The Untold Sequel to Heracles

Chapter 6: Decisions

Heracles found him atop the mountain of Atlas. Atlas was nearly eight feet tall, muscled to the extreme, and had a full, proud graying beard.

"Another half day to see my daughter?" he asked in a powerfully deep voice. There was a tinge of happiness in the voice.

"Do you give your word to return?" Heracles asked suspiciously.

Atlas let out booming laughter. "I have no intention of tricking you as I tried with your labor, Heracles. If you have come to me to become stronger in your contest with Zeus, I can only see that as a pathway for me off of this mountain."

Heracles did not dissuade the titan. Instead, he nodded. "I cannot promise your permanent freedom, but so long as you keep your word, I give you mine that I will do all I can to defeat Zeus."

Another boisterous laugh left the titan's mouth before making a motion to Heracles to take the sky from his shoulders. "Good enough, Hero of Olympus. Now, would you be so kind?"

Heracles pulled the top of his tunic down while fastening a strap to his shoulder. Slowly, he mirrored Atlas' posture, positioning himself behind the titan. Atlas was as careful as he could be with the heavens.

"We don't want to lose any stars," Atlas joked.

Heracles did not laugh as carrying the heavens was the most exacting task he could be expected to endure. Atlas was careful to hand the sky off to Heracles, but after taking a step back, he smiled.

"You have this well in hand?"

"Go!" Heracles said through gritted teeth. It was all he could do to stop himself from screaming. "You have half a day," he reminded the titan.

"Good enough," Atlas said, already beginning his descent down.

That left Heracles with only two tasks and holding up the sky was the easier of the two.

The other was berating himself for touching the Queen of Olympus how he had. He knew that the hug had been inappropriate. Though he was in near-constant pain from the poison on his skin, he knew his cock had touched part of her body.

The only consolation was the curse on Zera from Mother Earth herself. Gaia had made sure Hera would always remain faithful to Zeus, so there was no fear of infidelity like there had been with Minos' wife, and yet, Heracles could not help thinking of it. There was a sensation that ran up his spine when he held her. Gods...He would need to stop hugging goddesses. Persephone had been an accident and she was little more than a girl in his eyes, but he knew Hera was a woman, a true goddess, and not to be trifled with.

Still...the feeling had stirred something in his loins. Even with the sky on his shoulders, his cock found the strength to harden.

---

Hera found the island that was Gaia to be repugnant.

"Gaia!" she called out. "Answer me, Gaia!"

"Welcome back, my Queen." the giant of earth declared.

"I am not your queen! When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what, Hera?" Gaia wondered.

"That Heracles was the other man who ate the fruit."

"If Heracles ate off my tree, what of it?" Gaia wondered. "He had done so while he was mortal."

Here, Hera listened carefully but was still holding her rage in check.

"Be honest. Is he the man who the apples recognize as my husband?"

"I cannot say," Gaia said cryptically. "All I can say is when one is free of their prison, they are free. But some might not like it."

"Why are you being mysterious, Gaia?"

"Because you should discover things for yourself, and only then should you choose, Hera. It is not about if he is the only man that can touch you, it is if you *want* him to touch you."

Hera glared at the face of the titan before realizing this would get her nothing. With a flash, she knew where she needed to be. He should be in her garden by now.

---

Zeus looked down and grimaced. He could not believe what he saw. Flaccid though it was, his cock should not be as sad or small as it was. He gripped it and saw that it would not harden, and it was smaller than it had ever been.

How?!

How was it possible?

He thought of Hera. That conniving bitch. Where was she? If she had been near and just would take his seed, he could avoid the Fates' problem, but still...That was its own problem. Since their prophecy, the Fates were missing.

He slammed his fist against a column. The rocky material shattered but a flinching pain shot through his arm. Looking at his fist, he could see bruising. He would need to recover soon. Otherwise, Zeus would appear weak in front of the others. That would never be allowed. Olympus ran on Zeus being seen as invincible. He could not allow that veneer to crack.

---

Hera appeared in her orchard. There he was with his beautiful daughters. He played the part of a doting and loving father. Hera had no doubt in her mind that Atlas loved his daughters. Why else would have been willing to risk the wrath of Olympus by trapping Zeus' favorite son atop that mountain?

