"It's been three days!" "We're starving!" "Where's our food?" "Shut up, ya scum!" "Give me some!" "Give me some!" "I swear it's true." "The Sword of Hera is real." "Some people are dumb enough to believe anything." "I saw a damn map." "Now, why'd that be if the sword wasn't real?" "I think I know a way to settle this." "We go after it." "No one's talkin' to you, woman." "Lemme ask you something." "When you got your nose pierced, did it hurt?" "Not after a couple mugs of mead." "Yeah." "It's too bad they don't let us drink in here, huh?" "Yeah?" "Why's that?" "That's it, Arciana!" "You just bought yourself a night in the hole." "Gimme the keys!" "I'm going after the sword!" "The rest of you can stay in here and rot, or come with me and live!" "That is the last time I let you drag me off to see a play." "When did you become such a philistine?" "Look, if you're gonna insult me, at least use words I can understand." "Maybe you didn't like it because you didn't get it." "What's to get?" "This guy gets some money from some pirates, he goes traveling around the world, and then just before he gets to where he's going, he falls in the sea, and he's got so much gold in his pockets, he drowns!" " Whoo!" " That's just the plot." " Yeah?" " Well, there's the meaning." "Okay, okay." "Enlighten me." "Okay." "Never accept gifts... paid for by other people's suffering." "What about my suffering?" "Listen, they could just come out and say it, couldn't they?" "Hercules!" "There's been a prison break." "Inmate by the name of Arciana took off with a posse." "Word is they're headin' toward Mycenae." "Sure could use your help." "You got it." "Well, looks like we're going to Mycenae." " Hope they haven't got any theater there." " Uh, sir" "Did he pay for that?" "Thank you, sir." "Keep the change." "So the bartender says to the horse," ""Why the long face?"" "Get it?" "Don't quit your day job." "Damn!" " I'm sure you've heard of Hercules." "Yes?" " Uh-huh." "Good, because I need you to send him a message." "This is the story of a time long ago, a time of myth and legend, when the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and they plagued mankind with suffering." "Only one man dared to challenge their power" "Hercules." "Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen, a strength surpassed only by the power of his heart." "He journeyed the earth, battling the minions of his wicked stepmother, Hera, the all-powerful queen of the gods." "But wherever there was evil, wherever an innocent would suffer, there would be..." "Hercules." "Hail!" "I guess they don't make prisons like they used to." "Hmm." "I wonder what the inmates are looking for in Mycenae." "Maybe it's the four-star restaurants." "Or maybe they're after the Sword of Hera." "Okay, that's a new one." "No, not really." "It's been around a long time." "Disciples move it from temple to temple to keep it hidden." "Closest one's in Mycenae." "And let me guess:" "He who possesseth the sword... shall pierce his enemies unto the quick, yea, and smite them into the blood-bespattered earth of their forefathers." "And I thought you didn't like theater." "Said the serpent to the man," ""To know me is to know yourself."" "You take my breath away." "Nothing can keep me from coming back to you." "Nothing." "My husband was lost at sea two moons ago." "An oracle told me he's still alive." "Why do I feel like I know that girl?" "In another life..." "she was my wife." " Serena." " I've missed you, Hercules." "How's your husband?" " Well, he's no Hercules." " And you're no Serena." "I'm whoever you want me to be." "I've chosen to appear in this form because... it's pleasing to you." "Actually, it's insulting." "Who are you?" "Why don't you call me "Sin"?" "We have an old acquaintance in common, you and I." "Does the name "Xerxos" ring a bell?" "Xerxos is dead." "Ooh." "Dead to your world-- reborn in mine." "But he's escaped my domain." " Your domain?" " Mm-hmm." "See, Tartarus is too good for some people." "When Hades finds a special case, he-- he sends them to me." "I want you to help me bring him back." "Huh!" "What makes you think I'd help you?" "Because you know Xerxos, and you know what he's capable of." "I'll admit, Hercules." "There have been times I cursed your name." "You kept so many from entering my domain." "But you see, we need each other now." "I doubt it." "My powers are weak in this realm." "Only our combined strength will bring Xerxos to his knees." " Thanks, but I already have a partner." " Yeah, and we work alone." "Then as a gesture of goodwill, let me offer you boys a little tip." "Xerxos is headed to Mycenae." "We'll meet again." "Boy, Mycenae sure is popular today." "If this guy is really back, we have to stop him before we find Arciana." "Wh-Wha" " Who is he?" "When you were a kid, did you ever hear stories about the bogeyman?" " Yeah, but everybody did." " Well, he's real." "His name is Xerxos." "His first victims were his own family." "He was