Untitled

Title: The Past Remembered

Author: Lorraine

Content: M/M, NC-17 eventually. Some violence implied m/m/m & one bad word.

Disclaimer: Not mine, wish they were. I'll return when done without a profit, but probably tired.

First fiction & will write for feedback. Thanks to Huntress for a very fast
beta.

The Past Remembered by Lorraine

Persephone moved through the festively decorated banquet hall. Even after so many centuries she still loved her birthday. They never made her feel old, like some of the goddess complained. How could they, she always had fun, and now her mother and Hades fought over who could give her the most sumptuous party. She smiled to herself, and giggled softly. In some ways, this joint custody thing between her mother and Hades was working out well. Particularly, rotating the holidays. Her mother had been aghast last year when she realized that her birthday fell in the fall during Hades’ time. But Hades wanted her to visit over the summer solstice and with Hercules’ assistance they'd all agreed to the visits. This year they'd switched and Hades seemed determined to outdo Demeter's party.

Light reflected off the gold, jewels, and crystal making up the place settings on the long table. Small crystal statutes shaped in the preferred symbol of each god or goddess and decorated with jewels in the proper colors doubled as host gifts and place cards for each deity. She walked along the table occasionally moving one of the small statutes adjusting the seating arrangements to her satisfaction. Holding Eris’ symbol she looked down the table and with a small mischievous grin shifted her to sit across from Celesta. It is my birthday, she decided, I might as well make my friends happy. She paused wondering at how long it took for her to grow up. Tonight marks the beginning of her 2998th year and only in the last year she learned how little of what she thought she knew was right.

She picked up Apollo’s symbol, remembered how she used to hang on his every word or gesture. After musing a moment she moved his symbol to set him between Athena and Artemis. At least that way, they can bore each other.

Servants and minor deities still ran about the hall giving it finishing touches. Mostly checking the abundant flowers. It looked like Hades had stripped the Elysian Fields to decorate for the party. Touching some of the flowers decorating the table she reflected that Hades had truly gone all out for her birthday.

She continued along the table stopping at Strife’s symbol. When Hades discovered that she’d never received any real training on defense he’d, well, ‘had a fit and fell in it,’ as Strife would say. After that Hades had assigned Strife to teach her self-defense. She expected a few lessons in shielding. She got the basics of shielding, offensive flares, relearned scanning from the ground up, and to her greatest surprise, enough combat to, as Strife said, ‘at least semi assassin proof’ her.

She came to an abrupt halt when she spied the present laden table. "Oh my word," she stammered to herself, somewhat overwhelmed. "I'll be opening presents till my next birthday."

She moved to the table, but feeling the sudden dislocation of air that meant another god was coming in stopped, quickly reaching out with her mind to identify the incoming god. At the same time she raised shields, automatically using skills developed after hours of working with Strife. Sensing her mother's presence she gestured the servants away. Taking a deep breath she went through her ritual preparation for her mother’s visits: straightening her dress, shoving a stray lock of hair back into place, checking that her knife was well concealed, and fiercely reminding herself to not, under any circumstances, quote Strife.

"Mother," called Persephone happily, "It's so good of you to visit me here."

Demeter moved regally to hug her daughter. "I would never miss your birthday, my love." She continued sourly, "Just don't expect me to speak to him."

"Mother," said Persephone sharply, suddenly tired of this old fight. "You're being quite unfair. I love Hades and you have never given him the smallest of chances." She held up her hand as her mother starts to interrupt. "No! I've listened to you for years, berate him, and denigrate him. When you realized that he wished to wed me, you did everything in your power to make me fear him and what my life with him would be. You painted a picture of a life of unbearable loneliness." Looking at her mother's stunned face, Persephone gentled her tone. "Will you please let me tell you how it has really been?"

With a stiff nod, Demeter gracefully settled into a chair and conjured up a tea service.

Persephone joined her and after pouring tea, she continued.

"At first I was frightened, Hades was passionate…"

"Obsessive…” her mother interrupted.

"…but very gentle, never pressing," Persephone finished. "After I decided to stay, Hades allowed me to make this my home."

"I noticed the new decorations and furniture," Demeter sallied.

Persephone caught her mother’s emotions seeping from under shields, anger mixed with fear and so much loneliness. The combination calmed her anger at her mother’s stubborn refusal to accept her marriage. "Not just that mother." Sipping her tea Persephone gathered her thoughts. "You feared most for my loneliness. And I'm not. Celesta lives here, too, and surprisingly we have many visitors. Several have become my friends. Not the same friends I have when I stay with you. But they are interesting and often quite charming. Ares visits frequently and he's charming, even slightly flirtatious. Hecate visits even more often. She has a small cave down in Tartarus. Aphrodite visits and this is one of the few places she doesn't bring her cortege. However, she does often bring Eris. I can't even think of her as Discord anymore. Did you know that she has the most magnificent voice? She sings and it's...Oh, it's incredible."

Persephone smiled, reaching to take her mother’s hand, and affirmed softly, Mother, I'm happy. She released her shields to allow her mother to feel the genuineness of her joy.

Demeter looked pensively at her daughter stroking her cheek. With a single nod she promised, "I'll keep my peace this visit. Understand I'm still not sure of this. But all I've ever wanted is your happiness."

With a sudden smile, Demeter joked, "Do we have to wait for Hades or can you start opening presents already?"

"I think we better start with the presents. Hades has been dealing with plague victims." Persephone gestured and scrolls and ink appear. They began to open gifts noting the gift and sender on the scroll for later acknowledgments.

Several hours later, they get to Poseidon's gift. "What a curious box," Persephone exclaimed.

"Oh, let me see." Taking the box from her daughter, Demeter examined it closely, tripping a small latch causing the lid to open. Gasping with amazement, she started to hand it back to her daughter to enjoy.

Persephone's eyes widen when she recognized the small trickle of chaos energy. Strife's training and adrenaline kicking in she launched herself at her mother knocking the box away. Holding her mother tightly, she sent a general alarm while simultaneously transporting them both to the river Styx. Once there she capsized Charon's boat and shields them all as they sank to the bottom of the river. Hearing Cerberus' howls, she quickly grabbed her, almost throwing her to the Elysian Fields and extends her shields as much as possible. Seconds latter the chaos energy swept over them.

***

On the banks above, Hades appeared carrying the unconscious body of his sister, Celesta. Taking in his leveled palace and the destruction about him, he sank to his knees and howled.

"Persephone!"

His mind reached out with the howl touching the faint glimmer of her awareness. He felt her dimming and with a second howled, "Persephone!" yanked her back. Shuddering he held her, fighting the small remaining currents of chaos energy still pulling her away from him. "Persephone, stay with me!" he commanded furiously. Don’t leave me alone, he begged.

Hades … her voice drifted then returned, I remain.

Persephone, where are you? Hades scanned trying to find his wife in the surrounding destruction. The chaos energy interfered with his scans making it impossible for him to locate her. He received only the impression of bone chilling cold. Still searching he sank deeper into trance.

A few moments later Strife appeared. "Unc! Yo, Hades, snap out of it!" Shaking his uncle's shoulder he jumped back when Hades struck out at him. "What happened?"

Putting Celesta down, Hades replied, "Celesta collapsed. I heard Persephone's cry and returned to find this." Still stunned, he turned angry eyes to Strife, rose and strode toward him. Grabbing him by one arm, Hades angrily asked, "What do you know about this?"

"Me!" Strife exclaimed with an aura of outraged innocence. "I was doing my administrative duties, you know, dealing with the 'only slightly evil' souls in the upper regions of Tartarus." Squirming out of his uncle's grip, Strife continues, walking and moving constantly. "You know that's a harder job than people think, I mean the truly evil - they're easy! Just do something really awful. They deserve it. Now, the only slightly evil ones, they take creativity, they take..."

"Strife!" Hades struggled to hold back terror and rage, bottling them up until he could sort out the mess and find Persephone.

"Oh, yeah. What happened? Like I said, I was dealing with the slightly evil." He shrugged, "I heard Persephone yell, 'Chaos energy incoming' at the top of her head and zipped up my section of Tartarus and hunkered down."

"Zipped up? Hunkered down?"

"You know, shielded. So the next thing I know, Hera's hauling butt out, dragging a bunch of truly damned big-time no shitting, just plain mean vicious evil sons-of-bitch souls from the lower regions of Tartarus with her. I mean she was booking, big time, out-of-here!"

Still trying to translate, Hades asked, "Did Hera escape?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"No Strife," replied Persephone's tired voice from behind them. "Or at least not quite that plainly." Supported by her mother and Charon she made her way out of the river.

Hades moved swiftly, meeting them at the bank and pulling Persephone to him, desperate to touch her and reassure himself of her well-being. He dried her clothes with a thought, wrapped her in his cloak, and helped her sit down. Alive, she’s alive, she didn’t leave me sang in his mind as he cradled her.

A small moan alerted them that Celesta was waking up. "Oh, my head hurts," Celesta slowly sat up and looked around, "Wow, someone really blew the lid off this joint."

Demeter jerked her head up to look at Celesta, shocked.

Celesta gave a small half-laugh as she patted Demeter’s arm and dries her. "Strife wears off on one, sister. And the phrase truly seems appropriate." Turning to Hades, she continued in a concerned tone. "Hades, whatever did this annihilated the souls in my care. The backlash from that is what knocked me out."

"The same here boss," Charon added, "And if Persephone hadn't knocked me into the Styx, my goose would have been cooked too. Hey, where's Cerberus?"

"The Elysian Fields," Persephone replied, "I moved her when I transported mother and myself here."

"You overextended your limits and nearly disincorporated." Her mother shook with remembered fear.

"You held me mother, and Hades called me back. I had to shield the Elysian Fields, not just us." She leant back against her husband. "It was a gift from Poseidon, some kind of box. When it opened, I felt a trickle of chaos energy. I grabbed mother, gave the alarm, and transported us to the Styx. I managed to transport Cerberus to the Elysian Fields and knock Charon into the Styx just before it completely blew. I shielded the Fields, and us but couldn't do anymore. I'm sorry darling."

"You did great Aunt!" Strife burst out. "Using the Styx as a buffer was an incredible stroke of brilliance. You know we all remember how miserably cold it is, but we always seem to forget that it's because it's the best energy sink on the planet." He crouched down, and patted her on the top of her head. "Nice job girl, you do a teacher proud!"

Demeter asked sharply, "You're teaching her?"

"Yeah, want to make something of it," Strife challenged.

Demeter takes a deep breath, started to speak, and remembering her promise stopped. After a moment, with great dignity, she finally said, "Thank you for teaching my daughter well enough to save both our lives."

They sat quietly regaining strength while the last eddies of chaos energy dissipated.

"Demeter will you allow me to handle this with Zeus?" asks Hades cautiously.

"Hades I haven't spoken to Zeus in nearly 3000 years, I see no reason to do so now." She stood to leave. "I'm a notoriously closemouthed goddess and this is your realm. I see no reason to discuss this with any of us." Turning to them, she added, "Persephone, I can see that you are in good hands. Hades, I trust that you will make sure that she rests." Then she vanished.

"Alright, then. Strife, check all the perimeter areas. Charon, you tour the Elysian Fields. Celesta, can you handle any new dead? After I get Persephone settled I'll do a level by level inventory of Tartarus." With those few brief commands, Hades got everyone moving.

"Darling, I'm fine," Persephone insisted as he continued to carry her.

"No you're not. Your mother's right." He shook his head in amazement, "I agreed with your mother." He continued, "But she is right, you need rest and you are going to get it."

With a thought, he moved them both to the Elysian Fields and their small cabin in a hidden corner. "Cerberus," he called sharply, causing the dog to appear. "Cerberus, good girl. Come." They walked into the cabin and he settled Persephone on the bed. "Cerberus guard, and don't let Persephone out. She needs to rest." With a small expenditure of energy he soothed Persephone to sleep and places a mental tag on her to alert him when she awakened. Kissing her brow he murmured, "Sleep well, my brave sweet love."

Seconds later he vanished to reappear in his ruined palace. "Ares," he commanded loudly.

Ares appeared. "What?" he snarled, with his normal impatience, and then stopped as he sees the destruction strewn around them. Sensing the echo of the chaos energy released he turned to Hades and asked brusquely, "What did this?"

Equally terse, Hades explained, "Poseidon sent a box of chaos energy, Demeter and Persephone triggered it, but Persephone managed to save them, Cerberus, and Charon." Grinning proudly, he bragged, "Actually, she managed to shield the Fields and warn Strife, Celesta, and me. Celesta and Charon lost the souls in their care, but the rest of Hades stands. However, Hera escaped along with some damned souls."

"Well shit."

"My feelings exactly."

"I don't suppose you know which souls she took off with?" Ares asked.

"Not yet. But I will." Hades looked grim. "I suppose that answers the question of which of us was working with Hera and Dahok."

"Yeah." With a disgruntled look, Ares turned to examine the rubble.

"I'd have expected a little more enthusiasm at identifying the enemy."

"I was hoping it was that golden brat, Apollo, I'd have enjoyed kicking his butt. Besides," he continued looking truly disgusted, "I had a bet with Aphrodite and I don't even want to think what she'll ask as forfeit."

He examined the rubble as his uncle laughed. When he felt that his uncle had laughed enough he reminded him, "You know you're going to have to rebuild your palace, make up an excuse for the lack of lost souls at the river, shield the left over chaos energy, and replace all the presents, decorations, and food." He paused enjoying himself. "In six hours."

"Well shit."

Ares smiled. "And you still have to find out which souls Hera took with her." Laughing Ares held out his hand and with a thought the fragments of Poseidon's weapon appear and reform in his hand, minus the chaos energy. Still laughing he turned and vanished.

***

Six hours later Hades stood with his back to a wall, trying to not let his relatives see that he was using it to prop him up. His herald announced Ares and he watched his nephew join the rest of the family in celebrating Persephone's birthday. Hades sipped ambrosia nectar, letting it jumpstart his repowering process. He caught Ares’ eyes and greeted various relatives who sought him out. He smiled, when Hebe told Ares of his unprecedented decision to allow the lost souls to travel on in celebration of Persephone’s birthday.

Finally, Ares reached him and murmured, "How's the headache?"

"Very funny," Hades muttered back, "have you noticed that Hecate and Poseidon aren't here?"

"I was looking for Poseidon and didn't see him, but Hecate?"

"She’s definitely not here." Hades nodded at Hermes, who grinned back and winked as he slipped one of Zeus’ rings onto a necklace. A second later Hades saw the necklace appear around Artemis’ neck. He watched Ares’ eyes following the action and his knowing smile, and said, "I knew that Hermes would do some kind of mischief, but the brawl that results from that ought to distract the entire family from any questions."

"Oh, it will definitely distract. It will probably be the only thing anyone remembers from the party."

Aphrodite glided over. "Smile guys, you don't want the big Z to get suspicious."

Ares caught Apollo’s eyes and grinned as he walked past them.

Aphrodite giggled. "Did you see the look on his face when you grinned at him. Ares, he's going to have nightmares for months. Have either of you seen Hecate?" she asked.

"We were just talking about that." Hades scanned the room, waited for a group of young gods to walk by, and continued, " Both she and Poseidon are missing."

Aphrodite shrugged and then looking at them said with some asperity, "You don't think she's involved do you?" Looking at their faces, she sighed. "Men. Hecate despises Hera and Poseidon. And neither of them ever forgave her. If she's not here, it's for some other reason." Snarling slightly with frustration at their doubtful looks, she finished. "I'm going to flirt with Hephaestus, while you guys have fun suspecting the wrong person." She sauntered off, adding a little extra sway to her walk.

Drawing back from the crowd, Ares and Hades continued their conversation. "Well which souls did Hera take with her?"

"It's hard to tell." Hades grimaced. "She busted loose a whole room of rapists and then went through three other rooms. Strife seems to think she was only actually holding a couple of dozen, but I've got over 3500 missing."

"How many over 3500? Be exact."

"I have exactly 3519 missing. Some of them may have been destroyed in the chaos explosion. Plus there are exactly 1,158,643 in the wrong damn place."

Ares thought a moment. "You don't think that she deliberately broke that many loose."

"No. Most of them just took advantage of the breaches. Some may have been annihilated like the lost souls. Give me a few of months and I should have accounted for everyone except the ones she deliberately grabbed." He rubbed his head. "You do know that the only reason I could conceal this and do the repairs so quickly was because of the Styx?"

"Yeah. Hades, I don't think we have a few months." Ares turned to him. "Can't you see if any of them have anything in common?"

Frustrated Hades shot back. "This is going to be an accounting nightmare. I'm going to have to move all the wrongly placed back to their right places. Plus, I'm going to have to account for any lost in the chaos explosion, I'm going to have to trace 3519 that escaped. And I'm already trying to find out what they had in common."

"Any luck?"

Leaning against the wall, Hades massaged the back of his neck and rotated his shoulders. "Too much. Xena killed 673 of them. 2518 were rapists. There are four bands that rode together, one with 23 members, one with 16 members, one with 54 members, and one with 6 members. Hercules killed 128 of them and Iolaus killed 213 of them. That's not including the overlapping groups." He shrugged, "Oh and you killed 1537 of them." He stopped again stretched and added, "And then there's Sisyphus."

"You lost Sisyphus again." Ares looked at him with annoyance. "I guess I'd better watch my sword."

"What did you learn from the box?" asked Hades.

"Not much. It stored chaos energy and had a sneaky little latch. I still can’t figure out how he managed it. I have Heph looking at it." Ares frowned. "It's a dangerous weapon. Nobody's really been able to control chaos energy before. I don't like the idea that Poseidon can. I suspect he blew up a few things on accident before he got it to work." Grimly, "It's still didn't look real stable." Finishing even more grimly, he added, "I hate weapons like this. They're almost as much danger to the user as the target, and they take out everything, no sense of discrimination."

A gong called them to dinner.

***

Finally, when the last guest left, Hades and Persephone slip into their bedroom. As Persephone prepares to will her clothes away, Hades stops her with a gesture, "Let me undress you," he requested.

Turning to look at him, she sent a tendril of energy out. "You're not too tired?"

Smiling he turned her around and slowly started unbuttoning her gown. "I'm never that tired." As he unbuttoned the gown he caressed the bared skin. Kneeling down to undo the last button, he exposed the beginning of the swell of her buttocks. He paused a moment and framed her waist with his hands, then lowered his head to the lowest end of her spine. Finally, with one long continuous lick he moved up her spine from her buttocks to her neck.

As he licked his way up, Persephone curled back around him and grabbed his hands with her own, voicing her pleasure with a soft continuous "Ahhhhhh."

Smiling at her barely audible pleasure, Hades continued around her body, licking his way up her neck, around her ear and jaw, finally taking her mouth in a fierce passionate kiss. I love you, he whispered in her mind. Now, always, forever.

Taking control Persephone threaded her hands into his hair and intensified the kiss thrusting her tongue into his mouth brushing it over his teeth then caressing the roof of his mouth. With a moan Hades broke off the kiss and began moving the dress down her body to pool at her feet. As he pushed the dress down with his hands, he followed with his mouth. He moved slowly kissing, nibbling, and licking her exposed skin. He leisurely turned her body into a blaze of heat. As the gown falls from her hips, he traced first a finger, then his tongue from her hipbone to her center finally pleasuring her with his mouth.

Yes, taste me. Love you. Her mind carried her pleasure to him.

As he continued gently nibbling, Persephone moved a hand to caress her nipples and stroked the other one through his hair. He sped up and paid closer attention to her small pleasure point while sweat poured off her body and the hand in his hair grasped hard pulling up slightly.

He paused lifting his head and left her trembling on the edge. She lowered the hand fondling her breasts to his head. Her fingers tangled in hair and gasping and panting she pulled his head towards her with both hands insisting that he continue. Another series of swift hard licks to the center of her pleasure pushed her over the edge. He heard her scream of ecstasy as she curled in orgasm. Her orgasm pulsed through their link and brought him to the brink with her.

Sweet Seph. He stands pulling her to him in another desperate kiss. Suddenly, he felt her hands on his chest and allowed her to push him down. At her will his clothes vanished. Her body dropped quickly onto his erection. He bucked up moving with her, his hardness enveloped in her moist heat. Gasping she rode him hard, until with a cry he turnned them over until he is on top and pushing into her. They clutched at each other's shoulders, joined their mouths with breathless gasping kisses, and rocked together trying to meld into one another. She brought her legs up to clutch his hips pulling him tighter to her as he cried his fear of losing her into her mind.

I almost lost you. I felt you fading.

I stayed, her voice murmured back in his mind, I heard you call me back and stayed.

I will not lose you. They joined their minds with their bodies in those few seconds of ecstasy. Cried their love and joy and pleasure.

Still gasping, still sweating, he rolled them over so that she lay on top of him curled slightly, and then whisked them to bed. He held her as she falls into satiated sleep. His hands lightly caressed her shoulders and back. He continued to hold her close and watched her sleep.

"I will not lose you." He stated again this time with both his voice and mind.

Persephone stirred, looks at him, and smiles. "I intend to stick around," she promised softly and then fell back to sleep.

He continued holding her through the night, wakeful, unable to sleep, remembering that terrible moment when he'd thought he'd lost her. Over and over again, he vowed, I will not lose you.

Below them, in a small cave in Tartarus, Hecate lay on the ground. Her indistinct form glowed slightly fading in and out. Her body flickered once, twice, and the third time vanished.

Part 1

"Where are you going old man?"

The old woman continued selecting vegetables for supper. She and her husband had lived twenty-three years in their small cottage. The cottage was comfortable and small signs indicated that she and her husband had a generous patron. The hearth was strong and well made. There was no scent of mildew from old thatch and the well-worn furniture was of good workmanship and sturdy. She looks up from her work to find her husband pulling his cloak from a hook by the door.

"It's pouring rain. You've already caught a chill from yesterday." She started chopping vegetables and he paused on the way out.

"I'm checking the wall," he replied calmly, but with a slight cough.

"It's five feet thick and fifteen feet tall. It doesn't have a gate. It’s been there twenty-five years. It is pouring rain and you have a cold. Check it tomorrow!" She glared at him a moment. With a frustrated shake of her head she chopped the vegetables even more vigorously, taking her irritation out on them. She glanced up at the sound of him opening the door. And caught him getting ready to go out into the pouring rain. Her knife slammed down and chopped the last bit of carrot so hard she notched the board.

"I'll be back in a bit, after I check the wall."

"Twenty-five years, every day you check. It never changes." Exasperated she swept the vegetables into the waiting pot and argues on, "Its bespelled! Only a Titan could breach it. Check on it tomorrow!"

"I'll be back for supper, after I check the wall." He looked through the open door out into the rain, paused, and looked back. With a soft smile, he said, "I love you, old woman."

She frowned, but said, "I love you, too, old man."

He started out the door, and looked back again. "And it won't be twenty-five years till next month and I won't have missed a day." He slammed the door for emphasis.

She yelled out, "You'll drink the cold tonic when you get back, old man."

"A good roll about would do me better," he shouted back through the door.

"Stubborn old coot," she muttered under her breath with a laugh and smile. "Twenty-five years, you’ve checked that damn wall and still don’t leave without saying and hearing ‘I love you.’ And men think women are romantic." She snorted and continued making their supper.

***

Hours later, her stew done she got up from the table, yet again. Walked to the door, yet again. Looked out into the rain, yet again. Then she walked back to the table sat down. Only to repeat the cycle over minutes later. Still uneasy, she stood up and straightened the room, plumping small goose down stuffed pillows, moving a chair slightly back from the fire, straightening some items on the mantel. Still pretending not to worry. Done with the unnecessary tasks, she picked up her mending basket then put it back down, for the third time. Finally, she looked at the door grimly, stood up, went to the door. Pulling her cloak around her she followed her husband out into the rain.

She found her husband's cloak by the wall. It lay under a hole in the wall. Her disbelieving eyes shifted over the landscape, taking in the scene while her mind refused to accept what she saw. Small things stood out, her husband's cloak on the ground rocks beside it. Her eyes stopped at the rocks. There shouldn’t be rocks, not here, not so close to the wall. Finally, she lifted her head to see the hole in the wall, and through the hole to the ruins. She stared at the impossible hole. Her mind worked slowly, trying to avoid the inevitable conclusion – the knowledge that somehow he had broken out. She trembled from head to foot. Her eyes passed again and again over the small lump just inside the wall. She refused to see her husband's body. In the dim light, she tried to ignore the blood mixed with water covering the ground. Ultimately, it was his arm that finally registered. Her husband's arm, the arm that built their house, held their children, caressed her in love.

Her husband’s arm, torn from its socket.

Still frozen in shock, her knees buckling, she acknowledged her husband's body, and cried, "Hades, judge him gently."

***

It was mid-morning before her youngest son found them. "Mother, we looked for you..." his voice trailed off when he saw his father’s cold body cradled in his mother's arms. "What?"

"Tell your sisters and brothers." Her voice sounded harsh from the long night of weeping. "Have Alaric go to Jason at Chiron's Academy. Jason needs to know that what he imprisoned under the ruins has escaped and killed your father."

"Mother, come with me."

"I'll not leave your father." She looked at him. "Marcus, you need to go. I'll stand death watch." She took a long shuddering breath and finally lays her husband back on the ground. "Send the others back. But Alaric goes to Jason now!"

Marcus looked at the horror around him and objects, "Mother it isn't safe. I won't leave you here."

"If it was still here I'd already be dead. Go! Do as I say!" This time it is a clear command, and, accustomed to obeying that tone, he left running for help.

Part 2

Jason laughed loudly at Atus' latest story, an old, slightly bawdy one from the Argo days. When Atus had shown up a month ago, Jason wasn't sure what to expect. But Atus simply stated his truth.

"I should have forgiven you long ago. I did Glouse discredit by holding my anger."

Since then he'd been conducting sparring lessons where the students learned much. Telling stories where they learned more. Mostly, stories that proved that good judgment comes from experience and that experience comes from bad judgment. Some of the stories made Jason cringe. Occasionally, the cringes came from embarrassment, but, more frequently, they came from concern. He felt quite certain that neither Iolaus nor Hercules had any desire for some of those stories to become public. However, they weren't here and it wasn't like he had confirmed anything. The story situation got worse, or from the students' perspective better, when Xena and Gabrielle arrived five days ago. Granted, Xena sparred with them, which Jason considered a good thing and didn't tell stories, which he considered an even better thing. However, Gabrielle taught yoga, which he could only consider an interesting thing and was attempting to out-story Atus, which Jason felt fairly certain, was a dangerous thing. Although he admitted, the current story had him interested.

Jason looked at Xena and had to ask, "Was it really that bad?"

"It was worse," she replied grimly. "Joxer died, but he came back. Then Argo died, but she came back. But Gabrielle died, but she came back too." She paused trying to recollect the events. "Or did Gabrielle die and then Argo." She shrugged. "It was a horrible day and I had to live it over and over and over again. I even got to the point where I took out the rooster trying to stop it."

"The rooster?"

"I was desperate. It finally took a couple of days of ignoring everything that was happening to investigate and some tricky work with the chakram to fix everything."

"So tell me about the tricky work with the chakram," he asked.

By the time Xena had reviewed the chakram angles, Atus was well into his next story. Jason took a good swallow of water, realizes which story, started choking, and wished for the first time in a long while for wine.

Atus got to the end of the story with suitable fanfare deliberately ignoring Jason's please stop gestures.

"So Iolaus comes out the second floor window with the 'widow's' scarf wrapped around to protect his modesty and holding his sword. The scarf wasn't helping and the 'widow's' husband followed him out the window with an axe. The husband's yelling out a list of what body parts he intends to cut off. When the 'widow' comes out the door wearing Iolaus' vest, waving his pants in the air, and yelling at Iolaus that she wants her scarf back and at her not-so-dead husband to 'not kill the little blond - he's too good in bed.' That last bit didn't help Iolaus. Iolaus is ducking and weaving and trying to explain that he thought she was a widow. Finally, Jason and Hercules show up. Jason grabs the axe, Hercules grabs Iolaus, and the 'widow' brains her husband with my ale cup."

The students continued laughing at the scene, while Jason continued to give Atus the shut-up sign to no avail.

Atus went on, "Jason ended up having to pay a fine to prevent Iolaus from being jailed for disturbing the peace, a settlement to the husband for the adultery, and damages to the innkeeper for a broken window, a dented cup, and a broken bed."

More laughter filled the dining hall, while Jason made one last futile attempt to silence Atus short of death. Xena looked at Jason speculatively as he pantomimed slitting Atus’ throat. However, Atus again ignored the signal and finished, "Hercules and Jason berated Iolaus all the way back to the Argo for his unfaithfulness to them. Iolaus rowed standing up for three days. Although none of the three have ever told whether that was from a good spanking or a good fucking."

Jason collapsed back in his chair in resignation. He had not really wanted his students and in particular his daughter to learn that. After a moment of dead silence, Xena grinned and asked, "I don't suppose you'd like to enlighten us Jason?"

"Not on my life," he replied.

The general laughter caused by that statement was winding down to calls for another story from Gabrielle, when they heard pounding and yelling at the gate.

Part 3

Hercules rose from the table with the fulfilled groan of a man who's clean, warm, well fed, and looking forward to a soft bed with a passionate lover in it. He touched his lover lightly on the shoulder, his hand lingering for a split second. Iolaus grinned at him and bounced up joining him in begging tiredness and their need for an early night. The other guests laughed and wished them an easy sleep, clearly knowing that sleep was the last thing on their minds. He laughed with them his eyes still on Iolaus, joy filling him at the blessing of having his lover back. Last year had been hard; losing Iolaus had sent him spinning into madness and even after months of having him back, Hercules sometimes felt … off balance. Occasionally, he didn’t know for certain whether Iolaus was really there or if he had simply descended completely into insanity. So, he touched his lover whenever he could. Just small light touches, a brush of hand against skin, a reassurance.

"Herc we've got to let Xena and Gabrielle know about this inn. It's on the way to Corinth and much better than the one at the crossroads. The bathing room alone..." Iolaus babbled excitedly.

"We'll let them know in a few days," Hercules interrupted, his hand brushed against Iolaus’ arm as he moved around the table. "Joxer said they were heading to the academy and planning to stay awhile. We can meet up with them there, before heading to Corinth for the Harvest Fair."

As they wove their way through the full common room, Iolaus continued, "Poseidon must be angry at someone, its been raining for nine weeks straight. Herc, this is the first time we've been warm, dry, or clean for weeks. I'd like to stay for an extra night." He let Iolaus walk in front of him enjoying the light spring of his steps and laughter in his voice.

"We're promised at Corinth in five days," Hercules reminded him.

Starting up the stairs, Iolaus urged, "Think about it. An extra day of good food, another hot bath, a fireplace in the room, a soft bed." He twisted to look at Hercules and realizing that the soft bed had gotten his lover's attention, Iolaus went in for the kill, "Great sex." He stopped forcing Hercules to stop too and brushed his lips against Hercules in a promise-filled kiss.

When Iolaus started going up the stairs backwards, Hercules laughed, "You win. Even with the rain, we should have enough time with some to spare. The storms have driven even most of the bandits and monsters to ground." Besides it would give him a chance to see more of his lover. Due to the damp chilly fall Iolaus had taken to wearing a couple of shirts and packed his vest. The idea of keeping him naked and in bed for a day had a lot of appeal.

"Well I guess that Poseidon's ire must be good for something," Iolaus giggled. "Its nice not to need the planned in travel delays for monsters, bandits, and warlords. We haven't even heard a peep from any of your divine relatives for weeks."

"Iolaus don't tempt them." Reaching the room Hercules sat on the bed enjoying the warmth of the fire and his view of Iolaus. The innkeeper clearly catered to his customers. The fire had been lit and banked while they dined. Extra blankets were available in a chest. A linen-warmer stood by the fire. And the table held a bowl of fruit, a pitcher of water, a basin, washcloths, and two glasses. Taking in the amenities, Hercules felt even happier that Iolaus had talked him into staying an extra night. Not only would they have a chance to play, they could do so in a comfortable environment. He was getting tired of snatched moments in leaky barns.

Hercules watched Iolaus place his weapons on hooks close by the bed and kick off his boots. He could see the speculative look, lighted with mischief and knew that Iolaus planned to make sure he kept his full attention on the great sex part of the plan. His lover went quiet, smiled and stood completely still.

Attracted by the odd quiet and stillness of his lover, Hercules stared. Iolaus slowly drew off his outer shirt leaving the thin undershirt. His hands played with the bottom of his undershirt a moment before starting to pull it off. He ran his fingers along his stomach, chest, and nipples as he drew it off and dropped it on the floor behind him. He made deliberate eye contact and smiled a slow seductive smile, letting Hercules take in the arch of his body before lowering his hands back to his belts. Hercules felt heat flow to his groin and spread his legs to make room for his growing erection.

Iolaus walked over to the bed as he removed the first belt. He wrapped it around a bedpost, while Hercules continued to track him. As he removed the second belt, Iolaus leaned around his lover, allowing his hair to caress him. He wrapped the second belt around another post before backing away from the bed briefly. He retrieved several long scarves they had planned to give to Gabrielle during the fair and wrapped two around the foot posts and left a third on the bed. Hercules’ felt his pulse jump, he understood Iolaus’ offer to surrender, to submit completely, and he understood exactly how much trust that showed.

"Help me with my gauntlets," Iolaus said softly, as he moved to stand in front of Hercules arms outstretched. Hercules' hands trembled as he unlaced first one, than the other. Iolaus brushed his legs against his inner thighs as he backed away causing him to shudder. Hercules closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath. When he opened his eyes Iolaus stood in front of him with a smile playing at his lips and in his eyes.

His hands drifted from his sides up his torso to his mouth where he sucked each finger. Then they moved back down lightly, stroking his collarbone, before moving to his nipples. Iolaus spent some time teasing his nipples until they stood out like small sweet berries. Hercules shifted uncomfortably as he watched Iolaus trace his fingers down to his codpiece. Iolaus played with the laces for a moment before undoing them allowing his cock release. He traced along its length with one wet finger. Iolaus turned to remove his pants. Hercules gulped as the globes of Iolaus' ass came into view. Finally naked, Iolaus turned and stood waiting.

"Come here," Hercules spoke for the first time.

Iolaus gracefully walked to Hercules and stood between his spread legs.

"Kneel," Hercules ordered in a calm quiet voice.

Iolaus lightly knelt in front of his lover.

In the same calm voice he ordered, "My boots."

Iolaus removed Hercules' boots.

"My belt."

Iolaus again complied.

"My pants."

Reaching behind Hercules, Iolaus pulled his shirts from the waist of his pants while running his fingers along the top of Hercules' hips. His thumb stroked into the indentation in Hercules' backside causing a slight buck. He continued to remove the pants all the while stroking his hands down his lover's buttocks, hamstrings, the back of his knees, calves, and ankles. Hercules felt the heat and warmth move down with Iolaus’ light caress, the sensation moved through him settling in his groin. As he stroked downward Iolaus lowered his head allowing his hair to fall on Hercules' cock and glide across the top of his thighs.

Hercules shuddered, groaned, and moved his hands to his partner’s face. He raised Iolaus' head up and gently traced his fingers along his lover's eyebrows, cheekbones, his nose, and jaw, down the neck. Hercules continued exploring his lover's neck as Iolaus gulped causing his adam's apples to move under Hercules' hand. Enjoying the sensation of Iolaus’ skin, Hercules continued stroking along and down Iolaus' shoulders until he grasped his upper arms. He pulled Iolaus partially up, so that his lover's weight rested in his strong hands. Admiring Iolaus’ lithe form as it stretched towards him, he leaned forward and down tracing his tongue along Iolaus' lips. A slight gasp from Iolaus allowed Hercules the access he craved. He leaned into the kiss entering Iolaus' mouth with his tongue. He held the kiss, exploring his mouth, gliding his tongue along teeth and gums, deepening the kiss further until he could feel Iolaus trembling in his hands.

Hercules lowered his partner back down, checking the state of his arousal. Iolaus was fully erect, leaking pre-cum, trembling and gasping. "Don't cum," Hercules ordered.

Iolaus shuddered and nodded.

Hercules allowed Iolaus time to bring himself under control before ordering, "Use your mouth to bring me off."

Iolaus reached towards Hercules. "No hands. Put them behind your back. Just your mouth."

Placing his hands behind his back he watched Iolaus lean forward, slowly breathe in, inhaling the scent of his groin. Hercules shuddered when he blew on his cock, licked first one side, then the other. He grasped the cock with his mouth carefully covering his teeth with his lips. Sucking in he moved his tongue along the underside and then around and up to play with the slit. Lost in the sensation of moist heat and rasping tongue, Hercules gasped as Iolaus released his cock and blew on it again. He began reaching for Iolaus, then wrapped his hands in the bedclothes. Iolaus continued, stroking his head along Hercules' inner thighs, licking and blowing on his balls and cock. Without his hands, Hercules noticed, Iolaus had difficulty maintaining the friction and control to bring him to completion. Finally, Hercules grasped his head and Iolaus opened his mouth and throat allowing him to control the speed and depth. Hercules’ groin tightened and he sped up, warning, "Now!" Iolaus relaxed and allowed his cum to spurt into his mouth and down his throat. He gulped several times and extra dribbled out the corners of his mouth. Still gasping from his orgasm, Hercules dropped his hands to watch Iolaus swallow one last time before releasing his cock with a farewell lick along its head.

They were both sweating. Iolaus' cock stood up, red and weeping. Hercules watched him shuddering from the effort to prevent his orgasm. Hercules looked intently at him and ordered, "Not yet. Take a deep breath. Another."

Slowly Iolaus fought down his impending orgasm. When he was sure Iolaus was in control Hercules stood and directed, "Get on the bed. On your back."

Hercules removed his shirts and gauntlets as Iolaus scrambled onto the bed. Hercules looked at him, and sighed. "You know better. Spread your arms and legs." Iolaus gracefully moved his legs apart and his arms up and apart.

He stood a moment, having to catch his breath. Finally, he moved, his hands going to the scarves. Hercules carefully bound Iolaus with the belts and scarves. He ran his fingers inside the binding, stroking around Iolaus' wrists and ankles, checking that his circulation wouldn't be cut off. He made sure that Iolaus could release both his wrists without help. Hercules finished tying his lover by running his hands down Iolaus' arms, under his shoulders, down the back, and lifting him at the hips to make sure he could move and arch comfortably. Each touch reassured him of the reality of the moment and drove back the haunting fear that he would wake up and find himself alone. By the time he finished, Iolaus was again trembling with need.

Finally, Hercules lifted the last scarf. "We don't want to bother the other guests, so I'm going to gag you." Tying a double knot in the cloth, he waited until Iolaus nodded and allowed him to place the knot in his mouth and tie the gag. "Breath around the gag." Iolaus took a deep breath while Hercules checked that the gag was safe. "Now try to say something."

A muted and garbled, "Please," was all Iolaus could manage.

Hercules laughed gently, "Just checking love. If it gets hard to breathe or too intense let go of the belts and I'll stop. We can always start again." He stroked and pinched one nipple causing Iolaus to arch slightly. "But this is supposed to be fun."

Iolaus nodded his understanding.

Hercules moved from the bed. Speaking softly, he told Iolaus his plans, watching his lover’s arousal increase with each word. "I'm going to love every inch of you tonight." He moved to the table and poured water from the pitcher to the basin. "I'll kiss your eyes and face," he said quietly, as he wet down a washcloth and hung it by the fireplace to warm. "Kiss and lick every inch of your skin." Now he moved to the linen chest and pulled out an extra blanket, which he hung on the linen warmer by the fire. "Suck you dry," he promised.

Iolaus gave an inarticulate moan through the gag. Hercules moved through the room picking up their scattered clothes. "I know," Hercules murmured stroking down Iolaus' side. "You want to cum," he laughed low, "but patience is a virtue sweet love." Hercules slowly folded their clothing setting it alongside their packs. He retrieved a sealed flask of the cream they used from the pack, and moved back to the bed leaving it within reach. "After I suck you dry, I'll play with you again, then I'll fuck you until we both cum again. I want you to cum like that. Just from me moving in you, possessing you." He reached up to check that Iolaus' weapons were securely on the hooks as Iolaus responded to his last statement, arching and writhing on the bed. "Shut your eyes." Hercules leaned over to kiss Iolaus' eyelids as they closed.

Hercules started loving Iolaus then. Kissing, touching, stroking, nibbling, caressing, licking. As he promised, he left no part of his lover's body unattended – except his cock. Iolaus writhed on the bed arching into Hercules' lovemaking. Pleading for completion through the gag crying out with small-aroused moans. His body glistened with sweat as Hercules moved from place to place, from touch to touch on his body. Each caress calculated to arouse, to bring Iolaus ever closer to the brink. Hercules focused on Iolaus, concentrating on his breath, the silk and heat of his skin against his hands and mouth. He heard only his lover’s small gasps and used them to determine when to sped up or slow down, when to move his hands and mouth. He kept his hands and mouth moving, never resting, never giving Iolaus the chance to become accustomed to any one touch. Mouth to belly, fingers pinching a nipple, a small bite to an earlobe. On and on he aroused his lover until every bit of skin was a point of pleasure and anticipation.

Hercules paused, as he heard Iolaus gasping through the gag, begging for relief. He continued loving Iolaus' body, enjoying the silk of his skin, now moist from sweat, reveling in the scent and taste of his sweat. He leaned down listening to the pounding of Iolaus' heart in his chest. Finally, Hercules trailed a line of kisses down Iolaus' body, nibbling briefly at each nipple, licking in and around his bellybutton, teasing down the taut muscles until he reached his cock. He licked the head, tasting salt and sweet bitterness. Suddenly, he engulfed the cock with his mouth. Iolaus gasped for air panting through his gag. Hercules firmly held his hips preventing him from thrusting too quickly. He waited until Iolaus was desperate for release and finally with a few firm strong strokes of his hands and tongue Hercules allowed Iolaus to reach orgasm. Hercules swallowed Iolaus' cum. As Iolaus' orgasm ended Hercules released his cock and turned his head resting it on Iolaus' hip. His own cock was desperately hard and he took deep calming breaths. He soothed his lover with long firm strokes of his hands along his sides, chest, and belly. Only after Iolaus' breathing returned to normal and his own desperation had eased, did Hercules sit up.

"Don't open your eyes," he reminded. "I think you need cooling off." Moving off the bed Hercules went to the table and returned with the basin of water. He knelt, holding the basin with one hand, using the other to dribble water over Iolaus' body. Iolaus gasped in surprise when the first drops hit his nipple. Hercules continued, dribbling water over his chest, cooling his lover’s body. He let the water run in small rivulets to pool where muscles joined in shallow concavities then leaned forward to lick them off. Hercules wet his fingers and traced them along the arch of Iolaus' foot, the curve of his calf, the dimple of his knee, the smoothness of his inner thigh. He repeated the same line of cool water on Iolaus' other leg; letting the soft damp caress arousing Iolaus to renewed passion. He than traced the same path on Iolaus using his tongue. Iolaus began thrusting towards Hercules trying to get him to touch his balls and his cock. Hercules stopped.

"No Iolaus, you don't cum again until I'm inside you." He waited until Iolaus stilled before resuming his game. He wanted Iolaus mindless and desperate. After several minutes of Hercules first tracing a path of water on his body, following with his tongue, Iolaus again writhed with passion. Hercules lifted his head and hands higher with each pass, forcing Iolaus to lift his body to him. Until his lover arched up, his body bowed. "Almost," he whispered. Iolaus shook; every muscle clenched with the need to have Hercules possess him and to reach completion. Hercules knew that only the gag prevented him from waking every guest at the inn with his cries of passion. He reached his free hand out and grabbed the base of Iolaus' cock. "You are not cumming yet," he insisted.

Iolaus let out a long muffled moan. Through the gag, he started to plead with Hercules.

"Please. Herc, oh gods, please," he panted, his voice distorted from the gag, "… ready, please."

Hercules set the basin down and started stroking Iolaus' face softly. "Soon love. Take a breath." Still watching, keeping his focus on Iolaus, he continued soothing his lover. Only releasing his cock when he was sure he wouldn't cum. Then he opened the waiting flask and knelt on the bed between Iolaus' bound legs.

Taking a deep breath, Hercules gave his own cock a fierce tap before preparing himself. Then he raised Iolaus' hips with one hand and slowly prepared him. He gently inserted one lubricated finger carefully rotating it and easing into his lover's body. When he was certain Iolaus was ready, he added a second finger using the two to spread the opening and reach deeper. He removed his fingers added more cream and returned them to the warm opening and only when Iolaus was trying to thrust back onto them did he add a third. Again he added more cream and this time deliberately started brushing against Iolaus' pleasure point. Iolaus gasped and jerked in response and Hercules moved his fingers deeper and further apart opening him more.

When Iolaus was again writhing with pleasure, Hercules removed his fingers, lifted Iolaus' hips higher, and entered him. Iolaus stiffened for a moment and knowing that his lover’s body needed to remember and accustom itself to this fullness Hercules stopped. He felt Iolaus tighten then relax. After that only his hands on his hips, kept his lover from thrusting all the way down onto his cock. Hercules controlled their joining and slowly, carefully moved forward until he was completely sheathed. Then he began the slow rhythm of lovemaking that moved his cock in and out of Iolaus. He used the knowledge of years together to make sure that each movement brushed his cock against Iolaus' pleasure point. As Iolaus' bliss climbed higher, his body became harder for Hercules to control, until finally there was only the rhythm of ecstasy and the climb to completion. Once again, every muscle in Iolaus' body clenched in passion, but this time it was around Hercules' cock, and Hercules was ready to let him cum. Hercules forced his body to stop and let Iolaus move. Finally, with one last fierce thrust, and keening through the gag, Iolaus came, his body bowed, his hands clenched at the belts and his toes curled. Hercules, feeling his lover's body clenching around his with the orgasm, pulled him down fiercely and pounded his own release into that sweet body.

Gasping for air they both collapsed. Iolaus back down to the bed, his hips still supported by Hercules' thighs. Hercules’ fell back on his heals, his chest heaved, and his cock slowly slipped out of his lover’s depths. The after image of Iolaus’ bowed with passion burned in Hercules’ memory. He felt the stickiness of Iolaus’ cum mixed with his sweat on his chest and his firm hips hot in his hands. Reality thrummed through him. Iolaus and the love they shared felt real beyond any fear of madness or dream. He let that reality anchor him. They stayed that way for a few moments trying to catch their breath. Finally, Hercules gathered himself, moved Iolaus off him, and reached back untying Iolaus' ankles. He shifted removed the gag and kissed his lover deeply. Looking at the scarves, he murmured, " I think we're going to have to keep these."

Iolaus laughed, "We always do this. We've bought her about twenty scarves and she hasn't seen one of them."

Laughing Hercules leaned down and released his wrists. He gave Iolaus the rest of the water in the basin to drink, then returned it to the table. He went to the fireplace for the warmed wet washcloth. Cleaning Iolaus, he noticed bruises on his wrists, ankles, and hips. A frown he couldn’t quite conceal passed over his face. He knew Iolaus had seen it when his lover grabbed Hercules' jaw, looked fiercely into his eyes and said intensely, "Don't you dare get upset about a few small bruises." In a gentler tone he reassured, "Herc, this was the most incredible sex I've had in ages. Sometimes I need to give you control. I know you'll never abuse my trust and I can stop you whenever I want. I put the belts and scarves there. I told you that I wanted this. I love you and I loved tonight. Tomorrow we can do gentle or I'll pound you into oblivion. Just don't..."

Hercules hushed him. "Shh, I know. So if this is so great how come I never get to be tied up?" With a large smile and a light kiss, Hercules changed the subject.

"We did that. Twice. You broke both beds. Before you came." Iolaus laughed and suggested, "Why don't you tell Aphrodite to have Hephaestus make you an unbreakable bed with matching manacles."

"You probably just did. You know they can hear you when you use their names and Aphrodite pays attention to you." Hercules rose from the bed and got the warmed blanket. Returning he stripped the damp top cover off the bed and bundled them both up in the warmed blanket. After a few minutes of squirming into comfortable positions, he waited while Iolaus drifted into sleep.

He watched awhile longer enjoying the quiet moment of realness and nearness. Finally, he curled around his lover, skin to skin. And let Iolaus’ heat and weight, and heartbeat lull him to sleep.

***

Several hours later Iolaus woke to Hercules moving from the bed. "What," he mumbled sleepily?

"Hush," Hercules whispered, "I was trying to not wake you up. I'm just going downstairs to pay for the extra night. Go back to sleep."

Iolaus gave a sleepy affirmation and drifted back to sleep. A few moments later, loud angry shouts from below along with a loud crash reawakened Iolaus causing him to roll from the bed and grab his sword in one swift move.

Part 4

Jason, Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus moved in unison, each diving into a protective position around the perimeter of the room. The remaining teachers responded just after them and also took up protective positions. The students, having been drilled frequently due to the invasion the prior year, responded quickly, the most skilled joining their teachers in guarding the others, and the youngest quickly claimed by older assigned buddies. Only a few brief moments passed before one of the students assigned to gate watch gave the all-clear signal.

Jason smiled as he looked around the room. Speaking to his students he said, "You all responded well to that alarm. You moved quickly and calmly to your posts and everyone had a guard at their back. I'm very proud of you." As he finished, one of the gate guards came in with a young man. Filthy and shaking with exhaustion he insisted that he must speak immediately with Jason of Corinth. Jason's eyes widened as he recognized Alaric son of Cledious of Pellestis.

"My lord," he cried out rushing to him, "It escaped and murdered my father." Alaric slid to kneel before Jason his battle with exhaustion and grief finally lost. "It tore his arm off," he sobbed.

Terror and rage filled Jason and his initial response had him roughly grabbing Alaric by both arms. Out of the corner of eye he saw Xena watching him and he forced himself to choke down his terror. He eased his grip as Xena approached.

"Alaric, I'll need the entire story," Jason said gently as he and Xena helped him up, half carrying him. Still forcing his voice to stay calm he continued, "Xena, please help me get him to my office. Atus, Gabrielle, will you please get some food and wine from the kitchen and join us." Jason and Xena continued with Alaric towards Jason's office, while Atus and Gabrielle hurried to the kitchen. His students milled about, shocked whispers and speculations following Jason, Xena, and Alaric as they moved. Jason dispersed them with a final command; "The rest of you have evening duties. Do them and go to bed. We will have classes in the morning."

They spent several minutes silently climbing up the stairs to the office. Alaric looked around in stunned amazement. Jason could almost track his thoughts. The young man would have expected the fireplace, the comfortable chairs, and the desk, all ordinary accoutrements of such a room. Alaric should have seen similar, although less rich, in his own lord's office. The wooden side table set with glasses, a pitcher of water, and the basket of fresh fruit was usual enough. The young man finally focused on the great table, a huge granite plank stretching nearly the full length of the room set on tree stumps cut and trimmed to the same height. The table easily spanned five feet in width and fifteen in length. Even with Hercules’ strength it had taken most of the day to get the thing into his office and set up.

Jason tried to lead Alaric to a chair, but the younger man stood stupefied staring at the table trying to regain his bearings. “Hercules brought it up,” he finally said softly.

“Oh…” he pointed to the guides embedded in the table, asking, “What are those for?”

Jason gestured to a shelf with large map scrolls, which stood by one end of the table. “Map guides,” he explained. Looking at the his bewildered look he waved to the battle map leaning against the table and quickly lifted it into place on the table showing how it could be displayed that way.

“I see,” Alaric said quietly. He shook his head in bemusement and allowed Xena to lead him to the chair by the table.

Jason returned the map to where it belonged with the other battle maps and stood looking at the shelves searching for the one he wanted. His eyes passed over the maps of Chin, Sumeria, and Rome, searching through the ones of the Greek states and their provinces until he found what he was looking for. Reaching back, he pulled out a smaller scroll case; one that held the map of Pellestis and the detailed drawings of the wall that he’d had drawn nearly twenty-five years ago. He held the scroll case a minute, trying to stop the rush of memories. Steadying himself, he pulled the wall drawing out and set it on the table.

"Alaric," asked Jason drawing his attention to the map, “Can you show me where the breech is?” Alaric looked at the map and pointed. Shaking he fell back into the chair. Silently Jason marked the map, set it back in the case, and moved to the side table.

Pouring a glass of water he asked Alaric, "When did this happen?"

Alaric accepted the glass with a shaky hand. "Three nights back. Dad was checking the wall and didn't return. My mother went to look for him and discovered..." He sobbed, regained his composure, and continued, "She found his body. There was a great hole in the wall; something had dug its way out of the ruins. It tore his arm off."

Jason looked at him with concern; sympathetically patting his back while Alaric sobbed his grief. A brief knock at the door indicated that Gabrielle and Atus had come to join them. Xena let them in and Atus set the platter of food and goblet of wine next to the sobbing Alaric.

"Alaric," Gabrielle said gently, "Please drink some of the wine." She held the goblet out to him.

"Thank you." He took the goblet.

Gabrielle settled into her favorite chair, one large enough to hold both her and Xena. Xena moved next to her and perched on the chair's arm. Atus settled onto an ottoman close to Alaric. Jason smiled as he noticed that, Xena and Atus had both chosen a spot that they could easily move from if necessary.

Jason moved a chair closer to Alaric. "Alaric, were there any signs of trouble before the breech?"

"No. I had been checking the wall with him. We were worried that the rain would undermine it. But it was well made, sloped, and with gravel used for drainage. The spell remained intact. Until the very end, we could feel its pulse on the wall. I had met him out there just the night before. My wife is expecting our first child, so he told me that I should be with her. I wasn't with him the night he died."

"If you had been, you would have been killed too. Alaric, look at me," Jason insisted. "It's the truth. If you had been with him, you would have died. I posted your father at the wall out of what I thought was an over abundance of caution. Medea assured me..."

"Medea," burst out Atus, "You trusted that bitch!"

"It was cast nearly twenty-five years ago!" Jason yelled back. "And I checked after," his voice trailed off as he shook his head with an old grief. "I checked. I brought a High Priestess of Hecate out to examine the wall and the spell. Twice I checked; the first time right after she killed our children and then a couple of years later."

Atus looked at him stubbornly. Jason glared back, took a deep breath, and finished more calmly, "Atus, she used our blood to bind the spell in place. It was a death binding. As long as one of us lived, the spell should have lasted. And for that matter, even if we both died we had a year to bury one or the other of us by the wall and bind the spell to our bones. I've been having her watched to make sure that she lived and that I could reclaim her body if she died."

"If the spell was that strong, then why leave a guard?" Gabrielle inquired.

She looked over as Alaric answered. "Because if they did both die the spell would start weakening. That's what my father checked each day, what he taught me to check."

"But Jason's alive. Medea?" Xena's sharp mind already looked to the possible causes.

Jason shook his head he’d already rejected that possibility. "Medea celebrated the last new moon by announcing her engagement to Aegeus, King of Athens. If she has died, it was within the last three weeks." Jason shifted around again to look at Alaric. "Alaric you need rest." He got up opened the door and called, "Seska, stop trying to eavesdrop and make yourself useful."

"Dad! I'm not eavesdropping, I'm just..." Seska squirmed, looked down, glanced up and stopped talking.

"You're just trying to learn," he sighed. "Iolaus has given you too many lessons in being a teenager." Xena grinned briefly, Gabrielle laughed softly, and Atus gave a brief sharp snort of amusement. They all knew Iolaus well enough to understand exactly what Jason meant. "Take Alaric to the dorm and get him a cot. Alaric, go with her. Take the food and wine. We'll talk again in the morning." Jason waited until they were well out of earshot before closing the door and gesturing to the others to join him.

"How bad is this," Xena asked, closely watching Jason's eyes and body for clues.

"His name is Belisco, he's immortal, a demigod; one of Poseidon's sons. He's smart and vicious. And he'll go after Iolaus first." Jason slumped onto a chair. "He terrifies me. I'm truly not sure that Hercules could take him. And he's very charismatic. He'll attract followers." He lapsed into silence staring down at his hands.

Gabrielle, concerned about Iolaus asked, "Why Iolaus? Why not come here? Didn't you imprison him?" She leaned towards him nearly jumping from the chair. "Jason! Why Iolaus?"

"Gabrielle, give him a chance to answer." Xena placed her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder to calm her lover.

"He captured Iolaus and me. We were lovers at the time, his spies found out and he used that. He threatened Iolaus to control me and I was young and arrogant and stupid," he broke off trying not to sob. "I was so damned stupid." He stopped again, overwhelmed by memories and emotion.

After a moment, Atus interjected flatly, "You got him raped."

"Yeah, I got him raped." He looked at Atus trying to figure out how much he knew and how he’d learned. He knew that Atus and Iolaus had been close friends on the Argo and wondered briefly whether Iolaus had talked to him about what happened.

Atus answered the unasked question. "I heard you and Hercules arguing. After he'd pushed the wrong stone on the damned island and Iolaus took the drop. You yelled at him for getting Iolaus hurt and he yelled back that 'At least I haven't gotten him raped.' Then I figured it wasn't my business, but it is now. We need details Jason. We need to know how to fight this bastard." He walked up to Jason, squatted in front of the chair, and pushed his face right into Jason's. "So you tell us all the gory details, we find Hercules and Iolaus, we plan how to kill Belisco, and then we do it."

Jason saw Xena’s respectful look as he pushed at Jason's reluctance to discuss the past. He half-expected her, "Sounds like a plan to me." Staring at Jason she ordered, "Start talking."

Reluctantly he acceded to the necessity. "You're right.” He winced trying to figure out how to make them understand and finally said, “You need to remember, that in a lot of ways this is a story of me being incredibly stupid." He paused, sorted out his memories and then took them back nearly twenty-five years to the beginning. "It started with Medea."

See Atus flinch at her name he hurried on. "After that mess with the Ghidra, Hercules confessed that he loved Iolaus. Iolaus and I already were intimate. We didn't really consider ourselves lovers and we certainly weren't exclusive." Jason shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I hadn't realized until Hercules made his confession, but Hercules knew. He made sure that I was there when he told Iolaus how he felt and made it very clear that he wouldn't step in between our relationship. Iolaus made some crack about knowing how to share and the three of us ended up together."

"Well that does sound like Iolaus," Xena laughed, "He's always had love enough to share." She and Gabrielle smiled at each other sharing a brief moment of memory.

"Yeah, well, our relationship progressed and while we tried to be discreet, well Hercules and I tried to be discreet, and Iolaus simply tried to not be too obvious, it was apparent that rumors were circulating by late spring. They got worse after the mess with the Parthians in mid-summer." He shrugged, "I was king at the time, but the throne was shaky. My father's half-brother, Pelias, was a bastard by their mother Tyro and Poseidon, but was also older. My grandfather, King Cretheus never denounced Tyro and Pelias, so the bastard status wasn't official. Hera's priests supported his claim and he had military support from the Parthians. Additionally, the regent's council has always had power in Corinth, but mostly due to my own stupidity; it was particularly powerful at the time. They’d reluctantly gone forward with my coronation. But I still ruled more in name than reality. Every council meeting turned into a battle and they had the power to bring me down. They were divided on who would be the better or rather the most proper king. Actually, at that point the general consensus was that I would make a terrible king. My reputation for wildness and lack of discipline is what caused my father to send me to the academy in the first place. Things like the chariot race with Hercules, fighting the Ghidra, and my sexual escapades didn't help."

"Someone approached you," Gabriel guessed.

"Actually, several people. Including some whom might actually have been motivated by a desire to help. The general consensus was that there was no problem with my involvement with Hercules, but that Iolaus was not appropriate. Hercules was the son of Zeus, King of the Gods, and Zeus' mark of favor was on him and on Alcmene. Iolaus was a street rat, a thief on probation. He was also boisterous, irreverent, and disrespectful. They despised him. They either couldn't see his joyous embrace of life, or they saw it and hated it. And he influenced me. Not in any purposeful way, but simply by being who he was, he would say things that put things in a different perspective." He shook his head. "And our relationship had other problems."

"Such as," Atus asked. Getting up to pour water Atus looked toward the others to see if they wanted any.

Jason held his hand out for a glass, finished it, returned the glass to Atus to pour him more water, and only when Atus resettled on the ottoman did he resume. "Such as my being so much older than them. Hercules was fifteen and Iolaus was seventeen, I was twenty-five. The council was actively pressing me to marry and beget heirs. My friends argued for marriage, because my ability to give Corinth an heir was one of the few reasons for keeping me. Pelias was old and had only grown daughters. My enemies wanted the same thing, because then they could assassinate me and still have an heir, either for another regency council or Pelias. I knew that I couldn't keep putting them off and finally agreed to announce a betrothal at the Harvest Banquet.” He stopped remembering the trapped feeling and recalling how he misdirected his rage.

“It didn’t help that I was jealous of Hercules, because while I had Iolaus’ friendship, love, and body in my bed, Hercules always had his first loyalty and the greater portion of his love. That led to a lot of arguments, mostly ones that had nothing to do with what we said we were fighting about.” He stopped remembering bitter arguments and angry words. “There were other problems. We played a lot, but I wanted to fuck Iolaus," Jason continued bluntly, "And Iolaus wasn't ready for that, with anyone. Then I met Alcmene and was attracted to her. Then finally, at the summer solstice festival, I saw Medea again."

"You didn't," Atus responded.

"Yes, I did." Jason shook his head with chagrin, "Remember, I told you this is a story of me being stupid."

He sighed, "Medea was an easy fix. I wanted to fuck someone, Iolaus wouldn't, and she would. It allowed me to ignore my attraction to Alcmene. And in a sly, subconscious way, it allowed me to get one up on Hercules. She wasn't even involved with Hera anymore. By then, she had already sworn herself to Hecate." He laughed gingerly, "She actually had nothing to do with Belisco. Except to help me imprison him in the end." He took a sip of water, shook his head, and continued, "No, the impact was more subtle. I concealed my relationship with Medea from everyone. Discreet was not the word. Medea and I concealed our relationship like a well-buried corpse. Hercules and Iolaus knew something was going on, but they didn't even suspect with whom. Actually, you three are the first to know. I never told them who I was seeing."

He looked at his audience trying to gauge their reactions. Gabrielle's eyes softly reflected sympathy and understanding from someone that had kept her own secrets and paid the price for them. Atus looked grim but simply met Jason's eyes, silently telling him that history was past. Xena was the only one who spoke. "Jason, we've all made mistakes."

"I know. Thank you." Jason fidgeted a moment then resumed, "Apparently, somewhere along the line Hercules and Iolaus decided that Iolaus needed to spend time with me alone to dig out the details of what was bothering me. They planned to use the harvest break. That break and the spring planting were the two longest Chiron gave his students. Many of his students were from farming families or villages and he gave them time to go, help with the harvest in fall and planting in the spring and return. A full six weeks for both of those breaks. Mid-summer and mid-winter were only two weeks each in comparison. Normally, I would go to Corinth, they would go to Thebes, and we'd meet on the way back to the academy. This time they planned it so that we all went to Corinth. Hercules left after a week to help his mother, and then Iolaus and I would join him after I'd attended the Harvest Banquet."

He looked wistful, remembering the enjoyment of those few weeks. "By that time I had ended the relationship with Medea and wanted to repair the damage I’d done. I spent some time with Hercules, but we never really talked about the arguments, just pretended they hadn’t happened. The first week was incredible we’d managed to rekindle what we had during those first days and weeks after we slew the Ghidra. But, I knew that Iolaus was going to try and get me to talk to him when Hercules left." He laughed. "Neither their plan, nor Iolaus, were particularly subtle." He stretched, laughed softly once more. "I avoided Iolaus most of the first day. That night he worked on me. He got everything he wanted out of me. The only thing I kept back was Medea's name."

Xena shook her head gently laughing, "He'd have gotten that if he'd pressed."

"Probably." Atus smiled ruefully. "Iolaus can be very convincing."

They all three turned to stare at Atus.

"What!" Atus fidgeted and turned beet red. "So, he convinced me to do him a favor once." Deciding that a change of subject was in order he asked, "What happened when you left to rejoin Hercules?"

Jason decided to allow Atus the change in subject but vowed to follow it up later. A story on Atus would be good ammunition for next time Atus decided to tell stories. Jason continued, "We got captured. Remember I said Medea wasn't involved and her impact was subtle. Well, Belisco wanted me and Iolaus, but not Hercules. What was it he said, 'No ransom is worth taking on Zeus' favorite son.' It wasn't that he was afraid of Hercules, it was that he didn't want to piss off Zeus."

"Jason, exactly how were you captured," asked Xena. He met her eyes and saw steel. He knew that this was the part she needed to know, the part that would tell her how Belisco thought, planned, and fought. Jason steeled himself when she focused on him.

"It was a classic. He'd been watching us. He knew we tended to start off in the late afternoon, make camp and finish the trip the next morning. That gave him some advantages. We were traveling when traffic was low and he had at least two shots at us." Jason paused, "He took us out with the first one. He had collapsed a footbridge, forcing us off the main road. Once on the side road he had a cart set-up with a broken axle. They kept no horses in sight or sounding distance; there weren't even any tracks. And the old woman really was an old woman. We could see her face. So, we helped and when we’d finished she offered us some bread, cheese, and wine. We refused the wine, but accepted the bread and cheese. She ate with us; even let us select which cuts. We both went down quickly, but so did she. When we woke up, we'd been stripped naked, gagged, and placed in chains. The chains were inventive. Manacles on the wrists and ankles with a short length of chain with a ring in the middle joining the wrists together and a similarly length joining the ankles and then a longer length of chain that connected between the rings on chains between the ankles and the wrists. That last chain could be shortened. When we woke up our hands were chained behind our backs and the length between the ankles and hands were less than two feet. We could hardly move. The old woman was dead. They just slit her throat and left her there for the scavengers."

"Like you said, 'Smart and vicious.' He sounds dangerous."

"It got worse, Gabrielle." He took another sip from his water glass and put it down, struggling to stay objective and not let rage and grief take over. "They took us to a manor house in Pellestis. It's about halfway between Corinth and the academy, but on a track away from Thebes. A good-sized three-story structure easily defended with an underground dungeon and food storage area. Walled and built in a block with a central courtyard. It lay on an east-west line. With the gate facing north and the central stairwell to the south. The first story included kitchens, small rooms for important servants, and the more important guests on the east and the stables and barns on the west, and the practice area in the courtyard. It probably also had a small house temple and infirmary off the gates. The second floor were all common rooms off the central stairwell. Meeting rooms and offices to the east, dining on the north wall and barrack quarters for the guards, the lesser servants, and the common guests along the west wall. We were kept in a cage in the dining area on the second story. The cage was about four feet high and five-foot square around. It had both vertical and horizontal bars and only the one short door. I think the third floor consisted of family rooms to the east, guest quarters for noble guests to the west and a shared sitting area to the north. They had the armory and watchtowers along the outer wall and kept a house garden and well within the outer walls."

"A very defendable design," Atus remarked.

"Very defendable," Jason agreed. "I'll never forget my first sight of Belisco."

"Wait," Xena interjected, "he didn't go with his men to capture you?"

"No," Jason responded, "Like I said, he's very charismatic. He had all the competent help he needed."

Jason continued, "Belisco was huge. He stands a good head and a half taller then Hercules, although not quite as broad in the shoulder and chest. With a blacksmith's muscles, and incredible sheer presence. He terrified me at first sight. His men's training was apparent very quickly. They brought me in first, undid the chain linking my hands to my ankles, then unlinked the chain between my ankles and connected that to a ring embedded in the stone floor. Only then did they give me back my pants. The let me put on the one free leg, chained my hands back, switched the ankle chain to the other ankle, and let me finish getting my pants on. Let me tell you that is a damn hard way to put on your pants. The entire time they were silent, they had guards covering me every second and I knew they had guards on Iolaus. After I was dressed I..."

Memory engulfed him destroying his tentative control. He jumped up, slammed his hands on the stone table, and leaning over it, whispered, "I can't."

Gabrielle followed him, placed a calming hand on his shoulder, patting lightly. "Jason, what happened?"

He gave her a brief hug, moved away unwilling to accept comfort to collapse back into his chair. He picked his glass of water up and held it. I felt furious, at them for capturing us and at myself for being so easily taken. "I grabbed the gag out and started yelling. I don't even remember what I said. Belisco slapped me and the guards re-chained my hands, this time in front of me and dragged me to a waiting cage. About halfway there I started yelling at him again. He gestured to some of his men and they brought Iolaus in. None of them had spoken yet. He must have anticipated all of this. They knew exactly what to do, he didn't even need to give them directions." He stopped again.

Shuddering with the memory, he finally continued, "They unlinked his ankles from his hands but instead of letting him put his pants on, they released his hands from behind him and re-chained them to a post above his head. One of them got a knotted rope and stood there just playing with it; making sure we could see it. Even after they took the gag out Iolaus he kept silent. Then the one with the rope beat him." Jason stopped, closed his eyes, shook with remembered rage, then continued, "I kept screaming at them: Called them bastards, begged them to stop. And it kept on. At first, Iolaus tried to keep silent, but eventually, he started to cry out. He never begged and never really yelled, it was groaning and gasps of pain. I could see him take in these deep shuddering breaths and exhale with the strokes, trying to ride the pain out. The man beating him didn't just strike his back. He traveled that damn rope all up and down from shoulders to ankles." Jason sobbed briefly. The others remained silent.

Jason collected his composure. "Finally, the rope opened up a welt on his buttock hard enough to cause him to bleed. And the beating stopped. Belisco walked over to Iolaus, leaned down, grabbed Iolaus' hips in both hands, and licked the blood off of his buttock. I stopped yelling, just shut up and fell silent. And I watched … Belisco stood up slowly running his hands along the welts. He turned toward me and I realized that he had an erection. He had gotten hard from Iolaus' pain. I nearly upchucked. And his eyes, gods, you'd put down any animal with eyes that mad."

Atus took a deep breath as when Jason paused. Their eyes met and Jason remembered and old story; Atus had met and killed a similar madman before he joined the Argonauts.

Jason turned to Xena, "Do you remember when you tried to take Corinth, and I walked out of the parley?"

"You saw that same madness in my eyes, didn't you?" she asked softly. Gabrielle grasped her lover's hand comfortingly.

"Xena, if you'd won the siege, I'd planned on using fire powder from Chin to blow you, me, and my palace to Tartarus, rather than see you take Corinth and her power."

Xena nodded. "If I had won, it would have been the right thing to do. I hope you told Iphicles about that little trick." She smiled tightly at Jason's brief nod.

"When Belisco finally spoke, he had a very calm matter-of-fact voice. 'Jason, I plan to sell you. I'm taking bids, if your council is high bidder than you and Iolaus go home, unless they refuse to take him back. I don't really understand their lack of appreciation; I hear that he has a very talented mouth. Your uncle on the other hand would probably prefer you dead, so I'm just sending him your head if he wins. In that case I'll probably keep Iolaus for myself.' The whole time he was speaking Belisco was running one hand along Iolaus' body, playing with the welts. I saw Iolaus flinch, trying to cringe away. 'I've been having you watched for nearly a year. Once I learned of your relationship with Iolaus, I knew I wanted him too. There's no better way to control someone than a lover. But I certainly didn't want Hercules; no ransom is worth taking on Zeus' favorite son. Why piss off the King of the Gods if you don't have to?' He turned Iolaus and started playing with his nipples. Iolaus was shaking; he shut his eyes and turned his face away. It was like he was trying to hide, and he couldn't. 'If you are a good boy, Jason, Iolaus doesn't bleed anymore. That means no more yelling, no questions; you obey any order you're given by any of my men. No escape attempts and no disrespect.' He started stroking a thumb along Iolaus' lips. 'Otherwise, my men, and I will find something creative to do with Iolaus. Timorous here says he has a very talented mouth, he greatly enjoyed watching him bid Hercules goodbye and your private little harvest festival.' Iolaus suddenly bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood earning a sharp slap to the face. I looked around at the men standing around and realized that I'd seen many of them before, even trusted some of them. Timorous was a stable hand at the palace; another had been a cook at the academy for several months, and a few others I'd seen either at the academy or in Corinth. He'd set spies who quietly hovered in the background around the periphery of my life. All of them were unremarkable, easy to overlook. It was a hard education in how to set spies. I could tell that they would rape him. There were twenty-three of them and I knew they would rape Iolaus at his word. Iolaus knew it too; his eyes and every muscle in his body read terror. He was trying so hard to conceal it and it was so clear. I knelt in that cage and begged, 'I understand sir, please don't hurt him.' He laughed."

Jason gripped his water glass so tightly that it broke in his hand; he cursed, and waved Xena back down. "I'm not badly cut." He used the few minutes spent cleaning the mess to regain his temper. "He laughed. He moved down Iolaus' body, stroking it causing Iolaus to flinch. Finally, he lifted Iolaus' left leg, braced the calf against his inner thigh, and struck one hard fast blow to the shin, breaking it with an enormous cracking sound. Iolaus finally screamed and then fainted. He smiled and approached the cage. 'Now you understand. If you escape it's without your lover.' He ordered his men to set Iolaus in the cage and left."

Gabrielle turned pale. Shaken she turned to hug Xena, who finally gave up her perch on the chair's arm to sit in the chair and hold her upset lover.

Atus closed his eyes, nodded, and opened them again. "Jason, did he plan that part too?"

Jason leaned toward Atus in frustration. "Don't you understand he planned everything!" he yelled. Visibly trying to calm himself he went on, "They held a knife to Iolaus' throat while they chained me to the back of the cage so that I couldn't try anything when they moved him. Even after they moved him and we were both in the cage, they still chained his right hand to the bars. They never gave either of us our shoes. They never gave him any clothes at all. They already had a medical kit prepared for him with ointment for the welts and a splint for his shin. The bastard planned everything," he finished, yelling again and with a hard glare at Atus.

"Jason," Xena stated sharply, "You both escaped and you imprisoned him for nearly twenty-five years. He lost. He didn't plan for everything!"

Jason moved his attention from Atus to Xena, glared at her a moment before sharply nodding. "You're right. He didn't plan for neither side wanting me."

"What," stammered Gabrielle, "You were the king. You were a popular king." She looked bemused. "I don't understand. Why would neither side want you?"

"I was popular with the general populace because I held down the taxes, enforced the laws equitably against even the nobles, and was generous. It didn't hurt that I was young and romantic. Those were not positive attributes to the council. As I said before their general consensus was that, I was going to make a terrible king. One group hated me because my strict enforcement of the laws hurt their pocket books or their pleasures in one way or another. Remember, in Corinth, the nobles get a portion of the tax funds. The crown sets that portion and any reduction hurt them. When I decided to decrease the burden on an area due to flood, or other disaster, the priests for the deity controlling that function claimed I was being irreligious and going against the Gods’ just judgment. Strict enforcement of the anti-slavery laws meant closing down many of the brothels, ending a slave trade that many of my nobles participated in and profited from, and generally meant that they would have to pay for services they had used slaves to provide previously. And Gods above, the enemies I made when I passed judgment against a bastard son of one of the council for raping a servant girl." Leaning back and sighing, he continued, "And the members of the council and nobility, who generally approved of those policies, despised me personally. They considered me wild, undisciplined, over-sexed, given to inappropriate friendships and sexual liaisons, and felt I didn't demand the respect due my position as king."

"Oh. I guess that would explain it." Gabrielle agreed ruefully. "So what did happen?"

"Belisco wasn't the only one with spies in the palace. Pelias had his own. When he got the ransom note he contacted an interested party on the council and opened negotiations to come in as the new king when Belisco killed me."

"How did Belisco respond to that?" Xena leaned forward and listened attentively.

Part 5

"At first he was amused. He enjoyed telling me about it," Jason continued. His voice got very quiet as painful memories flooded back. "It gave him more time to play with Iolaus."

"Play with him how," Xena insisted.

Jason put aside his reluctance to continue, knowing that she needed as many details as possible, to find every possible avenue of attack. "Belisco spent most of his time elsewhere, in his rooms above, with his men, or in his office. But every night he ate dinner with his men and afterwards he brought a chair over to sit in front of the cage. He ordered his men to shorten Iolaus' chain forcing to kneel up right against the bars. Then he'd talk. It started differently every time. Sometimes about the weather, sometimes teasing me about the negotiations between Pelias and the council, sometimes nothing much at all, but it always ended the same. He'd told us his fantasies … of him with Iolaus … dark sick fantasies. Over and over again, night after night, he would tell us … tell Iolaus … that he was immortal, a son of Poseidon. He said he had an Apple of Hesperides and threatened to feed it to Iolaus and make him immortal too. Then he would speak of the things he would do … to him.”

Jason paused lost in the past. He felt tears form and looked up and then blinked forcing them back. ”He told us that he would take Iolaus. And described … how he would beat and burn him. How he would break his bones, make him scream with pain, and … then would take him, force him. He would sit and describe the vilest, the most sick … horrors. He promised to share Iolaus with his men. And that he’d end each night by making Iolaus take him in his mouth and use him that way. That he’d … choke … suffocate him each night on his penis. And Iolaus would awaken afterwards, alive, healed, and beautiful again. Awaken to be used again.” Tears broke through his control and he finished in a choked voice, “All the while he would stroke his cock and bring himself to completion, while he stared at Iolaus." Jason turned away, tears streaming down his eyes at the memory.

Gabrielle retched, nearly losing the battle to keep her dinner down. Xena comforted her, but saw a weapon as well as the pain.

After a few moments Atus stated, "Jason, I don't see you doing nothing, just watching and listening silently."

"I tried to intervene the first time, but never again." Jason shut his eyes against the memory but finally allowed it to come. "I got behind Iolaus and held him, tried to drown out Belisco's words with my own. Belisco grabbed Iolaus' arm and pulled it through the bars. I couldn't stop him and he started burning Iolaus' arm with hot grease. It was a brief struggle. He was much stronger than I was, he had better leverage, and he was willing to hurt Iolaus. He ordered me to the back of the cage and had me chained to the bars, with my hands behind my back, facing front so that I could see everything." Shuddering he continued, "They dragged Iolaus from the cage, chained him to that damn post and beat him again. This beating was worse. They kept on until most of the skin on his back and hips were badly bruised, but they didn't break the skin. Belisco wouldn't let them. And Iolaus still wouldn't beg, wouldn't scream. He just wrapped his hands around the chain and clung to it, gasping or moaning when it got bad. When they finished that Belisco started teasing Iolaus' body to arousal, then he rubbed himself against Iolaus’ ass until he came. I could see Iolaus shuddering under him, pale, his eyes closed, biting his lip. I bit through my lower lip to keep silent, to not make it worse." Jason watched Gabrielle rock against Xena trying to control her own memories of her rape by Dahok.

Again, it was, Atus who prompted Jason to continue. "Jason."

"I know, I need to finish."

"Belisco gave his men some limits: they couldn't enter his mouth or ass, not with anything; they couldn't break the skin or any additional bones; and they couldn't touch his cock. Anything else was okay. Anything else was a lot. They teased and played with him until he came, hurt him; pinched and bit him to bruises careful not to break the skin. They destroyed something in him, some innocence that he'd managed to retain up until that night. And I watched. Silently."

"That was the rape?" asked Gabrielle, quietly crying. Jason saw Xena stroke her hair and saw the anger in her eyes.

"No, I don't even know if Hercules knows about that particular night. I never told anyone and I'm not sure whether Iolaus did. The rapes came later, at the end. The next morning they put him back in the cage like before and unchained me. They even gave me a basin of water and a cloth to clean him with. But he wouldn't let me touch him not for hours. He just curled up, and rocked and rocked, moaning. He wouldn't eat. Finally, night came, and dinner, and then Belisco with his damned chair. And I sat, silently, and watched, and did nothing." Jason stopped sick with condemnation and self-disgust.

"Jason, you did the right thing, the only thing." Xena was empathetic and blunt. "You had to stay alive as long as possible, and keep you both in the best shape you could." She continued, "You were in an impossible situation. How long did it continue?"

Jason waited until he could re-establish tentative control over his emotions, once more pushing rage, grief, and self-doubt down. "Well that night Iolaus let me hold him and I tried to comfort him. I swore over and over again that Belisco was lying, he wasn't immortal, and he couldn’t have an Apple of Hesperides. When that didn't work and after he'd begged me, I promised to kill him before letting Belisco make him immortal and rape him night after night. I repeated those vows night after night. I'm not entirely sure of how long we were in that cage. Long enough for all of Iolaus welts to bruise, then to turn black and blue and purple, fade to green and yellow, before fading completely. It was long enough for the burns to blister, burst, and heal. It was weeks, even his broken shin started to heal. And Belisco got more and more frustrated as the negotiations between the council and Pelias continued. Finally, the deal was struck and they both responded ‘no deal’."

Jason stopped, sobbing. "Oh gods, Iolaus." Overcome with the memories, he got up, raced to a basin, and upchucked into it. Xena signaled Atus and Gabrielle to remain seated and went to assist him.

Silently she poured a glass of water, found and quartered a lemon from the fruit bowl, and wetted a small towel. She squeezed one quarter into the water glass, another over the damp towel, and salted the remaining two. Quietly she walked over to where Jason stood still retching and pressed a series of pressure points. She gave him the glass. "Take a good drink, swish it around and spit it into the basin." When he'd finished she took the glass back and set it down. Using the towel, she helped him clean his face and hands. She handed him one salted quarter and instructed him, "Slowly, eat everything but the rind." She handed him the second salted quarter for him to eat too. Then she picked up the glass, walked him back over to his chair, and gave him the glass of lemon water back. She went back to dump the basin out the privy hole. Finally, she sat back down with Gabrielle.

Softly, she commanded, "Jason you need to finish."

After a sharp nod he went on. "Belisco was furious, it hadn't gone like he planned and he lost it. He came in yelling, throwing things, and screaming he would at least have Iolaus before he killed me. As time had gone by, Iolaus and I had realized that this was a real possibility. We had a general plan if it did. His chain was attached to the bars next to the cage door. We knew they would shorten his chain before taking him out and that our only chance was for me to stay back from the bars so they couldn't grab me too. I was going to crouch in the middle of the cage, we'd loosened the bandages wrapping his splint so that he could use it to block the door and keep it from latching as they took him out. After he got out I planned to roll out after him. Then we'd fight our way out or to the death. We both knew that it was more of a suicide pact than an escape plan, but it was the best we could come up with. They kept the cage completely bare, no blankets, no straw to hide things in, just the two of us. They even kept the privy pot outside the cage and forced us to ask for it. His splint was the closest thing to a weapon or tool we could come up with. Remarkably, it came pretty close to working. Iolaus managed to block the door, but when I rolled out Belisco nailed me. He whacked me on the temple with a closed fist and I was out. He moved fast Xena, as fast as you, and I've had lighter hits from Hercules."

Jason drank some of the water steeling himself for what remained to be told. "It was Iolaus' screams that roused me. I was chained to the cage, just like on the second night, and Iolaus was chained to the post again. But this time there were no limits. The first thing I saw was Belisco raping him. Pounding in and out of him over and over. Iolaus was screaming in agony trying to twist away from him. And Belisco kept moving in and out, biting him, his hands pinching and scratching him. Finally, Belisco came and pulled out. His cock was red with Iolaus' blood, and blood and cum ran out of Iolaus' ass. I watched the rivulet run down his leg and realized that they had chained his feet apart to two of the rings embedded in the stone floor. He couldn't even kick out at them. As one of his men took his turn with Iolaus, Belisco came up behind me and started talking. He told me that he had told the truth that. That he was immortal and that he had the Apple, that when his men had finished, he'd make Iolaus suck him off, and that he would take Iolaus upstairs take his ass again, that before he died he'd feed him the Apple, and Iolaus would be his for all eternity. I was watching them rape him while Belisco told me all of this and then he said that in the morning he'd bring Iolaus back down."

Sobbing now, Jason continued, "That he would bring him down and show him to me, healed with no injuries. And then he would kill him in front of me, let me see the life drain out of him, and let me watch him revive. He swore that before he killed me I'd know how badly I'd failed Iolaus. That's when I believed him. When I knew had told the truth."

"I went into a rage, yelling, cursing, pulling on the chains. I still have scars on my wrists from the damage I did them that night. And it was all – worthless! They kept raping Iolaus. One after another they all raped him. Belisco moved around so that he could have a better view, laughed and masturbated."

Completely lost in the memory, his voice shaking with remembered agony, he continued. "Then suddenly it ended. The last one had finished. They moved back from him. I fell silent. Belisco finally stopped laughing. Iolaus was nearly dead. Blood and cum ran in a steady stream from his ass. It streaked his legs and fell into puddles on the floor. Blood ran from his wrists and his ankles where he'd cut them struggling with the manacles. He'd stopped screaming long before; all he could manage by then was a soft continuous moan, a nearly soundless keening. He passed out and they threw water on him and it mixed with his blood. As they unchained him, I looked … I couldn't find a single part of his body left untouched. There wasn't a single place without a mark. He collapsed to the floor after they unchained him. When Belisco went over to him I stopped weeping."

By this time, they were all shaking. Shaking with sorrow, with rage, and with an implacable determination to destroy Belisco. As he had in the past, Jason stopped weeping, this time when he continued there was an almost unbearable control to it. "Belisco knelt down, pulled Iolaus' head up, and said in that damn soft voice, "Suck me or I tie Jason to the post.' Somehow, he did it. He knelt up and sucked that bastard off – I'd have rather been tied to the damn post. When he took Iolaus upstairs, all I could do was scream. The only worse moment in my life was when I watched Medea murder our children."

Atus leaned forward. "We know that he didn't do what he threatened. You both escaped, and you imprisoned Belisco. How?"

"The two most incredible women I'd ever met, Alcmene and Mora. When we didn't show up on time Hercules went searching. He found the ambush spot and backtracked to Corinth. When he arrived, the news of the ransom demand was all over. He, of course, went to the palace and offered his assistance. The council graciously accepted, requested that he remain at hand in the palace, and cautioned to do nothing precipitous for fear of our lives. All of which effectively immobilized him. However, he sent a message to his mother, asking that she gently break the word to Iolaus' mother."

"Sounds harmless enough," Xena stated dryly.

"Xena, I know you've met Alcmene, but I'm not sure you ever saw the steel."

"Jason, when we met, Alcmene walked me through her garden, showed me all her plants, carefully pointing out the ones Iolaus had helped with and the exotic herbs and flowers he'd brought her from his travels. And when we sat on her bench in front of the vines that Iolaus had helped tie back during the spring, she told me, 'Iolaus is my third son, Xena. And if you ever hurt him again, or try to come between him and Hercules, Warrior Princess or not, I will rip your intestines out, strangle you with them, and feed your eyes to the fishes and your liver to the birds. I hope that is very clear.' To this day I consider it the most serious threat I've ever received."

"Alcmene," gasped Gabrielle, "That sweet lady!"

"Oh yeah. That's Alcmene," said Atus. As they all stared at him, he expanded, "She sought me out a few months before her death, and gave me a good piece of her mind and a few home truths. It took awhile to sink in, but it worked."

"Well Alcmene had been to the palace during the prior winter festival and she knew that the council was split and anticipated problems. She'd met Mora, a young foreign woman, who worked in the palace kitchens. Mora was married to Cledious a sergeant in the palace guard. Alcmene had befriended Mora, helped with her pronunciation, and taught her the basics of reading Greek. They'd maintained their friendship during that year exchanging messages and recipes. When she got Hercules' message, she sent a message to Mora and went to the academy herself. I don't know all of Mora's history, but I learned later that the Romans had invaded her homeland. Her husband, Cledious was one of them, but at the mistreatment of her and her people, he defected. Her own people wouldn't accept them because he was Roman and his people wouldn't accept a defector with a foreign bride. Eventually, they made their way to Greece, and finally to Corinth."

"When Mora first arrived she spoke and read no Greek. Even though that had changed, her status in the eyes of the council hadn't. She was a 'safe' servant. Most of them thought her too stupid or ignorant to understand their discussion or their notes. It was like their image of her had become stuck in time. So, they used her to serve food during meetings and to clean up afterwards." Jason shrugged. "Gods, those were two brilliant women. Mora was perfect. She cleaned every scrap of parchment the councilors tossed and all of it ended up in Alcmene and Chiron's hands. Along with every word she overheard of their conversations, her father was some kind of bard, in her land, and she could memorize anything she heard. She would repeat it back to her husband and he wrote everything down. Her husband was no fool either. As a foreigner, particularly as a Roman foreigner, he was only given the rank of sergeant. But he was the son of a noble, trained in tactics and strategy. Together he and Chiron planned the rescue."

"They figured out early on that they would need to do any rescue. But they didn't know where we were being kept. Iolaus' mother came to Corinth and tracked down some of the boys Iolaus used to run with, not the Lowlacks, but some other ones. She hired them to follow any messengers who went out of the city. Two days before that last night, Mora slipped Hercules a message from Alcmene instructing him to beg a necessary visit to his mother, then to slip by hidden routes to the academy instead and join her there. Cledious took his men on scheduled practice maneuvers, and a handful of other trusted people took leave to join him in secret. Mora was eight moons pregnant and used her advanced state to beg pardon and take leave. They all met at an Inn about a day's ride from Pellestis. Then hell rode for the manor."

"How strong was the attack force," asked Xena?

"About forty, mostly Cledious' men who numbered fifteen, but there were an additional twelve from the academy, Chiron, Hercules, and fourteen others that Cledious had recruited from other units. Plus, Mora and Alcmene, who were supposed to stay out of the fight, but they came in at the end. The strategy was fairly simple, sneak up, climb the walls, take out the guards on the towers, and then weed them out during the night. The first part worked better than expected, the guards were still inside after raping Iolaus. The second part didn't work because they were all on the second floor. At that point, they ended up going for a frontal assault. Hercules freed me early, broke the chains, and kicked the cage door open. I started immediately for the stairs and Hercules followed covering my back. I still remember his shocked stare when I killed a man he had knocked unconscious. I hissed at him, 'those bastards raped Iolaus. They took turns and tore into him like animals. None of them leave here alive.' It's the only time I can remember Hercules going truly berserk in battle. I'm pretty sure that Chiron and some of the other experienced soldiers figured out what had happened, I know I saw Chiron rip the throat out of a man who had thrown his sword down. And Cledious gave the cry for no quarter. It was pretty obvious, some of them had fallen asleep with their cum and his blood still on them."

