"Are you all right?" Jezda ran over to Jace, who plopped down atop a boulder and stuck his head between his legs. Gaston followed behind her and watched mother and son interacting with a concerned look on his face.
Jace slowly raised his head, eyes eventually refocusing on Jezda's face. "I'm all right, Mother," he said softly.
"No you're not!" Jezda retorted. "You're as white as a ghost and you nearly passed out..." She straightened up in realization. "It was Joxer, wasn't it?"
Jace nodded once, wincing as his temples pounded mercilessly. "I haven't felt something like that in a long time, at least not that strongly..." His hand shook slightly as he lifted it up and placed it over his brow. "I'll be okay. I just need..."
They looked up when they heard the sound of somebody running towards them. It was Stephanos, his eyes wide with worry. "People are coming!" he reported. "We can see the torches in the distance! They're heading straight towards here..."
Lila turned around sharply at the boy's words. "Are you sure? How many?"
Stephanos nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure! They've got weapons..." He thought for a moment. "Ioannes and I counted about two hundred people, but there could be more..."
Hecuba looked around at the children, nursing mothers, and people who were simply too old or too sick to fight before turning back to look at the small group that was assembled around Jace. "What are we going to do?" she asked. "We may be able to stall them for a little while with those traps that were laid around the hillside earlier, but they'll be able to get through them eventually..."
There was a short silence as Jace closed his eyes, his lips pursing into a tight line of determination. He slowly rose to his feet and walked over to a bag that he had carried with him. He knelt down and rummaged inside it for a minute before pulling out a rapier sheathed inside a leather scabbard that had intricate stitching running down the sides. He looked down at the weapon in his hands and shook his head once. "The last time I used this was to fight Father," he murmured, his accent disappearing. "I promised myself that I'd never use it again after that." He looked up then with a grim look on his face. "It's time to break that promise."
Jezda nodded solemnly. "I know, but you can't fight by yourself, my son."
Gaston drew himself up to full height as he patted the sword hanging at his hip. "He won't."
"That's right." Lila glanced sideways at her mother. "The two of us are pretty handy with frying pans..."
Jace looked at the older children and their mothers starting to gather around him with determined expressions on their faces and assorted weapons in their hands. He smiled slightly at Lila's remark. "Hopefully we won't have to go to that extreme, but I've got a few ideas that should slow them down further..."
"You're insane!" The woman who had yelled at them earlier rose to her feet. "These are children and you're expecting them to FIGHT?"
Jezda started to say something, but Jace raised his hand as he turned around to look at the woman. "I'd never expect any of the children to fight. I'm not asking any of them to do this, nor would I ever force them to fight, Beryl. I grew up like that and it's a terrible way to live." He paused for a moment and took a second look at the rapier, sighing once before turning his attention back to her. "But there's a time to take a stand and fight for what you believe in, too. This is one of those times..."
Beryl turned away from his searching gaze. "I think you're just setting yourselves up to be killed," she muttered.
"Maybe," Jace agreed. "But it's better to try and defend ourselves rather than simply doing nothing at all and letting them come and get us." He cleared his throat once and said, "Let's go." His gaze refocused on Jezda. "Mother, can you and some of the others get everybody else further back in the cave?"
"Yes, of course..." Her dark eyes shimmered with tears for a split second before they were resolutely blinked away. "Be careful," she added in as she embraced him.
"I will." Jace returned the hug and smiled sadly as he watched her and Gaston share a brief kiss. "Ready?" he asked.
Gaston nodded. "Oui, mon ami!"
As the group began walking towards the cavern entrance, the ones who had to stay behind began picking up their belongings to move further back inside and helped the people who needed assistance.
Jezda walked over to Beryl, who was gathering her sleeping son up in her arms. "Beryl..."
"Get away from me, Jezda!" Beryl snarled, her face turning ugly as it twisted into an expression of sheer fury. "Just get away!"
Jezda's own temper flared briefly, but she calmed down when she realized that it was Beryl's fear talking. "All right, but please come back with the rest of us," she softly replied before turning around to see if she could help someone.
Beryl watched the others in silence as they left the main part of the cave and headed further inside, eventually leaving her in complete darkness.
"Good," she said with a smile, her eyes flashing a bright yellow-green as she threw off her mortal disguise. Aer shook her hair into place and looked down at the boulder she held in her arms, which she easily threw aside and licked her lips in anticipation. "Two useless mortals out of my way, and with all of those other mortal scum coming this way, I won't have to soil my hands with getting rid of them either..." She gazed down the passage where the rest had gone and her smile widened. "That's pretty tempting as well, but I've got better fish to fry..."
"That's what you think, hosebag!" a melodious voice rang out.
Aer turned around just as a large pink fireball hit her directly in the chest, slamming her straight into the cavern wall. Momentarily stunned, she looked up to see a beautiful blonde woman glaring down at her, wearing nothing but a pink negligee, a matching silk robe and fuzzy high-heeled slippers. She began laughing in sheer disbelief. "You - the legendary Olympic Floatation Device - want to take me on? What a joke!" The air sizzled as a bluish-white fireball shot from her fingertips.
Aphrodite dodged the fireball easily and deflected it back towards Aer. "Like puh-leeze! I could so take you out and not even break a nail while doing it!" she scoffed.
