You Are Yourself

April 2003 Challenge: Write the story of how Young Hercules found out he was the son of Zeus. (Who told him and under what circumstances.)

"Hey, Herc!"

The demigod turned to see a blond head popping up over the edge of the roof and sighed to himself, knowing that his peaceful reflection had come to an end.

"Hi, Iolaus,” he greeted with resignation.

"I've been looking for you everywhere. What are you doing up here?"

"Just thinking," Hercules answered evasively.

"You can do that on the ground, you know," Iolaus pointed out, clambering up on the barn roof and moving to flop down beside his friend.

"I like the view," the demigod explained, his gaze drifting out over the valley and beyond. "On a clear day, you can see all the way to Mt. Olympus."

"So that's what this is about," Iolaus groaned. "Herc, you really need to get over this obsession with the gods."

"I'm not obsessed with the gods," Hercules protested quickly.

"Oh no?" The blond cadet quirked an eyebrow at his friend.

"You wouldn't understand," the demigod murmured softly.

"I understand that you spend a whole lot of time and energy dwelling on stuff that shouldn't concern you." Iolaus fixed a hard look on his friend, one that made Hercules squirm uncomfortably. While he generally wasn't considered smart in the academic sense, Iolaus was clever and street wise and not a lot escaped his attention. It was obvious he could tell there was something deeper than just a passing infatuation with the gods, but when his friend chose to remain silent, the cadet let it drop for the moment. "You need to get your priorities straight, Herc. You should be spending that time and energy on more worthwhile pursuits. Like bag ball. Come on, you're on my team and you're holding up the game."

The demigod stifled another sigh, realizing that he had become transparent, at least to Iolaus. For a moment he considered confessing the truth to his friend. It was a debate he had with himself frequently, for he didn’t like keeping secrets from his partner, and he longed to just unburden his soul and get it out in the open once and for all. But like always, discretion won the battle.

His mother had told him the truth of his parentage as soon as he was old enough to understand, but she had urged him to keep his father’s identity to himself. And he had obeyed, but as he grew older, he realized she had been trying to protect him and continued keeping his secret as he continuously learned her concerns had very real validity. Growing up in Thebes, it was obvious that Hercules had been “different”, and most people treated him as such. But since the first day he’d met Iolaus, he’d just been good old Herc, and the demigod knew he wouldn’t be able to take it if that changed. It would kill him to see his best friend looking at him with any measure of scorn or awe or even fear. So with a slight shake of his head, he swallowed down the confession that had been at the tip of his tongue and got to his feet to follow Iolaus down from the stable roof. But as he took one last glance back to the horizon, something odd caught his eye.

"Do you see that?"

Iolaus had already started down the ladder, but he climbed back up to stand next to his friend and looked out in the direction Hercules indicated, shading his eyes with his hand. A man had appeared over the crest of the hill, but even at a distance it appeared that something was not right. His gait was uneven and unsteady, and as the two cadets watched he stumbled and lurched and fell to the ground, disappearing underneath the tall, waving grass.

"I'm going out there," Hercules announced, turning and lunging for the ladder. "You go find Cheiron."

Iolaus nodded, sliding down the ladder after his friend, the game of bag ball forgotten as he sped off in pursuit of their headmaster.

"He was lucky," Cheiron told them, wiping his hands as he addressed the group of curious cadets waiting outside the infirmary. "Two of his brothers were not. They were traveling to Ister and decided to cut through the Forest of Ipannia."

There was a soft murmuring among the students, awed by the audacity of the men.

"Didn't they know that forest is sacred to Hera?" Jason demanded with a frown.

"They thought the stories were just... stories," Cheiron explained. "They had faithfully worshiped the goddess all their lives and believed that no harm would come to them."

"They say that nobody that goes into those woods comes out alive," Iolaus put in.

"And our guest nearly didn't," the centaur added. "Let that be a lesson to you, cadets. Faith is important, but do not let it blind you to common sense and instinct."

As the students began to disperse, Cheiron turned to re-enter the room but he was halted by Hercules.

"Is he going to be all right?"

"I believe so," the centaur replied. "Some of his wounds are bad, but they should all heal with time."

"What attacked them?" the demigod asked. "Did he say?"

"A snake. A very large snake, as far as I can tell. It attacked him first, and his brothers both died trying to save his life. And that wound to his soul will linger far longer than any inflicted on his body, I'm afraid."

