HOLIDAY!

Summoning 4: Holiday
by Leana Effrenus
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"But Lord, we're bored!"

Ares looked at them with a smirk, that was obvious! The Four had been moping around in their quarters for a week and they were really starting to get on all the Gods nerves, it was bad enough when Aphrodite got bored and turned everything pink but these were unbearable, they made Strife look like a choirboy! Which had in its self amused Ares for the first few days, until he realised Strife was taking notes, then he started to get worried, so he decided it was time for a change.

"I am well aware of that, as is the rest of Olympus, so I'm sending you on holiday, I've thought of a few people who could do with a little cheering up, my daughter for one, and her little bard friend could do with loosening up. So I'm sending you to Greece, you should love it there, you will be worshiped by most, it's great for the ego once in a while, just don't start on the other Gods, it can take years to get them out of a piss, now go, before I make you clear up this mess."

The Four looked at each other and grinned before sparking out of the room and following his mental directions, to find themselves stood in front of a horse, who didn't look too pleased with their sudden arrival, nor did it's rider. They knew from stories they had shared with their Gods that this must be Ares daughter, Xena, it was actually not hard to see, the same dark looks and the
pissy glare they were currently getting was one they had seen many times over the last few days, they spoke quietly but clearly,

"Xena, we're on holiday, our Lord Ares said you might be up for some fun!"

A blond woman moved around from behind the horse where she had been walking and glared at them,

"Xena isn't interested in any kind of fun Ares might have in mind, you may as well leave now."

"But where's the fun in that?"

Anyone who had ever fought the Four wouldn't have believed them at this point, they were being unbelievably childish, of course, their friends from Sunnyhell would have recognised the 'bug them until they pay attention cause I'm bored' technique, but Xena and Gabrielle certainly didn't, all they saw was a threat sent by Ares. Xena slipped down off the horse and faced them, ready to fight, when they heard people coming from behind the two women, they turned to check the possible threat and Xena heaved a sigh of relief, she didn't want to fight Ares lackeys but it would be a lot easier with the two men who had just arrived. Hercules looked at Iolaus and grinned,

"I told you I heard Xena, and you say your hearing's good? Hi, can we join in?"

Before Xena had a chance to reply the Four cut in, their voices melting into one another in a way the others had never heard before.

"Of course you can join in, the more the merrier, we're bored, Ares sent us to play with Xena but now you're here it can be twice the fun, do you have beds big enough for eight? Or we could make one, the floor is never comfortable enough, it ruins the mood."

The newcomers faces were enough to send the Four into fits of laughter, and they were soon on the floor, rolling around uncontrollably, until Pestilence hit a particularly large, sharp rock and cried out in shock, it was the first time any of the others had heard one of the Four speak alone and they were obviously impressed when the others immediately stopped laughing and focused on her, their eyes flashed and they started giggling again,

"What do you mean, Ares sent you here to play with Xena?"

Hercules asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought, the Four looked at him and explained, which made Xena wonder why she hadn't tried that herself!

"We were bored, there is no mission for us at present and we have been on Olympus for a week, they got fed up with our games and Ares told us to go bother someone else, then he suggested here, so here we are!"

Their voices had gone from petulant to incredulous and finally full of mischief, Hercules shook his head, he knew the Gods only too well,

"Don't tell me, you are Strife's latest."

"No."

They answered together, then separately informed him,

"I am War, of Ares."

"I am Death, of Hades."

"I am Famine, of Strife."

"I am Pestilence, of Athena."

"We are the Four Horsemen, and we are bored."

The four non-Horsemen were worried, not in a 'run for your life' kind of worried, more of a 'how do we get out of here without hurting anyone's feelings' kind of worried, there was a seriously predatory gleam in the Four's eyes and they did not think it had anything to do with blood, at least not in a killing manner, the tone of the last part of their speech was undeniably amorous to say
the least, downright lustful to be honest, not that any of them wouldn't be worth the effort but they had been sent by Ares, and he would stoop to anything to distract them if he thought it would work.

