At a town meeting, Petracles preaches that it's time for the people to stop serving the gods. When a villager disagrees and pulls a knife on him, Xena's chakram sails in and cuts the scythe of another armed villager in half. But Xena's attempt to prevent violence against Petracles and his men is thwarted when an overprotective Gabrielle attacks another man in the group as he reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief. Ares, eager to stop the growing movement against the gods, arrives on the scene and threatens Xena's life if she gets in his way. Xena and Gabrielle escort Petracles and his men to a temple of Ares where Petracles' teacher Eli is instructing his followers to burn their guns and rely on love as their sole weapon in their struggle against the gods. Xena and Gabrielle are delighted to see their old friend Eli, but warn him that love alone may not be sufficient to shield him and his followers from the wrath of Olympus. Later, as Gabrielle and Eli discuss peace and war, Ares appears again, this time to threaten Eli. Meanwhile, the Archangel Callisto visits Xena and urges her not to interfere in Eli's battle against Ares and his soldiers. Callisto then visits Eli and breaks it to him as gently as possible that it's his destiny to die for his cause. Unable to convince Eli to give up his stance, Xena leaves to head off Ares' army. Gabrielle stays to protect Eli from Ares, but backs off when Eli begs her to have faith in him. No sooner does she agree than Ares pierces Eli through the sternum with his sword and kills him. Xena hears Gabrielle's anguished cries and hurries to the town square, where Eli's shocked disciples look on as Gabrielle cradles their fallen leader. As Ares contemplates his next move, a grief-stricken Xena collects and burns Eli's body in a funeral pyre. At the grave, she is visited by Callisto, who tells her that Eli's death was not arbitrary and that his spirit will live on. Xena finds little comfort in Callisto's words and asks to be taken to the Dagger of Helios, a weapon that can kill a god. She intends to accomplish Eli's dream of ridding the world of Ares' tyranny once and for all. Meanwhile, Ares approaches Gabrielle, who is stricken with guilt over Eli's death. By giving her a taste of his power, Ares tries to seduce her into joining forces with him. Gabrielle appears to take the bait and requests that he teach her everything he taught Xena. After a lesson in which Ares provokes her to lash out with great violence, Gabrielle visits Eli's grave and realizes she must take on his cause. Just as Gabrielle begins to fight Ares, Xena arrives with the Dagger of Helios, ready to take Ares' life. But with the dagger poised at his neck, Xena catches a glimpse of the incredibly sad face of Callisto reflected in the blade. Realizing that Ares' death would be against Eli's wishes, Xena decides to spare the god of war, who destroys the dagger and disappears. Xena assures Gabrielle that she never blamed her for Eli's death and the two reconcile. Himself now an angel, Eli appears with Callisto to thank Xena and Gabrielle for keeping his cause alive. Eli reveals to Xena who was responsible for starting the new life within her in the first place, and Xena makes a difficult decision regarding the spirit of her baby. DISCLAIMER Thanks to Eli's non-violent ways, many people lost their lives during the production of this motion picture.