Title: Empire Building...Sort Of Legal: Xena and Gabrielle and Joxer do not belong to me. The gods, however, are fair game. Except for Strife that is. RATING: PG or R, for language, and the barest touch of violence. SUMMARY: When it comes to Hercules, as is come to be canon in Ares/Joxer fanfic, don't you ever just wonder what would happen if...? AUTHOR'S NOTE: Suggestions for a direction in which to take the rest of this fic are welcome. I haven't finished it. Xena tugged on Argo's reigns. The ground was soaked, leaving her, Argo and Gabrielle ankle deep in mud. They were only halfway to Corinth, and it didn't look as if the rain would let up before they got there. It was the second day of continuous rainfall. Thunder boomed in the distance, followed by spectacular bolts of lightning. Not for the first time, she wondered if it was in fact, just a storm, or a battle between gods. If it were, it meant that Ares and Zeus were battling for the throne. Gabrielle trudged through the mud, nearly oblivious to the weather. Her scrolls had been ruined in the downpour. Water had gotten into her bag and destroyed everything. Her ankle still hurt from the fall she had taken, and she cursed as she limped across the untenable ground. She couldn't stop tripping, her ankle wasn't holding her weight. She would be lucky if she could walk at all by the time they got to Corinth. Hercules and Iolaus watched the rain from a cave high in the mountains. The wind was cold, and the air was thin. And Hercules didn't feel well. Iolaus told him it was a cold, nothing more, but both men were startled by the whole thing. Hercules had never been sick a day in his life. Iolaus turned to the fire they had made, wondering how long before the fire would go out. There wouldn't be a piece of dry wood for miles. He dug around in the pack he sometimes carried for the tea Xena had given him. He dug out the small pot and stood outside. Within moments it was full of rain water. He went back inside and placed it on the fire. He was already naked -his and Hercules clothes hung near the fire to dry. "How long do you think it will last?" He called out to Hercules. "Until someone dies." "Are you sure that's what it is?" Iolaus asked. Hercules nodded in affirmation. "I've never seen a storm like this. Ares and Zeus are fighting." Ares was beginning to tire. It was a rare opportunity to come to blows with another god. One he never liked to pass up, but usually had to, because he rarely had enough support from others. This time was different. He had supporters. He wasn't fighting alone, which made all the difference in the world. He could already smell victory. It wouldn't be long now. Zeus was feeling his age. Those behind him had moved forward to cover for his progressively slower attacks. From the corner of his eye, he saw Athena neatly decapitate the pitiful weak, goddess of love. Zeus renewed his effort. He refused to be outdone by his daughter. The battle raged on for days. The god of love fell, and was removed from the battlefield. Aesclepius had never seen such destruction, but he was young. He hadn't been born when Zeus had clashed with the Titans. He healed the love god as quickly as he could, wondering how his father was doing. Apollo wasn't known for fighting, and Aesclepius couldn't for the life of him, figure out why his father had chosen to fight. The number of patients, some of whom were so weak he didn't expect them to survive through the night, overwhelmed Aesclepius. As expected, this had rapidly turned into a war of attrition. He stepped out of the tent to stretch his muscles and clear his mind. Rain was falling in sheets, thunder and lightning danced across the sky and through the field of battle. Balls of flame burned the air as they hurtled toward their targets. Arrows pierced armor, swords cut through bone. Bones cracked and broke, windpipes were slashed. He could hear all of it, and it sickened him. He took a deep breath, forgetting that the stench of blood, fire and power would do little to clear the bile from his throat. He choked down the vomit, and went back inside the tent to find four more arrivals. Two would return to the battlefield within the hour. There were no reserves. Everyone still standing had to fight. Both sides were taking heavy losses. It would be a good day if anyone survived. Iolaus woke up. Something was wrong. Blinking, he listened. Then he smiled. Something wasn't wrong, it was right! It had stopped raining! He stood up and went to the mouth of the cave. Hercules was already there. Iolaus caught his breath at