Chapter II
"I'm telling you Ioleus! The moon moves around us! It's not pulled by some "god", no offence Herc, in a chariot!" Ashley exclaimed. She and Ioleus had been fighting for hours now. As always. They always seem to find something to fight over. This time they were fighting over how things worked. Ioleus' explanation for everything was " such and such god does that" or "this god does this" Where as Ashley, who rarely had solid evidence to back her up, thought that things were just that way. Everyone was getting sick of their "conversation". Especially Herc. He is known as a son of Zeus. One of the 'so called' gods, that Ashley didn't believe in. Makia could tell by the forced calm look on his face he was gonna explode any minute.
" Hay guys!" Makia exclaimed angrily, before Ioleus could reply. " Will you knock it off before I smack the both of ya's to the underworld. Hay! Then you can tell if Hades is real or not, you can then save us a lot of trouble and hearing problems." Xena snickered at Makia's comment.
Ashley shut her mouth and Ioleus shrank away silently. Suddenly Jason stopped and listened.
"Jason, What is it?" Herc whispered.
"Shhh. Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Ioleus asked.
"Shhh!!" Jason said putting a finger to his lips. Everyone stopped and listened hard..."It was quiet!"
"Jason!" the cadets all, well except Xena, yelled attacking him. The cadets had been traveling all day long. They were all hungry and quite crazy. Hay, If you had to listen to Ashley and Ioleus fighting all day you would go crazy too! You could tell that they were all tired and wanted to go find a place to stay for the night, but Herc assured them that the house was not to far away. Xena stood looking down on the pile fighting people. She walked around them, looking like she was thinking. All of a sudden her hand shot out and she grabbed the hand of her best friend. Pulling Makia out of the mass of tangled limbs and dirt.
" Should we get Ashley out and let the guys fight? Or do we leave her?" Makia said looking her shirt, trying to straiten her self out. The girls looked at each other...
"Nahhh!"
A few hours later...
" ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Makia exclaimed to the middle aged woman known as Hercules' mother. " HE DID THAT IN A TEMPLE!?"
Makia, Xena and Alcmene all burst out laughing! They were lounging in the chairs outside of Alcmene's home. The sun had started to set as the rest of the group, looking quite disheveled, came up to the house.
"Hercules!" Alcmene exclaimed smiling at her son.
"Hello mother, Makia, Xena" Hercules replied hugging his mother.
"Hello Herc." Makia and Xena replied.
"You know your mother just told us the most interesting story." Xena said taking a sip of lemonade from her glass.
"Yes, the one where you were in Hera's temple and you ran around..." Herc stopped Makia from continuing by covering her mouth with his hand.
"Yeah, and Jason stood up shouting...." Jason stopped Xena from saying the last line but it was too late.
"Oh," said Ashley, "The one were Herc ran around naked with a stick trying to beat up the statues and Jason stood up shouting Hallaluja! I remember that one! Ioleus crawled around on the floor under the priestess's chair trying too look up her skirt!"
The guys looked at each other then at Ashley....
"GET HER!" They yelled running after Ashley with Ioleus in the lead. They all ran into the barn.
"Girls?" Alcmene said calmly to Makia and Xena. "Can you keep them from killing her while I fix dinner?"
" No problem!" The girls said in unison. They ran toward the barn.
In the Barn
When Makia and Xena entered the barn, they found Ashley and Ioleus up in the loft and Herc and Jason on the floor, yelling up at Ashley and Ioleus.
"You know, I have an idea." Makia whispered to Xena.
" What?"
"Let's have a little fun and attack Herc and Jason."
"Sound's good to me..." The girls picked up some "mud" in the corner and hit they guys in the back of their heads. The guys turned around with devilish looks in their eyes and hay in their hands.
"Uhoh..."The girls exclaimed
"You take the one on the right , I'll take the one on the left."Her said to Jason.
"My pleasure"
"Ahhhh!" The girls squeeled barely dodging the hay. " Run!"
The Girls ran in opposite directions picking up hay on their way. Hercules ran after Makia and Jason ran after Xena.
Makia ran behind the latter and into one of the stalls.
Oh sugar, Makia thought. A dead end, how stupid could I be? Makia turned around to find Hercules blocking her only exit, with a hand full of... could it be? By the gods! That wasn't mud! It was manure!
"Had enough yet?" Herc said devilishly.
"Not quite?"Makia replied. Herc charged forward with his manure filled hand at Makia. Makia jumped up at the last second and braced herself between the walls of the stall. Leaving Herc running into the back of the stall and a fist full of manure. Makia jumped down and turned around. Herc's face was covered in manure.
"You know that looks good on you..." Makia said seductively.
"Really...?" Herc said after uncovering his mouth. "I thought it would look better on you!"
Makia squealed and ran past a back-flipping Xena and a manure covered Jason with his hand full of hay.
Xena did a somersault and disappeared behind a stack of barrels. Jason, thinking he had her trapped. Snuck around it to find...
"Ahhhh ha!" Nothing. Where did she go? Jason thought. Maybe she is in one of the stalls. Jason went around to all of the stalls kicking the doors open to find nothing. When he kicked open the last one, he found Xena's armor, chacrem, and sword...
"What?"
"Oh Jason..." Xena said in a sing song voice... Jason turned around to see Xena leaning against the door frame, with one arm braced against one side and the other on her hip. She looked up at the ceiling. Jason followed her eyes and saw a trap door to the loft. Xena pulled the rope holding it up and hay spilled all over Jason.
"Wow," Xena said sarcasticly " Jason, you color is defiantly brown with hay colored stripes."
"Why you..."
Xena turned and ran across the barn. She bumped into Makia about half way. Makia had just dodged a manure covered Hercules...who, at the moment matched Jason.
" What are we going to do?" Makia asked Xena.
"Nothing!" Everyone turned to see Alcmene standing in the door way. Makia and Xena heaved a sigh of relief. "After you all water down these two porcupines and cut tribal chief Ioleus down, you all can come eat supper."
"Tribal chief Ioleus?" Herc said. The four cadets had forgotten about Ashley and Ioleus. Evidently, Ashley somehow had tied up Ioleus and hung him upside down by his feet. He had marks on his face and a headdress made of manure and hay. Everyone laughed and Ashley guiltlessly cut him down. The six cadets headed out to the well to clean up Jason, Herc and Ioleus. When they had finished they went inside to eat. It had gotten quiet dark.