Acts of War

Ares and Jaianna were walking around a small village, all the buildings had been burnt to the ground and all the cattle and animals were slaughtered. "People of Arguilos, this village is known for being the most strong, fierce village in the whole of Sparta, military capital of Greece. And yet with in a day I Ares God of War and Jaianna the new Goddess of order have brought it to the ground. Now you have a choice, if you follow in our ways and become the first members of our new army where you will live like kings. Or rebel in which case you will all be killed." A man from the crowd walked over to Ares. He was a very tall man who looked to be incredible strong. He was in his late 20's and spoke with a deep voice. "My name is Horolus, I am the head of the Sparta military school for boys. We wish to join your army and fight for you." Ares and Jaianna smiled at each other, "Good." Ares said. "But what about the rest of you. Sparta is famous for it's military school for girls, are they in or out." Another person walked out of the crowd. This time it was a women, she had long red hair and was strongly built. She was of average height but had a fiery, powerful look in her eyes. "I'm Tekula." The women spoke, "head of the military school for girls. We too accept your offer and give you our sword." "Good." Ares said again, "For a long time the remaining gods have been ignored, for too long now and this is going to stop. Our first goal is to go to Athens and force the people to once again worship the Greek Gods, and those who refuse…will be killed." Xena and Gabrielle where in a forest walking towards the north. The sun wasn't up making the sky gloomy and cold. "All I'm saying, Gabrielle, is that they could do with re-binding." "How can you even think that Xena, you can't just re-bind them. Things like that become a part of you, you either buy new one's or you keep the one's you have, you can't mend things like that." "If you don't they will full right out of your hands when you need them the most." "My Sais are fine Xena, they aren't that bad anyhow." "There is a reason they wrap leather around the handle Gabrielle, and it's to stop them for slipping, to give you a good grip. Look at that." Xena took one of Gabrielle Sais from her boot and pointed out the leather that was unravelling from the handle. All of a sudden the handles somehow mended and where good as new again." "Ares come out." Xena shouted with her sword ready for a fight. Ares slowly appeared in front of them in a spectacular blue light. "Ares what have you done to my Sais?" Gabrielle asked. "What…. can't the god of war do something nice to help out his number one warriors?" "What do you want Ares?" Xena asked. "Look Xena just hear me out. Jaianna and I have decided to make some changes." "What kind of changes." "We want more worshipers." "For God sake Ares." "Gods, Xena, Gods not God. This is what I'm talking about people aren't even being blasphemous anymore, well not to the Greek Gods anyhow." "So what are you and Jaianna doing about it?" "We have an army from Sparta, a big army. Tomorrow we are going to Athens and force the worship of Greek Gods on them again." "Why are you telling us this Ares?" Gabrielle asked. "Because I want you with me, with Xena and Gabrielle, the warrior princess and the battling bard we'll be unstoppable. Not that the Spartan army aren't already." "Oh we'll go to Athens with you Ares," Xena started, "but to stop you not help you." "We'll see." Ares said and disappeared. "I guess it's off to Athens then." Gabrielle said. "Yeah, I want to make a stop in Messenia first." "How come." "It's where the hinds blood dagger is." "You think we are going to have to kill Ares." "Maybe." Ares had transported himself back to his army who were now outside Sparta and were making a camp up for the night. Horolus immediately came walking up to him from one of the tents. "Ares, we have a problem." He said and instantly led Ares back into the tent from where he came. "What?" Ares asked. "To get to Athens we can either go through Argos, which will take days, or we can go over the Taygetus mountains which will be much quicker." "What's the problem we just go over the mountains." "The Taygetus mountains are in Messenia, we conquered it a while ago but lately they have become a little…. difficult and I guarantee they will start a war with us." "Good!" Ares said, "Once we have destroyed Messenia we can go straight to Athens, who will already have low moral after they hear about the slaughter in Messenia. This is working out perfectly." "But sir there will be casualties." "There are always