AresJoxerCupidStrife - SylvnNymph

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Title: The House that War Built
Author: sylvnymph
Rating: nc-17
Feedback: morrigan1916@aol.com
Disclaimer: Do not belong to me. This is just for entertainment, not
profit. RenPics does all the owning.
Status: WIP
Archive: AJCS sure.
Warning: Okay this is a first fic so beware. There is also non-
consent, child abuse, male preg, violence and pain, lots of pain
Notes: I want to again say that this is a dark fic, I'm not kidding.
but no one dies-yet. So many hugs and thanks to Lisa and Amy for
betaing this when they did not know me. Thanks for being fabulous.
And all hail the muses from whence all creativity springs (if its
good enough for homer. . .)

this is dark, dark ,dark. Zeus is bad, bad, bad. i warned you


"Do you submit to me?" Zeus punctuated each word by slamming Ares'
head into the marble floor. Ares' eye, the one that had not burst
when punctured by fragments of his cheekbone, watched the red blood
flow along the veins of the marble like a weird transfusion.

"Still not answering?" Zeus, without losing his grip in Ares' hair,
ground his body into his son's. Ares groaned as Zeus' full weight
hit his broken ribs and flayed back. "Do you know what I think?"
His breath was hot on Ares' neck. "I think you enjoy my cock up your
ass. I think you defy me because you know I will punish you. Tell
me War Slut, do you spread like this for everyone or just me?"

Zeus forced Ares' legs farther apart, enjoying the sound of Ares'
broken femur scraping against the marble floor and forced his already
bloody cock inside Ares. Ares keened as each stroke met torn flesh,
but made no other sound. He did not acknowledge Zeus' words, even to
deny them. He just lay naked and bleeding on his father's cold
marble floor. It was the burning of Zeus' cum coursing through him
that finally pushed him into blessed oblivion.

Harmonia softly clung to the sable puppy her father had given
her. The sable puppy she had not yet named. The sable puppy whose
neck had been broken when her grandfather had hit her with a blast of
power and her father had tackled her to protect her from the full
brunt. Her mind muttered "Why?" in monotonous repetition, but she
could not force the words from her sobbing lips.

Aphrodite was trying to shush her, but the girl could not stop.
Especially when she looked around and saw a broken table, that had
been holding her presents earlier, laying in one corner. The remains
of her birthday feast were splattered on the wall. Strife huddled
brokenly into Cupid's embrace, both bleeding from the blasts they had
taken trying to stop their grandfather. The smell of burnt feathers
permeated the air. Eris sat a few feet from the couple, looking
dazed and empty. She had stayed in a corner, when her father had
come for her twin, but her palms bled from her stabbing fingernails
and she muttered "coward" over and over again under her breath.

Hephaestus paced painfully in the remains of party decorations,
wanting to hurt something. Everyone else had disappeared when Zeus
had appeared in his golden light. All of them ran like scurrying
rats fleeing light. His mother's voice reminded him that one other
person had remained.

"I can not fathom why any of you are surprised. Zeus had demanded
this payment for each of Ares' children." Hera sat in her regal
chair, hands in her lap, as she spoke to the group. "You must have
known this would happen." Harmonia pushed away from her mother.

"What does grandmother mean? How could we have known grandfather
would take Daddy from my birthday party?" Aphrodite and Hephaestus
exchanged glances over Harmonia's head, but it was Eris that answered
her.

"What my mommy dearest means is that your sick fuck of a grandfather
demands that each member of the House of War, including all our
issue, "pay fealty" to him. Ares has paid for each of them himself,
since he was forced to watch my rape." Eris did not look at anyone
at the collective gasp that went up around the room. Only Aphrodite
and Hera were not surprised. Hephaestus noted the look of pain on
his wife's face and lumbered over to her.

"Dite, my love, did you know about this?" Aphrodite's eyes filled
with tears and she nodded. All the times she was forced to nurse her
dark brother's wounded body flashed before her and she broke an oath
made over two thousand years ago.

"Ares said if that was the price he had to pay to keep his children
safe, he would. He made me swear never to tell. I found him after
Zeus had come for Cupid and have nursed him every time since." Cupid
and Harmonia paled, but Strife seethed with anger.

"He did it for me too, didn't he?" Strife just growled as his mother
and aunt nodded. "Well, we have to help him. We can't just abandon
him!" Hera's cackle rang throughout the hall.

"And what will you do, little godling, against the king of the gods?
I have been trying to thwart him for five millennia and have never
succeeded." Strife jumped from Cupid's lap and stalked toward his
grandmother like a panther after its prey.

"Ya cold, heartless bitch! Unk is your son! How can ya just sit here
while he's bein tortured?" Hera paled at the onslaught, but stayed
silent. Strife turned to his aunt. "Aunt Dite, I can't do this by
myself. Will you help me?" He held his arm out toward his aunt, in
the warrior's arm shake. The goddess of love stood and took the
shaking arm of her nephew. Cupid, Harmonia, Hephaestus and Eris soon
joined them. Dite knew Ares would be furious at her for risking the
children, but could no longer allow her brother to be Olympus'
whipping boy. She looked around at her husband, sister, children and
nephew.

"Together, we'll show Zeus what Love and War are capable of!"
Aphrodite, Strife and Eris let loose a scream that could only be
called a battle cry.

Cupid noted how the tinge of insanity that always fringed his
lover's crystalline eyes was gone and leaned into Strife as he joined
the battle cry. Hephaestus gathered Harmonia to his side and added
his own voice to the din. None of them noticed Hera stand and walk
toward them.

"I hate to interrupt your howling. But if you are going to rescue
Ares, you are going to need a distraction." And the planning
commenced.



Ares opened his eye just as the whip fell on his back. He hated
regaining consciousness, it meant separating his mind from his body
all over again and feeling all the pain until he could accomplish
it. The whip fell again, on his back that was nothing but a layer of
blood. He willed himself to ignore it, but his back arched away from
the pain. It did no good, the blood from his earlier wounds had
congealed, gluing him to the floor. Zeus chuckled at his efforts.

"I see my pretty prince is awake again. Awake and wriggling. Have I
ever told you how sweet your ass is? You are so much sweeter than
your mother's cunt or even Eris'. That's why I have allowed you to
defy me all these years, but I often wonder about Cupid's and
Strife's ass." That last made Ares start, but the whip fell again
and again, until Ares had narrowed his world to its rhythm. But the
fist shoved inside him brought him back to awareness and he shrieked
as muscle and tissue tore like the finest silk.

