Cupid was standing next to Xena as he, along with her, tried not to worry about their father when he suddenly got a sudden surge of love, causing him to become very horny.

Without thought he turned and looked for his lover. He smiled as he watched Strife slowly creep up behind Gabby. Cupid noticed that Strife was holding a large spider in his hand. Cupid quickly covered his mouth as he, in a vain attempt to cover his laughter as he watched Strife silently place the spider on Gabby's shoulder.

Cupid shook his head at his teasing love as walked over near his love, as he grabbed Strife's hand he called out to Xena, "We're going to go look for some wood for the fire."

He watched as Xena raised a curious eyebrow before it slowly dawned on her and then he laughed softly as her eyes became huge and she made a surprised "Oh! Yeah, wood, definitely need some more wood." Cupid nodded his head as he dragged his reluctant lover behind him.

"Wood!" Strife exclaimed as he tugged in Cupid's hand. "Why do I want to look for wood when the entertainment's about to start," He said as they entered the dense woods.

Cupid pulled his love closer to him and with out speaking pulled his lover to him for a kiss filled with promise and love.

Strife groaned as Cupid deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Cupid to pull him closer to taste more of his love.

Cupid reluctantly pulled back and grinned at the dazed look he saw on Strife's face. He lifted a finger and gently caressed the firm jaw-line of his love and placed another kiss on Strife's cheek.

Strife unconsciously licked his lips, causing Cupid to groan, "So, what kind of wood are we looking for?"

"Oh, I don't know," Cupid paused as brushed his very hard cock against Strife's, "Maybe this kind of wood."

Strife nervously gulped as he looked up into Cupid's passionate gaze, "Have ya ever done this before?" He asked.

Cupid shook his head, "Not since I've been married to Psyche, have I been with a man," He paused as he looked at Strife, "You?"

Strife swallowed nervously, "Never. I've been in love with ya for so long that even the thought of me sleeping with someone other then ya felt wrong. I had kind of given up falling in love and I would have been just happy with us being friends."

Just hearing those sweet words come from his lover, "Oh, Strife, How could I've been so blind to not notice how you really felt about me? I love you, Strife," Cupid said as he wrapped his strong arms around Strife and pulled him in for another deep passionate kiss.

Strife moaned at the feel of Cupid's love for him.

Without a thought Cupid created a blanket to appear under them as he picked up his lover and gently placed him on it.

Strife stared up as his beautiful cousin and watched as Cupid thought away their clothes. Strife's gaze slowly wondered over the sculptured body of his cousin, and then slowed down as he came to the dark patch of hair between Cupid's legs. His breath caught in his throat as he watch Cupid erection slowly go from limp to a hard throbbing cock rising proudly. He gulped again as he felt his own cock growing in response.

"Oh, babe," Cupid said as he bent down on his knees, looked at his beautiful pale cousin for the first time. He reached out a hand and gently touched one of Strife's pale shoulder's, "You're beautiful."

Strife lowered his head to hide his now tinting face, "No, I'm not beautiful. Ya are," He said as he sat up and touched the strong chest of Cupid.

Cupid softly chuckled at his lover as he bent down and pulled Strife closer to him. He leaned down and gentle placed a kiss on Strife's warm and moist lips. The kiss soon ignited into a burning passion as they both lost themselves in the moment.

Cupid gently pushed Strife down to the ground and began moving his lips down Strife's neck.

Strife moaned at the feel of Cupid's lips moving across his body teasing his nipples and making them ache in pleasure.

Cupid smiled at the reaction that he was getting from Strife as he slowly moved his lips down Strifes hard stomach down to his dripping, aching cock.

Cupid bent down and began mapping his way with his kissing and hands down Strife's wreathing body.

Without thought, Strife grabbed Cupid's head as he moved closer to Strife's leaking cock.

Cupid quickly swallowed the tip with his mouth, his tongue delving out to taste. Sucking fiercely, he licked his way up and down Strife's sweet cock, only pulling back when Strife began clutching his hands on the back of his head.

He slowly pulled back and looked at his trembling love. He lifted up and urged Strife onto his side and quickly slid behind him.

Cupid was pleased, that when he aligned his body to the curve of his lover, that they fit so well together. Like they were always meant to be together. Moving his hands back down Strife's body he began to massage Strife's ass. His thumbs teasing the crevice in between. He began to gently circle the hidden pucker causing Strife to inhale sharply when he quickly thrust back, forcing his thumb into the tight heat.

"Cupid," Strife groaned as he tried to thrust further back.

Cupid rotated his thumb around, before he remembered the oil, he quickly thought it up and then slicked his fingers. He tried to ignore Strife's please for more as he pushed them back in searching for the hidden nub. Gently he began stroking it causing Strife to cry out in pleasure.

"CUPID!!!!" Strife yelled out as he forcefully thrusted himself back onto Cupid's fingers.

Cupid quickly withdrew his fingers, and shifted his cock to the small opening. Gently, he pushed inside, past the tight ring of muscle, making small thrusts to ease his way further inside.

Strife tired to clench his hands in the blanket but as Cupid wrapped his arms around him, he entwined their fingers together as he started to slowly thrust.

Strife couldn't think. The wonderful feeling of Cupid's cock was driving him wild. Cupid moved their hands slowly down their moving bodies and wrapped them around Strife's aching cock. He began slowly stroking it in the same rhythm as his thrusting cock.

Cupid found the hidden nub once more and he began to drive repeatedly into the same spot, loving the screams that erupted from Strifes throat as he erupted in their hands.

Cupid buried himself one more time in Strife's warm heat, letting his climax sweep over them 'til he filled Strife's body with his seed.

Cupid let out a blissful sigh as he wrapped his arms tighter around Strife's sleeping form.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on Strife's shoulder as he whispered, "I love you. Gods, how I love you, Strife," He said as he joined his lover in their peaceful slumber.

Gabrielle was furious as she watched Cupid drag Strife towards the woods.

How dare they ignore me. I'm the one that's right. It's gross seeing two men together, and then there's Ares.

She paused in her anger of the other's and focused it on her main problem. 'Ares'.

'Ares,' she thought was behind all of her problems. 'Xena was ignoring her because of Ares. Joxer had stopped worshipping her and turned his affections to that blasted evil God of War.' It was Ares' fault that Joxer was missing. Ares' fault that Cupid was ignoring her obvious beauty for his male cousin.'

'Yes,' She thought as she stomped her foot on the ground. 'It was all Ares' fault.'

While Gabrielle was fuming, she didn't see a gold flash appear behind her.

Zeus stood silently behind the blond harpy as he listened in on her angry thoughts of his son.

An evil glint appeared into Zeus' old blue eyes as he quickly changed his form to that of the arch angel, Michael.

A shadow fell across Gabrielle, causing her to look up, she smiled as she ran to the only person who ever listened to her.

"Michael!" She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around the man she thought was Michael.

Zeus hugged her back as he thought that his Michael disguise was the best idea he ever came up with.

He gently pushed Gabrielle back as he looked into her face, "Why, Gabrielle, you look upset. What is wrong?" He gently asked as Zeus thought of what was the best way he could lead the bimbo in his plans to kill Ares.

