Title: A Xena Murder Mystery

Author: Smenzer

Rating: PG

Pairing: Ares/Gabrielle

Archive: Yes, please. Let me know if you take it, OK?

Teaser: A killer stalks Xena & the others at a party!

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to Studios USA or whoever owns the rights to Xena: Warrior Princess.

It was a dark and stormy night when Gabrielle entered the temple. The fierce wind outside almost blew the door out of her hand as she shivered with cold. Xena, who was right behind her, steadied it and allowed the bard to enter. The warm fires burning in the hearth urged her deeper inside the building. She heard Xena shove the door close behind her and Gabrielle rubbed her arms, trying to warm them. Before she could take another step, a figure leaped out of the shadows at her.

"You made it!" Aphrodite grinned. "I knew you wouldn't miss it!"

"Aphrodite!" Gabrielle gasped, her mouth hanging open. "You're wearing BLACK!"

"Well, yeah!" Dite squealed as she held out her arms. Dite's black dress was like nothing Gabrielle had ever seen before. The chest was low cut, which came as no surprise as Aphrodite never worried about hiding her body. The satin dress was overlaid with the finest black lace. It clung to her curves and narrowed near the ankles, with lacy tendrils at the very bottom. More tendrils hung from her wrists, where they were attached like bracelets. Her arms were bare. "It's a PARTY, you know? So I got dressed up!"

"So why exactly are you having a party?" Xena asked as she joined them.

"To celebrate the harvest, you know? And it'll be fun!" Dite explained as she led them deeper into the temple. The temple's main room had been redecorated. The pink conches were gone, as were the ever present rose petals. Instead, the flickering torch light revealed groups of bright orange pumpkins, black lace coverings on the walls and a big wooden barrel in the corner. When Xena approached the barrel and peered inside, she saw apples floating in water. "We'll have a blast!"

Xena looked doubtfully at the apples. "If you say so."

"So who else is coming to the party?" Gabrielle asked, curious. She was glad the Goddess had invited her to the party and she was going to enjoy herself. If nothing else, it got her out of a miserable day outside. The weather had turned for the worst just pass noon, the sky dark with angry gray clouds. Then the wind had picked up, howling like a beast through the naked trees. It had looked any minute the sky would open up and drench her to the bone. Luckily, they had reached Aphrodite's temple before the rain started. Gabrielle turned as the outer door flew open and two familiar figures hurried inside. "Hercules! Iolaus!"

The big Demigod shook rain droplets out of his shoulder length brown hair as he shoved the door shut. "It started to drizzle out there."

"Yeah, what rotten weather!" Iolaus commented as he hurried to join the women in the main room. Thunder boomed loudly overhead and the little hunter glanced up at the dark rafters high overhead. A moment later rain pounded on the roof, sounding like a hundred marching feet. "Boy, am I ever glad to be in here!"

"Looks like it's going to be a bad one." Hercules said as he joined the others. He glanced around the room in surprise, taking in the new look. "Taking decorating lessons from Ares and Discord? Truthfully, Dite, I'm shocked. I never knew you had a dark side."

Aphrodite's mouth dropped open, her eyes flashed. "This doesn't have anything to do with a dark side! It's this thing I heard about from some other Gods, a different pantheon. They got this belief that on one day of the year the dead come back to visit the living. I know it's corny and all, but it sounded interesting, you know? And mortals have it kind of bleak right now, facing the long winter and all...."

"And you thought it would be a good excuse to have a party." Hercules smiled as he wrapped a slightly damp arm around his sister. "And let me guess: this is the day those dead are supposed to come visiting."

"Well, yeah!" Aphrodite's pale face lit up momentarily as lightning flashed outside, the brilliant white light visible through narrow windows high on the walls. She led the others over to her altar, where she had festive treats waiting. "See? I even got us snacks!"

"Leave it to Aphrodite to use her altar as a snack table!" Iolaus laughed as he reached for an apple with a thin metal rod sticking out of the top. He soon discovered the rod was necessary, as the apple was coated in a thick, sticky goo. Chopped nuts clung to the goo. Iolaus took a bite and grinned. "Hmmm, this is good!"

