here?” Gabrielle whimpered with another coughing fit and swore horrible things she wanted to happen to Ares.

Artemis waited for the coughing to subside before answering.

“I was distracted at the time and he zapped me with two of those damned energy bolts before I could think clearly,” the goddess answered and Gabrielle’s eyes narrowed.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

The bard’s eyes widened when she realized that Artemis was blushing.

“I was preoccupied and didn’t sense or hear him quick enough.  Hades is helping him for some unknown reason and I woke up here.”

“You were distracted?  With whom?” Gabrielle asked and realized she had found the answer when Artemis began blushing even more.

“Does that matter?” the Goddess countered and Gabrielle smiled and shook her head ‘no.’ 

“I still don’t really get it,” Gabrielle complained.  “The Fates punished him for interfering too much in my life, so he takes you out and is going to ransom you to Zeus in exchange for undoing what the Fates did to him?”

“That’s about it, twisted isn’t it?”

“So, he figures he’ll just get rid of me along the way and hopefully twist Xena enough into a battle frenzy,” Gabrielle muttered.

“Yes and I don’t think he has any intention of letting me go even if Zeus agrees to undoing the Fates did, he wants us both out of the way,” Artemis commented.  “How’s the hunger?”

“Not bad, swallowing this blood is making me sick and not hungry.  I didn’t think blood would make me sick,” the bard said thoughtfully.

“Your own blood won’t sustain your blood hunger and you’re getting too much of it.  Even full bacchae can only drink so much before they gorge themselves into a stupor,” Artemis tried smiling for her Chosen.

“It doesn’t bother you that your Chosen is part bacchae now?” Gabrielle asked, her voice young with obvious nervousness. 

“No, I understood the circumstances and the price we all had to accept when Apollo brought you back from that crucifixion,” the goddess responded.

Gabrielle brought her wrists up and looked at the bracers covering the scars from where the nails had been driven through her flesh and muscle into wood of the cross. 

“Something I wondered,” she said softly.  “After the crucifixion, when you zapped us back to Amphipolis, why didn’t you heal the wounds and take away the fluid on my lungs?”

“The same reason Hecate or Apollo didn’t heal Solan’s eyes.  Even though you weren’t meant to be on that cross that doesn’t mean the gods like to automatically fix things.  The future is never totally set, Gabrielle,” Artemis said.  “Xena and Hercules are right mostly, humans do set their own fates for the most part.  It’s like looking at a map, if you take one road then you face this set of road choices.  If you take the other road then you will face a totally new set of choices that you wouldn’t have on the other road.”

“I think I understand that.  By allowing Solan to suffer with his injury and recover, he had to learn how to do things differently and so learned new strengths,” the bard commented.

“Yes, by not healing you it made you face the reality of how much you sacrificed for your Amazons and how close you came to dying.  The strength of that sacrifice helped you face the darkness of the bacchae in you and helped give you strength to overcome it.”

The bard looked away from Artemis and glared at the taunting men and women outside of the cell as the taunting got louder.

"Will you shut up!" the bard snapped at the figures outside the cell.

"Shhhh, ignore them," Artemis said softly as Gabrielle closed her eyes again.

"What happens if I die here," Gabrielle asked, wiping away a trickle of blood from her mouth.

"You’ll be trapped here forever.  The best I could hope for is that Hades would take you to the Elysian Fields," Artemis said simply. “I have no control over that, only Hades decides who goes where after they die.  He’s usually fair.”

"How long have I got?"

"Time is impossible to track down here but I'd say a day," Artemis said truthfully.

"If you get out of here, tell Xena I love her and not to follow me," the bard said softly and closed her eyes again, not noticing the tears running down the goddess' face.

 

&&&&&&&&

 

The two Greeks cautiously approached the cave entrance yards apart from each other. With an ear-shattering howl the Guardian of Hades appeared, all three heads howling and growling.  Cerebus stood in the center of the entranceway, all three heads watching the two approach.

