Welcome to AresJoxerCupidStrife

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

TITLE: Without Mercy
AUTHOR: Scorpio
ARCHIVE: Any who want it. Nesting Place, Joxerotica, AJCS, CKoS.
FANDOM: Xena: WP
PAIRING: Ares/Joxer
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: ::giggles:: Sure I do... ::winks:: What? Don'cha believe me?
WARNING: Future Fic.
STORY NOTES: All of the 5th season never happened. Xena and Gabrielle were
never crucified by Caesar. Eve was born, but did not bring about the
Twilight; instead she was conceived by Gabs on Xena due to a misfired spell
of Bliss'. ::grins:: He wanted a friend to play with.
STORY NOTES 2: This is futurefic. About 30 (or so) years after the middle of
season 4 which I'm guessing would make Xena between 55 - 60 years old and
Gabrielle a little younger.
SUMMARY: Joxer catches Ares in the act... heartache ensues.

*
Without Mercy
by Scorpio
*

"I want a *divorce*!"

And with that ringing statement echoing from the vaulted ceiling, Joxer; God
of Mercy disappeared, leaving the stunned War God staring in dismay at the
shimmering shower of light blue sparkles where he had just been. His bronzed
skin turning a pasty shade of pale, Ares stumbled back a step and fell onto
his throne just as his knees gave out.

"...no baby... please... I'm so sorry..."

But there was no one there to hear his whispered plea.

*

It always seemed to surprise her when she went to do something and her body
refused to listen. Even after all these years. When she and her wife had been
younger, they had traveled all over the Grecian countryside righting wrongs
and defending the weak and helpless. Now, *she* was one of the weak and
helpless.

Not that Xena would agree with that assessment.

However, a shattered spine was not something one bounced back from, even when
your personal physician was Apollo himself. Actually, she knew that she was
lucky that she could walk at all, but the slow pace of her faltering steps
made doing anything difficult and time consuming. It was just a good thing
that she didn't have to move around a lot to teach the children of the
village.

However, it did tire her out. Still, it was something she was proud of. She
would teach the young ones while her wife counseled the headman of the
village. The inks that she made on the side earned extra money for them and
was in high demand by the scribes in the capital at Corinth. Yes, her life
was full and happy, even if it was tiring.

Hobbling slowly across the threshold of the small neat cottage that she
shared with Xena, she made her way over into the kitchen to stir up the cook
fire. Turning to grab up the big black stew pot, Gabrielle was slightly
startled by the shimmering of blue light that erupted out of the air before
her.

A soft smile forming on her lips before he even materialized, she opened her
arms wide to welcome one of her oldest and dearest friends with a hug. And
then he was there, fully in the flesh. Her eyesight dim with age, she didn't
see the tears rolling down his cheeks, however she *did* hear the hitching
sob that caught in his throat as he threw his arms around her and held on
tight.

A shiver of fear worked it's way through her body. What one earth or in
Olympus could be so bad as to make *Mercy* cry?

"Joxer? Joxer, what is it? Please, tell me!"

Another choked sob was her only answer for a long moment, but then Joxer
pulled slightly away and took in a long deep breath.

"Oh Gabby! You were right. All those years ago when you warned me that Ares
was no good for me and that he'd end up hurting me? Well, you were right!"

Gabrielle's heart twisted in her chest and an old pain rose up to squeeze her
heart. Decades ago when Ares and Joxer first announced their intentions to
marry she had been set against it. The others had accused her of being
jealous because Joxer no longer wanted her, but she had denied those claims.

She loved Joxer, but as the brother she'd never had. She only wanted him to
be happy and she didn't think the War God could do that. It had taken her a time to get passed their marriage and the only reason that she *had* was
that it seemed that she had been wrong. Joxer *had* been happy. Deliriously
so. She wondered what had gone so very wrong with their marriage.

"Wha... what happened? Joxer, what did he do?"

What little composure that Joxer had been able to manage was torn apart again
and he began to sob.

"He cheated on me! With *Discord*!"

*

"You didn't *tell* him first!?! Ares, are you *that* stupid?"

The War God didn't even flinch or glare or make any indication that he heard
the question... or the insult. He just slumped on his throne, unmoving, as he
had been for the past two days.

"What difference would it have made?"

His voice was as hollow and empty as the look in his dark eyes.

Aphrodite threw her hands up into the air in disgust. Her temper was flaring
out of control and she knew that she needed to calm down so that she could
begin to unravel this mess that her idiot brother had created, but she
couldn't help herself. Joxie had long been dear to her, even before he
ascended to Olympus, and now her sweetie-pie was hurting bad. And so was
fun-buns. She was one of the few on Olympus that even *liked* Ares and she
was one of the fewer who was willing to admit it, but *this* pushed her
patience to the limit.

"It would have made *all* the difference you blockhead! If you had just taken
the time to *explain* to him what this was *really* all about, he probably
would have *helped*!"

*That* got Ares attention. His stare was piercing, but she was on a roll and
wasn't planning to stop anytime soon.

"Do you *honestly* think he'd have said no if you had told him the situation?
I mean, Hades *finally* agrees to let Strife be reborn after all these years
and you and Eris jumped at the chance to have your son back. I get it.
Tartarus Arry, *everyone* gets it but Joxie. Of course, *he* doesn't *know*
that that is the *only* reason that you and the Queen of Mean were bumping
uglies. *Joxie* thinks that you don't love him anymore and that you wanna get
*back* with her permanent like."

Dite saw that Ares was beginning to tremble.

"*What*!?!"

With an exasperated sigh, she stomped over to him and poked him in the chest
with one manicured pink fingernail.

"Well, *duh*! He doesn't know that Strife has been granted a new lease on
life you idiot. *You* were the one that was supposed to tell Jox, but you
*didn't*!"

Dite began to tick items off of her fingers one by one.

"I was supposed to tell Cupid that his opposite was coming back and I did. He
was so ecstatic about the news that he gave everyone in Thebes a spontaneous
orgasm. Hera was supposed to bless the union so that it only took that one
time and you guys didn't have to keep trying, and she did. Discord is all
knocked up with Strife and you won't have to bang her again. Eris told the
twins, just like she was supposed to. And let me tell you, Demios and Phobios
are *both* excited. Almost as much as Cupie. And Big Daddy Z told the rest of
the Pantheon, minus Joxie of course. He wasn't there and didn't respond to
the summons."

Ares' face screwed up into a look of confusion and concentration.

"So... he left me, not because he was angry about Strife being reborn, but
because he thinks I *don't love him* anymore?"

With a sad compassionate look on her soft features, Aphrodite nodded her head.

"Yeah bro, that's about right."

A wild look of hope flashed through his dark eyes and the War God seemed to
suddenly be filled with energy as his dejected apathy fell away.

"Where... where is he? I need to explain everything and make him understand."

Dite sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. No one does. He's not answering any calls or summons and he's
shielding himself. We've looked, but we can't find him.

Joxer sat off to the side and just silently watched Gabrielle as she boiled
up some flowers and native plant roots to create the dark brown ink that she
was famous for inventing. It was highly prized for a number of reasons. One,
it was fast drying and that meant it was hard to smudge unless you *really*
worked at it. For another thing, you could bleach the parchment to remove the
ink fairly easily without too much damage to the delicate paper itself, so it
was widely used by beginning scribes, students and those whose ledgers often
required corrections and multiple changes. However, making it was long hot
work.

Normally, Gabrielle tried to grow as many of the ingredients as possible in
her "kitchen garden", however, she had recently received an order for a large
batch of the ink from an important Academy in Athens and didn't have enough.
So, she had planned on a trip out of the village to the nearby woods to
search for more of the little pink flowers which provided the actual color of
the ink. Joxer had taken one look at her stiff back and refused. Instead, he
had concentrated on locating the flowers with his mind and transported them
directly to the large basket Gabrielle held.