"Hephy invented it." Dite admitted.

Ares appeared in a blue flash of light, scowling when he spotted Hercules. Ignoring his half brother for the moment, he turned to his sister. "So what did you want?"

"Ar, it's a party!" Aphrodite explained as she went over to him. "You're going to have some fun!"

"Me? Have fun? With HIM here? You got to be joking." Ares crossed his arms over his chest, his dark eyes drifting around the temple.

"Yes, with him here!" Aphrodite rolled her eyes, sighing. "Look, you're BOTH my brothers and I want you both here for my party! So can't you two just get along for one night? Please? For me? And I promise you, Ar, you're going to have a great time! It's going to be a real blast!"

Ares eyed the wooden tub with apples with suspicion. "I'm not bobbing for apples."

"That's just a decoration, Ar!" The Love Goddess laughed. Her eyes twinkled with excitement. "I have a much better activity planned!"

***

"We're going to do WHAT?" Ares said, outrage in his voice.

"I said we're going to commune with the voices of the dead." Aphrodite repeated, her nose held high. "Today is the day the spirits come visiting the living, free from the underworld. We should see what they have to say."

"And how are we going to do that?" Hercules asked, skepticism in his voice. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Ares. It just sounds ... stupid. I thought this was going to be a party."

"I think Aphrodite just discovered ghost stories." Gabrielle smiled. As a bard, she was more familiar with things of this nature. Most mortals had a slight fascination with the supernatural whether they wanted to admit it or not. The tradition of sitting around a campfire or the family hearth to tell scary stories into the night was an old one, stretching back hundreds of years. It filled some need man had, although Gabrielle was unsure exactly what that need was. She turned to the two dour men. "Why don't we just humor her? Besides, it might be fun!"

"Yeah, I'm game." Iolaus said as he stuffed a second sweet covered apple into his mouth.

"All right." Hercules sighed. The big hero stood there, a half eaten candy apple in his hand. "But how are we going to do this?"

"Easy!" Dite explained happily as she dashed over to a candle lit corner of the room. She picked up a square board and brought it over. "I got this from a mortal who's an expert on these things. It's magic and will let us communicate with the dead."

Xena took one glance at the board and noticed it had all the letters of the alphabet on it. The letters ran along the edge in a circle. The Warrior Princess rolled her blue eyes and poked Hercules in the ribs. She leaned her head close to his. "Looks like Dite got cheated. That's an Ouija board used by scam artists."

Hercules' body jiggled several times, a hand over his mouth. Coughing loudly, he gave his sister an apologetic look. He hoped she didn't realize he had been laughing. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her feelings.

Soon they were all seated in a circle according to Aphrodite's wishes, as she had a seating plan in mind. First there was Aphrodite, then Hercules, Xena, Iolaus, Gabrielle and Ares. The wooden table they sat at was small, so they were all close together. The Ouija board was placed in the center of the otherwise bare table. The Love Goddess then happily placed a small triangular piece in the center of the board. Thunder rolled overhead, drowning out something Aphrodite had tried to say.

Gabrielle leaned forward with interest. "So how does this work, Aphrodite?"

Ares turned his head to look at Gabrielle, who was seated next to him. "Don't tell me you believe this bunk?"

"I just want to see what's going to happen." She replied calmly.

Aphrodite lit more candles, then joined them at the table. "Now I want you all to clear your minds so we can make contact with the spirit world. You all need to hold hands."

Gabrielle felt Iolaus grip her hand on one side, his hand sticky from the candy apples he had ate. She held her other hand out to Ares. After a few moments of hesitating, he gave in. She couldn't help but notice how much larger his hand was compared to hers. Heat radiated out of it, warming her. Gabrielle glanced around and saw everyone was now holding hands. The circle was complete.