Gabrielle quickly explained to Zeus/Michael what was going on and how it was all Ares' fault.

Zeus smiled as he quickly agreed with Gabrielle, "You are right, Gabrielle. Ares is evil and it's all his fault that you are being ignored by your friends. You should do something about it."

Gabrielle nodded her head while Zeus placed a thought in her head.

She smiled as she said, "I know, you can go and get Hercules and bring him here and so he can kill Ares and then everything will be as it should be. With everyone listening to me and Joxer will be back worshipping me and doing things for me."

Zeus/Michael smiled down at her, "Why, Gabrielle, what a brilliant idea. I will do just that," with that he flashed out letting go a crazed laugh.

'Yes,' he thought. 'Its all coming together. I will bring Hercules here and he will fight Ares and kill him before Peace comes forth to protect him and then there will be nothing standing in my way of ultimate power.'

"WOW!" Clotho said as she waved a hand in front of her face to cool herself down. "That was HOT!!!" she stated as looked down at the sleeping couple.

"I never knew Ares had it in him," Stated Atropos as she looked at the shocked faces of her sister's. "Well, I knew, knew but I didn't know, know," explained the blond hair Goddess, the youngest of the triplets.

Lachesis sighed as their middle sister spoke up once more, "I think they're cute, " Clotho said as she brushed a black hair out of her eyes.

"I have to agree," Atropos spoke again. "I've never seen Ares look so happy."

Lachesis let out tired sigh as the older sister brushed a lock of blood red hair back from her pale shoulder. As the oldest of the triplets by three minutes, Lachesis took more after her mother. While Clotho took after their Grandmother Gaia and Atropos took after their Aunt Demeter in looks. Of the three, Lachesis being the oldest took on the more serious roles of the Fates making sure the prophies where fulfilled and measuring the lives of mortals. Clotho, who held the shear's of life, felt responsible for the ending of life and so she took a more active roll in the Underworld. While the youngest of the triplets, Atropos was the spinner of the thread of life. She felt more responsible for the beginning of life and so she when could she took a more active role with their Aunts Demeter, Hera, Hebe and Eilethya in the beginning of life.

Lachesis cleared her throat to get her sister's attention.

"Come,sisters, we have a prophecy to fulfill and babies to bring in to the world."

Clotho and Atropos both nodded their heads as they took their spot on either side of Ares and Joxer. Lachesis stood at the head of the sleeping lovers.

"Sleep, Ares, " she softly whispered near his ear. "There's nothing to worry about, everything is going to be all right. Joxer is safe and sound asleep in your arms. That's it, Ares, go into a deep sleep," She smiled triumphantly as Ares went into a deeper sleep.

"He's out! Now we can do what we planned to do with out any interruptions from Ares."

Lachesis said as she moved her hand over the sleeping forms. Clotho and Atropos nodded their heads as their hands joined their sister's hand. In a circle they began to move and spoke in one voice.

"We, the sister's of Fate, call upon the threads of life. We call upon the beginning of life, the middle of life and the end of life," above their heads appeared three glowing threads.

"We, the sister's of Fate call upon the threads of life to grant us the lives of Faith, Hope and Destiny," They cried out as they suddenly stopped and pointed to the glowing threads of life. Suddenly, the sky grew dark around them as thunder and lightning appeared in the sky. The winds picked up around them as they stood and faced the glowing threads of life. Suddenly, a bolt of lighting struck the ground and from the smoke appeared three glowing balls of light.

The balls of light floated towards the sisters of Fate. Each ball landed in one of their hands. The three sister's raised the balls in the air and spoke as one, "We, the Sister's of Fate, call upon Faith, Hope and Destiny to bring forth a new age of Olympus. I, Lachesis, the oldest of the Fates call upon Faith," She cried out as she raised a glowing ball of light. "Faith to see us through the coming of the twilight. Faith that will lead us to the coming of the Roman age and beyond," She said as she bent down and placed her hand on Joxer's naked stomach with a thought she opened his stomach and placed the glowing ball of Faith.

"I, Clotho, the middle sister of the Fates call upon Hope," She called out raising her glowing ball in the air. "Hope to give us strength when the twilight will become too much for us. Hope to give us the strength to survive and Hope for to give us a better future to look forward to," She said as she also bent down and placed the glowing ball of Hope.

"I, Atropos, the youngest of the Fates call upon Destiny," She called out raising her glowing ball to the sky. "Destiny who will shape our future. Destiny who will lead us into a new age and Destiny to lead us through it," She said as she also place the glowing ball of Destiny inside Joxer's stomach.

"We, the Fates, call upon Faith, Hope and Destiny to bring us forth into a new age of War and Peace, " They cried out as one as they pointed towards Joxer's stomach and closed the wound.

"We, The Fates, now call upon the God of Time and the God of Years to come forward."

They stood in silence as they waited for the God of Time and the God of Years to appear.

A yellow and dusty flash appeared then in its place stood two Gods with their arms wrapped around each other lost in a deep kiss.

Lachesis let out a frustrated sigh as she spoke, "Don't those two ever stop?"

"Oh,hush, Lac. Just because you haven't seen Hermes in the past few days doesn't mean you have to be such a prude," Clotho stated as she ignored Lachesis' look of shock. "Besides I think their cute together."

"You think every couple is cute together," Stated Atropos as she watched the very pregnant God of Years reluctantly pull away from his love, the God of Time. "Besides I think Ares and Joxer will win the cute couple of the year award when Cousin Persephone holds the winter ball this year."

A far away look entered Lachesis eyes as she spoke, "I don't know Cupid and Strife might give them a run for the prize this year." Clotho and Atropos followed her far away look and both silently nodded in agreement and the turn back to the God of Time and God of Years only to find that they went back to kissing again.

Kronos, the God of Time, held his love and was working his way down that delectable neck when the clearing of throats interrupted him. He let out a reluctant sigh as he finally looked up to see the Fates standing in front of them. With a confused expression, he looked around him only to find that they weren't in their bedroom where he wanted to be, but standing in some woods.

"Timenous, why are we standing in some woods when we can be in our nice comfy and welcoming bed?" He asked his beautiful curly, blond haired lover.

Timenous softly chuckled at his passionate lover as he explained, "Because, Kronos, they called us.

"Do you think that if we ignore them they will go away," He hopefully asked the older man that had always held his heart.

Timenous softly laughed at the hopeful expression on his lover's face. He shook his head as he looked up at his big and strong lover, "I don't think so. I think it's very important."

Kronos let out a reluctant sigh as asked, "Do we have to?"

Timenous looked up at the love of his life as he reached up to brush a hand through Kronos' brown wavy hair as he said, "I'll tell you what we'll do. If you do this for me then I will..." He paused as he realized that they had an audience. So, as a blush quickly spread over his face he motioned for Kronos to bend down. Kronos bent down and his face suddenly burn with passion has he listened to his love's passionate voice describing, in detail, what he will do to him once they were back in their bedroom.

