Part Five
 
The numerous gods gathered in a circle of sorts, in the main hall on Mt Olympus.  Zeus, Hera, Ares, Aphrodite and Cupid stood in the center of the ring of gods, making a circle of their own.
 
They all focused on one being...Xena.  The gods leant their strength and abilities to the inner circle of gods and held their place as an image formed within the inner circle...
 
The Goddess Of Love was chained up in a tiny cave.  Her skimpy clothes were torn and dirty, and two male guards stood watch as they tormented Xena with their swords, thrusting them into her beautiful body, leaving yet more tears in her clothing.
 
Ares stood by the portal and watched, his eyes filling with absolute hatred for these men that dared toy with his love.  What made it even worse, was that they were his men, his to command...and now, his to destroy...
 
"I swear to you, Xena..." Ares murmured to the open portal.  "When I get through with them, they'll wish they had never heard of the God Of War..."
 
Rage also simmered inside every god present.  Before, gods would often toy with one another, when they each interfered with their business, but they all agreed that Discord had gone too far.  If she hadn't already been banished, and with out her godhood and immortality, they probably would have torn her apart to live out her eternity in pieces, scattered across Greece.
 
Cupid and Aphrodite stared at their mother's image.  They couldn't believe the way she looked.  Xena always took pride in her appearance, always flirting with everyone and making teasing comments, always accompanied with a couple of tips on how to improve one's looks and demeanor. 
 
But this wasn't her...
 
The twin gods hardly recognized her.  There was no love in her eyes, only a divine vengeance.  Her eyes were the only part of her that seemed alive, though.  Her hair fell limply down her back, her lips were slightly parted, her legs were just dangling below her.  They didn't know whether to be thankful that she was still alive, or fearful of what she might do, what she might be like, when they released her...
 
*~*~*
 
It was Ares that Zeus decided to send, to get Xena.  Not only did he know her captors, but since they were his own men that had his wife, then he would decided their fate.
 
When Ares appeared in the cave, Xena barely spared him a glance, her hateful gaze still centered on the group of men, who could hardly be classed as legitimate warriors, that were boasting about their so-called accomplishments.
 
"A-hem!" Ares interrupted.  The group turned to him, then immediately stood up.
 
"Lord Ares!  What are you...I mean..." the obvious leader started.  He turned to Goddess Of Love.  "We have Xena here, just like Discord ordered.  I doubt that she'll last too much longer..." he chuckled, his chest puffing out with self-importance.
 
The man's ego deflated like a balloon when the God Of War grabbed him by his hair and pulled his face within barely an inch of his own.  "You don't take order from Discord.  She's not even a goddess any longer.  That bitch has been sentenced to mortality, for the remainder of her very short, human life."
 
He thrust the man away from him as the rest of the group took a step back, trying to escape their god's attention.
 
Ares hardly noticed them as he kept his focus on their leader.  "This has me beyond furious," he stated in a deceptively calm and quiet voice as he moved to unchain his wife.  "The Goddess Of Love happens to be a close friend of mine, despite our obvious differences..."
 
Xena collapsed into his arms.  She closed her eyes, the feel of his strong arms around her, was absolute ambrosia to her weak state.  Ares placed a hand over her head, as he let his healing touch take care of her.
 
"Ares..." she murmured, her strength returning.
 
"Shh..." he placed a finger against her lips, then went back to empowering her.  He transferred some of the power he received from Discord's demise, into Xena.  Within seconds, the tattered strips of cloth that used to be her trademark outfit, was once again whole, flimsy, skimpy, and thoroughly transparent.
 
Xena smiled up at him as she stood, shakily.
 
In that moment, Ares knew that the rage they had all witnessed in her eyes had not been maniacal in the least.  It had been a strange anticipation, for when she would be released...
 
The God Of War realized that it wasn't up to him to punish her captors.  It was up to her.  "I was issued a 'Punish at your discretion order," he murmured in her ear.  "But I leave it up to you, Princess.  What do you wish to do with them?"
 
