Part Three
50 Years Later
Ares was looking forward to a nice evening with his wife. He
transported himself back to Olympus and to his and Xena's chambers. He
took a quick look around the room. Xena was nowhere to be seen. He
went into the adjoining rooms and discovered the same thing.
"Aphrodite! Cupid!" he called for his
children.
"Yes, Dad?"
"What's up, Pops?"
Aphrodite and Cupid appeared almost immediately. He was
immensely proud of his and Xena's twin children. Thirty years before, they
had earned their titles, the Goddess Of Loving War, and the God Of
Love.
As warned by Zeus, the children's parentage had been kept a secret
from the majority of Olympus. And since the only thing that was said at
the title ceremony was their relationship to the King and Queen of the gods,
there was nothing to worry about there, either.
Ares still couldn't quite come to terms with his life with
Xena. Everything was perfect. He never again forgot to speak of his
love to her or their children. He was an extremely loving and caring
parent. He had never felt any resentment come from his children and he'd
tried to never push them too hard into things like power and
domination.
It hadn't mattered to him that both of his children had something
to do with Love. His wife was the embodiment of Love, and any part of her
that his children carried, was wholeheartedly nourished and encouraged by
him.
He looked at the two of them. It was strange. Both he
and Xena had dark, almost black, hair, yet their children both were
blonde. Also, Cupid had begun to sprout wings at an early age. Ares
had found it utterly fascinating, while Xena had found it 'totally
adorable'.
They had grown up from mischievous, playful and adorable children,
to honest, caring, stunningly gorgeous adult gods.
"Have you seen your mother?" he asked them.
They both shook their heads. "Not since breakfast this
morning," answered Aphrodite.
Cupid thought for a moment. "Not since this morning in
Corinth. There was this couple that she wanted me to deal with. She
said she was off to see Aunt Artemis about a young amazon...something about her
falling for a young man in a nearby village."
Ares was worried. "I saw her after that, just after
midday. She said she was going to be home early. I'm a bit late as
it is."
Aphrodite said to her father. "Maybe she went looking for
you." Ares shook his head.
Cupid frowned. "Mom's not usually one to be late, no matter
how scatter-brained she decides to act. I can't remember the last time
that she wasn't early for something. Have you checked the
baths?"
Aphrodite turned to her brother. "Mom hates water." She
scrunched up her face. "It's too messy."
"Don't do that, you'll get wrinkles..." her brother warned
gently.
Ares chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll just wait here until she
gets back. She's early so often, that it's about time she was late for
something..."
Aphrodite raised her eyebrows. Cupid grinned at his
father. "Gonna set up a seduction scene, huh?"
"I so don't wanna hear about this!" Aphrodite
squealed. "Tootles!" she disappeared in a shower of yellow
sunbeams.
Ares shook his head in amusement. He clapped his son on the
back. "Yeah, maybe. She'll probably like that," he admitted.
It had been awhile since he had dusted off his romantic side. A good few
weeks, at least.
Cupid left in a shower of lilac blossoms that dissolved before they
hit the floor.
The God Of War took his time thinking about what to do for a
romantic evening.
*~*~*
Ares awoke the next morning. He was on his side, facing away
from the center of the bed. He didn't have to feel the bed behind him to
know that Xena wasn't there. He had fallen asleep waiting for her, but she
had never come. His body was perfectly attuned to her and would have
awakened had she entered the room.
He looked across the room. The table was still there, set and
deliciously intimate, but there was still no Xena. Ares turned over, just
to check if the other side of the bed had been slept in. It
hadn't.
The god began to panic. They hadn't spent a night apart since
the day they had vowed to be together, over 500 years ago. They would
sleep together, wherever they were. Not even when he had wars that took
him across the seas, would he leave her alone for a night, they just weren't
that kind of couple. They needed to be together.
He didn't even consider that Xena may have left him. They
weren't like the other gods, they didn't continuously go in and out of
relationships.
Ares called for his children once again. They appeared at
once.
"Have a good night last night?" Cupid asked with a
grin.
Aphrodite frowned. "Where's Mom?"
Ares looked them both in the eye. "She is now, officially
missing, by my order."
Their eyes widened. Cupid sucked in a breath and Aphrodite
gasped. "She didn't come home last night?" His daughter wore an
incredulous expression.