A sense of expectancy gripped the air. Gabrielle wasn't sure if it was the storm raging outside or the flickering candles or the fact that they were sitting here with two Gods from Olympus. All the nerves in her body were alive and tingling. Incense filled her noise, as did the smoke from the flickering candles and the sweet scent of apples. She was just sure SOMETHING was going to happen here this night. Then Aphrodite began to speak.

"Now, you are not to break the circle for any reason. to do so would be dangerous. Do you all understand that?" The Love Goddess asked, being completely serious.

"Yes, Aphrodite." Hercules answered for everyone, squeezing her hand.

"OK, then let's get started. The spirits will talk to us through the board. They'll spell out words with the ... thingy." Aphrodite explained. Shaking her long mane of wavy blonde hair behind her shoulders, she sat up straighter. Gripping Hercules and Ares' hands tighter, she closed her eyes. "Oh Spirits on the Other Side, we invite you here to talk with us this night. Guide us with your wisdom and knowledge. Come within our warm circle and give us a message. We are waiting."

Gabrielle leaned forward a bit more, her eyes glued to the small triangular marker sitting on the Ouija board. Lightning flashed several times in a row, burning her retinas with the harsh light. Each time after the lightning faded, the shadows in the room seemed darker, more mysterious. Had the piece moved slightly during one of the flashes? She couldn't tell.

"Is anyone there? Can you here me?" Aphrodite continued in a smooth voice, her eyes still closed. "Talk to us, O Spirits!"

The candle flames suddenly flared up, each fire turning blood red and nearly a foot long. Then the triangular marker scraped across the board inch by inch.

Iolaus gasped, tightly squeezing Gabrielle's hand.

Gabrielle's blue eyes widened as she watched the wooden piece move. She turned to Ares. "Are you doing that?"

Ares shook his head.

The piece moved crazily around the center of the board in circles and zigzags. Then it stood still.

"Is someone here?" Aphrodite asked again.

The marker moved towards a letter, then towards a second letter, a third and fourth.

I AM HERE

"Whoa." Iolaus said quietly. "This is actually working."

"Give us a message." Aphrodite said, her eyes now open and watching the board like everyone else. "What do you want to tell us? Why did you come here tonight?"

The triangular marker spun around rapidly, then started to spell out more words. Gabrielle slowly spoke the words out loud as they formed.

YOU WILL ALL DIE TONIGHT

"Hey, what kind of message is that?" Iolaus asked Aphrodite. "That's not funny at all."

"Yeah, aren't you taking this a bit far, Sis?" Hercules asked, frowning.

"But I didn't spell that!" Aphrodite exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock. "The spirit did!"

"Yeah, sure." Iolaus laughed. "You're just a Goddess with powers! Of course you made the thingamajig move! Because there's no spirit here in this room, just the six of us."

The room was plunged into blackness as all the torches and candles were snuffed out at the same time. Gabrielle gasped as she felt Iolaus' hand torn out of hers, nearly pulling her out of her chair. Only Ares' firm grip on her other hand saved her from tumbling into the blackness. A frightening gurgling sound filled the room and her heat beat rapidly in fright. After a moment, the sound stopped.

"No body move!" Hercules called out from somewhere in the dark room.

Gabrielle reminded herself that it was all just a parlor game. No doubt the lights going out was part of Aphrodite's party. Yes, that's all it was. She remembered that Hercules had been sitting almost across the table from her. Nothing could go wrong with both Xena and Hercules right here with her.

Yet she tightened her grip on Ares' hand. His warm touch, the softness of his breath, was reassuring.

What had been that awful sound?

A light flared as Hercules relit one of the torches. He brought the light closer to the table and Gabrielle's eyes went to where Iolaus had been. His chair was toppled over backward onto the floor.... And he was sprawled there. There was something dark on his throat.

With shock she realized it was the triangular piece from the game. Hercules knelt by his friend, feeling for a pulse.

"He's dead."

________________

"But he can't be dead!" Gabrielle exclaimed as she leaped from her seat. Then she noticed the blood pooling onto the floor from the fatal wound in his throat. It all seemed unreal, too shocking. One minute they had been acting crazy pretending to talk with spirits and the next moment one of her best friends was dead. "It was only a parlor game...."

