Destined for Greatness

Chapter 9

Without reservation, Hercules rolled underneath an energy blast from Amon Ra and tackled the Egyptian god against the wall. But quickly, Ra freed himself and kicked Hercules off of him.

"Great going Autolycus," Iolaus told the King of Thieves. "If you hadn't plundered the treasury, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Hey, don't blame me!" Autolycus defended himself. "These gods were going to get rough with us anyways! Isn't that right, blue mummy guy?"

"The name is Osiris!" the blue-skinned deity replied angrily. "And I will not suffer insolence from humans such as yourselves! But to answer your question, yes. We would have attacked you regardless."

"See?" Autolycus pointed out. "What did I tell you?"

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" demanded Iolaus.

"Hey, you were using me as the scapegoat," Autolycus snapped back. "It's not always my fault, you know."

"You two done yet?!" Hercules shot an angry look at the two as he was in the midst of combat with Ra.

Suddenly snapping back to the matter at hand, both Iolaus and Autolycus saw Osiris raising his staff and bringing it down, unleashing a shockwave that knocked both men down.

"Truce?" Autolycus offered.

"Truce," Iolaus reciprocated.

In the meantime, Hercules was having a difficult time fighting Ra. Each and every time he threw a punch at the Egyptian king of the gods, the falcon-headed deity seemed to weave past it or misdirect it somehow.

Finally, the dodging stopped. Hercules threw a punch, only for a force-field to envelope Amon Ra and bounce Herc's punch back.

Again and again, Hercules punched at Ra only for the force field bounce him back. As Hercules blinked, Ra disappeared into thin air.

Looking around, Hercules cautiously surveyed his surroundings. There was no telling what Ra would do next.

Finally, Amon Ra reappeared behind Hercules and grabbed him in a tight head-lock.

"You're stronger than expected," Ra told Hercules. "But you know you can't win this."

"Maybe not," admitted Herc. "But it can't hurt to try!"

"Don't bother!" Ra clamped down on Herc's neck even harder. "These humans aren't worth the effort anymore! I tried being a god of justice… a champion to the people… look where it got me! The Egyptians don't believe in us anymore and Dahak killed off nearly all of my brethren!"

With that, Ra lifted Hercules up and threw him against a giant statue. As Hercules raised his head, Ra grabbed a handful of his hair to lift him up.

"Look into those pools," Ra told Hercules. "The rivers of Duat will be used to cleanse these lands and expel these recent foreign invaders."

Suddenly, Hercules realized what Ra was talking about. He was talking about flooding all of Egypt.

"You can't!" protested Hercules. "You'll drown all of Egypt just to get rid of Alexander's army!"

"Sacrifices must be made," Amon Ra slammed Hercules against the wall with a god-like strength that rivaled or perhaps surpassed the demi-god. "The Egyptian people have grown ungrateful and unbelieving of us. They shall be acceptable losses as we cleanse this land and begin anew."

With that, Ra brought his razor-sharp beak down, intending to split open Hercules' skull in one strike. Quickly, Hercules swung past it as the beak smashed through the wall. He then broke free of Ra's grasp and kicked the Egyptian god a few feet away.

"It won't happen," Hercules promised. Not on my watch."

"You won't stop me Hercules," Ra promised. "Osiris, finish those two mortals and unleash the waters! Only the gods shall survive the waters of Duat!"

To Hercules' relief, Iolaus and Autolycus were still alive. But at the same time, they were struggling against the blue-skinned god. As much as he would have liked to help them, he had Ra to contend with.

Osiris blocked a sword swing by Iolaus and shoved the mortal back with one mere push. As Iolaus fell, Autolycus was there to catch him.

"Steady as she goes," Autolycus assured.

Osiris raised his staff in the air as several of his mummy wraps un-bandaged themselves and twisted into the air like serpents. With much power, they came down, striking the ground where Iolaus and Autolycus stood, forcing them to scatter.

Iolaus ducked underneath another attack but another set of wraps grabbed him by the feet, lifting him up. Osiris whirled Iolaus around with it and then threw him right into Autolycus, knocking both men down.

