With all of Olympus after them, Xena & Gabrielle head to Amphipolis only to find more trouble. This time Xena must confront the one Olympian she believed worthy of her respect. The one God who is strategically superior in battle, and is headed for Xena's hometown.

Soldier: "I hate this watch. Nothing ever happens … Who goes there?! Step forward! … A well-dressed gleaming woman appears from the foliage. Well, well. You know, this is Prince Damron's road. You'll have to pay the toll." Elanis: "Toll? Dear me, I seem to be a little short at the moment." Soldier: "Well, I'm sure we can sort something out." Elanis: "Oh, I'm sure we can." - enter 20 or so silver-clad archers. She snaps her fingers, and women with bows and arrows come forward. They start shooting the guards.

Xena's war cry sounds through the air, and the Warrior Princess flips over head and lands between the beleaguered guards and the warrior women. She deflects arrows with her chakram, saving the men. Gabrielle, off to the side, cuddles Eve. The head warrior woman shouts, "Get her!" and the women rush Xena. As Xena beats up all the warrior women, the Elanis watches. Then she goes toe-to-toe with the head woman. They cross swords. Xena eventually cuts the woman's face. The woman calls her warriors back, and they retreat. As Gabrielle tends to the wounded, Xena wonders who would want to seize the road to Amphipolis.

Ares: "Hey, Xena. Have a change of heart? Well, my offer still stands. I am willing to protect you and your child at no small amount of personal risk I might add." Xena: And what if I decline? You ransack my home town, hold my mother hostage until I agree?" Ares: "You've got the wrong god. There's another who deals in mortal blood … (Xena rips an arrow out of the wounded soldier to see Athena's markings on it.) … Like all the other gods, she knows your bundle of joy portends the demise of the Olympians."

The head warrior woman, Elanis, goes to Athena. Athena: "Report." Elanis: "It is done. We used your arrows as you ordered and spared the border guards to tell Xena that we are headed to Amphipolis." Athena: "Don't tell me one of those toll collectors laid a weapon on you." Elanis: "Xena was there." Athena: (heals the cut on Elanis's cheek) "You have my favor, Elanis … always. But take care, it doesn't make you any less mortal."

Elanis: "I saw the child. I could have killed her for you." Athena: "You're a fine warrior, Elanis … but the most dangerous animal on earth is a mother protecting her young." Athena: "In the name of Zeus, I will kill the child myself."

Xena, Gabrielle, and Eve go to Amphipolis to see Xena's mother.

Xena: "Mom!" Cyrene: "Xena! Well, it's about time you brought my new little granddaughter for a visit." Xena: "Listen, Mom, there will be time for a family reunion later. Right now we've got to get you to safety." Cyrene: "Who's your nana, hmm?" Xena: "Come on!"

Armies gather outside Amphipolis. The town is completely surrounded.

Ares: "Who was it who said 'an army is a terrible thing to waste'? I think it was me … My my, legions of Rome standing with Cleopatra's royal guard, knights from Britannia and, of course, Athena's own elite archers. The best of the best. I am all a-tingle. You should attack here … and here now … before Xena can rally her defenses." Elanis: "Athena doesn't need your help." Ares: "Not any man's, it would seem."

Athena: "Why are you here, brother?" Ares: "My survival is at stake here, too. The child must die." Athena: "Oh, really? Rumor has it that you made Xena an offer to spare the child if she gave you one of your own." Elanis: "And rumor has it, that she turned you down."

Athena: "This isn't one of your little games to make Xena your plaything. Zeus is dead -- our father. The prophecy is coming true and Xena's child is the key." Ares: "Then why not attack now?" Athena: "The people of Amphipolis are loyal to me. Give them time and they'll deliver up the child without the need to spill blood." Ares: "Perhaps … but where's the fun in that?"