With that chore out of the way, she had been able to get directly to the
cooking part of the process. Xena had built her a small shed out behind their
cottage for just this purpose. Gabrielle had thought of it as a gesture of
Xena's love and encouragement and it probably *was*, but Joxer had a niggling
feeling that it also had a lot to do with the fact that the ink didn't smell
very nice while it was being made. The fumes were rather strong, in fact.

Still, it was worth the stink to sit out here with the woman who had been
like a sister to him while she worked. Her body might have taken a sever
beating over the course of the years, but her mind was still as sharp as
ever. Perhaps even more so. Her gait was slow and uneven and she had little
strength due to her injuries, but she could tell stories better than anyone
Joxer had ever met.

She was so good that many of her original scrolls were kept on Olympus
itself. Some in Apollo's Temple and some in Joxer's private sitting room in
the Temple of War. And of course, she had *lots* of her work kept in Bliss
and Eve's Temple. That being the case, it wasn't too hard to understand why
he'd want to forget about his troubles by sitting down out of the way while
she worked and told him stories.

Joxer even managed to laugh for the first time since he'd arrived at their
cottage due to her gentle teasing and story telling. Leaning his head against
the warm smooth wood of the shed's wall, Joxer let the soft honeyed tones of
her voice pull him backwards in time to when Argo, Xena's first horse had run
off into a swamp and both Xena and Gabrielle had been plagued by fungus and
lice while Joxer saved the day with his horrible cooking. It was the first
time that anyone had ever heard of using food poisoning as a weapon of war.

Slowly, as Gabrielle's tale spun on, Joxer began to relax and let his pain
ease a tiny bit.

*

A snarl of frustration hanging in the air, Ares glared around at the timid
and cringing Priests and Priestesses of his Consort. Mercy didn't have many
Temples because he was so new to the Pantheon, however, he had tons of
shrines because he had quickly gained popularity among the mortals.

His first stop in his search for his missing husband had been to the Temple
that had been raised up to him first. That was in Corinth. While not his
largest Temple, it was the one that meant the most to Joxer since it was the
one that had been built by the people who had been his mortal friends. At
Hercules request, Iphicles had dedicated the spot and funded the project and
then the People's Hero and the Warrior Princess had together laid down the
first foundation stone with their own hands. Ten years later, Gabrielle had
her spine shattered defending that exact same Temple when the Romans had
invaded Corinth. Even now, the thought of how badly Caesar had been trounced
had the power to make Ares smile. Most men now feared to anger War when Mercy
turns his back on them.

However, despite the strong emotional attachment that Temple held for Joxer,
he hadn't been there. His servants had been almost comic in their apologies
to the angry War God when they were forced to admit that they didn't know
where he was. Before he left, he instructed the mortals to inform their
Master to contact him as soon as he arrived, or at the very least, contact
one of the children. They agreed to his demands and he left.

The scene had been the same in Thebes and again here in Mycenae. Scrambling
apologetic Priests and Priestesses, but no Joxer. That left checking his
shrines. And Mercy had lots and lots of shrines scattered throughout all of
Greece.

With another snarl, Ares transported himself to his home Temple on Olympus.
To do this, he was going to need help.

"Boys! Get in here! Now!"

A small flex of power to enhance his voice to reach his sons, no matter where
they were, flashed out of him briefly. In a matter of seconds a bright flash
of gold sparkled light announced his eldest child. Cupid materialized with a
petulant pout on his full lips.

"Whaaa-aaat! Daaaad! I'm *working* here."

Before Ares could answer, twin flashes of green appeared at either side of
the Love God. The twins materialized, one with short curly blonde hair and
one with long straight dark hair. The menacing gleam in their eyes were
identical, however. As was their response.

"So... who's the victim?"

Hearing their own words out of each other's mouths, the twins each leaned
forward to glance around their elder brother at each other and giggled. Ares
and Cupid just shared a long look and rolled their eyes.

Just as he was about to speak, another flash of light interrupted him. With a
snarl of frustration, Eris appeared in a flash of red sparkles. The Goddess
of Discord stormed over to him and poked him in the chest with one long
pointed fingernail.

"Damn it Ares! Be *careful* how you word your summons!"

Ares blinked in confusion.

"What are you doing here Discord? I didn't call for you."

She gave him the dark and evil version of Dite's "duh" look.

"No, but you *did* call for the boys, didn't you? And *Strife* answered your
call. You have to think about how you call your sons until he's born or
everytime you do *I'm* gonna show up because Mischief can't come to you
without bringing me along for the ride!"

Ares grinned. He wasn't sure which amused him more. The fact that after less
than a week Strife was strong enough to transport both himself and Eris at
Ares' call or the fact that Eris was now annoyed. Both were kinda nice.
However, Ares knew better than to deliberately provoke Eris. Now was not the
time to send her off on a tantrum that would upset *him*. He didn't want to
blast her while she was carrying his unborn child and if she decided to be a
bitch then he would most definitely be tempted to send her through a
conveniently placed wall.

"Sorry Eris. I honestly didn't think he'd be strong enough to do that yet.
Last time he was born he didn't start up on that until you were in the fifth
month."

Discord glared at him for a long moment but then let it drop. After all, it
*was* an honest mistake and he *did* apologize. She relaxed her stance and
stepped back slightly.

"Well, unless you really do need me, I'm gonna go."

Ares nodded his head. Eris was most *definately* not the person for this job.
Joxer would flip as soon as he saw her and Ares didn't want that.

"No. Go ahead and do whatever you need to do. I'll contact you later and see
how you're doing. I might have a job coming up that you can do, but only if
things are going okay with Strife."

With a nod of her head, Eris disappeared in a sparkling shower of red energy.
The God of Fear grinned at his brothers.

"Mom looks good. All glowy and stuff."

Pain and Love just turned and smirked at their brother. Phobios had a goofy
grin on his face. Ares took in the sight of his boys and sighed. This was so
complicated and it didn't have to be. Everyone just wanted Strife back and
because he had messed up Joxer thought that he was being abandoned.

And it wasn't too hard to understand why. Joxer's mortal homelife hadn't been
a very easy one. The household he grew up in was a harsh and hostile place
and the only affection he'd ever gotten was from his own brothers. However,
each of them had also been caught up in the pain and contention that was
suffocating everyone there as well, so they had only so much to give. In a
very real sense, Joxer hadn't truly come to understand love and friendship
until he met Xena and Gabrielle and because of that Ares would never be able
to fully thank his demigod daughter.

Joxer was used to being shunted aside due to his own background, but it was
Ares' background with both Eris and Dite that allowed Joxer to think that
there could be a real possibility of Ares leaving him. And that's what truly
hurt Ares the most, that Joxer could believe that Ares didn't love him
anymore.

Dite had come to Ares about having Cupid. She loved Ares, but not in an
eternal marriage sort of way. At the time, the one she really loved like that
she didn't think even liked her. Well, that was a moot point now since she
*did* finally get to marry Heph. However, all Dite wanted from the War God
was a child and some fun. Ares didn't see any reason not to. He was
unattached at the time and the idea of a child sparked a lot of warm gushy
feelings inside of him. And he never regretted it for a moment. Cupid was his
heir and he adored the featherhead.

Then came his fling with Eris. Yeah, he loved her, but it was the same way he
loved Dite and *nothing* like the way he loved Joxer. Their time together had
more to do with mutual comfort than anything else. It had been right after
one of Zeus' half-breeds was born, Pericles by name, and Hera was making
trouble for everyone because of it. At that time, her favorite targets were
Ares and Eris. She would try and get them to focus on hurting Pericles while
at the same time Zeus tried to stop them. Both of them had taken several
beatings and punishments over that mortal.

