Title: Something in the Air

Author: Black_Wingedbird

Rating: PG (Violence)

It was a bright, warm day when the teenaged cadets were returning from break. They were just getting back to the academy from a very generous spring break provided by Chieron. Opposite the weather, most of the guys were grumpy and complaining of the shortness of the break, even though it was the longest they'd had. Chieron greeted the cadets individually as they trudged through the gates of the school. As he expected, Hercules was one of the first.

"Greetings, Hercules. I trust you had a good vacation?" Chieron asked, smiling.

"As always," the blonde cadet replied as he stood beside the centaur, "but I’m still glad to be back. It gets lonely without Jason and Iolaus around."

"I'm sure they feel the same," Chieron said with a smile as he nodded at a group of arriving cadets.

"Well, speaking of Satan," Hercules grinned as he turned to see Jason coming down the trail towards the academy. Chieron followed his best cadets gaze to see Jason picking up speed and shouting a greeting to Hercules.

"Hey Hercules! Good to see you!" the prince of Corinth said as he ran up to Hercules.

"You too, Jason! How was your vacation?" Hercules asked as they shook hands.

"Pretty good. Boring. Lots of king stuff," Jason replied, "How about you? I bet you and Iolaus had fun."

"Actually, I haven't seen him. A trip home without him is boring too. I mostly helped mom fix up some stuff around the house." Hercules said as more cadets passed them.

"Well, I'm going to put my stuff down inside. You want me to take yours?"

"Yeah, thanks. I'm going to wait for Iolaus," Hercules said as he handed Jason his belongings.

"No problem, I'm heading over to Kora's after I put our stuff down, so when Iolaus gets here, you guys come over, and we’ll catch up, okay?"

"Sure, okay," Hercules replied, distracted. He was getting worried more and more with each passing cadet that wasn't Iolaus. 'He should have been here by now,' the demigod thought as Jason headed inside the school. 'He knows we always go to Kora's after a vacation. Knowing how much he loves to eat, you would have thought he'd been here by now.' If there were any thing that was slowing Iolaus down, Hercules only hoped it had two legs, long hair and big-

As if on cue, Iolaus came into view. Hercules gave a quick sigh of relief as he headed up the dirt path towards his friend.

"Hey Iolaus, where ya- what happened?" Hercules asked with concern as his mood changed when he noticed Iolaus had a dark bruise over his cheek bone and numerous other bruises littering his body.

Although Iolaus had appeared fine from a distance, upon closer inspection Hercules determined that something dramatic must have happened to his shorter friend. "It's nothing, I'm fine," Iolaus said as he brushed away Hercules’s caring, outreached hand. As Iolaus continued towards the school with determination, the smile that Iolaus had been wearing was now gone.

"Iolaus, it doesn't look like nothing," Hercules tried as he reached out again to grab Iolaus's arm.

Iolaus spun around at the touch on his arm, flinching like a beat dog expecting to get kicked. Hercules could see the naked, unmasked pain and fear in his friend's eyes immediately released Iolaus's arm with confusion and sympathy. What had happened to make his friend react to an innocent gesture with such pain?

With shame, trust quickly replaced the fear in Iolaus eyes. "Listen Herc, it was just a new stallion my mom got and I was trying to break him for her. That’s all."

"And did you?" Hercules asked skeptically. Iolaus was his best friend after all, and Hercules could tell when the shorter teen was lying.

"No," Iolaus said, lowering his gaze to the ground, "No I didn't. He took me for a ride, though."

Hercules studied the way Iolaus‘s shoulders had dropped. Maybe a change of subject would bring out the old, cheerful Iolaus. "Lets go put your stuff down and we'll head over to Kora's."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that," Iolaus said as he instantly brightened, "I'm starved!"

"When aren't you?" Jason asked as he came up behind his blonde friends.

"Hey, Jason!" Iolaus greeted, turning toward the newcomer.

Jason opened his mouth in question when Hercules began shaking his head and silently mouthing 'no' from behind the shortest cadet. Now was obviously not a good time to confront Iolaus about his injuries.