He would have been able to run. Zeus would have had an eye on Atlas as soon as they left the garden. Zeus' paranoia always had him capable of watching the titans when he was not off with his whores.

Atlas flinched when he recognized Hera.

"Atlas, a moment?" she asked with a beckoning finger.

Atlas hugged his daughters before trudging over to Hera.

"Yes, Hera?" he asked.

"I suppose you think you are clever for obtaining this freedom of yours?"

"I think of it as an honest parole, Majesty," Atlas said back as respectfully as a conquered being could. Looking from Hera to his daughters, he added, "You would not be trying to separate us or battle me, Your Majesty, because that will not end well."

"Save your threats," Hera said with a raised hand. "As far as I understand, you and Heracles have an arrangement, and I will not interfere, unless it conflicts with my plans."

The sinister look in her eyes warned him of the severity of his situation.

"Then you know of Heracles' plan to wrestle his father?" Atlas asked, confused.

"I do, much to mine and Olympus' disdain."

"Why are you here then, Hera?" Atlas wonder, still confused.

"I have a few reasons," she said, looking at her tree, examining the tree. "One of which is to ask" why do this? Why help Heracles, Atlas? We both know you can't run, but why help him? As I recall, you tried to trick him when he was sent on his quest not so long ago."

"And I know that would do me no good, Hera. You get a lot of time to think and reflect on the mountaintop."

"And what has that reflection led to, Atlas?"

"Heracles is our last, best option for defeating Zeus," Atlas said coldly. "Do you know one of the reasons Zeus put me on that mountain?"

"Because it was the only punishment that could restrain you?"

Atlas laughed. "That is true," he said. "But before there were pillars that held the sky in place. Zeus had to make three of them. Do you know why Hera?"

Hera shrugged. "As fascinating as the history lesson is, I do not see why it is important."

"Can't you, Hera? Zeus made those pillars because *he* could not hold up the sky, and he punished me with my great strength because he could not create a task that was strong enough to hold me."

"Because he is not as strong as you?" Hera asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well if that's true, then he can't hold up the sky. How in the hell is Heracles--"

She stopped, realizing what Atlas was saying.

"Exactly, Hera. Heracles *might* be stronger than Zeus, and if that is true, then by holding up that sky, he is only making himself stronger. He will need that. I want him to win. If Zeus is defeated, at the very least, it means the end of his reign."

"Which would serve your purposes," she remarked, encircling him. "But what of mine?"

"What are yours, Queen of Olympus?"

"I would enjoy Zeus being brought low, but there is another matter."

"Yes, Majesty?"

"These apples. When you retrieved them for Heracles, did you eat one, Atlas?"

"I would never! Mother Gaia gave it to you. I would never eat your gift."

Hera was careful. She looked from her tree then to the mountain. She wondered how Heracles looked at that moment. She would have to be patient. If everything Atlas said was true, then she would see Heracles' heightened strength soon enough.

Patience was her ally and scornful partner, yet again.

"I will ask that you allow Heracles to rest a day before his task against Zeus."

"Does that mean Hera will help the titans?" Atlas wondered, taking a half step towards her. He stopped when he saw her raise her hand with her back turned to him.

"It means that I mean to hurt Zeus, maybe even help his betrayed bastard son. That is something entirely different, but so long as your goal does not impede mine, I will not stand in your way," Hera said.

"That is enough for me," Atlas said.

"It needs to be," she said back. Her tone of command shook the ground before she disappeared in a flash of light.

---

Zeus grimaced as he pulled himself out of bed. Aphrodite's beautiful body was left there, his cum leaking out of her.

Normally, he would feel pride in his motion, but looking down, his cock which was barely more than a turtle's head. He thought his cock's decrease in size had something to do with his anxiety to facing Heracles but as time went on, he started to think it was sex with Aphrodite, but then, the more he thought about it, the more he worried it was the Fates.

Going to their temple, he found it empty. The tapestry, the Sisters, all of it. The building was empty. This was not an uncommon occurrence. This was not acceptable when he needed them. Zeus would not stand for it. The lighting bolt flung from his hand before he knew it.

The armored goddess of wisdom and war showed up by his side. There she was all intelligence and dignity. She was poise itself.

"Father?"

"Yes, Athena?" he asked, huffing from the exhaustion.

"You do not look well."