caught the next day, and when the magistrate asked him... if he had anything to say for himself," "he said" "Yeah, I enjoyed it." "He was the first juvenile ever sentenced to death." "But before the execution, he broke out of prison." "After that, Xerxos was blamed for every murder that ever went unsolved." "How do you know all this?" "Because I'm the one who finally caught him and brought him back." "To be executed?" "Yeah." "Whoa." "Then he owes you one." "I'm sure that's how he sees it." "Hercules, I know I don't have to tell you to be careful, but be careful." "That Serena look-alike" "It's obvious she wanted more from you than just help." "I know." "What's it say?" ""I enjoyed it."" "Old habits die hard." "Yeah." "That's not the only thing." "Ooh!" "This guy's seriously disturbed." "Now that's putting it mildly." "When Xerxos escaped from me, he took the power of my realm with him." "Not even a god can stop him now." "Maybe I didn't make myself clear." "I'm not interested in your help." "You're gonna have to spell it out for her, Hercules." "You should learn to hold your tongue, Iolaus." "Maybe I didn't makemyselfclear." "Without my power, you won't succeed." "And you're doing this, uh, out of the goodness of your heart, right?" "I don't like loose ends." "Xerxos is mine!" "I want him back!" "Isn't that nice, Iolaus?" "Come on." "We have graves to dig." "You know, Hercules, pride has always been my favorite sin." "I just hope yours doesn't cost any more innocent people their lives." "I'll meet you over there!" "Hey!" "It's not her." "Whoa!" "We're looking for a woman." "Her name's Arciana." "She's an escaped convict." "I've seen her." "She's camped in the forest." "I could take you to her." "What did this girl do anyway?" "She killed one of my men." "Ha-ha!" "Only one?" "What do you mean by that?" "Well, here's a question for you:" "What kind of a man decides to make his living as a prison guard?" "The kind that wants to see people get what they deserve." "Ahh." "You like to watch people suffer, do you?" "I know the feeling." "Aah!" "Get outta here!" "Into the woods!" "Xerxos!" "I see you got my message." "We'll see how much you enjoy my reply." "Heh!" "Oh, now you're gonna have to do a whole lot better than that." "Come on, little man." "Show me your stuff." "Oh, gods!" "Hoo!" "Yaah!" "No." "Not yet." "I wouldn't wanna deprive myself the pleasure of seeing your face... twist in anger with every new life I take." "Their blood is on your hands." "Catch me later." "You all right?" "Ooh, never better." "He'll kill again, Hercules." "Count on it." "Uh!" "Let me give you the strength to stop him." "I can stop him without you." "Probably." "Eventually." "But how many people will die in the process?" "With my power, you can do it faster." "Don't listen to her, Hercules." " Hercules, don't listen" " She might be right." "You can't-- This is only the beginning, Iolaus." "How can you trust her?" "I don't." "But it doesn't look like I have a choice." "I knew you'd see it my way." "What are you doing?" "Giving you my power." "Or would you prefer a lightning bolt?" "Just get it over with." "Huh!" "Herc?" "You all right?" "He's all right, all right." "He's stronger than ever." "I've given you the power to defeat Xerxos." "He's after me, Iolaus." "I don't wanna make you a target." "You go after Arciana." "Wait a second." "I go where you go." "Oh." "There is something you should know... now that we're all a... team." "I don't know if Xerxos was just careless the night he set fire to his home, but he left someone alive." "Arciana." "That's his sister." "If she's as bad as he is-- Oh, no." "Unfortunately, she's not." "You see, she wasn't born a rotten apple, but her upbringing left something to be desired, jumping from orphanage to orphanage." "It's hard not to grow up bitter, wouldn't you think?" "If she gets her hands on that sword, she'll take her bitterness out on the world." "We find Arciana, we find Xerxos." "Where is the sword?" "It isn't here!" "And even if I knew where it was, I wouldn't tell you!" "Oh, so you would pay for your loyalty to Hera with your life." "All the gods hear our prayers!" "We owe them our allegiance!" "The gods are laughing at us." "You know, I prayed for their help once." "But my prayers, they were ignored." "That was their right." " It was their mistake." "Burn this place to the ground." "You heard her." "Let's go." "They don't get many visitors." "Girl used to come by and drop off flowers, but... haven't seen her in a long time." "She tell you her name?" "Oh, it was quite a while ago." "I think she said her name was, uh, Arciana?" "Don't hold me to it." "Shame what happened to her folks." "Really?" "What happened to them?" "They gave birth to a monster." "You tell me something, gravetender." "You think a monster can grow a conscience?" "I wonder what Xerxos wants with his sister?" "Maybe he came back to finish what he started." "Or maybe he wants to team up with her again." "It doesn't matter." "Xerxos is going back where he came from, and I'm sending Arciana with him." "Hercules, I-- I know she's not the world's most model citizen, but we don't know if she's as bad as Xerxos." "They share the same blood." "That's all I need to know." "Are you okay?" "Fine." "You don't sound like your normal self." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means, since when has robbery been punishable by death?" "Aren't you tired of giving people the benefit of the doubt, Iolaus?" "Of having them disappoint you over and over again." "They're criminals." "Now, that's reason enough to kill them both." "Seven times." "What price?" "It's cheaper." "To your health." "Excuse me." "Hey!" "Thank you." "I'm looking for a woman named Arciana." "Has anyone seen her?" "You're the second guy to ask about her." "And this guy let you live?" "What sort of question is that?" "Uh, which way did he go?" "Well, I'm answering so many questions, I should start charging for my time." "What's it worth to you?" "What's it worth to me?" "You heard." "You want answers-- gonna cost ya." "Sorry, I, uh-- I'm a little hard of hearing." "You were about to tell me which direction this guy was headed." "Hercules, he won't be able to tell you anything if you're choking him." "Hey!" "Road west out of town." "Thank you." "Hercules, was that really necessary?" "We got what we came for." "Hey, wait a minute." "Hercules!" "Stop!" "What?" "It's like the play we saw." "You don't accept a gift that's been paid for with other people's suffering." "Serena is evil!" "And whatever she's done to you, it's poisoning you." " I had a feeling this was gonna happen." " What do you wanna do?" "Exactly what we came here to do:" "find Xerxos and send him back where he came from." "Till then, you're just gonna have to put up with me." "How much longer do we have to lead him around?" "Until his hatred consumes him, and he takes a life in anger." "So many souls denied to me by one single man." "Today he'll pay for them with his own." "I made the mistake of underestimating Hercules once." "I'd advise you not to make the same mistake." "I'm touched by your concern for my well-being, Xerxos." "Let's just say I wanna make sure you keep your end of the bargain." "You've given me no reason to violate our agreement." "You'll have time to see Arciana once Hercules is mine." "One thing puzzles me though." "Why the sudden interest in your sister?" "That's my business." "Very well." "But make no mistake about it." "Your soul belongs to me." "It's not something I'm likely to forget." "Don't look so disheartened." "You'll have Hercules to keep you company soon enough." "Excuse me, Hercules?" "Oh, my daughter, she's been in bed with a cough for days now." "It would mean so much to her if you came by to say hello." "Sure." "No problem." "I'll just hold her hand... and tell her she can look forward to a long life of famine, senseless war, incurable disease, petty gods and hungry Hydras." "On the plus side, if she manages to survive all that, she'll enjoy the privilege of growing old and dying anyway." "But, hey, don't worry." "I mean, if she's been real, real good, she'll end up in the Elysian Fields where she'll spend eternity... in a state of perpetual boredom and ignorance." "So please, lead the way." "He's practicing for a play." "Forget I said anything!" "Already did." "Hah!" "Just give us an excuse, girlie." "If you say so." "Huh?" "He definitely was a cut above." " Who are you?" " A fan." "I see great potential in you, Arciana." "I want to do what I can to nurture your talent." "Well, I'm not real good at paying back favors, so don't do me any." "Oh." "But what if I told you where the Sword of Hera was?" "I'd say start talking." "I like you." "Really, I do." "The sword is in Hylea, west of here." "Like I said, don't expect anything in return." "Just put the sword to good use." "I'll do the rest." "?" "Grace to our father ?" "?" "Grace to our king ?" "?" "His is the glory ?" "?" "Wisdom shall reign ?" "?" "We know his truth ?" "?" "And his goodness ?" "?" "And his mercy ?" "?" "Is the way ?" "?" "And the Lord of Hosts ?" " Music to my ears." "You really got 'em whipped into shape, don't you?" "May I help you?" "Oh, that depends." "You remember a little girl you took into your orphanage, oh, some 19 winters ago?" "Her name was Arciana." "Indeed, I remember." "She was trouble." "She ran away." "Ran away." "Hm." "It wouldn't have anything to do with this-- this strap you keep on your belt, would it?" "Sometimes discipline's the only way to communicate with children." "Really?" "Ah!" "And I'm sure you get your point across to them, don't you?" " Now I'll make mine." "Get out." "Now, let me show you what it looks like where I come from." "Huh!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "The headmaster's trapped in the orphanage!" "Fire!" "Herc, someone's dying in there!" "Herc?" "Herc?" "Hercules, come on!" " Come on!" " Come on!" "Over here!" "Hurry!" "Bring some water!" "Thank you." "Thank you both." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "Xerxos went west." "Thanks to you." "I know you didn't mean that." "How do you know what I mean?" "Just go." "I'll deal with Xerxos myself." "I can't do that, Hercules." "Leave me alone!" "Please." "Go." "Oh!" "Did you see him?" "Huh!" "Poor Hercules." "Did I forget to mention that the powers I gave you have certain side effects?" "I knew what I was getting into." "But you thought you'd have more control, didn't you?" "Don't fight it." "Lose control." "You'll feel so much better." " Are you enjoying yourself?" " Not yet, but I take a while." "Why are you doing this?" "Is it so hard to believe that I'd be attracted to you?" "Hmm, for a legendary hero, your self-esteem is remarkably low, you know." "You're trying to slow me down." "Thanks." "I'll bring him back." "Come on!" "Come on, boy!" "Come on." "Hah!" "Come on!" "Hyah!" "Come on!" "Iolaus is going after Xerxos." "Come on!" "Yah!" "Come on!" "Oh!" "Perhaps you shouldn't have been so quick to split up." "But then again, what choice did you have?" "Damn you!" "It's a little late for that." "I don't know what you think you're doing." "You're as much a threat to him as Xerxos is." " Uh!" " Where is the sword?" "Huh?" "I know it's here." "If you know where it is, you don't need us." "Hmm." "How right you are." "Eh!" "Uh!" "Time to do some real damage." "You might wanna think twice before you do." "Hmm." "My first victim." "Look, I don't have time to explain." "Believe me when I tell you someone is after you." "I think I can handle a few prison guards." "But, gee, thanks for your concern." " I'm talking about someone a lot more dangerous." " Oh." "You must be talking about me." "Thanks for caring." "Uh!" "Uh!" "Okay, I'm giving you to the count of three to let go!" "Hmm." "Now here's an interesting turn of events." "Big brother leaves little sister to die." "Little sister grows up hating him for it." "But then, with each passing day, she becomes more and more like him." "No." "But... you're dead." "I'm beyond dead." " Aah!" "Aah!" "Xerxos!" "Uh!" "Hercules, no!" "Get out of my way!" "No!" "This is exactly what Serena wants." "If you give into your hatred, you're gonna lose whatever is left of you!" "Iolaus, if you don't move, I will kill you." "Then I will kill you before I see you damn your soul." "Hercules, I know you're in there." "Uh!" "Don't you touch me!" "It's like old times, huh?" "Let go of me!" "You don't have to like me." "You just have to listen." "What are you?" "Something you don't have to become." "You still have a choice." "Don't you talk to me about choice!" "You bastard!" "You took mine away a long time ago!" " I wish I'd died that day." " But you didn't!" "I died." "It's not in you, Arciana." "Your heart is not black." "It's just broken." "That's my burden to carry, not yours." "You're not actually asking me for sympathy?" "I'm telling you-- you're looking evil in the eye." "The only difference between us is you can turn back." "I don't know if you came here out of guilt or just plain stupidity, but it's just a little too late to start offering up some brotherly advice!" "Since my words don't seem to be making an impression on you, let me show you something that will." "Aah!" "Uhhh!" "Don't go down the same road I did." " You won't like where it leads you." "Oh, I am so sorry... to break up the family reunion, Xerxos, but it's time for you to go back home!" "I've got news for you." "I'm taking you with me." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Going down!" "Oh, this is fun, isn't it?" "Wait." "Whoa-a-a!" " Huh?" " Come here!" "Die!" "Come on!" " Ooh!" " Why don't you fight me?" " Had enough?" "Apparently not." "Friend of yours?" "Well, let's go say hello." "Heh-heh!" "Hercules!" "No." "Kill 'em!" "Kill them all!" "Kill them all!" "Kill them all!" "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" "This is a trap." "Xerxos didn't escape." "You let him out." "I'm not killing anyone." "But you want to, don't you?" "There's anger in your heart, Hercules." "One day... it'll win." "I don't think so." "We'll meet again, you and I." "No, we won't." "Well, at least I still have you." "I'll be watching you, Hercules." "Sometimes people can surprise you." "Sometimes we can surprise ourselves." "You sure you're gonna be all right?" "You're not taking me back to prison?" "I think you've been punished enough." "Thank you." "Thank you both." "Take care." "Iolaus, I don't-- know what to say, other than I'm... sorry I threatened to kill you." "Oh, that's okay." "I actuallytried to kill you." "Hm!" "Yeah!" "That's right." "You did." "Huh!" "Man, you were so ugly when you were possessed." "I was?" "Oh, yeah." "Horns and all those things in your face." "I mean, ugh!" "You don't do possession very well." "Hey, you didn't look too hot when you were possessed either." "Yeah, but I was dead." "Oh, yeah." "Counts for a lot." "Yeah."