With that, Osiris held his staff and blasted a jet of flames towards the two who quickly separated to avoid getting burned alive.

"You have courage," Osiris complimented the two. "No human has ever lasted this long against us."

"Spare us," Iolaus held his sword.

Angrily, Osiris unleashed several more of his bandages at the mortal. More prepared for the attack this time, Iolaus slashed through several bandage wraps that came at him and ran forward, slashing at Osiris.

Flipping his staff about, Osiris blocked most of the incoming blows coming from Iolaus before turning around and slamming the butt of his staff into the blonde man's stomach to knock him to the floor.

Sneering, Osiris raised his staff to disintegrate Iolaus. Behind him, however, Autolycus swung in with his grappling hook and kicked the blue-skinned god in the back to send him skidding forward. Seeing his opportunity, Iolaus leaped back to his feet and struck Osiris across the head with a spinning round-house kick, successfully knocking the god on his back.

In shock and anger that the two humans were able to humiliate him like that, Osiris charged at the two in a rage. As Osiris came at them, both Iolaus and Autolycus ran up and back-flipped off of wall to land behind Osiris. As the god turned around, the two humans spun around and kicked him in the chest, knocking him against the wall.

"Not bad, partner," Autolycus complimented.

"Thanks… hey wait! I'm not your partner!" Iolaus protested.

Taking advantage of their brief moment of disagreement, Osiris struck Iolaus in the chest with his staff and then Autolycus across the face. Knocking Autolycus away, Osiris then proceeded to disarm Iolaus by flipping the sword out of his hands.

Iolaus threw a punch but quickly had it caught by the god of the afterlife. Osiris then flipped Iolaus on his back and planted one foot on the recalcitrant human's chest.

Osiris raised his staff to finish off Iolaus but just as he did, Autolycus came in behind him with a golden vast. Immediately, he stuffed the vase onto the head of Osiris. As Osiris struggled, he dropped his staff. Seeing his opportunity, Autolycus grabbed the staff and banged it against the golden vase on top of the head of Osiris.

Iolaus came in too, dropkicking Osiris in the chest with both feet. Osiris fell but finally tore the vase off.

With one gesture, he transformed the staff in Autolycus's hands into a cobra. Caught off guard, Autolycus immediately dropped the snake which crawled back to Osiris who transformed it back to its original state.

With a simple hand movement, Osiris lifted both Iolaus and Autolycus into the air telekinetically and slammed them into one another.

"You really thought you stood a chance against me?" Osiris sneered.

Meanwhile, Hercules was currently having his hands full with Amon Ra. The demi-god unleashed a powerful roundhouse blow across Ra's beak but the Egyptian god returned it with two lightning-fast punches that sent Herc staggering back.

From the air flew a scarab beetle that Ra grabbed and held in his hands. At once, the scarab transformed into a golden sword that Ra slashed at Hercules with. Hercules quickly ducked underneath as Ra smashed through a pillar with the sword. Ra slashed down at Hercules again but this time Herc grabbed Ra's sword-swinging hand at the wrist and hurled the Egyptian god over his shoulder. With that, he took advantage of his position and drove both feet into Amon Ra's head to send the Egyptian god tumbling head-over-feet into the treasures of the room.

Just when Hercules believed he had possessed a momentary advantage, he was proven wrong yet again. Amon Ra reappeared behind Hercules in an instant and punched the demi-god hard enough to draw blood this time. As Hercules stepped back, Ra came in with several more hard punches that nearly took the Greek hero's head off. Finally, Ra unleashed a kick that sent Hercules rolling towards the edge of the pool of water.

Hercules tried to get up but Amon Ra drove his elbow into the side of Herc's head to knock him back down again. Coughing violently, Hercules felt himself being lifted into the air telekinetically by Amon Ra.

"Now it ends," Ra promised.

That being said, he thrust the sword right through the chest of Hercules.

After digging his sword in deep enough, Ra withdrew the weapon and dropped the grievously injured Hercules.

"How does it feel to be helpless?" asked Amon Ra.

"You… won't win this!" Hercules cried through the pain.