Xena: "Alright, listen up! The last thing I wanted to do was bring an army down in your heads. But, I'm not sacrificing my child, not for the sake of a pack of selfish gods who don't give a damn about the human suffering they cause." Villager: "We've heard stories, Xena, about Eli and his teachings. How his god raised you from the dead. That the age of the Olympian gods is over. Is that true?" Gabrielle: "It is true. The gods rule us in fear. Eli fought them with love. I was with Eli when Ares struck him down." Villager: "We're not soldiers, Xena. But if your daughter is the one to bring about Eli's word, we will do our best to protect her."

Athena: "Xena." Xena: "Athena. I would say it's an honor, but considering you're here to kill my baby, I'll skip the formalities." Athena: "I am not unsympathetic, Xena. Consider the consequences of your actions. You would deprive these people of their gods, their faith, for the life of one child." Cyrene: "Hasn't this village given up enough of its children? I've already lost a son and a grandson I never even met. Well, I will not give up this child, not even for the gods themselves." Athena: "And all of you … are you that eager to die for this child?" Athena: (the villagers start singing "Gleda Ma Gleda" led by Cyrene) "I don't want any of you to suffer. Give me this child and you will receive my blessing. The armies of Athena lay siege to this town. You think you can fight them with a song?! I've protected you for years, watched over you, and this is how you repay me?! ... So be it. You have sealed your fate."

The armies prepare. The town prepares for war. Gabrielle yells "Fire!" The townsfolk shoot burning barrels at the armies. The townsfolk, with Gabrielle leading, charge the armies. Gabrielle fights. Athena and Elanis study the situation, wondering about Xena's strategy.

Elanis: "They're trying to break out here." Athena: "A frontal assault into one of our best units? That doesn't sound like a move Xena would make." Elanis: "It could be a diversion." Athena: "I've considered that, but Gabrielle's leading the attack. Xena would never risk her second in command on a suicidal feint." Elanis: "If Xena commands half the loyalty you do, my goddess, Gabrielle would surely lay down her life to ensure Xena's escape." Athena: "I don't doubt Gabrielle's willingness to die, only Xena's willingness to lose her. But, what if Xena has no intention of losing her? Remember, Elanis, a great commander always looks beyond what their opponent is doing to see if there is a deeper strategy." Gabrielle fights. Xena leads a group of men through secret tunnels, hoping to come up behind the armies and trap them. Elanis shows up though, with her warriors, blocking the way.

Gabrielle yells for Xena. Gabrielle and the townsfolk continue to fight. Xena and Elanis chat for a minute. Elanis has Greek fire. Xena tells the men to run. They flee. Elanis lights the Greek fire.

Xena runs, with flames chasing her down the tunnel. She makes a support collapse, and the fire spews out on the armies, blowing Gabrielle down but killing all of Athena's men.

Gabrielle says that wasn't what she was expecting. Gabrielle gets up and yells for her men to retreat to the trenches.

Gabrielle and Xena talk. Gabrielle says they're down to half strength. Gabrielle suggests Xena slip away with Eve.

Gabrielle: "There might be another way. Xena, we can get Eve out of here. Xena, we captured some of their armor in the attack. If you put it on, you could slip through their lines without an attack." Xena: "Forget it. It won't work." Gabrielle: "If Athena thinks Eve is gone, she will pull out. This whole thing will be over." Xena: "No, it won't. Don't you see? Athena has chosen Amphipolis because she knows I'll try to save these people. She's ransoming their lives for Eve's, and every drop of blood that she spills will be on my head." Villager: "Incoming!"

Athena's archers attack, sending arrows all around. Xena races to catch an arrow that Elanis sends at a small girl. She catches the arrow. Elanis laughs. The archers leave.

Xena visits the infirmary, looking at the wounded. Her Mom is helping nurse the men. Athena appears to Xena; no one else can see her. She says she came to talk. Xena: "Very well, then, let's talk. Why are you doing this, Athena? Ares I could understand. He's always out for himself. Zeus was just clinging to power. But you - of all the Olympians you were the only one who seemed to deserve my respect."

