Destined for Greatness
A/N: Recently I'd just gotten back into Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and it had been an awesome experience reliving my childhood. It was the kind of series that really wove a strong vibrant tapestry of rich characters, humor, and adventure. After giving it some thought, I figured I'd try my hand at writing some Hercules fanfiction. My story is set after The Legendary Journeys finished and sometime after the Xena episode "God Fearing Child."
After some thought, I figured why not pit Hercules against the most renowned historical Greek figure in history, Alexander the Great? Naturally, of course, my heavily fictionalized series is going to take several historical liberties so it goes without saying that nothing in this story will be one hundred percent historically accurate. This will be a fan-written continuation of The Legendary Journeys.
Disclaimer: Hercules The Legendary Journeys does not belong to me. This is a for-fun, non-profit fanfiction series only.
Chapter 1
In all their years of being heroes, Hercules and Iolaus had faced it all. They had stared down and defeated gods, monsters, warlords, and even death itself.
Their friendship had been tested through the fires and it had come out stronger than ever. After the death of Iolaus and his subsequent possession in the battle against Dahak, Hercules had nearly lost his will to live.
It had been one of the most trying times of his life but eventually, with the help of his allies, he eventually came through.
"Hey Herc," Iolaus bit into an apple. "You okay?"
"I'm alright Iolaus," replied Hercules. "It's just…"
The two of them walked down the busy street of Athens. As they continued their chat, they noticed a crowd of people forming.
"It's hard to believe after all these years he's finally gone," Hercules admitted.
"Like it or not, you had to do it," Iolaus told his friend. "I mean, Zeus was going to murder an innocent baby and her mother."
"I know, it's just that it didn't have to end like that," Hercules sighed.
Several months ago he had been forced to do the unthinkable. Because Zeus had decreed the death of Xena and her baby, Hercules had to step in to defend them. In the process, he ended up slaying Zeus to protect the life of the newborn.
"All my life I wanted my father to be there for me," said Hercules. "I just never thought I would stain my hands with his blood."
"But you didn't have a choice," Iolaus tried to reason.
"I had a choice," Hercules' voice brimmed with self-loathing and frustration. "And I made the choice to commit patricide."
"C'mon, buddy," Iolaus tried to cheer the demi-god up. "It's been months since you were forced to kill Zeus. It's time to let go of the past and move on."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," admitted Hercules reluctantly.
"Hey, know what'll really brighten our day?" smiled Iolaus. "There's going to be a dance this afternoon with plenty of food, wine, and women!"
"I… take it you've had this on your mind for the past few hours?" Hercules raised an eyebrow.
"More like past few days," Iolaus replied.
"Hey, wait a minute," Hercules stared at the large crowd gathered there. "Something's going on."
"Citizens of Athens!" a man on the podium declared. "Are we not a free society? Are we not the torch of democracy?!"
"Who is that?" Iolaus wondered aloud.
"I recognize him," Hercules replied. "That's Demosthenes. He's one of Athens' most famous public speakers."
"What's the emergency then?" Iolaus was puzzled.
"Macedon," Hercules said plainly.
"Philip II and his lout of a son Alexander have poisoned the hearts and minds Greece!" declared Demosthenes. "Much of Greece is already under their control and still they seek more!"
"Oh man, I almost forgot how much of Greece is under Macedonian control!" Iolaus slapped his forehead. "How did we ever let that happen?"
Hercules frowned. In the past few months the Macedonians had taken over almost all of Greece. Part of the reason he had been unable to do too much about it was due to the fact that he had his own hands quite full, ending the threat of Dahak, stopping Four Horsemen from carrying out Armageddon, slaying his own father and having to deal with the subsequent aftermath…
Because he had been so focused on fighting gods and monsters, Hercules had been unable to make time to deal with the Macedonian invaders. True he had stopped a few unruly of Philip's soldiers from harassing innocent people here and there, but he had not actually confronted Philip, the head of the Macedonian war machine itself.
"We are citizens of Athens!" declared Demosthenes. "We deserve to be free, not under the foot of some petty tyrant!"
Before Demosthenes could continue, a small squadron of Macedon soldiers arrived on the scene.
"Disperse now or face the judgment of Philip!" declared General Pausanias.
Without hesitation, the crowd backed away and left.
"It would appear you don't have much of a leg to stand on anymore," Pausanias looked at Demosthenes. "Nobody is interested in what you have to say."
"I will never bow to a tyrant like Philip!" Demosthenes refused to back down. "And I refuse to back down before a thug like you!"
"That's it!" Pausanias clenched his fist.
Demosthenes drew back, expecting to get beaten to an inch of his life. However, when he opened his eyes, he had suffered no such injuries.
