@Xenite Country
Dark Revelations
By Skkye Blue
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Shipper Fan Fiction @Xenite Country Dark Revelations |
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Webmaster Note: To make this story load a little easier in your browser, it has been split into several web pages. You will find the link for the part of the story below at the end of each page. Dark Revelations (Chapters 52 thru 55) CHAPTER 52 Iolaus leaned over the bow of the ship as he gazed up at the dark gray clouds blanketing the sky above. "It looks like we are in for a pretty fierce storm." "You are right pal." Hercules too, gazed up at the graying sky. "That’s why I better make this dive while the waters are still calm." Nebula strolled over to where the pair stood on the deck of the ship. "Here you go Hercules, the air bags are all ready." "Thanks Nebula." Hercules took the bags that would be his air supply on the deep dive. The demi-god was dressed in nothing but a loincloth, so Nebula couldn’t help admiring his exposed muscular frame." "I wish I could go with you, Herc," Iolaus confessed. "I wish you could too but unfortunately the dive is too deep and the pressure would kill a full mortal." The Oasis was anchored somewhere in the virtually unknown waters, west of the Great Sea. To the letter, they had followed the map and instructions Cyrus had prepared. Once the Oasis reached the unknown waters, the ship had to travel through a wall of thick fog. For three days, they could not see a thing. On the fourth day, the Oasis had passed through the wall of fog and the wide ocean was visible to view again. On the night of the fourth day, a low hanging star was the only constellation in the black sky. The star had four visible points and had been drawn on the map Cyrus had made for them. The four-pointed star was visible on clear nights and always hang in the sky over the ocean, where a piece of the Holy Saber could be found. When the Oasis reached the spot under the four- pointed star, the anchor was dropped. That had been last night, and now Hercules was preparing to dive to the underwater caves where the piece to the Holy Saber could be found. "Good luck Herc." Iolaus gripped his friend’s forearm in friendship one last time before he would leave the ship. Without warning, the ship began to violently rock. "What in Tartarus is going on?" Iolaus did his best to remain on his feet as the ship continued to violently rock. "I don’t know but I intend to find out." Hercules held on to the side of the ship to keep his balance. Nebula was doing the same as was the rest of the crew. "Look, there’s something in the water!" The man in the crow’s nest shouted. All eyes looked to the water as two large tentacles rose out of the sea. They wrapped themselves around the center of the boat and in the process knocked some of the crewmembers into the water, including Hercules’ best friend. "Iolaus!" Hercules shouted as he dove into the water after his best friend. Nebula pulled out a sword and began hacking away at one of the tentacles wrapped around the ship. The crewmembers standing about the deck joined in the hacking with their own swords. Their actions angered the sea creature that tossed the ship more violently about. Nebula and the crew fell to the deck and were splashed with water as the ship violently rocked. All heard the screams of their shipmate in the crow’s nest as he lost his footing under the violent rocking of the ship and plummeted to the waters of the sea. As the Oasis appeared to be under attack by a large sea creature, Hercules did manage to find his friend who had fallen overboard. The current of the ocean had taken him some distance away from the ship. "Hey Iolaus, are you okay?" "Yeah, I’m fine," Iolaus replied as he spit out seawater. "Some creature is attacking the ship." He fixed his gaze on the Oasis and the large tentacles wrapped around it. "It looks like it may be a giant octopus or squid," Hercules commented. "An octopus or squid? Gods, I didn’t know they could get so big," Iolaus confessed. "Not many people have ventured out this far, so who knows what kinds of creatures live in these waters," Hercules said. "We got to get back to the Oasis and give Nebula and the crew a hand fighting whatever that thing is." Hercules and Iolaus began to swim towards the Oasis when the waters of the sea began to churn violently. Large waves immediately formed and tossed the pair about, greatly inhibiting their attempts to reach the Oasis. As the waters continued to churn, a giant whirlpool formed. The sea creature released its grip on the Oasis and the ship was pulled into the whirlpool along with Hercules and Iolaus. Around and around went the ship and the two men in the water until they finally reached the center of the whirlpool where all disappeared below the surface of the deep waters. ********** "Ohh," Hercules groaned as he began to regain consciousness. Slowly, he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light of his unknown surroundings. As his eyes began to focus, he could make out what appeared to be dark gray stone. "Ohh," he groaned again as he moved to a sitting position. Hercules could now see his friend who lay beside him unconscious. "Iolaus, wake up." He lightly slapped the face of his friend. "Ohh," Iolaus groaned as he regained consciousness. His eyes opened and they focused on his friend kneeling over him. "Hercules?" "Yeah, it’s me pal. Are you okay?" "I-I think so." Slowly, Iolaus rose to a sitting position. "Are we dead?" "No we are not dead," Hercules replied with a chuckle. "Then where are we?" Iolaus looked at the dark gray stone walls around them. "It appears to be some type of cave," Hercules replied. "How did we get here? The last thing I remember was being in the ocean. We were being pulled into a whirlpool, then everything went blank." Iolaus said. "That’s all I remember too." Hercules rose to his feet and began to walk around the cave. "I wonder what happened to Nebula and the crew of the Oasis?" Iolaus asked. "I can pretty much answer that for you." Hercules stood in a part of the cave not visible to Iolaus. "Come give me a hand." Iolaus joined his friend in the other part of the cave. Hercules was standing over the bodies of Nebula and the crew of the Oasis. The pair immediately went about reviving their unconscious comrades. "What happened and where are we?" Nebula asked when she regained consciousness. "We don’t know what happened and we don’t know where we are," Hercules replied. "We may not know where we are but it looks like we are someone’s prisoners." Iolaus’ gaze was fixed on the metal bars blocking the exit out of the cave. They had been so busy reviving their comrades that they hadn’t even noticed the bars until now. Hercules, Nebula and the crew immediately joined Iolaus at the metal bars. The demi-god gripped the bars with his hands and tried to pull them apart with no success. "Whatever these bars are made of is obviously impervious to even my godly strength," Hercules stated after giving up on trying to pry the bars apart. At that moment, they all heard footsteps headed in their direction. Five men came to stand before the barred cave. All five were dressed in uniforms with insignias no one locked behind the bars recognized. Accompanying them was a very beautiful young woman. She had long coppery colored hair and violet eyes. Her slender form was covered with an iridescent, shimmering blue dress. A purple sash that complimented her eyes ran diagonally across the bodice and around the waist to hang off a hip. "Good, you are all awake. Now we will have the chance to check you over," one of the men said with a pleased smile. He was older than the other four men and his uniform was a little different, indicating a higher rank. One of the other men unlocked the door made of bars as his three comrades pulled out sticks emitting an electric charge. "Back...all of you get back!" one of the men ordered as he touched the side of a crewmember with the stick he held. The crewmember screamed in pain as an electric charge surged through his body, knocking him back and out of the way. The men, apparently soldiers, continued to touch the prisoners with their electrified sticks until all were at a safe distance for inspection. Now that the prisoners were subdued, the commanding officer and the young woman entered the holding cell. The young woman let her violet eyes wander over the prisoners until they finally settled on Hercules. Her gaze raked over his muscular form, his only piece of clothing being a loincloth. "I’ll take him." Two of the soldiers moved towards Hercules. "I am not going anywhere with you!" Hercules picked up one of the soldiers and tossed him into his comrade. The two other soldiers immediately struck Hercules with their electrified sticks. The demi-god howled in pain until he fell to the floor unconscious. The soldiers held their sticks in a threatening posture to dissuade any ideas the other prisoners had of attacking them. The other two soldiers had recovered from Hercules’ attack and now grabbed the demi-god by his arms and proceeded to drag him from the cell. They followed behind the young woman and their commander as they left the cell area. "I wonder what they are going to do with Hercules?" Iolaus stood by the bars of the cell. His hands firmly gripped them as he gazed out into the cave with a look of worry on his face. "I’m wondering about that too," Nebula said. "But I am also wondering about what they are going to do to us. ********** "Ohh," Hercules groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. Twice in one day, he was waking up to pain. Slowly he opened his eyes to take in his new surroundings. They were much more comfortable then the dank cavern he had just left. He was lying on a plush couch. The room had a feminine flair to it that his sister Aphrodite would definitely appreciate. The walls of the room were salmon in color. There was a table made out of crystals surrounded by four seashell chairs. There was also a large circular bed in the center of the room, surrounded by a white lacey curtain. But what really caught Hercules’ attention was the large glass window. With some discomfort, he rose from the couch and went over to the window. He had never seen anything like it before. Windows in Greece where just square holes in walls. He let his hands touch it. He was amazed at how it kept the seawater from entering the room. Hercules finally gazed out the window, his mouth dropping in awe as he stared at the view. It appeared to be a city and the whole thing was on the bottom of the ocean floor! He saw people moving about the streets and they appeared to be breathing right from the water because they had no air bags. He saw carriages similar to ones on land but some strange creature that had the face and neck of a horse but the body of a fish pulled them. "It’s beautiful, isn’t it?" A feminine voice from behind him asked. Hercules turned to see the young woman from the cavern cell enter the room and proceeded over to where he stood by the window. "Yes it is. Where am I?" "You are in the underwater city of Meridia." "And you are?" "My name is Helena. What is your name?" "I’m Hercules." "How are those people down there able to breathe underwater?" Hercules gazed out the window again with fascination at the people moving about the street, far below. "They have gills...everyone in Meridia has them." Helena lifted her coppery colored hair and let Hercules see the slits behind both of her ears. "We also have lungs just like you land dwellers but we prefer to live in the sea." Helena let her hair fall to her shoulders again. "How did my friends and I get here?" "The whirlpool brought your ship down to the sea floor," Helena replied. "Yeah, that whirlpool was really something. We got caught up in it after a sea creature attacked our ship." "Oh, you mean Oligar." "Oligar?" Hercules’ face was riddled with confusion. "Oligar is the giant Octopus who captures land dwellers travelling upon the sea and brings them here to work in the Tarconian mines." "What are the Tarconian mines?" "Tarconian mines is where you can find Tarconia, the ore that sustains my people’s existence on the sea bottom. It heats our homes and is the corner substance in glass making." "So, I guess my friends will be working in the Tarconian mines but what about me?" Hercules asked. "You will be my personal slave." Helena let a soft smile crease her lips as she ran a slender hand, down Hercules’ bare chest. Hercules removed her hand from his chest but maintained his grip as he stared down into her violet eyes. "Helena, my friends and I can’t stay here. We only came in search of an object and once we find it, we must return home." "I’m afraid that’s not possible, Hercules. Once land dwellers enter Meridia, they stay here permanently...so you and your friends will NEVER see your homeland again." ********** Zhen Yu did some snooping around the town of Shu and found out that the local warlord, Wong Tai was throwing a twenty-fifth birthday party for himself at his fortress located at the foot of the Daba Mountains. All the local landowners of considerable wealth had been invited to the party. One in particular was a rice baron named Chen Yee who Salmoneus favored considerably. This Chen Yee happened to be a distance relative of Zhen Yu’s wife so he convinced the rice baron not to go to Wong Tai’s birthday party and let Salmoneus go in his place. Chen Yee never liked Wong Tai and agreed to Zhen Yu’s request. Fitted with a black wig and the right clothes, Salmoneus was almost a perfect double for Chen Yee. Autolycus and Meleager were fitted with black wigs and proper clothing too. They would also attend the party as *Chen Yee’s* assistants along with Zhen Yu. The foursome