Athena: "I have no choice. The Fates have decreed it." Xena: "Warriors like us make our own fate." Xena: "I have a proposal for you. A fair fight - no tricks, no godlike powers, and if I win, you spare Eve and leave these people in peace." Athena: "Tempting … but no. These people need their gods, Xena. They need something to believe in." Xena: "They have something to believe in. If you'd just listen to them, you'd know that." Athena: "The cult of Eli? Do you really believe Love will win this battle? I've poisoned your water supply. What will you give them when they're dying of thirst? Love?"

Athena leaves. Eve cries. Xena goes to her. Cyrene: "Don't panic. She just needs changing." Xena: "Hey, Eve, you're alright … I worry about her, though, Mom." Cyrene: "Listen, no matter what happens, thank you for letting me see my granddaughter. She' so perfect." Xena: "No, Mom, it's me who should be thanking you. Standing up to Athena like that was very impressive." Cyrene: "Please - facing down a god I can handle. Well, I raised you, remember? The terrible twos'. Terrible three's. Terrible fourteen's." Xena: "I'm sorry I made it so tough for you." Both mother and daughter agree that, in the end it's worth all the pain to see your baby tall and strong and proud.

Xena goes to Ares Temple. Xena: "Ares? … Ares?" Ares: "Ouch. Athena is beating you like a dog out there. Put a poultice on it. It's gotta sting." Xena: "Thanks." Ares: "Hey, don't feel bad. After all, you are fighting the goddess of wisdom and warfare." Xena: "Don't forget weaving." Ares: "So …" Xena: "Ares …" Ares: "Hmm?" Xena: "… I believed we discussed a deal." Ares: "Deal. Deal. Deal. Deal. Deal. I don't know, did we?"

Xena: "Cut the crap. I'm ready to bargain. You fight beside me and we can beat Athena." Ares: "Maybe we can. Of course, if I side with you against my sister, then I become a pariah on Olympus. So by helping you my own fate is sealed. Oh, I'm still interested. I just want to know what in it for me." Xena: "What's in it for you? … Me." Xena: "You help me defeat Athena … and I'm yours." Ares: "You're mine?" Xena: "For years you've been wanting me to be your warrior queen. Well … I'm offering you my sword … and the body that wields it." Ares: "That's … um … very tempting … but what about Olympus?" Xena: "Olympus is doomed. Zeus is dead. Whatever happens here, their reign is over. You want immortality? A child is immortality - a legacy, a lineage. You help me save my daughter and you will be her father. Through her, we can live forever." Ares: "Xena, I …" Xena: "I'm offering you everything you've ever wanted … take it." Ares: "No. No, you don't." Xena: "What?" Ares: "You're up to something. I have desired you from the very first time I saw you in battle and now, after all these years, after all the games, the cat and mouse, 'will I, won't I' - 'Ares, I'm yours, take me' - well, I'm sorry, it's too easy." Xena: "I am offering you a deal, and I don't go back on my promises." Ares: "No. No, you don't. But, you always come up with some way to mess with my head."

Two farmers talk about giving up the baby because Athena has always been good to them. Gabrielle hears, grabs the farmer, tosses him 10 feet.

Gabrielle: "Do you want to give Eve to Athena?! Does anybody else feel that way?! We give up the baby and go back to our fields in peace … until the next god comes along and they want your child … or yours. We're not fighting for Xena. We're fighting for ourselves, for our right to be treated like human beings, not game pieces. If any one of you is willing to give up your own child then speak, because I will not have you fighting next to me! … back to your posts."

Then Gabrielle calls for Ares. He pops in. Gabrielle tells Ares she knows Xena made a deal with him.

Gabrielle: "If you lay a hand on her, I swear …" Ares: "What? You'll do what?" Gabrielle: "If you accept, you will destroy Xena. You will turn her into exactly what she used to be - a vicious killer." Ares: "I kinda like that Xena." Gabrielle: "Then why are you so obsessed with who she is now? Tell me you don't feel anything for the real Xena - the good Xena. Ares, if you make her do this, she will never love you." Ares: "You think … she'd really give herself to me to save Eve?" Gabrielle: "Has she ever said anything she doesn't really mean?" Ares: "Thank you." Ares goes to Athena.

