Iolaus lay on the ground the trees above him dancing round his head, the blue sky suddenly filled with bright sparkling stars. The pain didn't come yet, it was slow to arrive in his surprised mind. He remembered walking along the path through the woods on his way to meet Hercules at their campsite. He had decided to try his luck at hunting. Whatever Hercules said about the lack of game the hunter was sick of the never-ending diet of berries and leaves that the demigod was plying him with. Iolaus needed a nice succulent rabbit or two, or better still a hunk of venison. Having managed to bag a brace of rabbits Iolaus had cheerfully set back, whistling as he thought of the expression the demigod would have on his face when he returned.
Iolaus hadn't seen the branch swing out until it was thumping into his ribs and sending him sprawling breathless on the ground, he hadn't noticed the men waiting hidden in the undergrowth. It dawned on him, as he was lifted and swung over the back of a horse, that it would be quite a good idea to fight but a single attempt to lift his spinning head was enough to dissuade him. His wrists and ankles were tightly bound with rope as he slumped face down over the back of the animal and decided that Hercules would have to rescue him. Carefully, letting no one see, Iolaus worked his talisman free of his neck and let it drop to the ground. Hercules wouldn't need such an obvious clue, but it wouldn't do any harm.
But where was Hercules? He wasn't at the campsite waiting for his friend; the fire was guttering and in need of fuel as it lay unattended in the deserted clearing. So what had happened to the demigod? Why wasn't he getting worried that Iolaus hadn't showed? Why wasn't he going in search of his buddy all ready to save him?
The demigod was flat on his back on the forest floor, his eyes were closed and his breath was coming in shallow gasps. Every inch of him was throbbing with a sickly pain and he was cold, so very cold. Hercules didn't know what had happened, the sound of a child crying had startled him into abandoning his fire and running into the trees. But there was no child and Hercules found himself on his back on the leaf covered ground without the slightest idea of how he had arrived there.
'Never mind', he thought, 'Iolaus will be back soon. He'll find me, he'll know what to do.' This thought was a comfort to Hercules for just as Iolaus relied on the demigod to save him, so Hercules relied on Iolaus to save him. To save him from the dangers of man, monster, even god, and from the more insidious dangers brought by his own powerful emotions. Hercules waited out the pain and the shuddering cold; he waited because Iolaus would be there for him.
His wait for Iolaus was going to be a long one, Iolaus wouldn't come. This time it wouldn't be Michael keeping him away for even The Light in the end couldn't stop the plucky hunter. This time Iolaus didn't know who it was, he had a bad feeling though. Whoever they were they weren't bandits, they hadn't robbed him. They'd captured him in a way that showed that they weren't concerned for his health. As Iolaus was trying to deduce what they wanted, he realised that the continuous rolling movement of the horse and his still spinning head were a dangerous combination if you wanted to keep your lunch where it belonged. He lost that battle to the disgust of the nearby men.
Iolaus' head was pulled up by the hair and a cloth was rubbed roughly over his face. The horse received more sympathetic attention and then they were back to the silent swaying through the trees. The pain had arrived now and Iolaus wished that he could simply pass out but the movement of the horse, and his desire to hear anything that could help him, stopped that from happening. He wondered briefly if Hercules was coming after him yet. The thought of the demigod warmed Iolaus, easing his fear. Little did he know.
It began to become clear to Hercules that he wasn't going to get any help from his buddy. Iolaus wasn't there and if everything were all right he would be. So he had to get to help by himself. Inch by painful inch the demigod raised himself from the ground, relying on his divine strength to get upright and then to get mobile. Every step was a supreme effort, every inch hard fought.
Eventually he found his way to the main road and slowly, very slowly he made his way towards the nearest village. It was an agony made all the sharper by the niggling worry about Iolaus. Where was he? What was so wrong that he had abandoned his friend? Hercules clung to these disturbing thoughts as he placed one foot in front of the other over and over again, until at last he reached the village. Stumbling into its centre the demigod finally stood swaying uncertainly.
They came, of course they came, they always came for him. The local healer was at hand to give advice and care; the local elder was there to cluck over the fevered demigod. They came as they always would. This was the son of the chief god to whom they looked above all others for help and inspiration. For Hercules they came and found him a place to rest and a healer for his ills.
