This story is not intended to violate any copyrights held by MCA, Universal Studios, or Renaissance Pictures concerning Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. This story is for fun and no money was made from it.
Author's note: This chapter contains sexual situations and mild violence, but they are not graphically described and are no worse than what is typically seen on the series.
Thanks to my father, who instructed me on the physics of mud monsters.
Hercules was not surprised to find the campsite deserted. He had seen the heated looks Elissa and Iolaus had been exchanging for the last hour, and knew all too well what it meant. In his wisdom, he had offered to go after dinner while they set up the camp, knowing that they had other priorities to take care of. He'd assumed they would be done by the time he came back, but he had had good luck hunting and came back with rabbits very quickly. With a sigh that was more habit than aggravation, he started a fire.
At first, Hercules had not been thrilled with the prospect of taking on a third partner. He liked Elissa, but he didn't feel that she belonged on the road with him and Iolaus. She wasn't a warrior, and he was afraid she would be hurt, or hinder their travels. But Iolaus had made it clear that she would be wherever he was, and if she couldn't come along then he wouldn't either. After all he had lost, Hercules was not ready to give up his partner, so the threesome set out together.
Much to his amazement, the arrangement had worked out. Elissa seemed to fit right in with them from the start. If they let her go at her own pace, which was only slightly slower than the one they normally traveled at, she could walk all day. Iolaus taught her how to defend herself with whatever was available, rocks or tree branches, and she became useful in the brawls that they always seemed to find themselves immersed in. She also was teaching the demigod the art of healing. Hercules had thought that he knew a lot about medicinal plants, but his knowledge was only a scratch on the surface of what she knew. More than anything, she was clever. Elissa always had an idea or a trick up her sleeve. Her innocence belied the craftiness that she was capable of, and she had gotten them out of a jam more than once. Also, no matter what the weather or conditions, she never complained, much unlike her soulmate. And by the gods, could she cook. She could make a feast out of the meagerest of provisions, and Hercules' mouth watered at the thought of what she could do with the plump rabbits he had caught.
Over the past year, Hercules had grown to love Elissa. It was hard not to. She was gentle and kind and generous. He was able to talk to her, really talk, and tell her all of his fears and guilts and dreams. She listened and comforted him, and always made him feel better. And she made Iolaus so happy, which in turn made him happy. Hercules had only ever wanted the best for his friend, and the hunter had found the best in Elissa. Since he was with her, the hunter had become more focused and less reckless. She also provided an outlet for his endless energy. He was still full of life, but the restlessness had disappeared. Sometimes the sight of them together made the demigod sad and yearning for his family, but most of the time their love flowed through the air and enveloped him in a warm cloud. They always included him, and never made him feel left out or intruding. As much as he was against the idea of her joining them, now he couldn't imagine their lives without her.
A rustling in the bushes signaled the return of Iolaus. He was still glowing from the aftermath of being with Elissa, and he gave Hercules a quick grin of apology before sitting next to the fire and beginning to clean one of the rabbits.
"I don't know how you do it, Iolaus," Hercules teased, shaking his head. "What is this, the third time today? And they say I have the strength of the gods."
"What can I say? She energizes me," the hunter laughed good-naturedly.
"Where is your better half, anyway?"
"She's over by the swamp, looking for some kind of plant. She'll be along in a minute." The two men discussed their travel plans for the next day until Iolaus finished cleaning the rabbits and handed his knife to his companion.
"I'm going to go get some more wood and see what's taking her so long."
"Tell her we're starving," Hercules called after his friend. He selected a good stick and went to work carving a point for a spit.
Iolaus started in the direction of the swamp, gathering sticks as he found them. Despite his hunger, he wasn't in any hurry, and he ambled slowly, lost in thought.
The hunter was jolted back into reality as Elissa's scream shattered the peace of the evening. His sticks went flying in all directions as he ran full tilt toward the swamp, heart frozen in fear. As he reached her, he found Elissa unhurt but facing a giant creature. Iolaus leaped between his love and the monster and pulled her behind him.