had the real Chen Yee’s official invitation and easily got through the fortress walls to attend Wong Tai’s birthday party. For a feared warlord, Wong Tai threw a very civilized party. Guest were dressed in their finest silk clothing as they moved about beautifully decorated tables adorned with the many food delicacies of Chin. "Hey, I think I am finally getting the hang of these chop sticks," Meleager declared as he shoved a pair of peapods into his mouth using two slender sticks. "Don’t say that too loud," Autolycus warned. "Remember, you are suppose to be Chinese and have used such sticks your whole life." "Oh yeah, that’s right," Meleager softly replied as he shoved some dumplings into his mouth. "Hey guys, this is really a great party!" Salmoneus declared as he and Zhen Yu took their seats at the table with their friends. "I’ve met some businessmen that I would sure like to keep in contact with once I get back to Greece and the Odyssey." "We are not here to network Salmoneus." Autolycus lowered his voice so people at the tables around them would not hear. "We came here to steal the piece of the Holy Saber that Wong Tai is using as a good luck charm and that’s all." After everyone had eaten, the guests were entertained with a play that was about of all things, Wong Tai’s life and how he rose to power over the region. After the play, everyone was treated to a dazzling fire works display. It was rather late when the fire works display came to an end, so all of Wong Tai’s guests stayed the night at his fortress. Since Salmoneus was believed to be the wealthy rice baron, Chen Yee, he was given a huge bedchamber with three adjoining rooms for his assistants. Once again, the foursome inspected a layout map of the fortress that Zhen Yu had been able to obtain. When they were sure everyone had indeed turned in for the night, they made their way to Wong Tai’s bedchamber. The foursome moved cautiously and quietly around the fortress, blending into the shadows whenever they spotted Wong Tai’s warriors walking about the deserted corridors. When they made it to the corridor outside of Wong Tai’s bedchamber, Zhen Yu put to use the bag of goodies he had brought. He shot two darts laced with a sleeping potion at the two guards stationed at the door of the bedchamber. They instantly fell to the floor in a deep sleep. "Before I go back to Greece, you’ve got to give me some of those darts. They would certainly come in handy on some of my jobs," Autolycus whispered. "Just forget about the darts and go in there and get the sword piece!" Salmoneus whispered. "Okay, okay, I’m going." Without making a sound, Autolycus made his way into the bedchamber while his friends remained outside and acted as lookouts. The rays of the full moon provided the only light in the bedchamber. Unlike the custom for most in Chin, a bed mat on the floor, Wong Tai actually slept in a raised bed like they did in Greece. The King of Thieves made his way over to the bed and gazed down at the sleeping warlord. Autolycus had to hold back a chuckle after seeing that Wong Tai, a feared warlord, sucked on a thumb as he slept. Autolycus had gotten from Zhen Yu, a dart laced with a sleeping potion that he stuck in Wong Tai’s arm, making sure the warlord did not wake up during the theft. Since the potion took effect instantly, Autolycus knew Wong Tai was sleeping like the dead and easily removed the gold chain attached to the piece of the Holy Saber from around the warlord’s neck. "You truly are the best, Autolycus ol’ boy," he whispered to himself as he secured the Holy Saber piece on his person. He spotted what appeared to be a very expensive ring on one finger, which he deftly removed and secured on his person too. Autolycus was preparing to leave the bedchamber when a medium size dog ran out of the adjoining room. He had seen several dogs just like this one stationed at various places around the fortress wall. The breed was called Chow-Chow and they were used as guard dogs. "Easy boy, that’s a good dog," Autolycus cooed as he cautiously made his way to the bedchamber door. The room only had the full moon for light but he could see the dog’s eyes following him and a blue-black tongue hanging out of its mouth. When the dog began to snarl, Autolycus stopped dead in his tracks. When the snarling ceased, Autolycus started for the door again. Suddenly, the dog started barking as it leaped in the air and landed on Autolycus. The dog’s loud barking was heard by other guards who immediately appeared in the corridor outside of Wong Tai’s bedchamber. Zhen Yu was able to disable some with sleeping darts but there were too many guards and not enough darts. Autolycus was rolling about the floor with the Chow-Chow, trying to keep the dog from biting him. He heard the commotion in the corridor outside the bedchamber and knew it must be filled with guards. He hoped his friends had gotten away. Autolycus knew he had to get away too. He delivered a hard punch to the dog’s head that dazed the animal. With all of his strength he tossed the animal aside then quickly rose to his feet. He made his way to the window and jumped down to the empty courtyard below just as the guards made there way into the bedchamber. Staying in the shadows of the courtyard, Autolycus made his way to the front gate. The disturbance in Wong Tai’s bedchamber had attracted the attention of all of the guards, so none were stationed at the front gate. Autolycus was about to walk to freedom when a petite, slender dark figure jumped down in front of him and delivered a kick to his midsection. Autolycus stumbled backwards, almost falling down but he remained on his feet. "I saw you take the ring," the attacker hissed. "Now give it to me." The attacker delivered a spinning kick to Autolycus’ head that knocked him to the stone courtyard. The kick to the head had left his vision blurry. His attacker’s face was hidden behind a mask but he could tell the soft whispery voice belong to a woman. "Who are you?" Slowly, Autolycus tried to rise to his feet. "Who I am is not important!" She hissed. "Just give me the ring!" With lightening quick speed, the woman delivered several chops to Autolycus’ neck and face that knocked him to the courtyard floor once again, but this time unconscious. The petite masked woman kneeled over his unconscious form, running her hands over his body. She located the ring and the Holy Saber piece, securing both on her own person. Then she quickly made her way through the front gate. ********** "Ohh, my head," Autolycus groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His eyelids fluttered several times before staying open. Autolycus’ mouth gaped open in fear as he gazed at the guards all standing around him. A man wearing a dark green silk robe stepped out of the guards and approached Autolycus’ fallen form. The King of Thieves recognized the man from Wong Tai’s birthday party. His name was Juang Thao and he was the warlord’s second in command. Juang Thao now stood over Autolycus and roughly removed his disguise, revealing him to be a stranger from the west. "I don’t know why you are here foreigner." Juang Thao grabbed Autolycus by the hair and forced him to look up at his face. "But before you DIE, I will know ALL!" ********** "Can we stop and rest a bit? Draco asked. "Yeah, we have been traveling for awhile, so we should stop for a break." Darnelle set down the gear he carried. Glaphyra and Ahkmim did the same with their gear. Draco had a thankful smile on his face as he sat on the ground and used the trunk of a tree as a backrest. The former warlord was still recovering from the poison dart so he tired easily. He had received the antidote to the poison about four days ago. Only one of the two men, Soleb had returned to their camp with the Nimbuki plant so Ahkmim could concoct the antidote. The other man, Buto had been frightened by the Simbutus and had headed back home alone. When Draco was in a better condition to travel, the journey to the volcanic mountains had resumed. But two days ago, the traveling party came across signs that they were entering deeper into Simbutu territory. They came across many decapitated heads on spikes and one of them happened to be the head of Buto! The sight had left all shaken but Soleb had been the worst effected. The next day when everyone had awakened, he had taken off in fear and on his own was trying to make it back to Egypt. Draco, Darnelle, Glaphyra and Ahkmim now feared that the frightened man would probably end up just like their dead companion. After a few hours of rest, their journey had resumed. They set up camp for the night in a valley at the base of the volcanic mountain called Kilimanjaro. According to Cyrus’ translation, it was there that they would find the Holy Saber. "Well, tomorrow guys, we will climb up that big ol’ mountain over there, find our piece of the Holy Saber and then as quickly as we can, flee the land of the cannibals," Glaphyra said. "Amen to that," Darnelle said. "I second that motion," Draco said. Ahkmim just laughed at his foreign friends as he lay down for the night. The next morning, the three men woke up to find Glaphyra’s bedroll empty. "Maybe she went to take a swim in that river we saw on the way into the valley," Draco suggested. "No way, she would have never did that. Glaphyra knew with the Simbutu’s wondering around it was too dangerous for any of us to go off alone," Darnelle insisted. "I’m afraid that Glaphyra has been taken by the Simbutus," Ahkmim declared. "There are bare footprint tracks throughout our campsite...all of us are wearing some type of footwear. They probably crept into our camp while we all slept and just carried her off." Draco and Darnelle both had looks of fear on their faces over what would become of Glaphyra. Ahkmim noticed the looks on the two men’s face. "I don’t think we have to worry about the Simbutu’s eating Glaphyra." "But Ahkmim, I thought you said the Simbutu’s were cannibals and they preyed on outsiders?" Draco asked. "Yes, they do. But I believe they grabbed Glaphyra for a different reason," Ahkmim said. "Glaphyra remembered some of the words, the Simbutu who attacked her spoke and told them to me. The man was grabbing Glaphyra not for food but for a mate." Both Darnelle and Draco were relieved to know they didn’t have to worry about their friend being the main course at a feast but they were not too happy about her being mated to someone against her will, especially Darnelle. "The main village for the Simbutu’s is not that far from here," Ahkmim stated. "Good, because we are going to go there and let this guy know that Glaphyra is already spoken for and to hand her over," Darnelle declared in a firm tone. CHAPTER 53 Xena, Cyrus and Joxer had made it to the town of Gnewitz, located in Northern Europe. They boarded their three horses in the city’s public stables, then sought passage on a ship that would take them across the narrow waterway to the town of Ramshog. According to Cyrus’ translation, just outside of the town were caves---the resting-place for a piece of the Holy Saber. When the ship reached Ramshog, the trio disembarked but before heading off to the caves, got a bite to eat at the local tavern. "That hit the spot." Joxer put the last morsel of food into his mouth, leaving the plate before him empty. "Yes, it did." Cyrus gulped down the last of the mead in his mug. "Now that we have all eaten too much, we can go work it off by exploring those caves." Xena motioned to the barmaid to bring their check. The trio had arrived at the tavern at just the right time. It was right between breakfast and lunch so the place was deserted and peacefully quiet. Once the check was paid, the trio rose from the table and prepared to depart. They had just reached the door of the tavern, when a little boy, who was in a hurry, came crashing through the door and collided into Cyrus. "Oh, sorry," the child shyly replied. His eyes were wide with fear as he gazed up at Cyrus. "It’s okay." Cyrus smiled down at the little boy. He had red hair and looked to be around Lycus’ age. "Ivan! How many times do I have to tell you that the tavern is no place to be running around!" A heavyset woman with red hair shouted. She came out of the kitchen, stormed over to the foursome and roughly grabbed the child by the arm. "Hey take it easy, the boy didn’t do any harm," Xena insisted. "My son has been warned countless times about keeping his play outside." The woman gazed at Xena then to the child standing beside her. The features of her face had grown stern. "Since you can’t do as I say, then up to your room you will go!" The woman gave the child a smack on his rear and ushered him towards the stairs that led to the second floor. Xena and her friends resumed their departure. They were exiting through the door when they heard the child shout, "Mama, I havta tell ya somethin’...it’s about Erika...she’s trapped in the caves!" The trio immediately halted their departure and proceeded over to the stairs where the woman stood with her son. "What???" The woman squatted down and holding her son’s arms, gazed into his face. "How many times have I told you and your sister to stay away from those caves?" Tears formed in the woman’s eyes and began rolling down her cheeks. "I’m sorry Mama." Ivan softly murmured as he bowed his head. Xena, Cyrus and Joxer stood gazing at the pair, now both softly crying. "Excuse me, but my friends and I couldn’t help but overhear your son say that your daughter is trapped in the caves, maybe we can help," Xena offered. "That’s very kind of you." The woman rose to her feet. She pulled a handkerchief from her apron, blew her nose then continued. "But I wouldn’t feel right asking anyone to risk their life by going to those caves. "Erika is...already lost..." The woman’s voice started to