Sweet Provenance
Atrophy

Disclaimer: All things recognizably Xena: Warrior Princess are property of Renaissance Pictures and Universal Studios.

Here be a rewrite because the original fanfic was mindbogglingly bad. I was fourteen or something at the time, which I firmly believe to be a valid excuse. The unfortunate thing was that the premise was the part that was horrific… If you have no idea what I'm babbling about, consider yourself lucky. Anyway, I am slooooooow. Be warned.

Part 1/3 – Beginnings: In Which There is a Death

Xena stared across the field at her opponent. He watched her in turn, leaning his weight casually on one leg. His disinterested slouch contrasted sharply with the tense stance of the man standing just behind him, gesticulating wildly in an apparently one-sided argument. Xena leaned over and said, "Why are we fighting this exhibition match again?"

Gabrielle gave a long-suffering sigh. "Because Hercules asked us to take care of the situation with his nephew while he's off gallivanting with his latest conquest."

Xena snorted.

"Okay, that may have been a bit uncharitable of me," Gabrielle admitted. "He did say he was on his way. We just happened to be closer."

"You arranged the duel, though."

"It was better that than a war!" Gabrielle scowled at the new king of Corinth and was gratified to receive a flinch. "Iphicles' son knows nothing about waging a war."

"You would call that a good thing, normally."

Xena's words were soft, but Gabrielle found herself wincing. "Normally." Gabrielle shrugged. "When a warlord with an army of thousands shows up at the gate, having appeared out of absolutely nowhere, though— How in Tartarus did he manage to assemble an army like that without attracting any attention whatsoever?"

"I can guess. It's because of their champion over there. The bastard doesn't even look like he's taking this seriously," Xena said dryly.

Gabrielle looked at what was revealed of the man's face under the hood and mask. "You know who that is?"

"Of course." Her mouth twisted. "My skin is crawling."

Ares grinned unabashedly. His opponent was giving him a decidedly baleful glare. He wondered when Xena had gotten involved.

He'd started thinking that he had made a mistake taking in the ridiculously fervent young warlord, but hey, worshippers were worshippers. Even fanatics were better than nothing. He'd grudgingly approved when the man had pointed his new army at Corinth—prosperous, fat Corinth grown soft with peace, and when Xena appeared to take the place of the bellicose young man who'd demanded a duel, he'd started having fun. A bloody, drawn out war would have been better for his reputation and the reconstruction of his status, but… Ares cast another glance at the warrior princess. She was listening to Gabrielle say something and trying not to roll her eyes. This was better.

"Why am I fighting?" Xena plucked at the mask on her own face. "And hiding like this?"

Gabrielle had the grace to look embarrassed. "Ah. Well… Mini Meleager made a claim he couldn't back up, and you… well, you're the same height."

She heard the stifled groan. "That family is more trouble than it's worth."

"Hey, friends in need, right?"

"Friends," was the grumbled response.

There was some commotion to the side, and Xena looked up to see the king of Corinth nod at her and gesture vaguely at the sun. She walked into the arena, watching steadily as the god of war waved off the sour-faced warlord and stepped forward as well. She stopped, widened her stance while rocking slightly to test her balance, and waited.

"Begin."

She sprang forward immediately. He drew quickly, and there was a harsh clang as he blocked Xena's attack, his blade unwavering despite her entire weight bearing down on him. Ares half-turned, letting Xena's sword scrape off his as she completed her landing. He extended for a riposte while she hadn't regained her balance from the leap, but he wasn't surprised when she twisted under the blade and dodged back to a safer distance. He smiled, matching her footwork as she began circling.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said cheerfully.

Xena gave him an unamused look. "Wasn't your baby warlord the one who was supposed to fight this duel?"

"Arctureos? Yup, but when your side made your substitution, how could I resist?"

Ares lunged, but was blocked easily, and he narrowly missed a knee to the gut. "That was vicious!" he crowed.

"So what, this is all just so you can get your rocks off?"

"Partially," he said soberly, "but also… Well, I wouldn't expect you to understand."