"Uh, Jason, me and Iolaus were just going to put his stuff down and join you at Kora's."

"Huh? Oh yeah," Jason said, tearing his eyes away from Iolaus. "Well, I'll see you there," he said with detachment, looking at Hercules with obvious concern for their friend. Hercules nodded in appeasement and Jason reluctantly waved goodbye before he continued on his way.

~o0O0o~

The dinner was good and the three friends talked long into the night about their time at home and how it was spent. None of the friends had done anything of great importance. Hercules and Jason found themselves doing the majority of the talking for once and were more than slightly uncomfortable at starting all the conversations with pretty waitresses. Despite numerous subtle attempts to get Iolaus to share the details of his vacation, the zealous blonde remained curt and withdrawn.

Now they were back at the academy and Iolaus was sleeping soundly in his bunk, still clothed and sprawled face down across the bedding in much the same way as when he landed there. Hercules and Jason remained awake and quietly contemplated their friend.

"What's up with Iolaus?" Jason whispered. The barracks carried voices as well as the wind did. "He's covered in bruises and went to bed early. He's normally got so much energy, he can't sit still."

"I don't know,” Hercules sighed. “He gave me some story about breaking a horse for his mother."

"Do you believe it?"

"I don't know. I want to. I can’t imagine what might have happened that is so bad it made him lose his spirit. I guess I have to wait until he tells me otherwise."

Iolaus began mumbling in his sleep, interrupting Hercules. “No…” Iolaus murmured into his pillow. The muffled cry stopped the hushed conversation between Hercules and Jason, who strained to hear clues that Iolaus may be unconsciously sending them. Still asleep, Iolaus turned into the wall and stretched his arms out. “…‘m sorry father…”

"There‘s your real story," Jason said with anger, his voice a little louder than before. Jason had never been one to hold his tongue.

Hercules watched Iolaus a moment more before his own heart grew too heavy and he turned away. He and Jason were aware that Iolaus has a poor relationship with his father, but Iolaus had always made light of the situation and never led anyone to believe that he wanted a better relationship. Hercules knew that Iolaus’s father was a general, a reputable one at that, and therefore was not home much. Hercules assumed that Iolaus was forced to forgo much of his childhood in order to support his mother and himself. Hercules knew very well that Iolaus was the epitome of hard work and dedication and ultimately, loyalty to all he held dear. In turn, Hercules put up with the immature banter and tenacious playfulness Iolaus hadn‘t gotten to get over while he was young. Over time, those characteristics that were once uncomfortable and annoying to Hercules became an essential part of Iolaus’ personality, so much so that now Hercules was saddened by their disappearance in the past few days.

Hercules vowed to get to the bottom of this, for Iolaus’ sake and his own.

~o0O0o~

The sun was still deciding whether or not it was time to rise when Chieron sounded the wake-up call. Today was the first day back to school and Hercules had been up early, still mulling over Iolaus‘s attitude and how to help. With a sigh, Hercules pushed himself out of bed and began to get everyone else up, knowing that they'd need more time than usual to get back on schedule. He woke up one half of the room and then moved towards Iolaus on the other side.

"Hey Iolaus, time to get-"

At Hercules' gentle touch, Iolaus’s eyes opened wide and he pulled back, wincing and pressed against the wall. The whole display lasted only a few seconds before awareness told Iolaus that whatever demon he was expecting would not strike. Hercules had pulled back also in surprise and now shook himself back to the task at hand. "It's ok, Iolaus, it's me," he soothed quietly, pulling back his hand.

"Oh, sorry Herc," Iolaus panted, obviously embarrassed as he glanced around the barracks for any witnesses to his fearful reaction.

"It's okay," the taller blonde comforted, giving Iolaus his space. He watched with concern as Iolaus oriented himself with his surroundings before looking to Hercules with his normal composure.

"Why are we up so early?" Iolaus asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes but also covering the slight blush that had crept over his face.