casualties and Messenia is full of farmers not warriors, it will be easy." Throughout the night while the Spartans slept Xena and Gabrielle travelled to Messenia to find the Hinds blood dagger. Their search brought them to a huge underground cave. Inside it was very, very dark and cold but they were not put off and continued their search. "Here, Gabrielle, I think this rock is loose." Xena said while pulling a rock out of position. Gabrielle climbed over to her and helped her remove the rock. Carefully they lowered it on to the ground and searched the hole the rocks absence had created. "There is something back there but I can't reach it." Xena said desperately trying to strain her arm. "Stand in this." Gabrielle suggested pointing to the rock they had just removed. Xena did and the extra height gave her just what she needed to find a shape metal object at the back. She pulled it out and tried to inspect it in the darkly lit cave. "This is it." She confirmed and the two of them made their way out of the cave. When outside they noticed it was still dark but the birds were singing so they knew morning was near. "Xena we need sleep in order to be fit enough to fight Ares, let's sleep 'till lunch and then head to Athens." "Good idea." Xena said and the two warriors laid down on the ground and went to sleep. Meanwhile Ares and his Spartan army woke early after a good night sleep and were starting to make their way to the mountains in order to reach Athens. "Ares Sir." Horolus said with a desperate expression on his face. "What?" Ares replied. "I have just heard news that the Messenia army are getting ready to do battle with us, and…." "And they have Xena on their side." Ares said surprisingly optimistically. "Yes Sir but she is not fighting for the army, she and Gabrielle have been spotted next to a cave sleeping." "Tell me something, do the Messenia's know I am the head of the Spartans now?" "No sir, shall I have a messenger go tell them." "No! No we'll leave it as a surprise that way they wont be expecting the God of War to be against them too." Ares said and walked off smiling. "What are you so happy about?" Jaianna asked. "Oh, nothing." Ares replied "Do you think we'll win?" "I know I will, I mean we will." "Xena, Xena wake up please." A man shouted over Xena's sleeping body. "I'm awake." Xena shouted back. "Please we need your help we have just heard word that the Spartan army are gathering to attack us." "What? I thought they were going to Athens." Gabrielle said, listening in on the conversation. "All I know is that they are currently walking through the Taygetus Mountains." "Where is your army?" Xena asked "They are getting ready to do battle very near here." "Take us there." "Lord Ares we will be in vision sight of the Messenian army very soon." Horolus told Ares. "Good. Jaianna you stay here and lead the army into battle, I'm going to see if I can change Xena's mind." "Don't you want to be here when the fighting starts?" Jaianna asked. "I don't want Xena screwing things up for us as soon as we fight, I want to distract her for a while." "There!" Xena said to the Messenian army, "That's the Spartans, get ready for an attack." "Xena, do you have the dagger?" Gabrielle asked. "Yeah, but Gabrielle I need you to take it. Ares doesn't know we have the dagger but it is more likely that he'll expect me to come up with something then you." "Thanks." Gabrielle said sarcastically and took the dagger from Xena. They kept looking at the Spartans from behind a small hill, with them was the entire Messenian army. "Strange." Gabrielle said, "Why isn't Ares with them." "I have no idea. Gabrielle something's wrong, Ares is up to something he would never not be at the head of his army, never." "Then what's he doing?" "I don't know." Suddenly the Spartans started running towards the Messenians with their sword raised ready for the battle. "We need to do two attacks, Gabrielle I'm going to lead half the army in now, you lead the rest in later OK?" Xena asked. Gabrielle nodded her head and watched as Xena went running from the cover of the hill with half the army behind her. Then she lent over to the person next to her, he was wearing full Messenian battle armour and was watching the fight. "How many wars have you fought in before?" Gabrielle asked comfortingly. "More then you can imagine." Said the man in a familiar voice, he turned around and looked at Gabrielle. "Ares!!!" Gabrielle said stunned. "Xena always knows when someone is watching her so I thought I would just blend in with the rest of the army then no one would know I was here." "Ares what are you doing here?" Ares took