"What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" he asked, drawing his sword.
"Oh, you know." she replied nervously. "Enjoying the scenery, meeting the locals, that kind of thing."
Iolaus studied the creature. It was at least ten feet tall with a general human form, and was seemingly made out of the swamp mud. He could just barely distinguish features in the creature's head that passed for eyes and a mouth. The whole thing was dripping with muck and smelled none too pleasant.
"So, do you have an Old Hunter's Trick for this situation?" Elissa inquired.
"Well, there's always the direct approach," Iolaus told her, charging the monster.
Hercules had heard the scream from the campsite and had rushed toward the swamp. As he got there and surveyed the scene, his first instinct was to laugh. Iolaus was hanging upside down with his leg deeply imbedded in the torso of a large mud creature. He couldn't reach the ground and apparently couldn't get loose, and he was flailing wildly. The situation ceased to be funny very quickly as Hercules noticed Elissa lying motionless on the ground, and the creature delivered a hard punch with its huge fist to his friend's kidneys.
Hercules raced to the creature and grabbed Iolaus' hands. With a hard tug, the hunter came free of the monster. The demigod covered for him as he gathered Elissa in his arms and they moved her away from the danger.
"Is she all right?" Hercules asked anxiously.
"I don't know," Iolaus replied frantically. "I tried to kick that thing, and when I got stuck, Elissa tried to pull me out but it hit her." He looked at Hercules and the demigod could see the terror in his friend's eyes. "It hit her so hard, Herc. She went flying ten feet back."
"Take care of her," Hercules told him, laying a hand on the hunter's shoulder. "I'll deal with that thing."
The monster had been advancing toward them, and Hercules tried to lead it away from Iolaus and Elissa. It followed him, but it was very slow and Hercules just let it come, watching it and trying to think of a plan. The creature came close and tried to attack, but the demigod was able to dodge the slow, heavy blows with ease before moving out of range again. As the monster trudged toward him once more, Iolaus appeared at his side. Hercules looked back and saw Elissa sitting up. She gave him a small wave.
"Is she ok?"
"She says she is," Iolaus shrugged. "She made me come help you. You know there's no arguing with her. So how do you want to handle this?"
"Well, I know not to try the direct approach."
"Funny. Why don't we just leave it here? It's not like we can't outrun it."
"I thought of that, but if we leave it here, it'll be free to hurt any innocent people that might come through. We have to take care of it."
"Is it just me," Iolaus asked, ducking a lumbering blow. "Or does this thing keep getting slower?"
Hercules was about to agree with his partner when the monster disappeared into the ground.
"What happened to it?" Iolaus asked, puzzled. There was a sucking sound behind them, and the partners spun around to find it reemerging from the swamp. A fist shot out and caught Hercules on the chest, knocking him backwards.
"Looks like it found its speed," Hercules groaned as Iolaus pulled him up. The monster was advancing on them more rapidly now, and they had to hurry to get out of the way.
"What are we going to do?" Iolaus asked.
"It must get its power from the earth," Hercules rationalized. "Just like Anteus did." He looked around quickly and found a log lying by the edge of the swamp. Iolaus kept the monster occupied as the demigod procured the heavy wood. Hercules pushed the log through the torso of the creature with a mighty shove, and used it to raise the monster off the ground. He thought that the creature would be rendered powerless if it lost its connection with the earth, but it wasn't long before he realized his mistake. The creature began sliding down the log toward him. Hercules tried to toss the log and get out from under it, but the monster disintegrated into a shower of mud that passed over the demigod and flowed back into the ground.
"I am NOT enjoying this," Hercules muttered as he tried to wipe away the mud layer that coated his frame.
"Any more bright ideas?" Iolaus asked, trying hard not to laugh. Hercules was preparing a sardonic reply when a gasp behind them spurred them to action once more. They turned in time to see the monster rising from the ground around Elissa, engulfing her as it reformed. Then the creature stood and she was gone. Iolaus was horrified, but ran and dove headfirst into the creature. He sunk in to his waist, leaving Hercules to grab his kicking feet and pull. At first nothing happened. The demigod tried to ignore the heavy blows that were raining on him and pulled again with all his strength. Iolaus slid free from the creature, pulling Elissa out with him. She was gasping for air and spitting out mud, but seemed unhurt.