"We should do something," Hercules announced, a fire beginning to burn in his blue eyes. "This snake needs to be stopped before it kills anyone else."

"You are brave, Hercules," Cheiron reassured him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But that bravery needs to be tempered with wisdom. It is never wise to go looking for a fight without knowing anything about your enemy."

"But..."

"This is not your war to wage," the centaur told him firmly before disappearing into the infirmary and closing the door on his student, as well as the matter at hand. But as far as Hercules was concerned, the matter was far from closed.

The young demigod sat up in his bunk, looking carefully around and making sure his fellow students were all fast asleep. Silently, he rose and quickly dressed, donning a cloak to help him blend into the darkness before moving effortlessly out of the dorms and quietly sneaking out of the building. Once outside, he let out the breath he'd been holding and relaxed slightly, although he still exercised caution as he made his way through the Academy grounds, keeping to the shadows until he arrived at the gate. Cursing hinges that needed oiling, he opened the gate with a squeak and then slipped outside of the walls into the night.

"What took you so long?"

"By the gods, Iolaus," Hercules gasped, the wits scared out of him by his friend materializing out of the dark. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just going to ask you the same thing," Iolaus said loftily. "I saw you leave the dorm and I figured you were sneaking out, so I decided to follow. Although you obviously don't know about the shortcut."

"What shortcut?" The demigod wondered, before thinking better of it and holding up his hand. "Never mind. Just take it back to the dorm and go back to sleep."

"And leave you to go adventuring without me?" The cadet assumed a wounded air.

"Iolaus, I mean it," Hercules said, intending to sound fierce but the words came out weary. "This is serious. And it's something I have to do by myself."

"You're going after that thing in Ipannia Forest, aren't you?" Iolaus accused him. "Why?"

"Because I can't stop thinking about that poor guy," the demigod sighed. "That creature attacked him, and his two brothers died to save him. He's never going to get over the guilt of that. There's nothing anyone can do to help him, but at least I can make sure the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else. And maybe he can get some kind of satisfaction from that." Again, Hercules found himself squirming under his friend's penetrating gaze. He hadn't lied, exactly, for he did feel empathy for the poor traveler. But he'd managed to convince himself that he was disobeying Cheiron and risking his life for noble reasons, because he didn't want to admit it to himself that it was just another desperate attempt to grab his mysterious father's attentions. It didn't look like he'd managed to convince Iolaus, but after a moment his friend gave up trying to stare him down and gave a shrug of acceptance.

"Well, you can't go off into Hera's forest without your partner watching your back."

"Iolaus, no," Hercules protested. He longed to tell his friend that it was too dangerous, but he knew how insulted Iolaus would be. "Cheiron forbid it, and I don't want to get you in trouble."

"What's a little trouble between friends?" the blond cadet grinned. "Look, Herc, I'm your partner and I'm going with you. So if we want to make it there by dawn, I suggest we get moving."

"Ummm, partner?"

Iolaus stopped mid stride and turned back to look at the demigod.

"It's this way."

"I knew that," the cadet said hastily, moving back to join him. "I was just testing you."

"Then it's a good thing you're coming along," Hercules laughed, but his words were sincere. The little voice inside him was still warning him that this was a bad idea, but as he was discovering more and more with each passing day, he felt a lot less alone and unsure of himself with his partner by his side.

“Herc,” Iolaus said hesitantly, subconsciously edging a little closer to his friend. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

The demigod had to admit to himself that he was having second thoughts. Although the moon was bright and full, not much of it trickled down through the dense canopy of the forest. The trees around them were silent and shrouded, and there was no sound apart from their soft footsteps, as if all other living creatures recognized the danger lurking in the woods and avoided it at all costs. And the tension had been growing as they cautiously made their way through the mute darkness, until it had nearly become suffocating. But Hercules couldn’t let his friend see his anxiety.

“We have to do this,” he announced, aware that he was now including his partner willingly and had no more desire to send him off so that he could go on alone. “We have to stop this creature before it hurts anyone else.”

“Yeah, but technically it only goes after people that come into it’s forest,” Iolaus reasoned. “How about we go back and just put up a few warning signs?”

“Get a grip, Iolaus,” the demigod told him with a confidence he didn’t feel. “It’s just a snake. You aren’t afraid of snakes, are you?”