"Will you be able to flip over him with that leg?" Hercules asked, a huge tree limb in his hands as a club.

Xena leaned heavily on the branch she was using as a crutch.  "I have to.  It's either that or I fall on my knife and get into Tartarus that way."

"Well, since I'm not going to let you kill yourself, I guess you'll have to make it," Hercules grinned.

"Draw him out and I'll lasso him," Xena grinned back, readying her rope. 

The warrior suddenly stopped and straightened up and spun, almost falling over with her injured leg.

"Hercules!" she yelled just as Ares appeared and attempted to backhand Xena.  The warrior was able to duck under his swing and punch him in the chest with the flat of her hand, sending him stumbling backwards several feet.

The God of War drew his sword as Hercules moved in with his club and Xena drew her chakram.

"Get out of here, Ares," Xena hissed.  "Remember, I can hurt you and right now I really want to!"

"I'm hurt, Xena," the God of War growled back.  "Is that anyway to talk to the father of your child?"

"You'll never be a father to Sasha!" the warrior growled.  "The only thing you're good for is dog bait!"

Both Hercules and Xena rushed the God of War, Xena parrying Ares' sword strike with her chakram and Hercules tackling him around the waist, both falling to the ground.  Ares retaliated with a blow to the demi-god's head with the pommel of his sword and he parried a chakram slash from Xena and forced her back.

Before he could gain his feet, however, Hercules retrieved the rope Xena dropped as he grabbed his half-brother again and pulled Ares back to the ground.  Xena kicked the sword out of Ares' hand as Hercules and the God of War wrestled.  Hercules threw the rope to Xena and the warrior quickly tied it around the War God's feet and yanked, throwing Ares off balance in the wrestling match.

Hercules jumped to his feet and grabbed the rope and began spinning it until Ares was suspended on the end of the rope, flying through the air by his feet. 

Xena moved closer to Cerebus and began taunting the monster dog while Ares shouted curses and threats that neither Greek had ever heard of.  Cerebus moved further out into the open as Xena got closer, each head growling and snapping.

"Now!" she shouted and stabbed at the far left head of the dog with her crutch-like tree branch as Hercules hurled the screaming God of War into the other two heads.  Xena, shouting her battle cry, flipped over the dog's heads as they chewed on the tree branch and the God of War.

Hercules smashed the one head of Cerebus that had dropped the tree branch and managed to slip inside the entrance to Tartarus as the screams of Ares filled the chamber.  The demi-god quickly grabbed Xena and threw her over his shoulder and began moving quickly down the passage.

"Put me down, damnit!" Xena snapped.

"We need to move quickly and you can't run," he growled.  Xena was surprised but pleased when he reached up and handed her Ares' sword.  "I prefer my fists,” he muttered.

"Do you know where we're going?" Xena asked, gritting her teeth against the pain in her leg and the discomfort of being thrown over Hercules' shoulder.

"Down, always down until we find them."

"We need to hurry, Gabrielle's hurt.  I can sense it," Xena stated.

"As fast as I can," Hercules promised.

"Xena!" they heard Ares shout behind them.

"Uh oh, sounds like Cerebus didn't think our half brother tasted so good!" Hercules muttered and moved off into a side passage.

 

Xena lost track of how many fights they had gotten into and managed to get away from over the next couple of hours.  Hades himself, his guards and Ares had all tried to stop them along the way but Hercules and Xena had managed to get lower and lower into the Underworld.

The warrior leaned heavily against a rock and then quickly ducked behind it at the sound of running boots.  She looked over at another set of rocks and saw Hercules looking around.  They both cautiously left the cover of the boulders.

"How's the leg?" he asked as they met in the center of the small cavern room.

"Hurts like Tartarus," the warrior grinned.

"How much further can it be?" the demi-god wondered.

"Not much, that last set of guards weren't looking for us, they were headed with a purpose," Xena commented.