"Nor do I feel it, Athena. Thank you for your keen observation," he remarked sarcastically.

"Don't you think it might be wiser to give Heracles what you want?" she asked. "If you face him like this and all of Olympus sees, you will lose your monopolizing hold that you have worked so hard to maintain."

"Thank you for your eloquent speech, but I am more concerned about other things."

"Such as your manhood?" she asked.

He turned to her, rage filling his eyes.

"I beg your pardon?"

"When your father is the world's most famous philanderer, you hear when he is not living up to his expectation."

The look in Zeus' eye told Athena she was treading on shaky ground.

"You better have a point," he declared, enunciating every syllable.

"What did the Fates say to you?"

"I don't recall exactly. But something about my throne being taken from me if I don't put a child in Hera's belly."

"Then why not focus your efforts on that rather than fighting your own son?"

Zeus looked at her, flexing his hands. "I will not be lectured to by my own daughter. I will *not* be dictated to by the Fates. I have held Olympus together, by my own two hands for centuries."

"No one is disputing that--"

"Then why do you, and your siblings, side with my bastard over me?"

"Because he is focused on trying to build a life as an immortal! And you seem content on tearing everyone else's life down!" Athena snapped.

Zeus swung the back of his right hand against his daughter's face. Rather than dodge or block the blow, she allowed herself to be struck.

"I am Olympus!" he snarled. "I will see this all destroyed before I move an inch!"

"Then you will see it all destroyed," Athena warned, walking away from her father.

She had hoped to help him, maybe save him from himself, but she and the others were right. He could only act according to his nature. There was no saving Zeus, but there might be some chance at saving Olympus.

---

Hera reappeared on Gaia's knee and shouted at the mountainous head.

"Gaia! You knew!"

"Calm yourself, Hera," Gaia said in a gentle but firm voice. "Do not take your temper out on one who is not your enemy."

"A friend would lie to a friend," Hera countered.

"But I did not lie. I misled."

"Semantics."

"The difference matters," Gaia said. "You needed to learn more about your situation before you made any decision."

"What did I need to learn?" Hera snapped.

"What did you learn from talking to Atlas?" Gaia asked with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Heracles is well loved. Atlas respects him. Atlas' daughters love Heracles for allowing their father to ses them. The other queens love him. His siblings love him. It seems until only recently, everyone except me loves him!"

"And now?" Gaia wondered.

"Zeus loathes him, maybe even fears him."

"And what about you, Hera?" Gaia asked like a wise old grandmother. "Do you respect him? Do you desire him?"

"I feel something more for him than I used to. But why is that important?"

"Because now, you hold the balance of Olympus in your hands, Hera. Should you bed the Hero of Olympus, you will conceive a child, a special child, more powerful than any created from your union with Zeus."

"How is that possible?" Hera asked, incredulous. "He was half mortal."

"He *was* half mortal. But even as Heracles roamed the world as a man, he pushed himself. Titan and god alike blessed him. Even now, residuals of their power linger on his body, in his seed. That will be bequeathed to the next woman he should have a child with. If that woman were mortal, the child would be even more powerful than he was while walking among the mortals, but if the woman were a goddess, say an older, more powerful goddess, that child would have more potential than any Olympian you have carried in your womb, Hera."

"To what end? To serve you? To serve the titans?"

Gaia let out a cackle.

"Serve? No, goddess! Outlive!"

"Outlive?" Hera asked, a newfound confusion touching her face.

"The battle between the imprisoned titans and the gods of Olympus are inevitable. But we, here, removed from Olympus and Greece will survive."

"And what? Heracles is meant to survive?"

Gaia started to cackle again. "You cannot be lacking so much foresight, Hera. No. Heracles is a hero. He will stand between the war and the mortals. He will most likely be their protector. But can't you see the merit to giving a child that pedigree? Can't you see the importance of carrying a child with true nobility over one such as Zeus?"

"I can..."

"And can you not see that Heracles would do anything for his family? *You* survive; your child will survive. We will outlast the others and we can build something."

"And Heracles will just die?"

"He will die being noble. Atlas and Prometheus will not want to harm him, knowing what he is, and the Olympians will love him, but men like him, good men, die in war, Hera."

"If I bed him, he will die?"

Gaia looked at Hera. "Have you come to care for him so quickly after hating him for so long?"

