Abandon All Hope

Chapter Four

As Hercules, Autolycus, and Iphicles were talking, Jason and Iolaus walked back over to them, causing the others to quickly stop talking about the problem at hand, then Iolaus spoke up, and said, "Hey Herc, do you know how to get into contact with Hermes by any chance? I mean, without having to search all over creation trying to find him like Autolycus and I had to do the last time we needed his help?"

Hercules smiled as he answered, "Yes, I know a way. Is that your plan to get the message out about our celebration tonight to the gang? That actually is brilliant."

"Thanks, I thought so," Iolaus responded. "Go and get in touch with your brother. I think I'm going to go to… Who is that?"

"Oh, this is Alacia; the woman I've been looking forward to introduce you all to since we've met,," Iphicles replied as he followed Iolaus' line of sight as he was staring at the beautiful woman that just walked into the main hall. "She is something, isn't she?"

As the young woman walked in between everyone to stand by the king's side, Iolaus quickly cleared his throat and answered, "Yes, she certainly is."

Hercules smiled at his friend's embarrassment, then looked over at his brother, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alacia."

"And you, Hercules," she responded sweetly. "Iphicles has told me all about you. And who are your friends?"

"These two here are my best friends in the world, Iolaus and Jason, whom I'm surprised you haven't already met," Hercules replied as he looked between the two and then back at his brother's lady.

She spoke up again saying, "Well, as I'm sure Iphicles' has told you, he's been out of the country for a while and seeing as we met along his travels…"

Hercules nodded as he interrupted, "You came back at the same time he did, of course. And this other guy here is Autolycus, whom I'm not so sure I would call my friend, but he's… well he's something."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, fair lady," the King of Thieves said as he bowed down before her as well and then gently kissed her hand.

"And how exactly did the two of you meet?" Jason asked.

Alacia looked up at Iphicles lovingly as she answered, "Iphicles had just come back into Greece and stopped off in my village, which was under attack by a group of soldiers that were trying to steal all of our crops and animals. Iphicles was brave as he and his men fought them off. I was an innkeeper where he settled down for the night, but I was much too shy to really speak with him, though we both were somewhat attracted to each other. Thankfully, I had a little help from the Goddess of Love and well, you know the rest."

Iolaus looked between Alacia and the king in surprise as he asked, "Aphrodite set the two of you up? How long have you actually known each other?"

"Plenty long enough to know that we're in love," Iphicles responded.

"You'll have to forgive Iolaus' outburst," Hercules replied as he patted his friend's back. "He's always been skeptical of Aphrodite's true intentions, though he'll never admit that he likes her best out of all the gods. Congratulations, the both of you."

Iolaus objected as he quickly said, "I never said that I didn't like your sister best. In fact, I actually do like her best, seeing as the rest of your family members, with a few exceptions, have tried to kill you once or twice. Aphrodite's great, but you have to admit that her matchmaking does usually tend to cause some problems."

Hercules smiled as he answered, "I think that's only when it comes to her trying to help you find love. She messes with you because it makes her laugh, but she always tries to make it right in the end, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Iolaus responded as he finally turned back to Iphicles and Alacia. "Congratulations guys. You're a lucky woman, Alacia. Iphicles is a good man and a good king."

"Thank you, Iolaus," the king replied as he took Iolaus' hand and shook it in a friendly gesture. "Now, why don't you and Alacia go and talk with our chefs about the food arrangements for tonight, while the rest of us take care of the rest."

Iolaus nodded and looked over at the woman as she smiled, then together the two of the walked off. Once they had left the room, Hercules shared with Jason what Autolycus had explained to him and his brother just before he and Iolaus had come back over to them after discussing their plan to get into contact with their friends. Then, the son of Zeus went on to explain the things that Iolaus had discussed with him a few days before, as well as everything he had been through since his best friend's death back in Samaria.

However, before he could finish, Aphrodite suddenly shimmered in, dressed in hardly anything at all as she usually did, and spoke up worryingly, "I'm sorry to interrupt, big brother, but I'm afraid we really need to talk. Something terrible is going to happen. Now, I'm not sure what it is, but… All of the gods are sensing it again and we're afraid. We think she's back."

Hercules and his friends all looked at his sister in confusion as he asked, "What are you all sensing? Who's back?"

Aphrodite just stared at Hercules as she asked, "Can't you sense her? She's the same one that helped Callisto put you in that other realm a while back, remember?"

"Hope, the Great Evil," Hercules answered quietly, anger evident in his tone. "That's just great; as if we didn't already have plenty to worry about right now."

"This Great Evil as you call her has an actual name like Hope?" Autolycus asked to no one in particular. "Doesn't that just have a ring of irony to it?"

Jason looked over at Hercules and then at the goddess standing between them all as he spoke up again asking, "Do you have any idea what this, Hope, is after?"

Aphrodite put her hands in the air as she responded, "Duh, she wants to destroy Hercules of course! With big brother gone for good, she'll be free to spread her evil throughout the world and no god or goddess will be able to stand against her, out of fear that she may have the power to destroy them, just as she did Strife."

"There has to be a way to stop her once and for all," Hercules replied. "Do you have any idea how we can do that, Aphrodite?"

"How about you go back and find that knife covered in hind's blood, which you left buried in the rock at my old sanctuary, and use it to stab her over and over with!" Ares suddenly answered angrily as he too shimmered in, after listening to the entire conversation while remaining invisible. "It's the least she deserves for killing Strife."

Hercules rolled his eyes as his brother appeared before them and then responded, "Hello to you too, Ares. I should have known that you'd be lurking around here somewhere too. I'm afraid that your suggestion is not going to happen."

Ares quickly replied, "Why not? Do you really think you can appeal to the good you think might be buried deep within her or something? She's called the Great Evil for a reason! Because there is no good within her at all and she'll kill you, as well as all your little friends here, without even blinking an eye."

"I may have to destroy her and I won't hesitate if it comes down to it in order to protect the world, but even if I did get back that knife with the hind's blood on it, I really don't think it will be strong enough to kill her," Hercules answered. "Seeing as all the gods are afraid of her, it's obvious that's she more than that."

"What else is she?" Ares growled.

Hercules looked between everyone standing around him as he responded, "I'm not really sure, but I have a feeling she's about as powerful and evil as Dahak was. The good thing is, I was able to defeat him. The bad thing, is that his defeat came at a great cost. I' not sure I can go through that again."

It was then that Iolaus walked into the room after hearing most of the last half of their conversation and replied, "If she wants to destroy Hercules, then I'm ready to do whatever it takes to defeat her first. We wouldn't be heroes if we weren't prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to do so."

"Iolaus is right," Jason continued. "We're with you, Hercules."

"All of us," Iphicles agreed.

Autolycus added, "Me too. Why not, if not then we're all probably going to be dead, right?"

Hercules smiled at all of his friends, then looked over at Ares and Aphrodite, and answered, "It looks like we're in for a fight. Go and talk amongst the other gods, especially Zeus, and find out if anyone knows of a way to defeat Hope. Let them know that we're willing to fight to stop her once and for all."

Both gods shimmered out, then Jason spoke up again as he said, "So, it looks like the party tonight is going to have to be put on hold."

"Actually, until Hope makes herself known, there's not much we can do, but wait," Iolaus responded. "Maybe a party is just what we need before a big fight. Besides, we might have a better chance if we had the Argonauts here to help us. They'd be disappointed if we didn't try to get them here for this."

"All right, I'll send for Hermes," Hercules replied casually. "Good call, Iolaus."