Title: Dragons of Retribution
Author: Smenzer
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ares/Gabrielle 
Archive: Yes, please. Let me know if you take it, OK?
Teaser: This is Part 2 of Dragons of Despair
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to Studios USA or 
whoever owns the Rights to Xena: Warrior Princess. This is just for 
fun.

Ares paced up and back in his temple. He didn't understand this odd tightness in his
chest and throat. It was a totally new feeling for him. He was surprised that the
little blonde bard had effected him to such a degree. Of course, he had seen
 how she had wrapped Xena around her little finger. Instead of leading his armies,
Gabrielle had turned Xena into a do-gooder. Well, Hercules had had
his finger in there, but it was Gabrielle that kept Xena good. He had
thought he was immune to her effects. But it was obvious now he wasn't. She had 
gotten into his head somehow, doing to him whatever she did to Xena. In fact,
he had no idea how Gabrielle did it. He was pretty sure that she didn't
even know she was doing it, yet she kept on changing people wherever she went. 

Well, no more. There wouldn't even be any ashes left.

Ares froze in his tracks as a cold presence entered his temple. He could 
sense it hovering in the air like a snake ready to strike. Then it did just 
that. It wrapped itself in a vice-like grip around his chest. His bare flesh 
burned where the invisible sub-zero thing touched him. He gasped through his 
mouth, struggling to breath as he was yanked through the ether. 

Unceremoniously he was dumped onto a rough stone floor. He landed on his hands
and knees in front of a circular stone base. The base was about knee-high and a tall
column of flickering flame leaped from it into the air.
 
Ares raised his head to look at the flame, his wavy dark hair hanging 
in his eyes.  "What do you want?"

The fire twisted angrily as Dahok spoke. "You were supposed to protect 
my daughter! You have failed and now Hope is dead."


"Yeah, well, there was nothing I could do about it." Ares climbed to 
his feet and smoothed back his hair. He saw he was in a dark cavern. Except for the flickering
flame and the dark stone walls, the cave was featureless. "I was pinned against a wall
by that crazy, Callisto. I real wacko if you ever saw one."

"But the Betrayer lives. She will take on Hope's duties and bring forth 
the Destroyers. And you will do your job. This time I will make certain no 
one interferes."

"What?" Ares stared at Dahok, totally confused. "Are you saying Gabrielle is alive?"

The column of flame took on a bluish cast and the floor trembled under Ares' 
feet. The shaking grew worse. Pebbles jumped and rattled across the cavern. 
Cracks zigzagged across the ceiling and large chunks began to rain down. The 
air filled with dust and dirt, causing Ares to cough. He pinwheeled his arms, 
trying to keep his balance. He stumbled around like a drunk and tripped over 
a large boulder he had not seen in the gloom. 

"I SAID THE BETRAYER LIVES!" Dahok screamed.

"Ok, so she's alive." Ares heart leaped with joy. He couldn't believe she was 
alive! How could she have survived when Hope, who was a Goddess, had died? 

Then a chill traveled down his spine. What shape was Gabrielle in? Was 
her body all burnt, her flesh blackened? How much of her body had the magma 
melted away? His stomach twisted as he thought about it. He realized
he didn't want to think about it. It was too horrible to imagine. And he 
had seen a lot of horrible deaths on the battle fields of War. He was used 
to gruesome sights. He had seen so many different types over the centuries 
that he had grown somewhat numb to it all. But this made him want to retch 
all over the floor. "What do you want me to do about it?"

The cave became still again and the air cleared. Dahok spoke in a low, menacing voice.
"I told you. Since she killed Hope, she will take Hope's 
place and bear the Destroyers. And you will keep your end of the deal."

Ares rolled his eyes and climbed to his feet. Had Dahok lost all his 
marbles? 

"Hello! This is Gabrielle we're talking about, remember? She's a goody-goody.
She's not going to agree to this. Besides, she's a mortal. How can she produce the Destroyers?"

"Do not be concerned about how she will produce Destroyers. Trust my word. 
Keep your end of the bargain."

"And I said she's not going to cooperate!" Ares was beginning to get annoyed. 
He swatted some of the dirt off his clothes angrily. He didn't like the way 
this conversation was heading. Gabrielle had already been through so much 
because of Dahok. He had wanted to kill Dahok when he had heard what had 
happened to her in Britainia, what the evil demon had done. He had dreamed of 
chopping Dahok into thousands of little pieces. 

"Force her." The demon stated.

"Like you did?" Ares stood straight in front of Dahok in defiance. "I don't 
do rape. It's against my principles. Hope was different. She had agreed to 
the deal. Gabrielle has no choice. You're forcing her to do things against 
her will."

The flame took on a bluish tint again and Ares braced his legs for more 
trembling. But the room stayed quiet. Instead, the demon just spoke. Its 
voice was icy cold and Ares felt wind off a glacier touch his face. Red 
marks were still on his skin from when Dahok had first brought him here. "You 
will keep your end of the deal."

"All right." Ares agreed. A plan was already forming in the back of his 
mind. He'd agree and then find out where Dahok had the bard. Then he'd rescue 
her and, well, he didn't know what he was going to do after that. He supposed it depended on
what shape she was in. But he certainly wasn't going to force her to do anything.
He probably would take her back to Xena. He knew Gabrielle would want that anyway.
But Dahok would be really pissed. 

"Good." Dahok said as a tentacle of cold fire reached out toward Ares.  "You 
will be in charge of the Betrayer. Use your powers to feed her and stuff. See 
nothing happens to her. And don't forget what you're supposed to do."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Ares watched as the tentacle came closer. It suddenly 
leaped at him, wrapping itself around his body once more. Like before, he was 
pulled through the ether. He reappeared in midair and landed in a tangled 
heap of arms and legs on a cold stone floor. He rubbed at his burning skin to 
get blood circulating again to the frozen areas. Dahok's fire was so cold it 
actually burned. 

"Ares."

Ares lifted his head as the voice called his name. Gabrielle stood before 
him, silhouetted in front of a large lake of bubbling magma. 

To be continued....