The darkness was impenetrable; it surrounded and suffocated him. It seemed to him that he had been falling for hours down a long rocky incline, stones scraping his flesh and tearing his clothing, only to be deposited ungently on a ledge in utter blackness. He moved cautiously. Every part of his body hurt from the long bruising tumble and the impact of his fall. His probing fingers found scrapes and cuts, but no serious gashes or bleeding and to his relief, no broken bones.

He turned his head in every direction. Not the slightest glimmer of light could be seen. The hole through which he had fallen had apparently sealed itself completely. The darkness was palpable, like a barrier before his eyes. It was as if he had suddenly gone completely blind.

Iolaus swallowed a rising panic. Losing his head would not help him get out of this mess. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on using his other senses to get his bearings. Nearby, he could hear the soft gurgle of running water. The air smell musty but breathable. A sixth sense made him aware of a tangible presence behind him, and reaching out, his hand touched rock. He got carefully to his feet upon investigation found it to be a perpendicular wall, slick and damp, with no breaks or handholds.

"Oh, great," he said aloud, and then shouted. "Hercules! Can you hear me?" There was no answer and because no echo sounded, he knew the roof was not far over his head. He reached up gingerly and a few inches over his head his fingers touched solid rock, chill and dank, like the wall behind him.

He called again. "Hercules! Hercules! Answer me." There was no sound from above.

Far above him, a panic-stricken Hercules was down on his knees searching frantically for any sign of the hole that had swallowed his best friend. One moment Iolaus was walking beside him laughing over one of his own silly jokes and the next he was disappearing through a crevice in the surface of the road. Before Hercules had had time to react the earth closed and Iolaus was gone. No break, no indentation or crack marked the place where he had disappeared.

"Looking for something, brother?"

Hercules turned. A grinning Ares sat on a nearby fence; Discord perched next to him.

Hercules rose to his feet. "I might have known. Where is he?"

"Who?" He stood and looked up and down the road still grinning. "Oh, dear. You seem to have lost your little buddy…again. How careless, Hercules." Discord snickered.

Knowing it would do Iolaus no good if he lost his temper, Hercules resisted the urge to smash their heads together and tried to keep his voice calm. "What have you done with him?" "Me?" Ares did his best to look innocent, then gave it up and leered at his brother. "Oh, we were sitting around the temple this morning with nothing to do, so we decided to invent a little game."

Discord laughed viciously. "We call it 'Can You Find Your Way In The Dark' and Iolaus was chosen to be It."

"Uh…uh." Ares held up his hands as a snarling Hercules made a move toward him. "Temper, temper. You can play, too."

Hercules took a deep breath and a firm grip on his temper. "You and your stupid games. Where is he?"

Ares folded his arms across his chest, satisfied for the moment that Hercules was not going to attack him. "Iolaus is in a tunnel of rock; an ingenious place; I made myself, especially with Iolaus in mind. There is air and water, but no food. The tunnel is miles long, pitch-black and full of interesting little Iolaus-sized obstacles. It will take him a long time to find the end, if he finds it at all." Ares laughed nastily and then backed away as Hercules advanced on him with teeth bared.

Discord smirked. "Save your strength, Hercules, you're going to need it. Tell him, Ares."

Ares smiled benevolently at his brother. "Even if, and I do mean if, our little mouse should find the end of our maze, he cannot free himself alone. He will need your help. There is something he has to do at the end of the tunnel. If he's clever enough to find it, and if you are in the right place at the right time, you will be able to free your little pal. Any questions?"

Hercules clinched his fist, took a deep breath, and attempted to swallow his rage. "I assume you are going to tell me where this place is?"

"Of course," Ares replied. "But that's the only clue you get. The rest is up to you." He pointed west where the sun was beginning its downward journey. "Go that way until you reach the sea. It's about a day's journey. On the beach where the setting sun touches the sea, you will find a boulder. The tunnel's exit is near."

"And then?"

"Then you wait. How long is up to you. How long do you think Iolaus can live without food? How much faith do you have in your little buddy's resourcefulness?" Ares shrugged. "When you give up and leave, the game is over. We win. Iolaus dies"

"Iolaus will never give up." Hercules said evenly, "And neither will I."