"Where was Belisco in all of this?" Xena leaned forward.

"Yeah, that's what I wondered. It was easy to find them. Iolaus left a trail of blood leading to the room. The door stood open and we could see into the room as we turned off the stairs. There was a great canopied bed standing in the center of the room, we moved in cautiously, expecting Belisco to try and kill, to escape, to use Iolaus as a hostage, something. What we found was very different. Iolaus was propped up against the headboard; Belisco slumped in front of him, dead with Iolaus' chain wrapped around his neck. When he saw us, he started crying. Hercules tried to tell Iolaus that he'd killed him and free Iolaus from the chain. In a barely audible whisper Iolaus insisted, 'He comes back. He's not dead.' Then he asked me to kill him, not Belisco, him. He asked me to keep my promise and kill him."

"The next thing I knew there was this wild eyed woman, huge with child, saying, 'No small one, my people know about his kind and he will never harm you again.' Then Alcmene was at the door and calling for Hercules to break that chain already and bring Iolaus to her. As Hercules lifted him, we realized that the bed was sodden with blood. Mora told me to go with them and leave my sword. By that time, Cledious had joined her and he promised to take care of the body. I hesitated to leave and looked back to see Belisco stir. But Mora's hand shot out slamming into his nose killing him again. Reassured that they at least knew what they were dealing with, I left with Hercules and Iolaus."

"Before we even got to the stairs Iolaus' eyes started rolling back and we knew he was dying. Everything got very … confused. Hercules stopped suddenly and fell back screaming, 'No Celesta.' She appeared a few feet away, silent, and sorrowful. I heard Chiron struggling up the stairs."

"As Chiron got to the top, Alcmene screamed, 'Cupid, Iolaus is dying!'"

"Cupid appeared."

"Celeste told Cupid that he wasn't powerful enough to stop this death and Cupid called, 'Father.' And Ares appeared."

Atus interrupted, "Ares is Cupid's father?"

"Apparently, Ares looked at Cupid then Celesta. Celesta disappeared. Ares touched Hercules and Iolaus and they disappeared. Then Cupid touched Alcmene, she fainted, and they both disappeared. Chiron and I just stare at each other for a few minutes. He nods and tells me he's going back down to start burial detail."

"Jason stop." Xena got up and paced. "This is important. Why would Alcmene call Cupid, why would either of them get involved, and why would Ares of all gods heal Iolaus?" She stopped. "Ares did heal Iolaus?"

"Xena I don't know! Iolaus doesn't remember that part and Hercules refuses to talk about it. After we married, I asked Alcmene and all she would say was that she felt pretty sure Cupid would intervene if she called him." Frustrated he leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "Iolaus told me that he woke up in the cave by our fishing hole. The next time I went there, I noticed that there was a true hearth with Hestia's mark on it. I don't know who healed Iolaus or why." He threw up his hands, "I just don't know."

Gabrielle raised her hands in a calm down gesture. "Xena, please sit down. Jason we need to know how you imprisoned Belisco."

Xena moved back to Gabrielle's chair and stroked her hair a moment before perching on the arm again.

Jason leaned forward and nodded. "The rest is pretty simple. Belisco had plenty of chains. Initially, we chained him to the bed. Mora stayed with him and kept killing him every time he came to. After the men had moved the rest of the bodies out for burial. Cledious and I dragged the cage to the dungeon. That took awhile; the damned thing was heavy. By the time we got back upstairs Mora was … irritated. She'd tried a number of ways of killing him. She even tried cutting off his head, twice. Both times the sword just passed through without injury. Actually, nothing we did to cut him worked. The best way was simple brute force, slam his nose into his brain. However, the chains worked. So we killed him again, dragged him to the cage, chained him spread-eagle to the bottom of the damn thing, locked him in the dungeon and left him."

"By that time Cledious and I had managed to exchange some information. He told me of the coup and I told him about the Apple. We searched that damn place from top to bottom. Finally, Mora called a halt and suggested we just burn the place to the ground. I had Chiron and his students return to the school. Cledious' men and I used the siege oil to soak everything that would burn. It took awhile but eventually, the entire mess collapsed."

“And then?” Atus prompted.

"Remember I told you that Mora and Alcmene were bright. During her spying, Mora had managed to get some seals and the information to use them. Pelias ended up with Corinth, but no money to run it. They'd managed to move all the portable wealth to safe bankers in Athens. That meant I had the money to pay out the men's commissions and allow them to retire as soldiers. A number of them settled in the area. Cledious and Mora agreed to oversee collapsing the old outer wall onto the ruined manor and building a new wall. When I finished, I returned to the academy briefly. Hercules and Iolaus weren't there, but Hermes had stopped by and told Chiron that they were well and would return. I left before they returned. I felt that presence endangered them. The academy was entirely too close to Corinth. And I couldn't face Iolaus. I didn't see either of them again until they joined me on the Argo."

"Before I left for Athens, I tracked down Medea and we went back and placed the spell on the new wall after Cledious and Mora completed it, strengthening it even further. I didn't see her again until we were all on the Argo. She murdered her husband, Apsyrtus to slow down King Aeetus after we'd taken the fleece. After our marriage she helped me reclaim Corinth and depose Pelias and the traitors who placed him in power." Emotionally and physically exhausted Jason rubbed his eyes and said, "That's the story. You hear anything that helps?"

Xena grinned viciously. "Oh yes. He's arrogant, he likes to brag, and he doesn't handle it well when his plans fall through."

Atus continued, "He can't be cut but he can be crushed, imprisoned, chained, and beaten."

Gabrielle added, "He has no flexibility. None! He had weeks to rework his plan. It was obvious it was going to Tartarus. And he didn't even consider any alternatives."

"He doesn't pay attention to third parties," Xena said. "He ignored Hercules, Alcmene, and the possibility that any of Jason's people would remain loyal. Ignoring Alcmene might be excusable if he hadn't been spying, but after spying for a year he still hadn't realized her strength of will and love for Iolaus."

Finally, nodding and thinking, Jason added, "And he ignored Hercules. He knew Hercules was our lover. He can be goaded. In a rage he forgot all his plans and left no guards." Shaking his head, "I've been as stuck in the past as those councilors. We can beat him."

Jumping up he continued, "Hercules and Iolaus should be in the area already. At dawn we send students with messages to the villages and to Iphicles." Musing to himself, "I'm going to want them out of here anyway. The academy is too convenient a target."

"You're right Jason." Xena joined him by the desk. "Is the inn they used as a staging area still open?"

"Not only open, but run by Mora's oldest daughter and her husband. It's a great place, fireplaces in most of the rooms, clean, and a great bathing area. Much better than the inn at the crossroads." He paused as he felt a brief chill. "I'm going to have to tell Iolaus that he's still alive."

Looking up he said to them, "We can do this, but you need rest and I need to be alone for awhile."

Part 6

Let me out! Damn you, Father! Free me!

How long have I been down here?

They chained me; Jason and that bitch chained me. Buried me in here. Burnt my home on top of me. Pulled the wall down on top of me! They think I'm here forever.

They're wrong.

I waited. When the bitch chained me to my own bed and kept trying to kill me - I waited. When they dragged me down and chained me in the cage – I waited. When the smoke and heat filled my home - I waited. I waited while I suffocated on smoke. I waited while beams broke above me and the dirt buried me. While they built that damn wall around me - I waited.

When they spelled it and bound me here!

I waited!

While I starved and wasted away to a near skeleton. While I tore my hand off to free it. While I drank my own blood for strength.

I waited!

I waited and freed myself first from the chains, then from the cage. I waited and dug myself out with bare hands and burnt wood. I waited and listened to my father's voice, telling me to be patient.

I waited and thought on my revenge.

I waited and remembered. Remembered Jason's eyes when I toyed with his lover, my sweet new pet, licked his blood, when I fucked him. I remembered taking him, moving in him, and possessing him. I remember his blood on my cock, his blood in my mouth, his blood on my hands. I want him back I want Iolaus.

I waited and I remembered. In the dark when I was chained, when I was caged, I remembered. Taking him and watching my men take him and his sweet screams. I remembered until my cock was hard and I couldn't do anything. I waited and I remembered. In the dark after I'd freed myself from the chains and cage. Digging in the dirt, I remembered. I remembered him sucking me off. The sweet feel of his tongue on my cock and balls, the warm blood in his mouth on his lips as he sucked me, the small choked gasps he made when I came. I remembered and beat myself off, and I wanted him, not my hand, him. I want his mouth, his ass.

I waited and remembered and watched. While I searched for the Apple, I'd hidden in my dungeons. Not upstairs, not burned, not gone. I found it, and I kept it - for Iolaus. I kept the Apple for him, to make him immortal, so I could play with him forever. I kept it while I starved. While I ate worms, and bugs, and rats, and dirt. I kept while I ate my own flesh, drank my own blood.

I kept it for him, while I waited.

I waited until she came, my father's lover.

She came from Tartarus. I remember her, she gave me my Apple to eat. A long time ago, she gave me my apple to make me immortal. And she gave me the other apple, the one for my pet. She warned me then to make sure I waited until I found the right one, the perfect one. And I did. I chained him to the bed and I was going to get his Apple, but he choked me. He choked me with his chain, he wrapped it around my neck put his knees in my back, and he choked me. When I woke up, he choked me again, so I never got to give him his Apple.

But she came back and told me that my waiting was almost over. Almost done.

She used her magic and made me strong again, gave me food, armor, weapons, and a little box. It's just a small box with a big boom for the wall not for the stone above, but only for the wall. She told me to wait, just a little while longer. Wait for the rain. For the water to move stone.

So, I waited again. The rain started, and the water came in, it seeped down from the stone above, and seeped up from the earth below. And I waited where she told me, with my food and Iolaus' Apple, and armor and weapons, and my patience. I waited while the earth shifted below and the stone above.

I waited and planned. I planned my revenge. I planned taking Iolaus and all the wonderful things I could do with him after he had eaten the Apple. I planned how to do what they wanted, my father and his lover. The small favors they'd asked for, in exchange for all their gifts to me.

I waited until I could climb out and use the box.

It hurt, when the box breached the wall. Energy poured over me and burned, but it didn't kill me, just made me hungry. So, I waited for food. He was good, the old man, sweet blood.

I waited and watched while the bitch mourned over my meal. I want her to hurt, so I watched, while her children came and took them. Killed them. Drank their blood, but I left her. I want her to hurt and my uncle will just put her in Elysian Fields with her family. That's not enough pain.

My waiting is almost over. I can smell my pet in there, I know he's with Hercules. Now all I have to do is kill Hercules, like she wanted, than I can take Iolaus. After that, I have to find Ares and kill him for my father, just a small little favor.

Thank you father.

Part 7

Sword in hand, Iolaus tried to shake off the last confusion of sleep as he crouched by the bed. Listening carefully, he heard additional crashes and shouts of fear and confusion. However, there were no monster roars. Sniffing for the scent of fire or ozone typical of battles with monsters and gods, and finding none, he relaxed slightly. Okay not a god and not a monster... at least not a fire breathing monster. And while there was a good bit of crashing, the building wasn't shaking, always a good sign in such situations.

Probably just a band of bandits or warlords trying to shelter in the wrong inn, Iolaus surmised. He shook his head with a rueful motion. I suppose that a trip without a fight was too much to hope for. Well Hercules is just going to have to wait for me to get my pants on.

Quickly moving across the room he grabbed his pants and pulled them on swiftly. As he started lacing his codpiece, a great crash shook the entire building. Grabbing his sword, Iolaus slid towards the door, along with the bed, linen chest, warming rack, table, and other odds and ends, including, he noted with concern, some still burning logs from the fireplace. Barely on his feet, he slammed into a bedpost and rolled left to avoid a flying burning log. Instead, the log landed on the bed igniting the blankets. At the same time, Iolaus snagged the pitcher of water flying towards him, with the basin, the bowl of fruit, and the glasses as flying companions. Unable to avoid everything he winced when a glass slammed into his temple and the basin collided with his left arm. Avoiding the flying fruit bowl, he banged his shin on the linen chest. 'I don't believe it. The furniture is pounding me.'

"Herc," he yelled, while dumping the water left in the pitcher onto the burning bed, "take it outside! You're bringing the inn down!" A series of smaller, but still loud, crashes told him that either his advice hadn't been heard or was impossible to take. Iolaus quickly stripped the sodden, smoldering linen off the bed, and used it to put out the other small fires in the rug.

Noting how badly jammed the bed was into the door, he gave that way out up as option. He grabbed one of his belts off the nearest bedpost, and quickly wrapped it around his waist, then grabbed his scabbard, and secured his sword. He briefly searched for his boots, but as the crashes continued, he gave up on finding them. Turning to the window, he spied his hunting knife and grabbed it. Muttering, "Now we see why I insist on a room with a window. It never hurts to have an alternate exit," he made his way to the shuttered window.

The next crash caused the inn to tilt in the opposite direction. That caused Iolaus to careen into the shutters, the now empty pitcher to fly off the bed and strike Iolaus on the back of his head, and the linen chest to slide into the back of his legs, causing him to fall backwards onto his ass. Glancing around he noted with relief that the bed was immobile and that the fireplace had ejected no more burning logs. However, the smell of smoke informed him that not all the guests had managed to put all the extraneous fires out.

Bounding to his feet and struggling with the shutters, he yelled again, "Herc! You're going to be real embarrassed if you get me killed again."

Finally, getting the shutters open, Iolaus carefully began climbing out the window. With a fast look out and down, he thought ruefully, Of course it's still raining. Oh well at least it's a light rain and the mud will make for a soft landing. The next crash caught him halfway out and awkwardly balanced. Cursing he fell into the mud below. Picking himself up, he raced towards the front of the inn. Turning the first corner, he stopped, noticing a small group of men.

Trying to make them out in the rain, Iolaus struggled to determine whether they were guests or part of the group Hercules was fighting. He paused, crouching slightly, and kept out of view. His bare feet and legs sank into the mud to mid-calf. The muscles of his chest and belly stood out in sharp contrast to his wet leather clad ass and legs, rain plastered his normally curly hair to his skull, water ran in rivulets down his back and chest, and drops dripped off his nose and chin. He shivered slightly as the rain and wind increased.

The men looked vaguely familiar, but he'd met a lot of bandits, and, as they drew closer, Iolaus became certain that they were not guests. None of the guests smelled anything like them. They stunk, like something that had been dead for a week or hadn't taken a bath for a year. Iolaus shook his head trying to figure out how anyone who'd been out in this rain for nine weeks could possibly still stink that badly.

Just then, a sudden lightening bolt betrayed his position. As the group of men converged on him, Iolaus vaulted forward somersaulting into them. Using his momentum, he wrapped his legs around the biggest man's chest, pulled himself up, grabbed the man by both shoulders, and head butted him in the temple. As the man swayed, stunned, Iolaus released his legs and brought them up, splitting them apart to sidekick two other men in the face. Both fell to the ground also stunned. Continuing the same move, he lifted himself into a headstand on the man's shoulders, pushed against the man, and vaulted off. As the man he was using as a vault horse fell to the ground, he passed out. Iolaus gracefully landed on his feet, slipped slightly in the mud, and sprinted a few yards moving the fight closer to the front of the inn before turning to face his opponents.

The storm returned full force. Flickers of lightning lit up the sky, intermittently followed by great booming echoes of thunder. The wind pushed back and forth, sudden gusts driving the deluge of rain, first in one direction, and then another. Iolaus grimaced at the miserable fighting conditions and hoped that the sudden deluge of rain would at least keep the inn from burning.

Slipping and sinking in the mud Iolaus continued to plan his strategy. Better to stay in the air and on them during this fight. Jumping up slightly, he quickly brought both fists up and behind him to punch two of three men trying to sneak up behind him in the face. Using the momentum of his original jump and that gained by pushing off the two falling men, he somersaulted to the shoulders of the third man, using his legs to limit the man's ability to use his arms. Iolaus rapidly beat him on the top of his head with alternating fists. The man started circling trying to pull Iolaus off of his shoulders. As another warrior tried to assist him, Iolaus released his legs, grabbed the man's shoulders with his hands and this time mule kicked backwards. When his legs were grabbed, Iolaus let go of the first man, pushing him forward into another pair of thugs. Dropping his body down, Iolaus grabbed his new opponent's legs behind his knees and pulled, overbalancing him. As they went down, his opponent released Iolaus' legs allowing him to bring them down onto his opponent's chest.

From his crouched position on the warrior's chest, Iolaus sprang up, and pivot kicked a man into two others. Another man struck Iolaus in the side with a club causing him to lose his balance. As he went down, the man under him grabbed his legs at the knees and the man who hit him tackled him grabbed him around the waist. They rolled around on the ground for a few moments while Iolaus tried to hit and kick his way out. Finally, one of them struck him on the head and he went limp. When their grips relaxed, he squirmed away, managing to punch them both in the groin.

As he stood, shaking mud off his hands and out of his hair, he saw another one with a crossbow pointed at him. Rolling away, Iolaus threw his hunting knife and killed the bowman. He continued to roll away from his opponents. When he stood, he again sprinted towards the front of the inn. As the next group of bandits or warriors converged, he recognized some of them as opponents he had knocked cold.

"Shouldn't some of you still be down?" he asked, confused. He sprang away from the approaching group, somersaulted over a reviving bandit, and sprinted closer to the inn.

Glancing around trying to find Hercules, he realized that most of the guests were fleeing, but a few small groups continued to fight and others still helped people out of the collapsing inn. At least most of the fires were out. By the inn he saw the innkeeper and a woman he assumed was his wife, fighting a vicious battle with five of the warriors. As he approached them, several other guests assisted, allowing them to break away. Some of the guests engaged the group following Iolaus, allowing him to continue to the inn.

He rushed forward. "Where's Hercules?"

"Still in the inn," the innkeeper yelled back, "fighting a huge warrior!"

Iolaus looked towards the collapsing inn. "I've got to help him! Can you get these people out of here?"

The woman grabbed his arm and replied, "I think so. But you must be careful. I think it came from the ruins. Something came out of it and murdered my father four nights ago, then it slaughtered most of my family the next morning." Still holding his arm she gasped out, "Several other people and cattle have been found slaughtered since. My brother's gone for help."

"Good," Iolaus said as he removed her hand from his arm. "Now get these people out of here!" he yelled back as he raced towards the inn.

A crossbow bolt struck him across the left shoulder opening a large gash. He rolled, sprang up, and recognizing the man, asked, in an irritated voice, "Didn't I just kill you?"

The bowman pulled Iolaus' knife from his belt and throwing it towards Iolaus, responded. "Yes. Want your knife back?"

"Thanks," Iolaus caught his knife and threw it back again killing the bowman. Leaning down he pulled his knife out and muttered, "This could be a problem." He beheaded the bowman with his sword and tossed the head away several yards. He looked at the headless corpse doubtfully, more hopeful than certain but finally shrugged. As much as he would have liked to burn the corpse to ashes and then scatter the ashes, he knew that a good-sized bonfire wasn't exactly available and that he really didn't have the time. With a last concerned glare at the corpse, holding his sword in his right hand and his dagger in his left, he made his way into the collapsing inn.

Clambering in through a broken wall, Iolaus carefully, looked around. Intermittent flashes of lightening provided the only lighting. Rain poured in from above and depending on the wind from various sides. Thunder caused the entire structure to reverberate. He could smell the stench of burnt, wet wool from the some of the fires. But it appeared that the rain had put most of them out. He cautiously wove his way around broken tables, piles of stones from the walls, broken timbers, and the other wreckage of the battle. He looked back, worried. The warriors he had expected to follow him in hovered outside, waiting. Concerned, he continued along the same path he and Hercules walked earlier that evening, but this time there were no laughing guests or good-willed teasing. He instinctively glanced away from a young waiter impaled on the fire spit, but then forced himself to look closer. The spit had been driven completely through the young man's body and at least a foot into the stonewall. He continued, pausing by a small group of dismembered bodies.

The lightning caused strange shadows, flashes illuminating first one section than another in random sequence, sometimes in stark relief and other times only dimly. The thunder concealed and distorted any sounds, making it impossible to find Hercules that way.

He looked around again, searching for clues. The fighting was obviously over. If Herc had lost why wasn't the victor out here crowing about it and if he'd won where was he? And why were those warriors just standing out there?

Another flash of lightning revealed a glint of metal. It shone briefly from underneath the collapsed stairs, in the darkest and most dangerous part of the inn. He scrabbled through his memory, had Hercules left his gauntlets when he'd gone downstairs? He couldn't remember seeing them before he'd climbed out of the window, but it made no sense for Hercules to put them on just to go pay for an extra night. On the other hand, Hercules tended to put them on automatically when he dressed, sticking to a rote pattern: pants, boots, shirts, and gauntlets. Iolaus sheathed his sword and moved his dagger to his right hand, and then he cautiously made his way over to the glint. Traveling by lightning flashes and memory he gingerly made his way across the wreckage. A couple of times he had to backtrack when a piece of ground threatened to give way to the basement. The thunder continued reverberating, causing some loose stones to fall. Finally there, he crouched, searching cautiously with his left hand, waiting for another lightning bolt. Just before the lightning, his searching fingers found a coin. Damn, he thought ruefully, now I'm going to have to make my way back. He fingered the coin. I should probably search this area a bit more first.

In darkness, waiting for the lightning, he heard quiet breathing. He whispered, "Herc?"

A stroke of lightening illuminated the area, and he saw blood on the floor and a piece of shirt.

Again in darkness, he heard a soft laugh. Not Herc. I don't like this. He shivered, tried to locate the soft sound through the distortion of thunder, and a small dark corner of his memory began burning.

Another bolt of lightning, he moved towards the blood, praying it wasn't Hercules.

Darkness again, "Iolaus." Iolaus jumped at the sound of his name. That thing knows me. The memory scrabbled at the back of his mind, only to be forced down. Again, he tried to locate the sound, but couldn't. Steeling his nerves, he continued creeping forward carefully sweeping his left hand ahead, maintaining a white-knuckled death’s grip on his hunting knife. After a few moments, his left hand ran through the blood. He paused a moment to review his memory from the last lightening flash then reached carefully above and to the right of the blood. After a couple of cautious sweeps, he snagged the shirt piece.

"Iolaus, I waited for you." Iolaus took a deep breath and tried to determine where the voice had come from, but it was too soft. He thought the shirt piece felt like a piece of Hercules undershirt, unsure he brought the piece to his nose and inhaled. Catching the scent of sandalwood, he shook recognizing the soap they both preferred. He tried to picture where Hercules would have landed and turned slowly. Now all he could do was wait for more lightening

Lightning. He saw Hercules' boot sticking out from beneath the collapsed staircase. Iolaus moved quickly towards him.

Darkness. Iolaus continued to move until he could grasp the boot. The voice came again, "Iolaus, I brought you a present." His memory insisted that he knew that voice and his reason reminded him that Belisco was dead. He thought that the voice sounded closer this time, but the thunder made it impossible for him to be certain.

Lightning. He followed the collapsed stairwell to Hercules' limp bloody hand. Scrambled to find a pulse.

Darkness. He nearly wept at the faint pulse of life at his lover's wrist. "Iolaus, don’t you want your Apple."

‘Oh, gods, no." The thunder went on and on. He heard scrabbling and a couple of thuds. He shuddered and still clutching the knife tried to shift some of the rocks off Hercules with shaking hands.

Lightning. Hands grabbed him, one twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop his dagger, while the other wrapped around his waist, dragging him to nestle against the huge hard body behind him. He tried to struggle against the body that pressed him to the ground. He felt a swift rocking from the body behind him and renewed his attempts as he felt the erection at his ass.

Darkness. Iolaus screamed into the thunder, "No! You're dead!" He sobbed, "I killed you." Still trying to squirm free, he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head.

Darkness.

Part 8

Jason shifted restlessly in his chair, his sleep disturbed by memories of Belisco. He started from his fitful sleep, when, for the second time that night, he heard banging and yelling at the gate. Quickly he strode to a window and looked out to see a troop of Iphicles' guardsmen. Cursing in frustration when he heard his students coming out of their rooms, he started down to meet them in the common hall, passing Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus, also on their way down. He stopped in his tracks when he realized that Iphicles led the troop, twenty of his crack personal guards.

"Jason," Iphicles bellowed, "What did you bury in Pellestis? It's gotten out." Striding forward he continued, "What is it? And why didn't you tell me about it?"

Tired, Jason responded angrily, "It was none of your business!"

"That thing's slaughtered an entire family! That makes it my business!" Iphicles started pacing the room, berating Jason.

Noticing Alaric coming down with Seska and Tabor, and other students perched on the stairs, Jason grimaced. This was exactly the type of scene he had hoped to avoid. The last thing he wanted were his students trying to help. Belisco would kill them, or worse, use them as bait. Sighing, he wondered briefly if this was how Chiron had felt when Hercules, Iolaus, and he had one of their adventures.

Pulling back from Iphicles, Jason attempted to calm him down. "Iphicles, I had no reason to believe there was any danger."

"You put a guard there, paid him for twenty-five years and you didn't think there was danger?" asked Iphicles, sarcastically. "Well your guard and his entire family have been murdered by this thing!"

Hearing that Alaric swayed and would have fallen, except for Tabor and Seska's steadying him. Moving to the king, he whispered in anguish, "Please I'm Cledious' eldest son. I knew it had killed my father, but you said my entire family?"

"I'm sorry," Iphicles turned to him, "the magistrate's message said the entire family. Apparently, the family went to the wall to collect your father's body." He paused and placed his hand on Alaric's shoulder. "But, he was wrong about you, so there may be other survivors."

As Alaric shuddered and began weeping, Jason grasped his arm, leading him to a bench. "Lad, your sister, Alcmene, probably wasn't there, the inn is a good day's journey." He added sympathetically. "We're going there first. We'll know when we get there."

Trying to pull himself together Alaric nodded. "And my wife is surely well. She wouldn't have gone with them."

With a last comforting grip, Jason turned to Iphicles. "You're right, I should have told you. Let's go to my office."

"Alcmene?" Iphicles asked heading up the stairs.

"His mother Mora was very impressed with her," Jason replied.

***

A half-hour later Jason and Iphicles returned. Grimly, Iphicles gave orders to his men. He left five behind to help the remaining teachers and the students evacuate the academy, and sent a messenger to Corinth ordering additional troops. Every few minutes his eyes examined Jason. The former king hadn’t told him everything, but he'd told him enough to worry him. With a fast silent prayer to Ares to accept the blood of his enemy and not his, Iphicles gave the order to ride. Riding two abreast, his remaining troop, with the additions of Jason, Atus, Xena, Gabrielle, and Alaric moved out into the pouring rain.

Once on the trail, Xena drew up beside him, riding Argo double with Gabrielle perched uncomfortably behind her. "Iphicles, did you send any troops directly to Pellestis?"

"Only a small group. I instructed them to examine the bodies and secure the town. I wanted to talk to Jason before sending anyone into the ruins." Iphicles did a double take as he suddenly realized that both Xena and Gabrielle were wearing pants, boots, and long sleeved shirts. And Xena wasn't wearing her armor. Blinking, Iphicles gestured at their clothes.

Gabrielle shrugged. "Its wet, its muddy, its freezing and I'm not wearing a skirt. If I have to wear pants, so does Xena." With a brief glance at Iphicles' breastplate, she added, "Besides Xena didn't think it was a real great idea to wear a lot of extra metal in a lightening storm."

Iphicles smiled ruefully and unbuckled the breastplate. He was dropping it to the side of the road when a member of his personal guard protested, "Sire, assassins."

Dropping the breastplate. "Are likely drowned. Besides as Gabrielle very tactfully pointed out, we are in more danger from lightning than arrows. We need to keep our weapons but I have no intention of getting fried in my own armor."

As the rain and road got worse, they moved to a single file formation, making further conversation impossible. As they rode, Iphicles assessed the damage done by nine weeks of rain. Like other coastal cities, Corinth had suffered the brunt of the excessive storms. He had already evacuated much of the city, Corinth proper, as the rains continued, flooding streets, many of the public buildings, homes, and most of the tenements. The League of Kings had met the month before and reached some agreements on evacuation routes and protocols. He'd insisted on having the meeting in Corinth, believing that seeing the extent of the disaster there would force the inland kings to assist them. Many of the inland kings were still reluctant until Niobe had pointed out that people would run from the floods and they could only run inland. The only real question would be did they have a place to go or would they have to resort to banditry to survive. Eventually, they were able to reach agreement.

However, as he rode, he realized that they had still underestimated the extent of the disaster. The road itself was almost impassible, large sections washed out and under water. Not a single bridge stood. The rains had flooded fields and rangeland, destroying crops, and drowning farm animals from chickens to horses. Homes lay in ruin and entire towns along the road were abandoned. Demeter's priests swore that their goddess was actually ameliorating the situation as best she could. They had warned him of the impending disaster during the second week of storms and assisted him in moving stored food to safer ground, and, along with some of Hestia's Vestals', they had set some kind of spell preventing the food from spoiling across the city. Several of the other gods and goddesses were similarly assisting, including a few, who were generally not amenable to assisting mortals. However, even with that assistance mass starvation during the winter was a real possibility. His greatest concern was Poseidon. All of the other priests insisted that Poseidon had sent the storms, and they could do nothing. However, Poseidon's own priests remained silent, not only refusing to state why the storms were sent, but also refusing even to confirm that Poseidon had sent them. As they continued riding Iphicles worked through plan after plan trying to come up with a way to prevent the starvation he saw coming in the winter.

Hours later they stopped. A large section of the road and part of the surrounding woods had collapsed. A large tree blocked the remaining path. When Iphicles gave the signal to stop and dismount, Jason, Alaric, Atus, Xena, and Gabrielle met with him. After a brief discussion, Xena and Atus moved forward to examine the tree and road surrounding it.

Returning Xena reported. "The tree isn't stable and there isn't any road to speak on either side, just chest high mud. The horses will never make it."

"Gabrielle," Jason barked.

By that time, Gabrielle was already on the tree and examining it. She lightly jumped down. "I think we can move it."

They all turned to stare at her, then the large tree. She continued, "We don't have to move it far, just get it to slide sideways enough to let the horses through."

Xena nodded, and Jason saw her surreptitiously give Iphicles a sharp warning look.

Seeing doubt in most of their eyes, Gabrielle sighed, "Look I helped my father move trees that had collapsed in the orchard." She moved forward. "Xena's right. The tree's already unstable. It's shifting back and forth already. We can use rope to move it."

Jason said doubtfully, "Gabrielle it isn't safe to for the men to pull on either side."

"They don't have to. There are enough trees still standing close by to throw the rope over an upper limb and...”

"…Use it as a pulley." Atus finished. "She's right. It could work."

Xena agreed. "I can use my chakram to carry the rope over. We should at least try. It has to be faster than backtracking."

"Assuming we can backtrack." Jason went on, "The way the rain is coming down, the road most likely washed out behind us."

Over the next few minutes, the plan came together. Xena threw the chakram, carrying the rope over a limb on what looked like the most stable tree close enough to work. With a loud call, she somersaulted over the tree, catching the chakram on the other side. Atus and Gabrielle climbed into the unsteady tree and secured the rope. Finally, Iphicles and several of his men pulled down, and with a cheer moved the tree.

Quickly remounting, they continued. The rain continued throughout the day and into the early evening as they rode. The rain soaked through them and with the added misery of the wind chilled them to the bone. Mud streaked everything and everyone. Both horses and people were miserable as they slogged onward. Pressed by the urgency of the situation, and with no camping ground available, they rode on into the night. Dismounting to lead their horses as they lost their light, they continued on by relying on the intermittent flicker of lightning and Alaric's knowledge of the area as he led them. For a time, the storm subsided to a soft continuous drizzle, allowing better progress. But still the rain and mud slowed them until finally, much later than they had anticipated; they came to the turnoff to the inn. As they approached it the storm suddenly returned to gale force. Great forks of lightning knifed the sky, followed by enormous booms of thunder causing all the horses, except Argo, to startle and shy away. As they fought to control their mounts, the skies opened up and a deluge of rain poured down. Then the wind came in violent gusts with frequent direction shifts, causing the drops to strike them from various directions hard enough to sting. Iphicles heard several men suggest that they stop and use the horses as shelter. When lightning struck close enough to make their teeth tingle, the suggestions changed to cries to hurry and find shelter.

"Alaric, how far are we from the inn?" asked Jason, yelling over the storm.

"Its only a short distance, in this weather perhaps an hour or so more," Alaric yelled back.

"All right men," Iphicles cajoled, "you heard that. Only another hour to a fire, a bath, and a hot meal, so move it. You're the best in Corinth. We should be able to make an hour with our eyes closed."

One of the men replied jokingly, "We might as well be," causing general laughter. With renewed energy, they continued forward.

About thirty minutes later they heard panicked screaming. Moving forward, they ran into a group of people fleeing from the inn. Recognizing his sister in a flash of lightning Alaric called, "Alcmene!"

"Alaric." Moving to hug him, she cried, "They're all dead, except your wife, and mother's body is missing."

Trying to get information, Iphicles moved forward. "What are you running from?"

"A huge man and his warriors came to the inn smelling like the grave. He killed Tresus and a family. Hercules started fighting him and the warriors went after the guests."

Gasping for breath, she tried to continue, but Jason interrupted her. "Hercules is there?"

"Yes, he and Iolaus came because the crossroads inn was flooded. They're both still there." Shaking with fear and exhaustion she went on, "Iolaus told us to get out and went in to help Hercules. The warriors, they can't be..." Jason pulled away ready to run for the inn.

"Describe the man," Xena insisted, grabbing Jason's arm and preventing him from leaving.

"He was large, taller than Hercules, dark black hair, dark eyes, mad eyes, very strong."

"Belisco," Jason hissed, breaking away from Xena.

Iphicles pointed to three of his men and Alaric; "You four get these people to safety. The rest of you mount up we're moving in."

As they started mounting, "Wait!" Alcmene yelled, "The warriors can't be killed!"

They turned back to her. Holding her hands up and showing a long dagger, she commanded, "Look at me." Looking past the mud, they noticed blood streaked on her face, hair, and clothes. "I stabbed one with this." She raised the dagger so they could see it clearly. "His blood sprayed all over me and he died! Then a few moments later I fought him again, like I'd never killed him."

"Couldn't it have been a different warrior?" asked Iphicles.

"No," she insisted, "Besides the last thing I saw as we fled was Iolaus cutting off the head of one of them after he'd killed him. He wouldn't have done that without a reason."

Iphicles nodded his acknowledgment. "You all start moving to safety."

As they left he turned to his friends and the remaining troop. "Shit," he succulently summarized their situation. After a moment, he asked, "Anyone know of a way to kill immortal warriors besides beheading and burning?"

"Well that's definitely the best way." Atus shrugged and continued, "but most of the time just beheading works." He paused. "At least for a little while."

Xena added, "If they're still moving after you cut off their head, then try general dismemberment. That makes it difficult for them to fight."

"Enough!" Jason bellowed. "Hercules and Iolaus don't have time for this! We ride in, cut everything that smells like the grave to pieces, rescue Hercules and Iolaus, and worry about burning the bastards later." He started riding for the inn.

Iphicles considered their limited options, hoping that Hercules had already taken care of the problem, and asked, "Anyone here have a better plan?" He waited briefly. "No. Then we use Jason's plan. Ride in. Cut everything that smells like the grave to pieces. Rescue Hercules and Iolaus. Burn the bastards later." With that, he followed Jason into the lightning split darkness.

"I hope Hercules has already taken care of the problem," muttered one of the men as they followed him to the battle.

Part 9

Awareness returned with a ripping agony in his ass. Screaming in pain Iolaus tried to buck his assailant off. Strong hands grabbed his shoulders, forcing them to the floor as the body on top of him used its weight and bulk to control his desperate twisting. As Iolaus struggled, he felt his rapist moving within him lacerating the tender skin in and around his anus. At first, the thrusts were slow and labored, but as blood from the assault filled his passage, the thrusts became faster and harder, hammering his body with bruising force. Iolaus tried reaching back in an attempt to strike at the neck or eyes, but the hands on his shoulders swiftly switched to his wrists and forced his arms down and out.

The storm continued, rain pouring into the inn through the partially collapsed upper floors and walls. Iolaus could feel the cold wet floor underneath him and the warm thrusting body above and within. Still straining, Iolaus moved against Belisco, inadvertently exciting his rapist even more. The lightning continued lighting the building in surreal flashes and the thunder drowned out his screams of rage and pain.

Belisco laughed at Iolaus' futile struggles and continued thrusting into the sweet body he'd waited so long for. As Iolaus tried twisting his torso up and around in another attempt to escape, he felt Belisco punish him by biting his shoulder, tearing flesh away. He sobbed at the feel of the rapist tongue licking the flowing blood. Iolaus remembered Belisco’s love of blood and braced for more bites. Thunder muted his cries of fury and sobs of disgust as Belisco continued biting along his shoulder and upper back and thrust more and more fiercely into Iolaus' body while blood flowed around his cock.

He stopped biting to stroke his bloody tongue along Iolaus' ear and began whispering. He whispered right into Iolaus' ear, too close for even the thunder to drown out.

"I told you I would come for you, make you immortal, take you, possess you. I waited when Jason caged me. I waited to take you again, to taste your blood, to feel your blood on my cock. I brought your Apple."

Iolaus whimpered and thrashed. As the whispers continued, memories of prior rapes during the long night with Belisco and his men overcame him and he simply shook.

"Please no," he wailed, "I killed you."

Finally, after long minutes, Belisco finished in his trembling body. After Belisco collapsed on top of him, Iolaus continued to shake. He slowly became aware once more of the storm and the dagger by his hand. He pulled his awareness into him, away from pain, horror, and fury; and struggled for stillness. He stilled his whimpering voice, his battered shaking body, his gasping breath, and his frantic mind – waiting. Waiting, for a moment to strike and escape.

Still. He breathed in slowly.

Still, he breathed out.

Still.

Belisco heaved himself off Iolaus.

Iolaus exploded into motion. Rolling away from Belisco he grabbed the knife in a swift fluid movement and moved out of the corner he had been trapped in.

Belisco laughed as he moved closer to the collapsed staircase. He stood lean and tall illuminated by the lightning. Naked, his blood soaked cock jutted out from his groin. He reached into his pack lying by the rubble and pulled out the Apple. Waiting for the lightning he held it up for Iolaus to see.

Iolaus continued backing away. Holding the dagger to pierce his heart, rather than to defend. "It won't work if I'm already dead," he said in a firm voice.

Belisco laughed again without moving from his spot by the collapsed staircase. "I know you Iolaus. I remember you mouth on my cock after I shared you. All I had to do was threaten Jason."

Iolaus remembered. He remembered his struggle to kneel and suck Belisco after the rapes. He remembered the feel of Belisco's cock in his blood-filled mouth. And remembering gagging on cum mixed with blood Iolaus retched.

Struggling to control his body Iolaus maintained his grip on the dagger.

"You're not going to kill yourself when Hercules is alive under here." Striking the piled wood and stone of the collapsed staircase for emphasis.

Iolaus moaned as the rubble shifted.

"Besides," Belisco threatened softly, "if you die, what will I do with the Apple?"

Iolaus shook his head mutely, already lowering his hand.

"I wonder," continued Belisco, in musing voice, "would Hercules make a good pet?"

"No!" Iolaus screamed, instinctively launching himself at Belisco.

Moving swiftly Belisco caught him ignoring the useless dagger, ignoring the strikes of fists and feet. Using his greater strength and bulk to subdue him, Belisco lowered them both to the ground. He forced Iolaus to drop the dagger near a still standing support beam. As they struggled Iolaus felt Belisco's erection. Finally tired of the fight he slammed Iolaus' head against the tiled floor. While he lay stunned Belisco caught him by the hair and dragged him the short distance to where his and Iolaus' discarded clothing lay. When Iolaus again struggled, Belisco slammed his head down once more. Using Iolaus' belt, he bound him to the support beam.

Moaning Iolaus recovered from the stunning blows. As he stirred, Belisco used his body to force Iolaus' to the post. Again, Iolaus' memory flashed back, this time to the memory of being raped against a post. Lost in the memory of man after man using him he cried out in shock when Belisco pulled his head back by the hair. Returning to this moment Iolaus saw the Apple Belisco held in front of him.

"Eat it." He heard the soft command and felt Belisco tighten his grip on his hair.

Iolaus hesitated.

"Eat or I'll play with Hercules," commanded the soft voice.

Iolaus took his first bite. Weeping Iolaus forced that first bite down his throat. Weeping he felt health pour through him, his bruises fade. As he ate bite after bite, the Apple salted with his tears he felt the gash from the crossbow bolt heal. Then his torn ass healed and the pain ebbed. Slowly, Iolaus ate the Apple. Each bite torture as he forced his mouth to chew and his throat to swallow. Finally, only the core was left and a gentle glow suffused his body.

Smiling Belisco leaned down and picked up the discarded dagger swiftly cutting along Iolaus' bound arms. Leaning forward to lick the blood, he gave a triumphant, "Yes!" as the wound closed and healed under his tongue.

Discarding the apple core Belisco continued to slice Iolaus reveling in the taste of blood and Iolaus' breathy gasps of pain. Exulting in the creation of his perfect lover, Belisco dropped the dagger, and, holding Iolaus' right forearm in both his hands, he twisted it, breaking the bone with a loud snap. Ejaculating at Iolaus' scream of pain.

"Oh, yes," breathed Belisco.

He knelt down and struck, shattering Iolaus' ribs. Iolaus coughed up blood and fought for breath as the ribs punctured his lung. Belisco twisted an ankle to snapping. Recovering the dagger, he once again cut Iolaus until blood streaked his arms, back, buttocks, and legs. As Iolaus broke and bled and healed, Belisco's cock grew hard. Finally, he entered Iolaus, again ripping into him.

Iolaus' hands clenched tightly on the leather of his belt as the pain came again. The struggle with his bonds and the feel of his body striking the pole as Belisco tore into him threw his mind back into memory again. Trying to balance between the remembered and the now, Iolaus' mind fell screaming into chaos. His awareness swung between the now: feeling Belisco's thrusts and the tearing pain in his body. And the then: the same remembered pain from so long ago. Iolaus struggled to maintain sanity, and, finally in desperation, focused on the storm as the only piece of memory or reality he could hold.

After each stroke of lightning he counted slowly until he heard thunder. Then he counted again until the next lightning flash. As the storm continued, he focused more and more on the moments between thunder and lightning. Moving his mind away from what Belisco did to his body. Away from the tearing pain in his ass, away from bones breaking, away from the dagger and blood, and the horror of healing. He escaped the now and the past by falling into the moments between lightning and thunder.

As his mind escaped, his body went still - his voice went silent, and, realizing what had happened, Belisco screamed in rage.

"I will have you with me!"

Tearing the belt off Iolaus' wrists, he allowed the limp body to fall to the floor. Iolaus lay there, still, silent, counting.

Part 10

Raging over Iolaus' still and silent form, Belisco quieted when he heard horses. "They're here Iolaus'," he crowed, "they're here and they will die trying to rescue you."

Still counting Iolaus heard Belisco's words as if from a great distance. Still trying to process them, he didn't move when Belisco moved away from him to dress. Even when he heard the horses, Iolaus didn't move or speak.

"I'll be back," Belisco promised, "I'll come back with Jason. I want him to see you with me before I kill him."

Only when Belisco moved out into the yard to meet the approaching party did Iolaus move. Finally, slowly and silently, Iolaus crawled to the collapsed stairs and one at a time began to shift rocks off his lover.

Outside, riding as quickly as possible in the mud and raging storm, Jason and his companions arrived. They scanned the wreckage using lightning. The inn and its grounds were a mess. The ground was a quagmire of mud, causing the horses to bog down. Bodies of guests who didn't escape lay scattered and sinking in the mud. Debris from the fight and the collapsing of the inn lay scattered on the ground. What remained of the inn stood at a cockeyed angle, the lower part of the building had several holes in the wall, including a great gaping one in the front. The smaller holes looked impassable. They either were too small or they led to dead ends. Through larger holes, the lightning showed broken support beams, broken tables and chairs, piles of collapsed rubble, holes in the floor to the basement, and holes in the ceiling where items still occasionally dropped through. The upper part of the inn looked just as bad. Broken shutters littered the ground from where they had broken or been torn off. Half the roof had caved in and while not as bad as on the ground floor, significant parts of the walls were cracked or had holes in them.

As they approached, they could smell wet burned wool from the fires and the rain that put them out. Several warriors were just standing there, waiting for them. They didn't move as the party approached. Both groups kept their blades bared.

"Why are they just standing there?" asked Gabrielle.

"I don't know," replied Xena. "I don't see Iolaus."

Assessing the situation, Iphicles signaled his troops to fan out. Swiftly catching the maneuver, Xena, Jason, and Atus moved into appropriate positions. They ended up in a crescent moon formation with Iphicles and Jason in the center positions and Atus and Xena on either ends of the crescent. Iphicles troops fanned out between them. This formation took full advantage of their horses and of Atus and Xena's fighting styles.

They stilled as Belisco came out of the inn. Gabrielle gasped as the soldier next to her muttered, "That is one big bastard."

Gabrielle knew Xena was using her first look to assess Belisco. A good seven-feet, well built, and heavily muscled, he moved gracefully and was obviously accustomed to both battle and command. She couldn't see his eyes in the available light, but had no doubts about the accuracy of Jason's statements concerning the madness in them.

As Belisco started speaking, Xena loosened her chakram, freed her feet from her stirrups, and prepared to take the battle to him. Gabrielle slid back giving Xena room to move.

"I have him Jason," Belisco bragged, "you're too late. I've already fed him the Apple of Hesperides."

As Belisco continued taunting Jason, Xena instructed Gabrielle, "When I move you take Argo into the inn and get Iolaus out of here." As Gabrielle started to express her unwillingness to leave her in battle, Xena continued, "We need to move Iolaus to safety."

"I know," Gabrielle whispered back. "But what about Hercules?"

"I don't know." Then seeing Jason make his move, Xena rocketed off Argo, somersaulting into Belisco and striking him in the chest with both boots. Landing behind him, she kicked out at his legs in attempt to unbalance him. He avoided that strike and the battle was on.

Jason went in, swiftly dismounting to close with Belisco. Given the general uselessness of blades against Belisco, he used smashing motions, attempting to push his opponent into Xena's continued hit and run attacks.

Atus joined Xena and Jason in battling Belisco. Like Xena, he used hit and run tactics to attempt to keep Belisco off balance and to try moving him away from the inn.

Gabrielle watched Iphicles signal his men to charge the warriors accompanying Belisco. As they closed, she realized that Alcmene had not exaggerated the stench. Due to the quagmire of mud, he and his men rapidly ended up fighting on foot. In an odd twist of circumstances, Gabrielle ended up as the only person still mounted. She stifled a curse and tried to keep track of the battle and seize an opportunity.

Within moments, Iphicles and his men stood in a fight for their lives. Belisco’s warriors took hit after hit and kept coming back. Out of the corner of her eyes, Gabrielle saw Xena, Atus, and Jason used a three-pronged attack to move Belisco. She charged, however, her attempt failed, when Belisco back flipped into her path and swept her off Argo with a kick to her ribs. Gasping for breath Gabrielle went down. Wincing, she noticed Iphicles redouble his own efforts to behead his opponent. Finally ducking under a thrust that would have taken off his arm, Iphicles slid in the mud and used a powerful backhand stroke to cut off his opponent's leg. Another warrior immediately challenged Iphicles, engaging his blade.

When Gabrielle went down, Xena immediately retaliated, striking Belisco with a fierce double punch to the head. Belisco shrugged it off, ducked under Atus' flying body, and picked up Jason and threw him into the inn stunning him. Three of the warriors approached Jason. Xena let fly with her chakram decapitating one of the warriors. Jason sprang up and began fighting the other two.

Stunned, Gabrielle groped for her staff reaching it just in time to strike an approaching warrior in the groin, causing him to double over. She then brought the staff up in a hard strike to his jaw, rolling and jumping up. As he went down she brought it behind her into the gut of a new opponent and then reversed her swing and jabbed it down along the temple of her first opponent.

Looking around she brought her staff up and the warrior she'd jabbed in the gut caught it. He pulled it up and her along with it. She quickly allowed him to flip her over, and, landing behind him, she struck with her doubled fists with all her might at his kidneys, causing him to bend forward and drop the staff. She kicked him in the ass, vaulted over his falling body, and grabbed her staff and rolled away. Getting back to her feet, she kept moving towards the inn and looked for Argo.

At first, all she could see were Iphicles and his men fighting with some of the other warriors. They fought between her and the inn. Catching Iphicles’ signal to wait, Gabrielle paused. Iphicles started circling the fight away from the inn. His troops moved with him keeping the enemy engaged and off Gabrielle's' back. Seeking an opportunity to get into the inn, Gabrielle tensely waited at the outskirts of the different battles.

Fully engaged with two of the undying warriors, Jason used a still intact wall of the inn to protect his back. He kept his sword in constant motion, slashing at the warriors, seeking an opening to take off a head. Slipping in the mud, he swept his sword at the enemy's legs taking off one at the knee. As that warrior went down, he grappled with Jason causing him to lose his sword. The other one closed in on Jason.

Xena and Atus were unable to help him. Their battle with Belisco was going badly. Both had discarded their swords as useless and were simply trying to batter him with their bodies. Both flew through the air, somersaulting into and away from Belisco in a dizzying manner. However, he shrugged off their attacks, refusing to move from the inn.

Iphicles and his men had been separated into one larger and two smaller groups. The two smaller groups of three were holding their own. They each fought groups of four men and effectively held them off. Gabrielle smiled briefly as they maneuvered the enemy till they were between them and went in hacking. Then frowned when a lightning flash illuminated the faces of the opponents she had taken down. They were part of the group Iphicles' troops battled.

The larger group, including Iphicles and his remaining five men, was in serious trouble. Belisco’s remaining ten warriors surrounded them. In the lightning, Gabrielle could see that two of Iphicles' men were down and several others bleeding from wounds. The remaining stood back to back in a last stand position Gabrielle knew all to well from bardic stories. With a rapid decision, Gabrielle vaulted into the group breaking a hole in the attack when she collided with two of the warriors.

"Stay down!"

Ducking back down at Iphicles shouted command; Gabrielle felt a spray of decayed flesh and ichor cascade on her as he took advantage of the hole swinging his sword over her head. His blow decapitated one and cut half into the chest of another. His men took over the work of dismembering the rest of the band while he went to Jason's aid. The odds much improved, Gabrielle rolled away from the battle and again looked for an opening into the inn.

At that moment, Belisco backhanded Xena's most recent flying assault away from him. She landed in the mud taking most of the impact on her outstretched hands. Rebounding she ran up Belisco's body rapidly pounding him with her boots. Atus rolled into Belisco's legs trying to force him off balance. Xena vaulted above him and coming down, wrapped her legs around his chest and upper arms. As she attempted to overbalance him backwards, Atus gave a powerful two-footed kick to one knee, shattering it.

Belisco went down.

Xena twisted up and away coming back down on Belisco's chest with both feet. Atus clutched Belisco's legs with his and continued pounding on the shattered knee with a fist, trying to keep it from healing. As Xena and Atus continued grappling with Belisco, Gabrielle took her chance.

Taking a running start, she pole-vaulted over the struggling group into the inn. Landing inside she came down her hip striking the edge of a broken table. Rolling off she fell on top of a dismembered body. Gasping in horror and starting, she pulled back only to realize she had landed into the middle of a slaughtered family. Turning her head up she saw the body of the spitted waiter. A choked cry of disgust escaped her and shuddering Gabrielle shut her eyes briefly in horror. Then she rose and began searching the inn, unknowingly retracing Iolaus' earlier search for Hercules.

She searched, slowly proceeding with the lightning flashes. In between the flashes she stopped, trying to see and hear. Pivoting slowly, she moved cautiously towards the quiet sounds of rocks and rubble moving by where the stairs would have been.

A sudden cry from outside caught her attention.

"Sire, they're pulling themselves together."

Gabrielle couldn't identify the voice, but was pretty sure that he meant the statement literally.

Still searching, she came to a relatively sheltered area and leaned briefly against one of the few remaining support beams. Feeling something wet and still sticky, she shifted abruptly away from the beam and ran a finger against it. Bringing the finger briefly to her lips, she spat at the taste of blood.

A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the area briefly.

Iolaus' belt was still tied to the beam. Blood stained it and the beam. Iolaus' dagger and a discarded apple core lay in a large pool of blood spreading out from the base of the pole. She knelt, cleaned, and sheathed the knife in her boot. Still kneeling, Gabrielle picked up the bloody apple core. Moving back, she held the core up into the rain. Steeling herself, she let the rain wash the blood away, then she brought the core down to her lips and took the smallest nibble she could manage. Almost immediately, she felt her small injuries from the battle heal.

Oh Iolaus, how did he force you to eat it? she wondered with sorrow. She put the apple core into a pouch hanging from her belt.

Hearing the scrabbling sounds of rock and rubble shifting she turned and called softly.

"Iolaus."

Waiting a moment, she called again.

"Iolaus."

When there was no reply, she carefully moved to the area under the stairs where she'd heard the scrabbling. Reaching the collapsed stairs, she saw Iolaus' pants. Examining them briefly, her hands shook as she noticed the long rip where they'd been torn from him.

Moving again, turning to a muffled sound, she finally found Iolaus and Hercules.

Crouched under the remnants of the landing, Iolaus sat naked. Rain had streaked the mud and blood on his skin and in his hair making it apparent that all the cuts had healed. He rocked slightly, silently moving rocks off Hercules, uncovering his lover's battered body. Hercules lay still partly buried under the rubble. A large pool of blood spread from a huge gash in his side. Another pool of blood seeped from under his head where something had fractured his skull. His back was twisted in an unnatural position.

Gabrielle crawled slowly to Hercules and tried to find any sign of life. When she couldn't she moved to Iolaus, and, reaching him, knelt by his side.

"Iolaus, we have to leave."

Reaching out to guide him to safety, she nearly cried as he flinched.

"Iolaus, we have to leave. It's not safe here."

He continued moving the rubble.

"Please," she whispered, reaching out to him again. "Please come with me." She breathed a sigh of relief as he finally allowed her to touch his shoulder. The skin beneath her hand was cold and clammy.

Her relief ended when Iolaus refused to move.

A sudden long chain of lightning flashes illuminated the entire area like fireworks.

She heard Belisco bellow in rage. "You bitch! You killed my mother!"

A sudden slam made the entire building tremble and caused more rubble to fall from the floors above.

Shit. Isn't there any crazy fighter she hasn't managed to piss off? Gabrielle wondered as she dimly heard Xena's voice begin taunting Belisco.

Reaching out to Iolaus as the inn started to shake, again; she grabbed his arm and pulled. "Iolaus we have to go. Hercules is dead."

He refused to move and mutely shook his head no.

Thinking quickly she reached into her pouch and pulled out the apple core. As she held it up Iolaus backed away shuddering.

"Iolaus, I'm going to fed him a small piece." Gabrielle explained gently while moving carefully towards Hercules' head.

Franticly Iolaus shook his head. “No,” he whispered in a pleading voice.

More firmly, as the inn shook from another hit, "Iolaus. I'll only feed him a little bit. If he's alive, he'll heal. Otherwise we leave." She broke of part of the core. Reaching towards Hercules' mouth. In the darkness she suddenly felt his breath on her fingers and realized he was in fact alive.

Iolaus lunged, knocking the core out of her hand and flinging it away into darkness. Gabrielle was left with three seeds stuck to her fingers.

"Iolaus." She cried in a frustrated voice. "He's alive! I felt his breath." Moving toward Hercules again. "Let me give him one of the seeds." She begged. "It won't make him immortal. It's just a small seed."

This time as she moved forward Iolaus stayed still.

Placing the apple seed in Hercules mouth, she suddenly remembered planting new lemon trees in their orchard.

"See Gabriel," her father lifted her to reach the top of the lemon tree and pull one the fragrant fruits, "the seed is as powerful as the whole tree."

Hercules glowed momentarily as Gabrielle realized what she had done.

Realizing, Iolaus howled.

"Nooooo!"

Hercules shuddered a moment and picked himself up confusion on his face.

Abruptly the smell of smoke and burnt corpses filled the area along with the loud hissing of fire Gabrielle associated with godly fireballs. Twisting Hercules grabbed Iolaus and Gabrielle in his arms rolling them all out from under the landing and into the remnants of the inn's common room. Still holding them and moving quickly, he wove around broken furniture and piled rubble to dive out through the hole.

Giving up, the ghost the inn collapsed leaving a single standing corner.

Shaking, Gabrielle saw Belisco grab Iolaus out of Hercules' arm. Pulling Iolaus to him, Belisco bellowed, "Father!"

Belisco and his men faded out suddenly. Iolaus faded out, then in, then out again. Finally, with a gasp his outline stabilized and he collapsed.

For a moment, Gabrielle thought she saw the outline of Cupid next to Iolaus and then shook her head as the dim outline faded. Within seconds, Hercules held Iolaus letting him rock within his arms.

Twisting around, Gabrielle saw Ares and Hades and the burning remnants of four of Belisco's men. The fire and lightning combined gave almost decent light. Three of Iphicles men were obviously dead. Another two were seriously wounded. Xena and Atus were both badly bruised and each had a dozen or more minor cuts and gashes. Jason had a large bruise forming on his head and limped, favoring his right leg. Iphicles had a long gash across his chest and three or four smaller cuts she could see.

Hades vanished.

Ares went to Iphicles, brushed a hand against his forehead, and caught him as he slumped. Then they both vanished.

Xena and Hercules both screamed.

"Ares!"

Part 11

Quiet.

Ares’ first impression on entering Hephaestus' cave was that of overwhelming quiet. Even though the silence had existed since they began, he couldn't get used to it. The quiet unnerved him; Hephaestus' cave should have the roar of the fire and the pounding of hammers. Or at least the small hissing and clinking sounds of his brother finishing some piece of work. But instead, no matter how hard he listened, only silence. Even the cat was silent, he knew Ares, and would not challenge his passage.

Ares swiftly made his way to the back area where Hephaestus’ forge stood. As long as his partners focused on holding the earth together, he didn't dare translocate directly there. It would cause too much disruption to the fragile energy patterns, so instead he wove his way through the maze of silent caverns. He finally reached the forge and paused to look at the entranced group who poured all their energy into repairing the damage caused by Poseidon’s unrelenting storms.

Hephaestus, Demeter, Dionysus, and Hestia lay on the ground at the north, south, east, and west compass points from the banked forge. All four looked as still and pale as marble statutes. Each had their feet together, pointed at the forge and their hands at their sides. Aphrodite, Persephone, Cupid, and Psyche attended them, kneeling behind the head of their partner, touching their foreheads, and feeding them energy from the forge. He looked at the pairs again, Aphrodite and Hephaestus, Demeter and Persephone, Dionysus and Cupid, and finally Hestia and Psyche. The kneeling four appeared as fine-drawn, pale, and exhausted as the other four. He shook his head in concern as he scanned their energy levels. Much too low, even using the forge as an energy source this couldn't continue much longer. They were holding the coastline together through sheer will. Neither they nor Greece could continue this way. The banked forge flared its energy shifting dangerously high before the four gods acting as conduits could stabilize the power. The flare served as an unwelcome reminder of just how unstable and dangerous the geo-thermal energy they tapped was. He added stabilizing that to his list of things to do this evening and steeled himself for the resulting headache. He and Hephaestus had argued for hours about which of them would be part of the circle. Either of them could work the circle, but Hephaestus could work the raw energy from his forge like no other. His brother had only won, when Demeter pointed out that she really preferred to have the best available fighter standing guard duty. So Ares watched over them and moved through the world, planning. He silently cursed Poseidon for bringing this on and his father for doing nothing.

As he strode forward, his fifteen-year-old daughter Harmonia came out of a back room bringing water and food for him. She set them down on a small workbench she had cleared, and he smiled at her lithe quiet movements. Somehow she managed to combine his economy of motion with her mother’s grace into a suppleness all her own. She had his dark hair and eyes, but he could see Aphrodite in her beautiful pale skin, and more importantly, in the joy in which she lived her life. His height and her mother’s slenderness combined with that not quite finished look of most adolescents gave her a certain coltishness that he knew she would outgrow.

"Father," she called softly, interrupting his reverie, "I felt you coming in."

He smiled proudly; very few young gods had the finesse to sense a translocation from the distance he had to arrive. “Good work,” he said, barely catching the quick look of pleasure that crossed her face at the compliment.

She continued, "I've brought you food. You should eat before giving them energy."

They sat down sharing the food. While Ares didn't need to eat, he enjoyed the ritual, and it was easier converting energy from food than directly from other sources. It also gave them an opportunity to share time and conversation, something increasingly rare over the last weeks. Normally, they talked about her training, or he discussed some petition or problem letting her use it to learn on. Tonight he watched her fidget and shift and ate silently; waiting for her to decided to talk to him.

"Father." Harmonia began. Taking a deep breath she continued, "What is going on? Nobody will answer my questions and…" She paused searching his calm face. "I'm afraid."

Swallowing he reached out to stroke her hair reassuringly before speaking. "Well, let's start with what you do know." As she spoke, he assessed what she actually knew and tried to determine how much information it was safe to give her.

Looking at him she smiled, ready to play their old teaching game. "One: I know that Poseidon is causing the rain. Two: I know that they," gesturing to the eight gods and goddesses about the forge, "are keeping the coast of Greece from disintegrating." She frowned, "Actually, that's three. Two: I know that he must be using tremendous energy to shift the weather pattern this way. Three, I already said. Four: They are also trying to figure out how to break the storm without making things worse, like causing an ice age or melting the polar cap, or causing some other disaster."

Ares watched her mind working with pride. Harmonia was one of his brighter children and one of the few who didn't have some fear of him.

"Father! Pay attention!" She requested with some exasperation. Smiling at his nod in her direction, she continued her list. "Five: I know that chaos energy is somehow involved."

Ares' eyes narrowed slightly and she smiled at the almost imperceptible change in expression, letting him know that she realizing that he hadn't expected that.

"Six: Hera's gotten loose." With a half shrug she clarified, " Actually that's a surmise."

A frisson of shock went through him. Thinking rapidly he tried to figure out how she’d managed to figure that out. He looked at her sternly, "Based on?"

"Based on the messy bits at Persephone's birthday, and Uncle Hades is still frantically looking for something. And a couple of things that Cerberus slipped. Also, the grouping we have. All of them despise Hera. Well, and Dionysus doesn't make sense unless you were trying to avoid Apollo, who likes Hera." She stopped a moment then impatiently asked, "Well am I right?"

Sighing, he confirmed, "You're right,” and he finished silently, and no one else should be able to reach the same deduction.

"Oh, don't worry Daddy. No one else will figure it out." Giggling. "I'm the only one who talks to Cerberus, well, except for Mom."

"I see," he drawled. Deciding very quickly that he needed a distraction, he added, "Very well, continue," using the exact tone that he employed when one of his more limited warlords surprised him with an intelligent comment.

More giggling. "Daddy, I'm not one of your 'limited warlords' and I know you're just trying to make me laugh."

Grinning he asked, "Did it work?"

Still giggling. "Yes, but I'm on seven." Drawing herself up very straight, she continued again, "Seven: Hera and Poseidon were lovers, before she married grandfather." With another frown she added, "And I'm pretty sure she didn't want to marry grandfather, but no one will talk about that."

Slightly wincing at her perceptiveness, Ares waited quietly for her to finish.

"Eight: Hecate is missing and has been since Hera escaped. I don't think she's dead. I don't think its possible to kill a god without us knowing." Shuddering slightly. "I still remember when Strife died."

Reaching out Ares hugged her to his side. "He's happy now. Hades is doing much better with him than Eris or I ever managed." Looking down at her with a proud but slightly wistful smile, he corroborated, "So far you're square on. Anymore in the list?"

Looking up at him, she nodded slowly. "I know that you're worried; you, Mom, Daddy Hep, and Cupid. Actually, all of you except Dionysus and I don't think... I don't think he's... well, I just think he's too insufficiently connected to reality to get it, Daddy."

Ares looked at her in amazement and the let loose with a deep belly laugh that rocked both their bodies as she clutched his vest and began laughing too. "That must be the best one line description of Dionysus I've ever heard. 'Too insufficiently connected to reality to get it.' I have to remember that line for your mother."

Still laughing, she pulled away slightly to poke her elbow into his ribs. "Mom gets reality, she just doesn't like to live there."

That set them both off again. Until finally, sore from laughter, he hugged her hard again. Then loosening his hold a little, he moved slightly back.

Looking down at her he asked, "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that there's going to be another war of the gods. Like when granddad defeated Cronus."

With a deep breath, he settled her back into her chair so she could see his face and he could see hers. "What has to happen for them to be able to do that?" He gently asked. Knowing that he still didn't know what she was truly afraid of and determined to have her work out most of the answers herself.

"There has to be a new war god." Tears in her eyes, "They'd have to kill you Daddy, because you won't fight for them and they can't take power without the god of war."

"And?" Knowing he was close to her greatest fear.

"Cupid and I are the only two who could hold the sword. I'm the better target. Cupid's almost 3000 and I'm only 15." Finally, having brought forth all her fears she rocked and started crying.

Bringing her close, he let her cry out on his chest.

In a soft gentle voice, "You just gave a worst case scenario. We'll deal with it, then I'll tell you what I think is going on."

"Okay." Her voice was still muffled in his vest. She rubbed her face against him and moved back.

Using the same scolding voice he had after many of her small childhood pranks, he asked, "Harmonia, did you just wipe your nose on my vest?" He created a handkerchief and offered it to her in the same moment.

Smiling at the voice, she wiped the back of her hand and then took the offered handkerchief. "Yeah, I did." She used the handkerchief and made it vanish. Composed, she sat up straight and listened.

"My turn." Looking her squarely in the eyes, he started his own itemization. "One: I don't intend to die. Two: You and Cupid are the only gods besides me who can carry the sword. Three: No blood innocent can carry the sword of war. Four: I've made sure that you and Cupid remain blood innocents. In Cupid's case, I have managed it for 2999 years. Five: There's a contingency plan."

"There's a contingency plan?" He felt the tension flow out of her body and the knot of panic and fear start unraveling.

"Yes. In the highly unlikely event that war breaks out or you're endangered. You all," gesturing with his hands to the other eight, "flee north and west."

"That's why," with a slow dawning smile of recognition, she joyfully continued, "you have Dionysus in the group because he's been to the lands we would flee to."

"Yes." Stroking her hair and face in reassurance, he reassured, "Littlest, I don't think it will come to that. But we've planned if it does. There's a place waiting. And it will be a place of safety, and of power enough for your needs."

"What do you think is happening?" She asked now inquisitive rather than frightened.

"I think that Poseidon and Hera are creating a place of power, to hold as their own place of safety. That would create two separate courts for the Gods of Greece. Which is not necessarily a bad thing."

Struggling through the concept, she started to speak. When Ares held up his hand.

Ares, we just got a break. Hades’ sudden voice in his head interrupted his conversation with Harmonia.

Mentally he returned, Hades, a moment. I need to finish here.

"Harmonia, Hades just called. He has information we need to discuss. I want you to think about what we've said while I'm away."

Quickly, he moved to the Gods circled about the forge. Starting with Aphrodite, he provided energy to each team. That done, he reached for Hephaestus’ mind. Brother, I need some of your attention to re-stabilize the forge. I can’t do this myself. His brother’s mind brushed against his, giving him guidance to making the small adjustments necessary to calm the energy patterns. After taking a few minutes to rebalance the energy flow, Ares swiftly moved back to Harmonia for a quick hug before walking out of the caverns to vanish once he'd moved far enough away.

Reappearing seconds later in Hades' palace Ares asked, "What kind of break?"

Smiling widely, "Someone decapitated one of our wanderers a few hours ago. He got caught by Charon trying to hide while he waited for someone to reattach his head." Lightly touching Ares arm Hades moved them both to a small room in Tartarus.

The area was dark and stinking. Howls, cries, and screams could be heard from other areas of Tartarus. Hades bound the returned shade over a pit of stinking black goo.

"What's that?" Ares asked with a grimace.

"Something Strife came up with." Hades grinned. "Very uncomfortable. It clings to the skin and burns."

Walking up to the bound man. Hades gestured removing the gag. "Did you have a nice vacation, Decidi?" he asked in an overly pleasant voice.

"Please," Decidi begged, "please don't hurt me." His entire body quivered in the bounds.

Hades gently asked, "Now why would I want to hurt you?" Stopping to examine his prisoner, he continued, "Just because you fled your punishment and allied yourself with Hera?"

Moaning Decidi promised, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know." Squirming as Hades leaned closer, he moaned, "I swear. Everything."

Ares moved forward, grabbed him by the hair, and growled, "Then start talking now."

Speaking very quickly Decidi blurted out. "Hera came to us and promised immortality if we rode with Belisco again. She swore we would have revenge for our deaths and could serve Belisco again."

Ares recognized the name, but, wanting more information, remained silent.

"How did you get your bodies back?" Hades demanded.

"We were in a mass grave inside a wall. Hera led us there. We had to wait for the rain to collapse the ground and open the grave. We reclaimed our bodies when Belisco escaped."

Wailing, he cried, "It's not my fault. I had to go with them."

Sternly Hades responded. "Liar." In disgust, "Just like it wasn't your fault when you and your gang raped that boy."

"Belisco's going after him again," offering additional information to assuage Hades anger.

"Where and when?" Hades demanded sternly.

"My lord Hades," he cried, "It was Iolaus who killed me. Belisco already has him again."

Insistently, "Where?" Hades grabbed Decidi by the throat and held tight for a moment before releasing his grip.

"At the inn outside Pellestis." Crying in fear. "My lord Ares, please help me. I am a warrior. I follow you."

"What are Hera's plans?" Ares ignored Decidi's claim to follow him. Pacing back and forth, he waited for an answer. Which didn't come. After a few seconds, Ares grabbed Decidi and shook him in his bounds, "What are Hera's plans?"

Finally, more afraid of Ares than Hera, Decidi answered. "I heard her with Poseidon. She wants your sword and will kill you to take it."

"I see," Ares said in a controlled voice. Reaching his hand out he pulled Decidi towards him. "Everything else you know. Now!"

"I don't know anything else. I swear." Turning to Hades. "Please tell him. You know when a shade is lying. I don't know anything."

Placing a calming hand on his arm Hades confirmed that Decidi was telling the truth. "Ares let go. He's not lying."

Ares let go with a snarl. "You aren't one of my warriors. You're raping scum."

Ares turned his back as Hades reached out and judged the hanging prisoner. Reaching out a hand and passing it across Decidi's forehead he proclaimed, "Know the suffering of your victims."

Ares and Hades vanished leaving Decidi hanging, screaming in the darkness.

They reappeared back in Hades office. A circular turret high in his palace, the office a grim room with utilitarian furnishings held only shelves, a rack for Hades cloak and helmet, a desk, and Hades' chair. Anyone reporting to Hades would have to stand, unless Hades conjured a chair. And Ares knew that Hades would keep someone he was irritated at standing forever. As they arrived he automatically reviewed the room’s defensive shields, checking for weakness and possible surveillance. He paid particular attention to the four windows set in the walls at what would have been the cardinal compass points on earth. The windows used scrying glass and could work either as a true window or a viewing glass to another place. His eyes narrowed, the problem with scrying glass was that it could work either way. Ares examined the shielding spells noting the new augmentation Hades had added with approval. They provided almost no true light. Instead, the room had a diffuse reddish glow that provided general lighting. Only over Hades’ desk floated a small focused rectangle of blue working light. As he finished his examination, he heard harpy patrols calling back and forth.

Sitting in his own chair and courteously conjuring another for Ares, Hades asked, "Ares is there anymore I should know?"

Ares sat in the chair shifting until he was comfortable. "I'd have thought you would remember this judgment. About twenty-five years ago they, under the command of Belisco, took Jason and Iolaus captive."

Hades shook his head. "I don't remember the details."

Ares stood and started pacing. "When the council refused to ransom Jason, Belisco took his anger out on Iolaus. They all raped him. He would have died, except Cupid intervened and convinced me to deal with Hercules for his life."

Interested Hades tilted his head towards Ares. "Why did Cupid intervene?"

"Ask Cupid." Ares replied curtly.

"Ares will you please sit down." Trying for humor, he joked, "I'm getting dizzy."

Reluctantly Ares sat down.

Still curious Hades asked, "What was the deal?"

Ares barked a quick laugh. "Just evening the playing field. As long as the protection order remains, we can't kill Hercules. I traded healing Iolaus for Hercules' agreement not to kill us."

Hades smiled. "I can live with that deal." Then musing, "Belisco, Belisco. Sounds familiar."

Ares leaned back popping his shoulders. "One of Poseidon's bastards. An immortal thanks to Hera."

He looked at his uncle, "Speaking of Hera. What do you think she's up to?"

Hades looked at him and shrugged. "Hera's always been hard to read."

Looking hard at Hades, Ares shook his head no. "She's always wanted power. But killing me doesn't help her. Not without someone to take up the sword. And my tags on Cupid and Harmonia are untouched." Shifting again, he continued in a confused tone. "It just doesn't make sense. Killing me and taking the sword serves no purpose without someone to hold it. And letting man's passions run rampant serves no one."

He searched Hades face a moment for clues, then finished. "And only Cupid or Harmonia could take the sword after me."

Still looking at Hades face, Ares saw his eyes dilate for a moment when he listed Cupid and Harmonia as the only others who could take the sword. Abruptly he realized Hades knew someone else who could take the sword.

He tested briefly. "Even if I were sure that Xena was mine and she was fed ambrosia there's no being sure that she could carry it." There was no reaction from Hades. So, it's not Xena.

Trying a direct approach, he asked, "Hades do you know of anyone else who could carry the sword."

Hades was silent for a moment and finally replied, "Possibly."

"Hades! I need to know!" Ares was very insistent.

"Let me look into the situation and find out if what I think is true." Hades looked at Ares immobile face and continued reluctantly, "Ares, I need to be sure, before I say anything. Just let me find out."

Ares gave a brief nod. "Very well, but not too long."

He looked again at his uncle and smiled, gracefully changing the subject. "Shall we look in on the situation?"

Gesturing towards the mirror opposite them, Hades brought the inn into view.

The inn was a wreck; outside Belisco had grabbed Xena as a great flash of lightening illuminated the entire area. Screaming in rage Belisco bellowed, "You bitch! You killed my mother!" He slammed her against the inn rattling the entire structure.

Other battles continued while Belisco continued battering Xena against the inn. Many of Belisco's immortal warriors managed to reattach groped body parts and reenter the battle. Iphicles stood protecting an unconscious Jason, while his men engaged the enemy trying to keep them off him and Xena.

Atus took another running leap at Belisco striking against one arm with both feet in a blow that should have broken the bone in half. Shrugging it off Belisco slammed one foot into his hip as Atus was rebounding for another blow. He then swung Xena back into the inn.

Analyzing the situation, Ares summarized, "Getting their butts kicked. Shall we go?"

Hades laughed. "Yes."

Vanishing they reappeared at the inn.

Two fireballs later, Belisco and his men were running away, taken to safety by Poseidon.

Part 12

A moment of disorientation and then Belisco and his men were in Poseidon's underwater court. Unlike the often-conceived underwater caverns, the court was a sprawling many-spired city. While many of the denizens of the city preferred, or in many instances required, water, a small portion of the court, along with a small part of the city, was dry. The frigid water held out by translucent barriers created by the sea god’s will. Poseidon’s audience court lay in the center of the city set off by enormous columns of white marble. Small niches, some dry, some wet, held benches for those of sufficient rank to merit seats. In other niches statues, more of the stark white marble, stood. Sound echoed off the black marble floor, only to be caught by the surrounding water. Too deep for sunlight, small globes scattered along the perimeter cast aqua light over the court. Poseidon and Hera sat on matching marble throne, stark white and towering over the court. His trident stood between them and a pattern of fanned peacock feathers was inlayed in a stone wall behind them. Attendants and servants went about their duties in near silence.

Iolaus flickered first there, then not, then there again, and finally. Realizing after a moment that Iolaus had somehow managed to escape him, Belisco went into a rage.

"Where is he?" Belisco bellowed the question at his father. "Where is he?" he screamed again, this time lashing out with his fist to strike and break one of the columns. A few of Belisco’s men began backing away from their enraged master. Many of Poseidon and Hera’s warriors and archers shifted worriedly.

"Be silent!" Poseidon bellowed back.

Hera rose, gesturing the attendants and warriors away. "Leave us." Belisco's remaining men, eager to be out of the path of his anger, ran over Poseidon and Hera's attendants on the way out.

Still shaking with rage and pacing in circles, Belisco screamed again, "Where is he, Father? Iolaus is mine! You promised to give him to me."

"Be silent!" Poseidon rose from his throne, grabbing his trident, and sending energy through it to blast Belisco across the room. Poseidon stood waiting for his son to calm after the attention getting blast.

Belisco crashed into a bench set along the perimeter of the area. He sullenly picked himself up, walked to the center of the court, and stood silently.

As his son walked toward him Poseidon returned to sit in his throne. Grimly, Poseidon considered how to handle this. He didn't know what had prevented them from bringing Iolaus. And he wasn't sure whether they were better off letting Belisco think that they were deliberately withholding Iolaus for some reason, or letting him know that they had been prevented from transporting him. He glanced at Hera, weighing their options; she was so much better than he at handling his son. Therefore, he made his words as noncommittal as possible. "That's better son," Poseidon said approvingly.

"Come to us Belisco," Hera cajoled. "Come and sit here between us." Gesturing to the steps between the thrones.

Belisco moved forward hesitantly and finally sat down. Hera moved down from the throne to sit beside him placing her arms around his shoulder. "Son of my heart, child of my beloved’s body, be calm. You will have what you want." She rubbed his shoulder soothingly. “Will he not, beloved?”

Only Poseidon heard her mental, *Join us.* He hesitated, as always, uncomfortable in any departure from his settled role and routine. A quick glance at her eyes warned him of consequences if he didn't. So, Poseidon settled on the steps on the other side of Belisco. "Son," he said in a soothing tone, "You will have Iolaus. Have I not kept all my promises?"

"Yes father," Belisco responded, calm now.

Hera patted Belisco's shoulders in a calming motion. "Belisco, we promised Iolaus in exchange for you killing Hercules and bringing us the sword of war." He looked down and she brought his head up with one hand. "You had Hercules and you let him live. You let him eat a seed of an Apple of Hesperides."

He moved out of her arms and challenged her, "He still can't survive what I can. I'm centuries older and I could heal before the Apple. That came from father."

"Belisco," Poseidon began, sharply taking Hera's lead, "Hera is right. You should not have allowed Hercules to leave that battle alive."

"I know how the Apple works," snarled Belisco. "It changes mortal bodies so that they heal perfectly, fight poison and illness perfectly, stay young and strong, and so that the mind doesn't stop when blood stops."

He stood again and started pacing. "But my body healed before the Apple. It can't be cut or burnt."

Stopping he turned to them.

"So I'm still stronger. I can't be killed, not even you could do it now." He challenged Poseidon with his last statement. He stared until finally his father nodded his acknowledgment.

Hera stood and moved to him. "Your point is?" she asked in a cold voice.

"I can still beat Hercules." He turned to face her. "And if you had brought Iolaus, he would have come to me." Shutting his eyes in rapture he continued in a lust filled voice. "And I would be able to play so many games with Iolaus."

Poseidon glanced at Hera. *You deal with this.*

"Didn't we let you have him, to play with him, and make him immortal?" Hera asked. Poseidon listened, as she kept Belisco’s attention on his desire for Iolaus and distracted him from the reason he wasn't there.

"Yes." His cock grew hard in his leathers.

Hera ignored his obvious erection. "Then go plan how to kill Hercules and take Ares' sword." She commanded.

"And if my plan calls for Ares death?" He moved to her meeting her eyes.

Matching his look, she responded calmly, "Then kill him."

Belisco bowed sharply and left. He stopped in an antechamber and listened.

***

Hera's voice sounded shrill. "He's dangerous Poseidon. We need a way to kill him if we have to."

Belisco raged as he heard his father's response. "We don't have one. Hera, he's right. I can't kill him now. The Apple, combined with his own powers as a demigod, make him invulnerable to anything we can do. Unless hind's blood?"

"No!" Hera sighed. "No. The Apples changes the human system so that it's immune to poison. It simply adapts too fast."

Belisco smiled hearing that the one thing he feared couldn't hurt him. He could hear them moving about the room and continued listening.

"It killed Callisto." Poseidon offered.

Hera snorted. "Not likely." After a quiet moment, she continued, "The Apples changes the entire immune system in immortals. A small bite causes a short-term effect. The whole apple makes the change permanent. It repairs damage done by time, illness, and injury. It improves the immune and repair system so that the body heals extraordinarily quickly, and it can prevent damage to the brain from oxygen deprivation, fever, and other injuries. So hind's blood doesn't work. The Apples don't act like that on gods. All it can give us are the short-term benefits."

Another pause, "Hera I still don't understand why hind's blood effects gods, but not immortals."

"Hinds' blood has two primary effects. It shuts down the central nervous system. That's what kills mortals, but that can be cured. Immortals created by an Apple of Hesperides essentially ignore that effect. Their bodies out heal the poison. But that shut down prevents a god from leaving the body. Alone that wouldn't kill a god. It would take longer, but it would heal. But, in a god, it also cuts off the ability to use solar or geothermal energy and cuts off the link to psychic energy. That's what kills a god. But if it weren't for the central nervous system impact it wouldn't matter, the god could simply leave and create a new body or repair the old once the poison worked its way through."

"Than the hind's blood shouldn't have killed Callisto because she had eaten the Apple of Hesperides before becoming a god and that should have prevented the central nervous system collapse. So she just believed herself dead?" Poseidon sounded confused at the end.

Laughing. "She accidentally disincorporated herself." Hera continued chuckling. "Actually, she should be able to pull herself together in a year or two."

"Hera, I don't want to harm Belisco. I know he's dangerous but he is still my son."

Belisco listened to his father with interest. 'So at least he doesn't want me dead. He just fears me.'

"Poseidon, we shouldn't have to." Hera pacified Poseidon. "I just want a way to control him, if it becomes necessary."

Hearing some of the attendants returning, Belisco walked to his own quarters. His rooms were in the dry area. He walked the familiar route thinking how little the area had changed over the centuries. As he moved, servants and guards moved out of his way. Finally, he reached the rooms he lived in as a child, a young man, and an immortal. Quarters he hadn't seen for nearly twenty-five years. He hesitated at the door, and then went in.

His rooms were unchanged. The large first room contained a desk and worktable on one end and shelves beside it. A large chair sat in front of a table where he often ate his meals. Beside it was an ottoman. Most of the floor space was left uncluttered. The central area had hooks for chains to hang someone from the ceiling and similar floor loops to manacle feet to. Behind that room was a smaller bedroom that had a large bed, festooned with chains, a chair, and a chest for clothing. The walls of both rooms had weapons, whips, and manacles of varying sizes and types.

Settling in the chair, he undid his leather pants, and, picturing Iolaus, he fondled his cock. He would start by bringing Iolaus in the room wearing his pants and belts. He would chain his hands to the ceiling and his feet to the floor. He would feel Iolaus tremble under his hands as he stroked and caressed him. He remembered Iolaus' flush of mortification and barely repressed tears when he played with him in front of his men and Jason. Placing that memory in his fantasy, he continued stroking his hard cock.

Next he would step up behind Iolaus and remove the belts from his trembling body. He would use those belts to beat Iolaus bloody. Beat him until the healing couldn't keep up. In his mind he could hear Iolaus' gasps of pain and could feel blood spattering from the belts to drop on his skin. He groaned and held the base of his cock to prevent completion. He wanted this fantasy to last.

When Iolaus was bloody and shaking from pain he would move back in and taste that lovely blood. Taste the salt and tang of it. Feel the stickiness on his lips and tongue as he lapped at it. He would move his mouth around Iolaus until he could play with his nipples. He could feel the small nub in his mouth as he bit and drew blood around it. That would make Iolaus scream and pull away. And the cringe would only make the pain greater. He felt his cock leaking pre-cum as he continued stroking, imagining Iolaus' pain.

Remembering the feel of Iolaus' bones breaking under his hands, he imagined kissing Iolaus' mouth while breaking his ribs. He wanted to taste the blood as it poured from Iolaus' mouth into his. He would watch the light fade from Iolaus' eyes and then taste the joy of his new breath as life poured into this body again. His body shook with desire and his hand stroked his cock faster.

He would move behind Iolaus again. He imagined watching blood stream down his love’s arms where skin had torn in his struggles against the manacles. He would tear the pants off of him. Grab his ass and enter him. Tearing his body open, like he did earlier. He would hold his hips as he rode Iolaus' ass in hard tearing thrusts. He could hear his cries of fear and pain. Could feel the body tremble under his. Shake in his hands. His hips started jerking with remembered and imagined pleasure.

As his orgasm approached, he imagined finishing in Iolaus' ass to his gasps of pain. Then leaning down to watch blood and cum run out to the floor. That vision made him finish with great spurts of cum falling across his hands and pooling on his stomach and groin.

As he rubbed his hands through the pooled cum he imagined taking Iolaus down from the chains. Sitting in his chair, forcing Iolaus to clean cum off his belly with his tongue. He imagined Iolaus giving him a blow job. He remembered that tentative tongue from the end of that long night past and the feel of thrusting into that hot moist mouth. His cock hardened again.

He moaned, moving deeper into the fantasy. Iolaus' tongue lapping at his belly, his hair tangled in Iolaus' teeth, and his cock in the busy sucking mouth. He groaned, imagining holding Iolaus by the hair and forcing his cock in further and deeper. Ignoring Iolaus' gasps for breath, his struggles for air while he sucked. He imagined holding his cock in Iolaus' mouth until he came and forcing Iolaus to swallow it all. Seeing him choking on cum in his mouth, still coughing and gasping when it was over.

Ready to cum again he let his mind briefly skip over all the different things he had imagined doing in this room.

Iolaus tied to the chair taking him from behind.

Arching him over the ottoman and taking him from the front.

Sitting in the chair with Iolaus riding his cock.

Cutting him again.

Burning him.

Breaking his bones.

Chained to his bed. Face down. Face up.

Iolaus screaming in pain and his blood flowing like river.

Tasting his blood again - the sweet, sweet taste of his blood.

Finally, Belisco came again.

He let his body relax this time. And considered what he had learned from Hera and Poseidon's conversation. Finally, he began planning. He knew what he wanted.

Iolaus.

A way to kill Hercules.

A way to revenge himself on Jason and Mora.

A way to revenge himself on Xena for his mother's death.

A way to kill Ares and take his sword.

Iolaus.

And a way to get ambrosia.

Godhood would be so nice.

Part 13

"Ares! What do you think you're doing?" Iphicles' roar at the war god when he realized that he'd been removed from the battlefield could be heard halfway to the tower. He couldn't believe that Ares had done it again. Just knocked him out and taken him, again. The bloody presumptuous, overprotective … Ares’ laugh cut off his thoughts.

Still laughing, Ares asked, "Now is that anyway to treat a god who just saved your life?"

A breeze brushed by and he suddenly noticed that he was clean, dry, and naked. Iphicles roared again. "And where are my clothes?"

Bounding up, Iphicles looked at what he had been sitting on and yes - it was a bed. Actually, it was a very nice bed. A nice big bed, he noted as Ares approached and pushed him back onto it. My big bed, he realized with fury. He's brought us to my bedchamber. Still enraged he almost didn't hear Ares.

"Actually, Iphicles I was hoping for a reward for saving your tail back there, " Ares continued, while running a hand down Iphicles' side and hip.

Iphicles twisted away to land on his feet on the other side of the bed. "Ares get your mind off sex. I have wounded men still out there." Still furious he moved to the wardrobe cabinet for new clothes.

Drawn by the commotion several guards entered.

"Get out!" Ares and Iphicles growled the order simultaneously. The guards taking one look at the enraged war god and their equally enraged, naked king – fled.

Ares appeared behind Iphicles as the king he reached for a shirt. Grabbing his shoulders, he pushed Iphicles face down over the bed, covering him with his own body. Heat poured into his body from the god above. As Iphicles cursed, Ares ground his leather-clad groin into his backside letting him feel the huge erection. Reaching under he pinched a nipple and moved his hand downward to stroke Iphicles’ rising cock. Iphicles' curses turned to passionate moans.

"I was hoping for the traditional reward," Ares joked, still caressing the body beneath his, "You know hot mind-boggling sex." Backing away, he continued, "But if you'd rather not, I can always leave."

Panting and sweating Iphicles rolled over aroused and furious. He stared at Ares no longer sure why he was furious. Was it because Ares brought him here or was it because Ares was over there and not inside him already?

Deciding, Iphicles growled, "Get over here and in me or you're never fucking this ass again." With that he turned, grabbed the bedclothes, and planted his feet firmly apart spreading his ass wide.

With a deep laugh Ares swatted his ass and made his own clothes disappear. The brief sting prompted a curse, which turned to a moan when oiled fingers roughly parted Iphicles' ass preparing him for the deeper penetration to come. Still moaning, Iphicles rocked onto the fingers trying to force them deeper. “Oh yeah, I want you to fuck me hard,” he said eagerly and pushed back. Ares grasped the back of his neck, like a mother cat would a kitten, stilling him. He added another finger and moved them deeper and wider stretching Iphicles.

Iphicles moaned and tried to move against the hand at his neck. He loved the fingers in his ass and the feel of Ares cock bouncing against his hip.

"Ares," Iphicles groaned as the god removed his fingers and moved behind him, "Understand me - we fuck, we cum, you explain what-in-Tartarus is going on, and you take me back to my men." With that he released his last grasp on rationality and gave himself over entirely to the pleasure of being fucked.

Ares entered him in a single long hard shove, rocking his body into the bed. Iphicles grunted and then moaned when the cock brushed against his pleasure point. Over and over again Ares entered and withdrew his cock brushing that one spot. Each motion increased Iphicles’ arousal. The king balanced on the balls of his widespread feet, his thighs and ass absorbing Ares' strong pistoning in and out of his ass. Still grasping the bedclothes he used the strength in his arms to push up against Ares increasing the depth of his penetration.