Saying no more, Ra reached out and grabbed Hercules by the throat, snapping his neck.

At once, time seemed to stand still. Iolaus got up, witnessing what Amon Ra had done to his best friend. Even Osiris stopped what he was doing and stared.

"Say it ain't so…" Autolycus said in disbelief.

"Herc… Hercules?" Iolaus was almost in a state of denial.

"Your friend is dead," promised Amon Ra, turning around to face the two mortals. "And soon, you will join him."

As Hercules body sank to the floor, his hand extended forth into the waters of Duat. Slowly, the river drew his body in as a mystical glow seemed to envelope his body. This, however, went unnoticed by the gods as they turned their attention to the two mortals.

In grief, Autolycus sank to both knees. Several times in the past Hercules had saved his life and what did he do in gratitude? Continue to live a life of crime?

As sadness overwhelmed Autolycus, another more primordial emotion was coming over Iolaus.

"You…" Iolaus pointed his sword towards Amon Ra with tears in his eyes. "You bastard!"

"Do not worry, your time is coming," promised Amon Ra as Osiris came behind Iolaus.

Without warning, Iolaus spun around and cut down on Osiris who barely raised his staff up in time to block the blow with a metal clang. In rage, Iolaus drove his foot into Osiris to knock the god back.

Again Iolaus attacked relentlessly, slashing at Osiris in a fury. Each and every time Osiris managed to block the blows left and right but was forced back continuously. Finally, Iolaus came down hard enough with a blow to shatter the staff Osiris held in his hand, splitting it in two.

Osiris stared in shock. It was the first time any human had managed to get the better of him like that.

Taking advantage of the god's surprise, Iolaus spun around and slashed through the stomach of Osiris using the sword tainted with Hind's blood that Alexander had handed him.

Reaching down, Osiris held his stomach only to realize, to his horror that he was bleeding. Even worse, he was not healing from the wound inflicted upon him by Iolaus.

"What is happening to me?" Osiris sank to both knees.

"Hind's blood," Iolaus told him. "Enough to kill a god! And you're going to join him, Ra!"

In a flash, Ra appeared before Iolaus, grabbing him by the wrist. In one fast motion, Ra broke the arm of Iolaus and forced the mortal to drop Alexander's sword.

"Aaaahh!" screamed Iolaus agonizingly.

Ra then threw Iolaus away from Osiris.

"My brother, what is happening to you?" asked Ra.

Osiris looked up at Ra with pleading eyes.

"For so long I've been the god of death," Osiris spat as his life force flowed away. "Now I can experience it myself."

"No Osiris!" cried Ra. "We have a land to rebuild! It was not supposed to end in this manner!"

"Farewell," the eyes of Osiris closed.

The body of Osiris erupted in a massive explosion of light and soon the head that Ra cradled in his hands was no more.

"You!" Ra glared at the wounded Iolaus and Autolycus.

Slowly, both Iolaus and Autolycus backed away, realizing that they were no match for the powerful Egyptian deity.

"For your crimes against the gods," promised Ra. "you will pay the ultimate price!"

Raising his hand, Ra gathered an enormous amount of solar energy in his palm, ready to unleash it upon the two mortals and incinerate them completely.

"Well Iolaus," remarked Autolycus. "It was nice knowing you."

Ra pointed his hand towards the two, ready to execute them but a figure grabbed him from behind, twisting his hand into the air and forcing him to fire upwards, destroying a large portion of the pyramid.

"You!" cried Ra.

"Surprise!" Hercules spun Ra around and hurled him into a column.

"How?!" Ra cried.

"I don't know," Hercules admitted. "Taking a dip in your pool refreshed me more than I thought it would."

"Of course it makes sense now," Amon Ra seethed. "The waters of Duat have the powers to heal the Egyptian gods. And you being a half-god…"

For Hercules, the time for talking was now over. The fully-healed demi-god ran forth as Ra blasted at him with several energy beams. Hercules then came in with several powerful blows, each one driving the Egyptian god back. He punched Ra across the face, then under the chin, and then right across the beak. With his fourth blow, Hercules punched Ra in the chest and knocked the god through a wall.