But they could not find a salve for his heart. They could not understand his fear that Iolaus wasn't there. Where could he be? What had happened to his other half? They laid Hercules gently on a soft bed wrapping him in blankets of the finest wool and sheets of the softest material. They cared for him as if he was their son, but they could not settle his restless heart. They could not comfort him.
Iolaus found himself laying on a cold earthen floor. The horse and its swaying motion was gone, the woods were gone. He didn't know where he was or who his captors were. All he knew was that he hurt. Hercules hadn't come. Hercules hadn't found him...yet.
He held on to that hope as the men parted for their leader, he held on to that hope as they responded to an order and began to kick him as he lay helpless on the ground. He held onto that hope even as he lost his battle with consciousness and fell into darkness. But Hercules didn't come.
Iolaus lay in the darkness for a long time. Not letting them know he was awake. Keeping his silence in hope they would tell him who they were, where they were, why. But they said nothing and he could only guess at possibilities. Where was Hercules? He had to be there, he couldn't not be there. He'd always been there for his best friend; he'd never let Iolaus down before. Could there be a first time? Could it be now? Iolaus took careful breaths, his ribs hurt at every movement. His body screamed at him every time he turned. He was badly hurt and didn't know if he could defend himself against another attack. He knew that Hercules must be in trouble. Hercules must need him, mustn't he? His buddy wouldn't abandon him. The pain swept him away on its own tidal wave and finally he gave in to it.
Hercules rested in the healer's house laying in his bed of pain unresponsive to the kindly ministrations he received. He hurt, and he hurt all the more because Iolaus wasn't there with him. Sitting by him and helping him fight this latest enemy. Iolaus always made the fight easy. Knowing he was there was enough to give the demigod a strength Zeus would never understand; it gave him a focus and desire. It gave him the feeling of completeness that he was so lacking now.
A visitor came to his room, a stranger. The woman was tall and strikingly beautiful, she sat quietly by Hercules' side and gently helped him to drink some water. She did not speak. In the end Hercules' curiosity became too much and he asked her why she had come. Her answer sent a dagger deep into the centre of his soul; it made the cold of his skin feel like fire against the freezing cold of his heart.
"I came to help you Hercules, because I knew you must be alone. The news of your plight has travelled quickly. I was in a nearby village when I heard. I don't know how to tell you this..."
She was good, she hung her head and paused as if bearing a great burden of knowledge, letting Hercules will her to continue, making him beg silently for the rest before she went on,
"Your friend Iolaus was there too. There was a serving girl at the Inn and they were...friendly. Anyway, he laughed and said you could look after yourself. Hercules was immune to sickness. He said that he'd a lot of catching up to do now he was back and started... well I knew you wouldn't want to be alone. I thought I could..."
She let her voice trail off, and watched as Hercules turned his head towards the wall, unable to believe her words but unable to deny their truth either. Iolaus wasn't there - that was the truth.
Iolaus thought he was going to be sick again, his stomach was so badly bruised that merely breathing caused great waves of nausea to roll through him. He still lay on the ground and he still waited for Hercules. Earlier someone had come and checked the bonds at his wrists and now Iolaus realised that he was losing the feeling in his fingers. But he didn't care, none of it mattered. The pain in his body couldn't equal the pain in his heart. It cut through him like a knife; Hercules wasn't coming for him. Hercules didn't want to come for him. How could that be? How could that not be?
The hunter had overheard two of the men as they talked. They spoke of how easy it had been to take the hunter. They spoke of their leader's anger at Hercules when he had refused to give in to threats or bullying. Hercules would not ransom his best friend; Hercules would not come for him. The men laughed quietly at the words Hercules had used about his buddy. Hercules had said that Iolaus was a waste of space so it was a good thing he didn't take up much. Hercules said that Iolaus should have stayed in The Light where he belonged, the demigod had got along so well without him. He didn't need the little man any more.
If Iolaus hadn't been in such pain he would have seen through the ploy. He would have known it to be a deceit and seen the hand of a god at work. But he was in pain, he was in terrible pain and his head wasn't talking to him but his heart was. And his heart was telling him that it was breaking. Why bother trying to live? Why fight? There's nothing to go back to anymore, Hercules doesn't need him.