Feeling Ares’ hands running over his chest he demanded, "My nipples." As Ares played with his nipples, pinching and flicking them, he groaned again, brought his head down instinctively, and shook it slightly to keep sweat from dripping into his eyes.

Good, it all felt so very good. The weight of the body covering his, the hard heat filling his ass, the strain of muscles against each other, his cock rubbing the bedclothes, the scratch of Ares’ beard against his neck and shoulder, the teasing fingers on his nipples. He needed more. "Oh Gods harder," a short panting gasp was all he could manage as Ares kept up his play.

His muscles clenched and he kept trying to push back harder and faster while Ares kept controlling the motion, keeping him from cumming. He felt a sharp stab of pain in a shoulder. It moved to his neck, then a bicep. Bites, he finally understood. Little bruising nips. He grunted when a particularly hard thrust made him shift, losing balance a little. By the time he regained it Ares had stopped biting and his hands had moved to his shoulders holding him down. The god set a slow deep pace, not hard enough or fast enough to bring Iphicles off.

"Ares! Please!" He clenched his ass around the heat filling him. “More,” he begged.

A drop of Ares’ sweat fell striking his back. But the God kept his too slow pace. Iphicles arched, pushing against Ares’ hands as he felt more sweat dripping onto him. Twisting around as Ares wrapped a hand in his hair and pulled his head back he allowed the God to bring his mouth into a deep gasping kiss. When Ares stilled everything but the tongue in his mouth, Iphicles bit him - hard.

Gasping when he tasted blood, Iphicles waited for Ares to retaliate. When he didn't Iphicles groaned in frustration.

"Move! Fuck me hard!" This time it was a demand and Ares complied.

Iphicles pounded back onto Ares' cock as Ares pumped harder, deeper, and faster his hands finally moving down to Iphicles' cock. Iphicles let Ares' weight flatten his chest to the bed. As they moved faster and harder, their breaths came in great panting gusts forcing air into bodies whose only desire was to rock together. Iphicles felt Ares stiffen on top of him triggering his orgasm. His arms stiffened, raising both their chests off the bed. Every muscle in his body clamped and he screamed.

"Ares! Yes!"

As he came, Iphicles' ass clenched on Ares' cock and Ares filled him with jets of cum while gasping his pleasure in his ear.

Finally, they collapsed back to the bed sweaty and panting. After a few moments of catching their breath, Ares picked himself off removing his expended cock from Iphicles' ass. Iphicles gave one last shudder of pleasure as he felt Ares cum dripping out of his ass.

When Iphicles finally turned Ares was sitting in a chair by the washstand, already cleaned and dressed. He knew Ares could have done the same for him. But he hated being dressed like a doll and Ares loved watching after sex was done. So, he put on a little show.

Stretching, Iphicles showed the front of his body in a muscular relief, the stretch making each muscle more pronounced. He deliberately didn't wipe their cum off him with a sheet, instead he walked, still dripping, to the washstand which held a pitcher of water and a basin. Slowly he poured some water into the basin and wet a cloth to clean himself with. First running the cloth over his face and neck, then down his arms and across and over his chest. When Ares shifted he stopped and rinsed the cloth. Then he lifted a leg putting his foot on the arm of Ares' chair and ran the cloth from ankle to hip several times cleaning the leg. He lowered the leg and rinsed the cloth again. After repeating the procedure on the other leg and again rinsing the cloth, he moved back slightly to give Ares a better view. He lightly grasped his cock raising it to clean his groin, his ass, the area between his ass cheeks, and finally stroked the cloth along his cock before discarding it.

Moving back, he saw Ares' renewed erection and deliberately turned to get clothes. Before he could move Ares grabbed his hand and had pulled him to stand in front of him.

In a good-natured tone, he demanded. "Suck me you little cock tease."

Iphicles smiled, knelt down, and pulled Ares to him, pushing him to the floor and then rotating so that they lay mouth to cock. He started unfastening Ares pants and smiled again when they disappeared. He moaned when Ares pulled his hips down licking his cock. As Ares moved from his cock to his balls, Iphicles mirrored the action on Ares' cock. They quickly entered into the rhythm, sucking and thrusting together. Iphicles' entire body shuddered when Ares tongue moved off his cock and he started thrusting the tongue into his ass. He quickly thrust a finger into Ares' ass making him jump. As he played his finger inside his lover's ass, Iphicles stroked across the slightly raised bump within, causing Ares to come with a long groan.

When Ares had finished, Iphicles sat up on Ares face, thrusting his cock into Ares mouth desperately. Ares grabbed his hips and held him there sucking hard and running his tongue along the head. Iphicles quickly came, groaning, falling off of Ares, his cum falling in arcs over them and the floor.

Both laughing they sat up and quickly this time Iphicles cleaned himself. By the time he had finished, Ares was once again cleaned and dressed and sitting in the chair. Iphicles made his way to the wardrobe.

"Explanations Ares." He demanded while grabbing clothes from the wardrobe.

Ares settled back into the chair watching Iphicles wrap his loincloth. And gave a less than informative answer. "Poseidon helped his son Belisco escape. Belisco and his followers went for Iolaus."

Sitting on the bed and pulling on his pants, Iphicles turned to Ares. "Tell me something I don't already know Ares."

Ares simply shrugged.

Grabbing two pairs of socks and putting them on he waited a moment. Then Iphicles tried a different tactic. "Who brought Belisco's men back and why can't they be killed?"

Ares considered his answer and responded, "Their shades escaped Hades and rejoined their bodies. Since they're already dead, they can't be killed short of burning. Beheading works until someone brings the two pieces back together."

Iphicles stamped a foot into a boot. "Who Ares? They didn't just walk out by themselves."

Ares shrugged again.

Frustrated Iphicles asked, "Is that a 'I don't know shrug' or an 'I'm not telling shrug'?" Staring at Ares for a long moment, he decided. "You're not telling."

He stamped his other foot into the other boot as Ares disappeared.

"Ares!" This time his bellows could be heard all the way to the top of the tower. The guards looked at each other their hands fidgeting on their weapons and stayed exactly where they were.

When Ares didn't appear at his first bellow, Iphicles raged.

"Ares! You sneaky son-of-a-bitch! Get back here!"

Iphicles waited stalking around the room in his fury.

No Ares.

"Ares!" This bellow was even louder. Iphicles heard dropping trays and skittering feet. He bet that servants and guards were evacuating the upper levels. He imagined that they felt drowning was beginning to sound like a good alternative.

"Ares! Get back here! You take me from my men - you shit! Take me back!"

Dead silence. Iphicles could hear the remaining guards turn and flee.

"Ares!"

Still no Ares.

"Ares! You're a coward. You run out because you don't want to answer some questions. Aphrodite has more balls!" This time he emphasized his bellow by throwing the pitcher against a wall.

Finally, calming slightly, Iphicles sat on the bed pulled on his shirt and thought for a moment.

Finally he got up and started speaking this time in something slightly less than a bellow.

"Ares. I think its time your temple had a new statue of you. Maybe I should commission one in nice white marble with wearing white leathers. Like the love god in that alternate world. I think there's an icon that the other Iolaus brought over with him. That would make a good model. Maybe we should find some nice pink roses to go with the new image."

No response.

Finally, Iphicles turned to leave the room.

Ares appeared between him and the door. Glowering.

In a furious voice, he asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Commissioning a statue." Iphicles responded calmly. He stood squarely in front of Ares making eye contact. Pushing every scrap of fear down. "Then I'm going back to Pellestis."

"No, you're not." Ares continued to block the path to the door.

"Or you'll what - kill me?" Iphicles responded sarcastically. Then he continued in a firm sure voice. "You need me here in Corinth and as part of the League - to hold back the Romans. You're not going to kill me over this."

Relaxing slightly Ares nodded his acknowledgment. "But you don't want to press to hard or I might forget."

"You're a God, Ares. You don't forget." Iphicles shot back still standing firm.

Ares burst into laughter.

"All right King. I'll return you to your men. Then you should evacuate Pellestis and hold up at the academy."

Iphicles shook his head. "This thing is slaughtering my people. The storm is destroying our land. Corinth is facing the worst winter starvation in generations. We're not holding up."

Ares started speaking.

Iphicles interrupted. "I don't care! I don't care why Poseidon is doing this or what petty political battles you're fighting with each other."

"This isn't the normal in-fighting." Ares approached Iphicles his hand outstretched. "This is serious. I'm doing what I can to help. But this is between the Gods. Not you."

"I know you've helped. Draco and his men helped evacuate the lower city. But you're wrong."

Ares stopped, stiffened, and withdrew his hand.

"You're wrong," Iphicles insisted. "This is about us! It's us who lose their homes, their lands, their lives." He took a deep breath. "These are my people. I'm not leaving this alone." Shaking his head, "And Hercules certainly won't leave it alone. Or Jason and Atus. Or Xena and Gabrielle."

Ares didn't answer.

Iphicles finished. "You're stuck with us. You can either work with us or you can hope we don't run over your plan when we move."

"Alcmene raised the most stubborn sons." Ares said in frustration.

"I'll pass on the compliment." Iphicles commented lightly. He waited for Ares’ real response watching carefully.

Then he relaxed as Ares relaxed and nodded. "I'll take you back. You'll need to examine the ruins. After that go to the academy and I'll meet you there." Ares reluctantly conceded.

Iphicles watched him and realized that while Ares would show up at the academy he had no real intent of allowing them to assist him. He kept his peace. He could go along with this until he had a chance to plan with the others. Finally, he nodded.

Ares approached him.

He backed away. "Not this time. I'm not going passed out again."

Ares face twitched in frustration. "Iphicles, you're mortal, I take you awake and you arrive insane."

Iphicles stood a moment. Then nodded his understanding. Ares approached, passed a hand over his forehead, and when Iphicles slumped caught him. Ares paused a moment reading Iphicles surface thoughts. He realized that Iphicles had no intention of not getting involved.

He shrugged planning how to use this and then they both vanished.

Part 14

"Xena stop yelling." Xena turned to Hercules, who had stopped calling for Ares after his second shout. "They're lovers. He won't hurt him."

With a silent nod she took in the battleground. Hercules sat cradling Iolaus, letting the silent man rock in his arms. She looked around examining the group. Jason was leaning on Atus or rather they leaned on each other, but neither appeared seriously injured. Gabrielle worked alongside two of Iphicles' men to try to salvage some fire from the burning corpses. Three of Iphicles' men lay unmoving on the muddy ground; a fast glance told her death had already come for them. Then she saw the two others sprawled on the ground, just barely alive. Already moving she called Argo.

Grabbing the bag containing her medical supplies she moved to the injured men and quickly assessed their conditions. The first had a punctured lung and the second had lost half his right arm at the elbow. Another soldier had already put a tourniquet on it. Xena examined it quickly and nodded her approval. "Keep him as warm and dry as possible, give him this,” she passed him a package of herbs, as she continued her instructions, “mixed with water for the pain,” she turned to examine the other man as she finished, “and loosen the tourniquet every few minutes."

Working quickly, she grabbed a sharp knife. With steady hands she slit in between his ribs, allowed some fluid to drain, and, using a pig's bladder re-inflated his lung. She carefully completed her treatment and checked to make sure that the man was breathing using both lungs. She signaled another soldier, a much too young, very average looking man, over. "Keep him propped like this,” she instructed firmly, “keep him as warm and dry as possible, give him this mixed with water." This time she held out a different packet. The soldier stood looking at her blankly, She met his eyes, they were blank, and she asked, “Did you hear me?”

Nodding, he said haltingly, “Um, yes…keep him propped, warm and dry.” Shaking his head he took the packet, “Give him this...”

“Mixed with water,” Xena repeated.

“With water, I can do that.”

Now certain that the injured man would be cared for, she turned back to the first man. "What's your name?"

"Camden. I'm going to die aren't I?" He asked in a weak voice.

"Not if I can help it." She moved to tighten the tourniquet. "This will hurt," she warned. Tightening the tourniquet as hard as possible she examined him swiftly. She quickly packed herbs and a fresh bandage over the stump.

"Who's your friend?" she asked as she tied of the bandage.

"I'm his brother Kelitus." The other man spoke looking concerned.

"Well Kelitus, why don't you stay with him while I see about getting something to cauterize this."

At that moment another soldier approached holding a small covered cook pot that contained some of the still burning corpse. The cover was propped slightly open allowing the fire to breathe. Grimacing he said, "She said you'd want this." He stiffly offered the cook pot. She accepted it with a glance at Gabrielle, and saw Jason and her squatting by a smoldering corpse salvaging more of the fire into another cook pot.

The soldier started backing away and froze at Xena’s sharp, "Stay here. I'll need you." As Xena looked back to her patient, she heard Gabrielle calmly order the remainder of Iphicles' men to set up as dry a camp as possible. She returned to the task at hand. She located a nearby sword, quickly cleaned it, and placed it in the pot to heat. After a few minutes she checked, and, making sure that it was hot enough, she prepared her patient.

Turning to the man who'd brought the cook pot, she ordered, "You get behind him and hold his chest and waist. Keep him up." Then she turned to Kelitus. "Kelitus, hold your brother's arm out and up. Keep him still."

Quickly she hit a pressure point in Camden's neck and he slumped unconscious. At Kelitus' panicked expression, she reassured, "Don't worry... different spot." Then she quickly worked to unwrap the stump and press the hot sword against the still oozing wound. She waited several minutes while the smell of burnt flesh surrounded them. Only when she was certain that she had burnt deeply enough to seal all the blood vessels, did she remove the blade. She worked swiftly, carefully loosening the tourniquet, checking for bleeding and rebandaging the injury.

As she worked, moving from one to another, making sure that she wouldn’t lose either, she heard Gabrielle’s voice. Her lover’s voice moved through her entire range as she chivvied, encouraged, ordered, and scolded Iphicles’ men into setting up the camp. She had two gathering the scattered horses and stripping them of their packs. Another one and Atus cautiously examined the wreckage of the inn for a relatively protected spot. She caught fast glimpses as she slogged from one group to the other, directing and helping.

As Xena finished and looked up she saw Gabrielle walking over. "Xena, Atus and Remar think they've found a safe place to shelter. Jason is helping Hercules and Iolaus over there now."

Suddenly the entire group heard Hercules roar. "LIAR!"

Turning, they saw him drop Iolaus and rush Jason, picking him up by his hair and one arm. Jason was carrying a blanket and held on to it as he was lifted in the air. Hercules continued shaking him as he roared, "You lied to us! You said he was dead!"

"Hercules! Stop!" Xena ran toward him and stopped short of striking range. She'd already had quite enough of being thrown against walls by Belisco for the night. "Hercules! Put him down!" she yelled again.

Still shaking Jason, he ignored her and yelled, "Why? How could you lie about that?" With another hard shake, "How could you tell us he was dead?"

Atus had moved over to Iolaus and Iphicles' men kept well back. Gabrielle ran up to stand beside Xena. When she would have moved forward, Xena grabbed her arm.

Jason was yelling back now, as best he could while still being shaken and the blanket he was holding flapped around his legs. "I had to. I was afraid Iolaus would..."

"Would what?" Hercules yelled as Jason stopped. "Damn you to Tartarus." He continued shaking Jason.

Seeing Jason turn a very unhealthy pale, Xena grabbed Gabrielle's staff and used it to smack Hercules on the fingers, also striking Jason's head. "Hercules put him down right this instant and let him answer," she barked the order in her best captain’s voice and sprang backwards to avoid Hercules’ retaliatory blow. The strike and order worked, Hercules dropped Jason.

"Great mother voice, Xena." Gabrielle complimented Xena as she reclaimed her staff.

Turning to Gabrielle, Xena insisted, "That was not a 'mother voice' - it was a captain voice. I don't have a 'mother voice'."

"Yes you do and that was it." Gabrielle walked towards the injured men. "Well don't just stand there gawking, help me get these men over there." She pointed with her staff to the area Atus and Remar had selected.

Xena started walking over to Hercules, but stopped when her friend saw his lover rocking in the mud where he'd dropped him. Iolaus shook violently and would not let Atus touch him. Hercules rushed over and gathered him back in his arms. "I'm sorry Iolaus," he crooned, "I'm so sorry. I won't let go again." Slowly Iolaus' shaking eased.

Approaching carefully Jason offered the blanket. Reluctantly Hercules accepted it and wrapped it around Iolaus.

Atus gestured Jason back, and speaking softly, told Hercules, "We need to get Iolaus to shelter. There's a place over there." He pointed to a stable roof overhang where Iphicles' men had already sheltered.

Hercules nodded and slowly they joined the others.

Xena followed them to the small area Atus and Remar had found. She assessed the camp. They had set it up on the outer side of a still standing corner. The inside of the corner was inaccessible due to rubble. But outside, several posts supported a covered porch behind the kitchens. Probably, the inn's kitchen staff used the area for much of their food preparation during the summer. The porch was closed in on two sides, a long back wall with a door leading to the kitchen and on one short side where cooking utensils hung on hooks, protecting it somewhat from the elements. The overhang was still sturdy and nothing rested on top of it to bring it down. The rubble had all fallen to the inside so it was the safest shelter available. The men had already hung blankets blocking some of the rain.

Xena moved Hercules, Iolaus, and the two injured men to the most protected corner. She sat close to the patients along with Gabrielle and Kelitus. She had Atus stay close to Hercules and Iolaus, and put Jason between Atus and Gabrielle. Iphicles' remaining men circled around them and then the horses on the outermost edge. She kept Gabrielle's cook pot fire going as well as possible, feeding it some dry wood scavenged by Atus from the inn. She used it to heat water to make medicinal tea for the injured soldiers. She also gave Iolaus a strong concoction that should have made him sleep for hours. Instead she had to dose him twice more.

As they waited for dawn, or for Iphicles to return, she kept a silent watch. At Gabrielle's soft nudge she turned and gathered her into her arms.

They cuddled and finally Gabrielle started talking. "Xena," she whispered, "I think I made a really bad mistake."

"What?" Xena stroked her hair to comfort them both.

"I fed Hercules a seed from the Apple of Hesperides. I thought that it would only heal him, but I'm pretty sure it made him immortal."

"Gabrielle," Xena responded gently, "As mistakes go that's one I think he can live with."

Nearly crying, "Not if Belisco takes him. Then he just becomes a way to control Iolaus."

"Gabrielle," Hercules soft voice interrupted. "Xena's right. I can live with this. Iolaus is immortal and at least this way I can protect him. Besides if you hadn't fed me the seed you and I would have died."

"Hercules, what happened in there?" Xena asked. He hadn't really said anything after moving him and Iolaus to shelter.

He sat his eyes focused on Iolaus, and whispered, "I was going down to pay for an extra night. I heard several thuds and screams. Smelled a stench, and when I got downstairs Belisco's men had already killed a family. The first thing I saw was Belisco grabbing the spit and killing a young boy." He stopped when Iolaus moaned and thrashed restlessly in his sleep. Hercules whispered and rocked him slightly waiting for his lover to calm before he spoke again.

Still watching Iolaus, Hercules continued, "I recognized him. I'd only seen him once and I thought he was dead." He closed his eyes a moment before continuing. "I went after him and his men started up the stairs. So, I moved back to block them. The innkeeper and his wife were trying to get the customers out. Belisco had a mace and he used it to knock out one of the supports on the stairs. I think Iolaus shouted something."

He shook his head. "Everything moved too fast…complete chaos. Guests poured down the stairs in a panic, Belisco's men went after them, while I fought Belisco. We pounded each other back and forth. Tables, chairs, beams…everything…we broke it all. Belisco,” his voice chocked, “that bastard… He goaded me – I let him goad me. The inn was coming apart and I know that I heard Iolaus shout that I'd 'be real embarrassed if I got him killed again.' Then Belisco slammed me in the head with his mace, kicked me under the landing, and broke the other support beam. The entire landing came down on me."

"Hercules I've seen the good portion of a cliff fall on you without that kind of damage." Gabrielle commented. "Your head was cracked open and I'm pretty sure your back was broken."

"I know." Hercules finally looked up at them. The weak fire cast lights and shadows on his face, but all Xena could really make out were his eyes. They reflected all the anguish and rage in his voice. "Belisco cracked my head open with the mace and I think his kick broke my back. After that I was out of it. The next thing I knew was waking up, seeing Iolaus and Gabrielle, and realizing that the inn was coming down."

He gathered Iolaus closer to him and weeping went on. "I haven't seen Iolaus like this since..." He stopped and asked, "Do you know what Belisco did before?"

"Yes." Xena answered for them both.

Taking a deep breath he finished, "I haven't seen him like this since last time Belisco... Since Belisco raped him." He blurted out, "I don't know what happened, I couldn't find any injuries, but..." Sobbing he tried to finish, "There's not a bruise or scratch on him. I know he had bruises from when we..." He stopped again. "He had bruises from earlier and he should have had bruises from the fight. There aren't any." He stopped again.

"That's how I knew that Belisco had fed him the apple." He finally finished.

Silence reigned as he brought his tears under control. After several minutes he commanded, "Gabrielle, I have to know what you saw in there."

She sat silent a moment while Xena hugged her and added, "He's right we need to have some idea of what happened."

Gabrielle took a deep breath. "After I got in I looked for Iolaus and you. At first I couldn't see or hear anything. Then I heard something; I think it was Iolaus moving rocks. When I moved toward the sound I saw a beam."

She stopped took another deep breath.

"That's where I found Iolaus’ knife and the apple core. They were in a puddle of blood. His belt was still tied to the beam. There was blood on the beam and the belt, too. I tasted, nibbled really, the apple, and I healed. Every bruise and scrap just vanished. Only an Apple of Hesperides could have done that. I continued searching, moving towards the sounds."

She stopped, and Xena felt her struggle to moderate what she had to say, but finding no way to do it. "I found Iolaus' pants, they'd obviously been ripped off of him. I'm sure he was raped." She started softly crying as Hercules moaned.

"When I found Iolaus he was moving rocks off you. He flinched away from me and he wouldn't talk. At first I just tried to get him out, finally I offered to give you a piece of the Apple. He stopped me the first time, but I felt your breath, and told him I would just give you a seed. He finally let me.” Xena felt her tremble and tightened her hug. “I didn’t know,” her voice broke, “He screamed 'No' when he saw you turn immortal."

She stopped and concluded awkwardly, "You know the rest." After a moments silence, she added, "Hercules, you have to give Jason a chance to explain."

"I know why he lied." Hercules said calmly.

"Why?" asked Xena, afraid she knew the answer.

"He almost said it before. He was afraid Iolaus would kill himself if he knew." Hercules looked down at his sleeping lover and added, "He was probably right. And I'll probably forgive him, eventually."

"Good," said Xena, silently vowing to watch Iolaus very carefully until she was sure he couldn't find a way to kill himself now.

Keeping watch Xena checked her patients regularly and dosed Iolaus twice more. Gabrielle kept her eyes closed and breathed steadily, but Xena could tell she wasn't sleeping, rather she was in deep thought. When she was not with her patients she rested next to Gabrielle. Finally, near dawn Gabrielle turned and nudged her. Xena had been waiting for that and turned taking Gabrielle into her arms. Gabrielle moved Xena's hair and whispered almost silently into her ear making sure that no one else could hear.

"I still have two seeds."

Part 15

After her father left, Harmonia continued what she had been doing before his arrival, studying storms, and in particular, hurricane formation. While the discussion with her father had reassured her, she had no intention of relying on that alone. She smiled to herself. ‘Dad will be proud. He always does like it when I find my own answers.’ She was deep into her studies, working over a model of Greece she built in one of Hephaestus' many caverns when she heard her Uncle Hades pop in outside the cavern. Her eyes widened when she realized that her father wasn’t with him. She quickly froze her miniature hurricane, cleaned up a bit, and headed for the forge.

She arrived at the forge slightly before him and waited with barely repressed impatience. "Uncle Hades," she called as soon as he entered. "What happened? Where's Dad?"

"Give me a moment." He moved in to give her a hard hug, absent-mindedly cleaning up a bit of mud that she had left on his clothing. She felt reassurance as he opened his shields slightly. "Things are moving pretty quickly and I need to consult with them." He paused, moving her back, looking carefully at her clothes. Harmonia could almost hear his thoughts as he looked at them; they were - odd and filthy. "WHAT are you wearing?"

"Oh." She blushed. "It’s something Strife showed me a few months ago. Its from the same place where he got the pins he sticks in his nose. They're blue jeans, high tops, and a T-shirt. Oh, and a flannel shirt over the T-shirt." She waited for his no doubt confused response.

"High tops?"

"The shoes." She pointed down and stuck out one foot.

"T-shirt?"

She briefly took off her flannel shirt to model the T-shirt.

He paused when she turned around. "Is there a reason it says 'Kiss a Dead God' on the back?"

"Um, Strife got it for me." She replied putting her flannel shirt back on.

Harmonia waited while her uncle closed his eyes considering his next response. She knew that her mother would think it was funny. Daddy Hep was generally too oblivious to notice someone doing a naked fan dance in front of him, unless it was her mother, so that left her father. Sure enough, finally, he settled on, "Has your father seen this?"

"I only wear it when I'm working in something that's messy," she responded evasively.

"Your father hasn't seen this."

She shrugged. He closed his eyes again.

"Should I ask what 'messy' something you're working in?" he asked with trepidation. Harmonia stifled a giggle, he hadn’t put his shields back up after the hug and she heard his worried, *I’ve seen way to many ‘messy things’ caused by young gods not to worry about this.*

"My hurricane model." His eyes narrowed and Harmonia bit back another giggle. Strife was right she decided Uncle Hades really did look like he was weaned on a sour pickle when he worried.

"Why don't we take a look?" *I need to know exactly what she is up to, I don’t really want to know, but I definitely need to know.* That time she couldn’t stop the giggle, it exploded out of her.

*Harmonia, didn’t your parents teach you not to eavesdrop,* Hades scolded her, tightening his shields.

"Sorry,” she slowly brought the giggles under control.

“Good, then you can show me the hurricane model.”

“Sure." She started to guide him to the back cavern. "You'll want a rain shield and probably something for your clothes. Its pretty..."

"Messy," he finished. "I noticed." He cleaned some odd spots of mud in her hair that she'd missed earlier.

***

After several twists and turns they entered a large cavern. Hades went in and shook his head shielding his clothing from water and mud. He carefully avoided walking in the ocean part of her model. Although he noticed that she just waded in. He quickly reviewed the model of Greece and its sister islands. It was excellent. She'd created an exact replica of the land including natural terrain, manmade creations, such as cities and farms, and, to his shock, the power pools and hidden paths the gods relied upon. In some areas, he noticed Persephone's touch. He moved his mind deeper into the model. He was right...each of the eight had assisted in its creation. He looked up and the ceiling reflected the night sky back at him. It also had a frozen miniature hurricane hanging over his head. He reviewed the set up for a few more minutes, getting a feel for the nature of the forces and tags Harmonia had used before speaking.

"Start it up."

Smiling she did. Suddenly the room was full of driving rain and fierce winds. By using the tags Harmonia had included in the model, he could assess the level of force being created, damage done to the coast, and get a model of how the storm was being maintained. Persephone had told him the same things during their brief mental discussions but was unable to show him some of what she meant. This did.

They watched as the storm moved up and down the coast circling around its eye. The storm stayed in place along the coast and would not go inland because a pressure zone locked it off land. It continued to pull water from the ocean as it rotated and didn't lose power. They watched as the storm worked through several scenarios. Then Hades signaled Harmonia to freeze it.

When she had he looked over and laughed. She looked like a drowned rat. She hadn't shielded at all. She started laughing too. "I like standing out in the rain."

Still laughing he reached for Persephone's mind entering into the merged group of eight. They were so together in their task that at first he felt only the flow of energy from the forge and the partners into the four stabilizing the earth. Then he felt the earth itself and moved back to prevent getting lost into that part of the merge. Moving out a bit, he looked for the small unique spark of Persephone. He relaxed as her spark grew stronger and moved towards him. Then their minds touched. He flew into the merge and the single voice of the group. Swiftly he helped divide them a bit and then checked on each one. After making sure that the tags he and Ares had placed on them were intact, he fed them as much energy as he could spare. During the entire time, they shared information, speculation, and plans. Finally, he disengaged from the merge.

Smiling he hugged a very wet Harmonia. "They think they've got a way to break the storm. It's going to get very cold. But that will still be an improvement."

"Won't lowering the temperature cause other problems?" she asked.

"They aren't actually lowering the temperature. Instead, they're causing a fierce 'norther.' They've pulled cold air and massed it then whipped up the wind behind it. It will probably cause the earliest and worst blizzard we've ever had. But there won't be any permanent change in climate. And it will break the storm."

He moved to leave and staggered.

"Uncle Hades!" Harmonia caught him and propped him up a bit. "You need energy." She automatically fed him a small tendril of her own energy. And nearly fainted when there was a sudden hard pull.

"Harmonia!" Hades cut the link abruptly. He checked her quickly and made sure that she was as well as she assured him she was. "Don't ever do that with one of the older gods. We tend to overwhelm a young god's shields and if we're low we can take too much."

Shaking some of her dizziness away she responded, "Got it."

They slowly walked back to the forge. While walking, they caught up some of the family gossip. Harmonia giggled when she learned of Bliss' mischief while the Furies babysat him. "I'm still trying to get over the Furies babysitting. I can't believe he tagged them with a love spell. And with each other, oh my. So who has him now?"

"I've got him with me in the underworld. Strife, Charon, and Cerberus are taking turns." She started giggling again. "They really want their other jobs back full-time." With that, she ended up leaning on a cavern wall and laughing for several minutes.

"That's mean. That's really mean."

"Well I'm not the God of Judgments for nothing."

Before leaving, Hades checked her one last time. Her power levels were still low but she was recovering rapidly. "I need to go and arrange some warning dreams for the mortals. Don't leave the forge area until your levels are back up."

***

Harmonia moved to just outside the circle and settled into a light trance. Several hours later, she was startled to feel several dislocations in the air outside the cavern. Checking she realized that they weren't gods. She tried to alert her father and Uncle Hades and found her mindcall blocked. She quickly moved to her feet. "Shit. Oh sorry Mom."

Moving out of the forge cavern at a run, she tried to mindcall the merge to warn them. But they were too close together and she didn't have a tag on them. Thinking quickly she poured energy into her model and started its sequence and placed warnings on the tags. She could only hope that their ties to it would alert them to the problem. Still running, she mindcalled Hephaestus' metal guard-cat, Ostseth, and warned him of the intruders. As she sprinted to the front cavern, she worked a series of latches and trap triggers, preparing the cavern system for intruders.

By the time, she reached the front cavern, the intruders, several of Hera's silver archers, had already arrived and were fighting with Ostseth. Unfortunately, she ran right into them.

"Grab her." One of them ordered as she started wiggling her way out of the group. "She's one of the targets."

Still wiggling she tried to get information, "Who wants me?" She was shocked that the archer holding her answered.

"Hera wants to hold you for Ares' cooperation." The archer tightened her grip on the wiggling teen as another grabbed her by the hair.

The rest of the archers arrived. And Harmonia stopped her desperate wiggles for a moment. She mentally called Ostseth. *Hold.* She allowed them to drag her out of the cave and called Ostseth again. *Follow.* Ostseth quietly padded out after them.

When she felt they were in the clear, she sent a swift burst of power into the cave causing the ceiling to collapse and block the entrance. Her following burst ripped through the two archers holding her and nearly caused her to faint. As her vision tunneled and she fell forward onto her hands she shook her head and took off running with Ostseth beside her. The delay cost her dearly, as several arrows started singing around her. She crashed into a tree when the force of an arrow striking her shoulder slammed her forward. Ostseth screamed, leaping in front of her as she collapsed against the tree trunk. Clutching the arrow she tried to mindcall her father or Hades again. Still unable to do so and unable to go to them she made one last desperate gamble.

Looking for a tag her father had placed she summoned the strength to go to the one half-brother Ares trusted to watch over her in an emergency. Seconds before the archers got to her she and Ostseth vanished.

part 16

Dawn arrived along with Ares and Iphicles. Iphicles realized only then that Ares had kept him asleep for hours before waking him in his bedroom. Knowing that arguing with Ares would avail him nothing, he bit his tongue and went to check on his men. He found them in the shelter with Jason and Kelitus standing watch. He looked for his brother and found him still holding Iolaus, but he couldn't tell if Iolaus was awake or not. Gabrielle and the rest of his men were asleep, and Xena and Atus were missing.

As he was about to ask for them, Xena landed at his feet having somersaulted off some of the rubble holding an assortment of clothing and blankets.

"Hello, Iphicles." She looked him over. "I see Ares got you cleaned up and healed." Turning she called, "Ares."

"Xena." Ares responded in the same controlled tone.

'Oh shit,' thought Iphicles, 'I can just see these two coming to blows. This is not the time.'

Moving quickly, he pulled Ares into the shelter asking, "Ares can you take these three back to the palace for me?" He indicated the two injured men and Kelitus.

Ares paused. 'Ares not now,' he thought, 'please just say yes and don' t do anything to set Xena or Hercules off.' Ares smiled and Iphicles tensed.

"Of course." Came Ares' drawled response.

Hercules looked up from Iolaus and called softly, "Ares. Please will you take Iolaus too?"

"No." Iolaus spoke for the first time since his cry of despair when Hercules became immortal.

Ares didn't bother to respond. Stepping over to the injured men, he made sure that they and Kelitus were all unconscious before he and they all disappeared. A moment later the corpses of Iphicles' men who had died in the battle burst into flame. Ares left each man's sword and a small memorial stone where each had fallen.

By that time, the rest of the men had woken up and he had them start searching the saddlebags for something edible. As they got breakfast, he drew Xena aside. "How is Iolaus doing?"

She shook her head. "Belisco got to him before we got here. He's immortal. I don't know how he's handling this. Last night he didn't say anything. I don't know how he's doing."

Iphicles nodded his acknowledgment and moved back to the shelter. He sat down by Hercules, away from Iolaus, while Xena rejoined Atus in scavenging from the inn.

An hour later they had eaten what they could salvage from the saddlebags. They had all cleaned as much mud as possible off of themselves and the horses. The storm had dwindled to drizzle with a light wind. They stood between the three memorial markers, paying their last respects to the fallen before moving on. As they stood in silent contemplation Iphicles looked around at the group.

Out of his initial troop of twenty, five were left. Three had died. He was hopeful that the two injured men would make it and he knew Kelitus was safe. He could only hope his messenger and the men he had assigned to evacuate the academy and assist the people fleeing the inn were also still safe. He assessed the remaining men.

Lucas was his captain an old grizzled campaigner. He was an experienced man, both as a soldier and a guard. Stocky and shorter than the rest of the group, he favored a heavy two-handed sword that took advantage of his upper body strength. While he was blunt and rough spoken he had a soft hand with the horses and could get them to do anything.

Montoga came from the far south, the lands of the Nubians, beyond Egypt. He was black as night, with wild curling black hair, and before seeing Belisco, he had been the tallest man Iphicles had ever seen. He told unbelievable stories of great and vast cities even farther south than the lands he came from. He could use the simple swords Iphicles issued his guard, but he preferred a long spear with a broad two-edged blade. He was only one besides Iphicles and Xena who had managed to decapitate any of Belisco's warriors.

Menelio was a young man, not much more than a boy. He was the most absolutely average person Iphicles had ever met. He stood average height, had average hazel eyes, average medium toned skin, average light brown hair, and an average voice. Nothing too perfect, nothing too awful. Only two things stood out; he rode like the wind and he was always cheerful. Young women loved him, older women mothered him, and every man he met became a father or brother. He was Iphicles’ best spy.

Remar looked as striking as Menelio did average. He couldn't help but stand out in a crowd. He was the epitome of tall dark and handsome. Young women loved him - their fathers and brothers stood by with a weapon in hand. And he knew it. He even had a good voice. The only thing that kept him from being insufferable was his sense of humor and general good nature. It also helped that horses hated him. He was a man who loved people, and the only one Iphicles knew who was more promiscuous than Iolaus. He was also good with most weapons.

Imbrios was the only married man in the lot. He just celebrated his fifteenth anniversary and the fourteenth birthday of his eldest daughter. Of which he had many, nine in all, the youngest still in diapers and cutting teeth. He was another swordsman and career military. He had all the virtues a good soldier should have, plus the virtues of a good man. His wife raised hunting dogs on the side and rumor had it that she could handle the sword as well as he.

All of them carried minor wounds from last night's battle. Iphicles shuddered and prayed that Ares would be kind and take none of them in the battles to come. Then he turned his attention to the rest of the group.

Xena and Gabrielle were riding together again. Xena was simply the best warrior and strategist he'd met or heard of. She could have taken Greece and simply stopped. He knew that Hercules and Iolaus had something to do with it, but no one ever spoke of what occurred. She had several bruises from the fight and a few cuts, but nothing serious. Gabrielle was a mystery to him. He initially saw her as a naïve bed companion to Xena and not much else. But he was learning that she wasn't that simple. He had finally figured out that she was more hopeful than naïve. Her actions during last night's battle created a deep and abiding respect. When she'd taken that first blow from Belisco, she could have simply stayed down. Instead she fought her way out, rescued him and his men, and went into that inn. She should have been bruised from the blows she took but wasn't. Hercules had mentioned that she'd eaten a small bite of the Apple. He finally concluded that Xena saw something that he didn't and that he might never understand her.

Atus interested him. He was one of the few Argonauts who hadn’t come to Jason and Alcmene’s wedding. He remembered Iolaus saying something about an old grudge between him and Jason, but he fought by Jason’s side without hesitation. His fighting style reminded him a bit of Iolaus but with a harder edge and greater intensity. Xena had mentioned that he told incredible stories but he hadn't heard him say a word the entire ride. But again his courage was unquestionable; he'd partnered Xena and Jason with hesitation and struck blow after blow on Belisco. Like Xena, he had an interesting variety of bruises and small cuts. He limped a bit. Probably from the drop he'd taken on his right hip.

Jason worried him. Right now he was nothing like the man he'd known the last few years or the one he remembered from childhood. He seemed driven. His memories of Jason were always as a meticulous planner. But last night Belisco had goaded him easily. He was the most severely injured. He greatly favored his right leg. He had several larger gashes and a huge bruise on his head from when he'd been knocked out. He also had additional bruises. Imbrios had mentioned that Hercules had picked him up and shaken him for lying, but didn't know exactly what had happened.

Finally, he looked at his brother and Iolaus. Both were physically fine. Both were immortal. Hercules seemed as shaken as he'd ever seen him. In some ways worse than when Deianeira and their children were murdered or the last time Iolaus had died. He stayed by Iolaus constantly, touching him. Iphicles could see terror in his eyes.

And as for Iolaus, Xena and Atus had provided Iolaus some clothes scavenged from the inn. Rough homespun pants that Atus had cut down, a rope belt, and overlarge shirt that had also been cut to fit and tied at the wrists. He was still barefoot, as they hadn't been able to find any shoes or boots. Xena had found socks but Iolaus simply shook his head no. Iphicles thought he had never seen him look so vulnerable. He shivered frequently and Iphicles couldn't tell whether it was from cold or fear. He was as pale as death and his eyes were still huge. He hadn't said anything since that one 'No'. He had hoped Belisco had been lying when he taunted Jason, but looking at him now, Iphicles was positive that Belisco had raped him before they had arrived.

He realized that they were staring at him. Waiting for him to say something profound. He didn't have anything profound so settled for the obvious.

"Mount and ride."

And with that order, he led them to the ruins outside Pelletis.

This was another long hard ride over a bog that most likely was the remains of several small farms. Once more, they were all damp and muddy. Twice while they rode Remar's horse attempted to bite him. Remar ignored her attempts and continued his flirtation with Menelio who continued to pretend he didn't get it. Lucas blustered and when Remar said something that made Menelio flush, he pulled his horse between the two. After watching in amusement for a while, Iphicles joined Jason in the lead talking quietly.

"Would you like to tell me the real reason you didn't tell me about this when I took over?" Iphicles asked in a hard voice.

Jason looked at him. "There wasn't any single reason. I'm not sure I even considered doing it." He waited but Iphicles stayed silent and waited for him to continue. Nodding he continued. "I didn't want to tell you something you couldn't tell Hercules. You were just getting your relationship straightened out." He shook his head at Iphicles' look of disbelief. "It never occurred to me that he would escape after so long." Jason paused again. "And I was ashamed. My behavior was why the council wouldn't support me and offered Pelias the throne. And that was why Belisco..." He broke off abruptly. "It doesn't really matter. You're right I should have told you. It's one more in a long litany of my mistakes. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you." Iphicles responded dryly. "Anything else I need to know?"

"You're a better king than I was." Jason responded seriously.

"You didn't see the mess I made at Golgoth." Iphicles turned to catch his eyes briefly. "Jason, I think you're being a little hard on yourself. Belisco is obsessed. He would have eventually taken Iolaus no matter what."

They continued on silently for a while. Iphicles signaled Jason to ride ahead and fell back. He briefly rode along with each horse speaking with his men and getting their impressions and reassuring them. He stopped by Xena and Gabrielle's horse to speak with them.

"Xena, thank you for taking care of my men when Ares grabbed me."

"Not a problem. How long have you and Ares been together?" she asked.

"Since a few months after Rena died." He smiled. "I think he seduced me to snap me out of my depression. He needed me guarding the coast. We're not in love. We just enjoy each other." Changing the subject, he spoke to Gabrielle. "And thank you for breaking the grouping. We needed the assist."

Gabrielle, deep in thought, started and then said, "You're welcome." She smiled and asked, "What's with Remar, Lucas, and Menelio?"

Iphicles started laughing. "Remar is trying to seduce Menelio, who is enjoying the efforts but isn’t ready to say yes. Lucas disapproves and keeps trying to chaperon. The entire unit has enjoyed watching Remar going after Menelio and Menelio so carefully ignoring his efforts. Lucas behaving like an outraged Vestal just adds to the entertainment."

Finally, he moved back to speak with Hercules and Iolaus. Iphicles looked them over carefully as he rode with them for a few minutes in silence. Iolaus sat behind Hercules leaning against his back with his face turned away. Finally he spoke. "Iolaus, how are you holding up?"

Iolaus didn't respond at first. Then he turned to face him and said with great control. "I'm holding up. I'm here and I'll survive." That said he turned his face away again and moved in closer to Hercules.

"Hercules?"

"Thanks Iph. We'll do fine." Hercules reached out to touch his brother's hand. "Thank you for asking. Iolaus would probably do better with some solitude for awhile."

Iphicles nodded and rode back to the front. They continued and had just reached the base of the hill that marked the last legs of their journey to the ruins.

With a sudden dislocation of air a young woman appeared in front of them with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder and a very large metal cat beside her. Horses reared screaming and they pulled to an abrupt halt.

"Uncle Hercules," she gasped before collapsing face forward into the mud.

Jason, Iphicles, Xena, and Hercules rapidly dismounted to assist her. The others remained mounted taking covering positions. Atus moved closer to Iolaus ready to assist him if necessary. However, Iolaus quickly moved forward into the saddle and took the reins Hercules abandoned when dismounting.

Jason reached her first and carefully moved towards her. The cat jumped over her covering her with its body and growled. Everyone froze.

Iolaus said softly, "That's Hephaestus' cat. I saw it in his forge."

The cat turned its head to face Iolaus and a glimmer of recognition lighted in its eyes. It roared.

The horses started briefly and then held steady.

Hercules slowly approached the anxious cat. "Nice kitty," he soothed walking a slow pace forward.

It roared again.

Hercules froze.

"Kitty we need to check her and make sure she's all right." Hercules tried again without moving this time. The cat stayed quiet. And Hercules tried walking another pace forward.

It roared and crouched.

Jason and Iphicles looked at each other and loosened their swords.

Jason whispered, "You know that our swords aren't going to even scratch that thing don't you?"

Iphicles whispered back, "Yes. But having them out might distract it when it tries to eat us."

The cat looked at them. They shut up.

"Ostseth." The whisper came from under the cat. "Back." The cat gracefully leapt back from the girl.

She had rolled over and was trying to sit up. Hercules and Xena raced to her. Jason and Iphicles watched the cat and kept their hands on their swords. They quickly checked and noticed that the rest of the group also had weapons at ready.

"Don't move." Xena got to the girl first and started to examine the arrow and entry wound.

Hercules moved behind the girl and asked, "Harmonia?"

"Yeah," she gasped as Xena carefully examined her injury.

"Harmonia, this is going to hurt when I pull it out." Xena explained the situation calmly. "I can try to put you out, but I'm not sure if I have anything that will work."

Harmonia shook her head. "It's an arrow from one of Hera's archers. Once it's out, I should be able to heal myself. And I don't think you have anything that could affect me."

Xena nodded and waved Jason and Iphicles over.

"Before you start let me calm Ostseth down."

"By all means get the cat calmed down." Iphicles stated, flatly staring with trepidation at the cat. That thing was size of a large leopard. A very large leopard and frankly he was nervous.

Harmonia called, "Ostseth, come here." The cat moved to her and Hercules rapidly moved out of its way. "Ostseth," Harmonia started her explanation as Ostseth butted its head against her uninjured side and purred. "They're going to hold me and she's going to pull out the arrow. It will really hurt so I'll probably yell." Harmonia pulled Ostseth's purring head up and said very sternly, "Don't chew anyone!"

Jason and Iphicles gave each other matching 'aw shit' looks and noticed the others backing the horses away from them.

Xena had Jason and Iphicles hold and steady Harmonia. Hercules rapidly broke the fletching off and pushed the arrow through to the other side then Xena grabbed its head and pulled it the rest of the way out. Harmonia screamed throughout the operation and Ostseth howled his fury but held still. Xena was prepared to bandage Harmonia, but as she had stated, the wound disappeared. Leaving only the holes in her shirts and the arrow on the ground in pieces.

After gasping for a few minutes, she stood up giving the group their first good look at her. She appeared young not more than fifteen, however, as a Goddess only Hercules knew she was truly that young. The rest all knew she might be much older. She was fairly tall and had a very rangy build. Her hair was cut short and curled in a wild halo about her face, much like Iolaus' did. However, hers was a very dark brunette, nearly a blue black. Her eyes were also very dark, but her skin was very fair. She wore odd clothes. Some kind of blue pants, a light short sleeved shirt, a heavier plaid shirt, and the oddest shoes.

Hercules helped her over to their horses. She had an odd distracted look and then she turned to him. "I'm too low on power. I can't reach anyone." She looked very worried and frightened.

Iphicles made a decision. "Dismount and set up lunch camp."

They quickly set up a small temporary camp. Because of the rain they couldn't sit and ate either standing or crouched.

Hercules moved back to Iolaus and stayed by him. He stopped only briefly to introduce Harmonia. "This is my niece Harmonia. She's Aphrodite's youngest daughter." He then briefly provided her with their names.

Jason asked, "What happened?"

Harmonia responded, "Mom and Daddy Hep, and several other gods are stabilizing the coast line and trying to find a way to stop the rain. I was there to watch and call Daddy or Uncle Hades if there was a problem." She briefly tried calling again and the tendrils of pain warned her that she still didn't have enough power. Shaking her head, she continued, "Hera's archers materialized just outside the caverns and I couldn't signal out or wake any of the team up. I triggered a bunch of traps and escaped. But I got shot."

"Why did you come here?" Xena asked.

"Daddy showed me how to find Uncle Hercules and said to go to him if there was an emergency and he or Uncle Hades weren't available." Harmonia frowned. "I only found him because he has tags on him."

"Tags?" Hercules inquired warily.

"Uh, tags are... Well they're a little hard to explain." Harmonia fidgeted realizing that any explanation she gave would upset him. Finally, she settled on the simplest she could manage, "Tags are a way Gods use to keep track of people and stuff they don't want to lose."

Hercules stiffened. "Who exactly doesn't want to lose me?"

Harmonia looked at him and the number of tags on him and decided that 'just about everyone' wasn't a good answer. "Mom and Dad, and a couple of others. Its kind of hard to tell." It was almost impossible to tell - there were too many of them. She thought again and decided she better let him know about one more. "Hera has one on you, too."

"Is there anyway to remove it?" Hercules didn't like the idea of gods tagging him like a branded calf.

"The god that put it on can sometimes take it off or you can go somewhere they can't read through. Like a shielded temple or an energy sink." Harmonia shrugged. "Lots of people have them. We like keeping track of our worshippers."

Hercules stilled for a moment. "Is anyone else here tagged?"

"Iphicles, Jason, Iolaus, Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus, but his is weird." They all turned to stare at Atus who shrugged.

Iphicles asked the question. "How is Atus' weird?"

Harmonia looked at Atus again. "Its not Greek and its more than just a tag, but I can't tell what." Harmonia was pretty sure it was a warn-off and protective tag but wanted to end the whole conversation.

"Who has tags on the rest of us?" Iphicles asked.

Harmonia thought quickly. "Ares has one on all of you. He does that with warriors. Mom and Uncle Hades have tags on Iolaus. And Hecate has one on Gabrielle." She checked her thought process, logical enough for them to buy it without giving away the store. She decided there was no reason for them to know that Hestia and Cupid also had tags on Iolaus or that Hecate and Hera both had tags on Jason. And way no reason to tell them that Xena's tag was the same one Ares uses on all his kids as a warn-off or that Iphicles' marked him as Ares' lover. And she wasn't even going into Argo. How Xena never realized that she'd had the same horse for fifteen years and she never aged was beyond Harmonia. Nope not touching that one.

Iphicles looked at her and realized that she was holding information back. He stood up from his crouch and stretched casually. "We need to move to the ruins." He turned to Harmonia. "You should stay with us until you can call your parents." He gestured to Imbrios. "Can you let her ride with you?"

"Yes, sire." Imbrios understood the unspoken order to talk with the girl and get more information. Iphicles smiled, with nine daughters, Imbrios knew how to get information out of young girls.

"Come on then. You can tell me where you got those clothes." Imbrios said, moving to his horse helping her mount. "My eldest would probably love them."

Iphicles saw Jason’ smile at Xena's look of confusion. He moved up to them her and whispered, "Imbrios has nine daughters. He'll have talking her jaw off in no time."

They mounted and continued to the ruins. Another hour's ride brought them over a hill to the last leg of their journey to the ruins. At the top of the hill they reined in and looked in shock. The wall surrounded a small valley at the bottom of the hill. It rose fifteen feet in the air, more than twice the height of any of them. It was fully five feet thick and nothing grew within one hundred yards of its perimeter. It appeared to be made of a solid sheet of black marble or obsidian. There were no seams or mortar marks. From their vantage at the top of the hill, they could see the burnt ruins within. They could also see the hole blasted into the wall.

"Where's the debris?" Montoga whispers awestruck. When he said it they all realized that there should have been chunks of black rock strewn about and that there was almost none. There was just a hole in the wall.

They moved to the wall riding slowly. Jason stopped when they reached the area where plants stopped growing. He shook his head. "I should be able to feel the spell from here and I don't. I don't think it's operating."

They continued, stopping immediately beside the wall. Jason put his hand onto the wall. Pulled it back. "The spell is completely gone. My hand should have activated the spell and caused sparks."

They started moving into the ruins leaving Lucas and Remar to cover the entrance. Imbrios noticed Harmonia shaking behind him. "What's wrong?" he asked gently. When she didn't answer, he called to the others. "There's a problem. Something is upsetting Harmonia."

They stopped and Iphicles rode back. "What's wrong?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he asked again more sharply, "What's wrong?"

"There's chaos energy residue." She replied very pale and shaking.

"Meaning?" Iphicles asked, ignoring Imbrios’ glared rebuke for the sharp tone.

"Harmonia, honey, we have to go in there. Will the chaos energy hurt us?" Imbrios asks her very gently.

"Not now. It's just a residue. But it shouldn't be here at all." She was near tears.

Imbrios continued interrogating the young goddess very gently. "Why is chaos energy so frightening?"

Harmonia shut her eyes remembering her first lesson of power, 'Never ever touch chaos energy.' It was one of the very few things that all her relatives agreed on. She tried to consider how to explain the gut twisting and mind wrenching experience just being around the residue caused.

Finally, she decided to recite another early lesson.

"Before the gods, before the world, before the universe itself there was Chaos. In Chaos there was nothing: no form, no time, nothing real or unreal, only madness. From Chaos a small spark of order arose and created Matter. Matter and Chaos could not exist together and Chaos flew apart, creating form and time. Chaos fled and vanished and Gaea came and from her Uranus and their children the titans who created man and birthed the gods. But Chaos left behind small sparks of energy, which like Chaos have no form, no time, and are neither real nor unreal. When that energy touches our places there is only madness and destruction for Matter and Chaos cannot exist together. None can control Chaos and all who try are destroyed."

She stopped and looked at them. They stared at her frozen in shock. She finished, "No one has ever controlled Chaos energy. Not even Zeus or Cronos could control it. They never even attempted. A small pinprick broke the spell and created this hole."

"A pinprick?" Xena asked doubtfully.

"Give me a needle." Gabrielle reached into her carry bag and passed a needle over. Harmonia pricked her finger allowing a small drop of blood to well up before healing the wound. "A pinprick only that much did all of this." She stopped for emphasis.

"There are easier and safer ways for a God to bring down this type of spell. This was a display of power."

Part 17

Hades entered the muses' temple and found Clio almost immediately. As always, she was buried in her studies. He waited a few moments for her to realize he was there, and finally nudged her mentally, much like clearing his throat for attention.

She looked up distractedly. "Oh. Hades. Hello." Then she looked back down at her work.

Hades nudged again.

Clio looked up and blinked. "Hades?"

He struggled to keep from laughing. "Clio, I need to go into the histories and do some research. Do you mind if I use the vestibule?"

"You do research?" She responded. "Ares does research, the Furies do research. My goodness the Furies do research. Sometimes Eris does research or..."

Hades broke in before she got too distracted. "Clio. May I use the vestibule?" He repeated slowly enunciating each word.

"Well of course you can." Clio looked back down at her studies and started humming to herself off key.

Hades shook his head. No wonder she drives Apollo nuts. He walked into the vestibule and started reviewing some very old history.

Hades spent the next several hours working his way through the oldest section of the histories. Every once in a while Clio checked in on him. She found him buried in old scrolls and recording crystals. When he was done he rotated his shoulders and neck and mentally returned all his references back to their proper cubicles erasing any sign that he'd used them. He contemplated the situation for a moment and mentally summarized what he had discovered.

'Ares is going to kill someone. Shit!'

He tried figuring out how to tell Ares. More particularly, he tried to figure out how to tell Ares without being the 'someone'. His plans could be rated as unworkable, not likely, duck and run, and get someone else to do it. He spent some more time on get someone else to do it finally deciding that no one was that stupid. Then he thought, ‘Hercules!’ almost immediately he shook his head calculating the fairly high odds of Hercules spreading him thinly over a large area of Greece and decided not Hercules.

He was still trying to solve the problem when his tags on Harmonia's hurricane model started screaming, *Get your butts moving we're being attacked!* He jerked up to full alertness and as he started fading out, he heard Persephone's mind call... *HADES!*

He materialized outside the forge and ducked, backhanding one of Hera's archers who had drawn on him. He quickly took in the collapsed entry and searched for Harmonia or any of the eight. He noticed Harmonia's fade out with Ostseth but was unable to stop or track her.

"Damn." He shouted realizing that someone had placed a dampening field around the area.

Then the rest of the archers realized he was there and the air was filled with arrows. He dived and rolled for cover trying to get a mental hold on the dampening field to bring it down. A sudden shimmer filled the sky and then faded as the field held. He risked a mental probe for Harmonia and got back nothing. As he continued deeper into the woods utilizing the cover, several of the archers followed. The rest remained behind to attempt to enter the caverns. Hades started doubling back to the cavern entry and crept up behind one of the archers. Moving swiftly he broke her neck and cut the string to her bow causing her to vanish. He grabbed up her arrows and broke the bow to prevent it from being restrung. He continued back to the cavern running into two other archers. He threw an arrow into one hard enough to pin her hand to a tree trunk. As the other turned he rolled into her legs, grabbed her bow, and pulled the string off. He quickly broke the bow and moved to take the other archer's bow. As he leaned down, he felt the dampening field lift, and a blast of power from Aphrodite destroyed the pinned archer.

He turned and smiled as he saw Persephone and Psyche deal with the few remaining archers. His smile faded when he attempted to contact Harmonia and could not locate her. He mindcalled, *Ares.*

Ares appeared, took in the scene and bellowed, "What happened?!"

Aphrodite realizing that Harmonia was missing and that she couldn't find her. "Where's Harmonia?" she screamed.

Ares turned to Hades glowering, and roared, "HADES! WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?"

Hades carefully backed away and prepared to translocate to the underworld before answering Ares. "I'm not sure. My tags on her model warned me, then Persephone. When I got here she was already fading and I couldn't stop or tag her."

Aphrodite was nearly frantic. "I can't find her. I can't find any of my tags on her. Ares! Psyche!"

Harmonia's father and sister by marriage joined Aphrodite in trying to locate her. Hades examined one of the archer's arrows. As they continued their search, he called Persephone.

"Hon, come look at this." Persephone walked over. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked, placing her hand on the arrow and mentally showing her the surrounding energy field. She nodded silently.

"Ares." Hades called softly, getting not only his but Psyche and Aphrodite's attention. "I think Harmonia was shot by one of these. It has an energy field." He held out the arrow and as Ares took it continued, "Do you think it's strong enough to wipe the tags?"

Ares examined the weapon and nodded. "But that doesn't explain why she doesn't answer our mindcalls."

Hades hesitated and confessed, "I got too drained when I fed the team. Harmonia acted instinctively and tried to feed me. I pulled a lot of power before I could break it off. If she was still low, she might not be able to mindcall. Particularly if she triggered the traps and translocated."

Ares thought briefly. "In that case she probably went to Hercules. Let me check."

He was silent for a moment while he tracked down the tag he had on Hercules. Once he found that one he stretched his mind and located his other tags: Iphicles, Xena, Gabrielle, Iolaus, he briefly stopped and assessed Iolaus' status and sent a short burst of power through the tag stabilizing some of his brain chemistry before moving on to Jason and Argo. He then moved through the more general tags he had on Lucas, Imbrios, Menelio, and Remar, he stopped again and made a note to bring Menelio and Remar to Aphrodite's attention. He quickly located Atus by the odd tag from the other god and his own very faded tag and Montoga who had the light tag he had placed on him when he became a member of Iphicles personal guard. That done he reviewed the area for other life and quickly located the second heart beat behind Imbrios. He moved his awareness in closer and confirmed it was Harmonia. He quickly ran his mind through her systems and jumpstarted her recharge process and replaced his tag. She was too weakly powered from him to risk mindcalling so he simply left a light emotional feeling of protection with her. That done he brought 'Dite into the link so that she could tell she was fine and reestablish her tag. Finally, he located Ostseth and confirmed that he was still functioning.

Hades and Psyche relaxed when Aphrodite and Ares smiled. Ares laughed. "She's fine. She's with Hercules and Iphicles. Ostseth is with her and she's talking someone's ear off." They all laughed at that. "I gave her a jump start on her recharge and I'll have Eris keep an eye on her."

Ares briefly mindcalled Eris and gave her Harmonia's location and instructions to watch over her.

Psyche gasped and ran back into the cave. Realizing a moment later that Cupid was having problems maintaining the gestalt without the others, Aphrodite and Persephone raced in after her. Hades and Ares followed them. When they got to the cave, Cupid was collapsed unconscious over Dionysus. Swiftly the three goddesses retook their places and sank into the gestalt stabilizing it. Then Ares fed power to his son while Hades monitored and stabilized the energy levels. Several hours later Ares and Hades broke their connection to the group and moved to the hurricane model.

Like his daughter, Ares simply splashed in. Hades again took care not to get wet or muddy. Ares crouched and briefly examined the tags and laughed when he heard Harmonia's message. "Well that was succinct."

Hades laughed. "It got my attention," he said.

Looking around the model, they found a relatively flat spot to sit. Hades sent a small bit of energy through to dry the area. They sat quietly for a few minutes.

Finally, Ares reviewed their progress. "Tonight we warn the priests and people we have tags on with dream. Tomorrow we break the hurricane."

"And after?" asked Hades. "We'll be too tired to do anything for several days and Demeter, Dionysus, Persephone and Aphrodite will have to try and dry out Greece and get a crop in." He looked over at Ares and shook his head. "Celesta and I will be very busy this winter. Thousands are going to starve."

Ares met his eyes. "I know. Afterwards we need to meet with Hercules and his party at Chiron's Academy."

Hades looked at him surprised. "Why?"

"Because I promised Iphicles." Ares shrugged and went on. "If we don't involve them they'll just do something on their own. And I don't want them colliding with our plan. So we involve them." They sat quietly for a few more minutes and Ares asked, "You want to tell me about the other person who can take my sword?"

Hades thought a moment and replied, "No. It affects everyone. We can discuss it at the meeting." He passed a hand over his eyes and looked over. "Hercules is going to be furious. Promise to protect me," he asked only half joking.

"Why not." Ares stood up and started out to check the others. "Are you going to ask him to protect you from me?" he asked wryly.

"Probably," came Hades very blunt reply. Stretching he asked, "You want to tell me why you've put it out that you're Xena's father when you aren't?"

Ares stopped and moved back. He straddled the rock they'd found and glared at Hades. "How do you figure that?"

"I checked the genealogy records." Hades started.

"They don't confirm Xena's parentage."

"I know. You had that deleted. But they do confirm date of conception and I know exactly whose bed you were in that day and it wasn't Cyrene's." Hades waited for a response that never came. Finally he continued, "I also checked, she's definitely a demigod and you put child tags on her, but only recently."

Ares waited and considered. Finally he decided that Hades was likely to be an ally in this and asked wryly. "What god do we all know who changes forms to seduce women?"

"Zeus!"

Ares nodded. "I'm pretty sure she's one of Zeus'. It doesn't really matter. Mother was raging a couple of years ago, furious because Zeus was attracted to one of my warriors. She told me enough for me to figure it was Xena. Tagging her as a daughter was the only protection I could give her."

Hades shook his head. "So you set up that whole mess with the Furies to get us to believe that she could be your daughter and then tagged her."

Ares nodded. "Zeus would have raped her." His mind went to a time far past. And his eyes filled with rage and turned bleak. "We both know that her being his daughter wouldn't have stopped him. But I didn't think he'd risk enraging me over another daughter."

Hades snickered. "How long do you think it took him to grow his balls back after you cut them off that one time?"

Ares shook his head ruefully. "Long enough so I don't think he'll try raping another of my daughters. How did you hear about it?"

"Hermes, he's the worst gossip on Olympus."

Deciding to push his luck a bit Hades asked, "What's with Cupid and Iolaus? I know that Iolaus isn't a demigod. There's no god blood in his line for generations."

"Ask Cupid." Ares changed the subject. "Could you make a road from the ruins to the academy?"

"Not as low on power as I am." Hades thought a moment. "But I could have Celesta and Cerberus anchor if you had Eris initiate."

Ares thought the plan through and agreed that it would work. "I'll send Eris to them. I want them in shelter quickly." He quickly mindcalled his twin and filled her in. Eris acknowledged his orders and told him she'd make the arrangements with Celesta if Hades would confirm.

"Eris can manage her end. Will you confirm with Celesta?"

Hades nodded and confirmed. "Done."

They continued sitting where they were regaining strength for the tasks to come.

Part 18

For a few moments, they all froze from the intensity of Harmonia's speech. Then Jason shook his head and said, "We still need to explore the area. Harmonia is it safe?"

"Right now, for you, yes. I go any closer and we'll have to reexamine two days worth of meals on the ground. And the horses won't go in."

Iphicles shrugged. "Then you and your cat can stay here. Along with Remar and Lucas." Imbrios let her down from his horse and the others all dismounted. As Harmonia and Ostseth settled down with the two guards, the rest grabbed some supplies and made their way into the ruins on foot.

Once inside the wall they spoke briefly and broke into four groups. Xena and Gabrielle went west along the wall and Hercules and Iolaus went east along the wall. After a brief moment's thought, Iphicles assigned Montoga to go with Hercules and Iolaus. Jason, Atus, and Menelio went directly to the ruined mansion, while Iphicles and Imbrios went to the burial site for Belisco's warriors. They were to meet at the ruins in two hours.

Xena and Gabrielle slowly started their examination of the wall. The ground was swampy and they continuously slipped and slid. Within minutes, they were sopping wet and covered with mud from head to foot. They found no other breaches in the wall; no indication that anyone had so much as touched the wall since it was built. They did find the remains of several dead bodies that appeared to have been partially eaten. Shaken they continued to meet Hercules, Iolaus and Montoga at the midpoint.

Hercules and his companions were waiting when they arrived. Those three were also covered in mud and Iolaus periodically shivered as his light clothes and bare feet couldn't keep the chill off of him. Xena asked, "Find anything?"

Hercules responded, "No. And you?"

Xena responded briefly, "Several corpses."

They started for the ruins.

Iphicles and Imbrios split away from Jason and his group, quickly heading over to the gravesite. As they walked, Iphicles had Imbrios brief him on his conversation with Harmonia. "She's a sweet girl and talked my ear off. But nothing very useful." Iphicles looked over at him. He hadn't missed Imbrios' protectiveness.

"What did she give you?"

"Hmmm. Well I'm pretty sure her father is Ares. Although she never said so directly." He continued as they jogged across the ground. "Several of the Gods are cooperating to fix some of the problems the storms are causing and stop it. She talked a lot about that but I didn't understand what she meant." He laughed. "She really likes Strife. Said he was the funniest God even if he was dead."

"That it?" Iphicles was slightly disappointed, although not too surprised.

"There was one other thing. She was really worried about telling us about the tags. And she asked a lot of questions about Xena, Atus, and Iolaus." Imbrios thought a moment and continued. "I think there's something about them and the tags that bothers her."

Iphicles nodded his understanding and they continued in silence. Iphicles noted that the ground became worse as they headed towards the ruins. He could see where stones had slid around and where escape tunnels had collapsed. Finally, they reached the graves. By that time both he and Imbrios were soaked through and had mud caked in their hair, on their clothes and on their skin within where it had crept through and around their clothing. They had long since given up trying to wipe the mud away since that only spread it. They briefly examined the gravesite. All of the graves had collapsed into themselves. Allowing the occupants their escapes. When they had examined the area, they turned to head to the ruins.

Jason, Atus, and Menelio were already searching the above ground areas when the other three groups arrived. Those three were also caked with mud from slipping and sliding through the near swamp. Atus had clambered around most of the ruins, moving over, under, and around the burnt and broken walls. When he jumped down, they made their way to the center area where the swamp was the worst. Jason pointed to the steep stairs leading to the place where Belisco had been caged.

"That had been blocked by a large section of wall that had fallen on it when we burnt the house." He moved and gestured to a number of rocks strewn around. "Those were piled on top. The ruins all fell towards the center, covering the basement entrance in layer after layer of rocks and wall." He pointed to an area by the stairs where a small pool had formed. "Atus thinks that this water undermined that wall and caused it to collapse downward. After that, Belisco would have been able to force his way out of the cellar."

Iolaus huddled closely to Hercules. He was trembling from the combination of fear and exhaustion. He moaned as Jason started down the stairs.

Xena called, "Jason wait up," and Atus grabbed Jason's elbow. Jason stopped briefly and looked at Iolaus.

Walking over he said softly, "Iolaus, I have to go down and search. You can stay up here with..."

"NO!" Iolaus shouted.

Everyone froze.

"I'm going down." He finished more calmly with only a slight quiver in his voice.

"Iolaus," Iphicles started to tell him he couldn't, when Iolaus looked up. Iphicles looked into his eyes and realized that nothing would keep Iolaus from confronting this place. Iphicles looked down and nodded his acceptance while Hercules hugged his own support.

"Let's do this right," Iphicles ordered. "Menelio, Imbrios, and Montoga stay up here and guard us. Xena and Atus go down first. Then Jason, Hercules and Iolaus, and finally myself and Gabrielle as rear guard."

Nodding, they tied off a rope to the most stable part of the stars leaving enough rope loose on top for the guards to grab if the stairs gave out. Taking the length of rope Xena and Atus went down into the dark basement. They heard two soft splashes and waited a few moments. After Xena called all clear, Jason followed with Hercules and Iolaus. Finally, Iphicles and Gabrielle followed them into the dark. They landed in water up to Gabrielle's waist. Like most basements the floor was packed dirt which meant that their feet sank ankle deep or more into mud. They stood a moment while Jason pulled out a torch and flint and carefully unwound the waxed cloth acting as a water seal. That done he handed it to Gabrielle to hold and lit it with a practiced strike of the flint against his gauntlet. The torch flickered and stayed lit casting a dim light over the area.

Jason took a moment to get his bearings. As they had suspected, the large wall had fallen into the basement. It lay one end wedged into the mud floor and the other propped against a wall creating a relatively dry slope. The room they were in was fairly small holding only the stairs and the remnants of a few shelves and containers that once would have stored day to day items. Bulk storage would have been in the rooms and alcoves off that entry area. Jason noted areas where the weight of the accumulated rain had caused the ceiling to cave in. Taking a deep breath, he pointed to an alcove a few feet away.

"That alcove leads to another larger room. We moved the cage into there." Looking at Iolaus, Jason sighed. Iolaus was even paler than before and rocking slightly. "Iolaus please, you can stay here or go back up."

Iolaus stopped moving and shook his head. Jason waited and debated arguing with him. Finally, he came to the same conclusion Iphicles had and nodded. He glanced at Gabrielle and unwrapped a second torch. He held that one out and Gabrielle lit it with her torch. Then he led the way into the second room.

The cage stood, its bottom half in water. The door was open, the chains used to close it missing, along with the chains they had bound Belisco with. This room held only the cage and several burnt and empty shelves. The shelves and several beams were broken. Much of the ceiling had caved dumping more dirt into the room. They moved closer to the cage and Atus' boot kicked a chain.

"Wait," Atus called out. "I think I've found something." Since he couldn't really get any wetter Atus simply said, "Move the torches back," and ducked under the water searching blindly for the chain. Once he had it he brought it up. One end had a link that had been pulled open. He took it over to Jason. Iphicles held the torch while Jason examined the chain.

Shrugging Jason confirmed, "This is probably one of the chains we used to hold the cage shut. We also chained him to the floor of the cage. We used manacles on both wrists and ankles and attached the chains to the four corners of the cage."

Hercules held out his hand and Jason passed him the chain. Hercules examined the chain and tested it. After a moment's strain two links pulled apart and the chain broke. Iolaus flinched at the sound and then stilled. Hercules dropped the chain and pulled his lover to him whispering words of comfort. After a few moments Iolaus moved away and walked to the cage. Shaking he pulled himself into the cage and started searching for the rest of the chains. Hercules and Jason followed him into the cage. Finding one set he brought it up and examined it. He looked at the broken manacle and silently passed it to Hercules. He rapidly brought up the other three chains and they discovered that all four of the manacles were broken.

While they did that, Gabrielle and Xena explored the rest of the room, slowly looking over the walls. Finally, they found a niche carved into the upper levels of one wall. Calling the others over Xena sprang to the niche and pulled herself up. The others joined Gabrielle.

Atus threw up a torch calling, "Any more room up there?"

"No," Xena called back crouching in the niche. She explored the small area, finding the remains of food, a small basket that she tossed to Atus, and some writing on one wall. She paused, looking closer at the writing. Frowned. Traced the writing with her fingers.

"Gabrielle, do you have some papyrus and a quill?" Xena sounded concerned.

"Of course."

"Good get up here." Xena reached a hand down.

Shrugging, Gabrielle let Hercules lift her up, grabbed Xena's hand, and used her free hand and legs to help her clamber into the tight area. Once there she crawled over to the wall Xena pointed at and examined the writing. It was in a language she didn't know. "I suppose you want me to copy this," she stated.

Xena just looked at her and smiled.

Gabrielle started carefully copying the writing with occasional mutters to Xena. "Move your leg out of the light." She ordered early in the process. Latter she reminded Xena. "If you step on my hand I won't be able to write." Still later she asked, "Xena is this written in blood?" and muttered a grim "I thought so" at Xena's brief nod.

From below, they heard the men quietly talking. Then they heard Atus cry out, "Iolaus!"

Xena quickly lay on her stomach and looked out and down. Iolaus was shaking violently in Hercules' arms. Iphicles insisted that they leave. Iolaus continued trembling but shook his head no violently. This time Jason intervened.

"Hercules, Atus take Iolaus to the other room and sit on the wall." When they paused, he roared, "Now!" in a voice all three remembered from when he captained the Argo.

"Jason." Iolaus' voice was soft and shaky. "I'll be fine."

"Enough!" Jason interrupted in a practiced roar. "Go with Hercules and Atus and sit on the wall in the other room. NOW!"

Hercules picked Iolaus up, and Atus took the torch Jason held to him and they left. Jason and Iphicles stood in the room with only the dim light from Xena's torch waiting for Xena and Gabrielle to finish. Finally she finished and Xena helped her down and then jumped down herself.

"Well?" asked Iphicles impatiently.

"That's probably where Belisco stayed. There was food, that basket," gesturing to the basket Atus still held, "and some writing."

"What did the writing say?" Jason asked also impatient.

"Let's get out of here first." Xena pushed around him, frowning, obviously worried.

After a quick glance between themselves, Gabrielle, Iphicles, and Jason followed her out. In the next room, Hercules, Atus, and Iolaus were waiting on the wall. Hercules and Atus both sat cross-legged. Hercules held Iolaus and rocked him whispering words of love and comfort. "You're safe. I have you." He whispered and rocked and stroked Iolaus' hair over and over trying to calm and comfort him. Atus sat by them holding the torch and also tried to calm Iolaus.

Xena climbed up the wall and the other three followed. Iphicles and Gabrielle stayed by Xena who immediately gestured for the scroll Gabrielle had just made. Jason moved to sit by Hercules and Iolaus. Jason spoke quietly with his friends while Xena read the scroll.

"Iolaus?" Jason asked softly stretching a hand out to pat Iolaus' shoulder.

Iolaus turned his head to face Jason, and in a voice that shook only slightly, tried to reassure his friends. "I'll be fine. It all just got to be a bit much. I couldn't sort it out." Iolaus leaned back into Hercules again turning his head away.

Jason sat with them in silence for a while. "I'm sorry."

Iolaus shook and Hercules shook his head warningly. Jason stopped and shut his eyes trying desperately to block out the memories of Iolaus rocking in his arms when they were in the cage.

"Xena," Gabrielle asked, "I've never seen writing like this. Where did you learn it?"

"Alti." Xena's reply was brief, to the point and chilled Gabrielle to her bones.

***

Harmonia sat quietly listening to Lucas yell at Remar for trying to seduce Menelio. Their argument had started softly a few minutes after Iphicles and his party left. Harmonia had moved several yards along the wall well away from the breech. It didn't help much but it was something. Giving up on a dry place she simply sat in the cold mud and moved into a light trance. Ostseth sat by her purring. She had checked her systems and quickly realized that someone had jumpstarted her power build-up. When she reached the deep protected feeling that had been left she decided that her father had located her. She tried reaching out but the immediate stabbing pains in her head warned her that any power usage was a bad idea. Instead she shut her eyes and slowly pulled energy from the faint sunlight unwilling to use pull anything from earth so badly contaminated with chaos energy. Pulling from the sun was slower, but less risky then pulling from the earth, particularly right now.

As she sank deeper into her trance, Lucas and Remar apparently decided that she had fallen asleep and their argument became both louder and more venomous. She idly wondered if Aunt Eris was around. She'd like this kind of argument. Although upon consideration, her mother was more likely to fix the situation. At least the argument distracted her from the nausea and provided some entertainment.

She hadn't really paid attention to the argument until Remar told Lucas that he was, "a terminally constipated old maid, with delusions of universal virginity," and realized that it was a perfect description of Aunt Artemis and decided to pass it on to dad.

Then Lucas hit back with a chapter and verse description of Remar's sexual escapades and the trouble they had caused the unit over the last few months. It was a long list. Sleeping with King Telos' wife; seducing the daughter and both sons of a visiting diplomat; getting caught fucking that same diplomat by his wife; three women showing up to discuss his dating habits at the summer solstice festival; fifty-seven barroom brawls because he flirted with the wrong man or woman; and eighty-nine pairs of pants lost in hasty retreats.

Remar's defense was simple and accurate he never slept with virgins and they all wanted him.

Lucas had just finished providing a vicious but accurate assessment of Remar's promiscuity “fucked more often than a two dinar whore;” his definition of faithfulness “only fucking one at a time, unless it was an orgy;” and his truthfulness “lies to get laid, lies to suck or get sucked, lies to fuck or get fucked, and lies his way out when its over” when Aunt Eris showed up.

Eris materialized about ten yards away from Harmonia. She was wearing her usual and wildly inappropriate outfit of a little leather and a lot of cleavage. Harmonia vaguely wondered just how much energy went into keeping her from breaking into goosebumps.

"Well where is everyone?" She asked in a sarcastic tone, ignoring Remar and Lucas' bared swords and defensive posture.

Harmonia stood up and jerked her thumb towards the breech. "In there."

"Well we're on a schedule. I've got to get you all to the academy before you freeze your balls and tits off." Eris quickly examined the area and nearly upchucked.

"They used chaos energy to bust him out?" she exclaimed in shock.

Harmonia just nodded quietly while Lucas and Remar decided that their swords would be fairly useless and put them up and started backing away.

"Stay boys or I'll fry your balls off." Eris glared at them and they froze.

Eris did a quick tag check and almost fell into a giggle fit as the one Ares had on Iphicles came up, 'Personal fuck toy of Ares God of War, touch him and I'll cut off the appropriate part.' Mortals would never notice but it would warn off any gods. Iphicles would have an absolute conniption if he knew. She reined in her humor only briefly wondering how to use that to her advantage. Finally, seriously assessing the situation she decided that she was going to have to go in. At least they were all more or less together.

"Harmonia, sweetie, get the camp ready to move. I'm going in after your uncle and company. Then I'm coming back out and setting up a road with Celesta."

Harmonia burst out in excitement, "Celesta! Will Cerberus be there? A road? For real, cool!"

"Yes, yes, and yes." With that, Eris vanished.

Unfortunately, the chaos energy contamination threw her senses off. Instead of landing on solid if very wet ground, she appeared about five feet above, half in and half out of the cellar and fell the rest of the way hitting the staircase and a support beam before landing on her ass. Which of course put her head under the water. Hercules rolled off the wall while Xena somersaulted off. And a few seconds behind them, Iphicles and Atus both jumped into the water. Iolaus, Gabrielle, and Jason moved into defensive positions on the wall. And the three guards seeing and hearing what had happened scrambled down the stairs.

By then, Hercules had already pulled Eris up by the hair and Xena had hit her in the stomach. That blow did it she turned a deathly green and no longer able to control the nausea upchucked into the water.

Iphicles waved his guards back. "I don't think she's going to attack."

"Iphicles, I don't think she can." Jason added. He relaxed and sat back down.

Gabrielle quickly grabbed the scroll she'd prepared for Xena. Then they all waited until Eris finished upchucking.

Standing up and breaking free of Hercules grip she turned and glared at Xena. "That was unnecessary." She looked at Iphicles. "Ares wants you all back at the academy now."

"We need to check on Pellestis." Iphicles strode forward.

"Chill. You need to get back to the wall." She gestured with her hands creating a mirror ball showing the evacuation of Pellestis. "Pellestis is already being evacuated."

"What's going on?" Hercules demanded, "and why did Ares have Harmonia come to me?"

"It's going to get real cold and ask Ares." Eris lost her patience, something she did frequently and relocated to the wall next to Iolaus. She touched him lightly and he passed out. Still holding him they both vanished, with her last words echoing, "Move it!"

They stood stunned for a second and then scrambled out of the cellar and started their run to the breech. As they ran, Iphicles tried to reassure Hercules. "She won't hurt him. She just wanted us to move."

"She succeeded and when I get there I'll move some of her parts around." Hercules promised grimly.

Harmonia, Lucas, and Remar were still packing the temporary camp when Eris reappeared carrying an unconscious Iolaus.

"Aunt Eris," cried Harmonia, realizing what she'd done, "that was mean!"

Eris dropped Iolaus to the muddy ground and shrugged. "I'm the Goddess of Discord. Even when I do something helpful I try to put a mean twist in there somewhere." She shrugged again. "I'm not trying this here. Bring them to the bottom of the hill." Eris vanished again.

Harmonia propped Iolaus up by the wall and set Ostseth to guard him. Then she and her companions packed the rest of the camp.

Hercules burst through the breech first and ran immediately to Iolaus picking him up. The rest quickly followed. Jason and Xena moved to calm Hercules down. After several minutes of yelling Harmonia finally screamed at them.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP! We're going to the bottom of the hill. We're taking the road to the academy. Then Eris will wake Iolaus up and we can all rest. GOT IT!"

They all stared at her in shock before gradually agreeing. Once they had agreed, they moved quickly. Hercules mounted his horse, and Iphicles and Jason passed Iolaus up to him. The rest mounted up, Gabrielle again behind Xena and Harmonia behind Imbrios. They rode to the hill.

When they arrived, Eris was already deep into the casting. A small tunnel was opening up and stabilizing. After a few minutes, the tunnel mouth was wide enough to ride into. They waited a few minutes. Until Eris got impatient and yelled, "What are you waiting for, I'm not holding this forever."

Harmonia chimed in. "We need to move. The tunnels destabilize when not used." She gestured Ostseth to start in.

Finally, Xena started in. As she safely passed the threshold, the others followed into a universe of twisting time and space. They stared nervously around at the twisting eddies of force and power. The tunnel was filled the hum of energy causing a throbbing in their teeth and bones. Except for Argo, the horses were reluctant to move forward. They slowly urged them forward, finally dismounting to lead them through the tunnel. Iolaus suddenly jerked awake alone on the back of the horse Hercules led.

With a sudden yelp, he rolled off. Hercules dropped the reins and Xena grabbed them.

"Iolaus, its all right...we're going to the academy." Hercules kept his voice soft as he moved towards his lover. He winced when Iolaus flinched at his touch, but then Iolaus leaned into him.

"Hercules?" he asked in small soft voice. "Discord took me."

Hercules helped him up. "I know, I'm sorry."

Iolaus huddled to him and said in a very soft voice, "It's okay. Where are we?"

"This is a road the Gods make to move mortals safely. It goes to the academy."

Iolaus nodded and moved slightly away from Hercules. "I can walk now." Together they made their way to the other end.

Their first hint that they had reached the end of the tunnel was Ostseth's enraged hiss and loud barking. Harmonia suddenly remembered just how much Ostseth and Cerberus disliked each other and pushed past the others running for the exit. Seconds later they heard her voice echo back.

"Bad kitty! Bad puppy! Biting is a bad, naughty no-no." They froze at another series of barks and hisses and then. "CERBERUS! OSTSETH! Be good!"

Jason having a sudden vision of what an angry guard dog of Hades and an angry guard cat of Hephaestus could do to his beloved academy handed his reins to Remar and followed Harmonia out of the tunnel. The rest started moving more quickly, although with some trepidation as the hissing and barking resumed along with several large crashes.

When they all exited the tunnel, it collapsed behind them cutting off that possible escape route. Jason was standing in the middle of the practice field, currently a practice bog. Cursing. Fluently. In several languages.

The wreckage of several barrels, part of the corral, a horse trough, and several practice dummies littered the ground and sank into the bog. Harmonia was chasing Cerberus. She took yet another fall as Cerberus suddenly jumped over a barricade and spun to face Ostseth. Who had made it up to the barn's roof and was hissing at Cerberus from there.

Harmonia yelled up, "Ostseth! Stop teasing Cerberus and come down from there. RIGHT NOW!" Being a cat, Ostseth regally ignored her. Seeing Cerberus about to spring on a stack of barrels to get to the roof, Harmonia took a deep breath and leapt on her.

Cerberus turned two heads baring her teeth, the third head still snarling at Ostseth. "DON'T. YOU. DARE." Harmonia sounded momentarily exactly like her father in a cold rage. Cerberus froze and dropped.

Ostseth howled and crouched to leap down. Harmonia looked up again and in the same tone she had used with Cerberus she ordered, "GET. DOWN. HERE. NOW." Ostseth reacted in the same manner as Cerberus jumping down and dropping.

Harmonia grabbed both of them by a handy ear and started moving them to main building scolding them the whole way.

Eris and Celesta, who had been standing by the sidelines looked at each other and said together, "Have a good time Harmonia." Then vanished.

Harmonia's voice drifted back, "I will." Then there was a sudden frenzy of hissing and barking. And Harmonia exasperated exclamation, "Both of you stop that!"

Jason watching their fading forms realized, "Oh shit, they're leaving the cat and dog."

Suddenly Iolaus started laughing. Hard guffaws of laughter burst out of him. He held his stomach with one hand as the laughter continued, and leaned against Hercules for support. The others started laughing and giggling as they remembered the scene, until they all howled with laughter.

Hercules held Iolaus close to him as they laughed together. As Iolaus laughed a dam burst within and his tears started flowing when he allowed himself to feel again. Hercules feeling the hot wetness against him held Iolaus closer and started leading him inside the academy, his laughter gone.

The others seeing them move stopped laughing. When Xena and Iphicles would have followed, Gabrielle and Jason prevented them. Gabrielle simply held Xena's elbow and shook her head no.

Jason said, "Give them some privacy."

Iphicles nodded and suggested, "Why don't we get the horses into the barn and cleaned up."

They moved the horses into the barn. Housing them in stalls that Jason and his students had raised and added drainage to as the rains continued and the ground below became boggy. The quickly cleaned and fed the horses and set to cleaning the tack. That done they finally walked to the baths.

Hercules had taken Iolaus to the baths when he went into the academy. By the time they got there, Iolaus was howling his sorrow and rage. Hercules simply held him as he sobbed and howled his pain out. He held him and rocked him; his own tears falling as he mourned the pain done to his sweet sunlight lover. He couldn't answer the screamed, 'whys' or heal a ripped and shredded soul, so he held his lover and rocked him and let his own tears fall. He stroked his hair and told him he loved him and always would. And promised over and over to protect him. He held Iolaus as the anger overtook him and Iolaus pounded and clawed his rage. He let him pound on his chest and claw at his arms and ignored the pain. Then ignored the healing. He still held him when the others arrived. The howling cries having subsided to soft sobs.

Jason caught Hercules' eyes asking silently 'do you need us to go.'

Sensing them Iolaus pulled himself up slightly and through his tears called them over, "Come in. I think we all need baths." He rubbed at his eyes and tried to control his tears.

He hugged Jason when he came over. "Thank you for coming for me."

"I'm sorry we didn't get there faster." Jason replied quietly.

"We all are," added Iphicles.

As Iolaus started sobbing quietly again, Jason propelled the others to the tubs on the farthest side of the room. "Hercules, there's a private bathing area in the tower." When Hercules looked up in surprise, he added. "It collects rain water and keeps it in a cistern by the fire place. There's enough water for a couple of refills." Hercules nodded and helped Iolaus up. They silently followed Jason up to the tower.

When they got to the top, the landing acted as a sitting room. There were three curtained areas...two off to the sides and one in the back. Jason pointed to the back one. "You can bathe in there," pointing to the right, "I sleep there," and with a final gesture, "you can sleep in there." Then he left them alone and went to bathe below.

After he left, Hercules carried Iolaus to the bath. There was a large tub built against the wall with a chain running down. Hercules pulled the chain and a gear turned and some warm water filled the tub. He quickly grabbed cloths and soap from a basket and helped Iolaus in, clothes and all. Then he joined him. Iolaus continued a soft intermittent crying. But he allowed Hercules to clean him. After the water had soaked some of the mud off their clothes he stood and stripped. Iolaus also stood up and stripped his ragged clothing off. Hercules scrubbed as much of the mud off their skin and out of their hair as he could. Then he helped Iolaus out and tipped the tub to drain the water into the middens. He quickly used their clothes to clean the worst of the mud out of the tub and refilled it. Then he and Iolaus got back in and actually got clean. He again tipped, cleaned, and refilled the tub, draining the last of the water in the cistern. He and Iolaus sat enjoying feeling clean and warm. Iolaus lay against Hercules still crying softly. Gradually, Iolaus stopped crying and drifted in and out of sleep. Finally, the water cooling, Hercules lifted Iolaus out of the tub and wrapped him in a large towel.

When they were both mostly dry he took him to the bedroom and let him sleep in his arms. Quietly soothing away Iolaus' nightmares until he too fell into sleep.

Part 19

"NOOOO!" Jason woke abruptly at Iolaus' terrorized scream and rushed across to the room Iolaus shared with Hercules. He swiftly looked in and saw Hercules already had Iolaus in his arms. Xena and Atus were at the top of the stairs and he quickly waved them back. “Another nightmare, not an attack,” he said, walking over to his friends. Iolaus had slept fitfully but quietly the first night, but ever since, the nights had been horrible. Iolaus woke screaming three or four times a night and he seemed to have difficulty coming out of the nightmare. He often continued shaking for up to an hour. So, Hercules tried to get him to nap during the day, but he woke screaming then too.

Jason and Hercules also worried about the baths. Iolaus bathed almost constantly, frequently rubbing his skin raw and bloody before someone found him. Hercules had found him that way twice. Jason had come in on him three times. And he'd found blood-tinged water on the bottom of the tub even more often. They took turns watching him. Because he wouldn't let anyone else, not even Atus stay with him. But Hercules and he were both exhausted from lack of sleep and worry. And when they drifted off Iolaus scrambled for the bath.

As Hercules comforted him, Jason made a chamomile and valerian tea, and considered the problems inherent in the situation.

Ares and Hades had shown up the first night. He hadn't really considered Harmonia's odd clothes until Ares asked her why she was wearing a shirt that said, 'Kiss a Dead God.' The look on Harmonia's face finally convinced him that she really was a teenager. Only a teenager could manage to look that guilty and that innocent at the same time. Actually, she rather reminded him of Iolaus as a teen.

After a brief discussion they placed shields on the entire academy grounds and then reinforced them on the main building, grounding them on Harmonia. Or so they said. He had no idea what they had actually done. As far as he was concerned, there was a momentary glow and they walked around the building. Harmonia attempted to explain the particulars and finally resorted to math. He still didn't know anymore than he had before.