A flicker of interest entered her eyes, followed by a sly grin as she stepped closer to the group of fearful warriors.  Ares watched his wife point, and shoot.
 
A shower of bright petals fell over the group as content, and down-right dopey looks came over their faces.  Each man approached the first thing that their gazes locked onto.  One man bent over and picked up a small rock.  He began murmuring sweet nothings to said rock.  Another, well, he approached the man with the rock obsession and tried to engage him in loveplay.
 
The third was attempting to kiss the helmet he held in his hands.  Fortunately for the helmet, it kept slipping out of his fingers.  It was the leader who had Ares worried, though.  He had had his eyes locked on the God Of War the entire time, so guess who his new obsession was...
 
"Ahhh!  Xena!" the god panicked and called for his wife's aid.
 
Xena bit her lip and giggled, but pointed her finger once again, and directed the hopeless leader to the chains that had held her, obviously of Hephaestus' forge...
 
Ares wrapped his arms around his beloved and took her home to Mt Olympus...
 
*~*~*
 
The second that Ares laid his wife down on their bed, the majority of the Olympian Gods appeared in the large bedroom.
 
Several of her closest friends and family rushed forward.  The crowd was so thick, that Ares was forced onto the bed.  The god toppled over onto his wife.  "Sorry..." he murmured as rolled off her, conscious of Zeus' warning glare.  It seemed that even though the King Of The Gods acknowledges their rather lengthy marriage, he still was pleased with his daughter's choice of husband.
 
Xena held back a giggle at the look her father was giving Ares, not that the look on Ares' face was any less humorous.  "Umm..." Ares said.
 
Xena leant over and kissed his cheek.  Ares immediately tore his gaze from his father-in-law and turned to his wife.  "Hey...how are you felling?"
 
"I'm fine..." she whispered, as she smiled at him.
 
He gave one sharp nod of his head, then turned to their captive audience of eavesdropping gods.  "Now, the rest of you can just get the fuck out of our bedroom!" he commanded, noisily and with an unapologetic grin.
 
The gods all left with murmurs of protest and get well wishes.  Only Zeus, Hera and the children stayed.  "Ares, I've put up with enough from you, and no one tells me when to-"
 
Xena cut her father off.  "Dad...come on...I'm tired and I haven't had sex in twenty-four hours!  Give a girl a little-"
 
Hera bit her lip to keep from laughing as Zeus' face began to go red.  "Come on, let's leave these two alone..."
 
They could hear Zeus complaining as they left.  "I blame that son of yours, Hera..." he grumbled.
 
After they left, all four of the remaining gods could no longer contain their laughter.  Aphrodite and Cupid fell onto their parents beds in hysteria.
 
Ares shoved his son from where he'd fallen on his father's legs.  "Get off me, wing-boy!"
 
Cupid moved over and leant up against the bed-post, then punched his father in the leg, lightly.  "Leave me alone, old man!"
 
"I'm not old!" Ares pouted.
 
Xena laughed.  "Tell that to a mortal and see what they say..." she chuckled.
 
Aphrodite scoffed.  "Yeah!  Like you can talk, Mom!"
 
"Hey!" Xena protested as she lightly tapped her daughter on the arm.
 
The group slowly lapsed into comfortable silence.
 
"Are we all okay, then?" Ares questioned in a concerned tone.
 
Xena turned to her husband, then to her two children.  She nodded with a small smile.  "Yeah, I think we are..."
 
Her family grinned.  Aphrodite crawled over to where her mother was laying.  She gave her a warn hug.  "I love you, Mom..." she whispered.
 
"Oooooh!  I love you, too, sweet pea..." she hugged her daughter back.
 
Aphrodite moved back to her place, only to be replaced by her winged son, Cupid.  "Me too, Mom..." he murmured as he gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek.
 
Xena giggled as she hugged him back.  "You're such a sweetie pie, Cupie!"
 
Cupid blushed all the way to his snow-white wings.  "Mo-om!  You know I hate being called 'Cupie'..."
 
