A/N: This is my first Xena fic, I don't expect anyone to like it very much but I figured I would put it out there. It's a slightly more alternative ending to the season six finale. Please review!

She is far from home, staggering on foreign ground with a sword grasped loosely in her bloodied hands. The first arrow that had bitten into her flesh had started the fire and now as she was decorated with the long shafts of feathered wood she could almost feel herself burning had it not been for the desperate desire to gain ground…to keep moving through this chaos. A samurai rushes her, his war cry barely heard over the surrounding din that pressed deeply into Xena's ear drums.

I feel so heavy…

Knowing that her time is short at hand her grip tightens at the hilt of her weapon, watching this man come and wondering if perhaps she should just let him take her. Startling blue eyes narrow as the clash of metal and THUD! of bodies melt away—soon the sound of her heart beat is the only thing she can hear. So loud is its thumping that it becomes a rhythm that her body moves to, thick and fluid she seems to swim through the air, a feral scream torn from her throat as she runs the nameless man through.

Her target is here somewhere…the damned man that had schemed to take her away from this life and enslave her in the next. Glad that Gabrielle was gone from this horror she spun and danced a warrior's ballet, knowing that the beloved blonde would not be here to see her friend overcome. The raven-haired woman only took but a second to decide her course of action: she would take out as many as she could. Already her arms were growing numb, her steps slowing as blood sluiced down from her broken armor, a copper-flavored river rising in her throat.

There isn't enough time. I'll never make it to him. This realization releases a bubble of fury and panic, the people running through the fields roughly brushing past her to escape someone…or something. Jostled and already unsteady her feet give out from under her and she falls to her knees in a haze of matted hair. Sweat clinging to her face she drags herself forward like a dying animal, teeth clenched as battered hands scrabble at the ground beneath her. Get up. Get up. Get up! She can almost see Gabrielle begging her, the voice in her head stuck on a fevered repeat.

For once it seems as though the Warrior Princess does not sense the presence of a man behind her, blade arched high with only the worst of intentions.

He is pacing in one of his sister's oldest temples, lips twisted into a silent snarl that would make even a Gorgon think twice before even making an attempt to discern what the problem was. Aphrodite had been watching him for some time now, pink stiletto clad feet tapping impatiently as she waited for him to make his decision. She knows very well that if she offers her expert opinion he would likely not take it or set about to destroying her favorite hangout and that was more than just a little unacceptable.

Growing bored of the silence her attention wavers and returns to what else but her own appearance. Lightly touching the long blonde tresses that had forever been her trademark she wondered absently if a make-over was in order. After all, she had been thinking about having a 'me time' day for a week or so and attending to her needs was the most effective use of her time aside from fostering love in the silly mortals that were never absent from her temple. Tearing her eyes away from the mirror she had been staring at her lips pulled together in a pout reminiscent of a two-year-old.

"Areeessss, like, have you decided what you're gonna do? I mean, this is kind of a do or die situation."

Eyebrow twitching, the God of War did not deign to turn around and face his sibling. Instead he closed his eyes and listened. Xena might have been on another continent with an entirely new set of deities but he could still feel her.

And it was killing him.

Every arrow that lodged itself into her body was like a knife plunging into his, and he was caught between leaving and staying. Would she even want to see him? Could he stomach watching her die once more without being able to do anything about it?

A soft hand was placed on his shoulder, the warmth of its encouragement felt even beneath the layers of leather he wore.

"Ares…no one deserves to die alone. This is your last chance to tell her—"

"I HAVE TOLD HER! I'VE TOLD HER SO MANY TIMES IN SO MANY WAYS AND NONE OF IT MAKES A BIT OF DIFFERENCE!" The frustration in his voice gave way to pain, his female companion fluttering backward like a silk scarf. He quiets upon seeing the expression on her face—the way she seems to crumple like a piece of parchment.

In truth her heart is heavy with mourning for her brother and the situation that he currently faces. It isn't fair and it isn't fun to watch as his heart (who knew it was still there?) getting ripped out continuously.

"This time it will. If you don't go now you're going to regret it forever and forever just so happens to be a long time." She turns away from him, staring hard at a tapestry to keep her eyes from watering. Even as her back is turned she feels a subtle shift in the chemistry of the air and knows that Ares is no longer standing in her temple.

"This is, like, so UNFAIR!"

She stops trying to pull herself forward and finally she seems to sense the man standing behind her, ready to strike a killing blow. Xena slowly draws herself up and turns to face him, lips splitting in a Cheshire grin as dirtied arms spread wide to welcome Death.

Her attacker stares for a moment, disconcerted before he draws his blade back in a preparation for a quick slice.

His fatal mistake was closing his eyes.

She waits for the blow to come, welcomes it even but it never lands and suddenly she knows why. A familiar figure stands in front of her in all of his menacing, godly glory. His hand is tightened around the wriggling man's throat, eyes dark with a lethal mixture of emotions.

"Ares…"

The sickening sounds of bone crunching fell like a thunder clap and broke over Xena's ears. The man was limp and lifeless as the Grecian God flung him like a ragdoll and whirled around, not bothering to see where the insignificant ant landed.

He drank her in, the arrows, the blood, and the dimming light in her eyes.

For the second time in his life Ares, God of War, was near to tears.

"Xena…"