"Oh? Really? I wouldn't be so sure of that, you air-headed bimbo!" Still laughing, Aer easily slipped away from the re-directed fireball and shot three more at the Love Goddess.
One of them got close enough to slightly singe Aphrodite's robe and she screeched, "OOOO! THAT DOES IT! YOU SO LIKE TOTALLY RUINED MY ONE-OF-A-KIND VICTORIUS SECRETUS, YOU SKANK!" The air buzzed as she powered up and shot a massive fireball at Aer, who found herself slammed against the wall with rocks falling down around her.
Aer blinked, trying to recollect herself while Aphrodite smiled winsomely at her. "Not so air-headed as you thought I was, huh, scumbag?" she asked, lifting up a dainty long-fingered hand to admire her manicure. "You just don't know who you're dealing with here, sis...!" She let out a surprised screech when she suddenly flew across the cavern and smacked straight into the wall.
Aer's mocking laughter rang out as a visibly stunned Aphrodite slowly got to her feet, brushing the dust away from her face. "Apparently, you don't know who you're dealing with either!" she gloated and then she made a rude noise. "You're the best that Zeus could send after ME? How completely pathetic you Olympians are! It's gonna be a pleasure seeing your weak asses get exiled!" She laughed again before disappearing in a yellowish-green flash of light.
"Oh no you don't, you sleazebucket! You're so not getting away with messing up my outfit - and we're not going anywhere! 'Sides, I've got your signature now so I can track your hairy-backed hide down and finish what we started!" Aphrodite growled as she disappeared in a golden shimmer.
Jezda, having heard the commotion, arrived just in time to see the two Goddesses depart from the cave. "Aer..." she breathed, her eyes growing wide in recognition when she saw the War Goddess vanish. "That explains so much..." She lifted her head up when she heard shouts coming from outside the cave, followed up with the sound of boulders being rolled down the hill overhead. "Oh no!" She turned around and began running back towards the cave's rear, silently hoping that everyone fighting out front would be safe.
"I've got you!" Autolycus shouted, grabbing Jett's arm before he fell down. He steadied his friend, noting how pale he was. "What's the matter?"
"Jox..." Jett mumbled as sweat broke out on his forehead and began pouring down his face in torrents. "Something's wrong..."
"The only thing that's wrong is you almost passing out!" Autolycus retorted, instinctively ducking his head as the second volley of Chin-powdered rockets flew over the wall.
"GET HIM DOWN FROM THERE BEFORE HE GETS BOTH OF YOU KILLED, AUTOLYCUS!" Xena yelled, her eyes never leaving her opponent, who raised his weapon up to deliver a deadly blow. Sparks flew as their swords met with a resounding crash.
Autolycus started to pull Jett away from the fighting, but Jett pushed him away, making him fall on his back. His still-pale face twisted up in a rage-filled sneer that made the thief gulp. He watched, mesmerized, as Jett raised his sword up and he whirled around, silently slitting a would-be invader's throat and nearly decapitating him in the process.
As the man fell back from the wall, dead, Jett, his face splattered with blood that had spurted from the man's jugular vein, reached down and roughly pulled Autolycus to his feet. He was still sweating profusely but some of the color had returned to his face. "I'm not going anywhere," he said in a low and raspy voice. "And when I find the bastards trying to hurt Bro, they'll wish that they were never born..."
Autolycus licked his lips, not liking the maniacal look in Jett's eyes, which was something he hadn't seen in a long, long time. "Right!" he agreed nervously. His eyes widened when he saw movement just to the right of them. "Look...!"
Jett whirled around again and delivered a kick that knocked the sword away from a man who had actually succeeded in getting over the wall. With a yell as he pulled a long dagger from his boot, the man launched himself at the ex-assassin, who was waiting for him with a thin smile on his lips.
Autolycus turned away from the two men as they engaged in vicious hand-to-hand combat and dodged out of the way just before a blade arced towards his face and ended up slicing his shirtsleeve instead. "That does it! Now I'm really getting mad!" he yelled as he sprang towards his attacker, sword at the ready. His yells blended in with the others as the fighting continued on into the night.
Lightning flashed in the nighttime sky, followed by the crack of thunder. A short distance away in the opposite direction, an answering bolt flew back towards the spot where the first bolt had come from.
"There goes good old Dad," Hercules grunted, his nose wrinkling as the scent of Chin powder lingered in the air.
"Looks like that's not just Zeus that's up there shooting off his mouth," Iolaus noted as he pulled an arrow from his quiver, lit it and shot it over the other side of the barrier.
Hercules snickered and watched as a fireball shot over their heads and into the crowd of invaders, scattering them about in all directions as they ran away from it. "HEY!" he yelled when another one whizzed by his ear at a distance too close for comfort. His head whirled around, his fists clenching together involuntarily as he glared at Ares, who was gazing at him with a not-too-innocent expression on his face. "Watch where you're aiming those things!" he ground out through clipped lips.
Ares shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Oops?" He laughed heartily as he shot another fireball into the crowd.
Hercules rolled his eyes in exasperation as he turned around. "Ladies and gentlemen, my half-brother the comedian," he growled, bracing himself as five armed men launched themselves at him.