"Well, he IS." Hercules repeated. His blue eyes, wet with unshed tears, glanced towards the Ouija board. "Aphrodite must have really contacted a spirit."

"Yeah, an evil spirit." Xena added, her sword out. She quickly went around the room and lit the candles, then the wall torches. The storm still rumbled outside, the rain pounding on the roof. "It's still in here, waiting to make another move. You heard what it said. It wants to kill all of us."

Fear gripped Gabrielle's heart and squeezed it tightly. She glanced around the temple and gasped. While the lights had been out, someone had carved hideous faces on the orange pumpkins. Now the monstrous vegetables glared at her through hollow eye sockets, gaping jaws filled with fangs. They were everywhere! The things watched her from corners, were perched high on shelves and that huge one on the altar squatting among the food - surely it was the leader! With a shaky finger, Gabrielle pointed at them. "Look!"

"Yeah, I saw." Xena muttered. "The evil spirit did that."

Gabrielle quickly hurried to Xena's side. "I can feel them watching me! What are we going to do, Xena?"

Xena gripped Gabrielle by her shoulders and gently pushed her backwards, towards Ares. "I think you should stay with Ares. He can protect you better than I can in this situation."

"But Xena!" Gabrielle protested.

"Xena's right." Hercules told the young woman. "There's nothing you can do against an evil spirit with your staff. We know you want to help, but you can help us the best by staying safe. Let us worry about this so we can cook up a plan."

"Hey, I'm not a baby-sitter!" Ares growled, glaring at his half brother. "If there's some spirit around, I want to blast it!"

"And you'll get your chance, I'm sure." Hercules rose from where he had crouched by Iolaus' body. "Just keep her safe, all right?"

"Fine." Ares agreed. He gripped Gabrielle around her waist and pulled her against himself. A faint smile creased his lips when he heard her squawk in surprise. He glanced down at the golden hair, fine as silk, that was now just under his chin. "Maybe I might enjoy this party after all."

"Don't get any ideas, Ares." Hercules warned. He glared at the God a moment, then moved to try the temple doors. Even though he used all of his Godly strength, the doors wouldn't budge. He kept it up for a good ten minutes, then gave up. "It's no use. Looks like we're stuck in here for now. The spirit locked the doors."

Gabrielle squirmed in Ares' tight embrace. "Let go of me!"

"No doing." Ares replied as he pressed his mouth against her ear. "They want me to watch you, I'm going to watch you. Besides, this is the most fun I had in a long time. Your body is a lot better than what I thought it was. And I'm looking forward to blasting that freak of a spirit. You make good bait."

"WHAT? How dare you use me as bait!" Gabrielle wiggled and twisted her body harder. Ares' hands were hot on her bare stomach where he gripped her just below her breasts. Every time she twisted, the red rubies on his gauntlets bit into her tender skin. Because he was holding her with her back against his chest, she had little purchase to get away. Her brown boots slid on the smooth marble floors, leaving scuff marks. She could even feel the hair on his arms scratching her skin. And now with his mouth next to her ear ... it was just too much! Her desperate eyes settled on Aphrodite. The Goddess seemed to be in shock, just standing there staring at Iolaus' dead body. "Aphrodite, help me!"

Aphrodite turned her head to look at Gabrielle and Ares. "Oh, I'd like to help you Sweet Pea, but Hercules and Xena knows what's best. If they think Ares can protect you, then you should stay with him."

"But he's manhandling me!" Gabrielle protested as she squirmed even more. Finally she managed to turn herself around so she was facing the God of War. What she saw made her even more angry.

Ares was laughing!

"Ares, what did I say?" Hercules sighed. "I said don't get any ideas!"

"If I had any ideas, Little Brother, I wouldn't be standing here with you watching!" Ares laughed.

Xena shot all three of them a sour look. "Cool it. And stop complaining, Gabrielle. Ares isn't doing you anything you won't live through. Just remember to stay with him no matter what happens to me. Understand?"