"Sorry to disappoint you all but we really do have to get going, we are late for a meeting I was collecting Xena for, so sorry, really, but we must go."

Hercules knew it was lame, but he could hope, in vain apparently, but he could hope. The Four grinned in pure delight.

"That's not a problem, we can bring you back to this moment as soon as we're done, but you don't trust us, you think Lord Ares sent us to distract you, that could have been a good plan, but if he wanted you distracted he would have done this."

The four unfortunates found themselves suddenly chained to a wall in what appeared to be a cellar or dungeon of some kind, they struggled for a moment before they looked at Hercules expectantly, he shrugged,

"I can't break them, they must have been made by Hephaistos."

The Four looked on with matching grins,

"Of course, how else would we hold a half God, you deserve the same respect as our Summoner's, we would not insult you by treating you like a mere mortal, Zeus does that enough for us all."

The chains disappeared and they were in a new chamber, this one was huge, with a big round pool in the middle and the floor covered in thick carpet and soft cushions, and the walls decorated in black with the signs of the Four on each wall, it was actually their 'Lounge' and much like their bedroom, only the bed was swapped for a pool, it was waist deep in the middle with deep steps leading down all the way around, and a small fountain in the middle, so the warm water
was never still.

"Ok, well, I think it's time to get back to that meeting now."

Xena said clearly but the grins she received from the Four were nothing if not mischievous,

"But you only just got here, we haven't even been in the pool yet."

The way the Four whined in that deep, sultry voice was sending shivers down the spines of the others, and the room was nothing if not erotic, there was a click and their hands were suddenly full with glasses of wine and small plates of each of their favourite food, the Four laid down on the cushions, Death sprawled across a cushion, legs splayed across the floor gazing at Xena, Famine was on his front, chin in his hands, eyes lingering on Gabrielle, Pestilence was sat, legs curled up under her head tipped slightly down, peering up through her eyelashes at Iolaus, each with a small knowing smile on their faces, as if they knew it was only a matter of time before they got what they wanted, War however was stood silently, with his back to them all, looking at the water. Gabrielle and Iolaus knew they were lost the moment their eyes met with Death and Pestilence, how they could manage a 'Whipped puppy' look with those eyes they would never know, but they certainly did, it was totally unnerving to think of it after, but at the time the acceptance of their fate was unquestioned, Xena held out longer, but eventually those eyes dragged her in, and the grin melted her defences, they were all soon sat on the floor drinking and eating, talking of inconsequential things and moving closer and closer to the Horsemen's goal, FUN!

Hercules looked on in shocked horror for a moment before he attempted to speak up, it was like they were all in a spell of some kind, but as he tried to speak he felt the room shift and found that War had sparked them else where, they were in the Horsemen's bedroom, the black and red almost oppressive, but he was quite used to his half brother's taste in home decoration. He turned to War, and wasn't he glad Ares wasn't formal or that could have been confusing!

"Why have you bought us here? And what have they done to the others?"

"We were bored, and nothing they wont remember fondly for the rest of their lives, we can be persuasive when we want to be, but it can be nicer not to have to persuade."

"Is this something Ares set up, or Hera?"

War shook his head, almost in pity,

"You really have fallen for it all haven't you? I thought my Lord was exaggerating when he told us of your stubborn streak, your loyalty is rivalled only by you heart, but it is sadly misplaced, why do you feel so much anger towards my Lord?"

Hercules laughed humourlessly,

"Why? Could it possibly have anything to do with the times he's tried to hurt my friends and me? You never know, it might be that he still sides with Hera."

War looked at him and shook his head again,

"Did you not take note earlier? We could have killed you if we so wished, and we have only a fraction of the power of my Lord, and Lady Hera? She is the Queen of the Gods, if she wanted you harmed, what makes you think you would still be alive? I could kill you now with a thought, but as much as it pains me to admit it you blind ungrateful fool, Lord Ares would make my time in Hell seem like a summer vacation in comparison to his punishment, in fact, we will probably get
that anyway, for bringing you here, we were supposed to see Xena and Gabrielle, but then you show up and how could he expect me to resist, narcissistic of me maybe, but I really can't resist tall dark and dangerous, and the rest of the Gods know he wont play."