"No, no my little war, you have to stay awake. If you are not awake,
I might get bored and then I would have to go get your precious
Harmonia. Is that what you want?" Not satisfied with the moans Ares
put forth, Zeus dug his fist in deeper. "I said, is that what you
want?" Ares peeled his face off the marble with a sucking noise.

"No, father. I'll stay awake." Ares was not sure if that was what
came out through the broken teeth and the tongue he had almost bitten
off, but Zeus nodded his head.

"That's my good boy." He jerked his fist from Ares' body, adorned
with strings of viscous blood that resembled delicate, ruby
spiderwebbing. Zeus licked his hand gently and looked down at his
cock. "Look at that, I'm hard again."

Ares felt like poison was ripping through his lower back as Zeus
began to rut again and he cried out for help, for death, for anything
to make the pain stop. Ares reached out toward his sanity, clinging
to it like a life preserver. Zeus had stolen so much from him over
the years, he could not have this too. Ares saw his children in his
head: Cupid's beautiful wings, Strife's arctic blue eyes, Deimos'
and Phobos' pale skin, and his little Harmonia's smile, like rain
reflected off a flower. This was for them, he could endure this for
them.

Both Zeus and Ares were in a haze when Hera's voice rang out, Zeus
from cumming and Ares from the pain. However, no haze is thick
enough to avoid the shrill knife of Hera's summons.

"Show your face you cowardly jackal or Hades will be using your
little bastard to warm his bed tonight." She then took a page from
the little bastard's book and began destroying Zeus' library.

Zeus peeled himself off Ares back and sighed. "Titans, I hate that
bitch. She defies me as often as you do." He kneeled beside Ares
and kissed the top of his head. "I had better go see what she
wants. He laid a hand on Ares lower back and whispered. "I warned
you the last time never to defy me again. You were to destroy that
village, but you have to do things your own way. Now you will pay."
Ares wondered at the surge of power he felt, but was too weak to
investigate it.

Zeus cleaned the blood out of his hair and dressed himself in white
robes. He noticed blood on the hand that had touched his son and
licked it clean. "So sweet, so sweet." Then he was gone to his wife.

The moment he was gone, Strife appeared and threw a cloak over Ares'
prone body. Strife's eyes filled when he saw the damage done to his
uncle and carefully lifted Ares to his heart. Ares groaned at the
movement, but Strife laid a pale hand on his ebony hair and sent him
into a healing trance.

"Sh…Sh" Strife whispered as he vanished, but the only ears that
heard him were his own.





Joxer sat on the east side of the campfire, across from Xena and
Gabrielle, but he could only make out a vague outline of the two
women. He was in so much pain that it took all his concentration to
stay upright. His hands began to shake and he could no longer make
his mouth work, though it made little difference. He had complained
for two days of the steadily worsening pain, but his friends had
ignored him, even increasing the pace at times. The darkness he had
fought valiantly began to close in on him and even the voices of the
two women seemed to come from a distance. He tried again to cry out
for help, but the darkness reached out with icy fingers and nuzzled
Joxer to its breast. It was the sweetest embrace of his life and he
surrendered to it.

Xena looked up from the sword she was sharpening and caught Joxer
before he fell into the fire. Gabrielle paused mid-sentence to see
what had distracted Xena from her latest tale and frowned when she
saw an unconscious Joxer.

"What's the matter with him?" Her frown deepened as Xena shook her
head.

"I don't know. I can't find any wounds or bites and he doesn't seem
to have a fever. Yet, he's freezing and shaking." Xena stopped
talking as her fingers pulled a pendant from under Joxer's
breastplate. It was the finest silver and molded in the form of
Ares' sword. The Sword of War. Xena cursed under her breath and
showed it to Gabrielle.

"Where did Joxer get the money for this? Was he wearing it
yesterday? He told us he was broke when we bought supplies in the
last town." Gabrielle reached for the pendant and jerked on it to
pull it from Joxer's neck, but her hand slid down the miniature
sword, cutting her palm.

"Shit!" She exclaimed as she sucked on the wound. Xena smirked at
Gabrielle and handed her a rag to bandage the wound.

"This is obviously the cause of Joxer's ailment. And seeing as how
you've just proven we can't remove it, we'll go to the one person who
can, Ares." She said the word with loathing and Joxer screamed in
agony. Once the echo had escaped the surrounding trees, the two
women wrapped Joxer in his bedroll and went to sleep.

Strife picked up Gabrielle's walking stick and raised it over her
head. His swing was halfway to its target when Cupid's voice rang
out.

"Strife, Grandmother said to follow the pendant's signature and watch
over those who it had come to." Strife sighed and pointed the stick
at Cupid.

"And I was gonna watch over the Amazon broad alright. I was gonna
watch while her head went SPLUT!" Cupid held out his hand and Strife
handed over the stick. "Ya know it's a good thing ya got the world's
most perfect ass, or I'd have ta punish ya for that. They just went
ta sleep and left Joxer to fend for himself!" Cupid made the stick
vanish and held his arms open, into which Strife gladly dove. Cupid
settled them next to Joxer's head and gathered his wings around them.
"I know, my own. That's why we're going to sit with him all night.
Its what us gods do." Strife materialized a warm rag and wiped Joxer
face, stabilizing him with a touch. Joxer did not regain
consciousness, but the shaking became less pronounced. When Strife
had done all he could for the moment, he leaned back into Cupid's
arms and sighed, picturing the broken body of his uncle.

"Cupe?" Cupid kissed the dark head in front of him in
acknowledgement. "Who holds our nightmares at bay? Who protects
us?" Cupid was assaulted both by the intensity in his lover's voice
and the image of his violated father. His father, who was always
strong, always in control. His father who had always protected him,
at any cost it seemed. A tear rolled down his face as he held Strife
closer.

"I don't know my love. I don't know. I wish there was someone who
could protect us." They huddled together in Night's velvet cloak and
watched Joxer from the haven of Cupid's wings.


In a place of darkness and moist warmth, two green eyes opened. Two
arms extended, connected with the network of life and became aware of
all that had happened while she had slept.





Aphrodite sat beside Ares bed and watched
him sleep silently. His back had healed enough the day before to lay
him flat. Before that they'd had to keep him levitated above the bed
to avoid reopening his back and putting pressure on his ribs. The
ribs were almost whole. His face was still the worst. It looked
like it was melting. The right side had lost its eye and the pulpy
cheekbone made all the tissue sag. His nose was still broken and lay
to the side. His lips were still cut and swollen. His forehead was
severely lacerated and his hair clung limply to the sides of his
face. The flickering candlelight made him look even more monstrous,
but Eris would not allow any of the candles to be put out, even
though it was day again. She just sat in a corner and rocked.