"I am running out of patience," Hercules said fiercely.
"But how can we destroy something we can't even get our hands on?" Iolaus asked him.
"Dry it out," Elissa whispered, trying to wipe the mud from her eyes.
"She's right," Hercules said. "It must dry out quickly in the air. That's why it keeps slowing down, and that's why it disappears back into the earth."
"There's a patch of shale over there," Iolaus said, indicating with a wave. "Maybe if we could get it on the rock, it couldn't get back into the swamp."
"I'll light some torches," Elissa said, scrambling to her feet. "If it can dry out, it must be afraid of fire." Hercules and Iolaus kept the monster busy while she prepared the torches. Her predictions turned out to be accurate. The creature backed away as she approached with the fire. They worked together to herd the monster toward the rocky ground. It took a lot of time, as the monster kept entering the ground and coming up somewhere else, but finally they got it close enough so that Hercules could knock the monster onto the hard ground with a flying leap. He went with it, of course, but Iolaus quickly extracted him and they kept the creature trapped there with the torches until it dried enough to become immobile.
"What was that thing?" Iolaus asked, when they had finally subdued the creature.
"I don't know," Hercules responded. "It doesn't seem like the sort of monster Ares would send after us. It's more like something…"
"Like something Hera would send," Iolaus finished for him. The two exchanged worried looks until Hercules shook his head and dissmissed the idea.
"Hera's gone," he said. "Maybe this creature is one of her leftover pets, but I would know if she were back. But that's not our only problem."
"Over there in the bushes. Someone was watching us," the hunter said quietly.
"Do you think it was Sinis?" Elissa asked.
"I doubt it," Hercules replied. "Sitting and watching isn't really his style." Ares, in his infinite wisdom, kept restoring the madman to life every time they managed to dispose of him. And each time he came back, it was with a little more hatred of Hercules and a little farther into the depths of insanity.
"Well, I don't like it," Elissa said quietly. "People lurking in bushes are never up to any good."
"Up to no good? So that's what you're doing when you drag poor Iolaus off into the bushes every night," Hercules teased her. The healer made a face and threw a chunk of mud at the demigod. "You must be teaching her well, Iolaus. She almost came close to hitting me." Elissa threw another chunk that he ducked easily. "I felt the breeze from that one," he laughed, but her third try caught him square on the chest. "Ok, I give up," he surrendered as she brandished another clump.
Elissa smiled faintly as she looked at him, and then turned her eyes to the hunter.
"Do I look as bad as you two?"
"Worse," Iolaus laughed, trying unsuccessfully to wipe the drying mud off his hands.
"Well, I have to say," Hercules began. "That this has been the most disgusting thing we've ever fought. I don't know about you two, but I'm ready to hit the stream."
"Too bad you're not still a pig, right Herc?" Iolaus teased. "You might be enjoying this if you were." Hercules smiled, but there was a gleam in his eye.
"I've noticed you are awful fond of that story."
"Well, it's a great story," Iolaus said.
"I've also noticed that there seems to be a part you keep omitting. Like what came after the pig part. With you and a certain thief and a certain vengeful god."
"Oh, well, we don't need to go into that," Iolaus said quickly. "Come on, Elissa, let's go to the stream." He tried to take her hand but she pulled away.
"I think I want to hear this," she said, taking Hercules' arm. "Why don't you tell me along the way." As they walked down to the water, Hercules told her about Ares chaining Iolaus and Autolycus together and the curse he put on them. Elissa found a great deal of mirth in the story, and Hercules spared no details, but Iolaus took it all in stride.
Iolaus gently traced a finger along the large bruise that covered the healer's eye. Very carefully, so he wouldn't wake her, he rose from his place next to her and went to sit beside Hercules at the fire.
"It still amazes me how quickly she can fall asleep," he told his companion, taking the mug that he was offered.