They had ended their dalliance shortly after Pericles died of old age, but by
that time, Strife had been born. There was about a hundred and fifty years
between Cupid and Strife, but only about forty or so years between Strife and
the twins. And they were actually *his* fault.

Strife had been tired of he and Cupid always getting caught in the middle of
the endless fights between Eris and Dite. They just wanted to be brothers,
not enemies. An off the cuff remark by Cupid had planted the seed of a
devious idea in the Mischief God's mind and he took action. Stealing some of
the potion that Cupid dips his arrows in, Strife used it to coat the inside
of two goblets and then he invited them both Dite and Eris over to discuss
something important about Ares. Of course, they both showed up. After he
handed them both a drink, he excused himself to "go get something" and never
returned.

Unaware of what Strife had done, Ares had gone looking for his then youngest
son only to find his sisters having hot sweaty sex on the floor of the Temple
of Mischief. They had both taken one long look at him and then exchanged a
quick glance. Before he knew what was happening they both leaped up and
jumped on top of him. To be honest about it he didn't put up much, or any, of
a fight. Stupid grin firmly in place, he let himself be stripped down naked
and tossed to the floor by the two beautiful Goddesses.

The next morning, the potion wore off and Dite and Eris were both two things.
Pregnant with his sons and convinced that *he* had been the one to spike
their drinks. So, cooperating for the first time in known history, the
Goddess of Love and the Goddess of Discord had combined their powers to
transfer both of the unborn babies into Ares' body. Nine months later the
twins were born. Phobios was Eris' son and Demios was Dite's son.

It wasn't until the twins were three years old that everyone found out about
Strife's mischief making with Cupid's love potions. By that time, Ares didn't
know if he should thank Strife or beat him into an unrecognizable mess on the
floor. While he loved his babies, giving birth to Pain and Fear hadn't been
the easiest task in the world.

And now Mischief would be reborn, Zeus save them all, and it would be perfect
but for one thing. The House of War was without Mercy.

Pulling himself out of his brooding thoughts, Ares signaled his children to
come closer.

"Okay boys. This is the deal. I want you all to help me find Joxer. He's
still shielding himself and he refuses to answer any summons. I've checked
his Temples, but I'm gonna need to divide up all his shrines between the four
of us. If any of you find him, toss a Rainbow Shield around him. That'll keep
him from transporting away, but it won't hurt him. Then call me immediately."

Three heads nodded at him, all joking washed away from their faces. Pulling a
map out of thin air, Ares began to divvy up the countryside for the search
for his missing husband.

TITLE: Without Mercy
AUTHOR: Scorpio
FANDOM: Xena: WP
PAIRING: Ares/Joxer
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: ::giggles:: Sure I do. ::winks:: What? Don'cha believe me?
WARNING: Future Fic.
STORY NOTES: All of 5th Season never happened. Xena and Gabrielle were never crucified by Caesar. Eve was born, but did not bring about the Twilight; instead she was conceived by Gabs on Xena due to a misfired spell of Bliss'. ::grins:: He wanted a friend to play with.
STORY NOTES 2: This is futurefic. About 30 (or so) years after the middle of season 4, which I'm guessing would make Xena between 55 - 60 years old and Gabrielle a little younger.
SUMMARY: Joxer catches Ares in the act. Heartache ensues.

*

It didn't take too long for Gabrielle's ink to cook. Merely an hour or so. After that, the large pot of simmering ink had to cool overnight. Once it had gotten completely cool, it could be poured into the small cork topped jars and bottles that the scribes and accountants used at their desks.

Not wanting his friend to strain her back or to get burnt, Joxer insisted on moving the pot off of the fire and over onto the cooling stand himself. Gabrielle protested that she could do it herself, and Joxer knew that to be true for she *did* do it herself when no one else was around, but he *wanted* to help. If for no other reason than as a way to say thanks for trying to cheer him up a bit.

He set the pot on the cooling stand and fussed with the special lid that went with it to make certain it was on correctly. The lid was an ingenious idea of Apollo's that allowed the ink to cool, but wouldn't let anything to fall into it and contaminate the color or texture. Once everything was in place and tidied up, they walked over to the well to wash up and cool down.

Gabrielle held the dipper in her hand while Joxer turned the crank that would raise up the small wooden bucket full of crisp clean water. At first, the crank didn't want to turn easily. The wood was old and warped from being out in the weather and the rope was frayed and course. A quick shimmy of energy along the entire unit had it working as good as new, however. All it took was a straightening of the wood axle and a smidgen of grease along the moveable parts. That and a smoother stronger newer rope running from axle to bucket. Gabrielle's dim eyesight couldn't make out what he had done, so he didn't get a lecture about fixing things that weren't broke.

Once the bucket was up, Joxer held it out so that Gabrielle could scoop out some water. She took a long sip to cool her throat and then poured the rest over her hands. She scrubbed at them to remove a few stains from where her ink had splashed her and then handed the dipper over to Joxer.

Just as he was about to take a sip of the water himself, a loud voice with worried overtones echoed inside of his head, startling him into dropping the dipper down the well.

~Jox? Jox, it's me. Demi. Please come home. Please? Dad's sorry and freaked and...well, you don't know the whole story. Come on Jox! Where else am I gonna get such a cool step-dad, huh?~

Joxer froze. The words echoing around and around his skull. Pain sizzled through his heart and tears welled up in his eyes again. The boys. They were Ares' children, like Xena was, and he loved them all. He didn't want to hurt them, but he honestly didn't think he could handle seeing them right now. He needed time and space to get his head together before he spoke to anyone from Olympus. Right now the pain of Ares' betrayal was too fresh, too new.

He wasn't sure how his stepson's voice got through his shields, but it must mean that he was close. That would never do. Slowly and carefully, so as to not draw any attention to himself or the area, Joxer trickled more power into his shields, strengthening them and thickening them. He was so caught up in what he was doing that Gabrielle nearly scared a decade off of his immortal life.

"Joxer! Wake up, you're scaring me! What is it? What's wrong?"

Jumping a bit, Joxer turned to stare into the cloudy eyes of his dearest friend and sighed. It was a lost and hopeless sound.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. It's just that Demi is looking for me and I was concentrating on hiding my....um, aura. So he couldn't. Find me, that is."

Gabrielle frowned slightly, obviously thinking hard on what he'd just revealed.

"Demi? You mean Demios, the God of Pain?"

Joxer nodded.

"Yeah."

Gabrielle's frown deepened.

"Why would *he* be looking for you? I don't get it. Did you and him argue about something?"

Joxer shook his head.

"No. We rarely don't get along. He doesn't have too many friends besides his brothers. I mean, Ares and Dite love him and all, but they're his parents. And E..., well, his Aunt and him work together a lot and they get along, but he's so much younger than her that she sees him as a kid. Ya know? Demi and Phob spend lots of time with me. So do Bliss and Eve, to be honest."

Joxer was babbling and he knew it, but it was a nice distraction from the pain in his heart and Gabrielle, bless her, knew that. She smiled up at him encouragingly, always pleased to hear about what her daughter was up too.

"Most of the time the kids just like to talk and joke around. I like that the best, I think. Sometimes Demi and Phob come up with some wild idea or prank, and it's easy for them to talk Bliss and Eve into helping. Bliss likes the 'happy' vibes they give off and Eve just has a wicked sense of humor. I usually end up being the voice of reason and try to keep them from causing *too* much trouble."

Joxer chuckled softly and linked his arm through Gabrielle's as they began the slow walk back up to the cottage so that she could start dinner for when Xena would get home from the Village Council meeting.

