Title: King of the Gods (4/?)
Author: Artemis Luna Diana
Email: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com
Rating: R
Fandom: Xena/Herc.
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I own not a thing.
Warning: homosexuality, sex, reference to character death
Summary: Challenge response to Shadwmage7: Joxer becomes King of the Gods.
Status: WIP
Archive: AJCS, all others please to: BlackUmbridge for the excellent beta.
Notes: My mythology source for this little piece of adventure was: http://www.classicmythology.org.
"blah" - verbal
'blah' - thoughts
Chapter Four
Instead of returning to bed, Joxer decided that Aphrodite had a very valid point. He needed to remove all traces of Zeus' rule from Olympus and thus set his determination in the minds of his subjects.
When Joxer had been mortal, he had wanted people to sing his praises, to respect him, Tartarus, he wouldn't have minded a statue or two either. Now, with the knowledge of Gaia and Tethys residing in his brain, and the jewels of mercy and forgiveness resting in his body, things were much different.
Joxer removed the statues and paintings of Zeus from his hall but did not replace them with his own images. From the entrance way to the dais there were torches lining the walls every few feet.
On the dais was a simple granite altar and behind it a simple granite throne, whose seat was slightly higher than the altar. And that was it. Simple and uncompromising. He traversed the entire temple making changes that reflected that wish for simplicity. He did not deny the need for comfort, but he did deny any need for lavish waste.
"Psyche, former Goddess of the Mind, ex-wife of Cupid, God of Love, mother of Bliss, godling of Joy and Happiness, has been stripped of all ties to Olympus. Anyone who attempts to return her to godhood will share her fate. Any who assist her in trying to see her ex-husband or her son will share her fate. Anyone who knowingly allows her to succeed at either task will share her fate. Anyone who speaks to her will share her fate. Her ties to Olympus are severed." Joxer's voice was stern, and he waited until he received acknowledgement from the Gods and Goddesses gathered before continuing.
"Taking Psyche's former position is Xena the Warrior Princess. Xena has accepted the responsibilities of the Mind godhood and eaten the food of the Gods." Joxer waited until the shocked murmuring faded.
"Zeus, former God of the Sky, ex-King of the Gods, ex-husband of Hera, Goddess of Marriage and Childbirth, father to… more children than I care to name, has also been stripped of his godhood. Zeus has been chained up with the Titians under Rhea's watch. Anyone attempting to free him will join him." Joxer again waited for a response before continuing.
"In his stead, Cycrops is now God of the Sky. He has eaten the food of the Gods and accepted the responsibilities of the Sky godhood." Surprisingly, the gathered deities were silent.
Joxer continued. "Psyche and Zeus are both alive and immortal. These are their punishments – their fates. Until Psyche can feel true remorse for her actions and can value the life of a mortal above her own, she is to remain cut off from Olympus. Zeus is insane, and unless he recovers – which is highly unlikely – he will remain chained." Joxer waited a moment, allowing his announcements to sink in.
"Now, for some good news," he said. "The empty godhoods of Vegetation and Retribution have been filled. Zeraclies is now the God of Vegetation, and Iolaus is the God of Retribution. They have eaten the food of the Gods and accepted the responsibilities of their godhoods. Also, the empty godhood of Mischief has been filled. Strife has returned."
Of all the things that the pantheon could have been the most upset about, Strife was not what first came to Joxer's mind. Joxer frowned slightly. It seems that the Mischief God did not have many friends. Joxer dismissed the gathering and returned to his temple, with Xena in tow.
"What caused that?" Xena asked.
"I'm not sure. Nothing in Tethys or Gaia's memories give me any reason." Joxer stared pensively at his friend. "That bothers me a great deal. I'm sorry, Xena, but we'll have to wait a moment before continuing your next lesson. I need to find out why Strife's return is against the wishes of most of the pantheon."
"Who are you going to ask?"
Joxer paused thoughtfully, then sat on his throne. He summoned Athena.
"What caused that?" he asked without preamble.
Athena blinked. "Caused what?"
"Strife's welcoming reception," Joxer replied dryly.
"Strife is barely tolerated by most of the Gods. Actually, I believe it would be safe to say that most actively despise him." She paused. "I thought you knew that."
"Well, I can understand that," Xena said. "He's the God of Mischief. I'm sure he's pissed everyone off at least once."
"He's only doing his job," Joxer replied.
"Although, another reason could be because Zeus encouraged everyone to discipline Strife."
"Not publicly though," Joxer said slowly. Tethys and Gaia would have heard about it otherwise.
"No. Not publicly."
"Strife didn't seem to have too much of a problem with you," Xena remarked pointedly.
"I tolerated him. He was doing his job."
"But you didn't do anything to help him," Joxer said gently.
Athena dropped her gaze to the floor. "No, Sire. I did not."
"Dismissed, Athena."
The Goddess of Wisdom bowed, then vanished.
"Come on, Xena. I think we should step up your training. It wouldn't shock me to know that Zeus has other surprises waiting for us to find."
Xena followed him as he left the room and headed for the back courtyard. "What are you going to do about Strife?"
"I don't know yet. I'll need to think about this."