Even though Aphrodite's eyes sagged with exhaustion, she picked up
her brother's hand and began to feed him energy again. She couldn't
tell why he was not responding. He should have woken up from the
trance or his face should be healed by now, even though Zeus
inflicted the injury. Hera was still occupying Zeus, Cupid and
Strife were doing something for Hera and Hephaestus was checking up
on Harmonia, whom they had deposited with Hestia for safe keeping.
That left her to see to Ares.

He still wasn't responding to her efforts and she was so tired.
Tears of frustration filled her eyes, but nothing she did helped. To
top it all off, Ares was now susceptible to the thoughts of mortals.
Every disparaging thought chipped away more at his already depleted
reserves. Combined with the other energy drain, Aphrodite feared he
might not recover. She laid her head on her folded arms and sobbed.
Was there no justice? Her brother did not deserve this fate!

Her sobs were so loud that she did not know that Hephaestus was
beside her until she felt the heat of calloused palm through her silk
covered back. He stroked her until her sobs diminished and then he
pulled her into his arms, kissing her. She felt the imprint of his
lips against hers at the same time she felt both his hand cupping her
face. He traced her lips with his tongue and gently sucked on her
bottom lip. She nuzzled into his arms and felt the worst of her
fatigue drop away.

"Thanks Hephy, I needed that." She yawned and helped him into the
chair, then crawled on his lap. "How is Harmonia?" She asked,
laying her head on his shoulder. Arms that could pound the hardest
metal into oblivion encircled her gently.

"She's still sleeping. Hestia has a shield around her hideaway that
a Titan couldn't penetrate, so that's safe enough, but. . ." He
hesitated thinking of his beautiful stepdaughter. "But she won't put
down that puppy. I tried to take it while she was sleeping and she
curled up into a knot, shaking. I couldn't force it. I just left
her there, clinging to a dead puppy." His voice broke and he looked
away from his lover.

Aphrodite's heart hardened further against her father, if such a
thing was possible. After all Ares had done to protect Harmonia's
innocence, Zeus had still managed to steal a piece of it. Hephaestus
jerked his head towards Eris' corner.

"Has she moved at all?" Aphrodite started to shake her head, when
Eris bolted from her position to the bedside, an instant before Ares'
body jerked off the bed.

The three siblings surrounded the bed and began to feed their
brother energy. It wasn't enough and he was slipping away. They
could all hear the Void calling him, like a siren to his
destruction. Calling him not just to death, but oblivion.
Hephaestus screamed for his mother.

Strife materialized a second before Hera, to see if anyone knew why
Joxer wouldn't stop convulsing. Hera had been monitoring her son
from a distance and stopped Strife when he would have joined his
energies to the rest of his family.

"Go back to that idiot Xena and tell her and that blonde that if they
do not stop thinking malignant thoughts about your uncle, you'll
blast them back to dust." Strife nodded and left, while Hera turned
to the bed.

"Call on element energy, children, that should stabilize him." She
took Hephaestus' and Eris' hands and the four deities harnessed the
chaotic energy of the universe. The room filled with four
distinctive smells: the dank, musk of earth, the tang of molten
iron, the crisp saltiness of the sea, and the brisk, cleanness of a
breeze. The Void accepted these offerings and collapsed back in on
itself, satiated for now.

Aphrodite and Hephaestus fell back into the chair, relieved. Eris,
however, fell to her knees, screaming "nonononononono". Hera stared
blankly at her son, disbelief written in her eyes.

Strife materialized on the dusty road he had left seconds before to
find Cupid holding Joxer in an attempt to stop his convulsions.
Gabrielle was screaming and banging Cupid's wings with her fists,
demanding he let Joxer go. Xena was tugging softly on Gabrielle's
arm, trying to convince her friend that Cupid was helping.

With a growl, Strife pulled Gabrielle away from his lover and held
the struggling woman firmly against his body, dagger at her throat.
Xena moved toward them, but Strife stopped her with a look. A look
that was neither insane nor incoherent. It was one hundred percent
murder.

"I don't have the time ta toy with ya and this moron right now! Unk
is hurt and the evil ya both keep thinkin' about him is killin him.
Stop it or I'll help ya with the not thinkin'." He twisted the
dagger against Gabrielle's throat to drive home the message. Xena
nodded, cleared her head and willed Gabrielle to do the same.

"Strife, his convulsions have eased, but now he's moaning dad's
name." Strife threw Gabrielle down, and raced to Cupid's side.
Strife looked at the two women.

"Remember, nice thoughts or none at all." Strife put his arm under
Cupid's wings and they disappeared, taking Joxer with them.
Gabrielle felt the small cut on her throat and looked at Xena.

"What do you suppose could hurt Ares?" Xena turned and swung onto
Argo and held her hand out to Gabrielle.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out. You know what the world
is like without a seated god of war." And they too were gone.





Gaia pulled herself from her earthen chamber and into what had once
been her grandest worship grove. It was a wasteland. The trees she
had nurtured from the beginning of time had been uprooted and burned
to ash. She stood in her desolate place of power, clothed only in
her ankle long, silver hair and wept for the world she had
abandoned. She had been so torn and weary at the end of the war
between the Titans and Olympians, but this world had needed her and
she had ignored it. The scale of power was so unbalanced, it
nauseated her. And Zeus, whom she had once seen as this world's
savior, had become a monster in his own right. The roots and seeds
shuddered at his name and the earth shied away from his footsteps.
Aye, a monster, one that she was responsible for unleashing. The
thought hardened her resolve and she dried her eyes. Yes, she was
responsible for unleashing him, but she could change that now. She
could change the future and she would start now. She disappeared in
a cloud of dust, her tears already coaxing growth and life from the
long dead grove.

Aphrodite was shaking Eris when Cupid and Strife appeared bearing
Joxer. "What is it, Eris? What did you see?" When Eris did not
respond, Aphrodite pulled back her hand and slapped her across the
face.

Eris' eyes focused and she began forming a fireball. But Hera
commanded, "Cease, children. We have enough with which to deal."
Eris obeyed, but fingered the red hand mark on her face.

Hera turned toward her grandsons. "Is this the one that the pendant
found?" Cupid nodded and Hera gestured to the bed. "Lay him with
Ares. I hope this works."

Cupid laid his charge next to his father and they all watched as the
pendant glowed blue. Joxer carefully nuzzled up to Ares and the blue
glow grew to include both their bodies. They all watched amazed as
Ares face began to reknit itself. In a matter of seconds, it was
completely healed. Ares sighed and pulled Joxer into a closer
embrace.

