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Darkness. He could feel the darkness surrounding him. Slowly he became aware of other things such as pain and the voices of his friends. He blinked his eyes and finally emerged from the darkness.

"Iolaus, are you ok? Why did you rush into the slavers' camp? I thought that we decided to plan out our attack. You could have been killed," Hercules told his friend.

"Yeah, when are you going to learn that you shouldn't rush head-first into things," Jason began.
Iolaus reflected on what had happened earlier that day. The three cadets had been returning to Cheiron's Academy after a trip to Corinth when Iolaus had noticed signs that a rather large group of people were traveling towards Scyrene. He had mentioned that it seemed rather odd for so many people to be heading towards a farming village when Corinth was only a half-day's journey to the west. The cadets decided to investigate the strange occurrence. When they spied the caravan, the boys were disturbed by the sight. About twenty-five men were leading a group of twelve girls. "Slavers,"  Iolaus spat as he prepared to charge into battle.

Hercules put his hand on his friend's arm. "We can't just rush in there, we're out numbered. We'll have to make a plan."

"But we just can't let those animals hurt those girls," Iolaus told his friend.

"We won't, but you just can't charge in there. There is no way we can beat them all," Jason said.

"Don't worry Iolaus, those men won't hurt those girls, I swear it," the demigod declared.

The young men carefully followed the caravan until the slavers stopped for the night. Hercules and Jason formulated a plan as Iolaus kept a watch on the camp.

"I think that we should set up some traps and snares for the slavers. Keep them busy--try to slow them down, while Iolaus goes to the Corinth and brings back some soldiers," Jason said.

"Yeah, that sounds good. What do you think, Iolaus? Iolaus?" Hercules looked up and saw his reckless friend rushing into the camp. "Iolaus," he groaned.

"If you hadn't been so pigheaded and stubborn, and had just followed our plan--we wouldn't be captured, and Hercules wouldn't be hurt," Jason continued.

"What? Herc, are you alright?" Iolaus said as he came out of his reverie.

"I'm fine," Hercules tried to reassure his friend.

"Hercules, you're lying to him. His arm is broken, and it's all because of you and one of your hot-headed stunts," Jason informed the smaller cadet.

"But, I didn't mean...You didn't have to follow me. Herc, did you get hurt because of me?" the former thief asked his friend. Iolaus sat up and looked at the others. Jason had some scrapes and bruises while Hercules was a bit pale and his left arm was contorted in an unfamiliar angle. "Herc, I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?"

Hercules managed a smile for his worried comrade. "I'm fine. How do you feel? Why did you attack that slaver?" he queried.

"Is that little girl ok? He didn't hurt her, did he?" Iolaus inquired.

"What little girl?" Jason replied. He exchanged a confused look with Hercules.

"That big guy was gonna whip her, and I couldn't let him do it. That's why I attacked him. No one should be allowed to hit an innocent little kid. I saw him standing there with that whip, and I just couldn't sit here while he was gonna beat her. Is she ok?" Iolaus asked.

"We didn't see a little girl in the area, but I'm sure she's ok," Hercules reassured him.

"If she isn't, he'll pay," the small blond responded. He attempted to get to his feet when he finally noticed that his hands and feet were bound. He looked at his friends and noticed that they were tied in the same fashion. At the same time a wave of dizziness passed over Iolaus, and he sat back down.

Hercules leaned over his friend. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. What happened? I remember coming after the big guy with the whip, but not much else," Iolaus confessed.

"Well, you ran down the hill and grabbed the whip. You hit the guy a few times before the other men noticed you. Then me and Jason came in and joined the fight," Hercules reported.

"How did you hurt your arm?" the blond asked.

"One of the guys threw me, and I landed on it wrong, I'm fine though. How about you, the one guy was kicking you pretty hard in the ribs and head." the demigod stated.

Iolaus brushed off his friend's concerns. "I feel fine, but we should do something about your arm. We've got to splint it or something."

Jason gave Iolaus a funny look. "How? We don't have anything here that we can use, besides look at how they tied us up."

"I don't know, but we should do something," Iolaus declared.

"Taperticus, what are we gonna do with 'em. Powerdabe only wanted girls. Should we get rid of 'em?" the slender second in command asked the leader of the slavers.

The muscular man ran a hand through his close cropped dark hair. "No, Samraimi, we aren't gonna get rid of them. The two bigger ones will fetch a fair price on the market, and well, I'm sure a use can be found for the little blond," laughed Taperticus. "I guess that I should greet our newest 'guests'."

The tall man walked over to where the cadets were being held, followed by his lanky companion. "Enjoying your accommodations? Hope you find the service to your liking," the large man sneered.

"Why don't you just let us and the girls go. If you do, I promise that you won't regret it," Jason stated.

Taperticus laughed, "Sure, why not? Get a clue kid, I'm the one in charge here, and you and the girls are going to make me and my associates a lot of money."

"If it's money you want, I can get you some. How much do you want?" Jason asked desperately.

The thinner man giggled. "Hey, Taperticus, this one wants to bargain with us. You don't have enough money. What do you think ya are, a king or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I am..." Iolaus quickly interrupted Jason. "I think you should take care of my
friend's injuries."

Taperticus snickered," And why should I do that?"

"He'll be worthless as a slave, if his arm is crippled. And who knows, maybe the person who buys him will blame you," Iolaus stated.

The leader thought for a minute. "That young man makes a valid point, the slave will be worth more if he has the full use of both arms," he told himself. Aloud he stated, "Samraimi, go get some medical supplies."

"But boss," his associate started.

"Just get them, no arguments," the slaver demanded. "And bring Orci, he's got the most experience with healing."

As Orci tended to Hercules' arm, Jason interrogated his friend. "What are you trying to do, Iolaus? You trying to join up with these guys or what?"

"Look Jason, Herc needed help, and now he's getting it. And if they found out that you are the Crown Prince of Corinth, do you really think that would change anything? They'd probably ask for ransom and still sell ya off as a slave or worse. I'm just trying to buy us a little time," Iolaus told him.

The next morning Taperticus gathered his men together. "We are going to split up to travel today. I'll take a small group of men and our newest slaves with me. Samraimi and Lizfreid, your group follows behind with the girls."

"Why are we doing this?" Lizfreid asked.

"We are still headed to our base camp, right? Why the change of plans, now?"

The muscular man looked down upon the short redhead who was questioning him. "It's quite simple, I plan on having my group move a bit faster. We have to break those boys of any spirit, and then show the girls that we are in charge. We will meet at the base camp this afternoon."

Lizfreid smiled at the thought of driving the spirit from their newest acquisitions. "Sir, can I be of service when it is time?"

"I'll think about it," he replied. As Lizfreid walked away, he called out to him, "But I don't want any of those girls harmed. Powerdabe wants them in one piece."

The cadets stood waiting to see what was going on. One of the men had come over, loosened the bindings on their legs so that they could walk, and had tied them together. Taperticus mounted his horse and grabbed the leash for his new pets. He rode his horse out of the camp, half dragging Iolaus, Hercules, and Jason behind him. The rest of his group mounted their horses and followed behind him. The others would be coming later on foot. Taperticus deliberately paraded the young men in front of the slaves, before proceeding on his way.

Jason looked at the captives and shook his head. "They are all just kids, only three of them are our age and all the rest are just children," he whispered in disgust to Hercules and Iolaus.

"No talking in line," one of the men stated as he kicked Jason.

"You boys got that much energy, I guess we can speed up a bit, " Taperticus declared as he kicked his horse into a trot. The cadets had to jog in order to keep from being dragged. When the group reached the base camp, Taperticus had the young men tied to a post in the middle of the encampment. The camp was set up in a clearing surrounded by trees. At the far end of the camp, a pen had been erected. Taperticus' men started to pitch their tents on the opposite side of the camp.

"How's your arm, Herc?" Iolaus croaked.

"Fine. How are you guys? What do you think will happen now that we are here?" Hercules responded.

"Don't know, right now too tired to care," Jason stated.

"I just hope that they decide to feed us," the short blond complained.

"Is that all you ever think about? We are prisoners of a group of slavers, who knows what they might do to us, and you are thinking about your stomach. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess," the Prince of Corinth growled.

"Stop it! Could both of you just get along for once? Look, we have to work together to get out of this," Hercules pleaded with his friends.

Jason mumbled, "Fine Herc."

"I'm not leaving without those girls," Iolaus vowed.

"Don't worry Iolaus, we'll take care of it," the demigod promised.

One of the thugs walked up to Taperticus. "Whadda wanna do with dem now?"

Taperticus rubbed a meaty hand across his jaw. "Right now, I want you guys to prepare the holding pen for the girls. We'll just let the boys relax for now. I have plans for them, and I want the ladies to watch," he smirked.

"Should we give'em any food or water?" the bedraggled man asked.

"Hmmmm, maybe a little bit of water and some of the stale bread, I wouldn't want them to die before we get them to the marketplace."

Lizfreid and Samraimi lined the girls up. Samraimi made sure that all of the slaves were securely fastened together before they started on their journey to the camp. After that girl had tried to escape
yesterday, they weren't going to take any chances. Neither of them wanted to anger Taperticus, he was quite vicious and unpredictable when mad. They headed out in the same direction that Taperticus had traveled just a half-hour before. Lizfreid led the way while Samraimi covered the rear.

Cosette looked over at Kaitlyn. She was worried about the eight year old. The day before the little green-eyed child had tried to escape from their captors. Cosette shook her long chocolate colored curls as she thought about how the sweet girl had almost been whipped by the leader of the slavers.

"Thank the gods that those young men showed up when they did," she whispered to herself. She remembered the relief that she had felt when the small blond warrior had rushed into their camp. He had grabbed the whip from Taperticus just as the slaver had been about to beat Kaitlyn. She had never seen anyone act so brave. A few minutes later, the young man's friends had appeared. They had
fought well, but had been defeated by the sheer number of slavers.

Cosette blinked back the tears in her deep blue-green eyes. "I hope that those boys are ok." The teen glanced at her fellow captives. Punnandra, a vivacious redhead, and Sejae, a short blond, were watching after the younger girls, helping them get up when they stumbled-trying to keep from earning the slavers wrath. Cosette assisted Kaitlyn up from the ground after the girl tripped over a branch. She brushed the child's light brown hair back from her face.

"Are you ok?" Cosette whispered.

"Uh huh," the imp answered. She stood up unsteadily. There was a bruise on her cheek from the day before, but other than that she looked fine.

Taperticus looked up when he heard the rest of his men enter the camp. He walked up to his second in command. "So Samraimi, did you have any trouble with them this time?"

Samraimi paled at the mention of his previous failure. "No sir, no problems this time at all," he replied.
"Good, that's what I like to hear. Put them in the holding pen, I'll have a show for them later," the head slaver remarked. He ordered Kurtz to place three poles in front of the holding pen.

"What are they for?" the lanky lieutenant asked.

"Oh, just part of the 'entertainment'. We have to make sure that the girls see how we punish their 'heroes', " the muscular thug grinned.

"Kurtz, you and Orci, remove their shirts." Kurtz, Orci, and Gruende grabbed Hercules, Jason, and Iolaus and tied them to the posts with their arms overhead.

Hercules groaned as his broken arm was roughly forced above his head. Iolaus and Jason struggled against their captors to help their friend, but they were tied securely. The girls in the holding pen looked on in fascination. They all wondered what would happen next. When Punnandra saw Taperticus walk
towards the bound young men, she quickly gathered the youngest together and started to tell them stories and jokes. Cosette and Sejae looked sadly at their would-be rescuers. They all knew what would happen next.

Hercules groaned as his broken arm was roughly forced above his head. Iolaus and Jason struggled against their captors to help their friend, but they were tied securely.

The girls in the holding pen looked on in fascination. They all wondered what would happen next. When Punnandra saw Taperticus walk towards the bound young men, she quickly gathered the youngest together and started to tell them stories and jokes. Cosette and Sejae looked sadly at their would-be rescuers. They all knew what would happen next.

Taperticus strode up to his prisoners with his whip in hand. "It wasn't very nice of you boys to try to take my property from me. Now I'll have to show you what we do to people who interfere with our
business," he growled.

"Those girls don't belong to you," Iolaus declared.

"Shut up, boy! Do you wanna be first?" the slaver asked. "No, on second thought, I'll leave you for last. We'll see how much fight ya got after you watch me beat your friends. I can't wait to hear you
cry." He uncoiled the whip and snapped it a few times before he went to work.

Kaitlyn snuck away from the group surrounding Punnandra. She crept over to the side of the enclosure. The petite little girl with light brown hair and deep green eyes looked over at the young man who had rescued her from Taperticus' whip yesterday. A sob escaped her throat when she realized that he was now going to face the same punishment that he had saved her from.

Cosette heard the sob and went over to the child. She gathered Kaitlyn into her arms and murmured, "It's alright. Everything is going to be ok. He'll be fine." Once the young girl calmed down, Cosette led her back to the group surrounding Punnandra. She sat Kaitlyn next to Leandra, a quiet brunette, and Iris, a very friendly girl with dark brown curls. She sighed as she watched Punnandra weave an intricate
tale to keep their minds off of what was happening a few feet away. Locita, Aetheria, Thalya, Descant, Gaea, and Myseri seemed enthralled by the bard's tale, but Cosette could see them flinch whenever the whip cracked.

Taperticus was enjoying himself. He loved the snap of his whip and the damage it left behind. He had started with the bigger blond, but the cadet had passed out after only a dozen strikes or so. He smiled as he started to beat the muscular young man. "This one should be a challenge," he told himself. Jason flinched when the whip struck his flesh, but he refused to show the slaver any other response. This
excited the large man. Taperticus grew more vicious. He started to hit the cadet faster and with more force. Jason moaned as the pain became too much to bear, and then he too passed out. The slaver readied himself to beat on the smallest of the three prisoners. He hoped to make this one scream.
Iolaus gulped. He prepared himself for the beating that was forthcoming. He was not going to give Taperticus the pleasure of seeing him squirm.

"So boy, are you ready? I wanna hear you cry like a baby," Taperticus declared as he cracked his whip on the young man's back.

"Hey, could you do the next one a bit further to the left? There is an itch there that I just can't reach," Iolaus quipped.

The remark enraged the large slaver. He started to whip the cadet harder, faster, and viciously. Soon Iolaus' back was a mass of bloody red welts, but Taperticus kept striking him. "Come on boy, cry like a baby," he growled.

Iolaus was only semi-conscious, but he refused to give in to the slaver. "Boy. Crybaby," those words floated through his head.

Suddenly instead of seeing Taperticus standing there, Iolaus saw a tall stiff soldier standing there. "Go ahead cry. You worthless little runt. Cry like the baby you are. You are a disgrace. I wish I never
had a son. I'm disgusted to have a sniveling crybaby of a son like you," the image of General Skouras said.

"No," croaked Iolaus. "You are wrong."

All of the slavers had turned to watch the contest. They had never seen Taperticus this enraged before and were curious as to what would happen.

The large muscular slaver walked around the pole to where Iolaus could see him. "Cry. Come on you little baby," Taperticus bellowed.

Iolaus just stared at him with unfocused eyes. He was still seeing the vision of his father taunting him.
Finally Taperticus could take it no longer, he rammed a meaty paw into Iolaus' face. The young man didn't respond. This angered the burly man more. He punched the small cadet a few more times. Then he grabbed the young man's head and rammed it against the post several times before he finally walked away.

Finally Taperticus could take it no longer, he rammed a meaty paw into Iolaus' face. The young man didn't respond. This angered the burly man more. He punched the small cadet a few more times. Then he grabbed the young man's head and rammed it against the post several times before he finally walked away.

Darkness surrounded him. It was strangely soothing in a way. Eventually the pounding of his head brought him out of the darkness. "Iolaus, are you ok?" Hercules asked worriedly.

Jason looked down at his friend with concern. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like I've been run over by a chariot," the young cadet joked weakly. He closed his eyes to try and ease the pounding of his head, but it didn't work. He was slowly becoming aware of the throbbing pain in his back and the swelling of his eye and face.

"Iolaus!" Hercules cried.

The blond cadet opened his blue eyes. "Herc, I'm fine. Just relaxing, don't be such a worrywart," he tried to reassure his friend.

The cadets exchanged an anxious glance. Iolaus' blue eyes were glazed from the pain. They had seen the bloody mass of welts on his back, and his face was caked with dried blood from when Taperticus had slammed Iolaus' head into the pole. Neither Hercules or Jason could figure out why the leader of the slavers had singled Iolaus out for the most vicious attack. Their backs were also covered with bruises, but no where near as severe as Iolaus'. The cadets musings were interrupted by a voice.

"Herc, are you ok? They didn't hurt your arm, did they?" Iolaus asked.

Hercules had to smile in spite of himself. He ran his right hand through his short blond hair before he answered his friend. "My arm is fine. It still aches a bit, but, I think that's to be expected. You are the one who looks like something that the cat dragged in."

Jason handed Iolaus the waterskin. "Drink up, buddy." Iolaus gave Jason a puzzled look.

"It's ok. They decided to give us some water and some stew. Do you feel like eating?" Jason informed the small blond.

"Sure, I'm starving," the smaller cadet answered.

Both Hercules and Jason laughed with relief. That was the first sign that they had seen since the torture session that Iolaus was ok. Taperticus was fuming. "Why didn't those boys beg for mercy," he growled. The thugs in the area looked away from their leader. They didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"Maybe they were weakened from the their trip. So weak that instead of reacting to the torture, they just passed out," Lizfreid offered as explanation.

"Bah," Taperticus said. He looked at the scrawny redhead. The smaller man stared up at his boss. Lizfreid gulped and then lowered his eyes, "I took the liberty of giving our prisoners some water
and stew. I thought that you might like them to stay conscious long enough to cry out. I didn't treat their wounds though, we do want them to remember what happened."

Taperticus scratched his head. "Ok, Lizfreid. But remember I am the one who gives the orders here."