Ares smiled. "Okay. This should be fun game. But," Ares face took on a look of concern although his eyes still shone with merriment. "I would like to leave you with a couple of possibilities to chew over. One, Iolaus might have broken his neck during his fall and may now be lying dead in his little prison, and two, he may have been badly injured and unable to move, and as we speak, awaiting a long, agonizing death alone in the dark. These are just a couple of thoughts to entertain you while you wait." Ares waved cheerfully as he began to dematerialize. "Have a nice day." Ares and Discord disappeared. Hercules stood alone in the middle of the road.

Iolaus groped along the floor of the tunnel. His water skin still hung over his shoulder, but his sword and carry sack were gone, and he hoped they had fallen with him. He found his sword almost immediately, his fingers closing around the leather scabbard, but his carry sack had fallen several feet away and it seemed a long time before his hand closed around it. He sighed with relief and hooked it over his shoulder. Staying on his hands and knees and gripping his sword, he made his way slowly and carefully in the direction of the water.

Within a few feet he found it. The water was icy and flowed swiftly in a gully, breaking forcefully around his fingers. He brought a handful to his mouth. It had a metallic taste, but it was drinkable. He reached out with his sword to find the width of the stream. The water ran smoothly against the opposite wall and there was no place to walk.

For the first time he noticed that he was on a slight incline, and it seemed logical to him that the best chance of finding a way out would be to travel upslope, hopefully to find that the source of the stream was above ground. He stood and using his sword to explore the ground in front of him, made his way along the edge of the water. He had only gone a few yards, when his sword hit something solid. His hands found another wall of rock and a place where the water seemed to bubble directly out of the stone. It took only a few minutes to determine that this was a dead end.

When he was certain there was no way upstream, he turned and started off in the opposite direction. He moved carefully, one hand tapping the sword along the stone in front of him searching for crevices, the other running along the wall, searching for other openings. He walked for a long time, becoming more and more uneasy, the deeper he went. He kept his thoughts firmly away from the possibility that there might be no way out and he would simply wander until he died of starvation. He tried singing, but the sound of his voice in the black tunnel was unnerving. Instead he thought of Hercules and what he might be doing at that moment. Surely, he was looking for a way in even as he himself was looking for a way out. This thought comforted him and made him feel a little less lonely.

So intent was he on these musings that he didn't notice, at first, when the tip of his sword slipped off the edge of the rock and into the water, and only his well-tuned reflexes kept him from falling in. With the help of his sword, he discovered that the pathway had disappeared, and stream widened out filling the tunnel from wall to wall. The current had slowed considerably as the water eddied around the edges of the ledge.

"That will teach you to stay awake, Iolaus." He told himself aloud. Unlike his singing, he found the sound of his voice vaguely comforting. "Time to get wet."

Turning around he lowered himself backward into the water, keeping a tight grip on the rock ledge. Standing on the bottom, the water reached just to his neck, and the slow current allowed him to walk easily. Ahead, he felt another rock wall, but he could hear the sound of flowing water and knew he was near an outlet. He soon found it, the increased current tugging gently at his vest. It was a narrow arched passageway, with just enough room for his head to pass above the water. He pushed his sword into his belt and entered the passageway, carefully putting his hands on either side of the opening to steady himself.

He moved cautiously, feeling out each step, the water lapping his chin. The blackness was oppressive and his body was becoming numb from the bitterly cold water. At least, his cuts and scrapes were no longer hurting. He traveled along this way for what seemed an eternity, ignoring the fear that lurked at the edge of his mind. He stopped abruptly; the sense that should have told him there was something in front of him was a fraction of a second late. He walked face first into rock, bumping his nose painfully. He yelped, swallowing a mouthful of water. He tilted his head back, freeing his mouth from the water, coughing and choking. He knew his nose was bleeding by the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He fingered it gingerly. He didn't think it was broken, but it hurt like Tartarus.

He ran his fingers over the rock in front him. It dipped sharply down just below the surface of the water. He felt and not for the first time that this tunnel had a constructed feeling to it as if it had been precisely built and was not a naturally occurring fault. Only the gods could have built such a place and it didn't take much imagination to figure out which one.