“Actually, I am,” the blond replied defiantly. “Snakes are big and scaley and slimy.”

“Big and scaley I’ll grant you. But slimy is a myth.”

Iolaus exchanged a wide eyed look with his friend.

“Please tell me that was you.”

Hercules shook his head slightly, his false bravado gone. The two cadets slowly turned around, not seeing anything at first. But then they caught a flicker of movement, and in the dim moonlight they made out something very large coiled in the tree branches behind them. The creature shifted and began to descend from the tree until it’s head was eye level with the young warriors. They found themselves facing a massive snake, although there was something vaguely human in its features.

“So,” it continued in a low, hypnotic voice. “You’re looking for snakes, are you? There are plenty to be found in this forest, but at the risk of seeming egotistical, I’m going to assume you are looking for me. To kill me, perhaps?”

“No,” the demigod answered quickly. Obviously, he did not want to provoke the creature that was much larger than he’d anticipated and currently looking him square in the eye, but he was also having a problem with killing something that was so eloquent. “We don’t want to kill you. We were just hoping that, maybe, we could... uh... talk you into leaving the travelers that pass through here alone?”

The snake actually smiled, baring a mouthful of sharp, curved teeth.

“You are brave, Hercules, but foolish as well. This is my forest to protect, and I will kill any who dare trespass. Including you and your friend.”

“How do you know my name?” the demigod demanded.

“I know all about you, son of Zeus,” the snake continued, letting a hiss creep into his words. “I am Python. All serpent life is descended from me. Including the two vipers Hera sent to your cradle when you were an infant. As you can imagine, I took their deaths personally.”

A chill ran through Hercules and his heart skipped a beat. Not over the very real danger that he was unprepared to face, but rather because his secret was finally out. He turned to Iolaus, who was staring at him in confusion, which was just the distraction the snake needed. Before either of them could react, the creature had lunged from the tree toward Iolaus, enveloping him in it’s sinewy coils as they both hit the ground. Hercules watched in horror as his friend disappeared, covered completely by the iridescent scales.

The young demigod recovered quickly, shaking himself to his senses and grabbing a large piece of wood from the ground. Taking advantage of the fact that Python was preoccupied with constricting his partner, Hercules whacked him with his club, putting his full strength behind his swing. And although the snake was momentarily stunned, the demigod was dismayed to see that his blow had no more effect than that, other than to tick the serpent off even more. Python turned to him with a deep rumbling hiss, swaying slightly as he tracked his prey’s movements.

“Ok, definitely having second thoughts about this,” Hercules yelped, barely getting out of the way as the massive maw came toward him. His agility did not fail him as he leapt and rolled, evading the snake’s persistent strikes. Python was hampered by the fact that much of his body was still wrapped around Iolaus, but even with his movement impeded, he was still a very formidable opponent. As the snake struck again, the demigod blocked it with the wood in his grasp, but the force of the serpent’s blow broke it in half. Hercules tossed one piece behind him, adjusting his hold on the second. And when Python came at him again, he was ready, ramming the wood between the snake’s upper and lower jaws, keeping them open and essentially useless.

Python recoiled slightly, fighting the wedge in his mouth for a moment before he stilled. And Hercules’ heart sank as he watched the snake’s lower jaw sag until the wood dropped out of his mouth and thudded on the ground.

“Nice trick,” the demigod muttered as the serpent worked both sides of his mouth, reattaching the hinges of his jaw. “I’ll have to remember that one.”

“Fool,” the snake hissed at him, his upper body rising up in striking position. “I am older than the titans. I’ve been here since the dawn of all creation. A pathetic half-mortal is no match for my power. Not even the son of Zeus can stop me.”

“I’m not the son of Zeus,” Hercules growled as he dove out of the way, narrowly missing getting caught in the snake’s jaws as it struck. He rolled as he hit the ground, tearing his cloak off as he leapt to his feet. The demigod tossed the garment, which landed neatly over Python’s massive head, temporarily blinding him. It only took the snake a moment to shake the cloak off, but it was enough time for Hercules to grab a thick vine from the nearest tree, looping it around Python’s neck from behind. “I’m the son of Alcmene,” he declared proudly as he pulled the vine tight and braced himself for a colossal battle.

The snake did not disappoint, bucking and writhing and rolling for all he was worth. But Hercules held fast, ignoring the pain as he was slammed into the hard ground again and again, calling on strength reserves he didn’t even know he had. Until finally Python stopped thrashing.