the sight before him. Far below them, parts of Greece were flooded. Trees, some hundreds of years old, lay snapped and broken on the ground. Dead animals littered the ground. Entire villages had disappeared. "Can you tell who won?" Iolaus asked. Hercules shrugged. "No, I don't know who won. I just hope it was worth it." He ground out, already planning to exact revenge for the damage done to Greece in the name of total power on Olympus. "But I intend to find out." "You have lost!" Zeus bellowed. "Your comrades have fallen. You stand alone. Do not think to make one last pitiful stand. You are less than half as strong as your fearless leader." Zeus sneered. "Bow to me, or die." Unsurprisingly, the god of mischief chose to kill himself. To which Zeus and his followers cheered. "And so it ends." Zeus turned to the voice behind him and smiled. He received a smile in return. Throwing his arm around the younger deity, he hugged him. "Rome is ours for the taking." "Yes, Ares. It certainly is. Within months, our temples will appear in Rome itself…." Zeus was about to say more when Aphrodite approached them, looking worried. "We have a problem." She said. Zeus waved away her complaint. "Even as we speak, Gaia is repairing the damage." "No, not that. Hercules has been calling me, demanding to know who won." Neither Ares nor Zeus answered. In fact, they were both wondering how Hercules could have possibly known about the war. "He thinks you two were fighting for the throne." She explained. "Oh!" "Oh, fuck!" "What do we tell him?" Zeus asked. Ares held up his hands and backed away. "Don't ask me. You're the one who insisted he live a mortal life, and keep him in the dark as to how things really are." "I say we tell him nothing." Aphrodite offered. Ares nixed the idea. "That'll never work. He'll just stomp into Olympus and demand we tell him." "Then perhaps it's time we seal the entrances. A new era is upon us. We have no time for his small minded concepts of what's right and wrong." "His 'small minded' concepts aren't small minded." Ares sighed, "He just doesn't understand that all the stories are deliberate misrepresentations of the truth. Which isn't his fault…." "Why are we portrayed the way we are?" Aphrodite interrupted, never previously having thought about it. It didn't help or deter her from her job. Therefore, it was normally not relevant. "It was Athena's idea." Zeus beamed. "Stories of our supposed capriciousness would encourage the people to live their lives with decency, to treat each other better than we treat each other, while learning certain lessons about the nature of life in it's many complexities." "Huh?" "Yeah, you had me 'til you got to the last part." Cupid offered, having come to the small group that was forming. "Lessons such as you can not escape your place in this life. Regardless of what you do, you will fulfill the destiny you were meant to fulfill. And progress is always painful." "Translation?" That was Cupid again. "No matter how I punished Atlas, I can not take fire away from man." "I don't get it." Cupid said, looking to Aphrodite for help. "Neither do I." Aphrodite looked Ares, who chuckled. "She always was kind of obtuse with her pearls of wisdom." "Well, that particular story was Apollo's doing." Zeus murmured. "Why is Athena the goddess of wisdom, but Apollo is the god of philosophy?" Strife had arrived. "And why does that story suck, if the both of 'em wrote it? It doesn't make any sense. It's like sayin' every little thing mortals need ta survive, was never actually meant for 'em, which means they were meant to live like animals…" "That wasn't the point of that story." Zeus interrupted, clearly exasperated with the direction the conversation was taking. "Then what was the point?" Strife asked. "That you're stupid." Cupid shoved him. "Yer stupid, doof!" Strife shoved back. "Kiss my ass, freak!" Cupid stood his ground. "Perv!" By now, Strife was nose to nose with the love god. "You want a piece of me?" "Ah ya tryin' to get an ass whuppin?" Zeus and the others moved away from the bickering gods. "How long do you think that'll last?" Zeus asked no one in particular. Aphrodite replied first. "It's just for show." "They're already fucking." Ares supplied, to which both Dite and Zeus raised eyebrows. "What? It's true." "How do you know?" Aphrodite asked. She hadn't told anyone, and as far as she had known, Ares didn't pay attention to such things. "I have my ways." Ares didn't want to admit that up until the day before, he hadn't had any idea. He had literally walked in on them having very