the Hinds Blood dagger from Gabrielle. "I have been doing a lot of thinking. Why are the Greek Gods so unpopular now? Why, because the Greek Gods have never helped mortals. We've messed around with them, we've hunted them for fun but never helped them." Gabrielle noticed another huge army coming down from over a hill. "That's the Athenian army." Gabrielle pointed out. "Yeah. You see when they heard that their rivals, the Spartans, where about to attack an ally they just couldn't help themselves, they had to join in the battle." "I don't understand." Gabrielle said completely confused, "How does this have anything to do with you getting popularity." "You see no one knows that I have been leading the army. And now that they see Jaianna down there, using her power they must think that it has something to do with me." Gabrielle watched as the Spartans easily defeated the Messenians and the Athenians. Xena was still alive and killing but many of the army had been killed themselves. Just as she was about to launch the second attack with her army Ares pulled Gabrielle to the round. "Then a thought struck me," Ares started again, "What if Ares God of War decided to help the greater good in the middle of the battle. When all hope was lost for Athens and Messenia what if, and this is the great bit, what if the god of war helped Athens and Messenia and won the battle for them. I think they would be grateful don't you." "You are going to trick them into worshipping you by pretending you're their saviour." Gabrielle realised "Oh yeah, only as the final act of compassion to help the greater good, I have to kill Jaianna, my love to stop the war completely." "That's why you told Xena and I about your plan, you didn't what us to help you. You wanted us to get the dagger so you could use it to kill Jaianna." "Life's a bitch isn't it?" "Ares no one will ever worship you, they…" "Yadda, yadda, yadda, I know, I'm evil, I'm the God of War. We'll see." On that Ares got off of Gabrielle and ran down the hill with the Hinds Blood dagger in his hand. It didn't take him long to reach the battle and he started killing Spartans by the hundreds. "Charge." Gabrielle shouted to her army in desperation. She ran after Ares trying to stop him before he killed Jaianna. After just a short while she got to him, he turned around and looked Gabrielle in the eye, then smiled. Gabrielle looked down at the ground and saw Jaianna dying. Suddenly the war stopped and the Spartans retreated up the mountains. Ares pulled off his helmet and changed back into his normal clothes by clicking his fingers. Gabrielle heard the name Ares being said by the armies of both Athens and Messenia. Suddenly they started chanting it, Gabrielle looked at Ares who was smiling at his handy work. Xena came running over and realised what had happened. "Xena, what do we do?" Gabrielle asked. "I…I…. Ares come here." Xena shouted but the noise of the chanting drowned out her voice. Xena looked at the ground and saw Jaianna, she was still alive but only barely. Painfully she beckoned Xena to come closer to her. "What is it?" Xena asked softly "Xena, the power of Ares's army has gone to his head. He won't stop until he has finished his war, until he has conquered the world and until he is worshipped as a god again. You have to stop him." Jaianna tried to take another breath but couldn't and died. "Ares!!!" Xena screamed again, this time Ares looked around and walked over to her. "Are you sure you don't want to join me?" He said. "Ares, you may have won this one but no one will ever worship the Greek Gods again." "Oh really Xena, they seem to be doing a pretty good job of it. Besides I've been thinking. Rome doesn't have an official religion yet I am sure I can get their new emperor to see the advantages of the Greek Gods." "Your insane." "Of course they're to proud to just take a religion, I am sure we can overcome that though." Ares said and disappeared. "Xena, what happens now? What if Ares is worshipped again all of Eli's work will have gained nothing." "With Eve going around and speeding Eli's words his way is safe for now. We just have to make sure Ares doesn't get control over the Roman religion. Besides knowing Ares he wont do anything yet, he needs time to boast before he goes on to his next plan." "He has the Hinds blood dagger now, we can't even kill him." "There is more then one way to kill a god, we'll just have to find it that's all." "Your right. What ever Ares does do next we will just have to be ready for him." "We will be." Acts of War by Kitana copywrite Kitana 2002©

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