Strife felt like jumping for joy, but instead asked: "Okay how did
Jox just heal Unk? And why did Aunt Dite slap mom?"

Hera shrugged. "The pendant is the emblem of power for the god of
peace." All the other deities looked confused. And Strife shook his
head and looked at his grandmother like she was crazy.

"But Gran, there is no god of peace." Hera nodded in agreement. "I
know young Strife, but there was supposed to be. Gaia left the
emblem before her sleep; she said it would balance the House of War.
However, no god of peace ever appeared before now. I put a finding
spell on it and hoped it would find someone who could help Ar. . .
your uncle."

Strife accepted the mysterious circumstances and moved on. "Ok, so
why were mom and auntie getting physical. Violent, I mean." It was
Aphrodite's turn to shrug.

"She was hysterical and I thought the pain would focus her." Eris'
face grew red and she growled in a low whisper.

"What do you know of pain, goddess of love? What do you think you
know of my twin's rape? Have you ever been raped? Or beaten until
you long for Death's icy touch, but knew it would never come for
you? Are you hated and feared everywhere you go, just because of
what you are? Why should I tell you anything?" The dark goddess'
body shook with fury and she could not control the tears that fell.
Her rage was a palpable, living entity.

Aphrodite smiled, a small, sad smile at her sister. "I have washed
his blood and our father's semen from him for two thousand years. I
have sat with him through night terrors and flashbacks. I have borne
his children that he might have a reason to live. I have shared his
terror that we could not keep those children safe from their own
grandfather. Let me help him, and you, now." Aphrodite touched her
sister's face and healed the pain she had inflicted. Eris leaned
into the touch, no one but Ares had ever touched her to heal. It felt
good, but she could still not raise her eyes, the shame was too
present.

"Father has done it again." Knowing it was not enough, Eris sighed.
Her hands fidgeted in her leather skirt and the candlelight played
across her pale skin. "Father has forced his child to carry his
child, again." She couldn't say anymore and collapsed into
Aphrodite's open arms, sobbing.

Cupid's eyes flashed. "My father is pregnant? Zeus not only beat,
tortured and raped him, but also is forcing him to carry a child?
This caused the energy drain?" Hera nodded, but remained silent.
Cupid could only close his eyes and clench his fists.

Strife slid to the floor. "Again?" He whispered, afraid of the
answer. "Again! What did you mean, again?" He looked to
Hera. "Its not true is it? Zeus isn't my father. That can't be
what I came from. I mean, a forbidden love affair, a one-night
stand, an orgy. . .
Anything but this." Hera just ducked her head and Strife laughed
bitterly, tears dripping unnoticed down his porcelain cheeks. He
looked to his mother. "No wonder you hate me. I hate me too. I'm
sorry mommy, so sorry." Strife's desperation shook Cupid from his
stupor and the winged god slid down behind him.

"Shh Sh, my love. Nobody hates you. You are loved." When the
shaking began, Cupid leaned in and kissed the pale lips. "Let me
show you how much I love you, my mischief." When he did not receive
a response, Cupid tried again. "Erin? Erin, please, let me love
you." Eyes that shown like arctic water in the sun met Cupid's brown
eyes and a midnight head nodded its assent. Cupid flashed them to
his own room in his dad's private retreat.


Hera smiled as they left. Those two would be okay. She looked at
the five other beings in her care and sighed. Two out of seven was
not a good figure. She cleared her throat to get Aphrodite's and
Hephaestus' attention.

"There is a room down the hall that could accommodate the three of
you, if you would watch out for your sister tonight. . ." Aphrodite
nodded, but Hephaestus looked toward his brother warily. Hera
sighed, he was right not to trust her.

"Rest easy, my son, and I shall guard you all this night as closely
as I should have been your whole lives." The answer assured him and
they disappeared together.

Hera lifted her chair and moved it closer to her pregnant son and the
new god of peace. The rest could wait for the morning. She hoped.




Cupid and Strife appeared in front of a lit fireplace, seated on a
thick, bearskin rug. At least Cupid was, Strife was still in his
lover's lap, shaking. Cupid's arms tightened when he realized Strife
was mesmerized by the flames.

"What do you see, my only?" He asked. Strife's eyes never left the
flames, he never blinked. He just answered in a quiet monotone voice.

"I see the answers to all the questions I had about my mother. I
know now what I did to be abandoned. I know now what I did that made
her hate me. I was born. Don't you see, Cupid? I should not
exist. I always thought if I did good enough, she would be able to
love me. But I tore her world apart by being born and I can't undo
it. I can't fix it. I can't be good enough. I shouldn't exist and
there isn't any love for me." Cupid realized that they were both
crying now.

"How can you say that? Of course you were supposed to exist, maybe
not under those circumstances, but you would have existed no matter
what." It was the confidence in his voice that turned Strife's gaze
away from the flames and into Cupid's. Cupid shifted Strife's whole
body so that Strife's legs twisted around his waist, making their
centers meet. Then he brought both hands to the sides of Strife's
face.

"Do you want to know how I know that you were meant to exist?"
Strife closed his eyes, leaned one cheek into a huge palm and
nodded. Cupid groaned at the contact and answered.

"Because without you, I am not whole. You are my soul. You taught
me what it means to love and what kind of love god would I be, if I
didn't know that? You were fated to exist because, we are fated to
be soul mates. I love you, Strife and will always love you no matter
what happens. You know that, but let me remind you." Cupid pulled
Strife to him, so that their lips met.

The kiss began as comfort, soft and sweet, but there was too much
heat between them for that to last and had been since they were
sixteen. Strife wrapped his arms around Cupid's neck and ground
their lips together, pressing his tongue across Cupid's lips,
groaning as he was admitted into the warmth. Cupid cupped the
underside of Strife's thighs, bringing their erections closer
together. Strife broke the kiss when he threw his head back at the
sensation. Cupid growled and rolled Strife onto his back, keeping
their cocks in constant contact. Strife whimpered as he saw the
firelight glinting off Cupid's tanned torso and wings, casting him in
a copper tinge.

"I need you, Cupe, I need you." Cupid's grin was feral as he took
two of Strife's daggers; laid them against the leather hiding the
skin he sought and dragged them lightly all the way down Strife's
body, careful to never touch the pale skin beneath. Strife suck in a
breath and held stock still as Cupid grabbed the slit material and
ripped it from his body, leaving him exposed to the flickering light
of the fire. Cupid moved back up Strife's body, tasting his way
along the belly, up the torso and to the neck. Strife dug his hands
into the material of Cupid's kilt and thought it away, playing now
with the cheeks of the golden ass it had been covering. Cupid
groaned against Strife's neck, causing the pale one to wiggle and
arch. Cupid braced himself on his arms and leaned down to Strife's
mouth again.