"The sleep of children and the innocent," Hercules replied. "But you're usually right there with her. What's bothering you?"
"I'm worried about her," Iolaus said after a pause.
"She's a tough girl," the demigod told him. "She'll be fine."
"For now," Iolaus responded, running a hand wearily through his golden hair. "But what about tomorrow?"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's just that… Well, when it was just you and I taking these risks, I only ever had myself to worry about. I never had to worry about anyone else getting hurt. And somehow, the danger just didn't seem real. Whatever we were fighting, I knew that you and I together could handle it. But today, when that thing hit Elissa, for a second I thought it had killed her. And then I started worrying about all the things that could happen to her out here. And THEN I started worrying about her being a target for the gods because of what we do. I thought that maybe she shouldn't be out here, but then I thought she'd be safer here where I could watch out for her. But if you couldn't protect your family from the gods, what chance do I have? I'm sorry, Hercules. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's ok," Hercules told his friend. "If anyone can understand what you're feeling, it's me."
"What should I do?"
"Well, the only way to keep her out of the way of the gods is to not be a part of her life. But that's not an option in your case."
"No," the hunter said forcefully. "It's not an option."
"Then all you can do is love her and make the most of your time together. And we'll both do our best to protect her."
"Herc, if anything were to happen to me, would you take care of her?"
"You have my word," the demigod told him somberly.
"Well, I'm going try and get some sleep." Iolaus clapped his friend on the shoulder as he rose and went to lay back down next to Elissa. He took her in his arms and inhaled the sweet fragrence of her hair.
"I promise I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered in her ear. The healer stirred slightly, but did not awaken. Iolaus tried to sleep, but he spent much of the night worrying as he held tightly to his soulmate.
The next morning, the three set out on the road. They hadn't gotten far when they came upon the scene. Hercules was in the lead, and as they rounded a bend in the road, he stopped abruptly and took Elissa's hand. He led her back down the road a few paces and turned to the hunter who had followed them after quickly checking out what Hercules had seen.
"Don't let her go until I take care of this," he told Iolaus, and then went back around the bend.
"What in the name of Hades is going on?" the healer demanded.
"Sinis has been here," Iolaus told her slowly.
"What is it?"
"He's killed some people."
"Let me go see. Maybe someone is still alive that needs my help."
"No!" Iolaus held her hand tightly. "There's no one left alive, I'm sure." Elissa looked at the stricken face of her beloved.
"Iolaus, what did he do to them?" At first the hunter did not want to tell her, but she persisted.
"I've been a warrior for a long time," he said, taking a drink from his water skin. "I've seen a lot of carnage. But I've never seen anything like what he did to those people. He didn't just kill them. He ripped them apart. I need to go help Hercules. Promise me you'll stay here until we're finished."
"Iolaus, I'm a healer. Whatever happened, I can handle it."
"I know you can," he told her softly. "But I don't want you to have to carry this image around with you. There's nothing you can do for them now. Promise me you'll stay here."
Elissa reluctantly gave her word and Iolaus went around the bend to help Hercules.
"I've pieced together what I could find," Hercules told him in a tight voice. "It looks like a man, a woman and three children."
"We have got to stop this animal," Iolaus said vehemently. He felt sick as he surveyed the massacre.
"We will," the demigod told him. "But for now, let's bury these poor souls. What's left of them."
"Thanks for getting Elissa out of there before she saw it," Iolaus said as they dug a grave.
"I know she's not as naïve as we think is," Hercules told his friend. "But she has such an innocent quality. Like she's never seen anything bad in her life. I couldn't stand to have that corrupted by something like this." Iolaus nodded and went to start bringing the remains of the family to their resting place.
After the people had been buried, they continued on their journey. In his current state of mind, the scene that Sinis had left for them to find only served to panic Iolaus further. His unease did not go unnoticed by Elissa.
"Iolaus, what's wrong?" she asked. Hercules had gone to scout ahead and Iolaus had been refilling their water skins at a spring. Lost in thought, he had been holding one under the trickle of water for some time and it had been overflowing for several minutes.