energetic, not to mention loud sex. In fact, he had briefly wondered how they managed to keep it a secret with the racket they were making. If it had been anyone other than Strife, he would have had a fit. But Strife had looked deliriously happy, so he had left the copulating couple alone. Besides, as long as Strife was busy with Cupid, he wouldn't have time to spy on Ares and Joxer. "Did they tell you?" She asked, obviously not believing that Ares could have known any other way. "Nope." "Then how do you know?" "I just do." Ares smirked, knowing Aphrodite would hate that answer. She stomped her foot, then harrumphed. "You didn't know. You were just guessing!" She whooped in triumph. "Okay, Aphrodite. Whatever you say." Ares rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! How did you know?" "Do I really need to be here for this conversation?" Zeus asked, wondering how they had gone from a discussion about deliberately misinforming Hercules as to the true nature of his family, to whether or not Cupid and Strife were fucking, and how Ares knew about it. "Oh! I completely forgot! What are we going to tell Hercules?" Aphrodite giggled. Zeus rolled his eyes while Ares simply stared at the love goddess. "If I didn't know her, I would think she was truly stupid." Ares muttered. Aphrodite kicked him in the shin. "Ouch!" Ares shrieked. He immediately turned to Zeus to complain. Zeus didn't bat an eye. "Aphrodite. Don't kick your brother." He instructed, then turned away to see if he could spot Hera. "Ow!" "Ares, don't pull your sister's hair." Zeus didn't even turn around. His children were acting like children. Which meant they were happy. "She started it!" "Do you both want to be grounded?" Zeus asked, then thought about what he had just said. He turned to find both of them were staring at him in shock. Ares didn't miss a beat and pointed accusingly at his sister. "She started it." "Did not!" "Did too!" "Maybe I should get your mother." Zeus put in, really getting into it. Ares clamped his mouth shut. Whatever scathing thing he was about to say to Aphrodite died in his throat. "I'm sorry Aphrodite." "Sorry." "Can we play like adults now?" He asked. They all stared at each other for a long moment before bursting into peals of laughter. When they had settled down, Zeus gave the order: "Olympus will be sealed from mortal entry. No one enters without our explicit consent. All ambrosia in Greece is to be destroyed. As for Hercules, have you responded to him yet?" "No." Aphrodite replied, suddenly serious. "Where is he?" "In the Atlas Mountains." "Do not respond to him until he comes to you with the proper respect for a goddess. He has renounced us, and I see no point in further according him special privileges." "But Daddy!" "No buts, Aphrodite. He may like you, but he does not respect you. He doesn’t respect any of us. And he preaches this disrespect through out all of Greece. He encourages the people to war with us. And that is a dangerous precedent, not only for us, but for any god. Even Jehovah doesn't allow it. You see what happened to Lucifer." Both Ares and Aphrodite paled at the reference. Anyone who was anyone knew that story: Lucifer had royally fucked up. Zeus saw they had taken the point and continued. "So you can see, I'm being quite merciful. I will deal with him once and for all." "But, why? I thought you wanted him to live with us?" Aphrodite asked. "I did, I do. But instead, I have made him one of our most powerful enemies. I'm left with no choice. His days as a demigod are about to end." "So you're just cutting him off? I don't believe it." Ares huffed. Hercules had always been the 'special' one. The one who didn't have to follow the rules. The one who didn't have to live up to his responsibility. The one Zeus always sided with. This was just Zeus' usual lip service. "Believe it." "But, he is your son." Ares pressed. "Your favorite son." There, it was out in the open. "Yes, he is my son, but not my favorite. In my zeal to make him a hero, I alienated my firstborn." Zeus slumped, staring at the ground. Then straightened up. "As for Xena, you will end all association with her. She follows the teaching of the way. She is not to be distracted by your continued interference." Ares didn't reply. Zeus grabbed Ares by the shoulder and shook him. "If I can let Hercules go, you can let her go." The king and prince of Olympus stared at each other for long moments, each trying to gauge the other's true motives. Ares didn't believe his father for a moment, but curtly inclined his head and held up his hands. "I