A flash of frustration crossed Xena's eyes, but it was gone so quickly Ares wasn't sure if he'd imagined it. Then she darted forward, drawing the second sword at her waist, and he was too busy blocking to think about it.

Xena was relentless. Each blocked attack was closely followed by another flash of steel. Her eyes were calm, flicking back and forth, finding and letting her exploit every sliver of an opening. Ares could see each attack, could predict and follow them with his eyes, but to his consternation, he slowly found himself forced backward. Even if he could see her every move, he wasn't fast enough to keep up with her, he realized. He pushed hard into a parry, enough to throw her back and break her pattern for a moment, and jumped away.

"Are you mad at me or something?" he said. He needed to break her concentration. Make her do something reckless.

"No," Xena said, unruffled as ever. He swore quietly to himself.

"Then," he began, but she cut him off.

"I just intend to win."

She rushed forward, one sword raised as a guard and the other extended in a thrust. Ares raised his sword. Ah! There was an opening! He just needed to knock aside that sword at that distance—

He thrust out, and Xena vanished.

Shit, she'd jumped. Ares blinked away his surprise and whirled as quickly as he could, but he was met with a rush of wind past his face, a sharp sting on his wrist that nearly knocked his sword out of his grasp, and hard impact to the back of his knee. He went down, landing awkwardly on one arm while the other was twisted behind his back, under the knee digging into his spine. The cool touch of a blade ghosted over the side of his neck.

Well, damn.

"Yield?" she demanded by his ear.

He thought about it. He could shake her off, but not without dislocating that shoulder, and not without using godly strength. Her huffed breaths on the back of his neck were very distracting.

"Yield?" she said again, this time accompanied by a harsh tug on his arm. That was really uncomfortable.

"Yes, yes! Yield!" he said.

She let him up amid the triumphant cheers of the citizens of Corinth. The king scurried forward, gushing his thanks, and directed his men to guide the blackly furious Arctureos into an audience chamber while clerks rushed by with heavy bundles of official looking scrolls, no doubt to discuss terms. Ares supposed it was his fault, but after the rush of that fight, he could not bring himself to care.

"Thanks," said Xena suddenly.

"What?"

"You didn't use any god tricks."

He drew himself up indignantly. "Are you implying that the God of War would cheat?"

She was laughing at him!

"No. You wouldn't. Sorry."

She smiled and slipped away just as the young man whose place she had taken stepped out into the arena, arms raised to the cheers of the spectators. He offered his arm, and Ares snorted to himself before raising his own to shake, imaging the kid's expression if he ever found out he'd shaken the hand of the god of war.

He found her later, tying on her leathers. Xena looked at him, raising a curious eyebrow when he shrugged and sat down beside her.

"Where's Gabrielle?"

"At the negotiations. She's brains and firepower all in one. I think the king's developing a crush."

Ares laughed. "What about you?"

"Oh, I've had a crush on Gabrielle since we started travelling together."

Ares pressed a hand to his chest. "You mean… I never had a chance?"

"Sure, you do. One in a billion, right?"

Laughing together felt kind of nice.

"Joking aside, yes, I should be there, too. I just need to finish getting dressed."

"Want some help?"

She slanted a look at him.

Ares put on his best hurt expression. "What? You mean you don't trust me, alone, here with you while you're half naked?"

"Oh, well, if you put it that way," Xena said drily, and turned her back to him, where the laces were still undone.

Ares began threading the loops, his fingers quick and efficient. When she pulled her hair off her neck, though, could he really be blamed for giving in?

Xena's breath hitched embarrassingly at the sensation of a hot mouth on her nape. "Hey!"

"You tempted me," was his nonchalant reply.

"Don't tempt me," she said, raising a meaningful fist.

Ares huffed. "Fine, fine. You're done, anyway."

Xena began attaching the various bits of armour before turning to look at him speculatively. "I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"That you're a god again."

He stared at her. "Was I that weak?"

She laughed. "No, that's not it. You…" she paused, struggling for words. "You've changed," she said finally.

"That's super descriptive, thanks."

Xena let go the flash of temper and the biting retort that had assembled itself at her lips when Ares surged to his feet, shaking his head, and began pacing agitatedly.