crack. "Gunther has probably killed her by now." "Who is Gunther?" Cyrus asked. The woman was too overcome with sorrow about the loss of her daughter to respond to the question so her son answered. "Gunther is the mean giant who lives in the caves. He hates all us little people." Ivan turned his attention to his mother who had seated herself in a nearby chair and had started to cry again. Xena, Cyrus and Joxer huddled together for a private pow-wow. "I knew this trip wouldn’t stay smooth," Joxer said. "Now we will have to fight a mean giant if we want to find that piece of the Holy Saber." "I’m not worried about the giant, I’ve dealt with his kind before," Xena said. "I just hope we are not too late to save that little girl." "If we want the chance of doing that, we better head on up to those caves now," Cyrus said. The trio approached the woman and her son. "Uh miss..." Xena began again as she now stood before the woman "My name is Sophie." "Hi Sophie...my name is Xena and these are my friends Cyrus and Joxer." She took the woman’s hands in hers. "I don’t want you to give up on Erika. She may still be alive and if she is, we will bring her home." "Oh no, I can’t let you do that...Gunther will kill you all." "Gunther is the one who better watch out, ‘cause Xena has beaten his kind in the past," Joxer boasted. "But the caves in themselves are so dangerous." "There is no need for you to worry about us," Cyrus assured. "We happen to have a map of the caves that details all of the nasty spots." The woman gazed at the trio standing before her. Not a one had fear in their eyes. "I guess if I can’t convince you not to go, I can at least thank you and pray that the gods will protect you all." ********** It was mid-day when Xena, Cyrus and Joxer reached the caves just outside the town of Ramshog. Cautiously, the trio proceeded into the caves. Large lit torches adorned the rocky walls, brightening the dark cave. "We can certainly thank Gunther for providing us with light. Now we can at least see where we are going," Joxer commented. "We can also see Gunther if he tries to attack us, so keep a sharp look out for him," Cyrus added. The trio proceeded deeper into the cave and there appeared to be no sign of Gunther or Erika for that matter. They came to a section of the cave that broke off into two caverns. They decided it was best to stay together and proceeded into one of the caverns. "Well, well, well...it looks like Gunther does indeed live here after all," Joxer commented breaking the silence. "Check out the furniture, he must be one huge giant." The trio had entered a cavern that was obviously being used as living quarters by the giant. A large stone table and chair sat in one corner of the cavern. In another was a huge pile of straw that was probably his makeshift bed. There was also a large pile of fruits and vegetables. "For a cave, this place is pretty warm. It must be all of the torches." Joxer began to loosen the fur coat he wore. "Will you hush up! We don’t want Gunther to know we are here!" Xena hissed. At that moment, the trio heard loud thumps, proceeding in a hurry towards the cavern in which they stood. Before they had time to hide, Gunther stood in the opening of the cavern. Joxer gasped in awe. He had to be at least three stories tall. He was rather pudgy for a giant. His shirt and pants were made from the skins of many animals. He had scraggily brown hair, beady dark eyes and grimy skin. When his eyes fixed their gaze on the trio, his mouth contorted in an angry snarl, revealing brownish-yellow teeth, some missing. With a speed surprisingly fast for someone so big, Gunther charged the trio, swinging a large club. The trio quickly scattered in separate directions as the club the angry giant wielded hit the ground where they all previously stood with an earth-shaking thud. Xena ran as fast as she could, deeper into the cavern. She immediately came to a stop when the cavern floor dropped off into a chasm. She turned around and saw no one behind her coming down the cavern. At least she knew Gunther had not followed her. She hoped her two friends had fared just as well. Xena glanced at her new surroundings. Just like the other parts of the cave, lit torches were positioned on the stone walls. Large stalactites hung from the roof of the cave. A faint sound of running water could be heard in the distance. "That means there must be another way out of these caves," Xena muttered to herself. Cautiously, Xena approached the rim of the cavern floor that plunged into a chasm. As she peered down into its dark depths, she figured it was probably bottomless. A cool breeze made its way through the cavern that Xena greatly welcomed. Her quick run through the cave had heated her body and this helped to cool her off. As the breeze subsided, Xena began to hear what sounded like the distinct whimpers of a crying child. She listened more closely. It sounded like the whimpers were actually coming from the chasm itself! Xena dropped to her knees and peered down into the chasm again. She listened closely again and once more heard the whimpers. Xena could not see anyone but she knew it had to be the little girl who was lost in the caves and feared dead by her mother and brother. She was still peering down into the cavern, when in a soft voice, she called out to the little girl. "Erika...Erika are you down there?" Abruptly, the soft whimpering stopped as a soft young voice replied, "Yes...I’m down here...and I can’t get out." The little girl started to cry again. "Don’t cry honey, I’m going to get you out of there," Xena assured in a comforting tone. "But right now, I can’t see you---you have to let me know where you are." Xena gazed intently down into the chasm, waiting for the child to signal where she was. A moment later, Xena saw a small hand waving from what appeared to be a crevice in the wall of the chasm, several feet below where she kneeled. She deduced that the child had probably fallen into the chasm as she ran from Gunther. Xena could see thick vines lining the wall of the chasm and figured the child must have grabbed onto one and made her way into a crevice in the chasm wall and that’s where she had remained all this time. With a hand, Xena grasped one of the vines hanging down the chasm wall. She gave it a tug. The vine had supported the weight of a small child but she didn’t trust it to support the weight of an adult. She rose to her feet and quickly scanned the walls of the cavern. There were vines running up and down them too but they appeared to be sturdier. Xena removed the chakram at her waist and sent it flying through the air, headed for a wall. The round metal object sliced through a vine, sending it to the cavern floor below. Xena immediately retrieved the vine and headed back over to the chasm. This vine was definitely of a sturdier construction. She tied the vine around a boulder, made sure it was secure then tossed the free end into the chasm. With a firm grip on the vine, Xena made her way down the chasm wall. She looked downward and saw the little girl peeping out of the crevice in the chasm wall. "You hold on sweetie, I’ll be there very soon to get you out." Upon hearing Xena’s words, a faint smile creased the child’s tear-stained face. Xena was halfway down the chasm wall, when she heard faint voices from up above. "Xena...Xena...where are you?" "I’m down here." Xena gazed up to see, Cyrus and Joxer kneeling at the edge of the chasm. "What are you doing down there?" Joxer asked. "Erika is trapped in a crevice in the chasm wall and I have to get her out. You two keep a look out for Gunther." Cyrus and Joxer nodded in understanding, then disappeared from sight. Xena continued her climb down the side of the chasm wall. When she finally reached the crevice, a blond little girl with a face and clothes smudged with dirt greeted her but she was smiling with relief. The crevice in the wall was too small to hold Xena, so she had the child come to her. "Okay honey, come to me." The little girl was scared and refused to move. "It’s okay Erika, nothing is going to happen to you now...just come to me." Cautiously the child came over to Xena and reached out to her. "That’s a good girl. Now you just put your arms around my neck and hold on tight." "Okay," the child softly replied. Slowly, with Erika’s arms wrapped securely around her neck and her legs around her waist, Xena began to climb out of the chasm. "What is your name?" Erika asked. "Xena." "That’s a pretty name." "Thanks. Erika is a pretty name too." "Thank you. I was named after my great-grandma." Their conversation came to an abrupt end when they heard loud thumps high above them. "Gunther is coming back!" Erika wailed as she held Xena even tighter. Xena did her best to comfort the child when she heard a voice from above again. "Gunther is coming this way Xena. Joxer and I will do our best to distract him, so you and the child can get out of the chasm," Cyrus said. Xena nodded in understanding as she slowly made her way up the chasm wall. "Okay Joxer, here he comes, get ready," Cyrus said. At that moment, Gunther stormed into the cavern. He immediately noticed the two small men running around yelling and began to chase them about the cavern. Cyrus and Joxer did a good job of keeping Gunther distracted as Xena and Erika made their way out of the chasm. Xena finally reached the rim of the chasm and was hauling Erika out when Gunther spotted them. He stopped chasing the two men and headed in their direction. Erika let out a scream of terror just as Xena told her to "Run...run as fast as you can!" The little girl did as ordered and disappeared from sight. Xena was hauling herself over the chasm rim, just as Gunther grabbed the end of the vine tied to the boulder. It instantly snapped as the giant lifted the vine and began whirling it high above his head. One of Xena’s arms had gotten the vine wrapped around it, so she now too was being whirled high above the giant’s head along with the vine. Erika had made her way to Cyrus and Joxer. Now all three stood watching in horror and wondering what would happen to Xena. "HA-HA-HA!" Gunther roared. He was having a good time whirling the small human hanging onto the vine high above his head. "You shouldn’t have come here, little woman, now you’re gonna DIE!!!" Xena’s raven tresses whipped around her face as she reached within the fur coat she wore and pulled out her breast dagger. She proceeded to cut the vine from her entangled arm. When her arm was finally free, she still held onto the vine as it continued to whirl at top speed high above the giant’s head. Xena released her grip on the vine and landed on the giant’s shoulder. Gunther angrily tossed aside the vine and tried to grab Xena as she stood on his shoulder. "Yiyiyiyiyiyiyi," she cried as she leaped into the air just as a large hand came smacking down on his shoulder. Xena headed straight for the scraggily bangs of hair hanging in the giant’s face. She grasped onto the hair and was dangling in front of Gunther’s beady eyes. Before he had a chance to grab her, Xena quickly unsheathed the sword on her back and plunged it into one of his eyeballs. Gunther let out an ear-piercing howl of pain. Xena pulled out her sword and leaped from his body just as his large hands came up to his injured eye. She grabbed hold of a large stalactite. She leaped from one to another and then another, until she made her way over to the cavern wall, then she used a vine running down it to reach the floor of the cavern. She immediately joined her friends and Erika and watched as Gunther stumbled about howling in pain. The giant was not paying attention to where he was going and ended up stumbling into the bottomless chasm. The foursome listened as his screams echoed out of earshot. "Mean ol’ Gunther won’t be terrorizing the people of Ramshog anymore," Joxer declared. "And now we can search the caves for that piece of the Holy Saber but first we should take Erika home." Cyrus gazed down at the little girl standing beside him. "Cyrus is right." Xena ran a hand through the child’s blond locks. "I know your mother and brother will be so happy to see you." Xena noticed an object she held in a small hand distracted the child’s attention. "Hey, what is that you’ve got there?" "I found it in the chasm wall. It’s some piece of metal with a real cool design on it." Erika held up the piece of metal for the adults to see. "Let me have a look at that." Cyrus took the piece of metal from the child. He could see some of the design to which the child referred but most of it was covered by dirt. Cyrus gently removed the rest of the dirt. His hazel eyes wandered over the object a few moments before a smile broke out over the former Watcher’s face. "What is it Cyrus?" Xena gazed intently at her friend’s smiling face. "This metal is not just some old scrap...it’s a piece to the Holy Saber." "Cyrus, are you sure?" Xena moved closer to her friend as did Joxer. "Yes I am but see it for yourself." Cyrus handed the metal object to Xena. Joxer moved closer to Xena so he could get a better view of the object too. As Xena’s eyes wandered over the metal object she now held in her hands, she could see that it was indeed part of the blade to a sword. And the design etched in the metal did match the one seen in the old scroll drawing of the Holy Saber. Talon had also been inspecting the metal object Xena held in her hands and it was indeed part of the blade to the Holy Saber. He had seen his comrade Metatron, now known to the world as Dahak with the sword on many occasions. Talon had always admired its impeccable craftsmanship. "It looks like our search is over before it’s even began," he commented. Xena turned to gaze at the little girl who had been silently watching the adults inspect the metal object she had found