"Of course," the redhead said. "Might I suggest that you use a special method for the next session?"
Taperticus listened to Lizfreid's plan. His smile grew wider and wider. "That will be perfect. Good idea, Lizfreid," he stated.

The next day dawned bright and sunny. The cadets had spent the night trying to rest despite their injuries. Around dawn exhaustion overtook them, and they fell into deep dreamless sleep. When they awoke, the sun was high in the sky.

Hercules blinked his eyes. "What's going on?" he muttered. He turned to the side and saw Jason also waking up.

Jason looked at the sun and then at Hercules. "They let us sleep?" the Crown Prince of Corinth asked.

"Yeah, it looks like it. What do you suppose they have planned for us today?" Hercules replied.

The older cadet thought for a minute. "Dunno. Is Iolaus still asleep?"

"Yeah, he's still sleeping. Do you think we ought to wake him?" the demigod queried.

"No, I think it would be best to let him sleep. He's been through a lot," Jason said thoughtfully.

The two cadets watched their friend resting peacefully. As Iolaus slept, Hercules and Jason discussed their various options. They jumped to their feet when one of the slavers approached. Gemjo dropped three bowls of stew and a waterskin next to the prisoners. He quickly checked to make sure that they were still tied securely before returning to his other duties. Jason and Hercules grabbed the bowls of stew and started to eat.

Jason laughed, " And I complained how bad the food is at the Academy. This slop has no taste."

Hercules smiled. "Well at least they are feeding us. Do you think we should wake Iolaus up so that he can eat?"

"I don't know. He really needs the sleep, but he needs the food too. And this stuff tastes better warm," the Corinthian replied.

Hercules leaned over his friend. Iolaus looked so peaceful when he was asleep. The cadet gently shook his pal's shoulder. "Wake up, Iolaus. Lunch is here," he whispered.

"Ahnnnnnnngggghhh," Iolaus mumbled.

"There's food," the demigod coaxed.

Slowly the small blond cadet opened his eyes. It took several minutes before he seemed awake. "Did someone mention food?" the blue-eyed youth asked.

"Yeah, want some stew?" Jason remarked.

Iolaus took the stew from his friend and started to eat. "So, what do they have planned for us today?" he asked as he swallowed a mouthful of stew.

Hercules shrugged, "We don't know. But I think that we should all rest as much as possible, maybe figure a way out of here."

Iolaus finished the stew. "I'm not leaving those girls here, especially not with him," he declared.

"Don't worry, we won't leave without the girls," Hercules promised.

After the cadets finished eating, they laid back down on the ground to rest. While Hercules and Jason talked and plotted out escape plans, Iolaus fell back asleep. Hercules looked over at Jason. "Do you think that he is ok?" he queried.

"Iolaus is tough. He'll be fine. Right now, sleep is probably the best thing for him," Jason replied.
The rest of the day passed peacefully for the cadets. They dozed off and on until the next morning.

The rest of the day passed peacefully for the cadets. They dozed off and on until the next morning.
The prisoners awoke the next day feeling refreshed. They were still stiff and sore, but feeling much better than the day before. They wondered what the day held in store for them. Their questions were
answered later that morning when Gemjo, Gruende, and Orci came and led them back to the whipping posts.

Hercules grimaced when his broken arm was roughly tied into place. His arm started to throb, but not as badly as it had a few days ago. He looked over and watched Iolaus and Jason struggle as Gemjo and Gruende lashed them to the posts.

When they saw that Taperticus was about to beat on the young men again, Cosette, Sejae, and Punnandra gathered all of the girls together. They made the children sit with their backs to the cadets. Punnandra thought for a minute and then started her tale. "Once upon a time, there was this little mouse and a giant ferocious lion..."

Taperticus strode over to his prisoners. "Well, boys, I hope that you feel better today. It's time for a little bit of fun. Now which of you boys wants to go first? Don't all volunteer at once, there is plenty
for everyone," he stated. "Hmmm, I think I'll start with you, since you fell asleep so soon the other day." The slaver grabbed his trusty whip and started to beat Hercules.

Hercules grimaced with each blow, but he wasn't going to give in to Taperticus. Then suddenly he yelped, the slaver had struck his broken arm with the whip. Hercules tried to ignore the pain, but it was too powerful even for a demigod.

Iolaus saw the expression of pain on Hercules' face. He couldn't stand watching his best friend suffer like that, so he did the only thing that he could. "Hey, do you get your jollies from beating up helpless
victims? Bet you couldn't beat any of us in a fair fight. So did someone do that to your face, or were you just born that ugly?" Iolaus taunted.

Taperticus roared with anger. He turned to small youth. "So you want to go next, that's fine with me." He cracked the whip across Iolaus' already scarred back. He struck the young man several times, creating new welts. "How does that feel, smartmouth?"

"Well, actually, it wasn't too bad. Are you getting tired? I'm willing to take a break so that you can regain your strength," Iolaus provoked.

Taperticus grew angrier. "So this doesn't bother you? No problem, we can do something else then. Lizfreid, go get what we discussed, this boy is asking for it."

Hercules croaked, "Iolaus, shut up! You are just making him worse."

Iolaus grinned at his friend and mouthed, " I know what I'm doing."  The short redhead returned carrying a wooden box and a bucket. Lizfreid stroked the wooden box lovingly as he handed it to Taperticus.

The large slaver opened the box and removed a whip. It was a model of craftsmanship. Taperticus stroked the fine leather as he inspected each of the straps at the end of the whip. Each strap was embedded with a barb. The slaver snapped the whip a few times before he started to hit the cadet.

All of the men turned to watch as Taperticus started to torture the small blond. They had never seen their leader lose control so completely. The slavers were enthralled by the little drama playing out
in front of them. Iolaus shuddered as the barbs embedded themselves into his inflamed flesh. With a tug, the large man tore them out of the skin. Iolaus gritted his teeth to keep from screaming out loud.

This routine was repeated until Iolaus' back was covered with blood. The cadet lapsed into semi-consciousness. Taperticus' image was replaced with General Skouras. All Iolaus could hear was the General saying, "You are a worthless little crybaby. I am disgusted to have a sniveling coward
like you for a son. Wish you had never been born." Those phrases kept repeating in his head. As Iolaus was about to sink into oblivion, he screamed aloud when his raw bloody body was struck with ice cold water.

"So was that good enough for you? Do you want more, or should I start on your buddies here? queried the slaver with a smirk.

Iolaus tried to respond, but his body was on fire with pain. All he could do was give a small moan before he slipped into the waiting darkness.

Hercules and Jason struggled against their bindings as they watched their friend be tortured. They were chilled to their bones when they had heard Iolaus scream. It was the most terrifying thing that either
of them had ever heard.

Taperticus prepared to strike Iolaus again with the cat-o-nine-tails, but the protests from the other two prisoners interrupted him. "Do you boys want more of the same?" he leered. "No, I don't think you can handle it." He handed the cat-o-nine-tails to Lizfreid who reverently placed it back into it's case. He grabbed the regular whip and beat Hercules and Jason until they too passed out.

Punnandra had to pause when Iolaus screamed. Kaitlyn and Leandra cowered when they heard the unearthly wail. Sejae and Cosette tried to blink back their tears. Cosette walked over to Kaitlyn and Leandra and gave them a big hug. Punnandra finished the tale and suggested a sing-a-long. In her loudest singing voice, she started to croon, "Old Donalus had a farm, eieio..."

Cosette glanced at her friend and joined in the song. "On this farm he had a pig, eieio." Slowly everyone joined in the song. All of the little girls contributed to Donalus' farm. Sejae and Punnandra gave a sigh of relief when it looked like the youngsters had been distracted from the events
of the previous few minutes.

Hercules and Jason looked at their fallen comrade. His back was raw and still oozing blood in many places. He laid on the ground unmoving, in the same place where Taperticus' goons had dropped him.
"He can't take much more of this, Jason. It's a wonder that he is still alive. If I get my hands on Taperticus, he is going to pay," Hercules cried.

Jason put his arm across Hercules' shoulder. "He'll be ok, Herc. Iolaus is a tough kid. He will make it," Prince Jason comforted his friend.

"We've got to find a way out of here, Jase," the younger cadet declared.

"I know, I know. We'll come up with a plan, and Taperticus and his men will never hurt anyone again, I swear it," the muscular cadet replied. They spent the rest of the day plotting escape plans. Whenever Iolaus woke up, they gave him some water before he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Lizfreid walked up to Taperticus. "So when are you gonna have another session with those boys," he grinned.

The large slaver glanced down at the redhead. He shook his head. "I think that we may be done, their spirit seems to be broken. Besides I want them to be healed up for the auction-- no one is going to want any damaged goods. But we'll keep them away from the girls, just in case."

"But, you can't. Those boys haven't suffered enough," the little man declared.

Taperticus grabbed Lizfreid by the front of his dingy tunic and growled, "Don't forget who the boss is. I'm the one giving orders here. Those boys know what I can do to them, we won't have any further
problems. Remember that I am the one who calls the shots here." He shoved his flunky away from him. Lizfreid grumbled under his breath as he stalked away.

The next several days passed peacefully for the prisoners. They were given food and water, but other than that they had little contact with the slavers. Hercules and Jason breathed sighs of relief when Iolaus finally regained total consciousness. He was still weak and sore, but at least he was awake and alert.

Hercules tried to fuss over his injured friend, but Iolaus pushed him away.

"I'm fine, Herc. Quit playing nursemaid, it's not like I'm a helpless little kid," Iolaus whined.

"Iolaus, you've been in and out of consciousness for the past couple of days," Jason informed his friend.

Iolaus gave him a confused look. He glanced at Hercules for confirmation. The demigod nodded his head. "I've been asleep for a couple of days?" he asked. He attempted to sit up, but the effort was
too much for his abused body.

"Just take it easy. You've been beaten pretty badly," the cadet clad in black said.

"I'm ok," the small blond answered. He forced himself to sit up. He paled, but stayed conscious.

Hercules went to his friend's side. "You've got to rest. We both know how tough you are, you don't have to prove anything to us," he told Iolaus.

Lizfreid walked past the prisoners. He noticed that they seemed in good spirits. "And Taperticus thinks that he's broken these boys," he whispered to himself. "They look like they are plotting an escape.
Taperticus will grateful if I nip their plan in the bud. He was extremely mad when that kid almost escaped from Samraimi. Yes, I'll just make sure that these boys don't even think about trying to get
away." He marched up behind the unsuspecting cadets. He kicked Jason in the kidneys and grabbed Hercules' injured arm. When the demigod tried to fight back, Lizfreid twisted the damaged limb causing the young man to scream in pain.

Iolaus struggled to his feet. He forced himself to stay conscious through the unspeakable pain emanating from his raw back. Iolaus swallowed hard as he launched himself at the sadistic slaver.
Lizfreid was caught off-guard by Iolaus' attack. He ended up sprawled on the ground with the short cadet straddling him. Iolaus landed a few blows before Lizfreid struck him on his mutilated torso.

Iolaus gasped at the pain. The slaver used the opening to knock the young man off of him. He stood over the fallen cadet and started to kick him in the ribs. Iolaus groaned as the pain tore through his tortured body. Jason and Hercules pushed Lizfreid away from their downed colleague. He turned and started to attack the other two cadets.

Hercules and Jason gasped in shock as Lizfreid was suddenly torn away from the battle. The scrawny thug turned to see who had interrupted his fun. His sneer disappeared when he saw the look on Taperticus' face.

"I've warned you. I am the boss, and I told you that we were done with these boys. What made you think that I would approve of this action?"the behemoth declared. Lizfreid cowered. "I'm sorry sir. It looked to me that they were plotting an escape."

"Sure they were, they can barely stand up, and you think that they plan to run off," Taperticus laughed. He shook the sniveling man. "Get out of my sight, or you will regret it. I don't want to see you until I
call for you."

"Yes, sir," he whimpered as he ran away from his incensed commander. The slaver walked towards the victims of Lizfreid's attack, but was interrupted when Scottis ran up to him with a message.

"I'm sorry to bother you," stated the blond, "but there is a messenger from Powerdabe here to see you." Taperticus looked at the cadets and then went to meet his visitor.

Hercules and Jason scrambled over to their fallen friend. Iolaus was curled into the fetal position. Hercules touched his buddy's shoulder. The blond cadet slowly opened his pain glazed blue eyes.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, he just knocked the wind out of me," Iolaus gasped.

The future King of Corinth glanced at the former thief knowingly. "It's your ribs isn't it?"

Iolaus sat up quickly. "I'm fine," he started to say as he turned white from the exertion.

Hercules leaned over him. "Are you hurt?"

The smaller cadet made a face at his friend. "When will you believe me, I'll be ok. Just moved a bit too fast."

The other cadets looked at the hideous bruise forming over Iolaus' ribs. They both knew that Iolaus was in more pain than he let on.

Taperticus met with the emissary from Powerdabe. After their discussion, the camp became a flurry of activity. The slavers were running back and forth gathering supplies and various things.

Hercules looked at the men scurrying around and said, "Wonder what's going on?"

"I dunno," Iolaus replied.

"Me either. Maybe it'll give us a chance to escape," Jason added.

The small blond reminded his friends, "We have to free the girls, too. I'm not leaving without the girls."
The cadets spent the rest of the day trying to figure out a way to escape and rescue the girls. They had many ideas, but none of them were practical. They went to bed early so that they would be well rested, no matter what happened. Iolaus fell asleep almost immediately, but Hercules and Jason chatted until they could enter dreamland as well.

Hercules listened to Iolaus' labored breathing. The images of his friend's injuries ran through his mind. "He's gonna pay," the demigod muttered.

"What did ya say?" Jason whispered.

"Taperticus is going to pay for what he has done to Iolaus. I don't care what it takes, he is going to pay dearly for hurting Iolaus," Hercules swore into the darkness.

When the cadets awoke the next morning, the camp was bustling with activity. They saw a group of men standing around Taperticus. It looked like he was giving them orders of some sort. They watched as Lizfreid slowly approached his boss.

"You called for me, sir?" the scrawny redhead said quietly. He wasn't sure if Taperticus had gotten over the incident from yesterday and didn't want to set the big man off.

"Yes, I did. I have a job for you," the big man declared.

Lizfreid brightened. "What would you like me to do?"

"You are going to take a group of men and go to Powerdabe to prepare things for the girls," the leader stated.

"But sir," Lizfreid started. He shut up when he saw Taperticus' face start to darken with rage. "I was just wondering if it might be dangerous for me to take a group of so many, what if the slaves rebel?"

Taperticus surprised Lizfreid by laughing. "I don't think that that will be a problem, besides it is no concern of yours. Just get your supplies and prepare to leave immediately. Powerdabe hates to be kept
waiting."

The young men watched the scrawny thug lead a group of about ten slavers out of the camp. They knew that this was their best chance to escape.

"Where do you think they are going?" Jason asked.

"Who cares," Iolaus responded. "We better take advantage of this while we can."

"Yeah," the future King of Corinth answered.

Hercules looked at his friends and shook his head. "We are still outnumbered, injured, and weaponless, besides the fact that we are trussed like animals."

"But this is our best chance, heck it may be our only one," Iolaus declared.

"Iolaus is right, Herc. We have to take advantage of this break," Jason stated.

Hercules glanced around them. "But how? To do anything, we need to cut these ropes, and I don't see anything that we can use."

"I have a knife," Iolaus whispered.

"You do not," Hercules retorted.

"Yeah, it's inside my boot," Iolaus stated.

"You had a knife all along and never told us about it. What were you saving it for?" Jason growled.

"I forgot it was there, besides I was unconscious half the time. We couldn't have used it anyway," the small blond responded.

"Calm down guys. Ok, we have a knife and can cut our bonds, but there are still at least ten slavers and the girls are on the other side of camp, we'll never be able to pull this off," the demigod said.

"We could wait for nightfall," the Corinthian replied.

"They could come back by then. Look, it was a nice thought, but we'll just have to wait for another chance," Hercules stated.

All we need is a distraction. I could lure Taperticus into a fight while you and Jase free the girls," Iolaus thought aloud.

Jason rubbed his chin. "Hmmm, it could work."

Hercules looked at Iolaus like he was insane. "Are you crazy? You can barely stand, and you think you can fight? Besides you forgot about the other slavers."

"Herc, didn't you notice how all of those thugs stopped what they were doing whenever Taperticus was hitting me? It would be a perfect distraction--while I keep Taperticus busy and the others' attention
diverted, you guys could sneak over and free the girls," the former thief asserted.

"No Iolaus, that entire plan is insane. You could be killed. You are in no shape to fight anyone. I could distract Taperticus and the others or Jason could," the young blond sputtered.

"Herc, it wouldn't work with you or Jason. It has to be me, there has to be a reason why he beat on me more than you two. Besides who said that I'll fight him, all I have to do is keep out of his way. My legs
are fine, it's just my back that is sore," Iolaus lied.

Jason interjected, "He's right, Herc. If we decide to do it, Iolaus is the only one who can distract Taperticus and his men."

Hercules glared at Jason.

"Herc, it could be our only chance," Iolaus pleaded.

The demigod thought for a moment. He hated everything about this plan, but he knew that it could be their only chance at freedom. "Ok, I detest this idea, but I don't have any better ones. As soon as those girls are free, I'll be coming back for you."

Hercules nervously ran his right hand through his hair. "Are you sure that this is a good idea," he whispered to Jason.

"Nope, but we gotta try," the cadet responded. "Don't worry, Iolaus will be ok, he just has to divert the attention away from us and the girls."

Iolaus swallowed hard. He had hated lying to Hercules about his injuries, but those girls, he couldn't let them become slaves. He forced all of the thoughts of pain from his mind and concentrated on the
task at hand. "Hey dirtbag, ya gonna let us go now? I'm getting bored with this place," he yelled at the head slaver.

"What did you say, boy? You mean you haven't had enough punishment yet? Well I can take care of that," Taperticus declared. He motioned for two of his men to grab the young man.

"You big chicken. Can't you fight me like a man, or do you need your buddies to help ya. Some leader, he can't even beat a kid in a fight," the former thief mocked. "Why do you guys take orders from a wimp like him?"