To make matters worse they were in the middle of the worst cold snap he had ever experienced. It started early morning after they returned to the academy, and had continued for the last three days. He had everyone in rooms with fireplaces that were going full blast, but they still had to break a thin layer of ice on the water to drink and bathe in the morning. They had enough supplies at the academy, but it was still miserably cold. The only good thing was that the cold broke the storm. Of course, it took a two-day blizzard to manage that. Which left everyone trapped inside the academy.

As a result, Atus kept after Harmonia about 'shields', 'grounding', and 'tags' until she took him off and went through a very lengthy explanation. The others watched as Atus grew pale and went outside in the middle of the blizzard. When he came back all covered in snow, he told Harmonia, "I'm going to forget everything you just told me. I don't need to know that solid objects aren't, that time and space curve, that the universe is expanding, and that the sun doesn't circle the earth. You promise that if anything besides us tries to come in, you'll let us know."

Harmonia just nodded seriously. "Atus, you really shouldn't ask questions, if the answers are going to bother you that much."

Additionally, Cerberus and Ostseth had continued their battle. After the first time they'd chased each other inside the building, Jason had taken Harmonia aside and explained that if she didn't get her pets to behave they could all sleep out in the snow. She'd laughed and promised to replace anything they broke. But they had calmed down, relatively. Now they just stalked each other and wrestled, setting up an ungodly din. Frequently.

The water had finally boiled and he added some to the pot to let the tea steep.

Discord and Celesta kept popping in for visits with Harmonia. Not that he had anything against them he thought cautiously, he could just deal with fewer visits. Lucas and Remar were at each other's throats and Menelio was hiding out with Montoga. And Imbrios just sulked, because he missed his wife and daughters.

Xena and Gabrielle were having sex in the oddest places. He was almost afraid to open any doors. He was never going to see that chair in his study without picturing Gabrielle standing on the arms with Xena's hands on her butt and tongue in her cunt. For that matter, he realized suddenly, 'How did Atus end up at the top of the stairs at the same time as Xena when his room was another flight down?' Jason quickly reviewed his memory of the two of them standing on the stairs, and yes, Atus' pants were unlaced, and he did have one of Gabrielle's scarves wrapped around one wrist. So, make that Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus having sex.

The tea finally steeped enough and he started taking it to Iolaus considering his last problem. Ares still hadn't shown up for the promised briefing and Iphicles yelled for him intermittently. Harmonia tried to explain that he was busy, the gods didn't just bring the cold down - they had to maintain it for this to work. Otherwise, Poseidon and Hera could just start over again.

He walked quietly to Iolaus and Hercules' bedroom. Iolaus still cried. He asked, "Where's Jason? Hercules, why did Jason leave?" His voice sounded confused and desperate.

Jason froze realizing that Iolaus was trapped in his memories from twenty-five years before. He hurried in, putting the tea down on a small table by the bed and sitting in front of Iolaus and Hercules on the bed.

"I'm here Iolaus. I'm here."

Iolaus looked over at him. "Jason?" His voice quavered and shook.

"Yes. We're both here for you." Hercules murmured.

"I woke up and you weren't there, you were gone." Iolaus tried to reconcile the two sets of memories.

"I know, but I'm here now." Jason replied softly trying to soothe him. "I won't leave." He reached for the tea, handing it to Iolaus. Iolaus slowly drank and fell asleep again.

"Hercules, why didn't you ever tell me?"

"He gets confused between before and now." Hercules looks down at his restlessly tossing lover. "The first time, after Ares and Hestia healed him he was still ill for a long time. He was confused and kept asking for you."

"Why didn't you send for me?" Jason asks furious.

"At first I didn't know where you were. Later," he paused, "you were right to leave. Pelias had hunting parties looking for you. They searched the academy repeatedly and both our mothers' homes. They even went after the Lowlacks. It wasn't safe. By the time we joined you on the Argo - none of us wanted to talk about it."

As Jason got up to leave, Hercules asked, "Stay here tonight. It might help him."

Nodding, Jason striped off his boots and shirt and settled back down, shifting to get under the covers. He moved to spoon up behind Iolaus and within a few minutes, Iolaus settled into his first deep sleep since the night of his rape.

***

Imbrios had gone to the baths after his watch with Atus and still soaked in a tub. He took his mind back, remembering the last time he and his wife had bathed together. As he drew himself into his memory his hands went down and started stroking his cock. They had sent their eight oldest daughters to stay the night with her sister with a promise to return the favor in a few days. The youngest baby had finally started sleeping the night through. He had heated the water for the bath as she feed his newest joy. He had smiled wondering if anyone had realized that all his daughters were named joy: Anisa, Fisseha, Beate, Thalia, Ilo, Aviva, Bayo, Marnin, and Hedva. Hypatia had been curled on the rocker, her small bare feet sticking out under her skirt while she nursed Hedva. He remembered looking at her feet and wondering if that meant that she was naked under her clothes. Watching his wife nurse their youngest, he had longed to touch and taste her again. Finally, Hedva had been burped and rocked to sleep. He poured the last bucket into the tub as his beloved Hypatia reached up, taking pins out of her hair, letting it fall to her waist.

His cock hardened more as he remembered her slow glide to him. Slowly taking off her apron. A step. She hadn't reclosed her shirt and let it slide slowly off her shoulders. Another step. Finally, she undid the ties on her skirt letting it pool at her feet and let him see that she wore nothing under her clothing. And took the last step to him. He remembered reaching for her and pulling her close to him. He had buried his face into her beautiful dark hair and tangled his hands in it, feeling the silk of it run across his fingers and his cheek. He gasped, remembering the first touch of her hands on his shirt, undoing it, the hot moist tingle of her tongue on his nipple. He remembered her gasp of pleasure when he had returned the favor and kissed her breast, licking at the milk there.

His hand started pumping his cock harder as he remembered lifting her up into the bath and tearing off the rest of his clothes to join her. His cock started leaking as he remembered her delighted giggle at his eagerness. His breath was coming in pants and gasps as he recalled washing her body with soap and cloth and tongue. Having her stand in the tub to wash her legs.

His body remembered, kneeling up to taste her delight and then bringing her down on his cock. He thrust his cock in his hands taking long hard strokes, remembering the joy and eagerness of the coupling. Her strong legs locked around his waist while she rode his cock. Their hands busy exploring each other's bodies, only to tangle in hair; his hands in her dark silk and hers in his shorter curls.

He lost himself in the memory of bodies thrusting, hands grasping them close, their lips together, tongues exploring mouths. He cried out as his body arched up at the memory of her cries of glory as she firmly thrust against him, bowed back, and came gripping his cock. Finally, his cock let loose his release as he remembered the final joy of thrusting his seed into her body and holding her tight to him at the end.

He relaxed back in the water panting. After a few minutes he washed and went up to his room. Passing a very flirtatious Menelio and Montoga at the end of their shift and a contentious Lucas and Remar coming over to relieve the other two. Then passing Atus' empty room. He smiled knowing where Atus had gone. He started up the stairs at Iolaus' scream and made it to the landing nearly colliding with King Iphicles when Xena and Atus came back down and waved them off.

"Nightmare?" asked Iphicles quietly.

"Yes," replied Atus.

He grinned when he noticed that Atus went with Xena into the room she shared with Gabrielle. He caught his king's smile out of the corner of his mouth and returned to his room.

***

Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus had resumed where they left off at Iolaus' screams. Gabrielle was lightly tied to the bed frame with four silk scarves, including the one Atus had wrapped around his wrist as he ran up the stairs. She was moaning as Xena and Atus' tongues dueled in her cunt. Twisting around each other and her clit as she thrust her hips up to their mouths.

With a gasp she demanded, "Xena get up here. I want to taste you."

Xena eagerly left off and knelt over Gabrielle's head facing Atus. She spread her legs widening her cunt. Gabrielle thrust her tongue up and started eating her lover. Occasionally, scraping her top teeth lightly across Xena's clit causing a strong gasp and rock against her face. Xena played awhile with her own nipples and then reached down to pinch and flick Gabrielle's. Atus, feeling Gabrielle's legs tense under his hands moved up to thrust his leaking cock into her. At the same time, he pulled Xena's head to his for a kiss. The three rocked together, sweat slickening their bodies making them slip occasionally. Just before coming to their own climaxes, they heard sharp cries from Montoga's room down the hall. That was enough to make Atus erupt into Gabrielle. She tightened her center around his cock and licked hard directly on Xena's clit. Xena bit into Atus' lower lip as she came with Gabrielle. Atus and Xena collapsed back onto the bed as Gabrielle wiggled her way out of the bonds.

Sitting up and grinning at her exhausted lovers, she asked, "So, who do you think Montoga's got with him?"

Xena groaned, "Gods Gabrielle, go to sleep!" To Atus she added, "You see what I mean, she's insatiable!"

"Oh, what a nice problem to have." He replied. He pulled Gabrielle back down and ran a hand through her wet crotch playing with her damp hair and flicking his thumb against her clit. As she started gasping again, she reached her hand down to Xena's crotch to mimic his actions there.

Xena gasped and thrust onto Gabrielle's hand.

Atus stilled his hand watching Gabrielle bring Xena to yet another climax. When she turned to him he smiled and answered, "Menelio."

"NO!" Gabrielle exclaimed, reclaiming his hand and bringing it to her crotch.

Atus nodded. "I saw the two of them going at it yesterday after lunch."

Xena groaned, knowing exactly what Gabrielle was going to ask.

"Tell!"

Atus continued playing with Gabrielle's cunt as he told his story.

"I was coming back from checking on the horses. And I heard a loud crash in the kitchen. I figured it was Harmonia's 'pets' going at it again. Fighting not fucking. Instead, I find Montoga and Menelio going at it. Fucking not fighting."

Gabrielle giggled and Xena raised an eyebrow. Atus flicked Gabrielle's clit causing her to groan and then thrust two fingers in and out of her cunt rhythmically, flicking his thumb back and forth across her clit. Xena raised her head to one elbow, watching, and lowered her other hand to her own cunt.

Continuing his story Atus said, "They were both stripped down. Their clothes were everywhere: shirts over the backs of different chairs, pants and loincloths on the floor, socks and boots scattered." He laughed. "One boot actually landed in the sink. Menelio was bent over the big wooden table in the middle of the kitchen. Across the width not the length so he could reach his hands up and hold onto the other side. The pots normally stored there were all on the floor, so that had to be the crash. Montoga was kneeling behind Menelio stretching his ass with two fingers. It had to have been fast, they didn't even locate the olive oil...instead, they were using cream."

"Tell me you stayed," Gabrielle gasped.

"Oh, I stayed all right. I had my hands on my cock while I watched." He smiled at her next gasp and at Xena's stopping her moans with a kiss.

"When Menelio was rocking back hard on the fingers and was stretched enough Montoga stood. Gods that man is tall and his cock matched him. Long and thin. He steadied Menelio's hips pulling him slightly away from the table. He actually had to pick him up a little so he could get him onto his cock. He's that tall. Well, he must have prepared him right because that long cock just slid in." He slowed his hand in Gabrielle, keeping her from cumming until he was done.

"Montoga reached underneath with one hand and started stroking the boy's cock. The kid's feet are pointed trying to reach the floor, but he's probably an inch or two off. So he's being held up by the table, Montoga's cock in his ass, and Montoga's hand on his cock. Montoga holds real still. They were talking to each other but I couldn't hear what. Finally, the kid screams, 'fuck me!' and Montoga starts moving." He picked up the pace with his hand again.

"You've got to see it to believe it. Montoga's long skinny cock pushing in and out of that creamy butt. The kid was trying to thrust back but with his feet off the ground couldn't quite manage it. Finally, he wraps his feet back and behind Montoga's knees and starts pulling that way. Montoga's hand moves faster on his cock while he pounds that ass faster and faster."

Gabrielle grabbed his hand and started moving it faster into her. Xena pulled her head back so she could watch her lover's face, and moved her own hand faster in her cunt.

Atus finishes his story. "The kid comes first. Great gushing streams of cum fall onto Montoga's hand and onto the floor and table. I can see his ass clench down on the cock and his toes curl. Montoga manages another two or three thrusts before cumming in Menelio's ass. When they finish the kid has cum dripping out of him on the floor."

Gabrielle came as he quickly pressed a last time on her clit. Watching her lover's body contort in pleasure, Xena joined her, gasping for breath. Finally exhausted, Gabrielle dropped off to sleep.

Atus looked at Xena over Gabrielle. "Is she always that bad?"

Xena laughed, "She's the most oversexed person I know. Although seven times in a night is a little extreme, even for her." She smiled remembering something. "After the first time she died, and we were reunited, we had sex for five or six days straight. She just took me to an inn and all I can remember is sex and occasional breaks for food."

"Five or six days?"

"I lost count!" With that, Xena blew out the candle so that they could join Gabrielle in sleep.

Across the hall, Iphicles wiped his cum smeared fingers off on a cloth. He called quietly to Ares, "Where are you when I need you? I'm tired of jacking off to the sounds of other people having sex." When there was no answer he banked his fire and went to bed.

At the gate, Lucas and Remar glared at each other as they stood watch. Both were furious that Menelio had gone upstairs with Montoga. And each blamed the other. They ignored their own desire for each other and concentrated on their anger.

***

Harmonia smiled when the feel of her father's presence woke her. "Dad."

"Shhh." He sat down beside her. "How's it going?"

"Good, but everyone seems..." she paused.

"Yes?" he drawled slowly.

"Libidinous," she finished giggling.

He laughed softly hugging her tight. "Oh, we just had a little unintended consequence of breaking the storm."

"What?"

"Your mother and Cupid both ended up drained a little further than we anticipated." At her sudden tension he reassured, "Don’t worry, they'll be fine. They just need to recharge about a week."

"Ok, but?" she asked archly.

"But…" he drawled, “Since they serve the same function for 'libidinous' passions as I do for violent ones..." his voice trailed off at his daughter’s choked laughter of realization.

"Oh, Daddy, they're going to be screwing like rabbits."

"Screwing!" he said in a mock scold, "and just where did you pick up such language?"

Still laughing. "Mother." Finally, gaining some control, she asked, "So will you be visiting Iphicles?"

"You. Are. A. Nosy. Bit." Ares tapped her nose on each word.

Harmonia shook her head. "I just think that Iphicles is good for you."

"Really?"

"You always are more cheerful when you have a lover who'll argue with you." At her father's laughter she finished, "And since you are the 'Big Bad God of War' that's kind of hard to find."

Ares collapsed with laughter. "Harmonia your mother is corrupting you."

"Yeah!" she cheered, "Does that mean I can be libidinous?"

“NO! IT! DOES! NOT!" In a softer voice he finished, "You have millennia to be libidinous. You should just be a little girl awhile longer." He smiled and raised her head with a finger. "You don't get a second chance at that."

"Ok, but I don't think its fair." She responded jokingly. "You got to be libidinous even younger than me."

"I got rushed on a lot of things," he murmured softly.

Harmonia hugged him tight. "I'm glad I have you and Mom and the H's. You and Aunt Eris had really shitty parents."

"The 'Hs'?"

"Uncle Hades, Aunt Hecate, Aunt Hestia, and Daddy Hep."

"Yeah, the Hs are pretty good. Just stay away from my mother. Go back to sleep."

"Go visit Iphicles."

He nudged her mind back to sleep and vanished to reappear in Iphicles' room.

Iphicles was asleep curled on his side. Ares could smell semen and realized that Iphicles had jerked off earlier. He smiled at the erotic vision that created and stripped off his clothes with a thought. Sliding gently into the bed he gathered Iphicles to him and ran his hand along the front of that tight warm body. Arousing it with his touch. Bringing his nipples and cock to erection.

Iphicles moved restlessly in his arms slowly waking at his erotic touch. Ares continued adding kisses to his shoulders and back. Until finally, Iphicles twisted around, opened his eyes, and smiled.

"Ares," he whispered softly.

Ares pushed him back and rolled on top of him. Taking his mouth in a hard ravaging kiss. Pushing his tongue into the hot mouth. He brought his hands to Iphicles' ass and ground their hips together. Hard cocks pressed and dueled until Iphicles was panting and thrusting desperately.

Ares stopped and lifted himself off. With a gesture he brought the fire up and lit the candles. He pulled at Iphicles until he stood by the bed. Ares sat on the bed in front of him his legs spread wide playing with his hard cock.

Iphicles started to go down to suck it.

"No." Ares stopped him with that soft word.

Iphicles looked at him curiously.

"Stand up."

Iphicles stood feet together, hands at his side, head up.

Ares smiled. "Spread you legs."

Iphicles spread his legs apart.

"You jerked off earlier." Ares stated. He stared hotly at the body displayed in front of him.

Iphicles nodded.

"I want to watch you do it. Show me." Ares waited patiently for Iphicles to think it through.

Iphicles looked at Ares and saw how hot the idea of watching him jerk off made his lover. He waited a moment smiled, looked Ares in the eyes, and started.

He lightly brought his hands up his sides stroking his flanks, the side of his stomach and chest. Then he arched his back and brought one hand to his mouth, carefully sucking his fingers. With his other hand he teased his nipples. Ares jerked as he slid his fingers in and out of his mouth.

Pursing his lips and sucking them hard. Making little sucking sounds.

Ares jerked again as Iphicles arched his hips further, making his cock stand up and out.

Iphicles switched hands, bringing the dry one to his mouth and the wet one down a line from his nipples to his crotch. He sucked and wetted his other fingers as he already wet hand played in the hair at his groin. And then moved to his cock. He firmly held it running his hand along its length brushing his thumb across the head. After a few minutes he brought his other hand down, and lost in the sensation, milked his cock. Thrusting his hips to send it through his joined hands.

He forgot that Ares was watching and simply let the sensation of friction surge through him, thrusting to completion and emptying himself on the watching Ares. Finished he dropped to his knees gasping.

Ares smiled licking cum off his face and then scraping it off his chest and legs with a finger and licking the finger. Iphicles moaned at the sight of Ares tongue licking his cum.

He made his way over to him and licked his way up Ares' legs. Stopping at the knees he bit the kneecap. He pushed the thighs further apart to make room. Moving slowly, he licked a long line from the point above Ares' right kneecap to his groin and then went down the other way on the left side. As Ares groaned and grabbed his hair Iphicles grabbed his lover's cock and opened his mouth to take it in.

Ares firmly brought Iphicles' head to his cock and Iphicles sucked it in hard. Ares groaned, thrusting up with his hips and down with his hands. Moving his cock through Iphicles' hands and into his mouth.

Iphicles used his hands to control the depths of the thrusts and teased the head with his tongue. He loved the taste of Ares' cum and delighted in running his tongue over the cock's head again and again.

Ares abruptly pulled him up and tossed him on the bed face down. Iphicles started to get up on his hands and knees and Ares pushed him back down. He growled, "Stay there or I'll chain you."

Iphicles abruptly stilled. Ares sat on top of Iphicles' legs and quickly prepared him. Oiling his fingers with a thought he brought them to Iphicles' ass, entering and stretching. As he did this he lightly moved his mind to his tag on Iphicles and used its tendrils in his lover's mind and body to increase the release of hormones and relax the muscles in his ass. Iphicles groaned as his body flooded with sensation. Already at the edge and thrusting back on the fingers, he screamed.

"NOW!"

Ares smiled, removed his fingers, and pounded into his lover. Ares again used the controls he'd placed in the tag as well as his thrusting cock to keep Iphicles at the edge of orgasm for far longer than should have been possible. Iphicles was screaming and crying for release, his body on fire and desperately thrusting and clenching trying to finish.

Finally ready, Ares knelt up pulling Iphicles with him. He allowed Iphicles to control the speed letting him thrust wildly onto his cock. Ares, very carefully, pulled on the tag releasing yet more hormones and held Iphicles at that impossible place for a few moments. Carefully adding oxygen directly to blood cells and strengthening the heart and veins as he held Iphicles at that point of ecstasy that would normally kill a mortal. He allowed his mind to flow within the mortal's doubling the sensation. Feeling now the sensations of filling and being filled. Feeling both bodies gasping for air, blood pounding, skin sweating, and that last crescendo before the fall to ecstatic oblivion.

Then he let it all go.

Iphicles came, his body tensing to the point of muscle rips, screaming his passion, and fountaining cum. Ares followed him over the edge, his orgasm filling Iphicles' ass. Pushing him down and pumping the last of his cum into him.

He quickly checked Iphicles, healing the odd injury and bringing his body chemistry down a little. Then he rolled off him and spooned against him. Iphicles trembled in his arms still trying to recover from his impossible orgasm. His lungs still gasping and his heart still pounding.

Finally, in a shaky voice he asked, "What in Tartarus did you just do to me?"

Ares laughed against him, "It's a God thing. I've done it to you before."

Iphicles tried to turn and found he was too weak. So he just asked, "You have?"

"Yeah, we keep having this conversation. By morning you forget this part and just remember really good sex." As Iphicles stiffened, Ares shook his head no. "No Iphicles. I don't make you forget. You do that. Mortals can only deal with so much."

Iphicles relaxed in his arms while his body slowly returned to normal. As it did, Ares gently checked his tag, reinforcing the protections, soothing systems to sleep. When Iphicles was asleep, he moved away. With a thought he cleaned both their bodies and the bed of their pleasure, put out the candles, banked the fire, and dressed. With a final thought he covered Iphicles and vanished.

He reappeared in the sitting room just outside the bedroom where Hercules, Iolaus, and Jason slept. He reached his minds out to their tags and soothed them into a deeper sleep before going in. There he reached out to touch Iolaus transferring the spell that Aphrodite had given him for Iolaus. He paused and watched it take hold admiring the smooth seamless way it integrated into his thought processes.

He examined its effect to be sure it had worked as she had planned. Memories all intact but slightly more distant giving Iolaus the advantage of time he didn't actually have to recover his equilibrium. The series of reminders integrated well. She'd done that piece quite nicely. When Iolaus blamed himself for Belisco's assault, as all rape victims inevitably do, she'd arranged for him to remember all the times that he had told other rape victims that it wasn't their fault. And to feel the comfort he'd given them. She'd also used his memories of his first recovery and reinforced the work that Alcmene, Hercules, and Chiron had done then. The memory and message would vary each time. But now he would be told over and over that he hadn't done anything wrong, and that he was still both loving and loved. She'd also worked on his compulsion to bathe himself raw. That had really worried her when Eris had passed it on from Harmonia. That one couldn't be eradicated. But it could be eased. He'll still take frequent baths, but they should drop off and he should quickly stop injuring himself.

She'd considered it dangerous to stop the nightmares but she had enhanced his memories of pleasurable sex to offset them. Fortunately, she had an abundance of past partners and situations to trigger those memories. He'd laughed at her list, "Hercules, Jason, Xena, Gabrielle, Atus, Iphicles, and Remar." And the locations, "Everywhere. And I mean 'absolutely everywhere' in the academy. There isn't a room he hasn't had sex in." So, as he wandered around his own memories would remind him of how very pleasant sex is.

It was all very subtle. Nothing that would alter the underlying personality, but it would speed the emotional recovery.

He examined one other thing. Yes, they were still there. Tags weren't always conscious. And sometimes mortals and demigods placed them. They showed up in unusually close friendships, families, lovers, couples, and siblings. An awareness of how the other felt and where they were. Nothing close to what the Gods used consciously, but something that could be enhanced. Hercules, Jason, and Iolaus had tagged each other when they became lovers all those years ago. Then, after Belisco and his men had raped him before, Iolaus had buried the tag. Unconsciously trying to ease his lovers' pain. He and Hercules had created a new one between themselves over the years, but it didn't have the strength of that first one between the three. The one created in the innocence of very young love and passion. The one they created with all the strength of teenage lust and naïveté. Ares gently reactivated those tags weaving them back into the old paths. Again it was subtle but it should increase their awareness of him and his whereabouts.

Satisfied with his work he vanished.

part 20

For the first time in days, Iolaus woke up to the need to pee, rather than screaming from a nightmare. He lifted Hercules' arm off and started squirming backwards and ran into a warm lump. After momentary confusion he identified the warm lump as Jason as his friend mumbled, "Iolaus where you going?" in a slurred sleepy voice.

Automatically, Iolaus hushed him, "Shhh. You'll wake Herc." He wiggled over Jason and continued, "I'm just going to the bathroom." He quickly got off the bed and shivered. He was still wearing one of Hercules' shirts to sleep in. He was not comfortable returning to his normal habit of sleeping without clothes and found Hercules' shirt soothing. However, as the only thing he was wearing it did little to keep him warm.

He stopped in surprise as he saw sunlight coming in through the shutters. He opened them and leaned out the window. It was still bitter cold and snow covered the ground. But for the first time in weeks the sky was blue and the sun shone. He smiled in delight and closed the shutters, opening slits to let the sunlight in.

Feeling the pressing need that had awakened him, he quickly moved to the bathing area. Using a slop pot he quickly took care of business and dumped the pot into the midden's chute. Turning and shivering in the chill room he quickly moved to the other side of the wall and built up the sitting room fire to a cheery blaze. He sat lotus position in front of the fireplace, trying to use the flames as a focus and drop into a meditative trance. After a few minutes he gave up, rose gracefully to his feet, and went over to the tub.

He stared at it for a few moments, debating whether to take a bath. Even with the warmth of the fire, he started shivering again as he tried to set aside his feelings of shame and filth and again reminded himself that he had had no choice. The cistern above held the only warm water in the building. Finally, he reached a trembling hand up to the cistern's chain and pulled filling the tub with warm water. He quickly stripped off the loose shirt he was wearing and stepped into the cleansing water. He grabbed the soap and a cloth to wash with.

Jason started up at the sound of the cistern filling the tub. He quickly rolled off the bed and bounced a pillow off Hercules' head waking him. Nearly running he went to the tub ready to stop another round of Iolaus scrubbing himself bloody.

And stopped cold when he saw him.

Iolaus sat in the tub, legs curled to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. His head was bent forward, resting on his knees, and he rocked back and forth in the water. Suddenly Jason remembered those nightmare weeks so long ago, after Belisco had finished his nightly masturbation session, Iolaus had curled up like that trying to fold into himself. He remembered holding Iolaus then, helpless to do anything, except make promises he couldn't keep.

He stood there until a sudden tap brought him back to the present. Starting he twisted around slightly and relaxed when he realized that it was Hercules. He quickly wiped his eyes and moved to the tub.

He moved and spoke quietly. "Good morning, Iolaus."

Jason watched the rise and fall of Iolaus' shoulders as he took a deep breath before turning his head to them. He smiled slightly and replied quietly, "Good morning. Thank you for staying with us last night." Jason looked at him, closely realizing for the first time how much weight Iolaus had lost over the last few days. His skin stretched tightly over bone and sinew. His face had narrowed and his ribs were overly prominent.

Hercules joined them lightly asking, "Room enough for company?"

Jason looked at him startled. They had all frequently shared baths in the past, but Iolaus had avoided bathing with anyone since the first night they'd arrived at the academy. He had talked with Hercules about it yesterday. They both agreed that Iolaus' solitary scrubbing sessions were unhealthy, but they hadn't talked about trying to get him to let them join him. He waited barely breathing.

Iolaus started shifting away from them moving to the middle of the tub. He looked up and silently nodded yes. Hercules quickly stripped off his loincloth and clambered in. More slowly, Jason took off the pants he had slept in and joined them. They sat quietly, allowing the heat to seep into their bones.

Finally, Iolaus reached down and brought up the cloth and soap he had abandoned in the water earlier. "I almost did it again." He looked at the cloth and soap. "I was holding them and realized that I was going to hurt myself and..." Handing the cloth and soap to Hercules. "I still feel dirty. Like the filth will never come off."

"Oh, Iolaus, no." Jason said softly. Hercules put the soap and cloth on the tile surrounding the tub. They both moved to hold Iolaus between them.

"I know." Iolaus whispered. "I know. I was getting ready to scrub my skin raw again and I suddenly remembered when we found that village on Cretosa. And all the survivors had been raped."

Jason and Hercules tensed remembering the situation he was speaking of. The Argo had made port and discovered the small port village burned and looted. The twenty-three survivors, all young women and children, had all been raped. They had helped as much as possible, but six of the victims had killed themselves before they realized the danger. The others they transported to another port town where they could join either extended family or friends. Iolaus had worked with the remaining survivors during the three-week trip almost ceaselessly, trying to convince them that they weren't to blame.

"I remember." Hercules continued holding Iolaus and speaking softly, allowing Iolaus to speak at his own pace.

"I told them over and over that it wasn't their fault, that they hadn't done anything to feel shame over, that they would survive and find joy again." Iolaus stopped talking and leaned closer to his lover.

"You were right." Jason moved closer and spoke firmly. When Iolaus didn't respond he said it again. "You were right. And you are just as innocent and blameless as any of them."

Iolaus broke down into tears. As he wept, Hercules and Jason comforted him. Holding him close between them. Murmuring their love for him over and over. Finally, Iolaus pulled away from them wiping his face with his hands.

"I'm so tired of crying," he mumbled.

Hercules leaned over to stroke his wet hair. "It'll get better over time."

Iolaus nodded and leaned back against the tub. Hercules picked up the soap and cloth. "Do you want me to wash you?"

"Please."

Slowly Hercules soaped the cloth and passed the soap to Jason, who had grabbed another cloth. They gently soaped and rinsed Iolaus. As they cleaned him, Iolaus let his mind drift. He remembered the last time they had all shared this tub. It was shortly after he had returned from being dead during the whole Dahok thing. He and Hercules had joined Jason at the academy. Jason looked better than he had in years; regular exercise and sparing with his students had slimmed him down and muscled him up. For the first time since Medea had murdered his children, Iolaus could truly see the man who had captained the Argo. He'd also finally lost the depression that had clung to him after Alcmene's death.

That night they had shared Jason's room and bathed together. They were all in a playful mood wanting to celebrate Iolaus' return. Their play started as simple splashing and wrestling but quickly turned erotic. At first, they kept their touches light and fleeting. However, Iolaus had melted into Jason's first serious kiss, letting Jason explore his mouth with his and arching into him when Hercules started preparing his ass with massage oil. As Hercules stretched him Iolaus had twisted on his fingers and Jason finally grabbed his hips to keep him still. Finally, Jason got out of the tub and sat on the side, his legs parted to give Iolaus' hands and mouth access to his cock. Iolaus got lost in his memory of sucking Jason's cock while Hercules pounded into his ass. He gasped slightly at the remembered passion.

"Iolaus!" Hercules' concerned voice brought him abruptly out of the memory.

He smiled slightly at Hercules and Jason's concerned looks. "I was just remembering the last time we shared a bath."

Jason shifted backwards as when his cock got hard in response to his own memories. Noticing him shift, Iolaus reached a hand down, smiling as he wrapped his hand around Jason's hard cock.

"It was a good night," Iolaus said softly, squeezing Jason's cock, and running his thumb across its head.

"Yes, it was." Hercules said calmly, forcing down his own arousal as he watched Iolaus gently play with Jason's cock.

Jason put his hand over Iolaus' and asked seriously, "Are you sure that it's not too soon?"

"No." Iolaus replied honestly. "But I want to love and to be loved." He leaned against Hercules as his lover moved closer and put his arms around his waist. "I want this."

Jason looked at Hercules and saw the tentative approval in his eyes. As Hercules slowly moved his hands across Iolaus' sides and up to his shoulders Jason nodded and reached a hand to Iolaus' damp face stroking his check and forehead.

Jason and Hercules started a slow exploration of Iolaus' body. Carefully giving him time to stop or move if they triggered a bad memory. They kept their hands moving lightly over his body, initially avoiding his cock, ass, and nipples, afraid that an obviously sexual touch would send him back into the memories of the rapes.

As they explored his body, Iolaus' hand continued its slow stroking of Jason's cock. Slowly he moved his other hand down to play with Hercules' cock as well. Jason and Hercules continued their exploration as Iolaus milked their cocks. Iolaus started squirming between them gasping slightly as their light touches began to arouse him.

As he squirmed, he started moving his hands faster along their cocks, increasing the friction until they were gasping and thrusting into his hands. Jason came first his cum shooting out over Iolaus' hand and clouding the water. As he finished, Iolaus twisted around to face Hercules, grasping his rigid cock in both hands, pumping fiercely, ordering him, "Cum for me."

With a gasp, Hercules gripped Iolaus shoulders and gave a strong thrust of his hips, cumming in Iolaus' hands, pulling Iolaus to him. As the last of his cum jetted out, Hercules brought Iolaus into a slow gentle kiss. Iolaus hesitated a moment as Hercules' tongue licked his lips gently, seeking entry. Tentatively, Iolaus opened his mouth and Hercules let his tongue move tenderly into the soft warm heat. Jason moved behind Iolaus, and with long strokes massaged his back and shoulders as they deepened their kiss. When Iolaus didn't pull away, he followed his hands with his mouth. Tasting the moist skin of his back and shoulders he licked and kissed. Remembering Belisco's tendency to bite, he controlled his desire to nibble or bite, carefully keeping his mouth gentle on Iolaus' skin. When Jason ran his tongue up Iolaus' sensitive spine, he broke off the kiss with Hercules, arching and moaning with passion.

Hercules felt Iolaus' cock brush his own when he arched, and moved his hands from Iolaus' shoulders to his hips with a gentle caress. Making sure that Iolaus knew what he was doing, he brought his head down to lick at his nipples and stopped when Iolaus jerked. Behind him, Jason also stopped and pulled back at the sudden jerk. They waited for Iolaus to decide whether and how to continue.

Iolaus forced his memories of Belisco's teeth on him out of his mind with a shudder. "I'm sorry," he whispered almost inaudible.

Hercules and Jason moved to hug him at the same time, both comforting him with their arms and words.

"Don't." Jason kissed him on the forehead gently. "You have reason to fear."

"Just let us help." Hercules added softly.

Iolaus abruptly climbed out of the tub. He huddled on the tile, shaking as the memories of that night overcame him again.

Jason and Hercules both quickly climbed out after him. Hercules sat by his shaking lover and pulled him into his arms. Grabbing a towel Jason joined them, wrapping the towel around Iolaus' trembling body.

"Make him stop. Please make him stop." Iolaus repeated that over and over, caught back in his memories. His stuttered and whispered pleas cut into Jason and Hercules as they desperately tried to pull him back to them.

They continued to soothe him whispering reassurances. Repeating the same things again and again. Willing Iolaus to believe them.

"You're at the academy."

"It's safe here."

"Belisco's gone."

"We're here."

"We won't leave you."

"We love you."

"It wasn't your fault."

Slowly he stopped whispering then stopped shaking, and finally after a long while of simply being held and cuddled, he unfolded himself and relaxed in their arms. They continued gently holding him, and reassuring him, until he gradually drifted back to sleep.

When he was deeply asleep they stood, and Hercules carried him to their bedroom. Iolaus protested sleepily when Hercules tried to put him down, so Hercules lay down on the bed still holding him gently.

A few minutes latter Jason came in still dressing. Talking softly he said, "Well that was a mistake."

Hercules shook his head no. "Actually, this is a good sign." At Jason's look of disbelief he added, "Iolaus will do this for awhile. He wants to make love, he feels the desire, but his memories will only let him get so far." He softly stroked still damp hair off his lover's brow. "Jason, he didn't scrub himself bloody. He's starting to remember his own words to other victims. He let us touch him and he kissed me for the first time since it happened."

Jason sat down on the bed slowly. "How long?"

Hercules shook his head. "Last time it took weeks to get him to stop flinching when I touched him or came too close." His eyes clouded with past sorrow. "I hid all the knives. The baths continued for months or worse I'd find him scratching himself tearing chunks of his skin off."

Jason shuddered. "Why didn't you write for me or tell me when you joined me?"

"It wasn't' safe for you to come back and later it just didn't seem necessary." Hercules paused. "Jason, last time it took over three months before we kissed like this morning. He's doing much better than I thought he would."

Jason nodded slowly. "What next?"

"Don't bring up lunch."

"What?"

"I want him to have to go downstairs." Hercules shrugged. "He really improved once he was back at the academy. Chiron and mother helped a lot, but simply being around people forced him to stay more in the present." He sighed as Iolaus shifted restlessly and soothed him briefly. "Xena and Gabrielle have both been raped. And the others have seen enough war. I think they'll help."

A sudden yowl and crash brought Jason to his feet yelling, "Harmonia!" He ran out of the room with a blurted, "Sorry," as his yell caused Iolaus to jerk awake.

He found Cerberus and Ostseth in one of the classrooms this time. They had already knocked the board down, overturned desks and chairs and were getting into serious destruction when Harmonia ran in colliding with Jason.

"CERBERUS! OSTSETH! DOWN!" She yelled and took a flying leap intercepting Ostseth's attempt to jump on Cerberus' back. Mentally scolding them both she wrestled Ostseth down and grabbed Cerberus by the tail as she started growling at Jason.

"Cerberus! BAD puppy!" Cerberus turned one head to her, focused one on Ostseth, and kept her other one watching Jason. She continued to growl as Ostseth resumed hissing.

They all turned to look as Iolaus bounded into the room still lacing his pants. Hercules followed more slowly as Ostseth screamed in rage remembering the long fall the hunter had caused. Cerberus realizing that Ostseth disliked the hunter, took an immediate interest, and bounded over to investigate. She sniffed Iolaus, and, recognizing an old tag, jumped up putting her front paws on his shoulders and affectionately started licking his face and neck. Her weight knocked Iolaus off balance and they landed in a tangle on the floor.

Harmonia, Hercules, and Jason gaped for a minute in surprise.

"She likes you!" Harmonia exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Ostseth by the scruff of his neck and shaking him in warning. "STOP THAT." Her voice was very firm.

Hercules helped Iolaus separate from the overly affectionate Cerberus and Jason made a decision. "Harmonia get that cat out of here," he ordered firmly, "Iolaus take that dog outside and keep her busy."

Harmonia smiled to herself and holding Ostseth firmly waited while Iolaus led Cerberus upstairs. Then she grinned at Jason. "Good going. The sun should be out all day." Still smiling, she dragged Ostseth to her room, scolding him the entire way.

Jason returned to his rooms and found Iolaus sitting on a chair pulling on his boots. He winced when he noticed Cerberus bound out of the bedroom they had all shared last night dragging most of the bedclothes with her. He forgave her immediately at Iolaus' light giggle.

Iolaus grabbed the sheets out of her mouths and pulled, starting a wrestling match. Having more bulk and strength Cerberus pulled him off his feet and into her. Then she dropped the sheets and started licking him again. Iolaus giggled as he struggled to avoid three licking tongues.

Jason rescued the sheets as Hercules came out of the bedroom fully dressed, carrying a set of warm under and over shirts for Iolaus.

"Good. Put them on as you go down. I want that dog outside now." Jason used the same voice he did when talking to his students, causing Iolaus to start giggling again.

Iolaus ran out calling, "Come on Cerberus," and shrugging into his shirts.

Hercules grabbed Jason in a quick appreciative hug. "Good idea," he muttered before following Iolaus down.

More slowly, Jason walked down the stairs to the kitchen, ready to prepare lunch. He found Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus already there, eating porridge that Gabrielle had made. Jason started pulling out dried meat and dried fruit to make lunch with. He was searching for the rice, onions, and potatoes when Gabrielle asked, "How is Iolaus doing?"

Jason smiled, opened the kitchen door, and said, "Listen."

Iolaus and Hercules laughing voices floated through the open door interspersed with Cerberus' boisterous barking. Gabrielle ran out to watch them play and then ran back in shivering rushing upstairs. When she came back down, she was dressed in her warmest clothes, dragging Iphicles by one hand, and holding a bundle more warm clothes in the other. She shoved the clothes at Xena and Atus leaving no doubt where Atus was spending his nights and tested a number of pot lids for balance. Finally, selecting one she called on the way back out.

"Move it - time to play."

With that she rushed out. Quickly followed by a laughing Atus and Xena.

"What is she talking about?" Iphicles asked while grabbing some of the remaining porridge.

"Iolaus is playing with Cerberus." Jason put the meat and fruit in pots of water to soak, and went outside to watch. "Coming?"

They went out to watch and Hercules dragged them into a game of fetch with Cerberus catching the tossed lid. That game broke up when Iolaus snowballed Hercules and a fast snowball fight ensued. Iphicles' men gradually joined them as the noise attracted their attention. After catching Iphicles with a snowball in the face, Jason ran to the kitchen to avoid retaliation. Carrying a large snowball Iphicles followed and tagged him down the back.

Jason cooked some of the rice with the fruit, and baked some of the potatoes. Then he chopped more potatoes and onions into the meat, adding herbs and set them to simmer and make stew. That could be served over plain cooked rice. He and Iphicles talked and drank mulled cider while the others played outside.

A sudden flash of blue light solidified into the form of Discord. They both froze. Jason dreaded her visits because they always preceded another bout of fighting from Cerberus and Ostseth or another fight between Lucas and Remar. She smiled and sauntered over to the cooking pots.

"Morning boys, what's cooking?" She lifted the lid off the rice and replaced it. And then lifted the lid off the stew. "This could use carrots," she mused and looked at Jason.

Since she seemed to want a reply, he finally said, "We're out."

She sauntered back to the table, grabbed a chair turned it around, and straddled it crossing her arms over the back and displaying her legs to extremely good advantage. Noticing their immediate response she laughed. "Like what you see?"

She looked at Jason. "Now you might be interesting." Looking at Iphicles, she tapped him hard on the groin. "Down boy," she smiled, "you are definitely dangerous. No one plays with Ares' personal fuck toys."

"Aunt Eris. Be nice." Harmonia called from the door as Iphicles bridled.

"Exactly what did you mean by that?" Iphicles asked.

"Daddy can be a little possessive." Harmonia interceded mentally reminding her aunt, *You blow this for Daddy and Mom will have you chasing Proteus.*

With an arch smile Eris confirmed, "Like she said Ares can be possessive."

"Our relationship is that obvious?" Iphicles didn't want to let it go.

"As plain as the nose on your face. Ares is..." Eris paused, "unsubtle," she finished with another arch smile.

*AUNT ERIS,* Harmonia warned.

"So boys, how is the supply situation?" Eris changed the subject, deciding that she'd said enough to get Iphicles to ask Ares some pointed questions at his next visit.

"Tight but manageable." Jason responded. "If this doesn't last much longer."

"Things will improve a bit." Eris smiled. "The storm's done. And Hera and Poseidon won't be able to raise another. They'll be incapacitated for several days."

"And then?" Iphicles asked.

"As long as it's cold they can't raise a storm." Harmonia answered his question.

"So we're going to have an early and long winter." Eris added.

Jason and Iphicles looked at each other in alarm. "People are going to starve." Iphicles tried to think of a way to impress on them the severity of the situation.

Eris shrugged unimpressed. "Some, but it won't be as bad as the storms. Those were causing the coast to break up." She stood. "Besides Demeter and Aphrodite plan to fill the food storehouses." She bowed her head and brought her hands in front of her about a foot apart. Light glowed between them. Jason and Iphicles prepared to dive out of the way. Smiling at their nervousness Eris suddenly slapped her hands together causing the light to dissipate into hundreds of sparks and fly around the kitchen. As the sparks did their work she called, "Be seeing you," and vanished.

Shaking their heads in reaction to the bright light Jason and Iphicles took a few minutes to realize exactly what she'd done. Every food barrel, flask, and jar was now full to the brim. They now had enough to see the academy through the longest hardest winter and, if needed, enough to spare to help the local villagers.

Jason looked at the food, looked at Iphicles, and finally at Harmonia. "Is it safe?" he asked bluntly.

"Yes. Aunt Eris won't cross them in this. Besides, she despises Hera and won't help her." She smiled as Cerberus' barks and laughter sounded in the kitchen. "We have five days before everyone will be able to come for the briefing." Shrugging she added. "But my relatives will continue dropping in every once in a while."

After she'd left Jason buried his face in his hands and mumbled, "Wonderful."

Laughing Harmonia went outside with Ostseth to join the play. As she left, Jason and Iphicles could hear her stern voice. "Ostseth you have to be nice to Iolaus and Cerberus." They listened for a while and grinned as they heard howls, barks, hisses, and growls. Then laughed as they heard Harmonia and Iolaus start scolding the two animals in concert.

"Bad kitty!" rang Harmonia's light laughing voice.

"Bad puppy!" echoed Iolaus' clear voice.

"Come here." Harmonia and Iolaus together.

After a couple of more hours of play interspersed with cat and dog fights, they called the others in for lunch. Iolaus dropped off a battered piece of metal that Jason eventually recognized as his pot lid.

"What did you do to my lid?"

"Cerberus chewed on it."

"And you just let her?"

"Yes."

Even though it was still bitter cold outside Iolaus insisted on going back out with Cerberus to play again. This time Jason and Iphicles went out with them. Taking out a new pot lid to replace the one that Cerberus had battered to a dented lump.

As the afternoon passed Jason and Iphicles went back inside to get warm and start the rice for the stew. They spent the next half-hour gossiping about the council. Suddenly the laughter stopped outside as Cerberus started howling a loud warning growl.

Iphicles and Jason looked at each other and in concert said, "Shit."

Part 21

Belisco grimaced in frustration and pounded on the ornate paneling. Two days ago Poseidon and Hera collapsed when the other gods finally broke their storm. They were completely incapacitated and he had no idea how long that would last. Several of Poseidon's controls broke with the storm and for the first time he had access to Poseidon's private quarters. The study had turned up nothing, but he was certain that there was a hidden room on the other side of the east bedroom wall. Even if the room was a wet area, he had a portable spell from his father that allowed him to breathe underwater for several hours. He pounded on the paneling again.

Finally, he stepped back and studied the area. This wasn't working. He knew that the room or cavern was on the other side of that wall, but he couldn't force it open. There had to be a key. He moved his eyes from one area to another. A large bed stood at the far end of the room. A massive iron structure coral grew around it in swirls and eddies as decoration. He already examined it and the mattress and found nothing. At the foot was a large sea chest. It was locked and spelled and he hadn't been able to open it yet. A small table was to one side of the bed. It yielded nothing. The desk against the wall on the other side had a secret cubby with a small key. He'd spent most of yesterday searching for a keyhole without success. He turned and examined the dresser again. There were no hidden compartments. Clothes in the drawers and jewelry and decorations of various sorts on top. He searched through the assorted objects again: Hera's jewelry; a mirror; a peacock feather; Poseidon's jewelry; a collection of loose pearls; several shells; and a collection of glass and crystal figurines of sea creatures.

A peacock feather.

Poseidon was obsessed with Hera. He picked up the feather and felt an almost imperceptible tingle of power. Smiling, he walked with the feather to the wall. He ran it against the wall waiting for a change in the tug of power. Suddenly a surge of power shot through it and a section of the wall in front of him opened up.

He smiled, walked back to the dresser, and, picking up several of the figurines, he went back. He tossed one through the opening. It shattered on the floor. He walked through moving around the broken crystal. He was in a God created structure. It was a six-sided room carved out of some kind of solid crystal. To his right was a stand with several small decorative boxes similar to the one Hera had given him to use to bring down the wall. To his left was a weapons rack. And, most importantly, immediately in front of him, was a stand with ambrosia. He walked quickly over to it and pulled some off.

He paused and slowly brought the coveted material to his lips. He smiled and ate the ambrosia. A sudden surge of power ran through him. For a moment he convulsed and then glowed. When he opened his eyes, power glowed from within. Knowledge and skills rushed in without warning. Secrets of the universe revealed themselves to him. He suddenly knew the thoughts of all the mortal and immortal beings surrounding him. Only Hera and Poseidon's were still concealed from him.

He stretched out his mind searching for Iolaus and screamed in rage when he realized that another god shielded him. Enraged he strove against the shield and nearly gave his location away, as a stronger and more experienced god noticed and looked for the attacker. He brought his mind back quickly erasing any traces. He suddenly realized that he could still do the location spell his mother had taught him. That didn't rely on being a god.

With the new power came new senses. He sensed the contained energy in the boxes to his right. He realized quickly that he could only sense them because they were all together. Even a god wouldn't be able to sense them one at a time. Well, at least not until the box opened. With one of those new senses he saw, heard, and felt the other two doors in a way that no mortal could. One door was directly across from the one he'd entered. He walked over to it and felt an unusual energy level. Gesturing the door open, he started to walk through and stopped.

He threw another figurine through. When it exploded as it crossed the threshold, he tried to figure out the barrier Poseidon had set up. He tried to blast his way through.

The blast was reflected back to him. He slowly picked himself up off the floor.

He turned to the other door. Again he threw a figurine through. This time, it twisted and vanished. He threw another figurine through and followed it with his senses as it again twisted and vanished. He realized that it was landing in another room or cavern. He drew a shield around himself and stepped through.

He staggered as he moved into the cavern. A pool of water was in front of him and draining his power. Only his shield prevented it from draining him completely. To his left a force line drew him. He grabbed it and a light flared. There was a small niche, he moved towards it. Hecate was in a cage in front of him. She was chained to a chair. The chair's legs sank deep into the rock below. The cage bars ran from the top to the bottom of the cavern. They sank deep into rock at both ends. Examining the cage door he realized that the key he had taken from Poseidon's desk opened it. The force line was draining what power the energy sink didn't from her. It flowed back to Poseidon and Hera. Reaching out to the force line, he shifted enough energy to translocate back to the six-sided room.

Once there he moved quickly to the wall with the chaos boxes. He selected three of varying sizes. Done there he left, sealing the room and translocated back to his own rooms.

Once there he concealed the three boxes and the key in separate hiding places. He also shielded each individually and the room as a whole. He quickly checked on Poseidon and Hera, and while he couldn't read their minds, he could tell that they were seriously incapacitated and would be for several days.

That done, he went to his bedroom. Smiling at the new use of his power, he stripped and cleaned himself with a thought. He sent his clothes to that small twist in time and space that allowed travel to other dimensions made the past - past and the future uncertain. And served as the gods' storage closet. Cleaning was even simpler. He released his molecules in the first step of translocating, allowing the dirt and grime to slip through and vaporized them with pinpricks of light and heat.

Ebullient he threw himself onto his bed and created a seeing mirror on the ceiling above. He couldn't find Iolaus, so he looked for the others. Jason. Xena. Hercules; all of them were protected by a shield. He continued looking, until he finally found Mora.

Not within anyone's protection. He saw her on a trail. She slogged through snow, furs wrapped around her against the freezing cold. He searched for any surviving family members.

There. In Wales, her siblings and their families lived. And he located Marcus and Alcmene and their spouses sheltered in Corinth. He tried to strike at them and shields flared, cutting off his power and vision. He moved his mind back to Wales. He couldn't directly affect anything it was outside the area he should properly work in.

No worshippers. Of course he had no worshippers here either. He smiled ferally and reached his mind out again. First he touched Mora's mind and froze her then he brought her mind with his to Wales and to her family's village. At her desperate panic he realized that this was going to be even better than he thought. She still loved them even after they exiled her she desperately cared, fast images gleaned from her mind told him that she’d scryed them over the years, watching and when needed protecting.

It was very early in the morning in Wales and her sisters and brothers were with their families breaking fast. He reached deep into the mind of Mora's oldest sister. The woman picked up a knife and stabbed her husband in the heart. As her children started screaming and trying to run he froze them in their tracks and watched as she slaughtered them. He moved her back into the room where their mother lived. Old and feeble she had heard the screams but not understood what happened. She too died at her daughter's hand. Finally, he released her mind and in her grief she turned the knife on herself.

Mora tried to scream and hold him back to no avail as he turned next to her younger sister. Again he took over the woman's mind and had her kill first her husband then her children. This time he recognized a cold will to survive and didn't release her mind at the end. Instead he forced her to drive the knife through her own heart.

He turned next to Mora's surviving brother. This time he forced him to kill his wife but instead of simply killing his children he had him rape them first. When Belisco finished with him he left him and allowed him to kill himself in grief.

Belisco laughed at Mora's screams of rage and grief as she saw her beloved siblings slaughter their families. As Mora wept her rage and grief in the snow Belisco reached within her body and shattered her knees. That done he left her there to freeze.

Still laughing at Mora's rage and grief, Belisco shut off his window and reached a hand down to deal with the erection viewing the rapes had given him. He slowly stroked it and allowed his mind to picture Iolaus chained in front of him to the bedposts.

He imagined Iolaus' screams of pain as he used a tag to make his body feel like it was on fire. He stroked his cock as it jumped at the fantasy. He vividly imagined Iolaus jerking in the chains, his head thrown back as he howled in agony, and his body arching. Then he imagined reaching in and causing Iolaus to bleed at the slightest touch. He willed down his orgasm as he imagined Iolaus bleeding from the pressure of the manacles at his wrists and ankles. He could smell blood and see it dripping from his wrists and ankles, staining the bedsheets. As his fantasy continued Belisco started to thrust his hips and send his cock through his hands.

He envisioned standing in front of Iolaus, on the bed, stroking his body, causing bloody marks to appear. He could see the marks on his hips, going up his waist and traveling across his chest to his nipples. He imagined licking the bloody areas, causing even more blood to well up. He licked his lips, as he tasted the well-remembered taste of Iolaus' blood. His breath was coming in gasps as he imagined undoing the chains with a thought, and allowing Iolaus to drop onto his stomach on the bed.

He could feel Iolaus' shaking body under his as he thrust home. He remembered the blood on his cock from both the rapes of twenty-five years ago and the ones from last week. He relived those memories, the warmth of Iolaus' body around his, the harsh gripping tightness of that first entry, then the slick warm feeling as blood started flowing around his cock. He brought those memories into his fantasy and delighted in the imagined feel of blood on his cock as Iolaus' ass tore and bled.

As he continued his fantasy, he added Iolaus' soft whimpers of shock and pain. He loved Iolaus' quiet half-gasped cries. They filled him with desire. His soft pleas and sobs hardened his cock like almost nothing else. Belisco considered them the most erotic sounds he'd ever heard.

In his fantasy he drove to completion. Thrusting deeply and fiercely into Iolaus. Covering his smaller body with his. Holding his wrists down, using his body weight to keep him down and his knees to keep his lower body still. He moved faster as his completion overtook him easily, moving in the now blood slicked passage.

As he came in fantasy, his come gushed out of him and fell on his body and bed. He lay still a few moments wondering how it would feel to leave his cock in Iolaus' ass as he bled to death. He wanted to do that. Leave his cock in and continue covering his body with his own. His memories of the feeling of Iolaus healing around him were strong. He desperately wanted to feel Iolaus die under him and then return.

He continued laying on the bed rubbing his come into his body. With a slight adjustment to his body chemistry, he got hard again. He smiled, realizing the advantages of this particular ability. He could stay hard in Iolaus for as long as he wanted or he could force Iolaus to try to make him hard and stay flaccid. He imagined holding Iolaus' body in arousal and not giving relief. Keeping him writhing begging for release while he played with his body. Till pain and pleasure intermingled so completely that Iolaus couldn't tell the difference. Without touching his body, he shifted his chemistry into greater arousal. His cock leaked and jumped, his nipples peaked, the flush of rushing blood, pounding heart, and gasps for air created by his whim. He smiled slightly; imagining having such control over Iolaus' body, and with a final shift, brought himself to a second orgasm.

He stood and with a thought found and vaporized his cum. With another thought he dressed. He pulled more power around him and vanished. He moved through space with a thought, bending it to his will. Shifting through the mad nothingness with ease. Reappearing outside the wrecked inn, he sought with his mind for Iolaus' scent and presence. Deeply buried under the rubble he found four things: a vest, a sword, a small scroll, and the still bloody belt. With a thought, he shifted those things to his hands. He examined them each.

He reached first the bloodstained belt his hands running over it, lingering on Iolaus’ blood. As he handled it images and memories flooded through him pulling him into Iolaus’ memories, making him feel them as if they were his own. Putting it on each morning, taking it off in the evenings, his hands moving quickly in lust or slowly in seduction. Hercules fumbling at it as they kissed. Wrapped loosely around his wrists his sweaty hands grasping it in passion as Hercules pounded into him bringing him ecstasy. Then finally, tied with it to the post. Desperate struggles as his blood flowed onto it and Belisco ripped into him, bit him, and beat him. Belisco gasped as Iolaus' memories of the rape flooded through him. His cock was hard again. He wanted Iolaus here now. So that he could pound into his ass and taste his pain. Belisco controlled his erection forcing it to subside.

Body.

Iolaus had written the scroll. It was for Jason and described the best way to fight a hydra. It was brief.

'At least two experienced heroes. One should cut off heads and the other should burn remaining stumps with a torch. Bury immortal head and place large rock on top. Avoid tail. Note: Hydra blood is very corrosive and it is important to avoid getting sprayed. If sprayed rinse immediately with water and baking soda solution. Do not reuse clothes.'

The memories here were more analytical, but humor shone through. He could remember writing this and other similar scrolls on tactics and strategies for Chiron and Jason. Nights in libraries looking for similar scrolls and laughing at some of the ones that showed the various mistakes they had made.

Mind.

The vest was permeated with other memories. First, glimpses of the woman who had made it for him. Feeling her lover for Iolaus while she hummed and rocked, pricking her fingers as she sewed, muttering imprecations under her breathe at each prick. Stubbornly and lovingly finishing the vest. Next, Iolaus' joy at his Ania's hard work and desire. Belisco felt the joy and pride with which Iolaus wore the poorly sewn vest. He recalled Iolaus' passion and joy in each day with his wife. Finally, the deep screaming pain, which resolved to a nagging ache as time eased the memories of her death.

Heart.

The sword glowed briefly in his hands fighting him; he stopped surprized, then pushed. It gave up its memories when he broke the shielding. This time the memories overtook him almost completely. The screaming pain of new loss raged through him. Followed by a time of long cold blankness as he traveled east and east and yet further east. Only to be replaced by the vivid memories of Iolaus’ teacher bursting through like sledgehammers. The old woman was small and slender, fast as a whip.

"Why are you here?"

"To forget." Slam as she struck him with her unneeded walking stick.

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know!" The reply screamed, tired of the pain of the stick. No slam this time, just a slight smile.

Belisco shook through Iolaus’ confusion through other similar lessons until finally he let go of the need to know and the need to be certain. Pain and frustration, as Iolaus learned new ways of fighting and moving, to make battle like a dance. Meditation. Learning the rhythms of his body, slowing them and speeding them up. Learning always: stand like earth, burn like fire, fly like wind, and flow like water. Making the sword, pounding rage and fury and sorrow out, until finally he let go and remembered.

Joy.

Belisco screamed and moved his mind from the memories regaining control. He smiled as he realized just what he had.

Soul.

He had all four keys to locating Iolaus in his first stop. The bloody belt held memories of the body. The scroll held his mind, the vest his heart, and best of all, the sword with its memories of his soul, as it learned.

Once more, he vanished. This time he appeared outside Erythia and Pandion's hut. He planned to use Iolaus' mother, Erythia, as his sacrifice in the search rite. He reached out with his mind and connected once more with protective shields. This time he threw power at the shields causing them to flare and collapse. He blew the door off with another blast. As he walked forward, Celesta appeared in front of the cottage.

"Hold."

He smiled throwing a fireball at her. She caught it with a single upraised hand and dissipated with a thought.

"Hold." Her order came a second time. Behind her, Erythia and Pandion huddled together. Pandion pushed his wife behind in a futile attempt to protect her.

Belisco continued walking forward. Vanished and reappeared within the cottage. Reaching for Iolaus' mother. He grunted in pain as Eris thrust a sword into his side. Fire burned through him and he screamed as she poured power into the sword. He stabbed backwards with Iolaus' sword gashing her. Both swords flared and the flow broke causing the power to backlash through her. With a shrill scream she collapsed.

He pulled power and released a fireball at the mortals. As Celesta deflected it, he grabbed Erythia. She fainted as he released another fireball at Pandion. This time Celesta couldn't deflect it. He and Erythia vanished. Leaving Celesta with Pandion's burnt corpse and the unconscious body of her fellow goddess, Eris.

When he reappeared, this time on the plains where his mother had taught him her arts, he dropped Erythia on the ground. He carefully inscribed a power circle and stood in the center. He inscribed the circle with the power and shields that no shaman before him had - the power of a god. And worked assured in the knowledge of his physical safety.

He didn't want to waste the time necessary to fast and dance the calling. Instead he used his power to empty his body of food and wastes, changing the chemistry, bringing him to a power trance the likes of which he'd never previously experienced.

He reached down and wrapped Erythia's braid around his left hand lifting her up and letting her dangle. He reached his mind out and abruptly awoke her. She screamed, hitting and kicking out trying to get loose. He laughed at her feeble efforts, allowing her to tire herself, then struck her across the face with a hard tooth-rattling slap.

She gasped in pain and abruptly stopped fighting.

"Look at me," he ordered and shook her when she didn't obey. "Look at me!" he screamed the order.

Reluctantly, she lifted her head to look at him. He followed her thoughts as she shook, gleaning fast broken impressions through her fear. She could see him clearly in the strong sunlight. She took in his height, very tall, even taller that her son's friend, Hercules. He was lean and well muscled. Like most other warriors, he wore black leather, pants, shirt, gauntlets, and boots. Unlike most warriors, he wore no jewelry. In fact, he wore no decoration at all. But hanging from his belt he had four items. A belt, a scroll, and oh gods, Iolaus' sword and the vest he always wore.

Finally, she looked at his face. It was lean and somewhat angular with straight black hair pulled neatly back into a braid. Full lips. Narrow nose. She stopped, shuddering at the eyes. They were wild, black eyes; obsessed and fevered. Filled with hate. They reminded her of the eyes of a feral dog who used to steal her chickens. She'd finally had to let Iolaus trap and kill it.

She stared into those mad terrible eyes a few short minutes that felt like forever. Finally, yanking her head, ignoring the pain the movement caused, to break the connection.

Regaining the power of speech, she asked quietly, "Why?"

"I'm Belisco." At her look of confusion he laughed. "Iolaus didn't tell you about me."

"No." She whispered starting to shake. 'Gods this isn't random, please let him be after Hercules not Iolaus. I'm sorry Alcmene, but please not Iolaus.'

"Sorry, but I'm after Iolaus." She jerked realizing that he'd read her thoughts. He laughed again. "That's right. No secrets." He shook her again bringing tears of pain to her eyes. "Don't you want to know about me and Iolaus?"

'No,' she thought. But she quietly said, "yes."

"No you don't. But I'm going to tell you anyway." She started shaking as his soft voice continued. "I took him and Jason. I was going to let them go for enough money." He smiled showing teeth. "But Iolaus was so beautiful. So full of joy and life." Lifting her higher so he could look into her eyes he asked, "Did you teach him that?"

He continued without waiting for an answer. "I decided to keep him forever. I took him. I was his first. The first man to come in his ass."

"Oh, no. Please, no." She wept for her son's pain and for the barrier between them that made him feel that he could never tell her.

"Oh, yes. He was wonderful - tight and bloody, his body moving under me, crying and gasping his pain. Screaming at the end. I wanted him forever. But he got away and Jason trapped me."

'Thank you Jason.' She blessed him with the only thing she had left...her thanks for the protection he'd provided.

"I took him again." He continued as she tried to ignore his soft mad voice.

He shook her back to attention and said, "Let me show you." With a gesture Iolaus' belt floated up and wrapped itself around her wrists binding them. He brought his free hand over and touching both the belt and her skin; he let the memories flow into them both.

Erythia screamed in pain and fury as she relieved her son's rape. Her own wrists twisted as her son's had trying to get free. Crying she relived Iolaus' eating the apple and his terror as immortality took hold. She screamed in agony as she felt the pain of entry and thrust, Belisco's teeth, the bites and blood.

"Hades, take you!" she screamed, "Hades, place you in the darkest pit of Tartarus!" Retching, she moaned, "Oh gods, why?"

Stopping the memories Belisco shook her again. This time some of the hair at the back of her neck came up leaving bloody marks. "He escaped again and a god is hiding him." He shook her again and more of her hair pulled out. "I want him back. You're going to help me find him."

"No! Never!" this time the scream broke into a wild sob.

"I don't need your cooperation. Just your blood and your death." He stroked a fingernail down one check. His nails were sharp and made his first cut along her face. He leaned his head to her and licked the welling blood.

"Nice taste." He let the blood well up again and used a finger to paint a streak of her blood on his face. "But not as sweet as Iolaus' blood." He made a second cut on her other check and painted a matching mark with her blood on his face. "Iolaus' blood is as sweet as ambrosia."

He continued cutting her face, shredding it. Finally, he tired of his sport. He let go of her limp body and by his will left it hanging in midair. With a thought he summoned fire and burnt her clothes off leaving bare and reddened skin. He healed her injuries and again revived her.

He retrieved the belt. As she watched he licked at Iolaus' dried blood on the belt. She moaned. He quickly hung the belt back with the other three objects on his belt.

Smiling he stepped up to her and summoned a knife. Walking up to her he whispered, "Time to die," while making his first cut down an arm. The cut was shallow, but with a twist of his will, he kept her blood from clotting. He continued making similar cuts down her other arm, both legs, and several down her chest and back.

He stepped back her blood soaking his clothes and the ground. As she bled, he collected her blood and drank it. Towards the end, he lowered her limp blood soaked body to the ground. He pushed his mind into hers as she continued losing her connection with life.

He noticed her feeling of vague pain as he reached his hand into her chest and pulled out her still fluttering heart. He ate it, binding himself closer to her soul as it fled the confines of her body and started its journey to the underworld.

As he crossed the first threshold, he stopped their journey. He bound her to him so that he could remain there, preventing her from continuing to Hades for judgment. He briefly felt Celesta' enraged pounding at the outer edges of his shields. But this was a shaman's rite she didn't know and couldn't counter.

He briefly gave thanks to his mother for her teachings then continued the ceremony. He placed the belt, scroll, vest, and sword on the ground in a cross at what would have been compass points in the physical realm. At the north point, he placed the belt for earth and body. At the west point, he placed the vest for water and heart. At the east point, he placed the scroll for air and mind. Finally, at the south point, he placed the sword for fire and soul. That done he brought the powers together, binding the articles together, and joining the memories to create a spirit hound. The hound twisted up out of the articles and he set it loose to find Iolaus.

Following it, he loped easily through the spirit realm until he could hear Iolaus' laughter and a dog's bark. He stopped and called the hound to him. Creating a window, he peered into the physical world. Iolaus was playing with several people. He recognized Hercules and Xena. He also remembered the others from before when they had kept him from taking Iolaus with him. A dog was racing away with its back to him running after a tossed pot lid. He had only a brief glance before it leaped over a barrel vanishing. He searched for Jason, but couldn't find him. He believed the place was Chiron's Academy and was certain that Jason would be close by. Frustrated, he reached out, moving his spirit into the physical world. His spirit manifestation entered in the courtyard of Chiron's Academy.

Iolaus froze. The dog charged back and leapt through him. He briefly flickered almost losing control and awakening his physical body. As the dog turned back growling, he realized that it was Cerberus!

'Shit'

Cerberus as guard dog to the underworld would know a spirit manifestation. He hesitated, torn. He was close to Iolaus. If he brought his physical body here, he could take him. But Cerberus was howling, pointing him out. Not to those here. In this form, they couldn't see him. Not even Hercules could see him. Jason and Iphicles ran out. Followed by a large metal cat and a young goddess.

He suddenly recognized her as Ares' daughter, Harmonia.

She could see him. Still tempted he moved towards Iolaus. Cerberus jumped through him, knocking Iolaus to the ground and covering him protectively.

Harmonia let loose a blast of power that intercepted his run for Iolaus and distracted him but didn't injure him. The second blast hurt. He turned seeing Celesta and Eris preparing a third blast and released Erythia's spirit freeing him to return to his body.

Once there he dismissed the power circle blowing it outward to devastate the surrounding land with an enraged howl.

"ARRGHHH!"

He stood legs apart, hands clenched and shaking in front of him, arching his back, and putting his head back. Every muscle tensed as he howled a second time.

"I WILL HAVE HIM!"

He sent a second blast of energy racing across the land. And then vanished.

He left behind black scorched earth and Erythia's small bloody body.

part 22

With a desperate stretch of power, Celesta caught Erythia's soul before it fell beyond her reach forever. She ignored the yelling and barking surrounding her as Eris again collapsed and Harmonia called for her father.

Hades appeared first.

"SILENCE!"

Blessed silence.

Then Ares appeared and bellowed, "What in Tartarus is going on?" and everyone started talking at once.

This time it was Ares who yelled, "SILENCE!" and while his bellow was slightly softer then his uncle's it worked just as well.

Still carefully cradling Erythia's soul within her power Celesta stood, looking at the havoc surrounding her.

Iolaus was still on the ground, but now sitting up curled around Cerberus who still protectively guarded him. But the orders from Ares and Hades had lowered her loud barking to occasional quiet growls. Hercules crouched behind him in a guard position, searching for the threat to his lover.

They were surrounded by Xena, Atus, Jason, and Iphicles, all armed with swords, along with Gabrielle, armed with her staff. They stood in guard positions. Jason's guards stood back, watching the perimeter.

Harmonia sat cross-legged on the ground close to the kitchen door where she and Ostseth had rushed out. She looked exhausted, slumped against Ostseth and drawing energy.

Eris had collapsed a few feet from Celesta, her brother Ares already feeding her energy and helping her revive. Hades was now right in front of her.

"We tried to stop him." Celesta said, still trying to maintain her hold on Erythia's soul. It was injured from the delay in moving on to the afterlife and Celesta poured energy into it.

Hades nodded seriously, and touched her shoulder, adding to her energy levels with a transfer.

Ares stood helping his sister. "Everyone inside. Jason, find us a room we can all fit in."

Celesta let Ares’ calm command of the situation flow over her in reassuring waves. 'It is nice having the God of War on your side in a fight.'

They slowly made their way to the dining hall. Everyone took seats at one of the long tables.

Ares took the head of the table and looked at everyone after they were seated. Noting positions. Jason, Iolaus, and Hercules were together and the other two kept Iolaus between them. No surprise there. However, Cerberus sitting at Iolaus' feet like a sweet puppy was a little peculiar. Iphicles sat next to his brother. And his men sat behind him. Lucas, Remar, Imbrios, Menelio, and Montoga. He furrowed his brows slightly; he'd expected Remar and Menelio to be together by now. Particularly, after he'd mentioned them to 'Dite. Instead Menelio and Montoga had become a couple and Remar and Lucas were ignoring their attraction to each other. He mentally shrugged. 'Aphrodite's the Goddess of Love. She can deal with it.'

Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus sat in another small group. Surprisingly it was Gabrielle who sat next to him, Xena beside her and Atus between Xena and Jason.

He moved on. Harmonia sat on the floor by Ostseth. That was normal. So was Eris sitting by him and Celesta by Eris. Hades sat very close to Celesta maintaining an almost continuous contact. That was very odd, normally he separated himself more. Ares sent a small tendril of thought to his uncle.

*Hades?*

*We're busy Ares.* Hades response was very terse as he concentrated on feeding Celesta additional energy to keep Erythia's soul from fading.

Ares moved on. "Who was outside when this all started?"

Iphicles answered. "Jason and I were in the kitchen. Harmonia was upstairs with Ostseth. Everyone else was outside."

Hercules picked up the thread. "We were outside playing catch with Cerberus. She suddenly went crazy and charged, leaping at..."

"Well nothing we could see." Xena interrupted.

They all stopped talking.

"And then?" Ares continued working with them and letting Hades and Celesta do whatever it was they were doing.

Harmonia picked up the story. "I heard Cerberus barking like crazy and she was angry. She felt something was threatening."

Jason nodded. "We heard the barking, too. But when we got outside she was barking and growling at nothing."

Harmonia shook her head. "It was a spirit of some kind. I almost didn't see it. Big, angry and dangerous. Daddy, it was running to Iolaus so I threw a blast at it. And Cerberus jumped through and knocked Iolaus down."

"How would Cerberus know?" asked Gabrielle.

Hades distractedly explained, "As one of my cohorts, Cerberus would see a spirit manifestation."

Harmonia, talking at the same time said, "She's the guard dog to Tartarus, of course she sees spirits."

They both stopped.

Harmonia shrugged. "My blast barely distracted. Then Aunt Eris and Aunt Celesta showed up. They blasted him dead on together. He disappeared and I started yelling."

Iolaus spoke for the first time since Cerberus had charged the spirit. "It was Belisco wasn't it?"

Eris answered. "Yes."

All eyes turned to her. Hercules asked her angrily, "You're sure? I thought this place was protected."

Ares and Eris responded at the same time.

"I'm sure," she said.

"It is," he said.

Hercules started to get up when Celesta interrupted.

"He's a god now."

There was dead silence for several minutes.

Finally, Eris nodded her confirmation.

Iolaus started shaking and moved closer to Hercules.

Celesta looked down and blinked back tears. She'd never failed a mortal in her charge so badly before. "Hades and Ares shielded this place and all of you so that they couldn't find you." Her voice shook slightly. "Eris and I shielded Mora's surviving children and your mother and her husband, Iolaus."

Iolaus' eyes grew wide with fear and he asked, "What? What happened?"

Eris picked up the story. "This morning something tested the shields on Mora's children. It passed quickly. Later the shields on Erythia and Pandion's hut collapsed." She looked at Celesta. "Celesta and I went to protect them."

"We failed." Celesta said quietly.

Iolaus moaned.

"He killed Pandion and took Erythia. He killed her in some kind of ceremony. I tried to intervene but I couldn't get through his shields. I tracked him to the academy, but we arrived barely in time."

"How did he kill her?" Iolaus asked quietly once more huddled in on himself.

Celesta looked at him. "She's going to the Elysian Fields."

"How did he kill her?" Iolaus asked, again angry at her failure to answer.

"A spirit search." Xena explained her voice low.

"What?" Iolaus turned to her.

"It's a blood rite. You sacrifice an animal or sometimes a person and enter the spirit world with their spirit. Then you use some artifacts from the person you are seeking to cast a finding spell."

Gabrielle took Xena's hand in hers. "Belisco bellowed that Xena had killed his mother. A few years ago Xena killed a shaman who used those rites, called Alti."

Ares sighed and summed it up. "So now we're dealing with a god who knows the shaman's rites."

"How did my mother die?" Iolaus yells his question breaking into sobs.

Celesta released Erythia's soul to comfort her son. Pouring power into her, she allowed Erythia a material body for a few short moments.

"Iolaus." Erythia materialized behind her son.

"Mother!" Iolaus turned to her and gathered her to him. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Hercules stood moving out of her way as she sat by Iolaus. "Hush, my child. Hush, my son." She crooned her love for him.

She finally brought his weeping head up. "Let go, my loved and loving child. Let go." He wept. "He told me what he did to you."

"Mother." He wailed, "I didn't want you to know."

"Listen. You told me once, that 'victims of an obsession aren't to blame.' Now listen to your own words."

She shook him gently.

"Promise me that you'll go on and be joyful."

He choked back new sobs. "I promise."

She nodded and held him tighter. They clung together until Celesta's spell faded and Erythia faded from his arms to find herself in the Elysian Fields, reunited with her husbands.

Celesta’s energy reserves sank and she braced her hands against the table. Her shields fragmented and her tight bound with her twin reasserted itself, pulling her into Hades’ thoughts. As Hercules took Erythia’s place and pulled his lover up she heard a brief buzz of mental voices. He strode to the staircase, Cerberus following. While the mortals watched them go up, the gods held a brief mental conference.

"Strife." Hades called.

Strife's ghost appeared.

Celesta gathered energy as Hades quickly briefed him mentally. Verbally he simply said, "We need you to stay here and watch for any additional spirit manifestations."

Strife nodded his agreement.

Hades reached for his hand, and taking it, fed him power.

Celesta took in the mood of the room and decided to give brief explanation. "Hades and Ares will increase the power in the shielding. Cerberus is going to stay with Iolaus and we're adding Strife to the group for additional protection. He should be able to sense any new manifestations."

Ares stood, joining his will to Hades’, a brief glow filled the room moved outward to reinforce with the shields. “All right, time to go,” he announced.

Iphicles leapt up. "Ares, you promised a full briefing."

"You'll get it. In five nights." With that, Ares vanished.

Celesta felt Hades tie Strife into the shield before they left to join Ares.

When they reappeared in Hephaestus' forge Ares was already deep in a trance with Aphrodite. Celesta watched her brother’s impatient pacing as he tried to catch the edges of the conversation. She caught echoes of the conversation through her link with Hades.

*Harmonia and Iolaus?* Aphrodite's mental voice was soft and concerned.

*They're fine. We reinforced the shields.* Ares mental voice broke off suddenly as he pushed his shields out, forcing Hades out quickly. Hades flinched at the sudden painful headache that resulted.

A few moments later Ares come up and grabbed his uncle by the collar. "What did you think you were doing?" he roared in fury.

"Why is Aphrodite so interested in Iolaus?" Hades roared back. Celesta glanced at Eris, barely catching her tightly sent description of Belisco using Iolaus’ sword.

*Eris?* she started asking.

*I’ll explain later,* she promised, *Let me stop this, first.* "Sweet Cheeks?" Eris broke in laughing. "He's one of her pet mortals."

Hades relaxed. "I'm sorry, Ares. This thing is getting to me." Celesta felt his burning curiosity through her fragmented shields. He still wanted to know what they were hiding, but this wasn't the way to do it.

Ares released his uncle with a sigh. "I know." He led them to the other room. "Aphrodite confirmed that Alti had an affair with Poseidon a few centuries ago. Apparently, she was a powerful shaman and obsessed with staying alive and power."

"So you think she trained Belisco?" Eris asked tiredly.

"It's my working theory." Ares shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. We know he has a shaman's knowledge." He asked them, "Were you able to get a tag onto him?"

Eris and Celesta shook their heads. Celesta added, "He was shielded too well. It slid off."

Shaking his head, Ares continued. "This is bad. Calisto and Velasca had no prior experience handling spiritual or energy powers. Shamans do. And he's coming from a different methodology. He's going to keep surprising us."

Hades asked, "Does anyone besides Hecate know anything about shamanism."

"No." Ares started, but stopped when Eris and Celesta looked at each other. "Who?"

"Dionysus," said Celesta gingerly.

Ares grimaced, clearly not happy with the idea, then he shrugged resignedly and stood up. "Might as well get this over with." Pointing to Celesta and Eris, he said, “You two get out of here. And get her,” this time pointing to Eris, “healed up.” Looking at Hades, he added, “And you stay here. I really don't need any distractions."

***

About an hour later, Ares returned holding his head and staggering slightly.

"That bad?"

"Hades, I'd rather fight Dahok again." He shuddered. "Have you ever tried to have a sensible conversation with Dionysus?"

Hades snorted. "Not for long. How anyone that..." He stopped at a loss for words.

"That 'insufficiently connected to reality to get it' manages as a god." Ares finished for him.

Hades laughed. "Exactly. That sounded like Harmonia."

"It was." Ares leaned back dissipating the last of his headache and conjuring a goblet of strong wine mixed with ambrosia. "It's also accurate. There's a reason he's the god of wine and madness. He's too close to insanity for any other duty."

"Well?" Hades asked after he waited for a few minutes.

"He knows a lot, but it's all buried in detail and nothing's organized." He shut his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "I've got fifteen centuries of knowledge, the rites and rituals, and the basis of their methods."

"How long to sort through it?" Hades asked realizing the difficulty. That amount of knowledge had to be organized to be useful to anyone but a god who thrived on chaos. And Ares was the most obsessively controlling god he knew.

"At least a couple of days. Longer unless I trance and leave everything else to you." He yawned and pulled a slight tendril of energy from the forge to compensate.

"I'll handle things here."

"I picked up a couple of useful items."

"Oh?"

"He's going to already know shields, bindings and tags. That's why Celesta and Eris couldn't put a tag on him. And he's twisting space to travel, but he doesn't really understand why he can travel that way. I need to check, but I don't think he has any concept on pulling power from the sun directly. Just from mortals and the earth. And he's going to have a weak grasp on power fields."

He finished his wine. "I have a couple of ideas. But they need work."

As he got up to leave Hades suggested, "Iolaus would make good bait."

"The mortals would never go for it." Ares started out the door.

"We could simply take him." Hades pushed.

"Only if you want to be fucking your dog." Ares replied as he left.

Hades laughed and leaned back. He located his tag in the genealogy records and quietly started reviewing Iolaus'.

Part 23

Celesta's room was spare, but not ordinary. She kept her rooms in one of the four towers on Hades' underworld palace. Like his office, it was round, and had four windows facing the cardinal directions. Unlike the windows in Hades' office, they reflected a diffuse light through the stained glass. Each window held a different theme, one for each season on earth. North held winter, bare trees, a weak setting sun, gray skies, and snow covered earth. East held spring, trees in bloom, a warm and gentle dawning sun, blue skies with great white fluffy clouds, and the earth green and flowering. South held summer, trees still green, a strong baking noon sun, a cloudless blue sky, and the earth still green but the grass starting to brown. Finally, the West held autumn, trees turned to their great colors red, brown, and gold with the barest hints of green, a weakening afternoon sun, skies storm colored, and the earth gold with the bounty of harvest. In each window, a woman walked the earth, gentle and golden, calling a fierce hawk to her.

The walls held no decorations other than the windows.

Between the north and east windows a great mirror stood. It was Celesta's scrying mirror. A great oval, it floated unsupported. Between the east and south windows, she had a small sitting area. A sofa was next to the wall, a low table in front of it with sitting pillows at either end. It was on the sofa she sat with her lover and talked. And on those pillows, though most often brought together, they sat and dined at her table. A desk stood between the south and west windows. It was a massive secretary desk with cubbyholes and drawers to spare. And a few drawers and cubbyholes that went into a storage space created in the corners of time and space that only Celesta and Eris could reach.

Finally, her bed stood between the west and north windows. A great wooden bed she had persuaded Hephaestus to build to her design. Although that feat took a great deal of cajoling, Hephaestus hadn't really wanted to work in wood, but she had finally prevailed. The bed was a combination of great strength and grace. Made of solid cherry wood it glowed with dark warmth. Every detail was perfect, every joint, every whirl and whorl, every piece of the pattern. Perfect as only a god could make it. In front of it stood a chest of the same beautiful cherry. And on it were covers of great forest green and cream sheets.

And Celesta, sobbing.

Eris held Celesta as she cried. Her tears fell and vanished, wetting nothing. Eris was accustomed to the sight of vanishing tears. All gods' tears did so, and she idly wondered where they ended up.

Celeste continued sobbing in her arms. It was odd, comforting the death bringer while she mourned the death of two frail mortals. Eris herself was long past that kind of sentimentality. She simply felt angry. She was unaccustomed to being beaten.

Celesta continued to sob and she continued holding her. Wordlessly. She'd long ago forgotten how to give comfort, so she remained silent, rather than say something that would cause more pain. So they sat on the bed, Celesta sobbing and Eris holding her.

Until finally, Celesta pulled out of her arms and sat up. "You can talk now."

Eris looked at her warily.

Seeing the look, Celesta reassured her lover, "Really, I'm okay. You can talk now."

Eris thought for several minutes, trying to decide what to say. Finally she shrugged and said, "I don't understand why you cried. They would have died anyway and its not like they went to Tartarus or something."

Celesta looked at her blankly a moment before realizing that Eris had misunderstood the reason for her tears. "I wasn't crying for them. Erythia and Pandion were ready. They'd both been ready for a long time. I was crying for Iolaus. He's hurting so badly. He needed his mother or Alcmene and now neither of them are there for him."

"That's it?" Now Eris was really confused.

"And because I'm angry that I couldn't stop Belisco."

"I understand that part." Eris shrugged. "Although I'd rather fry him than cry over it."

Celesta laughed abruptly struck by the never-ending differences between her and her lover. "Four thousand years." She giggled.

"What?" Eris said. By now she was accustomed to her lover's strange fits of humor, but she still occasionally had difficulty following her thoughts.

"We've been lovers for four thousand years and we still don't understand each other." Celesta kept laughing. "I can't help it, I wonder how on earth mortals manage with their thirty or forty years."

Suddenly understanding, Eris joined her. "According to Aphrodite, they don't."

As Eris laughed, Celesta caught a brief glimpse of still red scorch marks on Eris' hands and traveling up her arms. Moving from laughter to seriousness, Celesta carefully touched the still tender area where the power feedback had coursed into Eris. "What did he do to you?"

Eris shrugged and moved her hands away. "When I stabbed him, I used my sword as a focus point to pour power into him and disrupt his systems. He used Iolaus' sword to break the loop and the feedback poured into me." Minimizing her injuries she continued, "It's a little painful, but not serious. I'm more worried that he knew how to do that." She frowned darkly. "And that he knew to use Iolaus' sword and not his own."

Celesta hadn't noticed anything unusual about Iolaus' sword. “I heard you mention that to Ares, why was it important?" She retook Eris' hands and started sending healing energy through them.

“You’re too tired.” Eris shifted her hands away.

“Not anymore, not in my place of power.” Celesta took her hands again.

Still uncomfortable with being cosseted, Eris thought briefly about taking her hands away, but after a glance at her lover’s stubborn face, settled down to let Celesta heal them. As they healed and her energy recovered, she replied, "His sword has a power field. It's similar to the one that Hephaestus' has, so it reacted rather explosively. An ordinary mortal built sword wouldn't have done that." At Celesta's murmur of surprise, she continued wryly. "Don't ask. We don't know and don't think that we haven't tried to find out. He came back with it from his travels east. It's not Chin, but I don't know what it is." She shrugged and giggled. "It drove Ares nuts, he actually went to talk to the Chin war god. Not that it helped. He came back even more frustrated. According Ares, he was told, 'Iolaus made it.' We know that he had to have some help, but we have no idea who."

She thought a moment as the healing energy moved from her hands up her arms. "I'm not surprised that you didn't feel it. So far, only Ares, Cupid, Strife and I have. It's a very unusual field; one that I always thought was unique to a war god and his retinue. Ares feels it because he's a war god. Strife and I feel it because we're part of Ares’ house. Ares says that Cupid and presumably Harmonia feel it because they have the potential to become a war god."

Celesta thought as she finished with Eris' hands and arms. "Belisco's being a shaman had to have something to do with it then."

Her hands and arms now healed, she started gently stroking Celesta's hair.

Slowly Celesta moved closer to Eris finally leaning in for a kiss. She gentle caressed Eris' lips with her tongue until lying back Eris opened her mouth. As she explored the familiar territory of Eris' mouth with her tongue, she quickly made their clothes vanish to nether space. Eris took control of the kiss, pushing her tongue into Celesta's mouth and moving across the roof of her mouth and then along the underside of her tongue as they moved apart. Suddenly Eris rolled, turning so that Celesta was lying on her back and she straddled her. Sitting up she rotated her ass on Celesta's cunt and moved her hands to her lover's breasts.

As Eris roughly pinched her nipples, Celesta arched and rubbed her wet cunt along Eris' ass. Moving down, Eris soothed the sore nipples with her tongue, gently licking first one, then the other. Celesta arched again and her head went back as Eris sucked one nipple into her mouth and played her fingers across the other one. Eris' own nipples were hard nubs and her cunt was hot and wet as she teased her lover. Finally, after several minutes of nipple teasing, she trailed her tongue down the soft roundness of Celesta's breast and moved down with licks and gentle nips to her navel.

As she teased her tongue into Celesta's bellybutton, she felt Celesta's mind reach for her own and opened quickly to her. From then on, her own perceptions were doubled, as she felt both her own heat and Celesta's in a confusing rush. She moved her mouth down and gently licked and rubbed her cheek along Celesta's soft pubic hair. As she felt Celesta's hair against her tongue and cheek, she felt a tongue and cheek against her own hair, the heated second sensation coming from Celesta. Suddenly Celesta's hands moved down and grasped Eris' hair, pushing her mouth down to lap at her cunt. Celesta arched as the sudden double sensation, her hands in Eris' hair, feeling the silkiness of it, and feeling what Eris felt at the sudden control she took, feeling hands in her hair pulling her down.

She screamed as Eris took the first gentle lick. They both felt everything, the sensation of being licked, the taste of Celesta, the gentle folds, the silky hair under hands, the satin of skin on skin. Celesta opened her legs wide allowing Eris even greater access, and Eris used that access to play her tongue along the inside of Celesta's cunt and along her clit, over and over. Moving her hands to cup Celesta's ass and bring that feast even closer to her. The sensations intermingled again, until neither could tell where one started and the other ended. As they built to a final explosion both goddesses tensed, tightened their bodies, and came.

Then fell back, gasping in a sweaty gasping heap.

Slowly they brought their minds apart. Gently separating from each other. Until finally Celesta was once more Celesta alone and Eris was once more Eris alone. Still sweaty and sticky Celesta finally moved her hands from Eris' hair to her upper arms and pulled her up into a gentle kiss. Letting a trickle of her power loose, she calmed Eris to a gentle and easy sleep, quickly cleaned them, covered them with blankets, and held her lover gently. Silently she held her and looked out her picture windows.

Windows that Eris had made her when they first became lovers. Ones that Eris had changed almost three thousand years ago, when she became Discord. Changing her own image from woman to hawk in each picture. A single tear coursed down her check as she silently cursed Zeus for the destruction he'd wrought. The fury and rage that had created Discord out of a quiet gentle goddess who wanted only to work her art in glass and light.

That tear vanished like all tears shed by gods. And Celeste wondered if any of them besides her had discovered that they vanished to the Styx, creating the greatest energy sink known. Creating what could someday become their destruction. Still silent she allowed another tear to fall.

part 24

Jason gasped as he thrust into Iolaus. Iolaus' fingers dug into the carpet as the thrust moved him forward and Hercules' mouth sucked his cock in deeper. Hercules and Jason were gentle with their lover as Iolaus rocked between them.

The three men were on the sitting room floor. Hercules was lying down, Iolaus straddling him and Hercules had brought his hips down so that he could suck on his cock. Iolaus' mouth was hovering over Hercules' cock but he hadn't reached for it yet. Jason knelt up behind Iolaus, gently thrusting his cock into Iolaus' warm ass. Hercules watched Jason's cock thrusting in and out and occasionally moved his tongue to lick it. He gasped as Iolaus finally lowered his head and took his cock in his mouth.