"Since it's the first day of classes we need to get back on schedule," Hercules said as rest of the cadets began to wake up around them.

"Mornin'," Jason mumbled with a sarcastic cheerfulness as he entered the bunks. Seeing Iolaus and Hercules staring at him in silence, he asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

"Uh, no Jase, we were just getting ready to go eat, right Herc?" Iolaus asked, getting up.

"Uh, yeah, we were actually," Hercules said with a smile, trying desperately to hide the anger he held for Iolaus's stubbornness.

"Well, hurry up, I'll be waiting," Jason said as he turned and left in the direction of the mess hall.

"You okay, Herc? You look kinda distracted," Iolaus asked, seeming to forget about his episode a few minutes ago.

"Yeah Iolaus, I'm fine," Hercules said. 'I should be asking you that,' he thought. Iolaus was one of the few Hercules knew who could recover from such a strong emotion so quickly.

"Well, come on then, lets go! I'm starved." Iolaus said, running his hand through his shoulder length blonde hair. Hercules couldn’t help but notice the tremble in Iolaus’s hand.

"What's new?" Hercules asked as he headed out, following Iolaus with a sigh.

~o0O0o~

After breakfast the cadets began their drills in the training room. Jason was practicing hand to hand combat with one of the newer cadets while Hercules and Iolaus were using the cudgels on the balance posts. Iolaus was a very skilled fighter, which surprise most of the people at the academy including Chieron. Five minutes into the match, Iolaus was getting the upper hand, much to Cheirons' pleasing. He always enjoyed watching the two spar; Iolaus had agility and Hercules had stamina. They had much to learn from each other.

Iolaus had Hercules backed onto the last post when a man entered the academy. He was dressed in protective clothing and armor, which caught Cheiron’s attention right away. The centaur turned away from his students to greet the newcomer. The few cadets who had noticed the man were now watching him with curiosity.

"Iolaus!" The man shouted sternly as he crossed the training room.

"Father?" Iolaus questioned reflexively, before he had even fully turned towards the voice. Chieron turned to look at Iolaus and before he could warn them of the momentum of Hercules’s weapon, it connected with the side of Iolaus’ distracted face. Chieron watched in slow motion as the blow knocked Iolaus off balance and he fell, striking his head on one of the wooden posts on the way to the floor. Cheiron’s reflexes finally kicked in and he ran to the fallen cadet’s side just as Iolaus went unconscious.

"Iolaus!" Hercules shouted as he jumped down beside his fallen friend. Although he was unaware, the other cadets had stopped to gather around the fallen cadet.

Chieron placed a hand on Hercules’s shoulder. He glanced at the man, who was still pushing his way forward. "Sir, please wait outside," Chieron ordered the stranger as he tried to calm the cadets.

"Who are you to order me around like that? I am General Skoraus, and I've come for my son!" the General shouted back. Chieron could smell the alcohol on the man's breath as he passed.

Ignoring the man, Chieron separated the other cadets from Hercules and Jason, who were at Iolaus's side. “Keep him back,” he instructed the small group of cadets. As they formed a barrier against the general, Chieron put his efforts into helping the fallen student.

"I think he's okay. His pulse is weak, but it's there," Hercules stated from the floor beside his friend.

"Lets get him to the clinic," Chieron ordered. Hercules bent to pick up Iolaus under the arms and Jason got his legs. Together they carried their injured friend past his drunken father, who remained silent and swaying.

Inside the clinic, Jason and Hercules lay Iolaus down on the wooden exam table. Hercules noticed blood on his arm where his friend's head had rested.

"Uh, Chieron-" Hercules started, but the centaur had already noticed and turned the limp form on his side. He began examining the wound though the cadet's long hair made it difficult.

"Hercules, I'll need some water," Chieron informed without looking up.

Hercules obeyed while Jason backed against the wall to move out of the way. After grabbing a flask, Hercules left to fill it. Chieron grabbed some cloth and put it under Iolaus's head. Looking up, he saw Jason and finally explained, "It doesn't appear to be a deep cut, but it still needs pressure to stop the bleeding."