Pausanias had thrown a punch, only for Hercules to have caught it in mid-air.
"Let's not resort to violence, shall we?" asked Hercules.
"This man was inciting public unrest!" Pausanias glared at Hercules.
"I'd say he was exercising his right to express himself," Hercules threw Pausanias' fist down.
"Hercules, you should know better than to get involved!" Pausanias looked at the demi-god sullenly. "Philip and Alexander are both great admirers of your work!"
"Pity we can't say the same for theirs," added Iolaus.
"Watch your tongue!" Pausanias pointed a finger at Iolaus. "Or I will cut it off for you!"
Immediately Hercules grabbed Pausanias by the hand and applied enough of a grip on it to make the Macedonian general regret his words.
"Nobody's tongue is coming off," Hercules reminded him. "Do you understand?"
"Yes…" whimpered Pausanias as Hercules let go of him.
"Now," Hercules looked at the general squarely in the eye. "What do you say to a deal?"
"What sort of a deal?" asked Pausanias.
"I'll agree to an audience with the King of Macedon in exchange for this man to be set free," Hercules gestured to Demosthenes. "After all, you did say he was a big fan of my work, wasn't he?"
"That is true," Pausanias nodded. "Very well then! But tell this old man that if he's seen rabble-rousing on the streets again, he'll lose his head!"
After the Macedonian soldiers gave Hercules the proper directions and left, the demi-god and his travelling companion turned back to Demosthenes.
"You may want to keep a low profile from now on," Hercules told the orator.
"Yeah, especially since he mentioned the head-chopping thing," added Iolaus. "Believe me, I know how scary it is to be threatened with losing your head."
"You agreed to an audience with that tyrant?" Demosthenes looked bewildered. "Why?"
"Let's just say Philip and I are finally going to have a chat about what's been going on in Greece lately," Hercules confirmed.
OOOOO
That night Hercules and Iolaus made their way to the governor's mansion in Athens. Due to the fact that Philip had made himself overlord of all of Greece, the governor had been compelled to use his mansion to host the Macedonian king for the night.
"What're you gonna say?" Iolaus asked.
"Haven't really thought about it," Hercules replied. "In all this time I've never really met Philip or his son Alexander. I'm going to see for myself what they're really like."
"What if they turn out to be like every other tin pot warlord we've faced in the past?" inquired Iolaus.
"From what I've heard, Philip is more than a petty conqueror," Hercules answered. "But we'll see for ourselves soon enough."
As they neared the gates of the mansion, the two heroes noticed a booth stuffed with Macedonian merchandise, some of them souvenirs dedicated to Philip II himself.
"Salmoneus?!" Hercules and Iolaus were bewildered.
"Hey Herc!" Salmoneus waved. "What's going on?"
"I'm just… surprised to see you here, that's all," replied Hercules.
"What's with the Philip merchandise you're selling?" demanded Iolaus.
"Look I know what you guys are thinking," Salmoneus explained. "But let me tell you something, not everybody in Greece is upset that Philip is running things!"
"We're listening," Hercules glanced at Iolaus.
"You see, because of the Macedonians taking over Greece," clarified Salmoneus, "the known world has become a much better place. Crime is down, the streets are safer to walk at night, and travelling merchants like me have a much easier time going from town to town without brigands harassing us!"
'That is true," Hercules noted. "Lately I've noticed everything's been more nice and quiet. The Macedonians do make quite the neighborhood watch."
"Business is booming!" Salmoneus exclaimed. "Things have never been better until Philip and his son made Greece a better place!"
"Yeah, business is booming," Iolaus glared at the chubby merchant, "at the expense of peoples' rights and civil liberties!"
"Hey now!" protested Salmoneus. "Philip and Alexander are pretty decent people! You just gotta give them a chance! Be a sport, Iolaus!"
"Give a chance to a couple of tyrants?" Iolaus looked at Salmoneus in disbelief. "Salmoneus, I never thought you'd sink to such lows!"
"Whoa, hold it you two," Hercules attempted to mediate. "We're not here to jump to conclusions. We're just here to see what kind of people Philip and his son are."
"Alright, but just remember," Iolaus glared at Salmoneus. "Do you really think it's going to be worth it in the end?"
"C'mon Iolaus," Hercules walked ahead. "We've got a dinner date to catch."
"Say Herc, think I could interest you in an Alexander tattoo?" offered Salmoneus.
"Um, I'll think about it," replied Hercules non-committedly.
OOOOO
Soon Hercules and Iolaus had entered into the mansion. All around them were Macedonian guards.