“You are indeed strong, Hercules,” he spoke, his voice sounding strained against the force of the vine against his throat. “And if we kept on like this, you might possibly even defeat me. But would it be in time to save your friend?”

At his words, the demigod unconsciously pulled the vine tighter. The snake hissed and gurgled, and Hercules forced himself to ease up on the tension in his arms.

“I have much fight left in me,” Python continued. “But your friend does not. He no longer struggles against my embrace. It may not be too late for him, if I were to release him now. But first, you must release me.”

“And trust you to keep your word?” Hercules muttered sarcastically.

“You have no reason to trust me,” the snake allowed. “Other than the fact it is your only means of saving your friend. If there’s anything left to save.”

The demigod hesitated, weighing his options and not liking any of them. With a sinking heart, he realized the serpent had spoken the truth. If Iolaus stood any chance at all, he would have to be released from the deadly coils immediately, and minutes spent fighting were minutes the cadet might not have. So, against his common sense and instinct, Hercules trusted to faith, letting go of the vine and stepping back. Python whirled around to face him, rising up just enough so that he could look down on his foe.

“Let him go,” Hercules commanded, glaring up at the snake. Python merely hovered, swaying slightly as he studied the demigod with unreadable eyes. A cold, hard rage washed over Hercules and his eyes took on a lethal glint. “Let him go,” he repeated, steel in his voice.

Several tense, agonizing moments passed as the snake continued to sway and stare, then abruptly he turned away. In one fluid motion, he relaxed his body, loosening the tight coils, and Iolaus came tumbling out to sprawl limply across the ground. Ignoring the serpent, Hercules rushed to his friend, dropping to his knees beside him and pulling him up to cradle him against his chest.

“Iolaus, can you hear me?” he called out desperately as he felt for a pulse. The cadet spasmed in his arms, gasping loudly as he drew in a much needed lungful of air. “That’s it, buddy,” the demigod reassured him frantically, pushing the hair back from his face. “Just breathe. Stay with me, and keep breathing.”

Iolaus greedily gulped in great mouthfuls of air, and when his respirations began to stabilize, he reached out one shaking hand.

“Herc?” he moaned softly.

“I’m here, Iolaus,” Hercules whispered, taking his hand and squeezing it, his heart breaking for the agony his friend was suffering. “I’m right here with you.”

“Are you...” The cadet paused, grimacing painfully before continuing. “Are you really the son of Zeus?”

“Yeah, Iolaus, I am,” the demigod confessed, tears stinging his eyes. But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, the blond cadet’s blue eyes opened and his expression of torture became one of thoughtfulness.

“Well, that explains a lot,” he declared.

For a moment, Hercules couldn’t understand what was happening. But once he realized what was going on, his mouth dropped open and he glared at his friend with no small indignation.

“I don’t believe you!” he cried out.

“Oh, come one, Herc,” Iolaus grinned up at him. “You know a deathbed confession was the only way I was going to get you to tell me the truth.”

“You scared the Tartarus out of me!” Hercules shouted, shoving his friend away.

“Ow!” the blond complained as he hit the ground. “Give me a break, would you? I may not be dying, but getting constricted by a giant snake isn’t exactly an Athenian massage, you know.”

“Sorry.” Some of the anger left the demigod as he got to his feet and carefully helped his friend do the same. Iolaus stretched his limbs, wincing slightly as his sore muscles protested, then he turned a clear gaze on his partner.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Hercules merely shrugged, averting his eyes.

“This is a good thing,” Iolaus told him, sensing what the problem might have been. “You aren’t ashamed of it, are you?”

“People already think I’m a freak,” the demigod murmured uncomfortably. “It would be worse if they knew.”

“I never thought that,” the blond told his friend, knowing all too well how Hercules had been picked on and shunned and gossiped about in the small town of Thebes due to his large size and uncommon strength at a very young age. Not to mention those rumors over Alcmene’s virtue...

“I know you didn’t.” Hercules moved away to pick his discarded cloak up off the ground, his words almost getting lost. “And I didn’t want you to.” He glanced back to meet those sparkling expressive eyes that were never able to hide what Iolaus was feeling, or allow others to hide what they were feeling from his soft gaze. His own brother had left home because he couldn’t get past his jealousy, and Hercules knew that he wouldn’t be able to stand it if his best friend abandoned him, too. “I never asked for this. I’d give anything to just be a plain, ordinary mortal.”