"Yes, Xena." Gabrielle sighed. She was beginning to realize she was stuck with Ares for now. And she couldn't get loose because he was just too strong! Maybe Xena was right. Maybe Ares was the safest place to be. Just as she was about to form another thought, all the lights were snuffed out.

Gabrielle clung to Ares now, throwing her arms around his neck. For a few moments there she had forgotten her fright, she had been too busy trying to get free. But now it all came back to her full force. The evil spirit had returned to claim one of their lives!

A scream rang out.

Try as she might, she couldn't recognize who's voice it had been. Every second seemed an eternity as her heart thudded loud in her ears. Her palms grew wet and she knew she was probably leaving sweaty handprints on the back of Ares' leather vest. She blinked her eyes but all she saw was blackness and a wild thought that she had gone blind flickered through her mind. Why wasn't there any light, even faint light from the windows? She felt a cold breeze snake around her legs, caressing her bare skin and she shivered. She imagined it had been the evil spirit as it slithered around the room like an icy snake, it's damp tendrils touching her. Then she felt the faintest sensation on her shoulder that trailed down her arm.

She shrieked loudly in Ares' ear as she tried to swat at whatever it had been. But the War God was in the way and her hand slapped him instead. "Something just touched me! It's the Evil Spirit!"

Lights flared, but it wasn't the normal torches and candles. Someone had put candles inside all the ghoulish carved pumpkins! Their glare was even worse now, for they had eyes of fire and dragon's breath visible in their mouths. They were truly demons from Tartarus! The light flickered, making them appear alive. Worse, the Evil Spirit had moved the mutilated vegetables into a big circle on the stone floor. A dark shape lay in the center of the circle, a spear sticking up on an angle from the shape's center.

Gabrielle gasped as she realized what the dark shape was.

It was Xena!

__________________

"NO!" Gabrielle tried to run to her fallen friend, but Ares tight grip stopped her before she took even one step.

"The Evil Spirit, remember?" Ares said quietly to her. "It could be a trap. Let Hercules go check. I promised I'd keep you safe and I'm going to."

"You're a GOD, Ares! Why don't you DO something!" Gabrielle pounded with her fists on his chest once, knowing she couldn't really hurt him. But it helped relieve some of the stress and tension that had built up in her body. "Why don't you pop us out of here?"

"You think I already didn't think of that?" Ares replied as he watched his brother carefully step into the circle of hideous veggies. His sister was in even worse shape than Xena maybe. She just stood there and stared, her fingernails crammed into her mouth. Nor did he like the look in Aphrodite's eyes. No doubt she would take all the guilt on herself. Not good. Ares turned his attention back to the blonde bard held captive in his arms. "My telaportation powers, for some reason, don't work. See?"

Ares stiffened his body and held her tighter. She could see the strain around his dark brown eyes. There was a slight flicker of blue light, then it faded.

"But why won't they work?" Gabrielle asked, her green eyes following Hercules' every move. She saw him kneel by Xena, feel for a pulse. Suddenly, he looked old to her. Old and worn out. His brown hair fell in his face, his eyes appeared lighter than normal, as if the blue color had drained out with his best friend's blood. For the first time she noticed the stains on his clothing, both from food and sleeping outdoors. There was the ground in dirt, the grease stains, bits of green from grass, a few tiny singed from fire.. And of course, the numerous bloodstains. She also noted the tears in the fabric, like that long jagged one a few inches below his left breast. Which fight had he gotten that one in? At the edges the fabric was unraveling with hundreds of little strings sticking up in the air. His boots were scuffed and worn, his pants in slightly better shape than his tan tunic. She had heard that often during emergencies all the little details pop out at a person, things you normally wouldn't notice. Funny how it had never happened to her before

Gabrielle knew she had to keep herself focused, like Xena always said. No matter what Hercules would tell her about Xena's condition, she couldn't unravel. No, she had to be able to think clearly. That Evil Spirit was out there and it would come for her. She had to be ready!