"Well, in that case, let's get this over with," He said as he turned to face the Fates. "Well, what do you want? " He asked as he wrapped his arm around his pregnant love and rubbed his hand over Timenous' bulging stomach of the next year's child.

Lachesis smiled, glad to finally have their attention, "We have come to ask you to speed up time for a bit for a mortal that we are watching over."

Kronos stood in shock at hearing their request. It was then that he noticed the sleeping forms in front of him. He sighed as he realized that the mortals sleeping in front of him just finished having sex. 'Lucky guys,' he thought.

Timenous' soft voice broke through his thoughts when his wise love asked what he thought was a very good question, "Why, Lachesis, should we speed up time for one mortal?"

"Because he is your lost brother," Came Moira's voice from behind them.

Timenous turned to look at his sister in confusion, "What are you talking about? We haven't lost any brother."

"That's because I made you forget," came Mnemosyne's soft spoken voice as a gray light flashed and then disappeared into Timenous's sister, the Goddess of Memory.

"Forget, why?" Timenous asked, as he ran a hand through his hair, while his other hand gently patted the comforting arms that were wrapped securely around him.

"Because, like all of your brother's and sister's, you were devastated at the loss of Peace and because of Moira's prophecy, I made sure that all but four of the Titans forget our beloved brother, Janous, God of Peace," Mnemosyne explained as she touched the forehead of her brother Timenous making him recall his memories of Janous.

"Kronos is a young Olympian and therefore doesn't know about our lost brother. Because we never told any of the new Olympians of him in order to protect him from Zeus's rage," Moira exclaimed as she neared the sleeping lover's and gently touched Joxer's hair. "As for the other's, it was easy to make them forget in their grief."

"Yes, now I remember," Timenous softly explained. "It was the dawn of the Battle of the Titans and Olympians. Zeus, in order to claim Cronus's throne, needed to start a war between the Titans and the Olympians, who at that time were getting along fine. In order for him to start his war and his quest for power he needed to kill Janous, the God of Peace, Consort of War and loved by all. All but Zeus,who, in his haste for power, forgot that War needed Peace, for with out Peace, War would go mad with blood lust. Which is what happened, War found his beloved Peace lying dead on their bed and was easily persuade by his 'trusted' brother, Zeus that it was the Titans who were behind the death of Janous. In our grief we didn't know that it wasn't the Titans. We believed Zeus, who rescued us from Cronus's stomach. No one knew the truth except for you... Moira. Sister of Peace, Goddess of Prophecy."

"You foresaw it all in a dream and tried to warn Janous, but you were too late. For Zeus had already killed the one person who understood your gift of second sight. As Janous took his last breath in your arms he charged you with the protection of the Sword of Peace, which you hid in the Temple of Prophecy. Once Zeus had killed Peace, and in turn, War went mad with blood lust. With out Peace and War gone mad, the battle between the Titians and the Olympians lasted for 10 years with neither side gaining an upper hand and causing the lose of many Gods and Goddess'."

"In his desperate attempt at ending the long battle, Zeus conspired with the Hecatoncheires, the three giants with a 100 hands each and the most terrifying children of Gaia and Uranus. It was they that finally led the charge across the plains of Thessaly to the Titan stronghold and it was because of them that Zeus now has throne of Olympus. Once the war was over, Zeus took the Sword of War in his hands and beheaded the mad God of War. He then handed the bloodied sword to a very young Ares, who, at that time, had no understanding of what was going on."

Timenous and Kronos moved over to where his sister Moira was standing over the sleeping forms of Ares and Joxer. With the help of his love, Timenous bent his down and touched the forehead of Joxer, "Janous!" he whispered softly, "How, Moira, is this possible?. That our brother can be reborn," he asked of his sister.

"When Zeus took over the throne of Olympus he made the mistake of calling me in front of him on the day of his coronation. He asked me to prophesize for him and prophesize I did. In my anger, I did the one thing that I have sworn to never do again. Use the gift of second sight in anger. Because of my anger at our brother, I gave prophecy that he would always remember the one that caused his actions towards his son, Ares. 'Peace will give the greater sacrifice for War and will bring forth Faith, Hope and Destiny. The three who will save us from the coming twilight. Peace will reunite with War and they will dethrone the sky king and bring in a new age on Olympus.' Ever since then, Zeus has hated your cousin Ares and has succeeded in turning almost everyone on Olympus against him. Only four people were in attentendce when I gave him that prophecy. They were Hades, Mnemosyne, Zeus and I. Zeus became so angry that he blasted us and told us never to enter his temple again unless he called for us."

"When came time for Janous to be reborn, Hades brought me his string of life. We were both surprised that Janous chose to be reborn as a mortal. But a mortal he was and we did our best at protecting him. I didn't know how the prophecy would be filled until the mortal known as Joxer fell into the hole then it all became clear. I knew then what I had to do."

Timenous nodded his head and then said, "Very well, Moira, we will do this for you. We will speed up time to protect the children he is caring and to bring forth the prophecy," he lifted up his hand to his lover Kronos who helped him stand up.

"We need you to separate him from Ares or Ares will be caught in the aging process." She nodded her head and hurried to move and separate Ares from his lover. Once it was done Timenous and Kronos placed their hands on Joxer's body.

"We,the God of Time and the God of Years, Call upon the House of Time, the Halls of Time and Time eternal to hear our cry. Come forth and hear our call." Suddenly, before them, the woods were surrounded by their 365 children, The children of hours, minutes and seconds appeared with their Father, Time Eternal. The children of Past, Present and Future appeared hearing the call of their parents,the God of Time and the God of Years. Soon followed by their sister's of the seasons along with their brother's days, weeks and months.

"Raise your hands to the sky," Kronos called out as the winds of Time swept through the woods and surrounded them and starting a storm of Time.

He looked towards his husband and clasped his hand and, with joined hands, raised them toward the sky as the House of Time, Halls of Time and Time eternal spoke as one. "We the keepers of Time call upon time itself. We call forth the speeding of time for one mortal, Joxer of Athens. For every hour that he is awake his body will move forward in time for one month 'til he has reached nine months. His children will continue to grow after their birth for 24 hours until they have reached maturity and then they will stop growing. This we command," They spoke as a bolt of Time's lighting hit the ground with such a force that it shook the ground.

Silence rang around them as the storm of Time ended. The winds of time quickly left as they had come. The Children of the House of Time also disappeared and the Halls of Time where blacked for only a few minutes before they started ticking again. While Time eternal disappeared along with his children.

Kronos bent down and picked up his pregnant husband off the ground where he had been knocked down by the power of Time, "Are you all right, beloved?"

Timenous wearily nodded his head as he let forth a slight yawn, "Don't worry, love, it just took a lot out of me," He smiled as he felt their child kick his stomach. "Apparently, the baby is doing fine also." Kronos smiled down at his love and bent down to place a kiss on his head. He looked up at the Fates, and his Aunts Moria and Mnemosyne.

"The spell should start as soon as Joxer, or Janous, wakes up. I suggest you fill in Cousin Ares, on what is happening, so he will be prepared to help his lover through the pregnancy and also to protect his lover. For the spell we did was so powerful it might awaken Janous who is still sleeping inside of Joxer's mind."