"No, I know what you mean," he said. He clenched his fists. "I have become weak."

"Ares—"

"No, I have. I should be the taste of blood, the roar of warcries, and the smell of battle in the air. I should strike fear in the heart of men even as they raise their weapons in my name. I should be the last thoughts of those who fall, letting them die with honour and absolution." He whirled and gripped her arm painfully. "My touch should send the thrill of the fight coursing through mortal veins because I am the God of War and this is what I do."

Xena looked up at him calmly in the silence. There it was: that desperation in his eyes. She pried free his whitened fingers and gripped them just as tightly. "But you are also Ares."

"You say that as if Ares and War are separate entities."

"In a way, they are. You may have made war, but mortals made Ares. Humans are what tell others they are human."

Ares shook his head. "But," he said, "I can't change."

"Don't be stupid. You mean you're afraid to change. I know you feel like you're losing something." She pressed his fingers to the corner of her mouth. "But have you considered that you could be gaining something as well?"

His lips quirked. "Is that a promise?"

Xena sighed. "I guess I'm off to the stuffy meeting."

"Is that a 'no'?"

"Don't push me, Ares. I don't know."

They stood there for a while. The sounds of revelry out in the streets filtered up and through the wooden shutters behind Xena that let in slabs of afternoon light. She watched him as his eyes flitted over everything in the room but her.

"That's not good enough," Ares said finally.

"That's all I have."

There were some other battles he had a bit of a stake in after that. Squabbles, really. Ares wasn't one to skimp on the production, though, no matter how small. He'd gained strength as patron of a fledgling city in the plains of Thrace. The problem with receiving tribute, however, was that it necessitated acting as if he had some modicum of appreciation for the pompous bastards in charge. He hadn't thought it would get this bad.

And so it was three days after that business with the man who called himself Artemis' son that Ares found Gabrielle hunched over a fire.

"You're going to burn yourself, sitting that close," he said.

Gabrielle laughed sharply without looking up. "Don't worry about me. I feel nothing but cold."

Ah. Melodrama. He wasn't good at this kind of thing.

"Maybe if you actually wore some clothes once in a while—"

"Ares, shut up."

"It's a valid suggestion."

A thrown sai buried itself into the dirt beside his boot. "I'm really not in the mood," Gabrielle said. She kept her head turned away and brushed quickly at her face before walking away towards what sounded like a river.

Xena made a half-amused little sound in her throat from behind him.

"I wasn't trying to make her feel better or anything," Ares said quickly.

"I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, I heard your non-statement loud and clear."

"Gabrielle will talk when she wants to talk."

"I don't know why I bother hanging around with you. It's giving me an inferiority complex."

"Learn some new words, did you?"

"See?"

Ares found himself grinning and struggled to control his facial muscles. It was a lost cause when he turned to Xena and saw her smile.

The smile faded slowly, and she leaned over to give the fire some unnecessary pokes. "I don't know what to do," she admitted finally. "She says she feels like she's losing herself."

"Because of a little bloodlust?"

There was that sad smile again. "People like you and me have a switch in their heads they can use to… turn everything off."

"People like us, huh."

"Gabrielle is different. She feels all the time."

He probably looked pretty puzzled. "So if she's losing who she used to be, can't she just choose to be someone else?"

Xena looked at him with something like approval in her eyes. "That's something only she can decide."

Great, he was bloating with pride. "How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make me feel like I'm a kid every time."

Oh gods, she was looking pleased again.

"You're learning to be human, right?"

Ares didn't know what to say to that, but he knew a good opportunity when he saw one, and Xena was definitely looking at him like she didn't mind when he touched the line of her jaw and leaned over with the intent to initiate a kiss. Naturally, this was the optimal time for Gabrielle to return.

Xena leapt away as if scalded, and Gabrielle gave him the kind of look normally reserved for a fragrant pile of horse dung.

"Sorry for interrupting," she said, sounding anything but.

Ares cleared his throat and avoided meeting Gabrielle's eyes. "Well, now that everyone's here, what do you say to a nice, refreshing trip to the coast? Eh?" he said loudly. He waved his hand, and a coach appeared on the path. "I'll drive."

