After a rollicking roll in the sack, Mavican tells Ares that she wants to be his right-hand woman, just as Xena once was. Ares dismisses the idea and disappears. Meanwhile at Demeter's Temple, Gabrielle complains to herself that Xena is still overprotective of her. Suddenly, Mavican appears and throws a javelin towards Gabrielle's head. Xena arrives just in time to deflect the javelin and takes over the fight, which greatly upsets Gabrielle. Mavican, eager to prove to Ares that she can be Xena's successor, makes no secret of the fact that she intends to kill Xena. Ares soon materializes and insists that Mavican and Xena finish their battle where they can do no harm. He then opens a vortex and explains the rules -- Mavican will be brought back from the vortex if she kills Xena, but Xena will stay in the vortex if she kills Mavican. Eager to begin the fight, Mavican jumps into the vortex as Xena and Gabrielle are sucked into it. Gabrielle falls into a black room and Xena lands on a cliff where she is attacked by Mavican. Xena drives Mavican away and at nightfall, finds herself in a dark room. A light suddenly appears and Xena sees Gabrielle sleeping on a tree branch. Gabrielle wakes up startled and finds Mavican's campsite. Not wanting Xena to be trapped in the vortex, Gabrielle figures it's up to her to kill Mavican. But Mavican captures Gabrielle and puts her in a wooden cage. As morning approaches, Mavican tells Gabrielle that it's her destiny to either kill Xena or be killed by Xena. Either way, Mavican figures that she will be remembered forever. The sun rises and Gabrielle morphs into Xena. Xena and Mavican realize that Ares has put Xena and Gabrielle into the same body -- Xena gets the day shift and Gabrielle takes the night. After failing to convince Mavican to work together to defeat Ares, Xena escapes. When she reaches a clearing, Xena writes a note to Gabrielle on a piece of bark and attaches it to a staff. Mavican finds Xena, who almost manages to restrain her, but the sun sets and Xena morphs into Gabrielle. Mavican breaks free and explains to Gabrielle how she and Xena are in the same body. Gabrielle grabs the staff with the note attached to it and takes off running. Meanwhile, Ares approaches Xena in the black room and tells her that he really wants Gabrielle, not Mavican, to be his right-hand woman. Xena is mortified, but knows that Gabrielle wants nothing to do with Ares. Gabrielle enters a cave and reads the note that Xena left for her. In the note, Xena apologizes for not acknowledging the woman that Gabrielle has become. Ares materializes in the cave and tries to convince Gabrielle to join him. He tells her that Xena's destiny is in her hands and that it's up to her to kill Mavican. He disappears just before dawn and Mavican finds Gabrielle. Mavican wants to fight, but Gabrielle realizes that if she kills Mavican, Ares wins. The sun rises and Gabrielle morphs into Xena. Xena forces the entrance of the cave to collapse and tells Mavican that now no one will ever know what really happened inside the cave. This infuriates Mavican because she wants the world to know that she either killed Xena or was killed by Xena. Mavican attacks and Xena holds her over the side of a bottomless pit. Desperate, Mavican calls for Ares' help. He appears and opens the vortex, but only allows Xena to pass through. Knowing that anyone who asks for his help is not worthy of being Xena's successor, Ares leaves Mavican trapped in the cave. Xena and Gabrielle tumble to the ground outside Demeter's Temple and Xena promises to treat Gabrielle with more respect. DISCLAIMER Ares' libido was not harmed during the production of this motion picture.