Moria nodded her head, "Thank you, Timenous and Kronos, for your help. For without you, Janous might never have had a chance to live. Even as we speak, Zeus is taking things into his own hands and is planing the death of his son, Ares, so he can have more power," She moved closer to Kronos and placed a kiss on Timenous' forehead while Kronos still held his lover. "Take care of that baby, too., What will this one be the God or Goddess of, once his or her year is over?"

Timenous smiled up at his sister as he rubbed his stomach, "It's a he and once his year is over he will be the God of Numbers," He said proudly as he smiled down at his stomach.

Moria smiled and Timenous held her hand once more as he spoke softly, " When Janous comes back tell him that I would like to talk to him alone so I can thank him for the advice that he had given me."

Moria nodded her head and watched as her brother and his lover disappeared in a yellow and dust flash.

She turned to find Ares awake and staring at her.

She let out a weary sigh as she realized that her brother-in-law was right. She had to explain to Ares what was going on so he could protect Joxer better.

With another sigh, she walked towards her sister, Mnemosyne. "Thanks Mnem, I greatly appreciate your help." Mnemosyne smiled down at her younger sister and returned her hug.

"No problem, Mo," she said as she looked from Moira to Ares.

"Don't worry, Mnem, everything's going to be all right. He's just confused and angry."

Mnem nodded her head and after another hug, she flashed out of sight.

Moira turned and smiled as she walked over to her favorite nephew. She tried to hold back her laughter as Ares looked for something to cover himself and his lover. With a thought, she created a quilt designed with the symbols of Peace and War on it. She held it out towards him while she watched him pick up his sleeping lover and sit him on his lap. He finally took the quilt and wrapped it around their bodies as he watched his aunt Moira sit down next to them.

She looked at her sleeping brother and softly smiled. "He's cute when he's asleep," she said as she touched his head, which was nestled on Ares's shoulder.

Ares nodded his head as he smiled down at his new love, "Yes, he is. What is going on, Moira?" he asked as his piercing black eyes narrowed at the Goddess of Prophesy, demanding an answer.

Moira let out a sigh as she looked away from Ares and towards the woods, her pale face and celestial blue eyes held an expression of great sadness as she began to speak.

"Long ago, when the Titans ruled the Earth, but before the birth of our youngest Titan, Zeus, there existed our favorite Titan, Janous, the God of Peace. He was at that time the youngest of the Titans and he was a very happy boy, well loved by all. He understood us and loved us with all of our faults. When he and War married, they were one in everything. However, darkness came to unsettle our happiness. Cronos had taken to eating his children. He ate Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Janous was my brother, so he was not one of Cronos's children, however, being the God of Peace, he also felt the pain of Cronos's children as he ate them. The pain was so powerful that Janous did the one thing that many of his brothers and sisters regret to this day. He helped Rhea with the birth of the last of the Titans, Zeus, God of the Sky. As soon as the birth pains began, Janous helped Rhea find a hidden cave at Lyktos on Crete. There, they left the baby in the arms of their grandmother, Gaia, where she and the nymphs took care of him. He grew into a strong man, and in order to free his family, he met with Metis, and together they saved their family from Cronos's stomach."

Moira paused for a moment as she let out a deep sigh before she proceeded to tell him the same story she and Timenous had recalled only moments ago.

Ares sat in shock and then anger as he listend to the story of how Zeus had killed Janous and blamed his death on the Titan's in order to make War go mad so Zeus could gain the throne.

She paused again as she watched the morning stars slowly disappear as her sister Eos, Goddess of Dawn, brought forth dawn while her sister Nyx, Goddess of Night, went home to greet her daughter, Hemera, Goddess of Day.

"I hid Janous among a pair of twins to be born in a warlord's house," She continued, looking at the changing sky. "When his wife gave birth to triplets, he thought he was blessed by the gods, but I needed to be sure that Janous remained hidden from Zeus's eye. So, I made him clumsy and changed his name to Joxer. I knew then that Joxer's father was a bastard, but I couldn't control the abuse he put Joxer through. I had to concentrate on making sure the prophecy would come true. So, I protected him through Jett. I couldn't protect Joxer most of the time, but when I took the form of Jett, I put fear into the eyes of Joxer's father. I placed a compulsion spell on him that he, no matter what happened in his life, would always follow the path of War, knowing that once he was under your protection that you would take further steps to protect him from the other gods. You, Ares, are a very jealous god when it comes to your followers. So, I made sure that when your daughter, Xena, left your fold, she would take with her a compulsion to protect Joxer when she met him,which she has done well since the day they met. I have watched Joxer grow up to be a kind and gentle soul. A brother that I am very proud of and I would gladly tell the world that, but I cannot. I had to keep my secret and bury it away from Zeus's probing mind. I had no clue how the prophecy was to play out until Joxer fell into that hole, and then I knew what to do."

She looked down at her sleeping brother and softly smiled, "I did what I had to do, Ares, to protect him from Zeus's rage, and in return for that protection, Mnemosyne wiped his memory of his past life, Hades protected him from death and I protected him from Fate."

She smiled again. "Take good care of him, Ares."

With that, she disappeared. It was immediately afterwards that she as she wiped her eyes from crying that she remembered, she hadn't told Ares that he was going to be a father.

Zeus appeared on a dusty road with a flash. He smiled as he realized that Hercules and Iolaus hadn't yet noticed him as they had just continued walking. He quickly changed his appearance to that of the arch angel Michael and appeared before them.

"Michael!" Hercules exclaimed as they saw the angel appear.

"Hercules, I've come bearing an important message from Gabrielle. Ares is at their camp, under the disguise of a mortal. He has kidnapped Joxer and has made Strife turn Cupid against them. She fears for Xena's life and asks you to come with me to kill Ares and end his evil ways once and for all."

There was something about what Michael said that made Hercules pause. "Why would Ares kidnap Joxer?" Hercules finally asked as his piercing blue eyes held those of the arch angel.

The question caught Zeus off guard. Never before had Hercules questioned him, and without a thought, Zeus probed his mind and found all of Psyche's holds. He frowned when he realized that when he had changed Psyche into a fly, he had lost control over Hercules's mind, too, leaving his son free to now question his words.

What was he to do? He smiled as an evil thought crossed his mind. "Oh, Hercules, it's just awful. Ares has come up with an evil plan to bring Xena back into his fold of hate and war. His plan is to kidnap Joxer and hold him hostage 'til Xena caves in and will trade her life for that of Joxer. Why, even as we speak, Ares has tied Joxer up and is slowly turning the innocent mortal over to his side."

Zeus smiled in triumph as he hit his son's vulnerable spot. Hercules hated the thought of innocent people being hurt.

Hercules grimly smiled as he looked to the man who secretly held his heart, Iolaus.

Every time they went into battle, he privately held the fear that he may never retrieve Iolaus from the clutches of Hades's realm in time to tell him how he felt about him. Every time he rescued Iolaus, he became even more frightened to tell him how much he really loved him.