in the chasm wall. "Erika, do you mind if we take this?" "I was gonna give it to Ivan but you are the one who saved my life, so you can have it." "Thanks." Xena had a smile on her face as she grasped one of the child’s hands and proceeded to depart the caves. Cyrus and Joxer followed them. When the foursome arrived at the tavern in Ramshog, Sophie and Ivan were overjoyed to see Erika alive. Sophie couldn’t thank Xena and her friends enough for finding her daughter and bringing the child safely home. The overjoyed mother wanted to give the trio some money but they refused. But they did accept Sophie’s offer to stay at her place free of charge for the night. It was the dinner hour when the foursome arrived at the tavern so Sophie was busy with patrons. Cyrus and Joxer made themselves busy too, leaving Xena alone with Ivan and Erika. She had a great time with the children. They reminded her so much of Lycus and Lysia---she missed them terribly. And now that they found their piece to the Holy Saber, they could head back to Greece. The next morning, Xena, Cyrus and Joxer prepared for their journey back to Greece. Sophie, Ivan and Erika, went with the trio to the harbor and bid them goodbye before their ship set sail for the town of Gwenwitz. Once in Gwenwitz, they retrieved the horses from the stables where the animals had been boarded then headed south. Spending time with Erika and Ivan seemed to improve the lousy mood Xena had been in for most of their journey but the improvement proved to be short lived after a stop in a town on their way back to Greece. The horses needed to rest, so they stopped for a few hours in a town. The trio decided to replenish their own strength at the local tavern. They were eating their meal when a local thug entered the tavern and began harassing a barmaid. It was obvious the woman did not welcome his attention and when no one else came to her aid, Xena took it upon herself to rescue the woman. She would have beaten the man to a pulp if Cyrus along with Joxer hadn’t pulled her off of him. This incident had happened hours ago. The trio had left the town behind and had set up their camp in the forest. They were sitting around a roaring fire. Joxer sat in silence as Cyrus and Xena had a heated argument about her harsh behavior earlier in the day. "Xena, the man had backed off of harassing the barmaid...there was no reason for you to attack him like that!" "Look Cyrus, I have seen his type before. After we left he would have been all over that barmaid. But now, it will be a while before he comes near the woman again." Xena let a devilish smile crease her lips. "Xena, if Joxer and I hadn’t pulled you off that guy, you would have beaten him to death!" The former Watcher stared at his friend incredulously. "What has gotten into you lately?" "I don’t know what you mean Cyrus...I am perfectly fine." "No you’re not! Ever since this journey began, your temper has been short, you are quieter than usual...and now this incident at the tavern..." "Oh, will you just get off my back Cyrus!" Xena yelled as she quickly rose to her feet. "I have plenty to deal with already so I certainly don’t need you questioning my actions!" She stormed away from the campsite and disappeared into the forest. An exasperated sigh escaped the former Watcher’s lips. He retrieved a stick and began poking at the campfire. Joxer still remained silent but quietly rose to his own feet and disappeared into the forest to find Xena. Hidden in some foliage, Joxer watched Xena as she sat on a large rock down by the banks of a river. In one hand she held a water skin that she uncapped then proceeded to put to her lips. A wicked grin formed on Joxer’s face as he watched her empty the water skin---it contained the last of the crimson substance. Joxer left the foliage and strolled over to where Xena sat on the large rock. "If you are here to get on my back about beating up that guy...don’t even start...’cause I don’t want to hear it!" Xena rose from the rock and now gazed out at the river. "I’m not here to talk about that guy, Xena. Like you, I think you gave him what he deserved." "Well, it’s good to know at least one of my friends is on my side." "I actually came down here because I was curious about your situation with Ares." "Oh really?" Xena finally turned to face Joxer and there was a curious look on her own face. "I know that you and Ares only formed an alliance to fight Dahak but now there are a couple of kids so I was wondering what your plans are?" "Ares and I both agree we have to do what’s best for the children, so right now we are getting along great, in fact, better than we have in years." Xena had a pleased smile on her face but it quickly turned to a look of uncertainty and worry. "But right now, we have a common purpose...defeating Dahak. I don’t know what will happen once that is accomplished and we go back to our regular obligations." Joxer put his hands on Xena’s shoulders in a comforting gesture. "No matter what happens, Xena, I want you to know that I will always be there for you and the kids." He embraced her in a hug. "Thanks Joxer, that really means a lot to me." Under normal circumstances, Talon would have never made his next move but the fallen Watcher figured since Xena had drank the last of the crimson substance, meaning the transformation was almost complete, that it was worth a shot. Besides, he had been dying to do it ever since he first laid eyes on her. Talon pulled away from his comforting embrace with Xena and gazed into her crystal blue eyes. Slowly, and cautiously, he leaned his face into hers, claiming her lips in a gentle kiss. When she put up no resistance he deepened the kiss. But suddenly, he felt her hand reach up to tightly grip his throat and push him away. Xena’s crystal blue eyes were blazing as she stared into his face. "You are NOT Joxer!" "No...No, I’m not," he admitted, letting a wicked smile crease his lips. "WHO are you?" Xena’s gaze bore into him as she gave his throat a threatening squeeze. "The name’s Talon...I’m an old friend of your father’s." Anger began to rise in Xena upon learning that one of Dahak’s demon cronies resided in the body of a dear friend. Xena maintained her tight grip around his throat as she shoved him back into the trunk of a nearby tree. "I want you out of my friend’s body, NOW!!!" "Me leaving Joxer’s body will not bring him back, Xena. Joxer is gone for good...he is dead!" Talon managed a devilish grin despite the grip Xena maintained on his throat. A growl of frustration escaped Xena’s lips as tears began to form in her eyes. She removed her chakram from her waist and was now holding it, poised to kill the demon residing in Joxer’s body when her own body was hit with an excruciating pain. She released her grip on Talon’s throat and backed away from him as the pain intensified. Xena lost her grip on the chakram as she dropped to her knees and doubled over in pain. "W-what’s h-happening to m-me?" She gasped between now labored breaths. "The pain will go away if you stop fighting the transformation, Xena." Talon made his way over to where Xena was on her knees. He reached out to touch her chin and tilted her face up to look at him. "YOU...you are responsible for this!!!" Xena jerked her head away from his hand. "What did you do to me???" "I’ve been spiking your water supply with Dahak’s blood. That water you drank just a while ago was the last of it, so now you will once again embrace your dark side." "You BASTARD!!!" Xena roughly gripped Talon by the shirt but another pain surged through her body, so she dropped to the ground, groaning in pain. "The more you fight, the more painful the transformation will be." Talon knelt down beside her. "Just relax Xena...let the darkness caress your soul." He soothingly ran a hand through her raven tresses. Soon her groans of pain stopped and her breathing returned to normal. "That’s a good girl," Talon cooed in an ear. The fallen Watcher rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. At that moment, Cyrus stepped out of the forest and proceeded to approach the pair. Xena had her back to him as she stood facing Joxer. The former Watcher sensed there was something wrong with her, so he asked, "Xena, are you all right?" "I’m just fine, Cyrus." Suddenly, Xena whirled around, throwing out her right hand that released an energy ball that hit the former Watcher square in the chest, knocking him unconscious to the ground Talon draped an arm around Xena’s shoulders as evil laughter escaped his lips. "Why, I haven’t felt this good since my warlord days." Xena’s crystal blue eyes were as black as the abyss of Tartarus as an evil smile formed on her face. CHAPTER 54 "Uh Gabrielle, what is that suppose to be?" Lysia asked somewhat hesitantly. "It’s a cow." The little girl had a look of skepticism on her face. "It’s so obvious," Gabrielle insisted. "See, here is the udder." "If you say so." Lysia shrugged her shoulders as she continued to work on her own drawing of her father’s black winged stallion, Serpico. Lycus let out a chuckle as he listened to the chatter of the two females. The little boy was finishing up his own drawing of a battle elephant. Gabrielle and the twins were in one of the back rooms located in the main Temple of Ares in Thebes. The war god had a meeting with his top warlords and decided the children could come along but only if Gabrielle kept them busy in one of the back rooms. The kids liked to draw, so Gabrielle found some chalk in multiple colors and for the past few hours, she and the children had been busy drawing on the walls of the back room. Gabrielle had been doing a lot of practice with her powers and knew how to make the walls clean again so Ares wouldn’t freak. "Hey, Gabrielle, I got an idea. We should do a big drawing together," Lysia said. "We could make it something really nice that even Daddy will like and maybe he would let the drawing stay." "That’s a great idea, Lysia. Now we just have to come up with what we want to put in the drawing." With the two girls embroiled in chatter about their drawing collaboration, Lycus decided to leave the back room and check out his father’s meeting with the warlords. The little boy figured that if he stayed hidden and didn’t make a sound, no one would ever know he was there. ********** "General Andocides has sent word that he has found Dahak’s main base of operations. It’s the isle of Thera." Ares pointed out the island on a large map lying atop the table at which he stood along with several of his warlords. "For the past few months, the island has had a lot of volcanic activity so it was abandoned. That’s when Dahak and his followers took up residence." "But lord Ares, how will we attack Dahak’s base without losing our men to demon possession?" One warlord asked that got many mumbles in agreement from his comrades. "You will find your protection against demon possession on the ships that will take you to Thera. The ships will set sail this afternoon and you should reach Thera within two days. An attack at night would be best..." "Ah Ares, despite our conflict, you still manage to impress me..." a disembodied deep voice stated. The warlords standing about the table looked around the temple hall for the unseen speaker. Their eyes widened when in a flame of fire, Dahak’s form appeared. He wore his usual black leather and black billowing cape. "...your defeat is inevitable yet you still insist on launching attacks against me." "It’s Dahak!" One warlord declared. His eyes filled with fear along with those of his comrades. A fireball formed in the evil god’s right hand that he hurled in the direction of the table. All, including Ares, jumped for cover but the fireball did manage to consume two of the warlords. The surviving warlords had eyes wide with fear as they watched their burning comrades stumble about the temple, screaming in agony. Eventually their charred corpses fell to the floor. The surviving warlords still had fear in their eyes as they first gazed at the smoldering remains then to Dahak. They all made a quick exit out of the temple, as Dahak’s evil laughter echoed around them. The evil god stopped laughing and turned his gaze toward the war god, now the only other person in the room. "You managed to flee Olympus right when our confrontation was getting hot. But you won’t be so lucky this time." Dahak unsheathed his sword and charged the war god. Ares quickly unsheathed his own sword and deftly blocked the blow of Dahak’s incoming sword. The sound of clashing steel echoed throughout the large temple hall as the two immortals repeatedly exchanged blows with their swords. It appeared the two gods were evenly matched in their sword skills, so they backed off their mutual attack and began to circle one another. Ares had a curious gleam in his eyes as they focused on the red tint to the steel of Dahak’s blade. "I see you find my sword fascinating and so you should," Dahak said with a wicked grin. "Hind’s blood was mixed into the metal." The smile on Dahak’s face widened as he saw Ares’ eyes widen in surprise. "The deadly blood was forged into the steel, giving the blade its red tint." Suddenly, with viciousness, Dahak swung his sword at Ares but the war god deftly blocked it. "One nick from the blade of my sword and you are finished Ares!!!" "Then I will have to keep on my toes," the war god firmly stated, as the two gods began to circle each other again. "Oh, you will have to do more than keep up on your toes." At that moment, Ares heard a whizzing sound headed straight for him. With lightening quick speed, he raised a hand just in time to halt an arrow from piercing his chest. The war god intently gazed at the arrow---the tip was a deep red. "It’s Hind’s blood just like my sword," Dahak confessed. "You see, I plan on making sure you don’t leave your