"Sometimes they just want to relax and play a game or two. Demi came up with this game he calls Twister and the name *really* fits, cause you could easily twist yourself into knots. He had Eve use the same power that she paints the sunsets with to color in the big circles he drew all over this bedsheet he stole off of his mom's bed. Boy, was Dite *mad*. He also made a special "spinner" to go with it and the whole point of the game is to stick whatever body part the spinner says on the proper color."

Gabrielle giggled softly.

"That sounds like a fun game."

Joxer nodded his head.

"Oh, it is. I'm not too good at it though. I'm not as graceful as the kids. I'm usually in charge of the spinner. I can do *that* real good and no one is allowed to cheat when *I'm* in charge."

*

Cupid stood next to his step-dad's shrine outside the village of Winold and frowned in thought. He stretched his powers out in a circle around him, but he didn't sense Mercy at all. The closest he came was an old man in a small house near the center of the village who had erected the shrine and tended it regularly.

He could pick out of the old man's thoughts *how* he had come to know his stepfather. The man's small grandson had been treed by a wild hunting cat and the old man had prayed to the Gods for "mercy". Joxer had, of course, shown up. Seeing the situation, Joxer had shooed the cat away and rescued the small child from the treetop. The man had begun construction on Joxer's shrine the next day. Unfortunately, the man didn't know where the God of Mercy was now.

Cupid was just about to leave and search at the next shrine on his list when a power flux shimmered in the air. Lavender sparkles erupted in a bright burst of light and then his beloved wife stepped out of it to stand next to him.

"*There* you are. I've been looking all over for you."

Psyche glanced around in confusion.

"Um, what *are* you doing here, anyway?"

Cupid sighed sadly even as he reached out with one hand to brush a stray blonde curl out of her eyes. He let the silky lock slip between his fingers for a long moment and then tucked it gently behind her ear.

"I'm helping Dad find Joxer."

His wife frowned, her soft full bottom lip sticking out adorably.

"Joxer's missing?"

Cupid nodded his head and glanced around quickly to make sure that no mortal's were close enough to overhear.

"Yeah. It seems that Dad never told him about Strife being reborn before he went off with Aunt Eris. Then, to make matters worse, Joxer walked in on them when they were, well...naked and in bed."

Psyche cringed and winced in sympathy for Joxer. Cupid nodded in complete understanding.

"I don't blame him for taking off, Cupe. That would be hard enough seeing even if he *did* know the why of it. But...why didn't Ares *tell* him? I don't get it."

Cupid shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know either. My only guess is that Dad was so excited about Strife being reborn that the details just evaporated out of his head. I know that *I'm* totally thrilled about it."

Psyche gave him an odd look, one that Cupid wasn't too sure about what it might mean. He loved his wife dearly, but she had been sort of...strange about Strife coming back from Uncle Hades' realm. Most of the Gods were either happy about his return, or they were bracing themselves for impact...so to speak.

"I noticed. Then again, so did most of Thebes. Want to explain that? I mean, I *know* he's your brother and that you two were also like, best friends, but...um, wasn't that reaction, I don't know...excessive?"

Suddenly, Cupid understood her odd expression. Uncertainty, mild jealousy, curiosity and maybe just a touch of happiness. He could understand. Once Strife had been old enough to walk the two of them had been practically inseparable. Best of friends, brothers, and often times, coworkers. Unless they were working at odds to each other.

They had even almost become lovers, but after watching their Dad carry and then give birth to the twins, Strife's ardor had cooled off. The Mischief God had refused to admit it, but he had been afraid of getting pregnant and didn't want to take a male lover because of it.

Now Psyche was worried about the "competition" Strife would present for Cupid's attention and affection even as she was glad that he was coming back. It must have been an awkward situation for her. Cupid smiled softly at his wife and flung a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

"It's more than that really. Yeah, he's my brother and he *is* my best friend. True. But he's *also* my opposite. Of *course* I want him back. Even if he *wasn't* my brother or friend, I'd want my opposite around."

Psyche's nose crinkled up in confusion.

"Your *opposite*?"

Cupid chuckled and tapped her nose gently with one finger.

"Yeah. My opposite. See, every God has an opposite. They control the forces and spheres of influence that is diametrically opposed to yours. Often, you work against each other, but on those rare occasions when you have to combine powers with your opposite, it's *such* a major rush. You end up strengthening each other amazingly."

His wife slowly nodded her head as she absorbed all of this, then turned a mildly confused look up at him.

"How is Love and Mischief opposites?"

Cupid grinned down at her.

"They aren't. Love and War are opposites. Mom and Dad fill those roles and are each other's opposites. That explains why they can wind up on each other's last nerve so well and so fast. It also explains why they are the first to defend each other from the rest of the family. But I'm not *really* Love, you know that. That's just what the mortals call me because most of the work I do is for Mom. Also my most *famous* jobs were done for her. You've *seen* my official Scroll of Duties and Responsibilities as well as the Certificate of Godhood from Zeus. I'm the God of Passion."

Psyche nodded her head and gestured for him to go on.

"I am in charge of passion. *All* passion, not just passion for a lover. Passion for a hobby, a job, a cause, a belief. Anything really. I've done jobs for just about every God and Goddess on Olympus. That's why I carry such a wide variety of arrows."

He reached into the ever-present quiver on his back and pulled out a handful of arrows. He pointed to the fletching.

"See the colors and patterns? Each one stands for something different."

Cupid pointed to one with white fletching with pink and gold bands along it.

"These are the most famous of my arrows. The ones that earned me the misnomer of "The Love God" because they have been dipped in one of my Mom's love potions. Fast acting and slow to wear off. This is the arrow that gave me my reputation, but it's by far the only ones I carry."

He pointed to another arrow with black fletching with silver banding.

"These babies are dipped in Aunt Eris' "Special #8". One of these will make a mortal fall into a towering fit of rage over whatever happens to be on his mind at the time."

Psyche shuddered at the very thought. Cupid pointed to another one. This one was green and blue.

"Wanderlust. This one gives the victim an uncontrollable urge to travel. To learn and explore."

Cupid shrugged and tucked his arrows away and wrapped his arm around his wife again.

"I carry 21 arrows in my quiver. Each one has it's own special spell on it. Each one is different and has different effects. The thing is, whatever I make a person feel, no matter *what* the subject or the emotion, it's *passionate*. The mortal is totally *devoted* and practically *obsessed* with it. *That's* my job. Strife *is* my opposite."

Psyche pulled in closer to Cupid and looked up at him.

"How? I mean, I never got to know him real well before he...died. I always just thought he played pranks on people. Usually nasty ones."

Cupid chuckled and nodded.

"He did do that. Strife was the God of Mishap and Mischief. Playing pranks on people was a part of his job, but only a part. Sometimes it was fun and *for* fun, but most of time, the things that he did had a *purpose*. He gave people obstacles to overcome. Things to triumph over. And sometimes, he had to actually break a person's spirit."

Psyche was staring at him blankly. He could tell she didn't get it.

"Strife often piled petty things on people in an effort to distract them, annoy them and make them work all the harder. I understood that, but it often pulled them off the track that I set them too, so it was frustrating at times. But when we worked *together*? It was amazing what we could accomplish."

Psyche looked up at him, her eyes suddenly wise.

"It doesn't matter if I don't understand, you know? You miss him. That's all I need to know."

He hugged her tighter to him in gratitude even as he wondered how long her magnanimous feelings would last after Strife was reborn.

"Come on. I'll help you search for Joxer."

Cupid grinned and nuzzled into her soft sweet scented hair briefly.

"Thanks. I'd like that."