Taperticus roared. He quickly walked over and punched Iolaus in the face. All of the slavers turned their attention to the battle that was brewing.

Iolaus shook off the blow, and started to lead the behemoth away from Hercules, Jason, and the slave pen. He began to hurl insults at the large thug, anything to distract him. He carefully ducked and evaded the blows that Taperticus threw at him.

Taperticus was so enraged that he didn't notice that Iolaus was no longer bound. His anger continued to grow with each comment from the young man.

No one noticed as the other two cadets snuck towards the holding pen. The men guarding the slaves were so enthralled by the fight between Iolaus and Taperticus that they never noticed Hercules and Jason. The young men knocked out the slavers and freed the girls. Once all of the young women were out of the pen, Hercules and Jason dragged the two thugs inside. Cheiron's students then led the girls into the woods and told them to hide. The cadets then turned and ran back into the camp to help their friend.

Punnandra, Sejae, and Cosette made sure that all of the children were accounted for. Then they turned to watch the drama unfolding in the camp.

Iolaus was tiring. Taperticus had been landing more and more blows as he slowed. Both his ribs and back were on fire, but he wouldn't stop fighting until he knew that the girls were safe. He dared not to look and see if Hercules and Jason had been successful. He just had to keep fighting. The cadet spied a log lying to his left. He ducked a punch and rolled over to the log. He leaped to his feet and brandished the bough as a club. He struck a glancing blow off of Taperticus' shoulder.

The slaver bellowed in pain. "So you want to play rough, boy?" he asked as he unsheathed his sword.

Hercules and Jason rushed to join the fray. They were surprised that all of the criminals were still mesmerized by the battle between Iolaus and Taperticus. The cadets used this to their advantage by knocking out several of the slavers. They weren't noticed until one of the men who had been guarding the girls woke up and sounded an alarm.

Taperticus looked up at the yell. He saw that the girls were gone. "You worthless little punk," he growled at Iolaus. "Get them," he cried gesturing at Hercules and Jason. "Leave this little punk to me, he will regret this-if he survives." He turned and started to attack Iolaus with renewed anger.

Iolaus gave a sigh of relief. The girls were free, and his friends  were ok. This plan was working. He concentrated all of his energy on the berserk slaver attacking him.

The young men grabbed a couple of swords from the unconscious slavers as they prepared to fight off the rest of the thugs. Jason was in his element, he loved the thrill of battle. Hercules was doing fine even with his useless left arm. They kept dispatching the enemy as they came upon them.

In the forest, several sets of eyes kept tabs on the battle down below. When the slavers noticed and started attacking the cadets, Punnandra and Sejae told Cosette to watch the little ones.

"Where are you going?" the dark-haired teen asked.

"We have got to help those guys who freed us," Sejae replied. She flipped her blond hair over her shoulder and silently creeped back to the camp.

The redhead gave Cosette a brief smile. "Take care of the youngsters. We'll be back," Punnandra promised.

Cosette gave her a quick hug. "Be careful," she whispered. Punnandra smiled and then followed Sejae.

"Where are they going?" Iris asked fearfully.

Cosette looked at all the big questioning eyes around her. "It's ok. They just went to help the boys who freed us. We have to stay here, those boys want us to wait here."

Descant bounced up and down. "But why do we have to wait here?"

Myseri, Locita, and Leandra nodded in agreement at her question. Cosette shook her head. "Because they don't want us to get lost or hurt. Those bad men are still around, and we don't want them to catch
us again."

Aetheria, a small girl with raven hair and bright blue eyes, asked, "But why did Punnandra and Sejae go?"

Cosette sighed again. She was trying to think of a suitable answer when she heard a little voice.
"They went to show the men where to find us," Kaitlyn said with a smile.

Aetheria looked at Cosette for confirmation. When she saw the dark haired girl nod in agreement, she grinned. "Ok." Cosette gathered all of the girls into a hug and then started to weave a tale.

Taperticus attacked Iolaus relentlessly. He wasn't going to let this little punk get away with making him look like a fool. Powerdabe would be extremely angry at this turn of events, and he didn't want to know what the punishment would be for failure. He could tell that the young man was tiring so he tried to press his advantage.

Iolaus could feel himself weakening. "Can't let him win," he kept telling himself. The training at the Academy had come in very handy so far in this battle, but he knew that he couldn't hold out for much
longer. Every breath he took was pure agony, his broken ribs throbbed with every move. He continued to swing the branch he had grabbed at the slaver.

Taperticus avoided the cadet's blows easily. He quickly swung his sword at the youth. It missed the young man, but knocked the branch out of Iolaus' grasp.

Iolaus gulped. He slowly backed away from the ferocious slaver. He took a step backwards when suddenly his left knee twisted and gave out on him. He attempted to stand, but his leg refused to support his weight. He sank back to the ground as the intense pain overwhelmed him.

Taperticus leered at the young man. "This has been fun, but it is time to end it for once and all. Get ready to meet Hades, boy." The slaver lunged in for the kill.

Hercules and Jason were feeling overwhelmed by the group of slavers surrounding them when without warning two of them slumped to the ground. They noticed a short blond and fiery redhead with clubs in their hands. Hercules and Jason smiled at the girls and went to work finishing off the rest of the thugs.

Hercules was fighting Samraimi when he saw Iolaus slip and fall. He waited to see his friend rise to his feet, but it never happened. He watched in horror as Taperticus moved in for the kill. He grabbed
Samraimi with his good hand and threw him as hard as he could. "Iolaus," he wailed.

Iolaus laid on the ground, paralyzed by pain and fear. He watched as Taperticus drew back his sword and thrusted it downward. He reached out and tried to find something, anything that he could use to defend himself. As the sword made it's downward stroke towards him, Iolaus' right hand curled around a handle. He swung his weapon up as Taperticus leaned in for the kill.

The muscular slaver looked down at his injured prey. He slowly brought his sword down in preparation to end it once and for all. He leaned down to jab his sword into Iolaus. His mouth opened in surprise when he felt a blade slide into his flesh as he impaled himself on the young man's weapon. His sword fell from his bloodless hands, narrowly missing it's intended target. Taperticus gave a low moan and then fell on top of Iolaus.

Iolaus laid motionless underneath the large man for several seconds. He stared at the face of his dead tormentor. He pushed his captor's body off of him, removing the sword in the process. The young cadet looked at his bloodstained sword and hands. He threw the sword away in disgust. Somehow Iolaus found the strength to drag his battered body over to some nearby bushes where he became violently ill.

Tears flowed from Hercules' eyes. He rushed to where he had last seen his friend. The image of Taperticus standing over his helpless friend, sword pointed at his heart, ran through his mind.

Taperticus was going to rue the day. Hercules brushed the teardrops from his eyes as he went to exact revenge for his friend. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the lifeless body lying there. It took several moments for him to realize that the corpse was Taperticus, not Iolaus. His eyes scoured
the area looking for signs of his friend. He was just about to start tearing the place apart when he heard retching in the nearby bushes.

Iolaus sat there, almost in a trance. He was pale and shaken. Surrounding his friend, Hercules could see the evidence that his buddy had been sick. The demigod hugged his friend gently. He didn't want to cause his pal any more pain.

"He's dead. I killed him," the young man said dully.

Hercules pulled his friend closer to him. "It's ok. You're alive," he whispered to him.

Jason surveyed the area. He walked over to the cadets. "Hey Iolaus, how are ya doing?" he asked gently.

It was almost as though Iolaus hadn't heard Jason. He sat there blankly for several minutes, before he finally responded. "Herc, Jase, what happened?" the young man asked as he blinked his eyes. "Are the
girls..."

The future King of Corinth smiled. "It's over Iolaus. The girls are free. We took care of the slavers, it's all over."

Another wave of nausea overtook Iolaus. Once it passed, he looked up at his friends and said, "Let's get out of here." He tried to stand, but his leg buckled. Hercules caught him before he fell to the ground.

"Not so fast. You need to rest," Hercules said.

The small blond looked around with a crazed look in his eyes. "Can't stay here, we've got to get out of here," he babbled.

The demigod rested a hand on Iolaus' shoulder. "It's ok. Calm down." When it looked as though the former thief had relaxed a bit, Hercules got up and walked a short distance away with Jason. "Jase, we've gotta get Iolaus out of here," he declared.

"Herc, Iolaus is in no shape for traveling. It would be best for him if we stayed right here," Jason replied.

"I know that, but Iolaus doesn't want to stay here, not that I blame him, but we both know that if he really wants to leave, he will find a way. And he could get hurt worse," Hercules announced. "Who knows, the rest of the gang could return."

"Yeah, you are right," the prince agreed. "Ok, I'm gonna round up all the slavers and lock them up. You stay here with Iolaus, then I'll grab  some supplies."

Hercules was about to disagree with how Jason had split the duties, but one look at his shell-shocked friend decided him. He knelt down beside his buddy and draped his arm around him. "It's ok, as soon as we get organized, we'll leave this place," he murmured. He glanced at Iolaus' left knee. It was starting to swell grotesquely even through the leather pants. "Hey, Jase, get some bandages, too."

Once Jason had dragged or hauled all of the former slavers into the holding pen, the girls came out of the woods. Sejae walked up to Jason and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked in shock.

"Just wanted to thank you for rescuing us," the short blond responded. She batted her blue eyes at the handsome prince.

"No problem, but I didn't do it alone," the cadet said. "My friends helped."

The petite blond smiled at him. "Well, I wanted to thank you personally."

"Ahem!" They turned to face five pairs of small eyes looking up at them.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Cosette asked.

Jason thought for a minute. "We are going to leave this camp, so we need to collect supplies and bandages and stuff."

"Ok," the teen with the chocolate curls answered. "Come on guys, let's go and gather some supplies."

As the girls walked away a loud voice was heard, "Why were they kissing?"

"Shhh, Aetheria."

Jason turned to Sejae, "I've gotta get to work, too. My friends are waiting for me."

"Let me come and help you," she replied.

Hercules stared at his friend. Iolaus' face was pale and drawn, the only color at all was from the bruises marring his countenance. Both of his eyes were blackened, and there were scrapes and bruises as well.
Iolaus' entire body was covered with welts from the abuse he had suffered. Hercules sighed. "Iolaus, I'm gonna be right back. I'm going to try to find a couple of sticks to use to splint your leg. I'll be right over there if you need me."

The blond cadet just shut his eyes and nodded slightly at Hercules' words.

Cosette quickly assigned all of the girls to a task. Leandra and her sister, Locita, started to gather blankets while Descant and Aetheria collected food. Iris, Thalya, and Kaitlyn started to make bandages.

Punnandra found the tent where the cook had been living and started to prepare a meal with the supplies that she found there. None of them had had a decent meal in weeks, so she decided to cook. Cosette walked through the camp on her quest.

Sejae continued to shadow Jason through the camp. He gave her a quick smile as he went about his tasks. Once he had grabbed everything that he needed, he headed back to his friends. Sejae was about to follow him when Gaea stopped her to ask a question.

Jason handed Hercules his shirt and gauntlets. "Missing something?" he laughed. "Here's your vest, too, Iolaus." He quickly sobered when he realized that it was time to set Iolaus' leg. The future King of
Corinth took his place.

"Iolaus, we're gonna set your leg now. It's gonna hurt," Hercules grimaced.

"Just do it," Iolaus stated through gritted teeth. "I'm ready."

Hercules and Jason manipulated the young cadet's leg into place and then splinted it. Iolaus moaned but did not lose consciousness.

Hercules looked at his friend's pale face. He knew that Iolaus was fighting to stay awake, and he wished that there was something he could do to ease his buddy's pain. He brushed the sweat off of Iolaus' forehead.

Jason placed his hand on Hercules' shoulder. "He'll be ok. He's too stubborn to stay down for long," he told the demigod as he stared at his anxious face.

"I hope you are right, Jase. He doesn't deserve this," the cadet said brokenly.

"Excuse me," a feminine voice interrupted.

The young men turned to face the teen with long chocolate curls and blue-green eyes. Cosette blushed as the boys stared at her. "I was wondering if anyone was thirsty?" she asked as she handed Hercules the waterskin.

"Thanks," the demigod replied. He took a swig and then held it up to Iolaus' lips.

"I can do it myself. I'm not a baby," Iolaus stated. He sat up and grimaced as a wave of pain washed over him. As he held the waterskin to his mouth, the cadet noticed his bloodstained hands. He quickly started to use the water to wash his hands instead.

Jason began," Hey quit wast..."

Hercules elbowed the Corinthian in the chest. He gave Jason a withering look. Iolaus continued to cleanse his hands even after all evidence of the blood was erased until the waterskin was empty.
Cosette walked over to the cadet and took the waterskin from his hands. She handed him one of the rags that Jason had brought for use as bandages.

Iolaus gave her a crooked grin of thanks. Pain shot through him and he groaned aloud.

Hercules rushed to his friend's side. "Are you ok, buddy?"

Cosette whispered, "He seems to be in a lot of pain. His ribs need to be bandaged as well as those welts on his back."

The cadet looked at her in surprise. "How do you...?"

Cosette bowed her head in embarrassment. "My father is a healer. I've learned a lot by watching him."

"Do you think you could help him?" Hercules asked.

"I'll do my best," the teen replied. She started to gently probe Iolaus' battered body. He groaned when she touched his ribcage. Tears filled her eyes when she saw his back. It was red and raw from all the
torture that the young man had endured. Some of the welts were bright red and hot to the touch. She gagged upon closer examination when she saw the puss oozing from the inflamed sores. "Could you get me some more water?"

"Sure," Jason answered knowing that Hercules would not want to leave Iolaus' side for a moment. "Why do you need it?"

"I need to cleanse his wounds. Some of the ones on his back are already infected," Cosette said.

Jason gave her an encouraging grin as he went off to fetch the water. Cosette sighed. She wasn't sure if she could actually help this young man, but she was willing to try. She smoothed a few of the unruly curls off of Iolaus' forehead. She gasped when she felt the heat there.

"Is everything ok?" Hercules asked worriedly.

"Herc, I'm fine. I have a pretty girl fussing over me, what more could I want?" Iolaus quipped.

Cosette blushed at the kind words. She started looking through the bandages, sorting out the supplies that she would need. She wished that she had some herbs to combat the infection, but there was no time to search for them.

"We haven't been properly introduced," Iolaus said with a weak smile. "My name is Iolaus. This is Hercules, and the other guy is Jason. Could I get the name of the lovely angel who is taking care of me?"

The teen flushed. "Uh, my name is Cosette, and I want to thank both of you for rescuing us from Taperticus and his men."

Jason returned with the waterskin and a bowl of stew. "Here's the water you needed. Herc, you want some stew? This girl, Punnandra, I think it is, decided to cook some real food. Why don't you get some food while Iolaus is being treated, I'll look after him."

"I wish you guys wouldn't treat me like I'm not here. I'm fine, Herc, go and get something to eat. Cosette will take good care of me," Iolaus complained.

"You want some of the stew?" Jason asked as he brought the bowl next to Iolaus.

Iolaus turned green and looked ready to pass out. "No Jase, I'm not hungry," the short cadet answered.

The demigod and prince exchanged worried glances. "Ok, Iolaus. We'll let Cosette get to work," the Corinthian stated.

Cosette took the waterskin and dampened a rag to clean Iolaus' wounds. She started on his face, wiping off the dried sweat, grime, and blood from battle. "He would be a handsome young man, if not for the bruises marring his face," she thought to herself. Once she had completed that task, she took another rag and soaked it with the water to start on his back. "Iolaus, I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt," she whispered to him softly.

"S'ok. Do what you have to," he replied.

The teen bent to her task. She tucked her long dark curls behind her ears as she started to scrub Iolaus' back as gently as she could. She felt him quiver in pain, but heard no complaints fall from his lips.
Once she had cleansed him the best she could, Cosette prepared to bind his wounds.

"Excuse me, Cosette?"

The dark haired young woman turned to see Myseri standing there. "Yes, what do you want?" she asked kindly.

The young girl with mahogany hair and dark brown eyes held out a basket. "I was wondering if you could use some of these herbs I found? she asked quietly.

Cosette quickly checked the container. "Thank you, Myseri. I needed these." She pulled the other girl into a hug. Cosette grabbed the herbs she required and started to bandage the young warrior while Myseri walked back to the others with a grin on her face.

Jason and Hercules sat watching as Cosette took care of their injured friend. All of the girls had come up and thanked them for saving them, but the young heroes were distracted with worry about Iolaus.

"Pardon me, Hercules and Jason," a teen said softly. "I just want to thank you for helping us."

No problem," Jason said distractedly. "What's your name?"

"I'm Gaea," the girl replied. She walked over to Hercules and handed him a square of fabric.

"What's this?" the demigod inquired.

Gaea responded, "It's a sling, I made for you." She tied the fabric in a knot as the cadet slid his injured arm into the brace.

"Thank you," the blond told her.

Gaea smiled and gave Hercules a quick kiss on his cheek.

"What is it with these girls?" Jason teased. "Everything is ready to go. Do you still think we ought to move Iolaus?"

"I don't like the thought of moving him anymore than you do, but you know how he is," Hercules declared. "He won't be happy until we are out of this camp."

"I know, I know," was the cadet's reply.

Cosette looked down at her handiwork. She had done the best that she could. She hoped that she had bound his ribs tight enough. She handed him the colorful vest that was lying at his side.

"Thanks," Iolaus said weakly. "Do ya think you could help me put it on, I feel a bit stiff with all these bandages."

Her deep blue-green eyes met his azure blue ones. "Sure," she smiled. As she bent down to assist him, Iolaus kissed her quickly on the cheek. "What was that for?"

Iolaus grinned," I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me."

"It's you who I should thank. You are the one who risked your life to help us," Cosette remarked.
Iolaus' reply froze on his lips when a small brunette child launched herself into his arms. He tried to muffle the moan that escaped from his lips.

Large green eyes stared up at him. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" the child asked with trembling lips.