He shook his head.
Cupid grew pale. He had always been the more sensitive of the
two siblings. He frowned for a second. "You don't think that
Zeus..."
Ares face grew hard and he disappeared.
"You shouldn't have said that, Cupie..." Aphrodite
groaned.
They both disappeared after their father.
*~*~*
"Zeus!!!" Ares roared as he appeared just outside the
doorway of the main hall.
The King Of The Gods sat on his throne, a number of other gods
seated at the table in the center of the room. He was obviously in a
meeting, but Ares was too furious and worried for his wife to
notice.
Zeus and the group of immortals turned to him. Never had they
seen the God Of War so furious...and worried. Seated at the table
were five gods. His half-sisters, Athena, Artemis and his twin,
Discord, as well as his Uncle Hades and his Aunt Hestia.
"What have you done with her?!?!" Ares rage was obvious to
the gods before him, as was his fear.
"Ares, who are you talking about?" Hades asked. He had a fair
idea, but since he was sworn to secrecy, he wouldn't be the first to speak of
it.
Ares ignored his uncle, his furious and worried gazed pinned on his
step-father, Zeus. "What the fuck have you done with my
wife?!?!"
Hades was the only god whose face remained impassive. Zeus
looked ready to fry Ares to a crisp on the spot, whereas Hestia, Discord and
Artemis just sat there looking stunned.
Athena however, had worked out just who her brother's wife was, and
wasn't silent about it. "Xena???"
This time, pandemonium spread throughout the main hall of
Olympus. Hestia gasped as Discord paled significantly. Zeus and
Hades turned on Athena, their accusing looks firmly placing her in her
seat.
A ball of pale, blue light materialized in Ares hand as he got
ready to hurl it at the King of the Gods. "Where...is...she???" his tone
was threatening.
"Daddy, stop!" came the request as Aphrodite and Cupid
appeared at their father's arm, looking agitated and frightened.
The sounds of various arguments echoed dully in Ares' ears as he
focused on Zeus. He didn't care what happened to him, so long as his Xena
was safe...
"Everybody...stop!!!" came the furious bellow from
the King of the Gods. The group sitting around the table was immediately
silent. "First, let me tell you that nothing you hear in this room is to
go any further!"
Zeus could tell that his youngest daughter, Athena, was dying to
say her piece, but he shut her up with a look. He drew reluctant nods from
all but Hades and Discord. Hades, who had already known, didn't bother to
acknowledge his brother, while Discord nodded a little too
willingly. She was no more happy about Love and War being together
than her step-father.
Aphrodite held her father's arm back from hurling his ball of power
at her grandfather. She resisted the urge to let her father do whatever it
took to get her mother back, but since she was the Goddess Of Loving War...well,
it was a difficult decision.
Zeus turned to his wayward son-in-law. "We'll discuss your
apparent lack of discipline, manners and discretion later, Ares, now what's this
about my daughter being missing?"
Ares paled when he realized that Zeus had absolutely no clue about
Xena's whereabouts. If Zeus hadn't spirited her away
somewhere...Ares shuddered at the direction his thoughts were
taking.
Cupid stepped forward. He could feel the waves of despair and
pain flowing over his father. He addressed his grandfather. "You
really have no idea where Mother is, Zeus?" he asked quietly.
Zeus shook his head. "No, Cupid." The God frowned at
Ares. "You're father doesn't seem to be very coherent at the moment,
perhaps you had better explain."
Cupid bit his lip. "Mom didn't return home yesterday when she
said she would. She was supposed to be home early. Dad called me and
Aph, to see if we knew where she was. We left when we figured she was just
late...for the first time in eternity..." he grimaced.
Aphrodite took over. "Dad set up dinner and everything.
Being the Goddess Of Love, Mom likes that sort of thing...anyway, Dad called us
a few minutes ago. When we got there, the dinner and everything had gone
untouched." Aphrodite looked forlorn. "And Mom hadn't returned
home..."
Zeus looked thunderous. "And you interrupted this meeting,
broke your word of silence on the subject of this marriage, for
this???"
Hades broke in. "Wait, Zeus. You apparently don't know
your daughter very well..."