He winced at the suspicious stares.

"That's back the way we came," Xena said.

"So what's wrong with the way we were going?" Gabrielle continued.

It took a couple of tries to find his voice.

"How did you know that?" he said finally. "Can you smell trouble or something?"

"Maybe, but mostly you're just a terrible actor."

He sighed. At least Gabrielle seemed to have recovered her naturally snarky disposition. He settled down to explain after sending the coach back, much to the displeasure of the horse, who'd made it halfway through a small bush before vanishing.

The little city of Kakopolis was settled mainly with retired warriors and their families. Most of the warriors had at one point or other fought under the banner of Ares, and so when Ares made his appearance to suggest erecting a temple in his name in exchange for protection, he wasn't met with opposition. Unfortunately, the mob of bandits scouring the area didn't share that healthy respect for Ares' name, and several houses were razed on the outskirts. Ares exterminated most of them easily, but their leader had managed to utilize what few brain cells he possessed, and had squirmed his way into the good graces of the governing body while Ares wasn't looking. By the time Ares tracked the man down, he'd installed his thugs as a police force and had convinced the councillors that the bandits were led by Xena, the warrior princess.

"Kakopolis is about half a day up the road. I thought it'd be better to just steer clear."

Gabrielle said, "You're just going to leave them? People who depend on you?"

"I'd lose worshippers if I wiped out their law enforcers for reasons they don't understand."

"Ares, there's this little concept called the right thing to do," Gabrielle said, exasperated.

She got up and started throwing things into packs, muttering about insensitive wargods while she worked.

When he looked at Xena, though, she was smiling.

The women enshrouded in cloaks, they made it to the steps of the temple of Ares without issue.

"My lord Ares!"

Xena tugged her hood a bit further over her face, and Ares took an entirely too casual step back to put himself between her and the newcomer. She watched him turn to the man and nod stiffly.

"Mekran," he said.

Everything about the man was big and friendly, from his toothy smile to his outstretched hands. Xena distrusted him immediately.

"The temple was very quiet today. We were starting to wonder if lord Ares had abandoned us!" Mekran said loudly.

"I had some business with my associates." Ares indicated Xena and Gabrielle.

They'd drawn a crowd with the noise. Some of the more impressionable people were grovelling on the ground.

"Are my lords gods as well? Or perhaps pilgrims to the temple of Ares?"

Ares' hand settled onto the hilt of his sword. "I fail to see how that's any of your business."

Mekran bowed low. "A thousand apologies, lord Ares. As chief of the guards of Kakopolis, I have only the safety of the citizens in mind, but any friend of lord Ares is welcome in our city. Please do not hesitate to call upon my services or my men." He made eye contact with a man hovering in the shadows under a nearby house and jerked his head. Several guards clanked into position around the temple. "The temple of Ares is a great asset to the citizens, so please allow us to guard the premises to the utmost of our abilities."

Ares snapped his fingers, and the heavy temple doors slowly ground open against the backdrop of awed murmurings from the spectators at the show of power. Xena tugged on Gabrielle's cloak and led her through the door. She turned her head a bit, squinting at Ares silhouetted against the blinding sunlight.

"I appreciate your concern," he said through gritted teeth.

As he walked into the temple and the doors shut ponderously behind him, Xena caught a brief glimpse of Mekran's face. His smile twisted into a triumphant sneer before smoothing out again.

Ares led them into one of the bigger rooms at the back of the temple.

"Those were the bandits, huh?"

He nodded at Gabrielle. "Yeah. Their leader's under the protection of the councillors. The biggest collection of blind old farts I've ever seen."

"He's smart. I think he knows something about you, and this is personal."

"I've never seen the man before."

"You remember the faces of every man you've met?"

"Sure." Ares hesitated. "Well, the important ones, anyway."

Xena and Gabrielle shared an amused glance at that.

"That's not entirely useful," said Gabrielle. Ares sniffed dismissively.

"So what's the plan?" he asked instead.