understand father." Ares said. He really didn't see how one had to do with the other, and as soon as everything calmed down, he would do exactly as he pleased, decree or no decree. Zeus grabbed him by the collar and shook him. Hard. "No, I don't think you do. She has renounced you. Let. Her. Go." That alone nearly startled Ares into immediate submission. Zeus rarely got physical. "You're really going to do it, aren't you?" Ares asked. Zeus released him and stepped back, shaking his head. "All is not lost, my son. You have always had more contact with mortals than any of us. From what I can understand, you have become quite infatuated with one in particular." "I'm not letting him go." Ares braced himself for his father's fury. Zeus waved away his fears. "That's good to hear. It's time you settle down. So if you want him, say for a consort, then you will marry him today. Hera will perform the ceremony." "Really?" Aphrodite jumped up and down at the news. Ares was speechless. "You should probably go get him and ask him if he would like to marry you, spend eternity with you, yada, yada, yada…" Ares was gone before Zeus finished the sentence, "Wow, daddy Z! What happened to you?" She asked. "I feel old. And I want my son to be happy. I want everyone to be happy." "Well, okay. If you say so." "Don't you have anything better to do?" Zeus asked. Dite looked hurt. "Can't I spend some time with you?" "Well, if you're gonna whine about it, sure I guess so." Zeus capitulated. "Love you too, Daddy Z." Hercules looked in admiration at the destruction he had leveled on Ares' temple. It was only a matter of time before Ares showed up. He flexed a few times, preparing himself for battle. He ate some the grapes left as an offering. He ignored the priests as they hurriedly cleaned the debris he had created. He sat on Ares' throne, wondering if it would, in fact, be Ares that responded to him. He sat there for a long time. So long in fact, that he fell asleep. When he woke up, torches had been lit. People were praying to him. Well, that wasn't right. He wasn't a god, and he didn't want to be a god. He didn't want people worshipping him. He stood and stretched, then explained that he was not, in fact, the god of war to the three or four people congregated around the altar. He blinked and looked at the altar again. The altar had been repaired. Everything was in back in place, unbroken and clean. Hercules was really getting angry. "Ares!" he bellowed. Nothing. "Ares, I know you can hear me!" His voice was so loud the walls shook. Still nothing. Then a thought: What if Ares had lost? Hercules shuddered at the thought. It was no secret that Zeus intended to give the sword of war to him once Ares was dead. "Ares?" Softer this time. What if Zeus had really killed Ares? And if Hercules refused the sword of war, it would probably go to Athena. Hercules mentally reviewed everything he knew about Athena, which wasn't much. He knew what she looked like. He knew she was a virgin, she liked women. Other than that, all he knew was that she was in charge of war strategy, and that she could be a bit stern. Aphrodite had never answered him, so she was obviously dead or seriously injured. What was happening? One way or another, he was going to find out. He left Ares' temple and began the three-day journey to Athens. Athena would know. She always knew what was going on. Ares was curled all the way around Joxer, making it next to impossible for his consort to sleep. That's how Aphrodite found them: Ares blissfully asleep while Joxer squirmed. Every time Joxer got enough space to breathe, Ares would tighten his hold, or shift right along with Joxer, until they were perilously close to the edge of the bed. "Wakey, wakey!" Aphrodite yelled. As expected, Ares jerked up ready to fight, which sent Joxer careening to the floor. She never got tired of it. It always worked. "Hi, Dite." Joxer mumbled as he pushed himself up and climbed back in bed. "What?" That was Ares' greeting. Aphrodite bounced over to the bed and climbed in with them. "What do you think is going on with Daddy?" She asked. "I don't know. The Fates said the whole prophecy about the younger son, or any son for that matter, killing him was a false one put about by Dahok." "But you think he's scared of him anyway." "I don't know. Ever since the battle ended he's been acting differently." "Do you think he's really changed this time?" "I fucking hope so." Ares replied. "What's Heph doing?" "He's working on a gift for you and Joxer." "Oh, he doesn't have to do that." Joxer murmured. "We want