Disclaimer : We know these guys belong to renaissance et al, but we're just borrowing them for the purposes of this story and we will give them back ... maybe. Maybe they don't deserve 'em after what they've done ...
The Greek God of Death shook his head sadly. I'm sorry, Hercules," he said. "This time I can't do it."
"What?" The demigod sounded outraged and Hades suspected that had it not been for the precious burden in his arms, he himself would have been hurled halfway across the chamber by his nephew. "Hades ..."
"I'm sorry," the God repeated. He shrugged helplessly. "It's the rules, Hercules."
"Break the rules," Hercules ground out.
"Oh, sure. Everyone else has to abide
by them, including Hera - even though she tried to bend them every once
in a while but you - great demigod, son of a god and a mortal, want them
broken." Watching Hercules' expression change from belligerence to
distress, Hades relented slightly. "Look, Hercules, I'd love to help.
Really I would. But Iolaus has already had several reprieves, including,
theoretically, this one. By rights, he should have been dead when Dahak
took possession of him but we couldn't allow that. He had to redeem himself.
Any other mortal would have been allowed to die, but Iolaus is special.
We knew that. So we gave him the chance to undo what Dahak had done, create
good where evil had been and with your help and his
immense strength of will and courage, he did that. Now he's dead. Permanently.
But - he will be going to the Elysian Fields. He doesn't belong in Tartarus.
He never did."
"He belongs with me!" Hercules ground out, stepping backwards as Hades approached him, tightening his hold on the limp body of his dearest friend and companion. "I need him, Hades! I can't do this without him! I tried!"
"I know."
Hades' sympathy was almost more than Hercules could bear. Another tear traced its way down his cheek as he stared down at Iolaus. The blond warrior looked so peaceful, so serene. It seemed that he was only sleeping. That he would awaken any moment. But that was not the case. Hades was not going to back down this time. Hercules could sense it. Still ... He re-examined what the god had said moments before and came up with a question. "Who's 'we'?" he demanded.
Hades shrugged again. No reason why Hercules shouldn't know. It might even help him. "Your father and myself," he replied. "We value Iolaus. Your father loves you, Hercules, although I know you might not believe that. And I have a lot of respect for you - actually, you're my favourite nephew. You do irritate the Tartarus out of me but you're not half as much trouble as the rest of your siblings. And Iolaus has always been a big part of what and who you are. We both value him for that if for nothing else. But he's a hero in his own right. He's helped both of us in his own way, without even realising it. That's why I had you brought down here with him. It's why I'm meeting you instead of letting him cross the Styx with Charon - made myself really popular with him as well, I can tell you. I know you need him, Hercules. I know how important he is to you. But he's done his part now. It's time for him to journey elsewhere. Be happy for him. He'll be with his wife, his son - he'll be able to look after Dieaniera and your kids will have their Uncle Iolaus to play with again ..."
"But I need him ..." reiterated Hercules, unable to suppress the sob in his voice.
Hades eyed him critically for a moment or two. "And I know someone who needs you," he replied.
For a moment, Hercules believed he had relented, until he saw the resolve burning in the dark eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said at length. "And I don't care."
"Have you ever wondered what became of the Jester when the Sovereign was trapped in the vortex?" Hades enquired, ignoring the demigod's words as though they had never been spoken.
Hercules had a very sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He also had a feeling he knew where this was going. "No," he said.
"Would you like to see?"
Before he could utter another negative, Hades opened up a window and the demigod could not help but glance into it.
Inside, a lone figure sat, sprawled on the
throne in the Sovereign's palace. He was still garbed in the attire of a
court jester but without the hat and his unruly blond curls tumbled over
hunched shoulders. He looked the
picture of dejection.
"He's not happy," Hades remarked.
Hercules was forced to agree. He glanced down at the lifeless form in his arms then back up again and felt his throat constrict. Had he not known better he would have thought he was looking at his best friend through the portal.
"He needs direction." Hades was relentless. "Since the Sovereign was trapped in the vortex he's been rootless. He's no longer needed as a court jester. Joxer made the position redundant - thought he was doing the guy a favour. But it was all he knew. All he thought he could be. Now - he believes he's nothing. No-one. He needs someone to tell him differently."