"Don't really have one," Xena said. "But I have an idea."

Gabrielle rounded a corner carefully in the dark, senses extended for the slightest movement. It hadn't been much, but she'd woken to a strange noise, like a gasp. It hadn't sounded healthy. When she crept out of bed, Xena was already gone.

She palmed a sai, the chill of the blade pressing reassuringly against her hand.

The air shifted behind her, and she whirled, weapon shooting out hilt-first at throat level of the shadowy figure.

"Whoa!" hissed a familiar voice, and the man dodged enough that she only clipped his shoulder.

Gabrielle dropped her stance with a small groan. "What were you doing sneaking up behind me, Ares?"

"I wasn't sneaking! I was coming to meet you," Ares said in a stage whisper.

"Well, there's someone else sneaking around, and for gods' sakes, be quiet!"

Then there was a scream and a loud clatter of falling metalware, which rattled as if it was rolling on the ground.

Ares gave her a pointed look, and Gabrielle resisted the urge to punch the man. "Let's go!"

A couple of corridors brought them to an area dimly lit by candlelight. A cluster of priestesses were hovering around another priestess who appeared to be going into hysterics and a slumped form on the ground.

"What happened here?" Gabrielle asked over the din.

One pointed to the fallen body. "Ciaranne was stabbed! She's dead!"

The woman on the ground was dressed like another priestess. Blood was slowly seeping into her robes and puddling on the floor. Gabrielle lifted the woman slightly until she saw the shine of a dagger embedded in the woman's back. Her spine had been cut.

"She died quickly, at least," Ares said.

Gabrielle touched the pool of blood. "It's still warm. This must have happened very recently."

"So the killer's probably still close by," Ares said.

Gabrielle nodded. "Let's spread out and search. Can the women fight?"

"That won't be necessary."

Xena stepped into the light, dragging a body behind her.

Gabrielle winced at the hilt sticking out of the man's chest. "You killed him?"

Her friend grimaced and said, "I put the pinch on him, but when I took it off again, he tried to stab me with a knife." She looked at Ares. "Does he look familiar?"

He shook his head. "Don't know him. He's wearing a guard uniform, though."

"So he's one of Mekran's. Why would that man send someone recognizably working for him?" Gabrielle asked.

"Unless he meant for us to recognize him," Xena said.

Gabrielle nodded. "Did you get anything out of him when you put the pinch on him?"

"Time and location where he was supposed to meet Mekran after killing the priestess."

Ares touched Xena's arm briefly, just under the armguard. "You know it's a trap. He meant to have that man captured."

Xena smiled, or at least bared her teeth. "It's a trap for you. I have a surprise for him."

It was near dawn when they approached the meeting point. The forest was starting to show signs of long-term human habitation: hacked down trees, scuffed earth. Xena was leading the party of three.

"So I'm just bait?" Ares complained.

"Think of it as being in the middle of all the action," Gabrielle replied with a snicker.

Xena came to a stop suddenly and held up a hand. "Alright," she said, "we're pretty close. Let's go, Gabrielle."

"You're leaving me?"

Xena gave him a smile that was entirely too happy for his liking. "The best bait is alone bait. Don't worry, just get in there. We've got you covered."

"And remember to look angry," added Gabrielle.

"That won't be a problem," said Ares, grumbling.

Xena's touch lingered on his arm for a moment, and then she and Gabrielle melted into the undergrowth.

Ares huffed and stepped forward.

Moments later, his reflexes screamed, and he ducked under the trajectory of a flying man. The man thumped head-first into a nearby tree, but a dozen others jumped down out of the surrounding trees, and he didn't have enough time to laugh at the oaf.

A few went down under sizzling fireballs, but more poured in to fill the gap.

They were after his sword, Ares realized, suddenly on the defensive. How had they known his godhood rested in his sword?

Despite trying to overwhelm him with sheer numbers, the bandits were clearly no match for an angry god of war, especially one who could down five men with one swing.

He saw a flash of something black, and raised his sword to protect his eyes. The whip wrapped around his blade and tugged it out of his hand, and he found himself cursing the instincts he'd picked up as a mortal. The sword clattered to the ground, and six men jumped on top of him when he made a dive for it.