to. Besides, the marriage happened so fast no one had time to get you anything." "So, what's Zeus gonna do about Hercules?" Joxer asked. Ares rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Don't know. I don't think he knows. I mean, yeah, he said he was gonna cut him off, but I don't think he knows how he's going to do it. He probably doesn't want to hurt Hercules' feelings." "Be nice." Joxer poked him. "No." Joxer looked at Aphrodite as if to say 'I tried'. Aphrodite, for her part, had thought about what Zeus had said to her the other day. "Do you think Hercules really doesn't respect me?" She asked. "I know he doesn't." Ares sniffed. "Not from the things I've heard him say." Joxer added. "What things!" Aphrodite yelled. Joxer shrank back from the suddenly high pitch of her voice. Ares smiled in anticipation. This was going to be good. "Um, nothing really." Joxer hedged. Ares planted a stern look on his face. "Tell her the truth Joxer." Ares commanded. Joxer rolled his eyes. "You just want her to get mad at him." "Uh huh!" "You guys had me going for a second! I knew he loves me!" Aphrodite proclaimed. "He said the only reason that you're goddess of love is because no one else wanted it." "What?" "He also said he didn't see how you could be goddess of anything, cuz' you're so simple minded, he doesn't see how you can remember who's with who." "He doesn't see…" Dite couldn't finish the sentence. "He thinks you were in on the whole thing with him and Serena, that you had sided with Ares just to hurt him." "But I told him I wasn't! Why did he say that?" "He thinks you two are still lovers. He's never trusted you because of that." "He's never trusted me?" "He likes you, but he doesn't trust you." "And he said this?" "Word for word." "That son of a BACCAE!" And then she was gone. Ares stared at Joxer, wondering why Joxer had volunteered so much. "Hercules can be kind of stuck up at times." "Stuck up?" "Sorry, Strifespeak. He can be really full of himself." Joxer amended. "Nothing like having the king of gods at your beck and call, is there?" Ares said. "I can personally attest to it. I have my own war god at my beck and call…" Joxer was interrupted. "I had never thought of it that way before." Both Ares and Joxer were startled. Neither had realized Zeus was in the room. "I have been at his beck and call, haven't I? I've been going about this all wrong, thinking of a way to spare his feelings. But he has never once thought about mine. He only calls me when he wants or needs something. As if my entire existence revolves around him!" "It does." Ares murmured. Zeus stared at Ares with a look akin to regret. Then abruptly disappeared in a spectacular shower of blue sparks. Ares and Joxer looked at each other. Within seconds they were both dressed and on their way to see what Zeus had in store for Hercules. They arrived at Athena's temple in Athens to find Cupid, Aphrodite, Apollo, Athena, and about forty-four other gods and goddesses already in attendance. Hercules had pissed off as many deities as possible. Hercules, had he known it, was giving the performance of his life. Athena remained stone-faced as Hercules questioned the priests and priestesses. She didn't even say anything when he attacked more than a few of them, thinking violence would suddenly make them know what was going on. Giving up, Hercules let his last victim fall to the ground and turned his eyes to the ceiling. "Father!" Zeus didn't so much a blink. In fact he crossed his arms and watched his son stomp and storm around the temple bellowing his name. When Hercules got no response, he left the temple. Everyone followed him. There was a crowd of mortals gathered in Zeus' temple, asking the deity why his son was acting crazy and beating people up for no reason. That brought a few snickers. Ares and Joxer were surprised to find Xena, Gabrielle and Iolaus among those praying to the king of Olympians, quietly asking what had happened to cause such destruction in Greece. Hercules opened his mouth, and hollered to his father at the top of his lungs. Zeus hadn't answered him. Ares must have killed him. That's why no one had answered, Ares had killed everyone. He kept shouting, saying exactly what was on his mind. Some of Zeus' rage evaporated at Hercules assumption. He had made Hercules think of Ares as a homicidal monster, one who was just barely contained. One who would stop at nothing to rule the gods. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea. He wondered now how things would have turned out if he had simply let them love each other? Zeus straightened his shoulders and with an explosion of electricity and sparks, appeared to his son. "You will calm yourself." Zeus commanded. Hercules immediately stopped yelling. His mouth was still hanging open, but he was no longer yelling. "I thought you were dead." He said. Zeus's heart warmed -despite everything, Hercules did care a little for him. "Why ever would you think that?" Zeus asked. "You -you didn't answer…" "I was busy." Zeus replied simply. The Olympians snickered at that. "I can guess, with Ares trying to steal the throne." Hercules replied, relieved that Zeus was alive. "Who told you Ares had done such a thing?" Zeus asked. Hercules did a double take. "The thunder…the lightning…you don't have to lie father. Ares made his choice. I'm sorry you lost a son, but…" At Zeus prodding, Ares appeared. A gasp rose up from the crowd of mortals. "Does he look dead?" Zeus asked. Hercules couldn't stop staring. Then jumped to the wrong conclusion. He pointed an accusing finger at Ares. "You won…What has he done to you father?" Hercules screamed, launching himself at Ares. Surprise of surprises, Gaia appeared between the half brothers. "Your brother has done nothing. What you witnessed was not what you think." She said, forcefully pushing Hercules away from Ares with her index finger. "So…there was no battle?" He asked. Gaia smiled tiredly. "Oh, there was a battle…" All of the mortals present gasped. As for the mortals, they were all watching to see what Zeus would do. It looked as if his decree about not telling the mortals about the war had just gone out the window. "Between whom? "Ourselves and another pantheon." "Are you all right?" Hercules asked. "Of course I am all right. I am mother earth!" She favored him with the look one gives a fool. "Oh. I thought…" Hercules had the grace to look abashed. Gaia turned away from Hercules and glanced at Zeus. Zeus took his cue. "Can you tell me why you trashed Ares' temple?" Zeus asked. "I told you, I thought he was fighting you." He replied, thinking it best to stay with the truth, and not embellish. "But you had no way of knowing this." Zeus replied. Zeus was going to show Hercules all of his faults with a review of the hero's own actions. "But…" "You said yourself that no one told you such a thing." Zeus reminded him. By now, Xena, Gabrielle and Iolaus had pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Apollo snickered, as if they had more right than anyone else to see what was going on here. "I know, but…" "Perhaps you can tell me why you attacked Athena's priests and priestesses?" Zeus asked. Again, Hercules faltered. "I wanted to know what was going on…" "And how was violence going to bring you answers they didn't have?" "I thought they knew the truth." "Did someone tell you they knew something they weren't telling you?" Zeus asked. Hercules shook his head. "So, again, you made an assumption with no evidence to support it." Zeus concluded. "I was worried…" "About what?" Zeus asked. "I thought you were all dead. That Ares had killed you all." "You yourself have said you would prefer a world without gods." Zeus pointed out. "Yes, but I thought that Ares had killed you." "And punching a fifty-two year old man was going to rectify that?" Zeus was incredulous. "What difference would it make to you which god killed who? You killed Strife." Zeus pointed out. Hercules waved away the implication. "He was working for Dahok." "Strife never worked for Dahok, my son." "He worked for Ares, and Ares was working for Dahok. I know this is true father!" "Ares never worked for Dahok." "Yes. He. Did." "Who told you this?" "Xena." "Xena, step forward." Xena stepped forward. "You believe this to be true?" Zeus asked. Xena nodded her head vigorously. "I saw him kill Eli." "That was not Ares." Zeus corrected. Xena blinked. Gabrielle stepped forward. "I know what Dahok looks like. It was Ares." "Dahok is a very powerful demon that can appear in any form he chooses." "I don't believe you." Gabrielle spat. Zeus opened his mouth to speak, but Gaia beat him to it. "Only because you don't want to. Ares no more killed Eli than he helped the demon Hope to conceive the Destroyer." "She was my daughter. She was NOT a demon! She loved me!" Gabrielle screamed. Gaia took hold of the bard and held her still. "There are powers at work that you obviously do not understand. If I can appear to you as Hope," Gaia transformed herself into an exact twin of Hope. "Then you must believe that Dahok can as well. He may be a demon, but he possesses the power of a god. You saw what he wanted