"They're heading to the cell where Artemis and Gabrielle are to wait for us," Hercules surmised.

"I'm betting on it.  The fighting has gotten more and more desperate, we're getting close."

"So now, they'll gather all the troops together and make a stand," Hercules grimaced.

"Yes," Xena agreed on the obvious strategy.  "Listen, Herc, when we get in there and if I get through the bars, I want you to grab Gabrielle and make for the surface."

"We all go out together," Hercules frowned.

"Gabrielle is hurt and she needs out of this place before she can start healing again.  I'll follow with Artemis," Xena argued.

"We'll argue about this when we get them out," he countered.

"Alright, until then, take the sword - everyone else in this place is armed," she suggested and handed him the sword of Ares.  "Do we try and sneak up on them?" she pondered.

"Probably not, they'll have the cell surrounded and be expecting us," Hercules said thoughtfully as they walked along.

"Maybe I can help?"

Both Greek warriors spun around with weapons drawn, Hercules with Ares sword and Xena with her chakram.  Neither of them could see the owner of the voice.

Xena resisted looking surprised when a Roman Centurion appeared before their eyes, lifting a helmet off his head.

"The Helmet of Invisibility of Hades?" Hercules asked, his sword at the ready.

"Yes, do you recognize me, Consort?" the Roman asked Xena.

"Consort?" she muttered, looking intently at his Roman face and brown eyes. "You're Octavion, the Roman that poisoned Gabrielle at our wedding."

"Yes, at your service," he bowed slightly at the waist.

"What? Xena's the reason you died," Hercules demanded.

"Yes, I deserved it and I was wrong.  My death meant nothing to Rome or to Caesar," the Roman said simply.  "I'm here, Caesar is here, Brutus is here, Crassius, Pompey, all of them.  For what?  The glory of Rome?  I tried to kill a beautiful young woman who was no threat to the Empire, I want to make up for that, if you'll let me."

Xena knew her face reflected her surprise this time.  "How did you get the helmet?"

"Most of Hades guards are off looking and preparing for you.  A woman in a gray cloak came to me and freed me from my chains and told me where the helmet was."

"Can't have been any of the goddesses, none of them have powers down here," Hercules muttered and Xena nodded.

"It doesn't matter though, he's here and so is the helmet.  We'll figure out the details later."

"Agreed, Octavion and I will attack while you sneak in with the helmet and cut the bars," Hercules suggested.

"Yes, then you take the helmet and get Gabrielle out of here," Xena continued.

"We all get out together," Hercules countered.

"And hopefully get Octavion here to the Fields on the way."

"That's not my goal, warrior," Octavion protested.

"We try and take care of our friends," Xena grinned.

 

&&&&&&&&&

 

With the bard unconscious, most of the tormentors had wandered off down the various passages leading away from the underground chamber, giving Artemis a break from their taunting and crude suggestions.

Then guards started running into the chamber, all armed and most of them battered and looking as if they had been in a good fight.  The enemies that had wandered off came running back in and the last to follow was Ares and Hades themselves.

Ares grabbed the sword from Menstratus with a growl.  “Give me that! You can use that crossbow of yours, you actually shot Xena with it once.”

Everyone crowded around the cell, facing outwards, towards the passages.

“Gabrielle!” Artemis began shaking the bard gently.  “Gabrielle, look! Even Hades and Ares are here now and they’re scared.  Only Xena could cause that kind of fear in those spineless macho types.”

Ares turned his head and snarled at the goddess and turned back to watch the main entrance.

“Gabrielle?” Artemis quickly checked for a pulse and was frantic to find that the bard’s heartbeat was very rapid and shallow and the bard was non-responsive, her breathing ragged and quick.

“Ares, if Xena doesn’t kill you then I will for this!” Artemis promised.

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Ares turned and looked at the goddess.  “I want you all dead, Xena included.”

Before the goddess of the Amazons could respond, shouts from the front of the pack caught the attention of Ares and the others.