Oh yes, this was what mortals called shit creek. It was surprising how much he hadn't missed it.

"So you really are just a mortal without your sword."

He followed the hand reaching down to pick up his sword up to Mekran's self-satisfied face. A growl rumbled deep in his chest, but the man only laughed.

"Ahh... Such power in this sword. I can feel it pumping into me." Mekran grinned down at him. "How's it feel, Ares? Mortal again just after you'd gotten your godhood back?"

"What the hell is your problem with me?"

Mekran gave him a blank look, as if he'd forgotten. "Ah, I didn't think you'd remember."

"Remember what?"

"We've met before, once."

"I don't remember ever meeting you!"

Mekran sighed. "Of course not. I was just a child." He tapped a finger on his arm thoughtfully. "Perhaps the name Agathon would ring a bell?"

"Agathon?" Ares narrowed his eyes. He did remember the skinny warlord who talked entirely too much for his own good. "A relation, then?"

"My father." Mekran crouched down in front of him, his face blackening rapidly. "You see, you bought his loyalty with Hephaestus' weapons, pretended you were on his side, and then you fed him whole to the Warrior Princess Xena, all because you had a thing for her. He told me! He told me if he didn't come back, I'd know exactly who to blame!"

Ares flinched at the spittle that speckled his face.

"Well, you know what, Ares? I've heard all about Xena. No matter how much of a whipped little cur you are, that bitch will never—"

The whine of sliced wind Ares had been hearing was quite loud now. There was a spray of blood, and his lips twisted into a smirk as he watched Mekran cut off his diatribe with a yell and clutch at the stump where his arm used to be. The sword clanked to the ground even as Gabrielle connected with the men holding him down boot-first.

Xena's chakram embedded itself into a tree across from Mekran, and the man landed on the ground with a thud under Xena. He managed to turn his head to look up at her, his face waxy and pale with blood loss. Her boot pressed heavily on his back so that his cheek dug into the ground.

"You..." he said, his eyes widening with recognition.

Xena snarled. "Me." She drove her sword down and into his neck, and then she twisted.

He'd gotten a dirty gash across his chest, and even though it seamlessly healed once he'd reclaimed his sword, Xena insisted on washing the area and checking it out.

To be honest, she'd simply stared him into submission.

As he'd expected, there wasn't a blemish left on his chest, but Xena sat beside him, fingers lingering over the site of the wound.

"Hey," Ares said, and she jumped. "If you wanted to get me shirtless, all you had to do was ask."

She mumbled an apology, but her eyes never focussed. He looped his fingers around hers when she tried to retreat, and he pressed them against his heart. "I don't mind," he said.

Gabrielle cleared her throat pointedly behind him. Ares shot her a guilty look, but she only gave him a resigned smile before taking Xena's other hand.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Xena's head jerked up. "Oh. I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"The Way of the Warrior."

"Because you decided to kill him?"

Xena smiled briefly. "I guess. I was pretty angry."

"I thought you'd given up on all that Way business," Ares interjected.

Xena smiled again. "I guess." She looked down at their enjoined hands, both sets lying on her lap now. "Yeah. We're just living the best we can."

Gabrielle looked at her for a moment, and then she pressed her lips against Xena's cheek before pulling back to lean her head against Xena's shoulder.

Ares glowered for a moment at Gabrielle and said, "What about me?"

"What about you?" Xena tilted her head down until she was blinking at him through her bangs.

"Don't give me that innocent look. You know what I've gone through today? You made me bait—"

Xena's mouth brushed over his, and she nipped his bottom lip lightly before pressing another kiss to the corner of his mouth. It was... like fire.

"Happy?" she said, but she was smirking.

He acted as if he was thinking about it. "Yeah," he concluded. Ares licked his lips carefully, and he directed a wide grin at Gabrielle, who was watching him like she'd just seen a dog that'd performed an interesting if appalling trick and was waiting to see if he'd do it again. "Mine was better."

Xena snorted, and Gabrielle tried to smack him.

To be continued.