you to see." "That's not true." Gabrielle insisted, trying to break Gaia's hold on her arms. Gaia tightened her grip. "Yes it is, you have only to examine the facts…" "I don't believe you. I know she loved me. She just wanted me to love her…" "A convenient tactic to keep you off balance." Zeus explained. "The longer you made yourself believe Hope was your daughter, and not a demon, the more time Dahok had to build up his strength. Leave off your anger child, it will solve nothing." Zeus sent a quick message to Psyche, giving her instructions to aid the bard when this was over. When he received a positive reply, he turned back to Hercules. "You believe Ares was working with Dahok, yet you chose to aid Ares in an effort to defeat him." Hercules snorted at that. "Ares only wanted to kill him because he realized Dahok wouldn't share power." "What power?" Zeus asked. "As king of Olympus." Hercules looked at his father with incredulity. Zeus stared right back at his youngest son with the exact same expression on his own face. Then the expression turned hard. Zeus couldn't believe Hercules was this stupid. "I don't share power with Ares now, and I am much kinder to him than Dahok would ever be. Why would Ares exchange one master for another?" Zeus asked. It was such a reasonable question that no one could have answered it without looking like some kind of fool. Hercules sputtered for a few minutes, trying to come up with an answer. Xena for her part, looked as if she wanted to slap herself in the head. She sneaked a glance at Ares, but he was watching his brother and father. Her uncle and grandfather. Her half brother, her father, and her grandfather. "Answer the question, Hercules." "You're trying to trick me, I know it…" "No, it's quite a simple question." Zeus sighed. "Make no mistake, Ares follows my orders, and mine alone." "So you're telling me he killed Serena because you told him to." "He killed Serena because I told him to kill all of the Golden Hinds." "But I was in love with her!" Hercules yelled, turning red in the face. "The order was given before you two met." "You could have let her survive." "Perhaps. It is a decision I have come to regret." Zeus sighed. He had to regain control of this conversation, or else all of Olympus would watch as he begged and groveled yet again for Hercules to forgive him. He reminded himself of why he was here in the first place. "You still have not told me why you physically attacked the priests." "I told you why." "I want to know why you thought violence would achieve what words could not? You have proclaimed yourself a hero for the people, yet you attacked without provocation." "I wasn't thinking clearly." "In other words, you lost control of yourself. The same control you would hold us to, but you yourself are unable to achieve." Ares wanted to jump for joy, hoop and holler in victory, but this wasn't over. It was only just getting good. He didn't move a muscle. "That's not true, and you know it." "All right, hero for the people. It took you four days to get here." "Yes." "And you have the strength of ten men." "Yes, so?" "How many people have you helped on your way here? How many homes have you helped to rebuild? How many people have you saved? What about the orphans you passed on your way here? What did you do for them?" Hercules didn't answer. Zeus turned his attention to Xena and Gabrielle. "You are both skilled healers, yet you have helped none of the sick you passed. Why is that?" He asked. Gabrielle spoke up. "Why didn't you?" Apollo had been waiting for the little bitch to say something. He jumped in before Zeus could reply. "Why do you think I made you so skilled in the arts in the first place? You crisscross Greece, telling your stories to anyone who will listen. Yet you haven't once shared your knowledge of healing with those who need it most. Now what do you think people need more, Gabrielle? A bedtime story, or the knowledge of how to close a wound?" "You were in too much of a hurry to learn what had transpired on Olympus to so much as think of your fellow Greeks." Zeus thundered. "Greece was nearly destroyed!" Gabrielle shrieked. "You would prefer to worship deities that demand human sacrifice? What is your complaint?" Gaia had released Gabrielle and pushed the Amazon Queen away from her. "There had to have been some way to defeat them without all of that destruction!" Xena nearly bit her own tongue off. It wasn't often that her mouth got ahead of her brain. Gaia's response nearly blew her off of her feet. "YOU DARE TO SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! Ah, but