Hercules shook his head. "Same as Iolaus. I'm sorry, Gabrielle, but she's gone. There's nothing I can do."

Gabrielle pressed her face against Ares' chest. His skin was warm against her cheek and he smelled good, a clean male scent. Her mind wondered around and around, trying to grasp a solution. But she couldn't, because it made no sense!

It was all supposed to be a game! She didn't see how Aphrodite, who often goofed up even simple spells, could have accidentally released a spirit from the Underworld. Why, Dite hadn't even been using her powers! She had just talked, the same meaningless words that charlatans often used. Besides, Aphrodite's power lay in Love and had nothing to do with people once they were dead. Hades was in charge of that.

Yet she had released an Evil Spirit.

"Are you sure she's dead?" Gabrielle asked the big hero.

Hercules nodded, his face hidden by his hands. He rubbed at his eyes. Then he turned his back to them.

Then a new, horrible thought occurred to Gabrielle.

What if there never was an Evil Spirit? What if someone in the room was a Murderer?

Was it Hercules? He wasn't showing very much grief and he was a man who normally wore his expressions on his face. He was quick to anger and often solved problems with his fists. Then there was all the dead wives he had. Could they had ended their lives at his hands? There had been no witnesses to either death. And why was he hiding his face now?

Her eyes drifted to Aphrodite. It was her temple and the party had been her idea. It was clear she wasn't her normally bubbly self the moment she lay eyes on the Goddess dressed in black. And wouldn't Aphrodite prefer a more wild party with more guests? Where were the other Gods? Why just invite five people? Gabrielle wondered how much power Aphrodite really had. Was she strong enough to keep Ares from popping out?

Or was he in on it?

Still, she couldn't bring herself to fear Ares. During both incidents she knew where HE had been, especially the second one. There was no way he could have killed Xena...

Unless he had used his powers?

Where had that spear come from anyway? None of them carried a spear and she doubted if Aphrodite kept that sort of thing around in her temple.

But then, Aphrodite wasn't acting or dressing normal.

No, she HAD to trust Ares. Both Xena and Hercules had been sure he would keep her safe. Besides, she felt safe in his arms right now, even with everything going on. He was comforting her in his own silent way, just holding her.

Could there had been a SEVENTH person in the temple? Someone besides them? She knew Xena certainly had made a lot of enemies in the past and Herc no doubt had his share of them, too. Or maybe someone was striking out at Aphrodite for revenge? Like someone could have asked her to make a certain person fall in love with them and it didn't work?

But how could a mortal make all the lights go off like that? Carve those hideous faces on the pumpkins?

Gabrielle's eyes had drifted back to scrutinize Aphrodite again when they were plunged into darkness a third time. All the lights had gone out, even the ones inside the pumpkins. She pressed her body closer to Ares, wishing they had more time. But the time periods between the attacks were too short!

And how could they fight the thing when she wasn't even sure of who or what it was?

Sounds came to her ears: a loud gasp, a ripping sound, feet scraping on the floor, loud grunting. Then there was a thump and the sound of smashing furniture.

Hercules was fighting with the Evil Spirit!

Silence.

Then those hideous pumpkins flared back on.

Gabrielle half expected to see Hercules' body lying on the floor, yet actually seeing it still shocked her. The Demigod had fallen in his struggle on top of the round table, breaking it. Now his lifeless body rested among broken pieces of wood. But the thing that had killed him was the long piece of black lace tied around his throat. His eyes were bugged out and his tongue protruded from his open mouth. The Evil Spirit had strangled him with one of the lace wall coverings!

"Not Hercules, too!" Gabrielle groaned.

Aphrodite snapped out of her trance, her eyes wide. She hurried over to them. "Look, you two got to hide! That thing's going to come back soon!"

"Aphrodite, I don't think hiding..." Gabrielle started to say, but the Love Goddess wouldn't hear any of it.

"I got the perfect hiding spot right here!" She hurried over to the wall behind her altar and pressed on one of the square stones. A door slid open, revealing a black chamber.