*

Eris lounged back on her bed in her Temple and frowned in indecision. She was unsure what to do about Joxer and his disappearing act.

On the one hand, she *really* liked him. He had accepted her for who and what she was right from the outset and he treated her with the respect that her own family often denied her. Not only that, he made Ares happy in a way that no one ever had before and she honestly believed that her twin deserved that level of happiness and security. She didn't want to see Joxer hurt and angry as it was, and the fact that he was upset because of her was even worse.

On the other hand, the chaos and discordant energy being generated by this whole misunderstanding was flooding her power reserves at a time when she desperately needed it. Strife was growing by leaps and bounds inside of her and he was strong and healthy. Granted, this time around he was being born with the knowledge and memories of an adult God, but his body was that of an unborn child. And that unborn child needed every advantage he could get.

Torn between two conflicting needs, Eris finally decided that she would do nothing. Nothing to *fix* the problem since it was feeding her energy. At least, until Strife was born. If Joxer was still pissed by then, she would go and talk to him. However, she would also do nothing to stop *Ares* from fixing it. As much as she was enjoying the power boost, she owed it to both her twin and her friend to let them solve this if they could.

Feeling slightly better for coming up with a sort of plan, even if it was a *non* plan, she slipped into a restful sleep filled with dreams of beautiful dark haired babies.

TITLE: Without Mercy
AUTHOR: Scorpio
ARCHIVE: If you have the first three parts, feel free to take this one.
PREVIOUS PARTS: You can find the first three parts at the site that Sentinel Cat hosts for me at: http://members.tripod.com/sentinel-cat/Scorpio/ or you can find it at the AJCS Archive at: http://www.geocities.com/ajcsslashfic/index.html
FANDOM: Xena: WP
PAIRING: Ares/Joxer
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: ::giggles:: Sure I do. ::winks:: What? Don'cha believe me?
WARNING: Future Fic.
STORY NOTES: All of 5th Season never happened. Xena and Gabrielle were never crucified by Caesar. Eve was born, but did not bring about the Twilight; instead she was conceived by Gabs on Xena due to a misfired spell of Bliss'. ::grins:: He wanted a friend to play with.
STORY NOTES 2: This is futurefic. About 30 (or so) years after the middle of season 4, which I'm guessing would make Xena between 55 - 60 years old and Gabrielle a little younger.
SUMMARY: Joxer catches Ares in the act. Heartache ensues.

*

Xena removed her wrap from around her shoulders and carefully hung it on the stand that she had built for it. The wrap was made of heavy blue velvet and was decorated with gold fringe and gold silk designs that marked her status as the chief advisor to the village headman. It was, admittedly, a touch on the gaudy side, however it had the added benefit of keeping her shoulders warm in the drafty town meeting hall. Unfortunately, it wrinkled easily.

Her dress, on the other hand, was at the point of needing to be washed so when she took that off, she merely tossed it into the small woven basket all ready filled with fabric. A soft pain filled groan pulled her attention away from her plans to conquer the dirty laundry in the morning and she turned to watch as Gabrielle fought with her own pale linen dress. A slight frown teased her lips as she walked the short distance over to her lover. Reaching out, she caught two handfuls of fabric. Her own limbs moving more easily than Gabrielle's, Xena was able to pull the dress up and over the graying head of her lover.

The aches and stiffness weren't always this bad, Xena knew that, but stress and physical activity added to her pain. The past couple days had been hard ones for Gabrielle. She was worried about Joxer as she slowly tried to help heal his broken heart. That was on top of her normal duties and she also had been working almost nonstop to complete an extra large order for her ink. It was little surprise that the old injuries were causing her such difficulty.

Finally getting the last piece of clothing off of her lover, Xena made a decision. Grabbing up two soft blankets from the bed, she wrapped one around Gabrielle and one around herself. Her lover looked up at her in confusion, but Xena just smiled and pressed one finger against her lips before she could speak. Then she called out in a soft voice.

"Joxer? Could you come in here for a moment?"

The bedroom door creaked open and the God of Mercy poked his head inside. The golden light from the fire in the kitchen made him appear to be lined with a soft warm glow. He crooked an eyebrow up at them.

"Yes, Xena?"

She smiled at him a made a vague gesture to the open space in the middle of the room between the bed and the vanity that stood along the wall.

"Could you possibly make a tub of hot water in here? Gabrielle's back is really bothering her and soaking in hot water helps. Normally I'd just heat up the water over the fire, but that takes almost an hour to do."

Joxer smiled a soft smile and nodded his head.

"Of course. You should have said something sooner though Gabby. I could have helped."

Gabrielle opened her mouth to say something, but before she could utter a word Joxer waved his hand and a wash of sparkling energy sizzled across the entire room transforming everything it touched. The vanity and the bed disappeared. It took the woven basket of dirty clothes and the stand holding Xena's wrap with it. In it's place was left a smooth marble floor and ceramic tiles along the walls. In the middle of the floor was a large sunken tub with carved steps that led down into it. It was filled with gently scented steaming water that bubbled merrily. The rim of the tub was lined with bottles, jars and baskets of soaps. Against the far wall, a carved marble stand held a mountain of folded clean fluffy towels and white candles stood in golden holders all around the room casting a soft glow over everything.

Gabrielle's mouth clicked shut on a squeak and Xena's dropped down open. This went far beyond her idea of a large wooden tub full of hot water. Joxer either didn't notice or he ignored their stunned amazement. He merely smiled at them and gestured to the tub.

"Just let me know when you two are done soaking and I'll change it back to your bedroom. I'm going to be in the other room. I'm only halfway done that scroll you wrote about the time the village leaders got together with the other village across the river and they decided to hold a festival to honor 'Dite. I'm almost to the part where the twins showed up with a barrel of wine that they stole from Dionysos as a gift for her."

The reminder of that festival that had started out so friendly and cheerful and ended up as a drunken orgy with various fistfights sprinkled here and there was enough to yank both women out of their shock. Joxer flashed them one last innocent grin and then ducked back out of the door, shutting it firmly behind him.

The two women shared a look and smiled at each other. Dropping their blankets to the floor, they both walked forward and down the steps into the gently bubbling hot water. It was unlike anything they had ever felt before. The water fizzed against their skin and the heat soaked into them to the bone.

"Oh, Xena. This is absolutely lovely. I could stay in here until I turned into soup."

Xena chuckled at her lover's comment even as her analytical mind tried to figure out where all the bubbles were coming from.

"I don't think we should stay in *that* long. We have a busy day tomorrow and we'll need to get *some* sleep."

Gabrielle was busy investigating the various bottles and jars. She would open up each one and sniff at it. Some she would stopper back up with a grimace, other's she would pour some of the contents out into her hand and then rub along her body at various places. Xena, on the other hand, was running her feet along the bottom of the tub. She had found several small holes that had jets of water and air flowing out of them. That's where those mysterious bubbles were coming from. But if the tub was continuously being filled, why didn't it over fill and spill out onto the floor? Gabrielle's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Xena? I'm still worried about Joxer. I mean, not because he's been filling his time reading my scrolls or asking for stories. It's more that he only wants to hear or read ones that doesn't mention Ares at all. Okay, I'll admit that my earlier scrolls don't show him in a very good light. But the latter one's do. Sort of. I mean, Ares and I will never see eye to eye on issues of violence, but whenever I did see positive things in him I made sure to point them out. Like how he defends Greece from Rome and from the Persians. Or how he's so into being a father and a grandfather. These are the things that Joxer loves most about Ares and he's just... refusing to have anything to do with the stories that remind him of that."

Xena sighed and moved through the water until she was behind Gabrielle. Scooping up a double handful of water, she raised them to her lover's shoulder and then let the water spill over the tight and pained flesh. Reaching out for a carved bar soap, she began to gently clean Gabrielle's back.