Hercules was in shock, but he knew this man was not lying, he wasn't sure how, but he knew it in his very soul, which in its self would have been enough to make him panic, had it not been for the tender lips that captured his and the soft tongue that begged entry to his mouth, he could no more have denied it than ignored a plea for help, not that he tried very hard! War leant back and looked
into his eye carefully, then nodded as if he had read the assent in his eyes and they were suddenly lead on the bed, completely devoid of clothing and very happy about it, it didn't take long for the almost innocent caressing and kissing to intensify into a raging inferno, when he thought about it later, Hercules could have sworn that War was reacting to something other than his touch, little did he know that he was also experiencing the sensations from the rest of the Four, and loving every minute of it, it was like sleeping with eight people at once, and the sensory overload would have been way too much for most people, but it sure would have been a nice way to go! Hercules had finally rolled War onto his back and was very busy licking and nipping his way across his chest when the doors opened and Ares stormed in, when he saw them he froze, he couldn't believe War had got Herc into bed, he had been trying for years and all he ever got was insults! It was more than annoying, it was infuriating! He stormed over to the bed and grabbed Hercules by the neck then threw him across the room, War saw his face and was terrified, he had actually been half joking when he spoke about punishment before but he had never expected his God to react like this, he cured up as small as he could and cowered on the bed. In the other room the other three felt his fear and sparked to him instantly, wrapping themselves around him protectively before they even considered who he was terrified by, then cowered with him, awaiting their punishment.

Hercules stood up and looked at the Four cowering before his brother and couldn't understand what they had done so wrong, he saw Ares about to strike them and ran forward to stop him. As he grabbed the descending arm Ares looked at him with such fury he flinched and almost backed away,

"Why?"

Ares looked at him and his fury only grew,

"He's good enough for you and I'm not and you ask why? In my own temple!"

His voice was enough to make Hercules step back slightly, but his words were too confusing for Hercules to leave,

"What do you mean, you weren't good enough?"

Ares was really not calmed by this apparently inane question and grew even louder, it was lucky the sound was not able to pass outside the room, Xena Gabrielle and Iolaus were confused enough at the disappearance of their respective partners in the post coital bliss.

"You fall in bed with him after you deny me for years! My own Horseman! I don't know which of you I should kill first!"

War was still shaking in fear with the other three but he managed to move to the floor at his Lords feet and speak, his quiet voice an unnecessary mirror of his terror,

"My Lord, he knew nothing, we bought them here and gave them no choice, he did not know My Lord, he did not know."

Ares looked down at him and his fury abated slightly, so when Hercules recovered enough to touch his arm, instead of ripping it off, he grabbed him and pulled him tight to his body, and kissed him hard,

"That not good enough for you? You think he can give you anything I can not?"

Hercules was finally figuring it out,

"I don't believe it, all the fights? All the insults and barbs? That was your idea of foreplay? You were coming on to me? Why in Tarturus didn't you just say something? I thought you hated me!"

Ares was finally stunned into silence, he couldn't believe Hercules had never realised he was interested,

"Huh? You maybe thought I'd hand out flowers? Maybe get Dite to lend me a few hearts? What in Tarturus did you expect? A declaration of undying love, for crying out loud?"

The two men stood and stared at each other for long moments before Ares turned to the Four,

"I believe you three were entertaining, I suggest you get back to it, I will find you when you are required, go now and don't try my patience, they better be the happiest three mortals on Earth by the time I call you."

The three looked at War and left, they all knew they had no choice. Ares turned back to War and raised his bowed head with a gentle touch to his chin, just as the first time they met.