temple ALIVE!" Ares quickly gazed up at the balcony running along the top of the hall. It was now lined with archers. They had obviously entered the temple when he was engrossed in his battle with Dahak. All of them now stood with arrows dipped in Hind’s blood poised against their bows. The war god was definitely in the battle of his life. For not only did he have to ward off Dahak’s blade of Hind’s blood but the Hind’s blood tipped arrows of archers! Ares didn’t have much time to absorb his dilemma before a hail of arrows was fired in his direction. With lightening quick speed, he batted them away with his sword. While he was warding off the attack of arrows, Dahak decided to lunge at him with his sword. The war god managed to block the blow and give the evil god a kick to the midsection, knocking him some feet away. Before another attack could begin against him, Ares used his powers to beckon a shield to him. ********** Lycus had been standing behind one of the temple’s large columns, listening to his father speak to the warlords when Dahak’s form had appeared in a flame of fire. The little boy had never seen this god before but there was something about him that was familiar. When the fight between the two gods began and the evil god continued to speak, Lycus suddenly realized what was familiar about the other god. His crystal blue eyes widened in fear. It was his voice! His voice sounded exactly like the snake man from his nightmares. The god fighting his father didn’t look like the snake man of his dreams but the child was sure it was him. Lycus began to fear for his father when he heard the evil god talk about something called Hind’s blood and said it could kill the war god. The child’s fear increased when the arrows of archers, also laced with this Hind’s blood were shot at his father. But the fear soon turned to anger as he watched his father not only fight off an attack from this evil god but deadly arrows too. Lycus decided to give Ares some help. The little boy retrieved his slingshot from a pocket. It was a good thing he had filled the other pocket with rocks. Lycus put a rock against the band of the slingshot, got one of the archers in view then let the rock fly. ********** Ares was doing a pretty good job of using the shield to ward off the deadly Hind’s blood tipped arrows and Dahak’s deadly Hind’s blood blade when he noticed the arrows shot at him were lessening. When the war god took a quick look at the balcony above, he saw archers falling over as they quickly drew their hands to their eyes. It appeared that someone had managed to take out some of the archers and he greatly appreciated it. "Ah, no ya don’t." Lycus sent off another rock that hit one of the archers directly in the left eye. "Yes, a bulls-eye," the child giggled. He thought this was definitely a lot more fun than drawing battle elephants on a temple wall. Lycus had another archer in his line of fire and was about to hit him with the rock he placed in his slingshot, when he felt someone grab him from behind, lifting him off his feet. The person knocked the slingshot from his grasp as they put a hand over his mouth. "I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth. Don’t even think about screaming or I will slit your throat here and now!" A female voice hissed. Lycus felt something cold and wet against the skin of his throat and knew it was the blade of a dagger. He also recognized the woman’s voice. It was the goddess he had encountered that day in the Halls of War when he had been playing with his father’s miniature soldiers. ********** Ares noticed that the arrow attacked had picked up again. He had lost whoever had been helping him. With the constant hail of arrows, plus Dahak’s fierce attack, it was becoming harder for the war god to defend himself. Dahak saw an opening in Ares’ defenses and delivered a punch in the side he knew he had injured with an energy ball on Mt. Olympus. The war god howled in agony as he stumbled back away from Dahak. He was near the many temple columns running along the walls and quickly dodged between them. Dahak let an evil laugh of triumph escape his lips. "You can run Ares but you can’t hide forever!" As he moved along the shadows of the columns, Ares knew he had to flee the temple if he wanted to survive but first he had to get to Lycus, Lysia and Gabrielle. They had to flee the temple too. ********** "What are ya gonna do to me?" Lycus asked. "I’m going to kill you. This dagger at your throat is laced with Hind’s blood. Why if it just nicks your skin...you will DIE!" Discord cooed in the child’s ear. The fear Lycus earlier felt was starting to creep back upon him but he was determined to suppress it when he casually addressed his immortal captor. "My name is Lycus. What’s yours?" For a little kid with a dagger at his throat, Discord thought he acted pretty nonchalant. But then again, this is what she would expect from Ares’ and Xena’s kid. She figured telling him who she was wouldn’t hurt since he wouldn’t be alive much longer. "I’m Discord." Lycus remembered hearing the name when his grandfather Zeus had visited him and Lysia at their father’s castle in Macedon. The King of the gods had recounted for them some of the pantheon’s history and the family tree. "Hey, you’re one of my Dad’s sisters. That makes you my Aunt." "Yeah, so?" Discord snorted. "We are family. Ya shouldn’t kill your family." The goddess evilly chuckled at the child’s innocence. "For your information kid, it’s a tradition in our family to kill one another." Lycus began to panic when he felt the Hind’s blood dagger press harder against the delicate skin of his throat. "But why do ya wanna kill me? I’ve never done anything to ya?" "You just being alive is enough reason for me to want you dead. Besides, I know how devastated your Dad will be over the death of his *precious* son!" "No! Lemme go! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" Lycus screamed as he began to squirm in Discord’s grasp. "I told you what would happen if you screamed brat!" Discord prepared to slice Lycus’ throat open with the dagger she had drenched in Hind’s blood. But before the dagger could penetrate the skin of the child’s throat, Discord felt someone grab hold of her hair and yank hard, forcing her to release her grip on the little boy who fell to the ground. Discord got a quick glimpse of Ares’ enraged face as he still roughly gripped her wild tresses. The war god effortlessly lifted her petite frame off the ground and hurled her with great force into one of the temple’s stone walls. The goddess slumped to the floor unconscious. Ares immediately knelt before Lycus. "Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you did she? " He turned the child this way and that making sure Discord had not nicked his skin with the dagger laced in Hind’s blood. He produced a cloth and wiped away the Hind’s blood staining the child’s throat. "I’m okay, Dad." Ares noticed the slingshot lying on the temple floor. "That was you who knocked out the archers shooting at me?" "Yeah, I used my slingshot to take out those guys." Lycus let a sly smile crease his lips. "Thanks." Ares mussed the child’s curly black hair before rising to his feet. "Lycus, I want you to go to the room where Lysia and Gabrielle are and tell them you must all leave the temple at once." "But Dad…I don’t wanna leave. I wanna stay and help ya," Lycus pleaded as he gazed up at the war god. "No, it’s too dangerous. Now do as I say and get your sister and Gabrielle out of here." Lycus had a disappointed frown on his face but he did obey his father. He quickly retrieved his slingshot then headed off in the direction of the room where he had left Lysia and Gabrielle. Once Lycus was out of sight, Ares turned his attention to Discord once again. The goddess was just regaining consciousness from her earlier collision with the stone wall, when she felt someone roughly grip her right arm and haul her to her feet. When Discord’s vision finally cleared she gazed up into the angry face of the God of War. "I gave you the opportunity to make amends for your betrayal of Olympus but this time, you went too far BITCH! You tried to kill my son!" In Ares’ other hand was the dagger laced with Hind’s blood that the goddess had tried to use on Lycus. The War God was bringing it down to slice Discord’s throat when his actions were suddenly halted. Ares released his hold on Discord as he gazed in shock at the arrow piercing through his side. "Yes! A direct hit!" Minos declared from his hiding place in the shadows of the temple. The exalted high priest was finally getting his revenge on the war god. He quickly lodged two arrows with Hind’s blood tips against the bow he held and fired them at the injured war god. ********** Lycus made his way to the room where he had left Lysia and Gabrielle. The two hadn’t even heard the commotion going on in the main hall of the temple and were busy using the colored chalk to create their drawing collaboration. "Hey, you two, we all have to get out of here now!" Lysia and Gabrielle immediately rose to their feet upon seeing Lycus’ rushed state. "Why? What is going on? Gabrielle asked. "Dad is fighting the snake man from my nightmares in the main hall of the temple!" "The snake man is here!" Lysia’s brown eyes were wide with fear. "That’s why Dad wants us all to leave now...he said it was too dangerous for us to stay here." Xena had told Gabrielle about Lycus’ dreams and Dahak being behind them so she knew the child’s reference to the snake man meant that Dahak was the one Ares was fighting. "Okay kids, lets do what your dad says and get out of here. We will go out the temple’s back exit and head into the woods." Gabrielle ushered the kids out of the room and all three headed towards the back exit. ********** After the first arrow pierced his body, Ares stumbled over to one of the large columns and used it to stay upright. He was breaking off the end of the arrow piercing his side when he felt the sting of two more arrows that penetrated his back. Ares was no longer able to stand and fell to the floor, on his back, pushing the two arrows that penetrated his back through the skin of his chest. He could feel the Hind’s blood poison racing through his body as he lay on the floor of his own temple, unable to move. His breathing was becoming labored as his brown eyes focused on Discord who now stood over him. "Ha, and you were going to kill me with the Hind’s blood but it looks like you are the one who is dying now." Evil laughter escaped the lips of the goddess that was mixed with the laughter of a man who now too stood over Ares’ fallen form. Ares face was riddled with confusion as his glazed over eyes focused on a face he hadn’t seen in years. "Minos! But you...are suppose...to be dead?" he breathed. "Oh, I was dead Ares, but the Dark One brought me back to life to serve him once again." Minos let a wicked smile crease his lips as he gazed down at the fallen war god. "It appears Dahak was right after all when he told me that revenge is a dish best served cold." Minos broke out into evil laughter again and Discord joined him. The two ceased their laughter when Dahak approached. "Well Minos, I see you are the lucky archer who stuck Ares, congratulations!" An evil smile creased the god’s lips. "Thank you Dark One," Minos replied returning the evil smile. "Oh, I must inform you that I saw your grandson in the temple." "You saw Lycus! Where is he now?" The god demanded in a rushed tone. "After Ares prevented Discord from killing the child, he ran off. He probably fled the temple." "Discord! You tried to kill my grandson!" Dahak roughly grabbed Discord by her throat pulling her towards him. "She had a dagger laced with Hind’s blood...I saw the whole thing." Minos added. "And you kept some of the Hind’s blood for yourself, huh?" Dahak’s dark gaze bore down into Discord’s face. Discord glared at Minos for ratting her out before she set her gaze on Dahak. "I don’t know why you are getting all bent out of shape about me wanting the brat dead! After all, you did have Hope kill Xena’s oldest son." "Solan was too mortal to be of any use to me. But Lycus is almost a full god and he must remain alive for him to serve my purpose." Angrily, Dahak hurled Discord away from him. "It would be best for you to get out of my sight right now!" Discord did what the evil god suggested and in a sparkle of light, quickly vanished from sight. "You...you will never get Lycus...Xe-Xena will...stop you," Ares breathed. "Ah Ares, as of now, Xena will probably personally hand Lycus over to me. That boy is destined for such greatness and it really is a pity his father won’t live to see it." Dahak raised his sword high above his head and in a quick vertical motion, brought the blade down to pierce right through Ares’ chest. In one last effort, Ares tried to remove the sword being held in his chest but his muscular arms quickly lost their strength and fell to his sides just as his eyes closed one final time and the temple started to violently shake. ********** Gabrielle, Lycus and Lysia had safely made it through the back exit of the temple and proceeded into the thick forest, directly behind the large structure. They didn’t know what a safe distance would be and kept on running. But Lycus came to a stop when the ground began to violently shake. The child had a bad feeling regarding his father and took off in the direction of the temple they had just left. Gabrielle looked over her shoulder to see Lycus heading back the way they had came. "Lycus, what are you doing? Come back!" Gabrielle took off after Lycus and Lysia followed her. But the path of the two girls was blocked when the shaking earth uprooted a dead tree that fell directly in their path, halting their pursuit of Lycus. ********** The earth continued