Ares: "So, Sis, how goes the siege?" Athena: "I'm about to start catapulting dead cows into the village." Ares: "And a classic it is. But, as much as I love the smell of rotting cow carcasses in the morning, have you considered there might be another way to break this stalemate? I might be able to convince Xena to leave our realm - to take Eve where she can do no harm." Athena: "And where would that be? Oh, you're thinking with your codpiece again, Brother."

Athena: "Do you really think Xena will be yours if you can save the child?" Ares: "Have you considered that maybe this prophecy is fulfilling itself?! Think about it. What can Xena's baby do to us, really? Yet the more we fight amongst ourselves about the future - this, one tiny child - the more vulnerable we become."

Athena: "Because of this 'one, tiny child' Zeus is already dead." Ares: "If he had left well enough alone, Hercules wouldn't have killed him." Athena: "And what if you're wrong, Ares? Is it worth the risk for one child … one woman? There will be no compromise."

Ares goes to the temple. He sees Xena's armor laying in the floor. Xena, in a fur, lounges on a couch waiting for Ares. She drops her fur and asks Ares if they are going to seal their deal. Ares begins to drop his pants.

Xena: "Can I trust you to keep your end of the bargain?" Ares: "Yeah, sure." Xena: "Because I wouldn't want there to be any confusion." Ares: "No, no confusion. I side with you. Against gods. Save Eve - Gotcha. Xena: "Excellent."

Xena keeps pausing, saying she hears fighting. Then the wall blows open, revealing Xena and Ares to all. Mom and Eve appear, asking if Xena is all right. Cyrene: "Xena, Gabrielle has launched an attack on Athena's army." Ares: "Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait. What are you doing? I couldn't have planned this better myself. I promised to help you and your daughter. Now, if Gabrielle is attacking, she's providing us with the perfect cover." Xena: "What are you saying?" Ares: "Leave her … now, while Athena's distracted. Then I'll take you and your daughter someplace else." Xena: "No." Ares: "You're making a mistake. I would have kept our bargain." Xena: "I know you would've. I've got to do this my way." Ares: "… what a surprise." Xena gets up and puts her clothes on to help Gabrielle.

Gabrielle fights like a madwoman. Elanis: "Gabrielle tried to charge our lines. We have her trapped." Athena: "They're getting desperate. End this for me, Elanis … before all Amphipolis is destroyed. Put an arrow in the young bard. We'll see how long Xena resists while her companion slowly bleeds to death."

Xena walks up with Eve in her arms. Athena sees her and says stop the attack. Gabrielle runs to Xena. Gabrielle: "Xena … what are you doing?" Xena: "Get out of my way, Gabrielle. I'm going to save these people and you."

Athena pops up in front of Xena. Athena: "A wise decision, Xena." Xena: "Pull back you army." Athena: "You heard her." Elanis: "Pull back!"

Xena lays the baby on the ground. Athena: "It's for the best, Xena." Xena: "Don't make it worse with your platitudes. Do it. While she's asleep, do it." Athena: "You might want to look away." Xena: "If my daughter's to be sacrificed to save these people, the least I can do to honor her is to remember every detail."

Athena raises her sword. Ares pops in. Ares: "Not so fast, Sis." Athena: "Ares, get out of my way!" Ares: "You know, they say blood is thicker than water, but blood runs thickest when love is involved." Athena: "You're really whipped, aren't you?" Ares: "Oh, now that ain't nice." He and Athena cross swords as Ares protects the baby. Xena yells, "Gabrielle, now!" Gabrielle cries, "Attack!" and people pop out from all over the place.

Everybody starts fighting. Elanis comes after Xena. Gabrielle fights. Ares and Athena fight. Xena and Elanis fight. Athena: "What's the matter, Bro? Worried about your girlfriend?" Ares: "Me? No … worried about yours?" Athena: "Elanis!" Finally, Xena stabs Elanis. Athena sees and runs to her "favored."

