First steps…
Iolaus was drenched in sweat trying to match the pace of Ares. They had been walking like this for 4 hours and it was wearing him down. "Come on Ares, look, why don't we just slow down and start setting up camp for the night."
For the first time since they left Laoss, Ares turned and looked at his brother's sidekick. "Look, I don't know what kind of operation you think this is, but I never said we were traveling together. You have just been stalking me from the moment I left the temple. You are welcome to set up camp whenever, wherever so long as it does not interfere with my plans."
Iolaus grabbed hold of the demi-god's arm. "Ares, ya know, Hercules isn't a full god. Even he can't keep up this pace forever. His body needs rest and food before it can continue on. Be reasonable!"
"Reasonable? Only a couple of hours ago, you and your friend stormed into MY temple to tell ME what a terrible ingrate I was. And now you want me to buddy up to you even though until you became winded, you wouldn't stop flappin' your jaw about all the terrible stuff I had planned, and how I was going to get what was coming to me."
Iolaus hated it when Ares was right. Why should Ares make peace with him? "Ok, ok, let's just make a treaty for now. What do you say, huh? I mean, come on, its not like you know how to do this whole mortal thing. I mean, cooking, hunting, starting a fire…"
"For your information, I happen to know all those things fine. This is not my first time as a mortal and I do not need your help." Ares continued walking down the path.
"Wait, Ares, come on." The former war god ignored him. Iolaus jogged to catch up. "Ya know, you catch more flies with honey then vinegar!" Iolaus caught up to him.
"You mortals. Gah. I would have thought by now you'd understand that the point is to keep flies away from yourself by now. I don't know how you mortals think you are so much smarter than us." Ares rolled his eyes.
"Look, come on, stop. I mean it, it's about to be sunset and you'll regret it if you don't stop now." Iolaus pleaded with him. 'I can't believe I'm actually trying to get Ares to be my company. As annoying as he is, I need to keep him close enough to keep an eye on him. Friends close, enemies closer.'
Ares stopped. He gave Iolaus a very suspicious, thorough look over. "What's the catch?"
"No catch. Just a mutually beneficial treaty. You don't starve to death and I get the security of knowing where you are." Iolaus flashed him his most winning grin.
Ares stuck his hand out as an offering for Iolaus. "You've got yourself a deal."
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Hercules found that Aphrodite had teleported them both to Olympus—more precisely, the throne room on Olympus where Zeus sat waiting. "Welcome my son, I have been expecting you." Zeus stood from his throne and walked over to greet Hercules and Aphrodite. "Thank you, sweat pea, for looking after my boy here."
"No prob, dad." She winked at her father and said, "Well, I think dad here can fill ya in on anything you'd need to know. So, I'm off to Naxos to check on my new temple. Tootles!" In a flash of pink she was gone.
"Well, son, I know you disagree with my methods, but I think you'll find this to be an eye-opening experience. Being the god of war is not as easy as it sounds, nor is it all it's cracked up to be. Your brother Ares, while rebellious, is a perfect candidate for the job. While you disagree with what he does, you both have a similar goal. In fact, all the fighting that you do for him, actually feeds his power. You see, he is not an evil character; he represents both sides in a war. Anyway, I digress. We need to discuss you and what you will be doing until you are relieved of this duty."
Zeus took his son and led him into the Olympian library to explain all of the duties he must fulfill. Hercules sighed, 'This is going to be a long day.'
Many hours had passed on Olympus when Zeus and Hercules emerged from their lesson. Zeus looked at his Hercules and smiled. "As soon as you leave this hall, you will be endowed with the full powers of war." He held for Hercules the sword of Ares. "Now take this." Hercules took the offered sword. "Oh, and one last thing, don't forget to look after your chosen. Your chosen is one of you highest responsibilities. Now go, and be strong Hercules."
Hercules gave Zeus a puzzled look. "Wait, what's a chosen? How do I know what to do?"
Zeus grinned. "I have faith, you'll figure it out. Goodbye son." With that, Zeus waved his hand and teleported Hercules back to the halls of war, were he would start his reign.
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Back at the campsite, Ares and Iolaus sat around a small fire eating the bounty from Iolaus's hunt. Ares wasn't thrilled with his quail, but he sure wasn't going to let it go to waste. The awkward silence was stifling. Even though they had called a temporary truce, the two of them couldn't help but sit there and size each other up.
"So.." Iolaus started, "Any clue as to where we are heading?"
Ares grinned. "Yep."
"Care to fill me in on that?" The hunter questioned.
"Nope," came the flat response.
"Well, are we going to a place or are we going to a someone or someone's?" The hunter asked, growing irritated.
"I am going to see a friend." Ares stated. His voice did not show any emotion to hint as to what kind of friend.
Iolaus tilted his head in thought. 'What kind of friend would Ares have that he would trust with such a secret?' He tried again, "What kind of friend is this? Surely you are not counting on some warlord, because you know they only work for you when you can provide them with favors."
"Don't worry, not a warlord, just a old dear friend."
Iolaus gave him a suspicious look. "Is this the friend that you were mortal with the first time?"
Ares glared at Iolaus. "Maybe." He trailed off in thought. "I think I'm going to bed." With that he lay down, and pretended not to notice Iolaus any more that night.
Iolaus watched the former god, 'Hercules, if you can hear me, I hope your doing a lot better job than HE ever did. We'll get this taken care of soon, I promise.'
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Deep within the halls of war, Hercules heard the silent prayer of his friend and wished he could go to him. Hercules knew however that whatever he was supposed to be learning or doing would be slowed down by furthering a fight with Ares. As he leaned back in his newly acquired throne, another voice joined him in his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the voice, to hear what it was saying. "Where are you?" the voice asked. The voice was strong and intoxicating, he wanted to find the source. He thought about the source and stepped into the aether, hoping to find the source.
'Xena?'
