Graegus was at the bottom of the hill, lying on his stomach with his great
paws stretched out in front of him. His great head was resting on the
ground with his mouth wide open. A pair of female legs stuck out of the
mouth, the boots moving up and back as the woman struggled.
"He's eating her!" Iolaus shouted in panic.
Hercules charged down the hill, Iolaus hot on his heels. The big hero ran right up to the War Dog's mouth and gripped the legs sticking out. With a great yank, he pulled the woman out before she was swallowed or bitten in half. She landed on the ground with a thud, her long blonde hair spilling onto the grass.
"Gabrielle?" Hercules said, shocked.
"What's the big idea? I was trying to clean his teeth!" Gabrielle complained as she slowly sat up, rubbing at her head.
"What?!" Iolaus said, his mouth hanging open and his blue eyes wide with shock. "Are you kidding? That's Graegus! He's Ares' killer Dog of War!"
"You can't go crawling half way into that ... that thing's mouth!" Hercules informed her. "It'll kill you! Where's Xena?"
"I'm not sure were Xena is." Gabrielle admitted as she climbed to her feet. "We got separated a while ago."
Graegus bent low and focused his eyes on Hercules. He sniffed at the Demigod and a deep growl emitted from his big chest.
"Uh-oh. I think it remembers me!" Hercules backed up as the War Dog's growl grew louder and stronger. "RUN!"
"Come on!" Iolaus grabbed Gabrielle's wrist and started to run, practically knocking her right off her feet.
Gabrielle stumbled and fell, landing on her knees in the soft grass. She picked her head up just in time to see Hercules and Iolaus running as fast as they could, Graegus bounding after them. The War Dog growled angrily as he chased them back up the hill.
"Come back here with my dog!" Gabrielle scrambled to her feet and started to chase after them. She clutched her Amazon staff in her right hand as she ran. "Ooh, wait until I catch up to you two! Graegus! Come back here! GRAEGUS!"
"Up the tree!" Hercules dashed to the thick trunk of a big oak. Gripping Iolaus around his waist, he hurled his friend up into the upper branches. Iolaus caught a branch and hauled his body onto it. Standing, he started to scramble higher into the boughs of the tree. Hercules didn't waste a minute. He quickly leaped up, caught a branch and followed Iolaus upward. A few seconds later, the War Dog rammed into the tree. The tree shook and Iolaus almost fell. His hands slipped on the rough bark and his body started to slide off the branch he was sitting on. Luckily, Hercules caught him by the back of his tunic and pulled him back up.
Graegus put his front paws against the tree trunk and tried to shove his giant snout into the upper reaches of the tree.
"Herc? Do you think Gabrielle is all right?" Iolaus asked as he hung on for dear life as the tree shook again. "What did she mean, she was cleaning his teeth?"
"I haven't the slightest idea!" Hercules admitted as he wrapped his big arms around the tree's main trunk. "I just hope she escaped from Graegus. I wouldn't want to be the one to tell Xena that her best friend got ate by the Dog of War!"
Gabrielle reached the top of the hill out of breath and was relieved to see Graegus by a nearby tree. She had been worried she'd have to chase him all over Greece! She walked over to the overgrown lizard Ares called a dog. She tapped him lightly on his foreleg with her staff. "Graegus, come down from that tree!"
"Look!" Iolaus pointed towards the ground. He could see the blonde bard through the green canopy. "There's Gabrielle!"
Hercules leaned over and sure enough, there she was. The bard was standing right next to Ares War Dog! "Gabrielle! Get out of there before it eats you!"
To his shock, Gabrielle shot him a dirty look!
"Don't be ridiculous! And you two better not interfere anymore!" Gabrielle called to them angrily. "I had Graegus behaving until you two came and upset him!"
"What?" Hercules said. The Demigod couldn't believe his ears! "We saved you! It was eating you! I saw it! You were in the War Dog's mouth!"
"I was cleaning his teeth!" Gabrielle yelled up at them. She shook her head, her long blonde hair flying around. Sometimes those two could be so dense! "Look, he was down in Hades all these years, right? Well, no one took care of him down there. He has terrible breath and all yellow gunk on his teeth. And there's this red line along the gumline...."
"But it's a monster!" Iolaus pointed out. "Who cares if it has bad teeth?"
"Yeah." Hercules agreed. "Maybe if all its teeth fall out it couldn't eat anyone then."
"And maybe if his teeth didn't hurt he wouldn't have to eat anyone!" Gabrielle pointed out. She looked up at Hercules and Iolaus hiding in the tree. She shook her staff at them. "You two better not interfere again! If I want to get this curse off me, I need to get Graegus to Ares' temple and I can't do that if you lead him in the wrong direction!"