to shake a few moments more then stood still again. Pleased smiles crossed the faces of Dahak and Minos as they gazed down at the now lifeless body of the war god. Dahak removed his sword from Ares’ chest before the pair headed towards the front entrance of the temple. When they got there, they found the archers. Most had recovered from Lycus’ assault with a slingshot. "The god of this temple is dead," Dahak announced. Pleased smiles appeared on the faces of the archers. "Now all of you must find my grandson who fled the temple only moments ago. You must bring him to me…alive. He answers to the name of Lycus and looks quite a bit like the deceased war god but he does have my eyes. Now get moving!" Upon hearing Dahak’s commands, the archers immediately exited the temple in search of Lycus. Dahak and Minos exited the temple soon after them. Once the pair was outside, Dahak raised both of his hands, unleashing giant energy balls that reduced the Temple of Ares to a pile of rubble in a matter of moments. The people of Thebes who were in the street when the temple was destroyed stood in silent shock as they gazed at the large pile of rubble. Fear formed in their eyes as they gazed at the man who had just destroyed the Temple of Ares. "PEOPLE OF THEBES," Minos shouted. "THE GODS OF OLYMPUS EXIST NO MORE...MAKE WAY FOR THE ONE GOD...LORD DAHAK." The people of Thebes looked on in horror as the pair erupted into evil laughter. Instantly, a flame of fire appeared consuming their two forms, then they vanished into nothingness. CHAPTER 55 High Priest Telamon protectively covered his head with his arms as he lay upon the ground. Thick dust filled the air, making its way into the man’s chest, creating a tickle in his throat. He brought a hand to his mouth as coughs repeatedly poured from his lips. When the dust finally cleared, Telamon opened his eyes that immediately widened in shock. Before him lay large dark gray stones, the only remnants left of the main Temple of Ares. Sadness crept upon the man. The temple had been his home for more than ten summers. His sadness deepened when he turned to gaze at the form lying beside him. It was the lifeless body of the war god he served---Ares. Telamon had been working in the cellar when the temple began to violently shake. Fearing for his life, the priest had made his way to the first floor. By then, the temple had stopped shaking. Telamon had made his way to the temple’s great hall. He had hidden behind a massive column and watched unfamiliar men, dressed as warriors quickly leave the temple. After their hasty departure, he left his hiding place and followed the sound of voices. Once again, Telamon hid behind a column and watched in stunned disbelief as two men stood over Ares’ body, the taller of the two, removing the blade of a sword from the chest of the fallen god. Anger had brewed up in the priest as he gazed at his lord’s dead body then to the man who had killed him. A hand had tightly gripped the hilt of the sword that hung at his side --- ready to be unsheathed and used to destroy the one who had murdered the war god. But that anger had quickly turned to fear when Telamon heard the shorter of the two men address the other as ‘Dark One’. He was Dahak! The ‘One Great Evil’ had killed the god of war! Uneasiness had crept upon Telamon as he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. Since Dahak had killed Lord Ares, what chance did he, a mere mortal, have against the evil god? Telamon had remained where he stood and watched as Dahak retrieved the fallen war god’s sword from the floor, then he and the other man left the temple. After they were gone, Telamon had made his way over to Ares’ body. A look of disbelief was in his eyes as he stared down at the dead god. Two arrows still protruded from his flesh. Blood from the fatal wound in his chest stained his silver studded black vest. For Telamon, it seemed so unfathomable that a being who had lived for millennia and who was suppose to exist long after his own death now lay dead before him. Telamon’s thoughts left the stunning demise of the war god and turned to the twins and Gabrielle. All three had been in one of the temple’s back rooms. Had they been murdered too!? Fearing the worst, Telamon prepared to head for the back rooms when the temple walls started to shake again, but this time, the large stone columns began to tumble. Immediately, the distraught man left the structure but not before he grabbed hold of Ares’ body, pulling it out of the doomed temple. As he left the recent past and returned to the present, Telamon took his gaze off the demolished temple. Slowly, he rose to his feet, took hold of his Ares’ limp arms and proceeded to drag his lifeless body away from the temple ruins. While he carried out this grim task, his thoughts drifted back to the children and the young woman. Telamon prayed to whichever Olympian god was left that they were still alive. ********** The crunching of dry leaves under his feet reverberated through Lycus’ head as the little boy ran back to Thebes, headed for the Temple of Ares. Due to the sudden earthquake, trees had been uprooted and now lay in his original path so he had to go around them taking a longer route. Mixed with the sound of the leaves were warning bells ringing in the child’s head. Lycus couldn’t shake the feeling that the snakeman had done something horrible to his father. When he reached the edge of the forest, he picked up his pace and headed for an alleyway that led into Thebes. But Lycus saw the archers that had been in his father’s temple disburse from the alley, headed for the forest and directly towards him. The boy quickly hid behind some thick foliage before the archers could see him. Lycus listened and watched anxiously as the men who had just attacked his father headed in his direction. He ducked deeper into the foliage, behind and beneath the ferns, feeling the serrated edges of the leaves as they brushed his bare arms. His breathing was strained, winded from his run. It sounded unnaturally loud in his ears. Would the archers hear it? His heart pounded in his chest. Would its thunderous beats betray his location? He figured the men had to be looking for him, Lysia and Gabrielle and if they found them, would take them to the snakeman! The child’s small body began to tremble at the thought. Lycus couldn’t let himself be found. He pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapped his arms tightly about them and laid completely still as he intently listened for the archers to pass his location. The child held his breath. The crunching of leaves under their footfalls was right next to the foliage where he laid hidden! But steadily the sound began to fade as they moved away. Slowly, Lycus exhaled the breath he had been holding but remained motionless a few moments more wanting to be sure they were truly gone. Quietly, he rose to his feet, took a peek and saw that the archers were indeed moving away from him and headed into the forest. But still exercising caution, the child headed towards the alley they had just vacated. On the way, he sent a telepathic message to his sister, to be careful of the snakeman’s archers. The alleyway was a narrow strip between two large stone buildings not that far down the main street of Thebes on which his father’s temple was located. When Lycus reached the street, he was immediately swallowed up in a sea of people. Like the large waves of the ocean, the masses moved---the strength of their numbers overpowered the young boy, propelling his small body forward. As he was forcibly moved with the crowd, Lycus gazed up at the people towering over him. Their faces were riddled with fear and panic, which was voiced loudly by some, reverberating throughout the shifting sea of humanity. "Did anybody see it!? What was it!?" Someone frantically cried. "Oh gods, it was an earthquake!" Another screamed in a panic. Despite the growing anxiety over the unknown, the masses continued to move forward, taking Lycus’ small form along with them, down the main street of Thebes. Abruptly, Lycus was jostled to a halt as the crowd finally reached its destination---but where? "Wow, wouldja look at that!" Someone in the crowd breathed with awe and utter disbelief. Filled with fear and anxiety, Lycus desperately shoved and squeezed his way through the masses until he made it to the front of where they all stood. As the young boy took in the sight now before him, his mouth hung agape and his crystal blue eyes widened in shock. A mountain of large gray stone was piled before them. It was the only remnant of the massive main Temple of Ares. Lycus stood in silence, staring with disbelief at the ruins as a man among the masses recounted what had happened. "I saw the whole thing," he began. "Two men came out of the temple. One was very tall and he was the one who raised his hands and hit the temple with energy bolts knocking it to the ground." "Was anyone in the temple?" Another asked which was echoed throughout the crowd. ‘His father!’ Lycus thought. He had told him, Lysia and Gabrielle to leave the temple but had he made it out? The child began a search for Ares. To take in the extent of the devastation around them, some of the people walked about the rubble and what used to be a side of the temple. Lycus followed them. They were headed towards a smaller group standing around what appeared to be forms lying on the ground. Once again, warning bells went off in Lycus’ head. Fearing the worst, the child ran past the people walking in front of him. When he got to the gathered group, he pushed his way between two adults to see what fascinated them so. "Dad!" Lycus raced over to his father’s fallen form, dropping to his knees. Telamon was already kneeling in the dirt beside the war god’s body. A relieved smile crossed his face when he gazed at the child. "Thank Elysia you got out of the temple before it collapsed. Did Lysia and Gabrielle get out too?" So focused was he on his father’s form, that Lycus hadn’t even noticed Telamon until the high priest addressed him. His voice was soft and distant when he took his gaze from Ares’ body and looked towards the priest. "Yeah, they got out too. We ran into the woods but I came back ‘cause I thought something had happened to my dad." The child’s eyes fell to his father once again as tears began to roll down his cheeks. Lycus let a small hand grasp Ares’ now cold right one. Again, the boy looked at the priest, whom he addressed with a soft hesitant tone. "He’s dead…isn’t he?" Telamon looked at the boy, his own eyes mirroring the same sadness. "I’m afraid so." Upon hearing the man’s words, Lycus bowed his head as sobs of sorrow escaped his lips and tears rapidly flowed from his eyes. Telamon gently placed a hand on the child’s head to offer consolation. He empathized with the boy---to lose a parent at such a young age and in so brutal a fashion. Telamon’s thoughts drifted to the evil god who had murdered Ares. Safety was now an issue for them as well as the two missing girls. "Lycus, we must find Lysia and Gabrielle...let them know what has happened." The boy raised his head and turned to look at the high priest, his eyes reddening and filled with tears. "We will find them." Lycus didn’t know how he was going to tell them what had happened especially his sister and was more concerned about them safely hiding from the snakeman’s archers. The snakeman---the tormentor from his dreams was real. He was the only being that the young boy had ever truly feared. And now the one male figure he had yearned to have in his life, his father, was dead at the hands of the ‘snakeman’. Lycus said nothing more as he bowed his head over his father’s lifeless face and softly cried. ********** Seated on a thick branch of a tree, Lysia raised a hand and caught a bright red leaf that slowly floated down from a higher branch. The young girl gazed up at Gabrielle, who remained standing, her arms wrapped around the thick trunk of the mammoth oak tree. The bard returned the child’s gaze as she brought a finger to her lips, motioning for Lysia to remain silent. The little girl nodded in understanding as she looked downward, focusing on the men with bows and arrows strapped to their backs searching the forest below. Having to make their way around uprooted trees, Lysia and Gabrielle had tried to follow Lycus back into Thebes. But before reaching the city limits, Lysia had received her brother’s telepathic message about the snakeman’s archers heading in their direction. In a frantic search for a hiding place, the two chose a massive oak tree that, despite it being late fall, still had quite a bit of its leaves that would shroud them from the view of the archers. They had just made their way onto one of the oak’s higher branches when the archers reached their location. The men had been there awhile now, giving the area a thorough search. An annoyed smirk crossed Gabrielle’s lips as her green eyes focused on the men far below their hiding spot. She wished they would just move on already. The bard had always hated heights and could not wait to be out of the tree. Gabrielle wondered what fascinated them so that they would remain in one area for so long. She released her hold on the tree trunk and started to move about the branch on which she stood, hoping to get a better view of the men far below. She had only taken a few steps when she lost her balance and stumbled from the branch. "Gabrielle!" Lysia screamed as she watched with wide eyes as her mother’s best friend headed towards the ground. With a thud, the bard’s body hit the ground. Other than being a little disoriented, to her surprise, Gabrielle felt no pain. If she were still in her old body, she was sure to have some broken bones to say the least. A pleased smile crossed her lips. Being