"Anything I can do?" Jason asked.

"Make sure Hercules doesn't get into trouble. I'll stay with Iolaus," Chieron assured the young man.

Jason nodded and left in haste. After he was gone, Chieron took off Iolaus's vest to check for more injuries. The stern centaur was taken aback when he found the cadet’s torso covered in bruises. A very obvious hand print was visible on the underside of Iolaus’s upper arm. Chieron knew Iolaus had made some enemies and that was one reason why he came to the Academy. After years of stealing to survive, the street-hardened youth wound up on probation which gave him a choice between jail or the academy. Chieron also knew of Iolaus's father. Skoraus wasn't the nicest man alive, but that meanness earned him the high title of a respected general. The man was a legend, but his harsh tactics followed him home from the battlefields. From what Chieron observed on Parent’s Day, the general had always been disappointed in his son. Iolaus’s size and skills as a warrior before joining the academy never lived up to the general‘s unrealistic expectations. If Skouras had now taken up drinking, it was possible he was the one who did this to Iolaus.

~o0O0o~

Outside, most of the cadets had resumed their practice. The general had staggered off to sit in a corner of the training room, occasionally shouting at the cadets for fouling a move. Hercules was trying very hard not to say anything to General Skouras as he concentrated on filling the water flask. Jason was trying his best to keep them apart as Chieron instructed. When Hercules finished filling the flask, he crossed through the room again and watched with bridled anger as Skoraus drunkenly began asking the other cadets where his boy was. Hercules glared at him, trying to mentally force some sense into the man as he and Jason walked by. Right now, helping Iolaus was most important.

When they walked back into the clinic, Chieron was gently putting a salve on the back of Iolaus's head.

"How's he doing?" Hercules asked, handing Chieron the flask.

The centaur accepted the flask with a bloody hand. “He must wake up soon,” he said with concern. At times like these, he wished he employed a true healer.

Iolaus began to stir, rolling onto his back and consequently putting pressure to the wound on the back of his head. He sat up with a start as Chieron reached out to steady him. After blinking, Iolaus‘s vision began to clear and he looked between his friends. "Where‘s father?" he asked slowly.

"It's okay Iolaus, he's not here," Hercules replied, stepping closer to his friend. Hercules looked at Chieron for any instruction.

"Herc- I think I'm gonna be…" Iolaus started before he turned and leaned over the table. Chieron grabbed the bowl that had been on the nearby table and quickly placed it under Iolaus just as the cadet heaved and vomited in it. "I feel better now," Iolaus mumbled as he let himself collapse onto his back, this time taking care not to jar his head.

Chieron began systematically checking Iolaus again as Hercules talked to him. Almost anywhere Chieron would touch caused Iolaus to wince, but he never admitted to the pain. Chieron knew that in this room were possibly two of the strongest young men he had ever known and they were destined for something great.

~o0O0o~

Jason decided to keep an eye on General Skoraus.

He wasn’t very good at playing nursemaid and worrying only made him frustrated. He found Skoraus still sitting on the floor of the training room, raising his voice to the nearest cadet about how a real warrior fights. The other cadets were trying their best to ignore the slumped general, which only enraged the man more. Skoraus used the wall to attempt to stand but quickly lost his footing and fell to the floor, unconscious. Jason sighed and gathered him up, then carried him into the hallway and rested the general against the wall.

The lingering smell of ale clung to Jason as he returned to the clinic. Iolaus was sleeping again. "How is he?" Jason asked from where he was standing in the doorway.

"He is resting now," Chieron replied as he continued mixing herbs in a small bowl. Hercules was sitting in a chair beside Iolaus's bed, worry etched on his face.

"How is he?" Jason asked as he nodded towards Hercules.

"Concerned," Chieron said flatly. Hercules had kept his eyes glued to Iolaus during the conversation as Chieron continued, "Hercules, we've got to wake him up. It's not safe for him to sleep if he has a concussion. Besides, When I was checking him earlier, I noticed some cracked ribs. The injury is a few days old and needs to be wrapped to heal properly."