Athena: "Your wound is beyond my healing." Elanis: "Do I still have you favor, Athena? Athena: "Always … always." Athena: "Take a good look, Ares. We're next - all of us." Athena kisses Elanis on the head and takes her body away in a blaze of light.

Gabrielle: "Xena … are you okay?" Xena: "Yeah, I'm fine." Gabrielle: "Did you and Ares …" Xena: "No." Ares: "Not yet. Shall we conclude our transaction, Xena?" Xena: "That's really kind of you, Ares, but I don't think I'm gonna have to take you up on your offer after all." Ares: "I saved your child." Xena: "You saved my dolly." Ares: "Why do you continue to deny us? We had a deal. When we were fighting side by side, it was like we were one. Back there in the temple … can you tell me you didn't feel anything?" Xena: "I felt nothing." Ares: "This isn't finished. As long as your child lives, they'll keep coming. Then, you're gonna have to come to me for help." He leaves.

Cyrene: "Xena, are you alright?" Xena: "Hey, Eve … Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. You guys cut it close with that attack. I nearly ran out of foreplay. I almost had to go through with it." Gabrielle: "Xena, when someone invents an accurate timekeeping device, then I can synchronize our plan better." Xena: "Yeah, that bomb was a little much, you know. It wasn't like I was wearing anything - I mean, armor."

Cyrene: "I don't understand. Gabrielle, you blew up Ares' temple?" Gabrielle: "I had to start the battle somehow … (to Xena) … Otherwise, you would have had to go through with the deal, right?" Cyrene: So, you two planned the whole thing? Oh, what am I gong to do with you two?"

The altercation in Amphipolis asks the question "What is a God?" "If fear comes from loss, can an immortal feel it?" "Which is more precious? The life of a child or the life of a god--even if that god is a responsible one." Finally "What is the nature of belief?"

The goddess in question is Athena. She's a goddess of war, but the goddess of Wisdom as well. In the myths she is the god of the Rational uses of military force. Ares, her brother is in reality the god of combat, the god of the savagery of war. In the myths it was Athena's job to keep Ares in check. We see a little of this in their exchanges. Athena was very different than the average Olympian She's a responsible goddess, worried about the welfare of humanity. She is the only goddess in the entire pantheon that suffered the pangs of shame. She killed Arachne when that unfortunate woman beat Athena in a spinning contest. To make amends, she turned Arachne into the most beautiful spinner in nature--a spider. She feels that the Olympian pantheon is really necessary to the people, not because she wants the power but because of concern for her worshippers. So she feels backed into a corner.

The Fates have decreed that the birth of Eve will lead to the death of the gods. Life to her is a simple tautology. Her people need her, Eve would deny Athena's worshippers, Therefore, Eve must die. She causes Ares to retire from her presence with disgust because she will give the people a chance because of their loyalty. Ares said, "Now where's fun in that?" But yet, although her concern is legitimate, she will use extortion to try to protect the people of Amphipolis from themselves.

This brings out the extreme contrast between Ares, craven and cowardly doing everything he can to save his Own life, while Athena wants to save the Olympians to save the People. It's this extreme contrast between Ares and Athena that drives this story. Athena is rational, what would She do if her position is lost? In what does Athena believe? The possibilities are extremely intriguing.

Yes, an Olympian god can feel loss. But we saw that Athena isn't vindictive. Xena also proved that Gods are Not all powerful. The limited nature of their job description is extremely limiting. Athena can be wise, but she wasn't intuitive enough to read Xena to determine her strategy. While Xena succeeded in reading her. Will Athena continue in her mission to kill Eve? It's clear that she doesn't want to do it, yet she doesn't have the wisdom to actually find out the truth. What then are the gods? Are they only figments of the imagination? Or are they a part of some larger power? As far as can be determined the Gods, save possibly Athena cannot confront that question. After all it got Zeus and Hera killed.