Here's the next chapter, I hope everyone enjoys it, also just to let everyone know, the whole "hero rules" thing is mostly references from the cartoon series, I have no idea which hero rules and number is which.

The Brother Of Hercules

Chapter 12

Maelstrom And The Week-Off

Phil's Training Ground

Maelstrom was watching his brother train against a mechanical dragon that Phil was using to help Hercules's training, with Phil yelling instructions and other helpful advise.

As it turned out, last week Hercules and Icarus wanted to mess with the Tapestry Of Fate, but thankfully, Maelstrom stopped the two before they could even enter the Underworld, explaining that if they mess with Fate, Fate WILL mess with them, he also explained that if he ever finds out that they went through with it he'll tell Hera, while Hercules tried to explain that they just wanted tickets, Maelstrom replied back that they want to mess with Fate, just for some tickets, with Hercules and Icarus hearing it from Maelstrom, who said it in a deadpan voice, now realised how stupid that idea was, even for them.

So thanks to Maelstrom, that catastrophe and mess was easily avoided, but it didn't stop Hercules and Icarus from moping, but Phil and Maelstrom managed to get them out of their funk, which was easy for Icarus, since all they had to do was buy the freaky kid some food, with Hercules it was with training.

Which is how they ended up here in the first place, with Maelstrom sitting under a tree, watching Hercules's training, "Herc, watch your feet!" (A.N. Got this reference from Tenchi Muyo.)

This all allowed Hercules to knock the dragon's head backwards, "Huh, easy enough!"

That is until Phil chuckled evilly and pulled a rope, causing the dragon's mouth to open and fire tomatoes at the teen, with Hercules groaning at the mess, though Phil walked up to the teen, "Hero Rule Number 72, Assess The Situation!"

With Hercules moaning about being pelted by vegetables, though Phil corrected him by explaining that a tomato is a fruit.

Maelstrom smiled, "Well, as much fun as it is watching my brother get pelted by things, I'm gonna go see Tempest is up to."

Though Hercules sent a mild glare, there wasn't any real heat to it since it was just basic brother razing, Phil on the other hand had a smirk on his face, "Oh~ I see~ you and that amazon girl are getting closer everyday huh~!"

Hearing Phil's tone of voice, Maelstrom looks towards the goat man, "Hey, just because I enjoy training with the amazon warrior, doesn't mean we're getting closer like that, besides, I doubt Cassandra would like the way you're talking about me and Tempest."

Now it was Phil's turn to have a look on his face, "Alright, alright, I was just teasing, no need to send your girlfriend after me." Since Phil knew the untold power an angry woman has, he didn't want to be on the other end of that anger.

With a smile, Maelstrom waved at them, when he was gone, Hercules, still dipping with tomato juice couldn't help but say out loud, "Huh, better him than me, Tempest is extremely temperamental, and Mael is "mental" to try and tangle with her."

Phil couldn't help but nod in agreement, "Meh, as long as she can put him through the ringer and make him a better hero, then I'm all for it, I just hope he has all the pieces he had before the training."

Once Phil said that, Hercules cringed at such a thought, though he'll try and forget that and return back to his training.

After finding Tempest, Maelstrom and the amazon went toe to toe with each other, knowing that they could push each other to their limit, though Maelstrom kept his godly strength under control, since he didn't want to send Tempest through a bunch of trees by accident, but the training was mostly for agility, dodging and speed, with both trying to not get hit as many times as their opponent.

Now that they finished, after a few hours of training, Maelstrom was near a river with some ripped cloth, getting rid of the sweat and dirt from his body, since at some point, he angered Tempest so much that she tackled him and the two ended up rolling around together, at first it was anger and confusion, but after a while they both began laughing and having fun, once they were apart, Maelstrom just looked at the state they were in, causing both to chuckle in exhaustion.

Also it turns out that the ripped cloth was from the top part of his toga getting ripped during their wrestling, so, with it ruined, Maelstrom decided to tie it up around his waist and use the leftovers for cleaning, though now that his upper body was bare, it didn't stop Tempest from side-glancing at Maelstrom's strong physic, but quickly looked away trying to focus on her own cleaning.

While she was trying to take her mind off of Maelstrom, the blond looks towards the girl, "Say Tempest," Gaining the female warrior's attention, "would it be alright if I asked if you could get my back for me please, I can't quite reach it?"

Her eyes widened at hearing the request, without thinking she quickly grabbed the cloth, "Well, I s-suppose as a fellow warrior, I'm obligated to help you out, provided that you give me the same treatment!"

With that said, the amazon dipped the cloth into the river and rung it out, she then began her task of cleaning Maelstrom's back for him since there was a sheen of grass and dirt on his back, but while she was cleaning his back, she couldn't help but feel a little hot for some reason, though she just ignored the heat for now, she'll try to figure things out later.

After a few more minutes, with Tempest making sure she got his back nice and clean, Maelstrom stretched his arms and back out, "Man that felt awesome, thanks Tempest, I think you gave me a massage during your cleaning since I no longer got that annoying clink in my back anymore!"