"Sorry." Hercules shrugged. He didn't understand it at all but it was clear Gabrielle needed no help with Graegus. To his astonishment, she actually led the War Dog away from the tree and soon disappeared.
"How...how does she get that thing to listen to her?" Iolaus asked.
"I haven't the slightest idea!" Hercules glanced towards the ground and shook his head. "You know, I think I'll stay right here for a while."
"Good idea!" Iolaus made himself more comfortable on the branch, as he wasn't planning on coming down until at least an hour passed.
Gabrielle strolled through the countryside, Graegus following her. She had been worried that he might have eaten her two friends, but luckily they had managed to escape. It also surprised her that Graegus had listened to her, coming away from the tree. She was sure it was going to be a big problem! But perhaps the War Dog was just glad to be outside and free, to roll around in the grass. Gabrielle figured it must have been pretty boring living down in Hades dark cave all those years with nothing to do.
Soon they reached Ares temple and she opened the door. She didn't see how Graegus was going to fit inside, as he was way too big! Turning to look at the big dog, Gabrielle spoke to him in a soft voice. "Now you be a good boy and wait here while I go find Ares."
Graegus sat down in front of the temple, looking at her.
Satisfied he would stay put for the moment, Gabrielle went inside. "Ares?"
"So, you made it in one piece I see." Ares appeared in a flash of light. He had to admit that she had really surprised him. The entire time Ares had been watching on his God TV and the teeth cleaning business had really confused him. He had laughed when Graegus had chased his dear Half-brother and his curly haired friend, but had laughed even harder when Gabrielle had yelled at them! He could easily imagine Gabrielle whacking Hercules on the side of his head with her staff but he doubted if she would do that. But it was becoming clear that Gabrielle was far more than a simple bard she pretended to be.
Walking outside, Ares went over to his dog. Graegus bounded forward when he saw his master, his big tongue hanging out. Ares noticed that his pet's breath was a lot fresher and most of the teeth were white now. He had no idea what had inspired the bard to clean Graegus' teeth but he was glad that she did. Now he could stand in front of his beloved pet without holding his breath, which was a major improvement! Of course, he would have to keep Gabrielle around now to clean Graegus' teeth every so often or the doggy breath would return. Hmmm.... but how to do that? And what other ideas lurked inside that head of hers? He would have to find out!
Waving his hand, Ares popped both Graegus and himself inside his temple. Turning, he smiled at Gabrielle. "So, what about that first part of the curse? You up to fixing that?"
"He's eating her!" Iolaus shouted in panic.
Hercules charged down the hill, Iolaus hot on his heels. The big hero ran right up to the War Dog's mouth and gripped the legs sticking out. With a great yank, he pulled the woman out before she was swallowed or bitten in half. She landed on the ground with a thud, her long blonde hair spilling onto the grass.
"Gabrielle?" Hercules said, shocked.
"What's the big idea? I was trying to clean his teeth!" Gabrielle complained as she slowly sat up, rubbing at her head.
"What?!" Iolaus said, his mouth hanging open and his blue eyes wide with shock. "Are you kidding? That's Graegus! He's Ares' killer Dog of War!"
"You can't go crawling half way into that ... that thing's mouth!" Hercules informed her. "It'll kill you! Where's Xena?"
"I'm not sure were Xena is." Gabrielle admitted as she climbed to her feet. "We got separated a while ago."
Graegus bent low and focused his eyes on Hercules. He sniffed at the Demigod and a deep growl emitted from his big chest.
"Uh-oh. I think it remembers me!" Hercules backed up as the War Dog's growl grew louder and stronger. "RUN!"
"Come on!" Iolaus grabbed Gabrielle's wrist and started to run, practically knocking her right off her feet.
Gabrielle stumbled and fell, landing on her knees in the soft grass. She picked her head up just in time to see Hercules and Iolaus running as fast as they could, Graegus bounding after them. The War Dog growled angrily as he chased them back up the hill.
"Come back here with my dog!" Gabrielle scrambled to her feet and started to chase after them. She clutched her Amazon staff in her right hand as she ran. "Ooh, wait until I catch up to you two! Graegus! Come back here! GRAEGUS!"
"Up the tree!" Hercules dashed to the thick trunk of a big oak. Gripping Iolaus around his waist, he hurled his friend up into the upper branches. Iolaus caught a branch and hauled his body onto it. Standing, he started to scramble higher into the boughs of the tree. Hercules didn't waste a minute. He quickly leaped up, caught a branch and followed Iolaus upward. A few seconds later, the War Dog rammed into the tree. The tree shook and Iolaus almost fell. His hands slipped on the rough bark and his body started to slide off the branch he was sitting on. Luckily, Hercules caught him by the back of his tunic and pulled him back up.
