Part 1 Part 2
The damned plot bunnies are multiplying. Here's my offering! :-P
Series: Trading Places Series
Title: Redemption’s Warrior
Author: Tequila Worm
Genre: Herc/Xenaverse
Pairing: None in this story
Rating: Possibly PG-13 to an R, for language and some gore in battle
Warnings: It’s an AU, ‘cause Joxer was never really a major character (even though he should have been). Joxer does some killing, and it’s not very pretty.
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. I’m working 2 jobs to pay all my bills. D’ya think I’d be doing that if I owned Greek Gods?!
Notes: I want to make this a series, but I won’t if you don’t like it. Be honest!
Feedback: OF Course!! Bultprufmrshmalo@aol.com or little_bluepenguin@ yahoo.com
Summary: Joxer and Ares have to learn some lessons about each other.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The three Fates sat in their cave watching the intricate and beautiful Tapestry of Life, while busily measuring, cutting, and weaving more life threads.
Lachesis suddenly breathed in sharply, and moved closer to the tapestry.
“Sister, what is it,” asked Clotho, startled at the sudden movement of the Middle Aspect.
“There is a new golden thread,” replied Lachesis, placing her finger on the faintly glowing area of the tapestry.
All thee looked in surprise that the thread. Lachesis’ finger traced along it to see where it led. All three stared.
“She saves Olympus, and the world,” murmured Clotho.
“Daughter of War, bringer of Peace, “ intoned Atropos, sounding as if she was delivering a prophesy.
“Daughter of Redemption, also,” Lachesis said, tracing her finger backwards no, to see where it had originated from.
“We must go to Gaea,” whispered Atropos, with scared certainty. That made her sisters pause. There wasn’t much that made the Final Aspect whisper, and there was certainly very little that scared any of them.
A sudden flash of light, and the cave was empty of everything but the ever moving Tapestry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ares paried Strife easily, knocking aside the blade of the sword. He quickly brought the sword he was holding himself around and thrust upward, catching Strife off guard. The godling staggered backward a little, blood staining the ground in front of him.
“Damn, Unc, didja hafta stab me?” complained Strife, clutching his hands to the wound. The sword was laying on the floor next to him where it had clattered when strife had let go in his surprise.
“Sorry, but it’s not as if it would kill you,” grumbled Ares, waving a hand and healing the wound.
“Yeah, but it still hurts!” Strife groused, sitting in a chair.
Ares gave him a Look, with a capital L, and flopped onto his throne. He hated the fact that he couldn’t control his temper. He normally had an iron-fisted reign on it, but lately, his mind had been on other things, which caused him to lose control over the simplest things. As had been proved when he stabbed Strife.
“Yo, Unc, where’d ya go?” Srife sounded puzzled, as he watched his uncle in concern.
“Huh? Oh. No where, Strife. Just thinking about something that I have to do. Which reminds me, don’t you have a project to work on?” Ares rapidly changed the subject, hoping to distract his nephew.
Strife watched him thoughtfully, not fooled in the least. After a moment, he shrugged and left in a flash of blue light.
Ares, now alone, went back to his ruminations. It galled him that he, Ares, God of War, Son of Zeus, was having trouble telling someone something. Granted, this someone was male, and one of his warriors to boot, but he was Ares! He shouldn’t have trouble with anything.
Ares sat and brooded for some time, negligently starting bar fights and controlling mini-raids as a way of letting of steam. Suddenly, Ares sat bolt upright. He would ask Cupid, his on. He’d know what to do.
No sooner thought about than Cupid appeared in a fluttering of tiny hearts and white rose petals.
“You called, Dad?” asked Cupid, slightly startled when he noticed that his father looked nervous.
“Yeah, um…look, Cupid, I’ve got a professional question for you.” Now Ares looked distinctly uncomfortable. “How do I tell someone that I love him?”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Joxer the Mighty, secret son of a God of Olympus, bumbled along merrily as he followed Xena and Gabrielle. They were on their way to the nearest town for a couple days of relaxation and rest. They all deserved it, since they had all been fighting non-stop for the last couple of weeks.
“Joxer, what do you want to do when we get to town?” Xena’s voice drifted back to him, grabbing his attention from it’s wanderings.
“Me? I’m going to go and find a Temple of War. You know that. Then I’m going to take a nice long hot bath. One that will soak off all the dirt and grime.” Joxer grinned at Gabrielle’s reaction. Xena accepted the fact that he was a follower of Ares, as he was a warlord’s son, to the rest of the world, and a warrior in his own right. Gabby never had, however.
“I don’t know how you can worship him, Joxer. He’s such a monster. He’s vicious and cruel, and we’ve been working so hard recently because of his little temper tantrums,” huffed Gabrielle in her slightly nasal voice.
Xena sighed. “Gabrielle, I thought we settled this. You’re allowed to worship Apollo and Joxer’s allowed to worship Ares. I don’t care, and you shouldn’t either.”
Gabrielle glared at Joxer, but mercifully held her tongue. Sometimes, he liked the nickname his dad had come up with. “Blond Harpy” seemed to fit Gabrielle’s personality perfectly.
All three travelers, with Argo the horse, came into the town a few minutes later. Joxer immediately separated from the two women, telling them he would meet them for dinner in the barroom of the inn they would be staying in, and set off for the temple he could see looming in the center of the village.
Upon entering, Joxer the Mighty became Joxer, former immortal son of Strife, God of Mischief. His carriage changed from a shuffling, slightly stooped over walk to a straight-backed, confident stride.
“Father, are you here? Can I talk to you?” Joxer said aloud, going to the secondary alter in the temple, the one dedicated to the God of Mischief.