The demigod stared at Hades in horror. "And that 'someone' is going to be me?" he demanded. "Forget it, Hades. It's bad enough I've lost my best friend. To have to be haunted by someone wearing his face, his form but without all the joy and life and courage which is MY Iolaus is cruel. It's not just cruel. It's outrageous and I won't do it."
Hades smiled sadly. "I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter," he said.
...The next instant, Hercules found himself
back in the room where he had lost his brother; where his heart had been
irrevocably broken, bereft of the weight in his arms. Standing before him
was the figure of his friend - yet it was not his Iolaus. This was not the
golden hunter and skilled warrior he had known all his life. This was a
stranger.
They stared at each other for long moments. Hercules was too stunned to
say anything and the Jester was too frightened. He recognised the figure
before him as being the Hercules of the 'other world' - the one in which
Ares had been God of War, and he realised that he must have somehow been
transported to that other world. The reason for this was beyond him, however.
Hercules was angry. Angry at Hades, angry at Dahak for taking his best friend
away from him twice and angry even at Iolaus for allowing himself to die.
He realised he was being irrational. He didn't care. He wanted Iolaus. HIS
Iolaus. If he couldn't have his Iolaus then he damn well wasn't having some
pseudo image of him dumped on him by some well-meaning but idiotic God of
the Dead.
The Jester watched the play of emotions cross the demigod's expressive face
and flinched, stepping backward involuntarily. Although he had come to expect
cruelty and unkindness from his world's version of the son of Zeus and had
been pleasantly surprised by his first and only meeting with this world's
version, he was still afraid of the man. He was a demigod, after all. He
could kill a runt like himself with a swipe of his hand. The Sovereign,
indeed, had tried on many occasions. Jester still wasn't entirely sure what
had kept him tied to the man's side. It wasn't like there hadn't been plenty
of opportunities for him to leave. But he had known nothing else. Had been
close to no-one else. The relationship he had forged with the Sovereign
had been self-destructive and one-sided, he knew, but the man had been the
closest thing to a friend he had had.
"I ... I'm sorry," he began, then fell silent as Hercules focused
on him, his eyes narrowing.
'I don't know why you're here,' Hercules wanted to say to the man. 'I don't
want you. You're everything Iolaus was not - a coward, a buffoon, a man
afraid of his own shadow.' But he said none of those cruel words. He couldn't.
It would be a betrayal not only of himself but of Iolaus - HIS Iolaus' memory.
He wouldn't do that. He couldn't defile his best friend's lifetime belief
in him that way. Slowly, his anger dissipated, to be replaced by the compassion
and concern which made him what he was - a hero. So, instead of ignoring
the man who looked so much like his brother yet was not; instead of taking
out his frustrations and his grief on the man who even now cowered before
him, he held out his hand and managed a smile of reassurance. "Welcome
to my world, I .. Iolaus," he said, as he laid that hand on the man's
trembling shoulder. "It looks like you've found a new home."
During the next few weeks, Hercules and the Jester became more acquainted
with one another. They even managed to build a relationship, although neither
could have definitively defined what it was. Jester, with his limited experience,
would have termed it almost a 'friendship', although he couldn't imagine
what a hero like Hercules would see in a snivelling coward like himself.
Hercules, on the other hand, felt responsible for the little man and tried
to take care of him in Iolaus' name. He definitely would not have termed
what they had a friendship. His loss was too raw, too recent, and travelling
the land with this exact replica of his dearest friend beside him was both
difficult and painful. Time and again he forgot who the other man was and
would turn to him with a reminiscence of times past, or a remark which his
Iolaus would have understood in an instant, only to remember, belatedly,
that this man had not shared his past. He did not know the demigod's thoughts
nor his heart and was not and never could be HIS Iolaus.