He tasted the insecurities, terrors and bitterness that life had
placed in his mischief and absorbed them all with the brightness of
his love. He sucked on the tongue hidden in the dark cavern and
groaned again as the taste burst in his own mouth. Strife tasted
like ripe berries, bitter chocolate and midnight by the sea. Cupid
immersed himself in the taste for a moment, but pulled back so he
could move back down the lithe body underneath him.

He made his way to the weeping, purple cock. He took the head in his
mouth, sucking and blowing slowly. Strife arched into his touch and
whimpered. Cupid moved his tongue slowly down the shaft, tracing the
blue veins with his tongue. Strife began to keen and Cupid took it
all the way, the head bumping the back of his throat. Almost
immediately Strife began to shoot down his throat and Cupid sucked
the head until he had all the sweet nectar.

Strife was limp and languid, his eyes closed and his fingers spread
on the rug. He missed Cupid drinking in the sight of him like this,
memorizing him. He was only slightly startled as he felt himself
flipped over, groaning as his sensitive cock came in contact with the
soft fur beneath him. Cupid urged him to lift his ass in the air and
he complied, kneeling like a supplicant at an alter. Then he felt a
tongue thrust inside him and coherency was a distant memory.

Cupid laved and teased Strife's core until Strife was hard and
begging, ass high in the air. Cupid dipped two oiled fingers inside
his lover and oiled himself, groaning at the sensation. He entered
Strife slowly, tensing at the warm pressure surrounding him, from
behind. When he was half way in, he put one arm across Strife's
shoulder and the other around his waist. Then he shifted his lover
until they were upright, Strife's legs bent and straddling Cupid's.
Strife threw his head back to lean on Cupid's shoulder and Cupid
cocooned his wings around them, lightly touching Strife's over
sensitized body everywhere.

Strife arched up and fell back down, rubbing his prostate across the
head of Cupid's cock, screaming. Cupid's mouth latched onto Strife's
exposed neck. He brought one hand to a pale hip to steady it, and
wrapped the other around Strife's cock. He pumped mercilessly both
inside and out. Strife screamed again and spurted into Cupid's
feathered wings, feeling every nerve ending in his body explode.

The added vibrations around Cupid's cock pulled forth his orgasm.
Hard and fast he spurt inside his lover, laving every ridge of flesh,
reclaiming every nook with himself. Strife collapsed against Cupid's
arms, knowing he was safe and loved. Knowing he could trust Cupid to
catch him. And he fell asleep with Cupid lodged deeply inside him.
Loved.

----------- The room Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Eris appeared in had white walls,
many candles and a huge four-poster bed. Hephaestus had designed and
built the bed for three as a present when Ares had agreed to give
himself and Dite children, but it was Ares' twin they held between
them this night. Hephaestus wondered how long Hera had known about
it, but Eris' sobs drew him away from his musings. His beautiful
wife held their dark sister against her breasts, rocking her as if
she were a small child. Eris looked up at Dite, her tears still
falling.

"How? How after all I've done can he call me mommy? I abandoned him.
I neglected him. I hurt him. I'm no better than my parents." Her
sobs echoed around the room again. Torn by his sister's anguish,
Hephaestus reached out a hand to comfort her, but she jerked at his
touch and Dite shook her head no. Instead of being offended,
Hephaestus moved behind Dite, supporting her back while offering no
threat. Dite leaned into his strength, but held her sister closer.

"Its easy really, Strife loves you and always will. It took courage
to give him up and you could not have chosen better than Ares. You
have never offered Strife the pain you suffered. He has just wanted
answers for so long. And he never imagined this." Hephaestus
watched Dite mother Eris in awe. The depths of love that she was
capable of astounded him. He tightened his arms around her. Eris
quieted and shifted in Dite's arms.

"How long have Cupid and Strife been in love?" Dite's eyes filled
with tears as she thought of all the moments Eris had missed in her
only child's life.

"Eris, I have an idea. If you want, I could show you some of the
things you missed in Strife's childhood. Its not enough, but . . ."
She stopped speaking as Eris began to vigorously nod her head. The
longing was clear in her eyes.

"Then sleep, sister, and see your little mischief." She laid the
sleeping Eris on light blue satin pillow and formed a bright orb.
She closed her eyes and ran the images of Strife; from his first step
to first fireball to the first time she realized he and Cupid were
soul mates. She placed the orb over Eris' heart and it disappeared,
merging with Eris memories.

Dite lay back in Hephaestus' arms and closed her eyes, feeling the
energy drain of the past few days. But no matter how hard she tried,
she could not banish the picture of a broken Ares from her mind. It
was then that she felt Hephaestus' hands begin to move down her
body. She spread her legs and smiled. Eris wouldn't wake till
morning.

Aphrodite lay sated and sleeping in Hephaestus' arms, but he did not
shut his eyes. His mother had never given him any reason to believe
she could protect anything, much less his precious ones. So, he sat
through the night, guarding what was his.



Hera sat in her chair, silently checking the shields she had erected
around Ares' private home and felt Hephaestus add his own layer of
protection. That brought a bitter smile to her face, Hephaestus had
been the first of her children she had betrayed and he was not likely
to forget it. He had not wanted to bring her here and had only made
the decision when Ares had desperately needed her power. He was a
good brother. She sighed.

Ares was going to hate that she had learned of his sanctuary. She
had guessed long ago that the three of them had a place where they
conceived their children, but had made it a point to never find out
for sure. What she knew, Zeus eventually knew. She had thrown him
off this time by sacrificing a priestess to his rather large sex
drive, but it had not been enough. She gripped the armrest of her
chair until it snapped. She repaired the chair and sighed again.

Now she was just stalling. Hera, the queen of the gods and the
goddess of childbirth and marriage (what a cosmic joke), did not
stall. She reached her hand out until it hovered over Zeus' latest
indiscretion, held it for a second and then lowered it until she was
touching both her son and grandchild.

New life was always bright, but this child, her grandchild, shone
like the sun. Hera absorbed its warmth for a moment, relishing light
in the face of such darkness. The colors that surrounded the
occupant of Ares' womb reminded the goddess of a meadow of
wildflowers. Reds, yellows, purples and oranges bled together,
bright, vibrant and so alive.

It was so beautiful, bearing almost no trace of Zeus, but wait, there
it was. Hera saw the telltale spot of gold that marked all of Zeus'
line and raged. She too knew what it was to wake up violated and
carrying Zeus' seed. But there was something else. . .