"I know. I didn't want to say anything because I thought that maybe he had opened up more during the day when I was out with the village leaders."

Sighing, Xena shifted her attention to Gabrielle's other shoulder.

"I'm just so angry with Ares for hurting him. Part of me wants to call him on the floor for a good yelling session. Maybe get in some practice with my chakram by bouncing it off of his head."

Gabrielle giggled at that thought.

"Can you picture the look on his face if you did? Bounce your chakram off of his forehead, I mean?"

Xena chuckled softly at the mental image of Ares trying to decide between outrage at being attacked and pride in a well placed shot by his daughter. Then her thoughts shifted back to the hurting young God in her main sitting room and the smile slid off of her face to be replaced by a tight frown.

"Well, it won't happen. At least, not while Joxer is staying with us. As much as I'd love to tell Ares what I am thinking, I'm not going to call him here unless Joxer is either gone or wants to see him. He's been hurt enough as it is, I don't want to add to that hurt by making him confront Ares until he's ready."

Gabrielle nodded and sighed.

"Yeah. I understand what you mean. I was almost tempted to see if I could call for Cupid. I thought that maybe he could help Joxer to feel better and start to, I don't know, heal? But then I realized that Cupid might tell his father where Joxer is and then Ares would show up. So, I didn't do anything."

Wrapping her arms around Gabrielle, Xena pulled her in tightly against her chest and sighed. There were so many different things that they could do to try and fix this mess, but what would be the correct one? The one that would cause the lest amount of pain to their oldest and closest friend. Somehow, just being there and supporting him didn't seem enough, but what would?

*

Phobios blinked into existence in a shower of red sparkles and a flash of bright light that lit up the evening darkness. Glancing around, the God of Fear and Terror noticed that he was only a short distance away from a small village nestled in a shallow valley. The hillside that he stood on was covered in vineyards and olive groves. Turning around to look behind him, he saw the small outdoor shrine. It was a simple low stone alter with shallow carvings along it's edges and an ardor with flowering vines was situated over it to provide a bit of cover and shelter from the elements. Flowers, polished stones and fruit sat on top of it.

Grinning, Phobios reached out and picked up a fresh bunch of grapes off of his stepfather's shrine and popped one of the ripe green globes into his mouth. Looking around again, he didn't see any signs of the God of Mercy, however, he did recognize the area. He was close to his Uncle's farmstead. A bit of naughtiness rushing through his mind, he grinned a grin that would have frightened any innocent bystanders into losing their water if they had seen it. Giggling to himself, Phobios set off down the well worn path that led him higher up the side of the hill towards the mountain proper.

He could tell as soon as he reached his Uncle's property. It wasn't anything obvious like a huge sign announcing the home of the People's Hero or anything like that. It was little things, details that most people would miss. Like the way that he tied off his vines in the grape vineyards. It was a technique developed by Dionysos himself. While this technique was common in the areas of Greece where the Wine God was celebrated widely, it wasn't something you found in the more mountainous regions very often.

As he made his way closer to the property, there were other signs of an Olympian education. The animal pens bore the influences of both Pan and Artemis. Off to the side there was a rather large "kitchen" garden where his Uncle grew herbs, vegetables and beyond that was a small orchard of fruit trees. Both the garden and the orchard showed signs of Demeter and her daughter Persephone. Farther up the mountain side beyond the orchard was a small forge and it practically shouted that it had been designed by Hephestus. The God of Fire and the Forge might as well have signed his name to it, since it was obvious that he had had a hand in building it.

But while these things were interesting to note in passing, Phobios was here for a reason. A serious one in fact. That didn't stop him from wanting to enjoy himself first, however. Masking his presence from the animals so that they didn't give any warning, he tiptoed passed the open gate and into the small yard surrounding the main house. Making his way carefully, Phobios soon found himself peering into a cheery fire lit room from a window with it's shutters open to the cool night breezes.

The furniture was all handmade, hewn from wood grown in the forests on the far side of the mountain. Some of the pillows, blankets and woven wall hangings were old and well cared for as if his Uncle and his Uncle's companion might have inherited them from others and Phobios had a brief thought of Alcmene. Other things around the room were obviously of godly make and were most likely gifted to his Uncle by various relatives at one time or another. He knew that if he concentrated that he would be able to tell exactly who made what, but he figured that it was safe to assume that most of the godly creations were made by his stepfather, his Aunt 'Dite, his nephew Bliss or Bliss' wife Eve.

The God of Fear wasn't going to waste his time with that, however, as he was too busy watching the aging hunter as he worked with the slow patient movements of the elderly at his task. At first Phobios wasn't sure what it was Iolaus was doing, but then his Uncle's voice called out that dinner was almost ready and he lifted his gray head out of the way and Phobios could see the fishing lure that the hunter was working on.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect if he had set it up on purpose himself. His Uncle was in the other room, so there wouldn't be any painful punches before he could explain it was a joke and Iolaus was suitably distracted by both his task and his stomach. Phobios grinned an evil grin.

Gathering his power to him, he disappeared from the courtyard and flashed silently and invisibly into the main sitting room of his Uncle's home. Biting back the urge to giggle, he tiptoed over until he was directly behind the old man and then leaned over so that his face was right next to Iolaus' ear.

"BOO!"

Iolaus leapt out of his chair like a cat that had been kicked, his arms flailing about in the air.

"Aarrgghhhh!!!!"

Iolaus spun about, clutching his chest and his eyes wild even as Hercules dashed out of the kitchen, his wooden spoon held out like a weapon. Dissolving into a fit of giggles, Phobios slowly faded into view.

"Oh wow! What a rush!"

Iolaus got his pounding heart back under control and Hercules lowered his spoon, his face forming a huge scowl of displeasure. Phobios didn't really care though, he had gotten a lovely boost of power from the hunter's shock and it tingled along his nerves like a lover's caress. He looked up at his Uncle with a mildly insane gleam to his dark eyes and a wide happy smile.

"Phobios!"

The God of Fear shrugged unrepentantly up at his Uncle as he slowly got his giggles back under control.

"I know I promised to be good, but I couldn't resist. Do you know how hard it is to catch him without his guard up? The power rushes I get from Iolaus are too precious to pass up when I get the chance."

His Uncle didn't ease up on the frown and Iolaus started scowling at him as well. Then one liver spotted hand curled up and he found a finger being shaken under his nose.

"You about scared a year off of my life! Don't *do* that."

Phobios scoffed at the hunter and waved off his concern with a huff that spoke eloquently of mild insult.

"Puh-leese! I am the *very* best at scaring people and I *know* my job. And while I admit that I *can* scare years off of mortal's lives I wouldn't do that to *you*. I'm *hurt*."

Then he pouted at his Uncle's best friend. It was the pout that he'd learned from Eve. No one could pout like that girl. Phobios knew that he favored his mother greatly, so much so, that he often appeared to be delicate and fragile. And just as it was with Eris, his seemly fragility was an illusion. However, his pouty full lips and big dark eyes only emphasized this misconception and made him look like a young child that was equally pissed and pathetic. It worked as planned. Iolaus rolled his eyes, threw his hands into the air and turned around to reclaim his chair while his Uncle Hercules merely brought one large calloused hand up to palm his face and sigh.

"What do you want, Phobios?"

Suddenly reminded of his real task, Phobios' fake pout melted into a very real frown of concern. Walking around his Uncle, he flopped down gracefully into another chair and sighed before waving Hercules to sit as well. That was out of character enough for him that his Uncle merely raised up one eyebrow in question and then sat down.

"Well?"