The three rocked together, Hercules and Jason gently slowing the speed of their lovemaking down, until, with a sudden cry, Iolaus came in Hercules' mouth. Hercules pulled him down lower and swallowed rapidly, drinking all of Iolaus' sweet gift. As he continued swallowing, Jason's ass clenched and he drove his own cum into Iolaus' ass. The taste of Iolaus' cum, combined with the sight of Jason filling his ass triggered Hercules' own orgasm. He came strongly as Iolaus gulped down his cum and lapped his cock.

The three collapsed together on the floor gasping. Hercules pulled Iolaus up and kissed him lapping at his own cum. As they cuddled, Jason moved to Iolaus' other side to join in the hug.

Finally, Hercules yawned, and amidst laughter, they slowly got up and went to the bedroom. As they had been doing for the last four nights, they slept together with Iolaus in the middle. That first night, before Erythia's murder, had been serendipity, Hercules simply thought having Jason there would help. That second night was necessity. After Hercules had brought him up Iolaus sat shaking and weeping until Jason had joined them. The next morning they woke to a very aroused and arousing Iolaus. They were both surprised, but Iolaus was insistent, he wanted to be loved and he wanted to love them.

The relationship resumed cautiously as they learned what did and did not trigger flashbacks. They had changed certain things in their lovemaking. Jason had always loved marking Iolaus' skin with bites, nothing that would break the skin, but something that would bruise a little. Iolaus couldn't stand bites. The slightest hint of teeth caused him to freeze in terror. They'd made one disastrous attempt to make love standing up, triggering a panic attack that lasted over an hour. None of them had even considered bringing the playful bondage games they'd done in the past back into their relationship.

And both Jason and Hercules had learned the signs that Iolaus wasn't with them, that instead he was in one of his memories. Sometimes, of the most recent rape, but other times, and for them more frightening, ones of the gang rape almost twenty-five years ago. They'd quickly learned to stop when he shut his eyes, or they clouded. They now knew the difference between gasps of passion and the shaky ones of fear.

So in slow fits and starts, they resumed their relationship and Iolaus recovered.

Another thing had become something of a tradition as well. Hercules and Jason waited until Iolaus' breaths became deep and even. They waited some more until they were sure he was well and soundly asleep. And then in the firelit room, with Iolaus between them, they quietly talked.

"I never thought I'd be happy that Iolaus didn't take a bath." Hercules whispered to Jason. He lay on his side with Iolaus spooned to him.

"We'll he's down to two or three a day. And without the bloody scrubbing." Jason kept his voice low and settled next to Iolaus. "The blank times are less, too." Jason paused and sighed. "He seems to be 'here' more often."

"These night terrors scare me." Hercules admitted quietly.

Jason shuddered. The last three nights, within an hour after he fell asleep, Iolaus had wakened them screaming, just raw wordless screams of terror. Each time he curled on his side in a fetal position, shaking and screaming.

The first time, Cerberus stayed by the bed whining, so they knew that Belisco hadn't shown up. Jason let the others know that it was just a nightmare, but after a few minutes of the relentless screaming, Xena had come up and put him out with a nerve pinch.

Five minutes later he was screaming again. At that point, Xena said to simply ride it out. Jason and Hercules tried to comfort him but he wouldn't let even them near. Harmonia and Strife showed up and agreed with Xena, telling them that it was best to ride it out and try to comfort him. Finally, after nearly half an hour, he seemed to waken, confused, letting Hercules and Jason sooth him back to sleep.

Iolaus slept the rest of the night through, and when he woke up, he remembered nothing of the incident. Later, Xena had explained to Jason and Hercules what had happened. She called it 'night terrors' explaining that mostly children got them, but that sometimes adults do also. She talked to Strife, and he warned her that they come in cycles, and said that the best thing to do was wait it out and remember that he's not really awake.

He'd repeated the same pattern the next two nights.

Jason looked at Hercules and shrugged. "It's too much to hope for that he recover this quickly and not have any problems."

"I know, it's only been ten days. And then for Erythia and Pandion to be murdered like that."

Cerberus quietly padded in and took her post at the foot of the bed.

As Iolaus moaned restlessly, Hercules stroked his hair whispering, "It's all right we're both here."

Iolaus mumbled in his sleep, "Don't leave me."

"We won't." Jason added his comfort to Hercules' and as they held him between them, Iolaus gradually calmed and fell back into a deepening sleep.

When he was sure that Iolaus was again deeply asleep, Jason told Hercules something else. "Iphicles had Imbrios corner Harmonia this afternoon." He paused not wanting to add to Hercules' anxiety. Finally, he continued, "He found out that Strife's prevented Belisco from breaching the shields. That's why we haven't seen much of him." He frowned in the dim light of the fire. "She wouldn't confirm how often."

Hercules thought a moment. "That's why she's so tired." Jason glanced at him trying to read his face in the dim light. Hercules explained further. "Hera still had power when she was in Tartarus because she wasn't dead. But Strife died. He has only the power that another god gives him. So he's been using what Hades gave him initially, and now he's using what Harmonia is providing."

"And Celesta and Eris." Jason added as he realized why those two visited so often. He counted mentally and shuddered. Five times the day after Erythia was murdered, seven times the next day, and then not at all today.

Hercules had done the same math. "He's stopped coming." He moved closer to Iolaus holding him a little tighter, as if to protect him. "He's plotting something else."

Jason quickly reassured him, "Or he's afraid of Ares." He pulled lightly on Hercules' hand to convince him to loosen his grip on Iolaus. "He showed up this afternoon," Jason reminded him.

Hercules started laughing trying desperately not to wake Iolaus as he did so.

"Quiet down, you'll wake Iolaus." Jason scolded him softly, secretly hard pressed not to laugh himself off the bed. It had been hilarious.

He and Hercules had been backing away from the kitchen having just walked in on Atus, Xena, and Gabrielle in ... an interesting position. Jason had smiled to himself, thinking that maybe he should convince Iolaus to take yoga lessons from Gabrielle. Xena and Atus were standing up facing each other and Gabrielle was arched between them upside down. She had her feet braced on Atus' shoulders and her hands braced on his thighs, and had bent her back so that Xena could lick at her cunt, while she gave Atus a blowjob. Atus had his hands braced on her calves and Xena was holding her by the hips. Jason had smiled again; actually, Iolaus was probably flexible enough to do that even without the yoga. He had wondered what happened when Gabrielle had an orgasm in that position. Particularly if Atus had his at the same time, he wasn't sure Xena could prevent her from falling on the floor.

As they backed out of the kitchen Hercules had quietly asked, "Jason do you realize that everyone's..." He stopped and Jason had almost collapsed with laughter. Over twenty-five years and he still couldn't say 'fucking.'

"Fucking?" Jason finished the question for him. And almost collapsed again when Hercules got beet red and nodded yes.

It had been impossible not to notice that everyone was fucking. Imbrios was beating off several times a day. Menelio and Montoga were fucking on every piece of furniture in the building. And Lucas and Remar - Jason had nearly exploded with laughter. The day before he'd run down the stairs to one of the sparring rooms after hearing a series of loud crashes that he had thought were Ostseth and Cerberus fighting again. Instead he had found Lucas and Remar in the middle of a violent fight. As he moved to separate them, Harmonia had grabbed his arm and shook her head no. That distraction was long enough for their fight to turn into a battle to see who could rip the other's clothes off the fastest. Not even noticing Harmonia and him standing there, they had started kissing each other wildly and moving down each other's bodies to grasp for their cocks.

As they moved into position to blow each other, Jason realized that not only was he standing there watching, but he was doing so with a fifteen year old girl, who just happened to be the God of War's daughter. He quickly pulled her by the arm and out of the room. As they got into the hall Harmonia collapsed laughing, "Yeah Mom! Even when you're out of it you do good work."

That's when he had gotten a good look at her new T-shirt, in Greek for once. It asked, 'Feeling Libidinous Lately?' Quickly putting that together with her comment about Aphrodite being out of it and their experience when Ares lost his power, he realized what was going on and fell to the floor laughing beside her. Since then, they'd been as bad as Menelio and Montoga; or Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus; or for that matter, him, Iolaus, and Hercules.

He hadn't told Hercules all of that this morning though. Instead, he had mildly replied, "Yes, I had rather noticed."

At that point, Iphicles had started yelling for Ares.

Again.

Jason couldn't tell how much of it was from royal frustration and how much of it was from sexual frustration. But the threats were getting interesting.

Unlike the previous occasions, this time Ares showed up. And he had picked Iphicles up, slung him over his shoulder, and marched up the stairs. Hercules had looked up the stairs wide-eyed as they heard Iphicles' door slam. For a brief minute, Jason had held his breath, as Hercules had looked prepared to follow them up and 'rescue' Iphicles. Then Hercules sat on the bottom step and roared with laughter. Until finally, Iolaus followed by Cerberus padded down the stairs and sat by him.

At that moment, a crash came from the kitchen along with Gabrielle and Atus' screams of ecstasy. That was closely followed by a similar crash from one of the classrooms and Menelio and Montoga's harsh cries of pleasure. And an almost simultaneous chorus of "yes, yes, yes," from Remar and Lucas from a sparring room. As Iphicles' screams of ecstasy joined the chorus Harmonia and Ostseth walked down the stairs.

She was giggling and wearing a new T-shirt. This time the words weren't in Greek, but Iolaus apparently knew what they meant since he doubled over laughing. As she walked down the hall, Harmonia waved and said, "Too much fun for me, I'm out of here." She turned and smiled a smile she had to have learned from her mother and added. "Have fun guys." Then she vanished.

Iolaus kept laughing and when he finally calmed down, Jason demanded, "All right, what did it say?"

Still giggling a little Iolaus burst out, "It said, 'Hey Ma, Wake Up! You're missing the best orgy in Greece.' Can you tell she's Aphrodite's little girl?" At that, they all ended up laughing on the stairs holding their stomachs.

As they finally calmed down Iolaus climbed onto Hercules straddling his lap. Then he pulled Jason into a kiss. As they broke the kiss, they heard Iphicles screaming, "Suck that cock. Yes!"

Iolaus smiled lustfully. "Want to go back upstairs?"

Hercules stood holding him, carrying him with his legs wrapped around his waist. As the sounds continued from the other rooms he smiled, kissed Iolaus, and said, "It doesn't look like we're going to get any answers for a while."

Jason was abruptly pulled from his memory as Iolaus started breathing in quick panicked gasps. Hercules noticed at the same time and gently tried to wake him up. Sitting them both up and gently rocking Iolaus and reassuring him. Jason sat up and reached over for his gauntlet and struck a spark against the stone wall and lit a candle. As Hercules continued murmuring to Iolaus and trying to wake him, Jason quickly lit the other candles.

Then he leaned in to touch Iolaus gently on the shoulder. "Iolaus please wake up." Iolaus started fighting with Hercules, trying to strike out, twisting and moaning. Then he screamed.

"NOOOO! PLEASE!" Still twisting in Hercules' arms he sobbed, "Jason, Hercules please find me."

Jason moved to intercept the pounding feet he heard coming up the stairs. Cerberus jumped on the bed and tried to comfort Iolaus. She licked his hand and he screamed again, in pain and fear.

Jason intercepted Xena, Atus, and Iphicles in the sitting room. "Another nightmare." He shook his head. "Go back to bed." He saw Gabrielle hovering on the stairs and Iphicles' men coming up in various states of dress. As Iolaus continued screaming, he gestured them all away. "Please." He asked in a broken voice.

Iphicles turned and went down to speak with his men. Atus and Xena reluctantly went down to speak with Gabrielle. As Jason turned to go back to the bedroom, Gabrielle came up and hugging Jason, she whispered, "Xena, Atus, Iphicles, and I love him, too. Please let us help."

Suddenly the screaming stopped and all five of them rushed in to find Ares on the bed curled on the other side of Iolaus. Iolaus was still quietly whimpering. As Hercules continued to rock him, Ares silently stroked his forehead. They continued until his whimpers died out, and Iolaus with a last shudder fell back to sleep in Hercules' arms. Ares continued stroking his forehead silently encouraging Iolaus to fall deeper into sleep. He slowed down, noting that point where the night terrors normally started and soothed him through them. Calming his heart and lungs, carefully reducing the adrenaline. Finally, Iolaus started his dream cycle and his eyes moved under his lids. Ares waited a few minutes more, making sure that he would sleep deeply. Then he moved his hand and sat back.

"Why?" asked Xena quietly.

"Because I wanted to fuck Iphicles in peace and quiet." Ares stated coldly, vanishing from the room.

Xena bridled and then turned and left the room. Gabrielle looked at Jason. "I'd better keep her from confronting Ares." She hauled on Atus' arm and they left the room.

Hercules looked up at Iphicles. "I don't care why he did it." He laid Iolaus back down on the bed. "Thank him for me."

Iphicles nodded quietly and left the room as Jason started blowing out the candles and finally crawled into bed.

"Hercules. I'm sorry." Jason whispered. "This is my fault."

"No." Hercules replied, "It's Belisco's fault."

"You don't understand." Jason stopped to gather his thoughts. "I understand Belisco's obsession. I have nearly the same one." He shut his eyes as Iolaus sighed quietly in his sleep. Then opened them and continued. "I seduced Iolaus. I'd wanted him for months and planned the seduction."

Hercules joked, "That's supposed to surprise me?"

"Damn it Hercules." Iolaus jerked slightly and Jason stopped talking.

"Jason," Hercules spoke softly, "I knew that you were Iolaus' first male lover and I figured out long ago who went after whom. It's long past. And seduction is a far cry from rape."

"I seduced him. I was so jealous of you and afraid he'd leave me that I almost raped him." Hercules was silent. "My behavior made Iolaus a lot of enemies on the council. At best, I alienated them so that they wanted me gone at worst I made them actively want Iolaus hurt. At least one of them was in Belisco's pay. I never noticed his men spying on me."

"Neither did I." Hercules reply was soft but insistent. "I could have stayed with you and Iolaus. Or I could have met you halfway. I believed the councilors when they told me to stay put. And I..." he trailed off, "you weren't the only one who was jealous."

"He was raped in front of me." Jason sobbed, trying to stay quiet. "He was raped in front of me and I did nothing."

"I let myself be goaded into attacking without a plan. I was tricked into a position where Belisco could take me." Hercules paused. "Jason look at me. Belisco raped him practically in my hand's reach. And again a few feet from me. He raped him and forced him to eat that apple and I was there and could do nothing because I let him goad me."

They both stayed silent for a long moment. Finally, Jason said, "It wasn't your fault."

"And it wasn't yours." Hercules paused again. "I don't how he did it, but somehow he threatened me to convince Iolaus to eat that apple. There's nothing else that would have done it."

As Iolaus slept between them, they both drifted in thought. Finally, Jason confessed that last terrible part. "When Medea and I retook Corinth and Creon brought Glouce there to honor our betrothal, I could have let her marry Iolaus. Creon liked him and Glouce was as much in love with him as with me. Probably more." He stopped and steeled himself. "I didn't love her. But I didn't want her to marry Iolaus. So I broke my marriage to Medea, divorced her, and agreed to honor my betrothal to Glouce. All to keep Iolaus as a lover. Even if he was always more yours."

"That's why you sent us away after Medea killed your children." Hercules kept his voice calm with effort. He'd suspected something like that, but Jason's confirmation still angered him.

"Yes." He gently stroked Iolaus' hair. "So you see, I understand Belisco's obsession. He's not going to stop."

Hercules nodded and covered Jason's hand with his own, stilling it momentarily. Then he moved it stroking Iolaus' hair, silently telling Jason that he forgave him. "Iolaus didn't love Glouce. He'd have been miserable."

"That's what I told myself, but that wasn't the only reason I did what I did. I wanted to keep him. I was terribly jealous of Anya."

"So was I." Jason looked up startled. "What...you thought I loved him perfectly? I told you I was jealous. I was jealous of Anya, and you, and Nebula, and Niobe. I've been jealous of almost every lover he's had at some point or another. Jason, you've never actually hurt Iolaus. I have. I fucked Xena because I was jealous of her power to move him and I wanted to punish him for it. I fucked her and did it when and where he was bound to find out. And I ... well that wasn't the only hurtful thing I've done to him. At least you never tried to hurt him. We've all done things we regret. Now all we can do is protect him."

"Hercules, I'm sorry. You're right. I just can't stop blaming myself."

"Jason tomorrow we're having breakfast with a troop of gods. Worry about that and go to sleep."

They lay silently, each lost in their own thoughts and regrets. They both clung to Iolaus and each other and slowly the bond between them strengthened and they finally fell asleep.

part 25

Iphicles moaned and turned over in Ares' arms. Morning light was coming in under the shutters and he realized that they had literally fucked the entire night, well except for that one nightmare. And he was hard again. There were advantages to having a god as a lover. He captured Ares' lips, brushing his tongue across them. With a sigh, Ares opened his mouth and pulled Iphicles deeper into the kiss. Then pulled him up to straddle his lap. As Iphicles leaned forward into the kiss, Ares pushed two fingers into his ass, automatically adding more oil and stretching him again. Iphicles moaned, pushing back on the fingers, and spread his legs further apart trying to stretch himself even more. When he was ready, he raised himself over Ares' cock and lowered himself down.

Ares and Iphicles moaned together as the cock moved into his ass. Ares kept himself still, allowing Iphicles to control the speed. Once fully in, Iphicles started rocking and lifting himself up and down, moving Ares' cock against his pleasure spot. His hands sought out Ares, and they clung to one another as he sped up. Finally, Ares thrust up, fiercely matching Iphicles' rhythm. As Iphicles came, Ares rolled them over so that Iphicles was on bottom and he could freely pound into his ass. Iphicles moved his legs up, over Ares' shoulders, and Ares moved faster, finally giving a last thrust, and released his seed into Iphicles' still clenching ass.

As they came down from their orgasm, Ares realized just how tired Iphicles actually was, and gently used the tag to put him to sleep, then cleaned them up, as well as the bed and the room. As he lay beside Iphicles, he gently assisted his lover's body in ridding itself of the fatigue poisons, brought his systems back into peak order, and helped him to enter a deep and gentle dreaming sleep. Satisfied that a couple of hours of such sleep would put him to right, Ares quickly checked on the rest of those dwelling in the academy.

Harmonia was in a deep trance, using Ostseth as a focus. Once more drawing energy. Ares lightly passed his mind on, not disturbing her. Strife acknowledged his call. He was still patrolling the area. And he was deeply concerned that Belisco hadn't tested the defenses in over a day, particularly after the repeated attacks of the previous days. Ares acknowledged his concerns and brought his energy levels to full strength.

Then Ares located Iphicles' guards. Montago and Remar were on watch and comparing notes on their lovers, Menelio and Lucas. Those two were sleeping. Alone. And dreaming of their lovers. And Imbrios was once more masturbating to memories of his wife.

He moved on locating Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus. They were once again in the middle of things. Atus was pumping quickly into Xena, as she lapped at Gabrielle's clit. Since Gabrielle was sitting on Xena's face facing Atus, she could kiss him and finger Xena's clit and his cock as he thrust in and out. Things were coming to an explosive conclusion as Ares checked in. He paused a moment, always interested in sex. Gabrielle knew that Xena was ready and flicked her clit on Atus' in stroke. Xena's orgasm caused her to tighten her legs around Atus' waist and cunt around his cock. Atus came explosively pushing in as deep as he could, pulling Gabrielle to him so that he could lick at her cunt. He and Xena separated so that they could lay Gabrielle on the bed and both lap at her. She came, curling over their heads and screaming. As they collapsed into an untidy, gasping, sweaty mess, Ares moved on.

Hercules, Jason, and Iolaus were still asleep. But Iolaus was beginning to wake up. Ares smiled. Amorously. Still sleepy and shaking his hair off his face Iolaus moved his hands down to find Hercules and Jason's cocks. And started stroking them to hardness. Hercules woke first and brought Iolaus into a kiss.

Breaking the kiss he asked, "What are you up to?"

Iolaus grinned and squeezed their cocks. "I'd have thought that was obvious - sex." Jason woke up and laughed. Iolaus and Jason moved together to feast on Hercules. Hercules was thrusting hard into Iolaus' mouth while Jason nursed on his nipples when Ares felt a sudden dislocation in the air.

He went to alert and then relaxed as he realized who was arriving. With a thought he dressed, and vanished to appear in the main hall to meet them.

Good morning, 'Dite, he whispered into her mind as she arrived, you certainly do good work.

She laughed as he greeted Hephaestus and Hestia who had arrived with her.

Still laughing Aphrodite stretched. "Um! This feels wonderful!" She leaned up against Hephaestus bringing him into a lustful kiss. "Doesn't all this love and sex feel just glorious." She stretched against her husband, and since she was in her normal negligee and he was in his normal sandals and kilt, that stretch brought an amazing amount of skin into contact.

Hestia put a disapproving scowl on her face, but Ares felt the humor in her mind. "You two might want to do that in private," she said in her best shocked scold.

"Sounds good to me. Coming Heph?" Aphrodite vanished quickly followed by her blushing husband.

Ares broke into laughter as he hugged his aunt lifting her off her feet. "I suppose you want to see the kitchen?" He joked with her.

She poked him lightly in the chest. "Put me down you bully." He put her down and frowned. While their appearance was largely a matter of choice, it did to some extent reflect their true state of health, and Hestia was abnormally thin and frail, not looking at all like her slightly plump and robust self.

Catching his worry out of the corner of her mind, she snapped at him, "Stop looking at me like I'm ready to break. It was a long trip moving that air from the arctic." She put both hands on her hips. "Now where exactly is that kitchen?"

He smiled, but when he led her to the kitchen he guided her by an elbow, and subtly fed her some energy. He knew she would know, but counted on her to not want to start an argument. She quickly thought to him. You're a sweet boy. Now stop that!

Just trying to burn off some excess energy, Aunt.

Well burn it off on this then. She pulled out a small crystal, a vial of water, and the Sword of Veracity and handed them to him.

He briefly examined them. The sword's use was obvious. The vial of water, ah, a scrying pool. Nicely portable. And the crystal? He frowned in confusion. It seemed to be a silence spell, but also a shield.

Hestia smiled at his frown. Just a little something Hecate and I dreamed up a few centuries ago. You just power it up and join it to our shields.

He shrugged, then bowed, "As you command." Then he vanished to reappear in the dining hall. Ares jerked his head up feeling another incoming set of gods, and relaxed as he recognized Cupid and Psyche's signatures. A moment latter they appeared in the dining room. Looking like they had dressed in a rush.

Cupid took a look around the empty hall, stretched his mind out a bit, and smiled. His smile was every bit as lustful as his mother's was. Ares kept his face carefully blank as Cupid grabbed Psyche. "See darling, I told you no one would be here yet."

Cupid smiled and winked at Ares, then he and Psyche vanished. Ares stretched his mind out and, sure enough, they had found their own empty room. It was a good thing Jason had evacuated all the students, otherwise they'd have ended up getting a very interesting education.

With a sudden inspiration he called Cerberus, Go relieve the gate guards. As she padded down the stairs and to the gate he thought himself there.

Remar and Montago started at the sudden appearance of Ares. "Relax gentlemen." Ares smiled, making the men shift nervously, as Cerberus padded in. "Cerberus should be able to guard the gate while you two enjoy yourselves." They hesitated as Iphicles had posted them to this duty. "Iphicles is asleep, and he expects his men to have 'good independent judgment' so I suggest you take the chance while you have it." They smiled and shrugged. The guard dog to the gates of the underworld should be able to watch this gate. They quickly joined their lovers.

Ares tensed as he felt the last four gods join him. Hades smiled broadly, "That was kind of you Ares."

"I just know how to reward my warriors," Ares responded evenly.

Persephone leaned against her husband, clearly exhausted. Hades was clearly feeding her power. Ares moved over to her and helped her find a strong tendril of energy from the cold earth. She leaned into Hades and let the energy wash into her. Eris and Celesta watched silently. They were both at their peak, and Celesta had more power than he'd ever seen her with. Ares moved his mind and noticed that Hades was unusually strong too, and he had been feeding Persephone.

He raised a questioning eyebrow. Hades softly answered, "Thousands are dying. Even with the warnings and the extra food. The storms and the blizzard are taking their toll."

"What's everyone doing?" Celesta asked.

Ares smiled. "Harmonia is in a power trance. Hestia is cooking. Everyone else is doing sex, one way or the other."

Eris pulled Celesta into a kiss. "Sounds like fun." They disappeared to yet another empty room. Hades and Persephone disappeared silently.

Ares left Cerberus on guard and returned to the dining room and his task. An hour and a half later he pulled himself out of his trance and examined his work. He smiled proudly. The scrying pool was inlaid into the main dining table. It covered the entire surface and currently looked like a slab of black glass. But he'd checked it and it scryed beautifully. It also reflected memories better than any scrying tool he'd ever used. The

Sword of Veracity he sank into the scrying pool, so that only the hilt raised above it. That would make the entire pool react like the sword. He'd have to be careful to keep to the strict truth. He had it at the head of the table where he planned to sit. And the crystal he'd powered up, and released an expertly designed concealment spell. He anchored himself to Iphicles' tag and sent himself to one of his temples to test it. Even with the anchor, it had taken fifteen minutes to find his way back in. He sent a fast mental compliment to Hestia.

Finished, he sat in the chair at the head of the table and then changed it for his own comfort, making it larger and sturdier. He sat crossways on it, leaning back on one arm and hanging his legs over the other. Done and set, he called Hestia.

She appeared and smiled. "Good work." She looked at the table and added a slight illusionary border. Then she made the food appear, along with plate settings. Finished, she calmly sat in the middle of one long side and folded her hands into the sleeves of her robes.

Ares made a mental note not to lay his hands along the border area. It was still sensitive to thought. He called Iphicles, waking him, and alerted him that breakfast was ready and the gods had arrived.

Iphicles quietly alerted the others and Ares did the same with the gods. As they arrived they helped themselves to Hestia's cooking and Hestia explained the scrying setup to them. Cupid and Psyche arrived last.

As they were seated, Ares examined the table, trying to determine any unexpected alliances. He sat at the head and Iphicles had taken the foot of the table, while Jason sat in the chair next to that position on the right. Iolaus sat next to Jason with Hercules on his other side. Psyche and Cupid had taken the two empty seats next to him, with Psyche sitting next to Hercules. That put Cupid next to Eris. Then Celesta sat next to

Persephone, and then Hades. That finished that side of the table. Putting Hades at Ares' left hand. To his right was Strife, or at least his ghost. Than Harmonia. Aphrodite sat next to Harmonia and Hephaestus sat next to her. Then Hestia. Gabrielle had left an empty chair between her and Hestia. Xena sat next to her and than Atus. Imbrios and Remar were guarding the main doors leading to the classrooms and Menelio was guarding the door to the kitchen. Montago and Lucas were guarding the second set of doors leading to the dormitories. All of them were on the other side of the closed doors and the smaller silence spell meant that they couldn't hear what happened in here. Ostseth sat next to Harmonia. And Cerberus still guarded the gate.

Satisfied that there were no new surprises Ares started the session bluntly. "Iphicles threatened to run over our plans unless we included them." Hercules smiled at his brother, along with Xena and Jason. "Right now we don't have a plan. We're still trying to determine exactly what we're dealing with." He met each of their eyes in the dead silence. "We know the following: one, Poseidon broke Hera out of Tartarus, using Chaos energy; two, Hera took Belisco's men with her; three, Poseidon and Hera working together brought the storm to Greece and kept it here for nine weeks, at least in part to break out Belisco. And they used more Chaos energy to do it."

He tried to read his families faces. But they were carefully blank. As demigods Hercules' and Xena's minds couldn't be read either. And Iolaus came back from the east with some interesting mental disciplines. Ares could pull out his emotional state, read him when he was asleep, and get strong memories when he was overwhelmed, but not now. Right now he was a blank as Hercules and Xena. That left Jason, Iphicles, Atus, and Gabrielle. And Gabrielle and Atus had learned some similar disciplines. All he got was concern and a good portion of lust for each other and Xena. Jason was too focused on Iolaus and obsessed with destroying Belisco. Iphicles was carefully and calmly focusing on nothing at all. He realized that Iphicles was right...if he didn't figure out how to bring them into this, they were all too likely to run right over whatever plan he came up with.

"Four, we've managed to break the storm and that should have incapacitated them, but; five, Belisco got hold of ambrosia and is now a god. We also know that Belisco is obsessed with Iolaus and has shaman training from somewhere."

He paused, allowing Aphrodite to add, "Alti, is most likely Belisco's mother. She and Poseidon had an affair several centuries ago."

Xena broke in. "Several centuries?" She hadn't realized that Alti and Belisco were that old.

Aphrodite nodded.

Xena took a deep breath. "Alti was almost definitely his mother. There was writing in a style that she taught me, part of a scrying spell. Gabrielle got it down." She paused looking at Hercules warning him. She'd talked to Gabrielle first and then warned Hercules and Jason. But she hadn't told anyone else. She waited until Hercules and Jason moved closer to Iolaus. "He was scrying Iolaus. Probably for years." Iolaus shuddered and then brought himself under control at Hercules' light touch.

Celesta quietly asked, "What was he using to scry with?"

Gabrielle shuddered as Xena replied, "His blood."

Celesta looked quickly at Hestia, who nodded. "That would work."

Hades tested the waters. "The simplest plan is to use Iolaus as bait and..."

Aphrodite sat carefully silent. Ares had warned her that Hades was looking for answers. Hercules, Xena, Jason, and Atus all started yelling at the same time. Iphicles glared at Ares, clearly telling him that he'd better put a leash on Hades. Gabrielle waited for them to quiet down and calmly said, "If you'd actually meant to use that plan you'd have simply taken Iolaus and disappeared. Now why don't we move on."

Hades stared at her surprised. She was right, but he hadn't thought that any of the mortals would figure it out, except perhaps Iphicles, he'd been around Ares enough. And Iphicles wouldn't have pointed it out so calmly. Hades decided to push. "It's still the best idea we have..."

This time to everyone's surprise it was Hephaestus who interrupted, "Enough Hades, stop trying to get a rise out of them. We all know that even if we stop Belisco, that Hera and Poseidon are still a problem. And they sent archers after Harmonia, want to steal the sword of war, and are willing to kill Ares." He smiled tightly at Hades' look of surprise. "You didn't expect him to tell me? We're brothers, we talk to each other." He jibed slightly at Hades' relationship with Zeus and Poseidon. "Or did you really expect me to be jealous." He smiled. "That was a long time ago. I married Aphrodite to protect her...you all know we can't have children together." He stopped and finished harshly, "Zeus would kill them. So I love the children she has with Ares."

Shocked the mortals were silent a moment. Finally, Gabrielle asked, "What do you mean? Why would Zeus kill them?"

Ares responded, wanting to end this subject. "Zeus won't allow us to have unauthorized children, even unauthorized demigods are at risk. He'd certainly kill an unauthorized god."

To his surprise Celesta added, "Zeus guards his power jealously. Hephaestus married Aphrodite against his command to protect her. She didn't know his reasons at the time and was angry because he forced the marriage on her. But Zeus knew and forbade them to have children together."

"Is this really relevant?" Hades attempted to change the conversation.

"Yes." Celesta's voice was cold as the Styx and hard as rock. "This has everything to do with why Hera's so angry." She continued, "Aphrodite came into existence when Zeus castrated Cronus. She is born of Zeus' blood, Cronus' seed, and Tethys' foam. She's the oldest of her generation, as Hades and I are the oldest of ours. And she is not blood bound to Zeus and does not have to obey him as his other children do."

That was news to everyone. Aphrodite hadn't even been completely sure that she was the oldest. She couldn't remember a time when Hephaestus hadn't been there.

Ares looked at Hades. "Well uncle?"

Hades sighed. He should have asked Hercules to protect him from Ares. Of course, Hercules was still likely to spread him thinly over a large area of land. He sighed again. Finally he started. "What do you know of how Zeus became king of the gods?"

Ares looked at Hades like he'd gone mad. Finally, Gabrielle answered, "According to bardic tradition, Cronus ate his children, but Rhea fed him a stone instead of Zeus. Zeus killed him and either cast the rest of the Titans into Tartarus or bound them to the earth. Except for Prometheus and Epimetheus."

Ares shrugged. "That was what I was taught."

Hades, Hestia, and Celesta stretched their hands to the scrying pool and laid them down. Sudden images became bright and clear. As they concentrated a little more, they became crisper until the water formed the images in three dimensions. "It wasn't quite that simple," Hades explained.

Hera's image was the first they recognized. Then they were able to pick out the other older goddesses Hestia, Hecate, Demeter, and Celesta. They were gathered in a circle in an area that was almost formless. Hera stood, her brown hair flowing to the ground and her only cover. Her sisters sat covered in their hair. Hestia's flame red, Celesta's sun gold, Hecate's night black, and Demeter's earth brown.

"Sisters," Hera began, "he continues to exile us and our brothers, those who should be our mates, to the unformed places. And he keeps us separate. We have to fight him."

The others sat in silence. Finally, Hecate asked, "How?"

"We rescue the next son. Rhea is tired of losing all her children. Then we fight. After we win, we don't make the mistake they made. We have no children." Hera looked at them again. "And we make a weapon."

The scene suddenly shifted. The five sisters were working over a fire, the first forge and creating the first weapons, lightning bolts. They each completed one, made from a part of their own life's essence, used it to cut their hair, and took the completed bolt to Zeus. Once all the bolts were completed, the sisters wove their hair into strong ropes. Finally ready, they attacked.

Each sister took a part of their father's body. Hestia and Demeter took his legs. Celesta and Hecate took his arms. And Hera wrapped her rope around his neck. Together they pulled, dropping him and holding him, so that Zeus could strike. He used the first bolt to open Cronus' belly freeing their brothers. Zeus continued that stroke, castrating their father, as Cronus struck out at him. The battle waged as their brothers Poseidon and Hades joined them. Finally, after a vicious battle, the new gods prevailed and Cronus was dead and the other Titans condemned to Tartarus or bound to earth. The lengthy battle over, Zeus cut his hand over the sea where Cronus' penis and seed had fallen. Within moments, Aphrodite was born as a woman grown.

As she rose from sea, Hera screamed, "We agreed!" She struck at Zeus and took her lightning from him. "Kill her!" Zeus ignored her, proud of his new child.

"ZEUS!" She screamed in rage and terror. "KILL HER!" She stood to cast the lightning down and Zeus grabbed her arm. She turned to stare at him. "We agreed. We all agreed. No children! No more! We end it with us." She walked to Poseidon and took his hand. "Zeus. We agreed that you would be king. But no children! I won't accept this. It is war between us!"

She kissed Poseidon passionately and bit his lip. Taking his seed pattern from his blood, she became pregnant with Hephaestus. She quickly drew energy and her stomach blossomed into late pregnancy. Zeus cast a lightning bolt at them as Hera and Poseidon vanished. Hera screamed as it struck her stomach. Shocked, Demeter followed her sister.

Celesta recalled her own bolt and gave it to Hades and they vanished to the underworld quickly building their own place of power.

Hestia turned to Zeus. "Brother, what have you done? You've split us. Return my bolt!"

"NO!" At his refusal, Hestia too vanished, following Hera.

Hecate stayed with Zeus a moment longer. "Well brother. You have only Hestia and Demeter's bolt left to you." Zeus searched for her bolt and it appeared in her hand. "I'm keeping mine." Hecate vanished to find her own way.

The image shifted again. This time to show Demeter and Hestia with Hera as she gave birth a few short hours after Aphrodite's birth. Hephaestus was born lame and scarred from the lightning. As Hera cursed Zeus for the maiming of her son, Hestia tried to calm her.

"NO! I won't forgive him." Hera screamed in rage. "We risked everything and he betrayed us. And he maimed my child!"

Finally, Hestia admitted defeat. "Hera I won't fight, not for either of you. Let me know if you choose peace. I will carry your offer to Zeus." Then she disappeared.

The images faded and Hades picked up the story. "For awhile there was an uneasy coexistence. Not really peace, but not actually war." He paused. "As we had agreed via our messages, I took the underworld, Poseidon the seas, and Zeus Olympus and earth as king of the gods. But man started reproducing at an alarming rate, most likely because of Aphrodite. And suddenly wars started. But not like the controlled wars that Ares allows. This was madness. Everyone was subject to sudden fits of extreme rage and violence that took over at any moment. This existed for decades. And as time passed, it became worse. My realm grew more in those decades then in all the millennia since. Then, abruptly, it ended just as suddenly as it began. Someone had harnessed their violence."

Hestia picked up the story. "It took a couple of centuries for us to realize whom. And by that time, Zeus had already mated with Mnemosyne and she'd birthed the muses. He'd also mated with Themis and she'd had the Seasons and the Fates, with Eurynome to create the Graces and Io creating Libya."

"Then Hera came to Olympus and challenged him. And she held the first sword. The Sword of War."

Celesta placed her hand on the scrying table and the images started again.

"Zeus," Hera was in armor and held the Sword of War. "I challenge you. Yield your kingship to me."

Zeus rose and yelled back, "NO!"

As she struck at him he unleashed his two remaining bolts and quickly reclaimed them. He used them to strike her over and over. She slammed into one of Olympus' pillars and stood. As he struck her one last time, Demeter and Hestia appeared and reclaimed their bolts.

Hera smiled, "That was a mistake," and started stalking Zeus. Hecate, Hades, and Celesta appeared in front of him as Zeus backed away from his sister. She glared at them with wild eyes. "Move out of the way."

Hades tried to calm her. "Hera no, this isn't the way." A sudden realization dawned in his eyes as he reacted to the waves of power pouring off her. He moved back. "You've been using human sacrifice to raise power!" He exclaimed shocked and shaken.

Hecate's eyes narrowed as she read her sister's power signature. "Zeus isn't the only one to break an agreement sister." Her tone was sarcastic and dark.

Hera looked at her siblings ranged against her and vanished.

Celesta shrugged as the images faded again. "After that we threw our lot in with Zeus." She glanced at Hestia. "Well Hestia stayed neutral." Hestia nodded her acknowledgment. "So did Demeter...well more or less. She sympathized with Hera and simply continued her duties in renewing the spring. Hecate located Hephaestus. Hera had abandoned him and Poseidon had ordered the Nerids to raise him."

Another image pulled them in, this time of Hecate taking Hephaestus to Zeus. None of the other elder gods were there and Ares tried to figure out whose memory this was. He turned and located Hephaestus, who sat with his hand on the table and his face like wood.

"Son," Zeus called clasping Hephaestus to him. "You will be my weapon maker." He led Hephaestus to a dais where Aphrodite stood. "Here is your sister."

Abruptly, Hephaestus removed his hand. "I believed him when he called me son. I'd always wanted a father. I believed him until Celesta told me after..." his voice broke off.

Eris broke in, "After he raped me and murdered Aphrodite's first daughter." The mortals and new immortals flinched in shock. As much shaken by Eris' coldness as at the horror she recited.

"So Hephaestus made Zeus his lightning bolts." Hades picked up the story again. "The battle between them was fierce and was tearing up the earth." Chaotic images of flames and destruction on earth overwhelmed them from the pool.

"Finally, Celesta, Hecate, and I agreed that we had to do something." He cut off the images. "We didn't know what Zeus would do with what we gave him." He looked at Eris and Ares a moment. "Actually, we didn't know that it could be done. It hadn't actually happened before."

Everyone looked at him confused.

Hestia broke in, "Hades you're confusing everyone. Hecate showed Hephaestus how to put a binding spell into metal and then helped him build a binding chair. I didn't know what was going on. Actually, I don't know if I would have stopped them if I had."

"Hades and I didn't know about the chair though." Celesta grimaced. "We wouldn't have continued if we had."

Aphrodite continued, "Hades and Celesta suggested that Zeus birth a new Goddess who could take the sword. So he'd mated with Metis, but didn't tell her what role her child was to play. When she discovered his deception, she ran. Zeus followed, cut the child out of her body and swallowed her and then Hephaestus helped Athena come forth."

"Athena can use my sword!" Ares glared at Hades.

"NO! That part of the plan didn't work." Hades looked at the table for several long minutes. Finally, he continued, "Our plan was to weaken Hera, steal the sword, and give it to Athena. The first part went fine. Then everything went to Tartarus."

He and Celesta placed their hands on the table again. Images of mortals dying in seconds filled the area. This time Celesta spoke. "Hera had a great feast and all her followers attended. I killed them all. Hades had Hephaestus forge his helmet of invisibility. Wearing it, he tried to take Hera's sword." In the image a bright light flashed and then Hera vanished. Celesta looked confused a moment and then she vanished.

Hades continued. "I was nearly overwhelmed when I first touched the sword. So instead, I took Hera." The images continued. Hera appeared, carried by an invisible Hades in Zeus' hall. He laid her on a dais and removed his helmet, appearing. Athena slowly walked over and grasped the Sword of War and collapsed screaming releasing it to clatter to the floor. Hera stirred from her faint.

Zeus, Hades, and Celesta looked slightly panicked as they realized that Athena wasn't able to take the sword and Hera was waking up.

Hades backed away from Hera's stirring body with a long, heart-felt, "Ah, shit."

Celesta moved to where Athena had dropped the sword and reached for it and then stopped her hand still a foot away and backed away. She ran into Athena's moaning form and helped her up.

Zeus bellowed, "HECATE! HEPHAESTUS!"

They appeared with a great silver chair between them. Hecate and Zeus quickly grabbed Hera and shoved her into the chair. Hephaestus closed and locked the manacles, as Hera's eyes opened and she screamed, "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

"Mother I'm sorry." Then Hephaestus vanished.

Hera focused her will on her sword and it shuddered on the floor. She opened her hand for it and focused more strongly. Sweat of effort poured off her body as the sword rattled on the floor.

Hades looked at the rattling sword and quickly moved to Athena and Celesta. "Athena can you move the sword?" he asked urgently. She looked at him confused. "Athena, don't try to control it, just get it out of here."

She nodded slowly and dived for the sword, just as it started flying to Hera's hand. She grabbed the hilt with both hands when it was a few feet from Hera.

She fainted.

Hera screamed in rage.

Celesta quickly gathered Athena, carefully not touching the sword, and vanished.

Hera screamed curses, raging at Hades, Hecate, and Zeus. Threatening to kill them all. Hecate and Zeus quickly left. Hades remained for awhile trying to calm her. Finally, giving up, he left. Hades and Celesta removed their hands.

Hestia continued, "That went on for 18 years. Until Hecate figured out why Athena couldn't take the sword." She stopped trying to figure out how to explain triple helix genetic theory to a group who didn't know about helixes, genetics, or DNA. She looked at Hades and shrugged.

"Well?" asked Atus.

"They're trying to figure out how to explain stuff that you have no building blocks for." Harmonia laughed. "Atus, it's worse than when you asked me about shielding." She suddenly realized, "Daddy, Hera must be a triple configured 'X' like me."

Ares stood slowly turning to Hades. "Hades, is Hera the other possible god you were thinking might be able to carry my sword?"

Hades looked at his nephew's towering figure and slowly replied, "Yes."

"And exactly what did you have to research?"

Hades gulped this is where the dangerous part came in. "I had blocked Hera's connection to the sword. And I had to research whether she could unblock it." Please don't figure this out.

"Uncle Hades you can block..." Harmonia's voice broke off and her eyes grew wide. Daddy didn't normally radiate quite that much full-fledged God of War around her.

"YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BROKE MY CONNECTION WITH THE SWORD AND HELPED SISYPHUS STEAL IT!

'Shit. He got it.' Hades stayed seated, although ready to roll and go if necessary. He deliberately kept his voice even, not escalating things. "You took Calisto's soul from my realm and my judgment. You put Xena in her place. And you played fast and loose with my boundaries. It was a just judgment." He cocked his head. "Or, would you have preferred that I take my case to Zeus."

"Ares sit down. NOW."

Ares automatically sat back down, then glared at Hestia. Hades sent a brief mental thank you and Iolaus and Gabrielle grinned at each other, recognizing a great 'mother voice.'

Hades waited a moment before resuming. "Harmonia's right, it would take several years to explain the exact nature of what Hecate discovered. Suffice it to say that certain very specific markers had to be inherited. Call them properly configured 'X' or 'Y' markers. In a female three properly configured 'X' markers must be present. In a male two properly configured 'X' markers and one properly configured 'Y' marker must be present."

"So Hera had all three configured 'X' markers." Xena concluded.

"Yes." Celesta picked up the story. "And Zeus had a properly configured 'X' and 'Y', but his second 'x' wasn't. Athena ended up with only one properly configured 'X' as did Aphrodite and some of his other daughters. Hephaestus also ended up with only one properly configured 'X'. And worse yet, no one in our generation, except Zeus and Hera, had any properly configured markers."

She paused as that sank in. "A mating between Hephaestus and Aphrodite, Athena or any of the other goddesses couldn't possibly produce a God of War. And the odds were poor in a mating between Zeus and one of them."

Hades had been thinking as Celesta continued explaining the problem. He realized that Zeus' decision to control genealogy records might actually work for him. Very few of the gods had access to the complete records, only him, Zeus, the Fates, Aphrodite, and Cupid. If he carefully structured the next part and redirected a little, Hercules might never figure it out.

He cut in, "That meant that the only new god of war would come from a mating of Zeus and Hera. And we were desperate at that point." He nodded to Hestia.

Hestia placed her hand on the table. Images of her talking to Hera and Zeus poured forth. This time they were indistinct because they ran so fast. "I finally brokered the deal. Zeus would pardon Poseidon and Hera for their rebellion against him. Hera would be allowed to bear the new god or goddess of war. And she would remain as the acting Goddess of War for twenty-five years until the child grew old enough to take up his or her burden. Then she would give over the sword to her child and return to Poseidon. In return, Zeus promised to give her veto over the birth of any additional gods."

During this Aphrodite frowned and then focused on genealogy records as she realized something.

Hades decided to finish this rapidly, not realizing that Aphrodite was already figuring out what he was trying to avoid discussing. "Part of the deal was no sex. Zeus and Hera were going to use a blood ritual to create the child. And she would be free to return to Poseidon. Also, we all agreed to blood bindings to Zeus, assuring his continued reign." He shook his head. "Zeus didn't keep the deal." He sighed and placed his hand on the table again.

This time the image was of all the gods in a ceremony. Each went to Zeus, opening a cut on his or her hand, bleeding into a cup, and then Zeus did the same. Finally, the god or goddess would drink the blood from the cup, thereby completing the blood binding.

"Yes." Celesta confirmed what the mortals wondered. "This is the origin of all blood bindings."

Finally, one of Hera's hands was released from the manacles so that she could complete the ceremony. After it ended, Hephaestus freed her from the rest of the manacles. She rose and stood before Zeus.

They walked slowly to a dais that Hecate had prepared. Hera slowly cut her hand allowing a drop of blood to fall and then handed the knife to Zeus. He turned and looked at her and shook his head no.

With a sudden strike he knocked her on the dais and she was again manacled. As Hades and Poseidon moved to assist Hera he commanded, " Be still." They froze as the full strength of the binding struck them.

Zeus turned to the assembly. "No one will move. I claim Hera as my queen. She will be Queen of the Gods and reign second only to me." Poseidon started to speak. "Silence! You will all be still and silent!"

He turned to her and stripped them both with a thought. Bound by his command she remained still and silent during her rape. Zeus thrust into her harshly and blood dripped down the side of the dais. The other gods and goddesses were also bound to silence and stillness and could neither assist nor turn away.

Finally done, Zeus lifted himself off Hera's battered body, clothing himself. Then he turned to the assembly.

"I am your King. I will remain your King." He looked at Hera, released the manacles, and dressed her. "Wife come to me." A small spark of fury showed in her face only to disappear as the binding overcame it. She walked to Zeus and took his upraised hand.

"Hera is your Queen and my wife. No other shall know her or have a child by her. Not her brothers, not her sisters, nor any cousin, nephew or niece, and not her children." And so his true motivation came forth. Zeus wished to prevent the possible birth of a competing god of war. He finished, "She will remain faithful to me and bear only my children. In addition to your Queen, she shall be Goddess of Marriage and Childbirth."

Forced by his will, the assembly kneeled to them. As he accepted their homage and allowed them to rise, he called, "Poseidon, Amphitrite come forward to us." They looked at each other and walked to stand before Zeus and Hera.

Zeus smiled, trying to look jovial, and succeeding in looking spiteful. "Yours shall be the first marriage Hera blesses." They looked at him in shock. "Poseidon, Amphitrite take each other's hand." They did so. "Poseidon you will take Amphitrite as your wife, to be faithful to always. You will know no other woman." He waited for Poseidon's reluctant nod. "Amphitrite you will take Poseidon as your husband, to be faithful to always. You will know no other man." She too nodded.

Hera stood tall and proud, raising her hands. "I bless this marriage. By the union of your hearts know love, by the union of your bodies know joy and bring children." She lowered her hands and the image faded.

As the image faded, Iphicles murmured, "What a son of a bitch."

"Yes he is isn't he." Aphrodite's voice was raged with rage and sorrow. "He's an absolute damned bastard." Her voice rose, "A sick, shit eating vicious manipulative prick." They all stared at her as she stood her hands shaking with fury.

Hades realized that Hercules was going to find out and he wasn't going to be the messenger. Aphrodite was. He shook his head and tried to warn her to shut up. She was too enraged and never received his warning.

Hephaestus made a single attempt to calm her and flinched when his hand sparked on her arm. She moved and started storming up and down the aisle between their table and the next. Still cursing Zeus.

"That sick shit. That manipulative monster. That twisted evil power-mad pervert. Baby raper and murderer."

"Heph. You're making me a knife."

"Dite, sweetie?" His eyes were wide and Hades shut his eyes.

Celesta's voice came into his mind urgently. Hades, what is she talking about?

Celesta, you don't want to know. Just ... just get ready to run like Tartarus.

He noticed Ares and Strife staring at him. 'Oh shit.'

Everybody else was staring at Aphrodite as she continued.

"I may not be able to kill the evil prick, but can keep him from breeding. I'm going to crush his cock until it falls off. Then I'm going to cut off his balls, roast them, and feed them to him. I'm going to cut his body into so many pieces that it will take a couple of millennia for him to put himself back together."

"Momma?" Harmonia gulped, she'd never seen her mother in this kind of a rage before.

Aphrodite didn't hear her. Her hands started glowing. "Damn you Zeus." A table turned to ashes. Iphicles' men peeked in and quickly shut the doors.

"Hades, why exactly is she so angry?" Ares voice was low and calm as he asked.

Hades looked at him, looked at Aphrodite, looked at Hercules, and said, "I'm going to find a place so deep in Tartarus for your father that even Cronus hasn't seen it."

"Hebe." Aphrodite blasted another table.

Gabrielle looked at Atus, then at Xena, and all three of them decided to get to the other side of their table and a little further away from Aphrodite. They scrambled over the top and landed in Hercules, Iolaus, and Jason's laps. As they untangled themselves, Aphrodite continued.

"Nemesis." Another table turned to ashes.

Harmonia looked at her father and realized he wasn't real happy either, so she moved closer to her Daddy Hep until he pulled her into a reassuring hug.

"Megara." A fourth table.

Cupid stood and suddenly the scrying pool was full of triple helixes and marker tags as he quickly did his own review of the records. As they watched Persephone, Celesta, and Eris' eyes grew huge.

"Oh, fuck." Hades mumbled.

"Deianeira. Aeson, Ilea, Klonus." She took out every remaining table and chair on that side of the room as Hercules stood.

He roared, "What does this have to do with them?"

Aphrodite ignored him. "Xena." This time the fireball shot over the other side of the table and everyone except Hercules and Cupid ducked as it crisped two tables and their chairs.

Xena leapt up, "And how am I involved?"

"Psyche." Another blast shot over their heads taking out another table.

"Me?" Psyche looked at her husband and scrambled over Hercules as she saw his hands glowing.

Aphrodite screamed one last time, "Zeus you bastard, you are going to pay for this." She blasted the remaining tables and chairs on the other side of the room.

As ashes floated down with everything, Cupid screamed.

"AND SERENA, DAMN HIM!" His blast cleared the room as ashes.

Aphrodite and Cupid both stood shaking with rage.

There was silence in the room for a bare second. Then Hercules roared, "WHAT DID HE DO?"

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." Aphrodite said tearfully.

Part 26

"Aphrodite, what exactly are you talking about." Hercules stood his fists clenched glaring at his sister. Every muscle in his body was tensed to fight as he desperately fought for control.

Ares' attention was torn between Aphrodite, who still stood, most of the obvious rage worked off but radiating a deep well of fury, and Hades, who was trying as hard as a god could to go unnoticed.

Everyone else was split between Aphrodite, Cupid who was muttering curses under his breath, and Hercules.

More to herself than to the others Aphrodite whispered, "How could I have missed it?" She shook her head and walked over to Hercules. "Oh, damn. Little brother sit down."

"Aphrodite?"

"Sit down." She made room on the bench sitting and pulling him down beside her, so that he sat between her and Iolaus. Still holding his hand, she started unobtrusively draining his rage off. She also enhanced Iolaus' protective response. He responded leaning into Hercules and taking his other hand. She looked at the others, some of them still standing. "The rest of you better sit down too."

Hades realizing what she was doing, and warily reached his mind to Ares. Nephew, you need to stay calm. Now sit down. Ares slowly sat and Cupid followed him down. Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus slowly returned to the other side of the table.

Aphrodite took a deep breath. "Let's start with Alcmene. She's one of Cupid's descendants. About five generations back. Through him she inherited two of the properly configured 'X' markers. So, Zeus knew that any child he had by her would have at a good chance of bearing the Sword."

"I can?"

"No, you ended up with only the 'Y' and one 'X'." She stroked his hair carefully, reducing his adrenaline levels, calming him further. "Hebe and Nemesis, like Eris have two configured 'X's. When you first visited us, Zeus asked me to match you with one of them."

Hercules stiffened.

"I didn't need to. You fell for Nemesis all by yourself. But after Alcmene died and Zeus made you a god, he planned to marry you to Hebe."

"Which is why Hera rebelled?" asked Jason.

"Probably. It was why I was so willing to help her." Ares answered evenly. He knew about Hebe and Nemesis, but he was fairly certain that wasn't what had her so enraged.

"Megara is one of Strife's descendants. She has one properly configured 'X'."

"So is Psyche and she also has a properly configured 'X'," Cupid added looking at his mother. "Deianeira was also one of my descendants." Hercules' eyes grew wide as he realized what the pattern was.

"And I'm one of Ares' daughters. How many of these configured 'X's do I have?" asked Xena.

"The same as Deianeira and Alcmene - two," responded Aphrodite still looking at and calming Hercules as understanding broke over them all.

"Oh gods Hercules," Iphicles looked at his brother sorrowfully, all past jealousy vanishing in that moment, "Zeus was using you to try to..."

"Breed another God of War," Hercules finished. "And that's why Hera drove me mad to have me kill Megara when she was pregnant and then killed Deianeira and our children."

"Yes. Your sons could have taken up the Sword." Aphrodite tried to ease the pain as much as possible.

Ares sadly added, "And that's why part of her deal with Dahok was to kill Evander. He could have taken the sword, too."

"And Serena? What does this have to do with you killing Serena, Ares?" Hercules asked finding an outlet for his anger.

"Ares didn't kill Serena." Everyone turned to stare at Cupid.

"After Serena went to him and asked him to release her to marry you, he left." Strife confirmed.

"He took my strength." Hercules said certainly.

"One god can't undo what another god does." Cupid looked at Hercules. "Put your hand on the table." Hercules slowly put a hand on the scrying pool.

"Remember when your power was taken..." The image of Ares taking Hercules' strength from him appeared. "...now remember when it was returned." The image of Zeus returning his power to him appeared.

"Zeus? My father took my strength and..." Hercules' voice broke,

"...and had me kill her." Strife finished.

"I take that Serena didn't have any properly configured 'X's," Jason said with a cold fury.

Ares spoke quietly, "We didn't know that was the reason at the time." He looked at the table. "It drove another barrier between us and killed the last golden hind."

"And it hurt you," Eris reminded him bitterly, "Zeus could hardly pass that opportunity up, could he?" She smiled tightly. "Freeing Hercules to have little god of war babies just sweetened the deal."

Hercules stood quickly and strode out of the dining hall. Iolaus stood up and ran after him. As others would have followed, Jason said, "Sit down!"

He didn't bellow the way Ares and Hades tended to, but his voice cut through the noisy commotion, and everyone automatically sat. Hades was impressed. Not many could get Cupid and Strife to sit down that fast...well except Hestia.

"Let them have some peace to deal with this," Jason finished quietly.

Aphrodite went back to sit by Harmonia and Hephaestus. There were a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Finally, Gabrielle spoke up, "Okay, does anyone else not remember any of this stuff about Serena and Hercules being married again?"

Jason and Atus looked at her gingerly and finally both shrugged.

"I don't remember either Gabrielle." Jason admitted.

"Neither do I but, we haven't exactly kept in touch." Atus shrugged. "I figured the message got lost."

Hestia quietly explained, "Hercules was allowed to undo part of that history. Only the gods and demigods directly involved remember."

"Wait Iolaus remembers." Gabrielle looked very confused. "Iolaus is a demigod?"

Hades carefully kept his face blank, after a very frustrating search he hadn't been able to answer his basic questions about why Iolaus was important to Aphrodite and Cupid. But he was reasonably certain he wasn't a demigod.

Cupid carefully allowed himself to flush. "Erythia was Alcmene's cousin."

"Oh," Gabrielle responded quietly.

'They are? How did I miss that?' Hades pulled down the records again and reviewed them. The relationship through Cupid was there. He concentrated and recalled the records he'd looked at several nights before. The relationship wasn't noted there. Instead, there were several blocked areas. 'Someone is screwing with the genealogy records.' Hades thought a moment. 'If that won't work, then I can get a little blood and do a full scan.'

Cerberus howled.

***

Iolaus had followed Hercules to the woodpile outside the kitchen. He sat on the porch while Hercules chopped wood trying to work his fury out. Finally, Hercules stopped and put the ax up. He stood forlorn. Quietly trying to hold back sobs. Iolaus went to him and wrapped his arms around his lover.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered softly.

Hercules, broke and sobbing, kneeled. Iolaus went down with him carefully guiding him to lean against his shoulder as he comforted him.

"I'm a tool to him, something to be used to make a weapon."

"I know," Iolaus soothed. "Damn him for doing this to you. Aphrodite's plan is too gentle."

Hercules laughed a little. "Iolaus she's planning to crush his cock, cut off his balls, and feed them to him." Iolaus giggled. "And then cut him into pieces."

"So maybe she's not THAT gentle. But it still wouldn't be enough."

"I love you Iolaus." Hercules stood, pulling Iolaus up with him, and then up into a deep kiss. Iolaus clung to him, his arms around his neck and brought his legs up around his lover's waist. They continued their kiss, their tongues moving across each other and exploring the other's mouth.

Cerberus howled.

They stiffened and broke their kiss. As she continued howling, Iolaus lightly pushed off Hercules, landing by the ax, and picked it up. They could see Cerberus making her way to them. They continued scanning the area, searching. Ares, Hades, Eris, and Strife appeared.

"They're increasing the shields inside." Ares called to Hercules drawing his sword. "Get him in." Hercules started moving Iolaus inside.

"Strife?" Hades called.

Strife shook his head as Iolaus screamed in agony.

Hercules held him as he writhed and his form flickered.

Eris was closest to them. "Shield them!" Ares ordered, still scanning for Belisco.

Iolaus' form solidified and collapsed unconscious and Cerberus leaped on top of them snapping at something. A single drop of blood fell on the snow-covered porch and spread along the snow. Belisco's form flickered and Strife saw him.

"There." He pointed. "Eris get them out of here."

Eris had reached Hercules and Iolaus. "Hold him," she ordered Hercules brusquely as she reached to grasp his arm and Cerberus' ruff. With a flicker of power, they all vanished to reappear in the dining hall.

As they vanished, Strife, Hades, and Ares struck. Guided by Strife, their bolts struck Belisco's spirit manifestation full on. Belisco screamed in pain and tried to follow Iolaus. The shields around the academy flickered a moment and then glowed a fierce white, light repelling him.

As a second burst of energy came from the three gods, Belisco screamed in rage, releasing the spirit he'd sacrificed to bring him here. Hades grabbed mentally, and captured a delicate torn soul.

Celesta I need your help, he mindcalled gently, holding the terrified soul.

Celesta appeared beside him. Strife looked over, "Unc, you got it?" At Ares brief nod, he appeared by Hades and Celesta adding his power to theirs. This soul was the worst damaged he'd seen in all of Belisco's attempts to gain entry. Celesta was best at soothing frightened souls, so Strife and Hades gently fed her power.

Hephaestus appeared beside Ares, responding to his call. They started repairing the breached shields. They could all feel Belisco's pounding as he continued his attempts to get through.

As they finished, the other three gently stabilized the soul, then walked inside, hesitant to risk losing the damaged soul in a translocation. They continued their work as they walked into the dining hall.

A few minutes later Ares and Hephaestus walked in. Hercules held Iolaus to him. Jason crouched beside them. Ares noticed the strengthening bond, and fed a little energy to their three joined tags. Aphrodite and Cupid smiled as they noticed.

Ares cast his mind outward. Belisco was still trying to breach the shields, and expending great deal of power in the effort. Where is he getting it with no worshippers?

Ares brought his attention back and checked the arrangements carefully. Hestia, Persephone, Psyche, and Aphrodite were at cardinal points and strengthening the shields. Good. And they were at the appropriate cardinals: Hestia, south and fire, Persephone, north and earth, Psyche, east and air, and Aphrodite, west and water. Excellent.

Eris and Cerberus were at protective points guarding Iolaus and Hercules, and Jason since he'd moved there. Good. Ostseth was by Harmonia and both were close to the protected center. Good. Cupid stood guard to them. Very good. The mortal guards had been brought into the room and they were with the other mortals in guard stance. Useless against this enemy. But still they were all within the protection of the shields. Good.

Hades, Strife, and Celesta were over by the south point. Good for working with souls, but not close enough to the more protected center. How to improve that? "Hep, do a second layer for Hades please." Hephaestus looked at him quizzically, and then realized his reason.

That done Ares reviewed the workings again. The north was out of balance and weaker than the other areas. He carefully reached to Persephone. She was too drained. It wasn't safe to break the circle until they finished casting the last of the shielding. It also wasn't safe to feed her directly while she was in circle. He searched for an energy tendril that flowed gently enough to supplement her safely.

As he searched he felt Belisco retreat. As he did so Persephone's end of the shield collapsed, as the pressure she was working against disappeared. Persephone passed out from the backlash. The other three goddesses tried to compensate but even as he yelled, "Damn," and tried to add his own power to the shields they buckled momentarily. Jason, Hercules, and Xena all moved to protect Iolaus as sparks filled the room. Iolaus flickered momentarily and Eris quickly grabbed his arm pouring power into him, keeping him here.

The mortals, all warriors, quickly moved. Iphicles moved to protect Hercules' back as Gabrielle moved to cover Xena. Atus somersaulted in to cover Jason. Iphicles' men shifted into a semicircle to cover the doors, trained to expect invasion from that direction rather than thin air.

Ares growled, grabbed Harmonia, and rolled them both over to that center area adding his own power to Eris'. That got her and Iolaus under shields as quickly as possible. Cupid quickly assisted the remaining three goddesses in reestablishing the shields.

They heard Belisco's howl and a body was thrown through the shields seconds before the breach was sealed.

Iphicles maneuvered himself to catch the body without dropping his sword. He gasped recognizing the bleeding and battered form. Then gasped again as he realized that if she was still bleeding she was still living. He applied pressure to the worst wound reaching his hand into her thigh and holding the artery closed.

"ARES!" He set her carefully on the ground. "She's not dead yet!" Ares looked at her and realized that it was Niobe, Queen of Attica and one of the rulers he was working with to place some limits on wars. As he moved to them he realized that she was breathing and her heart was beating, but that her mind and spirit was gone.

"Hades! Get that soul over here. The body is still alive."

He noticed Iolaus starting to wake. "Keep him out," he brusquely ordered Eris. The last thing they needed was him waking up to see this.

"Niobe!" Shit, too late. Eris put Iolaus back under a few seconds too late.

Harmonia stared at Iolaus a moment as Hades and Celesta reached Ares, Iphicles, and Niobe. "Daddy!" she cried urgently, "Iolaus has a new tag on him."

'Fuck. There is absolutely too much happening at once,' Ares didn't dare leave Niobe until Hades could start working.

"Daddy Hep can you take earth?" Hephaestus replaced Cupid at Persephone's station and took over the earth point. The shield's balanced much better, since Cupid was aligned with air and water, and Hephaestus with fire and earth. Cupid moved beside Harmonia, Eris, and Iolaus. "I got this one Dad." As he calmly and quickly scanned Iolaus, Ares turned his full attention to Niobe.

In the background, Ares heard the quiet buzz of conversation as Cupid calmed the mortals and got them out of the way. Except for Iphicles, he was still holding Niobe's artery closed. He felt Strife's ghostly touch on his shoulders and saw Celesta take the same position in back of Hades. As their seconds fed them power he and Hades fell into a joint trance and started putting Niobe back together again. Ares carefully repaired her damaged body and Hades even more gently found the psychic connections that held the soul to flesh and began rejoining them.

Cupid watched his father and uncle work together and continued moving the mortals out of their way. He decided to start by pairing several of them up and having them 'guard' the goddesses and Daddy Hep. He placed Remar and Lucas on Psyche, Montoga and Menelio on Aphrodite, Imbrios and Atus on Hestia, and Xena and Gabrielle on Daddy Hep. Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus looked at him like he was crazy, but didn't say anything as they took guard position. Actually, all of them thought that this was probably useless.

They were right, but it kept them in the protected zone and out of the damned way.

That left him with Jason, Hercules, and Iolaus. And with Harmonia who was getting pretty upset and very frightened. He took care of that next. Harmonia, can you and Ostseth get Aunt Persephone and help her locate a power tendril? She smiled and nodded, knowing that he was trying to get her back into control, but also glad to have something useful to do. Careful not to disrupt the shielding, Harmonia pulled Persephone over to her and Ostseth. Then she located a nice gentle power tendril and guided it to her. Persephone latched on and Harmonia stayed in a light trance to keep the flow smooth and prevent it from disrupting anything else.

Cupid sighed. "Aunt, can you keep these inner shields up while I check out this new tag?" Eris nodded. Cupid turned to Hercules and Jason. "Uncle Hercules, I need you to put Iolaus down." Hercules balked. "I need to scan him. Harmonia's good at tags and she thinks that Belisco got one onto him. I need to find it and get rid of it and I can't do that if you're holding him."

"Why not?" Jason was no more willing to let Hercules put Iolaus down than Hercules was.

"This is a deep scan. Him holding Iolaus will interfere in it." Cupid had no intention of telling them that the three-way tag between them was starting to overwhelm other tags and made it impossible to sense just one of them at a time. He was still trying to figure out how Harmonia could see tags so clearly and easily.

Hercules reluctantly set Iolaus down. Cupid set one hand on his forehead and the other over his heart and went into a deep trance, sorting through the various tags. Noting and moving past the original three-way that was reasserting itself. Then he reviewed the powerful one between Iolaus and Hercules. Moved onto the various and sundry ones placed by different gods over the years. His was easily located, as was his father's. He found nothing wrong with either of them. Both tags were fairly simple, locate and latch ones. They enabled the god to locate the person and subtly impact their judgment or bodies. Ares used his to occasionally give him wanderlust in the right direction or assist him in healing from a fight. Cupid smiled as he remembered how he used his. Iolaus was great at helping star-crossed lovers. Hestia's was slightly deeper and subtler. Very old, he had a hard time grasping its original purpose. Then he realized that she'd helped Ares heal him the last time Belisco raped him. She hadn't used the tag in many years. Nothing wrong there either.

He scanned a little more deeply and had to suppress a chuckle at Hades' tag, 'This soul belongs to the Greek Gods. If dead return to Hades.' The message also included the underworld's space-time address, a warn-off, and a really strong antipossession spell. Hades wasn't taking any chances of a repeat of Dahok.

Mom's was in place. He almost broke up. 'Great sex right here.' No wonder Iolaus attracted people like he did. Mom really outdid herself with this one. He worked around it carefully not disturbing the older deeper one she'd set and concealed under this bright wrapper.

He moved deeper and stopped. He looked at the tag again and then a third time. This wasn't Greek. It felt, really bizarre and it carried an odd energy signature. He backed out slightly.

Eris have you ever seen anything like this?

She followed him back to that particular tag. Examined it carefully. Not the tag. But the power signature is similar to what's on his sword. They compared notes briefly and she made her way back out.

Cupid reexamined the tag. No traps that he could find. Just a very odd confirmation. He probed a little deeper trying to get a sense of who had placed the tag. He was suddenly pulled in.

Hello child.

Who? he asked. Even though he knew he wasn't really somewhere else, he automatically spun around, taking in the scene. They were on a mountain, in the middle levels with deep forest. But the trees were different from the ones in Greece. An old woman sat on a pallet, in by a well, and in front of a house. The design was odd and not one he recognized.

He looked at her and sat down.

I'm a Kami. Cupid suddenly realized that Iolaus had gotten a little further east then they'd realized, past Chin and all the way to the islands of Japan. How did he manage that?

And you're here because?

I'm not sure.

He suddenly found himself out of the tag and back scanning Iolaus. He sighed in frustration. 'I'm not sure,' my wings. Oh and isn't that just like one of them. He reached for the tag again and kept sliding around it. She obviously didn't want to be bothered.

He went in further and... Yuck. That disgusting thing had to be Belisco's new tag. He examined it. Very carefully. He absolutely didn't want to get pulled into that... perversion. He scanned it again. Really disgusting perversion. He pulled back. And looked around. Hades and Dad were pretty much finished. But not enough to interrupt. Harmonia was still busy with Persephone. And if he was playing with that tag, he wasn't about to anchor to anyone who was shielding. He considered a moment and thought of Cerberus. She'd work.

Eris you better layer those shields, he warned. Then he laid one hand on Cerberus anchoring on her before going back to Belisco's tag.

He cautiously worked his way around the edges. Tendrils ran into Iolaus' nervous system and were trying to get into the other tags. Well he could help with that last part. He moved to each of their tags and carefully built in some shielding. He tried to do the same with the Kami's tag but couldn't manage to get a shield on it. He then tried touching one of the more remote tendrils on Belisco's tag and removing it. It moved away, out of his mental grip. He scanned it again, moving in deeper. Okay, there was

the locator part. He tried removing it and it wiggled. He reached his mind out to grasp it more firmly and snapped out of the scan gasping. It burned. Badly. Regaining his bearings, he moved back in. This time when he tried to grasp it Iolaus convulsed screaming in pain. Cupid arched back screaming as he felt the same burning.

He moved out completely.

"What did you do?!" demanded Hercules.

Cupid gasped for breath. "Tried to remove Belisco's tag."

He felt his father's grasp on his shoulder and gratefully accepted the energy he fed him. As he regained his equilibrium, he noted that Niobe was a lot more alive, although she was asleep, not in a coma. Hades must have put her under. He also realized that everyone but his group was back at the table. He quickly briefed the other gods mentally. Hades was the best one with tags there so he went in for a look.

He came out shaking his head.

"What?" demanded Jason frightened for Iolaus.

"Belisco's got a tag in him. I wish we had Hecate here. She'd have the best chance at removing it." Hades paused. "I think I can get to it, but not until I have time to regain the energy I expended saving Niobe. Right now, we can wake him up. There's nothing impacting his thinking processes." He looked at Ares. "We'll need to keep someone with him though. He got a good locator in and he can control the physical body to an extent. And I'm not willing to swear that he can't use Iolaus' senses to know what's going on."

"Why don't we anchor him to Cerberus, like Harmonia is to Ostseth. Then we can keep him somewhere safe with her, along with Harmonia and Ostseth." Persephone was clearly still tired. Her voice ragged and weak.

Ares thought a moment. He's been sleeping in an upstairs room. Ares moved to the table and brought his memories of the room up. Hephaestus followed him over and they examined the setup while Hades gently woke Iolaus.

"Niobe," Iolaus sobbed. Turning to Hercules.

Iphicles moved closer taking his shoulders. "Iolaus she's alive."

"I saw..."

"She's alive. Right over there." Iphicles pointed to where she lay. Iolaus unsteadily stood up, and, with Hercules' help, walked over to her, sobbing again when he saw her chest rising and falling with her breath.

Hades explained, "We were able to save her." He didn't mention the amount of damage done to her and the probable after effects. "And Belisco's giving her to us was a major mistake." Iolaus looked at him. "We were able to figure out exactly how he's doing his spirit walks and adjusted the shields so he won't be able to do it again."

Ares interrupted, "Iolaus we want to shield you in your bedroom." He lightly touched him and caught him as he collapsed against him. Hercules stiffened, but at Aphrodite's touch remained still.

Ares, Iolaus, Hades, Hephaestus, Celesta, Harmonia, Ostseth, and Cerberus all disappeared.

As Hercules tensed, he heard her voice softly in his mind. Hercules, we're leaving Harmonia up there. Do you really think that Heph, Ares, or I would do that if it wasn't safe? He relaxed slightly. She continued, He trusted you enough to send his daughter to you when she was in danger. Can't you trust him in this? Hercules nodded silently in response.

Slowly they resume their places at the table and waited for the others to return. When they did they quietly joined them at the table. Ares stood looking at them and then rested his eyes on Iphicles. He quietly began, "We need a new set of rules. The two big ones are Iolaus and Harmonia are never left alone and no one leaves the building."

Iphicles supported him. "Sounds reasonable. Are you sure the building is safe?"

"It should be," Ares replied, "but Belisco keeps surprising us. It's the safest place we have right now." He cursed himself for not bringing the group to the forge instead. But at the time he wanted to keep the extent of that place secret and now they didn't have the power to either create a god road or translocate that many there.

"Shall we resume?" He sat and started, "We'd finished discussing my mother's motivation."

"Not quite," Hestia interjected. "Zeus didn't keep his word about something else." She touched the table. Images of mindless violence came up. "He didn't return the Sword to her. For nearly six years there was no seated god of war."

"Then he allowed her to take it?" asked Gabrielle.

"No." The image changed; two young children with dark hair and eyes were playing by a hearth. Hestia sat by them watching when Hades appeared.

"Zeus has asked for Ares." Hades stood, ill at ease and clearly angry.

"Why?" asked Hestia concerned.

"He ordered me to come and bring him the boy." Hades avoided her eyes.

"Hades, he's too young." Hestia stood speaking urgently.

"I...I tried pointing that out to him." Hades looked at her. "Hestia, I'm bound. I don't have a choice."

She took a shaking breath and called, "Ares, Uncle Hades has come to take you to visit your father."

"Is it my birthday?" he asked excited, "if it is why doesn't Eris come too?"

"No Ares. Your father just wants to talk with you." Hades kept his voice even and took the child's hand bringing them both to Zeus' private audience chamber.

Hera and Zeus sat in thrones, smaller versions of the ones in the main audience hall. There was a road to another place drifting to the right of them. And before them on an altar, lay a man and a knife. By the altar was a small set of stairs.

"Ares it is time for you to become the God of War," Zeus proclaimed.

Ares looked at him blankly and Hades carefully looked at no one.

Zeus looked at his son. "Ares take up the knife." Hesitantly, Ares went up the set of stairs to the altar and picked up the knife. Hera stepped down from her throne and walked to her son. She carefully guided his hand so that the knife was over the mortal's heart.

She released his wrist.

"Now strike."

Ares looked at her in confusion. "Mother?"

"Strike. You will be the God of War, and must lose your blood innocence."

Ares hesitated.

"Strike!" she commanded.

He lowered his hand quickly and screamed as blood flew up from the blow to spatter him. He stood with his bloody hand on the knife starring at the now dead man in shock.

"Ares!" Hera's voice came sharply. "Go through there," she pointed at the beginning of the road, "and take up the Sword."

He looked at her. "Mommy, I don't want to."

Hera turned from him.

"Mommy," his voice shook as he cried for her.

She kept her back to him and stood tall and silent. Hades started to him and Zeus froze him with a glance.

Finally, Ares walked into the opening and took the sword. They heard his scream as the violence of all mankind overwhelmed him. The opening collapsed and the road reverted to a dome that entrapped the child.

"It's done." Hera gestured and the dome disappeared to a small pocket in space. "You'll know when he masters the sword."

"How," demanded Zeus.

"When mankind is sane again. It will take awhile." Hera left the room.

Hades stared at Zeus. "How could you do this?"

"It is necessary."

Shaking his head in denial, Hades vanished.

The images faded.

The room was silent.

"How long?" Hercules whispered his question, terrified of the answer.

Ares sat like stone refusing to answer. Refusing to return to that long past pain.

"How long? How long was he trapped in there?" now Iphicles insisted on an answer.

"Eighteen years." Hestia responded abruptly.

"And nobody helped him?" Gabrielle was incredulous and furious. Gods no wonder he was such a bastard, how could anyone do such a thing to a child.

"No." Ares answered calmly. Greatly shocking everyone but Eris, Celesta, and Aphrodite.

"At first I was completely alone with...mortal rage." He smiled gently at his sister and lover. "Then I heard Aphrodite outside. Pounding. Then later whispering to me."

"I couldn't get in." Aphrodite didn't notice the images forming.

"Celesta, I couldn't get in," she cried in her Aunt's arms. "I looked and looked, and when I found it - I couldn't get in."

"Go back. Talk to him. He'll hear you." Celesta's voice was calm and sure.

The image faded. "So I went back."

"And Celesta came and twice she brought Eris to me." Ares continued.

The gods all looked at her in shook.

She lifted her head. "Nothing bars death." She continued in her soft voice. "Hades rules and judges, but I'm the death bringer. Nothing bars me. I go where I will."

Hades glanced proudly at his twin sister. There are definite advantages to having that powerful a second. And having one who is so consistently underestimated. Although, probably not by THIS group again.

Ares hesitated then placed his hand on the table. He had never shown this to anyone, never discussed it with anyone. No sister, no lover, no one. But he sensed a chance to build a true alliance and risked it.

This time when they saw the altar it was from a child's view. Everything was huge and so were Zeus and Hera. This time they saw the sacrifice from Ares memory and small blood spattered hand. And with that child they went into through the opening and reached for a sword larger than him. The pool couldn't form the screaming horror when Ares touched the sword. The maelstrom of emotion came across only in chaotic eddies within the pool. Ares drove that from his memory bringing it instead to the pounding.

Pound. Pound. Pound. And the echo's of those poundings.

"Ares!" Aphrodite's desperate voice. "ARES!"

Ares sat silent in shock and the pounding and her cries for him stopped.

"Dite? Don't leave."

Than much later.

POUND. POUND. POUND. POUND. POUND.

"ARES!"

More pounding.

"Ares," her voice trailed off into sobs, "please answer me."

"Dite?" the question came as a whisper.

"Ares," hopeful for the first time. "Ares, baby, I'm sorry it took so long. I couldn't find you. And then I didn't know you could hear me."

Ares screamed as the maelstrom pulled him in again.

"ARES!"

The images faded and a new one took its place.

Celesta merging with the glass, the metal, whatever the dome was made of and flowing through.

A still young Ares, perhaps ten or eleven, clutching the sword shaking and screaming. Lost in human rage and human violence. Images mad and violent.

Celesta's soft sweet voice.

"Ares."

Again.

"Ares."

Her hand on his shoulder, touching him lightly, grounding him.

"Come to me Ares."

"Aunt Celesta?" Ares came back to her opening his eyes. He looked at her. "I can't control it."

"Yes you can." Her voice was still soft, still sweet, but this time it had a rock hard firmness. He had to gain control over the sword. "Don't try to fight it. Go with it. Flow and let their rage and fear flow within and give you power."

"I'll get lost," he whispered.

"You are the God of War. As I am the God of Death. You'll find yourself. As I did."

He looked at her questioning. "You got lost."

"I found myself, but I had to flow through their fear, their sorrow, their pain." She hugged, carefully not touching the sword. "You'll find yourself too."

"Through their rage, their violence, their pain?"

"Yes."

He let go of her.

Ares and Celesta took their hands off the table. "She came back five more times and twice she brought Eris. Aphrodite came. She came a lot. Most of the time I was lost, but I felt her out there and sometimes we could talk."

"You spent your childhood in there." Hercules voice was again near the breaking point. As he reexamined everything he believed was true and found more and more lies.

"It took nearly fifteen years for him to simply gain mastery over the Sword. Then he had to find the power to get out." Hades responded in the face of Ares' stubborn silence.

"I'm sorry." Ares glared at Gabrielle. "Not pity. You're too powerful for that, but I am sorry. No one deserves parents like that. And mortals blame you, don't we. We blame you for our own rage, and our own violence. And we're wrong."

She fell silent.

Ares decided to not respond to her remarks. He couldn't accept them and couldn't reject them so instead he moved to the next part.

"The point of this is to examine Hera and Poseidon and their motivation and power." Ares glared down the table, uncomfortable with the knowledge this group of people now had of him and his transformation to God of War.

"No." This time Ares glowered at Iphicles. Iphicles, well accustomed to Ares' glowers, ignored it. "The point is to build an alliance to fight mutual enemies. To do that we need to know the motivation and power of our allies, clearly define our goals, and examine the motivation and power of those in opposition."

Ares starred at him and Iphicles starred back. And the others starred at the two of them torn between whom to concentrate on. The silence stretched and stretched.

Finally, Xena smiled wryly. "It really sucks when one of your students throws your own words back at you," she said in a commiserating tone. She glanced at Gabrielle, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind as to which of her students she'd had that particular problem with.

This time eyes turned to her. Eyes that mostly showed a desperate struggle not to laugh.

Finally, Ares twisted in his chair leaning his back onto one arm and throwing his legs over the other.

Smiled.

And laughed.

A huge roaring belly shaking laugh. That allowed everyone at the table to join in. People clung to each other in twos and threes roaring with laughter. Iphicles tried several times to point out that it wasn't really that funny, but gave up because he kept falling back into the laughter. Finally, he put his head down in his arms on the table, avoiding looking at anyone else, to try to bring his laughter under control. When things seemed quiet he glanced up, and unfortunately caught Gabrielle mouthing at the back of Xena's head, "who me?" That set him off again, which set off the rest of the room.

After several more minutes, they finally composed themselves. Mostly.

Part 27

They carefully didn't look at each other, knowing that they'd start laughing again if they did. Finally, his voice still very shaky, Jason asked, "Ares were you and your mother the only two who could take up the sword?"

"Yes," Ares answered.

"Because it occurs to me that she didn't intend that you survive taking it up at that age. Or at least not survive still sane."

They all got serious as Jason pointed that out. Hades nodded, "At the time, I wasn't sure, it seemed like a desperate compromise, Zeus refused to allow Hera the sword and we had to have a God of War. But now, I can see Hera manipulating the situation that way."

"What would have happened if Ares had gone mad?" asked Hephaestus.

"Probably something similar to what happened on the Sovereign's world. Man's violence unleashed rather than controlled. Something close to total war and edging towards annihilation," Hestia described the probable outcome calmly. She knew that outcome. She more than any of the other gods had spent time examining other dimensions and knew that every alternate world with no seated and sane god of war ended up annihilating itself one way or another.

There was a sudden serious quiet. Finally, Celesta broke the silence. "When Ares broke free of the dome, none of us knew exactly what to expect. But he quietly took his place. By that time, Zeus had conceived other children, Hermes, Dionysus, and Apollo and Artemis. Hera was furious."

"As his behavior got more out of control, she led an abortive rebellion against him," Hephaestus concluded. He looked over at Hestia. "Hestia freed him. And he punished us. Most particularly, Hera, Poseidon, and Apollo."

"How?" asked Psyche, this wasn't in any of the histories Cupid had given her.

"He set Poseidon and Apollo to slave for the gods of Chin for a time and hung her up in the stars." Hephaestus shut his eyes. "I couldn't stand it. We had reconciled by that time. I freed her and Zeus cast me down to earth."

"After that he decided to consolidate power." Aphrodite broke off, blinking back tears before continuing. "This was a little over 3000 years ago. By then, I was already nearly 2000 years and Hephaestus was only a few hours younger. Zeus' generation was closer to 4000. Ares and Eris were barely 1300 years. And I was ready to bear children." Her voice shook slightly as she finished. "Ares and I requested permission of Zeus."

"He refused?" asked Atus.

"No. He..." Aphrodite stopped and placed her hands on the table. At her glance, Ares put one of his hands down too.

The scene unfolded, again beginning in Zeus' private audience chamber. Ares and Aphrodite kneeled before their father.

"Father we would like to have two children together. Twins." Ares' voice was hesitant, in a manner no mortal had ever heard before. "A son for Aphrodite, to carry power and assist her in her duties, and a daughter for me, to act as my goddess of mischief and assist me in my wars."

Zeus replied, "And why has Eris not taken up her duties as Discord?"

"She is ill suited to such duties. Can she not join the muses?" his voice tired, this obviously an old plea.

"No, she is the Goddess of Discord, until she takes up those duties she will remain in the Halls of War with you." Zeus fell silent and Ares and Aphrodite waited anxiously for his response.

"Aphrodite you may bear Ares a son, he will be a god of love, carry power for you, and be bound to you. Ares you will have no daughter." Ares flinched slightly. "Eris is to bear your son, Strife and he and she will act as your seconds, carry your power, and be bound to you."

"Father," Ares plead, "Eris is not ready for children, and we do not desire each other."

"Ares, you will give Eris your seed, either seduce or take her, but she will bear your son and will take up the duties I have decreed. Until this is done, she must dwell with you in the Halls of War. If she refuses, tell me and I will give you Hera's chains."

"Those will be unnecessary my king," Ares whispered and he and Aphrodite quickly took their leave.

The scene faded and a new one replaced it. The room was large, a rectangular hall. A black marble throne stood on a high dais and before it lay a black altar. The walls were decorated with weapons. It was the audience hall of Ares' Halls of War.

Ares and Aphrodite stood restlessly by the altar waiting. Then Eris and Celesta appeared together. The mortals gasped. Celesta was easy enough to recognize, but Discord was completely different. This was a Discord they'd never seen before. They were accustomed to her revealing leathers, weapons, and an angry and bitter attitude. This Eris wore simple pants and a tunic. Sandals and a ponytail completed her look. And she moved and glowed with gentle joy.

"Come with us." Ares led them to another room. Celesta and Eris also placed their hands on the table. They walked through the room quietly. Perhaps because so many of the gods were participating in this memory, or perhaps because they were so quiet for a time, the room was much sharper and more detailed than most of the other images.

Like the audience room, it was a rectangle. However, this one was smaller, clearly a study. The entrance was in the middle of one of the long walls. To it's right was a weapons display. To it's left a map table. The table stood slightly higher than Ares' waist. Celesta stood at it for a long while, allowing it to come through in great detail. It was a deep box of earth, which at Ares' command becomes a perfect three-dimensional topographical map of any area he wished. Currently, it displayed the Greek peninsula and islands. The water moved and waves lapped on shores. Clouds hid the mountains and the area reflected the light of the midday sun that shone down.

As the map was reflected on the scrying pool, Jason briefly coveted it, an emotion that quickly disappeared. But he realized at that moment what it meant to be the God of War, to have such power and knowledge. Realizing this, he looked at Hercules and Xena...did they understand? Did they realize that any battles they won against him, was at his will? Xena caught his eye and nodded. She at least knew.

He brought his attention back to the scene. Above the map was a large mirror that they had come to recognize as scrying glass. On one of the narrow ends, a great bookcase sat containing a few scrolls and bound books, and an enormous number of crystals. Only the gods recognized the crystals as the efficient information storage system that they were. In front of the bookcase was a single chair. Across from the doors, running almost the entire length of the long end was a worktable. It was covered with small relief maps, scrolls, and crystals. At first glance, it looked chaotic, closer inspection revealed that there was a system in place. In front of that was a smaller, more traditional, writing desk.

On the other narrow end sat a sofa, table, and two large comfortable chairs. It was to those that Ares and the others went. Ares and Aphrodite sat together on the sofa, and Celesta and Eris, obviously a couple, sat together in one of the large chairs.

Ares started, "Eris, father has commanded me to get you with son and force you to take up your duties." As she started to protest he finished, "I'm not doing it."

"Ares?" Celesta gasped in astonishment.

"Aphrodite and I are going to have twins as we planned. A girl and a boy, I plan to tell him simply that I conceived a son with her and that I choose a daughter to carry my power, because I feared to create another male who could become a God of War." Ares smiled. "It is all an exact and literal truth. I simply won't tell him that the daughter was also conceived with Aphrodite."

"I won't be the Goddess of Discord. I just want to make my windows." Eris said very stubbornly.

"Eris," Celesta held her gently, "he hasn't been able to force you to discord in all this time. He won't now."

"True," Aphrodite said, "but she is going to have to stay in the Halls of War. That was part of Zeus' command as well, that she remain here until she takes up her duties as Discord."

Ares laughed, "But he didn't say how I was to keep you, my most honored twin. I have in mind a nice lofty eyrie. Complete with lots of windows for you to work with. And as for Celesta, who is *war* to bar *death*." He grinned.

"Ares, he'll whip you raw, when he finds out that one of the children is a girl," whispered Eris.

"That's the distraction. He should be so focused on my disobeying his command to get you with a son, that he won't even think about whether I laid with you both or who is bearing my daughter." Ares leaned forward and took his twin's hands. "It's the only way."

Hephaestus placed his hand on the table raising another image. This was once again in Zeus' private audience room. From his throne Zeus raged, "I told you no daughters."

Ares knelt silently his head bowed to his father's rage.

They saw the scene from Hephaestus' position in one corner of the room. As he glanced down, they saw he was carrying a metal rope that he fidgeted between nervous hands.

"Why did you disobey me?"

"I will not create a son to carry my power! I won't allow another male who could take up the sword!" Ares voice was firm and cold, the slight trembling of his hands hidden from Zeus.

"Hephaestus, come forward." Reluctantly Hephaestus walked to stand beside his brother. As he moved, he looked down at his hands. As he did, they could see that what he carried was a long metal barbed whip. "Your brother has disobeyed me, your King, you will punish him for me."

Hephaestus backed away slightly, risking a slight sideways glance at his kneeling brother. His head shook in automatic denial causing the view to shift rapidly.