"Come on, Herc," Iolaus called out to him as he stood near the angel.

Hercules let out a soft sigh as he walked to the angel and nodded that they were ready.

In an instant they flashed out and headed towards Xena's camp.

The soft snoring and the gentle brushing of feathers across his naked back woke Strife, not only to the morning sunlight, but to a dream he never thought he would see come true. For below him, with his beautiful pearl white wings wrapped securely around their bodies, and his wavy blond hair mussed from their lovemaking, was his dream come true. He was actually waking up in Cupid's arms.

'How did I get so lucky?' Strife mused silently as he gently moved a pale finger over Cupid's bronze chest and unconsciously began to toy with a brown nipple.

Ever since he could remember, he had been in love with Cupid. When Cupid had married Psyche, he had felt his heart break. It was so bad that 'Dite had taken the time to be nice to him and give him comfort when he needed it the most.

Strife paused in thought as he realized that Cupid must have still been under the spell of his arrow of love since he had not felt his heart break.

Strife let out a thoughtful sigh, but then he felt the watchful gaze of the man below him. He turned his blue eyes to look down into Cupid's green ones and shyly smiled, "Morning."

Cupid returned his shy smile as he wrapped his arms tighter around Strife's lean body. "Morning," he replied as he moved one of his hands up and down Strife's smooth back, causing Strife to groan.

"What were you thinking about?" Cupid softly asked as he began to rub Strife's back.

Strife bit his lower lip as he looked away from the man he loved. He didn't want to ask one of the the toughest questions in the beginning of their relationship. "Cupie, how long did that love arrow last when you were shot?"

Cupid closed his eyes in thought and then quickly opened them, "Oh, Strife, it only lasted a month after we were married and then it was gone. Since then, I haven't been shot once. I love you, Strife. None of my love arrows could ever change that again."

"Really?" Strife self-consciously asked as he looked back at the man he loved.

"Really," Cupid said with a smile as he moved his hand through Strife's black hair and pulled him down for a kiss filled with love and passion.

Strife moaned in pleasure at the feel of Cupid's lips on his. Cupid softly chuckled at the glazed look in Strife's eyes as he pulled back from their passionate kiss.

"We should start back before Xena gets worried about us," Cupid said as he placed more loving kisses along Strife's face and gently nibbled his lips, causing Strife to moan in pleasure again.

Cupid then turned them over and began working his way down Strife's neck.

Strife let out a disappointed sigh as Cupid slowly pulled away from him and helped him to get up.

Cupid softly chuckled at the look on Strife's face, "I tell you what, why don't we go back to Xena's camp," he paused as he pulled his lover closer to his chest and began placing kisses up and down Strife's neck once more. "Tell her there's some business we need to take care of back on Olympus, and then once we are there, we can take care of our business," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Strife's eyes colored with passionate mischief as Cupid got them cleaned up and dressed within the blink of an eye.

As they headed out of the woods and entered Xena's camp, a bright flash appeared.

Joxer mumbled softly in his sleep as he unconsciously rubbed his head against Ares' bare shoulder.

Ares let out a soft sigh as he felt the boiling anger aimed at his father slowly dissipate as he looked down at his sleeping love.

'Joxer,' he thought, 'what am I to do now?'

Oh, he knew he loved Joxer when he first met him on that deserted road, but now Joxer was someone else entirely. A god reborn into a mortal. The lost brother of the Titans. The former God of Peace.

He held his lover closer in his arms. "Does knowing Joxer is a god reborn change anything?" He asked himself as he looked down at his sleeping mate.

"No," he angrily answered himself. "It doesn't change anything. I still love Joxer more than anything in the world, and nothing will ever change that."

Without a thought, he turned his dark angry eyes towards the sky and called out in a loud voice, knowing Zeus would hear his call. "I, Ares, God of War, claim Joxer of Athens as my consort. Therefore, he is under my protection. I will let no one hurt him again."

Joxer mumbled again, causing Ares to look down and watch as his lover slowly wake up.

"Ares," he spoke as his brown eyes looked up into Ares' now calm ones, filled with love for Joxer.

Ares softly smiled down at his waking lover and roughly spoke, "I love you, Joxer."

Joxer smiled as well and started to reply when he suddenly frowned. "Ares, I don't feel so good. I think I'm going to be sick." With that, he quickly scrambled off of Ares' lap and ran to the bushes to throw up.

Ares followed his very ill lover and held him in his arms as he emptied his stomach.

Joxer moaned softly as he finished and turned into Ares' comforting arms.

"What's wrong?" Ares worriedly asked as he began to rub Joxer's naked back.

"I don't know, Ares. One minute I'm waking up to the best thing in the world, and the next, I feel like I'm at Death's door."

Ares frowned in thought and then quickly lifted up his ill lover. "Do you think you are able enough to make it back to camp?"

Joxer started to shake his head yes when another sudden wave on nausea swept over him.

He quickly doubled over and started to throw up behind the bushes again.

Ares waited silently until Joxer finished and then he quickly wrapped the blanket that Moira had given him around Joxer's body and placed him back onto his lap.

"We will wait 'til you start to feel a little bit better before we start to head back to camp."

"But Xena will start to worry if we aren't back before breakfast," Joxer said as he leaned his head weakly on Ares' shoulder.

"That's alright. It will be a nice change of pace for her to worry about me for once," he said with a teasing smile as he placed a soft kiss on Joxer's head and waited for the sickness to pass.

Unconsciously, he began to rub Joxer's slowly swelling tummy in hopes of soothing his ill lover.

Ares softly asked him a little later, "Feel better now?" Joxer sleepily nodded his head as Ares lifted up his naked lover and helped him to get dressed. Once Joxer was finished, Ares got did the same, and they headed back to camp.

As they neared it, Joxer turned to his lover. "I'm feeling much better now, Ares, but I can't figure out why my pants are suddenly becoming so tight," he said as they turned to see a bright flash appear outside of the camp.

Hercules blinked a couple of times as the white flash disappeared around them to reveal Xena's campsite.

As he looked around, he noticed Joxer and Ares coming out of the woods. He automatically assumed that the arm around Joxer's waist was not one of protection but was Ares in the act of threatening Joxer.

So, being the hero that he was, Hercules dashed across the clearing and tackled a very surprised Ares who had just enough time to push Joxer to the safety of Strife's arms.

"How dare you use Joxer as a way to get to Xena!" Hercules yelled as he and Ares began to fight.

Ares angrily pushed Hercules off of him and began to fight back.

As the two brothers fought, Zeus, still disguised as Michael, stood back and ate a bowl of popcorn as he cheered on his son, Hercules. Unknowingly, he handed the bowl of popcorn to Gabrielle who snidely stood by him. Xena wisely remained on the sidelines as she gave a look of dissaproval at Michael and Gabrielle as they cheered on the fight. Cupid and Strife had their own hands full as they held on tight to keep an angry Joxer from joining the fight.

"Enough!" Moira cried out as she and Asclepius, God of Medicine, appeared.

"Drat her interfering hide!" Zeus angrily grumbled as he disappeared, knowing Moira could detect his power signature if he stayed any longer.