In a flash of light, Ra emerged from the rubble and flew into the air, blasting at Hercules from the air with several solar energy beams. Hercules avoided the blasts and grabbed a shield from the treasury. Aiming it carefully, he threw it, bouncing it off a wall and onto the back of Ra. The shield struck Ra, knocking him down right where Hercules wanted him. Herc unleashed a devastating uppercut that sent Ra flying into another one of his pyramid's columns.

As Ra got up, Hercules grabbed him by the neck in turn and then slammed the Egyptian god's body down onto the ground with a thunderous quake.

"Yield Ra!" yelled Hercules.

"Never…" Ra unveiled in his hand a tattoo similar to the Eye of Horus.

Fortunately for Hercules, he had seen this trick before from Anubis. Quickly, he covered the palm of Ra with his own hand and drove his other fist down, punching Ra across the face.

"Agh!" shouted Ra.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way!" promised Hercules.

"Go ahead," Ra told Hercules. "Finish me then."

"I would…" Hercules finally got off of Ra. "But I don't kill people in cold blood like this."

Amon Ra got up to survey the damage the entire battle had done. Telekinetically, he lifted Alexander's sword into the air and then gave it to Hercules, much to the surprise of everyone.

"I am the last of my kind," Ra told Hercules. "Dahak slaughtered nearly my entire pantheon. Alexander took the life of Anubis. And now you and your friends have taken Osiris from me as well."

"It didn't have to be this way," Hercules told the Egyptian deity.

"Whether or not we wanted it, it still happened," the sun god replied. "Listen carefully Hercules. You have one chance and one chance only to end my misery and kill me. If you refuse, then I will not stop until I have killed you, your friends, and your countrymen who now occupy my kingdom."

"Guess I really don't have a choice," Hercules held the sword with Hind's blood up.

"Finish it," Amon Ra closed his eyes.

Raising his sword up, Hercules brought the blade down. However, at the last second he stopped short of striking Ra.

"This is wrong," Hercules threw the sword down in disgust. "I'm not a murderer. I won't do it."

"Why won't you do what needs be done?" demanded Ra. "The lives of Egyptians, your friends, your countrymen… they are all at stake!"

"Hercules may not do what needs to be done," a voice from above rang out. "But I will."

Right after that moment, an arrow flew down, piercing Amon Ra's neck. Incidentally, it was also an arrow that had been dipped in Hind's blood.

From the skies shining through a hole made through the pyramid, a shining warrior in golden armor flew down. Ra fell to the floor as the golden warrior landed.

"Alexander?" Iolaus looked on in disbelief.

Underneath the heavily armored scarab suit, Alexander's boyish face was still revealed through the helmet.

"I see Ares gave you one hell of a makeover," Iolaus commented.

"Ares was not the one," answered Alexander. "I had… help of my own."

"Now I am released," Ra said as his head was cradled by Hercules. "The era of the Egyptian gods is at an end…"

With that, Amon Ra's body was enveloped by a glowing light as particles from it floated into the air until nothing was left.

Hercules got up.

"You've changed," he said to Alexander.

"I have," confessed Alexander. "You see, not too long ago, I wanted your approval more than anything else. You were my hero, Hercules. But now, after what you did to me, I see you for the black-hearted bastard you really are!"

"Hey pal!" Iolaus protested despite the pain of his broken arm. "You had that one coming! Who knows how many thousands of innocent people you killed!"

"I don't blame you for being upset about the beating I gave you," Hercules told the young man. "But don't think for a second that your right to be upset magically erases the war crimes you've committed."

Ignoring Iolaus, Alexander stepped forward. He had only one thing in mind now and that was revenge against Hercules for his previous defeat.

"I'm not here to cry over past wrongs, Hercules," Alexander replied.

In a flash, Alexander disappeared. Before Hercules could properly react, Alexander appeared next to him and delivered a punch so powerful that it knocked him through another of the pillars in the pyramid.

"I'm here to even the score," Alexander replied, showing off his powerful scarab armor. "And with the power of an Egyptian god, I think that can be arranged!"