Xena stuck her tongue out at him.
 
They all laughed.  Xena turned to Ares.  "What about you?" she taunted playfully.
 
Ares raised a dark eyebrow.  "What about me?"  At Xena's look, he relented.  "I love you, too, Princess..." he told her as he rolled his eyes in a comical gesture.
 
Xena pouted.  "It doesn't mean anything if it has to be pulled out of you..."
 
Ares chuckled as he moved over to his wife and began kissing her.  Xena thrust her fingers into his hair as he moved on top of her.
 
"Ow!" Aphrodite whispered in a harsh tone as she rubbed her leg.  Her father had 'accidentally' kicked her as he moved.
 
Cupid rose an eyebrow in a way that was so like his father's, that had Xena seen it, she would have sighed and held her hand to her heart.  "Our cue?" he asked his sister.
 
Aphrodite nodded, still rubbing her leg as the two of them disappeared, Cupid in a shower of lilac blossoms, and Aphrodite, in bright yellow sunbeams.
 
*~*~*
 
Ares and Xena were too engrossed in other things to notice their children's presence...or  sudden absence...
 
In seconds, the couple's clothing had been disposed of, and they lay naked on their bed, legs and arms entwined, their bodies expressing to the other, just how much they were missed.
 
The Goddess Of Love eagerly wrapped her long legs around her husband's trim waist, silently begging for him to enter her.  She moaned in pleasure when he complied, easily sliding his erection into her warm, aroused body.
 
Ares groaned in absolute rapture at the feel of Xena's body clamped tightly around his hard cock once again.  Not once in their five hundred years of wedded bliss, had either of them gone without the pleasure of one another for more than half a day, and the time Xena had spent trapped in the cave, was longer than either of them wanted to go without the other...ever.
 
The god repeatedly thrust into the beautiful being that was his Love, as she begged and pleaded for him to never leave her...to thrust harder...faster...longer...
 
Each request was met with enthusiasm.  Ares groaned long and hard as Xena clenched her inner muscles around him, a sure sign that she was on the edge, just waiting for that single movement that would tip her over...
 
Xena dug her nails into his back, straining for her release.  Ares smiled to himself as he thrust his tongue into her mouth, his fingers wandering down her body until he reached that part of her where their bodies connected.
 
The god applied just the right amount of pressure in the place where she was the most sensitive, still thrusting into her as he watched the play of emotions that came across her perfect features at the peak of her orgasm.
 
Xena closed her eyes, her body strung tight, just as her release washed over her.  She shuddered repeatedly as her body shattered into a thousand pieces.  The goddess could feel her body clamp tightly around her husband's hard arousal enough to force him into his own release.
 
She listened with pure contentment as he came with a satisfied shout, soon collapsing onto her replete body.  Xena wrapped her arms around his hard chest as he pressed a soft kiss to her temple.  "I love you, Xena..." he whispered huskily in her ear.
 
Xena smiled softly into his neck.  She nipped lightly at the tender skin, then giggled.  "That's better..."
 
Ares chuckled as he bent down for another kiss...
 
Part Six
 
One Month Later
 
"Aaahhhhhhhiiiiiiiiii!"  The excited, feminine squeal was heard throughout Mt Olympus.
 
Athena put her hands over her ears, as did Artemis, Zeus and Hera.  Ares turned around, frowning, as did his two children, all three recognizing the sound of Xena's voice.
 
The group of gods were on Mt Olympus, discussing recent events in the mortal realm.  Even Hephaestus, stuck in his cave in the depths on the mountain, looked up, wondering what in Tartarus could get that kind of reaction from the usually, tight-assed gods...but the sound was remarkable like Xena....hmm...
 
Suddenly, Xena appeared in the center of the main hall of Mt Olympus, where her her family stood in stunned silence.  They were all still recovering from her sound of excitement that had echoed through the halls, only seconds ago.
 
