A/N:Yes, I'm a bad, bad writer! I dunno what's wrong with me I just kinda float away for a while. Anyway, apologies for leaving people hanging and such…it's a bad tendency of mine and I'm a tad rusty but I did some research for this story as I do with all my stories so if you feel like playing fact checker go on ahead! Again, just to remind people who might be confused this story is a little in the realm of AU for the Xena!Verse…obviously but just for clarification purposes to other people.

All war is deception.
- Sun Tzu

"What do I have to do?" Adjusting her breast band and slipping a chainmail chemise over her chest she seemed unabashed, even in the presence of a Goddess. The Yi were certainly not to her liking but beggars couldn't be choosers when your usual garb was full of holes and melted in some places.

She could feel the strange, inhuman eyes upon her as she pulled Shang over scarred calves and buttocks, finally disguising her lower half from view. Xena had taken artistic liberty in modifying the skirt to give a better range of flexibility, all the while cursing the modesty of Japanese garb and she was sure that Kuan Yi was extremely amused by her show of frustration.

"Hades has extended an offer to aid you in retrieving Ares; in order to do so he must have a foot hold in order to enter into the Underworld and you must have protection. There is a set of armor, a sacred weapon, and there's something else…" Her porcelain-skinned features rippled briefly and Xena caught sight of opalescent scales and her eyes widened briefly, the interest still there.

"What is it?" Xena leaned forward and the heady scent of Japanese blossoms hit her. This not-woman, strange God emanated a calm and peace that the mortal sitting next to her could only wish to someday possess.

"You must believe in them."

"Believe in whom?"

"Your original Gods, Xena…not those that aided you in their slaughter. Your beliefs are still in the old ways, the only reason the Greek Pantheon was not completely razed was because people still believe. There is not one singular reason why all immortals should die so that one newly created can exist. People should be allowed to believe as they like." Politics, something Xena never wanted to be involved in again but believing in a group of immortals that had tried to destroy her family? That was asking a little much but before she could protest Kuan Yi held up a painted palm.

"Believe in them and you will have your victory and your God of War." A long-nailed hand went for the arm of her robe and produced an onyx scroll sealed with a skull. "This holds the descriptions and locations of your needed artifacts but be warned, warrior, they are guarded by creatures you may not have seen before."

Taking the scroll Xena snorted, "If it can be killed I can kill it."

"Be careful, Xena, I'll be watching." And with that she disappeared.

"Let me get this straight…Hades isn't dead, none of the Greek Gods were killed? They want you to find some ancient weapons forged from the body of some powerful dragon, guarded by gods-knows-what and then somehow sneak your way down into the Japanese equivalent of the underworld?" Gabrielle sat with tanned legs overlapping, leaning against a rock as she watched her companion sharpen her weapons. Xena had been extremely quiet after her talk with the Goddess Kuan Yi but she had slowly let slip the bits and pieces of the conversation that had taken place and Gabrielle was still trying to wrap her head around the whole mess. Of course she would be going with the dark-haired woman; there was no other option in her mind. Xena would always need her whether she admitted it or not and if she were to recapture these bits of armor and weaponry to take with her down into some hellish place to save Ares she would certainly need back up.

Xena remained silent for a moment, blue eyes glazed over with concentration as she recounted her instructions and absorbed the information—there was no time to question the Goddess' words, she was the brawn and Gabrielle was the brains, not to say that she still had a few of her brain cells left after being knocked around and stabbed. When she realized that Ares wasn't about to pop up in front of her with a self-assured grin and a witty joke she knew she would have to descend into Hell to get to him. Hiding behind a curtain of long jet hair as the rhythmic Shing! Shing! Shing! Of the sharpening blade had momentarily drowned out her friend's talking,

"Xena!"

Her head snapped up, eyes refocusing as she glanced over at the strawberry blond, "I'm sorry…I was just thinking, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that this whole thing just seems like it's going to end in some trap, the Gods don't do anything without some kind of price, Xena. This is beyond dangerous, what they want you to do, how you're going to go about doing it. Are you sure you can do this?" Gabrielle was fixed with a stony glare and she sighed, meeting the gaze with a steadiness that came with time spent under those same ornery glances. She disliked pointing out the negatives, especially when this particular quest was so all-fired important to her beloved friend but had she not cared she would not have said a word. She knew that Xena was thinking with her heart instead of her head and that she would need the outside opinion. Shifting her tanned legs until they overlapped she raked a hand through her hair in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Xena. I know how important this is to you but it would not be the first time that we walked into something we thought we prepared for only to be confronted with something totally, indescribably different."

"Which is why I need you, Gabrielle but only if you are with me. It's all or nothing and I know that there is going to be a price for this because there is always a price but I cannot…" Her voice shakes with emotion, blue eyes flaring with rage and a disconcerting emotion that she would rather not think about, "I cannot just leave him there."

Gabrielle got to her feet, a frown painting her lips as she made her way over to Xena and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "What do we have to do?"

Pulling out the scroll Xena broke the seal and was greeted with the first description.

"Well it looks like we'll be going to the Bicchu province; they have a cuirass for us."

A/N: Sorry this chapter ran a little short, I'm still trying to get back into it. The next chappie will be tons better I promise!

cuirass - is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material, which covers the front of the torso. In a suit of armour this important piece was generally connected to a back piece and cuirass could refer to the complete torso-protecting armour.