Graegus put his front paws against the tree trunk and tried to shove his giant snout into the upper reaches of the tree.
"Herc? Do you think Gabrielle is all right?" Iolaus asked as he hung on for dear life as the tree shook again. "What did she mean, she was cleaning his teeth?"
"I haven't the slightest idea!" Hercules admitted as he wrapped his big arms around the tree's main trunk. "I just hope she escaped from Graegus. I wouldn't want to be the one to tell Xena that her best friend got ate by the Dog of War!"
Gabrielle reached the top of the hill out of breath and was relieved to see Graegus by a nearby tree. She had been worried she'd have to chase him all over Greece! She walked over to the overgrown lizard Ares called a dog. She tapped him lightly on his foreleg with her staff. "Graegus, come down from that tree!"
"Look!" Iolaus pointed towards the ground. He could see the blonde bard through the green canopy. "There's Gabrielle!"
Hercules leaned over and sure enough, there she was. The bard was standing right next to Ares War Dog! "Gabrielle! Get out of there before it eats you!"
To his shock, Gabrielle shot him a dirty look!
"Don't be ridiculous! And you two better not interfere anymore!" Gabrielle called to them angrily. "I had Graegus behaving until you two came and upset him!"
"What?" Hercules said. The Demigod couldn't believe his ears! "We saved you! It was eating you! I saw it! You were in the War Dog's mouth!"
"I was cleaning his teeth!" Gabrielle yelled up at them. She shook her head, her long blonde hair flying around. Sometimes those two could be so dense! "Look, he was down in Hades all these years, right? Well, no one took care of him down there. He has terrible breath and all yellow gunk on his teeth. And there's this red line along the gumline...."
"But it's a monster!" Iolaus pointed out. "Who cares if it has bad teeth?"
"Yeah." Hercules agreed. "Maybe if all its teeth fall out it couldn't eat anyone then."
"And maybe if his teeth didn't hurt he wouldn't have to eat anyone!" Gabrielle pointed out. She looked up at Hercules and Iolaus hiding in the tree. She shook her staff at them. "You two better not interfere again! If I want to get this curse off me, I need to get Graegus to Ares' temple and I can't do that if you lead him in the wrong direction!"
"Sorry." Hercules shrugged. He didn't understand it at all but it was clear Gabrielle needed no help with Graegus. To his astonishment, she actually led the War Dog away from the tree and soon disappeared.
"How...how does she get that thing to listen to her?" Iolaus asked.
"I haven't the slightest idea!" Hercules glanced towards the ground and shook his head. "You know, I think I'll stay right here for a while."
"Good idea!" Iolaus made himself more comfortable on the branch, as he wasn't planning on coming down until at least an hour passed.
Gabrielle strolled through the countryside, Graegus following her. She had been worried that he might have eaten her two friends, but luckily they had managed to escape. It also surprised her that Graegus had listened to her, coming away from the tree. She was sure it was going to be a big problem! But perhaps the War Dog was just glad to be outside and free, to roll around in the grass. Gabrielle figured it must have been pretty boring living down in Hades dark cave all those years with nothing to do.
Soon they reached Ares temple and she opened the door. She didn't see how Graegus was going to fit inside, as he was way too big! Turning to look at the big dog, Gabrielle spoke to him in a soft voice. "Now you be a good boy and wait here while I go find Ares."
Graegus sat down in front of the temple, looking at her.
Satisfied he would stay put for the moment, Gabrielle went inside. "Ares?"
"So, you made it in one piece I see." Ares appeared in a flash of light. He had to admit that she had really surprised him. The entire time Ares had been watching on his God TV and the teeth cleaning business had really confused him. He had laughed when Graegus had chased his dear Half-brother and his curly haired friend, but had laughed even harder when Gabrielle had yelled at them! He could easily imagine Gabrielle whacking Hercules on the side of his head with her staff but he doubted if she would do that. But it was becoming clear that Gabrielle was far more than a simple bard she pretended to be.
Walking outside, Ares went over to his dog. Graegus bounded forward when he saw his master, his big tongue hanging out. Ares noticed that his pet's breath was a lot fresher and most of the teeth were white now. He had no idea what had inspired the bard to clean Graegus' teeth but he was glad that she did. Now he could stand in front of his beloved pet without holding his breath, which was a major improvement! Of course, he would have to keep Gabrielle around now to clean Graegus' teeth every so often or the doggy breath would return. Hmmm.... but how to do that? And what other ideas lurked inside that head of hers? He would have to find out!
Waving his hand, Ares popped both Graegus and himself inside his temple. Turning, he smiled at Gabrielle. "So, what about that first part of the curse? You up to fixing that?"