Iolaus, meanwhile, seemed happy enough in the Elysian Fields. As Hades had
predicted, he spent time with both his own beloved family and appointed
himself guardian of Hercules'. But he missed his friend terribly. More than
he himself could have even imagined. He missed their adventures together,
the fights and scrapes in which they found themselves embroiled. He even
missed the bad guys. But most of all, he missed Hercules. He missed his
friendship, his love, his easy acceptance, their conversations - everything
which had made their relationship so special.
Despite his outward demeanour, his easy-going attitude and cheerful countenance,
all who knew him could tell that Iolaus was sad. It was evident in his smile,
which never reached the blazing blue eyes. Therein lay a loneliness which
only one person's company could assuage, and it saddened both his family
and friends, knowing that they could do nothing to help.
Hades was not blind, however. Neither was Zeus. They were watching both
Hercules and the Jester and Iolaus and his 'family' and both realised that
something had to be done.
The Jester was cooking the evening meal. It was a talent he had discovered
within himself since the Sovereign's disappearance and he had taken what
little joy there was to be had in it. He had a vague recollection of learning
this particular skill during his brief but wonderful marriage to one of
the Sovereign's serving wenches, Ania, and found that honing it made him
miss her more and more. Despite the seeming friendship he had found with
this world's Hercules, he was sinking deeper into melancholy, knowing that
his place was not really here, beside the demigod, acutely aware that he
was here under sufferance because Hercules was a compassionate and kind
man and realising that he would never take the place of the man's best friend
- his double; now residing in Hades' realm. He almost longed for some kind
of release, but was too much of a coward to take his own life.
Unbeknownst to him, he was being observed.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That depends. What are you thinking?"
"Well, it seems to me that one wants to be here whilst the other wants
to be elsewhere."
"You're not suggesting ...?"
"Why not? Looks like the perfect solution to me and it wouldn't be
much trouble. Plus I wouldn't exactly be breaking the rules."
"You realise that if you do this now then the next time is permanent."
"Oh, don't worry. I know that. Believe me, I've thought long and hard
about this. But it seems to me to be the best thing to do for all concerned."
"Very well. It's up to you. I won't interfere. But .."
"There is no 'but', brother. We do this. *I* do this. This is the last
time."
Later that night whilst those both above ground and in the Elysian Fields
were asleep, dreaming under the star-lit canopy of the night sky, the God
of the Dead carried out his plan then, with a smile, left the participants
to discover what had taken place.
The Jester was the first to awaken. He looked around. The sky was a beautiful,
amazing shade of azure, the sun blazing out from it with a brilliance which
he had never before noticed. The foliage around him seemed greener than
before, with unusual flowers dotted around in a myriad of different hues.
It was the most gorgeous sight he had ever seen and he was mesmerised by
it.
He was more than mesmerised as a hauntingly familiar figure walked toward
him.
"Ania!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and swallowing hard.
She looked every inch as beautiful as the day he had lost her and he felt
his eyes fill with tears as he watched her approach.
Iolaus' wife smiled kindly. Hades had taken them all into his confidence
and they had been grateful for his mediation into the worsening situation.
She was here to ensure that the man who had been so unhappy and so unwanted
in the real world - in both real worlds - was made doubly welcome down here.
Here he was to be introduced to the family, made to feel a part of it and
nurtured so that he could come into his own and finally emerge from his
shell into the man he should be.
"Take my hand," she said, softly.
He reached out, felt her warmth and familiarity and knew that he had come
home.
Meanwhile, Iolaus awoke under the canopy of a morning such as he had never
seen. Everything felt fresh and alive. HE felt alive. It was a glorious,
if slightly unfamiliar feeling. He glanced over at his friend and smiled.
Herc was nothing if not a late riser - especially when he was brooding about
something. "Hey! Herc!" he shouted, leaning over to give the demigod
a shove. "Are you gonna get up now or do I catch the fish myself?"
"Leave me 'lone, Iolaus," grumbled the semi-conscious demigod,
turning over to settle back into sleep. "You're too cheerful in th'
mornin' - you know that?"
Iolaus smiled. Then comprehension dawned. At about the same time, it woke
Hercules, who shot up from his nest of leaves and spun to stare at the hunter.