"Nope, I'm ok," he answered. All of a sudden he realized that this was the girl that he had rushed to rescue the other day. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Kaitlyn, why don't you get off of Iolaus. You don't want to accidentally hurt him," stated Cosette.

"Ok, Cosette. Thanks for rescuing me, Iolaus," the girl said as she hugged him quickly before she climbed out of his arms.

"Hey, feeling better?" Hercules asked his friend as he went to join the small group surrounding the injured warrior.

"Yup, I'm ready to hit the road," the wounded cadet replied. He struggled to his feet. His injured knee began to throb, but he ignored it. He tried to walk, and was saved from falling on his face by Hercules.

"Doesn't look like it to me," Jason remarked.

"My leg is asleep and stiff, it'll get better once I start moving around," Iolaus retorted.

The demigod said, "Look, Iolaus you are in no shape..."

The former thief interrupted his friend," I am perfectly fine. I'm not going to stay in this camp for one second more. I'm leaving with or without you guys." He rubbed his hands on his pants.

Hercules gave Iolaus an exasperated look. "Fine. Why don't you lean on me."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Jason seconded.

Iolaus grumbled, "I don't need your help."

"It's either that or Jason will carry you over his shoulder," the demigod challenged.

The wounded cadet looked at his friends. From the expressions on their faces, he knew that he couldn't win. "Whatever. Ok, Jase, you lead the girls, and Herc and I will be rear guard," he said as he unconsciously rubbed his hands on his pants.

The Prince of Corinth and son of Zeus looked at each other. Both were trying to come up with an alternative plan. "I have a better idea, why don't you and Herc lead the way," the older cadet suggested. "You are the better woodsman."

Iolaus was about to argue, but decided to save his energy for their journey instead. "Ok," he said wearily.

The group traveled for several hours. Hercules and Iolaus led the way followed by the girls with Jason and Sejae bringing up the rear.

Punnandra and Cosette kept track of the youngsters while Sejae continued to flirt with the young Prince.

After Iolaus had tripped for the third time, Hercules turned to his friend. "Maybe we should stop for the night?"

"No, gotta keep going. I'm ok, really," the smaller blond replied. He looked at his friend, almost ready to argue when he noticed the stubborn look on his face. "Look, I know you are fine, but what about
the girls?" the demigod asked.

"The girls?"

"Yeah, they aren't used to traveling like this. Besides it might not be safe for those children walking through the woods at night, but if you want to keep going," Hercules said.

"Well, I don't want any of the girls to get hurt," Iolaus replied.

"Then find us a good place to camp for tonight," replied his friend. He looked at the sheer exhaustion lining the young cadet's face. He didn't know how Iolaus had found the strength to go on. The young man looked ready to collapse, but he kept going.

Iolaus hated having to lean on Hercules for support walking, but pain shot up his leg with every step. He forced himself to concentrate on finding a good place to stop for the night.

Iolaus sank to the ground when they found a place to camp for the night. The others hurried about absorbed with their tasks while he wearily leaned against a tree. He watched as Leandra and Locita
gathered wood for a fire so that Punnandra could reheat the stew she had made earlier. All of the other girls were also busy with other chores around the camp. He forced a smile to his lips when he saw Hercules approaching.

The demigod saw the dark circles under his friend's blue eyes. He knew that Iolaus must be in a lot of pain, but the young man never complained. He walked up to his buddy and draped a blanket over his
shoulders. "Why don't you get some rest," he said.

"I don't need to rest," the former thief snapped. "I'm going to take first watch, you and Jason should relax." He didn't know why he had just yelled at his best friend, but he was sick of being treated like he
was weak.

Hercules had a hurt expression on his face. He was going to make a comment to Iolaus, but stopped himself. "It must be the pain," the demigod told himself. He watched as Iolaus forced his eyes to stay
open. "Want some stew?" he asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great," the beaten cadet answered. His stomach felt hollow, yet when he thought about eating, it started to cramp up. He rubbed his hands against his legs as he waited for Hercules to return
with his dinner.

Jason walked over as Hercules spooned out some stew for Iolaus. "How is he? Looks like he is dead on his feet," the future King of Corinth remarked.

"He is, but he refuses to admit it. He wants to take first watch," an exasperated demigod stated.

"Let him," the older cadet said.

"Jase, he can barely keep his eyes open," the son of Zeus observed.

"Herc, if we argue with him, he won't give in. We might as well let him win, then he will relax and get some much needed sleep. As soon as he falls asleep we can take over the watch," Jason responded.

Hercules nodded in acquiescence. "Maybe you are right. But I wish he would admit that he is hurting."

"We both know that he will never admit that. He's had a really tough day, but at some point the fatigue will overtake him. We'll just have to wait. The more we fight with him, the more determined he will be to remain awake," observed the future King of Corinth.

"Yeah, I know you are right, Jase. Guess I won't truly feel better until we are back in civilization and a healer has treated him," Alcmene's son stated.

"Don't worry, since we didn't make it back to the Academy, I know that Aphistus will have a search party out looking for us. We'll find them soon and then Iolaus will get all the medical treatment he needs," Jason informed his friend,

"Hope you are right," the other cadet voiced.

Iolaus continued to lean against the tree. He saw Jason and Hercules talking. He hoped that they weren't plotting out ways to make him take it easy. His entire body was on fire with pain. He closed his eyes hoping to ease the discomfort. Within seconds he had drifted to sleep.

Jason glanced at Iolaus. "Well, Herc, it looks like Iolaus is finally dozing."

"I'm glad, he really needs the sleep," Hercules said with a smile.

Iolaus was lying on the ground with Taperticus standing above him. The behemoth had his sword drawn and was preparing to skewer the young cadet. Suddenly the large man stopped moving and collapsed onto the short blond. Iolaus could feel the weight of the slaver crushing him.

As he stared into the lifeless eyes he could hear a voice say, "You killed him. His death is on your hands." Iolaus started thrashing and moaning aloud. His cerulean eyes opened when he felt the hand on his shoulder. A look of absolute terror was on his face.

"Iolaus, are you ok? Speak to me buddy," the demigod pleaded in fear.

It took several moments before the abused youth could speak. He shook his head and mumbled a few times prior to focusing on his worried comrades. "I'm ok," he whispered.

"What happened?" Jason probed.

"Nothing," he replied.

"It was more than nothing," the older cadet stated.

"Just leave me alone. I told ya it was nothing, why don't you believe me," the former thief almost shouted.

"Take it easy, Iolaus. We were both a bit worried about you. Jason didn't mean anything by it. Just calm down. Here, have some stew," the demigod offered.

Iolaus took the stew and was about to sample it when he was overcome by cramps. He sat doubled over in pain. Dry heaves shook his tortured body.

Both Jason and Hercules stood unmoving. They were powerless to help their friend as his body rebelled. Once the spasms slowed, Hercules draped his arm around Iolaus and gave him a gentle hug. "It's ok, Iolaus. You are gonna be fine. Just hold on," the demigod said tearfully. He looked over at Jason with concern written on his face.

Punnandra watched the young men with worry etched across her face. She noticed that some of the younger girls seemed troubled by her expression. She sighed and forced a grin onto her face. "Seems that Iolaus doesn't like my cooking," she joked. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Nope, it was very good," Iris, a young girl with chestnut hair, replied.

"Better than my Mom makes," the impish Thalya answered.

A young girl with cinnamon curls and deep brown eyes jumped up and down. "Can I have some more? It was the bestest stew ever, Punnandra," she declared.

Punnandra laughed at their antics. "Sure, I think we have enough left, Descant, but let's leave some for later, ok?"

Kaitlyn sat quietly. The small girl with short honey brown curls stared at her hero. She hated watching him in such pain. She looked up when Cosette sat down next to her. "Is he ok? Is it my fault that he
is so sick?" she questioned the older girl.

"He'll be ok, sweety. That mean man hurt him, but he will get better. And no darling, it is not your fault," Cosette reassured the child.

"But he looks so bad," the green eyed imp cried.

Cosette gathered the small girl into a hug. "He will get better," she whispered. "He has to," she added to herself.

Once Iolaus had seemed to calm, Hercules walked with Jason towards the campfire. He was really worried about his small friend. Iolaus hadn't eaten much in the past few days, and now he had gotten sick several times within the last couple of hours. He knew that the cadet needed nourishment in order to heal. He strode over to Punnandra and asked the redhead if there was any tea or broth available. She quickly looked through their meager supplies and found some tea leaves. Myseri fetched some water so that the vivacious teen could brew some tea.

Kaitlyn snuck away from the group. She creeped over to Iolaus and snuggled next to him. His arms engulfed her protectively. Her emerald eyes searched his face, when she was satisfied that he was ok, she curled against him.

Sejae returned from gathering branches. She walked past the cadet lying next to a tree. The short blond studied the young man in front of her, trying to remember where she had seen him before. Jason and a few of the girls went to help Sejae with her burden. The Prince of Corinth smiled as he thought about how attentive the teen had been to him. She was cute and had made sure that he knew how she felt
about him. He thought about asking her on a date once things were back to normal.

"Wait a minute, I know this guy. He a shifty, worthless thief. He's no hero, bet he was in league with those animals. He deserves every bit of torture that he received. We should just leave him out here like the beast he is," Sejae said vehemently. "Wonder how much they paid him for us."

Jason and the former slaves stood motionless. They had been caught totally unprepared for Sejae's verbal attack on the young man who had risked his life to save them.

Sejae turned around when she heard a noise behind her. Kaitlyn carefully extricated herself from under Iolaus' arms and faced the older girl. "How can you say such hurtful things? He risked his life to save
us. He saved me!!! He is my hero. All I know is that he got hurt rescuing us, and he didn't have to do that. No matter what you say, I know in my heart that Iolaus is a hero," the child sobbed. She took a
defiant, defensive stance in front of the delirious warrior.

Hercules had been carrying the tea back for his wounded friend when he heard the end of Sejae's speech. He raced to confront the teen who had verbally attacked his friend. His face contorted with anger at her hurtful words. The demigod grabbed the blue-eyed blond girl. "How dare you say such things. He's lying there in unimaginable pain. Pain from wounds that he got when he tried to save you and your friends. He could have been killed today. He was willing to sacrifice himself, so that we
could free you. And are you grateful? No, you bring up his past. He's worked hard to turn his life around, but you overlook everything that he has done in the past week to focus instead on his past mistakes."

Jason moved quickly to separate the angry cadet and young woman. He had never seen Hercules this close to losing control. "Herc, calm down," he told his friend. It took several minutes before the demigod's anger finally cooled enough for him to regain control. "Come on Herc, you've got to get control. Iolaus needs you."

"Iolaus," Alcmene's son whispered. His eyes sought out the unmoving form of his friend. He was surprised to see a half-circle of girls surrounding the young warrior protectively. He went over to see how the cadet was doing.

Jason led Sejae away from the others. She threw her arms around the cadet. "Oh Jason," she sobbed. "Why is everyone so mad?"

The Prince of Corinth pulled away from the girl. "What do you mean? You just attacked a good friend of mine. The person who risked his life for you and the others, and you just went off on him. Do you even realize how badly he is hurt? He could even die. But all you care about is the fact that he was a thief," the cadet declared. He shook his head.

The blond young woman sniffed pitifully. She trained her teary blue eyes on the handsome cadet. "How can royalty like you be friends with a disgusting criminal like that? He probably uses you so that he can rob a higher class of people," she said as she pressed herself into Jason's arms.

"What kind of person are you? You don't even care that Iolaus could die. He is my friend, and he's proved himself to be a fine individual time and again. You are just a shallow little bitch. I should have
realized it before." The young prince roughly pushed away from Sejae. "Maybe you should step back and take a look at yourself. Wonder if you'll like the person that you've become," he said as he walked away.

Night settled on the camp. Hercules had Jason carry their semi-conscious friend to a pallet next to the fire. They became worried when Iolaus didn't even try to protest. He just laid there, sliding from consciousness to oblivion. The cadets had to laugh when they noticed that several of the children were snuggled next to Iolaus.

Alcmene hummed as she mopped the young man's brow. Heat radiated from his pale form. She stared down at the battered young man who was almost like a son to her. "How could someone be so cruel to beat a child so badly," she thought to herself. When she had first seen him three days ago, she hadn't even recognized the youth. His face had been so swollen and bruised that his features were indiscernible. She gently smoothed the damp curls off of his fevered brow. A look of concern crossed
Alcmene's face. The young warrior hadn't regained consciousness since she had been there. She knew that Hercules was extremely worried about his friend. Cheiron almost had to use force to get him out of the room for a few hours. She thought about begging the Gods to heal Iolaus, but she knew that the life of an insignificant mortal meant nothing to them. She sighed as she ruffled his blond locks. "Please, get better," she pleaded softly.

Darkness had him within it's grasp once again. It was calm and pleasant. In the distance he could hear a voice. He could feel a gentle touch. The tender voice and caress were calling him out of the darkness. He fought against it at first, but then slowly rejoined the land of the living.

Alcmene was dabbing the feverish cadet with a damp cloth when he suddenly moaned. She jumped in surprise. Slowly his cerulean eyes opened and focused on his surroundings. "Alcmene, what?" Iolaus asked in puzzlement.

The blond woman took one of his hand's in hers. "It's ok. You are back at the Academy. I came as soon as I heard that Hercules had been injured," she informed him.

"The girls?" he inquired.

"They are fine. After your group was found by the soldiers, they made sure that all of the girls got home safely," Alcmene replied.

"I'm sorry," the injured cadet whispered.

"Sorry for what, dear?" she asked gently.

"Sorry that Herc got hurt. It was all my fault. Can you forgive me?" Iolaus whimpered.

"I don't blame you, and I know that Hercules doesn't either. We both know that my son would have found a way to help those girls. Don't worry about it. You did what you felt was right," Alcmene soothed. She looked down at the young man who was drifting back to sleep. A smile crossed her face. "Get some rest," she whispered.

Cheiron knocked on the door before he entered the infirmary. Alcmene looked up as the headmaster made his way over to the bed. "How's he doing? Any change?" the centaur asked.

"He woke up for a few minutes, but drifted back to sleep," she whispered. "The poor young man. It's hard to believe that anyone would want to hurt him so badly."

"I know. There have always been people who prey on those who are smaller or weaker," Cheiron said.

"The funny thing is, instead of complaining about his injuries, Iolaus asked me to forgive him," Hercules' mother remarked.

"Forgive him, for what?" inquired the teacher.

Alcmene smiled, "He blames himself for Hercules' injury. I tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but I'm not sure if he heard me before he fell asleep. I hope he believes me. He has come so far this
past year."

"Yes, Iolaus has shown great improvement," the headmaster agreed. "Do you mind me asking why you're taking such an interest in Iolaus?"

Alcmene's musical laughter filled the room. "No, not at all. I haven't told anyone, including Hercules, about this. When I was pregnant with Hercules, I had, well I don't know if it was a vision or
if it really happened."

"Please continue."

She patted her curls as she thought several years back. "It was a few months before Hercules was due, and I was tending my flowers when a strange man with wild blond hair and bright blue eyes appeared. He said he was there to save me and my child from a strange woman. At first I didn't believe him, but then this leather-clad goddess showed up and attempted to kill me. The man risked his life for me and my baby. I asked him why, and he told me that my unborn child was going to be the greatest hero known to man. A man who had changed the lives of many, including himself. I think that he said his name was Iolaus. I don't know if it was real, but ever since that moment I've had a soft spot for
him. I'm glad that Iolaus is finally straightening out his life. Oh listen to me prattle on, I'm sorry if I bored you with this story."

Cheiron nodded, "A pretty powerful vision, it explains a lot about the boys' relationship."

She glanced at young man lying on the bed. He had lost so much weight in the past week. He started to look weak and frail, especially covered in bandages. She sighed, "Do you think he will get better?"

The centaur thought for a moment before answering. "His physical wounds will soon heal, but I fear that his mental healing will take longer."

Hercules and Jason walked into the room. The demigod crossed over to his mother's side. "How is he? Any change?" he queried.

"He woke up for a few minutes, but went back to sleep," Alcmene informed her son.

"I missed it?" he cried.

"He was only awake for a few moments. You didn't miss anything, he'll wake up again. Don't worry," she said as she pulled her son into a hug.

Jason silently watched the family moment before turning his attention to the abused warrior in the bed. He was shocked at how pale his friend appeared. Iolaus' skin was almost as white as the bandages covering his body. Every breath the cadet took seemed to be a struggle. The Prince of Corinth's hands balled into fists as he thought of the torture that the young man had undergone. "You've got to get better, Iolaus. Herc needs you, I need you," he whispered to himself.

Cheiron cleared his throat. "It's time to change the dressing," he said. He gathered the herbs and roots that he would use as a poultice. Alcmene went over to the pile of bandages and started to sort them.
She tested each one's texture. Once she had found the softest one, she handed it to the headmaster.

The centaur smiled. He could see the affection that she held for the former criminal. He finished making the dressing and then informed the cadets that they should leave the room. Alcmene offered to stay and help, but he remembered how she had almost become physically ill when she had first seen the festering sores on his raw, wounded back.

"Jason, why don't you help me. Alcmene, why don't you and Hercules get some food." Cheiron was not looking forward to this. Iolaus had come out of his coma, and now any movement would cause him pain.

"Sure, Cheiron, what do you want me to do?" Jason answered.

The headmaster waited until Hercules and his mother had left the room before turning to the young prince. "I need you to help hold Iolaus into a sitting position. This is going to hurt him, and he may fight a little." The centaur frowned. It had been easier when Iolaus had been comatose, then the young man hadn't felt any of the pain. The fact that his ribs were broken made the entire procedure much harder. Normally Cheiron would just have the patient lie on his stomach while he treated his back, but Iolaus was injured too badly. The centaur started to gently remove the bandages from Iolaus' ribs and back. The young warrior moaned and thrashed, but did not awaken. He grimaced as the bandage stuck to the cadet. As carefully as he could, Cheiron removed the soiled dressing.

Hercules turned to his mother once they left the infirmary. "Do you.... is Iolaus gonna be ok?" he asked.