immortal certainly did have its advantages. But the smile quickly faded as Gabrielle gazed up into the faces of the archers who now stood around her. One of the men held out a hand for her to take. With some hesitation, she took hold of it, and rose to her feet. Once upright again, she quickly let go of the man’s hand. The man who had helped her to her feet, stared at her a few moments more before turning his glance upward. "Whoever is still in the tree, come down NOW!" The others turned their glance upward as they heard the rustling of branches then saw Lysia’s small form come into view. The child climbed down the tree, then made her way over to Gabrielle. The little girl wrapped her arms around the young woman’s waist as her brown eyes, filled with fear, gazed at the men standing around them. The man who had helped Gabrielle to her feet, stared at her and the young girl. "Why were you two hiding in that tree?" Gabrielle gave Lysia a comforting squeeze before responding to the man’s question. "My little sister and I were playing hide-n-seek with our brother when..." "Where is your brother?" the man harshly asked, cutting her off. "I don’t know where he is." Gabrielle quickly replied. "You and your men probably scared him, so he headed back home...to Thebes...and now, that’s where my sister and I will be going." Holding Lysia to her, Gabrielle made a move to go around the men when the leader who grabbed hold of her right arm stopped her. "Just a minute, maybe you can help us." Gabrielle turned to face the man again. "We are looking for a young boy, around your sister’s age in fact. He’s got curly black hair and blue eyes...have you or your sister seen him?" The man’s gaze was demanding as he waited for her response. "Why yes, we did see a boy just as you described," Gabrielle replied with a faint smile. "He was running through the woods in rather a hurry...he was headed north." She tried to pull her arm from the man’s grasp but he maintained his firm grip. She glanced at him with a questioning gaze. "I think you and your sister should stay with us." The man had a sinister smile on his face. A gasp of fear escaped Lysia lip’s as she tightened her hold on Gabrielle’s waist. "But why, I told you what we know about the boy, now let us go!" She angrily glared at the man as she soothingly ran a slender hand through the curly raven locks of the child holding on to her. "You suffered a bad fall and even though you appear fine, there could be a delayed reaction. I and my men would not feel right if something were to happen to you." Gabrielle softened her gaze before addressing the man. "I appreciate your concern but it really is not necessary...I feel just fine. I have suffered far worse falls than that." "Yeah, she’s always fallin’ down." Lysia added with a soft voice. Gabrielle nodded her head in agreement with the child’s words. "You and your sister WILL stay with us." The man’s tone was firm and final. "Once we have conducted our search of the forest we will escort you both home." The man released his hold on Gabrielle’s right arm. Two soldiers moved up immediately---ready to move them along, forcibly if necessary. Now standing between the two soldiers, Lysia focused her thoughts on the many trees surrounding them. The group was about to resume their search when suddenly; the men were pelted with a multitude of twigs, dead branches, acorns and leaves. "Ouch!!!" They shouted and immediately sought safety from this unexpected assault. The two soldiers given the order to remain with the girls did not seek safety but their attention was distracted by the strange commotion. This gave Gabrielle the opportunity to grab both by their arms and with godly strength, hurl both into trees, knocking them unconscious. Having accomplished what she wanted, Lysia brought the hail of forest debris to a halt. With the two soldiers no longer by their sides, Gabrielle turned her attention to her best friend’s daughter. "Lysia, go back to Thebes and find Lycus. I’ll stay here and make sure these men don’t follow." The child shook her head in protest. "No, I wanna stay and help." "You can’t stay, it’s too dangerous. Now do as I say and go back to Thebes!" Reluctantly, Lysia prepared to do what Gabrielle had ordered but didn’t get the chance to go anywhere when the archers left the safety they had sought during the assault and were headed for them again. "Lysia, you climb back up that tree, I’ll take care of them." Gabrielle picked up a long narrow branch and held it as she would her trusty staff. She quickly glanced up at Lysia who climbed up a nearby tree before looking towards the archers heading in her direction. As three of the men charged right for her, Gabrielle swung the tree limb, connecting with the torso of one man, knocking him into his two comrades. The leader of the men had unsheathed his sword that he swung at Gabrielle’s neck. Using the tree limb, she blocked the incoming blade and for extra measure shoved the man and his sword some feet away from her. While Gabrielle fought Dahak’s archers with a tree limb, Lysia did lend her a hand from her position on a branch high up in a nearby tree. Using acorns, the child restarted her assault against their attackers, but this time hurling them with her hands. The acorns were hitting the men in their heads and backs, which they found annoying as they tried to fight the young woman brandishing a tree limb for a weapon. Despite the fact that they were outnumbered, the two females were doing a pretty good job of defending themselves against their male attackers when they received some unexpected help from a newcomer on the scene. He was a tall muscular man with creamy dark brown skin. His long dark hair whipped around his face with his fighting movements. Gabrielle could not see the man’s face but swore she knew him from somewhere. As she walloped another man with the tree limb she held, the bard decided to save figuring out whom the man was for after the fight with Dahak’s archers came to an end. ********** Aphrodite sat upon her throne in her temple in Kythera. The goddess had come to the temple in hopes of taking her mind off of the comatose state of her fellow gods and the possibility of Dahak gaining control over their realm of authority. With a look of disinterest, Aphrodite’s blue eyes gazed at her high priest that stood before the temple’s large altar. Tyrtaeus had been reciting for his Goddess the inventory of gifts that covered the altar. They had been left by her devoted worshippers in honor of the celebration of five millennia of Olympian reign. The priest knew gifts from worshippers normally put his goddess in a cherry mood but since these gifts were in honor of the fifth millennium celebration, they only reminded her of the precarious state of her fellow Olympians. Tyrtaeus was now in the process of reading a poem left by a worshipper in the hopes that it would do the trick in lifting her spirits. When the poem neared its conclusion, the priest gazed up from the scroll he held to get a quick glimpse of his goddess. Her blue eyes stared at nowhere in disinterest. A disappointed frown creased Tyrtaeus’ lips but he didn’t let discouragement set in. He picked up another scroll and began to recite another poem. A bored sigh escaped Aphrodite’s lips as the man began another love poem. For the umpteenth time, her blue eyes gazed downward to inspect her fingernails. Just like all the other times, there was not a chip or scratch. "Still perfect," the goddess sighed with disinterest. She gazed at Tyrtaeus whose head was slightly bowed as he read from the scroll held in his hands. Her lips creased into an annoyed frown. The silly mortal actually thought that reading poems, gifts given in honor of the fifth millennium celebration, would cheer her up. But all they did was remind her of how her beloved son, her husband and virtually her entire family were lying in comas from which they may never awaken and worse could lead to their deaths. Aphrodite thought about the evil being responsible for this tragedy---Dahak. It sent a chill through her body when she realized how close he was to winning. Ares was definitely more suited to dealing with the likes of Dahak. He had told her that he would handle everything but the goddess of love still wanted to help. She knew Ares thought she was useless in such situations but that was not true. She may be the goddess of love but she could be tough when she had to be, especially when the safety of those she loved was at stake. Besides, she couldn’t take listening to another poem----they were really dreadful. Aphrodite decided to pay Ares a visit. Whether he liked it or not, she would demand that he let her help in the fight against Dahak. Tyrtaeus, the high priest, was left to wonder if his poetic readings had brought his goddess some comfort as he watched her form be enveloped in pink orbs of light before fading into nothingness. ********** ‘These two are easy pickings’ Typhon thought as his black beady eyes gazed at the priest and the young boy standing over the fallen war god’s body. A confident toothless grin was on his battle-scarred face when in a loud voice, he addressed his warrior comrade who stood beside him, at the head of the gathered crowd. "C’mon Naxos, let’s cut off Ares’ head. I know the warlord Hippias would pay plenty of dinars for it. He’s had it in for Ares ever since he sided with that bitch Xena at the battle of Acarnania." With a toothless grin plastered on his own face, Naxos nodded in agreement, an evil laugh emitting from his mouth. "Ya stay away from my Dad!" Lycus firmly held his slingshot in his right hand, a stone poised in it, ready to shoot at the next man who moved forward. Telamon had unsheathed his sword and also stood ready to attack. "If you want Ares, you will have to come through us too," a man announced as he along with several other men, stepped out of the group of onlookers and joined Lycus and Telamon. For weapons, they brandished parts of wooden beams they had retrieved from the temple ruins. Having the added help brought smiles to the faces of Lycus and Telamon. "So, a boy, a priest and a bunch of townsfolk with sticks want to fight us huh? Okay, bring it on." An evil laugh escaped Typhon’s scraggily mouth. Naxos joined his comrade in laughter as both warriors unsheathed their swords and started moving forward. "Don’t say I didn’t warn ya." Lycus set loose the stone poised in his slingshot sending it in the direction of Naxos. The stone hit the warrior square in the forehead. His eyes rolled back in his head as he fell to the ground out cold. As he gazed at the man now sprawled on the dirt, Lycus couldn’t help but giggle. Telamon and the others chuckled too at what the small boy had done to the big bad warrior. Typhon stared in disbelief at his unconscious comrade. An angry growl escaped his lips as he glared at Lycus with murderous rage. "Pittacus! Miltiades! Terpander! Get over here and help me out!" With their swords already drawn for battle, the three warriors came to stand by Typhon. His confidence back in place, Typhon moved forward once again, with the others right beside him. Telamon stood ready to do battle with his sword. He glanced at the young boy standing next to him. "Lycus get out of here." "Yes boy, the priest is right. We can handle this," one of the men standing along with them said. "No way." Lycus remained where he stood. Another stone was already poised in his slingshot. The warriors were advancing on the group protecting Ares’ body when they were suddenly engulfed in a burst of pink light, which brought them to an immediate halt. When the light faded, the faces of the warriors were riddled with confusion. Typhon’s lips twisted with disgust as he gazed at the sword he held in his right hand. "What am I doing with this!?" He immediately let the sword drop from his hand. Pittacus, Miltiades, and Terpander gasped in horror when the saw the swords wielded in their own hands and instantly dropped them as though stung. Typhon was filled with warm emotions that he had never felt before. They brought tears to the big warrior’s eyes. He turned to look at Pittacus who was the closest to him. "I really luv ya, man," he sobbed as he pulled his fellow warrior into a big hug. "I luv ya too, Ty," Pittacus sniffled as he thumped his comrade’s broad back with a large hand. Militiades and Terpander were also embracing and exchanging ‘I luv yas’. Lycus, Telamon, the men standing with them and the gathered crowd, all had perplexed looks on their faces, not knowing what to make of these unusual turn of events. The four warriors continued to sob, hug and exchange declarations of love before they turned towards the gathered multitude. With tears of joy streaming down his face, Typhon extended both hands to the crowd. "I luv ya all too!" The warrior and his comrades started moving towards the crowd. Not knowing what to make of this weird change in the behavior of men known to be murdering cut throats, the crowd quickly dispersed, headed for the safety of their homes. "Wait! Don’t leave!" Typhon shouted to the retreating crowd. He was going to follow after them but came to a stop along with his three comrades. All had disappointed looks on their faces as they watched the people go. "Oh well," Pittacus sighed. "At least we still have each other." "Yeah," Terpander said. Typhon and Miltiades nodded in agreement before all four joined in a group hug. A few moments later, the four pulled apart. Each had a bright smile on his face. Pittacus and Miltiades went over to Naxos who was beginning to regain consciousness. They helped their comrade to his feet and draped his arms across their broad shoulders. "Hey, there’s a field of wild flowers just outside of Thebes. Let’s go pick some!" Typhon excitedly suggested. "Okay!" Terpander