Hearing Maelstrom's gratitude, as well as complimenting her cleaning, and apparently her massaging, she gave a huff in reply, "Well of course, a warrior is suppose to have good manoeuvrability during a fight, if they get taken down because of back trouble it would be their own disgrace."

With that she turned around and moved her hair out of the way, "N-Now, return the favour that I gave to you and clean my back!" She ordered.

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Maelstrom had got use to her authoritative ways, "Alright, do you have a wash cloth of your own I could use, or will you be alright with mine?"

This question caused her to feel heated again, though she quickly rummaged through her things and ended up face-palming, seeing this, Maelstrom had a deadpan expression, "You forgot your washcloth didn't you." They both knew he was simply stating a fact instead of asking a question.

Groaning at her thoughtlessness, she answered, "Unfortunately I ended up washing it and forgot that I left it hanging to dry in front of my fireplace." Living by yourself in a dorm means that you have to take care of your own housework, including washing and cleaning, but with her being a warrior she mostly has training, fighting and battling on the brain, so it stands to reason that such basic housework is mostly in the back of her mind.

Giving a sigh, Maelstrom began the task of putting the cloth in the river and rung it out, soon he was behind Tempest, making the girl slightly nervous since she's never let anyone get behind her like Maelstrom, due to her warrior-mentality, yet for some reason, she allowed Maelstrom to get behind her and reach for her back with the cloth.

Though the moment the cloth and hands began to rub her back, above where her skin meets her armour, she couldn't help but release a shuddering breath, she could feel herself relaxing, all the tension in her muscles were melting away, yet all Maelstrom was doing was helping her clean her back and armour, but for some reason, when he rubbed a certain area on her back she ends up easing into it even more.

(A.N. No doubt being a warrior you'll need a good massage to get rid of the tension in your muscles, since muscles are suppose to be both hard and loose, so I'd imagine Tempest's body was so tense that the slightest massage was a blessing for her.)

Due to the accidental massage, Tempest unwillingly released a groan of satisfaction and comfort, though for Maelstrom it made him slightly puzzled, "How much do you train that a simple back cleaning can cause you such bliss!?"

Catching herself, she replied, "A-A warrior should (GROAN!) a-a-a-always, be (MOAN!) ready (sigh!) for battLE!" Though she tried to respond Maelstrom was doing too good a job for her to speak clearly.

Figuring that was as much of an answer he was gonna get, he replied, "Yeah, I agree with you there, but a warrior is also suppose to stay loose and limber otherwise they won't be as fast and agile as their enemy." Deciding she may need more help than he thought, Maelstrom got rid of the cloth and began a proper massage for the amazon warrior.

The moment she felt the cloth vanish, she was about to demand an answer, that is until Maelstrom quickly got her laying on her front and began kneading her back with his strong hands, causing her eyes to roll into the back of her head and release a sensual moan she didn't know she could do, yet she managed to catch Maelstrom's last words, "By the gods you've got a LOT of tension in your muscles, I'm surprised that they haven't snapped yet from how taut they are."

It seems thanks to Phil's teaching about staying loose and limber have managed to pay off, along with his volunteer work with the doctor helped him pay close attention to the muscle areas that are effected the most.

But at the moment, Tempest was lost to the world, thanks to Maelstrom having control of his godly strength he can apply just the right amount of pressure in just the right spot, causing a few wondrous, yet pleasurable, cracks and pops in her back to sound out, but that also caused her to moan even more sensually, which caused Maelstrom to blush slightly, "I guess I'll be using this technique on Cassandra later, no doubt she could use this relief due to Icarus's freaky/weirdness."

After a few minutes later, Maelstrom was finished, "There you go, hopefully with that massage all your stress and taut muscles have melted awa-! And you're not even listening are you." He cut himself off once he see's Tempest not even acknowledge what he said, since she seems to be in the fields of bliss and sleeping with a smile on her face.

Rolling his eyes at the girl, Maelstrom began putting their stuff away and placed the bag on his back, then he puts the girl in a bridal carry and began walking back to her dorm, "It's a good thing I know where your dorm is, otherwise I'd end up walking all over the place." He was pretty much talking to himself since Tempest was in dreamland.

But while in an unconscious state, she ended up snuggling even closer to Maelstrom's bare chest, unconsciously rubbing her cheek against his peck and listening to his heart beating away, though he didn't really notice since he was busy keeping the girl steady and carrying their bags.

Later

Turns out, while he was busy training with Tempest and helping her relax her muscles, Phil and Hercules ended up running into a legendary hero that was trained by Phil named Achilles, along with Achilles taking down a monster as well.

Once the group met back up, Maelstrom and Achilles introduced themselves to one another, "Hey nice to meet ya kid, where have you been since I didn't see you hanging around Phil or anything?"

Maelstrom just replied simply, "Oh, I was training with my friend Tempest, she's an amazon warrior princess and she was looking for a sparring partner."