Athena materialized in the Halls of War. This was not how she had intended to spend the day. She had planned on giving Iolaus another lesson in his powers. Instead she set him down in her library with instructions to read on the history of his godhood. He hadn't been pleased, but began reading anyway. She left him after a few moments, and showed up here. She could have lived without dealing with Ares today.
"What do you want?" the God of War asked, annoyed at her sudden presence.
"I'm not here to see you," she sniffed. "Where is Strife?"
Ares glared at her suspiciously. "Why do you want to see him?"
"That isn't any of your business."
They both looked up as Demios flashed in. Demios nodded to Ares with a worried expression.
Ares glanced at Athena. "He's in his room: resting."
Athena nodded and turned, walking briskly away and down the hall to the residential area. She did, however, file away the reactions of both Gods. They were up to something.
She knocked briskly upon Strife's door. When the younger God opened it, Athena could easily see his shock.
"Why d'ja knock?" he asked confused, his voice thick with sleep.
"I didn't want to be rude."
"Huh?"
Athena swallowed hard. Damn, it was difficult. "You haven't given me permission to contact you mentally. Since it wasn't an emergency, I didn't want to be rude."
"Never stopped you before," he said, becoming more awake as the conversation progressed.
She didn't reply.
"What do you want?" he asked after a moment.
"May I come in?"
Strife shrugged bemused, and stepped back to allow her entry.
Athena shut the door behind her. "May I shield us? I would prefer to keep this conversation between us."
Strife's eyes narrowed. 'What was the little Wisdom Goddess up to?' Despite her father's encouragement – that Strife had certainly been aware of – Athena had never harmed him out of deliberate malice, and only once out of anger. And that time, he'd really pushed her, wanting to see how far he could go before she snapped at him. Knowing that and the fact that he knew she felt guilty about harming a fellow God, was what kept their dealings somewhat respectable. It was an odd relationship to say the least—not enemies, not friends either, but occasional allies. Strife nodded. "Go ahead."
Athena shielded them, then took a deep breath. "Strife, God of Mischief, I, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, formally apologize for my behavior regarding your situation under the rule of King Zeus, God of the Sky. As is custom and law, I am bound to you until my reparations are complete and are satisfactory to you, the injured party."
Strife stared at her in complete and utter shock. He knew she wasn't joking; he knew the words as well as the next deity. "Why in Tarturas would you bind yourself to me?" he managed to choke out.
"Whether it would have made a difference or not, I should have stood up for you against the other Gods. You are a younger God. You are the responsibility of every elder God." She looked down at the floor for a moment, before meeting his gaze again. "I do not often claim my title as Goddess of War, but I am a member of War's house and that also makes your safety and well-being my responsibility. I failed. I am only doing what is owed to you."
"Did Joxer put you up to this?" he snapped, suddenly angry.
"No. He did not. This was my mistake, and it was my decision to correct it." She paused, and gave him a sympathetic look. "I have already said the words, Strife. Whether you like it or not, I am yours to do with as you please."
Strife stared at her, haunted. "Do you realize what you've done?" he asked hollowly. "You've just cost Joxer one of his main supporters. I can't support him openly!"
"So you do support him," Athena stated, rather than questioned.
"I think Joxer could prevent the Twilight," he spat. "Ares doesn't."
"Ares wishes to be King."
Strife sneered. "You don't understand anything about the God of War."
"Perhaps not." She paused. "Joxer wants to marry him off. He feels that if Ares is focusing on stabilizing a marriage bond, he won't be able to rebel against him. By the time the bond was stable, Joxer would be firmly in place and Ares wouldn't be able to incite the pantheon to rebel."
"Do you have any idea how powerful Ares really is?" Strife snapped. "Take you for example, if you married Ares, he'd dominate the bond in less than a week."
Athena felt her blood run cold.
"The only reason why he hadn't overthrown Zeus was because the old bastard had just more than enough power to make it impossible to win. Who can Joxer possibly marry him off to that the battle for power would last long enough for the pantheon to settle?"
"What about Hestia, Demeter, or Artemis?"
"They're all about the same power-level as you are. Granted, it's strong, but not as strong as him." Strife snorted. "The only ones strong enough are Gaia and Tethys." He laughed. "And Joxer himself."
Athena blinked, and then slowly began to smile.
"What?" Strife asked, noticing the nearly evil smile upon her face.
"What about Joxer?"
"Joxer and Ares? Mercy, Forgiveness, and War? All mixed together? Give me a break."
"Why not?"
"Because…." Strife frowned. "Because…." He fell silent. "Because it's the stupidest thing I ever heard… and like all stupid ideas, somehow seems to be the answer."
"I should go to Joxer and tell him. May I?"
Strife froze. "The second this bubble falls, everyone will know of the binding."
"Yes."
"You can't just go running off to Joxer! They'll know I allowed you to go!"
"But it is only proper that I inform the King of the Gods of my change in status."
"I just know this is going to blow-up in my face," he moaned.
"What was that all about?" Demios asked.
"Who can figure that idiot woman out?" Ares replied, dismissing Athena from his mind for the moment. He summoned a shield to prevent eavesdroppers. "What did you find out?"
TBC…
