In this chapter I have a reference to my one-shot, "The Little One." It is helpful, but not necessary, to read that story as background for this one. Thanks! :)

Remember, I don't own these people...yet. I'm trying to earn enough to buy the franchise. *winks boldly*

Don't forget to review!

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Two: SWORDS AND HINDS

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Truth be told, Indy liked mythology. And it was nice to have something uncontroversial to talk to his son about. Although, Mutt did act a bit touchy whenever family-related issues came up in the story. That was only to be expected, really. Considering Mutt's position. And his age.

"Technically," Indy told him, "Hercules was supposed to do only ten tasks. But like a competent adventurer, he took a partner with him."

"A sidekick," Mutt commented.

"Right. And Eurystheus said that wasn't fair, so one or two of the completed tasks didn't count because he got help. So he ended up doing twelve."

"Oh well. He was young and crazy-strong, right?"

"Right. The first task was to kill the Nemean lion..."

"Hey," Mutt interrupted, "how old was Herk supposed to be when this started?"

"Sources disagree. Some fanatics will tell you he was eighteen, but that doesn't make much sense, considering he'd been married with three children before. That's extreme, even for Greeks. Other mythologists think it was some other lion he killed at eighteen, and that that's where he got his lion-skin cape from."

"But I bet the skin really came from that Nubian lion, or whatever."

"Nemean, and it's just a story. This didn't really happen."

"I mean in the original."

Indy smiled a little. "Well, that's what I think," he admitted.

They walked on through the jungle. Indy caught Mutt looking up at the hanging vines once in a while, and he knew the kid was thinking he could be traveling much faster right now, but there was no way he was going to entertain the idea. The Hercules story would have to be enough to pass the time for him.

After the story of the first task, Mutt said, "So if it was the Nemean lion's skin he wore on his back, that means Eurystheus must have had a change of heart or something to let Hercules keep it."

"I don't think he ever wanted the skin in the first place," Indy answered. "He was hoping Hercules would get killed trying to get it."

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, look...wreckage."

Up ahead was a clearing with many scorched trees and pieces of scrap metal which had once been part of Dr. Spalko's convoy. A rough road stretched away through the jungle beyond.

"About time," Indy said. "We can follow this trail out of here."

Suddenly, Mutt bolted for the edge of the clearing.

"Mutt! What are you doing?"

"Hang on..." Mutt leaned over some shrubbery and hauled out a very battered case. "I think this is..." he struggled with the one unbroken clasp for a moment and then whooped as the case came open. "Yes! It is!"

Indy and Marion looked at each other.

"Well, what is it?" Oxley asked, voicing the impatience that they all felt.

Mutt turned the case around. "It's Dr. Spalko's backup rapiers."

Sure enough, two long, thin swords remained in the case.

"Nice find, Junior," Indy said. "Too bad the case is in such bad shape, but then, I wouldn't want to carry it anyway."

"So, I can keep 'em?"

"I don't see why not. The previous owner sure doesn't need them. At least, she won't be coming back for them."

The teenager's face lit up. "That's boss. These are really great quality."

Indy leaned toward Marion and muttered, "I take it 'boss' is a good thing?"

"Definitely," Marion grinned back.

"Unreal," Mutt breathed as he tried swinging one of the blades.

"Um, I hate to interrupt," Indy called to him, "but we should keep moving."

"Yeah, OK..." Mutt fastened the superfluous buckle at the bottom of his jacket and stuck the sword through it. "Hmm...that's not going to work, is it?"

Indy shook his head. "It's not far enough to the side. And you'll probably end up slicing off part of your jacket...or worse."

Mutt looked back at the case. "Looks like she didn't keep a spare scabbard. I'll have to carry it, I guess. Dang, I'll have to leave the other one."

For some reason—he didn't stop to think why until it was too late—Indy said, "I'll carry the other one for you."

"You will?" Mutt looked shocked.

Why did I say that? Indy thought. But he nodded.

"Wow, thanks, man." Mutt eagerly removed the second sword from the case. "Think fast, Daddy-O."

Somehow, Indy managed to catch the sword's handle as it sailed toward him in a graceful arc. He was very glad that Mutt understood the blade's aerodynamics so well. "You and I are going to have a talk about throwing sharp objects," he said sternly.

"I know, along with 'no playing ball in the house,' right?"

Indy would have said more, but he remembered that he and Mutt had sort of agreed not to talk about the parental role, so he simply led the others down the road left by the Russians' equipment.

"So," Mutt said a minute or two later, "what was Hercules' second task?"

"The hydra, right?" said Marion. "I like the hydra."

Indy grimaced. "You would."

"Is that that many-headed thing?" Mutt asked, sure he had heard of this creature sometime in his literature class.

"Yes," said Oxley. "And if you cut off one head, two will grow back in its place."

"That's great."

"Not if you're supposed to kill it," Indy said.

"So, he stabbed it in the heart instead, right?" Mutt asked.

Indy blinked. "You know, you should have been Hercules' sidekick...you have a much more direct solution than what Iolaus came up with. He suggested burning the stump of the head so it couldn't grow back."

"That's kookie! How could he get close enough to burn it? Did he have Illius distract all the other heads while he did that?"

"I don't know...and it's Iolaus, not Illius."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, since the last head was impenetrable, he ripped it off with his hands. Although some people say he dipped a sword in the hydra's poison blood and that made it so he could cut the last head off."

"Load of bull," Mutt retorted. "The thing would be immune to its own poison."

Indy smiled. "Nice to know you've learned from your experience with scorpions."

"Yeah, well...I do remember some facts."

"So, one way or another he killed the thing. But because Iolaus helped him—"

"The hydra does not count," Mutt announced in a kingly tone, swinging his sword in front of him for effect.

"Right."

"And the next task?"

"To catch the Ceryneian hind."

Mutt laughed.

"It's not what you're thinking," Indy snapped. "A hind is a doe. And the Ceryneian hind was a supernatural, antler-bearing, faster-than-a-speeding-arrow doe."

"How'd he catch it?"

"He sneaked up on it while it was sleeping."

"He's a good sport."

"Well, he didn't want to hurt the thing—it was owned by the goddess Artemis. If he'd done anything to it, she'd have been pretty angry."

"Artemis is my favorite Greek goddess," Marion commented. "She knows how to take care of herself. And she has an excellent twin brother, Apollo."

"In one legend," Indy reflected, "Apollo sent a scorpion to protect Artemis from Orion, who was trying to seduce her."

"A scorpion, huh?" said Mutt, frowning. He was none too fond of the sharp-tailed creatures. "Orion, like the constellation, Orion?"

"That's the one."

"Huh. And I used to like him. So, what happened to the...uh, hind?"

"Hercules took it back to Eurystheus and said he could have it if he came out and took it himself."

"Did he go?"

"Yes."

"Did he get pounded?"

"No. Hercules set the hind down and it took off back to Artemis. Hercules told Eurystheus that he just wasn't quick enough. So that was that."

Mutt pondered in silence for a while, then said, "Any plans for lunch?"

"Not as yet. If you see anything that looks edible, let us know."

Mutt pointed off into the trees. "Constrictors are edible, right? They're not poisonous."

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Is the mythology taking up too much of the story? I'm trying to use it to strategically show how Mutt thinks and how his and Indy's outlook on things compare and contrast, but if you'd rather have less dialogue and more action, shout out in a review and I'll try to liven things up a bit.