Achilles was shocked when he heard that, "Whoa, you were training with A Amazon Warrior, and you've still got all your limbs, what have you been teaching these kids Phil!?"

It was quite understandable that Achilles was in shock, Amazon Warriors were said to be extremely deadly, especially to men, Phil just gave a smile, "Hey, don't look at me Achilles, he somehow made friends with her all on his own."

When Achilles gave Maelstrom a questioning look, all Maelstrom did was shrug his shoulders, "I just treated her as an equal warrior, just because I'll be a hero doesn't mean I shouldn't be a Warrior Hero, besides, there are some things that an amazon can do in training that Phil's can't, no offence Phil."

Phil just shock his head, "Hey, none taken, if she can help ya become a better hero, and push ya to the limits then I'm all for it, just don't cry to me when you lose a limb or something."

When Phil said that, both Achilles and Hercules flinched at the thought, but Maelstrom just shrugs his shoulders.

The three began their training, though it was obvious that Hercules was becoming jealous at Achilles gaining more time with Phil, but Maelstrom used that opportunity to gain a few pointers from the hero, hoping to gain a better insight of the hero-world, which Achilles was more than happy to help out, in some places.

Though when the group went to a signing seminar for Achilles, that's when Maelstrom left, explaining to Phil that he wasn't really interested in anything like that and went to Cassandra.

Once he reached Cassandra's home, he greeted her parents, though their bright personalities made him wonder if his girlfriend was even related to the two of them, once the greeting was out of the way, along with Cassandra dragging him away from her embarrassing folks.

The two made it to a peaceful part of the forest, just relaxing and enjoying each other's company, "So, why did you decide to drop by at my place unannounced?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Maelstrom just smiled and replied, "Well, since Achilles came back into Phil's hero-training, I noticed how jealous Herc was getting and decided-that you would get out of dodge before something bad happened, right." She finished for him, knowing that Maelstrom doesn't like being anywhere near a frustrated Hercules in case he blew his top and says something to Maelstrom that Hercules would hate himself for later.

Nodding his head with her assessment, he replies to her, "Yep, but that doesn't mean I'm just with to escape that, I also love spending time with you."

When he said that, Cassandra had a smile on her face and rested her head on his shoulder, knowing she'd picked the perfect person to be her boyfriend, that is until he remembered something, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I read a few scrolls in the library, as well as a few from the doctor's, and I found out the perfect muscle relaxant that can cause a stressed out person to just loose all that stress, want me to try it on you since Icarus is the definition of stress?"

Hearing his offer, she couldn't help but be curious, "A way to get rid of stress that was built by Icarus, and you'd be able to knock it all down?" Gaining a nod from Maelstrom, she continued with a shrug, "What the heck, even if Icarus no longer see's me in his life as a couple, he'll stress anyone out, alright, let's see what you got?"

Later

She shouldn't have said that, cause right now, her body was laying limp in Maelstrom's arms, with a relaxed and happy smile on her face, snoozing the day away as he helped her back home, when her parents saw this sight, they were worried something had happened, but Maelstrom simply replied that he helped Cassandra get rid of her stress with a back massage, at first they were worried about his godly strength, but he eased their worries by telling them about his strength training and being in better control than Hercules, he just used a minimum of his strength to "hit" all the right spots and got rid of her stress that was put there by Icarus.

Though the parents liked Icarus, they couldn't deny the boy was FAR too "Icarus" like, even for their liking's, but, if Maelstrom had managed to help their daughter with her stress, then they suppose it could help her manage it better. (A.N. Let's face it, if you hang out with Icarus for too long ya bound to get stressed out, and Cassandra had the start of the semester of stress accumulated thanks to the guy.)

A Few Days Later

As it turned out, it was a good idea for Maelstrom to keep away from Phil, Hercules and Achilles, since Hercules walked out on Phil, but the two managed to make up after that, along with finding out that Achilles made a deal with Hades, but the hero turned his life around and realised what a true hero is, thanks to Hercules.

Though now he had to face another problem, a happy and cheerful Cassandra, who at the moment, was in his arms with her arms wrapped around his neck, though he wasn't complaining since she was sighing in bliss, though the others couldn't help but ask how Cassandra became such a gooey mess, where he just replied, "Who knew women had so much stress."

When they heard that, Icarus couldn't help but ask, "Oh come on~ what kinda stress does Cassandra have that when it's gone it leaves her like that!?"

The group, minus Cassandra, just looks to the frazzled-haired boy pointedly, "What? What? Why are you looking at me like that!?" Though unfortunately, he just couldn't get it.

The End.

There you have it, a skip on the Tapestry of Fate episode, since Maelstrom made the realise how foolish their idea was, along with keeping out of the way of a jealous and frustrated Hercules, along with figuring out a "technique" to get rid of stress with the right amount of strength.

As well as his interaction with Tempest and helping her out.

Also the chapters are now in sync with the episodes.

I Do Not Own Naruto Or Hercules.