A blue flash, and Strife was lounging on the top of the black marble altar.
“Hiya, Jox. How are ya?” The cheerful and slightly insane grin that lit up his father’s face made Joxer glad to be alive. His dad loved him and his brothers, and that’s all that really mattered, he told himself.
Strife’s expression quickly changed as he caught the thought that floated on the surface of his son’s mind. “Ya need some advice? From me? Yer pop? Now this is interesting. Hop on up here,” he said, patting the now empty space next to him on the alter.
Joxer did just that, moving with a grace and fluidity that few had seen from him, outside his family. “I need to let Uncle Ares know something, but I’m afraid.”
“Afraid of what, Jox? It ain’t like he’s gonna bite, ya know,” smirked Strife.
Joxer sighed. “That’s the problem. I want him to.”
Just as Strife was about to open his mouth and ask exactly what his son meant, there was a blinding flash of white light that cause him to fly into the nearest wall.
As the smoke cleared, Strife looked up, slightly dazed, to see Gaea standing before his son, who had gone strangly still and silent.
“Joxer? Gaea, ma’am,” Strife was only ever polite to her, “what’s goin’ on?”
*~*End Part One*~*
The flash of light alerted Gaea to the arrival of her guests. She came out of the temple, a smile on her face.
"Grettings, Clotho, Lacheisis, Atropos. I know why you are here, What is it you would have me do?" Gaea sounded amused.
Lachesis stepped forward. "This godly child must be born and protected. But we do not know who the God of Redemption is. His past is not visible to us, The Tapestry is clouded."
Gaea smiled again. "Not as clouded as you think, if you know he is male. But that is not why you are here."
Clothos stepped forward now. "No, it is not. Ares is too violent. If he were to conceive of this child now, she would not be the god that we need. How can we make him be of the proper temperment?"
"He is too violent now because he is in love with his lifmate. He does not know how to say so, and subliminates the feeling into something he does know how to express--violence. I know what to do to change his attitude. Please stay here. I shall be back soon," and she flashed out, leaving three stunned sisters in her wake.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Joxer stared back at his many-times-great grandmother. "H-hello, Gaea. Is it time for that talk you said we had to have?"
"Yes, Joxer, it's time. Strife, you need to know this as well. Please come and sit next to your son again. I'm sorry that I blasted you against the wall." Gaea held out her hand to Strife.
Strife used her hand to haul himself to his feet. "No prob. I'd rather it was you than someone like, say, Psycho-bitch."
Gaea grinned. "Yes, Psyche is a bit much, isn't she?" The Goddess of Nature materialized a chair for herself. "Now, Joxer, I know that you love Ares. You want him to know that, right?"
Joxer nodded, sneaking a glance at his father. "Please. It hurts me to work against him every day, and yet, how can I not? War is so unnecessary--all that violence and bloodshed." Joxer shuddered.
Strife looked a little disappointed. His son was supposed to be part of the House of War, but it looked like he had been away too long.
Gaea caught Strife's look. "Yes, I know, Strife. I'm about to fix it." Turing to Joxer, she smiled slightly. "I know what you must to, Joxer. You must trust me completely, however, and not panic. If you do you will never have you heart's desire, and the fate of the world could rest on that."
Joxer gulped. The fate of the world resting on his shoulders? What was he going to be doing, stoping a mutltitude of wars that Ares wouldn't have? Well, who was he to go against his grandmother?
"Yes, Gaea. Do what you must."
"Good. Strife, you are going to have to keep an eye on him. He's liable to get into trouble, and I can trust to you to take care of him." Gaea smiled as Strife shifted nervously.
"Both of you stay put. I'll be back in a flash." And with that, Gaea flashed out of the room...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
...and into Ares' temple, startling the war god out of his thoughts. "Hello, Ares. I understand that you've been having some trouble." Gaea knew that he had asked Cupid for advice, but Cupid, having the same problem, hadn't had an answer.
Her grandson nodded. "Yes, I am. I don't know how to tell one of my warriors that I love him. I feel like such an idiot. Ares, God of War, in love with another man, a warrior at that. And not even a proper warrior!! Oh no! He's a warrior for the Way. He fights to STOP a lot of the things that I do, things that need to be done. Why couldn't I have fallen for someone who THOUGHT the same way that I do? It would make life easier."
"But infinately more boring," said Gaea quietly.
Ares' jumped. He'd forgotten she was there, in the midst of his ranting. "Yes, probably." He had long ago learned not to argue with any of the women in his family. it never got him anywhere but in trouble, and he usually found himself doing the exact thing that they had suggested in the first place.
"So what would you like me to do about it, Grandmother? I have no idea what I should do or say." Ares actually sounded sad, something that very few people lived to hear.
"I would like you to cooperate with me. Come with me," She held out her hand for Ares. "You need to come with me."
Ares looked doubtful, but took Gaea's hand, and allowed her to transport him to his temple where Strife and Joxer waited. Where a very scared looking Joxer waited.
"Gaea, what are you doing?" both Ares and Joxer asked at once.
"This," she replied, taking Joxer's hand. "Now, this will last for 24 hours. Strife, you stay with Ares' body, Ares, you stay with Xena and Gabrielle."
Strife looked confused. "Gaea, what-" but he was cut off by a blinding flash of light that engulfed all three figures standing before him.
As his eyes returned to normal, he noticed something strange. His son's energy wasn't in his body. Come to think of it, neither was Ares' energy.
"Gaea...you didn't." he began, staring at his uncle and his son.
"Yes, I did. Joxer, be careful in that body. You never know what kind of damage you could do as the God of War."
tbc