"I am NOT going in there!" Gabrielle protested loudly. "For all I know, YOU could be the Evil Spirit! This was all your idea from the start. You invited us here, it's your temple, it was your idea to play the game with the Ouija board. You have complete control over anything inside your temple, don't you? The lights, the door. Why, you might even be blocking Ares' powers! And no one would ever suspect you because you have a reputation for being an air head."

Aphrodite laughed. "Why, Gabrielle, you figured it out! But you're STILL going in there!"

The Goddess of Love raised her hands, the black lace tendrils dangling around her wrists like spider webs. A long pink tentacle shot from her palms right at the startled couple. Before they could even think, it had wrapped itself around them several times. Gabrielle struggled to breath, the pink ... snake ... was squeezing the air out of her. Then she was hauled off her feet, Ares along with her, and shoved inside the black room. Then the door boomed shut with the sound of doom.

____________

Gabrielle took in a big breath, filling her lungs with life giving air. The moment they were inside the black room, the pink snake had vanished. Ares still had his strong arms around her waist, still composed.

"Doesn't any of this bother you?" Gabrielle asked him as she stretched out her arms. She felt walls all around them. Aphrodite had locked them inside a closet! "Your sister killed three people! She must have gone bonkers! And why did she throw us in here? This is a closet, a CLOSET!"

"Tell me, Gabrielle." Ares voice said in the darkness, his breath hot against her ear. "Do you know what people do in a closet at a party?"

"What are you talking about?" She huffed. "Don't you understand what Aphrodite just did? She admitted to killing Xena and Iolaus and Hercules! She killed them!"

"Did she now?" He breathed.

His breath seemed hotter, closer now. She felt her back shoved against the cold stone wall as Ares pressed his hard body against hers. Then his mouth was on hers, kissing her. To her surprise, she felt herself kissing him back. As if of their own accord, her arms tangled themselves around his neck.

Bright light assaulted her eyes as the closet door was thrown open.

Gabrielle froze in mid kiss as loud clapping came from the doorway. Peering over Ares' shoulder she saw Xena, Hercules, Iolaus and Aphrodite! They were standing in the doorway clapping, big grins on their faces. Heat creeped up into her face when she realized she had been caught kissing with Ares. Worse, he wouldn't stop kissing! Now his mouth trailed down to her neck!

"We were wondering how we were going to get you into a closet with Ares." Xena laughed. "Looks like Aphrodite's plan worked, I'd say."

"But you're dead!" Gabrielle blurted. "I saw your body!"

"You mean you saw Discord pretending to be me." Xena explained with a smile. "The Gods can make themselves look exactly like other people, you know. And you can stick objects inside their bodies without harming them. Remember how I once stuck my sword right through Ares? Didn't bother him at all. Apollo was pretending to be Iolaus and Strife was playing Hercules. They had a great time. They also did all the other tricks."

"Wasn't it a great party?" Aphrodite squealed with excitement, her old bubbly self again. Of course, she still wore the black dress. "That was the Trick. Now you get the Treat. You two make such a cute couple! Ar has been plotting how to get you into that closet for years. Of course, HE couldn't think up any decent plans. Love is MY job!"

Xena started to close the closet door.

"What? Wait!" Gabrielle cried as she saw the door closing, the rectangle of light getting smaller and smaller. "You can't leave me in here with him!"

Aphrodite's voice drifted to her through the small opening that remained. "Come on! I got sweets and Treats for everyone!"

Music started up in the other room.

Laughter.

CLUNK. The door closed.

"Did you know it was all a trick, that there was no Evil Spirit?" Gabrielle asked Ares.

"Of course." Ares answered as he stopped kissing for a moment so he could speak. "But since I finally had you in my arms I sure wasn't going to ruin it! But now that I got you, I'm not letting you go. Besides, kissing in closets is a tradition at Sis's parties. I just never had anyone to kiss with before."

Any other questions on Gabrielle's lips were silenced forever by another kiss.

THE END