"He'll be fine. It's going to take a little while before he gets back on his feet again," Alcmene reassured her son.

"Why did Cheiron send us out of the room?" the cadet queried. The blond woman thought for a moment. She knew how painful changing the bandage was for Iolaus, but she didn't want to worry her son. "I'm getting a bit hungry and would like some company eating," she said. She studied her youngest child. He was pale with a few bruises fading from his face, but the dark circles under his eyes weren't from the pain of his broken arm, they were from worry about his best friend. "Now how
about some food?"

"Well, Mom, I wouldn't call what they serve us here food," Hercules responded.

Jason gasped when he saw how inflamed Iolaus' back was. The skin was raw and red with lots of puss oozing from the infected sores. He watched as Cheiron started to clean the wounds. The small blond moaned in pain, but did not regain consciousness.

Once the headmaster had cleaned the injuries, he placed the poultice on the cadet's back. He started to bind the youth's wounds as the Prince of Corinth held the young man steady. The bruise covering Iolaus' ribs had started to turn a sickly greenish yellow. He probed them gently, checking to see if they had started to heal. Once Cheiron had finished bandaging the injured cadet, he checked on the young man's knee. It was grotesquely swollen and bruised. The centaur checked the brace, making sure it wasn't cutting into the skin. He glanced down at his patient's face. He noticed sweat forming on the young man's brow. The centaur took a damp cloth and wiped Iolaus' forehead. He smoothed the unruly locks away from the pale bruised face.

Alcmene walked slowly back to the infirmary with her son. She was worried about Hercules. He needed to stop fretting about his injured friend and get some rest himself. She knew that that was easier said than done. The young man could be worse than a mother hen at times.

"Why don't you take a nap, son,?" she asked.

"Not tired. Besides I want to be awake in case Iolaus needs me," Hercules replied.

She sighed in frustration. "Hercules, you won't do Iolaus any good, if you are exhausted and get sick, too. You'll be in the same room, and you'll be able hear if Iolaus wakes up."

The demigod looked at the stubborn expression on his mother's face. "I guess you're right, Mom. I could use a nap." She smiled indulgently.

"Good idea."

Hercules slid under the covers. He looked across the room at his best friend. It troubled him to see Iolaus so still and pale. He hoped that the injured cadet would recover soon.

When Hercules closed his eyes, Alcmene brushed the stray hair out of his face. She sat there quietly watching as both young men slept. She noticed Cheiron outside the door and went to talk to him.

"How are they doing?" the headmaster asked.

"Both sleeping peacefully," she replied. "I was thinking that once Iolaus wakes up and starts to recover, I could take both boys home. It would keep them out of your hair. I know that they can be a handful."

Cheiron grinned," Yes, they can be. That is a wonderful idea, Alcmene, but it will be a long time before Iolaus can travel. You could take Hercules home though."

"We both know that Hercules won't leave while Iolaus is hurt," the blond woman said with a smile.

Iolaus was tied to a post. A dark shadow stood behind him with a whip. The figure unfurled the whip and proceeded to beat the young man. Slowly the image shifted to the blond cadet lying on the ground.
A large man stood above him sword in hand. The sword moved downward striking the body. Iolaus looked down as he repeatedly drove the sword into Taperticus' lifeless body. As he twisted the blade into his hated tormentor, the face changed into the stern and rigid countenance of General Skouras. He could hear a voice bellowing, "Boy, runt, crybaby, coward, thief, murderer." With each word the voice got louder and louder. "No," he screamed. "It's not true."

Cheiron and Alcmene rushed into the Infirmary when they heard Iolaus scream. They saw Hercules standing over his friend, trying to calm the thrashing young man. The centaur moved quickly to restrain the injured cadet. He grabbed both wrists and held them against the bed while Alcmene talked quietly to Iolaus. Slowly the youth calmed and finally opened his eyes.

"Iolaus, are you ok? What happened?" Hercules asked anxiously.

"What? Where am I?" Iolaus said as he blinked his blue eyes. "Herc?Alcmene? Cheiron? What's going on?"

Alcmene ran her fingers through the feverish young man's golden locks. "It's ok, Iolaus. You are fine. You are at the Academy, and you've been injured. Just relax." She smiled down at him. She could feel the heat radiating from the injured warrior.

Cheiron studied his patient. "How do you feel? Do you have any pain?"

The young man grimaced. "I'm fine," he lied. "Never felt better."

The headmaster narrowed his eyes. "Iolaus," he warned.

"Ok, ok, my back and my leg hurt, but it's not that bad, really," Iolaus replied.

The centaur knew that the cadet was lying about the pain. He had seen people with only one wound of such seriousness that were paralyzed by the pain, but this kid pretended that the pain didn't exist. He shook his head in exasperation.

"What am I thinking, you must be starving? Would you like some broth and tea?" Alcmene asked the pale youth.

"Nah, I'm not hungry," Iolaus said. He started to sit up, but collapsed as pain knifed through his side. He laid there, breathing raggedly.

"Let me take a look at those ribs. You may have reinjured yourself," Cheiron said as he started to examine the cadet.

Alcmene got up and went to get some food for Iolaus. She didn't care if he said that he wasn't hungry. The poor boy was almost fading away. She was worried, Iolaus was always starving--even after a huge meal, the young man could always eat more. She wondered if it went back to the days when Iolaus lived on the streets and didn't always get a meal for days. She sighed as she thought of the battered youth.

Hercules held Iolaus' hand as the headmaster manipulated the damaged ribs back into place. He marveled at how the young man kept from crying out in pain. The demigod's eyes filled with tears as he thought of all the torment that his best friend had gone through recently. He smiled at the short blond warrior.

"Iolaus, I need you to sit up. I have to rewrap your ribs," the centaur informed the boy.

"Ok, whatever," the feverish cadet replied. The effort exhausted him, and he appeared haggard and weak. He sat there stoically as Cheiron bound his ribs tightly.

Alcmene entered the room carrying a tray. She shuddered involuntarily when she saw how ashen and gray Iolaus appeared. She forced a smile onto her face as she offered the youth some broth.

The tousled blond smiled weakly as he started to eat. He had swallowed several spoonfuls when his stomach started to revolt. His entire body shook and convulsed in spasms.

Cheiron held Iolaus gently as the tremors went through his body. Once the seizure had finished, he eased the young cadet back down on the bed. He walked over and took the tea from the tray. He added a few herbs to the brew before offering it to the injured young man.

"Don't want any," the pale blond whispered.

"Drink it," the centaur ordered. "I added something to calm your stomach." Iolaus prepared to protest, but one look at the expression on Cheiron's face told him that this was a battle that he could not win. He quickly swallowed the bitter tea. The young man hoped that he wouldn't be sick again. He rubbed his hands against the blanket. He felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier, soon he sank into a deep dreamless sleep.

Cheiron looked into the worried faces of Hercules and his mother. He understood their anxiety about the injured cadet. "Don't worry, the tea will calm his stomach and let him get some rest," he assured them.

"But, he hasn't eaten anything in days. He is just skin and bones," Alcmene cried.

Hercules interjected, "He's been throwing up like that ever since Taperticus died. He needs to eat in order to regain his strength, is there something you can do for him?"

The headmaster thought about the words that the demigod had used to describe when Iolaus had become sick. He wondered why the cadet had said died not killed. It was understandable why Iolaus had become sick at that time. You could never judge how someone would act when they killed for the first time. He expected that Hercules would have a hard time accepting the fact that he had taken the life of another. Jason, on the other hand, seemed to be the type of a person who would just accept it as a necessary part of life. Iolaus, well, he was a mystery. The young man often acted like a clown, but the centaur suspected that there was much more under the surface. His father was a famous general-- one known for his strict discipline, but who knew how he treated his only son. Cheiron surmised that the youth had not had an easy time growing up, maybe that was why he had gotten mixed up with a
gang of thieves in the first place. He was glad that Iolaus seemed to be making a fresh start at the Academy.

Cheiron pulled himself out of his thoughts to answer Hercules' inquiry. "I added some ginger to the tea to ease his nausea. This is probably just his body's response to all of the trauma that Iolaus has suffered in the past weeks. Give him time, he will recover," the centaur stated.

Hercules looked mollified by his mentor's words. He hoped what the centaur said was true. Iolaus had gone through an awful lot--he was lucky to be alive. The son of Zeus watched as his friend slept. "Get
better, Iolaus," he whispered. "I need you."

Jason stared out across the fields surrounding the Academy. He thought about his friend lying helpless in the infirmary. He clenched his fists as he remembered how Taperticus had beaten Iolaus. He wished that he had done something to stop the abuse. He had to hand it to the kid though, he had never heard the small blond warrior cry out or complain.

He regretted the fact that they had made Iolaus battle Taperticus so that they could free the girls. The plan had worked perfectly, but at what cost? The young cadet hadn't acted the same since he had killed Taperticus in self-defense. Maybe it was just the shock of all of his injuries catching up to him all at once. The Prince of Corinth hoped so. He couldn't believe how badly Iolaus had been hurt. When he had seen the young man's raw and tortured body, it had almost made him sick. The fact that the cadet seemed to ignore the pain had made Jason's esteem for him rise immeasurably. He stretched. His back was still sore, but it was nothing compared to what Iolaus was going through. He had ordered Aphistus to send some men after the rest of the slavers, they needed to be punished. Jason hoped that the others would be captured, it would give him great pleasure to punish them, and maybe it would help repay Iolaus for everything he had endured.

The next several days passed in a blur. Iolaus would wake up from a nightmare, usually screaming and fighting the demons in his dreams. Once he had been comforted, he would be given the drugged tea which would cause him to slip into a dreamless sleep. On a few occasions, Alcmene actually got him to swallow some broth as well. Everyone breathed easier once the young man was able to keep some nourishment down. After several days, Iolaus' fever broke and he began the slow road to recovery.

The cadet slowly blinked his deep cerulean eyes. He pushed himself into a sitting position and gasped as pain shot through his body. Hercules was by his side in a second, fussing over him like a mother
hen. "Herc, leave me alone. I'm fine," he muttered. He pushed his unruly curls behind his ears and surveyed the room.

The demigod stared at his friend. Iolaus was actually starting to look and act like himself again. The bruises had started to fade, and his eyes looked clear for the first time in days. He wanted to ask him how he felt, but he knew that the short blond would not appreciate it.

"Want something to eat?" Hercules asked cautiously.

"Sure, that sounds good," Iolaus responded.

The demigod flashed his friend a grin before leaving to get some food. He ran into Cheiron and his mother in the hallway. He told them that Iolaus was awake and asking for food. Alcmene rushed to the kitchen to prepare something while Hercules and the centaur walked back into the infirmary.

"I see that you are awake. How are you feeling?" the headmaster asked his pupil.

"I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that?" the injured blond complained.

Cheiron had to smile at Iolaus' comment. It sounded like the young man was on the road to recovery. "You've been quite ill and have several serious injuries, so it's understandable why everyone keeps asking you that question," he replied. "Does anything hurt?"

"Other than my whole body aching, I feel great," the blond joked.

"How about hungry? You must be starving," Alcmene said as she entered the room carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of soup and some bread.

"Yeah, food sounds good. Whadda got?" Iolaus asked.

She beamed at the young man. "I have vegetable soup and fresh bread for you," she said.

"Is that all? I'm a growing boy, I need lots of food," he quipped with a grin.

Alcmene's musical laughter filled the room. "If you want more, I'll get you some once you finish eating." It was nice to see the young man in high spirits once again. For the first time in days, she actually believed that Iolaus would recover. She glanced at her son and saw her joy mirrored in his eyes. For all of his talk about being hungry, Iolaus barely finished the bowl of soup and just picked at the bread. His eyes started to droop, and soon after he finished his meal, the young cadet drifted off to sleep.

Cheiron saw the anxious faces of Alcmene and Hercules. "Don't worry," he said. "He hasn't eaten a real meal in weeks, so it's normal for him not to eat that big of a meal. Sooner than you think, he'll be eating everything in sight. He's still weak and needs his rest. He'll be up and around before you know it."

Alcmene tucked the covers around the young warrior. She ruffled the blond ringlets as she felt his head. She sighed in relief, his fever was gone. "Thank the gods," she thought. She had been so worried about the young man. If something had happened to him, she wasn't sure if her son could take it. The two boys had become close friends in such a short period of time. She couldn't imagine life without Iolaus. The young man always brought laughter and joy. She wondered about Arathea. Wondered if the woman missed her son. Hercules had once mentioned something about Iolaus leaving home. She often speculated about why the youth would do such a thing, but then again, Iphicles had left home as
soon as he could. She wished she knew where Iolaus' mother lived so she could tell her about her son. Alcmene knew that she would welcome any news about Iphicles, and she was sure that Arathea would feel the same.

She vowed to treat Iolaus like a son and hoped that somewhere, someone was doing the same for Iphicles.

Hercules watched his friend sleep. The young man always looked so peaceful and calm when he was resting. The demigod didn't understand how his buddy could be so high-spirited and animated during the day, but sleep like a baby at night. Right now he would give anything to get his energetic friend back. He sighed. It finally looked like Iolaus would recover. Soon he would have his happy-go-lucky pal back.

Cheiron motioned for them to follow him out of the room. He knew that Hercules wanted to stay by Iolaus' side, but the young man couldn't sit there every minute as the cadet recuperated. "Iolaus will sleep for several hours, you might as well relax and get something to eat. Neither of you have been taking care of yourselves in the past few days. I don't need anymore patients. Now that Iolaus is healing, both of you can relax," he said.

"But Cheiron, what if he has another nightmare?" Hercules sputtered.

"Hercules, Iolaus will be fine. Spend some time with your mother," the centaur commanded. "You can check on him later," he continued. "Now I'd like you and Alcmene to eat and relax." He knew that both of them had to be exhausted, they had spent the last several days at Iolaus' bedside.

Now that the injured cadet seemed to be getting better, he hoped that Hercules and his mother would relax a bit.

Jason and Lilith walked into the infirmary. They were surprised to find the room empty except for Iolaus. The young cadet lay in the bed sleeping peacefully. He appeared pale and weak, but looked one hundred times better than he had earlier in the week.

"The poor guy. He's suffered so much. I hope they get the guy who did this to him," Lilith said angrily.

"Not to worry, Taperticus won't hurt anyone again. He's dead," Jason whispered.

"I hope his death was slow and painful. I'd have loved to beat him for all the torture he put you guys through, especially Iolaus," the hot-headed female cadet spat.

"Well, he died fighting Iolaus. Iolaus had twisted his knee and fallen to the ground, and Taperticus went in for the kill. He impaled himself on the sword that Iolaus had grabbed to defend himself," Jason recalled.

"Why was he fighting Iolaus, in the first place? From what you guys have told me, Iolaus was in pretty bad shape at that time," the girl asked.

"It was a diversion so that Herc and I could free the girls. Whenever that guy started to beat on Iolaus, all of the slavers would stop and watch. The distraction worked perfectly though, they didn't notice we
were free until the girls were safe. We were on our way to help Iolaus when it happened," the Prince of Corinth stated with a wry smile.

"Well, he was very brave. Guess you guys are all heroes now," Lilith said. She gently ruffled Iolaus' hair. "How come all the exciting stuff happens when I'm not around?"

"Don't know. Guess we are just lucky," Jason joked. "He looks like he's doing better. Maybe we ought to let him sleep."

"Yeah, I guess so. Looks like his fever is gone. Soon he will be back to normal- driving us crazy," the blond young woman whispered as they tiptoed to the door.

Iolaus awoke with a start. He quickly glanced around the room and gave a sigh of relief when he saw that he was alone. The sheets and blankets were twisted and knotted. He shivered as the coolness of the room touched his sweat covered body. He had had another nightmare. The dreams were so vivid and lifelike. He hated them, hated reliving events of the past weeks. The cadet was glad that no one had witnessed the latest episode. Everyone always looked so concerned whenever he had a nightmare. He was happy that no one else could see the images that haunted him. If they could, they would probably turn away disgusted at him and what he had done. Iolaus straightened the blankets so that all evidence of his battle with the night terrors was erased.

The next several days passed uneventfully. Iolaus was starting to heal and eat again. He was still picking at the food, but at least he was eating some of it. He slowly started to regain color and strength. Alcmene enjoyed fussing over the youth. She had even commandeered the kitchen to cook some of his favorite dishes.

Iolaus pushed the tray of food away. The bowl of stew was empty, but there were several slices of bread and a pastry sitting there untouched. He looked over at the woman who had brought him the meal.

"You have barely touched your dinner. How do you expect to get better if you don't eat?" Alcmene asked the cadet.

"I ate. I'm just not that hungry," he replied.

"I made that fig tart just for you. It is one of your favorites, isn't it? If you'd like, I'll quit cooking for you, and you can go back to eating the Academy food like everyone else," Hercules' mother said.

He glanced at the determined look on her face. He gave a sigh and grabbed the pastry. He took a tentative bite. His stomach remained calm. He took another bite. No sign of the nausea that he had feared.

Soon he finished the treat.

Alcmene smiled to herself. "Guilt always works wonders," she thought to herself. She watched as he finished everything left on the tray. The blond woman beamed in delight as she saw the evidence that Iolaus' voracious appetite had returned. She collected the empty dishes and utensils and started on her way to the kitchen when she was interrupted.

"Uh, Alcmene, do you have any more of those goodies?" the cadet asked with an impish smile.

"Maybe. Depends if Hercules and Jason left any," the woman bantered. "I thought that you were full?"

"I was, but since you went to all the trouble to fix food for me... It would be rude for me not to eat any," he stated.

"I think I can find something," she said. Her musical laughter filled the room as she went to the kitchen. She walked down the hallway, her heart feeling lighter than it had in days. Alcmene entered the kitchen
and was surprised by the mess in front of her. The room looked like a war zone. Open containers of salt, flour, sugar, and oats covered the countertop. Eggshells littered the floor. She saw the mangy assistant cook covered in flour.

"What happened in here?" she exclaimed.