The Goddess Of Love flung her arms around her husband's neck and jumped up into his arms, wrapping her long, shapely legs around his hips.  Ares groaned as she excitedly rubbed herself up against him and smothered his face with kisses.
 
"Xena, what is the meaning of this commotion?"  Zeus demanded of his favorite daughter.  "Not only are you late for this month's meeting, but you come in here unannounced and virtually molest your the God Of War."
 
Hera raised a sardonic eyebrow.  "They are married, dear..."
 
The King Of The Gods pursed his lips stubbornly.  "That's not the point, Hera."
 
Cupid leaned over to Aphrodite and whispered in her ear, "I do believe that Dad is enjoying Mom's molesting of him...don't you think, sis?"
 
Aphrodite giggled and agreed.  "I wonder what Mom's so hyped up about...?"
 
Xena disengaged herself from her husband, but couldn't stop grinning, even when confronted by her father's stony glare.  "I'm pregnant!"
 
She threw her arms up in the air, and sparks of bright light flew up and burst into balls, all the colors of the rainbow, lighting up the dreary hall.  Hera stepped down from her throne and gave Xena hug and a kiss.  Zeus was glaring at Ares as Aphrodite and Cupid rushed to their mother and hugged the life out of her.
 
Ares stood there, grinning like an idiot at nothing in particular, then suddenly let out a whoop of delight and grabbed his wife around the waist and pulled her against him.  "Oh yeah, baby!  Papa's gonna get lucky tonight!"
 
The couple disappeared.
 
"Where in Tartarus do you think you two are going???"  Zeus demanded of the absent couple.  "Get back here!!!!!"
 
Hera ignored Athena's furious demeanor and Artemis confused expression and leaned in closer to her grandchildren.  "You know, now that I think about it...when Xena was pregnant with the two of you, they didn't come out of their chambers for at least a month..." Hera confided with a smile.
 
"Go Dad!" Cupid whispered, with a grin.
 
Aphrodite joined the two in the obvious delight, until she remembered the war that her father was supposed to be keeping track of in Athens.  The very one they had been debating with Athena during the meeting...  "Oh no!"
 
Hera hushed her.  "Don't worry...I'm sure that your father would trust you to take care of it..."
 
Aphrodite bit her lip, but nodded.  She wasn't sure if she was ready to do this alone...she'd only been a true goddess for thirty-five years!
 
The Queen Of The Gods turned to her grandson.  "That means that you'll be taking over for your mother, as well, Cupid."
 
The god grinned.  "Cool...!"
 
Aphrodite lightly punched him on the arm.  "That doesn't mean that you go around sticking your arrows into Dad's warlords...okay?"
 
He flashed his sister a toothy grin.  "You got it, sis!"  Then the God Of Love disappeared.
 
The Goddess Of Loving War sighed.  "I'd better go and check on Dad's domain...there's no telling what kind of tricks my little bro would play on Dad..."
 
Hera chuckled as her granddaughter disappeared.
 
*~*~*
 
Aphrodite nearly slapped herself.  "What would Mom say to you is she saw you biting your nails, Dite?" she asked herself, aloud.
 
The goddess appeared in the Halls Of War, where her Dad conducted most of his business.  A few seconds later, one of Ares' priests came running into the main room, where Aphrodite was standing, contemplating her options.
 
"Whoa!  Chill, little guy!" she told the mortal.  "What's the prob?"
 
He frowned at her.  "Who are you?  And where is Lord Ares?"
 
"The God Of War is a little busy pillaging his private grounds at the moment.  I'm in charge for a while, until he gets back."  She grinned.  "I'm Aphrodite, the Goddess Of Loving War!"
 
The priest looked horrified.  "Loving War?" he chuckled nervously.  "Lord Ares is playing a joke?  Please say yes...?"
 
Aphrodite was offended.  "Hey, buddy!  Do I go around insulting you like that?  And Ares wouldn't take kindly to you insulting me like that!  We're very close..."
 
The priest suddenly looked at her differently.  She found his thoughts coming through loud an clear.  "Eeewwwww!  Not that kind of close!  Oh, that's just gross!"
 