“But you’re not ordinary,” Iolaus pointed out. “You’re extraordinary.” Suddenly his demeanor changed, and he moved forward with new excitement. “Hey! I just realized, I wiped the floor with you this morning during drills. So, if I can take out someone with the strength of the gods, what does that make me?”

“Delusional,” the demigod snorted. “I was the one wiping the floor with you, my friend.”

“Ummm, no,” the blond cadet insisted. “You got the drop on me that once, but if you’ll recall, I came out the victor.”

“Did that snake cut off the flow of blood to your brain?” Hercules demanded, putting his hands on his hips. But his partner was already off on his next tangent.

“So do you have any other cool powers?” Iolaus enthused. “Like, can you disappear and stuff?”

“No,” the demigod told him. “I’m just a little stronger than most, that’s all.”

“Have you ever been to Olympus?”

“No,” Hercules replied, getting slightly irritated. “I’ve never even met my father.” He was quiet for a moment, glancing up to the heavens where he didn’t belong. But he didn’t belong on earth, among mortals either. He was trapped between worlds, stuck with no place to call his own. “Zeus left me with this legacy, and he doesn’t even care enough to acknowledge my existence. I try to get his attention... that’s why I came to the Academy in the first place. But I guess I’m just not good enough to be worthy of his time.”

“I don’t know about that,” Iolaus consoled him. “You just saved my butt from the hug of death from a ridiculously large snake. That’s worthy of hero status in my book.”

In spite of himself, Hercules grinned, realizing he’d been foolish to ever fear that knowing the truth of his heritage would run off his irrepressible friend. Iolaus had always been one to take life as it came, rolling with the punches with his sunny good nature and accepting things for what they were. Yet it was still a relief to see those familiar blue eyes sparkling back at him with kindness, humor, and just a hint of mischief. Knowing the truth didn’t change that. And then it dawned on Hercules. His friend had always known the truth, on some level. But where everyone else saw his enhanced abilities as “different”, Iolaus had only ever seen them as “special”. And even then, what he could do had always come second to the person that he was. The demigod realized that whatever his destiny held, he might be known as ‘son of Zeus’ to the world, but he would only ever be ‘good old Herc’ to the one beside him.

“Who else knows about this?”

“Just my mother and Iphicles. And Cheiron. I didn’t tell him, though. He just somehow knew.”

“He knows everything,” Iolaus grumbled, making a face as he thought of all the times his wise headmaster had caught him at his schemes, seemingly always a step ahead of him.

“And now that you know, so will everyone else,” Hercules said wryly.

“Are you implying that I can’t keep a secret?” the blond asked, insulted. “Well, I’m keeping this one. It’s not every day I’m one up on the future king of Corinth. I’m planning on enjoying this.”

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” the demigod chuckled, knowing full well that despite all his partner’s protests, the entire Academy would know his secret before a day had passed. But it strangely wasn’t cause for concern any longer. Iolaus had accepted it unconditionally, and he had to wonder how many of his other fellow cadets would feel the same. Regardless, whether his father wanted to acknowledge it or not, he was the son of Zeus. And it was time he faced up to that fact and embraced it for who he was instead of hiding from it. He had been gifted with strength, and this most recent incident had started him thinking that perhaps he could use that power for good, rather than flaunting it in the hopes of catching his father’s eye.

“What do you want to do about Python?” Iolaus asked as they started to make their way out of the forest.

Hercules paused, looking around the dark woods, not seeing any sign of the giant snake who had slithered off unnoticed. And he really didn’t want to go beating the bushes to find one.

“We’ll just put up a few warning signs,” the demigod declared, slinging an arm around his friend’s shoulders as they kept walking. And as they left the forest behind, heading for the Academy as the first light of dawn began illuminating the horizon, Hercules felt better than he had in a long, long time. He wasn’t a god, and he wasn’t a mortal. And he had no place on Olympus, nor did he quite fit in on earth. But it didn’t matter. He was comfortable right where he was. With Iolaus, where he belonged.

Finis

Disclaimer: Python was a monster, but the author would like to reiterate that most snakes are quite placid, peaceable little fellows and this story in no way means to villainize our serpentine friends. And no, none of them are slimy, but constriction is a bitch.

Challenge Story Index
Home
The Iolausian Library