The King of the Gods turned and glared at his younger
brother. "You dare tell me tha-"
Hades shot to his feet. "Yes! If you knew your daughter
then you would be as worried as Ares appears to be! Xena is never
late! She never breaks her word and she never
spends a night away from Ares!"
Zeus looked more shocked at the last example, than anything
else.
Hades continued. "In five hundred years, Xena has never gone
against any of these things! And since I'm the one that both she and Ares
confide in, I should bloody well know!"
Zeus continued to be rational, but it was a tough thing. This
startling revelation had worried him. He turned back to his daughter's
husband. "Have you followed your link?" Ares' obvious distress may
have shut down all rational thought.
Ares face fell. "You don't understand! I can't feel
her!"
Part Four
Zeus glanced at Ares worriedly. "What do you
mean?"
Ares was growing impatient with each passing second. "I mean,
that I can't feel her presence. I can't find her in my mirror,
either!"
Zeus turned nervously to his brother, Hades. The two gods
shared a look. They knew that only one thing could have done this.
Xena had to be trapped somewhere, and in immediate danger. Only a very
weak god would fail to register to her own mate.
Fortunately, Xena couldn't be dead yet. There had been no
significant earthquake, signaling the demise of a god and only Zeus himself
could cause another god to disintegrated into the essence.
In a single moment, everyone's attention was turned to Ares and
Aphrodite, who fell to their knees in apparent pain, which had the other gods in
a panic, because gods weren't meant to feel pain.
Cupid bent down to help his father and sister up. Ares was
paler than Cupid had ever seen him, and Aphrodite was openly
crying.
"Zeus rose from his seat. "What is it?"
Aphrodite held a hand to her aching head. "Such hate...I've
never felt anything like it before..."
Athena stared at Aphrodite with derision. "You're the Goddess
Of Loving War, there's no possibly way you could feel someone's hate, without it
being..."
"Something to do with love," Cupid concluded. "I didn't
really feel anything. Maybe a twinge, but..."
Ares rose to his feet unsteadily. "It was Xena..." he
murmured sadly.
Once again, Athena was the epitome of rationality. "You may
want to find your lover, brother, but again, there is no possible way
to..."
Ares let a ball of his power strike his youngest sister down as he
snarled at her. "You know nothing, Athena! Keep your
fucking nose out of it! You've caused enough trouble for
Xena and I already!"
"Ares!" his step-father admonished.
The God Of War turned on the King Of The Gods.
"What?!?! She thinks that just because she's the Goddess of Wisdom,
Warfare and Weaving, that she can constantly but in and meddle in all of our
lives! Well, I've got news for you, Athena!" He turned on his
half-sister. "You can't be a true Goddess of Wisdom if you're too stupid
to see what's right in front of you!"
"And what's that, brother?" she asked hautily.
"Xena and I have a connection! Love is hurt and angry.
She's lashing out at whatever it is that has shielded her from us. Cupid,
Aphrodite and I are her family, and she knows that somehow, we'll hear her and
come for her..." Ares speech to his sister was from the heart, even she
couldn't deny that.
Neither could the other gods. Zeus immediately took
action. "Athena, Discord and Artemis, you go to the mortal realm and find
out whatever you can about Xena's movements the last day or so. Hestia,
Hades...I want you, Ares and the children to follow me. We're going on a
little trip to see the Fates..."
*~*~*
"Love will perish if..."
"...her War captor chooses to hide..."
"...behind her deceit."
Ares looked stricken. "I would never...!" he
began.
Strangely enough, it was Zeus that calmed him. "We know this,
Ares. Even when you first married my daughter, I knew that you would
cherish her. It was just my thought of how your relationship would be
perceived that had me quiet you all."
Hestia smiled softly. "In other words, he's sorry that he's
kept you and Xena from being a couple publicly..."
"Yes, well..." Zeus stammered. "More importantly, we have
another problem. You're not the only War on Olympus,
Ares..."
The God Of War shook his head in denial. "No...she
wouldn't. She wouldn't keep this from me after she saw how Xena's
disappearance tore me apart!"
Cupid reluctantly faced his father. "Dad, Aunt Discord isn't
the nicest goddess in the world. She may adore you to bits, you
are her twin, but she despises Love. Unless, of course, the War
that you're talking about is my dear sis, Aph!" he lightened the
conversation.