Hera jerked her hand back, breaking her link to the child and
seethed. That ignorant, worthless prick! This was why Ares had not
awoken and could not heal himself. She remembered Joxer lying
beside her son and realized that he was truly the only reason the
Void had not taken Ares.

Zeus knew that the only reason that male gods were able to carry to
term was because they had the ability to form psychic ties to the
fetus. These ties allowed the host body to nurture the developing
life without depriving the host. But those ties had to be awakened.
So why had Zeus not formed the ties himself? Zeus must have known
Ares would not have been coherent enough to do it himself.

The lines around Hera's mouth tightened as she realized the reason.
Zeus had damaged Ares' ties. She could not awaken them or
consequently Ares either. The child was not a punishment, it was a
replacement. Zeus did not mean for Ares to survive the birth of this
child. He had made a new War.

Hera sat up, soothed the wrinkles from her skirt, checked and
strengthened the shields and then set up a constant monitor on Ares
energy levels. She had failed her children every time they had
needed her. Not again.




Gaia reappeared in her grove and collapsed to her knees in thick,
sweet, green grass. She raised her face to the moon and howled,
shaking with anguish. Her hair fell down her back, pooling in the
grass and her breasts shook in time with her sobs. The entire grove
shuddered at her pain. Then she knew what she must do.

All those she might have called allies were imprisoned and bound.
Her lover, her children, all of them were either dead or bound by the
hand of Zeus. And she had seen more of Zeus' aggression while she
was seeking her family. Mortals were mad with the diseases that Zeus
spread: rape, greed, and hate. She could not right the balance
alone, but it must be done.

Gaia raised a power shield and began to dig in the earth, until she
had a mound of dark earth before her. She drew a circle in the dirt
with her fingertip, then an arch over it. Next she drew a soaring
bird and then spit into the circle. She looked down at her work,
satisfied. Then she held her wrist over the arch and slashed it with
a piece of obsidian. Her blood filled the arch over the circle,
making the dirt inky black. Finally, she encircled the entire
picture with her dribbling blood and closed the wound.

Laying her body down in the nook of a towering oak tree, Gaia's voice
danced softly through the night air and dispersed throughout the
world. "I call all those who hear my voice to my side. I call with
power older than chains, and the power of this present age. I call
by Earth all those bound to answer my cry." Then she slept,
exhausted.


Xena and Gabrielle reached Corinth two hours after the sun should
have risen. However, the sky showed no signs of morning. The stars
were not visible, but there were no clouds. It was as if someone had
poured ink across the sky. People huddled in their homes around
fires, afraid to venture forth.

They headed straight for Ares' temple to demand answers, but found
Hercules ahead of them. He stood in the middle of a disaster.
Shards of pottery, heads and limbs of statues, torn fragments of
tapestries and chunks of glass from the windows surrounded the demi-
god. The son of Zeus had destroyed all the pottery and statues in
the temple and was moving on to the weapons when they walked in.

"Hercules! What are you doing?" Hercules never paused in his
rampage, but Iolaus stepped out of the shadows.

"Zeus told us that Ares was responsible for the darkness and the
giant eagle that's been attacking villages since midnight. So, Herc
decided to talk to Ares." Iolaus' cringe at the snap of metal
indicated he might have chosen a different path. Gabrielle giggled
as Hercules took a battle-axe to the obsidian altar. Xena, however,
grabbed the axe and threw it aside.

"I said, what do you think you're doing?" Hercules paused, but
before he could answer all the mortals were surrounded by light and
disappeared.


Cupid awoke holding Erin close to his heart. He smiled and looked
out the window, searching for the sun, but it was not there. He sat
up quickly and opened his line to mortals, wincing at the roar of
their fear. He closed it quickly and turned to Erin, who was looking
up at him from under sleepy lids. Erin yawned.

"What's the matta, babe?" Cupid smiled at his lover indulgently, he
was so beautiful.

"The sun is missing." Erin nodded, then jumped from the bed naked
and headed for the door. It was enough to make Cupid roll
hysterically in the bed. Erin stopped at Cupid's laughter, looked
down at himself and scowled at his best friend.

"Get up, feathers. We gotta go find out what's going on." Erin
stood there, hands on his naked hips, waiting for Cupid to comply.
Cupid's heart almost stopped at the pose and he made a decision.

"Erin, bind to me." His voice was quiet and wasn't until after he
had spoken that he realized his plea had come in the form of a
command. He raised himself to his knees, splaying his wings wide
behind him. Erin stalked to the edge of the bed and shook his head.

"The sun is missing, which means that the world is possibly coming to
an end and you want to bind our life forces for eternity?" The
disbelief in his voice was palpable. "Why would you want to bind to
me?" Cupid pulled him forward and pressed their lips together,
tasting the mouth before him. He wrapped his arms around Erin,
pulling their still naked bodies flush against each other.

"If the world is ending, this might be our last chance and I want
nothing more than to be yours and have you as mine. Because I love
you, silly. Now what do you say?" Erin stepped back a moment and
materialized a familiar dagger. Cupid recognized it as the one his
father had given Erin at the ascension of his godhood and swallowed
the lump in his throat.

"I say yes." They each held up a wrist and Cupid bound them with a
silken cord, the dagger between them. Cupid put a hand on Erin's
waist to balance himself and Erin held the hilt of the dagger. Their
eyes locked and they spoke together.

All that I have
All that I am
Now Yours
Until I and Time
Are no more

Erin slid the dagger out of the bond, wincing at the pain in Cupid's
eyes. Then the bond between them opened and the colors and pictures
of two lifetimes merged into one. The essences of their life forces
mingled and left an open line between them. They could feel what the
other was feeling. They could hear what the other was thinking.
Wholeness, completion, and love flooded the link, washing over both
of them in waves. They rode it out, becoming accustomed to the other
presence in their minds and basking in the glow of forever. When
they opened their eyes, their foreheads were touching and they were
wrapped tightly around each other. Erin's eyes filled with tears.

"You said you loved me, but I never imagined this." Cupid laughed
and kissed his mate's forehead.

"Now you know. Erin, did you feel the . . ." Erin giggled through
his tears and nodded. He pulled away slightly and took Cupid's hand
in his, laying it over his abdomen.

"Our baby." Cupid claimed those lips again and pulled Erin down to
the bed. Cupid had been able to fly all his life, but he'd never
been this high before. A baby. His and Erin's baby. All of the
possibilities ran through his head and then he thought of his father,
pregnant and alone. His hands suddenly stopped and Erin pulled his
head up so they were looking in the other's eyes.