Moira's angry cry caused Ares and Hercules to freeze in fear.

"Okay, who started this?" She asked as her piercing blue eyes held those of her nephews.

Silently, they both pointed at each other.

Moira let out a tired sigh as she held the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

"Ares, take care of Joxer while Asclepius checks him over." Ares quickly answered the order given to him by the only aunt who could still take him over her knee and spank him.

She then turned her angry glare to her other nephew. She sighed again as Hercules looked everywhere but at her. She knew without asking that somehow her brother, Zeus, was behind Hercules' sudden appearance and the fight between he and Ares.

"Come, Hercules and Iolaus." She motioned them to sit near her as she took her place on the grass and watched Asclepius check over Joxer. She softly smiled as Joxer made Asclepius check out Ares before him. "I have a very old story to tell you. It's about a lost god who was reborn into a mortal, and a prophecy that has yet to be finished."

Hercules and Iolaus listened in both shock and anger as Moira filled them in on the story of Janous and Zeus.

"Wow, Herc, Joxer's a God!"

Moira shook her head as she lifted a finger to her lips for Iolaus to keep quiet.

"Not really. You see, Mnemosyne erased Janous' memories, so Joxer has only memories of his own, therefore, doesn't know how to use his powers or anything else dealing with his godhood. According to Kronos, the God of Time," she began to clarify at Iolaus' look of confusion, "Janous' memories are sleeping, but with the spell that was put on Joxer they may awaken much quicker than we thought. Once his memories return, we are not sure what will happen."

"Oh," Iolaus nodded, then he paused. "Why are we whispering?"

"Because Joxer doesn't know any of this, and we don't want his memories to return until it is time for the prophecy to come true," Moira softly explained.

"It's your last protection, isn't it?" Hercules softly asked as he watched his half-brother hold Joxer's hand while Asclepius started checking Joxer over.

"Joxer's memory is indeed our last and final protection against Zeus. When it starts to return, Zeus will know that Janous has returned as well, which will bring forth Zeus' downfall.

"Once his memories return," she continued as she watched Asclepius check Joxer's progress, "Zeus will come to find him and kill him. We must protect Joxer 'til the babies are ready to be born."

"Babies!" Hercules and Iolaus exclaimed at the same time.

"Yep," she softly smiled as she turned to look at her nephew. "Hercules, you're going to be an uncle."

With that, everything went black for poor Hercules as he fainted.

It was at that same moment that Asclepius also gave the good news to Ares and Joxer. "Well, instead of having these babies in the nine hours that we thought, you are going to have them in about 45 minutes," he said with a proud smile on his face as he became the only god to witness Ares, the hard ass God of War, eyes roll up in the back of his head and faint, along with his consort.

"What!" Moira exclaimed as she ran towards her nephew, Ares, and his consort, Joxer, leaving Iolaus to take care of his secret love.

"How can this be?" Moira asked as she neared Asclepius.

He shrugged his shoulders as he ran his hand through his brown curly hair and his blue eyes worriedly took in the fainted couple. "My best medical opinion would be that the time spell that was put on Joxer is now awakening his memories of Janous, thus reactivating his godhood, which is causing the spell that controlled his pregnancy to speed up even more, since it was meant for a mortal and not a God."

"How far along is he right now?" She softly asked as she bent over Joxer and started shaking his shoulder to wake him.

"About four months," he said as he slowly approached the God of War. He knew from Moira that Ares was a mortal now, but even as such, Ares was still scary to mess with, for unlike Joxer, Ares had memories of his powers and knew without a doubt how to get to them if the need arose.

"Is there any way we can slow the process down?" Moira asked as Joxer finally started to come around.

"I don't know. Timenous and Kronos may know since they cast the time spell," he suggested as he quickly jumped away from Ares' fist.

Moira nodded her head and smiled softly at Joxer's confusion. A small look of recognition then quickly passed over his face.

Moira stood up and pointed to the sky as she demanded the Gods of both Time and Years to appear before her, knowing if she didn't actually command it, they would simply ignore her call and go back to making love again.

A dusty yellow flash appeared then, revealing the two gods who were not only kissing each other very passionately, but were in the act of undressing.

The loud clearing of Moira's throat was the only thing that stopped them from going any further.

Kronos reluctantly pulled back from his lover's warm lips and looked around to find himself once more in the woods.

"You know, Timenous, in the future they're going to invent this great new thing called caller ID. That way if certain relatives call up, you can see who it is and you don't have to answer; you can just ignore them and go back to what you're doing." He said with a pointed look toward his aunt.

"Moira, this had better be important. Timenous is eight months along, and after that time spell we pulled this morning, he is very weak. He needs his rest," Kronos said as he put a protective arm around Timenous' bulging belly and gently rubbed his hand over it.

Timenous gently smiled at his sister's concern as he patted his lover's hand. "It's all right, Moira. Kronos always gets a little overprotective as my time get closer. Now please, tell us what is going on?"

Moira quickly explained to her brother what was going on with Joxer and how both spells were now counteracting each other.

"And you want to know if we can slow it down?" Timenous asked as he rubbed his stomach, feeling a kick from their baby. "Hey, Asc, how far along is Joxer, now?"

Asclepius looked up from checking over a now waking Joxer. "Oh, about six month now."

Timenous shook his head. "Sorry, Sis, but we can't slow the spell down now because Joxer is too far along in his pregnancy. If we even tried to slow it down, we wouldn't know how it would affect the babies or him," Timenous said as he motioned to his lover to help him sit down next to Joxer.

Moira frowned and then motioned for Asclepius to help her explain what was going on to Ares.

"Hey, Jan--Joxer," Timenous said as he quickly fixed his slip of the tongue. He gave Kronos a thankful squeeze of his hand as his lover helped him sit down. "So, Joxer, how are you doing?"

Joxer absent mindedly began to rub his growing belly. He softly smiled in wonderment as he felt the babies move around. "Fine, I guess, for a man who is about to give birth. Do I know you?" he asked. "You and the woman," he paused as he motioned to the beautiful red haired woman who was now, along with the God of Medicine, talking to a very worried God of War. "You both look very familiar to me, and I feel as if I should know you, but it all seems kind of fuzzy."

Timenous gently smiled down at the man he had known his whole life as his baby brother; the one who had stopped him from committing the worst decision he ever would have made. "Well," he said, pointing towards his sister, "The redhead with the cool looking eyes is my sister, Moira, the Goddess of Prophecy. I'm Timenous, God of Years, and this studmuffin," he said with a teasing smile up at his lover who softly growled at the nickname even as he returned the smile of his love. "This is my husband, Kronos, God of Time," he stated with pride in his voice, bringing his husband's hand to his lips and placing a soft kiss there, which caused Kronos to blush. "And finally, this," he said with even more pride in his voice as he pointed towards his stomach, "Is our four hundredth child. When he is born he will be called Numerous, the God of Numbers, once he is done bringing forth the new year."

"400!" Joxer softly exclaimed with more than a little awe. Timenous nodded his head as he tugged his lover down next to him. Kronos happily obliged and put an arm around his lover's shoulders.