Octavion, bearing a Roman shield, led the assault into the chamber and took the arrows and crossbow bolts in the shield while Hercules followed with sword through one bandit and his massive fist smashing the nose of another.  Within moments the chamber was a mass of moving limbs and bodies. 

The Roman found himself face to face with Caesar and Brutus and hesitated momentarily.

The would-be Emperor glared at his former Praetorian Guard and assassin.

“You would turn on your Emperor?  On your General?” Caesar demanded, slashing with his sword, forcing Octavion to block with his own sword.

“Yes! I followed you loyally for nothing!” Octavion shouted back, taking the offensive with his own sword and blocking blows from both Caesar and Brutus.

“You would side with the Greeks against the God of War?” Brutus demanded.

“And where will you be at the end of the fight?  Right here in Tartarus!” Octavion countered.

Hercules growled as a sword slashed along his ribs and a knife was somehow buried into his thigh.  The Greek demi-god yelled in anger and grabbed two bandits by their tunics and smashed their heads together and then threw them into the others crowding around him.

Ares stumbled back from a blow from one of the hands of Hercules and landed next to Hades.  The God of War stood up by the bars and leaned over towards Hades, “How can they be winning?”

“They’re fighting the dead.  The dead really don’t care what happens in this, they’re still going to be dead.  It takes away their edge,” Hades responded.

“What about that idiot Octavion, he’s dead and fighting on their side!”

“He’s fighting for redemption, it gives him a reason and an edge,” Hades shrugged.

Neither of them noticed the bars on the far side of the cell being sliced through at the bottom and then at the top but Artemis did and caught three of the bars before they fell and struck the floor.  The other two bars hovered in the air and then went silently to the floor.

Ares growled and dived back into the fight with a scream of rage, driving Hercules back several feet and landed a massive wound along Octavion’ shield arm, causing the Roman to drop his shield.

“Artemis, it’s Xena.  When I grab Gabrielle she’s going to go invisible, don’t panic,” Xena’s voice instructed the goddess.  “Get out of here, grab a weapon and head for the surface, we’ll be right behind you.”

“We can’t move Gabrielle!” the goddess protested.  “Both her lungs are punctured and will collapse if you move her.”

“If we don’t then she’ll bleed to death anyway,” Xena hissed back.

“Use your energy bolts and take them out!” they heard Ares shouting at Hades.

“I promised to help you hold and keep your prisoners, I said nothing about attacking Hercules.  Fight your own battle,” Hades countered.

“She’s almost dead now!” Artemis whispered intently.

“Alright, I’m going to drag her out of here and stay invisible.  You make for Hercules,” Xena instructed.  “Ares and Hades will think Gabrielle and I are with you.  I’ll follow behind after I make a stretcher to drag her.  Go!”

The goddess ducked out of the cell and turned to see that Gabrielle was gone.  Artemis resisted crying out in surprise when something unseen shoved her out of the way.  She could feel Xena move past her, dragging Gabrielle out of the cell and against the rock wall.

“Damnit, Hades! They’re out!”

Artemis turned at the sound of Ares’ voice with a snarl and leaped at the God of War, intent on at least hurting him before Hades could use his energy fireballs.

“Stop!” 

Everyone froze and a small circle drew back from the gray-cloaked figure in the center of the room.  As the figure drew back the hood Xena removed the Helm of Invisibility, making her and Gabrielle visible to everyone in the room.

Hecate glared at everyone, wounded dead, fighting Greeks, and Greek gods and goddess.

“Enough of this nonsense!” she snapped. 

“Stay out of this Hecate! This doesn’t concern you!” Ares warned.

“Or what, little god? You forget, as a dark goddess, I have power in this realm!” the goddess countered and the War God grumbled but his sword lowered several inches.  “You threaten my child and her mate.  You threaten the life of a fellow goddess and you secretly are planning to overthrow Zeus for the control of Olympia,” Hecate snapped.  “Yes, th