"Do you wanna go see him?" When Cupid nodded, Erin dressed them with
a thought. "Then lets go, we have eternity for everything else. We
might should see about this disappearing sun thing too." Erin kissed
Cupid's nose and they left the room holding hands.



Joxer pounded on the obsidian wall between himself and Ares. Ares
was inside keening and Joxer couldn't get to him. He had searched
every inch of it and found no door or gate, not even a fucking
crack. He had tried to climb it, but it was as slick as glass and
about a hundred feet tall. So, he pounded on it, demanding to be let
in. He could feel Ares inside and he had to get to his god. His god
needed him. He did not know how or why he knew this, he just did.
Ares was in pain, so much pain. It coursed over Joxer like a river
flooding its banks and it was just the backlash. And this huge
fucking wall was between them. He pounded the black surface until
his hands were bleeding, raw and broken. He screamed for admittance
until his throat was hoarse and tears streamed down his face.
Nothing happened.

Then the pain multiplied a hundredfold. Joxer had been beaten,
tortured, Tartarus, even raped, but he had never known pain like this
before. Sharp and lancing, like a million swords piercing him at
once, the pain overwhelmed his need to find Ares, overwhelmed
everything, until there was nothing left but darkness.

When Cupid and Strife entered Ares bedchamber, Hephaestus was
glowering over Hercules, his huge smith's hands wrapped around the
demi-god's throat. Aphrodite held Gabrielle, Xena, and Iolaus back
and Hera was gently tucking blankets back around Ares and Joxer.

"Do you have any idea what you could have done? That you could have
destroyed him? Do you ever think of anyone or anything besides
yourself?" Hephaestus squeezed the vulnerable muscles and blood
vessels until Hercules was blue. Cupid, more mindful of Zeus' wrath
than Hercules safety, approached his stepfather.

"What did he do, Daddy Heph?" No one spoke. Hephaestus' rage seemed
to have precluded his ability to speak, Aphrodite was focused on
holding back the mortals, Hera was in a trance focused on Ares, and
Eris was missing. Surprisingly enough, it was Xena who finally
answered.

"He attacked father's altar." The half-siblings' eyes met, piercing
blue to almond brown, acknowledging their relationship for the first
time. Then Cupid turned his furious gaze on Hercules. Gabrielle and
Iolaus exchanged confused glances, but stayed silent as Cupid made
his way to his stepfather and uncle. He touched Hephaestus' hand and
the smith's grip loosened enough to allow Hercules to breathe.

"And what, may I ask, could Dad have done to provoke such an attack
in his present condition, mighty hero?" Hercules' eyes moved to Ares
for the first time and bugged out in shock.

"Oh yes, he's been incapacitated for several days now. So, why did
you do it?" Cupid shook with fury as Hercules began to squeak out
his answer.

"Z…Zeus said h..he was resp… to blame for the d..d…darkness." His
answer did little to calm Cupid.
"Speaking of grandfather, would you like to guess who's responsible
for my father's present condition? I'll give you three guesses. And
most of the damage has healed. This was what he looked like until
yesterday." Cupid produced a scyring mirror and there was a
collective gasp at the extent of Ares' injuries. Gabrielle chose that
moment to speak.

"Whatever Ares did to deserve that must have been horrible, if Zeus
even did it. Do you have any proof?" Hephaestus, Aphrodite and
Strife all advanced on the bard, Hercules smacking on the tile as
Hephaestus dropped him. But Cupid held up his hand and changed the
image on the mirror.

"Yes, not that we have to prove anything to you, but see for yourself
what my father did to deserve his punishment." The mirror began
replaying Harmonia's birthday party. Everyone watched as Zeus
descended, demanding Ares either hand over Harmonia or go himself.
They watched as Ares, Strife, Cupid, and Hephaestus attacked Zeus.
They watched as one by one they all fell before Zeus' lightning bolts
and it became obvious that they could not best the king of the gods.
And they watched as Zeus lifted a limp Ares by the hair and flashed
out with him.

Cupid concentrated and touched the Halls of Time. Zeus had not
bothered to block the images, so the mirror began playing back Ares'
torture. As soon as the mirror began playing his father's violation,
Cupid wanted to turn away, to turn it off, to make it stop, but he
could not. These four mortals would never understand, never believe
the truth about his father unless they saw this. He focused his eyes
on the screen, determined to watch. If his father could go through
this, he could watch it. The images seemed to go one and on, each
more horrific than the last. How did his father live through this?

The sound of Hercules retching soon filled the room. Strife crossed
the floor to the heaving hero and dragged his chin up, making him
look at the mirror.

"No, you're not getting off that easy. Watch what your evil arch-
nemesis has been up to the past few days." Strife held his chin
through the whole thing, forcing the hero to watch every act of
violation and humiliation Ares had suffered.

Hercules wasn't the only one affected. Gabrielle was sobbing and
green, begging Cupid to make it stop. Xena was ghostly pale with
fire leaping from her eyes. Hephaestus bore a similar expression
while he held Dite and tried to quiet her sobs. Iolaus stood quietly
with tears in his eyes. Strife moved back to Cupid's side and they
embraced, supporting each other's heartache. It was Xena who finally
asked:

"Why isn't he awake? His injuries were horrible, but shouldn't he be
awake? And why is Joxer with him?" Her voice was small and she
sounded as close to frightened as anyone had ever heard. Hera opened
her eyes and turned to her children and grandchildren.

"He is not awake, because Zeus impregnated him and destroyed the ties
that allow a male god to control the diversion of energy to the
child, creating a drain on Ares' energy. Joxer is with him because
the emblem of the god of peace found him after I sent it out and I am
attempting to merge their energies to save Ares. And no, I do not
know how Joxer is the god of peace." Hercules looked away from the
mirror.

"Zeus forced him to carry a child?" The revulsion in his voice was
clear. Hera nodded wearily.

"Yes, and that little stunt you pulled on the altar drained him even
more. Both Ares and Joxer convulsed and screamed when you
attacked." Hercules' face paled while Strife attempted to kill him
with a look. Cupid restrained his mate by caressing his face.

"What do you mean attempting? Is it not working?" Hera shook her
head.

"They have bonded on a surface level because of Joxer's godhood, but
Ares has the thickest shields I have ever seen. I cannot breach them
and he's not letting Joxer in and the longer this goes on…" She
trailed off, not wanting to say it aloud. Cupid clenched his fist.

"How can we help?" Hera shook her head again.