Joxer let out a worried sigh as he touched Timenous' arm and asked, "Would please tell me what's going on?" Joxer knew something important was going on and he felt like he was missing a very important piece of information in order to understand it. Somehow he knew that Timenous held that missing piece of the puzzle.

Timenous froze at Joxer's question, and for the first time in his immortal life, he felt torn between telling Joxer the truth or letting the pieces fall where they may. Either way, he wasn't sure if it would be enough to protect him from Zeus.

Gabrielle folded her arms across her chest as she glared angrily at everyone in the camp.

Oh, she had heard every word that they had whispered, and it just wasn't right.

'Joxer cannot be the lost God of Peace,' she snidely thought. 'He's too clumsy to be a god. His job is to take care of me and to get things for me and only me. That is the only thing he's good for.'

She pouted and angrily stomped her foot on the hard ground as she watched Cupid and Strife form a small protective ring around the pregnant Joxer as he talked to the converging group of gods.

'Cupid should be in love with me and not his crazed cousin. I'm the pretty one here; they all should be in love with me. It's not fair,' she angrily thought as she stomped her foot again on the ground.

'How can Joxer be pregnant anyway? He's a guy, and men don't get pregnant, not even Gods.

'This is all Ares' fault.

'Ares is the source of all that is going wrong around here and he needs to pay,' she angrily thought as a golden flash appeared behind her.

Zeus evilly smiled down at the blonde harpy, then frowned at his sister and the man who had come back to haunt him. With his malicious intent, he placed the most vile of thoughts into Gabrielle's head and then quickly disappeared to watch the action back at the comfort of his own temple.

'Yes,' she thought. 'Ares is evil and all of his vile spawn should be killed.' With that thought in her mind, she silently crept up on Xena and stole her chakram from her belt, and then headed towards Joxer.

'I should have known that Janous would come back someday,' Zeus angrily thought as he watched his latest plan to gain ultimate power begin.

'Janous, God of Peace,' he snidely thought. 'Loved by all except by me. I've always hated him, even when I was a child, I hated Janous.

'He and his beloved God of War. One in everything, and very deeply in love with each other,' he continued as he made a gagging noise.

'It was Janous' own fault that I had to kill him, after all. Why, after I offered him a place at my side and to be my lover, he still turned me down for his beloved Tanous, God of War. Said it wouldn't be right, that he loved Tanous more than anything, and that they were one in all things. That even as we spoke, I took my life in my own hands because Tanous could link to him at any time and hear and see what was going on.

'Well, I showed him. How dare he turn down the God of the Sky, the next King of the Gods.

'I snuck into their bedroom and poisoned Janous' drink with the Hind's blood. When he died, I knew then that my destiny was coming to pass. I lied to Tanous and told him that the Titans were to blame for his death. I happily watched as Tanous went mad with bloodlust, and when it came time to behead him, I was most happy to do so,' he finished, letting out a gleeful laugh.

Then he sobered as he remembered Moira's prophecy. 'I never figured on her anger and grief. She was the quiet one in the family. It's those quiet ones that you have to watch out for. They who hold their anger inside and keep their feelings in check, 'til in their grief, they finally let loose all of their emotions. I had not figured on that, but Moira had. She knew that she couldn't hold it in any longer and what did she do? She assured my downfall.

'Well, Moira, there's more than one way to keep a prophecy from coming true. You may have protected Janous by disguising him as a mortal, but now I know where he is and I know how to kill him and the children he carries. Your prophecy will not come true, Moira. I will see to that.'

He turned his attention back to the mirror. 'Yes, Gabrielle, get closer to Joxer and kill him for me so I can watch another God of War go mad with bloodlust,' he said as he once again let out a laugh dripping with evil.

Cupid put his arms around Strife as they watched over a very pregnant Joxer and Timenous.

He held his lover close to him as they listened in awe to Timenous tell them about a lost Titan god, how he came to be reborn as a mortal, and how it was his destiny to bring forth Faith, Hope and Destiny and to dethrone Zeus, the God of the Sky.

It was then that Strife suddenly froze in his lover's arms.

"What's wrong, Strife?" Cupid softly asked. He leaned over to look at his lover, only to be met with blood red eyes as Strife moved out of his arms and looked for the threat of deadly mischief.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Gabrielle appeared with Xena's chakram held high in the air as she neared Joxer.

Strife growled low in this throat as he leapt up in the air and pushed Gabrielle down and away from one very shocked Joxer.

"NO!" she screamed angrily. "Must kill Joxer and his evil spawn so everything can go back to normal," she yelled as she pushed Strife off of her and started to head towards Joxer once more.

"I don't think so, Blondie," Strife said with fury as he moved his leg in front of her and watched as she tripped and fell, letting go of Xena's chakram.

Everyone froze in fear as the weapon flew in mid-air and came close to striking Joxer, when suddenly, Xena appeared and quickly grabbed her weapon as it came frighteningly close to Joxer's rounded stomach.

"NO!" came an angry yell as Cupid and Strife held Gabrielle back. Then, a bright golden flash appeared as a rage-filled Zeus made his presence known.

"No!" Zeus angrily exclaimed. "I will not lose my throne to my sniveling son, Ares. I will not give up my quest to have the ultimate power to this...this lost God."

With an angry glare, he aimed his sight on Hercules and forced him to pick up his sword to fight Ares.

Unwillingly, Hercules raised his sword against Ares, and they both moved into a fighting stance.

Slowly, they went around in a circle. Ares, without any weapons to defend himself, could only watch as his half brother was controlled by their power hungry father.

Iolaus stood aside as he helplessly watched Zeus move Hercules like a puppet.

Slash went the sword through the air as causing Ares to jump out of the way.

As Zeus raised his hand, causing Hercules to raise his sword.

"Now, Hercules, kill your brother," Zeus ordered.

"No!" Iolaus cried, as he without thought, quickly moved and knocked Zeus down to the ground, breaking his powerful hold over his son, Hercules.

Zeus angrily growled at the man who had disrupted him.

"You have gone too far, human," he angrily hissed. He wrapped his hands around Iolaus' throat and began to drain him of his mortality.

"No!" Hercules screamed as he ran to the dying form of his friend, the man who had always held his heart.

"Why Iolaus?" he softly asked as he held his friend in his arms.

Iolaus raised his hand up to Hercules' cheek and smiled as Hercules leaned into the touch. "Because I love you, Herc," he said as he closed his eyes and waited for Hades to claim him.

Zeus grinned evilly as he raised his hand and produced the Sword of War in his hands.

He noticed the surprised look on Moira's face as she saw the sword. "Thought you could protect it, didn't you, Moira?" he snidely asked as he raised the sword in the air.

"Sword of War, I command you to kill your master," Zeus said as he let go of the powerful weapon and watched as it flew towards Ares.

However, the sword stopped mid-point to Ares' throat, and slowly, a menacing, dangerous grin came across Ares' face as he raised his hand in the air and let the Sword of War take its rightful place in his hand.