Phobios shrugged and figured that he should just dive into the mess head first. His Uncle might be a bit of a stick in the mud, but he was close to his stepfather and he had years of experience in fixing problems. Maybe he would have an idea of what to do.

"See, it's like this. Uncle Hades finally agreed that Strife had served his time and finished his punishment. So he's been paroled from the Underworld."

His story was cut off by Iolaus.

"Good for him."

Both Hercules and Phobios looked at him in mild surprise. He and the former God of Mischief hadn't exactly gotten along and it was a little odd to hear him express happiness at his return. Iolaus just shrugged and looked mildly sheepish.

"Hey, nothing against Hades or Persephone, they're both good people and I like them, but being dead ain't no great shakes, ya know? And *I* went to the Ellysian Fields. Maybe it's time for Strife to have a second chance."

Hercules frowned at the reference to Iolaus' trip to the other side, but he didn't argue with him, instead he turned back to face his nephew.

"So... Strife is coming back? When?"

Phobios shrugged and waved his one hand around in a vague gesture that could mean nothing or everything.

"He's already on his way. See, he's been gone for so long that he needed to be reborn and not just popped back into his body like Iolaus was. His old body is... well, it's gone, ya know? So, that meant that Mom and Dad had to... well, they had to do what they did the *first* time he was born."

Phobios watched the two heroes blink at him in incomprehension and he rolled his eyes.

"They had to have *sex* so that Mom could get knocked up! Sheesh!"

Understanding flooded their eyes and Iolaus blushed, but Hercules just nodded his head.

"I guess that makes sense. So, when is your brother due to be born?"

Phobios grinned.

"Last time he was born he went the whole nine month gestation period, but Mom thinks that it'll be faster now since it's not an accident this time. Hera blessed the conception to ensure that Strife'd make it back."

Iolaus sat back and a thoughtful look crossed over his face.

"Ares and Eris aren't my favorite Gods, but I think I'll make a gift or something for them to celebrate. Being one of the few people that Hades let out of his realm, I know just how exciting that can be."

Hercules screwed up his face in silent thought for a moment and then nodded his head.

"Just no weapons."

Iolaus glanced at his friend and nodded in agreement while Phobios merely rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything though because he knew that he Mom, Dad and Uncle Hephestus would supply his brother with more than enough weapons to arm a small nation.

"Anyway, what I wanted to tell ya was that Dad messed up. He didn't tell Jox what was going on and then Jox sort of found him and Mom together and now Jox is all pissed off. Far as we can tell, Jox don't know about Strife's parole from Tartarus. He thinks Mom and Dad are back together or something."

"What?!"

His Uncle's outraged voice rang in the rafters and Phobios just nodded his head sadly.

"Yeah. Pretty gross idea, huh? Mom and Dad getting back together, I mean?"

Phobios shuddered at the thought of his Mom doing the whole mushy lovey-dovey thing. And while it had taken him a while to get passed the concept of his Dad in a committed relationship, he *liked* Jox and couldn't imagine War with anyone *except* Mercy. They just were plain old fashioned good for each other.

"So, that's the reason I'm here, ya know? Jox got upset and just disappeared. No one can find him to explain what's really going on and Dad is about ready to freak out."

He gave his Uncle a pointed look.

"You've seen Dad in freak-out mode before and you know as well as I do that it ain't pretty. We gotta find Jox and make him sit down so that Dad can explain. Aunt 'Dite thinks that once he knows the truth that he'll forgive Dad and everything will be fine, but no one knows where he is. I was sort of hoping that he was here."

Phobios watched as his Uncle and the old hunter exchanged worried glances. He knew that they had both been close friends to his stepfather before he had married Ares and ascended to Olympus. They had stayed close friends even after Jox had been given his godhood and they had even helped to build Jox's first temple and several of his shrines. Hopefully, they would have some insight into what they should do.

Oddly enough, it was Iolaus who spoke.

"That's not really like Joxer. He's a very forgiving person and he tends to think of other's before himself. This must have hurt him a lot for him to go off and lick his wounds. When Joxer's feelings have been hurt, he tends to fall back on old patterns."

Hercules nodded his head in agreement for a moment before snapping his fingers and pointing at Phobios.

"I remember once he told me that when he was a kid, him and his brothers used to try and cheer each other up when their father was in a bad mood and was dealing out punishments. I know that Jett died in prison a while ago, but he might have went to visit him in Tartarus. Although if he did that, he'd probably have heard about Strife and gone home to work it out with Ares. You might want to check out his other brother though. Jace. I think he's living in Delphi teaching music to young children."

Phobios sat up straighter at that idea. He hadn't even considered visiting his stepfather's brothers, but it was possible that Jox went there to visit with Jace and the kids to take his mind off of his own pain. He flashed a bright and happy, if slightly demented, grin at his Uncle and his Uncle's friend.

"Good idea! I'll go and check it out. Thanks!"

With that, Phobios disappeared in a flash of bright light and a shower of red energy sparkles.

*

Deep in the Halls of War a lonely God rolled over in his huge silk draped bed and felt a spike of agony pierce through his heart at how empty and cold it seemed. Closing his dark eyes against the sight of an unused and untouched pillow, he ignored the single tear that traced a path along his bearded cheek.

"...I'm so sorry Baby. Just... come home to me..."

Part 5

For the past several days, Bliss' godhood had been going a little bit nuts. As the God of Joy and Happiness, he could feel that emotion in mortals clearly. When a God or Goddess was filled with joy the backwash of power was strong enough to make his entire body resonate like the after-shimmers in a bell that had just been struck. The news of Strife's impending rebirth, however, set up such a clamor of delirious happiness in his father, his grandfather and his uncles that it left Bliss slaphappy and punch-drunk. He had giggled and swayed his way through most of two days on that high.

Now, however, there was a strong undercurrent of sadness that he could feel as a *lack* of joy running through those same people. At first it was centered around his grandfather, but it was spreading throughout the rest of his family. Granted, it had taken him a little while to figure it out since he had been wandering around feeling as if he had fallen head first into his great-uncle Dionysos' wine barrels. Now he felt what he imagined a hangover would feel like; sort of sick and achy with swirls of nausea that came and went.

Bliss didn't enjoy that feeling one bit and had been on the very verge of going to see Asclepius about it when he had finally realized what it was that was making him feel so off center. It was a lack of happiness from a quarter that had been almost overwhelmed with joy just days before. There were a lot of different logical explanations for this that occurred to Bliss; a war gone wrong, the loss of a highly regarded mortal, another round of fighting between Zeus and Hera that was once more threatening to drag the House of War into it. Yes, there were a lot of things that could upset his grandfather, but there was one other possibility and it terrified Bliss. What if there was a problem with Strife being reborn? What if great-aunt Eris lost the baby?

With that thought zinging around his skull sickeningly, Bliss immediately transported to his father's Temple. If anyone would know, it would be his dad. After all, Strife *was* his opposite. Suddenly, he appeared in the Temple of Passion in a shower of yellow-orange glitter and a cascade of wildflowers.

"Dad?"

Bliss glanced around at the familiar red and gold decor.

"Yo, Dad? You home?"

A blonde head popped out from around a corner, the long silky curls shimmering like gold in the candlelight.

"Bliss? Is that you, honey?"

Bliss smiled and walked over to Psyche. Leaning forward and down, he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Hey, Mom. I was looking for Dad. He here?"

Psyche shook her head and waved him to follow her down the hall and back into the kitchen. It was a bit of an irregularity to his parents temple. Very few Gods or Goddesses even *had* kitchens since they could create any food they wanted with their powers. His mom liked to cook, however. Bliss figured it was something that she had learned to enjoy when she was a mortal. His own wife Eve was the same way. Gently, Psyche shooed him into the chair that had been his when he was still a child and she served up a hot slice of homemade pie. It was, as always, delicious.