"I was trying to make those things that you baked earlier, with a few of my own touches of course," the youth said.

As she stepped closer to the would-be cook, she noticed that there was egg in his hair and batter on his shirt. "Do you need some help?" Alcmene asked.

"Nah, I'm ok," he answered.

Hercules' mother started to wash the dirty dishes. She shook her head in wonder at the state of the kitchen. "No wonder the boys always complain about the food, " she thought.

"You don't have to do that, it's my job to wash the dishes," the scruffy man with bad teeth said as he shuffled to the sink.

"Well, if you are sure I can't do anything," Alcmene said as she made her way to the door. The boy told her to leave, and she didn't think twice about leaving that disaster area behind. She was halfway down the hall when she heard a yell.

"Falafel, what have you done? Clean up this mess and then get out of here. You'll never make it as a chef," the cook yelled.

Now that Iolaus had started to act like himself, Alcmene and the others stopped their constant pampering. They still checked up on him, but no one was with him around the clock anymore. Iolaus liked having quiet time to himself. He still had the nightmares, and it was a blessing not having to hide the fact from his friends. After several days in bed, Iolaus grew bored. He was tired of the infirmary, sick of seeing the same four walls day after day. He carefully slid his legs off the side of the bed. He was embarrassed to notice that the only thing he was wearing was blue briefs. He figured that his clothes must be in the closet a few feet away. He could grab them and take  a quick walk before
anyone noticed he was gone. He slowly stood on his right leg before putting any weight on his injured left one. The effort was painful, but he could stand. He took several shuffling steps towards the closet
before he lost his balance.

Cheiron was walking past the infirmary when he heard a sound. He walked in the door in time to see Iolaus crash to the floor. The young man's left leg buckled underneath him and he fell, knocking over a chair in his plunge. "What did you think you were doing?" the centaur asked as he helped the cadet to his feet.

"Trying to take a walk," the youth responded. He grabbed his left side as pain knifed through him.

The headmaster's grim look softened when he saw the young man grimace. "Let me check those ribs. You may have reinjured them when you hit that chair," he said.

Iolaus sank onto the bed. "Ok," he quietly stated.

Cheiron looked at the cadet's pale face and knew that the youth was in great pain, not that he would ever admit to it. He started to remove the bandage covering Iolaus' ribs when there was a knock on the door.

"Hello? Is everything ok in there? I brought some food," Alcmene said.

The headmaster was about to tell her to come in when he saw the look on the injured youth's face. He quickly realized that Iolaus would be ashamed for her to see him in such a state of undress. He called out,"Things are fine. Could you come back in a few minutes?"

Iolaus breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Alcmene walk away. His expression suddenly turned to one of pain as Cheiron probed his ribs. "I thought so," the centaur said when he found the fractured ribs. "I'm going to manipulate them into place and then wrap them again. It's going to hurt. Would you like some tea for the pain?"

"Nope, just do what you have to do," the blond informed him.

Cheiron was impressed at Iolaus' self control. He didn't know many people who could fight back the pain like the small cadet. Once he had finished with the youth's ribs, he helped him lay back down on the bed. He decided to examine the injured knee before covering the young man. He watched the color drain from Iolaus' face as he manipulated the swollen joint. The centaur sighed. He had put this off as long as possible, but today's escapade proved that it was time.

He turned to the pale youth. "I'm going to do some acupuncture on your knee--it will help reduce the swelling and maybe ease some of the pain."

Iolaus leaned into the pillows. "Ok, whatever you think," he said dully.

The centaur quickly went to work on the knee. When he had completed his task, he looked up and found that Iolaus had drifted to sleep. He smiled as he tucked the young warrior in. "Sleep well," he whispered as he walked out of the room. He met Alcmene outside the door.

"How is he?" she asked. "Is he ok?"

"He'll be fine. He decided to take a walk, but fell and cracked a couple of ribs instead," Cheiron informed her.

A frown formed on her face. "The poor thing, just when he seemed to be getting better."

The centaur had to grin at her compassion for the former thief. "He is recovering. I finally treated his knee, now he'll be up and walking soon."

"What do you mean 'finally treated'?" Alcmene asked full of concern.

"I hadn't done anything to reduce the swelling of his knee. His other injuries were more serious and painful, and I thought that if I only bandaged his knee he wouldn't try to move around and maybe reinjure himself. I figured the longer he stayed in bed, the quicker he would heal. And since he has tried to get back on his feet, I guess that now is the time," he said.

Hercules' mother smiled. She knew what a handful Iolaus could be, and Cheiron was right. The longer they had kept Iolaus in bed the better. "I think we always knew that he would be back on his feet sooner or later, it's just a bit sooner than we would like," she replied. She realized that she would soon return home. There was no reason to stay at the Academy since both Hercules and Iolaus were recovering. "My offer still stands to take him and Hercules home with me," she said.

"That's very kind of you, Alcmene, but Iolaus isn't up to such a long trip. It'll be best for him to stay here and recover," the centaur stated.

She smiled sadly. "I know, but once he gets back on his feet, he'll be a handful. He may try to push himself too hard."

"Don't worry, he will not be allowed to participate in any drills until he has healed completely. Besides he has lots of schoolwork to catch up on, and I can think of plenty of things to keep him out of trouble," Cheiron laughed.

Alcmene laughed as well, knowing that the young man always seemed to find trouble. She took one last glance at the sleeping cadet before leaving the room with Cheiron.

Alcmene joined her son as he stood looking out at the area surrounding the Academy. "Dinar for your thoughts," she said softly.

"Oh, hi Mom," the demigod replied.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Just everything that has happened in the past few weeks. So much has happened. I wish that it had been me who had gotten hurt instead of Iolaus. What did he do to be beaten so badly? He didn't deserve to be treated that way," Hercules said with tears filling his blue eyes.

Alcmene hugged her son tightly. "I know, I know," she murmured. "You both feel guilty that the other got hurt."

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Iolaus feels responsible for your arm. He asked me to forgive him, and I told him it wasn't his fault. And now I'm telling you not to feel guilty for his injuries. Neither of you are responsible, that horrible
man, Taperticus, is at fault. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over. This entire episode is over, and you must put it behind you. Don't let this eat you up inside. I feel that you may have to help Iolaus deal with his feelings of guilt. I think that he believes that he is to blame for everything. Iolaus tries so hard to hide his emotions, but I suspect that he is still struggling to accept
what all of you boys went through," the woman told her son.

"How can I do that if he won't talk about it?"

"Just be his friend. Treat him like you always have. He needs to know that you care."

"I'll try, Mom," Hercules replied.

Alcmene smiled. She looked at the view and sighed. At her son's puzzled look she responded, "I have to return home soon."

The demigod held her tight. "It's been nice having you here."

"I've enjoyed being here, but you are doing well, and Iolaus will be well soon--no reason for me to stay. Besides I should get back to the farm," his mother answered.

Hercules thought for a moment. A troubled look passed across his face. "You don't plan on going home unescorted? You didn't come here alone did you? It's too dangerous for you to travel by yourself."

Alcmene had to grin at her son's overprotectiveness. "I came to the Academy with the messenger that Cheiron sent to tell me that you boys had been found and that you were hurt. You don't have to worry about me, I'm the adult, it's my job to worry."

"But Mom," he started.

"Don't worry, I won't travel home alone, if that makes you feel better," she interrupted. She knew that some of his concern came from his recent experience, but he had always been worried about others, even as a child. "I'm going to stay a few more days, then I'll head home." She hugged her son again. As she held him close, she noticed the dark shadows under his eyes. "Now I want you to get some sleep."

He stood alone, sword in hand. Bodies littered the ground. Lifeless eyes stared up at him. He looked down at his bloodstained sword and hands. In the background, he could hear voices.

Jason's voice said, "It's all your fault. It's your fault that we were captured. Your fault that Hercules is hurt. You are responsible."

Another voice added, "You worthless little thief. Can't you do anything right? Quit whining. Act like a man."

"Don't you ever pay attention, boy? How can a crybaby like you be related to me? You are no son of mine. Quit crying. You should go home, you momma's boy. Little girlie boy. I have no son," Skouras
said.

The voices echoed in his head. He dropped the sword and covered his ears with his hands. He could feel the warm, sticky blood start to run down his face. He looked for something, anything to wash the evidence of his actions away. As he surveyed the area, the faces of the dead bodies surrounding him came into focus. He saw Taperticus, lying there. Next to him was Skouras's corpse, grinning up at his son. The voices started again, this time louder and more insistent.

The youth jumped when Taperticus lurched to his feet. The behemoth grabbed the young man and started to shake him. "You killed me, you worthless little punk. But you couldn't even kill me like a man. You lay there whimpering on the ground, waiting for me to finish you off. It was just a stroke of luck, that you raised that blade when you did. You pathetic little boy. Didn't you wish I was dead? Maybe you enjoyed all those whippings. Maybe you liked the punishment," the slaver taunted.

"No," the blond yelled. He struggled to get out of Taperticus' grasp.

Skouras stood beside the large muscular slaver. "Is that your problem, boy? Do you like to be beaten? No wonder you are such a disappointment. Can't even take a life like a man. You are such a wimp," the Spartan said. He reached out to slap the youth. The young cadet escaped from the thug's embrace and grabbed the sword lying close by. He swung it at the men who were taunting him. Blade sliced through flesh. He stabbed at the figures repeatedly, until they fell to the ground, lifeless. He looked down at the carnage in front of him, and then at himself. He was covered in blood. The cadet tried to clean the gore off of his body.

"It's your fault. You killed him. Murderer. You don't deserve to live," the voices mocked.

"No, no. You are wrong. I didn't want to kill him. I didn't mean to do it," the blond screamed in terror.

The voices got louder and more persistent. "Killer. Murderer. Everything is your fault. You should die. It should have been you. Killer! Murderer!"

"No! No!" the youth howled.

Cheiron ran to the Infirmary as soon as he had heard the first unearthly scream. He was met outside the door by Hercules, Jason, Alcmene, and Lilith. When Iolaus yelled the second time, they all rushed into the room. The young cadet was thrashing and yelling. Blankets littered the floor, while sheets were twisted around the youth. He swung his arms at unseen attackers. "No," he shrieked. "No."

Cheiron quickly took control. He ordered Hercules and Jason to restrain the youth. They were both surprised at the strength of the injured cadet. He told Alcmene to talk to Iolaus, to try and bring the
young man to his senses. He went to the counter and prepared a brew of scullcap to help ease the young warrior's hysteria. Lilith stood motionless. She felt lost and useless to help her panicked friend. She decided to assist Alcmene as she tried to calm the tormented youth. The older woman smiled as the female cadet started to talk to Iolaus. Alcmene hummed softly as she brushed the sweat soaked curl's off of the young man's head.

"Come on, Iolaus. It's ok. We're all here. Come on, Iolaus, wake up," Lilith murmured to her friend.
The young cadet continued to fight his invisible assailants. He ripped his arm away from Jason's grip, swinging wildly.

"Look out," Jason cried.

Hercules looked up in time to be hit by his friend. "Ouch," he cried.

He held onto Iolaus' other arm as the future King of Corinth tried to grab the wildly flaying limb.
It took several minutes before Iolaus started to calm down. Slowly Alcmene's gentle crooning and touch got through to the young man. He stopped fighting against those who were restraining him. He blinked as the dark vision gradually receded from his mind.

Cheiron handed Iolaus a cup of tea. "Drink this," he ordered. He was concerned by the madness he could still see in the cadet's cerulean eyes. "It was all a dream, Iolaus. It was just a dream," he assured
the youth.

The battered cadet drank the bitter brew. He looked around the room suspiciously. He immediately sobered when he saw the bruise blackening Hercules' eye. "Herc, what happened?" he croaked.

"It's nothing," he answered.

"Who hit you?" the youth asked worriedly.

Hercules looked over to Cheiron for support. "Don't worry about it, Iolaus. It's just a black eye."

"I...I h..h..hit you, didn't I? I'm so sorry, Herc. I didn't mean to hurt you," the young man stammered.

"Iolaus, it was an accident. I know that you didn't mean to hit me. You were delirious at the time. Don't worry about it," the demigod told his friend.

Alcmene whispered to Iolaus, "He's right you know. It was not your fault."

Cheiron placed a hand on the youth's shoulder. "I think that you need some rest."

The blond cadet's eyes flashed briefly with terror. "I...I'm not tired," he replied.

The centaur eyed Iolaus in concern. He knew that whatever the dream was, it had terrified the youth. He wished that the cadet would tell them about his nightmares, but he wouldn't push the young man to tell them before he was ready.

Alcmene unwrapped the sheets twisted around the young man's torso. Lilith grabbed the blankets that had fallen on the floor and handed them to the blond woman. Hercules' mother smiled at the female cadet for her help as she tucked the covers around Iolaus. She frowned when she noticed that the blond cadet was shivering uncontrollably. She pulled the blankets closer to Iolaus, and started to rub his head.

Jason, Hercules, and Lilith looked at each other helplessly. They didn't know what to do to help their friend. None of them could think of anything that would terrify their fearless friend so badly.

Cheiron walked over to the cabinet and removed a bottle. He poured a glass of amber liquid. The headmaster gave the cup to the cadet and told him to drink.

Iolaus looked at the centaur distrustfully. "I..I..I'm n..n..not th..th..thirsty," he shivered.

"Drink it," the teacher ordered. In a softer tone he continued," It's just something to warm you up."

The cadet looked skeptical, but knew better than to fight. He took a tentative swallow. "This is ale," he stated.

"Yes, it is. Now drink it down. It will help warm you up," Cheiron remarked. He watched as the young warrior swallowed the rest of the ale and started to relax. The centaur went over to the other three cadets.

"Talk to him. Try to take his mind off of what had just happened," he whispered to them.

The three cadets moved to the bedside. Jason sat down and started to tell Iolaus about what he had missed in class. "And then old fiddleface got up and glared. He started in on needing respect and responsibility for the ten millionth time..."

"Don't forget about the food fight the other day. Feducious walked in just as an entire bowl of oats flew across the room. You should have seen the expression on his face," Lilith added.

The cadets continued to tell stories and jokes until Iolaus drifted to sleep. The blond had fought to keep his eyes open as long as he could, but it was a battle he would not win. Hercules refused to leave his friend's side when the others got up to leave. Lilith and Jason knew that it would be a waste of time and breath to fight with the demigod.

Jason put a hand on Hercules' should as he prepared to leave the room. "Don't worry, he'll be ok. Iolaus will get through this. He's a tough kid," he told his friend.

Hercules smiled up at the cadet. "Thanks, Jase."

Cheiron tried to talk the cadet and his mother into leaving the room and getting some rest. Both of them refused to leave the side of the short blonde cadet. He shook his head as he prepared cots for them.

"If you need me, I'll be down the hall in my room," he reminded them as he walked out of the room. The first thing Cheiron did the next morning was check on his patient in the infirmary.

He smiled as he saw Alcmene watching over both of the sleeping boys. "How is he?" the centaur whispered.

"Still sleeping. He moaned a few times during the night, but didn't wake up," the woman answered.

"I am surprised to see Hercules sleeping. Did you get any rest?" he inquired.

"I dozed on and off. I told my son to lay on the cot, and eventually he fell asleep. He's so worried about Iolaus, so am I. What could have terrified him so?" the blond asked as she looked up at her son's mentor.

The headmaster thought for a moment before answering. "I think that Iolaus is reliving the tortures and beating that the boys suffered. He hasn't had time to deal with what has happened yet. Hopefully as he
heals, the nightmares will stop."

"I hope you are right," she replied as she ran her fingers through the cadet's unruly curls. "He's such a sweet boy."

Cheiron was touched by how much she seemed to care for a child who was not her son. "Why don't you get something to eat? I'll watch after the boys."

"What....what's going on? Is Iolaus alright?" the blond mumbled as he woke up.

"Iolaus is fine, Hercules. Why don't you get cleaned up and have some breakfast?" the centaur directed.

"But I want to stay here," the cadet started. He looked into the deep brown eyes of his mentor. He pushed his straight blond locks off of his face. "Fine, I'll go," he said as he realized that it was a fight he could not win.

Iolaus slowly blinked his bright blue eyes. He looked around the room and gave a sigh of relief when he didn't notice anyone else. He started to sit up when Cheiron appeared out of nowhere. "Where did you come from?" he asked.

The centaur had a serious look on his face. He stared down at the injured cadet. "When are you going to talk about the dreams?" he said softly.

The blond tried to appear puzzled. "What dreams?"

"The nightmares that leave you screaming and terrified."

"They're nothing."

"Well, after the last one, it took us almost half an hour to calm you. Iolaus, I can't help you if you won't tell me about them," the teacher said calmly.

A look of horror passed across the former thief's face. "I....I.... I just can't," he stuttered.

"I won't press you to talk, but they can't haunt you if you share them. You don't have to confide in me if you don't want to, you can talk to Hercules, Jason, Alcmene, or even Feducious," Cheiron said with
a smile.

The cadet paled at the thought of sharing the images of what haunted him with anyone. "I'll think about it," he stated. "Hey Cheiron, when can I get out of here? I'm sick of staying in bed."

The centaur wasn't surprised by the sudden change of subject. He knew that those dreams troubled Iolaus deeply. "I think that I can arrange for you to get out of bed," he answered with a smile.

Iolaus stood in the square breathing the fresh air. It was the first time he had been outdoors in a week. It felt good to be out of the infirmary. The cadet hated the feeling of being cooped up, he loved being able to go where he wanted.

"Hey," Hercules cried as he walked up to his friend.

"Hey yourself," the short blonde replied.

"Good to see you out of that room. Nice outfit," the demigod commented.

"Thanks. I had to borrow a pair of Jason's pants because of my knee and the brace, and your Mom gave me this shirt," Iolaus replied.

Hercules had to admit that his friend looked good in the black leather pants and slate blue shirt. "How's the knee feeling?"

"Ok," he responded. The cadet looked down at the brace encasing his damaged left knee. "It's hard to get used to using these crutches."

"Well sooner than you know it, you'll have the brace off and be walking without them," his friend said.