With his hand still raised in the air, holding the powerful weapon, Ares proclaimed, "I, Ares, God of War do here and now retake my godhood and reclaim my power over War itself." Lightning flashed across the darkening sky as a bolt then hit his sword and made him glow with all of War's power.

Ares smiled triumphantly at his father. "You must have forgotten, Zeus. The Sword of War is a master unto its own self and will never let anyone control it unwillingly. The Sword of War will only follow the person who knows and understands the power of War. I was born into War. I understand the power of War. And I will always be WAR!" he angrily exclaimed as he pointed the weapon to a now cowering Zeus.

"I, Ares, God of War declare War on Zeus, God of the Sky. Prepare to die, Zeus," he stated as he assumed his fighting stance and pointed the Sword of War at his father.

Zeus produced a flaming sword of lightning in his hand, and he and his son, Ares, started to clash their weapons.

"You will never be King of Olympus," he angrily yelled as he pushed Ares back.

"I never said I wanted to be King, Father," he snidely said as he pushed back and knocked Zeus off of his feet, making him fall to the hard ground.

Zeus quickly got up as their sounds of the fighting pierced the morning air as they fought against each other.

As the fight progressed, it was soon apparent that Ares was winning, but a sudden, startled cry from Joxer had him looking away at the wrong moment.

Joxer screamed in shock as he felt his water break and the searing pain of the first contraction began to set in.

Zeus took advantage of Ares' distraction and gleefully stabbed his son through the heart with his sword of lightning.

Joxer screamed out again as he watched his lover fall to the ground, clutching his chest.

At that moment another flash appeared on the field of battle.

Moira turned quickly to Kronos and yelled out, "Kronos, you must freeze time!"

Kronos, with a look of confusion on his face, was about to ask why when he saw Moira's beautiful blue eyes turn deadly black.

"Don't ask questions, Kronos. Just do it! The prophecy is about to be fulfilled."

Kronos snapped his fingers as he held Timenous' hand and froze time. Everything from Olympus to Hades' realm stood still, except for Kronos and Timenous.

"You know, if she wanted you to be more specific, she could have said so," Timenous stated as he looked around the field and smiled as he looked up and saw the birds frozen in mid-air.

"Do you think she just wanted the field frozen in time or was it something else entirely?" Kronos asked softly as he put his arm around his lover.

Timenous shrugged his shoulder. "Maybe you should unfreeze her and you can find out what it is she wanted," he said as he looked up at his husband.

Kronos let out a reluctant sigh as he pulled his love close to him and started kissing his neck. "I don't know, Timenous, I kind of like the silence," he said with a teasing grin as he playfully wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"You know, we've been trying to make love ever since the Fates called, and each time we have been interrupted. Now that we have frozen time everywhere," Kronos said as he motioned to the frozen scene before them, "We can go and make love, and then come back. No one would be the wiser," he finished with a hopeful smile.

"True, my love, but you know I kind of want to see how this thing ends."

Kronos once more let out a heavy sigh and then smiled as he felt their baby move. "Very well, my love," he said, "but only because you asked. After this, I am going to take you to Bermuda where we can make love on the sand and ignore all calls from Olympus."

Timenous raised his hand to his lover's cheek and rubbed his palm against it. "Thank you, Kronos, and in case I forgot to tell you, I love you very much."

Kronos gently smiled down at the man who would always hold his heart. "I love you too, Timenous," he said as he bent down and kissed him.

As their kiss slowly began to turn to passion, Kronos raised his finger in the air and began to move it counter clockwise. "I, Kronos," he whispered between passionate kisses, "God of Time, allow Moira, Goddess of Prophecy, to move freely." He stopped and then snapped his fingers.

Slowly, Moira began to move, and as she turned and took in the frozen scene before her, she saw Kronos and Timenous kissing once again.

She cleared her throat to get their attention. "Everything!" she softly exclaimed.

"Well, you weren't specific, Moira," Timenous said in defense of his lover. "If you wanted just the field to be frozen, then you should have said so."

She nodded her head. "Could you unfreeze Joxer, Ares and the Fates?" she asked as she motioned to her daughters that had appeared on the scene.

With a raised eyebrow, Kronos once again raised a finger in the air and slowly began to turn it counter clockwise as he spoke, "I, Kronos, God of Time, allow Joxer of Athens, Ares, God of War, and the Fates to move freely." He again stopped and snapped his fingers.

Joxer and Ares slugishly began to move around. Joxer, regaining his senses, quickly moved to his wounded love.

Crying, Joxer held Ares' head in his lap as he then closed his eyes and pulled out the sword of lightning from Ares' bleeding chest.

"Oh, Res," he tearfully whispered as he held his lover close to his body.

"Shh, Joxer," Ares roughly whispered as he gently caressed Joxer's wet cheeks. "It will be all right."

Joxer sniffed as he tried to hold back his sobs. "You're dying, Ares." He could barely get the words out as he brushed his hand through his lover's soft black hair.

"I know," Ares softly said as he stroked Joxer's cheek, "but that's okay. For I have finally found love, and that is something I am so utterly grateful for." He gasped then as another slice of pain went through his body.

Joxer looked up when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

There, standing before him, were the three women that had granted his wish, at a time that seemed so far away now.

Joxer took his arm and harshly swiped it against his wet face as he looked up at them.

Lachesis smiled down at Joxer's tear-stained face. "It's time, Joxer."

"Time for your sacrifice," Clotho explained to him.

"We have granted your wish of feeling love being returned to you, Joxer of Athens," Atropos stated. "It is now time for you to make the sacrifice for that wish."

"What will you sacrifice, Joxer of Athens?" they asked as one.

Joxer looked down at his beloved and placed a soft kiss on Ares' forehead. "No matter what happens next Ares, remember that I will always love you."

With that, Joxer stood up, faced the three mysterious women and loudly proclaimed, "I, Joxer of Athens, Consort of War, willingly sacrifice my life so that War may live."

The three sisters smiled at each other and then nodded towards Joxer.

"Very well, Joxer of Athens, we accept this sacrifice." With a snap of their fingers, Joxer disappeared in a bright flash.

Ares dropped his head to the ground and screamed in anguish.

Ares grasped his wounded chest as he tried to get up and stop Joxer, but he realized that he was too late as he helplessly watched Joxer disappear in a flash.

"Why?" he angrily asked Lachesis as he stumbled towards her.

"Because it is time for the prophecy to be fulfilled," Clotho gently stated as she moved towards Ares, placed her hand on his oozing wound and healed him.

"It is not your time to die, Ares," Clotho said as she removed her Shears of Life from her belt and motioned towards her sisters.

They gathered around him and spoke as one, "We have granted your wish to find love, Ares, God of War, Son of Zeus and the next King of Olympus."

"What will you sacrifice for your true love?" they asked.

"Everything," he roughly whispered as he stood and faced the Fates.

He didn't care if he was the next King of Olympus or not. It wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth it without Joxer in his life.

"Everything," he repeated loudly to the Fates.

They looked at each other and smiled, and with a snap of their fingers, a bright flash again appeared before them as Moira yelled for Kronos to start time once more.

Kronos happily obliged her.