"Herc?" he managed. "You called me 'Herc'? You ... Iolaus
... the other Iolaus ... I mean ... he NEVER calls me 'Herc'."
"Ah ... " Iolaus, for once, was lost for words. "Um ...."
"I .... Iolaus???"
"Um - yeah," said the hunter, as thoroughly confused as his friend.
He looked down at himself, saw the Jester's costume and scowled. "Doesn't
that guy have a change of clothing or what?" he demanded grumpily.
Hercules' eyes widened. "Iolaus?"
he exclaimed. "Oh gods! It IS you!"
"I - guess so," the warrior replied. A grin lit his entire face,
his eyes sparkling with merriment. "Hey, Herc, looks like I'm back
- but ... how?"
"How?" Hercules echoed. "How? I don'r care how. I just care
that you're back! Oh gods, Iolaus, you don't know how glad I am to see you!"
As if to demonstrate the point, he threw his arms around the smaller man
and hugged him hard. Iolaus returned the embrace, only too grateful to have
his friend beside him once more, content to sit and listen to the beat of
the demigod's strong heart and feel the pulse of life surrounding him once
again.
For his part, Hercules was more grateful than he could begin to express
to have the living, breathing form of his brother beside him once more.
The body in which Iolaus resided was obviously the Jester's but they were
so exactly alike in every respect that it barely made any difference at
all. Briefly, he wondered what had happened to the other man and hoped that
he had found peace somewhere. Somehow, he knew, deep down, that he had.
But he was so glad for the return of his best friend, the one person in
the whole world he trusted and loved above all others that every other thought
left his head. He simply held on, almost afraid to let go lest this wonderful
miracle turn out to be a dream.
*It's no dream, Hercules,* said a voice within his head.
"Hades?"
*Iolaus missed you. The Jester missed things which Iolaus had in the Elysian
Fields, without even knowing it. So we did a swap. Take care of him, nephew.
This is the last time. When Iolaus dies again it's for good. Make the most
of the time you two have together - go out and stop some bad guys together.
Enjoy your lives. The two of you deserve it.*
Tears formed and spilled down the Demigod's cheeks, splashing into the golden
hair beneath his chin. What he had wished and prayed for had come to pass.
He had Iolaus back. He would not waste this opportunity. There would be
no more careless mistakes, no more danger for his friend. Yet even as he
made this vow he knew that Iolaus would never stand still for being protected.
He was a warrior. More, he was Hercules' best friend and had vowed to fight
beside him and back to back until they both met their fate.
*But I will keep you safe, Iolaus,* Hercules promised, silently as the two
renewed their friendship, celebrating by deciding to spend the day fishing
and talking. *I promise you that. I will not let you die again. Never again.
I promise.*
And Iolaus, glancing into his friend's resolute expression, read into it
as accurately as only he could and smiled sadly, knowing that, one day,
in the future, they would be parted again. But until then they had this
day, their lives and each other. It was another chance - one they had never
believed they would get. And they would make the most of it.
Life was good.
Life was indeed very good.
Author's note: I wrote this prior to 'Darkness Rising', 'Let There be Light', 'Redemption' and 'Stranger and Stranger' being transmitted. Moreover, I wrote it before I had seen them, and (a) seen the REAl 'exorcism' which took place and (b) fell for the alternate Iolaus. So please forgive me and Hercules both for our rather cavalier way of treating him. I would never treat him thus now, and that is mostly due to Michael Hurst's wonderful portrayal of him as a poignant figure with hidden depths who is struggling to find an identity and is not the snivelling coward with which we were presented (at face value at least) in the first 'Stranger'episode. Jester Iolaus is smart, talented, loving and sweet. There is far more to him than most people ever expected, and it is a tribute to Michael that he has already grown popular with audiences. THIS IS NOT TO SAY WE DON'T WANT OUR IOLAUS BACK, BECAUSE WE DO!!! But we do not want this other Iolaus to be sacrificed in any way that involves death. We've been through that enough.
I thank you for your time and apologise for my verbosity in explaining things! Brevity never was my middle name!