"Do you disobey me, too?"

"No father." Hephaestus' voice was a near inaudible mournful sigh.

As Hephaestus watched, Ares calmly stood, his vest vanishing. Just as calmly, he walked to one of the columns and facing it wrapped his arms around it for support. Reluctantly, Hephaestus followed and moved slightly to the side unfurling the whip. At Zeus' first nod Hephaestus raised the whip and brought his arm back for the first blow. He stopped trembling and looked at Zeus beseeching him. Zeus met his eyes firmly and nodded a second time.

The first stroke fell drawing blood in a ragged stripe across Ares' back. Ares stood, his forehead against the cool marble of the post, his arms wrapped around it as blow after blow fell. The whipping continued as blood streamed down his back and groaned in pain. Until finally, Ares spoke. "Father, forgive me."

Zeus nodded, ending the beating. They watched as Hephaestus moved closer to his brother, the damage to his back becoming clearer as he moved in. Then the scene ended.

Ares looked at his brother and gently reminded him, "He wanted to drive a wedge between us."

"I could have refused."

"We'd have both been killed," Ares reminded him calmly, "remember by then he'd created the golden hinds."

Hercules burst out, "Zeus created the hinds?"

"He wanted a weapon," Eris responded. "It wasn't until he decided they were more of a threat to him then they were worth, that he destroyed them." She met his eyes. "But I bet he still has a store of their blood." She placed her hand on the table. 'Let them know exactly what kind of bastard their king and all-father is.'

Aphrodite's hand joined hers on the table and the view clarified to a new image. This one was in Eris' eyrie. As Ares had promised it was a high tower with many windows. Aphrodite, great with her twins, reclined on the bed, her back propped with pillows and her hands circling her stomach. Instead of her normal revealing negligee, she wore a comfortable and large shift. Eris sat next to her in a compact curl, her legs against her chest, and her arms wrapped around her shins, her chin resting on her knees. She was smiling at a window she was working on. This one was unique, even for her. In the center was a single pale pink rose, perfectly etched on the glass. Surrounding it was only clear etched glass and black outlining. Aphrodite smiled at the rose.

"It's beautiful."

Eris looked over at her. "Well, it's a good thing you like it, it's for your temple." She smiled sweetly, a pure joyous smile. Her last such smile. Her last true smile, one that had nothing of pain, rage, or bitterness in it. She turned her attention back to the window.

A very strange look crossed Aphrodite's face and she sat up slightly. "Eris, you better call Ares and Celesta."

"Dite?" Eris looked back at Aphrodite and her eyes got huge. "Dite!" she exclaimed, "you're having the babies?" her voice went up into an excited squeal.

"Uh-huh." Dite started shoving pillows off the bed and moved to get up. As she stood, a contraction hit, taking her to her knees.

"Uh-oh." Eris moved quickly grabbing Aphrodite and helping her up. "ARES! CELESTA! Get over here." Aphrodite curled up as another contraction pulled at her body. "NOW!"

They didn't come. Eris looked at Aphrodite, worried, they'd never had anything to do with childbirth. "Ohhh, I wish I could call mother," Eris whispered.

"Don't," a gasp, "you," another gasp, "dare." Aphrodite panted hard. "She," gasp, "won't," gasp pant, "be any," panting again, "happier," a long moan as a severe contraction hit, "then Zeus." Aphrodite forced the last two words out before the next contraction.

"No she won't be." Zeus' cold voice suddenly sounded.

They turned. Zeus held Ares' bloody and battered body. His back was red and raw, whip marks scoring across it. Burns ran across his chest, arms, and face. One eye had been pulped. He still wore his leather pants but they were scorched and torn. His breath came with great struggle. And his wrists and ankles were manacled with Hera's chains. With a thought, Zeus flung him to a wall and the chains dug into stone leaving him spread-eagled and helpless.

"Daddy," whispered Eris moving in front of Aphrodite in a futile attempt to protect her. From outside they heard Celesta's anguished screams and blast after blast as she tried to enter Ares' halls through Zeus' shields.

"When Hephaestus told me, I wasn't ready to believe him. But I could hear the lies in Ares' voice when I confronted him." Zeus replied calmly. He blasted Eris across the room and into a wall. She struck the stone hard, taking most of the force on her right side. She collapsed in a heap. Her eyes glazed over in pain. Her right arm broke and they could see white bone sticking out a few inches above her wrist. Blood flowed from her nose and mouth.

When Aphrodite moved to help her, Zeus struck her across the face knocking her to the floor. She screamed in agony, as he gestured at her and her labor quickened. She pulled herself to a kneeling position struggling to control her body. Defeated by the demands of childbirth.

Eris' low moan of pain filled the room, as her father lifted her by her hair and arm and threw her on the bed. She struggled to escape him as he fell on her tearing her clothes off.

"NO!" Ares screamed in rage and pain. "It was my fault father! Don't hurt Eris!"

Ares continued pleading with Zeus. As she realized what he was doing, Aphrodite added her pleas to his. Zeus ignored them and Eris' struggles. He struck her in the face over and over, as she tried to beat him off. Then he punched her in the stomach twice. Hard, bone-breaking strikes. Both times her smaller body convulsed around the blows trying to absorb them, both times unsuccessfully. Both times the sound of shattering ribs echoed in the room.

Eris lay on the bed gasping, as Zeus forced her legs apart.

Ares desperately fought the chains, blood flowed from his wrists and ankles as he struggled to get loose. He continued pleading with his father. Begging him to punish him rather than Eris and Aphrodite.

Aphrodite made a desperate attempt to grab Zeus' hair and calm his rage. With a gesture, he flung her across the room into a table. She cried out bracing herself on it as an enormous contraction took control of her body.

They all screamed.

Eris screamed in agony when Zeus took her

Aphrodite screamed in the agony of unassisted childbirth as her children were born.

Ares screamed his rage and pain at being unable to protect his sisters.

Outside Celesta screamed for her twin, begging his help.

Their screams of pain and rage filled the room and Olympus.

As Zeus withdrew from Eris torn body, her blood on his cock he laid her hands on his stomach and it swelled as his seed took root and joined with hers. It continued to swell until she too writhed in labor screaming for help.

As Eris' labor rapidly entered its zenith, Aphrodite completed pushing her first child, her and Ares' daughter, through the birth canal and reached for her to bring her up to her breast.

Zeus took her and crushed her small head pouring power through the newborn, killing the small goddess through his will and power.

"NOOOOOO!" Ares and Aphrodite's screams echoed through the small room.

"ZEUS!" Hades' voice rose above everything as the infant goddesses' death called him and Celesta through the barrier Zeus had raised and he took in the scene. He poured his will into a single bolt of power that threw Zeus across the room. Hestia and Hecate appeared in the room, using their lightning against Zeus, forcing him to flee.

Hades took the body of Aphrodite's baby, and Hestia assisted Aphrodite in birthing her son, Cupid. As Cupid was born in that place of violence and death, Eris' son Strife was born at the same moment. Celesta aided Eris as Hestia did Aphrodite.

Hecate opened the chains holding Ares letting him fall against her.

Suddenly the room was silent except for the wail of two newborn sons.

Aphrodite eagerly took Cupid from Hestia's hands bringing him to her breast.

"My son, my sweet baby," she nursed him desperately and cried silent vanishing tears for her dead daughter. "Hades my daughter, don't put her in Tartarus. Please don't put her in Tartarus," she begged.

"I won't," he whispered his promise.

Eris refused to touch or nurse Strife, screaming, "I'll have nothing of him." She thrust the child away.

"Eris," Celesta started softly, ready to beg her to nurse the boy.

"No." Her voice was cold and frigid. She rose from the bed, pulling energy from the anger of mortal discord to her and healing herself. She dressed herself in her now familiar leathers and weapons. "Discord." She looked at her son, small and pale, with a shock of black hair. She pointed to him, "Strife."

Celesta frantically shook her head no. "Eris don't," she implored her.

Eris coldly finished, "Conceived in strife, born in strife, he'll die in strife." She destroyed the windows in the room and vanished.

The room was silent. Ares, still healing himself, finally moved to Celesta and took Strife, "I'll take him and raise him. Go after her." Celesta nodded and vanished.

Aphrodite rocked with her son, looked at the body of her daughter. "Hades, all gods go to Tartarus. How?"

"I can't ever tell you, but *she* won't." Hades vanished with the body and soul of the small dead goddess.

Ares held Strife and nursed with a finger feeding him his blood. Hecate and Hestia tried to approach him.

He turned from them. "Leave me." They looked at each other and vanished.

Ares created force barriers in the window and vanished from the room.

The images again faded. Hephaestus held Aphrodite to him, letting her rock against him. Hades, Hestia, and Celesta controlled their faces with obvious effort. Psyche clung to Cupid shaking with fear, sorrow, and anger. Strife looked at his mother and blinked back tears. Only Ares and Eris looked on without emotion. They looked on stonefaced.

Jason looked at Ares with knowing eyes. He knew exactly what if felt like to helplessly watch someone you loved being raped. He still had nightmares about that terrible night. Atus and Hercules both refused to meet anyone's eyes. Both caught up in their own thoughts. Iphicles sat squarely in his seat catching Ares' eyes and thinking as loudly as possible, It wasn't your fault. He wasn't sure Ares could hear but he felt the need to do that one small thing. Gabrielle and Xena leaned into each other, both caught briefly by their own memories of rape. Gabrielle had stopped watching as Zeus ripped off Eris' clothes, remembering too well her own experience with Dahok.

Finally, they slowly composed themselves. Hephaestus resumed the story. "I didn't intentionally betray them. I hadn't realized that Aphrodite wasn't supposed to have both children. I had been in my forge crafting weapons. I delivered them to Ares and saw Eris and Aphrodite walking down a hall together." He held Aphrodite close. "When Zeus asked about them, I didn't think anything of it. I told him that Dite glowed carrying her twins. I didn't even know he was angry until Celesta showed up at my forge."

His hand moved onto the table and the image coalesced. Celesta appearing in his forge and blasting him against a wall.

"Why, did you betray them!"

Hephaestus threw a sword at her, pinning her to the stone wall of his cavern. Limping over he yelled back, "What are you talking about!"

"Eris! Aphrodite! Ares!" Celesta grabbed his hair in one hand and he arched as memories of the destruction poured into him along with her anger.

He pulled the sword out and collapsed to the dirt floor. "I didn't know, I didn't know." He looked at Celesta. "Why would my father do such a thing?"

"He's not your father." Celesta said calmly.

"He's not?" Hephaestus asked uncertainly.

"No." She looked at him and her rage flowed out. "He lied to control you. Hephaestus, he's probably not done with Aphrodite. He beat Ares and Eris and raped Eris. I don't think he's going to feel that killing Aphrodite's child is sufficient punishment." That said she disappeared.

Hephaestus lifted his hand and looked over at his wife. "That's why I went to Zeus and bargained for you to be my wife. He agreed and forced you to marry me." He shrugged. "I lied like Hermes. Let him believe that I deliberately dropped the information. Told him the worst punishment he could give you was to marry you to me. The Goddess of Love and Beauty in a loveless marriage to the ugliest of gods. At first, I thought it had worked. I never told you why. I was terrified that Zeus would discover and hurt you for my deception. And when Zeus commanded that I not give you the children you wanted I knew that he'd never been deceived. So instead I let you go your own way, and raised your children by Ares."

Gabrielle looked at Hephaestus thinking, 'He's the sexiest god I've ever seen. Where'd he get the idea that he was ugly? Well, besides that bitch of a mother.' She briefly wondered whether to say anything and decided that she didn't want the Goddess of Love thinking she was after her husband. She turned her attention with great effort off Hephaestus rather well revealed assets and calmly asked, "What about the net?"

Hephaestus heard Gabrielle's thoughts. Actually, she was impossible to block out. She thought rather loudly and it's almost impossible to block out thoughts concerning yourself. He looked at her, surprised, then answered her question.

"They were getting too obvious, and it infuriated Zeus. So I did the net to embarrass them into discreetness." He smiled wryly. "And I'll admit that I was a little tired of being laughed at concerning her infidelity. Particularly since she and Persephone had just had that little spat about Adonis." Both goddesses blushed at that. Adonis really had been more trouble than he'd been worth.

As Hephaestus answered her question, he tried to ignore her other more amorous thoughts. Of course Aphrodite's giggling into his mind, See I keep telling you, you're wonderfully sexy and very arousing, didn't help any. He squirmed a bit.

Xena kicked Gabrielle under the table. She knew very well just how much Gabrielle liked the smooth well-muscled types. Just look at her immediate lust for Atus. And she didn't want Aphrodite irritated at her lover.

Cupid tried valiantly not to laugh at Gabrielle's attempts to not think about his stepfather. She'd been succeeding most of the day, but, apparently, hearing that he thought himself ugly was too much for her and try as she might, while he explained about the net, she automatically started cataloguing his attributes. Given her general lustiness, she was fairly specific, and, of course, since he and Mom were the God and Goddess of Love they caught it. And since they were about him, Daddy Hep was catching it, too.

Hephaestus had managed to keep a straight face at 'smooth skin,' 'skilled strong hands', and 'gorgeous eyes.' But his eyes started getting wide at 'yummy legs', 'great fantastic biceps', and 'incredible tight ass'. Then she started cataloguing just where she wanted to start her mouth at: 'bite lips', 'tongue neck and collar bone' started a slight flush, and when she got to 'suck on nipples', he turned beet red and started coughing.

At that point, Xena grabbed Gabrielle by her hair and hissed, "He can hear what you're thinking."

Gabrielle glanced at Aphrodite who'd buried her head in the crook of Hephaestus' neck and was giggling wildly and Hephaestus who'd buried his head in his hands and was blushing all the way down his back to the waist of his kilt. She immediately wondered whether the blush went down his ass and if so how nice would it look. Then, realizing Hephaestus had to have heard THAT too, she buried her face in her arms and thumped down on the table.

Of course, the table immediately started taking the images out of Gabrielle's mind. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your perspective, Xena grabbed her up by the shoulders breaking contact before the image got too explicit.

Gabrielle mumbled what everyone assumed was an apology. Of course, they couldn't actually understand what she said. That was too much to ask, when she mumbled it with her face still buried in her hands.

Still giggling a little, Aphrodite responded, "That's all right Gabrielle, I think you just did wonders for his self image."

Gabrielle peered out from behind her fingers. "You're not mad."

"Because you have excellent taste in gods? No."

"Then you're not going to make me fall in love with Draco or Joxer?"

Aphrodite smiled wickedly. "Not if you keep your hands off Heph."

Gabrielle nodded seriously. "Gotcha. No hands." And she ruthlessly turned her mind away from several handless games she'd like to play with him. Or at least she tried. As she was discovering, it was almost impossible to NOT think about something.

Hephaestus moaned and sat up quickly as images of what he was now picking up from Gabrielle started forming. Aphrodite glared at her.

"I'm sorry," she blurted, "Do you know hard it is not to think about how hot and sexy he is and not think about sex?"

At that, Aphrodite had to giggle. "Actually, I do."

Gabrielle looked at her fellow mortals and Hercules. Hissing, "Will one of you help me out here. Say something relevant to fighting Hera and Company, and change the damned subject." They looked at her blankly struggling. "Please," she pleaded still in a whispered hiss. As they remained frozen, Gabrielle tried to think of something to recite in her head to stop thinking about sex. She ran through the epic battle poems - no fighting turned her on. Love ballads - oh, absolutely not. Times tables. She started concentrating fully on times tables.

Finally, Iphicles asked, "Are we really sure we want to defeat Hera, Zeus sounds as bad or worse?"

"Good point," Jason continued, desperately trying to distract Gabrielle from thoughts of sex and Hephaestus, although he really wished he knew exactly what she'd been thinking about.

"Ares what do you think?" asked Hercules. Ares almost laughed out loud, as his half brother asked that. That girl must have a wonderfully slutty mind to get their loin clothes in that much of a twist, but he played along. Actually, it was a fairly good question.

"Belisco needs to be neutralized, killed if possible." He was firm on that, Belisco was too mad and too wily to be left running loose. "We also need to prevent Poseidon and Hera from continuing to use chaos energy. That's too powerful a weapon, and it can destroy this entire land if it goes out of control." He made sure he had their attention. "I'm not giving up the Sword of War. Nothing Hera's done leads me to believe that she'd handle the job properly. But I'd like to leave them alive and with some power." He smiled at their shock. "As Iphicles pointed out, Zeus is no prize. And he's controlled me by threatening to rape Eris again ever since that time." He didn't notice Eris' look of dismayed shock and continued. "There are advantages to having two power bases. We become the deciding factor on any given issue. If we balance it properly, Hera and Zeus start to neutralize each other."

"Eris?" asked Celesta grabbing hold of the white-faced goddess.

Eris looked at Ares with eyes that reflected soul-deep shock. "Ares, he..."

Sudden comprehension fell and Ares stood roaring, "ZEUS YOU BASTARD!" He looked at Eris, "How often?"

She shook her head then sat ramrod straight. "He told me that he'd punish you if I said no. I didn't fight him. It wasn't rape."

Hercules shut his eyes in realization. "It was rape." Startlingly his voice was just as enraged as Ares' was, "How often?"

"Once, sometimes twice, a year."

Hercules looked at Ares, for once in complete accord. "So he raped you about 5000 times."

Strife stood. "This is mine."

Everyone looked at him in astonishment. "We can't kill Zeus. Cupid and I can strike at him where he's weakest - his lust. And I know how to do it. So, he's mine."

"Why can't we kill him?" asked Gabrielle, several of the others looked at her in shock, they knew she'd left 'the way of love' and was again using her staff, but she sounded, well, very bloodthirsty.

"He created rape. Why can't we kill him?"

"Because he's still king of the gods and killing him would cause a civil war between the gods, that would destroy this world and all humans." Hestia said flatly.

"You're sure."

Hades looked at Gabrielle in disbelief, "Yes."

Gabrielle sat silently for a moment. "Strife, make it really hurt, okay."

Strife laughed viciously. "Promise. You sure you don't want to be one of my worshippers?"

"You're dead Strife," Gabrielle looked at him, "I don't think I want to worship a dead god."

There was a little giggling at that until Xena brought the conversation back to point. "Then our goals are to: protect Iolaus and Harmonia, neutralize or kill Belisco, neutralize the chaos energy weapons, and set up a little healthy competition between Zeus and Hera, weakening both parties as much as possible." She smiled at Ares, "And you get to keep the Sword of War. I think that we all agree that you're a much better option than Hera."

Ares laughed and nodded. "That puts it in a nutshell."

"Can we agree on those goals?" asked Iphicles.

Aphrodite looked at Cupid and Ares, "And my children don't take up your Sword."

Ares smiled at her gently; "That's understood. I am the God of War. I will remain the God of War."

The gods all indicated their agreement.

Hercules looked at Jason, then at Ares. "What do you mean by neutralize Belisco?"

"I want him unable to do anything," Ares responded.

"No," Jason's voice shook, "he needs to die."

Hestia firmly said, "We don't kill gods, he can be imprisoned."

"Where?" Hercules was just as adamant. "Hera's chains - Hephaestus and Hecate can both open those, that means another god could too. Tartarus - entirely too many have escaped from there. Bound to earth like the Titans - Gabrielle woke three of them by accident. A dome like the one Hera used on Ares - he broke out of it." He stood shaking. "Where exactly do you plan to imprison him where Iolaus will be safe for all eternity?"

"Hercules please calm down." Aphrodite again tried to calm him.

"No," Xena stood too, "he's right. Iolaus won't be safe short of killing Belisco. We use the hind's blood dagger to do it."

A brief argument broke out as Aphrodite, Cupid, and Strife argued for killing Belisco, agreeing with Hercules. Hestia, Celesta, Hephaestus, and Eris argued against killing him. Ares and Hades remained silent.

Finally, Ares interrupted them. He looked at Hercules. "You're right. He won't be safe short of Belisco's death. But the hind's blood dagger won't kill him."

"What? Why not?" Gabrielle asked confused.

Hades explained, "Because of how he became an immortal and then a god. The Apple of Hesperides works differently on mortals and gods. On gods, it simply heals injuries, cures poison and illnesses, but it can't work any permanent changes. On mortals, eating the whole apple makes them immortal and it does so by permanently changing how the body responds to injury, poison, or illness. When Belisco became a god he kept those changes, because they existed before he took on godhood. Bottom line, Belisco, Iolaus and Hercules can't be killed by hind's blood." The mortals looked at him uncertainly.

"What about Callisto, I killed her with the dagger?" pointed out Xena.

"No," Hades shook his head. On gods, it prevents them from using their energy and keeps them in the body then as the central nervous system shuts down, the god dies with the mortal body. But since the central nervous system never completely shut down with Callisto she pulled out as she started healing, thinking she was dying. That allowed another power to take her soul. She could have never left her body and ridden it out or created a new one later." He smiled. "She still can."

"So the dagger's useless," Gabrielle surmised.

"No," Ares smiled. "We just can't kill him with it."

"But?" Then Xena nodded and answered her own question; "We can convince him to leave his body."

"And then imprison him," added Eris.

"That still leaves open the question of where," Hercules finally sat back down, calming slightly.

Hephaestus smiled with dawning realization, "The box."

Atus, who had been silently paying attention, glanced over at the sleeping Niobe. She was starting to gently glow.

"Um," he got their attention, "is she supposed to be glowing?" he asked pointing at her.

The gods yanked their attention to her, as she started glowing more brightly and a box slowly formed above her unconscious body.

Cupid mumbled, "Uh oh," right before the explosion of chaos power.

Part 28

Harmonia tucked her legs up into the chair and looked at the sleeping Iolaus again. Well actually, she looked at his hair. That was all she could see sticking out from under the blankets. Well, that and Cerberus. She'd pretty well wrapped herself around Iolaus when they put him to bed. She sent a little probe into Cerberus' mind...yeah she was still awake and watching. Belisco's last attempt at Iolaus had made her nervous. Actually, it made everyone nervous, but Daddy said that they'd figured out how he did it and they could counter it now. She checked the shields over the room again. They were still glowing strongly, although anchoring on the semi-cardinal points instead of the cardinals was still making her a little dizzy. Iolaus squirmed a little under the blankets pulling them tight along his butt. She grinned, thinking, 'So that's why Mom calls him Sweetcheeks. Well it certainly fits.' She checked him again and found he was on the outer edges of sleep and would probably wake up in a few minutes.

She squirmed as Ostseth put his head and front paws on the chair seat and tried to get on with her. He kept trying to do that, but he didn't fit. She thought about making him a little kitty, but Daddy Hep would have a conniption so she didn't.

She drifted back into a power-raising trance for a few minutes and then felt someone watching her.

She focused her eyes and met Iolaus' blue ones. 'Oh my, Mom you did a great job with sex appeal on this one.'

"Um, hi," she bit her lip. 'Yikes, 'um, hi' how dumb can you sound.'

Iolaus smiled. "Hi yourself." He got up wrapping a blanket around him and started for the curtained entry.

"You can't go out," Harmonia warned him quickly.

He looked back. "Why not?"

"This room is the only one under the special shields," she explained and then realized that he had to go the bathroom. She quickly wrapped her mind around his wastes and disposed of them.

He flinched as he felt the sudden change in his body. "What did you do to me?" She recoiled as waves of violation and rage rolled off him.

She looked at him and she realized that she'd scared him. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." He stared at her. "I got rid of your wastes for you. That's all. I'm sorry."

Iolaus calmed himself, 'she's really just a kid and she didn't mean to hurt me.' He sat down on the bed and petted Cerberus, who sat up when he flinched. "It's okay, just don't do anything like that again." He looked around. "Where are my clothes."

She pointed to the chest where they lay folded on top. He reached for them. Pulling his pants up under the blanket, he stood, turned around and laced them, pulled on his shirt and turned back to face her.

"Who undressed me?"

She shrugged. "Uncle Hades probably. He's the one who brought you up. You were already under the blankets though."

They looked at each other uncomfortably for a couple of minutes. Then Iolaus asked, "I take it we're both here for awhile." She nodded. "And we can't open the window." She nodded again. "And I can't eavesdrop because Belisco might hear." A third nod. "And you were struck mute in the last two minutes."

She giggled, "No. I just didn't know what to say." She looked at him seriously. "I've never hurt anybody before, not even by accident. Well except for Hera's archers. I guess I've never really had the chance to."

Iolaus brought his legs up to the bed shifting to a more comfortable position. He ended up with one leg brought to his chest, his other leg crossed in front of it; he automatically wrapped his hands on his raised leg and curled his back against Cerberus. "You were that protected?"

"My Mom's the Goddess of Love and my Dad's the God of War. What do you think?"

Iolaus laughed. "I can see Ares being a little over protective."

She giggled. "And Daddy Hep's almost as bad." Iolaus cocked his head at her. "Everyone *thinks* he doesn't notice anything but Mom, but every time I get ready to cut up trouble, somehow he knows and shows up." They laughed together. She rolled her eyes. "And don't even talk about Cupid."

"Big brothers are supposed to protect their little sister."

"Well Cupid's almost 3000 years older than me, and I'm his only sister." She sighed, "You'd think the God of Great Sex would be more understanding."

Iolaus choked on his laughter. "I think Herc would say you have lots of time."

She looked at him sadly. "That's what Daddy said."

Iolaus leaned back against Cerberus and roared with laughter. "Hercules and Ares agree on something."

After a few minutes, they settled down and both dropped to the floor to sit cross-legged. Harmonia leaned against Ostseth and Iolaus against Cerberus.

"Iolaus," Harmonia said seriously, "you probably ought to talk about what happened. I mean to someone, not me, but to someone."

"I know." He shuddered. "The first time...I could talk to Alcmene and Chiron, but they're dead."

"You can still talk to them. The dead hear you when you think of them." He shrugged. "I bet Hades would let them visit your dreams."

"That would be good," he replied softly.

Harmonia felt the shields flicker and then they both saw as they brightened to a hot white corona of power around them. Iolaus felt the vibration to his bones.

Harmonia stiffened and pulled away from Ostseth as he and Cerberus stood and growled. Iolaus leaped up and reached for a sword. A new one Jason had given him when they'd reached the academy. Given him along with new clothes and boots. 'Boots, I don't believe it,' he looked down at his bare feet, 'I'm going to have to fight barefoot again.'

"What's going on?" His voice was only slightly tenser.

"I don't," she broke off abruptly as waves of nausea hit her. She fell against Iolaus as the shields suddenly went dark. At the flicker, that he knew indicated an incoming god, sparkled in front of him, Iolaus dropped her to the bed, with a whispered, "Guard her," to Ostseth and Cerberus.

Belisco appeared, laughing as Iolaus threw his sword into Belisco's heart. It passed through him and clattered against the stone wall. Belisco vanished and reappeared by Harmonia's unconscious body. Lifting her and pressing a knife to her throat.

Iolaus turned and froze. The hind's blood dagger.

"Walk downstairs with me." Belisco yanked his head towards the curtained entry.

Slowly, numbly, Iolaus backed out of the door carefully watching Belisco. As he continued backing away, Belisco followed still carrying a limp Harmonia, the dagger at her throat. Ostseth and Cerberus followed growling.

When he reached the stairs Iolaus paused. "You don't want her. Leave her and I'll go with you."

"Turn around and walk down the stairs," Belisco ordered him.

"Please don't kill her," Iolaus begged.

"Turn around and walk down the stairs." Reluctantly Iolaus started down the stairs. He moved to the exterior doors and Belisco called, "Stop." He froze. Then turned to look at Belisco.

Belisco gestured with his head to the hall leading to the dormitories and dining hall, "In there."

Slowly Iolaus walked to the dining hall, as he did so he searched for Lucas and Montoga to try and warn them. As he searched Belisco found and took them both with a single blast. Lucas was obviously dead, his body burnt to the bone in places. But Montoga, slightly behind Lucas, was badly burned but still moaning. Iolaus concentrated on his horror at Lucas' corpse, blanking everything else from his mind. Then he carefully stepped over Montoga, deliberately clattering Lucas' still hot sword against the stone floor and shaking his head warningly. Montoga silenced his moaning.

As Iolaus approached the dining hall, he noticed freezing cold water trickling from under the doors. He opened them slowly gasping when he could see in. "What have you done?"

Belisco laughed. "Killed them all." Iolaus shuddered as Belisco stopped just before the water line.

"Go in and bring me Ares' sword." Iolaus looked at him and finally, slowly nodded, and entered the devastated room.

The walls blackened and still burning in some areas. All that remained where Niobe had lain was a blackened outline and a small open box. The table they had used for scrying had broken in half and water poured out of the center break flooding the room. As he walked into the room, the water lapped around his ankles. Everyone in the room was blackened and scorched. The metal on Xena' armor had melted into her body. Cupid's wings had been burnt off his back. He was covering Psyche. Iphicles' sword was a molten lump beside his still body. He couldn't find Gabrielle's staff at all it must have been completely burnt. She and Atus lay next to Xena and her hand was on Xena's arm. Iolaus blinked back tears. Hercules and Jason lay together their skin and clothing blackened and scorched. He started for them.

"NO!" Belisco's order came from the hall. Iolaus turned and saw him bring the knife closer to Harmonia's neck. He nodded and moved further into the room. He carefully stepped over Hestia and carefully avoided looking at Aphrodite and Hephaestus. He stopped at the broken end of the table reaching for the Sword of Veracity.

"Not that one." Belisco's voice carried an edge of anger and Iolaus quickly moved on. Catching the kitchen door opening, he hastily gestured for Menelio to stay still and hidden. Menelio froze then moved back into the kitchen closing the door silently.

Again he blanked his mind and reached further into his meditative core. He couldn't see Hades, Celesta, or Persephone. He didn't go around the table blocking his view to check. Instead, he moved towards Ares.

Iolaus moved the few remaining steps to Ares' blackened and overturned chair, moving around it to his body. Slowly he knelt by his side and reached for the Sword of War and removed it from its sheath. As he steadily walked back to Belisco, he moved himself further and further into a meditative state. Blanking his conscious mind to work solely on his unconscious instincts.

He reached them and moved. With one hand, he thrust Ares' sword through Harmonia and into Belisco. The other hand he wrapped around the hind's blood dagger so that it cut into him and not Harmonia. They all screamed. Howling rage, Cerberus and Ostseth both leapt at Belisco. Iolaus felt the burn of the poison run through his body as he passed out.

Still burning he awoke in a different place. He heard first Cerberus and Ostseth's howls and yowls of rage, Harmonia's moans, and Belisco's bellows of rage. The sounds came to him in a kaleidoscope of noise, first as a whisper and then a full roar as his systems slowly compensated for the poison. Reluctantly he peered through half closed lids to try and see. Belisco had yanked the sword out and was screaming. Iolaus shut his eyes against the chaos of light and shadow, he couldn't make anything work right. Slowly he realized that he was on his back on a cold smooth floor, possibly marble.

Finally, Iolaus was able to make sense of what Belisco was screaming.

"The wrong sword, the wrong damn sword!"

When he understood the words, Iolaus realized, 'Fuck, Ares must have switched them.' As Belisco continued raging, he felt Cerberus at his back trying to drag him away. He either thought or mumbled Harmonia. He felt a wave of reassurance. 'Cerberus?' As she continued dragging at him, he once again opened his eyes. Ostseth was doing the same with Harmonia. Laboriously he tried to stand, failing that he turned over and, wrapping an arm around Cerberus, crawled with her as she drug him.

He heard the yelling and pounding feet of guards and knew that they weren't going to make it. "Go," he weakly ordered Cerberus, "both of you go." He made out the last order as rough hands lifted him and he weakly struggled. A knee hit him in the gut and he doubled over in their hands, losing the fight with pain and poison, as wave after wave of vertigo and nausea inundated him.

He strained to pull his head up as he heard the sword clatter to the floor, 'Marble, definitely marble, only on marble does steel make that much damn noise.'

Vaguely he heard Belisco's shouted commands. "Take him to my quarters and catch those damn animals." Iolaus faintly smiled as he heard Ostseth and Cerberus clattering away. He finally managed to lift his head slightly, the last thing he saw before fading back to oblivion was Belisco slinging a still moaning Harmonia over his shoulder and disappearing.

The second time Iolaus woke up it was on a bed. This time most of the poison had worked its way out of his system. He kept his eyes closed a few minutes listening and heard only an odd thrumming beat. Finally, carefully, he opened his eyes. And looked up at a bare ceiling. He waited a moment, and then, with due consideration of the slight remaining nausea and vertigo, rolled to his side and sat up in the bed. And cringed.

At the foot of the large four poster bed were shackles. He forced the beginnings of panic down and slowly assessed his situation, starting with the bed. Shackles at the top and foot of each of the bedposts at the foot of the bed. He looked back and at the top and bottom of the head's bedposts, more chains were available. Belisco obviously liked several options on how to chain his victims. Iolaus took a deep calming breath and looked around the rest of the room. Directly across from the bed, slightly off center, was a clothes chest. A large cushioned chair with a stool sat in one corner, behind it a rounded window. He gulped, in front of the stool was a set of shackles. He looked up and a matching set descended from the ceiling. He swayed slightly, remembering similar shackles from before. He abruptly cut off his memory as useless. Another chest was at the foot of the bed, and to the right was an arch to another room. Covering the walls were more chains, along with weapons and whips, and some things he didn't know or want to learn the purpose of.

He shut his eyes momentarily, centered, and then moved off the bed. He walked slowly over to the stool and moved it by one of the walls. He lightly jumped up on it and reached for one of the knives. A quick flash singed his hand. He took a deep breath as the damage healed and reached a second time, this time ignoring the pain and continuing his reach for the weapon. The heat built and he still wasn't able to touch the weapon, his hand sliding off it. Tears rolled down his checks. Finally, the pain overcame him and he pulled his hand away. He sat momentarily on the stool waiting for the hand to heal and the pain to subside.

When it had faded from deep blisters to slight stinging redness he moved again. Cautiously trying some other weapons, a set of chains, and finally one of the whips. Finally convinced that the barriers protected everything on the wall, he moved on. He quickly checked both chests. They were similarly protected.

Finally, shoving the stool back in place with his foot, he moved to kneel on the chair and examine the window. It was an opaque blue. The surface fluttered slightly, like it was in motion. He could barely make out the shape of buildings and tall spires through it and light flashes of color. He warily put his hand up to it until he touched it. This time it met cool water. He pulled his hand away and water dripped from his fingers. He brought the hand to his face sniffed it, then tasted it. Seawater. Realization struck, he was in Poseidon's realm. He heard loud steps and talking and quickly moved away from the window moving softly back to the bed.

The steps continued past. He glanced at the window and then at the arch. He knew the window was too small to fit his entire body through. So, he moved instead to the other room. This room was also decorated in Belisco torture he decided.

To the right of the door against the shared wall was a set of shelves. Along the next wall a worktable and in front of it a desk. To his left another large chair and an ottoman and next to those was a table. The table had a set of dishes and a pitcher. Most of the floor space was empty and again there were hooks and loops for chains coming from the ceiling and floor respectively. These walls were decorated with another broad variety of chains, weapons, and whips. Iolaus clutched his arms around his chest and rubbed his upper arms as he shivered slightly. There were no windows but there was a door across from him. He slowly reached for the handle and a similar barrier to the ones around the weapons and the chests hit him. Again, he couldn't even touch the handle.

He moved to the table and desk. Once more, he couldn't touch anything. But he could at least see some of the items. A map of the area between Corinth and Thebes, several scrolls, and a number of crystals sat on the desk. On the worktable, there were several rolled maps, a couple of knives (he tried to pick those up and failed), quills and ink well, several more crystals, and wooden disks with painted symbols. He didn't recognize any of the symbols. He turned to look at the shelves.

Moaning, he knelt to the floor and curled up rocking. His bloodstained belt, vest, sword, and a scroll stood in a cluster. A small empty box stood beside them. Wrapped around them was his mother's braided hair. He also saw several other items he recognized as belonging to friends or lovers. Niobe's ring. Lilith's favorite knife. Amphion and Leah's wedding bracelets. Parentheses' writing block. The wooden hair barrette he'd made for Regina. Hector and Linus' breastplates. There were other objects on the shelves, ones he couldn't place with their owners. But he knew they belonged to people he cared for.

"Actually you can touch those." Iolaus froze at Belisco's soft gentle voice. "Put out your hands."

Reluctantly Iolaus held out his hands and his mother's braid dropped into his outstretched palms. He screamed as her agony poured through him, until finally Belisco removed the braid and replaced it on the shelf.

As Iolaus gasped, "Why," through his tears, Belisco reached down and lifted him by his arms. Bringing him to him. Lifting him off the floor by his upper arms so that he could lick the tears streaming down his face.

"Your tears taste sweet."

Iolaus closed his eyes, shuddered, and turned his head. Belisco set him down so that he was on tiptoes. Then his hands moved, one firmly caught his hair and forced his head back. The other moved down to his hips to grind Iolaus' groin to his. Iolaus felt Belisco's erection grinding into his groin and frantically squirmed trying to get loose.

Belisco easily lifted him and flung him across the room to land with a thud against the hard stone wall and collapse in a heap. Before Iolaus could pick himself up, Belisco appeared in front of him and lifted him by his hair.

Iolaus' hands reached up to try and pry Belisco's out of his hair and instead clutched at his wrists when power poured through his body. Belisco ignored Iolaus' clutching hands and poured more power into his tag. Iolaus convulsed in agony unable to even scream as every nerve in his body signaled pain. Belisco held it until his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted, then flung him across the room to land by the ottoman.

Iolaus woke up, his nerves still jangling from the torture. He rolled over and used the ottoman to bring himself to his knees. "Come here." He looked around and located Belisco in the chair. "Did you enjoy that?" Belisco smiled at the rapid shake of no. "I don't actually have to touch you. Now. Come. Here."

Unsteadily Iolaus went to stand by Belisco. "Straddle me." Belisco reached out to guide Iolaus to his lap. Instead, he stepped back silently shaking his head. Impatiently Belisco flicked a small amount of power through his system. Iolaus dropped to his knees as his lower legs combusted in burning agony. He knelt there gasping in pain for a few moments.

"Straddle me." Belisco again pulled him by his hair and arms until Iolaus sat facing him, straddling his lap and he could rub his cock against his ass. Moving his hands down to firmly hold his hips, he rotated his groin under his prisoner's ass pushing him up and down. He smiled at Iolaus' grimace, and stopped, moving his hands to either side of his head instead and tangling his fingers in his hair.

"Did you have a chance to explore the rooms?"

Iolaus remained silent. Belisco again used his tag and ground his cock into his prisoner's warm ass when he arched in agony.

"Did you have a chance to explore the rooms?"

Iolaus whispered, "Yes."

"So you know what you can't touch?"

Iolaus nodded. Belisco's hands tightened in his hair in warning.

"Yes." Belisco waited. "The weapons and other tools on the walls, the door, the chests, the desk, the worktable."

Belisco smiled. "The window?"

"I can't fit out." His hands tightened in the blond hair again. "It leads to water. I'd drown."

"And return when I retrieved you."

At Iolaus' hesitant nod, Belisco stood, spilling him to the floor. He reached down and dragged him by his hair and an arm into the other room. At the threshold he lifted him and hurled him into the chair and moved behind him. He caught the hair at the back of Iolaus' head and pushed his face towards the window. Iolaus' hands automatically braced against the curved wall until Belisco triggered a nerve sequence causing them to drop helplessly to his side. As his face reached the water, he took one last huge gulp of air and ruthlessly lowered his heart and lungs as quickly as he could.

Belisco pushed his head through. His eyes burned slightly in the salt water but he blinked them open anyway searching for some way out. There were spires all around him. He recognized the flashes of color that he'd seen earlier as schools of fish swimming rapidly by the window. He vaguely felt his numb shoulders jammed against the stone surrounding the window and Belisco's hand left his hair. He looked around. The exterior wall was rough with coral. And down was, gods, far down. Water stretched until he couldn't see. The buildings had landings and decks outstretched into the water like no land-based building he'd ever seen. He continued lowering his heart and breathing trying to stretch the time he had to learn. As he looked up, he felt Belisco's hands ripping his pants. Instinctively, he thrashed his legs and nearly gasped his air out when Belisco punched him in the kidney. His head jerked down at the punch. As he felt Belisco's cock against his bare ass his pulse and respiration increased out of his control.

Obstinately, he forced his pulse and breathing to slow again, refusing to acknowledge the agonizing pain of Belisco's penetration, and he looked up again.

Up was even farther up than down was. He was below where sunlight descended. What dim light there was came from phosphorescence of plants and animals growing on the spires or swimming in the area. Sensation came back to his arms and hands in excruciating waves of burning tingling. And Belisco's rapid thrusts tore at his ass and he dimly felt blood run down his legs. As Belisco grasped his shoulders firmly crushing them to the stone and moved all the way out, he released his control and purposely exhaled. The next thrust ripped into him and he felt blood and fluids spurt from his body as an internal barrier was shredded. He shrieked his pain and inhaled a lungful of water. As the rape continued he drowned and the pain retreated into a hazy background, until finally a gentle oblivion again claimed him.

Oblivion didn't last. He woke on the floor coughing water. He rolled over onto all fours and hung helplessly as his body rid itself of the last of the seawater. That done he knelt gasping. And realized that there was no pain. He was completely healed.

Belisco crouched beside him and lifted his head to look in his eyes. He smiled and softly said, "You see you really don't have any way out." He gently stroked Iolaus' wet hair off his forehead. "And I'm a God. There's nowhere for you to go, even if you could leave."

Part 29

Harmonia woke moaning, doubled up on the ground clutching her stomach. After assuring herself that there wasn't still a gaping wound, she gingerly rolled to her knees. 'He stabbed me! Why in blazes would he stab me? I wasn't even conscious, well not until he stabbed me in the gut. That woke me right up. And if he was going to stab me, why in creation do it with the Sword of Veracity.'

She tried moving. A wave of vertigo hit and she nearly fell on her face. But the body, in this case smarter than her brain, shot out a steadying hand. So instead she retched on her knees and one hand, the other hand going up to grab her hair out of her face. When she finished vomiting, she spat as much of the foul taste from her mouth as possible.

"Okay, I think I've had enough new experiences today. I mean really, kidnapped by a megalomaniac new god, stabbed, and vomiting." She sat back on her knees and realized. 'And talking to myself out loud. That can't be good. Dionysus and Psyche are the only gods who talk out loud to themselves. And he's crazy and she used to be a mortal.'

Harmonia quickly tried mentally calling. Silence. She tried feeling her tags, nothing. Not her mother, not her father, or Daddy Hep, or Cupid, or Ostseth. In desperation, she tried Aunt Athena who'd been training her before everything started. That was dead too.

She tried to get her bearings. Rough ground, rocks, dirt, a faint smell of must and rock. Her prison was a cave, a very dark cave. She tried to call a light. Another wave of nausea hit as it briefly and weakly flared then flickered out. She moaned, "Okay, no power."

So instead she sat with her eyes open, allowing them to adjust to the almost nonexistent light and listened. As she sat, her father's training took over. She brought her legs into a lotus, her hand rested on her knees, her spine straightened and lengthened, and slowly her muscles relaxed. Automatically, she started to breathe as he'd taught her. Slow deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Her heart and lungs slowed.

Briefly she heard his words echo in her mind. 'Training the mind is as important as training the body. Fight with every bit of passion that exists within. Plan calmly with your mind; not fear, not anger. Make your *mind* as much an instrument of your will as your body is.'

As she calmed, her sense sharpened. Sound first. Faint dripping. A slight lapping sound in front and a very low muted thrumming from behind and to the left. And another deeper thrum directly behind her.

Then, slowly, her eyes adjusted and she could pick out a faint line of pale blue almost invisible out of the corner of her left eye. She tried to focus in on it and only managed a headache. She stopped and breathed, slowly calmly. Again, her eyes adjusted. In front of her stood a rock formation, the lapping from water moving against it.

Remembering other lessons she waited and thought before moving. Her natural sense of order and her father's training, both fathers in this case, dictated analysis and planning prior to moving.

She started making a list. "Questions to be answered. 1) How did I end up here? 2) Where is here? 3) What happened to my tags? 4) Why do I have no powers? 5) Why bring me here? 6) Who brought me here? 7) How do I get out? And of course, 8) How do we kick their butts to Tartarus?"

"Now group the questions. Hey Aunt Athena would be proud, logical analysis."

"Questions 1, 5, and 6 are related. Question 3 and 4 are probably related, too. And the answer to question 7 is dependent on some level on the answer to question 2. Question 8 can be reserved for future examination with adult gods." For a minute she was concerned that she was again talking out loud, to herself, then she realized, "Psyche's right, talking things out can help organize. Particularly since I don't have any crystals."

"Well, who brought me here is relatively simple. He was tall, dark, and vicious. Must be the new megalomaniac god, Belisco. Although that doesn't answer, why Iolaus stabbed me. I need to figure that out. I know its not really related to anything else, but it's driving me nuts."

She thought back to the moment he'd stabbed her, at first there was only a screaming pain in her abdomen, then she felt his hand against his neck and the sickening feeling of hind's blood too near. She vaguely remembered feeling the Styx and the overwhelming nausea of chaos energy. He was crying. She suddenly remembered tears flowing down his face. As that memory flowed others followed. The doors were open behind him and she could smell burnt and scorched flesh.

"No! They aren't dead." She stubbornly tried to ignore that part of her memory. "But Iolaus thought they were. He stabbed me with the Sword of Veracity, but it didn't look right." She tried to sharpen the image in her mind as she looked down at his blood soaked hand and the hilt. "The Sword of War! It looked like Dad's sword. Okay, he figured they were dead and stabbed me with what he thought was the Sword of War. And Belisco. Of course, I could take it up and he couldn't. Oh boy, he didn't know about

the 'can't be a blood innocent thing.' It's a good thing that wasn't the Sword of War and was only the Sword of Veracity."

Sudden realization struck, "OH SHIT! I got stabbed with the Sword of Veracity. I'm never going to be able to lie again." She took a few minutes to mourn her now gone ability to lie like Hermes, at least occasionally. "Oh, not fair," and moved on.

"The rest of it I pretty much remember. We're all screaming, Ostseth and Cerberus jump Belisco, and he does the fade out trick. We end up in Uncle Poseidon's court. I clearly remember that hard cold marble floor. A lot more yelling and screaming then he grabs me and shoves me in here. And I go back out like a light."

"So, who are Belisco, Poseidon and Hera. Why has to be related to their fight with the family. And here is someplace within Poseidon's realm. Although exactly where is a very good question."

'The rest of the questions require some exploration.' This time, moving slowly, on her hands and knees, she moved to the rock formation, and shivered. The entire cave was chilly, but it was extremely cold by the rocks. She explored the formation with one hand. Ice crystals were forming where water dripped form the cavern's roof. She moved her hand down until it barely touched the water.

She yanked it back out.

"The Styx?!"

'No, it can't be. The Styx exists only in Tartarus, it has no earthly counterpart.' She glared at the pool. "But it's a damn efficient energy sink. It also answers questions 3, 4, and 5. No tags and no power by energy sinks, and it's a real good way to keep me from going anywhere."

She explored the outer perimeter of the pool. Slowly moving around the perimeter until she again hit the rock formation. She stopped feeling the surface. This side wasn't covered by frost. She leaned down and carefully reached her hand to the water's edge. Preparing herself to yank it back, she stuck a single finger in. That portion wasn't an energy sink.

"Huh?" The entire pool was perhaps seven or eight meters long and five or six wide. She tried measuring the perimeter of the safe water within the pool. It was not very large about a meter or so wide and about two meters long. It went down as far as she could reach and appeared to move under the rock. Unfortunately, so did the energy sink. Her hand quickly hit the sink and she yanked it back.

Done there, for now, she moved back to where she started and faced the direction of the deep throbbing. She could make out the vague gray outline of a gate. She moved a few steps closer, stopping about two meters away. She chewed on her lower lip, then knelt down and scrabbled up some dirt and tossed that through the gate. Bright explosions of light temporarily blinded her when they exploded.

She blinked back tears. "Not the way out." She sat down again. Moved to lotus position and waited until her eyes were once more accustomed to the dark. Then she moved to the cave wall making sure to start well away from the gate.

Keeping her left hand on the wall, she made her way to the faint glowing line. As she approached it, she felt a slight energy flow. She hesitated a moment then reached her hand into the line. And pulled it out when she felt the power signature.

"Aunt Hecate?" She recognized her power signature.

"Aunt Hecate!" she called and waited for an answer. Her voice faintly echoed back to her, but there was no other response.

"*HECATE*!" she called a last time. Again, no answer came back.

She reached her hand back into the power line and tried to read it more clearly. It was definitely Hecate's signature and an outflowing line. She tried following it back and was blocked. She couldn't make out the end point, so instead she continued along the cavern wall. She could always come back if necessary.

It wasn't, she ran into the cage bars less than 100 paces further. The cage was in a smaller recess off the main cavern. Its bars ran from the top to the bottom embedded into rock on both ends. Hecate was bound to a chair within. Harmonia recognized it from the scrying, as the one Hecate and Hephaestus had made to bind Hera. Hecate slumped forward against the chains. The power line terminated here, running from her aunt to somewhere else, probably Hera and Poseidon.

"Hecate?" she whispered trying to get her aunt's attention. When she didn't respond Harmonia tried several more times. Hecate slumped unresponsive to her calls.

Harmonia sat back on her heels examining the cage. The bars were solid. She didn't have the strength to bend or break them and they weren't set far enough apart for her to get in. Her head just wouldn't fit, no matter how she twisted it. The lock was no help. She didn't have anything to use as a lockpick or the skills to use one. She real needed to hang with Uncle Hermes more often. She thought about tossing a high top in and seeing if that would wake her aunt, but she could be hurt in this place, she had the scrapes to prove it. Her hightops were staying where they were. She tried to reach her legs in to kick her aunt. That didn't work either. She just couldn't get in far enough.

Reluctantly she moved past the niche to continue her exploration. She moved through the entire perimeter of the cavern and found only two other items of interest. First, the power sink didn't impact the cavern equally throughout. It was definitely strongest in the area between the gate and the cage. Which made sense. It covered the two possible problem areas. It was weakest at the diagonal corner from that area, it was both the furthest away, and it was on the side of the normal water.

Second, there was a small depression in the floor right by that area. It was filled with loose gravel and dirt. When she dug it out, she discovered a small hole. She could fit only a couple of fingers through, so it wasn't a way out but when she sat by it she could hear voices from the corridor it connected with. But barely, and not with enough clarity to make out what they were actually saying. At least not yet. But she planned on sitting there tuning out the thrum of Poseidon's power walls, until she could make out the words.

She needed more information.

She needed a lot more information.

So calmly, patiently the stubborn teen goddess sat in lotus and listened.

Part 30

"Bliss! Get your wing back in this boat right now!" With an unfortunately well-practiced movement of his oar, Charon prevented Bliss from taking another dunking in the Styx. "Do you know how much trouble I'll get in if you fall in the Styx again?" Charon continued his scold as he rowed to the banks of the Styx for another load of passengers, "the last time, not only did your mother and father yell, but your grandparents. Yikes! Who knew Aphrodite could toss a fireball like that." As Bliss squirmed, again he hollered, "Stay still!"

As Charon arrived at the bank, souls started chaotically crowding onto the boat. "HOLD IT!" Charon blocked them. "Let me see your coins." As some of them held up their coins, a fight broke out. "HEY! You over there," Charon pointed to the fighting group with his oar. As a few heads turned and then went back to fighting, he tried again. "YES, I mean you. Stop that or I'm having the dog come and sort you out."

A few of the fighters stopped long enough to howl with laughter. One of them yelling, "Yeah, what dog?"

Charon shook his head and whistled shrilly. A huge shadow loomed over the area. "That dog! Graegus, the Dog of War. Now get back in line and stop fighting."

With frightened glances at Graegus' huge shadow, the fight broke up and the participants got back in line. "Oh no you don't, the end of the line." Furiously they shuffled to the back of the line. "And let that be a lesson to the rest of you. *NO FIGHTING*!"

A few minutes later he set off, one of the passengers complaining loudly. "I'm going to have a word to Hades about this. I was waiting in line entirely too long. I'll have you know that I'm a priestess of Hera. And..." Charon tuned the rest out, 'another one of Hera's priestess' and priests. Oh well, she always did pick more for obedience than brains.' He finished rowing and let them off at the other end.

As he rowed back, he explained life, the universe, and being stupid to Bliss. "Okay, kid now *that* is a perfect example of someone going through life, and death, with her head up her butt. I mean think about it, just think. Not only was her Goddess in Tartarus for a couple years, not only has absolutely everything gone to Tartarus the last three weeks, but Ares, Eris, Xena and Hercules are absolutely demolishing every temple of Hera or Poseidon in Greece. I mean think about it. Iphicles and Ares show up at Poseidon's temple in Corinth, Iphicles tells everybody that Hera and Poseidon are responsible for the storms and flooding, and Ares levels and I do mean *levels* that temple. And we're not talking about giving them evacuation time here either. I've gotten more crispy-fried priests and priestesses in the last three weeks, then, well, since Dahok."

Bliss got bored with the speech and again tried to trail his wing in the water. Charon automatically moved the oar to intercept the wing. "Bliss you stop that."

"Now *her* temple was taken out by Hercules and Xena. So there she is, her temple falling down around her and she gets in Hercules' face. Not the right time to do this! I mean, all right the man's a hero, but he's never been fond of Hera and her priests at the best of times, and now...baby boy I'm telling you that pissed does not begin to describe. 'Hera's justice be done on your whore' was seriously *not* the thing to say. And after all that, she gets down here, and I know they don't think I listen but I do, rumors flying faster than harpies, all about that mess when they got here, Cerberus being gone, Persephone and Hestia going to earth. And she still doesn't clue. For crying out loud, we're lousy with those damned silver archers. I mean, Hephaestus is taking them out like nobody'd believe. Who knew that he put a failsafe in all the arrows and bows he gave old horseface. An archer no sooner pops out from under shields than she's fried."

"KWOSH BOOM!" Bliss exclaimed.

"Yeah that's right kid. KWOSH BOOM! And I have another archer to deal with. So all that going on, the rest of Poseidon and Hera's priests they arrive, they go to ground, I mean, *to ground*. We're having to send in harpy patrols and a couple of the generals from the Asphodel Plains in to locate them. I mean for crying out loud, Hades even lets Skouros out of the Elysian Fields to help out. Of course, he does have a personal stake in the matter. Does this woman vanish? NO! What does she do? She gets in, no coins, and nobody gets in with no coins unless Hades wants a serious discussion, and 'I'm going to have a word with Hades...I'm a priestess of Hera.' I'm telling you - head up the butt. Don't you ever do anything that dumb."

Arriving at the bank, he again picked up a load of passengers to ferry back for judgement. Although quieter this time, with no fighting, there are still shouted complaints. Frustrated, Charon yelled back, "Keep your loincloths on! I'm moving as fast as I can! You think it's easy being ferryman to the dead. And I might add running the *only* ferry across this river." Muttering as he starts across to drop his passengers. "You'd think they had something better to do. They're dead. Worst deluge of corpses since, well before Dahok, even. Last time it got this bad this fast was when there was

no sitting God of War."

"Ares is dead," gasps one of the passengers.

"NO! Ares isn't dead," responds Charon. "Hera only wishes Ares was dead. We still have a seated, well not actually seated, since he's mostly off butt-kicking, God of War."

"Well what's going on?" This time the question comes from one of the warriors in the boat. Charon shrugs. "Look we all know something strange is happening. First we're drowning, then we're freezing, and now the Gods are tearing down each other's temples."

"This must be Ares' fault, he always causes trouble," bellows an elderly merchant.

"Hera and Poseidon started it," shouts back another warrior.

The screaming continued with different passengers blaming different gods. Finally, Charon screams, "All of you shut up or I'm dumping you in the Styx." The boat goes deathly silent and Bliss flutters up.

"Hey get back down here." Instead, Bliss flies off towards the bank holding the waiting souls. "Bliss at least fly in the other direction." He continues to ignore his sitter. "Awww, Tartarus." He starts rowing back. "Hey one of you," some of the waiting souls glance at him uninterested, "yeah you," he calls again, "look whichever one of you stops that flying kid gets to ride over for free. Next batch."

With that, souls that have been waiting in line, some for days, start chasing Bliss. As the word spreads, the chase is joined by other souls, who, having no coins, have been waiting since their deaths over the weeks since Hera's escape.

When he's certain the chase is well underway, Charon starts rowing back to the other side. One of his passengers protests, "You're just going to let them chase that poor child?"

"Sure. It's not like they can catch him. I mean he's a god and he can fly. And, after the first fiasco, Cupid set a perimeter. Kid goes outside it and he ends up with his Aunt Eris, who's pretty busy, kicking butt right now, and not likely to appreciate being interrupted. That only had to happen once. So the kid has some fun and the souls get a little exercise."

"That hardly seems fair to the souls," another passenger points out.

"Fair shmair. Most of them, you know, enjoy a bit of exercise."

As he continues rowing, a flight of Harpies flies over carrying kicking and screaming prisoners to Hades palace. The warrior who'd asked about Ares earlier, asked, "Who are they?"

"Some of Poseidon's priests." Charon continued rowing.

The warrior sits silent for a minute. "What is happening? We heard that many of the gods were killed at Chiron's Academy."

Charon laughed. "Reports of their deaths were greatly exaggerated. They're gods! They simply moved their souls out of those bodies. And Hades, Persephone, and Celesta brought the mortal souls here. No, the only ones who died were Niobe, Queen of Attica and Lucas, Captain of Iphicles' personal guard."

"Then why are they so angry?" The warrior wasn't willing to let the issue go. The boat hit the other pier as he asked the question.

A deep voice behind him answered, "Because they have taken Hercules' lover and partner, Iolaus and Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite." Charon turns at the familiar voice of Hephaestus. "And my stepdaughter," he added.

When all the passengers had disembarked, Charon turned to begin his row back to the other shore. He held his arm. "Charon why is my grandson playing tag with dead souls?"

"Um, he was bored rowing with me." As Hephaestus simply stared at him, Charon got a bit nervous. The memory of Hephaestus losing his temper three weeks ago when he'd realized that Harmonia hadn't made it with the rest of them was still very vivid. Of course, the new, and still smoking, volcano in the middle of the Asphodel Plains helped keep that memory vivid. Then there was the stone table Hercules had broken when he'd realized that Iolaus wasn't with them either.

His drifting was stopped by Hephaestus growling, "Charon, aren't some of Poseidon and Hera's people over there too."

Charon gulped. Remembering that sudden absolute fury. And Aphrodite and Cupid were none too happy either. He shut his eyes

And didn't get blasted.

Instead, he heard, "Bliss, come visit Grandpa Hep."

'Great he's decided not to blast me.'

Bliss flew back across the river, amidst moaning cries of the dead, who saw their best chance for a fast trip flit away. "Granda, Granda"

Bliss landed lightly in Hephaestus' arms. "Where mama? Where grandma?"

"They're busy sweetie. Grandpa Hep's going to give you your bath."

"Bath! Yeah bath! Splashies!"

Hephaestus got a vaguely distracted look and a number of Hera's archers appeared on the plains to be picked up by Hades' harpies. Then Hephaestus disappeared with his grandson.

Charon started rowing back, muttering to himself. "What a lousy three weeks. More dead than you can shake an oar at. Drowned dead, frozen dead, starved dead. And sliced, diced, crushed, fried, and fricasseed dead. And this new god, Belisco! What a raving lunatic he is. And chaos energy. What kind of idiot god uses chaos energy anyway? I mean *chaos energy*! How dumb do they get?!"

He continues rowing vehemently. "And Hades. What a grouch!" He pauses in his monologue. "Sorry boss." Then continues, "With good reason, I mean all this extra work, his wife goes to earth. Nothing against you Persephone, we all know you needed to support your mother and Dionysus, the coast was falling apart. But the god is loyal, didn't get laid for centuries, than ton of bricks, gets Persephone and gets addicted, well at least to her. Bad enough to only have half a year. But now this! I mean ever since old horseface escaped, things have been tense. Then the rains started and she went to work the circle. And now! God hasn't been laid in weeks and it was during weeks when he was expecting some."

He rowed rhythmically. "And then the argument with Celesta. Now she's normally one of the nicest goddesses. A real sweetie. But when she gets her hair in a knot. Well, this whole Zeus and Eris thing has her ready to cut off body parts. And Hades is adamant that Strife gets to do the justice thing. Then she starts asking about Cerberus' soul. And 'Is she Aphrodite's baby?' and Hades he starts yelling that it's not. But she screams back, 'Than where is that child's soul?' and he yells and she yells. Now me I know that he didn't use that soul for Cerberus, cause I know he did some kind of deal with some foreign god. But does he tell Celesta that? No! He just tells her to 'mind her knitting.' Like she knits. So she heads off to the Furies' temple and I know, I just know, she's up to something. And since her hair's in a knot, she actually does that ya know, ties her hair in a knot when she's ready to kick butt, it's going to be something radical."

He reaches the bank and takes another load of passengers. "All of you shut up, there's not going to be any gabbing this trip." Rowing quickly, he deposits them on the other side and immediately starts rowing back.

"So serpent, hey you are down there, aren't you? Of course, you're down there; you're always down there. That's not even the worst of it. When they got here Aphrodite and Cupid take one look, realize that Harmonia wasn't with them and freaked, complete conniptions. More yelling, more screaming. A couple of fast passthroughs with the tags and Cupid tosses Strife a couple of arrows. Who knows why, but it can't be good, Cupid never gives Strife arrows. I mean just think what the God of Mischief could do with a couple of Cupid's arrows. And then, she gives Psyche her girdle and Cupid gives the girl his bow and arrows, kisses her and tells her she's in charge. And they disappear. So nobody knows where they're gone to. Well except probably Hephaestus and Ares and they aren't exactly talking. Ares is destroying temples and Hephaestus is 'kwosh booming' archers. I figure that they're looking for the kid. I know that Hephaestus is looking for that damned cat of his. Every time he shows up with that thing, he and Cerberus have the worst fights. Tearing through the gates, howling, yowling, hissing,

growling. The whole thing. Talk about chewing up the scenery. Even Graegus stays out of the way when those two go at it. They do more damage than a flight of harpies high on Stygian swamp grass."

He looked at the side he was rowing to as another group of clients appeared. "Well there's another batch. Better check them out." He reaches his mind out slightly. "Let's see, chakram cuts, staff crushing and bruises, nice of Ares to give that new staff to Gabrielle, sword thrusts. Yep, another batch of Hera's warriors. Hang on a minute."

He stopped rowing and drew himself up to full height pointing his oar at the new group. "SKOUROS! That new batch, they're some of Hera's." Skouros set a group of men after them, gathering them up after a short and bloodless fight. Being dead took an awful lot of the fun out of fighting, Charon noticed.

He resumed his rowing. "Well that means that Psyche is in charge of love for a while. Now I figure that Aphrodite and Cupid are looking for Harmonia. And I know that Hades is looking for Cerberus. And if they ever figure out how their tags got erased, well, not good news for someone."

He arrived at the bank. Skouros and his men had grouped Hera's warriors together. "Okay get them on board."

"Hey why do they get preferential treatment, I've been waiting for three days?!"

"Well you can keep waiting. Hades want's a little chat with these guys, and it's liable to hurt. Now if you really want I'll take you with them." Charon waited while some of Skouros' men settled the prisoners in the boat. The complainer vanished back into the line.

Charon turned to the prisoners. "This is Hades, run by Hades. We're on the river Styx. Overboard is not an escape. Sit down, shut up, and enjoy the ride." He started rowing back to the other side. Halfway across one of the prisoners dived over the side. A great sea serpent swallowed him and spit him out screaming to land on the opposite bank. Several guards gathered him up and dragged him to Hades' palace. Charon smiled. "Oh and by the way, there's a bloody big sea serpent in the Styx." He finished and dropped off his load of prisoners as another harpy flight went by above, carrying yet more priests.

Rowing back, he continued his one-sided conversation. "But the really scary part isn't all of that. It's not even Aphrodite giving Psyche her girdle and that goddess hasn't taken that girdle off in millennia. The really scary part is Ares. Even Hercules I get. He's a hero, but lets face it he has a temper. Hera's used it, Ares has used it, Zeus has used it, boy has Zeus used it. So him going off on a rampage, well, is only slightly unexpected. And since Iolaus is involved, well everyone knows how he feels about Iolaus."

Charon shakes his head as he rows and talks. "But Ares? Ares gets mad and he starts a skirmish, maybe even a nice little war. Tosses a few fireballs, kidnaps an adversary and scares 'em a little, yells and curses a lot. Generally goes out and kicks some butt. Picks a fight with Hercules or Xena. He loves doing that. Maybe if he's really pissed, does something like he did to Iolaus and Autolycus when they turned Discord into a chicken. I mean he gets mad and the fireworks go off and it's all over. But not this time."

He pauses and stops rowing a moment to stretch his shoulders. Then he resumes both rowing and talking. "This time he's quiet. Absolute control. I mean no yelling, no fireballs, nothing. Just turns to Hades and in an absolutely even tone says, 'You lost them.' Well let me tell you chills ran up my spine at that point. Worse than being dumped in the Styx. Hephaestus blew up completely, I mean the God made a volcano. Hercules is breaking things right and left. Everybody else is yelling and screaming. And Ares vanishes, returns with mortals who were out of the room and tells them that 'Belisco took Harmonia and Iolaus. Cerberus and Ostseth went with them.'

He tosses some box to Hephaestus with a, 'work on this.' Then he takes Eris and they're gone. And ever since, well yes he's been butt kicking. But not like normal. He goes in, levels a temple, and goes out. Doesn't say a word. Last time he was like that, well, lets just say that Zeus went a couple of balls short for a while. According to Hermes, he just popped into the big public audience chamber. Threw Zeus across the room and cut them off with his Sword. Thereby ending all speculation concerning whether the Sword of War could injure a god."

Charon shook his head. "And speaking of Zeus do you realize that no one's heard from him in two weeks?" He continues to row silently for a while.

"Well anyway I want you to know I appreciate it. I mean your not playing those blasted games with me today. I just don't know if I could take getting splashed, or dumped, or Hades forbid, having you eat my oar again."

Charon almost topples out of the boat at a sudden yank at his oar. "Now why did you go and do that?" He pulls on his oar and feels a drag. "All right! Enough already!" He yanks harder and turns when a sudden pressure twists the oar in his hands. "I said, that's enough."

A splash comes from the other direction. He twists his head and sees the serpent. "Hey if you're over there, than what's got hold of my oar." The serpent does an odd spasmodic movement that passes for a shrug.

"Aw Shit!"

"HADES!"

Another tug pulls him off balance and he recovers pulling his oar back strongly, but whatever is down there continues pulling.

"HADES!"

Part 31

Imbrios walked slowly through the unusually quiet palace. As the flooding had gotten worse, Iphicles ordered his soldiers to bring their families to the palace, so even without any formal state affairs the palace was filled to the brim. As a member of Iphicles' personal guard with a large family, he was assigned a suite with three rooms, a small sitting area and two bedrooms, one large, clearly for privileged guests, and a smaller one for the guest's personal servants. Hypatia took one look at the furnishings glanced at their daughters and grabbed a servant. She had every breakable boxed and out of the room in under an hour. He and she had taken the smaller bedroom, bringing the baby's cradle, and their older daughters the larger one. He smiled remembering the girls awestruck first look at the bed. It needed a stool for even his oldest ones to get on and the younger batch still needed help. And it fit all eight with room to spare.

The few weeks before their breakneck trip to the academy, Pellestis, and back were noisy ones for the palace. Many of Iphicles' men were married and had children. The palace was overrun with women swapping stories, recipes, and child rearing suggestions, and children swapping colds, toys, and mischief making suggestions. And the older teens were busy swapping kisses and other things, in out of the way, and not so out of the way, corners. Imbrios like most of the soldiers did their duty shifts either in the palace or out in the city, trying to move other refugees to higher ground, and generally tried to stay out of the way.

But right now, it was quiet. Only a few people were still up, the occasional parent with a fretting baby, a few young and, he smiled as he passed one elderly couple, not so young lovers in secluded corners, and the duty shift. Any one else still awake was undoubtedly in their quarters quietly or, he again smiled as he heard gasp of pleasure from one room, not so quietly making love. He slowly made his way to his quarters through the quiet palace. The last few days and particularly the last few hours had been… He shook his head. He didn't have the words to describe them. As he continued down the corridor to those rooms now, the palace was quiet.

He'd missed Hypatia and their children with a desperation he'd never felt before, not even on the long two-year campaign between the birth of Ilo and Aviva. He knew part of it was they horror of what was happening. He abruptly stopped and turned, backtracking to the stairs that lead to the guard tower. He went up them, provided the password to the duty guard, and sat on a bench his back to the wall. As bitter cold as it was, as much as he missed Hypatia, he needed quiet and open air for a few minutes.

He breathed deeply, shutting his eyes, letting the worst of the memories wash over him. The wet and muddy ride to the Inn, the battle, and loss of some of his friends and comrades. The realization that Hercules had been defeated and Iolaus raped. He knew that Remar had been Iolaus' lover for a brief night or three, he hadn't, but he'd long respected the warrior. The brutality of Iolaus' rape had horrified him, but not shocked him. He'd seen too much rape on battlefields. The fact that Iolaus had been made immortal disturbed him more.

But the involvement of the gods, now that, truly bothered him. He respected the gods, tithed them their due, and celebrated their proper days and occasions. He gave them proper devotions and prayed to the right one for the right reasons, mostly he wished only that they would pass him by. He heard too many tales of those the gods choose. And this, a battle between them, this terrified him. He could fight mortal foes, ride out normal storms and blizzards. He remembered hearing Aphrodite's fireballs in the hall as she raged. And now they are destroying temples.

Belisco's attacks earlier today were the most terrifying in his life. No prior battles, no matter how bloody were as bad as the bone deep helplessness he'd felt over those hours. First Cerberus' howls then the helplessness of waiting for an attack that he couldn't defend against. He remembered turning towards the doors reflexively and realizing that a god didn't need doors. He'd seen the glances Xena, Gabrielle, and Atus had given Cupid when he assigned them to 'guard' the working gods. Those glances said exactly what he knew, if another attack came all our guarding would be useless.

Then Niobe's battered body. He'd recognized her when she'd been thrown through, his two year old and four year old, Marnin and Bayo had brought a golden haired boy to their rooms and a few minutes latter Hector and Linus showed up. Once they were convinced the boy was safe the children played for hours, until Niobe came for him. He wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that she'd been tortured, or the fact that Belisco had so carefully kept her alive throughout it. He shuddered. And Iolaus, that scream.

He remembered his relief when they'd again been sent out of the room. Remar was irritated and curious, but he simply hadn't wanted to know. Time passed and things had calmed. Then the sudden flair of light and the wave of heat passing over them. His uniform was scorched. He didn't know how long he'd been out. When he woke up water ran under the doors. Remar was by him moaning and he woke him to check the room.

He hadn't more than cracked the door when Iolaus waved him back. They waited until they heard the screams and enraged howls and roars from Cerberus and Ostseth. By the time they moved in they were already gone.

Then the worst of it: laying out the bodies. Hercules and Jason. Atus, Xena, and Gabrielle. Iphicles. And the gods. Cupid and Psyche. Hephaestus and Aphrodite. Hestia. Eris. Ares. And Lucas. Poor Niobe didn't even leave ashes. Just that damned box. So, he and Remar laid out the bodies, while Menelio cared for Montoga. And truth was Remar was in no shape to lay out their bodies he needed to grieve for Lucas.

Finally, he'd moved to pull the Sword of Veracity out of the broken table, Ares' own sword was gone, but he would not lay the God of War out without a weapon. As he reached the air moved by him and a hand grasped his wrist. He recoiled as a deep voice said, "You probably don't want to touch that."

He gasped falling to his knees as Ares released his wrist and reclaimed his sword. Imbrios shook with the remembered awe and fear as he looked at the God of War standing on one side of him and the corpse laying on the ground on the other.

There was a bright flash of light and the bodies of all the gods vanished. He had a vague recollection of losing conscious and then woke to find himself and the rest of in the underworld outside Hades palace. Iphicles drew his men aside. "We're returning to Corinth."

Another god road took them not to the palace but to Poseidon's temple and while he and the other's watched in shock, Iphicles proclaimed Hera and Poseidon's guilt in the flooding. Then Ares leveled the temple to dirt with a single ball of white-hot power.

They made their way to the palace after that, Ares hadn't stuck around. The rest of the day he spent checking on the rest of the company, seeing to Remar, Menelio, and Montoga, arranging for Lucas burial, briefing his men, and finally in a meeting of the counsel receiving a promotion to captain. It had been much too much in a single day. He took another deep breath putting all the memories into his past, opened his eyes, and looked into his wife's gentle face.

"Hello love," she whispered softly. She had been sitting there for nearly half an hour waiting for him to be ready. She moved to him as he held an arm out for her and settled by him leaning into the crook of his shoulder and pulling his heavy cloak about them both.

"I see you stole my cloak again," he teased.

"Yes. I needed to wrap it around me." She inhaled his scent deeply. 'Alive he's alive,' her heart and soul caroled the refrain thanking Ares for returning him to her again. She pulled back slightly to catch his eyes and smiled. "Actually, I've been using it for my blanket." She smiled at his soft chuckle. "I stole your old work shirt too," she blushed, "to sleep in." He raised his eyebrow and she laughed gently socking him in the arm. "I'll swap, for my scarf."

"Oh sweet love," he sighed and pulled her hair scarf from underneath his leather jerkin, "I've kept this by my heart every night."

Laughing together the rose and walked to their rooms. She quietly filled him in on their children. "Well Hedva has cut two new teeth, and Marnin is finally potty trained, no accidents, and no more bed wetting. Bayo and Aviva have found some new friends and Ilo, Thalia, Beate, and Fisseha are playing this new game involving throwing a ball through baskets set high on poles." She paused while he chuckled. "And Anisa is in love."

"Anisa's too young."

"She's fourteen, I decided to marry you when I was ten."

"We waited until you were twenty as I remember."

"So we did, and a long wait it was." She smiled at him. "It's Lucas' oldest nephew, Hadwan, a nice young man."

"Hmmm. We'll see, but she's not marrying until she's at least eighteen." He brought her in for a gentle kiss.

Finally, they reached their temporary home. "Farica, thank you for taking care of the children." Hypatia briefly hugged her sister as she gathered her own two daughters and left.

Imbrios kissed her deeply then reluctantly broke the kiss as Hedva whimpered. "Let me check on the girls while you see to her." Hypatia quickly moved to Hedva's cradle and put her to nipple beginning her last feeding of the night.

Imbrios moved quietly into the large bedroom and out of long habit counted heads: Anisa, Fisseha, Beate, Thalia, Ilo, Aviva, Bayo, and Marnin. He smiled Bayo had somehow managed to pull off her sleep shirt. Thalia and Ilo had done that too at four. And Marnin, his two-year-old was sleeping with half her hand in her mouth and with her butt sticking up. Anisa was truly blooming into a beautiful young woman and he said a short prayer to Aphrodite to keep her from the harm of a wrong love. His next three Fisseha, Beate, and Thalia were 13, 12, and 11 and they were still coltish and rangy. Although, not nearly so thin as his ten year old, Ilo. He occasionally worried about Ilo she was still very small, not much bigger than his six year old Aviva, thin as a post, and almost frighteningly bright. The day after they'd arrived at the palace she'd vanished for over thirteen hours. A palace wide search went out and she was found completely oblivious to the fact that she was 'lost' in the library pouring over old scrolls. Montoga had found her actually curled up in on top of one of the scrollcases with an old blanket and brought her back to them. He vividly remembered her words when he took her from Montoga, 'Daddy, I wasn't lost, I was in the scrolls.' And Aviva he worried about too, she had more energy than any of his others had. It seemed that she only had two levels, all out and asleep. He picked up Marnin's stuffed bunny from the floor and tucked it back in her arms, covered Bayo with a blanket and quietly said, "Good sleep my joys."

When he went to their bedroom Hedva was already asleep and he gently put her back in her cradle.

Hypatia leaned back on the bed her blouse still open from the feeding. He leaned forward removing his shirt kissing her and letting the shirt slip through his fingers to drift silently to the floor. His hands fumbled with his belt as he body caught fire and finally freed it and dropped it to the floor with a soft thud. His boots took more work and he had to break the kiss. By the time he'd gotten them off and turned back she had slipped off the rest of her clothes and was kneeling up on the bed. Her legs apart and her hands pulling her hair up on top of her head, pulling her breasts up and out.

She smiled seductively.

He gasped and quickly shimmied out of his pants. Then moved to kneel in front of her bringing their bodies together, gently exploring hers with his hands. The let go of her hair and instead pulled his head to hers for a kiss, running her fingers through his hair and exploring his lips with her tongue. When he opened for her she moved her tongue in and gently explored his mouth. His hands moved hotly on her body, exploring her back and hips caressing her waist and up her sides to stroke her breasts finally tweaking the nipples lightly.

She broke of the kiss gasping and arched her head back. He leaned down and gently nibbled at her neck and collarbone. She moved her hands down to his butt and pulled him tighter to her so that his hard cock ground against her groin. He felt her moisture and fell back pulling her over him. Straddling his cock, she descended until it was completely engulfed within her. She slowly rotated her hips as he thrust up leaning forward to continue kissing him. She rode him picking up speed as their climaxes neared. His hands tangled in her hair as he thrust up and kissed her over and over. Finally, she grabbed his wrists and pulled at them until he released her hair and moved them to lie beside his head. She clung to them as she picked up that final bit of speed before her climax tightening around him and crying his name, "Imbrios," as she reached her orgasm. At the sound of her passionate cry, he joined her.

They lay gasping and slowly moved from passion to sleep. Her last thought was, 'he's alive, he came back to me.'

Psyche invisibly leaned against a wall in the sitting room. 'Well that was a nice recharge, and it certainly didn't take any work.' She moved on to her next target.

Remar wasn't asleep. He was awake, brooding. Sitting on the stairs going to a guard tower. Menelio and Montoga had tried to help him but he refused their company or sympathy. Psyche considered how to handle him. Cupid would have simply hit him and his destined partner in the butt with a couple of arrows. And Aphrodite wouldn't have been much subtler. But that wasn't her style, she was more likely to talk things out. She shrugged it was worth a try.

She walked towards him becoming visible. "It still hurts doesn't it?"

"What?" Remar looked up at her in shock he hadn't noticed her until she spoke.

"I said, it still hurts doesn't it?" She gracefully sat on the step beside him and cast a small spell of avoidance. She wanted privacy for this discussion. Now people would simply avoid the stairs without even noticing.

She waited silently for his reply.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Remar's response was belligerent and he hunched over.

Psyche looked at him disbelievingly and shook her head. "Oh so you're sitting here brooding because you're happy?" She let a soft doubt enter her voice.

"Damn you my lover died! Of course it hurts!" He yelled at her and then looked around for the duty guard.

"They won't come. I set a privacy spell." He stood up. "Sit back down," she ordered, "we are having this conversation." He glared at her. "I'm a goddess and we are having this conversation." Her tone didn't give him any options.

He sat.

"You're right of course, it does hurt when a lover dies. You've lost lovers before though, and it didn't hurt like this."

"And your point is?" He was sarcastic.

"Why is this different?" she asked quietly.

Yelling again, "Go to Tartarus!" He tried to get up and leave. He took three steps down and on the fourth step found himself moving back to the step he'd just left. He swayed slightly dizzy.

"Going around in circles can make you dizzy very quickly."

He sat again. "Why don't you tell me why this is different?"

"Because you need to find your own answers." She stayed calm realizing that this might actually work.

"I don't understand."

"Yes you do." She cupped his face and turned it towards hers and gently let her eyes reflect his and Lucas' first meeting.

"Do you remember that morning?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"What did you feel for Lucas?" Her eyes were once again simply her eyes.

"He was beautiful. Strong, powerful. I admired his ability to command and his skill." He described Lucas.

"No," she brought that morning back to her eyes, "how did you *feel*?"

"I could have loved him," his voice shakes.

"It still hurts."

"Yes," he whispered. His voice shook as he started crying. She gently brought him to her. "It still hurts. I ignored my love for him for fifteen years and it still hurt when he died."

He broke away from her. "I should have never made love to him!"

"Do you really think it wouldn't have hurt if you hadn't?"

He turned away from her and started pounding his head against the stone wall.

'Men!' thought Psyche as she created a pillow and hung it in front of his head.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because you're having enough trouble figuring this out without knocking your head against a wall!"

He laughed. "You sound like my mother."

"All mother's have the same voice when they're scolding, it's this thing that happens when the child starts reaching." She laughed with him.

Finally, he looked at her. "I still don't understand."

"What happened when your mother died?"

He started running down the steps. This time she let him go down five of them before bringing the loop back. "Damn you!" He stood on the step above her panting angrily.

"It is relevant."

"He gave me away. He couldn't handle his grief and he just gave me away." He started hitting his head against the wall. "Damn him. Damn him." Psyche moved the pillow. He hit once more against the soft pillow and stopped glaring at her.

She remained silent.

"I swore that I'd never love anyone that much, so much, that my life disappeared if they died," his voice trailed off. Then he finished firmly, "Like I said, I never should have made love to Lucas."

Psyche shut her eyes in exasperation beginning to understand why Cupid and Aphrodite didn't talk to their clients often. She went back to the beginning. "It still hurts doesn't it?"

He leaned against the wall and slid down to sit beside her again. "When will you stop asking that question?"

"When you get the right answer." He leaned against the wall preparing to pound his head. "And don't pound your head against that wall!" she ordered him firmly.

Remar stared at her. "Wouldn't be easier to just hit me in the butt with an arrow?" He yanked his head to Cupid's bow and quiver resting on her back.

"Cupid tried that fifteen years ago. You ran."

"I didn't run. I stayed with the company!" He glowered at her.

She silently raised one eyebrow.

"I take lovers…" he started.

"Why?" Psyche interrupted him.

"I…I, because…" he stammered. Then came back, "What's the difference between me and Iolaus?"

A huge grin crossed her face. "Wonderful question!" she exclaimed happily. She brought his face around and brought another scene into her eyes.

This time it was an argument between him and Lucas. Remar had just angrily yelled at Lucas, "You don't mind Iolaus' promiscuity, what's the difference?"

"Iolaus isn't one of my men, and he's not having sex to escape love!" Lucas yelled back at him.

Another scene replaced that one, this time of him and Menelio. They're in the academy and Remar vividly remembers it from several nights ago. They were standing on the stairs. He'd been angry that Menelio went with Montoga and sarcastically asked him, "I thought you wanted a serious relationship?"

Menelio smiled a little sadly, "I said I only wanted a relationship with you, if you could love me. And you told me, 'I don't do love, I do sex.'"

"And Montoga could love you?"

Menelio shook his head. "No, but he's different."

"Different how?"

He bit his lip and finally whispered, "I couldn't love him either." Menelio fled down the stairs.

The image faded and her eyes became simply eyes and Remar frantically turned away. "One more," she softly told him gently turning his face back.

This scene was also at the academy he was going into the kitchen and overheard Menelio talking to Jason. "How do you stand that Iolaus has sex with so many other people?"

Jason chuckled, "On one level I don't, I get jealous constantly, but on a deeper level I accept it because Iolaus never just has sex, he makes love." There was a long silence before Jason continued, "I don't think Iolaus knows how to just have sex, for him there's always some part of his heart involved."

"Damn you," Remar whispered to Psyche.

"You had one chance with Lucas and ran."

"Lucas? But it still hurt," he cried.

Psyche pulled one of Aphrodite's comments out, "Duh! That's the point. You want to keep going?"

Slowly he moved through the progression, "It hurts anyway, whether I spent fifteen years, or two nights," and finally got it, "or none. I can't protect myself from hurting by not loving." He looked at her angrily, "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Well I was about ten and this is how I do the temporary Goddess of Love thing, not Aphrodite's style." He kept glaring at her. "And by the way, I wouldn't do this just to spend an hour." She stood and started walking down the stairs. "There is someone you might want to talk to." She vanished.

He considered their conversation for several long moments until he remembered the scene with Menelio, 'I couldn't love him either.' He sat bolt upright and started running down the stairs to their barracks.

Menelio was asleep in his bunk with Montoga wrapped around him.

"Menelio," Remar whispered urgently, "Menelio wake up."

"Uhm," Menelio responded sleepily opening one eye. "What?"

"I figured it out," Remar smiled broadly and leaned in kissing him.

Menelio pulled back nudging Montoga and waking him. "What?"

Remar pulled Menelio by the arm until he was out of the bed and standing in front of him. "I love you."

"What?" his voice shocked and frantically thinking, 'Oh gods, he's run mad.'

Remar pulled Menelio in for another urgent kiss. And in between a series of kisses explained, "Or at least I could love you. And I want to. I figured it out."

Montoga's laughing on the bed. "About time." He pulls on his pants and walks out still laughing.

Psyche waited until Montoga was out of the room and moved Cupid's bow to firing position. As they shifted together clutching at each other, she readied two arrows and then let them loose. Both scored direct hits on the men's buttocks. "Now that's how to use a couple of arrows," she said to herself as the moved to the floor urgently kissing each other and mumbling words of love and passion.

As Menelio starts ripping off Remar's clothes trying desperately to get his mouth on his cock she vanishes. Their urgent lovemaking still fills her with energy as she moves through the palace.

As they begin jointly mouthing each other's groins she convinced a young mouse to skitter out of hiding in a maid's path. She stopped with a small started shriek and a nearby guard came running. Psyche smiles as the maid assures him that she was just startled. Those two don't need any arrows.

While their hands explore each others bodies, hotly urgently, find pleasure points that make one another cry in passion and gasp she lightly shifted an anger to sorrow and the young man pulled his crying lover to him with a whispered, "I'm sorry."

Remar shifted to move Menelio onto his back braced on his elbows and watched his lover's body arch back as he licked and caressed his nipples. Psyche used two arrows in swift succession bringing passion to a longtime friendship and love.

As Remar slowly trailed his hands and mouth down Menelio's body until he once again had his cock as he began sucking in time to Menelio's gasping thrusts, Psyche brought memories of their first kiss to an arguing couple ending their argument as they moved together to kiss each other.

She paused as the energy from Menelio's completion washed over her. Then she moved again finding a thread of discordant love. She watched the passionate young couple and saw lust and possessiveness ahead, a love that would go bitterly wrong. As they leaned together for their first kiss, she cooled their passion. The kiss was cool unsatisfying, and they pulled apart confused.

Menelio pulled Remar up to kiss his cum filled mouth and gasped into the kiss as Remar's hard cock pushed against him. Psyche found a young couple whose parents disapproved of their love and firmed their resolve. She moved into the dreams of the young man's father, giving him a terrible nightmare of his son's life without this love. She tagged that couple for further attention over the next few weeks.

As Remar coated his cock with Menelio's seed and prepared his lover Psyche moved into Iphicles' bedroom gently filling his dreams with passion until he was twisting and moaning for his lover, calling, "Ares."

Menelio gasped as Remar's cock moved into him and rocked back to complete the joining. Psyche continued her work joining lovers to one another.

Remar and Menelio clung together as Remar rocked within kissing and gasping until Menelio screamed, "yes, yes, yes, oh please," and with a final choked gasp of pleasure came a second time as Remar pulsed within him pouring his essence into his body.

They clung together gently kissing while their bodies returned to normal. Slowly they moved apart got up off the floor kissing all the while and made their way to a bed. They continued to cling to one another even after they fell into a deep joyous sleep.

Psyche shuddered slightly as the energy overflowed her then opened completely to it shaking in a sudden orgasm. When she'd regained some control, she took a deep breath redirecting the energy quickening the seed in the wombs of seventeen women. 'Cupid didn't warn me about that little side effect.' She smiled and continued her work.

Finally near dawn she moved onto the guard tower where Imbrios had sat during the night. Montoga sat on the same bench half-drowsing with a bittersweet smile on his face. She read him carefully, true happiness for Remar and Menelio, some sorrow at the end of his relationship with Menelio, and a strong desire for his own love. She smiled as that young, and right now still very young, woman snuck into the tower and curled up beside him.

Montoga started at her warm weight against his side and glanced over. "Ilo," he drawled her name, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." She snuggled closer. "My Daddy's home and I knew that you were here too." She smiled up at him as her pocket wiggled. "I found a kitty." She held the small calico kitten up for him to pet.

"I'm calling him Lucas." She looked at him sadly. "Lucas used to bring me scrolls and sweets."

Montoga examined the kitten; "Lucas is a girl kitty."

"That's okay, she can still be Lucas," she assured him seriously. "Unless you think Lucas would mind?" she asked.

"No he won't mind," he reassured.

They sat for awhile in companionable silence. She finally tugged on his arm. "Montoga are you patient?"

He looked at her and realized that his answer was very important to her. "My father called me, 'stubborn,' but my mother said that I was simply, 'overly patient.' Why?"

"Because you're going to have to be patient and wait for me to grow up so we can be married." Her voice and eyes were dead serious and completely decided.

Montoga's eyes widened. "You might be a little young to decide whom you're going to marry," he suggested. At her silence he added, "And generally men do the asking."

She looked at him earnestly and explained, "Men only ask if the woman decides he should. And my Mom chose Daddy when she was ten." She looked into his eyes and explained, "Mommy thinks that girls should decide things like that early, because when they get to be the right age to marry, they don't think with their heads for a while."

Montoga choked back his laughter; his mother had the same opinion, although more bluntly, 'Boys and girls that age think with their baby making equipment not their heads.'

He looked at her and decided to ignore her proclamation she had many years before she would marry. He felt quite certain she would change her mind.

Psyche smiled still invisible. 'Not a chance.' That was one future couple, who didn't need much watching for a while, although she tagged them for attention in five years when they would probably have to work on Montoga and Imbrios concerning the age difference. Satisfied with her work here she left the palace.

Part 32

Hercules stared at the rubble of another of Hera's temples. A priestess' body still lay under one of the columns. He'd killed her when she'd screamed, "Hera's justice on your whore!" and brandished a knife. He knew full well that he hadn't needed to kill her to protect himself. He'd done it in rage at her cruel words. He was losing control.