"Hope so. How's your eye?"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Sorry I hit you, Herc."

"Iolaus, it wasn't your fault. Remember the time I accidentally gave you a bloody nose during drills?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this is basically the same type of thing. It was just an accident."

The gate opened and Magistrate Tarsis entered the compound. Hercules noticed that all the color drained from Iolaus' face and he seemed to sag against his crutches.

Cheiron stepped outside to see why the Constable had decided to visit his Academy. "Hello, Magistrate Tarsis. To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" he called.

Iolaus gulped. He prepared himself to be hauled off to jail. He was sure that the soldiers were there to lock him up for what he had done. He knew that he would miss his friends, but he didn't want to see the horror and disgust on their faces when they heard about his crimes.

Jason joined his friends in the square. "What's up?" he asked.

"Dunno," Hercules replied.

"Hello Cheiron. I just came to inform you that the rest of those slavers have been captured," the soldier declared. He walked over to the three cadets standing quietly.

Iolaus took a deep breath. "Here it comes," he thought.

Tarsis stood before the group of friends. "You boys did a good job capturing those slavers. You are real heroes. All of the families were grateful to have their daughters home," he said. He then turned and
left as quickly as he came.

Hercules and Jason started chatting excitedly while Iolaus stood there in shock. He was puzzled by the Magistrate's words. Hero. He was no hero, far from it. He didn't understand why he hadn't been locked up like the other criminals.

"Hey Iolaus. Wasn't that great news? They captured Lizfreid and the other slavers. They can't hurt anyone again," babbled the Crown Prince of Corinth.

"Yeah, great," he answered in a daze. He slowly started to walk back into the Academy.

"What's wrong with him?" Jason asked.

"I dunno. Maybe he's just tired," answered Hercules as he watched his friend trudge back indoors.

Cheiron also watched the youth on crutches. He was a bit surprised by Iolaus' reaction as well. He sighed. Hopefully this latest news would help ease the young man's nightmares.

Alcmene sighed. It was time for her to leave. Iolaus had been walking around on crutches for a few days, and Hercules was over the cold that he had gotten from too much worry and not enough rest. She hugged her son tightly. "Take care of yourself," she whispered.

"No problem, Mom. Wish I could escort you home," Hercules replied.

"You haven't recovered from your cold yet. Besides Jason offered to walk me home. I have to get back and check on things, been here taking care of you boys for long enough," she said with a smile.

"Bye Alcmene," Iolaus stated. He was going to miss the golden-haired woman who had been fussing over him while he was sick.

She smiled as she pulled the cadet into her arms. "Get better. I want to see you and Hercules coming for a visit as soon as you recover," she murmured into his ear.

Iolaus allowed himself to melt into her loving embrace. He hadn't felt this loved in a long time. After several moments he extricated himself from her grasp. "Have a safe trip," he told her.

Once all of the goodbyes had been exchanged, Jason and Alcmene started on the road to her home. The boys watched until they could no longer see the figures in the distance.Hercules turned to his friend. "Gonna be strange not having her here."

"Yeah, now I gotta get used to the Academy food again. Do you think she taught the cook any of her recipes?" Iolaus joked.

"Maybe, but they probably won't turn out the same," kidded the demigod. He was glad that his friend seemed almost back to normal. It would be nice having him in the dorm again, out of that room where he had spent the last week or so.

"Well, I guess, we better head inside. Don't want to keep old Fiddleface waiting," the shorter blond laughed.

"Yeah, he might find more stuff for us to catch up on," Hercules stated.

"At least you started catching up on all we missed. I haven't. I'll be lucky if I ever get caught up before finals," Iolaus complained.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they will give you a break since you were so sick," the demigod reassured his friend.

"I wouldn't count on it. Feducious has it in for me, he always has," the cadet snapped.
Hercules was about to correct his friend, but decided against telling him that he wouldn't have passed last time if it wasn't for Feducious.

"Time to hit the scrolls." Iolaus rolled his eyes and joined his friend into their tutor's office.

The next morning Iolaus joined his friends in the training room. He was joking and teasing Hercules and Jason when Cheiron trotted into the room. The centaur's eyes narrowed when he saw the injured cadet. He walked over to the merry little group. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Come on Cheiron, can't I do some drills? " the youth pleaded.

"You are supposed to be studying with Feducious, right now," the headmaster reminded him.

"I know, but I'd rather be here. Come on, I feel better. I can handle the drills," the blond whined.

Cheiron looked at Iolaus' crutches pointedly. " You are not ready, yet. You haven't completely healed from your experience. You can barely walk, and you think I'm going to let you participate in combat
training?" He grabbed a pugel stick and lightly tapped the cadet on his taped ribs.

Iolaus grimaced at the pain. "Ok, I guess you made your point," he grunted. "Why does Herc get to take part in the drills? He's still hurt."

"Jason, I want you to lead the cadets in stretching while I escort Iolaus to class," the centaur declared. "How are you feeling?" he asked the cadet. "Don't worry, Hercules will not be taking part in any of the
exercises."

"I'm ok. Just stunned me," the blond cadet replied.

Cheiron smiled as he walked with the youth toward Feducious' office. It wasn't that he didn't trust Iolaus to go to class, but he knew how much the youth hated schoolwork. The dour faced teacher met them at the door. "You're late," he informed the cadet.

"Sorry, I...I.. It won't happen again, sir," the blond said as he went to his desk. He sat down and placed his crutches nearby. Feducious followed the youth with his eyes. "He looks much better," he
said to his boss.

"Yes, he is recovering nicely. Let me know if he causes any trouble," the centaur laughed. "Don't let him overexert himself, he still tires easily, even if he won't admit it. If he seems tired, send him back to
his room."

"I'll keep him line," the older man said with a smile.

"I'm sure that you will," laughed Cheiron. He watched as the teacher went back inside his office. He knew that his old friend was sometimes hard on the students, but he did it out of love. His son had gotten into trouble and left the Academy, and now Feducious felt it was up to him to make sure that it didn't happen to any of his pupils. The centaur suspected that the teacher had a soft spot for Iolaus, maybe the former thief reminded him of his son.

Feducious started going over the kingdoms that had been studied while the young cadet had missed class. He knew that it was going to be difficult for the blond warrior to catch up. Studying came very hard to the youth, but he had been improving before he had been injured. He gave Iolaus a scroll summarizing the information that he had missed.

The cadet looked over the notes as the dour teacher went over the important points.
Iolaus studied the notes he had been given. He read the descriptions of the kingdoms several times. "Uh, Feducious, I have a question?" he said.

"Yes, what is it?" the instructor said impatiently. He was expecting a joke. The young man was known for his sense of humor and love of practical jokes and was rarely serious. He had been as shocked as the others when Iolaus had been brought back to the Academy after his encounter with the slavers. The young man had seemed near death, and now just a few weeks later he was back on his feet.

"Why do some kingdoms allow slavery, while in others, like Corinth, it is illegal?" the blond warrior asked.

Feducious was surprised at the inquiry. He was impressed by the thought that the young man had put into the question. He wondered if the youth's recent experiences had brought out this question.
"I mean how can people anywhere believe in owning others? It's just not right," the cadet cried.

"Well, in most places slaves are used to do manual labor, sometimes prisoners are used," the teacher said.

"But aren't slave owners wealthy? They have to be to be able to 'own' people. Couldn't they use their money to pay for the labor--kinda like servants? Are they just greedy? People shouldn't be someone else's property," Iolaus declared.

"That is a very valid point. Some places still have slavery because it was a tradition. Some of the battles that we study are fought because of slavery. Maybe someday, all slavery will be abolished," Feducious replied.

"I hope so. Slavery is a terrible thing," the cadet stated.

The gloomy old man looked at the youth. He was shocked by the young man's strong hatred of slavery, but he supposed that it was understandable because of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of some slavers. With the cadet's checkered past, it had surprised him to find out that the young warrior had risked his life to save a bunch of girls. Maybe the young man wasn't as bad as he thought. In some ways Iolaus reminded him of Pythias. He missed his son and often wondered what had happened to him when he had left the Academy. He glanced at the youth who was working on some math problems. He had to admit that the cadet did seem to be putting his criminal past behind him. The
young man was a hard worker when motivated. Hopefully Iolaus would make something with his life. Feducious shook his head sadly. He hoped that Pythias had straightened out his life. If Iolaus could do it, so could he.

Iolaus was working hard on the math problems in front of him. He hated all schoolwork, but math came the hardest to him. For some reason, working with numbers made no sense.

Feducious cleared his throat. When the cadet looked up, the teacher informed him that it was time to head to class.

Iolaus groaned. "This is so unfair," he thought. "Everyone else gets to do drills, and I'm stuck with classes all day." He hobbled out of Feducious' office on his way to the classroom. He walked in just as Cheiron was about to start class.

The headmaster studied the cadet's appearance. When he was satisfied that the young man didn't appear to be overtired, the centaur turned and began that day's lessons.

Iolaus took his seat in the back next to Lilith with Hercules and Jason behind them. He laid his crutches on the ground beside him as he tried to find a comfortable spot at his desk.

"Hey, how was studying with Fiddleface?" Lilith whispered.

"Bout as much fun as you can possibly have," the blonde cadet joked.

"Have fun during drills, Herc?" he asked jealously.

"Cheiron wouldn't let me participate. All I got to do was pick up weapons and towels," the demigod complained.

"Hey, don't forget the water. Herc, was our waterboy," Jason said with a grin.

"Ahem, if you don't mind, I am trying to teach a class here," Cheiron interrupted. Once the class quieted down, he continued with their lessons.

Once classes were over for the day, Iolaus walked with Hercules and Jason towards the training room. Malos stood in the center of the room surrounded by several other cadets. "Hey guys, what's up?" the Crown Prince of Corinth asked.

"Oh, Malos was just showing us the sword his father sent him," Lilith answered.

Malos walked over to the trio of cadets and brandished his new weapon. "Want to try it out?" he asked. Both Hercules and Jason tested the weapon before handing it to Iolaus.

The injured warrior balanced himself on his crutches so that he could try out the sword. His hand closed around the handle. He made a few playful thrusts with the blade. Suddenly Iolaus could feel the wet stickiness of blood covering his hands. The sword fell from his limp hand.

"Hey, watch out," Malos yelled as the blade narrowly missed his foot. Hercules turned to his friend. He watched as all color drained from the youth's face. Only a quick movement by him and Jason, saved Iolaus from landing on his face in the dirt. "Iolaus, are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

The short blond blinked his eyes a few times. "Yeah, Herc, I'm alright."

"What happened?" the demi-god asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Just drop it, ok," the pale cadet pleaded.

"What's going on here?" Cheiron demanded.

"Nothing," Iolaus said.

Hercules looked at his friend before turning to the centaur. "Iolaus almost passed out a few minutes ago."

The centaur stared at the wan cadet. "Is this true?" he asked.

"No," he said.

The headmaster studied the youth. Iolaus had dark circles under his eyes and looked ready to topple over at any minute. "Iolaus," he warned.

"Ok, ok, I almost lost my balance, but don't make such a big deal about it. I guess that I overdid it today, that's all," the cadet explained hurriedly.

Cheiron nodded his head at this. It surprised him to hear Iolaus admit that he may have tried to do too much, but he suspected that there was more involved than just exhaustion. The haggard expression on the small cadet's face told him that he would get no answers if he pressed the youth. "Hercules, help Iolaus back to the dorm."

"But Cheiron, I'm fine. I don't need any help," Iolaus stated.

"I don't want to take any chances. You don't want to relapse and have to stay in bed again, do you?" the centaur asked.

Iolaus rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine. Come on Herc, try to keep up with me," he joked weakly. He used his crutches to limp out of the room, followed by his worried best friend.

Cheiron followed their progress with his eyes. He tried hard not to show the concern he felt for the battered cadet. He wished he knew what had precipitated this sudden relapse. The young man had been doing so well. "Jason, what was Iolaus doing before he passed out?"

"He was just checking out Malos' new sword like the rest of us, then he got real pale and dropped it," the Prince of Corinth recalled.

The centaur got a speculative look on his face. He had an idea why the cadet had acted like he did.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Lilith asked.

"Yeah, will he be alright?" Jason added.

Cheiron looked at the worried faces in front of him. "Yes, Iolaus will be ok. He must have tried to do too much today. He still hasn't regained all of his strength, yet," the headmaster reminded them.

Iolaus was still pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. The past few days even his attempts at humor seemed forced. His friends noticed that he seemed to be quiet and withdrawn--nothing like the
Iolaus that they knew and loved. The cadet started to pull away from his friends. He was spending more and more time alone.

Finally Jason had had enough when he asked Iolaus a question, and the cadet snapped at him in response. "What's wrong with you? You haven't been yourself since we've been back. Look, I know that you were sick, but get over it already," the Crown Prince of Corinth growled.

"Just leave me alone, Jason. It'll be better for all of you if you just stay away from me," the blonde cadet stated.

"Come on, Iolaus. We are your friends. Don't block us out," Hercules cajoled.

"Don't deserve friends," the youth mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" the demigod asked.

"Yeah, we just want to help ya," Jason replied.

"Well, I don't want or need your help," the young warrior said as he limped past his friends on his crutches. He brushed past Jason roughly.

The young prince grabbed Iolaus' shoulder. "Tell us what is bothering you," he commanded.

"Just leave me alone," he shouted. He shoved the older cadet away from him.

"Iolaus, what's wrong with you?" asked Hercules. "We are concerned about you."

"Don't waste your time worrying about me, I'm not worth it. Why don't you both just forget that you ever met me," the blonde warrior said with his blue eyes shining.

"What are you talking about Iolaus? Of course you are worth it, you are my best friend. I care about you," the demigod replied.

"I'm nobody's friend," the cadet said in total seriousness. "You shouldn't care about me, I don't deserve it."

Hercules forced his friend to turn to him. "Why don't you deserve friendship?"

"Look, just leave me alone. If you know what's best for ya, just stay away from me. It'd be better for your reputations, if you had never met me. I'm just trouble. I don't belong here," Iolaus declared.

"Iolaus, what's your problem? We both know that you are on probation for stealing, but that doesn't bother us. You were a thief, big deal. If that's what all this is about, you should get your head examined," Jason exclaimed.

"Maybe having a friend that's a thief is no big deal, but what about a killer," the small cadet yelled.

Hercules and Jason exchanged surprised glances. Neither of them had expected this revelation.

"Iolaus, it was self defense. He would have killed you," the Corinthian replied.

"You are not a killer. Taperticus was insane. You are lucky to be alive," the demigod reminded his friend

"You are both lying. I killed him, and I am glad that he is dead," Iolaus said as he left the room.

"I can't believe that he blames himself for Taperticus' death. With his past, you wouldn't think that something like this would bother him," Jason remarked.

"What do you mean? You think because Iolaus was a criminal, that this wouldn't effect him?" the demigod retorted.

"No, well I don't know what I meant. I just thought that because he had lived on the streets, maybe he had witnessed death before. Maybe I should go after him and apologize," the dark-haired cadet replied.

Hercules stared out the door where his friend had disappeared. He was torn between chasing after his friend and just letting Iolaus cool off.

He didn't know what to do. "Maybe we should just leave him alone. If we go chasing after him, it might just make him withdraw further. Do you think we should tell Cheiron about this?" he asked.

"Yeah, Cheiron may know how to help him," the young prince replied.

"I hope so. I want the old Iolaus back," the blond cadet said.

"So do I, Herc. So do I," echoed Jason.

"Hey," Hercules said as he approached the short blond cadet. He had been searching the Academy looking for his friend. The demigod had hoped that Iolaus hadn't done something stupid, like trying to leave the grounds while he was still on crutches.

"Go away, Herc. I don't want to talk," the youth mumbled.

"Well, too bad. I want to talk to you," the demigod replied.

"Fine," the blond cadet spat. He reached for his crutches.

Hercules' grabbed the crutches and put them out of Iolaus' grasp. "You are not going anywhere until we talk," he informed his friend.

Cerulean eyes glared up at the other cadet as Hercules rested his hand on the smaller cadet's shoulder. He moaned in frustration. The demigod had left him no avenue for escape. He squirmed on the bale of hay looking for a comfortable seat. The injured warrior had hoped that his friends would just leave him alone. He had figured that no one would bother him in the barn, but he had misjudged Hercules.

"Iolaus, what's bothering you? Please talk to me. We are all worried about you," the younger cadet pleaded.

"Don't waste your energy on me. I don't deserve it. I don't deserve to have friends or to be here. I should be locked up like the other criminals," Iolaus declared.

"You are not a criminal!" declared the demigod. His face grew red with anger. "You do not deserve to be locked up. You are a hero, you helped rescue those girls. If it wasn't for you, who knows what would have happened to them."

"Herc, I killed a man," protested the small blond.

"It was self defense," retorted the taller youth.

"I killed him, and I am glad that I did. I am happy that he is dead," the battered warrior shouted.

"If you are so happy about it, why do you keep having nightmares?" asked Alcmene's son.

"You...you don't know, you don't know how I feel. How it feels to know that someone is dead because of you. To know that a soul has traveled to the underworld because of you. You don't know anything about how I feel. Just leave me alone," Iolaus cried.

"Iolaus, Taperticus was an evil man. He enjoyed torturing people. You are lucky to have survived. It was him or you. I saw it. When I thought that he had killed you, I rushed in for vengeance. You don't
know how relieved I was to see that you were still alive. You did the right thing-- no one blames you for Taperticus' death," Hercules informed his friend.

"I should have been the one to die," the blond youth whispered.

The demigod stared at his buddy in shock. "You are wrong about that, my friend. We could never have freed those girls without you. Taperticus deserved to die. Tell me this Iolaus, if Jason or I had
killed him, would you still feel the same? Think about that for a while." Hercules got to his feet. He grabbed the crutches and handed them to his friend. "I'm going to leave you alone now, but if you want to talk, you know where to find me."