squealed with giddiness. Locked arm in arm, Terpander and Typhon happily skipped out of Thebes with Pittacus and Miltiades, helping Naxos right behind them. "What in Tartarus just happened here?" The man who stood beside Telamon asked. Mumbles from the man’s comrades echoed the same sentiments. "Hey, your guess is as good as mine," Telamon replied. Lycus frowned with confusion as he placed his slingshot in a pant pocket. Suddenly the atmosphere before them swirled with pink orbs of light then a burst of rose petals that dispersed, leaving the form of the goddess of love in their midst. She glanced in disbelief at the temple ruins before looking towards the gathered group. The men who had offered assistance to Lycus and Telamon stared quietly in awe at the goddess. "Aunt Dite!" Lycus immediately went over to the goddess, embracing her waist in a tight hug. "I’m so glad you’re here." Once again tears began to well up in the child’s eyes. "My Dad, he’s…he’s…" "I know sweetie." Aphrodite’s voice was soft and quiet as she ran slender fingers through her young nephew’s soft curly black hair. The goddess of love was not her usual bubbly self. Her mood was somber and her complexion pale as she moved towards Telamon and the gathered men, dragging a grief-stricken Lycus with her. When they stood before the men, the group parted. The young boy held her tighter as the two approached the form lying upon the ground. Aphrodite’s own blue eyes were now welling up with tears as she gazed at her brother’s lifeless body. Ares’ complexion was ivory. Two arrows protruded through his chest along with a gaping sword wound drenched in dried blood. "Oh gods!" she sobbed bringing a slender hand to her pink lips. Aphrodite held onto her nephew who was crying once again. Tears were now running from her own eyes when she removed her gaze from Ares’ body and turned towards Telamon. "How?" came out of her mouth in a hoarse whisper. "Dahak did it with Hind’s blood," Telamon replied, his own face grim. "Oh no!" The goddess wailed. This whole mess with Dahak had just gone from bad to worse. Ares was always the one to handle stuff like this and with him now dead, she was the only one left. Aphrodite had no idea what to do. Then she remembered the warrior babe’s friend. "Gabrielle," she whispered, her face brightening a little. The bard would surely know what to do in a situation like this. Aphrodite began looking around for Gabrielle. She wasn’t there! Neither was Lysia! Dread began to fill her when she looked towards the temple ruins. "Where are Lysia and Gabrielle!?" Lycus was crying against her and hadn’t even heard the question so Telamon responded. "They ran off into the woods," the high priest replied. A sigh of relief escaped Aphrodite’s lips. She gently moved her grieving nephew away from her so she could look at him. A pink handkerchief appeared in her hand. She tilted the child’s face upward and began wiping away his tears. "Now sweetie, I must go find your sister and Gabrielle. But before I leave, I will transport you, Telamon and...Ares to the fortress in Macedon." "If it’s all right with you Goddess, I would prefer to stay in Thebes. There are some things I must attend to----for my dead lord," Telamon requested. "Are you sure Telamon? It could be dangerous for you to stay here." Aphrodite had a look of concern on her beautiful face. "I will be just fine." The high priest assured with a faint smile. "And he has us to watch his back," one of the men who still stood with them replied. "Well, if you say so." Aphrodite looked at her nephew. "Lycus, go stand over by your father’s body." Lycus did as his aunt ordered. With the wave of a hand, the love goddess engulfed the forms of father and son in a pink light as they vanished into nothingness headed for Macedon. Telamon and the men stood by and watched as the goddess herself then vanished in a pink light on her way to find Lysia and Gabrielle in the nearby forest. ********** Gabrielle swung the tree limb, knocking the sword from the grasp of her attacker. The man’s lips twisted in a frustrated snarl as he reached for a dagger that hung at his waist. But before the man could free his dagger, the bard smacked him upside the head with the tree limb, spinning him around. The man was still in a daze when she smacked him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. The man’s mouth hung agape and a wide-eyed stare was on his face as he rose to his feet. The man had clearly had enough of this. "I’m getting outta here," he huffed as he took off into the woods to get as far away from Gabrielle as humanly possible. The men Lysia pelted with acorns reached the same conclusion as their fleeing comrade and took of in his direction. Lysia giggled with delight as she made her way down the tree. Gabrielle was delighted too and embraced the little girl with a big hug when she stood before her. "We showed them," the child chuckled when they broke the hug. "We sure did." Gabrielle was smiling down at Lysia as she ran a slender hand through the child’s curly raven locks. Both females turned their attention to the stranger who had come to their aid. He was still fighting the last of Dahak’s archers. "I wonder who he is," Lysia said as they watched the stranger fight the man. "His name is Cecrops." Gabrielle smiled as she put an arm around the child who stood beside her. "He’s an old friend of mine and your mother." With a loud growl, Cecrops tossed the man away from him. The man landed on the ground with a stud. Somewhat dazed, the man looked around him. Seeing that he was now alone, the man took off into the woods after his comrades. Now that the battle was truly over, with Lysia by her side and a smile still on her face, Gabrielle approached the tall, dark man. "Thanks for the help Cecrops." Gabrielle extended a hand in friendship. The man grasped her outstretched hand. "I think you could have handled those guys just fine by yourself but I am glad I came along when I did." His brown eyes stared at her curiously. "You have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am but I don’t know who you are." The bard let a soft chuckle escape her lips. "That’s because the last time you saw me, I looked completely different. I had long blond hair and I was a little shorter." Cecrops now had a confused look on his face, so the bard decided to quickly identify herself. "I am Gabrielle. I got trapped on your ship along with my friend Xena. We helped you free yourself from Poseidon’s curse." "Ah yes, that is something I will never forget." Cecrops gazed at her suspiciously. "But I don’t see how you could be Gabrielle. You don’t look anything like her. Besides, I heard she died helping Xena fight Dahak." "She did die but she was brought back to life," Lysia chimed in as she still stood beside the bard. Cecrops gazed down at the little girl before looking at Gabrielle once again, his mind mulling over what they had told him. "I know it sounds unbelievable but what Lysia just said is true, I did die and was brought back to life." Gabrielle decided to do some recounting of what had happened on the ship, hoping it would convince him of who she was. "When I was on your ship I got seasick, so Xena put her pinch on my arm. It took away my sea sickness but it also deadened my taste buds, so I ate some pretty icky stuff, like octopus." "Eww!" Lysia exclaimed, her lips twisted in disgust. Cecrops chuckled at the little girl’s reaction. He looked at the young woman standing before him. "All right, if you know stuff like that, you must be Gabrielle." The bard smiled with relief. The tall man once again gazed down at the child standing beside Gabrielle. "And who is this pretty little girl?" The bard was still smiling as she pulled the child closer to her. "This is Lysia, she’s Xena’s daughter." Cecrops brown eyes widened in surprise upon hearing who the child’s mother was. His reaction did not go unnoticed by Gabrielle. "It’s a long story." "You can explain both to me later." He extended a large hand down to the child standing beside her. "Hi Lysia, nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too." The little girl took his hand and shook it with a firm handshake, then released it. Cecrops looked back up to Gabrielle. "Now would you mind telling me why those men were attacking you two?" The bard started to slightly chuckle. "All I can tell you right now is that it has to do with Dahak. I will be happy to go into the details but first we must find Lysia’s brother Lycus, he went back to Thebes." The trio had started walking back to Thebes when Aphrodite’s form took shape out of a burst of rose petals. "Oh thank Elysia I found you two." The goddess had pure relief in her blue eyes as she gazed at her niece and the bard. She let her gaze rake over the man with them. "And who is Mr. tall, dark and handsome?" "This is an old friend, he helped us ward off an attack by Dahak’s men. His name is Cecrops," Gabrielle replied. "And Cecrops, this is the goddess of love, Aphrodite." "You mean THE Cecrops, as in the lost mariner?" Aphrodite asked her eyes widening as they once again raked over the man’s frame. "That’s me all right." Cecrops had a smile on his face as he took one of the goddess’ dainty hands and brought it up to his lips, kissed the back then released it." Aphrodite’s eyes gazed at Cecrops appreciatively. "I don’t think much of Athena’s wisdom but it was definitely a wise move on her part making you immortal." Gabrielle knew the love goddess could never ignore an attractive man in the vicinity but she also knew this was not the reason for the goddess tracking them down in the forest. "Now Aphrodite, why were you looking for us?" The love goddess shook her head from the lustful thoughts about the man before her as she remembered the matter at hand. "Something horrible has happened, you must come with me quickly." Her previously calm demeanor became agitated. "Aunt Dite, what’s wrong?" Lysia came over to the goddess, and took one of her hands in hers in a comforting gesture. Aphrodite gazed at the child with trepidation, preparing herself for the little girl’s reaction when she learned the fate of her father. She stooped in front of the child. "Sweetie, it involves your father..." "Has he been hurt?" The child’s brown eyes were now filled with worry. The goddess took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled it before responding. "Yes honey, he has been hurt...very bad." Aphrodite embraced the girl in a hug as tears began to well up in the child’s brown eyes. When she pulled back, she produced a pink handkerchief and began wiping away the tears now rolling down the child’s face. Gabrielle had a look of empathy in her eyes as she gazed at the goddess comforting the little girl. "How was he hurt, was it Dahak?" "Yes," Aphrodite wearily replied. "I will explain it all after we get to Macedon." "But what about Lycus," Lysia sobbed. "We have to find him." "I already found him sweetie and transported him and your father to the castle in Macedon." Aphrodite embraced Lysia in a hug once again. While holding the child, she turned her gaze up toward Gabrielle and Cecrops. The two saw the tears in the eyes of the love goddess and knew that whatever had happened to Ares was indeed bad. The goddess wiped her own eyes as she rose to her feet. She took hold of Lysia’s right hand as Gabrielle took hold of her free hand and Cecrops grasped Gabrielle’s free hand. The foursome instantly vanished into nothingness headed for Macedon. The four materialized in the large receiving room of Ares’ Macedonian fortress. Lysia immediately noticed her brother standing before the large altar on which a body was lying---it was their father! "Daddy!" The child screamed as she ran over to where her brother stood before the altar. She instantly noticed the tears staining her brother’s sad face. "He’s dead Lysia...the snake man killed him." More tears began to spill from Lycus’ red eyes. "NO! He can’t be dead!" Lysia grabbed her father’s right hand and was instantly frightened by how ice cold it felt. With tear filled eyes, she let her gaze wander over her father’s lifeless form. His once perfect bronze complexion was replaced with an ivory hue due to massive blood loss. The arrows that had pierced his body had been removed but the bloody wounds they had inflicted were in plain view of her eyes along with the gaping sword wound in his chest. The child began to sob uncontrollably as her gazed fixed on the large chest wound that had ended her father’s life. By now, the three adults had made their way over to the altar. Cecrops looked on in empathy as the two women did their best to comfort the grieving twins. Gabrielle picked up Lysia and held the little girl close. The child wrapped her legs around the woman’s waist and her arms around the woman’s neck. The bard soothingly ran a hand through Lysia’s curly raven tresses as the child buried her face in the nape of her neck and cried for the father she had just recently found and was so tragically taken. Tears began to well up in Gabrielle’s own green eyes as she gazed at the goddess before her, doing the same thing she was with the child she held. The bard knew Aphrodite was hurting just as much as the twins were over the death of Ares. The two deities controlled realms as different as night and day but Aphrodite was the only Olympian who truly understood her brother, so the two had always been close. Gabrielle’s thoughts drifted to her best friend who just recently admitted to having a deep-seeded attraction for the war god despite all the trouble that he had caused in her life these last few years. She now had great concern over what Xena’s reaction would be when she found out that Dahak had murdered the father of her children.
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