He stood for a moment, considering. Going back wasn't an option, he was certain there was no other way out. Going ahead meant swimming under the rock, trusting that he would get clear before he ran out of air. Without giving himself time to think about the consequences, he took several small breaths, then inhaled a lungful of air, submerged and swam quickly under the rock. The passage was narrow; there was just enough room for his compact body to pass through. With not enough room to move his arms, he kicked his feet and moved as fast as he dared, bumping his head occasionally against the rock above, half expecting at any moment the tunnel would become even narrower leaving him trapped. His air was nearly gone and the strain in his chest was becoming unbearable. Just when he thought his tortured lungs could take no more, he burst out of the passage and his body was thrown roughly against a rocky ledge. A few feet away the stream narrowed back to its original course leaving him in a shallow backwater.

The darkness was as impenetrable as ever. He lay in the shallows for a long time, gasping for air and letting his heart beat slow to normal. Finally the iciness of the water and the numbness in his legs forced him to pull himself painfully up onto the ledge. His nose felt swollen and painful to the touch and he could still feel a tickle of blood oozing from it, which he decided he could ignore. The cuts and scrapes on his body had been thoroughly cleansed but, as feeling returned, sore.

He pulled himself back against the wall. Taking deep even breaths, he forced his body to relax, feeling the tension unwind from his muscles. He was committed to this course, now, he would never be able to swim back upstream under the rock. But if Ares were behind this, then this was probably the way he was intended to go. He doubted that Ares was intending to kill him outright; this seemed more like one of his nasty little pranks. But Ares pranks were apt to turn deadly and he would need all his wits about him to survive. Damn Ares anyway.

The demigod's thoughts ran along the same lines as his long legs ate up the miles. He had stopped the day before only when it became too dark to see his way, and had slept fitfully. At dawn he had set off again. Now the sun hovered close to the horizon once more. He refused to let his mind dwell on Ares' parting comments. He would not, could not consider the possibility that Iolaus was already dead or dying. He would find his way to the end of the tunnel and Hercules would be there to free him. Far ahead he could make out the faint shimmer of the sea.

Iolaus pulled his exhausted, aching body upright, leaning against the dank wall for support. He was becoming very hungry and he felt in his sack for his food pouch. He found only a handful of dried figs and some scraps of bread. Although it was well wrapped against moisture, a little water had seeped in during its long immersion and the bread was slightly soggy. He ate a piece of it anyway along with a fig and took a long pull from his water flask. Feeling a little better, he pulled his sword from his belt and started off again.

He walked for what seemed a long time, his progress slow and frustrating. He gradually became aware that the current of the stream was picking up its pace, and ahead he could hear a dull roar like distant thunder. The roar became louder and he could hear a sound like water plummeting from a great height. Iolaus had a really bad feeling about this, which proved justified shortly, when, with the sound thundering in his ears, his probing sword found nothing in front of him but empty space. He soon discovered that the path ended in a yawning pit and the river became a waterfall plunging into its depths.

Hercules burst through the last stand of trees and before him stretched a wide expanse of sandy beach. Then sun was poised at the top of the gray sea, as if taking a deep breath before taking its final plunge. Hercules looked about him wildly and then realized the rock he was looking for was right in front of him. It was massive, rising far above his head and as broad as it was high. He ran his hands over it. It was cool and rough, brown-white in color, and spattered with the droppings of sea birds. It looked like any ordinary boulder on any ordinary beach. He examined it closely.

"Look all you want, brother, you won't find a thing."

Hercules whirled. Ares and Discord stood near the woods at the edge of the beach.

Ares grinned. "You made good time, brother, but you are way early. It will be days before Iolaus can reach the end of the tunnel. If he does at all."

"Damn you Ares." Hercules growled, barely resisting the urge to tear his brother from limb to limb. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because its fun." Ares answered smoothly. " And Iolaus is so much fun to play with.

But we really don't want to kill him."

Discord scowled at him. "Speak for yourself."

Ares ignored her. "That would be like breaking our favorite toy. Iolaus is smart and resourceful. If he doesn't lose his head he stands a slight chance of winning this game, despite the uh…obstacles we have placed in his way."

"What obstacles?"

"Oh, that's our secret. You really don't want to know. You'll sleep better at night. I predict you'll have many long nights ahead to worry about your pal." Ares smiled.