Aphrodite took her seat on her father's throne, a portal appearing in front of her.  She took a peek at how the war was going.  "Ares wants this thing to be bloody, doesn't he?"
 
The priest nodded.
 
She looked at it again.  "It looks pretty tame to me.  Well, tootles, babe!"  she disappeared, leaving the priest stunned.
 
*~*~*
 
The Goddess Of Loving War reappeared on the battlefield, invisible to all mortals.  She couldn't believe just how peaceful things were on the field.  "Ugh!  I think we need to liven things up a little..."
 
She giggled as she directed a bundle of arrows from the Athenian army over to Ares' army.  It took only three seconds for her father's army to scramble around and retaliate.  The Athenian army didn't know what had hit them, as a number of warriors stormed their defenses, the battle resuming.
 
Aphrodite sighed as she heard the plea of a young woman to bring her husband home safely.  She realized that she was from Athens, but that didn't matter.  She couldn't ignore her own domain while she dealt with her father's.
 
She was just about to take care of business, when Athena appeared.  "It seems that you don't have the stomach for War, little one..." she smiled sagely.
 
"Hmmph!" Aphrodite turned away from her aunt, just in time to see a the young warrior whose wife she had heard, nearly impaled by one of his enemies.  "Oh no, you don't buster.  Your wife wants you home for dinner..."  With a flick of her wrist, she forced his sword arm to come up and block the blow.
 
"You can't do both jobs, Aphrodite.  Why not just leave War up to me?" Athena coaxed.
 
"And what makes you think you can do any better, Aunt 'Thena?"  came Cupid's voice.  The god appeared beside Athena, glaring at her.  "Leave 'Dite alone and go away."
 
Athena stiffened.  "I know when I'm not wanted...and don't call me that!" she muttered, before disappearing.
 
"My job here is done..." Cupid grinned stupid, bowing to his sister, then vanishing.
 
Aphrodite grimaced to herself.  There was no doubt about it, her family was weird.
 
*~*~*
 
When the young goddess returned to the Halls Of War, she found a small statuette of her, dressed in her regular outfit, holding a sword in front of her, made out of metal, sitting on the arm of her father's throne.
 
"Oh..." she murmured in awe.  The piece was so beautiful.  There was no doubt who had made it, because only one being had the skill to create something that perfect out of metal.
 
Hephaestus...
 
She dimly recalled that he had had a crush on her mother a couple of hundred years ago.  Xena had told her all about her introduction to Olympus, and how she'd dubbed The Forge as a 'sweetie'.  But since Xena had her foot planted firmly in Ares' garden, she didn't want to say or do anything about it...
 
Aphrodite smiled at the gift he had given her.  The statuette disappeared.  She had transported it to her chambers on Mt Olympus, onto a small table next to her bed.  She would have a reminder of this day and this experience, and also the strange feeling that entered her heart when she thought about his gift.
 
*~*~*
 
Xena moaned as she rolled over onto her back.  She was sore as all get out.  They hadn't stopped making love for the eight hours that they'd been back in their room, and even the gods got tired once in a while.
 
She felt her husband press a kiss to her bare shoulder, groaning himself.  "Celebration is good..." he murmured sleepily, a huge grin plastered on his face.
 
Xena threw an arm over her face.  "Sleep is good..." she added.
 
Ares closed his eyes, too tired to keep them open any longer.  "We're gods, we don't need to sleep..." He yawned.
 
Xena giggled.  "Sure...I can tell.  And having you as a full-time lover is enough to drive any goddess to exhaustion."
 
Ares grinned, his eyes still closed, drinking in the praise.  "Are you saying that I'm a fantastic lover, wife?"
 
He didn't see the twinkle that lit her gaze.  "I'm saying that you have stamina...not that you're fantastic...husband."
 
Ares's eyes flew open and glared at her.  "I'll show you stamina, Xena."
 
With that, the God Of War and the Goddess Of Love went for another round in the love game...
 
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