As Hercules got up, Alexander flew right into him and smashed both their bodies through several layers of the pyramid until both men were out in the open once more. Grabbing Hercules by the throat, Alexander punched the son of Zeus hard enough to knock the demi-god to the ground

Thankfully, the sand was there to break his fall. Groggily, Hercules got up again as Alexander flew down towards him.

Inside the pyramid itself, the entire building began to rumble. The fight between Hercules and the gods, in addition to Alexander's attacks, had really upset the structural integrity of the whole thing.

"We'd better get out of here," Autolycus grabbed Iolaus by his good arm to steady him. "Let's go, partner!"

As the two ran down the halls to exit the buildings, Iolaus was far from content at the assertion made by the King of Thieves.

"We are NOT partners!" Iolaus protested.

Soon, the two were outside again. Everyone was waiting outside, including the soldiers assigned to keep watch over the prisoners.

"Fire in the hull!" shouted Autolycus as everyone ran and took cover from the crumbling pyramid.

Soon, the entire pyramid was nothing more than rubble.

"By the gods, what happened in there," the guard who stood watch over Salmoneus lowered his sword.

With his good hand, Iolaus punched the soldier away from Salmoneus as Autolycus took out the remaining guards with several good well-aimed blows. After that was taken care of, Autolycus grabbed the keys from the guards and freed Jason, Salmoneus, and Falafel from their restraints.

"Are you okay Iolaus?" asked Jason.

"I got my arm broken by an angry god but otherwise yeah, I'm okay," Iolaus replied sardonically.

"Where's Hercules?" asked Salmoneus.

Soon, the sound of two titans battling alerted the entire gang.

"I was going to answer that but then…" Autolycus pointed his finger towards the battle.

Despite the brief surge of power he had gotten from the waters of Duet, Hercules still felt himself being pressed back by Alexander's attacks. He blocked two punches from Alexander and then kicked the Macedonian back with a big boot.

Alexander fell back but then disappeared underneath the sands with his new godly powers.

From underneath, Hercules felt himself being dragged underneath slightly. Then unexpectedly, Alexander appeared from the sand underneath him and punched Hercules in the chin to knock down the demi-god. Alexander, now clad in his new scarab armor, grabbed Hercules to yank him up again. Punching Hercules twice in the stomach, he swung around and elbowed Hercules in the face to send the demi-god staggering.

As Hercules fell back, Alexander came in, connecting with a brutal blow to the jaw that made Hercules fall back-first onto the sand.

Hercules rolled over to his side and then got up slowly. Taking the opportunity, Alexander flew into the air and swooped down.

Just in the nick of time, however, Hercules leaped back to life and jumped up, planting both feet into Alexander's chest with a powerful dropkick that Alexander sent the Macedonian flying into one of the nearby temples.

Hercules charged but Alexander got up and broke out of the columns off of the Egyptian temple. Using it as a bat, he smashed it into Hercules and knocked the son of Zeus into another sand dune.

Realizing now that he did not have to solely rely upon the brute force of a god, Alexander commanded the very sand of the desert to his will. All around Hercules, the sand bound him as several sand tendrils grabbed him by the arms to hold him still.

Moving almost at the speed of light, Alexander appeared before the bound Hercules and delivered several powerful and quicksilver blows that rocked the demi-god. With one final punch, Alexander nailed Hercules across the head and sent Herc face-first into the ground.

"You're no longer top god, Hercules," Alexander boasted. "I'm going to become a legend while you'll fade into obscurity!"

Taking advantage of Alexander's momentary arrogance, Hercules, now bloodied and bruised across his face, rapidly got up and punched Alexander across the jaw and sent the Macedonian stumbling back.

Angrily, Alexander aimed his wrist at the demi-god. From a wrist of the scarab armor, a grappling hook fired out and wrapped itself around Hercules. With the newfound strength of a god, Alexander yanked Hercules forward and dropped him with a powerful blow to the chin.

"I'm not the weak kid you fought before!" Alexander declared. "I'm as strong as you are now!"