"Ah, my boy, I should not have taken this out on you, you were not to know, but you should have come to me first, you know who he is, you know what trouble there will be if Zeus finds out you had his golden boy up here, I can only do so much to protect him Angelus, you know that."

War lowered his eyes, in the excitement of conquest he had forgotten, and endangered them all.

"My Lord, forgive me? I will leave and never return, but please do not punish the others."

Ares looked at him, tugged on his shoulder until he stood then embraced him tightly,

"And what good would it do? To make you leave would be the worst possible punishment for all of us, we need each other and you know this, you are starting to act like Angel my Boy, now, enough of this,"

As he was about to continue Hercules spoke up,

"Indeed, it really is enough of this, what do you mean protect me? And we'll get to the whole hearts and flowers thing later, but trouble? And what about Dad?"

War looked up and could not help the growl that rolled through him at the name,

"You think he tries to hurt you when he is the main reason you are still alive, Zeus has tried to kill you ever since he missed when he wiped out the rest of your family."

Hercules froze, he had been looking at the two men, still stood next to each other, and as War's words sunk in his eyes froze solid, there was nothing in them at all, just a cold empty vista that spoke of a pain and fury greater than even Ares previous show of temper, the only thing that Ares has seen that had even come close was the pain and fury he had felt from Angelus when he had first realised he was imprisoned in Angel. War looked up at Ares,

"You can not tell me he did not know, that nobody told him?"

"You knew and you let him play me like a fool, was it fun to watch me protect the man who killed my family?"

Hercules voice was dead, and his eyes barley moved,

"What else could I have done? If you had known you would have tried to fight him, you can't win Hercules, he is stronger than any of us, and the others are too afraid of him to try,

Hera has done all she can to keep him away from you, and it kills her a little more each time he uses her name against you, he has turned you against us to stop you from joining us against him, but if we had told you, you would have fought him and lost, we couldn't risk losing you."

Hercules was obviously shocked but anger, pain and confusion warred for supremacy in his eyes that had finally thawed. Hercules had no doubt that anybody else seeing him then would have been shocked and scared at the murderous fury in his eyes at finding out that his father, the man he had protected, was responsible for the deaths of his wife and children, but he was facing War, both aspects of it, in all its glory, and he decided it was time to join his brother, it was way past time to right the wrongs caused by one man, and he would start with the one misconception that was actually his own fault, and do something he had dreamed of for years, with a little extra spice, now he could have a War on both sides, and they would all win!

Ares saw the emotions sweep across Hercules face and settle on lust,

"Well, at last."

Hercules grinned, Iolaus would never have recognised him, it was totally feral and driven by lust, and Ares was impressed, and War was jealous.

"Both of you, now, way too many cloths."

Both men looked at Hercules in amazement, then War looked at Ares his eyes pleading, luckily, Ares did like to share.

"You heard him, way too many clothes Angelus."

War grinned, the feral vampire back in full force, and Hercules didn't know what hit him, and he loved it.

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A week later.

Hercules was convinced, he had spoken to Hera and the other Gods, had spent hours talking to Iolaus, and even more hours with Ares and Angelus, he had found out about the Horsemen's connection and accepted it, finally understanding where Angelus extra stimulation came from, and why he was so insatiable, he had agreed it was not the time to confront Zeus, they needed the backing of the other Gods first, and all the help they could get. Hercules, Iolaus, Xena and Gabrielle said good-bye to the Four Horsemen and knew they would soon meet again.

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END

Authors note: I know that Herc is Ares half brother, but lets remember that these are Gods, they don't acknowledge the word 'incest', it is not a concept which would occur to them let alone bother them, just take a look at any pantheon, Greece, Roman, Egyptian, and the same theme is prevalent, this is mainly because the sister/daughter of a God/Pharaoh was considered too good for a normal man, so if she was to procreate it would have to be with a man from her own family.

A.N.2: Hephaistos, though probably spelt wrong, is the God of the forge, he made enchanted chains that no God could break.



Apocalypse coming soon!
So what do you think so far?