Hercules' patience snapped. He made a lunge for them saying, "Damn you, Ares, get him out of there, now, or I'll…"

Laughing, Ares and Discord disappeared.

Hercules stopped, still yelling at the top of his lung. "I know you can hear me, Ares, and I promise you, if anything happens to Iolaus I will come after you. I will make you regret the day Zeus made you."

Ares' booming laughter wafted back to him on the breeze then died away leaving no sound but the screaming of the sea birds and the lapping of the waves against the shore.

Iolaus stood in the dark, discouraged. "How do you expect me to get across this, Ares? Fly?" He yelled. His voice echoed back from the gaping pit.

A careful search revealed no bridge across the chasm Gathering a handful of the largest stones he could find, he tossed one lightly across the pit. After a silence he heard a faint splash far below. He tossed another a little further with the same result. A third stone thrown even further rattled against rock on the other side of the pit. Several more tosses gave him a good idea of the width of the hole. It was a long way, but no further than he could jump if he could get a running start.

The thought was terrifying, but there seemed to be no other option. Pushing his fear firmly to the back of his mind, he tossed across first his carry pack then his sword. He filled his water skin at the stream and threw that across too, hurling them far enough away from the edge of the precipice to be well out of his way when he followed them.

There was only one other problem. If he ran too far to get the momentum he needed, he might just run off the edge of the pit and fall to his death. If he jumped too soon he would fall short of the opposite side. He paced off three running steps away from the edge, and slowly tried them out three times before deciding that he had measured as accurately as possible.

Quickly, before his nerve failed him, he ran the distance and gathering all the strength he possessed, he leaped out over the chasm. For one terrifying moment he thought he had miscalculated and he would plunge into the pit, but then he felt his right foot catch the edge of the opposite ledge and begin to slide backward. He threw all of his weight forward just as his foot slipped over the edge. His shin cracked sharply against the rock and the rest of his body fell heavily onto his right arm. He lay there stunned and shaking, waiting for his breath to return.

As the shock ebbed from his body, he began to feel sharp, stabbing pains in his injured leg and arm. Using his left arm, he levered himself away from the pit and pulled himself up against the rock wall, where he turned over and sat up. The pain made him nauseous, but his fingers could find no broken bones. His pants were torn and there was a bleeding gash on his shin. He cradled his injured arm against his chest and huddled by the wall waiting for the throbbing to subside. Pulling his legs up close to his chest, he laid his head on his knees and fell into a restless doze.

On the beach, Hercules was keeping a lonely vigil. Another night was nearly gone and he sat beside his small fire lost in thought. He had not been able to sleep at all and his body felt weary and strained. His mind kept taunting him with visions of Iolaus in danger and his helplessness grated on him. Whatever obstacles Ares had dreamed up for the hunter, he was sure were difficult and dangerous. He sighed and stirred up the dying flames and threw in a few more small sticks. Light was blossoming in the eastern sky and the long day stretched before him. He sat down and closed his eyes. It wouldn't do to allow himself to become overtired. If he knew Ares he would need all of his strength to free Iolaus when the time came.

Iolaus woke suddenly, picking his head up with a jerk. He had no idea how long he had been sleeping or how long he had been in the tunnel. It felt like forever since he had seen the sun or smelled clean, fresh air. He had completely lost track of the passage of time.

He realized he was very hungry. The pain in his leg had subsided a bit although his right arm hurt like Hades when he tried to move it. Holding it close to his chest, he groped with his left for his gear and found everything close by. From his pack he took another piece of the bread and a fig, leaving enough for one more small meal. He took only a sip of water from his flask; there might not be any more water further on. The food did little to assuage his hunger. He would have to be on his way while he still had the strength.

He pulled himself to his feet and tested his leg. It ached horribly and twinges of pain shot through his body, but he could walk on it. His right arm, however, was useless and he used his left to prod the stone ahead with his sword. He limped along slowly and had not gone very far before he realized the tunnel was narrowing rapidly. Before long, the rough rock, now dry and chill, brushed his shoulders, but he didn't become seriously alarmed until the passage became so narrow he had to turn sideways in order to move ahead.