Ares gave him a weak smile as Aphrodite hit her brother on the
arm. The God Of Love winced and rubbed his bare arm. One of his
wings shot out to the side and hit her on her leather-clad ass.
The Goddess Of Loving War disappeared with a glare as she went to
find someone who would help her find and restrain her Aunt
Discord...
After the blond left, Ares chuckled. "Leave your sister
alone, Cupid. This really isn't the time for us to get
distracted."
Cupid took a good look at his father. The god couldn't
believe what he saw in Ares' face. Every line was etched with fatigue and
worry. In just twelve hours, the God Of War had aged a good twenty
years. Not that it even came close to his true age, but for a
god...
He let his hand rest on his father's shoulder. "Don't worry,
Dad. We'll get Mom back. Don't worry. She'll be back here with
us in no time and you can go back to romancing the life into her again," he told
Ares gently.
Ares' smile was grateful, but still very sad. "Thanks,
son. I hope you're right, because without Love, this god won't last for
too long. I've been with your mother for centuries longer than I've
existed without her. I couldn't face losing her now. You and
Aphrodite have your own lives, and without your mother, I don't know what would
be left for me."
*~*~*
Every god was present in the main hall of Olympus as Discord was
forced to kneel before Zeus and Hera by Aphrodite and Cupid. Zeus had
called upon Hera to decide what should be done.
The Queen of the Gods had immediately called upon Hermes to find
each and every god and inform them of the trial of Discord, for the kidnapping
and possible injury of Xena.
Zeus nodded to Aphrodite, the elder of the twins, to state the
charges. She was, after all, the least biased of her family. She was
the balance between her parents...
The gods were all in for a shock. Well, most of them.
Like all other trials, the speaker had to state their relationship to the
victim.
Aphrodite took a deep breath before she began. "Discord, you
are here to answer the charges having been brought forth by Zeus, my
grandfather, your step-father, for the crime of kidnapping and inflicting
possible injury upon Xena, the Goddess Of Love, mother to myself and my twin,
Cupid, who stands by my side."
Many of the gods gasped. It was news to them that Xena had
children, let alone such prominent gods. Aphrodite continued. "How
do you plead?"
Discord lifted her chin in defiance. She looked to her
mother, her step-father, and finally, her twin brother, Ares, her face a mask of
pure hatred. "Oh, I did it, all right!" she spat out. Then she let
out a maniacal laugh. "But you'll never find her in time. By the
time you locate her, your precious Love Goddess will be
history..."
Hera gazed sadly at her daughter. Zeus was, of course,
furious that this little miss was responsible for his favorite daughter's
situation. "Discord," his booming voice rang out across the room.
"Your punishment will be decided by your brother, Ares."
Ares stepped forward. Most of the gods felt that this was
unjust. Naturally, he would be lenient on his twin...but they were
wrong.
"I sentence you to to spend the rest of your days in the worst
prison I known to man, serving those who you would command, as the trash you
really are, powerless, and friendless. In essence,
mortal..."
The crowd of gods and goddesses gasped. His voice had
held such loathing. The listened intently as he continued.
"Such is fitting for your crimes against my wife, and the mother of my
children!"
The crowd watched in surprise awe, as the three gods took their
place around Discord. Aphrodite placed a hand on her aunt's left shoulder,
while Cupid did the same on her right. Ares, though, he placed his hand on
the top of her head.
"So be it," Zeus commanded as light seeped from Discord's body and
into that of the three gods touching her. The former goddess slumped to
the floor as her power ebbed.
Aphrodite and Cupid were both grim as they picked up Discord's weak
body and left to place her in a prison of their father's
description.
Ares turned to Zeus and Hera. "How do we find
her?"
Hera placed a comforting hand over her husband's as she addressed
her son. "We gather the other gods and hope that we have enough power
between us to find what is left of Xena's life force..." she informed him,
sadly.
Ares turned to the other gods, silently begging for aid. As
he looked each one in the eye, they all nodded. Each and every one of
them could see the agony that was ingrained into his features. Even though
many disliked War, they realized that it was not War standing in front of them,
but Ares, the being, not the god, who wished for his wife's safe
return.
It was just an added bonus that Xena was friends with every god
known to Olympus...