"Nothing's wrong," he told her, jolted back to reality.
"Something's been bothering you since last night," the healer admonished. "What is it? Does it have something to do with that creature yesterday?"
"I was worried about you," Iolaus told her softly.
"It's just a bruise. I'm fine, really."
"It could have killed you," he whispered.
"But it didn't."
"But it could have."
"But it didn't."
"But it COULD have."
"But it didn't," she said forcefully. "We took care of it and everyone's ok. Why are you worrying about it now? That's not like you."
"I can't help it," he said, taking her in his arms. "After yesterday, and seeing what Sinis did to those people today, I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you. What if I can't protect you? And what if I'm putting you in danger just by being with you? If the gods took Hercules' family, they can certainly take mine."
"Iolaus," she said gently. "Listen to me. I don't know what the fates have in store. Nobody knows that. It's true that I might be in the line of fire from the gods by trying to help along with you and Hercules, but not being with you isn't a guarrantee that I'll be safe from them either. Maybe if I hadn't been with you, I would've been killed already somewhere else. If it wasn't for you, I might not have made it out of Epidaurus alive. My life might be a little more dangerous traveling with you, but that also means I have the two greatest warriors in Greece looking out for me."
"I just can't stop thinking about it. I keep imagining all these horrible things happening to you." Elissa stopped the hunter's words with a kiss.
"Whatever my destiny is, I'll accept it," she said, running a finger down his smooth chest. "I don't want to die, but if it happens tomorrow, I'd go willingly, thanking the gods for having you in my life. You are the best thing that ever happened to me Iolaus. If being with you has risks, then I'll accept them gladly. I love you with all my heart and soul, and I'd rather have one day on earth with you than fifty years without." She kissed him gently again, and he returned the kiss with rising passion.
"Don't worry about tomorrow, my brave warrior," she whispered, twining her fingers through his golden curls. "Just live for today." Iolaus felt all the worry and tension draining away as he drew her tighter to him and kissed her hungrily.
"I love you, beautiful healer," he whispered, before gathering her in his arms and carrying her off the path. Surely Hercules wouldn't mind waiting a few minutes when he came back from scouting.
Hercules was busy with his own problems. Sinis had attacked him and was fighting with the wild energy that only the insane possess. Hercules was wishing that Iolaus and his sword were with him as his tried to fend off the mad thrusts with a tree limb. Despite Sinis' enthusiasm, he was only a man and Hercules was the son of a god, so the outcome was as it was fated to be. The demigod dodged a running thrust and Sinis ended up dead by his own sword. Hercules watched as the body faded away, and he had a faint hope that maybe the maniac wouldn't come back this time.
"I'm growing tired of this Sinis," Ares growled. Originally, he had enjoyed the thug's bloodlust and hatred of Hercules. He had no confidence in the man's ability to actually dispose of his half-brother, but it had been fun watching him plague Hercules again and again. But now Sinis' attacks were growing wilder and he was being defeated more and more easily. The novelty was wearing off and the god of war was getting bored.
"Please, Lord Ares," Sinis began. "I cannot defeat Hercules alone. No one man can."
"Well, then I guess I won't waste my time restoring your life anymore," Ares said with a dismissive wave.
"Make me god," Sinis blurted. "If you gave me his power, I could do it. I could kill Hercules once and for all."
"If you were a god," Ares told him, thoroughly annoyed, "You couldn't kill Hercules. Zeus forbids it."
"I'm not afraid of Zeus," Sinis boasted. "If I were a god, I'd bring you Hercules' head, and no one could stop me."
Ares considered this. Sinis was completely insane, but what if he could do away with Hercules? Hercules would be dead, Sinis would have to deal with Zeus' wrath, and that would leave the god of war free to wreck mayhem with no one to interfere. Was there a downside to this?
"Sinis," he said with an evil smile. "This is your lucky day."
Disclaimer: No mud monsters were harmed during the writing of this story. The creature was rehydrated and went on to live a long and prosperous life.
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