The tunnel grew even narrower and he moved his right arm down to his side gritting his teeth against the pain He shrugged off his vest, dropped it on the stone ahead of him and dropped his sack and water skin on top of it. He inched along pushing the vest ahead with his foot. The rough wall scraped his skin painfully. The passage became so narrow it became necessary to inhale deeply to make him as small as possible and push his body against the resistant rock. In front of his face he could dimly see the glow of something that looked like phosphorous. He tried to focus on it, but he was so close his eyes crossed. Closing one eye he could blurrily make out letters written on the wall.

'AREYOU HAVING FUN YET?'

"Very funny, Ares." He said, and without thinking, let out his breath with a whoosh, and found himself stuck fast between the walls. Inhaling again, he gave his body a mighty heave, which pushed him through the opening, but left a good amount of his skin behind.

"Ouch!" Iolaus sprawled awkwardly on the tunnel floor. He was far too angry to feel the pain of the new set of scrapes and bruises he had acquired. Now that he was sure this was Ares little game, he was determined to win it no matter what.

He got up, put on his vest, wincing as the leather brushed across his now impressive array of injuries, and stumbled down the tunnel, which was now wide enough for him to pass through easily. He had gone quite a distance before he realized with horror that he had forgotten to use the sword. "Bright, really bright, Iolaus." He scolded himself. "If you had fallen into a crevice, the last thing you'd hear would be Ares howling with laughter."

He forced himself to slow down and use the sword to feel his way.

The tunnel seemed endless; as hour after weary hour, he forced his body forward. His whole world had become this pitch-black, narrow, low-ceilinged tunnel, and he fought the terror lurking behind his iron self-control. Finally, exhausted and dizzy with hunger and thirst, he could go no further. Settling himself as comfortably as possible on the stone floor, he took another small sip of his precious water, and fell into a restless slumber.

Hercules awoke with a start; the sun was high in the east. He looked around frantically for his partner before remembering where he was and why. He groaned. It had been two days since Iolaus' disappearance, and he had not once left the vicinity of the rock. The enforced idleness had worsened his anxiety. In the nearby woods he had found a small spring and most of their food supply had been in his pack so he had not gone hungry.

Again he examined the huge boulder. He was certain that the secret to the exit was there right under his nose if he could only find it. Again, as he had so many times before, he tried to shift the massive rock, but it would not yield to even his prodigious strength. Sighing he settled down by the rock prepared to wait for as long as it was necessary.

Iolaus awoke slowly and painfully. Sleep had done little to refresh him and his body was stiff and aching. Hunger gnawed at his belly, but he decided he could wait a little while longer before eating his last scraps of food. Pain shot through his injured leg as he pulled himself to his feet and his right arm was swollen and hot to the touch.

He staggered forward, in such excruciating agony that he did not feel any pain when his head bumped sharply against the ceiling. Crouching, he moved forward and discovered that the ceiling was becoming steadily lower. He groaned out loud realizing that he was approaching another of Ares' obstacles. Soon he was crawling on his hands and knees, keeping most of his weight on his left leg and arm.

When crawling was no longer possible, he again shrugged out of his vest. This time he also removed his heavy belts and laying them on the stone in front of him, added his sword, water skin and pack. He lay down and pushing the bundle before him, he used his left arm and leg to hitch himself along. His progress was slow and painful. The ceiling dropped lower until it scraped his bare back. He reached a point, finally, where he could move only an inch at a time, and each movement ahead was a small victory. Then he became so tightly wedged that he was sure he could move no further. Pain and exhaustion overwhelmed him and he laid his head on the cold rock, resigned to the fact that this place would become his tomb.

"I'm bored." Discord and Ares stood on a grassy knoll overlooking the beach. They could see Hercules perched dejectedly on top of the rock. She folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently as she looked up at the war god. "Why can't we just look in and see if the little twerp is dead? Then we can find something better to do."

Ares smiled at her patiently. "But, Discord, that would spoil the surprise. Just enjoy the sight of my brother suffering."

"Well, this game is too long. It sucks."

"It was your idea, remember? But, very well, give him two more days and if he doesn't show up, we'll have a look."

Discord gave in reluctantly. "Okay, but just two days."

Iolaus woke from the semi-conscious state he had fallen into. He had been dreaming about Hercules and how devastated the demigod would be if they were parted once again. Grimly determined not to let Ares beat him, he wriggled and squirmed and was rewarded by a slight forward shift. "Gods, Ares, how small do you think I am." He grunted and repeated the movement again and again until finally his body began to move more easily.