But there are more powerful things than gods in this world; even the power of the God of War is not all encompassing. Ares' plan had been a brilliant one, but it was born of jealousy and a childish desire for revenge. Hercules and Iolaus had defeated him in the past which was bad enough, but now they had bruised his ego and wounded his pride and that was unforgivable.
Ares could never understand the power of their friendship so he hadn't allowed for what happened next. Instead of giving up the fight and wasting away as Ares had expected, Hercules and Iolaus both surprised him.
As he lay shivering and staring at the ceiling, Hercules remembered Iolaus sparring with him at the Academy. He remembered Iolaus' loving-kindness when his family had died. He remembered how Iolaus had arrived grinning at his wedding to Serena, even though it had cost the hunter. He remembered, and he knew that if Iolaus chose to stay away it was not because he didn't love Hercules, there would be another reason. Hercules had to see Iolaus. He had to know the truth.
Once that decision was made Hercules began to recover. Godly illnesses are only potent so long as the victim does not know how to fight. Hercules used his love for Iolaus against the sickness and he won.
Iolaus lay breathing carefully, the pain was too much to bear and all he wanted was to sleep. Sleep and let the pain go, sleep and go where Michael sent him. But as his pain blurred mind drifted on the edge of goodbye he heard Hercules laughing. He saw his friend finally laughing at Iolaus' antics after he'd been so sad. The demigod's face had opened and the light that had been sorely missed returned to his eyes. Iolaus had done that; Iolaus had been the rock his friend had needed. Hercules would never forget that, Hercules would never call Iolaus little.
The gods. It's always the gods Iolaus. And he remembered all the times they had used him to get to Hercules; he remembered how hated he was by some of them. And he thought back to Ares and the way they had dismissed the god the last time they had met. That stray memory was enough, Iolaus knew who these men were now. They belonged to Ares and he had to escape them, he had to save Hercules - somehow.
Both men fought their pain, both feared for the other. Hercules was soon well enough to travel and he raced back to the camp to find Iolaus. He didn't find the hunter but he did find the talisman, nestling amongst the fallen leaves. It pointed the way like a beacon in the night. Hercules followed the sign, holding Iolaus' precious pendant tight in his fist. But he could not arrive. Ares would not let his plan go awry now.
Hercules ran to find his friend, but found nothing. No sign of men passing, no sign of horses. Why was that, he was on the right path? Ares watched him chase empty air and smiled, his men would never leave a trace behind them. They were appointed to the God of War after all, they were perfect warriors. Deadly in battle, silent and untraceable in subterfuge. Hercules would not find Iolaus and Ares smiled.
Iolaus lay gathering what strength he had, readying himself to make a move. The hunter listened to the faint sound of the soldiers talking and laughing. They were off-guard. The little man was no threat, he was too hurt. But they hadn't been briefed properly by Ares, he hadn't told them just how devious and brilliant Iolaus could be, he hadn't warned them of Iolaus' tenacious bravery. The men never noticed him leave. They heard nothing as he slipped free of the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles, they heard nothing as he painfully stood and eased his way through the loose boarding that made up the walls of his prison. The soldiers didn't even hear as he fell to the ground his energy spent after he'd managed to get beyond the camp's perimeter.
As Hercules ran, Iolaus walked, stumbled, fell and eventually crawled. It reminded him of another time, a hazy memory of a woman and needing to warn Hercules - he must warn Hercules. And now? Now he must find Hercules. Hercules was in trouble, his buddy needed him.
Ares couldn't understand the power of their friendship, he never allowed for that in his plans. So time and again his plans failed, time and again the love Hercules and Iolaus had for each other won over his scheming. As it was on this day. They had not given in to their fears, they both understood that they would always love the other whatever else changed. If Hercules hated Iolaus, if Iolaus wanted to be free, that wouldn't matter. Iolaus would still look out for the big guy, Hercules would let Iolaus go but he would still watch over him.
They met on the path and we need not talk of their meeting. We know in our hearts what was said, what was felt. It is easy to imagine the gentle care Hercules took over Iolaus, the relief they both felt that they hadn't been parted again. We can leave Hercules helping Iolaus to heal safe in the knowledge that this love would win over any obstacle. Each other, the gods, even death would hold no power over them. Michael had understood that they belonged together, now they understood it too. Perhaps one day Ares would understand.
The End
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