It had been fifteen days since the debacle at the academy and he had been traveling with Xena, Gabrielle, Atus, and Jason destroying Hera's temples and shrines. Because Poseidon's temples and shrines were generally in now inaccessible coastal areas, Ares and Eris were destroying those themselves. Hercules was still unsure of this tactic. While it allowed him to exercise his rage, he didn't see how it helped them regain Iolaus and Harmonia. Ares had explained that the destruction of their places of worship weakened them. Also, Hades questioned the dead priests and priestess' trying to locate any information concerning where they were holding Iolaus and Harmonia.

Hercules still wasn't sure, but his rage was strong enough so that it didn't really matter. They gave warning to whatever people were in the temples to allow them to evacuate, although most of the time they didn't. Instead, they fought. Hercules still held back the greatest part of his strength against his human opponents and tried to take on Hera's supernatural guards and actually tear down the temple or shrine. At least in most battles. Today was an exception. But as time passed and they appeared no closer to Iolaus his desperation increased, and along with that his rage. He knew his self control was dwindling.

The other four did most of the actual fighting of human opponents. Xena, Atus, and Jason's ferociousness in the battles did not surprise him. Gabrielle's did. She covered Xena's back with a ferociousness that approached viciousness. She had well and truly left the way of love and was willing to do whatever it took to defend Xena. For the first time in the years he'd known her she used not only her staff and hand to hand skills, but bladed weapons, two long sharp knives she'd picked up in her travels. Most often, she used the hilts to increase the force of her hand strikes, but she could and did kill.

He'd known that Ares had his warlords and their bands following after them, harrowing and killing the fleeing priests that hadn't mattered either. Though, he recognized that it would later. He knew full well that when they got Iolaus back he would be eaten by guilt, but for now he shoved it to a far back reach of his mind.

Then suddenly five days ago most of the warriors on their back trail disappeared. They didn't know why. So, they had continued on their journey to Hera's next temple making brief stops to destroy smaller shrines.

Then three days ago, Joxer and Autolycus joined them, terrified. For the first time they learned that, after Pandion and Erythia's deaths, Iolaus' family and friends had been warned by various gods to take refuge at one of Aphrodite, Cupid, Hestia, or Ares' temples and to stay away from Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, and Athena's temples at all costs.

At first most of them didn't go to the safe temples, which allowed Belisco to target them. Joxer went to the closest temple, one of Aphrodite's, in his words to help, after the first warning. Autolycus was part of the large group that ignored the warning. He was in a palace treasury working when Hermes appeared, knocked him out, and dropped him in the same temple Joxer was staying in. As the disappearances mounted many others made their ways to those temples. And, from what Joxer told them, after Iolaus and Harmonia were taken, Ares and Eris grabbed as many of their surviving friends as they could locate and dumped them in the closest protected temple, including Gabrielle's entire family and Xena's mother Cyrene. Ares had also posted warriors at both their home villages and at Thebes. For the first time in living memory, people were again praying to Ares Defender, Ares Protector. It was strange. And Hercules suspected that grabbed might be a very accurate term. From what Joxer said, Ares and Eris had simply pulled people out of their homes, knocked them out, and let them wake up in their refuge.

Then, a few days ago, Belisco started striking at the temples. He'd raised an army of warriors, not just his band of dead ones, but new warbands. The strikes were vicious and well planned. Most of the attacks were not on Ares' temples; they were too well defended. He mostly ignored Hestia's as well, she had ample guards for her temples, due to the presence of her vulnerable vestals, and they were also designed to be easily defendable. Instead, he was concentrating on Aphrodite's and Cupid's. Theirs were the most vulnerable. They generally had no guards, and the temples themselves were not designed for defense. Instead, most had open atriums and multiple entrances. They also had many alcoves for trysts, which made good concealment for opposing warriors. Even with the added protection that Ares and Eris had provided, they were still fairly easy targets.

Three days before joining them, the temple they were staying at was overrun. Joxer and Autolycus covered the retreat of several of Aphrodite's priestess'. However, they and several others were captured. The warriors sacrificed several victims to Belisco. Draco and his men had interrupted the sacrifices as they were stripping Joxer. They escorted the other survivors to a nearby temple of Hestia and stood guard there. Autolycus and Joxer heard that Hercules' group was traveling to a nearby temple of Hera and decided to try and join them. Neither man would answer any questions concerning exactly how the victims were killed, but both had haunted eyes and woke abruptly at night shaking with fear. Hercules could only assume that Belisco was having them sacrificed as painfully as possible.

"Hercules," Ares soft, tired voice came from his left. He turned, his brother, he smiled inwardly as he used the term with none of its prior bitterness, was leaning against a broken column looking at him. He looked ... worn.

"Ares," Hercules returned his greeting in a similarly soft voice. "You look tired."

Ares smiled and shrugged. "As god stuff goes, it's been a long couple of weeks. However, we're all still on target." He looked around at the destroyed temple. Hercules did a good job. Not a column in place and the altar broken. He glanced over and released a single fireball to annihilate the altar.

"Why did you do that?" Hercules watched as the altar vanished in a blaze of power.

Ares shrugged. "Same reason I have you break them in the first place, the altar acts as a focal point for a god in the raising of power. You break it you break the focal point. That," he pointed at the smoking remains of the floor where the altar had stood, "just makes sure that she can't fix it. Actually, we've done that to all of them, this is just the first time you were still here."

"We?" Hercules took in the explanation quietly; a portion of his mind still didn't completely trust this oddly forthcoming Ares.

"Hephaestus mostly, if he's busy, than Eris or me. A couple of times Celesta, and Hades once." Ares looked at his brother. He obviously wasn't sleeping and had managed to lose weight, so he probably wasn't eating either.

Hercules interrupted his thoughts, asking, "And the columns?"

Hercules' tone made it seem like he was only a little curious. Ares considered whether to tell him, he could see that Hercules was working up to another question, one that was very important. "We need an anchoring point for shields and certain other types of spells. Stone works, so set the columns at cardinal and semi-cardinal points and you have built in anchors for almost anything."

Hercules nodded quietly, something still obviously bothering him. Ares watched him struggle for awhile, finally, "Hercules will you spit it out already!"

"Why did you conceal your sword?" Hercules met his brother's eyes.

"Sisyphus was one of Hades' Tartarus escapees, he still hasn't been caught." Ares shrugged. "After the last time, I'm not taking any chances." He looked at his brother realizing the reason for the question and got angry. "Damn you Hercules, even if you think I'd let Iolaus be in such danger, do you really think I would sit my daughter with him?!"

"NO! I just had to know," Hercules broke off standing to smash his fist through the rock of a broken column. He looked down then back to Ares who was once more calm. "I'm sorry, I just can't stop thinking about Iolaus and..." he struggled to hold back his tears, "...what he's doing to..." He stopped unable to continue.

"Hercules I know, my daughter..."

"NO! You don't *know!* Your daughter isn't being tortured and raped!"

Ares stood to face him. "We *don't know* that! I know what he did to Erythia and Niobe and I *don't know* what he's doing to my child."

They stood facing each other, glaring in rage.

A sudden bucket of cold water caught them both in the face.

The turned to find Gabrielle standing a few feet away between them and the camp. She was standing there naked and still dripping from an aborted bath. One hand held her staff and the other was holding a bucket. "I *can* get another bucket of water, if you need me to."

Hercules and Ares looked at each other, looked at Gabrielle standing naked and dripping in freezing cold threatening them with an empty bucket, looked back at each other barely holding back laughter.

Ares broke first, starting with a snicker, moving rapidly to chortles, to guffaws, and finally to a deep side splitting belly laugh that had him leaning against some of the rubble. Hercules joined in, laughing so hard he lost his balance landing beside him in the rubble.

Once she was sure that they were no longer at risk of chewing up the scenery, Gabrielle turned back for camp. Stomping her barefeet on the cold ground, using her staff as a walking stick, forcefully planting it down with every stride, vigorously swinging the bucket, and vehemently muttering under her breath. "They should just be glad that it was *me* that had caught them arguing like that. *Xena* would have punched their lights out, she'd of put the pinch on them until they promised to behave, and *Jason*, Jason scolds better than anyone I know, he'd have used that 'Captain of the Argo' voice and..." her voice trailed off as she moved out of range.

Ares stopped laughing long enough to comment, "That is one fine derriere."

Hercules looked at him in mock seriousness, "Yes but it has 'Property of Xena' stamped on every swaying inch."

Still chortling Ares stood, "Actually I need to ask her some questions before Gabrielle jumps her."

A sudden squealed, "Gabbieeee," followed by a low, "Ahhhhhh, Yes!" told Ares that he was too late. He turned to find Hercules blushing and grinned. "Is Atus still joining in the fun?" Hercules blushed harder as a deeper pitched moaning from camp answered his question. "I guess so."

Ares sat back down. "Well some of it we can discuss and you let them know." He looked at Hercules. "You've got Joxer and Autolycus in the camp so I assume you know that Belisco is going after our temples."

Hercules nodded yes.

"He's breaking some protocols."

Hercules looked at his brother in bewilderment. "Really?" 'There are protocols in fights between gods. This happens often enough for them to need to be protocols.'

"Look, only Hades, Hephaestus, Eris and I have actually acted against her. Cupid, Hestia, and Aphrodite are supporting allies but have taken no direct action. Their temples should be off limits. That's why we moved most of the non-combatants to their temples last week. And why we haven't struck at Apollo or Athena."

"Wait Hephaestus is acting directly?"

Ares laughed, saying, "Yeah, he trapped the weapons he gave Hera. That's why she hasn't been able to send the archers. He keeps blowing them up as soon as they come out from under shields. Back to the point. When they moved against our allies that escalated the fight. If we wanted to we could respond in kind, that forces Athena and Apollo to either throw in with them, or declare complete neutrality." He laughed again and grinned wolfishly. "I think they counted on both throwing in with them. Athena declared complete neutrality and kicked Hera and Poseidon's people out of her temples. She won't join us, but she won't help them anymore."

"And Apollo?" Hercules followed the strategic details enough to give Jason and Xena he hated this kind of battle, he much preferred a simple forthright fight.

Ares smiled and stretched. "Golden boy isn't about to declare neutrality, he's too much in bed with Hera, but he knows that I'll kick his butt in a fight, or actually Eris will, I wouldn't bother. So I had a little sit down with him this morning." He grinned hugely obviously pleased with himself. "The muses are bound to him, so Clio cut us off from the histories when I blasted apart Poseidon's temple in Corinth. We need access to those histories, and he doesn't want his pretty temples leveled or his ass kicked, so I offered to let him keep his ally status with mama and not have me go after him directly, if he transfers Clio's bound to Hephaestus."

Hercules moved through that tangle. "So we have access to the histories, how exactly does that help us?"

Ares grinned again. "Hephaestus isn't just God of the Forge and Fire. He's the energy and will to create and build, not just weapons but anything. He's working on the remains of the three chaos boxes, trying to figure how to counter them and how to use one for a prison." He laughed lightly. "And what makes it better is that Clio despises Apollo, I'm not sure, but I think the little pissant raped her. And she likes Hephaestus. So, she'll actually help."

"So we might actually be able to make this prison?" Hercules still longed desperately for a way to kill Belisco.

Ares nodded his head. Then he smirked and sprawled against the rubble. "And you know the very best thing." He stretched as Hercules shook his head. "Apollo never understood the value of doing his homework, he actually thinks he got the better end of the deal. He's going to go bragging to Hera and she's going to be soooo pissed." He looked at Hercules smiling hugely.

"She's going to kick his butt for you." Hercules laughed with Ares, remembering his past run-ins with Apollo.

After a few minutes of laughter, Ares stood up stretching.

"Look I need to talk to Xena about some shaman rituals, we're trying to find out exactly how Belisco is raising the power he is, and he's also keeping souls out of Hades realm. Have her call for me when they're done." He looked back at Hercules. "You really need to get laid, eat, and sleep."

"Excuse me," Hercules responded in a shocked voice.

"Hey, I'm your big brother...go fuck Jason, all right."

Ares vanished.

Hercules stood and stretched, slowly making his way back to camp. He realized that he and Jason had hardly touched, much less made love since Belisco took Iolaus. He also realized that they should have been...they should have been comforting each other and sharing their pain, not locking it away. Jason was sitting by the fire when he walked into camp.

Hercules looked at him for the first time in days. He'd lost even more weight and was fitter than he'd been in years. But his back slumped, and, as he turned, Hercules saw the shadows around his eyes.

"Jason," Hercules walked to him and pulled him up into a kiss. As they kissed, they moved over to their bedrolls and pulled off their shirts. Hercules knelt pulling Jason down onto his blanket and covering his body. They could feel their erections through their pants struggling to touch each other. Their hands moved to remembered places and heat overtook them. Jason pulled back moving his hands to Hercules' belt and pulling it off with one hand, as the other struggled with his own belt. Hercules moved his hand away and pulled Jason's belt off and then undid the pants pushing them down and off.

Jason moaned as Hercules' mouth briefly visited his cock, kissing its head lightly. Still moaning he brought his hands back to Hercules' waist and finished undressing him. They writhed together on the blanket, mouths and hands tracing and retracing their bodies. Hands massaging and caressing the firm muscle of chest and biceps, skin and hair tangling in teeth as their mouths followed. Hercules moved his mouth down Jason's chest stopping at each nipple, teasing them to hard sensitive nubs before tracing down the middle to his belly button. He teased that with his tongue, moving around and then within as Jason gasped and pushed his body up to him.

Finished there he continued to Jason's groin. He carefully parted his legs and knelt between, lifting his hips in his large hands to bring Jason's cock and balls to his mouth. He kissed and licked the balls occasionally teasing his friend's cock with a fast stroke of his tongue. When Jason screamed, "Suck me!" and started pulling at his hair Hercules finally took the cock into his mouth applying a steady sucking pressure and friction. Until Jason's body tensed in passion and he spilled his passion into Hercules' mouth.

Hercules swallowed most of his cum before releasing his still dribbling cock and moving up to kiss Jason, letting him taste himself on Hercules' lips and tongue. As he did that his hand rubbed through Jason's essence, massaging it into his ass and preparing him.

Jason moved back onto Hercules' finger as it slowly breached him. As he rotated his hips, Hercules moved back down, flipped Jason onto his stomach, and added another finger. Jason pulled his knees under him and spread his legs opening himself up further. Hercules' cock jumped at the sight and he continued scooping up Jason's cum and using it to let him stretch his fingers wider and push them deeper into Jason's welcoming ass.

He rotated his fingers finding the pleasure point and rubbing on it deliberately until Jason was clenching his ass on his fingers trying to keep them there on that one spot. He pulled them out, and moved himself over Jason's curled body, pulling his hips up slightly and spreading his knees even more, making him ready. He kept his weight braced on his hands as he moved into position.

Then Hercules put his cock at the entrance and pushed gently. Jason groaned at the slow thrust and Hercules stilled himself. Jason gritted his teeth and thrust back hard impaling himself on the cock. Hercules held still whispering, "slower Jason, slow down." He waited until Jason had calmed.

Then he brought one hand back to reach under their bodies, finding Jason's cock and he moved, thrusting in and out of Jason's ass. His cock rubbed against the pleasure spot within and he started stroking Jason's cock in time to his thrusts. Soon both were on the edge gasping their passion. Hercules gave a powerful thrust as his cum jetted into Jason's welcoming body. Jason moaned at the hot fluid jetting within him and came, screaming, "Hercules!"

Hercules rolled them to their sides and they lay gasping, until the cold air reminded them of the need for covers. Hercules reached, grabbing Jason's bedroll and pulled those blankets on top of them, then pulled Jason to him and spooned around him.

"What brought that on?" his lover murmured tiredly.

"Ares reminded me that I needed to get laid, eat, and sleep."

Jason chuckled. "Sounds good to me."

They drifted to sleep.

Atus slowly pulled his hand from Gabrielle's mouth and pulled his spent cock from her soaking body. She gasped, still shaking from her orgasm, and her fingers were wet with Xena's. "Oh, sweet Aphrodite and Cupid. That was soooo hot," she finally managed.

Xena gasped for breath and glanced at Atus. "You owe me five dinars. I told you Gabrielle couldn't keep quiet."

"Yes but you still owe me three dinars, I told you that she'd cum twice," Atus responded.

"And you both owe me dinner, I told you Ares would get them to fuck," Gabrielle reminded them.

She stretched and looked at them, grinning hungrily, reaching for Atus, bringing his head down to her breasts. Atus moved one arm behind her back to support her. They fell back to the ground, his one arm behind her back, keeping her chest arched to his mouth. Xena smiled and lowered her mouth to Gabrielle's cunt licking the lips and clit as her lover arched to her and Atus' mouths. This time Atus took longer to harden, their previous pleasure had tired him somewhat, but as they continued, Gabrielle's hand sought his emerging cock and she swiftly stroked it, rekindling the fire. Atus' free hand moved, locating Xena's warm center, quickly stroked her clit, thrusting in with his fingers until she too was gasping in pleasure. Within a few more moments, the three had all cried out their passion and they lay gasping together. Gabrielle fell asleep a few minutes latter.

Xena picked her lover up and carried her back to their blankets as Atus followed. She put Gabrielle down and took watch as Atus snuggled behind her. They would switch off later and waken Hercules or Jason for the final watch.

A few minutes after Atus had joined Gabrielle in sleep, Hercules softly called, "Xena, Ares needs to talk with you."

"Can you take watch while I call him?" she asked.

"Yes."

She called Ares and they spoke briefly. When she was done, she walked over to her friend. "Thanks."

"Well?"

She sat beside him, facing away from the banked fire. "Belisco is using pain and death to raise power. Somehow he's trapping the souls and keeping them from Hades. We discussed some fairly detailed rituals to try to counter him." She shivered and pulled a cloak around her. "It sounds an awful lot like what Alti did to the Amazon tribe. I told him how I handled that."

"How?" Hercules also sat carefully not facing the fire, so that his eyes would remain sharp in the dark.

"I killed her."

They sat silently in the dark, each with their own worries.

Part 33

After leaving Xena, Ares called Hades to alert him and then translocated to his study. "WELL," he demanded impatiently.

"Nothing new," Hades sat down wearily. "I'm overrun with Hera and Poseidon's people and none of them have the answers we need."

"And the spirits?" Ares straddled a chair across from Hades. When Alcmene had learned what was going on from Erythia she had started combing the Elysian Fields for newly arrived and old friends of Iolaus. He still grinned at the memory of a group of them breaking out of the Elysian Fields and into Hades' palace. Skouros and Chiron had done much of the planning but in all over fifty of them had shown up. After he'd gotten over his shock, Hades had put the warriors to work with Skouros as their leader, combing newly arrived dead for Hera and Poseidon's people. He'd been about to send the others back to the field when Anya had insisted on being sent to support her husband.

Hades refused, but finally, after much argument agreed to assemble a small team to take turns visiting Iolaus in his dreams to comfort and try and get information. He'd refused to send any of them with young children in the Field, which left Deianerra, and Anya off the team. And he'd carefully screened out most of the warriors, they weren't likely to be able to do what was necessary, sit back, and take no action. Hades warned them that Belisco could trap spirits and was adamant that they take no action other than to sit with Iolaus in his dreams. He'd also required them to be people with an extremely strong sense of self. Finally, he devised a series of tests to determine the final group.

After the test only three remained, Chiron, Iolaus' teacher, Rena, who no one realized actually liked the hunter, and to Hades' terror, Alcmene, who he kept refusing to send. They were all on call constantly, because Belisco wasn't letting Iolaus keep anything resembling regular hours. He was kept awake occasionally for several days, then allowed to sleep for a few minutes or hours. Other times he would move randomly between waking and sleeping for hours. Most visits lasted less than an hour, many only a few short minutes.

Hades shrugged. "I've been sending them to Morpheous to add to Iolaus' dreams, but all they can do is comfort him and tell me what Belisco is doing to him. He can't get out of the damn room."

Ares had hoped for more news, particularly news of Harmonia. "So all we know is he's in Poseidon's kingdom, that it's deep and that Belisco is using him as badly as Hercules believes." Ares growled that last part.

"Well and that Cerberus and Ostseth are still there and free. Iolaus mentioned to Chiron that he's heard them several times."

Hades summoned a small meal for them. While they didn't require food, their physical bodies could use it as an energy source freeing up other resources.

They ate in silence, until Hades said, "Ares, Belisco is using Iolaus worse than I think Hercules can imagine," he paused, "he's using him worse than anything I've created for Tartarus. The bastard has kept tokens of all his kills and set them to project the final few minutes of their owner's death. Iolaus keeps going back to them reliving his family and friends' deaths over and over. That alone is starting to drive him mad."

"Haven't they told him to stop?" asked Ares in frustration.

"Of course they have," Hades responded, "he doesn't believe they're real and ignores them."

Ares looked at him for a moment, hasn't he thought about the obvious, "Send in Alcmene. He won't ignore her." He finished his meal.

Hades shuddered, imagining what Hercules would do if anything happened to his mother's spirit. "Absolutely not." He summoned additional wine. "And what did you learn from Xena?"

"She confirmed that Alti bound the spirits of the Amazon dead from their underworld." Ares shrugged. "She didn't know whether Alti could draw power from them. She broke them free by killing Alti and finding them a new word to open the gates."

"Shit. Killing Belisco isn't an alternative." He poured them both more wine. "About Cupid and Iolaus. He misled us. Erythia and Alcmene are cousins, but not through him. Iolaus isn't even a demigod." Hades carefully played his card watching for any sign or signal from Ares that added to his information.

Ares stiffened "How can you be so sure?"

"When Belisco attacked the first time that day, Cerberus scratched Iolaus and a drop of blood hit the ground." He shrugged still watching Ares. "I examined it. He has only a standard double helix. So he's no demigod."

"Interesting," Ares grunted, keeping a poker face.

Hades watched him debating whether to let him know that they played fast and loose with the genealogy records. Finally, he decided not to. "So, will you tell me why Cupid asked you to help?"

Ares shrugged, looked his uncle in the eyes, and carefully kept to the exact truth. "I didn't ask and he didn't tell me."

"You didn't ask?" Hades allowed some doubt to slip into his voice, even though he knew Ares told the truth.

"Hades, you're the judge, you of all gods know when you are being lied to." Ares stood. "I didn't ask, I wasn't told."

Hades kept pushing, "And later?"

"He's nearly 3000 years old, he's entitled to keep some things secret, even from Daddy." Ares was sarcastic and obviously irritated.

Hades just stared at him.

"Hades, I never asked him, we never talked about. As a matter of fact except for you I've never talked about it with anyone." He prepared to leave. "If you really want answers talk to one of them."

"I would, but they didn't exactly let me know where they are."

"I'll pass on the message."

Ares vanished, just as Hades realized what he hadn't said, "Damn him, 'didn't ask,' 'wasn't told,' 'never talked about it.' Yeah, but he damned well figured it out and kept his mouth shut. Aphrodite, Cupid what are you hiding!"

A few seconds later Ares appeared in Aphrodite's eyrie. He blinked until his eyes became adjusted to the dancing lights around him. And accustomed himself to the slight breeze.

Like all the gods who worked closely with mortals, Aphrodite had her own place of power. Hephaestus' was well known: his forge. Ares' was hidden even more than Aphrodite's, a cave deep within a mountain. Demeter and Persephone went to the earth itself, and Hestia's was within the living ever-burning flame at her primary temple, although only a few of the gods knew she used it for that. Cupid was still building his. And no one knew where Eris and Celesta kept theirs. Ares only suspected that they kept a single one that they shared. Hecate and Hades each kept theirs somewhere in the hidden recesses of Tartarus.

Aphrodite's was her eyrie. It was a dome at the very top of one of the cliffs along the coast. The cliff was uninhabitable due to its steepness and the extreme wind that raced along it. It was invisible not only to mortals, but due to shields carefully and laboriously layered over nearly thirty centuries, to gods. Even Ares did not know exactly where it was he could only utilize a key she had given him. A key she could remove as quickly as thought.

He wasn't sure when she had started creating the place, but suspected that it was after the death of their daughter and Eris' rape. He knew that after she'd been forced to marry Hephaestus, she had disappeared with Cupid for nearly a century. She moved in the mortal world, but with the exception of a single visit to Hades neither spoke with nor saw any of her family. He was first allowed to visit there six centuries ago. And she only gave him a key when she was pregnant with Harmonia, after they discovered she would be able to carry the sword. Even now, she wouldn't let him through enough of the layered shielding to add protections.

Very few knew it existed. Aphrodite, Ares, Cupid, and after their recent reconciliation Hephaestus. And Harmonia, although only through very young childhood memories of her first two years. Most of the gods believed that she kept her power place at her main temple or in the bower where her golden statute stood.

Ares didn't know what the dome looked like from the outside, all his attempts to exit to the immediate area had failed. Several centuries ago, he scoured the Greek coast trying to find the place. He failed. Ultimately he decided that if he couldn't find it then Zeus wouldn't either and that if he continued his search he might attract the attention of one of the others. He stopped trying.

From within, the dome was a nearly clear faceted crystal. The interior walls were covered with crystals, like a crystalline geode. Ares knew she used the crystals covering the wall for information storage, but he had no idea how she organized it, there were no tags that he'd ever managed to sense.

The space was a single large room. There were no provisions for mortal visitors. In truth, there were no provisions for visitors at all. Most beings knowing Aphrodite only through her temples or seeing her using what she called her 'public face' would expect the furnishing to be ornate, overdone, and plush. Instead, it was deceptively simple. Primarily cushions and blankets of various types and sizes. Most of those were gathered into a bed area along the southwestern curve. Another group of cushions on a patterned throw rug was at the opposite end by a low circle table. This served as a dining area. On the southeastern curve there the remnants of Cupid and Harmonia's childhood stood: a cradle, swaddling, toys - including an endless looped piece, made of a soft metal he didn't begin to understand, baby chewed blankets, and other similar memorabilia. On the northwestern curve, she kept her work area: a single large cushion.

In the center were eight great crystals set at the cardinal and semi-cardinal points, her anchors. Within them, at the very center was a fountain with thirty-two water figures set along its rim. Each one was a different representation of love, and not simply sexual love, beside coupling figures, there were images of brotherly and sisterly love, and parental love. Each figure changed and shifted as its water flowed. Couples made love, sisters laughed together, brothers fought and wrestled, a mother nursed her child, and an elderly couple sat together watching their grandchildren at play. All aspects of love flowed ever changing. At the center of the fountain was a floating dais in the shape of a rose petal.

It was here that Aphrodite and Cupid sat now. Both sat cross-legged facing each other. Power flowed between them and eight anchoring crystals. Creating a throbbing vibration and a low hum. During the day sunlight refracted through the dome and the crystals creating bright washes of rainbows and light within the dome. At night moonlight did the same thing only those washes were a paler pastel. And on a moonless night, like this one, small starry pinpricks of light danced through the room as starlight refracted off the crystals.

That refracted light and the power Aphrodite and her son were taming created the dancing light which had temporarily blinded Ares. He still occasionally stood in awe of her power over air and water. Outside the wind raced at a steady twenty or thirty miles an hour with gusts up to fifty or sixty. Aphrodite used that wind for power, her dome soaking up its energy and feeding it to the anchor crystals. It created a slight breeze.

He waited patiently for them to finish their current search. He knew that they felt him enter but he wasn't about to interrupt them when they were using that much power. He smiled, 'And many of the family still consider her a clueless, powerless, flake.' He knew that she used it as protective coloration, what he couldn't understand was why none of the others saw through it.

"They see what they expect to see," Aphrodite said as she rose from the rose petal and appeared in front of him. Ares looked at her concerned, then at his son. With the kind of power they had just finished raising they should be glowing. Instead, they both looked faded.

"What have you been doing?" he demanded pulling them both to the eating area and swiftly creating a meal.

They looked at each other then at him. "Looking for Harmonia." Cupid answered his question in between bites of food.

"Using that much power?"

"We were trying to find Poseidon's power place." Aphrodite shrugged. "He has to have them holed up there."

"Really?" They looked up at Ares' irritated and doubtful tone. He glared at Cupid. "Next time you try misleading Uncle Hades," Ares continued infuriated with his son, "try making it a little more believable."

Cupid gave him a practiced innocent look and Ares finished furiously, "Hades knows that Iolaus isn't a demigod. He doesn't buy it and he wants answers." He noticed Cupid's neck muscles tense than deliberately relax without looking at his mother who continued eating, as if she were completely unconcerned.

Ares shook his head. "I bought you some time." Cupid relaxed a little. Aphrodite continued eating innocently. "And don't try that 'little miss innocent' with me." He glared at Aphrodite. "I made him think that I knew what you two were hiding." Cupid started talking.

Ares glared at him. "DON'T SAY A WORD," he finished more quietly, "I don't want to know. As long as I don't really know for sure, I can keep Hades hooked." He starred at them both for a long minute. Then glowered at Aphrodite. "YOU better not have done what I think you did."

She shrugged vaguely.

He frowned and filled them in on the rest of his discussions with Xena and Hades. As he finished explaining Iolaus' fragile state, she nodded silently clearly deciding something.

"Don't," Ares growled at her.

"Don't what, Ares?" she replied in her most innocent voice.

He fumed silently for a moment, shrugged, and stood. "I need to make a few more stops tonight."

Immediately after he vanished, Aphrodite turned to Cupid. "I've got to do something." And vanished.

Ares appeared in Hephaestus' forge. "Hephaestus, you had better get Aphrodite under control before she does something that truly pisses off Hades!" he roared.

Hephaestus looked up from his workbench as Clio cowered into a wall. "Clio, why don't you make another attempt to trace down the tag symbols Cupid gave you on that Kami's tag. Belisco may not be able to shield from her if we can track her down."

She squeaked out a stammering, "Of course," vanishing.

"What's she doing now?" Hephaestus sounded amused, irritating Ares even further.

He threw himself onto a convenient rock. "She and Cupid are concealing something from Hades and frustrating him no end. And she won't listen to me." He snarled that last bit out offended that she was ignoring his advice. "She needs to either tell him or keep her head down." He waited for Hephaestus to reply and when he didn't added, "A good fuck wouldn't hurt her either. She and Cupid are wearing themselves to the bone."

Hephaestus smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." Then he gestured to the workbench. "You were right about Clio helping." Ares moved over to the bench as his brother brought up several three-dimensional views of the boxes. "See here," Hephaestus expanded the view of the box side several times and pointed to a small chipped detail in the pattern. Ares nodded. Hephaestus pointed to the same area in the other two boxes. All had the same flaw. "We've been assuming that the boxes were local design and manufacture. Clio pointed out that several of the other dimensions are considerably technologically advanced and that these symbols," a new view appeared unfolding the sides of the boxes so that they flowed as a single piece, "appear to be mathematical in nature. With that starting point, we were able to decipher the patterns as equations. They give the exact composition and energy potential of the chaos energy within the box."

"Where?" demanded Ares, and continuing without allowing Hephaestus the chance to answer, "That means the have a limited quantity. Whatever they managed to acquire."

Hephaestus shook his head. "No. They're foreign designed, locally made. But…" he manipulated the images again so that the flawed area appeared, "this was supposed to be a warn off." He retrieved one of the boxes. They had repaired the chipped area. "We used several possible alternative repairs. This is the only one that gave us anything intelligible." He moved his finger along the same latch area that had caused the box to open in Demeter's hands. A piercing siren split the air, along with a strong psychic warn off. Ares winced and Hephaestus turned it back off. "Best we can tell is Poseidon suckered someone to create the boxes and then tampered with it."

"Can you tell who?"

"Not yet."

"How long to find out?"

Hephaestus shrugged. "Maybe an hour, maybe a year. Depends on Fortune."

"How long to counter and make it a prison?"

"A few days, maybe as long as two weeks."

Ares considered his options, work on figuring out who made the boxes or concentrate on putting our own controls on them. The maker could shortcut things if that being could be located. On the other hand, they needed to figure out how to make it a prison and counter it quickly. Hephaestus waited patiently as Ares considered all the possible courses of action.

"Did they have any other fail safes on the them?"

"The boxes couldn't be opened at all, as originally constructed."

Ares leaned back and thought another long moment then decided. "Figure out how to put the boxes back into their original condition and make one of those a prison." He shrugged. "Try to keep one of them like they are now. When this is done, I want to find the maker and talk to him. I don't want this happening again."

Ares repeated the same briefing for Hephaestus that he had for Aphrodite. Ending with "And will you please go fuck your wife," before vanishing.

Hephaestus laughed vanishing a second after he did to reappear in his wife's eyrie a bare second before her own reappearance. Cupid vanished a second later.

"Ares thinks I ought to fuck my wife," Hephaestus teased, reaching a hand under the skimpy top of her negligee to fondle her breast.

She panted slightly making their clothes vanish. "He's such a nice brother. So thoughtful…" her voice broke into a moan as Hephaestus picked her up and tossed her on the nest of cushions and pillows that served as their bed.

He quickly fell beside her and drew her into a hard kiss, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and lowering his hand to her clit, rubbing the moist warm skin with his thumb until she was gasping and crying for him to fill her. He obliged rolling her to her back and entering her with a single hard thrust of his cock.

They were urgent and rough. Both were grabbing skin and hair. She bit his shoulder and raked her nails up his back as she wrapped her legs around his hips for better leverage. The thrust together hard and fast until sweat shone on their bodies. Then suddenly he groaned, "Aphrodite," cuming within her.

She screamed, "Yesss!" clenching hard on his cock milking him and pulling her legs so tightly around him she bruised his hips.

Done they lay back gasping. She pushed against one of his shoulders until he rolled off. Then leaned up on an arm and kissed him gently. "That was wonderful."

"I wasn't too rough?" he hadn't planned to take her so quickly, he just saw her and lost it.

"Hephy, I love it when you lose it like that." She smiled wickedly. "Lets me know that I haven't lost my touch."

He moved her to cuddle against him and softly stroked her hair. Her breath was light against his chest and her skin warm and soft against his muscles. He twined a strand of her silken hair around his finger enjoying its caress against his own callused skin. "Ares is worried," he said calmly.

"I know," her soft whisper moved warmly against his sternum. "It's not something I can undo," she looked at his eyes, "or would." She held him closely. "I need your help."

He didn't even consider or ask a single question. His answer rang in her mind.

Yes.

Ares appeared this time in the Furies' temple. They were busy. Alecto had her tongue in Megaira's cunt, Megaira had her tongue in Tisiphone's cunt, and Tisphone had her tongue in Alecto's cunt, completing the triangle. Their hands stroked their sisters or their own breasts and nipples. The three sisters ignored his presence intent on their own pleasure. Passionate moans filled the temple. Their priests weren't present. From the inner sanctums more moans could be heard. Apparently, a general orgy was in effect.

Ares watched his cock hardening as they continued to pleasure each other. 'Either Aphrodite and Cupid haven't had time to fix Bliss' spell or they decided not to.'

Celesta and Eris came out from another room. "They've been like that for hours," Eris said.

"Really?" Ares watched as Megaira stiffened convulsed in orgasm her mouth only briefly leaving her sister's cunt to give a shrill scream of pleasure before returning to licking and nipping at Tisphone.

Ares looked back at his twin and her lover and realized that he'd interrupted them. He quickly briefed them and then asked to speak with Celesta alone. After Eris left, he asked his first of two questions straight out. "Did Hades put my daughter's soul in Cerberus?"

Celesta looked at him and then shrugged. "He says no, and Aphrodite told me she checked." She paced a bit. "I was so focused on Eris at the time I hadn't even heard him tell her that. After I realized that he'd kept the soul from Tartarus, I looked. Everywhere. All the crystals. Every level of Hades, including every soul in the Elysian Fields. I even checked every soul remaining at the River of Lethe. The only thing I hadn't checked was Cerberus. Then Aphrodite started spending all that time with her and I checked her. Finally, I confronted Hades a few days ago."

"And you believe him?" he followed up.

"Yes." Celesta nodded briefly. "If it helps he negotiated with several other gods of death." Ares stiffened. "And he's keeping a demon bound in Tartarus for the Japanese god of death. I think he struck a deal to make the girl a kami."

Ares thought a moment trying to reconcile that with everything else that was going on. His working theory didn't match quite, but… he frowned trying to work through some alternatives. He was still missing something.

He shrugged and asked his second question. "What are you plotting with the Furies?"

Celesta stiffened. "Zeus is to be called to account."

"WHAT!" Ares bellowed. "That’s…It's…" he stopped staring at Celesta. Finally, he said, "Strife's already finished his vengeance. Let it go. We may still need him."

"I'll consider it." Celesta turned to rejoin Eris.

Ares vanished again.

This time he appeared in Iphicles' palace in Corinth on the battlements. He remained invisible to mortals while he located various tags. He checked 386 without anything interesting turning up, then he paused, 'Menelio and Remar?' he smiled, 'Psyche did good work there.' He continued checking until he completed his run for Corinth and realized that someone was missing. He cast his mind further out locating the tag. She was at a Hestian temple, with Draco.

"Psyche," he called softly.

She appeared, "Yes, Father?" she asked pleasantly.

He lowered his eyebrows at her and drew up to his full height. "Haven't I asked you not to call me that?"

She calmly responded, "As my husband's sire I owe you due respect, Father."

Ares looked at her with a slight amount of irritation. 'What is it about women in this family?' Finally, he asked, "Exactly why is Lillia with Draco, instead of here with her parents?"

She looked at him like he'd forgotten to wear his sword. "You did ask me to find Draco a sterile wife."

"Why Lillia?" he growled.

"Because it's a good match, particularly for your purposes." She folded her hands together demurely in front of her and stood as still as she could.

"And my purpose is?" He was curious to see if she had figured it out, if so then it meant that he might be able to use her instead of Cupid occasionally.

"You intend to set Draco and his sterile wife as the regent's for Niobe's heir and keep Attica stabilized." She grinned. "Besides it will irritate Gabrielle no end."

"Better make sure it works then." He responded only to her first comments and ignored the part about Gabrielle.

When Psyche had vanished, he leaned back against the wall and laughed clutching her side. Gabrielle would be absolutely livid. He looked forward to it.

Finally, done laughing he translocated to Iphicles' bedroom.

Iphicles was still up, sitting crosslegged on his bed reviewing scrolls and making quick notations on them before dumping them in a basket by his bed. He looked up as he felt Ares presence. He smiled and gestured with his head to the chair. "I'm almost done."

"You expect me to wait for…" Ares reviewed the scrolls, "reports on the flood and blizzard?" His voice was light and mocking.

Iphicles looked at him impatiently, "We have to make evacuation decisions in the morning and I need this information for that meeting." He reached for the next scroll. "You can fill me in while I review these. I can listen to you and do this at the same time."

He glanced up and smiled at Ares who had settled into the chair.

Naked.

"Besides we're not fucking until you answer a couple of questions."

Ares watched a moment as Iphicles continued reviewing the scrolls. Then lowered his hands down to his crotch. He'd seen Iphicles in this mood before and knew that he could force him from it using the tag, but the sex would be oddly disquieting.

He quickly filled him in responding to Iphicles' questions briefly as the king quickly made his way through the scrolls.

Ares paused watching Iphicles review a scroll concerning food estimates for several outlying villages. He only wore a loose pair of pants and his chest muscles bunched and glided as he picked up a scroll, unwound it, read, and made his notations on it. Ares idly started stroking his cock. This method of distracting him could be fun too.

Iphicles noticed him stroking his cock out of the corner of his eyes and his body flushed with desire. He took a deep breath and grabbed another scroll.

Ares continued stroking his cock and finally asked, "What questions?"

Iphicles got the hardest out of the way first. "Why couldn't Celesta get through to your halls faster when Eris was raped?"

Ares stopped and shut his eyes. 'Sometimes Iphicles was the most single-minded frustrating mortal he knew.' Iphicles continued reviewing scrolls waiting patiently for his answer.

"Death can't be barred, not permanently. But she could be slowed down. She and Hades were able to get in when Zeus murdered our daughter." Ares voice was tight. He let Iphicles get away with more than he had any mortal lover in a long time.

Iphicles nodded pushing a wayward strand of hair off his forehead. Ares stared he considered Iphicles' ability to avoid the royal hairdresser during this crisis as one of the few benefits. What the woman had done to his hair was a mystery Ares wasn't sure he wanted solved. But at least now it was back to its normal somewhat unruly norm.

After a moment of thought, Iphicles asked his next question. "At some point I got the impression that Aphrodite and you were able to actively work against Zeus. Weren't you blood bound?"

That was an easier question. Ares relaxed realizing that Iphicles had gotten the most difficult question out of the way first. "Death cannot be barred. Love cannot be bound. Although it took her awhile to figure that out."

He watched Iphicles stretch out his sore shoulders rotating them. It tightened his belly and brought his chest and nipples into relief. Ares took a deep breath as his groin tightened.

Iphicles watched his lover relax as he came out of his stretch. "Then Cupid can't be bound either?"

Ares considered the question. "Cupid is more attuned to lust, but no probably not. We haven't really tried it."

"And you?" Iphicles reached for another scroll. This one reviewing another mudslide. Most of the villagers escaped, but now they had to find places to put them. He noted to see if they could relocate to a couple of the villages decimated by Belisco's men.

"As for me. Hera and Zeus both bound me. If one of them commands me, I have to obey. But if they command me in opposition to each other, I have freedom to move between the commands and find my own path. Also, I've learned to move between the lines of their commands."

"Obeying literally, but going your own way." Iphicles filled in, completing his notations and setting the scroll in the basket. He smiled at Ares upraised brow and laughed lightly. "Ares that's something every mortal child learns to do by the time they're big enough to be assigned chores." He laughed at a sudden memory. "Like being told to 'wash the dishes' and not washing the pots, or glasses, or silver and not drying the dishes after washing them."

Ares laughed with him picking up his sudden memory of his aunt and uncle's fury at Iphicles' literal obedience. "I'll wager that you didn't do that to Alcmene."

"Gods no." Iphicles burst out. Then grabbed his next scroll. This one itemized displaced families in Corinth proper, most from the poorest areas of the city close to the wharf. He quickly made his notes. He wanted Ares desperately, but knew that once they got started he'd not finish this.

"Yes exactly like that. Zeus would order me to start a war and have a particular side win. But I could still make sure that they won in a manner that cost them too dear. Or I'd get someone to intervene on the other side."

Iphicles looked up in sudden understanding. "Like Hercules or Xena," he suggested smiling.

"Occasionally," Ares responded. Actually, he had carefully nurtured Hercules, Jason, and Iolaus and a few other heroes to stand against 'his warriors' when needed from adolescence. And Xena was exactly where he wanted her to be at this point. But there was no use in letting Iphicles know that for sure.

"Finally, I could sometimes strike out at him directly, if I had surprise on my side." He remembered the last time, nearly 300 years earlier when after Zeus had raped one of his mortal daughters. He vividly remembered going to the audience chamber in a rage, throwing him against a wall, and slamming his sword into Zeus' groin before he could order him to stillness. He'd paid for that but it was well worth it. Zeus left his daughters alone after that. Now though he wondered if Eris had paid for it as well.

Ares drifted off into his memories as Iphicles completed the last few scrolls.

"Ares," Iphicles set the last scroll aside finally noticing that Ares had drifted away.

"Ares." His voice was firmer. He stood kicking the basket of scrolls and writing materials well away from the bed. They already had one accident with that basket and he wasn't going to try to sort out another one.

Ares brought his mind back to the present and looked at him, "Done?" he grinned and leaned back in the chair spreading his legs and displaying his cock.

"Well that all depends," Iphicles teased, "on whether I have something better to do?" He sprawled back on the bed feeling a sudden heat flush his body.

Ares vanished.

Iphicles sat up and yelled, "Bloody tease!" He waited a few seconds and sprawled back on the bed frustrated.

Ares suddenly appeared straddling his body and roughly turned him over ripping the pants off him. Instinctively Iphicles fought him. Struggling against Ares' strength and skill.

And losing.

He felt Ares' cock along his ass hard and leaking when he finally stilled gasping for breath. He laughed with delight as Ares leaned down and bit into his shoulder thrusting his cock against him.

"Keep me waiting," Ares muttered only half joking as he wrapped one hand into his lover's hair and pulled his head up and around getting a groan from him.

Iphicles suddenly twisted painfully tearing his hair out of Ares' grasp and turning beneath him so that their cocks rubbed together. He knocked Ares in the head with his own and then abruptly kissed him. As Ares relaxed into the kiss, he bit his lower lip until blood welled up.

Ares slapped him and Iphicles laughed. Twisting out of his grip again. They wrestled playfully and vigorously. Bare skin rubbing against bare skin. Cock colliding with cock. Kisses fierce and suddenly gentle, then turning to hard blood letting bites.

Until finally from beneath him Iphicles wrapped his legs around Ares' waist and ground his cock into Ares belly. Growling, "Take me already," before leaning his head down to fiercely bite Ares' nipple.

Ares roughly pushed him back to the bed slapping his face several times until Iphicles lay still for a moment. He reached down to Iphicles' hips pulled them up higher to improve his leverage and slapped one hip a single time.

Along with that slap, Ares tugged on his tag within Iphicles.

Iphicles arched screaming as heat flooded his body pushing him to the outermost edge of orgasm and holding him there. His hands reached back and grabbed the bedrails clenching with all his strength. His ass relaxed and he felt oil dripping out.

Ares slapped his hip a second time and entered him with a single thrust simultaneously.

Iphicles arched thrusting back with all his strength to push Ares cock deeper into him. One of the bedrails cracked under his hand. He ignored the slight cut and moved his hand to another rail.

Ares held still within him, he held Iphicles' hips tightly preventing him from thrusting, and kept the heat within the tag holding him at that edge.

They remained that way for minutes until Iphicles was crying out with frustration.

"Fuck me, damn you, fuck me," he gasped trying desperately to thrust down. "Ares please, oh please…Just move…"

Ares moved rocking infinitesimally in, brushing against the pleasure point, and moving away. Iphicles' entire body shook under his hands.

He stopped.

"ARES!" Iphicles screamed his name once digging his heels into Ares' back and again trying to thrust down.

Ares held him still and again slowly rocked in. Iphicles jerked arching and shuddered again, gasping incoherently. Ares held his cock where it was maintaining pressure on Iphicles' prostrate. Still flooding his body with sensation, oversensitizing the nerves, and holding him right on the precipice.

He still tried to twist in his grip and thrust down Ares exerted slightly more pressure, keeping him still. Bruises started forming under his fingers. Finally, Iphicles broke, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for making you wait." Ares smiled and rocked within him increasing the pressure.

"Please," Iphicles gasped.

Satisfied Ares pulled back and rammed in feeling his lover convulse on his cock. He pulled back nearly all the way out. "Like that?"

In a broken gasp, "Yes," he struggled to thrust back still held tight in Ares' grip, "again."

Ares thrust home, striking the pleasure point again and pulled on the tag increasing his lovers' pleasure and desperation. This time however, Iphicles couldn't talk. He could only gasp helplessly.

Ares carefully assessed him, and gently increased the connection between them until he could feel what Iphicles felt. He moaned and gave into the need to thrust uncontrollably battering in hard and fast.

Iphicles hung onto the bedrails with all his strength, gasping and screaming his pleasure. All that existed was the moment, Ares hot and hard battering into his body, sweat and heat, the wood rails under his hands hot and wet from his sweaty grip, and his desperate breathing full of gasps and moans. Finally, Ares let him move and he thrust down meeting his lover's cock and screamed his release.

"ARES!"

And felt the hot flow of his lover's cum in his ass.

They collapsed to the bed.

Iphicles shook in Ares' arms as his he continued gasping his heart pounding in his chest. Worried Ares pulled him closer and nuzzling his neck checked the tag. He slowly brought his lover down, soothing the oversensitized nerves, relaxing his muscles and healing the tears, decreasing the adrenaline, helping his heart and lungs slow until they were working normally.

Iphicles relaxed into his arms, murmuring, "You know you've ruined me for any other man," right before Ares pushed him over into sleep.

Part 34

Iolaus slept fitfully dreaming that Rena was talking with him. Belisco suddenly appeared, straddling his body and roughly turned him over, ripping the sheets off him. Instinctively Iolaus fought him, struggling against his strength and skill.

And losing.

He felt Belisco's cock along his ass, hard and leaking, and he finally surrendered, gasping for breath. He screamed in pain as his tormentor leaned down and bit into his shoulder, causing blood to spurt, thrusting his cock into him.

"Mine!" Belisco muttered, wrapping one hand into Iolaus' hair, pulling his head up and around, getting a groan from him. Iolaus fought him as he forced the kiss, suddenly twisting painfully tearing his hair out of Belisco's grasp. Belisco struck him hard in the face, shattering one cheek, and grabbed him by the hair again, forcing him into the kiss. Desperately Iolaus bit his lower lip until blood welled up.

Belisco punched him again, this time breaking his nose. As Iolaus continued to struggle under him, Belisco thrust back and forth into his body. Jagged rips of pain spread from his ass as the unrelenting pounding continued. Finally, Belisco released him from the kiss. Iolaus attempted to twist from under him with a desperate pull of his body. A single swift blow to the back of his shoulder shattered bone, causing him to fade into momentary oblivion.

Belisco was still in him when he recovered, and his arms and legs were chained. The bite on his shoulder was already healed, the cheek and nose nearly so. The shattered bone in his shoulder already had the tingling that signaled the healing. As the rape continued, he turned his face to the bed breathing out his air, trying desperately to pass out again. Noticing, Belisco stopped a moment slapping him harshly on the hip. Along with that slap, Belisco tugged on his tag within Iolaus.

Iolaus arched, screaming as heat and fire flooded his body, pushing him to the outermost edge of agony and holding him there. His hands clenched on the chains with all his strength. Belisco resumed his relentless hammering into Iolaus' agonized body. Every inch of skin was on fire, and, unrelenting, Belisco grasped his shoulder, lengthening his fingernails into claws so that they tore into first skin, then muscle, and finally bone. His screams weakened to hopeless whimpers as blood poured from his body. Every time his pain threatened to overwhelm him completely, giving him the short painless peace of unconsciousness, Belisco forced him back.

Finally, in a barely audible agonized whimper he begged, "Please...stop."

The plea sent Belisco over the edge and he pulled Iolaus even tighter to him and with a last few vigorous thrusts came deep within him. He lay on top as Iolaus' injuries healed, staying within him until the healing was complete.

He stood then and examined one of his walls, looking at whips. Iolaus shivered, Belisco kept the room uncomfortably cold, particularly for his victim whom he kept naked. A moment later, Belisco returned, sitting on the bed, and pulled his head up to show him the whip, one with several lashes which had metal embedded into them.

"I keep telling you not to fight," he said in an intimate voice, caressing Iolaus' back and massaging his ass. Iolaus shuddered at the caresses, carefully forcing down nausea. He absolutely did not want to repeat what happened last time he didn't manage that and threw up.

Belisco stood, swinging the whip down hard, tearing into skin and muscle and splattering blood. Iolaus bit his lip to keep from screaming as he did with every beating, every whipping, every broken bone, and every rape. And, as always, Belisco continued using the tag to keep him aware of every stroke until he screamed. By that point, even with the continuous healing, Iolaus was a raw bloody mess from his shoulders to his feet. As he screamed, Belisco's cock hardened, lengthening impossibly, as he altered his physiology to make it thicker and longer.

Belisco moved between Iolaus' chained legs and roughly lifted his hips the short distance the chains allowed. He could feel Iolaus shuddering under his hands, taking deep breaths to relax his body as much as possible for the coming assault. Belisco tightened his hands on Iolaus' hips, and pulled on the tag, creating a surge of adrenaline and causing every muscle in Iolaus' body to involuntarily tense as he entered him in a single thrust that seemed to split his body apart. Iolaus keened as Belisco continued his shredding thrusts into his battered body. As his body healed, Belisco again clawed his hands and pulled them through skin and muscle so that his blood kept flowing. When the keening ended because blood flowed through his lungs and mouth and made sound impossible, Belisco became frustrated and paused until those injuries had healed. Then he resumed pounding and clawing until once more Iolaus was making those small gasped pants of pain that he found so arousing. Reaching under as he approached his climax, Belisco clawed at Iolaus' chest and stomach opening great gashes. Iolaus' body convulsed around his cock, fighting to keep its heart beating and the blood flowing. Belisco timed his orgasm with Iolaus' last heartbeat, cumming as Iolaus' body relaxed into another temporary death.

When he revived, Belisco was gone and he was free of the chains. He was filthy with Belisco's cum and his blood. He shook with cold and terror as the painful tingling that signaled the return of life continued. Still shaking, Iolaus rolled off the bloody bed and crawled to the one corner of the room he had not yet been raped in, the small corner between the bed and the door. He curled into a tight ball on the cold hard marble floor and fitfully slept. Even in his sleep, violent shudders intermittently wracked his body.

Alcmene waited impatiently by the well. Aphrodite had suddenly showed up a few hours ago. Their discussion had been enlightening. She was taking the next trip. Even if she had to hit Chiron over the head with a rock. She glanced over at Rena and Chiron, she was still crying. She was fairly certain that Rena knew what she was planning. Casually sitting on the well's rim, Alcmene pretended to watch the sleeping Morpheus. She actually focused deeply on the well waiting for the telltale fog to creep over the water.

A light fog started moving over the well.

Chiron stiffened and moved towards Alcmene. Rena suddenly grabbed his hair and Alcmene awkwardly dived into the well.

The last thing she heard before time, space & her guts twisted, was Chiron's frustrated shout, "DAMN STUBBORN WOMAN!"

The journey through the spirit road took no time and all time. She abruptly found herself in grayness reeling and disorientated.

"Iolaus," she called to him softly.

Slowly she turned. All she could see was gray, endless gray. Rena and Chiron hadn't described this. They both described finding themselves in a place where they had been with Iolaus in life. For Chiron, it was the Academy. For Rena, it was walking the battlements in Iphicles' castle in Corinth. But not this endless gray. She tried poking it with a finger. Nothing. Like poking into a cloud.

Suddenly she heard crying. "Iolaus?" She tried to figure out which way to walk. She moved to her right. The crying faded. She stopped and heard it again. She moved again this time in the opposite direction. The crying faded again.

She stood still. The crying resumed. She chose another direction and began walking. The crying stopped again.

She stopped. The crying got louder and clearer as she stood still. This time she continued to stand still. The crying became clearer and clearer as she waited.

Suddenly, in a dizzying wave, everything changed. She was in her garden. A very young Iolaus was crying by her bench. She went to him, kneeling and catching him up in her arms. "Iolaus."

The child in her arms wriggled, and turned to face her. He had a bruise on his face. She gently pushed his sleeve up and found more bruises on his arm where someone had gripped it too tightly. He gripped her tightly. "You found me."

She remembered this! The image faded and gray returned. She stood waiting and heard crying again. This time she waited without moving until another dizzying wave swept over her.

This time the child was older, anger mixing with the tears. "He's left us." He clung to her, weeping, finally quietly admitting, "I don't know what to do." As often as she had held Iolaus in comfort, she remembered this one too.

Gray returned as the memory faded. Again, the wave swept over her. Oh gods, she remembered this, she'd had nightmares about it for years. Iolaus, now a young man, sitting on her garden bench his knife moving across his wrist. Terrified, screaming, "NO!" while she ran to him. Catching him as he stood dropping the knife to flee. "No." This time, her voice firm. Holding him to her as he finally wept.

Again the image changed, but instead of the gray, she was on a well-forested mountain. She recognized the trees as ones Iolaus had described from his travels. A large round tree house sat above the forest floor. An old woman sat by a well on a pallet in front of the odd house. As she continued looking, she noted the woman's wooden staff carved with a fox form running along it.

"Ybalessi?"

The woman smiled. "He needs to know you."

"Pardon?"

"And take him to Jizo."

She was in her garden once more. This time Iolaus was an adult and he wasn't crying. Instead, he sat, staring blankly at the vines growing on her trellis.

"When I first met Xena I took her for a walk in this garden," he turned to look at her, "we ended at that bench," Alcmene slowly walked over and sat down beside him, "I told her, 'Iolaus is my third son, Xena. And if you ever hurt him again, or try to come between him and Hercules, Warrior Princess or not, I will rip your intestines out, strangle you with them, and feed your eyes to the fishes and your liver to the birds. I hope that is very clear.' I meant it."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Do you really think it's that easy?" he snarled, twisting away and springing to his feet.

"No, I suppose he's been in your mind tormenting you with visions of us." Alcmene sat remembering the time in the gray. Trying to figure why *those* memories. "Do you remember all the times we sat in this garden, or, more frequently, worked in this garden?"

He remained silent, warily watching her.

She continued thinking about the memories and tried to link them. Finally, "When you were seven I found you here. You had terrible bruises, on your face where Skouros hit you, on your arms where he grabbed you too tightly, and later when we went in, I found more on your back and hips." Iolaus shuddered. "When Erythia came for you I wouldn't let her take you back until Skouros had left."

He continued looking at her slightly backing away. "When you were eleven he left and you came to me again. You told me you didn't know what to do. I held you and I felt so guilty, because I'd seen bruises again. Like I always did when Skouros came home. And I went to him. I was very angry." She blinked back old tears. "I felt like someone had beaten one of my own children -- that he had harmed my own flesh and blood. We argued terribly and I told him that he should leave, that he harmed you by staying." He looked at her in shock. "I never expected him to actually leave."

He started edging closer. "And then after Belisco and his men..." her voice broke "...raped you, I... Skouros wrote me...asking if he should come. I thought he would do or say something that would..." she trailed off as he stopped again and finally continued, "...make it worse. I wrote back telling him not to come. That I didn't trust him not to hurt you." Iolaus swayed. "I didn't realize for a long time how wrong I was. How much you needed your father, how much more it hurt you to think your father didn't care enough to come."

"Alcmene?"

"I wanted so desperately to protect you. And then I felt so guilty. I couldn't tell you what I'd done."

"Alcmene." He threw himself against her. They held each other, laughing through tears. Finally, he pulled away wiping his eyes and nose on the back of his hand. "You're the only person I know besides Herc who could feel that guilty about trying to protect someone."

"I suppose you're right." She guided him to the bench. "Iolaus I don't know how much time we have. Listen to me. Chiron told us how you keep going back to the 'tokens' Belisco took."

"Chiron?" He grabbed her arm. "He told me that they were all alive. Except for Niobe and Lucas." He trembled and his voice shook, "Is that true?"

She held him to her a moment and whispered, "Yes. They're looking for you." She grasped his shoulders and firmly moved him back so she could look in his eyes. "You have to stop reading the tokens." He flinched. "You have to stop, its driving you mad."

"I hear them calling me," he whispered, "Leah and Amphtrion, Regina, Hector, the others. They call and ask me to free them. And I used the tokens to remind me that they were dead. So I wouldn't believe them." He smiled at Alcmene. "Now that I know that they're with you..." His voice trailed off at her stunned look.

"Iolaus only Chiron, Rena and I are..." she started.

He broke in, "Oh gods, what has he done?"

A sudden kick shocked him awake, and Alcmene was flung out of his mind, to be grabbed by a furious Hades and pulled from the well.

That first kick broke most of Iolaus' ribs. He curled up tighter as blood poured from his mouth. Belisco was screaming at him, kicking him repeatedly. Iolaus tried to figure out what triggered this.

"I can't lie you whoreson!" The next kick broke a shin.

"The DAMN Sword of Veracity!" This time he stomped on his hip crushing the pelvic bone.

"I CAN'T LIE!" This time he was picked up and flung against the wall. Belisco roughly held him by his hair, one hand pinning him painfully. The other hand hit him repeatedly on the back and ribs. As Iolaus slumped, losing consciousness, Belisco used his tag's tendrils into his nervous system to force him to consciousness. Belisco kept him aware while he systematically struck his arms, breaking them, twisting his wrists to breaking, fracturing his collarbones, then the hips, shins, ankles. Until Iolaus was a sobbing mass of agony. He dropped him allowing him to heal.

After the breaks had healed, Belisco pulled him up by the hair, and again flung him into the wall, this time entering his body in a single devastating thrust. Iolaus wailed in agony. His cry choked off as Belisco's rhythm pounded him into the wall and tore his body. Iolaus moaned in pain as Belisco came and then withdrew letting go. Iolaus collapsed slumping against the wall.

Iolaus looked up at him. "What did you do to my friends?" His voice shook slightly as he asked the question. Terrified, both of what Belisco would do and of the answer, he still asked.

Belisco reached down and picked him up, holding him by the neck against the wall, dangling off the ground. "What do you mean?"

"They're dead, but not in the Elysian Fields. *What* did you do?" Iolaus' voice was choked and petrified.

Belisco's eyes narrowed. "And how do you know that?" he snarled.

"What did you do to my friends?" Iolaus continued to demand. He stiffened, feeling Belisco's mind try to enter his. He stiffened and willed him away, closing his mind off.

Belisco exerted more force, ripping through the first barrier and running into protective tags. He easily removed Hestia and Cupid's tags. Iolaus arched, screaming in agony. He ripped Ares' out and moved onto Hades' antipossession tag. That one started merging with Aphrodite's tag. He pulled on Aphrodite's tag and a top layer vanished as Iolaus convulsed in agony.

Belisco stopped a moment trying to find the anchor point. Finally, frustrated and furious, he just pulled. Iolaus screamed and slumped, his heart began beating arhythmically in a dangerous statico. Belisco stopped again. This time confused. The tag ran deeper than any tag he'd seen before and was connected to the foreign tag. He tried removing the foreign tag and fell into it instead.

He found himself on a mountain. Lashed by cold winter rain. The trees were bare skeletons. He was by a well and in front of a large round treehouse. He searched and saw no one. He approached the treehouse and was slammed from the side against the well. He searched again. The next slam forced him against a tree. The third shattered an arm. He fled.

He returned to himself still holding a convulsing Iolaus by the neck. He tried to go into his mind again. This time the barrier was completely impenetrable. He could still find and use his tag to control Iolaus' body, and he could follow its anchor point into his mind, but it only reached into the surface. He could access only the most surface thoughts and feelings. He screamed in frustration.

"I hold their souls for my power," he growled in fury. Iolaus looked stunned as the chest at the bottom of the bed opened and he saw several crystals, each different, appearing to be lit from within. At the end reaches of his mind, he could hear them calling him. Abruptly Belisco slammed the chest shut and threw Iolaus across the room into a wall, fracturing his skull.

Iolaus slumped to the floor lifeless.

He revived with a sharp inhale, shivering with cold. He realized immediately that Belisco was gone. Slowly he sat up, realizing that Belisco had cleaned him and the room. The blood was gone, the bed sheets clean. He curled up against the wall rubbing his arms and legs to restore circulation as a painful tingling overwhelmed him. Finally, after several long minutes, he stood using the wall for support and then made his way to the other room.

There was food on the table. Belisco would be gone for awhile.

Iolaus took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He took a second deep breath and walked over to the shelves with his loved one's tokens as he let that one out slowly.

His face set in a look of incredible stubbornness. A look that his loved ones knew and despaired of. The look he had when he challenged gods, demons, and angels. It was the look that convinced Hades that he was going to return Iolaus the third time he died. The look he had when he defied Michael and reached out to Hercules. The look that on one memorable occasion caused Hercules and Jason to chain him to the bed of their cabin on the Argo until they'd left port.

The one Alcmene called his 'I WILL' look.

He centered and reached for Regina's barrette. He held his center as the memories of her rape, torture, and death washed over him. This time instead of fighting the memories he accepted them, took them into him, and allowed them to wash over and pass through. Then with his other hand, he reached for Lilith's knife. Again, he allowed her final memories to wash over him, accepting them, taking them into himself, and letting them pass through. As their agony swept through him, he focused on his goal until he could move.

He moved to the bedroom and knelt in front of the chest. He released the clasp and moved the two wired pieces apart creating a wire to pick the lock. As he picked the lock, the shields flared around his hands. He couldn't touch the chest, but the barrette could. After long painful minutes the lock released. He dropped the barrette and used the knife to pry the chest open.

He dropped the knife on the floor and slumped, allowing his hands to heal.

He carefully reached into the chest. Belisco hadn't bothered to protect the interior of the chest or the contents. Slowly Iolaus pulled out all the crystals. He peered in searching for anything else of use and found his manaia on its leather thong and a small gold key. He quickly attached the key to the thong and put if over his head.

That done he started examining the crystals. Each was unique and beautiful. He picked up a small dark blue crystal sphere shot through with strands of light silver and white stilling his mind. He heard Leah's excited thoughts in his mind....'Iolaus! You found us. If you break the crystal, it will free us.'

He thought back gently....'You have to keep feeding Belisco power until the last one is broken. Otherwise, he'll know and keep me from freeing the rest.'

'Yes.' Her quiet affirmation sung in his soul.

The crystal was fragile and easily cracked. An overwhelming feeling of joyous freedom sung within as Leah's soul sang her freedom. The fragments of the crystal dropped to the floor clear.

He picked up a pyramid, this one tone on tone of gold and copper, Falafel. Then an irregularly shaped variegated green crystal that reminded him of a tree, Lilith. Next, he broke a large red oval with wildly interwoven lines of purple and orange - Hector and Linus together. Another red sphere, this one with swirls of gold, Amphitrion. Regina's was a rainbow trapezoid. As he freed each they stayed waiting until the last was freed, their souls singing within Iolaus.

He continued, the joy becoming ecstasy, elation, euphoria, exultation. A chorus of jubilation, singing freedom within the room as he freed them. Finally he broke the last crystal and the room hummed a moment with power. Then with a final note of sorrow that they could not protect Iolaus, they fled, leaving Iolaus kneeling in a pile of clear crystal shards.

He grabbed Lilith's knife, instinctively arming himself. There were no more memories...the knife was once again a knife. He paused then realized that Belisco had not yet appeared.

A wild terrified hope grew within him. It was possible that Belisco was either incapacitated or hadn't yet noticed and now he could use the tokens. He leapt to his feet racing to the other careening to the shelves. A rapid plan formed.

He grabbed Leah's wedding bracelet and his mother's braid. His mother's death swept over him. Her soul had not been there to break Belisco's casting with it's leaving. He allowed her pain to sweep over him and continued. He quickly pulled the bracelet over his left hand so that it wrapped around his knuckles increasing the force of his punches. He temporarily held the knife by the blade between his teeth.

He moved to the door carefully wrapping his mother's hair around the door latch using it to open the door. He was right. Belisco hadn't bothered to lock it. He left his mother's hair and carefully moved into the hall, Lilith's knife in his right hand and Leah's bracelet wrapped around his left knuckles. The first guard was almost too easy. He was able to cut his throat with no outcry. He quickly grabbed his cloak wrapping it around him. Naked he was too obvious.

He continued, carefully making his way down a vaguely remembered hall. The guards running into isolated individual or pairs of guards. Unwilling to risk outcry, he left only bodies behind him. Most killed by a knife to their throat, some killed by a broken neck or by shoving their nose into their brain. He carefully but swiftly made his way towards what he hoped was an exit. He might drown, but bodies float and it was a better chance than staying here. As he moved, he checked out each room for Harmonia, hoping to rescue her as he made his way out.

As he prepared to turn another corner, he heard well remembered hissing and growling, Ostseth and Cerberus.

He carefully glanced around the corner. A troop of about twenty of Poseidon's guards circled them. They held long pikes or tridents. Ostseth and Cerberus had clearly learned to fight together, and they stood within the circle side by side, each facing opposite directions. He noticed that actually, Cerberus covered three directions and Ostseth only had to worry about the fourth. The pikes and tridents did no good at all against Ostseth, but Cerberus had a number of shallow gashes where she'd been unable to avoid their weapons.

Iolaus took a deep breath and ran silently down the corridor building up speed then launching himself sideways at the clustered guards bowling them over and into Cerberus. Ostseth took advantage of his leaping ability, and, with a huge leap, flew over the heads of the guards still standing to land behind them. The situation quickly reversed itself and Iolaus, Cerberus, and Ostseth now surrounded the guards. The fight was short, dirty, and bloody. Ostseth and Cerberus took full advantage of sharp teeth and claws to tear their enemies apart. And Iolaus fought to kill.

Cerberus attacked at leg and knee level although she occasionally tore out a groin. She worried at flesh until an artery broke only then would she release the limb. Ostseth used his claws as well as teeth, most often leaping and ripping out a throat. Iolaus leapt at, and often, on the soldiers, his usual stunning and disabling strikes made deadly, by the addition of the knife, bracelet, and his will. A backhand with his left hand shattered nasal bones sending deadly fragments into the brain. His normally stunning left right strikes made deadly, the left hand shattering the cheek bone and the right hand striking long lethal gashes into the neck or blinding gashes to the eyes making the soldier easy prey for Ostseth or Cerberus. When he leapt on a soldier's back instead of pounding with bare fists he either struck deeply with the knife or broke the man's neck. His normally pulled kicks were delivered full power shattering bone and crushing organs. And none of their return blows were able to damage him significantly as he healed too rapidly

Only a few short minutes passed before the soldiers were all dead or dying. Iolaus called quickly to Ostseth and Cerberus, drawing them from worrying the bodies.

"Come here." Cerberus came immediately, Ostseth initially turned a baleful eye on him, but came when he continued, "Take me to Harmonia." They guide him down a twisting maze of halls. They occasionally ran into guards and either Ostseth tore out their throat or Iolaus quickly took them down with knife, fist, or foot. As they continued, they ran into more and larger groups of guards, Iolaus realized that they were moving down and towards either the audience hall or Poseidon's chambers. Soon they heard a general alarm and speed up trying to outrun the guards. As they sped down the halls, Iolaus noticed some of the docks and landing areas jutting out from windows and alcoves. He also noticed that pools come up into some rooms or larger halls creating crossing points between the wet and dry parts of the city.

Between one step and the next Iolaus felt a familiar agonizing burn start in his legs. 'Belisco.' As his legs collapsed under him he grabbed the thong with his manaia and the gold key and flung it at the animals.

"GO!" he managed that last yell before his body completed its collapse and he fell face down on the floor. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ostseth scoop up the thong and run down the hall, Cerberus gave a mournful howl before following him.

Iolaus lay on the floor. Helplessly waiting...

...but not for long. Soon Belisco appeared, leaning over him. "Now what shall I do to punish you?" he mused in a soft voice. "I rather have to let the guards participate - after all you did kill so many of their friends." He smiled. "I'm sure we can find a handy post."

Paralyzed Iolaus couldn't shudder anymore than he could fight. All he could do was scream silently in his mind, 'NO!'

Picking up on his terror Belisco's cock engorged with his seed. He allowed sensation but not control to return to Iolaus' body, and picked up his hand to press against his erection. Iolaus desperately tried to control his breathing to center and allow his fear to pass through him and beyond. Belisco used the tag to keep his heart and respiration elevated, to increase the adrenaline and prevent him from centering.

Moments later Belisco stood and two of Poseidon's men dragged him by his arms to the guards' common room. As Belisco had stated, there was a post available. One used for punishing serious infractions. Iolaus was quickly bound to it his hands over his head and his legs spread apart and chained to the floor. Exactly as he had been bound twenty-five years ago.

"He and his pets killed fifty-seven of your comrades. You have that many hours to do what you please with him," Belisco announced, "Remember he's immortal, just don't cut anything off."

Iolaus felt Belisco pushing his body to panic as he tried to calm himself, to center himself. As he felt the first set of hands on his body Belisco released the paralysis. Iolaus struggled futilely in the chains arching in terror and agony as the first guard pressed into him.

He screamed, "Nooo!" as the man's thrusts pounded him into the post. He frantically clung to sanity as that man came and another took his place. He felt Belisco's eyes on him and understood that somehow he was feeding on his terror and pain. As the rapes continued, he managed to remain in the present by reminding himself over and over again that he was an adult not a child, that he would survive this. He would briefly focus on his center before Belisco would realize it and throw him off.

Hours later the rapes stopped briefly and he was whipped. Belisco made sure that they didn't kill him and that he never lost consciousness. The rapes resumed. He continued to center, get knocked off, and center again. The never-ending rapes, interspersed with violent whippings, continued.

There was a pause and quiet uneasy muttering.

Iolaus tensed, something had changed.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice whispering into his ear. "Do you remember me? I was the first after Belisco." He shuddered as he felt the coldness of the hands holding his hips, the clamminess of the body pressed against him, and recognized the stink of death about him. As Belisco's dead warrior pressed into him he struggled, wildly screaming his terrorized denial, "NOOOO! Please don't," his voice broke into whimpers as his rapist's pounding drove him into the post. As the dead warrior's cold seed flowed into him, Iolaus' mind once more fell into chaos, past and present mingling uncontrollably.

After that one was done, the rest of Belisco's original warriors, now all walking dead took their turns. Iolaus was slumped against the post as the last one finished, still and silent, but not unconscious, Belisco never allowed him that blessing.

Belisco released the chains with a thought. Iolaus' hands continued to grip the chain. After a moment Belisco walked over and used the tag to force Iolaus' fingers to unclench and his arms to drop. Belisco caught him as he sagged and briefly examined his eyes; they were wide, dilated, and unfocused. Belisco's examination of his mind confirmed that Iolaus was deeply in the past. He pulled Iolaus with him as he returned to his seat. Iolaus sagged as he let go, slumping to rock on the floor.

Belisco smiled and reached into his mind, carefully keeping on the surface. 'Iolaus,' he whispered into his mind, 'suck me or I tie Jason to the post.' Caught completely in the past Iolaus complied as he had twenty-five years ago.

He slowly raised his head and knelt up his hands fumbling at Belisco's belt and crotch finally getting his cock out. Holding it with one hand he slowly lowered his head and licked down its length circling it with his tongue. Still in the past, he carefully licked precum off the head and sucked the head into his mouth. Belisco impatiently grabbed his hair, thrusting his head down on his cock. Iolaus gagged, then continued to suck, keeping a steady rhythm as Belisco thrust his cock deeper and deeper into his mouth and throat.

As he got ready to cum, Belisco held Iolaus down on his cock, leaving it deep in his throat. Iolaus struggled for breath, gasping around the cock, trying to get air. As his struggle for air continued, as it had so many times in the recent past, Iolaus' mind abruptly returned to the present and he bit down on Belisco's cock.

Belisco retaliated by again shutting down Iolaus' voluntary muscle control. He held his slack body with one hand, keeping his head still with the other, as he continued thrusting his cock into Iolaus' throat. When he came Iolaus choked and suffocated on him.

Iolaus woke in the room chained spread-eagle and face up on the bed. Belisco had moved a chair next to the bed, facing it, and was lightly caressing his chest and nipples and playing with his hair. Iolaus yanked his head away.

Smiling Belisco grabbed his hair and held his head still. He stood, getting on the bed, and straddling Iolaus. He continued playing gently with Iolaus' body as he softly, in a caressing tone, spoke.

"That punishment was just for the guards you killed. I still have to do something about your breaking into my chest, destroying my crystals, breaking the casting on my tokens, and breaking out of here."

He pauses to viciously tweak a nipple. "Oh and stealing my key."

Iolaus remained silent.

"I gave it a lot of consideration. After all, there are so many ways to hurt. So many kinds of pain we haven't tried."

He softly scraped his nails across Iolaus' stomach causing him to tremble.

Belisco laughed softly. "But then it occurred to me that we've been together eighteen days, well if you include the last fifty-seven hours and you haven't cum yet. I've wanted you to beg for me for over twenty-five years." He leaned forward to gently lick at one nipple. "Tonight you're going to do it. You're going to love everything I do to your body. And you're going to learn to beg for me, even to beg for pain."

"No." Iolaus' voice is soft and firm.

"I like challenges." Belisco puts his hand on Iolaus', eyes shutting the lids. When he removes his hand Iolaus opens his eyes blinking in complete darkness. Realizing that he's blind he gasps, struggling with the chains.

"Relax," Belisco's voice whispers as he forces Iolaus' heart and breathing to slow using the tag, "it's temporary. After you cum a few times, you'll get your sight back. But you don't cum unless I'm in your ass and you have to beg for it."

"No."

Belisco stopped stroking Iolaus' body, and moved back to the chair. Instead he reached for his tag and followed tendrils to the nervous system. He increased the sensitivity of Iolaus' skin until the air brushing against it excited him. Next, he increased production of hormones produced during sex, increasing his stimulation even more.

Iolaus moaned and arched, struggling against the chains, and his own arousal. His cock filled and his nipples stood up reacting to the brush of air against them. He twisted in passion, gasping as Belisco turned his body against him using the tag alone. Belisco pulled on the tag increasing Iolaus' arousal until he was thrusting his hips into the air, urgently seeking friction. His thrusts were accompanied by moaning cries of passion. Belisco gradually brought him to the edge and kept him there. He sat quietly, watching Iolaus twist and arch, his muscles taut with need, staring as sweat beaded along his body dripping from his skin and dampening his hair and hands. Listened to his passionate gasps and moans. Finally stroking himself in time to his hitched shaking gasps for air Belisco brought himself to orgasm. He watched and listened for another hour twice more bringing himself to orgasm as Iolaus twisted in unrelieved need, Iolaus still refusing to beg.

Belisco decided to increase the pressure. He controlled Iolaus' body making sure that he couldn't cum. Then he started, slowly skimming his hands across Iolaus' body, rousing him even more, but maintaining control so that he still couldn't cum. Iolaus wouldn't cum until he had Belisco's cock in his ass and that wouldn't happen until he begged. He continued stroking and caressing Iolaus, paying particular attention to his nipples, the palms of his hands, and the souls of his feet. He slowly brushed a finger across his lips, lightly tracing them. When Iolaus gasped, he moved his finger into his mouth, lightly caressing the sensitive areas inside his lip and behind his teeth. Iolaus' jaw trembled as he kept himself from sucking or licking at the finger, but he moaned when Belisco removed it.

He moaned again as Belisco traced the now wet finger down the underside of his jaw, down the neck, and along the collarbone. And when Belisco returned the finger to his mouth, he took it in eagerly, sucking until with a cry of realization he bit it.

Belisco chuckled and pushed at his tag until Iolaus lost a little more control and resumed sucking on the finger.

Pleased, Belisco removed his wet finger and started stroking Iolaus' hipbones with it. First one then the other. As he did so, he created a gentle current of air to run across Iolaus' body. Iolaus bowed his body at the sudden ecstatic sensation with a soft open-mouthed moan.

Belisco lowered his mouth to Iolaus' nipple caressing it with his tongue.

He gave openmouthed gasps of pleasure as Belisco continued stroking his hands along his body and mouthing his nipple. Belisco continued moving to the other nipple, increasing the effect of the tag again, increasing his arousal. Iolaus' sweat slick body convulsed in the chains as Belisco kept him on the impossible edge of arousal and moved him further and further past it.

Certain that Iolaus was no longer able to sort out pleasure and pain reliably, Belisco bit his nipple drawing blood. Iolaus screamed at the sensation, trying to figure out what happened. There was incredible pain, but he was so aroused and sensitized that it felt like pleasure too.

Belisco raised his head from Iolaus' chest licking blood off his lip. Iolaus moaned at the loss of sensation. "Yes..." Belisco drawled, leaning back down to bite the other nipple. Again, Iolaus screamed, at the combination of pleasure as Belisco flooded his system with hormones that aroused him even more, and pain from the bitten nipple. By the time the night was done, Belisco planned to irrevocably merge pain and pleasure together in Iolaus' sexual responses.

He clawed his fingernails, but this time he didn't tear as deeply, he carefully controlled the pain so that it mingled with Iolaus' ever-increasing need for release. Raking long painful gashes into him as he lightly stroked his tongue or air across his over sensitive skin causing simultaneous pleasure.

Iolaus trembled, moaning when he stopped, and moved down to work on his legs. He screamed in pleasure as his tongue started licking his inside thigh. He screamed again as Belisco raked his claws over his hips and licked along the hipbone at the same time. Then Belisco took his cock in his mouth. At the same moment, he pulled on the tag, this time mixing a burning sensation into the pleasure. But by this time, Iolaus couldn't tell pain from pleasure at all, and fiercely thrust his hips towards Belisco's mouth. Belisco continued sucking him without allowing him to cum. And continued the burning along his nerves.

Iolaus' body trembled in his grasp as he continued sucking and started raking his buttocks bloody.

Abruptly Belisco stopped and moved away from Iolaus to sit in the chair again. Iolaus trembled, covered in sweat and blood. His body aroused and desperate for release, pain mixed with pleasure, unable to tell whether his body's burning was agony or ecstasy. Iolaus trembled in darkness desperate.

Belisco continued increasing his arousal and waited.

He continued waiting until finally Iolaus begged.

"Please," Iolaus voice broke as he begged, "please."

Belisco still didn't move and stayed silent.

Crying Iolaus finally begged, "Please fuck me."

Belisco moved to the bed and positioned himself between Iolaus' spread legs. He quickly prepared Iolaus pushing two spit-wet fingers into him. Iolaus ignored the tearing pain as Belisco stretched him too quickly rocking back to get the fingers in deeper.

Belisco twisted his fingers till the brushed across his prostate and locked down on the tag as Iolaus arched and nearly reached orgasm. He removed his fingers and quickly entered him. Again, Iolaus couldn't separate the pain of entry from the pleasure of the swift strokes against his sweet spot.

Belisco roughly thrust back and forth into him his thrusts becoming easier as blood flowed around his cock. Iolaus started recognizing the pain, as Belisco became rougher, but Belisco again used the tag to bring him back to the edge. Belisco carefully watched as Iolaus drew closer and closer to release. Finally, when Iolaus' orgasm hit Belisco changed his pull on the tag setting every nerve in the body on fire causing unspeakable agony.

Iolaus screamed in agony and release, collapsing in a faint on the bed.

When he revived Belisco was again in the chair. He opened his eyes to darkness and Belisco's soft teasing voice, "I did say after you cum a few times."

Iolaus felt his body again reach arousal against his will and cried out, "No!" as the cycle began again. This time though he felt an undercurrent of pain in his arousal.

Belisco was gone. The room was clean. The blood and sweat soaked sheets once more clean and fresh. The crystal fragments and tokens of his murdered family and friends all cleared away by Belisco. Iolaus was clean and healed.

He rocked on the bed, curled by the headboard, trembling with cold and terror. He had no idea how long Belisco had played his games in the dark. He lost count as the cycle repeated, he remembered the fifth repetition of the cycle and knew there was a sixth and seventh. But he got those mixed up. The same with the next three rounds. He was fairly sure they'd gone through the cycle at least twelve times, but it might have been as many of fifteen. It didn't matter, he was certain that Belisco had won this game, by the end of the repetitions he aroused him solely with pain. And it worked and he came. He came hard, calling for the pain, desperate for the tearing and clawing. And the burning, he still didn't know what to call that whether it was pleasure or pain. It was pain when Belisco did it when he wasn't aroused, but what was it when he was? And it terrified him, because the pain was still pain, it hurt. The ripping pain of his ass tearing and skin parting under Belisco's claws, the bites, the broken bones. They all hurt, he was in agony most of the last several rounds, but his cock still got hard and the burning was agony but it was also irrevocably tied with reaching release.

He was terrified that Belisco had destroyed something permanently. That this warped version of joy was all he could ever know again. Iolaus rocked, clawing at his body, hating its betrayal. As he rocked he softly wept, "Jason, Hercules please find me. Please find me."

Part 35

Harmonia shivered. She was freezing again. She tried to decide whether to move back to the hole or to stay in the dim light close to Hecate. Finally, she decided that she was too weak, as comforting as it was to be closer to her aunt, she needed to move away from the energy sink. She slowly crawled around the edge of the cavern to the hole. Once there she collapsed and slept. She gradually woke up and took inventory: "I'm in a dark cold cave. There's an energy sink. I'm hungry. I'm filthy. And there are no potties: not even a port-a-toilet. Yeah - situation normal ALL FUCKED UP!"

She stood up looking around. She was fairly certain that she wasn't being watched, but, just in case, she played to a possible audience. "And I have now been in here for 15 days, 8 hours, and 58 minutes. I could give that in microseconds, but it would be much too depressing." As always, her tirade got no response. "It's a good thing I'm a goddess. A mortal would have DIED!"

The hole was close to the guards' barracks, so listening had paid off. Some of what she'd learned had surprised her and some was irritating. She sat back down by the hole, muttering to herself, "I don't believe this. I absolutely don't believe this!"

Her voice gained venom. "Belisco kidnaps me, throws me in this hole. A HOLE by the WAY that Hera and Poseidon, a.k.a. dumb and dumber, obviously KNOW ABOUT since they threw Hecate in here. And they CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE HE PUT ME!"

Most of the conversations she'd heard had been on that very subject. Apparently, Belisco did most of this while Hera and Poseidon were still out of it. And they didn't know where she was. Which, apparently put them and Belisco at a stalemate. They weren't happy with Belisco's taking ambrosia, stealing three chaos boxes, and a key of some sort. And he apparently thought they were plotting to kill him. She yelled in frustration again, "But Belisco knows where I am and the dingbat duo hasn't figured out that he

put me in their OWN DAMN CAGE!"

'On the bright side, Poseidon's guards and Belisco's warriors fought constantly which would please Dad no end. And Belisco obviously doesn't care about me.' Harmonia got up and started pacing carefully, keeping a hand in contact with the cave wall at all times. She had gotten turned around once and finally had to use the sink as a guide and bloody near fell in. The pacing warmed her up a little, but she needed to be out of here. She had made her way to the room entry. From there she could get to the energy sink, make her way around the pool, and get a drink of water. She gulped several mouthfuls of the cold water, very carefully not making any waves that would mix some of the energy sink in with the good water. She'd made that mistake too; it really really hurt to swallow even a little bit of the sink. And she'd collapsed unconscious for over a day after the burning stopped.

That done, she slowly made her way back the hole. She sat back in lotus position and considered her resources. Her memory was still perfect. So, she could recall each and every time she moved around the circumference of the cavern. All 168 trips. Her internal clock was working just fine. Therefore, she knew exactly how long each trip around the circumference took. And since she could do math just easily as normal, she could average the time to 38 minutes and 49 seconds. She still healed, although not nearly as quickly as she should, and she could still survive without food. However, constant hunger really sucked. As did being cold all the time.

She stopped.

Tears were running down her face and vanishing.

"I can't continue to go around that circle again. I still have the same basic questions. And I need to get out."

She took a deep breath.

Another. She continued taking deep breaths. When she was ready she started over.

Forcing her thoughts into order. She found that it did help to talk out loud.

"Assets: I can still think. The abilities that are part and parcel of the body remain. I just can't access any tags or pull and manipulate energy and matter. I can think, plot, and plan. The body works good. And I have information."

"Information," she stopped and rubbed her arms. "How to organize it. Okay, what do I know, what can I surmise, and what are pure guesses."

She leaned back against the cavern wall. "What do I know? Belisco didn't take out the family. And they are kicking butt." She smiled to herself and laughed a little. "I bet Hera's pissed to find out that Daddy Hep trapped the bows and arrows. I guess that goes in the surmise column." She thought a moment quietly. "And they're looking for us." She had a brief vision of Aunt Athena shaking her head at her. "I know Aunt Athena, but based on the personalities and motivations of those involved, that surmise is close enough to certainty that I'm putting it in the 'know' column."

She shivered violently and started rubbing her arms. "I know that Ostseth and Cerberus are free." She had occasionally heard them and once Ostseth had been at the hole, she'd just managed to pet him rubbing a finger against his mussel. The guards had made something else very clear. "And working together." She giggled remembering some of the guards' complaints. Cerberus and Ostseth had made their way to the kitchens and while Ostseth harassed the cooks Cerberus had peed all over dinner.

Another time, she heard a group complaining that Cerberus had charged a group, killing one, and then turned and run down a dead-end hall. The guards of course gave chase. They had forgotten about the landing dock two levels above. Once they were well down the hall and Cerberus was apparently trapped. Ostseth leapt from above closing their trap. Six more guards died before reinforcements arrived. Other complaints concerned ruined clothing and equipment shredded by Ostseth' claws or Cerberus' teeth. And at least once, they made it all the way to Poseidon and Hera's bedchamber. They weren't found there, but their leavings were. Dog pee and shit on the bed and shredded clothing and furniture. Apparently, they had even torn into one wall.

Reluctantly, she considered what she knew of Iolaus. "I know that Belisco brought him. I know he can't die." She stopped, realizing that she was again crying. "I don't want to think about what Belisco is doing to him." She wiped her face and nose on the sleeve of her flannel shirt.

She could hear yelling and commotion through the hole and leaned in trying to hear better. She couldn't really make out the words, but she could tell the guards were angry. She struggled to hear and the air was split...

"Nooo!"

"Iolaus!" she gasped as he screamed in rage and pain. She curled up next to the wall as his cries of fury and pain continued. Desperately trying not to think about what they were doing to him. She could hear cheers of encouragement, as the men urged each other to greater brutality. Several of the men sat down on a bench closer to her hole talking about what they were doing to him. Harmonia tried to tune them out, not wanting to hear. But she couldn't completely and caught scattered bits and pieces of their conversations.

"...tight ass..."

"...fuck him hard..."

"...sweet to pound into him..."

"...blood dripping from his wrists and ...

"...make him bleed, fuck him till he bleeds..."

"...killed Triscos and Sem..."

"...make him scream..."

The conversation made it all too clear that they were raping him and Harmonia cried softly. The bits of conversation and cheers continued interspersed with Iolaus' sporadic screams. After a few more minutes, Harmonia crawled away from the hole still crying softly. When she had moved far enough not to hear she stopped. And sobbed with guilt. She knew that she couldn't help him. And that he wouldn't even know she was there. But she simply couldn't leave him alone like that.

Sobbing, knowing that she could do nothing but listen, she crawled back, leaned against the rock, and listened as they raped him.

Then later, she heard an odd whistling ending in a loud crack. Whistle, crack. Whistle, crack. She tried to figure out what it was and suddenly realized that they were whipping him. As the sound continued, she curled into a ball shaking with rage, fisted her hands and wept.

Time passed. Twelve hours, eighteen minutes, forty-nine seconds.

Harmonia unclenched her hands when she finally realized that there was a small puddle of blood that had dripped from the torn, healed, and retorn skin. Iolaus' screams of pain were almost continuous. A keening agony that continued on and on.

Thirty-two hours, twenty-three minutes, sixteen seconds.