At the center of the room was the dining table. At the end sat a man in regal battle armor. He had long blonde hair in addition to a beard across his chin. To his right sat a younger man with more youthful features, decked in similar battle armor in addition to curly blonde hair.
"The great Hercules has decided to grace us with his presence," Philip beckoned. "Come, sit with us."
"Ladies first," Hercules told Iolaus.
Iolaus went ahead but suddenly stopped, realizing the prank Hercules was pulling on him.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Iolaus protested.
"Gotcha," smiled Herc.
"What do I look like?" Iolaus complained. "The Widow Twanky?"
"Well, I did notice you two having a similar chin…" Hercules rubbed his chin.
After their playful banter was complete, Hercules and Iolaus sat down at the dinner table with Philip and his son.
"So Hercules," Philip started, "I must say that it is an honor to meet a hero as renowned as yourself. Tell me, how are you legendary journeys going along?"
"Well, a lot of things have happened," Hercules replied. "It just seems that I'm dealing with one god or monster after another."
"Which would undoubtedly leave you little room to deal with the affairs of man," Philip nodded graciously. "I understand you've had your hands full dealing with the dark god Dahak and multiple other supernatural incursions upon our land."
"That's correct," Hercules answered.
"Leading a life of heroic sacrifice against petty gods and demons must be a burdensome duty," Philip told the demi-god. "But I assure you that in the event you are unable to attend to more grassroot affairs, Alexander and I have helped to ensure that no criminal or vagabond will harm the good people of Greece."
"So I've heard," Iolaus rolled his eyes.
"Actually it's what I wanted to talk to you about," Hercules said. "Yes you may have brought peace and security, but the rights of the people are being curtailed in the name of security."
"Hmm, did Demosthenes set you upon me like this?" inquired Philip. "That old fool has always had it out for me."
"This isn't about Demosthenes," Hercules insisted. "This is about the excesses of your reign. People have been arrested and thrown into the dungeon for breaking curfews. Every town I've went to there are complaints of Macedonian soldiers stealing from farmers, violating women, and getting into drunken fights."
"I assure you that my army is up to the most professional of standards," Philip replied. "I have personally seen to it that those few bad apples who commit heinous crimes like these are punished for their misdeeds."
"He's right, Hercules," Alexander finally spoke up. "My father has made Greece Elysium on Earth. A few freedoms are a small price to pay for this gift."
"It speaks," Iolaus whispered to Hercules who quickly elbowed him to silence him.
"Hercules, ever since my youth I've looked up to you," confessed Alexander. "All you've ever wanted to do was to help people. Can you not see that this is exactly what my father is trying to do?"
"Alexander, your father's intentions are in the right place," Hercules told the young man. "But the way he's doing it isn't perfect."
"Could we not also say the same about your father?" Philip asked. "After all, Zeus' intentions were always noble despite his less-than-perfect actions."
"Don't go there," Iolaus muttered, realizing that the topic of Zeus was a sensitive topic for Hercules.
"Philip, let's not go there," Hercules looked at the Macedonian king square in the eyes.
"Of course, where are my manners," Philip recanted. "My apologies."
"In time you will see that my father is what's right for Greece," Alexander told Hercules and Iolaus. "And maybe in time, for the rest of the known world…"
"Well, for one thing I don't doubt your sincerity," Hercules told Philip. "But from now on, just remember that should your soldiers get out of line, I'll be there."
"Point taken," Philip waved casually. "And by all means, please discipline my unruly soldiers. It's not like I condone their lesser behaviors personally."
"That's good to know," Hercules nodded. "In any case, Iolaus and I have got to be going. We got a long day tomorrow."
"But you've barely touched your meals," Philip pointed out.
"It's okay," Iolaus smiled. "There's a gyro place that stays up to midnight a few blocks from here."
"Such a pity," Philip sighed. "It's a shame you can't st—"
Without warning, Pausanias leaped to action and slit the throat of Philip.
"Father!" screamed Alexander.
"Philip!" Hercules got up.
Philip II of Macedon fell to the floor, thrashing in agony as blood stained the marble floors.
"Not in a million years did I think I would have this opportunity!" Pausanias smiled. "But now I have the chance to be rid of Philip, Alexander, and Hercules all in one fell swoop!"
"You'll pay for this!" shouted Alexander.
"Not likely!" Pausanias shouted, summoning his most loyal soldiers. "You see, the contingent of soldiers you brought to Athens are loyal only to me."
Soon, Hercules, Iolaus, and Alexander found themselves surrounded.
"Odds aren't looking good," Iolaus said to Hercules as they stood back to back.
"Good thing we never play the odds," Hercules responded, getting into a fighting stance.
"Kill them all!" ordered Pausanias.