"Sorry, honey. Your father's not here. He's been helping your grandfather with some project and is awfully busy."

He shoved another bite into his mouth and nodded. Chewing as fast as he could, he swallowed and gave her a long look. Maybe she knew? She wasn't in on a lot of the gossip groups since some of the other Houses didn't approve of the way the House of Love and the House of War elevated mortals to Godhood for the purpose of marriage. Both Eve and Joxer often had the same problems with being ostracized that his mother had long since learned to live with. On the other hand, she *did* talk to his grandmother a lot and his dad told her everything.

"Um...Mom? Is there a problem with Strife? Being reborn, I mean?"

Psyche got an odd look on her face and her hands, which were almost always busy with some mundane task, became very still.

"Why do you ask, honey?"

Bliss shrugged and then sighed.

"It's just that for a while I was getting this huge rush of power from Grandpa. He was so happy about Strife it was making me dizzy, ya know? Then all of the sudden, *bam* he's not happy anymore. I'm sort of worried that it might be because Aunt Eris lost the baby."

Instantly, Psyche's face crumbled into lines of compassion and soothing sympathy even as she turned and raced across the kitchen to throw both of her arms around Bliss. She pulled him into a tight hug and pressed the side of his head against her breast the same way she had done when he had been a child and needed to be held after a bad dream.

"Oh, honey, no! No! Discord is *fine*! Strife is *fine*! Eris did *not* lose the baby and her pregnancy is going perfectly. So please stop worrying about that. She's okay."

If he hadn't been hit with such a huge wave of relief, Bliss might have been a tiny bit offended over his mother's coddling of him. As it was, he swayed slightly as the truth of her words hit him. Strife was healthy and his aunt Eris wasn't having any problems with her pregnancy. That was good. Better than good, that was great.

But that didn't explain why his grandfather was filled with non-joyful emotions.

"I'm glad, Mom. I had been worried about it. Still, if her pregnancy is going good, why is Grandpa so sad?"

His mom let go and walked back over to the kitchen counter and began fussing with stuff and making motions of cleaning and straightening things up. Her smile was just a touch too wide and forced even as her eyes were wary and shielded. Instantly, Bliss was on guard. His mother might be very intelligent, but she wasn't very shrewd and she couldn't lie to save her own life.

"Oh, it's nothing really. No need for you to worry, honey. Just some little problem is all. Ares can take care of it and your uncles are all helping."

Psyche offered him up a wobbly smile and Bliss knew immediately that she wasn't going to tell him anything. He recognized that expression on her face from when he was just a little boy who was curious or worried about what was going on with the adults. It made him fume just a little to realize that she still saw him as a child to be protected from the truth. Okay, he wasn't as old as most of the other Gods, but then again, neither was she. He was an adult. He was married for Zeus' sake, but Psyche still thought of him as her little cherub and she probably always would. It didn't help matters any that most of his family felt the same way. Of course, *they* tended to treat all Gods and Goddesses that way until they were at least a hundred years old, but still, it rankled.

Forcing a smile on his own face, Bliss quickly finished his slice of pie and carried the plate and fork over to his mother. He had to figure out a way to find out the truth and he knew now that it wouldn't be from Psyche.

"Thanks, Mom. Both for the pie and for telling me about Aunt Eris. I was really worried about her and I'll sleep better knowing that Strife is okay."

She beamed at him.

"You're welcome, baby. I love you."

He leaned down and pressed another kiss into her cheek.

"I love you too, Mom."

And then he disappeared in a shower of sparkles and flower petals. When he reappeared, Bliss was in his grandfather's fortress of a temple. He had planned to go to Ares and offer up his own help with whatever project it was they were working on. Unfortunately, it seemed that the War God wasn't here. He was just about to leave again when he heard his uncles' voices echoing down the hall. Bliss almost called out to them, but at the last moment, what they were saying hit him and he stayed silent and listened in.

"So, after I finally got Iolaus and Uncle Jerk to listen, I told them that Jox pulled a runner and left Pops."

Phobos' voice was distorted by the echoes, but it was not hard to identify him. Then Demios spoke.

"I bet they were happy about that. They might like Jox, but they've never been too happy about him being with Pops."

"Naw, they're more worried about Jox than anything else. They weren't even upset about Strife coming back. I think they both realized a long time ago that he wouldn't stay dead forever and it was just a matter of time until he served his sentencing and then was released from his punishment."

Stunned and confused, Bliss stepped back into the shadows in the hopes that his uncles didn't see him and stop talking. While they were most likely to share things with him that his parents wouldn't wish him to know, all in the name of "educating" him of course, they wouldn't tell him anything that was deemed a secret of the House of War. That was treason and neither Pain nor Fear would cross the War God for anything or anyone. So, Bliss figured that it was best to just "accidentally overhear it" instead of stepping forward and asking questions. Just in case....

"Anyway, when I asked them if they knew where Jox was, Iolaus came up with a good idea of where to look. He said that Jox tends to fall back on old patterns when he's upset. He suggested that we check with his mortal brothers since they were his main supporters when he was a child growing up."

There was a pause and then Demios' voice echoed down the hall.

"That's a good idea. I mean, when I'm pissed off I go to you, so why wouldn't Jox do the same by going to his own brothers?"

"Same here. Still, Jox is a bit strange and all. So, I think that if his brother's haven't seen them that we should ask them where *they* think he might go."

Another pause and then...

"Fine. But you visit Jace and I'll take Jett. Jace gives me the willies."

Phobos' laughter rang out for a moment before he calmed enough to continue.

"Deal. I'll visit Uncle Jace. Still, make *sure* you explain to Jett that Pops *isn't* cheating on Jox. It was a one time deal to get Strife back. If Jett thinks that Jox is being dissed than you could torture him until the cows come home and he wouldn't say a word."

"Yeah, okay. I'll tell him everything, Pho. Don't worry."

"Good. If you find out anything, let me know right away. I'll do the same if I find out anything from Jace."

"Deal."

And then Bliss felt the swirling rush of power and the sudden displacement of air as his uncles translocated themselves out of his grandfather's temple. He didn't bother trying to follow either of them. Instead, he just stood there in his shadowy nook and stared blankly into space, stunned.

Jox was gone? Missing? He thought that grandpa was cheating on him? With *Eris*?

Why, the very idea was outrageous. Preposterous. Idiotic. Absurd. Bliss sighed. It was also the type of thing that Jox would so totally believe. He and Eve spent a lot of their socializing time with Jox and his uncles and as a consequence, he knew Jox very very well. Knowing Joxer as he did, he knew that the man had a startling low self esteem, despite what he would have others think. Bliss was well aware of the fact that Jox had been amazed that Ares could love him and was constantly confused as to why the War God, who could have almost anyone, would chose him. Bliss knew why and so did everyone else. But Joxer himself couldn't see that the very fact that he loved Ares because he was "Ares" and not because he wanted power or fame or wealth was the real reason that Ares loved Jox back so fiercely. And if Jox honestly thought that Ares was cheating than it made a lot of sense that he would up and disappear.

The problem was; to where. There was something wrong about the idea of Jox going to visit his brothers, but Bliss couldn't put his finger on why. It *sounded* good, but it wasn't right. He knew that, but the reasoning behind this intuition was lost on him. With a sigh, Bliss figured that it was time to go tell Eve what was going on. It wasn't that she was smarter than him, it was more that she understood Joxer better than anyone here...even Ares. Jox saw himself as her uncle and had even helped her mothers to raise her and now that they were both on Olympus, Jox was her closest friend and confidant.

A plan firmly in place, Bliss went searching for his wife.

tbc...