The ceiling rose above him until he could stand straight, although it took tremendous effort on his part to do so. He was weak and dizzy from hunger and before he started on his way, he ate the remainder of his food and drank some water. His water skin was now only half full.

He came upon the next obstacle immediately. Expecting another long walk, he was startled when his hand slipped into an opening on his left. A tunnel about five feet wide ran off at a right angle to the one he was following. He groped for the opposite wall and found another the same size. Ahead there was nothing but open space.

"Damn." With three choices Iolaus was at a loss. It was impossible to outthink Ares, so he must choose one himself. He examined each opening carefully; there was no sound or breath of air that would indicate an exit. Taking a deep breath and hoping for the best, he decided to continue on in the original tunnel. He had walked for about a half an hour when he bumped into a wall. Feeling around quickly, he found that he had come to a dead end. Retracing his steps, he stood for a moment, undecided, and then entered the left hand tunnel.

For a while, this tunnel continued on much like the other, until the tip of his sword found a dip in the floor. Prodding ahead, it seemed that he was approaching a series of shallow steps leading downward. These steps had a definite 'made by Ares' feeling, so he decided to go on. He groped his way down, one step at a time. When the tenth step turned under his foot, he was caught off balance, and before he could stop himself, he pitched head first into the darkness.

Iolaus curled his body around his injured arm as he rolled and tumbled helplessly down the low steps, his left arm flailing wildly searching for a handhold. At last, his hand closed around a jagged rock and he clung to it with all his strength, halting his forward plunge. He heard his sword skitter past him. There was a long silence and then the sound of a distant thump as the sheathed sword hit rock far below. It was then that he realized his legs were hanging in mid air.

Cursing softly under his breath, Iolaus pulled his shaken body forward, ignoring the pain in his leg, until he was completely back on the ledge. He could feel a whole new set of injuries, including a rapidly swelling lump on his forehead. Dizziness and nausea threatened to overwhelm him, and he dared not stand for fear he would follow his sword over the precipice.

"Damn it, Ares!" His voiced rocketed around an immense cavern. "That wasn't funny."

At first he thought that this was another dead end and that he would have to find the strength to crawl back up the steps and try the third tunnel, but his exploring fingers found what appeared to be a narrow ledge running along the side of the cavern wall.

Faced with a choice, his exhausted mind rebelled knowing full well that with his strength waning this might be the last choice he could make. He sat for a long while, his head on his knees, letting his mind clear. The ledge would be the hardest choice, the idea of following that narrow path above the steep precipice was frightening, which made him all the more sure that was the way Ares meant him to go.

Iolaus drank the last of his water; he would need to be as clear-headed as possible to stay on the path and not topple over the side. He could not walk; the risk of losing his balance was too great so he hitched himself along with his left arm until he was on the ledge. It was just wide enough for him to sit on. "Why do I get the feeling this was made just for me?" He grimaced. Cursing the God of War once more, he pushed himself further along the path.

The ledge began to incline downward almost at once, but it was not dangerously steep, much to his relief. He moved along slowly for what seemed like hours, stopping to rest whenever dizziness threatened to overtake him. Without warning the pathway ended. Iolaus sat, legs dangling over the edge, for a long time. Crawling back up the incline was beyond his strength. Taking his carry sack in his hand, he held it over the edge and dropped it. Very quickly, it hit the floor with a dull thud.

"Not too far." He said aloud. "If I had two good legs I could drop down there easily." But he didn't. If he landed with all his weight on his left leg and broke it, it would be all over. In the end he decided to two-foot it, keeping most of his weight to the left. He lay down on his stomach and eased himself over the edge and let himself slide backward gripping the ledge as best he could with his left hand. Then he let himself drop. He hit the floor with bent knees and rolled. Excruciating pain shot up his right leg as soon as it came in contact with the stone. He lost the fight to retain consciousness and sank into oblivion.