"I am waiting for Eris to return. I sent her for something I need."
Hercules looked around and remembered his original problem.

"So, if Ares is not making it dark, why is it?" Hera shrugged her
shoulders.

"We have not had enough energy to look. The Void almost took Ares
before Joxer got here and we are all running low. And we cannot put
out the energy now, because Ares could need it at any time. I am
monitoring the rate at which the baby takes energy, but it is still
siphoning off more than Ares can spare. All we can do is wait." With
that, Hera went back into her trance, focusing completely on Ares and
Joxer. The others decided to follow her lead and settle in. Xena
went to the chair closest to Ares and looked to Aphrodite.


"May I?" Aphrodite nodded in response and made a couch for herself
and Hephaestus at the end of the bed. Gabrielle sat a chair next to
Xena's while Hercules and Iolaus huddled together in Eris' corner.
Cupid made a chair opposite from Xena's, sat in it and pulled Strife
into his lap, nuzzling him close. They were all trying to escape the
images in their heads. Xena laced her fingers with Gabrielle's and
looked to her older brother.

"It seems I don't know my father very well. Could you tell me about
him?" Cupid's eyes filled with tears and he placed his hands over
Strife's middle, finding the light of their child within. He held
the tears back and nodded. Aphrodite produced a smaller scyring
mirror and brought out picture after picture of Ares and his
children, while Cupid began.

"Well, dad has this crazy obsession with fishing." Gabrielle howled
with laughter, shaking the chair she was in. Xena shot her a dirty
look, but nothing could quiet Gabrielle. Curious, Strife took the
image from her mind and showed it to everyone. It was Xena in
fishing mode, up to her thighs in water, staring intently at the fish
scuttling around her. All the deities began to convulse with
laughter as well, while Xena blushed. Strife clung to Cupid
hysterically and then brought forth a memory of his own for all to
see. It was Ares, doing the exact same thing. While everyone
watched, father and daughter swooped, missed and cursed, even
Hercules and Iolaus began to giggle. And while the sun was still
nowhere to be found, the world didn't seem quite as dark as it had
previously.



They were all asleep when Eris flashed back
into the room. Her lips drew into a sneer when she felt the presence
of her half-brother, but she ignored it to bring her mother the
requested item. Eris stopped in front of her mother, noticing her
trance, and sank down at her feet. She laid the sword across her
knees and followed her mother's line into her twin's mind.
Eris blinked as she slipped into the dream world to which
Ares and Joxer had retreated. She was on a path in a dark wood. The
trees were silver and glowed as if in moonlight, but there was no
moon. There was also nothing alive in this place; Eris met with no
signs of life as she made her way to the end of the thicket. Her
mother stood at the end of a bridge that joined the woods to the
obsidian fortress. Eris could see an unconscious Joxer, bruised and
bloody, lying against a slick wall. He was muttering Ares' name over
and over again in despair. Eris touched her mother's shoulder.
"I have brought it." Eris said simply, holding the Sword of
War in front of her face. Hera did not turn to face her and when
Eris peered closely she saw that her mother's body shook.
"He will not allow me to pass this point. He even holds out
Joxer, who is bound to his soul. It is no wonder that Zeus fears
him. It is all I can do to give him energy." Eris did not reply,
knowing that her mother was simply thinking aloud. "You must try, my
child, to take your brother's sword to Joxer." Hera's voice was
strained, whether from exhaustion or pain, Eris could not tell. She
simply nodded and stepped to the middle of the bridge. Immediately,
a blue light surrounded the goddess of Discord, and she was thrown
from Ares' mind. Her scream and the clattering of metal against
marble woke everyone in Ares' bedchamber.


________________________________________________

After everyone in the room recovered from the backlash of Eris'
failed attempt to take Ares the sword of War, Gabrielle got an idea.
"Excuse me, but why not give Ares his sword the same way
Joxer got his." Several eyebrows shot up, but Hera conceded,
silently, that the bitch had an idea. The instant the pendant found
its way around Ares' neck, the two swords clasped together, like a
puzzle piece, and a blue light enveloped the two unconscious forms.

Joxer gasped as a sword appeared in his hand and a door
appeared in the obsidian wall. Hope flared in his heart as he slid
the sword in the scabbard at his hip and knocked on the door. The
pain Ares was transmitting to him had not lessened, but here was a
way to help his god, his love. He knew it was a foolish thought,
the god of war would never love him, but he need him in this moment.
Joxer would be damned before he failed in this quest. the

His thoughts were interrupted when door was swung open by a
boy who looked about six years old. The boy's face was crowned by
dark brown curls and taken up completely by brown eyes as soft and
huge as a hind's. He held one arm close to his side, as if it were
wounded and tears streaked his face. He looked imploringly at Joxer.

"Will you help me? You feel kind, not like him." Joxer
nodded and followed the boy inside and then through a maze of twists
and turns, until they came to a small chamber lit with torches.

Otherwise, however, the room was completely bare. Joxer watched as
the child huddled in a corner, wincing when he jarred his arm. He
knelt before the boy and smiled.

"What did you do to your arm? My name is Joxer, by the way.
What's yours?" The little boy smiled back.

"My name is Ares, Joxer." He flexed his wrist and winced at
the pain. "He hurt my arm when I asked to see Eris, my twin. But
I'm not supposed to cry, because I am going to be War soon and War
doesn't cry. Do you cry, Joxer?" Joxer cringed at the question, but
couldn't lie to the child god.

"Yes Ares, I cry when I am hurt or sad." The small head
bobbed in understanding and the huge brown eyes became solemn.

"I won't tell him." Joxer nodded his appreciation and gently
extended the small arm to examine the wound. It was broken in at
least three places. Joxer felt fury growing in him that anyone could
treat any child in this manner. To his surprise, a blue light
extended from his fingertips to the wounds, healing them instantly.
Ares beamed at Joxer and threw his arms around the man's neck.

"You helped me!" I knew you would, Joxer. Your heart told
me so." He patted his newly healed hand against Joxer's face,
feeling it softly. "Thank you." Joxer felt his throat close up at
the child's antics. He pulled the child into his lap and began to
rock him gently.

"What is this place, little war?" The smile left the child
god's face.

"This is the place he puts me when I'm bad. Its dark and
cold, and he knows how scared it makes me." Joxer kissed brown curls.

"I know a way to make it not so scary. Have you ever heard
of a theme song? I'll teach you mine, but we ought to make one for
you too." Soon, the dreary caverns echoed with the strains of "Joxer
the Mighty" and a small child's laughter.

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tbc

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Broken links or other errors can be sent to Carrie. Suggestions are also welcome.