Iolaus watched as Hercules left the barn. He wanted to believe his friend, but the feelings of guilt overwhelmed him. He knew that he had killed the man in self defense, but another part of him was glad that the giant slaver was dead. His friends didn't understand that in his dreams, he was the one who killed over and over. They didn't see him stabbing the dead body repeatedly, torturing it like he had been tortured. He was glad that the others couldn't see the images that haunted him. If they could, he would probably be locked up. The blond cadet thought about the last thing Hercules had said. He honestly didn't know what he would think if it had been Jason or Hercules who had killed Taperticus instead of him. "But it wasn't one of them," he reminded himself. "I'm the one who killed him." He sat alone in the barn for a while longer before heading back to the dormitory.

A small blond child stood in front of the stern soldier. The boy appeared to be around 6 years old, but was actually 8, almost 9 years old. Tears fell from his eyes. A resounding smack was heard. Blood
started flowing from the boy's nose.

"How many times have I told you that men don't cry, boy?" the soldier yelled.

"B..but Dad," the child said.

"No excuses, boy. Dry those tears. At least try to act like a man," the general commanded.

"My arm hurts," the youth wailed. His right arm was visibly broken. Fractured bone could be seen jutting through the skin. He used his other hand to try and brush the tears away. The pain was excruciating and as soon as he moved, the tears threatened to fall again.

"Stop crying, boy. You are such an embarrassment. Do you want everyone to call you a crybaby? It's bad enough that you are a runt, I don't want a crybaby for a son," the forboding man declared. "If you
had done what I told you, then you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

The child sniffed a few times and wiped the last few tears away. He tried to forget the pain, to push it away. He began to walk down the road towards home. Each step brought tears to his eyes, but he blinked them away before his father had a chance to see them. He didn't want to disappoint his dad. Maybe someday, he would make the general proud of him.

The blond was tied to a post. He was being lashed with a whip. He could feel the sharp little barbs in each strap imbed themselves in his flesh. With a jerk, the barbs would tear through his skin, drenching
his back in blood. The pain was agonizing, yet the youth refused to show any response. The entire process was repeated relentlessly, but the young man would not cry out or complain. In his mind he saw his father reminding him that men don't cry. "Are you proud of me?" he whispered as he lost consciousness.

Now the young warrior was in a clearing surrounded by trees. He was in battle with a large enraged man. The young man pushed away the pain of his injuries and concentrated on the conflict before him. He fell. A great pain enveloped and paralyzed him. The man moved in to kill him. As a last ditch effort, the small blond raised the first weapon he grabbed. The behemoth collapsed upon him, dead. The short blond stared into the lifeless eyes of his tormentor.

"You killed me," Taperticus accused. "My blood is on your hands."

The small blond was standing in the darkness. He could see blood covering his hands. He walked towards a stream he could see nearby. He dipped his hands in the cold water, attempting to remove all of the evidence of his deed. Once he was satisfied that his hands were clean, the blond warrior stood up. He took a few steps before he realized that blood was dripping from his hands. He rushed back to the water. The young man could feel the warm sticky liquid running down his arms. He looked down at his reflection. He was horrified to see blood running down his face. He inspected the rest of his reflection. His entire body was covered in blood.

"Killer. Murderer. The blood is on your hands," a voice taunted.

"You should be locked up with all the other killers."

The blond had a sword in his hand. The ground next to him was littered with bodies. Blood covered him from head to toe. He gasped when he looked down at the mutilated bodies. "I did this?" he
whispered.

Jason's voice echoed in the darkness," It's your fault, Iolaus."

"No, no, it can't be true," he whispered.

"Look at what you've done, boy," a harsh voice commanded.

The blond warrior gazed at the corpses. The victims terrified him. All he could see was the lifeless faces of his friends. "No! No, this isn't right," he screamed. "I didn't kill them. I couldn't."

The voices grew louder and louder. "Murderer! Killer! His blood is on your hands," it repeated.

"No! No," he yelled.

Iolaus sat straight up in bed. He was breathing hard and covered in sweat. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, ready to strike out at his attacker. "Herc?" he squeaked as he narrowly missed hitting his friend.

"Iolaus, are you alright? Another nightmare?" Hercules asked.

The blond warrior shook his head in response. The dream was still so vivid to him. He saw the other cadets staring at him. He didn't like the questioning looks in their eyes. He pulled his boots on and grabbed his crutches.

"Where are you going?" the demigod asked.

"I need some air, Herc," the former thief said as he hobbled out the door.

Hercules watched as Iolaus left the room. He wished that he knew what had terrified his friend so badly. When the small blond had opened his eyes, the demigod had seen fear and panic reflected in those blue orbs.

"Another dream? They seem to be getting worse," Jason remarked.

"Yeah, I just wish I knew how to help him. He shouldn't go through this alone," the blond cadet stated.

The Prince of Corinth rested his hand on the cadet's shoulder. "He knows that we are here for him. He'll talk to us when he's ready," the future king said.

"I think I'll go after him," the demigod said. He quickly pulled on some clothes and boots and walked to the door after his friend.

"Maybe we can get some sleep now," Gregus complained. "These nightly wake up calls are getting to be tiresome."

Before Jason or Hercules had a chance to respond, Lilith jumped to Iolaus' defense. "None of us knows what he went through. Have you taken a look at the scars covering his body? I think that if you had gone through the same torture that he had, the loss of a few hours of sleep would be nothing to complain about," she declared.

"Why don't we all get some rest," Jason said diplomatically. He watched as the other cadets snuggled under their blankets. He sat there silently, reflecting on his friend. He knew that Iolaus felt guilty
about Taperticus' death and that the dreams always made it worse. "Iolaus, get better," he whispered.

Hercules wandered through the hallway, debating which direction that his friend had taken. He ran into Cheiron, who had heard the disturbance.

"Did Iolaus have another dream?" the centaur asked.

"Yes, and he said he needed some air. Is he ever going to stop having these nightmares? He always looks so terrified when he wakes up," the cadet said worriedly.

"Eventually the nightmares will cease. Hercules, go back to bed. I will go and find Iolaus," the headmaster ordered.

"But Cheiron," he started.

"Now Hercules," the centaur commanded. His voice softened," Don't worry, I will talk to Iolaus. Now get some rest."

Iolaus sat along the wall, looking out at the land surrounding the Academy. He heard someone approach him from behind. "Go away, Herc. I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"I think you should," a deep voice told him.

"Oh, hi Cheiron. I just wanted to take a quick walk. You know get some fresh air, since I'm stuck inside most of the day," he babbled.

"You had another nightmare," stated the centaur. "When are you going to talk about them?"

"They are nothing to worry about. I can handle them," the small blond cadet said.

"Is that why you are sitting outside in the middle of the night? Is that why every night for the past week, you have been screaming in your sleep? We are all worried about you," Cheiron queried.

"Uh, well," Iolaus stuttered speechless.

"I want to help you, but I cannot do that unless you tell me about your dreams," the teacher reminded him. "Whatever scares you, will not be able to haunt you if you tell me about it."

"I just can't," the battered warrior said.

"Yes, you can. I will not judge you. They are only dreams, images created by your mind. They are not real," Cheiron told him.

"They are too terrible. I can't tell you about them," the cadet whispered.

"Iolaus, you have suffered a terrible trauma, and your dreams are manifestations of the horrors you suffered and observed. I am just here to listen, not to judge. I want to help you. Tell me about your
dreams," the centaur urged.

"No, I can't," the youth said.

"Are you reliving the abuse you suffered," asked the headmaster. "Do you imagine hurting your tormentors like they hurt you?"

Iolaus looked into Cheiron's eyes with surprise. He shook his head in agreement. He took a deep breath.

"It's natural to want to hurt those who hurt you and your friends," the centaur added.

"I killed him," whispered the small cadet.

"It was self defense. It was him or you," the headmaster said quietly.

"I'm glad he's dead," Iolaus stated emphatically.

"That's a normal reaction," Cheiron murmured.

"In my dreams, I...I...I can't do this," the cadet said.

"Yes, you can. You keep seeing his death in your dreams, don't you?" asked the centaur.

"Yes, but it's not like that. I kill him over and over. I make him suffer like he made me suffer. I...I'm happy he is dead," the young man declared.

Cheiron hugged the blond cadet. "It's ok to feel that way. That man beat and tortured you and your friends. He was selling a group of girls into slavery. He was an evil man. He almost killed you. It is natural to hate him."

Iolaus pulled himself out of the embrace. "I don't belong here. My dad was right, I am nothing more than a crybaby and a coward. I belong locked up in jail with all the other killers."

"You are wrong. You are not a murderer. Taperticus was killed in a battle. A battle that only one of you could win," the centaur stated.

"Some warrior I turned out to be. I win the battle, and he still haunts me in my dreams. I shouldn't be here. I'll never be a good warrior, my father was right," Iolaus yelled.

Cheiron responded," It is never easy to take a life. I'd be more worried if it didn't bother you. True warriors only take lives because they have to. Those who enjoy killing are not warriors. You have to
look inside your heart. Only you can decide if you did the right thing when you killed Taperticus. Once you accept his death, he can no longer plague your dreams. Now, you need to get some sleep."
The blond cadet nodded sleepily. The headmaster had given him a lot to think about. He got his crutches and hobbled back into the dorm.

 The next day, Iolaus slept late. He was surprised to wake up and find the room empty. He reflected on the events of the night before. A lot of what Cheiron said made sense to him. He washed up, got dressed, and headed to the dining hall. He hoped that there was still some food available. As he walked past the doorway, he noticed Kora standing outside. It had been weeks since he had seen the innkeeper so he decided to talk to her. "Hey, Kora. What are you doing here?" the cadet asked.

"Hey Curly. How are you feeling?" the blond woman asked. Kora studied the young man standing on crutches before her. She could see the faded bruises on his face, his bandaged ribs, and his injured leg. She knew that he had been seriously wounded. The innkeeper was glad to see that the youth was recovering.

"So what brings you to the Academy, Kora? Did you miss me?" Iolaus joked.

The innkeeper ruffled the short cadet's blond curls. "Now why would I miss you? Actually, I brought some people who wanted to talk to Cheiron here. So are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the young man stated.

"It was a brave thing that you boys did," she informed him.

Iolaus looked embarrassed at her words. He blushed. "I didn't do anything," he muttered.

She stared at him. She was surprised by his response. Usually the boys from the Academy bragged about their bravery and exploits. "You were almost killed saving those girls. I can't believe how brave you were."

"Hey, what's going on?" Jason asked as he walked up to Iolaus and Kora followed by Hercules.
Hercules stared at his buddy. Iolaus looked like he had recovered from his latest nightmare. The demigod had been happy to see to his friend sleeping that morning. He hoped that Cheiron had been able to get through to the hardheaded cadet. "Kora, why are you here?" he asked.

"A couple of people wanted to talk to Cheiron, so I brought them here," the innkeeper answered.

"Curly, here, decided to keep me company. Oh yeah, I also brought some pastries. Alcmene told me you liked them," she said as she raised the basket she had been carrying.

"Thanks," Hercules replied. "So when did you meet my Mom?"

"She stopped by with Jason on her way home. She mentioned something about a certain cadet eating everything in sight and wondering what he was going to do once she was home," Kora replied. "So I decided to make some treats and to see how you guys are doing."

"What kind of goodies did you bring?" Iolaus asked. He reached for the basket in curiosity and hunger.

Cheiron walked out of his office followed by a man and his wife. He led them to Kora and the cadets. "These are the young men that you wanted to speak to," the centaur informed them. "This is Jason,
Hercules, and Iolaus." He pointed at each cadet as he introduced them.

The woman hugged each young man. She held Iolaus extra tight. "Thank you," she whispered to each cadet. "Thank you for everything you did." The man saw the puzzled looks on the faces of the youths. "My name is Miklos, and that is my wife Lycia. We'd like to thank you boys for rescuing our daughter and the other girls. You were all very brave. I want to thank you for risking your lives."

Cheiron walked away from the group. He decided to give them some privacy. Miklos had already told him what he planned to say. He thought it was nice that one of the girls' parents came to thank the
young warriors. Maybe this would help Iolaus realize that he had done the right thing.

Kora quietly snuck away from the group. It didn't feel right for her to listen in. She went over to Cheiron. "How is Iolaus doing? He looks like he is starting to get better."

"His wounds are healing. Sooner than we know it, he'll be walking without the brace and crutches," the centaur replied.

"That's good. I'm glad that he is recovering," the innkeeper added.

Miklos continued, "I especially want to thank you, Iolaus. You are all my daughter ever talks about. All I hear is 'Iolaus this' and 'Iolaus that'. Thank you for going to her rescue. She told me how you rushed
into the camp to keep her from being beaten by that animal."

Lycia pushed her dark brown hair out of her face. She leaned down and kissed Iolaus on the cheek. "I know that you boys went through a lot. We are indebted to you. Because of you and your actions, we have our little girl back. I know that all of the other families are grateful as well. I wish that we could somehow pay you back for everything. We were so worried and upset when she disappeared. We had almost given up hope of seeing our precious daughter again. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Jason said. "But it's really not that big of a deal. We were glad to do it."

"Jason's right. There was no way that we would let those slavers take those girls without a fight," Hercules added.

Iolaus just stood there silently. He flushed in embarrassment at all the kind words. He couldn't believe that these people were so grateful and pleased by his actions. "Maybe Cheiron was right," he thought.

"I want to express my gratitude to you for being willing to sacrifice yourself for my daughter. I don't know too many people who would do that for a perfect stranger," Miklos told Iolaus. "I know that that
animal almost killed you, and I am extremely happy that he can never hurt another person again. Thank you, son. Thank you for giving our daughter back to us."

Feducious muttered to himself, "How did I let myself get talked into this?" He rolled his eyes as he watched the small girl investigate everything with fascination.

"No, don't touch that," he yelled just a moment too late.

The green eyed child jumped back as a bunch of pugel sticks and staffs fell from the weapons rack. She shook her light brown curls out of her face.

"Did I do that?" she asked. "I'm really sorry Mister Feducious.I didn't mean to make them fall."

"That's ok," he sighed. He didn't understand why Cheiron had asked him to show this child around the Academy grounds. It wasn't like she was going to become a cadet.

"So, do you know Iolaus? Are you one of his teachers? He is so nice. He saved me from that bad man. He saved me and all the other girls. Well, Hercules and Jason helped, too. But Iolaus kept that mean man from hitting me with that whip. He's my hero," the little girl said.

The sullen man had to smile at the girl's antics. "So this is the reason why Iolaus and the other boys fought the slavers," he told himself. He was glad that the cadets had freed this child and the other
girls. He couldn't imagine this spirited child as a slave.

"Yes, I know Iolaus. I tutor-- I mean, I help him with his schoolwork," he told the girl.

"Have we seen everything yet? I want to see my Mom and Dad again, and Iolaus if he's here," the imp stated.

"Yes, I think we have seen everything. We'll head back to Cheiron's office now, your parents should be there," Feducious replied. He decided to take the child outside instead of going back through the
building.

"I know that our words can never express how grateful we are that you helped our daughter. I am glad that you are recovering from your injuries, Cheiron told us how gravely you were injured. And I know my daughter will be glad to see you. She has been so worried about you, she blamed herself for your injuries," Lycia remarked.

"It wasn't her fault that I got hurt," Iolaus said. "And I would gladly do it all again to save those girls."

The girl skipped alongside Feducious as he led her back towards Cheiron's office. Her green eyes widened as she saw the people standing there. She started running full speed towards the blond cadet talking to her mother. "Iolaus," she yelled.

Iolaus turned around when he heard his name. He was surprised to see a brown-haired imp rushing towards him. His cerulean eyes opened in shock as he recognized the child. It was Kaitlyn, the girl he had rushed into the slavers' camp to save.

Kaitlyn stopped in front of the blond cadet. She stared at his crutches and the brace encasing his left knee. "Are you ok?" she whispered.

A grin spread across Iolaus' face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Feeling much better now that I've seen you," he said. He carefully eased himself to the ground. It was a difficult maneuver with the crutches, but
eventually he found a comfortable position.

As soon as the short blond opened his arms, the small girl launched herself into his arms. She hugged him tightly. When Kaitlyn heard a muffled groan, her green eyes searched the cadet's face for signs of
pain. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" she asked as tears threatened in her emerald eyes.

"No, not at all," the youth informed her. He cradled her in his arms, holding her tightly. As images from their captivity passed through his mind, tears started to course down his face unbidden. Tears for the
torture that they had suffered. Tears of joy; tears of sorrow. Tears for the loss of innocence. He buried his head in her honey brown curls. Sobs tore through the young cadet. All of the pain and hurt
that he had been holding in, finally escaped.

Kaitlyn looked up and saw Iolaus' tearstained face. "Are you ok?" she asked as her lip started to tremble. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'm fine. Better than I've been in a long time," he told her.

THE END

Epilogue:

That night when Iolaus went to sleep, the images of Taperticus and Skouras returned to haunt him again. He was standing in a clearing with a sword in hand. Lying on the ground was the lifeless corpse of the large slaver. Blood dripped from the blade of the sword. The young cadet stood there in shock. In the distance voices could be heard.

"You killed me. You are responsible for my death," Taperticus intoned.

"Boy, you worthless little crybaby. You disgust me. Look at what you've done. Look at what you've become. I regret ever having a son," General Skouras declared.

The young warrior looked up at his tormentors. A look of sorrow was etched across his face. "I regret what I did, but I am glad that you are dead. You can never hurt anyone again. You can't haunt me
anymore," Iolaus said.

Hercules woke up. He thought that he had heard a noise. The demigod looked over at his friend. He was pleased to see Iolaus sleeping peacefully. He grinned when he noticed that the young blond warrior was smiling in his sleep. "Goodnight Iolaus. Sweet Dreams," Hercules whispered.

DISCLAIMER: Hercules, Iolaus, Jason, Alcmene, Feducious, Gregus, and Kora are the properties of Renaissance and USA Studios. All other characters are the result of my overactive imagination. Any
similarities to real people living or dead is strictly intentional.

Young Iolaus was not overly harmed, and I made it up to him later.

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