Hercules was becoming desperate. It was now the fifth day since Iolaus had dropped through the earth, and he was beginning to lose hope that he would ever see his best friend again. He had searched every square inch of the area around the boulder, looking in vain for the tunnel. The boulder would not budge; he had tried many times. He was terrified that the signal might have come during the rare moments when he had dozed off and that he had missed it. The thought of leaving had not occurred to him. He would stay as long as there was the slightest hope that Iolaus was alive, and then, and only then he would deal with Ares.

Wearily, Hercules climbed to the top of the boulder as he had done many times before. He was less likely to drift off into sleep up there. He sat with all his sense on the alert, waiting.

Iolaus regained consciousness slowly. At first he had no recollection of where he was, the darkness was complete and unyielding. As memory returned bit by bit, he realized he again in a narrow tunnel. He got painfully to his feet and stumbled weakly onward barely remembering to test each step as he went. In a short time he bumped into another wall. His heart sank, but he wasn't quite ready to give up yet. Determined to hunt for a way out until he collapsed, he started to turn back and there on his right, far ahead he saw a faint green fluorescent glow.

"Great, another hilarious message from Ares." He muttered. He started down this new tunnel, remembering now to take care. As he drew closer the, words began to form in the glow and soon he was able to read. 'CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF THE TUNNEL.'

The words were written on a flat metal wall. He ran his fingers over it and found what he hoped to find, a thin crack running from the top to the bottom. There wasn't enough room to get his fingers into the crack, so he pushed on the door with his left hand and then tried to push the door sideways. It wouldn't budge.

"Some instructions would have been nice, Ares." He shouted. He ran his hands over the walls for a switch or a lever, but found nothing. It was on the ceiling that he finally did find it; a lever lying parallel to the stone and attached to a mechanical device. For the first time in days, Iolaus felt a glimmer of hope. He pulled on the lever with his left hand, but was unable to move it. Gripping it tightly, he swung his body off the floor and let his full weight do the pulling. The lever groaned as it began to move downward as if rusty gears were releasing a massive weight. There was a loud snap and the lever broke off in his hands and he fell heavily to the floor.

Hercules was about to descend from his perch when he felt the boulder move under him. He clambered down quickly. Loose sand was sifting under the stone as if it had risen a bit. Certain that this was the signal, he put his shoulder to the rock and pushed with all his might. The stone shifted slightly. He rocked the boulder back and forth to gain momentum, then with a tremendous push, he tumbled it out of its cradle and it rolled onto the beach.

Hercules jumped down into the crater left by the boulder and spotted the metal door at once, half buried in the drifting sand. He began to scoop the sand away from it. "Iolaus!" He shouted. "Iolaus. Can you hear me?"

Iolaus sat on the stone floor not knowing whether to laugh or cry. To have come so far and fail was just too ironic; Ares must be having laughing fits. This door was apparently just another one of his little jokes and the way out (if there was one) must be at the end of the third tunnel. Determined that if he must die here, it would be while trying to make his way back to the last tunnel, he was turning to leave when he heard Hercules shout.

"I'm here, Herc. In here." Iolaus was never so glad to hear a voice in his life. Stumbling back to the door, he could hear Hercules on the other side grunting as he struggled with the door. The door popped open suddenly and Iolaus had just enough time to throw his arm over his eyes as the dazzling sunlight assaulted them, before a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him and he fell into the waiting arms of the demigod.

"Oh, pooh." Discord pushed her lower lip out and glared up at Ares. "You made it too easy."

"What can I say?" The war god looked amused. "I did my best."

Discord looked at him accusingly. "You're glad he won, aren't you?"

"Iolaus never ceases to amaze me. Losing him would be a pity."

"I could live with it." She and Ares watch the scene on the beach. Hercules had carried Iolaus, semi-conscious, out of the crater and had laid him down by the spring. After giving him a few sips of water, he was carefully tending his many injuries.

"I'm leaving." Discord announced. "If I have to watch this tender little reunion any longer, I'm gonna hurl." She disappeared in a shower of sparks.

Ares stood a while longer, watching his brother and the blonde hunter. Iolaus, now fully awake, was complaining and trying to sit up, but Hercules, laughing affectionately, gently pushed him back against the mossy bank. The bond between the two was so evident that the war god, who had many hanger-ons and sycophants but no real friends, felt a twinge of envy. He lingered a bit longer, unnoticed, watching the playful exchange between the two friends, before he too, quietly winked out of view.

THE END  

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