Hercules did not respond to the centaur but began to gently wake his sleeping friend. "Come on, Iolaus, rise and shine."

A cough tore through Iolaus before he was completely awake. "I'm up, I'm up," Iolaus grumbled, swatting at Hercules. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Chieron approaching with bandages.

"Can you sit up?" Hercules asked.

"Of course I can," Iolaus said as he attempted to do so. A wave of dizziness hit him and Hercules reached out to steady him. "I got it," Iolaus claimed as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He winced as he rolled his shoulders. Hercules couldn’t help but notice the angry bruises on Iolaus’s chest and back. Iolaus didn't complain and nobody as to how he acquired them. They knew now. The anger in Hercules built up and he could no longer stand by, watching.

"I'm going out for a while. I'll be back," Hercules said as he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Chieron nodded for Jason to follow. He knew Hercules only acting out of brotherly love but he wanted to make sure Hercules wouldn't do or say anything he might regret.

Jason nodded and followed the demigod as Chieron turned towards Iolaus.

~o0O0o~

Hercules practically flew down the corridor once he saw Skoraus at the other end of it, apparently coming to. Hercules ran over to the general and grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him up.

"How can you call yourself a father? Huh?” Hercules yelled, not caring who heard him. “A father takes care of his children and loves them, he does not use them for punching bags!" Hercules yelled, his anger at his own father’s abandonment bleeding into his rant. Hercules didn't even realize Jason was behind him until he felt hands on his taunt arms, pulling him away from Skoraus.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" the general yelled in return, alcohol still heavy on his breath.

"Why not, what are you gonna do, hit me?" the demigod challenged.

"You little-" Skoraus made a lunge for Hercules, but the alcohol was still in effect and made his reflexes slow. Jason pulled Hercules out of the general‘s reach and decided it was time for him to step in.

"With all do respect, sir," Jason started, stepping in between them, "I think it would be best if you left the academy now."

"Gladly! I will not put up with such foolishness from insubordinate children! Give me my son and I will leave!"

"Iolaus is staying here."

"I'll be damned if he's staying here!" Skoraus shouted back.

"I hope you like it hot, because Hades sure does," Hercules shot back, his cold blue eyes locking with the generals' without fear. They continued staring at each other in deadly silence for several seconds before the general looked away.

"Fine. Keep him. I don‘t know why a place of such prestige is wasting it‘s time with that thieving runt," Skoraus mumbled as he turned and stumbled down the corridor towards the main door.

Hercules and Jason stood in silence for a few minutes, looking at each other in satisfied amusement. The general may think he’s won this battle, but as long as Iolaus was safely under the protection of his best friends Hercules was happy.

"I trust you did the right thing, Hercules," Chieron said, walking up to Hercules and Jason with Iolaus at his side.

"I did what was right for my friend," Hercules said, looking from Chieron to Iolaus. He took in his friend’s bandaged and weak form, not failing to notice the slight sway that told Hercules his friend was still light-headed. A white bandage was tied around his head while another was wrapped firmly around his torso. He smelled mostly of slave and a little of blood, but Hercules was glad to see the blue eyes of his shorter friend begin to shine again.

"He's gone?" Iolaus asked attentively.

"Yeah, he is," Hercules replied.

They were quiet for a moment as Iolaus processed all that had happened. “Thank you,” he said quietly, his voice holding a hint of shame. Then, as fast as only Iolaus could, the conversation took on a lighter note. "Well, come on then. Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving.”

Hercules and Jason looked at each other for a minute before they laughed out loud. "There’s the old Iolaus I’ve missed,” Hercules laughed as the three cadets turned in the direction of the kitchen.

"I haven‘t gone anywhere," Iolaus replied in seriousness. “Have I?”

Hercules glanced over his shoulder at the grinning centaur. “Chieron, I think our next langue lesson needs to cover figures of speech.”

“Agreed, Hercules. Agreed.”

Finis

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