then you are the mighty Warrior Princess. Of course, I should have come to you to destroy an entire pantheon of gods! Why depend on my own grandson, the GOD OF WAR? Why didn't I do that? Oh, that's right! You're mortal. You're even less effective than Hercules! What on Earth makes you think you can defeat a god? Do you honestly think you're on par with Ares? HE LETS YOU WIN!" Xena stared at Gaia, dumbfounded. "Your presumption is an affront to me, your arrogance; an insult. Whatever your history with Ares, make no mistake; we do not answer to you." She gazed at the suddenly contrite mortal for a long moment before turning to Hercules. "You presume to know everything there is to know about us, which I find hard to believe, considering you have never lived on Olympus…" "Thank the gods…" He huffed. "Hear me, Hercules, Son of Zeus. You have renounced the Olympians, and your future place as one. You wish for a world without gods, you see no purpose for our existence. As one so very offended at the existence of gods, I see no point for you to continue living as one." Hercules openly stared at the goddess of the earth with something between wonder and fear. Gaia placed her hand on his head: "From this moment forward, your place as a son of Zeus is rescinded. Your claim to the throne of Justice, revoked. All of your powers -yours because of the blood that runs through your veins- are hereby bound. Your immortality is hereby stripped. Your friend Iolaus, will be remanded to Hades' custody to reside in his rightful place in Elysia." "You can't do this!" Hercules objected. "The people deserve a god of justice! You can't take that away from them just because you're angry with me!" "I never said there wouldn’t be a god of justice. I said only that it wouldn't be you." Hercules reeled in shock, while Joxer, the new god of justice, fidgeted. Ares sent a mental assurance to his consort to calm his fears. "Leave off your anger, son of Alcemene. You have at last attained that which you have wanted most, your freedom. Live your life, Hercules. Live it well." Gaia departed from the temple to sink into the earth, and rest. Hercules shook himself, as if waking from a bad dream with a smirk on his face. "She's not my father, and she's not king of Olympus. She can't do that to me." He asserted. "No, no and yes, she can." Ares couldn't have kept his mouth shut if he had tried. Which he didn't. But if he had, he wouldn't have been able to. "Father?" "You would war with the Olympians, not just on an individual basis, but as a whole. You have demonstrated yourself to be an enemy time and time again. And I have forgiven you time, and time again. No more. I have been reminded that you are not the center of my existence. And as much as I regret the life you have been given, I can not change what has happened. And for that, I am truly sorry." Zeus stepped away from his youngest son and departed from the temple, leaving Ares to actually tell Hercules what Zeus was supposed to say. Ares didn't mind. This was even better than seeing Zeus do it. "Your right to our protection is forfeit. Your right to the privileges afforded children of Olympus, is forfeit. We are no longer beholden to decrees that you shall remain unharmed should you stand against any one of us." "You can't hurt me. Zeus won't allow it." "You can test that theory if you want to, but if I were you, I'd go on with my life. This part of your life is over Hercules. Move on." "I’ll never stop hating you." "The one god will be disappointed to hear that. I hear he's real big on the forgiveness thing." Ares replied. Now that Hercules was an ordinary mortal, he seemed kind of pathetic. "I'll never stop, you know." "Yes you will." "Oh, great and wise Ares, when will that be?" Hercules spat. "When you die." Hercules was caught short by that pronouncement. He had forgotten that part. He barely noticed when Ares disappeared. He turned to leave the temple to find Xena leaning against the wall. Gabrielle had disappeared. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he said nothing. He should have been celebrating, but he didn't feel like it. Instead, he felt cheated. He hadn't done anything wrong. True, it hadn't occurred to him to help anyone on the way. But he was more likely to help mortals than the gods were. If they had been so concerned with mortal well being, they never would have allowed such damage to be done to Greece. No, this isn't the end. I don't know where to take it from here. Send your suggestions to zeena30@lycos.com. Click here to go home.