Hera was about to reply with a quick snap response, and yet, she found herself struggling. Not so long ago, she *had* hated Heracles. More recently, she found herself imagining herself in his arms, him lifting her up, and sliding his powerful cock in her and claiming her as a man does a woman.

Shaking her head, she responded, "Yes. And he deserves better than to be an instrument of our design, no matter how important. I have already done that to him in one lifetime. I will *not* do it in another."

"Then you will have Zeus for all of eternity. Like it or not, Heracles is an instrument of change while Zeus is the status quo. You know what you will get but he is slowly eroding Olympus. It will dwindle and weaken until finally, under his care, it collapses under its own weight," Gaia informed. "Is that what you want? Or would you embrace change? One where yourself, Rhea, and myself might influence a god better than Zeus, with the example of the noble Heracles as the guide. Not the flawed being that he honestly is."

"But isn't it better to have the flawed being in the picture?" Hera countered, not knowing exactly what she was arguing.

Gaia gave her a knowing look. "Heracles knew his father was the King of Olympus and yet still a womanizer. That allowed him to be good and kind to all people because he did not want to be selfish, but ultimately, it does not stop the heat of Zeus out of his blood. His wandering eye cost him one life. Let his choice and nobility be his death in another. If you respect him, then you can see the merit in my argument. If you try to fight this, you will only bring pain down upon all of us, Hera."

---

Heracles held the sky for another day. He knew Atlas would return soon, but he prayed that he would spend more time with his daughter.

He did not know why, but Heracles could not get the aroma of Hera's hair out of his head. He could not escape the soft touch of her skin. His knees buckled for a moment imagining her body against him again.

He had never thought of Hera in such a way before. He had spent most of his life feeling animosity towards her. Somewhere between her being reasonable and wearing that dress which showed off everything. He might have compared Megara to Hera in the past, but when he saw that much of Hera, he knew no other woman could ever compare. Even Aphrodite was nothing compared to the full figure of Hera.

Thinking of that helped the hours pass. In a way, that was his solace. He knew his muscles could be pushed to the brink of anything so long as he had the mental discipline to resist giving up.

For that, he was grateful for the distraction, but then, his body burned. Not from the poison but from longing. He needed to touch a woman, to feel her close, to claim her body as his, to wrap his arms around her and plunge his cock into her as a sword into a sheath.

The new god knew he could never have Hera. There was magic on her, and he had only gotten her friendship. Better than pushing his luck, he thought of other options. There were many unmarried demigoddesses and goddesses. Any of them could work. All of them.

If he could find release in the arms of a lover, he could remove the overwhelming longing that Hera had brought out of him. Stoking that fire would only leave him burned. Better to let it go.

And then, as he did, Atlas returned to an upraised arm.

Thank Gaia! Heracles *needed* to be elsewhere.

---

Hera knew Gaia was right, but to give into Heracles would be wrong. She could not willingly send him to his death. She knew fuck him would be the death she had longed for all his mortal life, but she wanted that no longer.

And so, she would execute the only answer she could think of.

Discarding her clothes, she found herself in Zeus' chambers. The lingering odor of Aphrodite was repugnant. Repulsed, Hera almost surrendered to nausea.

Instead, she swallowed her pride and anger and found Zeus in his bed, his back to her.

"My husband," she said in a smooth, sultry voice. "Are you distracted?"

"Not now, Hera," he said, sounding distracted. "I have much on my mind."

"Such as your match with Heracles and your withering cock?"

He turned, enraged. Though the rage was real, Zeus looked shrunken, weakened even. His cock was not all that had gotten smaller. Though, that had been made pathetically small.

"I heard about your little prophecy. I am willing to help you with that, and your problem with Heracles."

"Oh?" Zeus wondered.

"Well you are weakened because you have not put a child in me. Why not remedy that?" she asked seductively.

"And what of Heracles?"

"I think I have a way to help that," she said. "Gaia once showed me how to draw a circle to weaken another god. Not permanently but just enough to make sure you win but do not look like a fool."

"And how do we know it will not weaken me?"

"You have always been stronger than me, my King," she said, smirking. Her lips brushed over his as her hand grabbed his cock. This was not a possessive wrapping of her fingers around his member. "Let me help reinvigorate you."