Harmonia finally understood the burning need that drove vengeance, causing vendettas. She felt blood rage for the first time and realized that she was more truly, than she had ever realized, her father's daughter. His screams were now rare, but when they came, they carried a bleak echoing desolation and despair.

Fifty-one hours, eleven minutes, nine seconds.

Harmonia had most of the voices sorted out and had learned many of their names. She put them into her permanent memory, now even if she was killed the memory could be read and vengeance taken. He'd been silent for six hours, nineteen minutes, thirty-two seconds.

Fifty-four hours, six minutes, twelve seconds.

Silence.

Harmonia uncurled. At first, she hoped it had ended, then she smelled death and started shaking.

""NOOOO!" He screamed again, this time with sheer stark terror. She indistinctly heard his plea, "Please don't," as the rapes resumed. This time the other warriors were silent. The only noise were Iolaus' whimpers and the rhythmic slap of the rapists' bodies pounding into Iolaus as they took turns.

Harmonia shook with silent implacable rage. "He dies," she whispered, "Belisco dies."

Fifty-seven hours.

Silence again. A murmur of comments she couldn't make out and then silence again. Harmonia's body collapsed as she realized that this was over. She was certain that something else had happened at the end, but could not figure out what.

Slowly, she became aware that her entire body was heaving with great sobs of helpless grief and fury. Her mind kept flashing back to her memories of him while he recovered from Belisco's earlier rape. She couldn't help but blend those memories with visions of how he would have looked while he was being raped. "Its not fair, oh Daddy, why didn't you keep this from happening?"

Finally, still weeping, her tears vanishing, she crashed headlong into sleep.

Hours later she started awake. She automatically checked her clock nineteen days, forty-eight minutes, three seconds. She shook her head as she realized that Ostseth was at the hole.

She could hear fighting in the background. Cerberus was growling occasionally, but mostly she heard the agonized screams of guards as she fought them. Ostseth was strangely silent, but Harmonia could hear his large metal claws scrapping against the stone and dirt by the hole.

There was a clicking sound and then Ostseth joined Cerberus in the fight. Harmonia quickly reached into the hole. It wasn't much larger, she still couldn't fit her entire hand in, but she fit three fingers. She scrabbled about for a moment finally feeling a leather thong.

She gently pulled, hearing clicking and clacking noises as something brushed against the rock. It caught on something and her fingers gently tugged and wiggled the thong until it moved again. She continued pulling, until, finally, she had it.

She sat up, moving slightly away from the hole along the wall. Then she examined it with her hands. One object was easy, a small key. The second took a moment. Then she realized that she'd seen it daily while she was with Uncle Hercules. Iolaus' manaia.

As she handled it, she gathered a few indistinct impressions from it, mostly from Iolaus, giving her an impression of his personality, but no complete memories. There were a couple, from Ostseth, those were clearer and concerned the fight. But the strongest impressions were from Cerberus. She tried to figure out when Cerberus would have had it. Finally, she remembered.

It had been a couple of days after Belisco's first attempt to break the shields. Iolaus and Cerberus were playfully wrestling and somehow Cerberus had gotten his manaia. She had it in one mouth with the thong dangling out the corner. Iolaus sat up and was trying to get it, and Harmonia laughed at the sudden memory, Cerberus had most of her weight on his legs and she was busy licking both sides of his face with her other mouths. Jason and Hercules were laughing in the background. Frustrated, Iolaus had finally laid back down muttering, "Go ahead and eat it dog breath. It's going to really hurt coming out the other end." At that Cerberus dropped the manaia letting Iolaus put it back on Then she laid down on top of him, a chin resting right on top of the manaia.

Harmonia quietly let the impressions wash over her. The battle first. She jerked slightly as she realized that Iolaus was coming for her when he was recaptured. Then vague ambivalent feelings of love and anger and a child's hurt. Then she felt the stronger emotions of joy and love, passion and desire. Finally, Cerberus. Adoration, fun, hugs, and warmth. Completion? Ancient puppy memories of play and joy. Aphrodite and her eyes.

"Mom?"

Harmonia continued holding the manaia, but got no more impressions. Finally, she shrugged in confusion and started examining the key. Nothing. She tried again. More nothing. It was a complete null.

She held the key, thinking. "Iolaus obviously felt it was important. It was the last thing he did before..."

She stopped and then resumed. "Okay he thought it was important. Of course, he also stabbed me with the Sword of Veracity." She felt the key. "It couldn't be." She sat back. "Of course, if it is and I don't check, I'd feel really dumb."

She slowly made her way around to Hecate's cage.

The dim light of the power line helped her as she fumbled the key into the lock.

And the cage door opened.

The bars thrummed a moment under her hands.

"Oh fuck," she drawled as realization dawned, "I bet that set off all kinds of alarms."

Deciding quickly, she pulled the thong over her neck, pulled off her flannel shirt, and wrapped it around the cage door bar. When she moved into the cage, the door automatically shut, her shirt keeping it from latching. A hum signaled the arrival of Hera and Poseidon. She grabbed Hecate's arm....

....and was pulled into a maelstrom of memories. As her aunt pulled energy from her, she collapsed to her knees, hearing Hera's laughter in the background. Shaking and nauseated she didn't respond. Abruptly the drain stopped. She felt Hecate's awareness and suddenly information and the power to use it flooded back into her.

She slumped as her aunt told her that the water behind her was of the Styx. Briefly, her aunt showed her how to change her body to breathe underwater, then screamed as Hera pulled on the power line and tore more energy from her.

As Poseidon and Hera approached the cage, Harmonia realized that they didn't have the power to do anything else. That with the sink they were as unable to access their power as she was hers. But they could overpower her. She glanced around the cage. Poseidon's hands were already on the door.

She saw a small rock and noticed a power crystal by the chair. Using her body to shield her hand, she picked up the rock. Hera still had her hand on the power flow.

She took a breath and heaved the rock as hard as she could at the crystal shattering it. Hera screamed and collapsed at the backlash. As she released the rock she leapt backwards into a handspring. Using the momentum, she somersaulted feet first into the door, forcing it open and ripping it out of Poseidon's hand and into his face. Blood spurted from his nose as he staggered back and fell. She fell back and rebounded with a second somersault that she used to propel her out of the cage this time landing on his legs. As he grabbed one leg, she used the other to ferociously stomp on his groin. She felt tissue give under her foot and there was a sharp smell of piss and blood. He shrilly screamed releasing her to clutch himself. Hera was still out. She checked that she still had the manaia and key and dove into the pool.

Freezing jagged shards of cold ripped through her and she choked back a scream of agony. Her body was robbed of energy and she desperately tried to not gasp for breath. Panicked, she tried to orient herself in the water and head for the small section that wasn't part of the Styx and there make the necessary adjustments to her body. She realized that she was floating up and heard Poseidon and Hera screaming above her. Desperate she flailed, trying to move down and her right hand hit a small pocket of warm water. She moved towards that small bit of comparative warmth.

The water lead to an area under a rocky ledge. The section was very small but she could fit her head into it. Once there she steeled herself, blew what little remaining air she had out, and took in a deep breath of water. As her body convulsed trying to not drown, she made the few changes as Hecate had directed. Her body convulsed twice more and then floated trapped under the ledge.

Completely still.

Part 36

Hermes paused looking around. He was in Demeter's favorite grove. He knew she'd gone to earth and he'd never tried to call her from it before when it was this cold and she was this deep. But he knew that she needed to know this and there were things she could pass along, that he didn't dare let *them* know directly. The grove itself was quiet and bare. The trees stark, branches burdened with snow and ice. The ground was crisp with snow and a thin crust of ice. There was no place to sit except the one large rock and that was where Demeter sat. So, he stood in the frozen grove preparing his call to her.

Absently, Hermes increased the temperature of the air surrounding him to offset the cold. Finally ready, he sank his mind to earth. First feeling the cold of snow, traversing through the top layer of cold hard earth. Moving past roots and seeds waiting for warmth, past the worms, and microbes. Small living and small dead things were ignored.

He moved, searching for the heat of Demeter's presence, until finally he felt her. Small warm tendrils of presence pulling power in from the sun and releasing it into the earth. Moving her power through the earth and helping it build the nutrients for next spring's crop. Now was when she did the greatest portion of her work. A truth that no mortal and few of the gods truly understood. All saw her move the crops from earth to sky in the spring encouraging their growth. But few knew that the true work was done before that, during late fall and the winter, when she readied the earth for spring, renewing it by pulling power from the sun and releasing it.

He slowly moved along the tendrils, searching for one that ran in the right direction, to her, instead of away. Finally, he found one and traveled by it carefully, not disrupting the power that flowed along it. As he neared her, his senses flooded with her power and he stopped, quietly calling for her, *Demeter.*

Although he was impatient, and as usual rushed, he waited. He knew better than to push when she was manipulating that kind of power. Finally, she responded, *Hermes I'm busy.*

*This will be worth the interruption,* he promised. His mental voice was full of barely repressed glee. *And it's important, too.*

He waited.

And waited yet longer.

Finally. *You are stubborn today.* Another long pause. *Very well, give me an hour.*

Satisfied he returned his mind, backtracking until he abruptly returned to an awareness of exactly how fucking cold it was to stand in snow and ice in a chiton. Shivering, he again increased the temperature of the air immediately surrounding him and debated on whether or not to make a place to sit. He finally decided not to. This was Demeter's Grove, and if she wanted him to sit she'd conjure up a rock. But he didn't want to start the conversation with her pissed. Even if she would calm down once she realized what was going on.

So he waited and ignored the calls of other family members who wanted him to take their messages, act as their herald, or get the gossip. However, he did take the time to review some of the incoming prayers, he even granted a few. Causing the guards after a young pickpocket to slip on a patch of ice, kind of handy having all the ice around. He conjured a horse for a messenger whose mount had floundered in the snow.

He reviewed a group of prayers from the merchants in Corinth. Not much he could do for them. Iphicles had seen the skyrocketing prices of food, blankets, and clothes and immediately ordered the prices down to preflood and ice levels and the few merchants who violated the orders were flogged. He was fairly certain that Iphicles would take off the restrictions when things got back to normal, but he wasn't going in to check. He didn't want to give Ares any reason to think he was interested in Iphicles. Instead, he ordered a few dreams from Morpheus: nightmares for the ones most likely to violate the edict, a nice relevant flogging scene and some good bright ideas for several others, including a reminder of just how much Iphicles would need them to rebuild Corinth next year.

As bad as Corinth was, Attica was worse. The news of Niobe's death had thrown the kingdom into utter turmoil. Warbands not controlled by Ares were moving in, and other kingdoms were looking to add territory. If something weren't done soon, the kingdom would be chopped to pieces. And there was already a plot to assassinate the young king. 'Shit! That would absolutely piss Ares off and he was pissed enough thank you kindly.' Hermes considered his options and finally decided that this was out of his league. He left a fast warning message for Ares tagged to his main altar in Corinth. He certainly spent enough time there, although most of it was fucking the king. He also ordered some additional nightmares. He wanted his followers out of any plotting and he wanted them out now. A few moments later he was satisfied. Every merchant and thief in Attica was going to have a miserable night. They would dream of warbands sweeping through the city proper and killing everyone. Heads and hands being chopped off. Soldiers taking and breaking merchandise without paying for it. And for the merchants the worst nightmare possible, their territory being chopped between a half dozen kings all with different currency and trade regulations.

As he finished he felt a disturbance in the earth and brought his full attention to Demeter's stone.

The earth didn't move as Demeter rose, at least not in a way that anyone except a God would feel. But he felt it, the careful shifting of molecules as they made room for her as she flowed upward.

He stepped back automatically as the water fountained from the earth glowing an unearthly white to settle in a vaguely woman shaped fountain. The flow continued rippling and as it settled more, the woman shape became more clearly defined. As Demeter took form, the water flowed around her outline. Her body became gradually more solid and real, and the water trickled to thin lines of blue and white flowing across skin and hair flowing down her back. Slowly, the last remnants flowed together creating a long chiton. Her figure became clear and sharp as the water slowly settled into its new form, giving off occasional ripples. Her eyes still held the final remnants of the white glowing water. Finally, even that dissipated and Demeter stood as he bowed in a slight incline. Showing her the respect due her age, status, and power, in this, her grove.

She smiled. "Stubborn and polite." She settled onto her rock. "This must be important."

She looked at him and frowned suddenly. "I thought you were 'sticking to old, chubby, and balding until someone took out Zeus'," she asked taking in his return to his young slender boyish body.

He grinned and held his tongue. He wanted his own rock. He was tired of standing.

"Zeus isn't dead -- I would have felt that." She realized that he wasn't talking until he got a rock and quickly conjured him one.

He slowly sat down adjusting his chiton, drawing out her anticipation. Finally, he started. "About two weeks ago, Zeus fell in love." He leaned in and his tone became very gossipy. "With someone very inappropriate.

Demeter shrugged a shoulder. "That's not very unusual."

"True. Zeus falls in love, or rather lust, with nearly every inappropriate mortal who walks in front of him." Hermes leaned towards her. "But this time it was *special* - a foreign goddess." She raised an eyebrow. "Beautiful, of course." His tone was matter-of-fact. "Graceful. Light. Delicate." He paused. "Married."

"And so?"

"True. It's not like he hasn't gone after married women before. But she wanted nothing to do with him. And she, Uma by the way, wasn't married to just any god. She was married to Shiva."

"Shiva?"

Hermes nodded.

"Shiva the Destroyer?"

"Yeah, that Shiva." Hermes shook his head. "And Zeus wasn't just in love. He was obsessed. Raving! I'd have suspected one of Cupid's arrows, except he's been involved with that mess between Ares and Hera and he *never* lets an arrow out of his sight."

"I don't see this Uma wanting him."

"Oh she didn't. Didn't want to have anything to do with him. Sent him away. Returned his gifts. Called him a 'dirty old God.' Generally gave the impression of completely despising him."

Hermes shook his head. "But you know Zeus. He had to have her. So he did all the things he normally does. More gifts. Promises of power. And when those didn't work. Love spells, shape-changing. And so on and so forth. She wanted nothing, and I do mean nothing to do with him."

"I've never known Zeus to take no for an answer."

"Of course not. But he needed to get Shiva out of the way." Hermes paused.

"He didn't." Demeter's eyes got wide.

"He did. No one knows exactly how he managed it but he imprisoned Shiva, at least temporarily."

"And he raped her?" Demeter shut her eyes against her own memories of being raped by him.

"He tried to rape her." Hermes corrected her.

"Tried?"

"He forgot something. Something very important." Demeter stared at him impatiently. He finally continued.

"The Hindu deities are all aspects of a single all encompassing deity. They're real and they are individuals. But they are joined and they share power much much more than we do. Shiva and Uma aren't so much married as they are the same person."

"He tried raping Uma and got Shiva?"

"Actually, he probably would have ended up in fewer pieces if he had. But no, the Shiva aspect was well and truly trapped."

"Then?"

"Ever heard of a goddess called Durgha?"

"Durgha, Durgha. A protector of some kind?"

Hermes started laughing. "You could call her that. She's another aspect of Uma, also Shiva's consort. But she's a tad, just slightly, more dangerous." His voice was filled with laughing sarcasm.

"Hermes! Give!" Demeter ordered exasperated.

"Durgha the Invincible. The Demonslayer. Rides a huge lion. Durgha. The one with between 8 and 32 arms - all holding weapons - Durgha!

Demeter is silent her eyes growing large.

Hermes is starting to choke with laughter. "Apparently, he's got Uma by an arm and she shifts and he ends up with a really really *pissed* Durgha. With all 32 arms and lots of nice sharp implements."

He stopped letting her get a picture of Durgha in her mind.

"Remember when Ares settled the question of whether the Sword of War could damage a god."

"I was there. He cut off Zeus' balls. It's a little hard to forget." Demeter smiled. "I've had a soft spot for Ares ever since."

"Yeah well Durgha's weapons are made of the same stuff." Hermes shook his head. "She sliced, diced, and slashed him into so many pieces, that even if they find all of them, it may take years to put him back together. And since he wasn't in Greece - he couldn't just go out and make a new body."

Hermes smiled breaking into laughter as Demeter leaned back and laughed. They were both clutching their sides and trying to get their breaths. After long minutes of laughter they quieted.

Hermes continued, "He's down for the count. At least two to three years and probably closer to a decade." He leaned forward again grinning. "You know if Strife wasn't dead, I'd suspect him of setting this up. It is *so* his style."

Demeter smiled and sent him off track. "Yes, but Strife doesn't mix much with foreign gods and wouldn't risk angering such powerful ones."

"But Uma is also Shasti, who protects children and Shiva despises Zeus." Hermes rejoined probing.

"But would Shiva let Uma be at risk?"

Hermes considered whether to keep probing and decided that if she were willing to tell him she already would have. So instead, he moved to the next item, Apollo. "Probably not. But it doesn't really matter, Zeus is in pieces and of course Apollo's had a rough week, too."

"Really?" Demeter knew part of the story, but wanted to confirm parts.

"Well first off, that nutjob that Hera and Poseidon made a God started hitting Hestia, Cupid, and Aphrodite's temples. Athena immediately declared neutrality and tossed their people out and shut her temples to both parties."

"Yes well I doubt that Apollo was in a position to do that." Demeter knew this part and she knew the Ares had had a talk with him and cut a deal. She just didn't know Hera's response.

"Rumor is that he's in bed with her. But he's not. She hasn't slept with anyone since Hebe was born.

Demeter straightened

Hermes smiled, realizing that they didn't have that piece of information. "I got it from the muses and believe me *they* would know. Aphrodite could check it out too. So they may be 'in bed' together, but they're not fucking in it."

He stretched out pausing to let her consider that. "No, she's feeding him extra energy. And there's another piece I couldn't find out. But I know she's been feeding him for years."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he just got taken off the tit." Demeter raised an eyebrow and Hermes grinned. "Apparently, Ares showed up at his temple a day or so ago and dropkicked him a couple of times. They cut some kind of deal and Hera was *seriously* pissed." Hermes' grin got bigger. "Somehow he managed it so that Apollo not only made a crappy deal, but that he didn't know and ran to Hera to brag." He shook his head.

Demeter shook her head in mock sadness. "He and his twin always did lack a certain level of sense."

That made Hermes choke on laughter. "Yeah well, if you mean that he's dumb as a stump, that's true."

"So she cut him off, how bad is he?" Demeter asked, curious about how much Apollo had relied on Hera.

"Couldn't light a candlestick or rape a muse."

"Well I can't say that I sympathize with him. He was long ago warned that allying himself with Hera was as bad a mistake as allying himself with Zeus. Hestia's policy of strict neutrality is the wisest course."

Hermes looked at her seriously for a moment. "Unless there's another alternative." He was treading dangerous grounds with this probe.

"There isn't, only Hera and Zeus want the job." Demeter shook her head. "And that is their primary disqualification."

"Ares?" Hermes inquired.

She shrugged. "Ares is happy as the God of War. He likes blood and battle. He doesn't really like the kind of in-fighting that comes with Zeus' mantle."

Hermes looked at her trying to decide if she was telling the truth. Demeter realized that she needed to nip this - now.

"Hermes, he *doesn't* want the job. He might support someone to take over, but not Hera and not Hades. He said that anyone who wanted the job shouldn't get it and that he would be terrible at it. For all the reasons he's a good God of War." She finished seriously. "Don't go there."

Hermes sat back, nodding his understanding. He got up to leave. "Demeter, Hebe is hiding in my temple. She's pregnant by Zeus."

Demeter shuddered; Hebe had kept her body at a very gangly teenager for centuries for much the same reason Hermes kept his appearance that of a middle-aged, flabby balding man, protective camouflage.

"What happened?" she asked.

"She won't say. She's terrified and not just of Zeus. Just mentioning Apollo or Ares sets her off. I tried to find Eris, but couldn't."

Demeter stood up. "Send her to the Furies." With that final statement, her body shifted to a glowing white fountain of water and she flowed back into the earth.

Hermes vanished, considering her final suggestion, realizing that it meant that the rumors that Eris and Celesta were there were most likely true. He appeared in his own power place. A deceptively simple looking windmill along the coast. He released some of his will, allowing a portion of his spirit to float into the wind and gathered energy as he merged with the windmill and pulled it from the wind about him.

As he gathered power, he considered the conversation. He'd managed to let them know that Apollo was out of the fight, and that Zeus was definitely down for count. He couldn't confirm Strife's involvement, but Demeter hadn't actually denied it. He considered his plans. Ares didn't want the throne, but he'd support someone else, but not Hera. He knew that Hades stopped wanting it a long time ago. He learned that in a long ago drunken conversation between him, Dionysus, and Hades. They'd done their own what ifs that night. He was pretty sure that Ares would come to the same conclusion. He needed to visit Dionysus and some of the younger gods and start pushing them the right direction.

Subtly of course, he was after all, the God of Guile. He smiled well satisfied with the afternoon's work.

part 37

Harmonia came to in pieces. First a disjointed awareness of wet and cold. Feeling it first on her hands, then against her cheek, then shivering. Along with that, she felt an occasional roughness against her face. Then the strange sensation of heaviness in her chest as she breathed. As fragmented memories returned she connected that awareness with the odd liquid sensation in her throat. Finally, she remembered her escape and understood she was still in the pool and she was breathing water.

She shook her head and felt the wet tendrils of her hair brush against her cheek and neck. She stilled herself a moment, cautiously opening her eyes, blinking against the cold water. Slowly her eyes focused in the darkness, and she waited, allowing them to adjust further. Eventually, she could make out the blurred shapes and fuzzy outlines of the rocks. She carefully tried to stretch her awareness out and found that she was still nearly powerless. Only the influx of power from Hecate allowed her to make the changes. Wriggling, she confirmed that she still had Iolaus' thong with both his manaia and the key. She carefully tucked it into her t-shirt.

She took a deep breath of water.

Then she took another, filling her lungs completely.

Frightened and shaking, she steeled her body, reached back to grasp the outcropping protecting the small pool of fresh water, and pushed back and down deep into the Styx's freezing current. She entered the main channel, her body convulsing as the Styx tore energy from her. Stubbornly she used her hands and feet to push herself deeper, swimming strongly. Her lungs quickly processed the oxygen in her last deep breaths of pure water. Fear nibbled at the edges of her awareness. She'd never been so vulnerable. She still vividly remembered what her one accidental swallow of the Styx had done. As the lungs burned the last bit of oxygen she desperately searched for another

outcropping which might hold a small pool of clean water. Her muscles burned with exertion and oxygen starvation as she stretched to the limit. Her lungs tightened, as sharp desperate signals indicated that she needed to breathe. She exhaled the water, and slowly relieved the pressure. She realized that she had only seconds as her already limited vision fogged, and she desperately fought the overwhelming urge to breathe.

In the cavern above, Hera and Poseidon stood. Both had lost most of their own energy, but they had reestablished a link with Hecate and ruthlessly pulled power from her. Poseidon had left for a short time to heal himself and to obtain a weapon. He moved to the pool and held his hand over it. It held a bowl glowing with power. It dimmed slightly as the energy sink drew some power from it.

But Poseidon simply smiled and turned it over. Slowly, a glowing serpent shape squirmed out hissing. It seemed to cling to the edge of the bowl for a moment and then with a small splash fell into the pool. The pool flared a bright sickening chartreuse. The now fully-grown monster stuck its head up out of the pool roaring in fury. While not as large as a deep sea serpent, it was still intimidating. The body was a sinuous black, with light lines of glowing chartreuse. As it roared, it displayed multiple rows of sharp shark-like teeth. Unlike its larger cousins, this serpent generally couldn't swallow large items whole, instead it tended to slash its victims apart before eating. It also had rows of tentacles spaced along its body in groups of eight. Each group of eight had two sets of four tentacles. One set was longer than the other and did the initial grab, they were lined with two rows of suckers that would attach to anything and could be released only by a chemical secreted by a gland within. The other set had sharp rows of teeth that could wrap around its prey and slice through its body, literally cutting through bone. All of the tentacles had the ability to sense changes in current and temperature aiding her in seeking her victim.

Poseidon quickly put Harmonia's image into its mind. Then dismissed it to hunt.

Clio was in her personal study on Olympus close to her beloved books, scrolls, and crystals. She knew that Hephaestus had sent her up here to get her out of the way while he worked on some illicit plan with Aphrodite. But she didn't care. She would do absolutely anything for him. She'd been a little nervous when she first learned that her bond was being moved from Apollo to Hephaestus. She rarely saw Hephaestus and frankly, Ares scared the Tartarus out of her. But she figured that it had to be better than being bound to Apollo and used at his whim. She shuddered, trying to concentrate on her research, and, after a few minutes of reviewing the same scroll several times, she gave up. She was simply going to have to think this through.

Hephaestus on the other hand was very patient with her and didn't expect sexual favors. He gave clear instructions, what a welcome change from Apollo's garbled nonsense. And he explained why he wanted something done, allowing her to use her own resources and knowledge. Apollo tended to keep her in the dark. Besides which, as frightening as Ares was - and he absolutely terrified her - he was enormously better than Hera and Zeus. She tried to analyze her feelings for Hephaestus. She knew she had a slight crush on him. But she also respected him.

She snorted in disgust. "I lust after him, pure and simple," she stated and then giggled.

"And it's a good thing that Aphrodite isn't the jealous type," Athena's voice came from behind her.

Clio whirled falling off her chair. As she landed in an ignominious heap on the floor Athena walked forward. "Y-y-you shouldn't be here," Clio stammered out.

"Why ever not," responded Athena as she examined the disorderly scrolls, crystals, and books on Clio's large worktable. Then she analyzed the model Clio was working on.

Clio scrambled up dismissing the model and slamming all of the books closed with her mind. As she did that she grabbed her notes from Athena's grasp and rolled the scrolls. In seconds her entire work area was clear.

"You're Hera's ally and you shouldn't be here. This area is closed to her allies." Clio gasped, out stilling her trembling as she realized that Athena was armored and armed.

"Relax," Athena purred, "I'm neutral." She turned around slowly, examining the room. It hadn't really changed over the last several centuries: a large worktable against one end of the room, a smaller desk against the other, and a chair and small table against the third. She raised an eyebrow; "Do you know that you are still the only one with a triangular tower?"

"I like it," Clio said firmly, "and I really think you should leave."

Athena shrugged. "If you insist. But you do know that I despise Hera only slightly less than Zeus. With Zeus in *pieces* I really don't see a need to maintain my alliance with Hera. Besides, I wanted to let one of you know that I like where you're going with this. Hermes raised some interesting points. Let Ares know that as long as its not him or Hades, I won't stand in the way."

Clio remained silent concealing her absolute utter confusion.

Athena waited a moment. "All right," a small blue crystal appeared in her hand, "a gesture of good faith." She held the crystal out to Clio who instinctively stepped back. Athena sighed impatiently. "It should help with Belisco. He's dangerous and uncontrollable."

"And that matters to you?" Clio asked doubtfully.

"I can't anticipate him," Athena said angrily, "that matters to me."

Clio held out her hand to take the crystal, carefully examining it for traps.

Athena handed it to her and vanished.

Clio quickly put the crystal in a status box and sat down, considering what to do. 'I definitely need some help...' she thought, '...and quickly.' And what exactly is Hermes up to. She quickly ran through the list of allies. Hephaestus, she quickly checked him. He was still busy, which let out Aphrodite and Cupid, too. Hades, oh no, absolutely not. Eris, she started shaking at the thought, she scared her as much as Ares, and she didn't have his sense of humor. Okay, well what about Celesta, ah no, she's with Eris. Charon, she shook her head, he's a little busy. The mortals and demigods, no they couldn't actually do anything helpful about this. Persephone, Demeter, Hestia, Dionysus. They were all gone to earth and unavailable.

That left Ares. She took a deep shuddering breath. No wait, she realized, Psyche!

"Psyche!" she called. She waited a moment and called again, "PSYCHE!"

"All right already," Psyche appeared "What's up?"

Clio quickly told her what had happened. Psyche shrugged and yelled, "ARES!"

"Oh no," Clio squeaked cringing, burying her face in her hands.

Ares appeared clearly irritated. Clio peaked out from behind her hands and at the sight of blood all over his clothes shuddered and clapped them back over her eyes.

Psyche looked impatiently at Clio and finally shrugged repeating the information to Ares.

He absentmindedly patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks for calling me. I'll take care of it." Psyche shrugged and disappeared.

Clio had slid to the floor and was trying to disappear. Ares knelt beside her.

"Clio," he softly got her attention.

"Uhm, I'm scared of you," she confessed in a whisper.

Ares battled to keep his humor from showing. Embarrassing her wouldn't help. "I noticed," he replied matter-of-factly. "Since I'm the God of War, that's an appropriate reaction."

Clio reluctantly put her hands down and started uncurling. "Actually its not you." At his confused look, she tried to explain. "Well not particularly you, I mean, not only you..." She stopped. "Actually, I'm terrified of almost all the other gods.

"Oh." Ares helped her up noticing her trembling as his hand touched her arm. He choked down his rage realizing that the level of fear she was showing came from longterm abuse. Unfortunately, he wasn't the one to help her deal with it and he didn't have *time* right now. He added it to his growing list of things to handle after they retrieved Harmonia and Iolaus and stopped Belisco.

"Where's the crystal?" She retrieved it and handed it to him. He noticed that she seemed to calm down when he moved back, so he went to the other side of the room to examine it. Finally satisfied that there were no traps he handed it back to her. "It doesn't have any traps, but the information is too technical for me to know if it's helpful."

She immediately started examining the information: first overviewing the entire crystal, then going back and tagging portions for in-depth study. As she worked through some of the theories on the crystal, she brought back her study materials. Within minutes, her study was littered with scrolls, books, and crystals. Ares started as music started humming through the strange triangular room. Then he noticed some crystals set into the wall and realized that she must use the music automatically when she works. Shortly after that, she brought back her model of the chaos box. Ares watched for a short time then started working on her shielding. He didn't want her getting any more unexpected visitors.

About two hours later he completed his work. She was deeply into her own studies and appeared to have completely forgotten that he was in the room.

He deliberately made some noise before softly calling, "Clio."

She still started turning abruptly and loosing her balance. This time she managed to stay seated.

"Is it helpful?"

"Yes," she said immediately returning to her work.

"Clio," he called a little louder. She turned again looking at him with confusion. "Can you copy what you have for Hephaestus?"

"Oh. Um, of course." A moment later she handed him a new crystal and frowned. "What did you do to my shields?"

"Fixed them." He took the crystal and disappeared.

She frowned at the space where he had been. Then shrugged and returned to her work.

Harmonia's right hand brushed an outcropping. As she continued moving, she grabbed with her left hand, cutting it slightly on the rough rock. With her last desperate strength, she pulled herself into the small hollow under it. She couldn't tell whether it was pure water or part of the Styx, but it no longer mattered. Her lungs made the decision for her and inhaled.

Water.

She continued breathing, her body clamoring for oxygen as she continued taking deep breaths. She moved further in and realized that she could pull her legs and curl into the hollow. She gently did so. As she got her entire body out of the Styx her power loss slowed to a trickle. She continued restoring her body and resting for the next lap. Hoping that the next water pool was closer.

A few moments later she felt a swift current rush by her. Curious she peeked out. Her eyes widened as she saw a set of swiftly moving glowing chartreuse serpents heading for her. 'What in Hades are they?' she wondered. As they continued growing nearer, she realized that *they* were an it and that *it* was a monster.

'Oh shit,' was her last thought before ducking into the hollow and taking a huge gasp of clean water. Then she flung herself back into the Styx. Swimming powerfully, searching for another niche or hollow of clean water.

She could feel it overtaking her as the water currents got stronger as it propelled itself forward. Again, her body quickly became desperate for oxygen. Her hand brushed an outcropping. With a desperate lurch, she ducked in breathing out then in deeply. Then she pushed off from that trying to build some speed.

The thing had gained ground. She could occasionally feel a tentacle brush by her. So far, she had been just out of their reach, but she knew that luck couldn't hold. She continued searching now, not only for one of the precious pools of clean water, but also for something, anything, to use as a weapon.

Floating on power, drifting out and out and further, stretching to the outmost. Aphrodite continued her search. She had been right, by using Hephaestus and his forge as the primary anchor for Cupid, then anchoring to her son, she had been able to both extend and deepen her search. But she still couldn't find them.

Not Harmonia.

Not Iolaus.

Not Cerberus.

She heard Cupid calling her back on the periphery of her awareness. At first she could ignore his anxious calls, "Mother come back. Mother." But as he became more agitated and alarmed, she couldn't ignore his voice. She sent back a small tendril of reassurance and stretched yet further.

"Mother!" This time his alarmed voice didn't impact her at all, she was too distant and too busy searching.

"APHRODITE!" Hephaestus' alarmed shout brought her up short. "Get. Back. Here. NOW!" She suddenly felt herself reeled back in.

Once back in her overextended and power drained body, Aphrodite reeled off her rose petal. Cupid caught her, helping her to the bed pillows at one edge of the room. She looked at him as she slipped into the oblivion of either sleep or unconsciousness. Her son was exhausted, worry lines traced around his face. Fatigue apparent in every move and gesture. He was nearly as drained as she was. "Cupid," she whispered, "I'm sorry."

Cupid patted her hand reassuring her, "It's alright Mom. I know we have to find them." He watched her, carefully fed her a strand of power from the reservoir. As he fed her, he soaked up power himself renewing his own levels. He carefully checked the reservoir levels and shuddered. Even with all this, it was barely tapped. The reservoir had sat still and quiet, unused for centuries as Aphrodite slowly added to it. Now they were using it and currents writhed under its surface bubbling up in power bursts. He was fairly certain that father and Daddy Hep knew that she had a power reservoir hidden. Actually, most gods had one or two squirreled away. But none so powerful and none connected to the power place the way hers was. Even he hadn't realized just how much she'd stored over the centuries. Now he couldn't help but wonder just what she had stored it for and how she ever intended to safely use it. No god he knew or had heard of could focus that much power without burning out.

He felt a small dislocation in the air and turned to face it.

Daddy Hep.

He stood swaying slightly.

Hephaestus caught him lowering him to the floor beside his mother. "Cupid, go to sleep," he softly ordered.

Cupid nodded slightly, already drifting off.

Hephaestus sat watching his wife sleep. As he watched her, his mind drifted over time and place remembering all the anger and rage of their early relationship. She fled him as soon as the vows were made and disappeared. He searched for her the entire time. At first, he thought she had taken shelter with Ares. He still remembered confronting his brother. It was the first time since Zeus ordered him to beat Ares that they had seen each other.

Enraged, Ares had him by the shoulders and was pounding him against the wall. Hephaestus could still hear his yell of rage, "What do you mean where is Aphrodite? You married her!"

"She disappeared with Cupid!" Hephaestus remembered his own furious rage, then the dawning realization that Ares didn't have her. He could see the same terrible thought in Ares' eyes as he let go of his shoulders.

The terror that somehow Zeus had gotten her.

They worked together for the next decade, searching for her, and, in the search, rebuilding their own shattered relationship, eventually becoming lovers. As time went on, they learned that she was still walking the mortal world, her work there completed. That she picked up messages left in her temples and where and how she would, acted on her fellow gods' requests. As more time passed they realized that she somehow was free of the blood binding Zeus had set. She ignored his summonses, and on occasion his orders.

When she did return with Cupid, she moved back to her own temple refusing to see or speak with him. She resumed her relationship with Ares, although, this time only as occasional lovers, but she still had his children, Deimos, Phobos, and, most recently, Harmonia. She visited Hades and Celesta often, and frequently she and her children would play with Cerberus. Although now, only she, Cupid and Harmonia played with Hades' guard dog and soul tracker.

And when she wasn't with Ares, sometimes he was. Until a few years ago when Iolaus had brought her to his forge and they discovered each other. And he had finally discovered that love up close was better than love afar.

His eyes continued watching his lover, his wife. He watched her chest rise and fall with each breath, her soft hair falling over her face, her eyes moving under her lids as dreams held her. He watched and loved, gently moving a lock of hair off her cheek and gently stroking it.

He watched and allowed his love to flow through him, simply feeling joy.

'Hephaestus,' Ares voice softly echoed in his mind. Slowly he focused on the here and now.

And replied, 'Yes Ares?'

His mental voice was strong and excited, Hephaestus focused more clearly, 'Clio has something. I want you to see it.'

'I'm with Dite and Cupid.'

Ares appeared, "Not a problem," he joked, striding over. He handed Hephaestus a crystal. "Any reason why they're using your forge and not the reservoir?"

"They're using both. I and the forge are anchoring, and the reservoir is powering," Hephaestus replied automatically, then jerked.

Ares shrugged. "She has to have a reservoir, I just don't know how strong." That last part came out as a question.

"Strong enough to power their search." Hephaestus deliberately limited his reply to that. He wasn't sure exactly how much power the reservoir held...all he knew was that it contained more than enough for the search.

Ares examined the room and the power tendrils still floating free from the last search. He attempted to follow them to the source and ran into another of Aphrodite's shields. He gave up when he saw Hephaestus watching him. "Well, you're right...she has more than enough for the search."

"So does the stuff on the crystal help?" Hephaestus shifted his awareness to the crystal following Clio's tags and notes. Several minutes later he heard Ares impatiently clearing his throat. "Well?"

"There are some possibilities," Hephaestus finally responded, "I need to look at them more closely."

"Then go do it," Ares growled, "I'll watch them."

Hephaestus struggled to get to his feet as his lame leg refused to support him. Ares reached down and pulled him up. Initially Hephaestus pulled away from him. Then he leaned in allowing Ares to feed him some energy. Ares held him close feeding him power and pouring energy through the muscle spasms, soothing them and easing his brother's pain. As he pulled free, he whispered in his brother's mind, 'You know we really do need to take Aphrodite up on that threesome offer.'

Hephaestus chuckled as he disappeared.

Harmonia pulled herself into another hollow. The monster was too close and she was slowing down. This hollow was a little larger and she had some maneuvering room. She quickly took off her hightops and tied them together, creating a very primitive and unbalanced set of bolos. She took several deep breaths of pure water, and, as the monster's first set of tentacles appeared she threw the shoes around them. She knew the binding wouldn't last long and she took off swimming as quickly as she could. She heard and felt thrashing behind her, and, realizing that her adversary would be free, quickly poured on another burst of lung tearing speed. She saw another hollow and headed for it. This one lead to a narrower passage.

She quickly assessed her situation. She had outdistanced the monster, but she knew it was only temporary. She still had no weapons. She stretched out, trying to determine which direction the Styx flowed. She quickly realized that the passage followed the Styx. In fact, only the top part of the water was pure, the lower portion was Styx. She hesitated, concerned that she might end up going the wrong way or trapped in an area with no pure water. Then she heard the monster's cry of rage. That decided her and she dove into the passage, taking a desperate chance.

She felt, more than heard, the monster's pursuit. It was faster. She wondered if it had been toying with her earlier. Banishing that thought, she continued her race. Squirming more than swimming through the narrower points in the passage. Maybe the monster couldn't follow her through. As she continued, she pulled herself up and found some more pure water on top of the Styx flow. She took a fast breath and continued. If her luck held, the passage would be like that throughout, pure water on top and Styx below.

She continued, hearing the monster behind her, realizing that the narrowness slowed it down, but didn't stop it. Tentacles explored ahead and she felt a pair brush against her legs. She frantically pulled herself forward and at least temporarily out of its reach. A few more strokes later and she again went up for breath. That slowed her and again the monster brushed its tentacles against her legs. This time it was faster than her and four tentacles wrapped themselves around her right shin gripping firmly and pulling her back.

Celesta called urgently for Hades, 'Brother come!' As he responded to her urgent mindcall, Celesta called Thanatos and Eris to her as well. Several souls had appeared out of nowhere followed by what she recognized as Belisco's spirit hounds. In seconds, they appeared, prepared to fight alongside her. This was a part of Hades and his cohorts' duties that mortals didn't know. There were always things out there, beings that would take the souls in her charge and use them for their own ends. Hades, Thanatos, and she stood against them. Guiding souls safely to Hades for judgment or for those who still needed to journey in this life to rebirth.

Hades quickly took in the situation and called several off his guard to them. "Celesta take the souls into your keeping and get them to safety."

Celesta responded by opening her arms, suffusing her body with light and calling the dead to her. The souls went to her soft light eagerly. Ready for the peace of death.

As Hades saw them moving to her he continued barking orders, "Thanatos, Eris, guard her path." They moved to guard positions, both drawing their weapons. Hades deployed his warriors, "Hold those animals and bar their way." He drew his own weapon and moved the helmet of invisibility into place. As he vanished, Celesta knew that the battle was on.

Suddenly they were overrun, as yet more of Belisco's spirit dog pack appeared. Thanatos' scythe and Eris' sword made short work of them. Souls continued to dive into Celesta's body filling her with their emotions: terror, rage, love, joy, sorrow and their memories: walking on the beach, fighting, making love, bearing children, cooking. She allowed them to flow into her, automatically sorting them and assuring that they got all their emotions and memories back and in the right soul. As two of the dogs slipped past Eris and Thanatos' guards she raised a hand throwing lightning at them. The bolts hit one squarely, the other twisted out of the way and continued its charge. She caught it by the throat with her still upraised hand and squeezed, breaking its windpipe. It healed in the hands and twisted, its claws slashing her arm and teeth turning to gnash at her wrist and hand. She ignored her cuts and the blood pouring out, focusing her will on destroying Belisco's animal.

Eris twisted around as she heard the animal's cries and with a single blow cut off its head. Celesta ignored the spurting blood and dropped the corpse. Thanatos quickly killed the last two and the three started moving for the exit from this level.

The path out was a twisty ribbon of impossibility looping endlessly back on itself. The ribbon itself led to nowhere and nothing. It was the mind's action on the ribbon that forced it to lead to an exit. So, Celesta exerted her will over it, creating order and a trail.

As they ran Thanatos gasped out, "You know this is just like rollerblading only faster, and more twisty."

"What are you talking about?" Eris yelled back.

"Rollerblading!" He continued to explain as they ran. "Its this really cool sport they do in that realm Strife is..." He broke off abruptly yelling...

"DUCK!"

As Eris ducked and rolled, Thanatos' scythe whipped out and cut the lead dog in the attacking pack in half. Celesta vaulted over the head half as the tail half collided with Eris. Eris grimaced, ignoring Thanatos' yelled apology as she found herself harried by three of the attacking pack. Two had her sword arm, one by the shoulder, its teeth biting deeply into the muscle and sinew preventing her from moving the arm. The other had her by her forearm. She could feel that one's teeth down to her bone. The third had hold of her opposite leg. She involuntarily screamed as her forearm broke. Ignoring the pain, she retrieved her dagger and slashed backwards, blinding the dog latched to her shoulder with her first gash. As it released she was able to move her arm and stabbed the dog attached to her leg. It let go and died. She vaulted to her feet, and, in a single movement, side slammed the head of the blinded dog with her foot smashing its skull and thrusting her dagger deeply into the skull of the final dog still chewing on her arm.

Finished with them she took in the rest of the battle. Celesta had another dog by the throat and three still smoldering corpses nearby. Thanatos had a pile of dog parts surrounding him. As she started moving to Celesta the remaining dogs retreated.

Celesta dropped the dog she had just killed, rushing to her lover. Thanatos took one look at the remaining pack and yelled, "Time to move, they're regrouping." He leaped over and grabbed Eris, "Sweetpea forget about the arm for now, get that leg working." Nodding grimly Eris poured energy to the leg quickly and painfully speeding the healing process. The dogs were on their way back by the time she could move.

Celesta focused trying to shorten the trail. Memories and scenes sped by, some hers, but most her passengers. This was the longest part. Somehow, her passengers had to reconcile their memories before she got to the gate. Otherwise, this path would leave them mad. She knew that several parts of her mind were focused on them. Each passenger guided by their own personal Celesta helping them through this place. Normally she focused more on those fragmented bits of her, guiding them through the process. This time it required all her conscious power just to stay on the path.

Another attack came. This time they were better prepared and Eris and Thanatos got them all before they got to her. But when they resumed Celesta noticed that the trail had new barriers. "Shit! Belisco's trapped the trail!" She focused ahead, finding and removing traps. They continued, but

this time more slowly. Finally, after several more attacks they neared the end. Spying the great barrier and its gates, Celesta called forward, "Ware the gate!" Only Hades, Thanatos, or her could actually open that particular gate, but they still had it guarded.

In the distance, she could see Hades and his guards approaching from the other direction. Like her group, they were harried by Belisco's packs. They didn't dare slow their own approach. Instead with a sudden twist of thought she cut the ribbon trail behind her and flung her and her party to the gates.

Within the great metal and bone of the gates she led them to a small door set within and sang it open with a series of notes. She flung Eris in by the arm following her. Thanatos rushed through, colliding with them and sending them all sprawling. Two of the dogs also made it through before the guards could slam the door closed. Still tangled up, none of them could strike quickly enough. However, three of the guards closed, keeping the dogs off them while they other guards herded them to safety.

They sank to the floor of the guardhouse gasping for breath. The guards quickly brought a horrid concoction of wine and honey laced with some healing plants that grew in the Elysian Fields. It was reviving, but tasted dreadful. Somehow, the three managed to choke it down, pulling energy from

it and from the earth. They quickly grabbed glasses of water to try and work the taste out of their mouths. As their power level steadily increased, they started the job of healing themselves of the bites and gashes the packs had left.

A few moments later they heard the main gates open and tensed for a renewed attack. A sudden explosion of power shook the wall, guardhouse, and gate. Seconds later they heard the gates shut. They looked at each other shrugging. Moments went by, before several of the guards appeared, half carrying Hades.

Protesting, Hades insisted that he was fine and tried to walk. He fell to his knees and his men carried him in to collapse beside his sister. As his shaking hand unhooked his cape and shoulder plates one of the guards offered him a goblet of the wine concoction. He shook his head refusing. Celesta elbowed him in the side sharply. He turned to glare at her.

"M'Lord Hades," the guard began, "your standing orders..." his voice trailed off at Hades' glare.

"...are to pour the wine down the throat of anyone who falls through that gate instead of walking." Celesta finished for the guard smoothly taking the goblet from his hand. "Brother." She offered it to Hades. Eris looked down trying to suppress giggles. She knew exactly how often the guards had recited that particular order to her lover over the last several centuries. Because every time they did, Celesta complained about how horrible that stuff tasted.

Slowly Hades accepted the goblet with a shaking hand, and, grimacing at the taste, drank it down in a single gulp. Shuddering as the power surged through him he complained, "Gods that is awful!"

Thanatos and Celesta both burst out laughing, Thanatos adding through chuckles, "So we keep telling you boss!"

Still laughing Celesta asked, "Does that mean you're going to change the order?"

Grabbing for some water Hades shook his head. After he'd finished a glass he explained. "The basic theory is still good. Anyone who can't make it through the gates on their feet needs the stuff. But maybe we can improve the taste?"

Frantically Celesta gasped out, "Please don't! That's how the honey got added and it made it taste worse. Unfortunately the honey speeds up the reaction, so it works better." She concluded firmly, "No more experiments."

Eventually they stopped laughing, and Eris asked, "What exactly did you do?"

Hades grinned, a wolfish smile that he had taught Ares millennia ago. "I have a small power reserve I keep out there for little emergencies like that one." He turned to Celesta. "Did you get all of them?"

"Yes. And they are a batch of ones Belisco took. All I've gotten so far is that somehow Iolaus freed them."

Hades stared at her in disbelief. "Iolaus?"

She nodded.

He shook his head. "Get them debriefed fast then. Hephaestus and Clio have come up with something. We'll have a meeting tomorrow night."

Harmonia struggled with the monster's tentacles, urgently trying to dislodge them from her leg as it dragged her back. She tried twisting out of its grasp and then kicking with her free leg. Another harsh drag and four more tentacles latched one. Those had teeth. Harmonia arched in pain, reminding herself, 'Don't scream, mustn't scream," as agony lanced through her. The monster had pulled her to a very narrow part of the passage. In utter desperation, she flung her arms out so that her upper body caught on the rocks. Blood flowed from scraps and cuts in her arms and from the tears in her leg. She pulled her left leg up and braced her foot against the outcropping to push back from the monster with it. The monster clung tighter and an exploring tentacle started through the narrow passage. As it brushed her side she rolled, smashing it against a rock. She felt it pulp and felt an oily liquid squirt out.

It clung to her shirt and skin. Another tentacle tried to grab her side and couldn't cling. She rolled again and more of the liquid squirted out. By now, she was fighting both the monster and her own body's screaming need for oxygen. The monster moved forward, tightening its grip on her shin. As she moved back into the cavern, she slammed her leg against the outcropping. The two tentacles with suction crushed and the oily fluid filled the cavern. The teethed ones still clung to her leg. She continued smashing the tentacles against the rock and its grip tightened slashing through muscle.

Blood spurted as it severed arteries. A moment later, waves of agony shot up from her leg as the thing's teeth scraped against her bone.

Aphrodite wasn't dreaming, she was searching. Searching for her lost ones desperately seeking them. She continued floating on power drawn from her reservoir.

Seeking.

Searching.

Calling.

'Iolaus. Harmonia. Cerberus.'

Over and over again, steadily she called, seeking any touch from them, any trace of their minds.

She had expected them to shield Harmonia like this. But her ties to Iolaus and Cerberus were unknown, unknowable. She'd taken extraordinary precautions to assure just that. Every once in awhile she thought she heard Cerberus' howls or Iolaus' cries of agony. But she could never fix a location before they faded behind Poseidon's shields.

She continued.

Seeking.

Searching.

Calling.

'Iolaus. Harmonia. Cerberus.'

Harmonia knew she was losing. Her body was shutting down from lack of oxygen and blood loss. Soon she wouldn't have enough strength to fight or escape. She took a last dangerous gamble.

With her last remaining strength she twisted her leg in its grasp forcing teeth through bone.

She shot forward out of its grasp. But she had lost the lower part of her right leg and was bleeding freely. She desperately tried to swim up to clean water, but couldn't make it. Her body overcame her will and she gasped.

As the Styx rushed into her lungs her body convulsed in agony. She screamed silently into the water, "MOTHER!"

Aphrodite sat up, "Harmonia!" Ares turned as power flooded through her and away. He tried tracing it, but there ran into a shield or energy sink. Cupid jerked awake as the power flow moved through him. He helped his mother guide the power quickly modulating the shifts.

Seconds later it was over. The entire event took less than a minute. Aphrodite leaned into Cupid hugging him to her. "Did you feel?"

"Yeah Mom, it was Harmy!" Cupid turned to Ares. "Dad it was her. Real distant, but her." He frowned. "I think she's hurt and in or close to a sink. We poured energy into her and we never could get a fix."

Ares went to them and brought them both to him. "I know. I couldn't trace the power flow or get a fix either." He held them to him. "But there is other good news. Hephaestus and Clio have a way to rig the trap box and Iolaus freed several of the souls Belisco took." Their eyes widened as they took that in. "We're calling a meeting tomorrow. Hades is hosting."

He stood up. "You two have time to rest and clean up. And to answer a question." Aphrodite and Cupid looked at each other warily. Ares looked at Aphrodite. "Is he?"

She nodded silently.

He grabbed her to him. Kissed her soundly and thought into her mind, 'Someday you are going to have to tell me how you pulled it off.'

She snuggled closer. 'I'm good,' she thought back at him, 'really really good.'

As the power burst through her body, Harmonia regained strength. She clung to the lifeline, recognizing the faint traces of her mother and brother's signatures. Using it to purge the Styx from her and to seal off her still bleeding leg she partially healed herself swimming up to pure water. She clung to the rocks above her head, pushing her body forward with her hands and remaining foot. Deeply breathing the clean water. As she gained speed, she could feel the monster following her again.

Hercules and his group had just finished dismantling another temple when Eris appeared. She glanced around at the destruction and whistled. "Not bad." She nodded her approval at the wreckage. Not a stone lay on stone. The priests were fled or dead. Given the number of corpses, mostly dead. And Hercules had broken the altar into several pieces. She casually created a ball of power and tossed it with a light underhand throw. It connected with altar creating a massive blast. As the others ducked for cover, she watched the discharge backlash along the power threads.

"Yes!" she yelled gleefully, "that ought give Momma a headache!"

Hercules picked himself up checking his friends. "What did you just do?"

Eris laughed twirling a little. "Hera must have been caught when you broke the altar, she didn't have time to cut out all the threads, I just poured enough power to assure a huge backlash."

"Um is a backlash good?" Joxer asked stumbling over the words and ducking behind Autolycus when she turned to face him.

"Not if you're on the receiving end." Eris responded glee still apparent in her voice as she laughed and chuckled. "But since the bitch queen is on the other side, I enjoyed giving her the headache." She glanced quickly at the rest of the group.

They were a mess. The priests at the last couple of temples fought rather than fled. As a result, they all had blood and gore spattered on their skin, hair, and clothes. All of them had lost weight. It barely showed on Hercules. For most of them, it left them looking fitter, stronger. But the weight loss made Gabrielle and Joxer look sharp and angular. Xena and Jason completed cleaning their swords. Atus and Gabrielle had already sheathed their knives. Eris had been watching them and knew that Gabrielle had given Joxer her staff and now fought exclusively with her knives. Autolycus still primarily fought hand to hand, but even he had used blades taken from an enemy. Hercules used his strength and avoided the actual fighting preferring to tear down the temples. Discord watched him carefully sensing the seething rage within him.

And Joxer. Well Discord had felt him lose his blood innocence three days ago. At one of Hestia's shrines. Belisco's men had attacked the shrine and taken the refugees within. A young child escaped and ran for help. When they arrived, the sacrifices were already in progress. They had a plan. Joxer didn't wait. He simply went in swinging the staff. By the time they were done not one of Belisco's group lived. Joxer had killed two.

She looked at them trying to remember exactly when she started thinking of them as allies rather than tools. Finally, deciding it didn't matter, she told them, "Things are moving. Hades and Ares called a meeting. In Hades." She created a portal. "Well move it." They looked at each other without moving. "If you hustle, you may get there with time for a bath," she bribed, "and maybe even some sex on a bed." That got them moving. She waited until they got through before closing it and heading for Hades.

Harmonia silently hide in her crevice. The last several hours had been a dangerous, desperate, and occasionally frantic game of hide and seek. The monster, big green and ugly or BGU for short played 'it'. Harmonia had mostly been successful in hiding, but there had been a few close shaves. She swam in an area that didn't have pure water flowing on top, instead it was like the first area and had isolated pockets. Unfortunately it took longer and longer for Harmonia to find the increasingly scarce pockets. She kept reminding herself that this was a *good sign* and probably meant she was closer to Hades. On the other hand, drowning in the Styx was, in her opinion, an absolutely crappy alternative.

She considered the problem, 'It isn't actually how far apart the pockets were, it's that I waste time and oxygen searching. If I knew the locations... of course, the Styx is a scrying tool. And scrying takes almost no energy, tagging takes some but if I work with the flow, staying within the parameters of the pool, instead of trying to break the barrier of the Styx.' She quickly checked her logic and power levels. 'I can do this.'

She cast her mind around the pool of fresh water comparing it to the Styx. Then she focused on the Styx using it as a scrying mirror. Slowly she searched, marking the pools of fresh water with faint tags. To check her work she cast backwards as well. Yes those were the niches and hollows she'd used. And a bunch she never located. She lightly tagged those as well. She pulled her awareness back, then sought ahead with a light touch. She could see her tags stretching ahead of her. They stretched all the way to a huge pool of Styx water that had to be the end point in Hades.

She checked her tags one final time. Finding each light tag. Set in the pools they tended to shift slightly with currents. They wouldn't stay inside the pool for long, over time they'd drift into the Styx and vanish. Grimly she decided, 'Best chance I've got.'

She checked for BGU, and, not sensing him, slid back into the Styx heading for a nearby pool.

Hephaestus went to Hades early for their meeting. He wanted to visit with Bliss. When he got there, he was slightly surprised to see Bliss playing tag with the dead. He was pretty sure he'd terrified Charon and hopefully it wouldn't happen again.

Bliss decided that Granda wasn't paying enough attention to him when Hephaestus stopped playing with the washcloth. After a minute, he decided to do something about it.

Two seconds later Hephaestus barely saw the wing go down and up before a deluge of water came splashing over his head.

"Splashies!" yelled Bliss as his Granda shook water from his hair and face. As Hephaestus reached into the water to retaliate, Bliss started batting his wings up and down rapidly emptying the tub. It didn't stay empty for long, almost as rapidly he refilled it.

After a few minutes Hephaestus gave up and helped him set up a small waterfall effect. Bliss would splash the water into the air, it would run through a set of clear force tunnels Hephaestus set up to pour back into the tub.

Bliss loved it.

A half-hour later Psyche popped in, took one look and collapsed into giggles. "You could have dried yourself off!"

Hephaestus ruefully shrugged. "Every time I did he managed to get me wet again."

"Well at least he's having fun," she took in the soaked room and giggled again, "and unlike a mortal parent I don't have to clean it up by hand." She sat next to Hephaestus on the floor. "How long is he going to be a toddler anyway?"

Hephaestus looked at her.

"Heph, he's been a toddler for five years," she clarified, "how much longer should I anticipate?"

"Oh that varies."

"Well of course it varies. It does that for human children, too. But what's the norm?"

Hephaestus considered her question. "There really isn't a norm. Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus grew up in days. Aphrodite and Athena were born as adults. Ares, Eris, and I had more or less normal human childhoods. Strife and Hebe had normal childhoods, but Strife stayed 13 for about 300 years and Hebe's been 12 for nearly 3000 years."

Psyche gasped, "13 for 300 years!" She vividly remembered some of her friends at thirteen. "So how long as a toddler?"

"Well Cupid does have the record," he continued not noticing Pysche's look of dismay, "238 years."

"238!" Psyche stood up. Bliss stopped splashing. "CUPID!"

Hephaestus watched her and cringed when she yelled a second time.

"CUPID! Get down here!"

A slight pause.

"NOW CUPID!"

"Sweetie," Cupid knew something was wrong, he sent an inquiring tendril of thought to his stepfather, 'What?'

Hephaestus thought back, 'She wanted to know how long Bliss could be a toddler.'

At the same time Psyche shouted, "238 years!"

Cupid had a single simple thought at that point, 'oh shit.' He didn't say that, instead he said, "Darling why don't we talk about this privately."

"Good idea."

They both vanished and Bliss resumed splashing.

"Well Bliss, that must have been one of those strange things that mortals worry about. You'll be a toddler for as long as you want and when you want to get bigger you will."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Unca Herc!"

Hephaestus turned to see Hercules leaning against the arch. He had lost weight.

"I heard Psyche's screaming. Not serious?" He came in and started playing with Bliss. Catching some of the water and splashing him with it.

Hephaestus put his palms out in a search me gesture saying, "I didn't really understand what she was upset about."

They continued playing with Bliss.

Harmonia moved quickly to her tag. She was short of breath and her body burned. This stretch was longer and BGU had located her. He was working his way through a tight corner now, but she needed to get out of sight and still. With a burst of energy, she made it, pulling herself in and curling into a tight ball. BGU shot past her.

She waited until he moved well beyond her before swimming for the next pocket. She continued swimming pocket to pocket and calculated the time, two days or close to and three weeks since she'd been taken. As she got closer to the end, she saw plants and animals on the bottom of her course. She followed them knowing that in Hades the Styx feed into the Stygian Swamp. She ducked into another niche.

BGU brushed by her hiding place hunting.

She waited counting slowly. He didn't return, she moved out swimming for the next pocket. Once there she examined her route. She examined her two best alternatives. One took her directly, but the space between the pockets was further and she had fewer hiding places. The other took longer.

As she considered her options her mind flashed back to Iolaus' last scream. Shaking she took the most direct route. Swimming quickly and cautiously, relying on her arms and good leg, she made good speed reaching the first two pockets with no trouble.

As she made her way to the third pocket, BGU came into view slightly ahead and to the left of her. She dove to the bottom slipping silently along the rocks down there. A small pocket existed, she would have to put only her face in, but she could get more air. Grimly she moved, swiftly refreshing her water before continuing. She felt the current flow across her as BGU swam over her. She swam, moving into the plants, slipping through them like a ghost, silent, swift, and unseen.

Suddenly light shown down.

Above her, BGU grabbed hold of something. She took the opportunity his distraction provided and swam for the surface. As she neared the surface, she could hear Charon screaming for Hades. Then everything went wild.

"HADES!"

At Charon's second shout, Hercules and Hephaestus started for the landing. Psyche and Cupid followed with her, quickly grabbing their son. By the time they got there, Charon battled with a monster of a type they had never seen before. And Hades and Ares started blasting at the thing's tentacles.

Hephaestus noticed Bliss screaming something, trying to fly out of his mother's arms to the river.

"Harmy," the child repeated squirming to get free. Cupid snagged him as he took off.

"Harmonia!" With that wild shout, Hephaestus dove into the Styx pulling strongly down. He saw her, Harmonia. Tangled in its lower tentacles she fought twisting madly. Another blast from Ares or Hades poured power into the river causing Harmonia and Hephaestus to convulse. She gasped swallowing Styx water.

Above Cupid, heard Hephaestus' shout and Bliss repeated call for Harmy and yelled, "Don't," as his father and uncle prepared to blast again. "Harmonia is down there!"

As he shouted that, the rest of the group arrived. With wild yells, Xena and Atus somersaulted to the remains of Charon's ferry. Jason dove in and swam over. And the three of them helped Charon hack at the tentacles surrounding his ferry. Ares dove into the water, closely followed by Eris and Hades. They started hacking at the thing's tentacles trying to keep them off Hephaestus. Hephaestus started trying to pry the tentacles off Harmonia. Hercules joined them heading for Hephaestus as the others kept the monster's tentacles away from them as they ripped at the tentacles binding Harmonia.

Aphrodite arrived as Cupid passed Bliss back to Psyche prepared to join them in the water. "No!" She grabbed his arm. With a glance and a brief exchange of ideas they prepared a spell.

Hades' sea serpent joined the battle wrapping coils around the monster and pulling it down. Its teeth bit deeper into Harmonia's body and blood poured out. At Hercules' frantic signals, Hades and Ares joined them in freeing her, slashing at the tentacles holding her. After long minutes, Hephaestus and Hercules could finally pull her to shore. As its target vanished out of reach, the monster attempted retreat, swimming back along its path.

Hades' great serpent continued coiling around it. Quickly, the others followed Hephaestus, Harmonia, and Hercules out of the river. Quickly counting heads Aphrodite and Cupid prepared to release their spell. Once sure that everyone else was out, they let go of the spell and light, hearts and rose petals fell over the lake.

The serpent and monster continued thrusting against each other but they were no longer fighting.

Hades stared.

Aphrodite and Cupid rushed to Harmonia. Hephaestus and Ares had stabilized her and poured healing energy into her.

As she improved and they reversed the changes she'd made to her body she woke with a gasped, "Oh that's nice." Then looked at her mother's weeping face and joked, "I just swam the Styx don't drown me now."

"Can't they all vanish," her mother joked back.

Hades stared at the lake and the busy couple.

In a choked voice, "Aphrodite tell me you *didn't* cast a love spell on my serpent and that... that monster."

She ignored him.

"Aphrodite!"

She ignored him.

"APHRODITE!"

She whirled her head to face him. "It *worked* didn't it!"

"What am I going to do with the babies?" he muttered under his breath.

Part 38

Lilith pounded on the walls of her cage. "Damn you Belisco!" She felt him draw power from her spirit and pulled away.

"I give you nothing willingly!"

Suddenly she felt Iolaus' presence as once more the memories of her death swept over her. She slumped, screaming in a broken voice...until her pain finally ended, leaving her terrified once more. She waited, drawing her strength back to herself. Building back her wall of memories of joys and love from a life well lived.

A sudden swell of emotion overcame her.

"Iolaus?"

She stood searching. His presence surrounded her, an intangible awareness so real she imagined she could hug him to her.

"Iolaus can you hear me?"

She felt more than heard his response.

"Lilith?"

"YES! Iolaus..."

Her cage fractured freeing her.

She cried in joy, her ecstatic voice joining the others as he freed them. She controlled her immediate impulse to flee, hearing and understanding the need to remain until all were freed. Then a deep sigh ran through the room as Iolaus lifted the last crystal, broke it freeing the last captive soul. As the room filled with their joy she touched Iolaus' heart taking what pain she could and giving what strength she had.

‘I don't have a body, so how am I crying?’

A hole opened in the fabric of the universe ripping the last binding that Belisco had placed on them to hold them between life and death. She fled with the others, rapidly leaving the bounds Belisco had placed on her, separating from the group to find and walk the Amazon paths of the dead.

Then she looked back.

She glanced one more time at the beckoning paths to freedom. Shook her head.

And dived back into the closing hole that bound her between the realm of the living and the places of the dead.

She returned to the room she had left. Iolaus had already fled.

She turned following, reached for the door handle...

...only to fall through to the corridor outside and then through the floor.

Unimaginable seconds of falling later she managed to bring her body back under control.

She stood trying to get her bearings. "Ghost. I gotta remember that. I'm a ghost ... and I go through things. And really don't need to breathe. Which might be helpful later. Well since I'm a ghost maybe I can get some kind of psychic bearing on Iolaus."

She paused thinking of Iolaus.

Shook her head.

"Nah, things couldn't be that easy. So I guess I just walk, float, whatever it is ghosts do to get around until I find him."

She picked a direction and started walking, then realized that floating or actually something akin to flying actually was faster and did that. As she continued searching she became more comfortable with her new abilities. She avoided thinking about the fact that she only had a vague sense of body, nearly no sensation, the lack of breath or heartbeat, and the vague sense of coldness. Instead she concentrated on her search, poking her head through likely walls as she flew. As she searched, she also ignored for now the odd ways that light bent and split, the echoing of sounds and her sense that time traveled ... differently. Finally, she came to a corridor with dead guards.

"Now that's more like it!" She crouched, examining the guards, blinking as light flowed through rather than around them. She focused and abruptly vision returned to normality and she could see signs of Iolaus' fighting skill in an assortment of broken bones, crushed chests and throats, and a couple of broken necks. Examining them more closely, she noticed gashes and rips indicating Iolaus had partnered with something or things with sharp claws and big teeth. With a sigh she reflected that Iolaus' dual ability to attract really bad, weird trouble and even weirder allies had gone undiminished since their time at the academy.

She looked at the teeth marks again, poked a ghostly finger through and shook her head. "Iolaus, you really do make the strangest friends."

She stood up randomly took a direction and returned when a few minutes in that direction discovered no additional bodies. She took a different direction and found another pile of dead guards in less than three minutes.

"Yeah, you've been a busy boy, haven't you."

She continued stopping as guards ran down the corridor. They knelt examining their comrades. Lilith flinched as two of them ran through her.

"Oh, I guess you boys can't see me." She waved her hand in front of the leader's face. Then passed it through him. "Can't see me, can't feel me." She leaned in put her mouth up to his ear. "Can you hear me you stupid SHIT?" She stepped back shaking her head at his complete lack of response.

"Guess not."

Another group came running up. "They have him." He laughed. "Belisco is letting us play with him."

As the guards left taking their dead, Lilith followed. "That sounds bad." She heard Iolaus' screams down the corridor. "Really bad."

She started running, taking flight in an odd flowing manner, passing through guards, doors and walls until she found them. She flung herself through the crowd of guards trying to pull the one raping him off Iolaus. She passed through them screaming in rage.

A roar of laughter came from one side and she glanced up. Belisco stood gesturing towards her.

"SHIT!"

She flung herself backwards and down passing through the floor as the soul net he cast surrounded the place where she'd been. The living never saw or felt it as tendrils brushed her as she dove backwards through the floor. Terror consumed her. She remembered him. He watched as his soldiers destroyed her home, burnt her village, raped her, tortured her, and finally killed her. And then he cast a net around her soul, caged her, and fed off of her spirit and will. That last memory, her helpless rage and terror in that cage as he toyed with her, occasionally letting her see what the power he stole from her wrought drove her forward mindlessly. She flew through a maze of walls and rooms ignoring them terror driving her on.

As she continued, a vague memory of exhaustion flickered into her mind. The lack of body suddenly overwhelmed her. 'I should be tired, my muscles should hurt, my heart should pound, and my breath come in panting gasps.' She stopped. "I'm dead. I'm really dead." She held up her hands, watching the light flow through them and split into a rainbow of colors.

She lowered them turning. She had stopped in a weapons room. A hanging sword caught her attention. She stopped, turned, and approached it.

Iolaus' sword.

She reached, weeping as her hand passed through it. Her tears fell, vanishing. An odd tingling passed through her. She drew back her hand frowning.

"Why are you here? Belisco kept everything else close by, in his rooms. Tartarus he kept most of it, even my knife, on display. So why not you?"

She reached for the sword again. This time not withdrawing when the tingling passed through her. The light tingling grew, causing her body or rather, she supposed her ghost, to quiver, shake, and finally convulse. A blast of white-hot heat ran through her and everything vanished.

Damp earth pressed against her cheek. Lilith scrabbled, her hands feeling leaves, more damp dirt, and small rocks and pebbles.

‘I'm dead, so why do I hurt this bad?’ She pried open an eye and saw dirt, leaves, tree trunks, a sandaled foot, the bottom of a staff...

The sandaled foot registered and she rapidly rolled away and into attack position.

"I bet that hurt."

Lilith stared at the smallest, oldest woman she'd ever seen. "Yeah, it did. How did I get here?"

"I have no idea. You just showed up." The woman looked at her closely. "What were you doing?"

"I touched Iolaus' sword." She looked at the woman. Very old, very small, dressed in plain woven pants and a shirt. With a long braid of white hair hanging down her back. She leaned on a wooden staff with the carving of a running fox. An overwhelming sense of familiarity ran through her. "Do I know you?"

The woman stared at her, into her and smiled. "Well I believe you may have been my descendant a time or two." She nodded. "And touching Iolaus' sword might be enough to send you here. At least for a while."

"A descendant?" She brushed her hair out of her eyes. Stopping and pulling her hand back as she suddenly realized that the light acted normally. She shook slowly walking forward as she pressed her hands to her chest and took inventory.

‘Heartbeat?’ Her heart raced under her hands.

‘Breath?’ Her chest rose and fell as she breathed.

‘Warmth?’ She radiated heat once more.

And then she bumped into a stump.

She stumbled, reached down to steady herself and sank to sit on the large stump.

"Wasn't I just dead?"

She looked around finally taking in her surroundings. Odd trees, on a mountain, and a large round treehouse sat above the forest floor. The area looked like a huge thunderstorm had passed through leveling some of the trees and pounding rain and hail on the earth. The sky remained overcast.

"And where am I and who are you?"

"I'm Ybalessi, this is my home, and you remain dead."

"Ybalessi! Iolaus told me about you. You were his teacher. Wait he said you lived in the mountains of an island east of Chin. I'm east of Chin? I have to get back. Iolaus needs my help."

She jumped up searching for a way back.

"If I'm dead, why do I feel so alive? And how do I get back to Iolaus?"

Ybalessi sighed. "Are all Greeks this excitable?"

Lilith looked back at her. "I'm not excitable, I'm just worried."

"Lilith if you want to help Iolaus then we need to talk."

Lilith looked back at Ybalessi, allowing herself to sink into her eyes. She knew Iolaus trusted her. And she believed her. She followed the eyes, seeing age, compassion, wisdom, and knowledge there. Finally, slowly, she nodded.

Ybalessi turned, and, leaning on her staff, lead the way to the stairs that took them into her home. Lilith followed, taking in the details of the workmanship, the crafting of living wood to keep it alive and healthy. Within showed the same care and work as the stairs led first to a plain room with no furniture. A place Lilith remembered Iolaus describing as the room where he learned fighting techniques and meditation. The stairs continued leading into a comfortable single room dwelling. A cookfire and low table with pillows took up most of one end. A rolled sleeping pallet lay against the opposite end. Little else took up space in the clean room. No scrolls, no chairs. Just a small chest, a cloak on a hook, and a set of curved shelves where her dishes and pots remained in easy reach.

Ybalessi slowly made tea, remaining silent throughout. Lilith controlled her impatience remembering Iolaus' warning about his teacher's frequent use of the staff across the back of his head as a teaching tool.

Finally, the tea made, she could stand it no longer. "Please how do I help Iolaus?"

"You're dead, in the land of the living you can do nothing. You have no shape or form. Your spirit remains in place held only by your will. You can barely communicate." She poured the tea.

"Why do I feel so alive?" Lilith took the cup and sipped from it. "How am I drinking this tea?"

Ybalessi cupped her face. "Child, it is a function of this place, it is in the lands of the dead. The living have bodies in the lands of the living, the dead have bodies in the lands of the dead, and nothing has bodies in the places where you exist now between death and life. Except of course gods, who generally, do whatever they please."

"Then this is an illusion?"

"No, this is real, calling it an illusion is like calling life an illusion."

"According to Plato, life is an illusion."

"You should have skipped Plato, both are real and both are illusions."

Lilith looked at her for a long helpless moment. "Can we skip philosophy? How do I help Iolaus?!"

"Get him help."

She jumped up exasperated. "HOW? The living can't see me."

"Then go to the dead."

Ybalessi stood slowly reaching out to her. Slowly carefully Lilith took her hand. A current very similar to the one she felt the first time she touched Iolaus' sword ran through her. She pulled back then replaced her hand in Ybalessi's.

The current resumed and Lilith swayed as Ybalessi shared her knowledge.

Days passed until the current ended and Lilith found herself in the weapon's vault holding Iolaus' sword. She reached for it allowing her hand to pass through. This time when the tingling started she used the knowledge gained through Ybalessi's crash course to connect herself to the sword and use it as an anchor. Then she searched, looking for Iolaus and any potential allies.

She found Iolaus first. Curled on a corner of the bed and rocking where Belisco had left him. She couldn't touch him. Her hand passed through him. It passed through when she tried to stop him from tearing at his skin. It passed through again as she tried to hold him to her as he rocked and wept soft tears of rage and fear. And yet again, when she tried to simply brush a fallen lock of hair off his forehead. She gave up touching him and instead whispered, "Iolaus, I'm going for help. I promise."

"Lilith?" He whispered still rocking.

"Can you hear me?"

His rocking stopped and he glanced around in confusion.

"Lilith?" His whisper sounded uncertain and tentative. Lilith remembered the games Belisco played with her and the other captive souls and tried to think of some way to reassure him of her reality.

"Iolaus, I don't know how much you can hear. But hang in there. I'm real and I *am* getting help." She reassured in a quiet tone. "Hang in there."

He uncurled slightly settling into a relaxed thinking posture she remembered from their time at the academy. "Lilith, aren't you dead?"

"Yeah, well, some dead people can do more than other dead people."

He smiled, giggling slightly. "I know, been there, remember?"

"Uhm-hm. You ever going to tell Hercules?"

"It is you." He grinned. "And you know why I'm not telling Herc." He took a deep breath. "I've spent the last few days trying to escape. Got loose a couple of times. I mean after I broke all the crystals."

"My hero. So who are your friends with the big teeth and sharp claws?"

"Cerberus and Ostseth." He reached out searching for her. "You probably ought to get going."

"Cerberus I've heard of. Who's Ostseth?"

"A really big cat. You need to go, Lilith, before he comes back."

She lowered her hand to pass through his. "Hang in there." She looked back. "Iolaus, if you get a chance, there's a weapons room eight levels down. Head for the main corridor, there's a ladder to the right, go straight down until you hit a wet zone, swim it and take the left branch, two more levels down and then the next three lefts. Belisco has your sword hanging on the furthest wall. No locks, but the guard quarters sit right next to it."

A faint shift in the air alerted her that Belisco returned.

She spun seeing Iolaus throw himself at Belisco's outstretched arm. They crashed to the floor. She dove as Belisco threw Iolaus off him, slamming him into a wall. Iolaus' rebound and second rapid dive stayed in her mind even after she flowed through the floor and fled.

A single scream of agony echoed in the corridor as Belisco punished Iolaus before giving chase. Lilith used that momentary break to focus and create a tunnel shifting her to the paths of the dead and away from the place between death and life.

She waited, expecting Belisco to follow or send hunters.

When none appeared she scanned the area. She smiled, understanding why Belisco hadn't bothered following. He'd created a trap. She stood on a very small floating stone. She could stand or, if she kept her legs and arms very close to her chest, she could sit. A wall of fire surrounded the stone. No way back, no way forward, no way off the small circle of rock but down. He planned to let her stew and come back for her later.

She smiled again. "Arrogant prick."

She checked her anchor to Iolaus' sword, stabilizing it slightly.

"Some people are worth walking through fire for."

Still firmly anchored and finding no enemy she dove off the rock.

Burned.

And screamed.

Fire ignited her creating a torch diving through the flames. Lilith felt heat melt hair within seconds. She could see nothing but flames and then she could see nothing at all. She held onto her connection with Iolaus' sword while agony consumed her. Maintaining a tenuous hold as her skin blistered and blackened.

And still she fell.

She felt the blood boil in her veins and faltered wanting nothing but to end the agony. Her anchor wavered. She poured energy back into the vanishing pull of the sword and continued falling.

She fell for an eternity.

And burned.

Part 39

Lilith still burned.

Falling, burning and screaming for an eternity. Then it abruptly stopped.

She opened her eyes and found herself curled into a tight ball on a low bed. She felt her bond to Iolaus' sword still holding her, weak and tenuous, but there.

"Oh, that hurt," she moaned slowly uncurling.

"You were still burning when you got here." Lilith turned to look at where the young voice came from. She saw a young Amazon from an unfamiliar tribe. She looked at the young woman and wondered briefly just how badly on fire she had been when she'd arrived. The girl had scorch marks across her hands and arms. At second glance she saw small blackened areas ruining the pattern on her shirt.

"That must have been some arrival," Lilith said with a shrug, preparing to sit up.

"Definitely one of the more unique ways of getting here. I'm Ephiny. And I already know you're Lilith." She pushed Lilith back as she tried to sit up. "Rest, you were imprisoned a long time and had a more difficult journey than most. But you're home sister. This is our place."

"Ephiny, I can't afford to rest. I must..."

"Stop!" Ephiny put her hand over Lilith's mouth. "Artemis knows your mission and has forbidden it. If you speak of it she will cast you out."

Lilith pulled her hand away. "I heard that Xena and Gabrielle befriended you, helped you and your child." At her cautious nod, Lilith finished. "I must get a message to Hercules. And I must return for my friend."

"A man?"

"Ephiny, I know that you know better to think all men the same. Iolaus of Thebes is a good man and I will no more abandon him then I would a sister." She struggled to sit, then stand. "I am doing this."

"Then I am helping." Ephiny smiled wryly at Lilith's shocked look. "I'm used to getting into trouble. Sometimes it seems that that's all that I do."

She took Lilith's arm steadying her. "We won't be able to do anything from within the gates." She frowned, nodded decisively and led Lilith out of the room. Lilith lost track of the twists and turns as they moved through the underworld city. She glanced around, noticing the distinctly Amazon nature of this city. Temples dedicated to Artemis, guards at the gate, women working, playing, and training.

"You still train?" She glanced around; the guards appeared ready, nearly anticipating trouble.

"Even here we have enemies. Hades doesn't care. Lowers his inventory. But the lands where the dead dwell are filled with peoples from all different gods. And no few of them are mightily offended by the presence of an Amazon place amongst them. Of course there hasn't been an attack in centuries. But the risk still exists. Besides sister, what else should we do, sit around darning socks?"

They left the city proper and continued following a meandering stream, which became an ever-larger river. They walked along the gently sloping bank, quietly discussing their lives and their deaths. As they approached the place where the river met the city wall, they gave up trying to talk as the roar of water drowned them out.

Finally, Ephiny stopped. The sloping riverbank ended in a precipice as the river dropped down to meet a wild raging waterfall that spilled over the walls and thundered down. Lilith walked to the edge of the precipice.

She looked down, glanced at Ephiny, and looked back at the long drop into the wild raging water that continued endlessly below.

"I take it this is the only way out."

Ephiny joined her, nodding slowly. "Yes, and once taken there is no way back. We'll be outcast. Our names will be stricken, never spoken again. We'll have no sisters and no place in any of the lands of the dead. We'll walk the paths between life and death forever - welcome nowhere."

Lilith reached out to take her hand. "Ephiny, you don't have to do this."

Ephiny gave her hand a tight squeeze, closed her eyes against tears, then blinked them open. "Yes I do. Because if I don't, I could never look in my queen's eyes." She released Lilith's hand preparing to jump.

"One last question! Where does this go?"

"Legend says it flows through Morpheus' Well, then continues, ultimately joining the Styx at its beginnings." Ephiny shrugged. "Of course no one who has made the jump ever came back to tell us about it."

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Okay, just remember we want to get off at Morpheus' Well." She edged forward. "Ready?"

Ephiny nodded slightly. "One," she reached for Lilith's hand ...

"...two," Lilith whispered, squeezing the hand tightly ...

"...three," they screamed together shifting their weight forward as they dove gracefully into the wild falls.

They fell holding hands. They struck the water at the middle of one fall and the force bounced them from one rock to the next. Their hands parted then clasped again as they tumbled, falling from rock to rock, following the water down. As the force pushed them under they discovered that the water wasn't deep, ranging from mid-thigh to just over their shoulders in depth. However, even at the shallow parts, the speeding water battered them. Frequently spinning them, often ducking them down. They quickly learned that if they swallowed water they coughed and choked. After the first harsh lessons they struggled to keep their heads up, unwilling to discover what would happen if a dead spirit drowned. They also discovered that the shallowness was simply another hazard, creating yet another set of rocks to batter them. They continued battling the water and rocks, struggling to stay together.

Once more the water's power drove them apart. This time they couldn't rejoin hands. Water flung them apart into competing currents. When they tried to move closer to each other they were pulled and flung apart again. The third time water eddied up from a rock wrapping around Lilith like a living arm and pulling her away from Ephiny.

After that, it took all the strength they possessed to simply keep from being drawn under. They tried to keep track of each other, and finally, after long minutes of buffeting lost even that small comfort. Lilith saw Ephiny careen into a rock, push away from it to be pulled under then over sliding further away, traveling now on a side route. She continued in the main force of the waterfall, hearing Ephiny's scream even over the roar of water.

"Ephiny!" Lilith cried only once, before the water pulled her under one last time. The current hauled her along the rocks and gravels on the bottom. Scraping cloth, then skin off. Blood welled up as she struggled to bring her head up and breath. The current continued pulling her down as she went over yet another falls. Blood pounded through her body screaming for air. Her chest tightened, as her mind desperately tried to control her body's impulse to breath. Finally, her body won and instinct forcing her to inhale. Water filled her mouth, her body struggled for air and she felt her tie to Iolaus' sword fade.

With a final desperate effort she put all her remaining energy into maintaining the bound. Darkness overwhelmed her.

Her limp unmoving body continued falling, the water carrying her over rocks and endlessly down.

phiny pushed off a rock slipping slightly and going under. She struggled back up in time to see Lilith go over another of the main line of rocks and lose sight of her. Another current pulled her across and over and suddenly the rocks beneath her vanished and she screamed, falling.

Water rushed over and around her as her fall continued. She tried to move out of the waterfall and couldn't. Water surrounded her, pushing her down. She struggled for breath trying to look down, out and saw nothing but more water. She struggled breathing water, coughing it out, and continuing her struggle for air.

Her journey came to an abrupt stop as she fell into a deep still lake. The waterfall pushed her down but as she continued her descent the pressure eased. Finally, with a sudden twist she broke free of the remaining current. She panicked, briefly uncertain of her directions, but forced her body to stillness, breathing some of her desperately gained air out and following her air bubbles.

Swimming strongly she broke the surface and inhaled great gulps of air.

Flinging hair out of her eyes she scanned the area, seeing water, waterfalls, and a brick wall. The brick wall completely surrounded the pool she landed in. Deciding that there couldn't be too many really huge wells in the underworld she decided to swim for what she thought was the closest wall.

As she swam out of the range of the falls she noticed the water's odd properties. Even a little beyond the falls the water felt warm, not hot, like hot springs, but decidedly warm, about body temperature. She slowly realized that she could see, but she couldn't find a light source. The light emanated from the water in a very soft dark glow and more light came from drifting clouds above. She also noticed currents and an odd pulsing sensation. She continued swimming and looked at the brick wall.

She couldn't see any change from when she'd started swimming.

She stopped swimming and took her bearings. The waterfall was far behind her, she could see it but couldn't hear it. The brick wall was still well in front. She treaded water silently trying to figure out why her swimming hadn't brought her closer to the wall.

A small current eddied around her. She twisted around following it. It disappeared. She heard faint voices. They sounded flat, distance, surreal. Not quite there.

She called anyway. "Hello!"

The voices continued in the distance, jumbled and unintelligible.

The current returned. This time it whirled around her three times. And sped off to her left. She followed the speeding patch of water with her eyes.

"That was decidedly odd."

She stared after the current frowning slightly. Then realized another oddness. She couldn't see, hear, smell, or feel a single living thing in this entire pool. Even the voices came from outside the pool, in an odd way from the clouds above.

The current returned again. Whirling around her feet and making it's way up her body. She froze as water swirled around her covering every inch then retreated.

She looked back at the retreating current for a split second; then swam the opposite direction as fast as she could.

She stopped to take her bearings again and saw the current racing to her. She pushed at it with her hands as it reached her. It retreated abruptly. She stared at the small patch of water grimly.

"What are you?"

The current of water swelled up into a small wave. It moved back as Ephiny tracked it cautiously, then suddenly pushed forward sending water into Ephiny splashing her.

She retaliated and splashed back.

The entire pool lightly quivered around her.

She wiped hair and water from her eyes. Face set she scanned the pool. The current had disappeared again.

She continued swimming, still making no progress. Each time she stopped the current came back and either splashed her or swept around her.

The last time she after it splashed her she yelled.

"HOLD IT! You come back here."

The current stopped. She stared. 'I didn't really expect it to actually stop.'

"I need to get to the wall. It's an ...."

"...emmerrgenncyyyy." She screamed the last word as the current pulled her rapidly to the wall.

She grabbed the wall and looked up.

"Woah, that's one tall wall." She looked around for the current. "I don't suppose you could help me upppppp!"

This time the water swelled, lifting her up in a damp slightly off-kilter manner to the edge of the wall. She clambered over.

"Thank you." Looked around and shook her head. This is an awfully small cave to have that big a well. She turned and the well was, a well. A little oversized but not something a waterfall fell into. She searched her surroundings and found two sleeping gods. She bit her lip. Hypnos couldn't be wakened and Morpheus was notoriously bad tempered. She backed up to the well. Leaning over she saw only fog, shrugging she whispered, "I need to visit some friends' dreams."

A small tendril of water crept up the edge pooling along the rim.

"They're Xena, Gabrielle, and Hercules." She touched the water.

A sickening lurch later found her ... elsewhere.

"Xena! Gabrielle! Hercules!"

"Ephiny!" Gabrielle hugged her closely followed by Xena.

Finally, she saw Hercules. "Hello Ephiny."

"I don't know how long I have. Lilith's found Iolaus. She can guide Hades and others in a spirit form to him, or at least to someplace close. We got separated. But you need to find her."

A sudden pull brought her back to the well.

She braced herself on the rim, swaying slightly. Something lifted her by one arm.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" She blinked staring at the fluid form of Morpheus.

"Helping some friends."

"Not in my well, outcast." A practiced throw flung her out of the cave and back to the plains outside the Amazon's place in the land of the dead.

She sank to the ground. "Lilith I sure hope you made it."

*

Cold woke Lilith. Deep bone-wrenching freezing cold. She clung to a rock her lungs still trying to expel the water she'd swallowed. She checked her anchor to the sword and poured more energy into it when she felt how weak it had become. Slowly she pulled herself up onto the rock, starting as she noticed a silently sobbing woman a few feet away.

Water poured down the wall of the cavern. A black glow from the woman and the water cast an odd light. The woman kneeled on the rock and continued weeping. Lilith blinked, as the woman seemed to merge with the rock or with the water flowing over it. She couldn't tell.

She continued shuddering with cold. And her ties to the sword grew even weaker. She went over to the woman. Reached for her and drew back her hand as grief and rage threatened to overcome her.

Instead of touching her, Lilith whispered, "Please can you help me?"

The woman continued to weep, not responding to Lilith's plea.

"Please, someone I care about, no, someone I love is ..."

"Is what?" The cold voice interrupted and Lilith lost all awareness of time and place and self. Sinking into the cold rage and sorrow of the woman's eyes.

"No!" Lilith screamed as regret, rage, grief hammered her drawing her into the maelstrom of human pain. "Styx, please, don't do this." She begged realizing too late which goddess she'd disturbed.

"Why should I help you?" The screams of furious hate filled the cavern shattering rock and slicing into Lilith's soul. "Mortals killed him."

Lilith searched looking for any reason for Styx to help. Ideas speed through her mind as the goddess read her thoughts.

"LOVE. I loved, I lost, I weep."

Lilith shuddered as her anger poured over like acid.

"COMPASSION. My lover received none."

"PLEASE!!! I have to help him!" Lilith cried as Styx's voice shook the cavern. "The gods’ war..."

"Why should I care what battles rage above? My lover DIED in mortal battles, the first ever slain in war. Why would I care who wins, who loses. I know only the rage and sorrow of the survivors. I am their anger, their hate, their tears. I AM THE FIRE OF THEIR RAGE!"

She pulled Lilith to her and the fragile hold she had on Iolaus' sword vanished. Styx's voice softened. "I am their every regret. So I ask again, why should I help you?"

"To end one person's pain."

Silence.

Styx pulled Lilith closer washing over her.

Lilith sank into the maelstrom screaming.

And she remembered.

Falling in love.

Touching him.

Their first gentle kiss.

The second, turning to passion.

Making love, hands and mouths touching and tasting.

The joy of being in love.

The sudden sharp pain of loss.

Hate, rage, sorrow.

First her own.

Then...

... all humanity's washed poured in, an overwhelming raging torrent of emotion.

Tears.

Screams.

Then her own regrets washed over her as she relived every moment of hate, rage, and grief over again.

"I'm sorry!" She cried. "I'm so sorry."

Then everything wrenched, time and space twisted and Lilith fell still screaming

END PART 39