Alexander then flew up, summoning another mass movement of sand across the ground which soon coalesced into the shape of a dragon. As Hercules got up, the dragon roared angrily and came crashing down on Hercules, resulting in an explosion of sand everywhere.

"No," Alexander corrected himself. "I'm stronger!"

Now that Hercules was buried underneath all the sand, Alexander walked over towards the Egyptian temple. With both hands he grabbed the temple at the very base and with his newfound strength began to lift. Soon, thanks to his enormous power, Alexander lifted the temple off the ground and flew into the air just as Hercules managed to lift his head and arm out of all that sand.

"My gift to you Hercules!" Alexander cried, holding the massive temple over his head. "Consider it a parting gift for the end of an era… your era!"

With that, Alexander hurled the massive temple down, smashing it completely over Hercules in an explosion of sand and rubble alike.

After the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but the ruins of the Egyptian temple. For Alexander, it was almost an unbelievable moment as he floated in the air almost without expression, contemplating what just took place.

"I did it… I finally did it!" he realized.

Turning around, he looked towards the direction where he had commanded his troops to head.

"I defeated the son of Zeus!" Alexander exclaimed. "I crushed the greatest warrior of all time! Nothing can stop me now! This entire world is mine!"

Happily, the conqueror flew off into the sunset to join his troops who were on the march.

As Alexander flew away, Iolaus and the rest of the gang ran forward towards the ruins of the wrecked temple.

"Hercules!" shouted Iolaus.

Quickly, Iolaus leaped onto the remains of the temple and began digging. The rest of the group soon joined in.

oooo

Nightfall had finally arrived. By that time, Iolaus and the others had been forced to stop searching, not due to any lack of desire on their part, but due to the fact that after several hours of non-stop digging, they were exhausted beyond belief.

"Hey Sal," Autolycus leaned against a broken column. "Still have the water canteen?"

"There's a little left," Salmoneus sighed, leaning down against Autolycus. "But it's barely enough for all of us."

"We need to head for town to get supplies and rest," Jason advised Iolaus. "Otherwise we're not going to last the following day in this desert."

Iolaus's shoulders sank. The safety of Hercules was his number one concern but Jason nonetheless made a very good point about provisioning.

As they got up, however, the hand emerged from the rubble and startled them all. Slowly, Hercules dragged himself out of all the debris, covered in dirt and bleeding across his body.

"I wouldn't care to go through that again," Hercules breathed a big sigh of relief.

"Herc, you're alive!" Iolaus exclaimed.

"And in one piece too!" Autolycus complimented.

"Are you feeling alright?" asked Jason.

"I could be better," Hercules admitted. "But a bed and breakfast wouldn't hurt."

Limping, Hercules allowed Iolaus and Jason to help him as they headed back towards the city.

oooo

Soon, morning came as Hercules stretched out his arms. Most of the bruises from yesterday were beginning to fade and the cuts he had were now mending up quickly thanks to his godly heritage.

What did not mend, however, was his anxiety. With the power of a god, Alexander was now much more dangerous than ever.

A knock on his door was soon heard.

"Come in," Hercules called.

Iolaus, now with a sling on his arm, and the rest of the gang entered.

"Feeling better?" asked Jason.

"Fit as a fiddle," Hercules smiled. Within another day or so, his wounds would be nothing to worry about.

"Hercules," Salmoneus told the son of Zeus. "I want you to know what I'm with you on your quest. Alexander's got to be stopped."

"Yeah, we're all with you!" promised Iolaus.

"You'll also need a chef along the way!" Falafle smiled as everyone else grimaced.

"Well, I was going to check out Carthage after my little Egyptian tour," Autolycus said absentmindedly. "I hear the royal family down there needs help testing out their new security system with the treasury."

"Autolycus…" Iolaus and the rest of the group glared at him.

"Okay, okay!" Autolycus promised. "I'll help you out and I promise to stay out of… trouble!"

As soon as he mentioned the word "trouble," Autolycus quickly crossed both fingers behind his back.

"Alright then," Hercules exclaimed. "Let's pack up and head out. We've got a long journey ahead of us."